'We've got no choice but to go for Group 1s now' - Tattycoram starring for Chasemore Farm after Lancashire Oaks win

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Patience is key in the world of the owner-breeder and Chasemore Farm has already been richly rewarded with its upwardly mobile homebred Tattycoram. 

The Ralph Beckett-trained daughter of Camelot has taken time to come to hand, winning an often-informative Sandown fillies' novice by two lengths in April last year before running well in black-type races behind Whirl and Waardah on her next two outings.

Tattycoram signed off that campaign with two respectable efforts in handicap company at Ascot and Newmarket before returning this year with a Listed win in the Daisy Warwick Fillies' Stakes at Goodwood. She duly stepped forward and then some from that effort when defeating the high-class Tiffany by four and a half lengths in the Lancashire Oaks at Newmarket this month, earning a Racing Post Rating of 112. 

Jack Conroy, manager of the Surrey stud, says: "She won at Sandown last year and then it was like, 'maybe we could go for the Oaks, let's see what happens', but Ralph took his time with her. He always thought she had ability but she was quite temperamental, so he went steady with her.

"The way she won at Goodwood was very pleasing because she was quite heavy that day but still won quite snugly. The vibe from Ralph and the team was that she was going to run very well at Newmarket. He'd entered her in the Arc and the Yorkshire Oaks, and Ralph's not someone who'd be doing that on a whim. We thought the vibes were strong, but to win by four and a half lengths, we didn't expect that. She's very exciting."

Tattycoram looks set for some lofty targets this summer and autumn, with those entries in the Yorkshire Oaks and Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe among the options. 

Conroy says: "Ralph is very positive, so if she's good to go, we'll go and we've got no choice but to go for Group 1s now after a Group 2 win. I've got to give a big mention to Alexis de Gouveia, who works at Ralph’s and deals with Tatty all the time. They have a strong connection. The filly isn't the most straightforward but it just shows what can happen when they have a bond like that and the filly's on side."

Tattycoram is the most recent surviving foal out of Illaunmore, a stakes-placed Shamardal mare who has also produced Gimcrack Stakes runner-up Johannes Brahms. The 12-year-old sadly lost her two most recent foals, so her daughter is a precious commodity for the Chasemore team. 

Conroy adds: "Illaunmore's had a lot of problems, so Tatty is her last living foal. She lost a No Nay Never as she had terrible complications with dystocia, so poor presentation. We then had a St Mark's Basilica which we couldn't get out and she had to have it delivered at a hospital because it was so massive and the leg was back. We couldn't get it delivered here and that one died unfortunately.”

Conroy reports that Illaunmore, who was given a long period of recovery, is back in full health. Chasemore has plenty of the family in training and in its broodmare band, including Illaunglass, the dam of Illaunmore. The 17-year-old Red Clubs mare has a nice young prospect to look forward to on the track this term. 

He says: "Illaunglass is doing well and has got a two-year-old with Ed Walker, a Zoustar who's a nice filly and should be out at the back end of the year. She's more of a three-year-old type."

Yearling sales season will soon descend upon the bloodstock fraternity and Chasemore is gearing up for its drafts at the leading sales. 

Conroy says: "We've got six for Donny [Goffs Doncaster Premier Sale], including a really nice Sioux Nation filly out of a mare called Lumacho. The sire's flying, isn't he? The Book 1 [entries] come in at the end of the month, beginning of August. We've got a lovely Lope De Vega half-brother to Sardinian Warrior for that, as well as a Palace Pier colt out of Sailing and a lovely Too Darn Hot colt out of Madame Zeroni. Cheveley Park Stud bought his half-sister for 450,000gns last year."

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