'I have enormous faith in him - he'll win a big one when everything goes right'

The progress of Charlie Fellowes continued apace last season as he set a personal best of 41 winners in Britain and a new prize-money high of £621,595, and the Newmarket handler is setting his sights on beating both of those tallies this term.

He says: “We have a lovely team again this year and the older horses are particularly strong, despite yard superstar Prince Of Arran having been retired.”

The star stayer, who finished runner-up and third twice in the Melbourne Cup, took Fellowes and his owners around the world and made a very tidy profit of more than £2 million and is currently enjoying life doing showjumping and dressage.

Two horses the trainer believes will be playing at the top table are Ejtilaab and Vadream, who finished fifth and sixth respectively in last week’s 1895 Duke of York Stakes. “Vadream did well last year, winning her Group race, and I believe she can make her presence felt in some of the bigger races later in the season,” says Fellowes.

“Ejtilaab is another I have enormous faith in and feel he will win a big one when everything goes right. He likes to bounce out in his sprints and, as you know in those types of races, trouble can happen with slow starts and traffic. This fellow tends to miss all of those problems and is in very good form.

“Of the three-year-olds Cumulonimbus, Fresh Hope and Grand Alliance are all capable of stepping forward and could hopefully make up into stakes performers, while there are some very nice individuals among the juveniles.

“We flew out of the blocks early on then things went quiet, but I am very positive about the season ahead and three winners in the last week or so have got us back on track.”

The trainer has a particularly good record when teaming up with jockey Louis Steward, the pair combining for ten winners from 52 rides last year, for a level-stakes profit of £28.53.“

Older horses

Blow Your Horn
5 b g Golden Horn – She’s Complete
I ran him at Musselburgh last month and it had never been the plan, but the race cut up and there was £100,000 in prize-money so I got suckered in to declaring. He endured a shocking wide trip the whole way round which was a disaster. I am not convinced he stays 1m6f, despite having won over it before, and we dropped him back to 1m4f last week at Newmarket as he has plenty of speed. He performed creditably to finish third of five there having made the running. I would not rule out a further drop to 1m2f at some point.

Chiefofchiefs
9 b g Royal Applause – Danvers
I ran him at Kempton last month for his seasonal debut and he zipped around that sharp track to finish third, showing us he still retains all his enthusiasm and ability. He ran in the Victoria Cup last time out but got no luck at all and was repeatedly denied a clear run. He is in great order and provided he gets his ground we will be looking to either the Buckingham Palace or the Wokingham at Royal Ascot.

Diavolo
4 b g Dubawi – Sultanina
Owned by the Normandie Stud, he had three runs for Roger Varian before joining us. The change of scenery did him good as he won first time for us at Kempton, before running in a four-runner contest at Newcastle that developed into a messy race. He was favourite for a race at Doncaster’s Lincoln meeting only to get colic while in the horsebox, which was rerouted to the Newmarket Equine Hospital. He is fine now and exercising again and not far off doing some work. He is a very talented horse with a proper engine. Ideally, he needs big fields with a good pace so he can swoop late. As for his trip – 7f is fine, but I think he has the speed for 6f, which we could try in time.

Ejtilaab
6 b g Slade Power – Miranda Frost
He joined us last summer and I think he is a seriously talented sprinter. We sent him to Dubai for a couple of runs and he enjoyed himself, running well, before resuming his British campaign at Kempton in March when easily landing a London Sprint Series qualifier off a mark of 105. That put him spot on for the valuable sprint at Newcastle on All-Weather Finals day, but in retrospect the track did not suit as he is a real grinder who needs to keep up with the pace as he has no turn of foot whatsoever. He must have a speed track and the irony in that is that I had been pestering Arc to move the All-Weather Finals to Newcastle from Lingfield. He would probably have won at the latter course. Last week at York the ground was too quick, but he still kept on resolutely to the line. He could go for the John Of Gaunt at the end of the month if they get some cut in the ground. I will enter him in all the big sprints, and am convinced he will come good in one of them. His main target is the Platinum Jubilee at Royal Ascot.

Iconique
4 b f Sixties Icon – Rose Cheval
She was a winner at Yarmouth last autumn and made a very pleasing return at Windsor last month on ground that was plenty quick enough. I ran her in an apprentice handicap at Chester as I felt the track would really suit her as well as the ground, and she didn’t run badly to finish in mid-division. She is handicapped to win races.

