ROA Owner Breeder

Galileo - Kind (Danehill)

Endless possibilities FRANKEL

Yearlings

Horseracing lucky to have John Gosden in its corner

EDWARD ROSENTHAL Editor

Wednesday, November 26, the day when the Autumn Budget is announced, is crunch time for British racing. Will the government take heed of the industry’s concerns about the dangers of raising the remote betting tax rate, or press ahead with its harmonisation plans?

Making its protest in Westminster on September 10, during an afternoon when all live racing in Britain was cancelled, the sport came together to highlight the potentially devastating consequences of a Treasury tax raid.

Among the speakers at the Queen Elizabeth II Centre, a stone’s throw from the Palace of Westminster, was six-times champion trainer John Gosden, representing the training profession of which he has been a member for 46 years.

Gosden talked about the grim situation the country faced in the late 1970s when strikes and economic strife were the order of the day, recalling Newmarket as a struggling town with empty yards and studs. He warned that any damage to the equilibrium of racing and betting’s relationship could see many businesses hit the buffers.

oversees one of the town’s premier training operations. There is no necessity for Gosden to be so vocal in defence of the sport he loves. The fact that he is heavily involved in trying to preserve racing in Britain is certainly a huge positive in the current environment. He also understands that the next generation, which includes his son, must be given every chance to succeed.

Lord Allen, new BHA Chair, was also present at the Westminster event and spoke of racing standing shoulder to shoulder in its attempts to fight off the government’s betting tax reforms.

His arrival in Holborn was heralded by some as vital to racing’s modernisation plans, as he implements a new independent Board structure, the aim of which is to take hard decisions for the overall good of the sport and deliver meaningful change. Let’s hope the Labour peer’s master plan isn’t derailed by the Treasury.

He understands that the next generation must be given every chance to succeed

Making my way into central London via an alternative route – the tube drivers had picked that week to stop working in a dispute over pay and conditions – and passing other demonstrations about immigration and Brexit as I walked towards Westminster (the buses and taxis were sat in gridlocked traffic), it wasn’t difficult to imagine Britain experiencing the same kind of problems as in the past.

Gosden, who with son Thady features in this month’s Big Interview (pages 32-38), worked out that he would be better off starting his career in the sport overseas, specifically in California. Of course, he returned to Newmarket and now

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Bloodstock Editor: Nancy Sexton

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In this issue we also speak to James Hanly of Ballyhimikin Stud, enjoying a golden run as a breeder thanks to the likes of high-class duo Ombudsman and Estrange.

With the Gosden-trained Ombudsman, owned by Godolphin, set for the Champion Stakes and Cheveley Park Stud’s Estrange, trained by David O’Meara, a likely runner in the Arc, it could be some October for Hanly, who tells Nancy Sexton why his passion for breeding racehorses remains as strong as ever at his County Tipperary operation (pages 40-44).

Finbar Kent, the son of Mickley Stud boss and Group 1winning breeder Richard Kent, is another man set for an exciting few weeks and he explains why he is determined to make his own mark on the sales circuit (pages 46-49).

Racehorse Owners Association Ltd 12 Forbury Road Reading Berkshire RG1 1SB

Tel: 01183 385680

info@roa.co.uk • www.roa.co.uk

Cover: Trainers Thady and John Gosden at their Clarehaven stable in Newmarket in September

Photo: Bill Selwyn

STRADIVARIUS Speed - Soundness

Selling at Goffs Orby Book 1, Tattersalls Book 1 & Book 2, etc.

Our Stradivarius colt has plenty of size, scope and substance. He looks to have a good chance of winning a £25,000 bonus as a two-year-old. LUKE LILLINGSTON

Contact the team today

Joe Bradley 07706 262046 | joe.bradley@nationalstud.co.uk

Jamie Jackson 07794 459108 | jamie.jackson@nationalstud.co.uk

Ed Preece 07772 159927 | edward.preece@nationalstud.co.uk

STRADIVARIUS

Soundness - Sireline

I went to look at Stradivarius and was blown away by his walk and his whole presence. I have used him before and went back to him again this year

EMMA BALDING

Based off the result of the first foal we had by Stradivarius, we sent Lola Paige in his second season who is the dam of an exciting Too Darn Hot filly we sold for 600,000gns last October.

CHOC THORNTON

“Horses

William Haggas Trainer

FROM THE GALLOPS TO GLORY

ROA LEADER

TBritish racing makes its point to Parliament

CHARLIE PARKER President

he #AxeTheRacingTax campaign led by the BHA against the proposed hike in the tax rate on online sports bets managed to cut through into the mainstream media, with the ‘strike’ day producing widespread coverage across the major news channels as well as the domestic and international press. The day itself saw four meetings cancelled as the industry came together for a well-attended event in Westminster.

The announcement that the Autumn Budget would not be delivered until November 26 has meant that the campaign has had to keep the pressure on, with targeted messaging aimed at decision makers as well as continued letter writing to MPs amongst other initiatives. There remains a real threat to racing’s core funding and the knock-on impact in jobs, businesses and communities.

It has been estimated that the increased tax rate could reduce revenues from racing to the Treasury by as much as £300 million. We must continue to hammer home our message in the hope that we are being heard and, most importantly, listened to by those in positions of power and influence.

The two other areas of intense lobbying are the urgent need for levy reform, originally due in April 2024, and the continued curse of affordability checks. Racing is facing continued erosion of the real value of the levy, which not only supports prize-money but is also the largest funder of the BHA, while affordability checks are driving increasing numbers to black market websites, thus denying crucial levy returns and placing punters outside of all safety nets.

Most of these contributions are either added to fees charged through your Weatherby’s racing accounts or as deductions from prize-money. The imbalance of the £15m versus the racecourse contribution of £8.9m highlights a real issue.

Owners are the biggest investors in British racing, dwarfing the amount paid by bookmakers. The BHA, in its new guise post the governance changes, cannot not lose sight of this basic fact and must represent our views to ensure we are not used to further bankroll the industry, especially as there are commercial avenues that are still to be explored.

We must continue to hammer home our message in the hope that we are being heard

There is undoubtedly room to examine and cut costs from the regulatory budget of the BHA and refocus the strategic spend. The list of contributions made by owners shows the wide range of pots being funded. There is an equally worrying list of projects, causes and initiatives that are also being centrally funded, either directly or indirectly by use of resources. This is a double-edged problem. Should owners/central funding be paying for the innumerable causes, and what oversight does the BHA have over the recipients?

The ROA made significant progress with the owners’ professional rider insurance contribution, but that is the tip of the iceberg. We will be urging the BHA to carry out a full root and branch review, to streamline and reduce this burden on owners and the industry.

