Lady Bowthorpe: 'Even on Newmarket Heath, people know who she is'

Fans' Favourites is a weekly feature in the Racing Post Weekender in which we talk to those closest to racing's most popular horses and find out why they tug on our heartstrings. This week's subject: Lady Bowthorpe

Lady Bowthorpe, the showstopping mare who brought the house down at Glorious Goodwood, will be one of the stars on a different stage on Sunday when she parades as part of Newmarket's open weekend.

The Nassau Stakes winner is sure to draw a big audience for her appearances at William Jarvis's historic Phantom House Stables, as the trainer is well aware.

"The yard will be open on Sunday morning and, weather permitting, she'll parade in the yard at 10.45am and 11.45am," says Jarvis. "She's got a big following and it's great. Even on Newmarket Heath, people know who she is.

"It's lovely that they look out for her and when I meet people now I'm often asked 'how's the mare?' On Sunday I know they'll be coming to see Lady Bowthorpe, not me."

Jarvis may play down his part, but he is a big reason behind Lady Bowthorpe's popularity, not just for his handling of the Group 1 winning mare but also for his emotional reaction to her defeat in the Falmouth Stakes at Newmarket's July festival and then her deserved breakthrough at the top level in the Nassau.

It was a great underdog story for a 28-horse stable that sits among Newmarket's biggest operations, but rarely has the chance to compete with them for the top prizes, let alone beat them.

Jarvis left no-one in any doubt about what the Nassau triumph meant to him – as well as to his staff, owner Emma Banks and jockey Kieran Shoemark – and he is still revelling in the memories.

"It was a very special day," he says, "and after the Falmouth it was a feeling of relief and unbelievable joy. The applause that the racegoers and my fellow professionals gave us was very gratifying and the whole experience was lovely.

"My son Jack was there and my grandson Zander, and my partner Linda, and two of my godchildren as well, Harry Eustace and George Smyly. Zander's not yet a year old, so he won't remember the day, but I certainly will."

The relief begins to show as Kieran Shoemark passes the winning post at Goodwood on Lady Bowthorpe

Kieran Shoemark salutes the crowd as he crosses the line on Lady Bowthorpe in the Nassau StakesCredit: Mark Cranham

Jarvis had enjoyed Group 1 victory once before, with 1994 St James's Palace Stakes winner Grand Lodge, and it had been a long 27 years waiting for another taste of success at the top level.

"We're a small stable in Newmarket. I don't know if we punch above our weight, but we do okay," he adds. "We had a lovely party afterwards. I was very proud of the whole team at Phantom House and delighted for Emma, who's been a very loyal supporter of the stable in recent years.

"It made into a nice story, especially with Kieran riding his first Group 1 winner, and I was thrilled for him as well."

The emotions had been very different after the Falmouth three weeks earlier when Lady Bowthorpe and Shoemark endured a troubled passage in the Group 1 mile and had to settle for fourth behind Snow Lantern, Mother Earth and Alcohol Free, beaten only a length.

Opportunity knocked but then the door was slammed shut, bringing tears of frustration for Jarvis.

"I think the crying after the Falmouth was slightly exaggerated," he says. "I was called 'cry baby' on the Heath for a few days by my fellow trainers, but I can take that. I still feel she was probably the best horse in the Falmouth, although I've got huge respect for the three fillies who beat us; they're all very good three-year-olds."

Jarvis had long felt the step up to a mile and a quarter would suit Lady Bowthorpe and she proved him right in the Nassau. The trainer held himself well in check that day.

He recalls: "If you asked Linda, she would probably say I was a bit anxious but I felt in control. I was confident she would stay the trip. I never watch a race with my owners, I just wander around and smoke a cigarette or two.

"I don't watch all the race, I just listen to the commentary and glance at the big screen occasionally, then look down again and have another walk around."

Those occasional glances told Jarvis things were going well, with Shoemark staying well out of potential trouble on the outer, and Lady Bowthorpe won decisively by a length and a half.

Happy times: Shoemark and Jarvis hold aloft the Nassau trophyCredit: Mark Cranham

This remarkable story had taken the most thrilling twist and yet it had almost ended after chapter one. Lady Bowthorpe finished fourth on her debut at Yarmouth as a juvenile in September 2018 but then disaster struck.

"I was galloping her towards getting another run into her, but then she fractured her cannon bone on the gallops," recalls Jarvis. "It could easily have been a career-ending injury but thanks to the skill and expertise of the Newmarket Equine Hospital and their surgeons, she was able to come back into training. She's got five screws in her cannon bone."

Her first appearance as a three-year-old was delayed until August 2019 but she won a novice at Lingfield later that month and added a handicap at the same track on her reappearance in 2020.

The runner-up that day was Baby Steps, which was precisely what Lady Bowthorpe had been taking until Jarvis took a leap up for the Group 3 Valiant Fillies' Stakes at Ascot last July.

"We threw her slightly in at the deep end and I must say she was very impressive that day. She showed a strong turn of foot," he says. "This year she'd done very well physically over the winter and, although she took a little bit of time to come to herself.

"I knew I had her pretty spot on for her first run in the Dahlia Stakes at Newmarket on 1,000 Guineas day. Although she wasn't hugely impressive, she won nicely."

