Quiet Week Ahead but an Exciting Prospect for the Season
A quiet week is in store, with only the three-year-old Kingman colt, Regalian, entered at Southwell on Saturday (5:30). He faces a field that includes several potentially useful colts.
Regalian’s dam has produced one other horse, Theory of Tides, who is also owned by Isa Salman Al Khalifa (owner of Economics). Theory of Tides needed 1m2f+ to show his best form, there is no strong indication that Regalian will be ready to fire first time out, that’s often the case with unraced horses from this yard—Economics, for example, finished 4th of 13 on debut.
A watching brief is advised.
Yaroogh update.
In what turned out to be a tragic race with the death from a heart attack of Age of Gold and injury to La Ballota, Yaroogh started his 3yo campaign with a commendable 4th place behind the impressive winner Al Qadra ( as predicted here) Not helped by the race being transferred to another course and ran over 1f shorter he was a little fresh and pulled hard early on but stayed on well to finish just behind the principles. The winner has form with Group 1 rivals. Yaroogh with a rating of 106 will be hard to place in the UK and could well be set for a season of International travel.
One to Watch: Almeraq
As we build towards the flat season proper, I will be providing members with a list of dark horses from the yard who are expected to progress significantly throughout the campaign.
First on the list is the three-year-old Dark Angel colt, Almeraq.
A homebred colt from Shadwell Stud, Almeraq made a promising debut when finishing second over 6f on soft ground at Newbury. He then followed up with a highly impressive victory over 6f on soft ground at Yarmouth on his second start.
His Yarmouth form has already received a boost, with Winnebago, the runner-up that day, winning by four lengths at Lingfield earlier this month. Winnebago was making his third racecourse appearance at Yarmouth, and his previous form, behind rivals now rated in the 90s, suggests that Almeraq could easily be Group-class.
Why Almeraq is an Exciting Prospect
- His visually striking performances suggest he is a high-quality colt.
- His breeding indicates improvement on faster ground, being closely related to Group 1-winning filly Fairyland, whose best efforts came on quick ground.
- He is likely to start the season rated in the mid-90s, making him extremely interesting for Class 1 or Class 2 handicaps over 7f at the major spring meetings before progressing to Group company.
Whatever his campaign plans, make sure to add him to your trackers—he looks a very exciting prospect for the season ahead.
Russ – Nu Trends
20 February 2025
Chrysalis Consortium 
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