August Review: Listed Success and Yearling Sales Season Begins

August proved to be another positive month for the team, with three winners on the board, headed by Listed success for Calendar Girl, alongside two promising two-year-olds getting off the mark.

Calendar Girl Makes a Winning Return

The highlight of the month came at Haydock, where Calendar Girl made an impressive return to action with victory in the Listed Dick Hern Stakes under Callum Rodriguez for owner Kennet Valley Syndicates.

Having been off the track since October last year, the three-year-old returned from a lengthy absence in excellent form. Travelling strongly into contention, she took up the running approaching the final furlong before staying on well to score by a length and a quarter.

It was a particularly pleasing performance following a delayed start to her three-year-old campaign and represented another step forward for a filly who had already shown plenty of promise during her juvenile season.

Promising Juveniles Get Off the Mark

There was also plenty of encouragement from the yard’s two-year-olds during August, with King High and George Cross both recording their first victories.

King High opened his account at the second time of asking at Newbury, showing a determined attitude to prevail under Callum Rodriguez for owner Valmont. Stepping up to a mile following his debut, the colt battled well in the closing stages to get the better of Quicken Away by a neck. With improvement already evident between his first two appearances and a pedigree containing plenty of winners, he looks an exciting prospect to follow as he gains further experience.

The month ended on another high when George Cross also built on a promising debut to break his maiden at the second attempt at Goodwood. Having finished runner-up on his first start at Ffos Las at the beginning of August, the colt took another step forward at Goodwood. Sent off favourite under Callum Rodriguez, he justified that support with a three-quarter-length victory to round off the month with another encouraging success for the team.

With both King High and George Cross winning on just their second racecourse appearances, there is plenty to look forward to as the yard’s younger horses continue to develop through the remainder of the season.

Sales Season Underway

Away from the racecourse, August also marked the beginning of another busy period with the yearling sales season getting underway. The sales will continue to form an important part of the calendar over the coming months as attention begins to turn towards adding the next generation of horses to the yard.

With autumn approaching, we are also looking forward to a change in the weather after a predominantly dry summer. A little more rain would certainly be welcomed by several members of the team, and there remains plenty of action to look forward to on the track throughout September and into the closing stages of the season.

After a month featuring three winners, valuable black-type success and two promising juveniles opening their accounts, there is plenty to build on heading into September.