The family
Nights In Venice
is the fourth foal out of the Dodlands Steading trained
racemare Well Disguised. Picked up by Donald as a 3yr old at
Doncaster Sales, 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 a useful staying jumper in
Paul Nicholls' French Executive, the winner of 7 races over jumps
including the Sussex National.
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.
4th dam Bruff Gypsy is a half sister to Scottish National winner Cockle Strand.
Well Disguised is the dam of 4-time winning fairly useful
hurdler Eternally Yours who has just embarked on a second career as a broodmare.
About the sire
Midnight Legend (bay horse, born 1991) is by Night Shift, a son of the legendary, and hugely influential, sire Northern Dancer.
Season 2023-24 outlook
Just how did you fail to win with Nights In Venice in 2022-23, I
hear you ask? Well, it wasn't easy but we managed it.........6 runs,
4 places.
At Ayr in February over 3 miles, we decided taking on Lucinda's
Apple Away (who won off OR113 that day but ended the season on
OR141) and Todhunter's Jet Legs (off OR102, ended on OR112)
presented a good opportunity. However chasing that pair took its
toll and Nights In Venice was beaten a length for 2nd place by Jet
Legs. The first two then went 4 wins from 4 till the end of the
season......
Predictably enough in each his next couple of runs, Nights In Venice
could be spotted travelling ominously well. But each time was headed
heartbreakingly on the run-in.
A tall, lengthy gelding, he possesses a good deal of scope and we
still think there is improvement to come in staying distances over
hurdles and most definitely over fences this season.
Profile....
After 3 fillies from her first 3 foals, it was with a
sense of relief to her breeder (Al Duncan) when Well Disguised gave birth to a
colt foal by Midnight Legend in 2016. However, It proved a
bittersweet time for the well-regarded British based sire as only a
couple of months after the birth of 'Mac', Midnight Legend died at
the age of 25.
Bred at Eildon Hill Stud in nearby
Melrose, 'Mac' spent the first couple of years
of his life with the foals of 2016 in the spacious fields
surrounding the stud. But as he outgrew the next crops of foals and yearlings,
'Mac' was moved on to just down the road from Dodlands and since turning 2yr
old, has enjoyed the close care of Ruth Jardine at her livery yard
(returning each summer) or under the tutelage of Gary Rutherford to
complete his education.
Nights In Venice first came
into Dodlands for a couple of weeks in late Spring 2019 to get an
initial feel for stable life and morning gallops, and for the next
18 months was in and out of our yard, varying between training and
resting, strengthening & maturing.
Unlike his siblings, Nights In Venice did
initially prove to be a backward sort (more like progeny we've
experienced of his sire Midnight Legend) so it was into Spring of
2021 before he made his racecourse debut. We were disappointed with
his effort that day at Carlisle (9th of 10) but none of the Dodlands'
horses ran very well around that time so......onto season 2021-22 and gradual improvement.
On seasonal reappearance, Nights In Venice ran a fine race in a
bumper at Kelso, finishing 2nd (albeit at a fair distance) to a good
horse in Donny Boy (subsequent fairly useful hurdler). He ended
that season by running well in a couple of novice hurdles in good
company at Carlisle in February & March.
Season | win | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | other | |
2020-21 | NH Flat | 1 | ||||
2021-22 | NH Flat | 1 | 1 | |||
2021-22 | Hurdles | 1 | 2 | |||
2022-23 | Hurdles | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
2023-24 | Hurdles | 2 | ||||
Chases | 1 | 1 | 2 |