James Doyle to be No1 jockey for Roger Varian this season on top of lucrative job with Wathnan Racing

1 month ago 27

TRAINER Roger Varian and jockey David Egan both enjoyed success at Doncaster on Saturday.

But while the first day of the Flat turf season saw them score separately, there’s no doubt that they are united in excitement about the return of Qipco Champion Stakes hero King of Steel.

It’s all change at Varian’s Stables in 2024, a yard in which Egan rode many of the yard’s runners last term.

For those of you not totally up to date, Varian filled me in on the latest details after Charyn’s success in the Doncaster Mile.

“James Doyle will be our No1 rider this season,” Varian confirmed, although Doyle is currently sidelined but expected back on Wednesday.

“David Egan will of course ride all the Amo Racing horses including King of Steel.

“James has his retainer with Wathnan Racing, but will ride for us when he can outside of that. Remember we have quite a few horses with retained riders, like Jim Crowley will be on board the Shadwell runners.”

As far as King of Steel is concerned, Varian added: “The idea is to go for the Brigadier Gerard Stakes at Sandown or the Tattersalls Gold Cup over in Ireland.

“Then it will be the Prince of Wales’s Stakes at Royal Ascot.”

Egan himself can’t wait to be on top of King of Steel.

He told me: “I rode out in Roger Varian’s yard Saturday morning and saw Raul da Silva going up the gallops on him and I was jealous. I’m really looking forward to this year.”

Meanwhile, the loss of star mare Highfield Princess will have shocked everyone, and our first thoughts of course are with the horse herself, who deserved a lovely time after racing.

Then there are those closest to the multiple Group 1 winner, like her stable carers, trainer, jockey and, of course, owner and their family.

We all constantly beg people to keep Flat horses in training and the fact John Fairley did that with Highfield Princess is magical.

The problem is, of course, that for any horse there can always be injuries and fatalities just like with humans.

I hope this blow does not make people think it’s better just to get colts and mares off to the breeding sheds. They are racehorses. Bred to race. Thank you John for doing that with Highfield Princess.

On the Classic front, Richard Hannon’s huge Qipco 2000 Guineas hope Rosallion heads to Kempton tomorrow for a gallop at the track as he builds up to the colt’s Classic at Newmarket on May 4.

The son of Blue Point was a fabulous winner of the Group 1 Qatar Prix Jean-Luc Lagardere at Longchamp at the end of last season and all reports are that he’s trained on in great fashion.

Hannon said to me: “Rosallion works at Kempton tomorrow and he looks a million dollars.

“He’s done extremely well from two-years-old to three, and he’s put on twenty four kilos as he strengthens up,

“He lost fourteen kilos during his win in France as it was a hot day but that came back quickly. He’s an ahtlete. Sean Level will ride him.”

Levey will play a massive part in my Racing League team once again, and he’ll be hungry for cash as bills in his household have just increased following the birth of Michael John Levey.

Congratulations to him and his wife Toni. Have a Yeeehaaa!