By Emma Berry
The persistent pioneering spirit of Hat Creek Racing was well rewarded last week when 'TDN Rising Star' Con Te Partiro (Scat Daddy) landed the Listed Sandringham H. for trainer Wesley Ward and the 20 members of the syndicate.
Headed by Lexington-based bloodstock agent Gatewood Bell, Hat Creek Racing buys four fillies every year and for the last five seasons has targeted Royal Ascot with a Ward-trained runner. Another Scat Daddy filly, Spanish Pipedream, was fourth in the G2 Queen Mary S. of 2014, while Sweet Emma Rose (City Zip) had finished second to Rizeena (Ire) (Iffraaj {GB}) a year earlier. Due compensation for those near misses has now been delivered along with the chance for the 12 members of the team who travelled to Ascot to line up on the famous winners' podium on Wednesday.
“It's something we've been aiming at for a while now and even having a runner at Royal Ascot is exciting, let alone a winner,” says Bell, who selected Con Te Partiro (hip1512) at the Keeneland September Sale for $130,000.
A rare Ward runner at the meeting to not start close to favouritism, the 20-1 shot was given a masterful hold-up ride by Jamie Spencer to deliver a strong, late run, getting the better of the Aidan O'Brien-trained Rain Goddess (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) by 1¼ lengths.
“There were plenty of unknowns for us going into the race–Wesley had never run one over a mile at Ascot and we didn't know how she'd handle the straight mile, or really what we were up against from the rest of the field, but she'd been training really well, and while she's no Lady Aurelia we thought she had as good a chance as any,” Bell continues.
An American agent with a particular penchant for turf racing, Bell is also a regular visitor to the European yearling sales, and he picked up another of Hat Creek Racing's three runners at this year's Royal meeting, Elizabeth Darcy (Ire) (Camacho {Ire}), for €88,000 as lot 231 at last year's Goffs Orby Sale. The Manister House Stud-bred filly finished sixth of the 22 runners in the Listed Windsor Castle S. and may be seen again this Saturday at Deauville, where she has an entry for the G3 Prix du Bois.
Bell adds, “The 2-year-olds will stay in Europe for now. Our other runner Nootka Sound (Lonhro {Aus}) got a little cut up in the stalls–she was the first in and had to wait a while for the others to load. But we think she's a really nice filly and she may be aimed at the Molecomb Stakes at Goodwood.”
Meanwhile Con Te Partiro will return to America with various Saratoga options or possibly the GI Del Mar Oaks on her radar.
“Now she's won this race at Ascot we feel a little more confident to try some bigger things with her out here,” he says.
The agent has doubtless also been emboldened to return to the sales in a quest for more international runners for his syndicate, which is comprised mainly of friends.
“I've always tried to buy at European sales–good horses come from everywhere and I like turf racing, so I'll be back at all the sales this year,” he states. “We do especially target Ascot mainly because it's so much fun. Yes, you can go for the big prize-money and of course that's important but we've had lots of fun doing this and the people at Ascot are awesome. They do such a good job and are just so helpful with things like declarations and race badges.”
The vagaries of the American turf programme also make the Hat Creek plan a far more feasible option at this time of year. “For the 2-year-olds there's just no grass racing in America until the middle of August,” he explains.
Having worked closely with Ward for the best part of the last decade, Bell is full of praise for the trainer who can sometimes be overlooked in his home country but has come to be revered in Britain.
He says, “There are a lot of good trainers out there but Wesley is a true and gifted horseman. He does it his own way and in my opinion those are the people who end up looking smart because they don't follow the herd.”
Joining Ward on his now annual pilgrimage to Royal Ascot has certainly proved to be fruitful for Hat Creek Racing and it's unlikely to be the last we see of Bell and his friends in Europe this summer.
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