We are fast approaching a new budget year for the BHA, which inevitably will include a review of fees that owners pay. In 2025, owners’ contribution to the BHA through fees totalled £9.7m, a full £800,000 more than the net contribution made by all the racecourses put together. Over and above the £9.7m, owners made indirect contributions of a further £5.3m to various organisations and schemes, including jockeys’ career-ending insurance, professional riders’ insurance, Retraining of Racehorses, industry training, jockeys’ valets, jockeys’ pension fund, and stable staff.

Racecourse attendance figures have continued the positive upward trend for 2025, with numbers up by 5% overall and the recent Doncaster St Leger Festival showing significant uplift. This offers hope for the future. In addition, the results of Project Beacon highlighted the opportunities that exist, although continued downward trends on betting turnover and the very worrying noises around the foal crop show that the industry faces challenges on many levels.

Our sport has a real opportunity to develop, but it needs to exploit the recent unity and forge ahead with its growth strategy. The results of Project Pace, which seeks a transformational funding solution for British racing, should show us the possibilities that exist for our industry globally.

TBA LEADER

BNew equine welfare levy the right move

KATE SIGSWORTH Deputy Chair

y now all British breeders and Thoroughbred Breeders' Association members will have received a letter in the post and a set of FAQs explaining the introduction of a £60 equine welfare levy, which will be a mandatory fee imposed on all GB-bred foals from 2026 at the foal registration stage.

This new levy will replace the two voluntary levies currently in place totalling £25 that are used for TBA veterinary research and the charity Retraining of Racehorses (RoR).

I know that no one likes being informed that they are going to have to pay more and the TBA are acutely aware of the sustained financial pressures that breeders are experiencing. Therefore I can already hear the question that is going round in your head – why are the TBA imposing an extra cost on us, particularly as we have retired horses as part of our herd and are retraining our own horses as well?

To help me answer this question, I decided to look up on a search engine: ‘Why is welfare so important?’ The reply: ‘Welfare programmes ensure that the most fundamental needs of individuals are met.’

and jockeys all now have structured mandatory payment systems in place for it – to date, breeders are the only ones who don’t. Therefore, it is clear we need to align ourselves with the rest of industry to ensure that aftercare is properly funded.

Of the new levy, £25 will be directed to aftercare via RoR. This will aid in the delivery of their three-year strategy, endorsed by the BHA last year, and which also supports the Horse Welfare Board’s ‘A Life Well Lived’ strategy. It will ensure a comprehensive range of services, educational initiatives and safety net mechanisms are available to all thoroughbreds bred to race, not just those who entered training.

It is appropriate that RoR demonstrates the impact and reach of their initiatives to other stakeholders within the industry on an ongoing basis.

We need to align with the rest of the industry to ensure that aftercare is properly funded

I am thankful that the vast majority of breeders can truthfully say that all the horses under their care have their most fundamental needs not only met, but the level of care we provide often for life indeed surpasses solely fundamental needs. For this the TBA thanks you – your efforts are very much appreciated and keep up the good work!

However, what about those that don’t have these needs met, either by a breeder or at a later stage? What are we as breeders doing to ensure their fundamental needs are met and guarantee there is a safety net for the most vulnerable? This is where the £60 equine welfare levy comes into play –it could be looked on as an insurance, for all the horses we sell on and/or lose contact with.

Aftercare is so important to this industry that owners, trainers, racecourses, sales companies, purchasers and vendors, the Federation of Bloodstock Agents’ members

The remaining £35 will go to the TBA, ensuring the continuation of vital veterinary research, equine infectious disease prevention and control, work on genetic diversity, traceability, sustainable vaccination production and medication stewardship, as well as supporting breeders to achieve the highest possible care and welfare standards. The TBA annual report will continue to detail the activity and spend in this area.

For those thinking we already do enough for welfare, the latest research study conducted by the industry, Project Beacon, found that 27% of the 7,500 people surveyed cited ‘welfare perception’ as the largest barrier to engagement in the sport.

And, for anyone thinking the rise to £60 is steep, the current voluntary donation of £25 has remained unchanged for over 30 years.

The Bank of England inflation calculator shows that £25 in 1990 is the equivalent of £62.36 today. You could even argue that the £60 fee, which demonstrates breeders’ commitment to the horses’ quality of life and proves how we play our part in the lifetime responsibility for the equines that we bring into the world, is in fact excellent value!

CHANGES

People and business

David Maxwell

Owner and amateur jockey calls time on his carer in the saddle aged 47 following medical advice having broken his back for the fourth time in May.

Kenny Alexander

Honeysuckle’s owner is one of 11 individuals charged with offences including bribery and conspiracy to defraud during his time as CEO of GVC Holdings.

Ryan Moore

Coolmore’s number one rider will be out of action for some time after an x-ray revealed the three-time champion jockey had fractured his femur.

Hollie Doyle

28-year-old has been a granted a licence to ride in Hong Kong this winter; Irish star Dylan Browne McMonagle will also have a stint there in the new year.

Arena Racing Company

Racecourse groups takes a 50% stake in Invades, the sports and events business established by Dom Matcham renowned for taking students to the races.

John Egan

Veteran rider has a threemonth ban suspended for two years having taken prohibited substances in medication after a fall at Epsom in December.

Paul Johnson

Niall Houlihan

Grade 1-winning jump jockey attached to Gary Moore’s stable is forced to quit competitive riding aged 25 having suffered a series of head injuries. He partnered Editeur Du Gite to victory in the 2023 Clarence House Chase.

Syd Hosie

Returns to training after serving a 12-month ban having admitted rule breaches on misleading the BHA and failing to keep accurate treatment records.

Jason Hart

Jockey reaches the 1,000 winner milestone in Britain aboard Highclere Thoroughbred Racing’s filly Rhapsody at York on September 7.

Chief Executive of the National Trainers Federation is appointed to the BHA Board.

Jim Crowley

Shadwell’s retained jockey sustains pelvic and leg fractures and colleague Trevor Whelan suffers an ankle fracture after both fell from their mounts in a race at York in September.

Thurles

Horse Racing Ireland steps in to rescue racecourse from closure with former Fairyhouse chief Peter Roe appointed acting manager. Racing is set to resume on October 9.

David Armstrong

Reveals he will step down as Chief Executive of the Racecourse Association at the end of 2025 after six years in the role.

Daniel and Claire Kubler

Husband-and-wife training team who enjoyed Cambridgeshire glory with Astro King are relocating to Bahrain (see Racing around the World, pages 30-31).

CHANGES

People obituaries

Geoff Lewis 89

Former top-class rider will forever be associated with the brilliant Mill Reef, later enjoying Group 1 success as a trainer with sprinter Lake Coniston.

Bruce Raymond 82

Captured three Haydock Sprint Cups among over 2,000 winners before becoming a racing manager to owners including Saeed Suhail.

