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Available Shares
New HIT Purchase
Guineas Horses in Training Sale 2025
Lot 127
Francis Drake
Purchase price: 15,000 gns
Description - Bay gelding
Age - 3 years
Trainer - George Boughey
Craven House Stables House, Newmarket
Introducing PV's newest recruit...
Lot 127 - FRANCIS DRAKE
Official Rating: 63
Previous Trainer - Simon & Ed Crisford.
PV Trainer - George Boughey
Francis Drake was sold as part of the Godolphin consignment at this week’s Guineas Horse In Training sale and throughout the week he had attracted plenty of attention with viewing’s and vetting’s.
He vetted as clean as a whistle and actually had the best report of all the horses we vetted in the sale.
George was keen to train him and has also kept a leg (25%) himself.
We have had two winners and a second in the last 2 weeks with George. Add to that his hugely successful training performance with Oliver Show, improving him from a rating of 81 to his current mark of 99 and it’s a no brainer to have "Frank" with the best young trainer in Newmarket!
Physical?
As soon as I saw this horse in the flesh I KNEW my theory about his incorrect campaigning so far was correct and I will cover that in more detail later.
Francis Drake is a well put together, strong & compact type. Overall he was a lovely physical which you would imagine for a Godolphin Homebred.
He is by a stallion we love at the moment, BELARDO. Our multiple winner this year Tuco Salamanca is also by this stallion and we’ve noticed some similarities between the two. The reason for Tuco’s defeat at Southwell was because we rushed him in the early stage of this race, after being slow away, to get a prominent position. This didn’t allow him to settle his wind and get him in a rhythm. Francis Drake wears a tongue tie, and while his wind showed a 2A (very good) I feel that his previous front running/prominently ridden tactics are not suitable for him.
How will you improve this horse?
Not only would I expect there to be improvement straight off the bat from the change of hands from the Crisford’s to Boughey’s, but the race planning and tactics which we will implement should help to do this also!
I think he has been ridden completely wrong and also over the wrong trip.
His last 3 runs have been over:
7f / 6f / 7f
His stride data would suggest he wants 5.5/6f on sharper tracks.
Form breakdown:
28/03 - Lingfield - 2nd over 7f
After being sent off favourite in the betting, he had the right track but the wrong trip & produced his best performance to date being beaten on the line by a subsequent winner who is likely still well handicapped.
10/04 - Newcastle - 4th over 6f
This time sent off joint second favourite, FD has the right trip, but at the wrong track. Newcastle being a straight & galloping track where the wind plays a fair impact on the results. FD was ridden prominently with no cover into a headwind. Considering these factors would have been against him, in our eyes, he has done well to finish fourth.
26/04 - Doncaster -13/13 over 7f
Again sent off as favourite under completely incorrect conditions and tactics. Doncaster, similar to Newcastle, would be a straight & galloping track, so it was no surprise to see him ‘Weaken over 1f out’ (Racing Post) after already racing prominently for 6f into another strong headwind. He was short of racing room and to me it looked like Jack Mitchell done the right thing and looked after him.
I think he wants to be ridden mid division or possibly further back, just so he can settle and get his wind organised and in a rhythm instead of rushed prominent tactics.
We may experiment with some headgear in the future but we will see how things go before committing to that.
We’re very excited to get things going with the well named ‘Francis Drake’ and hope to welcome a bunch of new owners into our newest syndicate.
Owen and the PV Team
Francis Drake
"Hey guys, delighted to get Francis Drake from the Guineas Horse in Training sale. Look, he's a horse who obviously we've given him a wind op. Why? 2 sort of bits of information on his scope, look like we could have helped him, but also Billy (Loughnane) who rides a lot for me. He actually flagged the horse up as a horse he had heard make a noise riding in a race with the horse. So, the big selling point to us was to try and ride the horse a bit differently, probably bring it back in trip as well. He's a strong travelling horse who looks like he should have the gears to drop back, certainly a furlong, maybe even 2 in his grade. So I'm looking forward to riding him with restraint and I think it's sort of bigger fields, handicaps, where they go a good gallop. He doesn't necessarily have a chronic wind problem, but it's something that we can help him with. And I think, so a combination of riding him different and his surgery, he can be a lot of fun for us going forward. I'm delighted to have a share in him. I think hopefully he can progress through the summer and if we can get him on the right curve. He's the sort of horse who could be targeted at the Racing League and other such sort of added prize money competitions."
George Boughey
A limited amount of 2.5% shares may be available. Please enquire for details.
Initial Payment - including all fees up to 31st May
2.5% - £733.75
5% - £1,467.50
10% - £2935.00
25% - £7,337.50
Monthly Training Fees from 1st June 2025
2.5% - £125
5% - £250
10% - £480
25% - £1150
Interested?
Please get in touch if you would like more information or complete the form below to purchase shares.
Each share includes
the thrill and excitement that owning a racehorse brings, plus...
Guaranteed Owners Badge, with Access to Parade Ring & "Owners & Trainers" Facilities
Resale & Prize Money Return
at purchased percentage
First Class Horse Updates: from
purchase through to sale, & everything in between!
Easy & Open Access to PV Partners
Privately Arranged Stable Visits
to suit you
PV Community Access
Off the Shelf or Bespoke
We always offer standard 5-25% on our pricing structure, but we pride ourself on our flexibility and we are happy to put together something 'bespoke' to suit your needs. So whether it's a smaller share as an introduction to racehorse ownership or as a special gift, or a larger purchase such as a 'leg' or a half share partnership, or even a whole horse with a bunch of mates, we will always try to put together the perfect package for you. Just give us a call, drop any of us an email or fill in the contact form and one of us will be in touch to discuss options.
Interested? Want to learn more?
Dream of naming your own racehorse?
We can help with that! Naming rights are usually available when you buy shares in a racehorse with Pompey Ventures, but you need to get in quick! If you have your heart set on naming your horse, speak to Owen or Zach and they can offer a bespoke "PV Naming" option.
