Durston a cause for celebration at end of poignant week for Highclere’s Herbert
Victory for Durston (Sea The Moon) in yesterday’s Newcastle Gold Cup (Gr 3, 2300m) marked a moment of celebration amidst a week of mourning for Highclere Thoroughbreds’ Harry Herbert.
Herbert, himself a close confidant to the royal family, sees his regal association pass through his brother-in-law, John Warren, who was bloodstock manager to the late Queen Elizabeth II, a position held by Herbert’s father, Henry, from 1961 until his death in 2001.
“It’s been a very sad time and this result has cheered everybody within the team here at Highclere,” Herbert told ANZ Bloodstock News yesterday. “It doesn’t alter the sadness of what’s going on, but it was a great win from a horse we knew had so much talent.”
The two-tone blue silks of Highclere derive a direct connection to the Queen, whose state funeral takes place at Westminster Abbey in London on Monday, with the renowned UK-based racing syndicators sharing a name with the monarch’s beloved homebred winner of the 1974 1,000 Guineas (Gr 1, 1m) at Newmarket and Prix de Diane (Gr 1, 2100m), Highclere (Queen’s Hussar).
The mating of the filly’s dam, the stakes-performed Highlight (Borealis), to Highclere Stud stallion Queen’s Hussar (March Past) was on the advice of Henry Herbert, familiar to fans of Netflix television series The Crown as ‘Porchey’, and who held the title of the 7th Earl of Carnarvon.
He resided at Highclere Castle – more recognisable to you and I as the stunning edifice central to the popular television series, Downton Abbey.
“One of the first pedigree matings my father ever did for the Queen was that filly, and as such she named her after the Highclere Estate,” Herbert said.
“He’d asked the Queen if he could use Queen Hussar, who stood at Highclere for very little money. She feared the perception that my father was simply using his own stallion, but he said he just loved the mating on paper, believing that it was the most balanced mating.
“She went with it and she turned out to be the most brilliant filly”
Herbert, who has featured among the royal procession at Royal Ascot and was part of the Sky Sports Racing coverage at this year’s meet, reflected on the profound loss of the Queen to the racing industry.
“The Queen was incredibly knowledgeable and passionate about thoroughbreds, pedigrees and the matings of all her mares. She was still doing that with my brother-in-law only a couple of days before she passed away,” he said.
“That passion and endeavour to breed top racehorses was there right to the end, and with my father over many years I was privileged enough to see all of that in action. That relationship with him, and then John Warren, was very special.
“Worldwide racing has lost its greatest patron and ambassador.”
The Melbourne Cup (Gr 1, 3200m) is raised as a beacon for Herbert in his quest for success in Australia and, having finished 13th in the Group 1 handicap last year with Great House (Galileo), and eighth in the 2017 running of the race with Libran (Lawman), in Durston Highclere may have unearthed their most promising prospect yet to salute on the first Tuesday in November, after back-to-back cup successes at Wyong and Newcastle.
Yet just two weeks ago that eventuality looked a distant dream for Highclere and Durston after his erratic defeat in the Premier’s Cup (Gr 3, 2000m) at Randwick left connections in a quandary with the lightly raced seven-year-old, who joined Chris Waller from the Ciaron Maher and David Eustace stable ahead of this spring preparation. But a subtle gear change with a switch to a Norton Bit and the services of champion jockey James McDonald has paid dividends.
“We know how good he is and everything is coming together for him now. He got over a [suspensory] injury before he went to Australia, and now, touching wood, he’s back on an even keel and showing how good he is,” Herbert said.
“It was a terrible run [at Randwick] but he had been working really well, Chris has been delighted with him since.
“He’s going to have to keep improving in order to get into the Melbourne Cup, but it’s very much the plan. We’ll go to the Metropolitan next and I would think the Caulfield Cup would be a likely target before the Melbourne Cup.”
Durston (7 g Sea The Moon – Caribana by Hernando), who was bred by Kirsten Rausing’s Lanwades Stud – as was Zaaki (Leroidesanimaux) and Le Don De Vie (Leroidesanimaux), was given a patient ride by McDonald, before the pair exploited a gap on the rails in the closing 300 metres to powerfully move clear in the straight and win by three and a half lengths from the Peter and Paul Snowden-trained Carif (So You Think), who held on to second in a photo finish with Arapaho (Lope De Vega).
McDonald, who earlier this week committed himself to ride Loft (Adlerflug) in the Melbourne Cup, believes Durston will be a prominent player in races at the business end of the Spring Carnival.
“He’s a really nice horse,” he said post-race. “He put the writing on the wall at Wyong but his work on Tuesday was really glowing.
“He hadn’t gone backwards, certainly had gone forward, and I was pretty excited to come here and ride him today thinking he would be pretty hard to beat. He gets you out of trouble as he’s got a great turn of foot.
“Barrier one is sometimes a blessing as you don’t have too many options and you have to take what is in front of you.
“He’s a real progressive horse. I might have locked in too early [for the Melbourne Cup].”
Waller, who is unable to take up an invitation to attend the Queen’s funeral on Monday due to a close relation having contracted Covid-19, trains Elizabeth II’s homebred gelding Chalk Stream (Sea The Stars), who placed third in the Queen’s Cup (Gr 3, 2400m) at Rosehill in March.
Although Queen Elizabeth’s racing presence in Australia was limited, Herbert said she was always aware of its opportunity.
“She knew we had horses here and she was delighted with that,” he said. “John loves Australian racing and would often talk to her about the bloodstock market here and through him she would have been very tuned as to what’s going on.
“She hosted Chris Waller at the royal meeting, and I spoke to Chris this morning, he’s absolutely gutted he can’t attend her funeral.”