A Kiss from a Rose, and all smiles for Wicksey

Wed 11 Feb 2026

Winner 24 of 2026: ROSEMARY’S ROSE, trained by Rod Millman, and ridden by Robert Havlin. The ‘Read Meg Nicholls' Blog At betmgm.co.uk Classified Stakes (Div I)’ over 1 Mile at Lingfield.

As the saying goes, good things come to those who wait, and yes, we have been incredibly patient with our filly, by Belardo, who has shown some good form in the past without winning, but struggled to stay consistent. As we suggested beforehand, Rod was keen for her to be ridden a bit differently, more cold, as they say in the racing world, just to help her settle in the crucial parts of the race and to see her race out.

Her experienced jockey on board, Robert Havlin, never panicked after missing the start, probably a bit more than we anticipated, and settled in last place of the 7-runner field.

Despite the leading pair not setting overly strong fractions, Rosemary’s Rose managed to storm home from last to first in the final furlong and was well on top on the line, to win by a neck.

Another Black Friday Graduate powering to victory!

Watch the full race replay here: https://www.attheraces.com/racecard/Lingfield/10-February-2026/1418

Timeform rated her victory with a P57+: "May have gone without the hood this time but settled better than has been the case with exaggerated waiting tactics employed, bouncing back from a spell in the doldrums and opening her account; steadied at the start, in rear, still plenty to do entering straight, stayed on to lead dying strides; did well under the circumstances (overcame pace bias) and isn't long with this yard, so should remain of interest in similarly low-grade affairs."

Robert Havlin, after the race: "Well done, everyone, fantastic to see her get her head in front! Rod did get the tactics spot on, as he asked me to ride her cold, and this is probably the way to ride her. She relaxed nicely at the back of the field, and once she saw daylight when turning for home, she picked up well. We made good headway, and I always knew we would get there inside the final furlong. We did get away with the layout of the track today, but going forward, she would probably enjoy a more galloping track."

Follow the link for the official winning photos: https://lingfieldracingpix.zenfoliosite.com/galleries/2026/february-1/260210-10th-february-2026?ct=2

Winner 25 of 2026: WICKSEY, trained by Ben Haslam, and ridden by Andrew Mulllen. The ‘Read Meg Nicholls' Blog At betmgm.co.uk Handicap’ over 1m 4½ furlongs at Newcastle.

Our Black Friday graduate, Wicksey, might have taken his time learning the game, but he is clearly not wasting any time catching up on missed opportunities. Only 6 days ago, he surprised us with an impressive performance to win by over 4 lengths on handicap debut, and after a step up in trip, he confirmed the form with another strong performance, defying his winner’s penalty.

Andrew Mullen rode our son of Expert Eye more positively over the extended mile and a half, and sat just off the leaders in a slowly run race, before disputing the lead ½ mile from home. An incredibly gutsy performance from our lightly raced gelding, as he kept finding in the closing stages, seeing off all challenges in the final hundred yards to win by 1 1/4 lengths.

The most genuine head carriage out there?

Watch the full race replay of his back-to-back victory via the link below: https://www.attheraces.com/racecard/Newcastle/10-February-2026/1645

Timeform rated his victory with a t67: "Followed up from last time and is going the right way now, 2 from 2 in handicaps and seeing out the longer trip with the emphasis on speed; close up, went on over 3f out, ridden out; he's not really bred to get any further."

A sight we love to see, a bunch of very happy owners:

Official winning photos will show here when uploaded: https://www.grossick.co.uk/p/80532khg/C245150604/newcastle