It's that time of year again. The long run up to the new National Hunt season (let's be honest, it doesn't get properly started before the Chepstow October meeting) has begun. If you read last year's series, you may remember that I said 2023 was going to be the last year for this series and that was my intention. However, after a slow start, the spreadsheet has grown to a record level this year and with so many horses making the move across the Channel to the UK and Ireland, it felt like this would still be a worthwhile exercise. As ever, the plan is to try and highlight horses from across the spectrum and not just focus on those who are making the move to Closutton. Willie Mullins has dominated the spreadsheet once again and it is impossible to ignore those horses in the coming weeks, but there are plenty of other good pieces of business being done and I want to try and focus on those horses in equal measure. For that reason, we begin with Kotgar, who has joined Evan Williams.
KOTGAR (Fr)
3YO Gelding
Wootton Bassett x Kotama (Siyouni)
3rd Foal. Half-brother to Flat winner Kotari (Gary Moore, OR 86) and 2YO Listed winner Tiego The First. Dam Listed placed as a 2YO, half-sister to Group placed milers Kokaltash and Kozideh.
Wootton Bassett 50% SR over hurdles in UK & IRE (6/12, 9/68), 5 hurdle winners in France incl. G3 placed Jeu de Palme. Siyouni 27% SR over hurdles as a DamSire (3/11, 4/41)
Breeder: S.A. Aga Khan
Transfer Details: Jean-Claude Rouget > Evan Williams (Arqana, €25,000)
Form:
Notes:
Flat bred. Achieved a Flat rating of 35.5-kilos in 5 starts for Jean-Claude Rouget (equivalent to 78 BHA). Arguably expected to achieve more given his breeding, but was gelded before debut in January 2024. Finished 4th in the Prix Ace Impact at Cagnes-Sur-Mer, beaten 2-lengths by the now 46-kilo rated Arrow Eagle (Ace Impact's half-brother). Went off at 6.4 PMU for that debut, suggesting he had shown up well at home, (Arrow Eagle 4.0) despite being yard's 2nd-string. Led on debut before fading late, although should be noted that the race was steadily run (FS 117.4%). Has raced prominently in all 5 starts and has been beaten by fair performers, including Ride the Skies (92), Comme Quoi (89) and Toyotomi (90).
Adams thoughts:
One of the bargains of the summer. In 2024, spending €25,000 on a 3-year-old dual purpose horse is considered to be just a minor investment. However, this could look like a "Sam Allardyce Bargain Buy" if all goes well for Evan Williams. Clearly Kotgar wasn't bred with a Juvenile hurdle campaign in mind, but his breeding does offer a bit of hope and if he can translate his Flat form to hurdles, he ought to at least pick up a Juvenile hurdle in the UK in the coming months. He has primarily raced on quicker surfaces, which his breeding would suggest are his ideal conditions, but having been campaigned as a 10-furlong horse, I think it is fair to say that we have found out that he doesn't have the necessary turn-of-foot to win those races, especially in France. Speed tracks like Marseille-Borely and Salon-de-Provence didn't play to his strengths either and whilst I can understand the route plotted by the Rouget yard, I think the change of scenery and more importantly racing style, will suit him better.
His only previous encounter with soft ground came at Toulouse in March, where he finished 4th behind Edoardo on ground described as Heavy (4,6 penetrometer). This was an early season meeting under the floodlights and the ground would be best described as tacky. Having raced behind the early leaders, he was never really able to get into full stride and whilst I would agree that a sounder surface is his ideal scenario, there is not enough evidence to say that he won't handle winter ground at this stage.
He was entered in a Juvenile hurdle at Newton Abbot in July, but wasn't declared at the 48-hour stage, however this does show a statement of intent and would suggest that we are likely to see him in the early weeks of the season when National Hunt racing resumes. Is he likely to win at one of the Spring festivals? Well, probably not. But there is an outside chance that he might run at those festivals and at a time when the pool of Juvenile hurdlers running in the UK is fairly shallow, he should hold his own.
Expected end of season rating: 119
Comments