Josephine Hannon 80

Wife of former champion trainer

Richard snr and mother of 2014 champion trainer Richard jnr who was much admired and respected throughout the sport.

Ron Turcotte 84

Canadian rider partnered the exceptional Secretariat to his US Triple Crown wins in 1973. He was later paralysed after a fall at Belmont Park in 1978.

Mikey O’Connor 44

Amateur rider from County Cork was prolific in point-to-points, enjoying 429 wins over 26 years, while he also had plenty of success as a trainer.

Geoff Greetham 79

Former Director of Timeform and the long-time publishing editor of the Timeform Racehorses and Chasers & Hurdlers annuals.

Racehorse and stallion

MOVEMENTS AND RETIREMENTS

Jonathan’s Way

Son of Vekoma, a high-class juvenile in 2024 when he won a Grade 3 at Churchill Downs, is retired and will begin his stallion career at Airdrie Stud.

Belardo

Sire of top-level winners Gold Phoenix and Red Lion is purchased by the Jockey Club of Turkey having previously stood at Terry Holdcroft’s Bearstone Stud in Shropshire.

Into The Sky

Doreen Tabor buys a share in exciting two-year-old son of Starman, an easy debut winner who was subsequently a close second in the Group 2 Mill Reef Stakes for trainer Jim Boyle.

Dashel Drasher

Stalwart for the Jeremy Scott stable and owners Bridget Tully and Richard Lock, winner of 12 races including the Grade 1 Ascot Chase, is retired aged 12.

Horse

obituaries

Ruling Court 3

Godolphin’s 2,000 Guineas winner, bred by Nursery Place and partners, cannot be saved after contracting laminitis.

Fastnet Rock 24

Champion three-year-old sprinter became a dual champion sire in Australia, his 44 Group/Grade 1 winners featuring Via Sistina and Atlantic Jewel.

Stanhope Gardens 3

Talented colt for Marc Chan, Chelsea Thoroughbreds and Ralph Beckett, fifth to Lambourn in the Derby, succumbs to a gallops accident.

Brave Inca 27

Stable star for Colm Murphy and the Novices Syndicate, taking the 2006 Champion Hurdle among 15 careers wins, ten of those at Grade 1 level.

Globally, TATTERSALLS AUTUMN HORSES IN TRAINING SALE PURCHASES have won 165 GROUP/LISTED RACES since 2022

WITNESS STAND winner of Lennox Stakes, Gr. 2 purchased for 100,000 gns

ROYAL PATRONAGE winner of Canterbury Stakes, Gr. 1 purchased for 300,000 gns

October 27 - 31

Tributes to outstanding riders Geoff Lewis and Bruce Raymond

Racing lost two former stars of the saddle in August in Geoff Lewis and Bruce Raymond, who died aged 89 and 82 respectively.

Lewis won the Derby, King George and Arc on the great Mill Reef, and is the most successful Welsh jockey of all time.

He also rode dual Classic winners Right Tack, Altesse Royale and Mysterious, and enjoyed formidable partnerships with trainers Sir Noel Murless, John Sutcliffe and Mill Reef’s trainer Ian Balding.

Lewis was born in Talgarth, Brecknockshire, but his family moved to London, where he worked as a pageboy in the Waldorf hotel before becoming apprenticed to Ron Smyth in Epsom.

His first winner came on Eastern Imp at Epsom in April 1953, and only four years later he was appointed first jockey to Peter Hastings-Bass, whose powerful yard would be taken over by Balding upon his death.

Lewis went on to amass a worldwide score of about 2,000 victories over a

quarter of a century, twice finishing runner-up to Lester Piggott in the jockeys’ championship and riding big-race winners for Sir Winston Churchill (Tudor Monarch in the 1959 Stewards’ Cup) and Queen Elizabeth II (Magna Carta in the 1970 Ascot Stakes and Doncaster Cup).

He will be forever remembered for his association with Mill Reef, on whom he won a dozen races, headed by the 1971 Derby, Eclipse, King George and Arc, and also taking the Coventry, Gimcrack, Dewhurst, Prix Ganay and Coronation Cup.

Lewis was the first Welsh rider to win the Derby and for good measure took the Oaks on Altesse Royale and the Coronation Cup on Lupe at the same Epsom meeting.

Lewis retired in 1979 and turned his attention to training, which he undertook successfully in Epsom for 20 years, his best horse being champion sprinter Lake Coniston, whose wins included the 1995 July Cup.

In 1983 he saddled Yawa to win the Grand Prix de Paris and a year later won

Silver Wisp finished third for Lewis in the Derby.

He won 539 races in Britain before retiring as a trainer in 1999.

Five years later, his lifelong contribution to Welsh sport was celebrated when he received a Lifetime Achievement Award at the Welsh Horse Racing Awards.

In a statement, his family said: “Geoff passed away peacefully with his family by his side. He was a much-loved husband, father, grandfather and great-grandfather, and we’ll remember him with immense pride for the person he was and all he accomplished in life.

“He truly was one of a kind, and his countless stories will live on with us. As a family we are so grateful for the kind messages and tributes that have been shared; they have brought us great comfort at this difficult time.”

Like Lewis, Raymond won in the region of 2,000 races around the world in a three-

both the Premio Roma, with Yawa, and St Leger Italiano, courtesy of Rough Pearl. In 1992,

GEORGE SELWYN

GEORGE SELWYN

Geoff Lewis (inset) also enjoyed a successful career as a trainer, sending out Lake Coniston to win the 1995 Group 1 July Cup

decade-long career in the saddle, before becoming racing manager for several prominent owners.

Born in Hatfield, Hertfordshire, his riding career started as an apprentice to Willie Stephenson, who trained locally in Royston. His first winner came on Arctic Bar at Birmingham in June 1961, while 13 wins the following year were sufficient to see him crowned champion apprentice.

Based in Newmarket for the rest of his career, he rode first for Jack Clayton and was then stable jockey for five years to Humphrey Cottrill.

In 1967 he rode Forlorn River to win the July Cup and Nunthorpe Stakes for Arthur Stephenson, his father-in-law’s cousin.

His longest and closest partnership was with Michael Jarvis, their star performers including Easter Sun, Petong, Bob Back, Southern Arrow and Carroll House.

Raymond was a regular in the top ten of the jockeys’ table and widely regarded as the best rider never to have won a British Classic.

He did, however, land Classics in Italy, Germany, Austria, Norway and India, where he spent several busman’s holidays during the winter. Of his total of 54 Pattern wins, exactly half came in Britain and half elsewhere in Europe, mostly in Italy and Germany.

