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Plus: Derek Veitch answers 5 quick-fire bloodstock questions

Shadwell’s homebred filly, Elwateen, has been supplemented for the Betfred Oaks on Friday and is on course to try and emulate her illustrious predecessors, Salsabil, Eswarah and Taghrooda, all of whom carried the blue and white silks to Classic glory at Epsom.

Elwateen finished fourth in the 1000 Guineas on only her second ever start and having pleased trainer Saeed bin Suroor in a key piece of work on Saturday, she has been added to the Oaks field.

Angus Gold, Racing Manager for Shadwell, said: “We were thrilled with her run in the Guineas where Jim (Crowley) said she ran right to the line.

“The feeling has always been that she’ll get a mile and a quarter. Beyond that we’ll find out on the big day, but I’d be surprised if she didn’t stay. I think she’s a very classy filly, her work has been good since Newmarket and we don’t think it will be the trip that beats her.”

Meanwhile, the exciting Falakeyah, trained by Owen Burrows, will wait for an alternative opportunity, with the Prix de Diane at Chantilly and the Coronation Stakes at Ascot both under consideration.

Angus Gold, added: “With Falakeyah, Jim’s feeling is that the speed she likes to go at wouldn’t guarantee she will get a mile and a half, so we are looking at other options.”

Above: Elwateen has been supplemented for the Oaks 

Looking back at Shadwell’s Oaks winners

With Elwateen set to represent Shadwell in the Oaks, we look back with Angus Gold at the team’s three previous winners of the fillies’ Classic.

Salsabil won the 1990 running of the Oaks, she was trained by John Dunlop and ridden by Willie Carson.

“Salsabil was enormously special for Sheikh Hamdan as she was Shadwell’s first Oaks winner. A beautiful filly who we bought at Tattersalls, by Sadler’s Wells out of Flame Of Tara. Quite a neat but beautifully balanced filly, with a lot of quality and a huge amount of class.

“She won the Prix Marcel Boussac as a two-year-old, had the speed to win the 1000 Guineas and the stamina to win an Oaks and an Irish Derby.

“She won the Oaks very well and then we had that hugely exciting thing, what to do with her next? It was sportingly decided to go to the Irish Derby, and then no filly had won the Irish Derby for 90 years.

“On the same day we flew to Ireland, Nelson Mandela landed in Dublin. Salsabil won the Irish Derby and we all got back on the plane with Sheikh Maktoum, Sheikh Mohammed, and Sheikh Hamdan, but all the staff and lads working at Dublin airport had left their posts and gone off to see Mandela – so there we were, stuck on the runway for ages.

“Salsabil was incredibly special and remember this was still relatively early days for Shadwell. Funnily enough as a broodmare she did not excel – she had rotten luck and sadly died from colon cancer five years later.”

There would be a fifteen year wait for Shadwell’s next Oaks win in 2005, when Eswarah won in the hands of Richard Hills for trainer Michael Jarvis.

“Eswarah slightly crept up on us. Being a daughter of Midway Lady, she was put into training with Ben Hanbury, but she didn’t run as a juvenile and was far from straightforward. Following Ben’s retirement we moved her to Michael Jarvis; she debuted at Newbury in April and, remarkably, just seven weeks later she had won the Oaks.

“She was by Unfuwain, who was an under appreciated racehorse, he suffered by being Nashwan’s older brother. But he was a really good horse. So, she was by a Shadwell stallion, out of Midway Lady, who Shadwell had bought, it was a huge result.

“Jackie Clover, Michael’s daughter, recalled recently that he was unusually quiet going into the race, like he really expected her win. He was such a good trainer and let his horses do the talking.”

“She was a disappointment as a broodmare. She didn’t breed anything. But one of her unraced daughters called Garmoosha, who was by Kingmambo and born with all sorts of issues - she lay down for the first three days of her life, could not stand up and somehow they saved her - she bred a filly called Raabihah who was fifth in the Arc, second in the Vermeille, an incredibly tough filly who we’ve now got as a broodmare. Raabihah has a lovely two-year-old colt by Dubawi, named Morbeh, with Roger Varian, so hopefully there will be something to follow on, all these years later.

Above: Taghrooda leads a Shadwell one-two in the 2014 Oaks with Tarfasha in second

Shadwell’s third Oaks winner was Taghrooda, in 2015, ridden by Paul Hanagan and trained by John Gosden.

“Taghrooda was a beauty physically from day one, from the first crop of Sea The Stars. John Gosden gave her plenty of time after she had won her maiden at two and we decided she was not a Guineas filly, so we went straight to the Pretty Polly where she was incredibly impressive and instantly hot favourite for the Oaks.

“She won the Oaks well beating another Shadwell filly, Tarfasha, trained by Dermot Weld, so we had the quinella in the Oaks, that was a big day. Afterwards there was lots of debate about where to go and of, course, she ended up going straight to the King George and beat the boys. That was special too.

“Both Salsabil and Taghrooda went down bold, unconventional routes after their Oaks win and in both cases it paid off.”
 

Thoroughbred Thoughts - 5 quick questions for Derek Veitch

Derek Veitch answers five quick-fire bloodstock questions. Derek’s Ringfort Stud in County Offaly is one of the Ireland’s most famous nurseries, having produced a succession of top-class racehorses and notably bred Shadwell’s Group 1 winners Minzaal and Anmaat as well as Mohaather’s Big Mojo. Further flag bearers for the farm include Threat, Miss Amulet, Indie Angel, Ubettabelieveit, Allied Powers and Moss Vale.

1. Proudest moment as a breeder? 

I was lucky to be in Haydock when Minzaal won the Group 1 Sprint Cup. It was his best performance, he is Mehmas’ best son even now. I bred Minzaal and I also bred his dam Pardoven.

2. Which Shadwell stallions are you supporting in 2025? 

I’ve used Baaeed, Mohaather, Awtaad and of course Minzaal.

3. One piece of bloodstock advice for your younger self? 

Breed from fillies with the strongest dam lines you can afford.

4. One thing you would like to see changed in the thoroughbred industry? 

When I started out breeding, there were a number high profile buyers purchasing commercial groups of horses for investment portfolios, they raced them and then sold them on. It made sense. Then when prize money dropped away they disappeared and the middle commercial market is very weak now. I would like to see more investors return to strengthen the middle market.

5. A horse to follow in 2025? 

Big Mojo