Charlton On A Quest To Find Next Star

It feels unnecessary for Roger Charlton to talk of building his profile. This, after all, is a man who won two Derbies in his first season some 28 years ago, and in the meantime has developed a reputation perhaps the equal of any other current British trainer in terms of pragmatism and maximising the potential of sprinters, stayers and anything in between. Yet racing is a numbers game and memories are short in this data-rich age. So Charlton, who jots down every winner in a small notebook on his desk at the historic Beckhampton yard he took over from Jeremy Tree, can point to an impressive 67 fresh entries from 2017 including three Group 1s from the Irish National Stud's new stallion Decorated Knight (GB) (Galileo {Ire}).

“Last year was our best in terms of winners and prize-money, and we were even sixth in Ireland, mainly thanks to Decorated Knight,” he said. “He'll be hard to replace at that level but I suppose at this time last year we weren't really expecting to win three Group 1s with him – he was consistent in Group 3s, Group 2s, but Group 1s are hard to come by. Somehow he did it, so we need a replacement.”

“Our strength this year is that maybe on the back of having a couple of good years, maybe Group 1 winners help, and the likes of Quest For More (Ire) (Teofilo {Ire}), Thistle Bird (GB) (Selkirk) and Al Kazeem (GB) (Dubawi {Ire}) are gradually lifting your profile, raising your head a bit more. And I think that results to a certain extent in better quality younger horses from owner-breeders as well as new owners. Probably this year, for the first time since I started training, we have over 60 two-year-olds. We only have space for 105 here, but you need reserves and if you're looking for quality you also need quantity to get you there. After all, we're competing with people who have 200 or 250 horses in training. We have to fight hard.”

Last year's intake included Juddmonte's giant Herculean (GB) (Frankel {GB}), a full-brother to the smart Fair Eva (GB) out of G1 Sprint Cup S. winner African Rose (GB) (Observatory), who made a striking debut at Ascot last September. “Herculean has been a little slow to come to hand, he was a bit held up in one way or another, so he won't run in a trial or the Guineas,” Charlton explained. “He'll hopefully make an outing some time later in April and we'll see where we go from there. He's a big horse with a long stride, and looked quite good at Ascot. He's exciting. He put on a lot of weight through the winter and you'd still think that he'd be a better horse in September than he is in June. He could start off over seven furlongs but I'd be looking at a mile and it would be a bonus if he stayed further.”

Charlton's sole entry in the G1 QIPCO 1000 Guineas is Gavota (GB) (Bated Breath {GB}), narrowly beaten in the G3 Oh So Sharp S. last October. “She was a bit unlucky not to win a Group race but perhaps didn't handle running into the dip at Newmarket. She's not a big, robust filly, she should come to hand, and might go in a Guineas trial but I'm not at this stage thinking of her as a rock-hard Guineas contender. It might be a question of looking about a bit.” Indeed Gavota's Guineas credentials may become clearer after she contests the G3 Dubai Duty Free S. at Newbury on Saturday.

Even more intriguing is Withhold (GB) (Champs Elysees {GB}), who landed a mighty gamble on only his second start for his new connections in the Cesarewitch. “It was only a handicap and he is only rated 98 but I can see him improving,” Charlton said. “The aim this year is, longer term, to present him into the Melbourne Cup with a low weight, but he needs to improve 12lb or thereabouts to get in. To see if he's good enough he probably needs to run in Cup races and maybe start at Sandown. Even if he's second or third the handicapper will be looking at taking him up.”

He continued, “It's about a light season, four or five runs before the Cup, so rather than it being an afterthought it's going to have to be an objective. It'll be very hard to do that but instead of a £60,000 race, we're trying to win a £4million race but Mr Bloom (owner Tony) would like that sort of challenge.”

Although his premier stayer is being geared for abroad, Charlton approves of the valuable bonuses recently allocated to the Cesarewitch and Ebor. “Thanks to the BHA the stayers programme has been hugely incentivised and they're proper races to have as a target,” he said. “I think it will take eight to 10 years before it really gets into the system. The owner-breeder who is planning their matings now will start to think 'we'll go to that mile and a quarter, mile and a half stallion because there should be a market for those rather than wanting instant success from natural speed all the time'. The market for the stayers is pretty good, there's a steady stream going to Australia for that exact reason in that they don't breed staying horses. In many ways staying races are more captivating, and it's nice to have horses that are late maturing, and with stamina in their pedigrees.”

Almodovar (Ire) (Sea The Stars {Ire}) exemplifies the type Charlton describes. Third in the G2 Hardwicke S. in 2016 for David Lanigan, he is not far off a belated reappearance. The 68-year-old explained, “He had a year out to recover from various issues. I don't know a lot about him but so far he's a nice natured, nice moving horse who had a pretty high level of potential form. As a six-year-old and a gelding, you'd hope there's a good chance he gets back up to that level or better.”

Atty Persse (Ire) (Frankel {GB}), who won at Royal Ascot before losing his way, has also been gelded. “He needed bit of time off to rebuild himself. He's not in full training, so no early targets, but he has done very well and I think that with a bit of luck, at the level he's at, he can still progress again. He has settled down very well. Montjeu had a gene that needed careful management, such as with Camelot, and some of the Frankels might be the same. You need to harness their energy and be trained well, as he was, but some are deeply relaxed. It's a bit like Danehill in that he's proving he can be a sire of anything – they can stay, they can be fast, they can be two-year-olds – and we're only scratching at it now, he has plenty more to come.”

Charlton continued, “We saw a lot of energy in Frankel when he was winning his races, and some of the characteristics of the Frankels is that it's very obvious that their best furlong was their last one, or even the one after the winning post. Atty did that, they get into their stride and they're away.”

Other older members of the team include the prolific Cribbs Causeway (Ire) (Rip Van Winkle {Ire}), who will attempt to pick up further black type, old stager Second Step (Ire) (Dalakhani {Ire}) and Projection (GB) (Acclamation {GB}), who shook up the high-class Blue Point (Ire) (Shamardal) in the G3 Bengough S. and will take in more group sprints.

“A few of the two-year-olds I might need to get on with, but I like to work them on the grass and we've not been anywhere near that with the weather,” Charlton concluded. “There are some nicely bred ones among them and some quite nice maiden three-year-olds, but you have to remind yourself that Charlie Appleby, John Gosden, they all have hugely strong bunches of three-year-olds as well. They're pretty competitive divisions – you think you've got a good one to run at Newbury and it's beaten by group horses.”

Certainly his string lacks the depth of a few of his rivals but, as the last 28 years have shown, Roger Charlton is never making up the numbers.