In 1985 Raymond went to ride full-time in Hong Kong, but by 1988 he was back in Britain and posting his best domestic score of 77 winners. He also landed the Grosser Preis von Baden that year on subsequent Arc hero Carroll House.

In 1992 he won his third Sprint Cup on Sheikh Albadou, and the following year rode 150-1 shot Blue Judge into second place in the Derby.

He was 51 when his riding career ended with a bad fall at the starting stalls at Hanover in August 1994.

The following year Raymond was appointed assistant to Joe Mercer, his former weighing-room colleague who had become racing manager to Sheikh Maktoum Al Maktoum’s Gainsborough

Stud, managing the horses owned by the eldest of the Maktoum brothers and his associates.

In 2006 Sheikh Maktoum died and Mercer retired, with Raymond becoming racing manager to Rabbah Bloodstock, a company which took over the racing and breeding interests of more than 20 UAE businessmen and Maktoum family friends, including the former Gainsborough Stud associates, such as Saeed Suhail, Jaber Abdullah and Saeed Manana.

His close friend and professional deputy Philip Robinson said: “Bruce’s passing will leave a massive hole in my heart and in many people’s.

“He was the nice guy of racing. I’ve never heard anyone say a bad word about him in my entire life. In a way, he’s been like a second father to me.

“Shortly after he was first diagnosed with cancer, he asked me to join the Rabbah operation as a racing manager, and he’s been an absolute pleasure to work with. Everyone loved him.”

Bruce Raymond moved into the role of racing manager for various Middle Eastern owners after he stopped riding in 1994

Young horses in focus as BHA makes changes to jumping programme

The British Horseracing Authority has made a number of updates to the race programme for the 2025/26 jumps season, focusing on the development of young horses at the early stages of their careers.

Coming into effect immediately, the changes are part of wider efforts to strengthen the domestic National Hunt scene by giving horses more opportunities to gain valuable early jumping experience and hone their technique over obstacles.

The measures, introduced following consultation and engagement with stakeholders and participants, include:

◼ Increasing the number of weight-for-age novices’ steeple chase opportunities. A significant number of Class 3 novices’ limited handicap chases have been removed from the programme and replaced with ‘Chasing Excellence’ beginner/novices’ chases, each run for an increased minimum value of £12,000 at Class 3 (rising to £15,000 in 2026);

◼ New requirements for Grade 1 novices’ and juvenile hurdle races, with horses only eligible if they have been allotted a minimum rating of 110 – either through a published handicap mark or as assessed by the BHA handicapper to have raced to that level in at least one hurdle run. This aims to ensure that horses competing in these showpiece contests have demonstrated a suitable level of ability over hurdles and brings these races into line with other Grade 1 contests;

◼ Adjustments to the Junior National Hunt Hurdles programme, with the first races scheduled later in the year to give horses a little longer to develop, penalties for winners not being carried into a horse’s future career, and non-winners permitted to drop back to Junior National Hunt Flat races. The programme has also been extended by another three years to provide added stability and certainty when sourcing horses and planning campaigns.

Amending the eligibility requirement for Grade 1 novice/juvenile hurdle races to ensure runners have demonstrated a certain level of ability will ensure there is no repeat of this year’s biggest Cheltenham Festival upset, when the Willie Mullins-trained Poniros recorded a 100-1 success in the Triumph Hurdle on his jumping debut.

The Go North Series, which provides valuable targets for lower-rated horses,

culminating in finals weekend at Kelso, Musselburgh and Carlisle in late March, has also seen some updates.

This season’s series finals will be run for increased minimum values, with a prize fund of at least £40,000 per race, and there will be adjustments to the programme following a wider review, so that the initiative continues to provide a compelling spectacle of jump racing in the region.

Tom Byrne, BHA Head of Racing and Betting, said: “There’s a recognition across our industry about the importance of growing the number of horses – and particularly high-quality horses – that are bred, owned, trained and raced in Britain.

“Central to this is ensuring that developmental pathways exist so that we are nurturing future talent and, over the longer-term, making sure we are competitive at the top level.

“The changes being introduced for the jump season are primarily geared towards improving the quality of racing for our participants and customers, and giving our promising younger horses the right opportunities to help them fulfil their potential over hurdles and fences.

“Juvenile and novices’ hurdles are designed to nurture young, developing horses, allowing them to find their place within the jump hierarchy. We recognise

that horses competing in these contests will be lightly raced and that connections will be using the races to assess potential ability.

“Nevertheless, the ten Grade 1 novice and juvenile races that are run through the season are pinnacle events for customers and participants alike that we believe require an intervention to ensure they meet the highest standards. This is not about excluding unexposed or promising horses; it is intended to ensure these races remain competitive and offer a compelling prospect.”

He added: “Like the measures introduced as part of the 2026 fixture list, such as the point-to-point bonus series and additional investment in the Elite Mares’ Scheme, these improvements may take time and require patience before we start to see the true benefits. For instance, the changes to weight-for-age novice chases may well result in some smaller field sizes for these contests in the short-term.

“But we firmly believe that whether it’s refining the novice chase division, requiring our top novice and juvenile hurdlers to show a level of form before competing in Grade 1 contests, or bolstering competition and returns for connections in the north, these are positive steps that can help support the long-term future of British jump racing.”

BILL SELWYN

Horses such as Poniros (blue silks) will no longer be able to make their debut in a Grade 1 race

Racing to School hits 250,000 milestone

Education charity Racing to School reached a notable landmark at Catterick on September 9 when welcoming its 250,000th young person onto a racecourse.

Launched in 2001, Racing to School aims to inspire young minds through the provision of free, interactive and healthy outdoor educational events for

schools, staged at a variety of racing venues.

Children are taught aspects of the curriculum, focusing on numeracy and literacy, and are granted behind-thescenes access, meeting jockeys and other staff members, as the racecourse becomes an outdoor classroom.

Pupils from Cambrai Primary School

in North Yorkshire enjoyed a special two-part event to mark the big milestone, beginning with a visit to Highbeck Lodge Stables where trainer Jedd O’Keeffe and his team provided a unique insight into the daily routine of a working yard.

The group then travelled the short distance to Catterick racecourse to enjoy more activities and to experience the thrill of live racing action, many of them for the first time.

John Blake, Chief Executive of Racing to School, said: “For the charity to reach its 250,000th beneficiary in just under 25 years of providing our programmes is a great tribute to our team. We receive wide support from across racing, including our host racecourses nationwide and our many funders who have invested in the charity’s evolution and expansion.

“Specific thanks must go to the team at Jedd O’Keeffe’s yard and to Catterick for helping us to recognise this achievement, and also to the Horserace Betting Levy Board who have been a vital and longstanding supporter of Racing to School.”

For more information see racingtoschool.co.uk.

