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John Stewart dreaming of Epsom glory with Sequoia

By Racing TV

Last Updated: Sun 1 Nov 2026

The euphoria of Giant Sequoia’s Futurity Trophy triumph has John Stewart floating on air, with dreams of Classic glory set to keep the American warm over the winter months.

Doncaster in October may be a far cry from the businessman’s tranquil home surroundings of Kentucky during the US autumn, but it was at Town Moor where his Resolute Racing silks were carried to a first British Group One.

It was made all the more sweeter for Stewart given the exciting Aidan O’Brien-trained son of Frankel, who he owns alongside the Coolmore partners and is the first homebred colt to run under the Resolute banner, bounced back superbly from National Stakes disappointment to strike in South Yorkshire.

Stewart told the Press Association: “It was awesome and to have our first homebred produce that kind of performance is unbelievable. Some people go their whole lives without having a horse do something like that so we’re just very fortunate.

“I knew he was going to bounce back and I bet him. He had a bug the race before (in the National Stakes) and I know people think that is just making an excuse for a poor performance.

“The one thing that Aidan wasn’t really sure about was the ground so it was the big unknown going to Doncaster, but he handled it well.

“I think Giant Sequoia is a testament to the investment I made and early on I was criticised for how much money I spent but my philosophy is you get what you pay for and when you’re new to something like I am, investing in quality can help you catch up with the established order in the industry.”

Giant Sequoia in action at Doncaster (Richard Sellers/PA)

Giant Sequoia was cut to as short as 9-1 in places behind stablemate Darkness Falls for next year’s Derby, with O’Brien describing him as a “Guineas, Derby, French Derby horse, all those things”.

However, for Stewart it is Epsom Downs where he hopes to be donning his top hat on the first Saturday in June, where the colt would have the chance to avenge the agonising Oaks defeat of his mother Pink Dogwood back in 2019.

“We trust Aidan to decide his campaign next year and decide what he does and he always thought he would be a better three-year-old than two-year-old being by Frankel,” continued Stewart. “We are just so happy to see him do what he has done this year.

“For me Epsom and the Derby is the pinnacle of horse racing so to have a horse to even consider for that is just truly amazing.

“If he goes to Epsom Downs which is still a tall task and a long way off then I think he will be the first Kentucky bred horse to run in the race since the 1980s. It would be a dream to represent the Kentucky-bred horse in the Derby”

Giant Sequoia has had a fine season (Brian Lawless/PA)

It proved to be an exciting weekend on both sides of the continent for the owner, who also unleashed another talented youngster at Churchill Downs.

Stewart continued: “We were delighted with Giant Sequoia on Saturday and then on Sunday we had one of our other two-year-olds race at Churchill Downs for the first time and he ran some fast speed figures. Our two-year-olds are definitely shaking things up.

“His name is Lord Mischief and we paid $3million for him at the sales. The trainer Brad Cox had only worked him three times and thought he would need the race and he’s a big horse so he said he just wanted to see him gallop out well.

“We didn’t really expect him to run like he did and he really fought for it which is rare for a horse first time out and then the next day when we saw the speed figures we got really excited about what he did.”

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