The family
Eternally Yours is the second foal out of the Dodlands Steading trained
racemare Well Disguised. Bought as a 3yr old store, Well Disguised raced for Al Duncan and 'Lucky Dave'
Leslie for whom she won 4 hurdles and was placed numerous times in
bumpers and hurdles.
Well Disguised is a half sister to that useful staying jumper of
Paul Nicholls' French Executive, the winner of 7 races over jumps
including the Sussex National. Her full sister, Thirty Days Out was
also trained at Dodlands and was placed several times in bumper and
hurdles.
The granddam, Executive Move, unraced but a half sister to useful hurdler/chaser Parson's Green, who won 7 races for Nicky
Henderson in the early 90s.
The family traces back to the Scottish National winner Cockle Strand.
In addition to "Thimble"
Well Disguised has produced 2 other foals to race. An
unfortunate half sister Our Elsie (b 2015) died in 2021, and a
Midnight Legend half brother
Nights In Venice (b 2016)
is now in
training at Dodlands.
About the sire
Bred by the Niarchos family and trained by Patrick Bary
in France as a 3yr old (winning the French Derby), Sulamani (bay
horse, b
1999) continued to prosper as a high class racehorse for Godolphin
over the next 2 seasons. He added 5 Group 1 victories
to his tally for Godolphin.
Sulamani was campaigned successfully far and wide notching up
victories in UAE, England, Canada and the USA. He showed winning
form from 10-12f and seemed best suited with a little give in the
ground.
To stud in 2005, he spent several years standing as flat stallion
at Darley Studs in Newmarket, Brazil and France. First crop included
a Classic winner in Mastery, and he has sired numerous
Stakes
winners in Brazil.
In 2011, he was acquired by Richard Venn on behalf of the Cashman family to stand at
David
Futter’s Yorton Farm in Shropshire as a National Hunt sire. He
has sired several classy jumpers in his time - dual Champion Hurdler
Honeysuckle, 2016 Grand National winner Rule the World, Grade 1
winner Cash 'n Go and 2021 Bet365 Gold Cup hero Potterman.
Sadly though, Sulamani passed away in January 2017.
Season 2022-23 outlook
Last season the genuine hurdler Eternally Yours
continued where she had left off - 4 runs, 3 places and at least one
luckless run but just not quite achieving another victory. She ran
well in an extended 3 mile handicap at Ayr (3rd) in March but maybe not quite
seeing out the extended part. At least that run opened up the range of
distance that she can be aimed at.
So 2022-23?
Well,
Eternally Yours appeared to need her first race last season but she
is literally sparking in her coat this October, so who knows this
time around?
'Thimble' is a lovely, athletic filly just that little bit long in
the back and has matured into an attractive 16.1hh frame. Lightly
raced, suited by 2½ but stays 3 miles, this fairly useful hurdler will again be aimed at handicap hurdles (starts
the season off OR117) preferably with some cut in the ground.
Profile....
The 3 yr old filly warily walking to her box in the Autumn of 2016
wouldn't have been aware she was entering an environment that had
not so long ago been home to her mum and auntie, and just how much
the human residents had been looking forward to meeting her.
And who could have foreseen the forthcoming pleasure-filled seasons
of racing that Eternally Yours would bring?
Eternally Yours was forward enough to run at 4, and before 2017
was out she had gained her first success in a Sedgefield Boxing Day
bumper. And there was more, because by the end of that season "Thimble" had opened her
account over hurdles too - scuppering plans for a novice hurdle
season in the process, but hey ho......
Her only subsequent hurdles win came in a handicap at Newcastle in December 2018
but she has run some tremendous races since then, in particular in a
Class 2 event at Aintree a couple of years back when pipped by a nose by Kateson.
Of course on those days when she has under performed, a physical issue has emerged but each time, after some TLC, the mare has bounced back in pleasing style on the racecourse.........running well if just not quite getting her head in front. But her race record in those 6 years here - 3 wins, 4 second and 4 third places from 16 runs - has made her a very popular horse.
Season | win | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | other | |
2017-18 | NH Flat | 1 | 2 | |||
2017-18 | Hurdles | 1 | ||||
2018-19 | Hurdles | 1 | 2 | |||
2019-20 | Hurdles | 2 | 1 | |||
2020-21 | Hurdles | 1 | 1 | |||
2021-22 | Hurdles | 1 | 2 | 1 | ||
2022-23 | Hurdles | 1 | 1 | 2 |