roman fortress

This exciting three-year-old colt is based with Classic-winning trainer Hugo Palmer at Michael Owen’s stunning Manor House Stables in Cheshire.

Hugo forged his reputation during more than a decade in Newmarket, sending out Galileo Gold to win the Gr.1 2,000 Guineas and Covert Love to win the Gr.1 Irish Oaks, amongst a host of big race victories. He moved to Manor House Stables in 2022 and has continued his success since relocating, enjoying a particularly strong 2024 campaign when sending out 76 winners.

Roman Fortress is a son of the prominent young sire Calyx, who won the Gr.2 Coventry Stakes for John Gosden during a brief but brilliant racing career and now stands at Coolmore Stud. His first crop emerged in 2023 and included the Gr.1 Dewhurst Stakes third Eben Shaddad, the Gr.2 Criterium de Maisons-Laffitte victrix Classic Flower, the Gr.2 Duchess of Cambridge Stakes winner Persian Dreamer and the Gr.1 Irish Oaks third Purple Lily, amongst many others. 

An April foal, Roman Fortress is out of the Bahamian Bounty mare Herridge, who won over 7f on the all-weather for Richard Hannon as a two-year-old. 

She has since produced three winners from three runners, headed by the five-time scorer Freak Out. Herridge is a half-sister to the Listed-placed Medieval, while the Gr.3 Princess Elizabeth Stakes winner Epsom Icon is another close-up member of a family that dates back to several high-class Cheveley Park-bred horses such as Red Camellia and Red Bloom.

Hugo Palmer describes Roman Fortress as a “really athletic and strong horse,” and it is encouraging to note that he was given entries in the £300,000 Weatherbys Sales Race at the Doncaster St Leger meeting and the £500,000 Goffs Sales Race at York as a two-year-old.

Ultimately, Roman Fortress didn’t make it to the track as a two-year-old, but the positive bulletins we received from the trainer suggest he will be worth waiting for in 2025.