Marsha: 'Once the bidding went past three million guineas, it was a blur'

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: Marsha

The black cap and white silks with three black dots of Elite Racing Club have enjoyed notable success since starting out in 1992 and it is with fillies and mares they have particularly excelled.

Triumph Hurdle winner Mysilv was a high-profile purchase for the club back in 1994, going on to win the Tote Gold Trophy at Newbury, Haydock’s Champion Hurdle trial and finish second in the Stayers’ Hurdle, while Soviet Song won a remarkable five Group 1s between 2002 and 2006, including the Sussex Stakes and two runnings of the Falmouth.

When it comes to sprinters, a Prix de l’Abbaye and dramatic Nunthorpe winner springs immediately to mind – the oh so speedy Marsha.

The Sir Mark Prescott-trained Marsha, an Elite Racing Club homebred like Soviet Song, started her career at Kempton in September of her juvenile year in 2015, finishing a length second to a subsequent Royal Hunt Cup and Listed winner Zhui Feng and in front of dual Epsom Dash runner-up Dark Shot in third.

It was at that point connections knew they had a potentially smart prospect, although there had been some encouraging noises from Newmarket prior to her debut.

Dan Downie, manager of Elite Racing Club, says: “She showed plenty on her first run and we thought we had a nice horse on our hands. There was a bit of chat in Newmarket – she had shown a little bit on the gallops – but I like to see it on the track!

“The general feeling was she had a degree of ability, but none of us could have guessed how good she was going to turn out to be.”

Victories on her next two starts at Catterick and Dundalk followed and a return to the Irish all-weather venue when third in the Listed Mercury Stakes against older horses provided plenty of promise for her three-year-old campaign.

Marsha, a daughter of Elite Racing Club mare Marlinka, was beaten over 6f on her first two starts at three but reverting to the minimum trip worked the oracle. Listed wins at Ayr and York set pulses racing and an eyecatching staying-on fifth in the King George Stakes at Glorious Goodwood suggested she was well capable of bagging a big sprint prize.

A first trip to Chantilly reaped a runner-up spot behind Just Glamorous in the Group 3 Prix du Petit Couvert, but a change to Marsha’s routine thereafter was key according to Downie. Her next start was her first in top-level company in the Abbaye. The rest is history.

Reflecting on her three-year-old campaign, Downie says: “I was at a wedding and remember watching her win a Listed race at Ayr – the way she won that told us she was very decent. She ran well without it quite going to plan on her first start at Chantilly, and when she came back, William [Butler, assistant trainer] and Sir Mark felt the best way to train her would be by keeping her preparation light. The first time she ran having tried the new regime was when she won the Abbaye – it certainly paid off.

“We didn’t expect her to win but it became clear from halfway she was travelling really well and it was amazing to win a Group 1 race to end the season.”

Marsha (left) and Lady Aurelia in full throttle towards the line in the NunthorpeCredit: Mark Cranham (racingpost.com/photos)

Marsha’s three-quarter-of-a-length victory over Washington DC certainly whetted the appetite for next season among the 15,000 people involved in Elite Racing Club. Wherever she ran, the allocated badges went to owners with a big support group of fellow members also heading to the course to cheer her on.

Prescott’s top sprinter confirmed the form in no uncertain terms with Washington DC when winning the Palace House Stakes at Newmarket on her return at four. She was 8lb worse off with that rival compared to the Abbaye but recorded a then career-best Racing Post Rating of 118 to land the Group 3 prize.

Placed efforts in the King’s Stand, Sapphire Stakes and King George Stakes meant Marsha was sent off an 8-1 chance for the Nunthorpe at York, where she faced her Royal Ascot conqueror Lady Aurelia and trailblazer Battaash.

The Wesley Ward-trained filly was the 10-11 favourite and the pair were involved in a pulsating finish. Marsha and regular rider Luke Morris were closing with every stride and they crossed the line almost as one. Lady Aurelia’s jockey Frankie Dettori celebrated after the winning post, thinking he had held on, but the photo verdict went the way of Marsha.

It proved a career highlight for the popular mare and that afternoon on the Knavesmire will never be forgotten by Downie.

He says: “We were determined to enjoy the ride after she won on her return in the Palace House – we knew she was top class by that point. She was discounted as far as beating Lady Aurelia going into the Nunthorpe – I don’t think anyone expected Marsha to beat her – but she arrived at York in tip-top form. Everything panned out perfectly and she was the better horse on the day. I remember being there and thinking she had not won, so it was a surreal experience when the verdict went her way. It was a bizarre but exciting few minutes.

“She was great for Elite, she was a homebred and a lot of the members knew the family and watched her dam race, and that made it even more special. There was an uptick in the club and a real interest in her – it was the same when we had Soviet Song.”

Marsha (left) ran with great credit on her final start at the Breeders' Cup at Del MarCredit: Edward Whitaker

Marsha had to settle for second behind Battaash in her bid to win the Abbaye for a second time then rounded out her career with a trip to Del Mar for the Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint.

