'He's the one who has come forward the most' - Ingleby Bloodstock's Peter Baker dreaming of Brocklesby success with Tees Douge

Flat fans in Britain have been more earnestly counting down to the start of the Flat season since the end of Cheltenham Festival week, and the Brocklesby is the first chance to add two-year-olds into the 2023 notebook. 

For those involved in the Pertemps-backed curtain-raiser at Doncaster on Saturday, it is a particularly exciting time  - and Ingleby Bloodstock's Peter Baker falls into that bracket with Tees Douge, a son of Dream Ahead he and his breeding operation picked up for £25,000 at last year's Goffs UK Premier Yearling Sale. 

Having seen the Ingleby silks carried to victory in the Epsom Dash on Derby day and to Listed honours at Tipperary last year, courtesy of Tees Spirit, Baker is hopeful his Adrian Nicholls-trained stablemate Tees Douge is forward enough to do himself justice on his debut. 

Baker said: "He's a real chap, he does everything we want of him and we're looking forward to running him. At the sales we bought half a dozen - three colts and three fillies - and since they've gone into training he's the one who has come forward the most."

The ground on Town Moor will likely be testing enough for any horse, let alone a debutant juvenile, but Baker is hopeful the gelding will take to such conditions like his prolific sire and half-brother Granny Roz, a dual winner on soft going.

"When I saw the ground, I was having a look at Dream Ahead's progeny and the sire himself as regards to running on soft," said Baker. "Dream Ahead won the Middle Park Stakes on that going."

The owner not only has the Brocklesby, Tees Douge and his other new recruits to look forward to, as Tees Spirit is back for more for the Nicholls yard after a 2022 season that saw him land five successes, including the Listed Abergwaun Stakes. 

The son of Swiss Spirit is likely to have Group races on the agenda, though he prefers a sounder surface than the very soft ground he encountered in the Prix de l'Abbaye on his final start of 2022. 

Baker added: "He had a nice holiday before he came back into training. He's doing exceptionally well and we're looking forward to seeing him out. We were going to go to Ireland for a couple of Listed races but we might have to sidestep those as they've had a lot of rain and he's a top of the ground horse. 

"His first main target will be the Palace House Stakes at Newmarket; hopefully the ground will have dried up and he'll have his conditions."

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