2025 in Review: Triumphs, Talent, and Thoroughbred Excellence - Cornelius Lysaght
At York racecourse, they won’t be forgetting Thursday 21 August 2025 in a hurry – one race in particular, according to my spies in the food and beverage department.
Although three of the day’s seven winners were syndicate-owned, I’m delighted to relay the news that those responsible for entertaining successful connections said it was the Opulence Thoroughbreds grouping that really stood out following the unforgettable victory of Royal Fixation under William Buick in the Lowther Stakes.
The officials were caught up, like so many others, in the scenes of raw excitement and the sheer (noisy) delight – emotions not always as prevalent as they might be in modern-day flat racing – displayed in the immediate aftermath of the Ed Walker-trained filly powering from last to first in the always significant six-furlong Group Two race.
As for champagne reserves following the post-race celebrations: put it this way, we are talking a performance by everyone involved that certainly matched the majestic manner in which Royal Fixation swept aside her rivals out on the track.
Representing a second win on the bounce in the Lowther for Ed, Camilla and the Kingsdown team, she was also the most significant victory to date not only for Opulence but also for first-season stallion Palace Pier; the York form plus near-misses in the Duchess of Cambridge Stakes on the July course and, at Group One level, in the Rowley Mile’s Cheveley Park Stakes, made her the principal standard-bearer during a promising start to her dad’s stud career.
After a spectacular time as a two-year-old, the filly now continues her career with Karl Burke, where she’ll be trained alongside her narrow Duchess of Cambridge conqueror Venetian Sun which should make for an interesting rivalry going forward – hope so. Best of luck to Karl and to Yulong Investments in whose silks she’ll be racing on, and congratulations to all of her previous owners.
Of course, nerves jangled around Royal Fixation as she rose up the pecking order, but it’s fair to say that everyone was quite possibly even more jumpy when Addison Grey and Saffie Osborne lined up against just three rivals for a fairly run-of-the-mill novices’ stakes at Salisbury in July.
As the sole male and the only previous winner in the field, the handsome, Clive Cox-trained grey was required to carry much more weight than his rivals but was still sent off as 11/1 ON favourite, seriously short, though that’s absolutely no guarantee of success, as supporters of our trainer William Haggas’ Doom at Ripon in 2023 will confirm after that filly was ‘turned over’ in a two-horse race at odds of 1/25.
What could possibly go wrong? Well, as it turned out nothing, and he and Saffie bounded home to a 17-length victory, to the relief of all, who emerged from watching behind their sweaty palms or the sofa to realise that the horse was the 100th winner of Opulence’s short but already illustrious career. And two races later, as a more sensible 5/2 favourite, Addison Grey added to the tally in the handicap reserved for grey horses-only back at Newmarket.
He’s a son of the established top-ten stallion Havana Grey, the sire also responsible for Opulence’s exciting two-year-old filly Sukanya, trained by Jack Channon to win on debut at Newbury before bumping into a couple of Aidan O’Brien’s subsequent Group One winners in Precise (when fourth at Glorious Goodwood) and Diamond Necklace (when runner-up in a Listed race at Leopardstown in Dublin), results which bode particularly well for her future.
George Bass joined Opulence’s increasingly glittering list of winning riders when successful on Sukanya at Newbury, a list that was topped in 2025 by the redoubtable PJ McDonald, thanks in particular to wins on the Andrew Balding runners Marchogion, when positively storming home at Chester, and Old Is Gold, in the prestigious Two-Year-Old Trophy at Beverley. Both horses were later well sold.
So, many happy memories of 2025, and now lots to look forward to in the next twelve months for Opulence’s owners – with exciting yearlings, winter runners in the UAE, the ever-expanding breeding operation and plenty of exclusive events running alongside the horses.
Best wishes for a Happy Christmas and a New Year hopefully dripping with winners.