Dabbling 2026

Northern based sprint handicapper for 2026.

Photos & Video


Racehorse Profile

Dabbling looks to be a genuine sprinting prospect for the 2026 season having had a very pleasing year as a juvenile in 2025. For a filly by Ghaiyyath she showed plenty of speed in her early races but looked perfectly capable of progressing from 5f to 6f in the fullness of time.

The filly's father, Ghaiyyath, isn't the type of sire we would usually associate with an Ollie Pears purchase. His progeny might well be expected to progress and mature with age and that looks the way his first crop has gone. However, this filly is crossed with a mare with speed on the distaff side and as she develops, she could be more precocious than many by Ghaiyyath.

Ghaiyyath was a top-class middle distance performer but Ollie reported that she had shown a pleasing amount of speed when asked on the gallops. This is often an encouraging sign. When assessing her pedigree we did comment: “Dabyah looks to have injected plenty of speed into her offspring by Dubawi and Pinatubo and if that trait is carried by Baylasan [Dabbling’s dam] then this cross with Ghaiyyath looks fascinating. It will be surprising if Dabbling is a real speed merchant but she could show a bit more dash than a cursory look at her pedigree might at first suggest. It would also be no surprise to see her progress further as she matures.” .

She certainly showed plenty of dash on her debut for us at Beverley over the minimum trip. Having found herself out the back in the early stages she made eye-catching progress through the field late on. She had been pencilled as our main hope for the 2025 Rous Stakes but a small dose of sore shins in the days leading up to the race meant she was withdrawn

Trainer Ollie Pears told us

”We target the Rous Stakes every season – it’s like our Derby Day and so we were looking forward to her running a big race. It was disappointing that she had to come out but it may have been a blessing in disguise. She had a bit of a mid-season break which allowed her to recover and also grow and develop a bit. She ran in a couple of decent Novice races at Pontefract and Beverley and I was very happy with her progress.”

The reason that Dabbling found herself in more competitive races was due to an administrative quirk that occurred at the time of the filly’s purchase. The public purchase price dictates the type of races some juveniles contest but as this was erroneously registered as a Private Sale it fell outside the auspices of those guidelines. Dabbling had to run in open Novices and Maidens which are inevitably more competitive as they are not restricted. For a filly that cost just 2,000gns this was a frustrating turn of events.

Despite mixing it with some very expensive purchases, Dabbling never looked out of place and although the quirk dictated that she would have to wait until Nurseries to be on a level playing field she showed plenty of promise in her first three races.

She is still racing in 2025 but Ollie outlined what 2026 might hold for Dabbling

”She’s done well as a juvenile so far but I think she could improve over the winter. Her breeding suggests she might and it could be that by the time she is hitting the course as a three-year-old 5f might well be on the sharp side for her. I can see her starting at 6f and possibly even getting a bit further.. She’s not short of toe though so I will see how she goes.”

Dabbling really does look to fit the bill of what we have become accustomed from horses that we have had in training with Ollie Pears. Great value at the sales, they show plenty of promise as two-year-olds but seem to winter well and become great syndicate horses. Running regularly and competitively we are fully expecting Dabbling to follow in the track of so many stablemates that have worn the blue and yellow silks.

We have been very fortunate in recent years with a crop of very lovely fillies. Daphne May, Big Bear Hug and Daisy Roots in the south, Crown Princess, Golden Gal, Kaaress and Keldeo with Ollie and there looks to be every chance that Dabbling will take her place alongside those multiple winners.

Ollie Pears told us

”She should make into a lovely three-year-old. There’s scope for her to improve with another winter to grow and develop and although she might still win this season at two, I’m pretty sure she will be winning next year too.”

She is a likeable and popular horse in the yard who looks to be blessed with a good temperament and good attitude towards her work and racing. All these characteristics will stand her in good stead for her future career.

Dabbling will be available to view at our Spring yard visits (set for March to mid-April) by her shareholders, prior to going racing as a 3YO in 2026.


Form & Race Plans

Having established herself as a genuine looking 60-70 Handicapper this will be the likeliest route for Dabbling through 2026. She has the scope to improve as she grows and develops over the winter and eventually she could find herself in higher grade races.

She is likely to start at 6f and Ollie is likely to want to find some Good ground for her. If we have a particularly wet spring it may slightly delay her re-appearance. A dry spring like 2025 could see the trainer try and pick off some early season races.

As the season goes on we would not be surprised to see her racing over 7f. This could give her the opportunity to benefit from her weight-for-age allowance as the 3YOs start taking on the older horses in late spring. Ollie Pears rarely misses an opportunity for this kind of handicapper to add to their winning tally and we fully expect Dabbling to be in the Winners Enclosure at some point in 2026.

Your online Racehorse Manager will provide full details of all developments in terms of the horse's progress and race planning as the season progresses.

Dabbling 2026 Guarantee

We expect to get 3-7 runs and sometimes more from our older horses per share period/season, however, you should expect periods of no racing as a result of recuperation from injury or training setbacks. This share period starts on April 1st 2026 and runs through the turf season and beyond - until November 1st 2026, however, we will be reporting on the horse before the share period starts (from January 2026) should we have anything of importance to share with shareholders.

During the season the horse may be rested or have time away from the track to recover and it is quite normal for a flat horse to have periods of 3-6 weeks rest between races.

We provide guarantees with all our racehorses. If this horse has a season-ending injury and has not already raced twice during the share period, we will replace him with an alternative horse for the remainder of the season. Replacement horses may not be of the same quality, are provided with no further guarantees and no alternative choice can be provided. Prizemoney cannot be paid on any replacements, but all other benefits such as yard visits and race day badges are available.

As a shareholder you must understand that we cannot guarantee your horses performance, a specific volume of runs (beyond our minimum guarantee) or that runs will be evenly spaced throughout the share period. This is the chance you take when owning any racehorse and participating in this ownership experience. If you will be disappointed with only 2-3 runs from your racehorse during the season, then please DO NOT PARTICIPATE IN THIS OR ANY OTHER RACEHORSE, as you run the real risk of being disappointed. We believe in being crystal clear with our shareholders - any participation in racehorse ownership is a risk, and we are unable to make any refunds because of share periods which finish early due to injury or retirement - as training, vets and livery fees for the horse still remain whether they are racing or not and part of your lease payment covers the five months of pre-season training.

This risk is the chance all shareholders take, as we do ourselves when participating in the ownership of a racehorse.