Memory Of “Chairman” Shining Bright

Every success–and there have been several this spring, even pending a chance in the first Classic of the season tomorrow–is bittersweet. All these horses were acquired with such ambition, such faith in human ability to achieve things on a dauntless scale. Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha had already surpassed the established boundaries of sporting endeavour when his club Leicester City pulled off modern football's biggest shock, winning the Premier League as 5,000-1 outsiders in 2015-16. But now his King Power horses have instead become a symbol of how abruptly even the greatest resources–personal, as well as financial–can be unravelled by the one inescapable bond between men of every station.

Mortality seldom intrudes on our pleasant sporting life quite as savagely as it did when Srivaddhanaprabha's helicopter crashed seconds after taking off from the Leicester pitch on Oct. 27 last year. The fall to earth could not have been more horribly literal: plunging straight from the theatre where thousands of ordinary people had been transported to sporting paradise, against all odds, into this inferno.

That his horses have started the season so well is highly poignant, naturally, for the family, friends and employees Srivaddhanaprabha left behind. At the same time, they are keeping alive a vital memory of the man cherished at Kingsclere simply as “The Chairman.” Bangkok (Ire) (Australia {GB}) is among the favourites for the G1 Investec Derby itself, following his success at Sandown last Friday, while Shine So Bright (GB) (Oasis Dream {GB}) lines up as a legitimate outsider for the G1 Qipco 2000 Guineas at Newmarket on Saturday.

Andrew Balding, their trainer, has already ensured that his late patron's name will be forever preserved in the historic fabric of Park House Stables. On Monday, Srivaddhanaprabha's son Aiyawatt (known familiarly as “Top”) came to the yard to open the new barn erected to accommodate his horses: “The Chairman's Barn”, as it says on the plaque.

Reflecting on his visit, as the spring sunshine forged gold from green across the idyllic downland, Balding could perceive a comforting phoenix rising from the ashes of the disaster–whether simply in the vindication of the Chairman's investment, or in something less tangible.

“Obviously we've always got this sense of regret that he's not here to see it,” Balding says. “But discussing it with Top, I think there is also a feeling that he's still around; that happily, almost by divine intervention, it's all coming together as he planned. The Chairman chose those horses for a reason, he was very much involved in their purchase, and obviously in the naming of them. And how significant is it that potentially the best of them should be named after his capital city, a very special place to him?”

Though Balding does not presume to surmise the family's intentions for the long term, Aiyawatt is evidently determined both to sustain and enjoy at least the groundwork his father had put in place on the Turf.

“Horses are horses, business is business, but what happened is just a huge tragedy for everyone who knew the Chairman,” stresses Balding. “He was extremely good company. He loved coming here and had a genuine affection for his horses that was always lovely to see. Lots of people had known him far longer than I did, at Leicester City and elsewhere, but everyone had a genuine affection and admiration for him.”

Aiyawatt is an accomplished polo player, and Balding was again heartened to find him so knowledgeable and enthusiastic about Thoroughbreds, and so comfortable among them.

“Like his father, Top knows one end of a horse from another,” he says. “One of their nicest horses has unfortunately had a setback, but being horse people they understand. It can be difficult with new owners, to explain when horses have setbacks or need time. So that's another thing that's really helped me: I know there's no unnecessary pressure, and that there is a long-term project on the go.”

Regardless of any benign interest in their fortunes, on the part of their late owner, both Bangkok and Shine So Bright appear to have built significantly on the foundations laid in their first season. Certainly Shine So Bright, who won only one of five starts at two, was a striking winner of his Guineas trial in the Listed EBF Free Handicap last month.

“He didn't have the best of luck last year,” Balding reflects. “I felt we really had him right for the Gimcrack and he was just a bit unlucky that day, staying on late for third; and then the ground went against him in the Mill Reef. To be honest his work had slightly deteriorated, leading into that race, but I really couldn't be happier with him at the moment. If he stays, I think he's got every chance of being placed. At the end of the day, it was a handicap so if he was going to have any pretensions to being a Guineas horse he had to win like he did. But it was a very good time and he definitely deserves his place in the field.

“Obviously it could be that he ends up being a seven-furlong specialist but we think it's worth having a go at the extra furlong. There are mixed messages from the pedigree. [Breeder] Kirsten Rausing's not convinced he will get the mile, but he's out of a Sir Percy mare and the sire's had an Oaks winner, so it's not impossible. Anyway, we'll give it a go, we've nothing to lose and have the whole rest of the season to drop back in trip if necessary.”

