2yo inside Info -

Sunday 11 December 2022

Remember Peter Winkworth? I Do...

The title of this post...

I guess there are many, many...many, Peter Winkworth's in the world. 

I've calculated there are 510 in the United Kingdom!

I'm joking, of course. However, I am a fan of Peter Winkworth who, these days, is known as a racehorse owner. I know he breeds a number of thoroughbred racehorses, too. Readers may remember that not so many years ago he was a racehorse trainer.    

I was sad the day he retired from training because he was a very good handler and I used to make the most of his two-year-olds which often went very well at huge prices on their second start.   

Anyway, time moves on. He's still a great man in my estimations because he knows his horses. 

My niche within this sport of kings is two-year-old racing. Well, guess what I noticed today? Talk about an open-ended question, hey. 

3:00 Nottingham - 

EBF Stallions Oath Restricted Maiden Stakes (Plus 10 Race) (Sire And Dam Restricted Race) (Div II)

Surfman. I know what you're thinking...who or what is surfman? Is it about a man surfing? No! It's a two-year-old horse owned (surprise, surprise) by Mr Winkworth (Peter).  

This bay colt is a son of Kingman out of a Group 3 winning mare who was in training back in 2008 by the man himself. In fact, Shimmering Surf may have won just once in thirteen starts but total prize winnings over £100,000 detail a smart performer. In addition, she achieved an official rating of 107. Sadly, the mare died in 2017 at the age of 10.  

Surfman, bred by Winkworth, was the last of the mare's offspring. Interesting to note that he was sent through the sale's ring and fetched 140,000 guineas. 

Looking at this bay colt today, he is a big, strong horse. Varian has done a good job getting him ready for his debut over today's distance of 1m 1/2f. Backed from 6-1 - 9-2, connections clearly fancied this February foal to go well. He didn't disappoint finishing a worthy third place losing by a head and a neck. 

I really like the look of this colt. He has size and substance. There's no doubt he was ring rusty, inexperienced but showed an equal measure of ability. 

Just like the good, old days, I'm sure Peter was hoping for a winning debut. But you can bet he will be even more determined to see a win on Surfman's second start. 

A great reminder that even though so much changes in horse racing - often little changes at all.  


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