ed dunlop
Ouija Board’s first foal, Voodoo Prince
Dunlop. “But the rewards are so high, and she suits fast ground.” And there are other very good horses and big plans at La Grange, the yard Dunlop bought two years ago following the death of Sheikh Maktoum in 2006. “After Sheikh Maktoum died, it was decided that Gainsborough Stables would be turned it into a pre-training yard. Kindly we were able to stay on there, renting it for two years, and in that time we looked at options allowing us to remain in Newmarket,” says the trainer. After a lengthy search, La Grange became available, a historic yard in a prime location near Warren Hill. The yard has undergone a series of changes since with Dunlop adding stable blocks, relocating horsewalkers, creating a covered trotting ring and installing a high-tech spa and high-speed treadmill. There are around 85 horses currently resident — he’d like more — and a number of thrilling prospects among them, including Red Cadeaux, whom the yard hopes will “win a big one” this year, and Musharakaat, who was third in the Mayhill Stakes last year. There’s also Ouija Board’s first foal, Voodoo Prince (2008), as well as her second, a two-year-old by Monsun. Voodoo Prince’s planned racecourse debut will inevitably be met with much expectation. “Voodoo Prince had a hiccup last year, nothing serious, but we put him away,” says Dunlop. “He’s a good-looking horse by Kingmambo, a very masculine sort. He did some work last year that was encouraging, but we didn’t have time to find out if he was properly talented or not. “He’s by a champion out of a champion, so there’s a lot of pressure on him.” Then, of course, there’s Native Khan, one
of five horses that Vefa Ibrahim Araci has in training with Dunlop. “He’s an intriguing horse. He was my favourite horse at the breeze-up sale and I didn’t know I was going to get him — my Turkish owner bought him without telling me!” he says, adding that the plan for him will be either a Guineas or Derby Trial. While Dunlop has won the Epsom Oaks, the Derby has, of yet, eluded him. Winning it comes second on his list of ambitions — “if just to put that myth to bed that I’m better with fillies than colts!” — while the first is to simply survive the economic recession. Of course, having a champion filly stabled in the yard helps on this front, but Dunlop can also count on the strong support team at La Grange, as well as from his wife Becky. Recently Eddie Ahern has been employed
as stable jockey to give a sense of continuity for the owners and horses. However, Ryan Moore is likely to retain the plum ride on Snow Fairy. “Obviously as the season progresses, he may not always be available to ride her,” says Dunlop. “But he’s ridden her four times and won four Group 1. They get on quite well together!” That’s some understatement. And if Snow Fairy makes a full recovery and comes back to win at Royal Ascot, it will be another great plotline in her phenomenal life story. The mare, whom nobody wanted, has gone on to dominate on the Flat where normally riches rule supreme. “She’s been such a good story for racing, a fairy tale,” says Dunlop. “She makes it possible for everyone.”
Second lot pulls out at La Grange Stables
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