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| Staff Writer |
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Rapidly rising Newmarket trainer Alice Haynes hopes to saddle two in the region, her Listed Tankard Stakes winner – Mr Professor and Freyabella, who was earlier trained by Jane Chapple-Hyam.
Although her training licence is still quite new, Haynes previously ran her yard as a pre-training operation working with celebrity trainers like Roger Varian and William Haggas.
Ahead of the horses preparing for their regional debut, we sit down with Haynes to talk about her runners including Mr Professor’s dirt debut, their owners, as well as her plans for them this season.
Q: So first off, what’s your target for your number of wins in 2022? And have you broken into how many Group wins and how many international wins are you aiming for?
A: I was very pleased to hit 20 winners in our first season when Beat The Breeze won at Southwell in December. Naturally, the target is to better that total in 2022, especially with our number of horses in training expanding nicely. We were delighted to make the breakthrough into Listed company with the Carnival-bound Mr Professor and we'd be very aware of the opportunities available abroad with the right horses. We're very ambitious and traveling is very much part of that.
Q: Could you please elaborate on your plans for Mr. Professor in Dubai and Riyadh? What gives you the confidence that we will take to the track and the dirt surface? What are your plans for him for the rest of the year after returning from the Middle East?
A: Mr. Professor improved considerably for us at the back end of 2021 and confirmed he stays well when he won the Listed Silver Tankard at Pontefract. Even though he's by Profitable he should get 10 furlongs as a 3YO, and with the new turf races for his generation at the Carnival, he has a really good spread of options over the next couple of months. Saudi is an option as he's already rated 100 and hopefully hasn't finished improving. Jockeys who have ridden on the Riyadh dirt often comment on how close it is to turf in the way it rides, whereas clearly, the Meydan dirt is very much a traditional dirt surface. There is the option of trying him on the dirt in races like the 2000 Guineas.
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Q: Could you tell us more about his Tankard Stakes win?
A: I thought he got a lovely ride from Silvestre de Sousa at Pontefract which helped him to settle and have enough in reserve for the finish at a very stiff track. He came nicely clear with the right horse, despite not getting the best run through, and it could hopefully work out to be solid Listed form. The 2016 winner D'Bai won two Group Twos at Meydan, so hopefully, we can emulate him!
Q: And what are your plans for Freyabella who has also been invited to the DWCC?
A: Freyabella hasn't yet run for us having joined from Jane Chapple-Hyam. She's very speedy and the 3YO sprint races will be her aim. A front runner for Jane, the flat track at Meydan should play to her strengths.
Q: How did horses come to you?
A: Mr Professor was my first horse for Amo Racing having joined us from Joseph Tuite. We had a great start when he won his first outing for us in a nursery at Kempton, and we've since had more support from the owner, which is very welcome considering the quality of the horses they have. Freyabella hasn't been with us for long but we're really looking forward to working with her and her owner.
Q: Who are your current stable stars and what are your plans for them in 2022?
A: Mr Professor is very much a stand-out on ratings for us being officially a 100 horse. Unique Cut has the potential to get close to that level but didn't enjoy herself last time at Lingfield. She should bounce back from that and has the F&M race on AW Finals Day as an option.
Q: Finally, how did you get involved with training and where do you hope to see yourself and your stables in 10 years?
A: I moved into full training having previously run my yard as a pre-training operation. Hopefully, in 10 years we're heading back to the Middle East with the favourite for the Saudi Cup and Dubai World Cup, but to be consistently training pattern-level winners would probably be acceptable!