Ed Walker’s team poised for ‘exciting’ season to start Ed Walker will be drawn to all corners of the world when the British Flat campaign officially kicks off on Saturday. Meydan, Curragh and Kempton are three destinations where the Kingsdown Stables handler could taste Pattern success should his globetrotting team produce their best work. He has two runners on Dubai World Cup night, with Fort George facing domestic rivals Ombudsman, Quddwah, Dividend and Make Me King in the Dubai Turf, while Northern Champion takes his chance in the Al Quoz Sprint. “We know he stays a mile and a half, in trip he is versatile and the start will be important for him and hopefully he can be handy enough,” Walker said about Fort George, who pushed serial Group winner Rebel’s Romance all the way on his last start. “He’s been in flying form over there, we are really looking forward to it, it’s a big step up again, but it was a huge run against Rebel’s Romance and we are very hopeful he can feature and pick up some big prize-money. “For about three or four strides it was incredibly exciting, he really did serve it up to him. He wasn’t ultimately good enough, but there isn’t many Rebel’s Romances in the world, so it was a huge performance.” On Northern Champion, he added: “He’s really thrived. This guy has done great. “If they get too much rain I think it is going to be a major problem. He really wants to skip off that ground and I wouldn’t be mad about his chances if it went soft. “It’s a big roll of the dice and he will be back against his own age group when he gets back to the UK, and he will be targeted at the Commonwealth Cup, so we will see how he fares. “We are very lucky. We have a strong team of horses heading into the season. Anyone who isn’t excited this time of year is in for a long season. We are all full of the joys of spring at the moment.” Ten Bob Tony, who came third in last season’s Prix de la Foret, will start his season in Ireland and could face a big gun of Aidan O’Brien’s in the 1xBet.ie Supports Irish Racing Gladness Stakes at the Curragh. “He is a legend, a real yard favourite and a very special horse,” Walker said. “He has flown the flag at the highest level and he really is a seven-furlong, soft ground specialist, which makes life tricky. “Not really sure who is going to ride him, but he’s really well, he goes well fresh and he’s a little bit inconsistent, but when he’s got his conditions he’s a very good horse. “We know how good he is, he was third in a Foret. He’s a very good horse so I think people will be fearing him. He’s a very solid yard stone.” Walker will be double-handed in the Snowdrop Fillies’ Stakes on the all-weather at Kempton as American Gal and Never Let Go line up together over a mile. “They are two very exciting fillies, two very similar fillies,” he said. “I think Never Let Go will stay a little bit further than American Gal, but both are big fillies who have really filled their frames from three to four and I think there should be significant improvement for them both. “You don’t really want to run two nice fillies against each other, but you have to start somewhere and it will blow the cobwebs away and we can go from there. “They’ve both won on the all-weather and I think they will both be absolutely fine. It is a competitive race and we will see where we are. “American Gal needed her first run last year and we’ll see whether we have got her a bit straighter this time, I think. I think both will come on for the run, but they look fantastic for the time of year and we are very happy.” Walker has high hopes for American Gal for the upcoming season and is confident Never Let Go can earn black type in 2026. “We will aim pretty high with American Gal,” he said. “She’s already a stakes winner so there is nothing to lose and everything to gain so she will be campaigning (at that level). “Win, lose or draw she will run in the Dahlia (at Newmarket) next, with an eye on the Duchess of Cambridge at Royal Ascot and those sort of races. “We need to try to win a Group Three and a Group Two and get some Group One form. I think that’s well within her capabilities. “Never Let Go has not yet won a stakes race and she was disappointing on her last run last year, but I think she is well capable of winning a Listed race and that’s our first target. “Once that is done, we can relax and enjoy the rest of the season.”