Lady Bowthorpe (left) wins the Group 2 Dahlia Stakes at Newmarket from Queen Power and Lavender's Blue (right)

Lady Bowthorpe (left) gained an important Group 2 success in the Dahlia StakesCredit: Edward Whitaker

With that Group 2 in the bag, it was time to try her in the toughest company.

"We threw her in the deep end again in the Lockinge," says Jarvis. "She was an outsider there but was the only one to give Palace Pier a race, although I wouldn't for one minute say she gave him a fright. I thought she could compete in Group 1 company and she confirmed she could."

The trainer gives a lot of credit to Claire Harkness, who has looked after Lady Bowthorpe from day one.

"This mare takes a little bit of managing, she has to go in the stalls last with a blindfold, and in the stables at home she gives Claire quite a hard time on occasion. But they have a wonderful bond; she even takes Polos from Claire's mouth," he fondly says.

"Claire's very good with her and they have a great affinity. She's a wonderful person to have, she's totally dedicated to Lady Bowthorpe, she talks to her all the time, she keeps her relaxed at the races, and she's a very big influence on the success we've enjoyed with Lady Bowthorpe."

Jarvis hopes there is more to come, despite the disappointment of last month's trip to Deauville when Lady Bowthorpe was only seventh in the Prix Jean Romanet.

"Things didn't go according to plan in France and she put in a below-par effort," he says. "She had five or six days away at Emma's cousin's stud in Cambridgeshire, just to chill out, and came back good. She has resumed work and at the moment we're going to aim for the Sun Chariot on October 2.

"I know this is a drop back to a mile but she looked pretty good in the Falmouth and when she ran Palace Pier to a length and a half in the Lockinge, so I think she's versatile regarding trip."

One of the most heartwarming stories of the Flat season is not finished yet.

Backstage visit leads to celebrity signing

Goodwood was a fitting place for Lady Bowthorpe's Group 1 triumph because it was where her trainer and owner first met seven years ago.

Emma Banks, the noted celebrity agent, was there as an invited guest of the Earl of March, and as it happened Jarvis was saddling a runner for her uncle and aunt, Michael and Rosalind Banks.

"She came down from the box and I met her for the first time with Michael and Rosalind," the trainer recalls. "She enjoyed the experience, she compared it to going backstage, and soon after we bought a cheapish horse, Lackaday, who won for her. That was her first horse."

Lady Bowthorpe was more expensive, being picked up as a yearling in 2017 for 82,000gns, although it is worth remembering that in the Nassau she was up against bluebloods from Coolmore and Shadwell who would have fetched much more on the open market.

There are some impressive connections behind Lady Bowthorpe though. She was bred by Paolo and Emma Agostini of Scuderia Archi Romani, who keep her dam Maglietta Fina with Luca and Sara Cumani at Fittocks Stud, while the docket at Tattersalls was signed by James Toller, another former Newmarket trainer.

"James has a good eye and he's a very good judge of a yearling. We went to see this filly two or three times and we liked her," says Jarvis. "Now James is retired he comes into the yard most mornings and tells me what I'm doing wrong; sometimes I listen to him and sometimes I don't."

Lady Bowthorpe: was bred by Luca and Sara Cumani at Fittocks StudCredit: Edward Whitaker

The Cumanis take a keen interest in Lady Bowthorpe too, and they sat with Banks at Goodwood. After the race, the owner related: "Half a furlong out Luca looked to me and said, 'You've got it', If Luca Cumani tells you that, of course you've got it."

Banks, agent to Kylie Minogue, Katy Perry and the Red Hot Chili Peppers among many others, now has another star in Lady Bowthorpe.

"Emma's a very enthusiastic owner, she's very hands-on, she loves her horses," says Jarvis. "You've got to say Lady Bowthorpe must be her favourite, but she's very keen on her handicappers too and she's getting into the breeding."

Lady Bowthorpe will be a prized broodmare when she retires, but one of the key messages of National Racehorse Week is that it is not all about the stars.

"This is a very important week," says Jarvis, "and when people come to Newmarket this weekend they'll realise the high-quality care that thoroughbred racehorses receive.

"Emma's absolutely insistent that any horse of hers that retires is found a good home. She's very passionate about that and we all are; it's about every horse."

Read more from our Fans' Favourites series:

Bollin Eric: 'He just had natural ability – he could do anything'

Quiet Reflection: 'It poured down but we didn't care as she destroyed them'

Celerity: 'I heard the crowd and I just couldn't watch, so I turned around'

Alpha Delphini: 'I asked them to stick me 50 quid each-way on that morning

Euchen Glen: adrenaline junkie whose trainer thinks is Group 1 class

Canford Cliffs: 'He was one of the best racehorses in the last 50 years'

Taghrooda: 'She turned towards the stands and everyone was going absolutely mad'

Kingman: 'There are some in the camp who think he'd have beaten Frankel'

Brando: 'Kevin always maintained he was going to turn into a right beast'

Tropics: 'I saw something that day I hadn't seen much – he worked like a train'

Sole Power: 'He wasn't your normal horse – he was more box office than that'