Bloom has Royal Ascot plans for Poniros and Lake Forest
Few will have enjoyed a better six months than the Brighton & Hove Albion supremo and as the Seagulls continue to soar in the Premier League, he has enjoyed big-race success across the globe with his carefully selected team of equine talent.
A third Champion Chase may have eluded flagship veteran Energumene, but Poniros' unforgettable 100-1 Triumph Hurdle success was one to celebrate at Prestbury Park, while on the Flat, Lake Forest brought home a £2.8million bounty when making a daring raid on Australia's prestigious Golden Eagle in early November.
Both of those victors are central to summer plans where the 55-year-old seeks to add to the Royal Ascot triumphs of High Standing (Wokingham Stakes, 2009) and dual Queen Alexandra Stakes scorer Stratum (2021 and 2021).
Bloom's racing manager Sean Graham said: 'Royal Ascot is a meeting Tony loves and enjoys going to. A lot of his Flat horses, if they are good enough, that's the meeting where the trainers are asked if they can get them there if it fits into their plan.
'I think the success is down to patience and Tony and Ian (McAleavy) don't rush. They leave their trainers to train them the way they want to train them and all the horses we've had over the years have always had a break after the sales.
'Penhill, Withhold, Librisa Breeze and Stratum – all of them have had breaks after the sales just to give them a bit of time to wind down.
'Touch wood, the horses have been fit and healthy and especially we've been very lucky with the horses we've had with William Haggas.'
It is Somerville Lodge handler Haggas who is plotting Lake Forest's course to the opening race of the Royal meeting – the Queen Anne Stakes.
The summer showpiece is also on the agenda for Poniros, who after his Triumph Hurdle heroics will head to the Punchestown Festival for their juvenile equivalent before switching attentions to the level, with the Ascot Stakes the focal point of the four-year-old's Flat campaign.
'He goes to Punchestown for their Grade One and if all goes to plan, then it will be Royal Ascot for the two-and-a-half-mile handicap on the Tuesday,' added Graham.
'He was certainly bought with dual purpose in mind and it was never going to be a rush with Poniros. We always had it in the back of our mind he would make a decent handicapper during the summer because the prize-money for those races is incredible.'
Neither Bloom or Graham were in attendance at Prestbury Park when 100-1 shot Poniros remarkably downed hotpots Lulamba and East India Dock on his first hurdling start in the Gold Cup-day opener.
And having already proven 200,000 guineas well spent, connections are dreaming of what more could come with Willie Mullins guiding his career.
100-1 WINNER and on hurdling DEBUT!
Poniros has NEVER jumped a single hurdle in public and gets up on the line to win the JCB Triumph Hurdle for Jonjo O'Neill Jnr 😮 pic.twitter.com/vCpt5KOrQo
— CheltenhamRacecourse (@CheltenhamRaces) March 14, 2025
Graham added: 'In our wildest dreams we couldn't have seen Poniros winning the Triumph Hurdle first time out and against good horses. Lulamba had the one start over hurdles at Ascot, East India Dock had had three and we were just hoping the horse would gain a little experience.
'Finishing sixth or seventh would have been brilliant but winning it was unbelievable and it was an incredible performance. If he can do that over hurdles when he's not fully tuned up, what is he going to be capable of when he is tuned up.
'It just proves that having horses with Willie Mullins, it doesn't surprise you. If anyone was going to win a Triumph Hurdle first time out, it was Willie Mullins.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
BBC News
25 minutes ago
- BBC News
Memorial football match held for Shoreham air crash victims
A memorial football match has taken place to mark the 10th anniversary of two men killed in the Shoreham air United FC players Jacob Schilt and Matthew Grimstone had been on their way to a game when a Hawker Hunter jet crashed on the A27 during the Shoreham Air Show in August two 23-year-olds were among 11 men who lost their lives in the incident, which also left another 13 people injured. Monday's match in their honour took place between the pair's former primary schools in Brighton and Hove. Matt Evans is a higher level teaching assistant and football coach at Balfour Primary, which is Matthew Grimstone's old explained the importance of their now annual clash against Patcham Primary, which Jacob Schilt attended."A memorial match between Balfour and Patcham has taken place every year since the crash happened and I think it's great that Matt and Jacob's legacy and positivity gets to live on through the children," he said. First team coach at Worthing United when disaster struck he recalled the impact the pair's death had on the team. "I was waiting for them at the ground on that day in 2015 but they never arrived," he said. "That feeling of mourning was unlike anything I've ever experienced and we still miss them to this day." Also on the side lines at Monday's game was Jacob's mother Caroline Schlit who said she thought it was "so lovely that the two schools want to keep the memory of Matthew and Jacob alive".Matthew's mother Sue Grimstone added that her son would have been very happy with the result of the match which saw Balfour come out on top."He will have been watching and thinking 'well done boys', " she said. "It was a good game."
Rhyl Journal
2 hours ago
- Rhyl Journal
Peter Easterby – a giant of the Yorkshire racing scene
In a training career spanning 46 years, Easterby won major races at all the premier meetings under both codes – Cheltenham, Aintree, Royal Ascot, York and Doncaster. When he handed the reins to his son, Tim, in 1996, the only real change was the name on the licence as it was basically business as usual. It was a move typical of him that with a younger man at the helm, it would give Habton Grange stables in North Yorkshire the impetus, if any was needed, as the millennium approached. The transition was not only seamless, but barely noticeable with the winners being churned out as they always had been. Easterby, christened Miles Henry, had the rare achievement of sending out more than 1,000 winners under both codes, having taken up training in 1950 following the completion of his National Service. His career ran parallel for decades with his brother Mick, two years his junior. The pair have been giants of the racing scene in Yorkshire – and reputed to own a lot of it between them. Peter Easterby was champion jumps trainer for three consecutive seasons from 1978 to 1981 and had a total of 13 Cheltenham Festival winners in just 10 years. Five Champion Hurdles and two Cheltenham Gold Cups were his best achievements over jumps, while handicaps were his territory on the Flat with the Lincoln, Chester Cup, Ebor and Ayr Gold Cup among the many he farmed. Born on August 5, 1929, he learnt his trade assisting his uncle Walter and honed his skills during a three-year stint with Irishman Frank Hartigan at Weyhill in Hampshire. He first held a licence in 1950 and showed his intent when in 1951 he cycled five miles to get a lift in a horse box to the Newmarket sales. He got back home via a furniture van, bus and bike. He spent £380 on three yearlings and had sold them all within 24 hours. His first winner came over jumps in 1953 and his first on the level in 1955. His breakthrough year was 1965 when he won the Lincoln at Doncaster with Old Tom and the King's Stand Stakes at Royal Ascot with Goldhill. Two years later, he won the Champion Hurdle for the first time with Saucy Kit, a horse he bought at the sales for 700 guineas as a three-year-old. Easterby paid 1,100 guineas for Night Nurse, who was his favourite horse, winning the Champion Hurdle in 1976 and 1977. He was not afraid to have a good bet and admitted backing Night Nurse three times before the 1977 renewal after his price drifted as it was felt he would not handle the heavy ground. Easterby knew different. Sea Pigeon, who joined his team during the winter of 1976-77 from Gordon Richards, took the crown in 1980 and 1981 after finishing second in the two previous years. He was also a classy Flat performer, winning the Chester Cup in 1977 and 1978 plus three Vaux Gold Tankards and the Ebor under top weight of 10st in 1979, albeit after a heart-stopping photo finish. Easterby had a permanent reminder of his two superstars as they were buried side by side less than 50 yards from his office window. Night Nurse went close to completing the Champion/Gold Cup double when runner-up to stablemate Little Owl in 1981. Alverton had won chasing's blue riband prize for Easterby in 1979. Other famous names in an enormous list of his big-race winners and popular performers included Bronze Hill, Sonnen Gold, Clayside and Ryeman. His legacy lives on with the highly-successful Tim, grandson William and the rest of the Easterby dynasty that will continue to grace Yorkshire and the racing world beyond.
North Wales Chronicle
5 hours ago
- North Wales Chronicle
Peter Easterby – a giant of the Yorkshire racing scene
In a training career spanning 46 years, Easterby won major races at all the premier meetings under both codes – Cheltenham, Aintree, Royal Ascot, York and Doncaster. When he handed the reins to his son, Tim, in 1996, the only real change was the name on the licence as it was basically business as usual. It was a move typical of him that with a younger man at the helm, it would give Habton Grange stables in North Yorkshire the impetus, if any was needed, as the millennium approached. The transition was not only seamless, but barely noticeable with the winners being churned out as they always had been. Easterby, christened Miles Henry, had the rare achievement of sending out more than 1,000 winners under both codes, having taken up training in 1950 following the completion of his National Service. His career ran parallel for decades with his brother Mick, two years his junior. The pair have been giants of the racing scene in Yorkshire – and reputed to own a lot of it between them. Peter Easterby was champion jumps trainer for three consecutive seasons from 1978 to 1981 and had a total of 13 Cheltenham Festival winners in just 10 years. Five Champion Hurdles and two Cheltenham Gold Cups were his best achievements over jumps, while handicaps were his territory on the Flat with the Lincoln, Chester Cup, Ebor and Ayr Gold Cup among the many he farmed. Born on August 5, 1929, he learnt his trade assisting his uncle Walter and honed his skills during a three-year stint with Irishman Frank Hartigan at Weyhill in Hampshire. He first held a licence in 1950 and showed his intent when in 1951 he cycled five miles to get a lift in a horse box to the Newmarket sales. He got back home via a furniture van, bus and bike. He spent £380 on three yearlings and had sold them all within 24 hours. His first winner came over jumps in 1953 and his first on the level in 1955. His breakthrough year was 1965 when he won the Lincoln at Doncaster with Old Tom and the King's Stand Stakes at Royal Ascot with Goldhill. Two years later, he won the Champion Hurdle for the first time with Saucy Kit, a horse he bought at the sales for 700 guineas as a three-year-old. Easterby paid 1,100 guineas for Night Nurse, who was his favourite horse, winning the Champion Hurdle in 1976 and 1977. He was not afraid to have a good bet and admitted backing Night Nurse three times before the 1977 renewal after his price drifted as it was felt he would not handle the heavy ground. Easterby knew different. Sea Pigeon, who joined his team during the winter of 1976-77 from Gordon Richards, took the crown in 1980 and 1981 after finishing second in the two previous years. He was also a classy Flat performer, winning the Chester Cup in 1977 and 1978 plus three Vaux Gold Tankards and the Ebor under top weight of 10st in 1979, albeit after a heart-stopping photo finish. Easterby had a permanent reminder of his two superstars as they were buried side by side less than 50 yards from his office window. Night Nurse went close to completing the Champion/Gold Cup double when runner-up to stablemate Little Owl in 1981. Alverton had won chasing's blue riband prize for Easterby in 1979. Other famous names in an enormous list of his big-race winners and popular performers included Bronze Hill, Sonnen Gold, Clayside and Ryeman. His legacy lives on with the highly-successful Tim, grandson William and the rest of the Easterby dynasty that will continue to grace Yorkshire and the racing world beyond.
