ARCHER ROYAL

Archer Royal – The Story So Far & Our Plans

 

Archer Royal is a three-year-old gelding purchased from Godolphin, having previously been trained by John Gosden. He cost €350,000 as a yearling when bought by his previous connections. He is by Blue Point, whose current stud fee stands at €100,000.

 

He made an impressive start to his racing career, winning on debut as a two-year-old over 7f at Chelmsford. He followed this up with a third-place finish in a Group 3 at Newmarket, again over 7f, earning himself an opening handicap mark of 99.

 

It is from this point onwards that we feel his form needs a little more context.

 

His third start came in another Group 3 at Newmarket, this time over a mile. Although he wasn’t beaten a great distance, we are firmly of the opinion that his optimum trip is 6f–7f.

 

He returned as a three-year-old and was again stepped up to a mile for his fourth start. He pulled hard, raced wide and was ultimately well beaten. Things didn’t improve on his fifth outing, when he was tried over a stiff mile with the addition of headgear. He again raced very keenly and finished well beaten.

 

For his sixth start, he was dropped back to 7f, with a change from cheekpieces to blinkers. This proved a much more encouraging effort. Running at Sandown, he was badly hampered at the start but still wasn’t beaten far off a mark of 92.

 

He returned to Sandown for his seventh start, again over 7f but this time without headgear. Although a little keen, he ran a respectable race, finishing just three lengths behind the winner off a mark of 90.

 

His final start, number eight, came on 12th October at Kempton, where he was stepped back up to a mile and fitted with a visor. He raced wide and keenly and was consequently well beaten. His handicap mark has since dropped to 85.

 

Why did we think he could be an affordable purchase?

 

There were a couple of factors which we felt might make Archer Royal an attainable purchase for us.

 

Firstly, he was well beaten on his latest start, which can often put prospective buyers off. Secondly, he was declared a box-walker.

 

The box-walking doesn’t concern us in the slightest. Our best horse, who happens to be by the same stallion, was also declared a box-walker. In any case, Archer Royal hasn’t shown any signs of the behaviour since arriving with us.

 

What do we think he can achieve?

 

We always like to look at both the realistic downside and the potential upside when assessing a horse.

 

In the worst-case scenario, he doesn’t improve from where he is currently. We know he is capable of running a good race off a mark around 90 in the right conditions, which would still make him a Saturday horse with opportunities at all the premier tracks.

 

The more exciting scenario is that, with the right management and conditions, he can rediscover his earlier form and climb back up the handicap.

 

An additional reassurance is that Godolphin disclose the full veterinary history of horses they consign through the sales. We therefore have the benefit of knowing that Archer Royal has no previous veterinary history or recorded issues.

 

What’s the plan?

 

Archer Royal is currently fit and has a recent run under his belt. We’ve kept him in work since his arrival and have been really pleased with what we’ve seen so far. He’s quite a big horse and looks to have plenty of scope to improve physically.

 

We tend to do particularly well with horses who race keenly. Our quieter surroundings and stiff gallop have proved very effective in helping horses settle and get back on side, so we’re optimistic that this environment will suit him.

 

I’ve identified a 6f race at Newcastle on 19th November as my preferred starting point. I don’t envisage campaigning him throughout the winter, as I think he could be a particularly exciting prospect on the turf next season. That being said, there are some very lucrative All-Weather targets available on Good Friday at Finals Day. If he takes to the surface particularly well at Newcastle, I wouldn’t rule out putting a plan together to target one of those races.

 

Ultimately, we feel we’ve bought a horse with a very solid foundation, plenty of untapped potential and an exciting future ahead of him.