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Racehorse Profile
There were many highlights of the 2023 season, but perhaps one of the great stories was the continual improvement produced by a 2YO named Kaaress. This youngster was bought in Ireland and after a race to find her feet, she took off - running well at York and then recording a second placing to a quality youngster and then banging in three wins on the trot when stepped up in trip.
So when we discovered that her mother had a colt going to the Irish sales in September 2023, we were interested! In fact, it was a full brother - also being by Kessaar. Trainer of Kaaress, Ollie Pears, was dispatched to see what he was like, and we were delighted to learn that the colt was well conformed that Ollie had managed to buy her at the Goffs Sale for a little over £10,000.
Smithy is a fine specimen, and whilst his sister was quite small when she arrived, he is a lovely big, statuesque individual. Ollie was very pleased to be bringing him back with him. Even as a yearling, Ollie said Smithy would be a good 2YO and an even better 3YO, due to his size and scope.
'He's very well set, is a good size without being massive, and is a very nice shape,' Ollie commented when the colt arrived back at Malton, 'He has been well handled as a youngster and is an incredibly relaxed and kind individual.'
This gelding started his season with a decent run up at Newcastle, finishing only a couple of lengths behind a horse that was subsequently sold for £95,000. All the horses in front of Smithy that day have gone on to win, which is why we believe he is a winner waiting to happen.
Ollie said of that run, 'He didn;t get the run of the race on debut, but came back at them when the penny dropped from over a furlong and a half out. He's since come on leaps and bounds from that outing.'
This gelding has a good head, is clean-winded, and has plenty of bone on his legs, which is a sign that he could be like his sister and his mother - be able to take his racing in his stride.
Ollie Pears commented, 'There is still a long way to go, but this chap has everything in the right place and has bags of scope. I will settle for him being as good as his sister, but looking at him now he's in Malton, I am very hopeful that he can be even better than her.'
Smithy was named after one of our long-standing shareholders, a fantastic chap by the name of Dennis Smith. When Dennis passed in 2023, we decided this gelding would be a fine way of remembering him.
Kaaress’s mother won a total of eight times, racing exclusively in Italy despite being born in the United Kingdom. She earned almost £40,000 in prize-money, from the age of two to five over distances from five to eight furlongs. The dam's full sister was also a very decent racehorse and was taken to race in Italy, winning over £50,000 and finishing second in a premier 1500 metres Listed race in Rome (just under a mile).
'Smithy certainly has the pedigree to match his good looks,' Ollie noted, 'I'm just amazed I managed to get him to be honest, I thought he would go for much more than he did.'
'This lad has shown a little temperament in the past, but nothing to get worried about. A bit like his sister, he's a thinker, which means he's intelligent. Hopefully, like his sister, he will be able to convert that intelligence into a string of wins.' added Ollie.
If everything goes to plan, this gelding will race another 2-4 times in 2024, most likely around the Yorkshire, Lancashire, and North Eastern racetracks. His 2025 season will all depend on how he develops through the rest of 2024. The family acts on both the All-Weather and turf, so he may make the odd visit to Southwell, Newcastle, and Wolverhampton if his preferred ground isn't available on the turf.
We really like this gelding and it will be fascinating to see how he develops physically and mentally over the winter and into spring. Given the success of his sister, we fully expect he will sell out of shares before the start of the new flat season.
PLEASE NOTE: We have reserved 80% of this horse's shares to enable current shareholders to renew their percentages for another year. More shares may be released in November once the renewal period has elapsed.
Form & Race Plans
The race plans for Smithy will be determined by his level of ability shown at home and on the course in 2025. On breeding he should be a 6f to 1m horse, and will certainly start at seven furlongs or a mile, and perhaps a little further. If he progresses like his sister, he could be racing over anything up to twelve furlongs in his 3YO season.
The standard route of a horse of this type will be to start in Maiden (races for horses who have yet to win a race) or Novice/Auction or Selling/Claiming races and his performance in these first three of four races will determine whether he goes into nursery handicaps, or is good enough to tackle conditions races or even step into pattern races (high value, prestige races).
If, as we believe, he shows that he will be miler+ as a 3YO, then there are plenty of races available for him from late April onwards. We will assess this gelding's progress and if Ollie believes he has the right level of ability he may get entries for some of the more prestigious races in the racing calendar.
Your online Racehorse Manager will provide full details of all developments in terms of this youngster's progress and race planning as the season progresses.
Smithy 2025 Guarantee
We expect to get 4-6 runs and sometimes more from all our 3YO horses per share period, 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 2025 and runs through the turf season until November 1st 2025, however, we will be reporting on the filly before the share period starts (from January 2025) 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 between races. Young horses are particularly 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 3YO 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. Prizemoney may not be available to be paid on any replacements, but all other benefits such as yard visits and race day badges are available.
As a shareholder you must understand that we cannot guarantee your horse's 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 make any refunds because of share periods that finish early due to injury or retirement - as training 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 build-up to the season.
These risks are the chance all shareholders take, as we do ourselves when participating in the ownership of racehorses.