Pupils from Cambrai Primary School enjoy their lesson in the weighing room at Catterick

Amateur jockey Becky Smith helps the schoolchildren with their task

US BREDS captured an impressive 40 per cent of this year’s British Classics with RULING COURT (USA) triumphing in the 2000 Guineas (G1) at Newmarket and SCANDINAVIA (USA) winning the St Leger (G1) at Doncaster.

These victories follow the outstanding performances of CITY OF TROY (USA), who was crowned Champion 3-Year-Old in 2024

SCANDINAVIA (USA)

Owners: Michael Tabor, Derrick Smith, and Mrs. John Magnier

Breeders: Orpendale/Chelston/Wynatt

Trainer: Aidan O’Brien

RULING COURT (USA)

Owner: Godolphin

Breeders: Nursery Place, Manfuso, and Wilhite

Trainer: Charlie Appleby

THE BIG PICTURE AT DONCASTER

Scandi cool in the Leger

Tom Marquand was seen at his strongest aboard Scandinavia in the St Leger at Doncaster, holding off the late charge of Rahiebb and Ray Dawson (yellow silks) to take the world's oldest Classic by a neck. Scandinavia, a son of Justify, came into the contest having proved his stamina by taking the Goodwood Cup over two miles. For Aidan O'Brien, who also saddled the third and fourth, Stay True and dual Derby victor Lambourn, it was St Leger win number nine, all those victories for combinations of the Coolmore partners.

Photo Bill Selwyn

THE BIG PICTURE AT DONCASTER

SEA THE MOON

70 INDIVIDUAL STAKES PERFORMERS INCLUDING 5 GROUP 1 WINNERS

FANTASTIC MOON • MUSKOKA

ASSISTENT• ALPINE STAR • DURSTON

Sire of German Derby and Oaks winners

Sire of 3 Champion 2yos

In 2025 sire of unbeaten 2yo Group 3 winner in France RAYIF dual Group 3 winner QUEST THE MOON and dual Listed winner INSTANT FRAGILE

RAYIF winning the Group 3 Prix Francois Boutin at 2 in 2025

STUDY OF MAN

14 INDIVIDUAL STAKES PERFORMERS INCLUDING 4 GROUP WINNERS

Sire of Group 1 winner KALPANA

Group 2 winners DEEPONE and BIRTHE 2025 Group 3 winner SONS AND LOVERS

2025 dual Listed winners ALLONSY and ALMERIC, and 2025 Listed winner SUITE FRANCAISE

Sire of 6 individual 2yo winners so far in 2025 including promising dual winner in France ARLONG FAL

The Leading British-based 3rd crop sire by % Black-Type winners to runners in 2025

SONS AND LOVERS winning the Group 3 Ballyroan Stakes in 2025

FACES AT THE RACES

St Leger Festival

Doncaster staged the final Classic of the year with Tom Marquand landing the big prize and plenty of familiar faces taking in the action

Photos: Bill Selwyn

Sean Levey steered Puerto Rico to victory for former boss Aidan O’Brien

Al Shaqab and Amo Racing’s Aylin took the May Hill Stakes under David Egan

Tom Marquand: St Leger hero

Eternal Sunshine, owned by trainer Jim Goldie and James Callow, made it three wins in a row in the Portland Handicap, providing the biggest win to date for apprentice Lauren Young

Jack Berry, in his trademark red shirt, and wife Jo enjoyed the high-class racing on Town Moor

Newsells Park Stud and Lordship Stud were thrilled with the victory of the John Gosden-trained Cape Flora under William Buick

FACES AT THE RALLY

Westminster protest

The racing industry turned out in force on September 10 to tell Parliament why it must not increase the tax rate on sports betting

New BHA Chair Lord Allen talked about stakeholders standing shoulder to shoulder

Charlie Fellowes, Roger Varian and Harry Eustace made the journey from Newmarket

Alex Ballinger MP believes harmonising the tax rates is not the answer

Paul Nicholls and stable jockey Harry Cobden

Arena Racing Company Chief Executive Martin Cruddace spoke at the session in the Queen Elizabeth II Centre

David Armstrong, outgoing Chief Executive of the Racecourse Association, and ROA Chief Executive Louise Norman

Jockeys including Oisin Murphy, Kieran Shoemark, Hollie Doyle and Tom Marquand lent their support to the BHA-led campaign to #AxeTheRacingTax by staging their protest in Parliament Square Garden

SEASON

For full race conditions please visit BHA Racing Admin website. Any further information please contact George Hill, Racing Director & Clerk of the Course, on 07581 119984 on ghill@newburyracecourse.co.uk

Owners Liaison – Claire Ricketts, ownerstrainers@newburyracecourse.co.uk 07768 982626

Coral Long Distance Hurdle Day

Friday 28th November

The Coral John Francome Novices’ Steeple Chase (Class 1) (Grade 2) (Formerly known as the Berkshire) 2m 3f 187y (4yo+)

The Coral Long Distance Hurdle Race (Class 1) (Grade 2) 3m 52y (4yo+)

The Coral Racing Club Handicap Steeple Chase (Class 2) 2m 3f 187y (4yo+) (0-150)

The “Bet-In-Race” With Coral Fillies’ Juvenile Hurdle Race (Class 1) (Listed Race) 2m 69y (3yo)

£75,000 £15k increase

£55,000 £5k increase

Coral Gold Cup Day

Saturday 29th November

Trainer John Gosden spoke about the damage an increase in the tax rate would cause to the racing community

The Coral Gold Cup Handicap Steeple Chase (Class 1) (Premier Handicap) 3m 1f 214y (4yo+)

The “Bet-In-Race” With Coral Intermediate Handicap Hurdle Race (Class 1) (Registered as The Gerry Feilden) (Premier Handicap) 2m 69y (4yo+)

The Coral Get Closer To The Action Handicap Steeple Chase (Class 2) (For The Jim Joel Memorial Trophy) 2m 92y (4yo+) (0-145)

The Sir Peter O’Sullevan Memorial Handicap Steeple Chase (Class 2) 2m 6f 93y (4yo+) (0-145) £250,000 £55,000 £50,000

Coral Challow Hurdle Day

Monday 29th December

The Coral Challow Novices’ Hurdle Race (Class 1) (Grade 1) 2m 4f 118y (4yo+)

The Coral Mandarin Handicap Steeple Chase (Class 2) 3m 1f 214y (4yo+) (0-145)

£100,000

£50,000 £5k increase £50,000

ENTRIES CLOSE TUES 28 OCT £250K International entries close day before

Photos: Bill Selwyn

RACING AROUND THE WORLD

‘Something very exciting is happening in Bahrain’

By JAMES BURN

BAHRAIN

It might have been a throwaway comment made after a thrilling battle, but there was conviction in the words.

“We’re going from strength to strength and we’re not done yet,” His Highness Shaikh Isa bin Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa said after his Economics had triumphed in last year’s Royal Bahrain Irish Champion Stakes.

Sadly for the owner, Economics has been on the sidelines this season, but he was not referencing the colt in that debrief.

Shaikh Isa, rather, was speaking in his role as Chairman of the Rashid Equestrian and Horse Racing Club (REHC), which has the Bahrain Turf Club (BTC) as an offshoot.

He has been at the heart of its growth in recent years, overseeing the emergence of the Bahrain International Trophy, which takes place in November, as a bona fide target for quality overseas raiders and boosting the domestic programme.

This summer, he went a step further, recruiting Daniel and Claire Kubler to train for him and other members of the Bahrain royal family when the new 2025-26 season begins on October 31.

It was a move that took some by surprise. The Kublers, based in Lambourn, have seen their profile rise in recent years, their innovative and scientific approach to the job winning many admirers.

And while they would not be the first members of the British training ranks to become ex-pats, Daniel Kubler insists their decision is not because they have grown weary of industry flaws here, but, instead, is down to a golden offer.

“It would be fair to say we weren’t actively seeking the opportunity, and we haven’t come here because we think British racing is about to collapse – there are plenty of positives in it – but it’s more about how interesting and exciting a challenge this will be,” he says. “There’s an opportunity to work with people who are very ambitious with great plans. I think it’s important to emphasise that and, for us, it’s about what’s happening here and the potential that exists. Everyone seems so passionate about the sport and has a positive attitude, which was a key attraction too.”

The couple got a taste for what the country had to offer when Astro King ran in the 2023 Bahrain International Trophy after he had landed the Cambridgeshire.

Introduced in 2019, the 1m2f contest was then only a conditions race, but boasted prize-money of £500,000 with connections of the French-trained Royal Julius earning half of that for first place.

It was boosted to a Group 3 in 2021 when Lord Glitters prevailed for David O’Meara and the last two editions – won by Sir Alex Ferguson’s willing homebred Spirit Dancer –have carried Group 2 status.

This year’s race, which takes place on November 14, is worth $1 million with around £450,000 going to the winner.

“When we won the Cambridgeshire, it occurred to us that it was a good target for Astro King, which led us to look at it more,” Kubler adds. “And, when you really start looking, you see the ambition the Turf Club has is huge.

“My experience is still limited, but Bahrain seems to approach everything in a thoughtful, let’s-do-it-well way that’s for the long term and not just a short-term, flash-in-the-pan thing. The Bahrain Trophy is a good example of that. It’s progressed and there’s been a desire to build it into an important part of the fixture list internationally.”

Kubler, speaking from Bahrain on a recent reconnaissance mission, goes on: “They’ve raced here for a long time and there’s a natural affinity for the horse, which has been very

clear in the short space of time I’ve been here – there’s that connection.

“In recent years, though, there’s been a real enthusiasm and invigoration to make it better, improve facilities, the quality of races and the quality of the horses. It feels something very exciting is happening here, which was a major reason to come.”

Underpinning the ambition and investment in racing in Bahrain is, as mentioned by Kubler, a deep-seated love and appreciation of horses in common with other Middle Eastern states.

Historically, the sport was conducted in private and was the domain of purebred Arabians, but in 1948 a committee was created and a royal decree in 1977 helped establish the REHC, which staged races in Manama, Bahrain’s capital, and now in Riffa, its second-largest city.

Racing takes place mainly once a week on Fridays on quickish turf and the current site – where floodlights are a relatively new feature – has an inner and outer track that measure 2,100m (1m2½f) and 2,300m (1m3½f) round with six-furlong straight chutes.

It is managed by Clerk of the Course Andy Waitt, who was previously in charge at Chelmsford City and replaced ex-Lingfield chief Neil Mackenzie Ross in 2023.

The BHA’s former Head of Stewarding Paul Barton and its one-time Head of Handicapping Phil Smith are familiar names also involved in Bahrain, which, according to statistics published in 2006 by the International Federation of Horseracing Authorities (IFHA), held 162 races the previous campaign contested by 268 horses.

In 2023-24, there were 199 races, but the horse population had risen to 520, while last season 40 trainers were licensed, along with 20 jockeys and 20 apprentices who rode for a total of 134 owners.

The nation has made its mark on a wider level as well. Fawzi Nass, who had a brief spell

Claire and Daniel Kubler are looking forward to a new challenge

training in Newmarket, saddled Krypton Factor to win the Golden Shaheen at Meydan in 2012, and more recently notable Bahraini ownership has taken root in Britain.

As well as Economics, Shaikh Isa saw his colours carried to top-flight glory in the 2022 Fillies’ Mile by Commissioning, while His Highness Shaikh Nasser bin Hamad Al Khalifa and his brother His Highness Shaikh Khalid bin Hamad Al Khalifa have had success via their Victorious Racing and KHK Racing banners; think star sprinter Bradsell for the former, and St Leger hero Eldar Eldarov and ace juvenile Vandeek for the latter. Golden Horde also won the Commonwealth Cup at Royal Ascot in 2020 in the silks of Al Mohamediya Racing.

It has not, however, been a one-way route and George Scott, whose Isle Of Jura excelled there in 2024 before striking at Royal Ascot, and George Baker are among a host of British trainers lured by the programme, which, along with the Bahrain International Trophy, includes the Group 3 King’s Cup, worth $200,000 last term but now offering double that, four Listed events and the Club’s 12-race Turf Series that has a prize fund of $1m, is held over a variety of trips and targets horses rated 85-102.

“Again, that Turf Series is extremely thoughtful,” says Kubler. “Seeing a gap in the market and providing a good opportunity.”

It might seem the fixture list, which goes on until April, leans towards visiting runners, but Ed Veale, the BTC’s Director of Racing and International Relations, stresses that is not the case and attracting participants from overseas goes hand in hand with increasing the quality of the domestic horses and the

races they participate in.

He is approaching four years in the jurisdiction, where the sport is funded by the government, partners and stakeholders, and says: “It’s very important we use one another to drive competition and to create a competitive race programme that is both appealing to international horses to take part in, but also for domestic owners and trainers, who want to acquire bloodstock to race here and be competitive.

There’s a plan to make Bahrain a really special place for racing

“Part of the strategy in terms of using these international races, gathering more exposure and getting a spotlight on us, is to then use that momentum to keep strengthening further and investing here.

“We promoted 18 races as international last season, of which nine were won by international horses and nine by domestically trained horses; that’s the balance of competition we need to keep striving for.”

According to Veale, the races – run

between five furlongs to 1m4f but not including any for two-year-olds – have a relatively even split for imported horses and those born in the region, where Call To Mind, a Grade 2-winning homebred for the late Queen Elizabeth II, is an emerging sire.

Upgrading the Bahrain International Trophy to a Group 1 is a key objective for the authority, which welcomes the sport’s widening appeal domestically as “an opportunity to shape people’s perception of racing and showcase it in a fresh way”.

Building its offering in almost a brick-bybrick manner seems at the core of the BTC’s mindset.

“His Highness has a vision of building a racing jurisdiction that is defined by opportunity, competition and excellence, and that takes time,” Veale says. “Everything needs to align and we want a product everyone – domestically and internationally – can engage with and be proud of. That’s part of the Club’s ethos for the betterment of racing in Bahrain.”

That approach is appreciated by Kubler.

“There’s a long-term plan and aspiration to make Bahrain a really special place for racing, which is very appealing for us, we want to be part of it,” he says, not for one moment daunted by what’s to come.

“There are challenges anywhere you train and there are fresh ones here, but racing’s real appeal is solving a puzzle. As a fan, you try to understand which horse will win and, as a trainer, it’s about trying to get the horse to win.

“You’ll never crack it entirely, which is the beauty of it, but maybe a fresher puzzle was stimulating for us.”

Sovereign Spirit and Tomas Lukasek take the 2025 King’s Cup, which has seen its prize fund double to $400,000

THE BIG INTERVIEW: JOHN AND THADY GOSDEN

John and Thady Gosden with dual Group 1 winner Ombudsman at their Newmarket yard

Passion and POLITICS

John and Thady Gosden manage a thriving stable, yet their concerns over a government tax raid means racing’s future prosperity is far from assured

overhead on this autumnal afternoon.

A few days earlier, John was a speaker in Westminster during the sport’s day of action, when a blank day of racing was organised in protest at government proposals to harmonise remote gambling duties. Such a move would likely see racing bets taxed at a far higher rate as Labour looks for solutions to fill the black hole in the nation’s finances.

His closing words at the Queen Elizabeth II Centre in front of assorted racing personalities and MPs – “Please don’t send us back to the 1970s” – were aimed squarely at the decision-makers in the Treasury, who now hold the future of the sport in their hands.

“We’re in a time when the racing and breeding industries are under huge pressure,” he explains, sat next to Thady in a room adjacent to the yard office. “The cost to produce horses has escalated while the foal crop is on a curve to take it down by 25% within five years.

“You will end up with less horses going to the races, smaller fields, and less competitive racing, which is all an increasing turn-off to spectators let alone as a betting medium.

“It’s also perhaps not understood by the Treasury that of all the major racing jurisdictions we have the lowest return from betting, so we’re starting from a very poor competitive position against other nations, namely America, Australasia, and Japan. They can come to our sales and buy our best horses to take home, which reduces and dilutes the quality of our stock.

“The owner here is in a catch-22; it’s expensive to operate in Britain, which is why owner-breeders – once the backbone of the industry – are becoming increasingly rare. Plenty of mares have been taken out of production in the commercial market because it’s simply no longer viable.

“We are at a crisis point anyhow without

BILL SELWYN

THE BIG INTERVIEW: JOHN AND THADY GOSDEN

having the added burden of a reduction in funds coming from what has been traditionally a symbiotic relationship between the betting industry and racing.”

Gosden senior recalls the state of Britain in the 1970s and the ‘Winter of Discontent’, when strikes over pay and high inflation followed a debt crisis that put the nation in the doldrums.

It didn’t seem like the best time to be setting up a new business in this country, so he decamped to America to start his training adventure. He hopes the government is cognisant of the issues facing British racing and the need to both protect this globally adored asset and encourage investment.

He says: “It is feeling like the 1970s, when inflation was out of control. We must be careful – the Treasury needs to realise if it keeps increasing taxes, it’s going to make the sport very uncompetitive for betting companies here.

“Affordability checks have already

forced around £4-5 billion worth of betting on racing to the black market, where the punter has no protection and the government receives no revenue. If they

We are still number one in the world for breeding and racing of turf horses

increase the tax, they will get themselves into the law of diminishing returns.”

He continues: “Prohibition does not work – it creates speakeasies and crime.

The Gambling Commission always underestimated the black market and finally admitted that it’s out of control.

“If the Treasury goes ahead with harmonisation, it will create more unemployment and hollow out a worldleading industry, impacting hospitality businesses that thrive around towns with racecourses and training centres. One thing the Treasury does not want to do is damage the economic ecosystem in areas associated with our industry.

“The Treasury needs to find funds from somewhere. But if they hit us hard, it is going to result in fewer horses being put in training, less people buying, and less people breeding. The consequence will be that trainers will go out of business –plenty are on the edge right now.

“We are still number one in the world for breeding and racing of turf horses. The Ascots and Aintrees are great adverts for UK plc – internationally our racing is hugely significant. It has been supported

Classic victor Field Of Gold, set to contest the Queen Elizabeth II Stakes at Ascot on Champions Day, works under Luke Catton

by massive Middle Eastern investment over the past 40 years, helping to attract the best horses and mares, but all that is on the line now.”

British racing should be grateful to have John Gosden in its corner – few others in his profession, former and current trainers, have been as engaged politically, meaning the 74-year-old has taken on much of the heavy lifting.

He was rallying for levy reform back in June, meeting senior politicians at 10 Downing Street, with a deal looking like it was on the cards. “We were quite close to an understanding,” he says. “Then the election came, so we’re back to square one on that.”

The son of trainer Towser Gosden, who maintained a string of around 40 horses in Lewes, East Sussex, John’s apprenticeship took in spells with Sir Noel Murless and Vincent O’Brien before he set out on his own, training from the racetrack in California.

It was there that he first learned the power of collective action in racing with the Horsemen’s Benevolent and Protective Association, working alongside US legends Charlie Whittingham and Bobby Frankel.

“Until we signed the document, the racecourse couldn’t race,” he recalls. “That was the agreement on take-out, funds, everything. We would often sit there until midnight or 1am with the first race at 12.30.

“So, I was introduced to it in America. I always think you

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THE BIG INTERVIEW: JOHN AND THADY GOSDEN

Thady Gosden enjoying the trainer’s life

In 2021 Thady Gosden joined his father on the licence. The team claimed the trainers’ championship in 2023, finished sixth last year and are currently sitting in third place behind Aidan O’Brien and Andrew Balding.

John makes the point that Thady, 30, has been working with him for the past ten years, and the younger man explains that training racehorses was his ultimate goal.

“I always wanted to do this,” he says. “It’s a dynamic life and we share the responsibilities between us.

“My siblings were born in the US, so they grew up away from the horses trained at the track. Whereas I’ve grown up five metres away from the horses – I’ve been around them the whole time.”

