Our Stable

Oliver Show has been a standout performer since joining Pompey Ventures and transferring to Saffron House Stables for 30,000 Guineas. In his seven starts under our ownership, he has delivered an impressive record, securing three wins and placing second and third in other outings. His total earnings have exceeded £55,378, a remarkable achievement. George and his team have done an exceptional job with Ollie, and he has been an absolute pleasure to work with. While it will be a bittersweet moment when he goes through the ring, our primary responsibility is to deliver a significant return for our clients. Ollie has been an incredibly fun horse to be involved with, and we consider ourselves incredibly fortunate to have experienced this unforgettable journey.

Media Shooter came to us with high praise, recommended by our good friend Kieran Kourdache. He started off with a handicap mark of 73 and has impressively improved 14lbs to his current mark of 87. Along the way, he has secured three wins and placed second and third in other races. A standout moment was his victory in the prestigious Pommery Royal Gold Cup at Musselburgh. Media Shooter holds a special place in the hearts of everyone at Pompey Ventures. From the very beginning, he has been a pleasure to work with and has consistently exceeded expectations. He is a true credit to the team at Spigot Lodge, and we are all keenly aware of what a star he has become.

Empowered Queen was purchased for £60,000 at the Goffs Breeze-Up Sale, and looked every inch a quick and racy filly. However, her performances in her first three runs have been somewhat disappointing. She has shown signs of keenness both at home and in her races, and it has taken time for her to fully settle and to race in the correct manner. On pedigree we believe she will continue to improve with stepping up to 7 furlongs. While her progress has not been as expected at this stage, we remain very optimistic that she can will races for Pompey Ventures.

Tuco Salamanca was privately sourced from Ireland through our partner, David Byrne. A well-built son of Belardo, he has plenty of quality being out of a Dansili mare. Tuco is a straightforward horse who takes his work well. He made his debut at Wolverhampton, where his inexperience showed missing the start. He was positioned too far back on a track that favours front-runners which meant he was never going to trouble the judge. Since then, we have gelded Tuco, a move we hope will unlock further improvement. We expect him to improve with racing and he is a horse we hope will give Pompey Ventures owners many enjoyable days on the track.

Kranjcar is a horse we acquired in partnership with Sam Haggas of Hurworth Bloodstock. Purchased for £150,000 as a yearling from the John Dance dispersal, he is an impressive horse with substantial size and excellent conformation, which is why both Sam Haggas and George Boughey held him in such high regard. While he has taken some time to mature, he remains very much a work in progress. After gelding him, which helped reduce some of his weight, we are confident that he will develop into a horse to enjoy in 2025. Kranjcar has a great temperament, and his kind nature makes him a pleasure to work with.

Cosmic Force was suggested to us by George Boughey. He looked compact and neat and like a horse that would be ready to rock n roll straight away having had just the one run for previous connections over 6f at Windsor. Since joining our team, he has had two starts and has been assigned an opening mark of 65. He has taken a while to grasp the hang of things and showed signs of being colty in the prelims. After his third run, we decided to geld him, it has taken a while for him to regain his mojo. He is currently having a break and our plan is to target all-weather handicaps in the New Year. The team at Pompey Ventures is confident that our patience will be rewarded, and we expect to see him in the winner's enclosure very soon.

Bruce Banner was acquired for 16,000 Guineas from Tattersalls Book 1. From the moment we purchased him, we knew he would require time and patience, as he was quite unfurnished and gangly. He has always shown a lot of character, and we believe he will make significant progress next year. His dam, Special Meaning, placed second in a Group 3 over 1m3f. With racing experience, time, and a chance to follow in his dam’s footsteps trip-wise, we are confident that Bruce Banner will take a big step forward in 2025. This year has been a learning process, allowing us to carefully manage Brucey's growth as he fills out his large frame.

This was without doubt our value pick of the Breeze ups. A filly who breezed well and got better the further she went. It also helps that she is built like a colt! She has settled in great at Spigot Lodge and we are hoping to have her on the track the latter part of the year. A relation to ‘Significantly’ who Karl also trained. Karl currently trains the two highest rated progeny of Soldiers Call, both of which are fillies.

This nephew to Holloway Boy, rated 110 & recent winner of the Group 3 Superior Mile at Haydock, comes highly recommended by Karl & was Kieran Kourdache's NAP of the Tattersalls Somerville Sale. Karl Burke trained both the dam and brother of the dam - Holloway Boy. Our lad is a very similar model to Holloway Bay, and Kieran was immediately struck by the similarities. He is a middle season horse who’s likely to be starting over 7f and we are very excited about him! He is now being ridden at the pre trainers, Jamie Lloyd, and we are hearing very good reports about him.

We recently acquired a Starman colt from the Goffs Premier Sale, out of a Zoffany mare. He stood out as an exceptional type, with the team considering him a must-have. This colt possesses an impressive physique, particularly his powerful hindquarters, suggesting significant strength and speed. He also displayed excellent balance and a robust shoulder. His temperament is outstanding, and he comes across as a kind horse eager to please, which will undoubtedly be beneficial for his development. His half-brother, Messidor, by Vadamos, achieved a rating of 93 and won twice showing significant ability. Our colt appears to be early type and looks to have every chance of becoming a "Donni rocket." He has been pleasing our trusted pre-trainer, Matt Hampton, and his wife, Felicity, and all indications are positive so far. The plan is to race him when he's ready, under the guidance of Ollie Sangster at the historic Manton estate.

