Who Will Be GHF's Next Top Racehorse in Year 15?

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Another year means another batch of prospects entering the show ring here at the Green Horse Fields racetrack and, of course, another Next Top Racehorse series. This prestigious set of shows aims to find the best potential throughout the year and of course culminates in the presentation of the prestigious Next Top Racehorse trophy. But who will it be this year?

January Week One saw the first round of this series take place, aimed at prospects which would be taking on the turf sprint fields next year.

The show drew four entrants, led by Valkyrie Stables' filly, Wings Of Jayde who has quite the family reputations to live up to being sired by none other that HoF Pegasus Wings and out of grade one turf sprinter, Sugar Jayde. This show was right up this filly's street as she paraded with confidence around the ring.

Placing second, Spirit Of The Angel is the latest out of a mare which is quickly gaining blue hen status - Blood Of The Angel. Her siblings have really made a name for the unraced brood, and if she runs as quick as she makes friend this filly could be a real threat next year.

Position	Horse Name	Points
1	Wings Of Jayde	10
2	Spirit Of The Angel	9
3	Ruling Restraint	8
4	Sophie's Harmony	7

The ball is rolling, but the question still remains... Who will be named as the next top racehorse this year?

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February's show placings have been announced. This month, the show centered on sprint horses which will be looking to run on the dirt and drew three entrants to the ring.

After careful consideration of the horses entered, Alexia Harshing (who judged this round) declared Nature Blue Stables' Sophie's Harmony the winner for the day. "There is no denying that Sophie Might is quickly getting a positive reputation for herself as a dam of successful sprinters, and if luck goes with the stable then Harley should be no different to her siblings. While her sire is yet to be proven as a producer, I suspect he too will go on to be a strong parent. Not only that, but she stood out to me as a strong prospect."

Also entered, Valkyrie Stables' Blue Moon and Blue Heroine were not forgotten.

"I think that all three entrants were very interesting, and I am excited to see they [Blue Moon and Blue Heroine] progress over the course of this year and, of course, next. I worked with Wannabe Hero as a racehorse and am hopeful that his progeny will prove as spirited. Gold Storm is already on the way to proving himself as a sire and this is the only thing that separated the pair when it came to judging."

Here is how the leaderboard for the series now stands.

Position	Horse Name	Points
1	Sophie's Harmony	17
2	Wings Of Jayde	10
3	Blue Moon	9
3	Spirit Of The Angel	9
5	Blue Heroine	8
5	Ruling Restraint	8

With the latest results, Sophie's Harmony has rocketed to the top of the leaderboard by seven points - an impressive amount at this stage in the competition.

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March's show saw horses which will run over seven furlongs on the dirt starting next year come together to compete; a preference which drew Blue Moon and Blue Heroine (seen at last month's show) back to the ring along with two new entrants into the series - Evanescence and Shady Biscuit.

It was a close thing, with Valkyrie's Blue Moon walking away with the win followed by Evanescence, Blue Heroine and finally Shady Biscuit. It was definitely a tough show to judge, and we approached Ripley Marsh, who judged this month's round, for comment.

"The prospects are very close race shows this season. It seems every other week there is a new winner on top of the podium. This time it went to Blue Moon. Unbeknownst to Valkyrie Stables at the time, Blue Moon's paternal half-sister, Nirvana, would go on to have a very competitive and successful season at the age of two. She was named Y14's Juvenile Filly of the Year and Valkyrie looks to be the smartest group in the room. While Eclipse is a relatively unproven broodmare, as most of the horses' sires and dams were in the current round, Blue Moon had her sire's recent success and an amazing persona to nail down the win."

Those comments are certainly something to be taken on board, and those looking for an up and coming stallion to sire their foals should definitely not overlook Gold Storm in the coming years.

With the points gained in this month's show the standings have indeed changed and can now be seen below.

Position	Horse Name	Points
1	Blue Moon	19
2	Sophie's Harmony	17
3	Blue Heroine	16
4	Wings Of Jayde	10
5	Evanescence	9
5	Spirit Of The Angel	9
7	Ruling Restraint	8
8	Shady Biscuit	7

As you can clearly see, this is a pretty tight contest this year and Blue Moon now holds the top spot with two points to spare over Sophie's Harmony who stands only a point above Blue Moon. It is definitely exciting to see things this contested, and we look forwards to bringing you next month's edition once the show has run.

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As we enter April it is, of course, time for the latest Next Top Racehorse show which was again judged by staff of Firestone Racing. The show, focused around horses which will be expected to run over seven furlongs on turf, attracted only two entrants.

The overall winner of this faceoff was Amaris, of Stride Of Perfection Stables, who took the victory over Valkyrie's Wings Of Jayde - two very well bred horses, suited in their own way to the distance.

Amaris, for whom this was the first show of this kind, jumped into fifth position in the overall standards of nine current entrants with the ten points claimed today and who can question her parentage, being sired by The Wire Champion, Frozen Motion, and out of Hall Of Fame inductee, Axis Mundae. She is absolutely built for this sort of distance and should be a very strong contender next year. Wings Of Jayde, who we have seen previously, has rose in position to be joint for first with Blue Moon.

As the season continues, this table continues to look tight. The current standings can be seen below.

Position	Horse Name	Points
1	Blue Moon	19
1	Wings Of Jayde	19
3	Sophie's Harmony	17
4	Blue Heroine	16
5	Amaris	10
6	Evanescence	9
6	Spirit Of The Angel	9
8	Ruling Restraint	8
9	Shady Biscuit	7

It is an exciting season, but who will be named the overall champion of the series? Anything could happen at this stage!

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FINAL RESULTS

Position	Name	Points
1	Eternally Smoldering	24
2	Lawless	20
3	Blue Moon	19
3	Wings Of Jayde	19
3	Amaris	19
4	Pheonix Inferno	18
4	Roses Rampant	18
5	Sophie's Harmony	17
6	Blue Heroine	16
6	Flawless Majesty	16
6	Hysteria	16
7	Don't Count Me Out	14
8	Proletariat	10
8	Kismet	10
9	Spirit Of The Angel	9
9	Evanescence	9
9	Laddie Luck	9
10	Ruling Restraint	8
10	Enchanting Soldier	8
10	Winning Fire	8
10	Stylishly Wild	8
11	Shady Biscuit	7
11	Valaska	7
11	Prometheus	7
11	Bona Fide	7
12	Mocha Charm	6
12	Eulogy Rise	6
13	Indigo Dream	5
14	Moonstorm	4
15	Justalittlecutie	3

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