Hot Streak: Three-Year-Olds To Watch in 2020

Racing Analyst Adam Brookes looks at Tweenhills sire Hot Streak's first three-year-old crop ahead of the resumption of racing.

Naturally, there will be an air of anticipation when Hot Streak’s Listed Prix Cavalassur winner Flaming Princess returns to the track in 2020. After also finishing in the frame in the Gr.3 Prix d’Arenberg and Gr.2 Flying Childers Stakes for The Cool Silk Partnership and Richard Faheyy, she sold at the Tattersalls December Mare Sale for 200,000gns.

Flaming Princess was bought by BBA Ireland on behalf of the Irish National Stud Racing Club and will carry their blue and emerald green colours this year, when she will be trained by Willie McCreery. The club and McCreery combined with another smart sprinting filly in 2019 with Lethal Promise winning two Listed races.

Flaming Princess has shown each of her owners a handsome profit so far as she was a £20,000 yearling and sold for £60,000 at the breeze-ups.

Another £60,000 breezer and very promising Hot Streak for 2020 is King Ragnar. Runner-up on his first two starts – including in a big field Newbury maiden – King Ragnar got off the mark over six furlongs at Kempton in November for owner Sheikh Mana Bin Mohammed Al Maktoum and Roger Varian. From an opening mark of 82 he will be winning more races.

Hot Touch beat next-time-out winners when smoothly taking a Kempton fillies’ novice in July and then finished fifth of eight in the Gr.2 Rockfel Stakes at Newmarket. Heavy ground was an obvious excuse for her final run and she should bounce back this year for Dr Ali Ridha and Hugo Palmer.

Other previous winners to look out for are Illusionist (now with Grant Tuer, who had his best ever season in 2019) and Qaaddim, Tom Tulliver and Winning Streak, each of whom have been gelded since last seen.

A couple of Hot Streaks who are still maidens but will not be for long are Borstal Bull and Hot Summer. Borstall Bull shaped with promise at Doncaster on debut and then went close at Wolverhampton; the fourth won next time and Borstall Bull himself will go on progressing.

Hot Summer has finished in the frame on all three starts and, with an official rating of 84, will be competing in useful three-year-old handicaps. He’s a scopey colt and finished directly in front of a next-time-out winner over a mile at Ffos Las.