Cover image courtesy of Peter Rubery at Race Images
The Australasian connection has regularly been to the fore in the Royal Ascot sprinting features over the last two decades and stallion prospect Hello Youmzain will attempt to continue that trend in this weekend’s Diamond Jubilee.
And former jockey turned multiple Group 1-winning trainer Kevin Ryan can’t fault his well-credentialled 4-year-old ahead of his big day out.
“He came back to the yard just before Christmas and has been stepping up his preparation since the New Year,” Ryan told TDN AusNZ. “We are very pleased with him at home and he has been working consistently well, he is exactly where we would want him to be.
“We are very pleased with him at home and he has been working consistently well, he is exactly where we would want him to be. " - Kevin Ryan
“The Diamond Jubilee is a Group 1 contest and will be a very good race, as it always is. He proved to be a high-class sprinter last season and will go into the race as one of the leading contenders, which he deserves to be.”
Brendan and Jo Lindsay’s Cambridge Stud purchased the G1 Haydock Sprint Cup winner last spring in partnership with Haras d’Etreham in a deal brokered by international agent Hubie De Burgh of De Burgh Equine.
French connection
They are also the principal owners of multiple Group 1 winner Almanzor (Fr), who divides his time between the Normandy farm and Cambridge. It was that association that led to the Lindsays purchasing a major holding in Hello Youmzain last year.
“We got a call from Haras d’Etreham from Nicolas de Chambure and he said I’m thinking of buying this horse and would you be interested in the Southern Hemisphere rights and we said yes,” Cambridge Stud Chief Executive Officer Henry Plumptre said.
“That’s how the purchase came about and the intention was always to race him this year. The coronavirus has obviously always been a complication and he should have had a lead-up before the Diamond Jubilee, at Newmarket.
Almanzor (Fr) | Standing at Cambridge Stud
“However, we all know the unique thing about training in England is that they can get a horse ready for a Group 1 race at home.
“They have amazing gallops and amazing surfaces to work on in a way that we can never do in New Zealand or Australia.”
“They have amazing gallops and amazing surfaces to work on in a way that we can never do in New Zealand or Australia.” – Henry Plumptre
Hello Youmzain won twice as a 2-year-old, including success in the G2 Criterium de Maisons-Laffitte and this season added the G2 Sandy Lane S. before he stepped up to the big time to claim the Haydock Sprint Cup.
He was then unplaced in October in the British Champions’ Sprint on a heavy track at Ascot, after which he was sent for a break.
“Following his win at Haydock the plan was always to go to Champions’ Sprint as his final run of the season. The ground was very testing that day and it was the end of a long season and he ran well for a long way in the contest,” Ryan said.
“Hello Youmzain has always been a very big, strong horse, but quite raw and this year he looks like the finished article having matured and strengthened once again this winter. Mentally, he is laid back and takes his work very well.”
Hello Youmzain has been ridden by five of his eight career starts by Kevin Stott, including his brace of Group 2 wins, and he will again take the mount at Ascot.
“He knows him very well and we’re more than happy to have Kevin on. The horse has done all his racing exclusively at six furlongs, but he has shown a lot of natural speed so we could look to try over five furlongs this season,” Ryan said.
“He will be given an entry in the G1 Nunthorpe S. at York and all the other top Group 1 sprints will be on his agenda this season.”
“He will be given an entry in the G1 Nunthorpe S. at York and all the other top Group 1 sprints will be on his agenda this season.” – Kevin Ryan
Ryan has enjoyed Group 1 successes with the likes of French Derby and Irish Champion S. winner The Grey Gatsby (Ire) (Mastercraftsman {Ire}), Middle Park S. winner Amadeus Wolf (GB) (Mozart {Ire}) and Racing Post Trophy winner Palace Episode (USA) (Machiavellian {USA}).
“We are delighted to have a horse of Hello Youmzain’s calibre in training and it is very difficult to compare horses as they all had their own traits and characteristics,” Ryan said.
“It is unfair to each horse as they were all very talented and gave us some great memories.”
Kevin Ryan | Image courtesy of Tattersalls
“Hello Youmzain has proven himself to be high class and we are really looking forward to the season ahead with him.
“He has always shown ability and been an exciting prospect, but being a raw horse he has done very well to hit the levels he has done already. He was always going improve with time when he filled into his frame.
“He has always shown ability and been an exciting prospect, but being a raw horse he has done very well to hit the levels he has done already.” – Kevin Ryan
“The team heading to Royal Ascot won’t be the largest, but the ones going down are the ones we think will be competitive."
A half-brother to the G2 Milan Gran Criterium winner Royal Youmzain (Fr) (Youmzain {Ire}), Hello Youmzain is a son of the unraced Spasha (GB) (Shamardal {USA}).
She is a half-sister to the Listed winner Persian Majesty (Ire) (Grand Lodge {USA}) with the G1 English Derby winner and sire Slip Anchor (GB) featuring in the pedigree.
Kodiac (GB), sire of Hello Youmzain | Standing at Tally Ho Stud
The family has made an impact in this part of the world through the G1 Diamond S. winner Summer Passage (Snitzel), the G2 Phar Lap S. winner and Group 1 performer Shania Dane (Danehill {USA}) and her brother Scintillation, a multiple stakes winner in Hong Kong.
“He will definitely come to the Southern Hemisphere next year. He’s a horse of interest to a lot of people with that Danehill blood and the Invincible Spirit blood and that seems to be a mix of the moment for a lot of breeders , he’s got a beautiful pedigree,” Plumptre said.
Proud record
Australasia has a proud record of sprinting success at Royal Ascot, which began with Choisir, a son of Danehill Dancer (Ire) who crossed the world in 2003 to an historic sprint double.
The Paul Perry-trained Choisir blazed what was to become a familiar trail to win the King’s Stand S., then a Group 2 event and upgraded to Group 1 status in 2008, before he backed up four days later to claim the G1 Diamond Jubilee S.
Choisir | Standing at Coolmore
In 2012, Little Bridge (NZ) (Faltaat {USA}) was another history-maker from this part of the world when he became the first New Zealand-bred to win at Royal Ascot when Hong Kong trainer Danny Shum sent him out to claim the King’s Stand.
Joe Janiak’s cult hero Takeover Target (Celtic Swing {GB}) finished fourth in the 2006 King’s Stand and runner-up in the Diamond Jubilee and two years later the Lee Freedman-trained Miss Andretti (Ihtiram) won the King’s Stand, as did Scenic Blast (Scenic {Ire}) 12 months later for Daniel Morton.
Black Caviar (Bel Esprit) was successful in the Diamond Jubilee 2012 while Choisir’s son Starspangledbanner and Merchant Navy, by Fastnet Rock, were Australian-bred winners in 2010 and 2018 respectively. In 2015, the Chris Waller-trained Brazen Beau was runner-up in the Diamond Jubilee.
