Words by Lissa Oliver

When Starlust came from a near last-to-first run to land the Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint in a thrilling finish, trainer Ralph Beckett was one of the few unsurprised by the 34-1 winner. It hadn’t been a long-term plan, but with the three-year-old colt’s liking for a flat track, as highlighted by his fondness for York, the team at Kimpton Down Stables in Hampshire were fairly confident.

Beckett first took out his licence in 1999 and now has a team of 180 at the state-of-the-art yard in the idyllic Hampshire countryside near Andover, sending out 18 Gr.1 winners. Kimpton Down has three all-weather gallops, including a 1600m straight woodchip, and 35 acres of downland grass, that have been used as gallops for over a century. Beckett also installed a treadmill, enabling horses to remain in full work without being ridden, as well as being excellent for rehabilitating horses returning from injury. There are also 30 acres of turnout paddocks, used all year round thanks to the chalk base.

Starlust’s 2024 Breeders’ Cup win came only a month after Bluestocking had won the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe for Beckett, but for Starlust this was a first success at top-level. After a busy juvenile campaign the colt had run a creditable third to Big Evs in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint in 2023, so was no stranger to an end-of-year trip to America.

“As in all of these things, and after the end of a long year, the main concern for us was to concentrate on the horse’s wellbeing, particularly after his traumatic experience in the Prix de l’Abbaye,” says Beckett, when Starlust was badly hampered in the final 200m and collided with the rail. “As much as anything it was about getting his head right. We took him away for a day, the day out being the most important thing rather than the work, and when he came home he was happy and we knew he was in good form.”

The draw is all-important for the l’Abbaye, but Starlust had the luck of the draw at Del Mar. “He has shown a distinct liking for York and a flat track suits him very well, so that was particularly relevant,” Beckett points out.

He acknowledges the work also put in by his team at the historic Kimpton Down Stables, particularly his Assistant Trainer Joe Tuite, Head Man and Assistant Gary Plasted, and Travelling Head Grooms Richard Arnold and Emma Wilkinson. “Emma does most of the work when they fly and has been with me a long time and knows the routine very well, she’s very experienced. At home, Joe Tuite and Gary Plasted are hugely experienced and Joao Cardoso, Barn Manager, knows the horse really well.

"Starlust is a really tough horse and that shone through at Del Mar. He's not had a break all year and has been at it since Meydan in January. He’ll definitely have a holiday now.”

Is All-Weather Racing No Longer The Poor Relation? For much of 2018, racing fans waited with bated breath for the return of Enable. Musings on when and where the wonder mare would reappear were many and varied, but few predicted that the Arc De Trio…

By Amy Lynam

For much of 2018, racing fans waited with bated breath for the return of Enable. Musings on when and where the wonder mare would reappear were many and varied, but few predicted that the Arc De Triomphe heroine would make her seasonal debut at Kempton on the polytrack surface.

Almost two years prior, the regal Juddmonte homebred, who had garnered high regard at home, made her very first racecourse appearance on Newcastle’s Tapeta track. That fateful day was the 28th of November 2016, when, of course, flat racing had left the turf for the winter months, narrowing John Gosden’s choice to two: run his future star on the all-weather, or not until March.

Gosden did, however, have turf options in September of 2018, and when quizzed on the decision to run a then five-time Gp1 winner on the all-weather, he had no hesitation: “We had aimed Enable at York, but it came about a week or ten days too early, so Kempton came at exactly the right time. The fact that it was on the all-weather didn’t concern me, as I knew exactly what I was going to get.”

For Enable’s return in the Gp3 September Stakes, the going was described as standard to slow, whereas on the very same day, Ascot raced on good to firm (good in places), while the going at Haydock was heavy. There are few surprises in the going on the all-weather; after all, the clue is in the name, and its consistency is very much appreciated by John Gosden, who says, “When the ground goes too firm in the summer, or during drought, or it becomes bottomless at the end of autumn, the all-weather is a nice place to be. It’s consistent, with bounce, and you can ride a proper race on it.”

It would, however, be unfair to look at all-weather racing as one entity, with “all-weather” encompassing various surfaces, mainly fibresand, polytrack and Tapeta™. Not only this, but each racecourse has its own shape and quirks, as well as its own race programme. Just as on the turf, no two courses are the same.

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Gosden is just one trainer who, unsurprisingly, has some favourites, as he shares, “The all-weather track I like the most is Newcastle; it’s very fair and has a good Tapeta surface. It has always been a fair, sweeping course; there are not too many hard luck stories there.” His favour for other all weather tracks is not quite so strong, as he continues, “There’s no doubt that at the likes of Lingfield, you get some unevenly-run races, where they slow the pace down early on and sprint in the straight.”

The opinions of trainers on particular tracks undoubtedly has a great influence on what horses, including what standard of horse, they will run at each. Though he has less hands-on experience with the all-weather racecourses in the UK, French-based trainer John Hammond is impressed by the surface at Lingfield, saying, “I have walked the all-weather track at Lingfield, and it is ‘night and day’ when compared to the all-weather tracks in France.”

When discussing all-weather racing, Hammond is keen to stress the importance of how each track is managed. “All-weather tracks need to be very well maintained and managed by very good groundsmen. I don’t think they pay enough attention to these tracks in France, and they often get too quick.” Hammond could not recommend French all-weather courses’ consistency as Gosden had, as he says, “The all-weather tracks here vary considerably. I wouldn’t mind running a good horse at Lingfield, or Kempton, but Chantilly can be a bit quick.”

All-weather surfaces have been touted for their lack of fatal injuries, but John Hammond sees a different type of injury on all-weather tracks, and this is one of the reasons he does not have many runners on the surface. “I do think young horses suffer from racing on the all-weather,” he says. “I see an increase in bone bruising to the hind cannon bone due to the fact that there is no slippage on synthetic surfaces.” Hammond gained experience in California before taking out his training licence, which has had some effect on his views. “America has torn up most of it’s all-weather tracks. They may have been applauded for fewer fatal injuries, but bone bruising causes intermittent lameness. This can leave a horse runnable but not performing at its best.”

When questioned on potentially running his stable stars on the all-weather, Hammond said, “I wouldn’t be keen on running my top horses on the all-weather in France. If the French all-weather tracks were a bit softer, I might be more keen on it. It didn’t do Enable any harm!”

European Trainer Article Index

TopSpec Trainer of the Quarter - Ralph Beckett

Is all-weather racing no longer the poor relation?

By Amy Lynam

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