First Stakes Winner for Ribchester

Young Haunui Farm stallion RIBCHESTER (IRE) (Iffraaj) has already exceeded expectations with 14 winners from his first Northern Hemisphere crop but the icing was added to the cake over the weekend with his first stakes winner.

FLAMING RIB (IRE) (Ribchester) has been nothing but consistent in his 2YO season and landed his fourth win on the trot when taking out the Listed Doncaster Stakes over 1200m at Doncaster on Saturday.  

Assistant trainer Colin Gorman said after the race, “He’s been straightforward and has improved as the year has gone on. He’s rated 108 now and it takes a fair bit to get a two-year-old to that rating. He’s very tough and, as [jockey] Pierre-Louis [Jamin] said after the Chester run, he manages to pick up twice in a race. In our book, the horses that do that are good horses. He puts his head down and battles it out as well.

“He will get seven furlongs, but I don’t know if we need to step up in trip as he does it well as it is. I’d say that will be it for the year and he could be a Commonwealth Cup horse (Gr.1, 1200m) next year.”

A four-time G1 winner and two-time Champion European Miler, RIBCHESTER is currently in his fourth Southern Hemisphere season, his second here at Haunui, and is on track to serve his biggest Southern Hemisphere book to date with over 90 mares booked with a limit of 100 in 2021.