Shares are available with Deva Racing in Khangai, a four-year-old gelding by Twilight Son who has recently joined the Newmarket stable of James Owen.

A half-brother to the US minor Stakes winner Simmy’s Temple, and a 135,000gns purchase at Book 2 of the Tattersalls October Yearling Sale at the start of his career, Khangai was sparingly raced as a two-year-old before being gelded ahead of his three-year-old campaign.

He made steady progress in the spring and summer of 2023, finishing second in a 1m Redcar handicap from a mark of 58 and winning a 1m2f Chepstow handicap from just a pound lower. He went on to finish second at Ffos Las when rated 62 and earned another silver medal on the all-weather at Chelmsford.

There have been flickers of that level from Khangai this year, notably when third at Nottingham and Ffos Las, though an overall deterioration in his form means that he joins his new yard with a basement mark of 49 on both surfaces. This surely grossly underestimates his ability. 

Khangai has proven his effectiveness from 1m to 1m2f, on ground ranging from good to firm to soft, plus the all-weather, and all tracks seem to come alike. He looks nailed on to capitalise on his lenient handicap rating in the near future, particularly when the identity of his new trainer is taken into account.  

A five-time Champion Arabian Trainer and pre-trainer of Classic winners including the 2022 Derby winner Desert Crown, James Owen has made a huge splash since taking out a full thoroughbred licence in early 2023.

He has gone on to train more than 50 winners over jumps at an astonishing strike-rate, notably securing Gr.2 honours with the crack juvenile hurdler Burdett Road, and is now rapidly closing in on his half century of flat winners this season. The aforementioned Burdett Road won the Listed Godolphin Stakes when returned to the flat recently, while exciting two-year-old Wimbledon Hawkeye put himself in next year’s Classic picture with a win in the Gr.2 Royal Lodge Stakes.

In addition to making a name for himself as a big race trainer, James has also proven to be a dab hand at picking up horses with relatively low ratings and going on to complete a sequence of wins. Enthused, My Gift To You, Destinado, and Kinetic are just some of the horses he has achieved this with in the recent past and Khangai looks a prime candidate to add his name to that list. 

He is sure to begin climbing the handicapping ladder over the coming months as a winter all-weather campaign is on the cards. He will be targeted at the all-weather bonus, whereby a horse can earn points for every top five finish on an all-weather track between 22nd October and 18th April next year. 

There are monthly prizes of up to £20,000 to the winning horse, and the overall winner will receive a cheque for £100,000 next spring. Please get in touch to find out more about this exciting project!