Classic hopes fuelling winter dreams for Menuisier

Sunway and Devil’s Point highlighted fruitful autumn for Sussex trainer.

David Menuisier can head into the winter dreaming of big-race glory in 2024 thanks to the recent exploits of some of his star two-year-olds.

By his own admission the Frenchman has endured a tough campaign, with winners hard to find throughout the height of the Flat season.

However, some of the younger members of Menuisier’s Coombelands string, such as Sunway and Devil’s Point, have come to the fore at the backend of the campaign as the handler finishes the 2023 turf season on a real high.

Sunway and Oisin Murphy
Sunway and Oisin Murphy (PA)

Menuisier said: “It’s great and we’ve had a bit of a tough time with the older horses, especially the three-year-olds throughout the season, so it’s nice that the two-year-olds have kind of saved the year for us and especially in such a fashion.

“We knew we had a nice bunch but it’s hard to predict, even six weeks ago, that they are as good as they actually are.”

After Sunway provided Menuisier with just his fourth Group One triumph when landing the Criterium International, the handler returned to his homeland to plunder more big-race glory just five days later when crack two-year-old fillies War Chimes and Tamfana won the Prix Isonomy and Prix Miesque respectively.

A day later Devil’s Point capped a fine week for the trainer when finishing a brave second to Ancient Wisdom in Doncaster’s Futurity Stakes, a performance which thrilled Menuisier.

Devil's Point is an exciting colt for David Menuisier
Devil’s Point is an exciting colt for David Menuisier (Adam Davy/PA)

“In all honesty the French race worked out really well – the Thomas Bryon that he ran in as a prep,” explained Menuisier.

“That race wasn’t really run to suit and the ground was not quite as soft as it should be for him to show his true potential, so we felt we would find a bit more improvement in the Futurity and he did.

“It was very satisfactory and he was just beaten by a better horse on the day. There is not much more you can say, it was absolutely fantastic.”

Menuisier is yet to taste Classic success but he appears to have plenty of ammunition tucked away at his West Sussex base for 2024 and can now savour the prospect of aiming his high-class youngsters at some of racing’s biggest races when they return to the track next season.

“We’ve had a tough season so I think it is important until Christmas to stay on a bit of a cloud and then from January onwards we can start working out plans for all of them,” he said.

“It is hard to tell how much more improvement they are going to find but War Chimes looks like a lovely middle-distance stayer and Tamfana could be literally anything. She has won over seven furlongs and she won her maiden over a mile. She’s got speed and should stay a bit and is very exciting.

“Obviously the two colts, Sunway and Devil’s Point, are ones for the Classics as well and we have some other horses that we won with and put away like Goodwood Odyssey and Ashariba and a few more that have run only once or not at all that will come to hand next season.

“It is exciting and we don’t want to get too excited too soon, but it is time to reflect and enjoy now and hopefully things go according to plan and we can get excited again next spring. I’m looking forward to it.”

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