Shine So Bright was acquired by King Power's usual representative, Alastair Donald, for £375,000 at the Goffs London Sale last year after winning his debut for Karl Burke, and ran fifth in the G2 Coventry S. the very next day. The royal meeting was very much the initial focus for Srivaddhanaprabha, and it had been Donald's private acquisition of Beat The Bank (GB) (Paco Boy {Ire}) as a G3 Jersey S. prospect that first introduced him to Park House.

“The whole point of setting it up was that hopefully, long term, the Chairman might breed his own Ascot runners,” Balding explains. “But when he first approached us, the yearling sales had finished, and my feeling was that he needed some older horses to get some action. With his proven track record, buying quality horses, Alastair was the man to do that. Beat The Bank was a huge success, that first year, and along with Donjuan Triumphant (Ire) (Dream Ahead) really gave the Chairman a taste for it. And the rest is history, he went to the yearling sales and splashed the cash–and happily it looks like they've got some pretty nice horses.”

Hard to believe that the adventure started just two years ago. Beat The Bank himself looked better than ever, at five, when reappearing to win his eighth race in a Group 2 at Sandown last Friday–barely half an hour after Bangkok, in the G3 Classic Trial, had consolidated the mighty impression he had made when beating a smart subsequent winner at the Lincoln meeting. Balding's instinct remains to keep him fresh for the Derby.

“We ran him at Sandown because he was well,” he explains. “I was thinking initially we might wait for the Dee, but if we suddenly ran into soft ground and had to wait for the Dante then we'd be running in close to the Derby. I just felt more comfortable having a bit of 'fumble' time. He could go to York still, but I think it's unlikely. Anyway, he seems to have come out of the race in great form.

“He's a horse we thought a huge amount of last year and it just didn't really happen for him. A couple of decisions maybe I didn't get right, but in hindsight it was all about his 3-year-old career. After he was beaten at Newmarket–where he was a bit unlucky, drawn on the worst part of the track in a race that has worked out unbelievably–we decided to just leave him a maiden, so we could start off this year at any level we wanted. Judged by his homework he has the speed of a miler but obviously he's bred to stay well, he's a quality-looking horse from a lovely family.”

It's an even better page now, following the recent exploits of half-brother Matterhorn (Ire) (Raven's Pass) on the all-weather, while another sibling is the dam of multiple Group 1 winner Ribchester (Ire) (Iffraaj {GB}). As such, Bangkok was a 500,000gns Book 1 yearling. But the headline investment that first, heady year was a 2,500,000gns filly by Frankel (GB), dignified by no less name than King Power (GB). Unbelievably, she had made her debut at Newbury the same afternoon that her owner was killed in the crash.

While unable to complete a Sandown treble for the team on Friday, King Power held off all bar another extremely promising filly in what is always an informative maiden and promises to do even better with time and distance. “She has done well over the winter, but she's still lacking a bit of strength is only going to improve,” Balding says. “Potentially she's an exciting filly, and there's no doubt that she'll stay well.”

Of course, he has an enviable roster of clients beyond King Power. And it is for his longstanding patron, George Strawbridge, that Balding saddles an intriguing outsider in the G1 Qipco 1000 Guineas on Sunday: Look Around (GB) (Kingman {GB}), a listed winner at two who finished strongly for fourth in the G3 Nell Gwyn S. on her reappearance.

“She's come out of that really well and I think she ran a very good race, considering she slightly fluffed the start and probably wasn't where Oisin [Murphy] wanted her to be, tactically,” Balding says. “She looked a high-class filly last summer but then the wheels rather fell off at Goodwood. She came back a little sore, and we just took the view that she was quite tall and a little unfurnished and that we'd just give her a bit of time. As a proper owner-breeder, George will always do that if it's needed. And we'd like to think it's paid off, because she's done fantastically physically, and it was a real good run back. The extra furlong will suit, and she's obviously by a super stallion so it would be great if she could nick a place.”

Whatever happens this weekend, it is plainly auspicious that the yard as a whole should have landed running this way. Balding's modus operandi has always been to try to keep horses thriving, as they go along, and he finds corresponding satisfaction in maturing horses like Beat The Bank.

“I think we've a strong team,” he concludes. “That was always going to be the case: when you get sent 14 Book I yearlings, the odds are always going to be a little more in your favour than I'm used to. Given that my horses, historically, have always improved through their 3-year-old career, it was no secret we had high aspirations for this year. I'm just happy things have started well. But we've a long way to go.”