The Bay Warrior

2018   Bay   Gelding

by The Gurkha (Ire)  ex  Fraulein (GB)  ( Acatenango (Ger) )

Owner:  Andy & Lizzie Cova

By the French 2000 Guineas and Sussex Stakes winner, The Gurkha, out of Cliveden Stud's high class Grade One winning Acatenango mare, Fraulein, this spiffing, good moving bay colt was bought at Tattersalls in October 2019 for a long established and valued client; the colt is a half brother to three high class guys rated over 100 in Mischief Making, Khukri and That Is The Spirit, the Dam performing to a high level in the Summer of 2002 winning the Grade One E P Taylor Stakes over ten furlongs at Woodbine on her final start for Ed Dunlop.

Not bred to be a particularly precocious two year old he will likely to be at his best as a four or five year old. Here he is about to leave the Yard being ridden by Isobel Francis at the beginning of May:

Mark put him on the track at Ascot in July and he has two further runs in Maiden company at the backend of his two year old year; the Yard remain confident that he will be better at three than at two and equally better at four than at three; and he showed this as he went up in trip to an extended nine furlongs at Wolverhampton in early January, very nearly making all and finishing a very close up fourth, here.

Two further places at Wolverhampton, one at the end of January and one in early April were sandwiched by his one disappointing run as a three year old when he didn't act down the hill at Lingfield; he got off the mark in fine style on his first run at Chelmsford right at the end of April, positively powering home under a positive ride from Oisin Murphy; the video of which is here;.

He suffered a quite significant setback in the Spring of 2021 and missed all of the Summer and Autumn; he returned to the track at the beginning of December 2021 and after three relatively modest runs to blow the cobwebs away he was second at Wolverhampton, second at Chelmsford at the beginning of April 2022 and won for the second time, again in Essex, at the end of April; He had a second slightly disrupted Summer over 2022, running twice on the turf without making much of an impact.

But getting back on the aw at his favourite Chelmsford he was an excellent second at the beginning of December 2022; he won at Chelmsford at the beginning of March 2023 and either won or was placed in six of his seven races in the Spring of 2023.

After a break of the Summer of 2023 he came back to the track in September 2023 and won at Kempton at the beginning of January 2024 and was second at Southwell two months later; he has been an excellent servant to his connections and to the Yard and has an overall 32% win and place strike rate from 38 racecourse starts.

The Bay Warrior's racing form, courtesy Racing Post

Pedigree file download

The Bay Warrior winning the Unibet Handicap, eleven furlongs, Kempton 6th January 2024 under Rhys Clutterbuck