Regent's Stroll: what do we know about the record-breaking £660,000 buy and can he rise to jumps stardom?

Who is he?

Regent's Stroll is a five-year-old gelded son of renowned jumps sire Walk In The Park out of an unraced mare called Pretty Puttens. While his dam did not grace the track, she has produced some smart jumps performers already.

He's a half-brother to popular performer Didtheyleaveuoutto, who is a six-time winner, and a full-brother to four-time scorer Are U Wise To That. 

Regent's Stroll is also related to Denman, as his dam is a half-sister to the Cheltenham Gold Cup and dual Hennessy Gold Cup winner.

What has he achieved so far?

While he has a long way to go to match Denman's exploits, Regent's Stroll has made a perfect start to his racing career.

Having shown his raw talent when making a winning bumper debut last November, after he was bought for £175,000 at the 2022 Goffs UK Spring stores sale, he then took his form to a new level at Newbury in March this year.

Sent off the 7-2 joint-favourite for the valuable Goffs UK Spring Sale Bumper, he easily accounted for his 19 rivals when scoring by five lengths under Harry Cobden.

After it was announced his owner Chris Giles was stepping back from the sport, he was subsequently bought for £660,000 on Monday. He will continue to be trained by Paul Nicholls for owners including John Hales, Ged Mason, Sir Alex Ferguson, and Neil and Alfie Smith.

Coral have since priced him at 40-1 to follow in Denman's footsteps and win the Cheltenham Gold Cup by 2028, while he is a 33-1 shot for next year's Gallagher Novices' Hurdle with the same firm.

What has been said about him?

Paul Nicholls, speaking after his £660,000 purchase at the Goffs Summer Sale on Monday
Obviously we’ve always liked him; gorgeous horse, great sire, great family, great damline. He was never flashy at home, he’s more of a galloper, so you never know with those horses. He won well at Ascot and was then very impressive giving weight away at Newbury. Ultimately he’ll be a three-miler as there’s loads of stamina in that pedigree. He’s jumped at home for two years so he’s a ready-made novice hurdler. I’ve said to the guys this year isn’t about aiming high, we bought him to go chasing in the future. We’ve done well in the Challow [Hurdle] at Christmas, so if we get a couple of runs into him we’ll build him up to that and see where we go. Hopefully he’ll run in a Gold Cup one day.

Regent's Stroll: will remain with Paul Nicholls after being bought for £660,000 at Goffs on MondayCredit: Goffs UK

Charlie Davies, assistant trainer to Paul Nicholls, speaking after his Goffs UK Spring Sale Bumper win in March
We've always thought Regent's Stroll was very smart, but we were nervous about having to give most of them a stone. He's obviously very good and you couldn't be more impressed with that. He was doing his best work at the end and that would be it for the season – what more does he need to do? Who knows what the future holds, but I'd say he's the best bumper horse we have and if he hadn't been qualified for this race, he may have gone for a championship bumper at Cheltenham or Aintree.

Tim Mitchell's Racing Post analysis of his Newbury win
A cosy winner of an Ascot bumper on debut in November, had to concede weight all round, being a year older than his rivals and having a 4lb penalty, but he stayed on best – having been slightly outpaced early in the straight – for an impressive win. He's from the family of Denman and connections look to have a very exciting novice hurdler for next season.

Analysis: chasing looks the aim but he has some way to go first

Regent's Stroll took plenty of stoking up but was strongest at the line to win both of his bumpers, going clear in the final furlong after looking outpaced to score by five lengths in the second of those.

The form of those victories is nothing special, with just two subsequent winners from the 24 rivals he beat, which is shown by the fact he only achieved a Racing Post Rating of 116 despite giving upwards of 10lb away all round at Newbury.

Paul Nicholls' assistant Charlie Davies described him as "the best bumper horse we have" after his win at Newbury, yet his RPR of 116 was just 1lb higher than what stablemate Teeshan, who finished 12th in the Champion Bumper, achieved at Exeter in February and nowhere near as good as Cheltenham Festival winner Jasmin De Vaux's debut victory (128) – it was 21lb below what Willie Mullins' runner was awarded for his festival success, too.

However, he's been bought with the future in mind and connections can take some comfort from the fact that figure was just 1lb below what Denman achieved when landing a novice hurdle at Wincanton on his debut.

Being a relation to Denman, as well as brother to Are U Wise To That, it's likely his future lies over fences but he's going to have to go some way over hurdles to start justifying his huge price tag.

It wouldn't be a surprise to see him head straight for the Persian War Novices' Hurdle at Chepstow in October before bidding to give Nicholls a record-extending seventh victory in the Challow at Newbury in December, while the Gallagher could be a long-term aim for him at Cheltenham.
Harry Wilson

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