ACCLAMATION X WINTER SNOW

   James Owen is the latest trainer we’ve added to our string of trainers, James is based in Newmarket, on Hamilton Road and he is a trainer we’ve been keen to add for the last six months. After taking out his license at the start of 2023, James has already amassed a total of one hundred and seventy-seven winners and now has over ninety horses in training. Prior to taking out his license, he was a very successful pre trainer alongside dominating the Arabian horse scene in Britain, being the champion trainer six times.

As recently as Tuesday he had the second in the Champion Hurdle with Burdett Road, who is also a stakes winner on the flat. James also trains the current market favourite for the Triumph Hurdle, East India Dock, who has been extremely impressive since switching to the yard and over hurdles. James trained just seven two year olds last year, managing to win the Group Two Royal Lodge Stakes with Wimbledon Hawk Eye, who is prominent in the betting for the 2025 Epsom Derby. To train a horse to win races of that calibre from such a small squad is extremely impressive and he had several others who performed to a high level, including Pelitory and Trad Jazz who were both winners at two, running to RPR’s in the high 80’s with their best days seemingly ahead of them.

If you take a glance at the ARC all weather bonus leaderboard, you will see he trains four of the top eight in the horse of the year award. All of his horses that he’s lined up for that scheme have been improved by around twenty pounds and were picked up for virtually nothing in various online sales. 

It’s fair to say that James is not only capable of handling top tier animals, but he can also improve those who have shown little form to date, a trainer firmly on the up who will be supporting moving forward.

We have been keen to support James when the right opportunity presented itself and we feel that this Acclamation filly is exactly that.

He commented “She is a nice, athletic filly who has a great attitude”

He’s also retained a large share in the filly based on his high opinion of her.

She was on our original shortlist at Tattersalls Book Three sale, we even bid on her such was her fine physical attributes as a yearling.

James has been impressed with her since she arrived, she was broken in at his yard  and she has improved with every bit of work she has completed, especially once she’s stepped onto Warren Hill, which prompted him to put her in the Tattersalls £150k sales race in October which is ran at Newmarket over seven furlongs.

The dam is a half sister to the Group one winning sprinter, Glen Shiel and she has already produced winners over both six and eight furlongs.

Sadly, Acclamation is no longer with us but he was responsible for a plethora of stakes winners, with the Raven's Pass cross also providing plenty of winners.

NEARSIDE 

Sam James sat on thirty six two year olds over the past week and this filly was in the top six for both Sam and Nick who was very impressed with her physical make up once again. A good percentage of the horses we saw this week will sell for six figures both privately and at breeze up sales in the coming weeks and months so this filly really stands out as good value amongst them.

Sam commented on her tremendous attitude and he really liked how she picked up once he gave her half a squeeze.

She galloped very professionally, Sam felt she was learning all the way and she was comfortably on top of her work partner, a £160k Wootton Bassett filly.

Out of every two year old we enquired about, she made the most sense at the prices based on what we had seen on the gallops and the feel she gave Sam and it was a done deal virtually straight away.

She qualifies for band D races which is a major positive and we’ll be hoping she can line up in the valuable EBF £30,000 maidens that we targeted successfully in 2024.

Both Sam and James feel she is a filly for June onwards, starting over 6f before eventually 7f will be well within his compass.

In our opinion the 7f races are the weakest restricted maidens that make up the EBF supported scheme, which you can read more about here:

https://ebfstallions.com/news/british-ebf-lead-renewal-of-high-value-developmental-races-for-2025/

In 2024, Love Talk was purchased around this time and we see no reason why this filly cannot emulate her success in 2025 and beyond.

Her low purchase price give her a signiricant advantage in races such as the Tattersalls sales race and the EBF Fillies final, which will both be targeted before we take aim at some end of season  stakes races in France, all been well.