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Racehorse Profile
Spark In The Coal was bought at the Tattersalls Somerville September Yearling sale in 2025. She has the potential to be another one of trainer Ollie Pears’ astute purchases at this sale. The dam has a three winners from four runners record so far, and the trainer has a great knack for finding yearlings from young stallions who are out of the limelight, but still producing very decent sorts.
Ollie told us: “This filly seemed to have a nice way about her. I noticed in the catalogue there was an update for the dam that said her 2YO had won a couple of weeks before. She’d won a race in which our horse, Indefensible, had finished third and we think a lot of that gelding, so the winner must be quite useful. It was the dam's first two-year-old winner, but was bred to be quite precocious, and this filly is by Supremacy looks like he might fit a similar bill.”
With his eye for a bargain at the sales, Ollie has made some outstanding value purchases for our shareholders over the years. Many horses that have gone through the ring 'under the radar' have ended up being multiple winners for our shareholders. This filly has all the makings of being yet another outstanding purchase by the trainer.
The dam Miss Carbonia looks to have got lost somewhere in the Godolphin machine despite her success on the course. She is by Lilbourne Lad who may not be the most fashionable of Acclamation’s sons, and she found herself sold to the Kildaragh Stud for just 7,000gns. The success of this filly's half brother, Advertised, has shown this to be an astute purchase and in truth, it is slightly surprising we were able to pick up this filly for only £5,000.
As existing shareholders will know, Ollie Pears loves to target the Rous Stakes at York – usually on the second Friday in June. We hit the bar a few times with several runners before our Celestial Flight won the race in 2023. Ollie won the race again in 2024 and in 2025, landing the hat-trick with our very own Carnation Queen. It is no surprise, even at this early stage, that the Rous Stakes is a major target for this filly.
On her arrivial at Malton, Ollie said us:
“She seems like a really sweet filly. She has been very easy to handle and looks as though she will settle down quite quickly. She’s the first of our yearlings to arrive and I’m really pleased with her. She's certainly one to be looking forward to next year.
She is currently at Ollie Pears' yard in Malton and will be broken in before November and then enter full training straight afterwards. After trotting and cantering in December, she will have a short rest before getting ready to race in the opening stages of the 2026 season.
We are already reporting on her progress for shareholders on an ad-hoc basis, reporting on the major breakthroughs with her training - and we will provide regular updates on her progress on the gallops and with her education in detail from January onward. During the heart of the season, we publish update reports every 7-10 days, and more regularly when she actively starts racing.
At this stage she looks as though she could be quite an early filly. If she is to head for the Rous Stakes at York she would likely have a run or two before that in April or May. We would expect her to grow and develop through the season and she should race into the autumn of 2026. We expect between 3 and 7 runs from her during the season, and she will most likely race around the Yorkshire, Lancashire and North Eastern racetracks.
Spark In The Coal (her name is a reference to her dam, Miss Carbonia) really is a blank page - but an intriguing blank page! The weight of her speed influence on the dam's side is considerable, and it will be fascinating to see how she develops over winter and into the heart of next summer. We hope you'll join us and enjoy the ride!
Form & Race Plans
Although the Rous Stakes is very much the preferred target the race plans for this filly will be determined by her level of ability shown at home and on the course in 2026. On breeding she should start at either five or six furlongs and then will perhaps get further, possibly seven furlongs as she develops physically and mentally during the year.
The standard route of a horse of this type will be to start in Maiden (races for horses who have yet to win a race) or Novice/Auction (2YO only races where previous winners get extra weight) or Selling/Claiming races and her performance in these first three or four races will determine whether she goes into Nursery handicaps, or is good enough to tackle conditions races or even step into pattern races (high value, prestige races).
If, as we believe, she shows that she will need a minimum of six furlongs, then there are plenty of races available for her from late May onwards. We will assess this filly's progress and if Ollie believes she has the right level of ability she may get entries for some of the more prestigious races in the racing calendar.
We will assess this filly's progress and if Ollie believes she has the right level of ability she may get entries for some of the more prestigious races in the racing calendar. Your online Racehorse Manager will provide full details of all developments in terms of the filly's progress and race planning as the season progresses.
Spark In The Coal 2026 Guarantee
We expect to get 2-5 runs and sometimes more from all our 2YO horses per share period, however, you should expect periods of no racing as a result of recuperation from injury or training setbacks. This share period starts proper at the start of the turf season on April 1st 2026 and runs through the turf season until November 1st 2026, however we will be reporting on the filly 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. 2YO's are particularly susceptible to sore shins, bone chips and growing pains, and can need a greater time to recover between races.>/p>
We provide guarantees with all our racehorses: If this filly has a season-ending injury and has not already RACED TWICE during the share period, we will replace her 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.
2YO's are the most risky of racehorses to own - and you should be aware that there is a chance that your 2YO may not race at all. Around 20% of 2YO's will not reach the racecourse during their 2YO season simply because they are not ready either physically or mentally.
As a shareholder you must understand that we cannot guarantee your horse's performance, a specific volume of runs (beyond our minimum guarantee if injured) 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 could be 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 and livery fees for the horse still remain whether they are racing or not and part of your lease payment covers their build-up to the season.
These risks are the chance all shareholders take, as we do ourselves when participating in the ownership of racehorses.