Our first Irish based horse!🇮🇪 A gorgeous daughter of Kodi Bear, she looks a sharp early type. We loved this filly and after finding out Jack Davison was set to buy her, we thought it made perfect sense to support Jack, as a young trainer, who is a perfect fit for PV, by purchasing her together. Davison loved this filly. He owned the half sister who had talent but was very headstrong and unfortunately got injured before showing it on track. Jack felt our Kodi Bear was a much nicer horse physically and looked better than the sister. He was set to buy her and was willing to pay what he had to to get her in his yard. Therefore it made perfect sense to send her to Jack and he has retained a large share himself in this filly. We've had frequent requests to expand Pompey Ventures racing syndicates overseas & this was an opportunity we couldn't turn down. There is a race on St Patrick's weekend in Ireland where we would love to start her career & take a team of PV owners over to have a great day out.

This ‘intelligent’ and ‘athletic’ daughter of Pompey Ventures favourite stallion, Sands of Mali, was again purchased with Karl Burke’s head travelling lad Kieran Kourdache. Her page jumped out at us, and put her straight to the top of our short list. The dam produced 2 winners from 3 foals of racing age. 2 by Biraaj and one by Coulsty. For the dam to have produced horses to win races from poor stallions we felt that from an upgraded stallion such as Sands of Mali she could produce a much nicer horse & obviously given our success with Sands of Mali offspring this year, we were always going to be keen on her. However when viewing her, we felt she also had an excellent physical to go alongside her page and that made her a must have for us. She looks a nice strong 2Yo who we would expect to be out over the sprint trips fairly early on for the excellent 2YO trainer Karl Burke. We were delighted to only have to give €22,000 for her. This means she will qualify for Band D restricted races next year. Last year we purchased one horse from this sale… Bob Mali. Our unbeaten two year old colt who is also by Sands of Mali. We hope she will further extend our two year old success with the stallion.

A beautiful moving son of Dandy Man which we were happy paying up to €22,000 for (to keep in Band D races). We genuinely believe we have stolen this lad. The nick of Dandy Man & Canford Cliffs’ mares has a 50% strike rate of producing horses with a OR of 87+. Dave Byrne purchased him and loved him as a physical. He said ‘He is a pure athlete. The way he moves from A to B is outstanding. I genuinely can’t believe we didn’t have to go out of Band D restrictions to get him.’ Dave purchased Bob Mail this time last year for €16,000 and has again kept a considerable share in this lad himself. He has been entered for the Goffs Millions & Bonus races, of which there will be AT LEAST two restricted Band D maidens carrying a healthy €50,000 reward to the winner.

We feel there is value straight from the word GO with this lad as New Bay’s covering fee is currently €75,000. He is from an excellent family and the first foal out of a mare that would’ve cost borderline 7 figures. The market for part 2 of the Goffs Orby sale was very weak, as we had hoped. With our budget, it is vital that we play when we think the market is wrong/weak so that we can maximise value for our owners. We certainly believe this horse is value at €22,000. A big powerful colt that has been entered for the Goffs Millions & Bonus races, of which there will be AT LEAST two restricted Band D maidens carrying a healthy €50,000 reward to the winner. Ollie has kept a sizeable share in this lad and is very happy to be welcoming another Pompey Ventures horse to our successful Manton team.

Bob Mali, is by one of our favourite emerging stallions Sands of Mali. Bob was purchased for €16,000 from Tattersalls Ireland. He is currently unbeaten with an impeccable record of 3 from 3, Bob has been the dream syndicate horse. Early in the year, he showed considerable potential, though a minor setback required us to be patient and give him time. The wait was well worth it, as he made an impressive winning debut at Ayr, securing an emphatic victory much to the delight of the syndicate, who turned out in full force for what was an unforgettable day. He followed this with another strong performance at Chester, coming from off the pace to win convincingly. Bob Mali faced his toughest challenge yet in the Joan Snow Memorial Conditions Stakes at Salisbury, where he took on the unbeaten Richard Hannon filly, Persian Spirit, who came with a lofty reputation. Ridden prominently by James Doyle who was determined not to allow Persian Spirit too much of a lead. Bob displayed a sublime turn of foot winning stylishly. This career-best effort earned him a Timeform rating of 94.

Sands Of Marra, a breeze-up purchase from Goffs, Marra as he is affectionately known has been an incredibly enjoyable syndicate horse for all involved. He showed promise on his debut at Salisbury, making a strong impression at the 2-furlong pole and looking like the potential winner before finishing 4th only beaten 3 lengths. Marra then went on to Windsor, where he delivered a memorable victory for his syndicate members, providing us all with a truly magical day. Then we went to Goodwood for The Molecomb, he faced tougher competition, but the team relished the sunshine and breathtaking surroundings. In a subsequent Novice race at Kempton, he was not beaten far finishing 3rd and we are planning to give him one more run before heading to the Autumn Horses in Training sale.