Injazati
4 ch c Night Of Thunder – Mathanora
He did well last season winning three on the bounce over 1m2f which saw his mark rise from 85 to his current career-high of 98. He made a nice comeback at Pontefract last month, in what was possibly a good race. They went very hard, and he was beaten by two horses who had already had a run. Interestingly, I thought the soft ground would help but James [Doyle] felt he struggled to get through the sticky ground, so we may look for quick conditions. Sadly, he is currently at the equine hospital following an operation on a hind leg for a nasty infection. It wasn’t serious, but he is going to need a little time off and is unlikely to be ready for Royal Ascot.

Lasting Legacy
5 gr m Lethal Force – Araminte
She only joined us this year and made a flying start with victory first time out at Chelmsford over 1m2f in April. I then threw her in at the deep end at Nottingham for a Listed race where there were only three rivals in the hope of getting some black type. In reality she had to find 20lb on her rivals, yet she was only beaten six and a half lengths on ground she hated. The ground was also against her next time at Hamilton over 1m1f where she finished in midfield under a big weight. She is a soft-ground filly who gets 1m2f and I’ve not given up hope of getting some black type this season as we take her through the grades.

Mr Curiosity
5 b g Frankel – Our Obsession
Following a hard time last season, we have purposely given him a long break. He is a frustrating character who is a very talented stayer, but his head has to allow him to do that. If he settles, he could stay two miles and has the potential to be a fun, staying handicapper. So we are using all of our energy on teaching him to relax and settle, and I have to say things are encouraging in that area. Ideally, he wants give underfoot and we will start off over 1m6f before progressing to two miles.

Pirate King
7 br g Farhh – Generous Diana
He has been a superstar, but for some reason I cannot get him to run on the turf, and I don’t know why as I am convinced he is as good on grass as he is on the all-weather. He may want further so we are going to try him over longer distance. I ran him at Epsom last time where he looked like he needed two miles in a 1m4f race. We will try the extra distance, put cheekpieces on and see what happens. He owes us nothing and retirement may not be too far off unless he starts to spark on turf.

Seasett
4 b g Wootton Bassett – Sea Horn
He was with Richard Fahey last term, but his first race for us, last month at Nottingham, was an impressive winning one. We dropped him back to 1m½f from 1m2f and he did it nicely, and when David [Egan] got off he said that he had tons of boot and could drop back further if needed. We then took him to Chelmsford on Saturday where he met trouble in running before finishing seventh after being sent off joint-favourite. He is one readers would do well to keep on side this season.

The Kodi Kid
4 b g Kodi Bear – Dat Il Do
He won at two and three for Andrew Balding and I am hopeful we can add to that this term. We tried him over 1m2½f last time at Chester as he looked to be crying out for it, but his pedigree suggested otherwise, and he didn’t perform on that occasion. He is a funny horse in that he is a saint at home, you would never get a quieter horse to deal with, but on the track he turns into a hooligan and has been as bad as any horse I have had to deal with – he was horrendous at Newbury. We know he has ability, though, and is not far off a winning mark.

Vadream
4 b f Brazen Beau – Her Honour
She had a great time last year which resulted in victory in the Group 3 Bengough Stakes at Ascot as well as several Group-placed efforts. She rounded off with a super performance in the Champions Sprint when she had to wait for a run and just got too far back. She has done very well over the winter and all roads lead to Royal Ascot for her. I ran her in the Duke of York last week, where she ran like a filly who was having her first run of the year. Danny [Tudhope] said he felt she had run her race before the stalls opened. It has knocked the edge off her and now it is the Platinum Jubilee at Royal Ascot for her as the stiff 6f there suits her perfectly.

The Platinum Jubilee is the big target for VadreamCredit: John Grossick (racingpost.com/photos)

Via Serendipity
8 b g Invincible Spirit – Mambo Light
I gave him a holiday over the winter, and it has taken him forever to come to hand as he still has his winter coat, so we are not there yet. He has had a couple of runs this season, though. He went to Newmarket last month for a pipe-opener, and then last time out he ran at Windsor in a small field, but it turned into a sprint and he never got involved. He will come good at some stage when we get some big fields with a strong pace on decent ground – I’d expect him to shine in the summer. When we decide to retire him, he will never leave this yard as he has a home for life.