Unbeaten Adonius part-bought, targets Breeders' Cup after Ascot skip

Virginia-based Riverdee Stable and West Paces Racing have taken a part-ownership stake in Adonius, the unbeaten juvenile whose next races now point straight at Keeneland and the Breeders' Cup. Rebecca Menzies has already kept the colt out of Royal Ascot, a deliberate pause that fits a horse being saved for a bigger second half of the season.

Menzies has said Adonius was "50 per cent sold" to American investors, and the move gives the gelding a new backer with a clear turf profile. Riverdee Stable is run from Middleburg, Virginia, by Sean and Anne Clancy, and it specializes in turf racing, a fit for a son of Soldier's Call whose best work has come on fast summer ground. Riverdee describes Adonius as a horse that won his debut at Musselburgh by seven lengths, came back to win there again 10 days later, then added the CAA Stellar Lily Agnes EBF Stakes at Chester on May 6.

That Chester race, run over 5f 15yds on good-to-firm ground, drew seven runners and carried a winner's purse of £25,770. Timeform recorded Adonius as the winner by 1¼ lengths with Kaiya Fraser aboard, a useful sign that the colt did more than simply scrape through the step up in class. Since then, Menzies has said he has grown and filled out, which helps explain why his camp has been willing to manage him carefully rather than rush him into the Royal Meeting.

The immediate map was already clear enough to show why American money came in now. Menzies had looked at Sandown on July 3 or the Prix Yacowlef at Deauville on July 4, with the Tipperary Stakes on July 4 also under consideration and the Norfolk another entry option before the colt was expected to move on to the Molecomb at Goodwood. Beyond those summer sprints, the main target is Keeneland's Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint on October 30, a 5.5-furlong turf race for male and female 2-year-olds with a $1 million purse and a 12-horse limit. That is the route Adonius now looks built to follow.