By Adam Houghton
The team at Opulence Thoroughbreds is said to be “on cloud nine still” following the success of Sukanya in Saturday's G3 Dubai Duty Free Stakes at Newbury, with a decision on whether the daughter of Havana Grey will be supplemented for next week's 1,000 Guineas set to be made in the coming days.
“My first reaction is I would like to go for the Irish 1,000 Guineas,” said trainer Jack Channon in the immediate aftermath of that victory in the Classic trial better known as the Fred Darling. “We'll see and I will discuss it with the owners. But, if I have to have my arm twisted, I won't complain at having a runner at Newmarket.”
So, will Ed Brown, racing and communications manager at Opulence, be using his powers of persuasion to try and talk Channon into providing the syndicate with its first British Classic runner? Or will the Fred Darling winnings be staying in the cookie jar, in favour of a tilt at the Irish Guineas for which Sukanya already holds an entry?
“We're keeping our options open,” says Brown, playing both questions back with a straight bat. “It's a tough one at the moment, but it's a lovely problem to have. She's come out of the race really well, so we'll be sitting down this week, myself and the guys at Opulence, along with Jack's team, and we'll get a plan firmly in place.”
He adds, “From our perspective, it's just so exciting for a relatively new syndicate to have those opportunities. I have to remind our owners that these things come around once in a blue moon. We have to enjoy it while we can – and we're certainly going to.”
Indeed, there were joyous scenes to be witnessed at Newbury on Saturday when Sukanya took the measure of the well-touted Touleen (Lope De Vega) to cause a bit of an upset at 16/1. Not that it came as that much of a surprise to those closest to her, with Channon's other post-race comments including the assertion that he couldn't see his star filly finishing outside of the first three beforehand.
“She's a filly that we've always held in high regard,” Brown acknowledges. “When you look at her form last year, she had a great campaign. She was three and a half lengths behind Precise in the [G3] Prestige Stakes at Goodwood, which was strong form, and then she finished second behind Diamond Necklace in the Listed race at Leopardstown and achieved black type.
“She needed to do a bit of strengthening and maturing from two to three, which we started to see over the winter break. When she came back into work, her work was incredibly impressive – and it always has been, really. The team were happy with the prep that she'd had, so we went into the race hoping to see her run with credit and give us a good showing. That she certainly did!”
He continues, “We're on cloud nine still. To get that Group success under our belt and now kick on with her this year, it's just an incredibly exciting situation to be in. And to have so many owners in attendance with us on Saturday made it even sweeter. It's a great team of 10-15 people with Sukanya and they're just over the moon.
“A lots of the owners in there travelled over to Ireland with her last season and I think that's what it's all about, really. We want to get as many people into racing as we can and to see the syndicate competing on the biggest stage, battling against some of the big names in the sport and having success. It was a day of which dreams are made on Saturday and, hopefully, we'll have many more moving forward.”
Founded in 2020, Opulence Thoroughbreds continues to go “from strength to strength”, in the words of Brown, as the syndicate now moves into its sixth year. The running tally on the Opulence website reveals that the syndicate has had 105 winners and won over £1.6 million in prize-money since its inception, with the highlight so far coming courtesy of Royal Fixation (Palace Pier), the winner of the G2 Lowther Stakes at York's Ebor Festival.
“Full credit to the team here that have stuck with it every year,” Brown says of Opulence's evolution. “Every year you're learning more and more. Of course, you need to have a bit of luck in finding a flagbearer and the next Opulence superstar, but how far we've come is testament to the hours that the team put in here, and have done over the years.
“The huge highlight last year was finally achieving Group success with Royal Fixation, which was just amazing. She was a fantastic horse for us. To provide our syndicate members, some of whom have been with us right from the beginning, with those success stories, and to repay them almost for their commitment to us, it makes it even sweeter.”
Of course, Royal Fixation is no longer part of the Opulence outfit, having been sold privately to Forz Europe after her third-place finish in September's G1 Cheveley Park Stakes at Newmarket. It begs the question of what the future might hold for Sukanya after she announced herself as a potential top-level contender at Newbury.
Would the team at Opulence be prepared to part with her if the right offer came on the table?
“Never say never in this game but, because of the way in which she won, she's an incredibly exciting prospect for us to have this year,” says Brown. “At the moment, we're fully on board and looking forward to planning out the next steps and the rest of her campaign.
“It's all about giving our owners an experience that they'll cherish for the foreseeable. It's all systems go and the sky is the limit for her. She's really improved this year and we want to give her the opportunity to continue to do so.”
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