WATHNAN Racing, headed up by the Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, burst onto the European racing scene at Royal Ascot in the summer of 2023 when winning the Group 1 Gold Cup with Courage Mon Ami. At the same meeting Gregory, also in their colours, annexed the Group 3 Queen’s Vase.

Still in its infancy at the time, Wathnan Racing’s colours have now become very familiar, and not just in Europe. As you might expect, winning the Qatar Derby late last year with Jeff Koons will have been a special highlight for the Emir, and he also enjoyed a landmark success in Ireland when Native American won the valuable Tattersalls Ireland Auction Sale Stakes at the Curragh.

Roll on 2024 and it has been a great year for the entity, with Blandford Bloodstock’s Richard Brown as their advisor, and he has been instrumental in making some tasty acquisitions for the team. From what is a relatively small pool of runners, compared to the great behemoths of the game, Wathnan Racing enjoyed four successes at Royal Ascot in the summer, including Haatem in the Group 3 Jersey Stakes, and a pair of juvenile pattern victories with Leovanni in the Group 2 Queen Mary Stakes, and Shareholder in the Group 2 Norfolk Stakes.

In fact, they are very strong in the two-year-old category, also racing Aesterius, winner of the Group 2 Flying Childers Stakes and the Group 3 Prix d’Arenberg. The weekend before last, Electrolyte added to that tally with victory in the Group 3 Prix Eclipse. The Wathnan Racing silks will be sported by a few fancied runners at ParisLongchamp this weekend.

Rewarding Saturday

Last weekend. Wathnan Racing stretched their success story to the USA, and they had a rewarding Saturday with a first Grade 1 triumph stateside when Subsanador won the first $1 million California Crown Stakes at Santa Anita, while at Churchill Downs Hit Show (Candy Ride) added the Grade 2 Lukas Classic Stakes. The latter was making his first start for the owner, having been raced by his breeders, Gary and Mary West, until August.

Subsanador was racing in the Wathnan colours for the third time, having won a Grade 3 at Monmouth Park on his previous outing, and this again is an example of the insightfulness of the team around Wathnan Racing, and their ability to spot runners that they can attempt to take to another level. Their other weekend winner, Hit Show, was actually making his first start for Wathnan.

Success has come fast, and they currently are in a challenging position in Britain to end up in the top five on the owners’ table. With the prizemoney levels in the USA, and in spite of their runners only facing the starter 24 times this season, they rank among the top 40 owners, and 54% of their runners have won or been in the first three. Helping to pay the bills is the fact that they have amassed winnings of $1,618,641.

Argentine connection

Both horses have an Argentine connection – Subsanador (Fortify) being bred and initially raced there, while Hit Show is a son of Candy Ride (Ride The Rails), a champion miler in that country who won at Grade 1 level in the USA, and has for a long time been one of the leading sires in America. He has just completed his 17th covering season at Lane’s End in Kentucky, and he moved there after five seasons at Hill ‘N Dale. Starting out at $10,000 in 2006, his fee reached a high of $100,000 in 2020, and was $75,000 this year.

Candy Ride is the sire of 115 stakes winners, and Gun Runner would surely rank as his best on the track. He is still waiting for his first Grade 1 winner of 2024, and Hit Show may yet achieve that feat for the veteran stallion. His next son or daughter to do so with bring his tally of Grade 1 winners to 20, and he has never sired a Group 1 winner outside of the USA.

The four-year-old Hit Show is one of four foals of racing age out of the smart racemare Actress (Tapit), and the only stakes performer. Actress’s other runners include Flashy Dancer (Curlin), winner of one of her two starts this year, and the juvenile Blind Faith (Medaglia D’Oro) who was placed on her debut. Actress won twice at three, both times in Grade 3 races, and was runner-up in the Grade 2 Azeri Stakes.

Back in April it was announced that Subsanador, a triple Group 1 in Argentina and runner-up to Newgate by a head in the Grade 1 Santa Anita Handicap on his second US start the previous month, had been sold privately and moved from trainer John Sadler to Richard Mandella, following extended negotiations with previous owner Stud Facundito.

Juvenile champion

A seven-time winner from 14 starts in Argentina, where he was crowned the two-year-old champion, Subsanador finished fourth on his US debut on December 26th, before putting in a great effort in the race fondly known as the Big ’Cap. Another fourth-place finish has been followed now by two stakes wins, and Saturday’s victory earns him a berth at the Breeders’ Cup.

Subsanador is one of 17 Group 1 winners sired by the 14-year-old Fortify (Distorted Humor), and among 50 stakes winners he is responsible for, almost exclusively in Argentina where he became the leading sire. Bred by Darley and racing for Godolphin, Fortify ran second in the Grade 2 Hopeful Stakes to champion Shanghai Bobby. He was most recently listed as standing at Haras Santa Ines in Buenos Aires.

Subsanador is the first foal from the unraced Hurricane Cat (Storm Cat) mare Save The Date, who is a half-sister to stakes winner Solamente Vos (Peer Gynt). His third dam Sa Torreta (Southern Hal) was a Group 2 winner, and she is also third dam of the Argentine Group 1 winner Satu (Catcher In The Rye).