She did her best work late to finish sixth, beaten just over a length by Stormy Liberal, and it was a memorable experience for all involved.

Downie says: “The Breeders’ Cup trip was incredible and personally a real highlight. She was professional the whole way through her career – she never missed a day or had any issues – and when we went to the US it was pretty hot.

“Some of the European contingent she travelled with didn’t cope with the heat and a couple were withdrawn, but she took everything in her stride. It was wonderful to see her in the mornings at the track and she ran a cracker. It was a fantastic way to end her career.”

Marsha goes through the ring and makes history at TattersallsCredit: Laura Green/Tattersalls

Marsha’s action on the track may have been over but a sales date at Tattersalls the following month proved historic. The star sprinter smashed the European record for a broodmare – a record that still stands – when sold to MV Magnier for six million guineas after a protracted duel between Coolmore and Godolphin.

Downie says: “That was a bizarre evening. We went there thinking she should sell well and all the usual suspects were interested in her, but you never really know until they go through the ring. By late afternoon though, it became clear Coolmore and Godolphin were very interested, so we thought she’d be okay, but how it panned out was extraordinary.

“Once the bidding went past three million guineas, it was all a bit of a blur. The whole sales ring went very quiet the higher it went. It was a special evening we’ll never forget.”

Marsha’s rise to the top was a fantastic advert for racing clubs and syndicates and her memorable years are treasured by Elite.

Downie says: “We’ve been really lucky with the fillies and mares and Mysilv, Soviet Song and Marsha stand out as the three top-class stars for us. They were not only fantastic racehorses, but they created something in the club and reached further.”

'It was a rapid change in emotions'

Luke Morris was the regular rider of Marsha and enjoyed top-level wins on the popular filly in the Prix de l’Abbaye and Nunthorpe. Here he reflects on her top career . . .

Marsha was blessed with enormous talent and plenty of natural speed. She became quicker through her career, had a great mind and a very good temperament – she was very easy to deal with.

Sir Mark ended up having to train her in a way that suited her during her three-year-old campaign, which made her continue to improve. She started to train on her own because she was very tough and genuine and wanted to put everything into her work. She was probably doing plenty at home because she was so fast and there wasn’t anything that could lead her. Training her on her own seemed to bring out the best in her.

She was a fairly big price for the Abbaye and I thought she had every chance of running a nice race. She had a lovely run through, picked up well and took her form to a new level. It was her first Group 1 win in quite a deep race.

Marsha had a strong profile going into the Palace House the next spring but she had the Group 1 penalty, and with it being her first start of the year, she wasn’t fully tuned up. I was probably quite pessimistic going into it but she was electric that day and I felt she had improved again.

She ran some good races in defeat after the Palace House but ultimately it had been a slightly disappointing year before the Nunthorpe. The Nunthorpe centred around a clash between Lady Aurelia and Battaash, so we went into it with no pressure and for whatever reason she was on top form.

I was drawn next to Battaash so I followed him and thought if I could get by him we’d be very much in the mix. She cruised through the race and I was pretty much able to sit on the bridle to the furlong pole. When I picked her up, she was very tough and honest.

Luke Morris celebrates Nunthorpe success on MarshaCredit: Edward Whitaker

Going past the post, I didn’t have a clue whether I had won but I was almost certain we had been beaten when I looked over and Frankie [Dettori, Lady Aurelia’s rider] was celebrating.

Frankie doesn’t get it wrong and I accepted we had finished second. I was gutted and thought I hadn’t quite timed it right, so when the verdict was announced, I was completely gobsmacked. It was a rapid change in emotions.

I rode at the Breeders’ Cup for the first time that year and it was great to partner Marsha, one of my two mounts at Del Mar, on the back of her second to Battaash in the Abbaye on ground that was slower than ideal for her. It was a great honour to ride her out there and it was a fantastic experience. It’s the pinnacle to ride at the meeting – it’s the World Cup of horseracing.

It’s a very tight track over the five furlongs there and she was quite a big, angular filly. It didn’t really play to her strengths but she wasn’t beaten far. She acquitted herself well and on a more galloping track she would probably have nearly won. She was so consistent that season and you could very much run your clock by her.

I rode early on at Wolverhampton on the day she went through the ring and rushed back to Tattersalls as I wanted to give her a farewell. It was a very strange atmosphere. I’ve been to the sales plenty of times but I’ve never experienced it like it was that day – you could hear a pin drop as the back and forth between Coolmore and Godolphin went on.

To see a horse go for six million guineas was unbelievable so to be connected to her made it quite spinetingling. Marsha is right up there with the best horses I’ve been associated with – she was a pleasure to ride and I find it very difficult to split her and Alpinista, albeit they are completely different fillies.

Read more from our Fans' Favourites series:

Martha's Son: 'Put him on a racetrack and he'd find three more gears'

Desert Orchid: 'People thought it was an act of lunacy to run over three miles'

Denman: 'He could pick you up and chuck you out the box or take your arm off'

Looks Like Trouble: 'When he started to deliver he was damn-near invincible'

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