Visitors coming on the National Stud tours this year are likely to see two new faces during their visit as new kids on the block Lancaster Bomber and Rajasinghe make themselves at home.

The duo arrived towards the end of last year and were given some time to settle down into their new surroundings before they were moved across to their home in the Stallion Unit. With loads of interest in their arrival, the pair are now set for a few dates when the breeding season kicks off on the 14th of February. It’s one of those funny coincidences that the start of the breeding season shares a date with the day recognised as being all about love.

It’s always going to be better to see these handsome horses in the flesh during one of the National Stud Tours but we thought that we’d  share some information and some of the career highlights of the two new kids on the block.  To book your tour of The National Stud this season click here.

LANCASTER BOMBER

War Front x  Sun Shower

It didn’t take Lancaster Bomber to make an impression given that he won on his second start as a two-year-old and while there were high expectations given the assignments that he was handed, it was only towards the end of his first season that he showed what he may be capable of by running second to stablemate Churchill in the Dewhurst Stakes (Gr 1) at Newmarket before another runner-up finish in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf (Gr 1).

A busy three-year-old campaign followed with notable performances in the 2,000 Guineas at Newmarket when finishing fourth and runner up finishes in the St James’s Palace Stakes (Gr 1) at Ascot, the Woodbine Mile Stakes (Gr 1) in Canada and the Breeders’ Cup Mile at Del Mar. It was a campaign that saw him run in six different countries, all at the highest level.

In contrast, his four year-old season included just three wins but it would be his most successful yet as he ran a creditable third in the Lockinge Stakes at Newbury before a strong front-running performance to land the Tattersalls Gold Cup (Gr 1) at the Curragh in what would be his final race before retiring to stud.

RAJASINGHE

Choisir x  Bunditten

One of Rajasinghe’s major racing achievements include the fact that he ran the fastest ever recorded time for a two-year-old over six furlongs at Ascot, beating subsequent Group One winners in the process.

His career got off to a flyer with two wins in the space of a month the first of those by a comfortable margin on debut at Newcastle before his low-flying heroics at Royal Ascot. That win was made more impressive by the fact that he was slow to jump, bumped early and scrubbed along before emerging from the pack as the leading danger before prevailing by a head.

Relive that wonderful performance by watching the video below: