Winter Watch: Seeing Stars

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With the Brocklesby entries just a matter of hours away from being published, the time has nearly come for us close the book on Winter Watch for another year.The final instalment to come next week will attempt to wrap up the best of the action that we've witnessed on the all-weather over the past four months or so, highlighting the 10 three-year-olds who have left the most lasting impression and appear ready to run in a Classic trial near you this spring.Before then, however, there's time to throw a few more names into the hat. From the day before the Cheltenham Festival and everything in between, here are the potential stars that you might have missed, headlined by two colts and a filly by the great Sea The Stars.Wareeth Runs Riot for Watson and DoyleWareeth was the most recent runner by Sea The Stars to showcase his star potential when winning the 1m novice at Newcastle on Saturday by no fewer than 14 lengths, gradually moving clear of the six rivals that remained once the market leader, Starglow (Space Blues), was pulled up after a couple of furlongs.It's difficult to assess what exactly Wareeth achieved in pulverising a fairly moderate bunch, but what we do know is that he's a choicely-bred colt who had plenty of admirers when offered at Book 1 of the Tattersalls October Yearling Sale. He was ultimately knocked down to bloodstock agent Federico Barberini for 510,000gns, providing a terrific result for Hugh Bleahen of Clifton Farm, who had paid just €50,000 for the son of the G3 Prix d'Aumale winner Shahah (Motivator) at the Goffs November Foal Sale.Trained by Archie Watson for Sheikh Ahmed Al Maktoum, Wareeth doesn't hold any fancy entries at this stage, with jockey Hollie Doyle confessing to Sky Sports Racing afterwards that the manner of his debut victory was “a big surprise”, adding that the colt has “always been quite raw and immature”.That bodes well for the future that Wareeth was able to produce such a big performance when his connections least expected it, certainly promising to have more to offer as he gains in experience. Another novice looks the obvious next step in his development, with longer trips likely to suit when the time comes for him to dip his toe into deeper waters.Similar comments apply to the Sea The Stars filly Ribbon Of Sea, who was well on top at the finish when winning the novice run over 9.5f at Wolverhampton back on March 9.Still looking far from the finished article, seven months on from an underwhelming debut at Newmarket, Ribbon Of Sea hung left from a over a furlong out but reached the line with two lengths to spare over the penalised Oscar Nominee (Frankel), who had created a good impression when making a successful debut over the same course and distance the previous month.Bred by Kildaragh Stud, Ribbon Of Sea, a full-sister to the G1 Prix de Royallieu heroine Sea Silk Road, was an even more expensive Book 1 purchase than Wareeth when knocked down to Godolphin for 1,600,000gns. She is sure to progress as her stamina is drawn out further and must be considered another smart prospect for the formidable team at Moulton Paddocks.Burke squad gets stronger by the daySimilarly, Derby entry Into The Light (Dubawi) remains a promising colt for Charlie Appleby, although his limitations were rather exposed when he forfeited his unbeaten record at Southwell on March 11.Sent off the 10/11 favourite for that 12f novice, having made a winning debut over 10f at Lingfield a few weeks earlier, Into The Light was ultimately no match for the newcomer Ravenspire (Sea The Stars), who moved to the front entering the final furlong and quickly forged clear from there to hand out a comprehensive three-length beating to the market leader.It was a creditable run from Into The Light under a 7-lb penalty, but the blue-blooded winner appeals as the horse to take out of the race as a son of Sea The Stars (of course) and the G1 Prix Saint Alary third Imperial Charm (Dubawi). Imperial Charm, in turn, is out of Sheikh Mohammed Obaid Al Maktoum's blue hen Reem Three (Mark Of Esteem), whose other daughters have already given us the likes of Inisherin and Rosallion.Along with star names such as Royal Champion (Shamardal), Zeus Olympios (Night Of Thunder) and Hankelow (Night Of Thunder), Ravenspire features in an exciting team of horses trained by Karl Burke and sporting the silks of the late Sheikh Obaid in 2026. For Burke, it doesn't end there, either, with Forz Europe Ltd having also emerged as a significant backer of his Middleham stable in recent years, now providing him with Classic aspirants such as Evolutionist (Night Of Thunder) and Royal Fixation (Palace Pier).Another name to add to that list is Crown Relic (Kingman), a rare Southern Hemisphere-bred colt in training on these shores full stop. He is now unbeaten in two starts over the 7f distance at Wolverhampton, latterly winning a novice on March 9 by six lengths. Admittedly, that probably wasn't the strongest race of its type, but there was plenty to like about the way that he quickened clear after dictating a steady gallop, ultimately justifying odds-on favouritism in no-nonsense style.According to Burke, the G3 Prix Djebel is next on the agenda for Crown Relic, whose granddam is the G2 Cherry Hinton Stakes and G2 Lowther Stakes winner Lucky Kristale (Lucky Story), a half-sister to the multiple Group 1 scorer Love (Galileo). He holds an entry in the 2,000 Guineas, as well as the French equivalent, and is certainly a colt to be positive about.In-form trainers ready for Doncaster curtain-raiserWith four winners from nine runners (44% strike-rate) in the past fortnight, Burke could hardly have his team in better form with the start of the British Flat season looming at Doncaster on Saturday, likewise Roger Varian, who has struck with three of his five runners during the same period.They included the Coolmore homebred Always Happy (Siyouni), who kicked off her career in style when winning the 1m novice run at Southwell on March 10, travelling powerfully throughout and responding well when asked for her effort to beat a decent yardstick by 1 1/4 lengths, with the first two pulling over six lengths clear of the remainder.The manner of that success identifies Always Happy as very much one to follow, so too her pedigree as a daughter of the Listed-placed Sweet Molly Malone (American Pharoah) who, in turn, is out of the G3 Blue Wind Stakes runner-up Cherry Hinton (Green Desert). Cherry Hinton is the dam of five other black-type performers, including the Group/Grade 1 winners Athena (Camelot) and Bracelet (Montjeu), while her own dam is none other than Urban Sea (Miswaki).It's that famous family which takes us right back to where we started this edition of Winter Watch with Sea The Stars, who also features in this section as the damsire of Infinite Dream (Night Of Thunder), a striking winner of the 7f maiden run on Thursday's card at Newcastle as he powered clear in the final furlong to land the spoils by 8 1/2 lengths.That was a big step forward from Infinite Dream on his return from six months on the sidelines, having managed no better than fourth in a pair of starts as a two-year-old. The King Power Racing homebred could by the type to kick on now that he's found the winning groove for Andrew Balding, another powerful trainer who has his team in good nick with seven winners from his last 19 runners (37% strike-rate).The post Winter Watch: Seeing Stars appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.