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Racehorse Profile
Trainer Adam West (based at Epsom) was brimming with excitement when he was able to purchase this son of Cityscape at the Ascot Sales in August 2021 on our behalf. He was expecting this gelding would be out of our spending bracket and couldn't believe the sort of value for money the horse represented.
Adam's training style is to allow his horses to find their feet in their own time, and as a 2YO Gilbert showed glimmers of ability, but it was as a 3YO that he suddenly burst onto the racing scene in a big way. Gilbert won three races as a 3YO and was placed a further three times. Shareholders enjoyed a fabulous time with the gelding. The fun continued into 2023 where Gilbert won again, this time at Windsor, and ran a close second on two further occasions.
Adam says of the gelding, "Gilbert moves really well and is a really nice horse to deal with. His first few runs were not too much to get excited about, but that's because he's been a slow learner and a shade backward. However, the penny dropped after his first run as a 3YO and he hasn't looked back since. In 2023 he showed that he is a horse who can win every season and give his shareholders plenty to shout about in most of his races.'
This gelding was given the stable name of 'Gilbert' when he first arrived, and Adam liked the name so much he checked with the BHA and was delighted to be able to make this his racing name too.
As Adam pointed out to shareholders at visits to the yard, Gilbert is a good size and has a really good attitude. He is at home with people around him and always wants to please. He has no vices and has a striking head on him. In his races, he can go from a prominent position, or be held-up - either way, he can remain competitive. We’ve had a string of jockeys’ come back after riding him, including Sean Kirrane, Tom Marquand, Rab Havlin, and Callum Shepherd, who have all said what a great attitude Gilbert possesses. He may not be racing at the top echelons of racing, but at his level, Gilbert is a great horse to be involved with.
"I couldn't be happier with this chap,' Adam admitted, 'He's found his stride, and I think he will keep winning when I can find the right races for him.
Adam continued, 'He is three-quarter related to a high-quality handicapper and I would not be surprised if he found further improvement as he gets older. He's always been a big, backward sort and as he matures he is more than capable on his day. Once he's fully mature he will be able to use his talent to better use."
Adam pointed out that Gilbert has a proven three-quarter brother Merry Banter. That gelding has won seven races, and been placed in an amazing 23 races, earning over GBP 75,000 in prize money for his connections. Gilbert is already some way to equalling that feat, with four wins and seven placed runs.
Adam said, "The breeder has replicated the pedigree of Gilbert along almost exactly along the same lines as Merry Banter, using a sire (Cityscape) who was a brother of Bated Breath. Merry Banter is rock hard robust, is a quality performer, and a perfect horse for a syndicate looking for plenty of competitive runs. He's certainly got the character, and I'm sure we can have a lot of fun as he continues to find opportunities in the handicapping ranks."
Gilbert is trained in Surrey by Adam West, who is an aspiring trainer based in a famous racing yard - Loretta Lodge in Epsom. Adam had a stellar 2023 season which saw him win the Nunthorpe at York with Live In The Dream – a Group One contest worth £500k and £300k to the winner.
"He is very likable, and has a good eye. He takes his racing well and acts on anything from Good to Firm through to Soft. This means, whatever the going, he will be racing through summer, come rain or shine," commented Adam.
This gelding will be heading to racetracks in the south in 2024 and will start racing sometime between April and May. Your Racehorse Manager account will keep you up to date with any major milestones Gilbert reaches and of course, we will be reporting regularly from March onward when Adam has him ready to go.
Adam concluded, ‘Gilbert is one of those horses that can be virtually guaranteed to be winning each season.'
Adam added, 'He tries hard and loves his racing. There may be a few races each year where he’s down the field, but there will also be that handful of races when things go his way and he’ll be winning or going very close. He’s a firm favourite in the yard and in 2024 we’ll be looking forward to trying to beat his three wins in one season from 2022!’
Form & Race Plans
Gilbert is currently rated in the fifties. He has won off similar handicap marks and will head straight into handicap company in 2024. Adam is expecting the gelding to once again hold his own in handicaps for 0-60 and 0-65 rated competitors through 2024.
He will almost certainly start in 0-65 company over a mile to ten furlongs and then dependent on his progress, work his way into Class 5 and Class 4 races as the season develops. If his 2022 and 2023 seasons are anything to go by, Gilbert will race often, as he takes his racing well and is a very robust sort. Your online Racehorse Manager will provide full details of all developments in terms of the horse's progress and race planning as the season progresses. Being southern-based, we do expect this gelding will race at tracks close to Epsom and the M25. He also goes well on the All-Weather, so Lingfield and Kempton are obvious targets too.
Gilbert 2024 Guarantee
We expect to get 3-7 runs and sometimes more from all our older horses per share period/season, however, you should expect periods of no racing as a result of recuperation from injury or training setbacks. This share period starts properly at the start of the turf season on April 1st 2024 and runs through the turf season until November 1st 2024, however, we will be reporting on the horse before the share period starts (from January 2024) should we have anything of importance to share with shareholders.
During the season the horse may be rested or have time away from the track to recover and it is quite normal for a flat horse to have periods of 3-6 weeks rest between races. Racehorses can be susceptible to sore shins, bone chips and growing pains, and can need a greater time to recover between races.
We provide guarantees with all our racehorses. If this horse has a season-ending injury and has not already RACED TWICE during the share period, we will replace him with an alternative horse for the remainder of the season. Replacement horses may not be of the same quality, are provided with no further guarantees and no alternative choice can be provided. Prize-money cannot be paid on any replacements, but all other benefits such as yard visits and race day badges are made available.
As a shareholder you MUST ACCEPT that we cannot guarantee your horses performance, a specific volume of runs (beyond our minimum guarantee if injured) or that runs will be evenly spaced throughout the share period. This is the chance you take when owning any racehorse and participating in this ownership experience. If you will be disappointed with only 2-3 runs from your racehorse during the season, then please DO NOT PARTICIPATE IN THIS OR ANY OTHER RACEHORSE, as you could be disappointed.
We believe in being crystal clear with our shareholders - any participation in racehorse ownership is a risk, and we are UNABLE TO PROVIDE REFUNDS because of share periods which finish early due to injury or retirement - as training, vets and livery fees for the horse still remain whether they are racing or not and part of your lease payment covers the five months of pre-season training.
This risk is the chance all shareholders take, as we do ourselves when participating in the ownership of a racehorse.