Biography
Atlantic Friends Racing is a small, friendly syndicate that currently have 8 horses (1 x 5 year old, 4 x 4 year old’s, 3 x 3 year old’s) in training with Nigel Hawke in Devon. We are a dual purpose syndicate with our main focus on jumping but with several of our horses looking to run under both codes. The syndicate was formed in 2019 with the purchase of 5 young horses, 3 of which ran over hurdles this season.
The current group of members was set up by Paul Willis, originally from Newcastle Upon Tyne, England but now resides an hour north of Boston in New Hampshire, USA after going over to the states on a soccer scholarship in 1984. He’s always loved jumps racing and finally committed to form AFR after attending several Cheltenham Festivals and an introduction to Nigel. AFR members are a very friendly bunch, from both sides of the Atlantic, who welcome new members with a shared love for the sport. We enjoy the social aspect of our syndicate too with a group chat, shared Google Drive folder with constantly updated photos and videos of our horses and of course matching AFR scarves, hats and hoody’s! Stable visits can be arranged to suit you, our trainer Nigel Hawke is always happy to have us in for a morning and a cup of tea on the gallops.
We had great success with our juvenile hurdler Repetitio who won at Newton Abbott and the Cheltenham December meeting before becoming our first Festival runner. He had four runs on the flat for Jim Bolger before we purchased him. He has a mark of 67 on the level which we will look to exploit this summer. He looks well treated considering he attained a mark of 130 over hurdles after his Cheltenham success.
A New Siege is a lovely big 5 year old mare by New Approach that has run in a bumper and three hurdles. She has an initial handicap mark of 105 off which we feel she is well treated. We expect her to make an impact over hurdles this coming season as she continues to strengthen and mature.
Novus Aditus is another 4 year old who has had a run on the flat and three starts over hurdles. He took more time to develop than some but finished his season well with a solid 5th in a very competitive Juvenile hurdle. (finished just behind Night Edition who was 2nd in the Fred Winter). All four in front of him have subsequently won and attained marks of 130 and above!
We also have two smart 4 year old store horses called Cider Kilt and Geordie Washington. Cider Kilt is by four time Ascot Gold Cup winner Yeats, out of a half-sister to 1996 Cheltenham Gold Cup Winner Imperial Call. He is a fantastic looking horse who has been in work and will run in a bumper this coming season. He is 16.3hh with lots of scope to grow, he is no doubt a chaser in the making.
Geordie Washington is another big, strapping gelding by Sageburg, a top NH sire in France who is now making waves in the UK. Another big lad, he has taken time to grow into his frame but looks to be another who will be at his best over fences in time.
Our newest recruits are three 3 year olds that we again bought from Jim Bolger. They are Theocrat, a colt by Teofilo and Historic Heart and Peat Moss, both geldings by Fracas. Historic Heart is the only one to have run, he ran once on the flat at Curragh. He was beaten just 10 lengths by Aiden O'brien's Arizona who went on to win the Group 2 Coventry Stakes, finish 2nd in the Group 1 Dewhurst stakes before being beaten just 1 3/4 lengths into 5th in the Breeders Cup Juvenile!
All three look smart and have shown plenty of ability at home. They've schooled in preparation for Juvenile hurdles but will probably have their first runs on the flat beforehand.
Each share in our syndicate costs £5,000 for a 1% share in our 8 horses, working out at just £625 per horse. The term of contract runs from 1st July 2020 through to 30th June 2021. All syndicate owners from AFR’s first season are committed to this coming season based on the experience, joy and success they’ve all enjoyed in 2019.
We use a google drive doc to post video, photo and written updates to all our members, you can view it below to get an idea of what you can expect.
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/148vcP4C2GjVHBg-2nMOXLP0MbseCEF8C
For more information email [email protected] or call +1 603 944 2569