The stable is chockfull of high-class performers and houses leading runners in the mile, mile-and-a-quarter and staying divisions, namely Field Of Gold, Ombudsman and Trawlerman. Does Thady feel the weight of expectation with these outstanding thoroughbreds?

“Your responsibility is to the horse and owner,” he explains. “Of course, it’s wonderful that the public can enjoy these horses – that’s a happy outcome.

“We’ve trained the likes of Stradivarius – horses like him give you a bit of extra spark. How often do they come along, once every ten years? Most trainers would be lucky to ever see one like him. To have one 50 yards from your desk is pretty cool.”

Gosden runners have been involved in two of the races of the season so far. Field Of Gold, brilliant in taking the Irish 2,000 Guineas and St James’s Palace Stakes, returned lame after failing to figure behind 150-1 winner Qirat in the Sussex Stakes.

Ombudsman, victorious despite a troubled passage in the Prince of Wales’s Stakes and subsequently run down late by Delacroix in the Eclipse, overhauled Birr Castle in the Juddmonte International when the latter looked like he had

should stand shoulder to shoulder with the other trainers.”

After a decade in the States, John returned to England in 1989 – only two colleagues welcomed him home, one of whom was Sir Mark Prescott – to train for Sheikh Mohammed at Stanley House Stables. There was a further move to Manton, owned by Robert Sangster, in 2000 before he came back to Newmarket in 2006.

The man who for many years was ‘on the road’, to borrow the title of Jack Kerouac’s famous novel, is now in his 20th season at Clarehaven, where he is supported by wife Rachel Hood, former President of the Racehorse Owners Association and a Town Councillor for the Severals ward.

Champions of the past stare down from every wall, competing for space and evoking memories – so numerous have the top-level winners been that

established an unassailable lead under long-serving Gosden employee Robert (Rab) Havlin.

“The Juddmonte International is a top-class race with lots of depth,” Thady says. “Rab set perfect fractions for a Group 1 over a mile and quarter on a track like York.

“Everyone had their beds made for them settling behind the Japanese horse, who was free to post and didn’t switch off in the contest.

“We didn’t watch the race together, but I know I uttered a few expletives!”

John adds: “They were slick but correct fractions on top of the ground. Letting a Group 3 horse get so far clear? You don’t do that. And who got to him? We did, comfortably in the end.

“The jockey on the Japanese horse [Danon Decile] kept taking back – it was chaos.”

The Gosdens agree that Ombudsman, who was given time to recover from an injury at two that delayed his debut until the June of his three-year-old season, is at the top of the list of ten-furlong runners they have trained together.

John believes he could be the best in that category he has ever trained – “when William [Buick] went, the acceleration was amazing” – which is some compliment considering those that have been in his care over the years.

British Champions Day beckons for the big three –Ombudsman in the Champion Stakes, Field Of Gold, back in full work, in the Queen Elizabeth II and Trawlerman in the Long Distance Cup, a race he won in 2023 – although as ever, the ground in Berkshire will dictate plans for the squad, with the Breeders’ Cup another option.

Would it be possible for Ombudsman to do both, I wonder?

“It’s very tight. Ascot to the Breeders’ Cup is 14 days. But he’s been freshened up specially!” says John, clearly excited by the prospect.

“The Prince of Wales’s Stakes to the Eclipse was 17 days,” adds Thady, “although that was in the same country.”

››

Thady joined his father on the licence in 2021 – they won the trainers’ championship in 2023

The ball is in your court... Shaquille’s frst foals sell later this year!

Emphatic winner of the Gr.1 Commonwealth Cup & Gr.1 July Cup Cartier Champion Sprinter & Longines World’s Best 3YO Sprinter in 2023

Standing at ACE STUD

THE BIG INTERVIEW: JOHN AND THADY GOSDEN

›› a plaque bearing the name of Bates Motel, celebrating his achievement as US champion older male of 1983, is accommodated in the office lavatory.

The last two decades have brought six champion trainer titles for Gosden, the most recent in 2023 in partnership with Thady, plus a host of big-race triumphs, including a second Derby with Golden Horn

in 2015 to follow Benny The Dip in 1997.

“We have won 126 Group 1 races from Clarehaven,” he says, highlighting the contribution made by the likes of Juddmonte’s brilliant mare Enable, winner of 11 Group 1s including three King Georges and two Arcs, and Bjorn Nielsen’s sensational stayer Stradivarius, the triple Gold Cup hero who was still performing to

a high level as an entire aged eight, and is now proving popular in his second career at the National Stud.

“I’ve trained at other people’s places and there’s no doubt that when it’s your own business – as it was in America – it is always more fulfilling. You’ve got all the pressure and you have to make the thing work.”

It is a fact that many of the trainer’s contemporaries have died, retired and/ or passed on the baton to the next generation. Is there a succession plan in place at Clarehaven?

“That’s easy to answer,” he states. “Being on the licence is not the be-all and end-all. [The late] Barry Hills came off the licence – but he was known to be out on the gallops, put it that way!

“Mark Johnston came off the licence –it doesn’t mean you disappear! You don’t evaporate.

“From Thady’s point of view, sure I’ll be coming off the licence at some point, but I’ll still be going racing and helping deal with problems. I’m just not going to be in there [pointing to the office] telling them what to do all the bloody time.”

He adds: “I started training aged 28 in America. Thady’s like me – when you are around horses the whole time, they’re in your blood. It’s as simple as that.

“I’m now reaching a certain stage in life… listen, I love working with Thady, we discuss everything together, it’s great.

“There is no time set on it, but it would be a very normal progression – a natural evolution.”

No need for a stable jockey at Clarehaven

Kieran Shoemark has not been replaced as number one rider for the Gosden stable, having lost that position earlier this year following his second place on Field Of Gold in the 2,000 Guineas, a fate that also befell Field Of Gold’s sire, the John Gosden-trained Kingman.

The strength of Clarehaven’s ownership roster means there are already multiple retained riders in the yard, including Oisin Murphy, William Buick, James Doyle and Jim Crowley, who is currently out of action. It means there is no desire to appoint a designated stable jockey.

Robert Havlin, the rider of yard favourite Sweet William, is one of the supporting cast members along with Tyler Heard, Benoit de la Sayette, Luke Catton and Kieran O’Neill, while Shoemark has also continued to receive opportunities.

“I’ve only ever retained two jockeys in my life in the UK,” explains John. “One was Frankie Dettori after he left [Luca] Cumani, told him he was going to conquer the world and was then turned down by Hong Kong.

“He was at a crossroads, so we took him on to ride Sheikh Mohammed’s horses. We retained him until he left for

Godolphin. Then I was at Manton with Jimmy Fortune.

“I asked Frankie about William Buick in the airport when we were going to the Breeders’ Cup with Raven’s Pass. He told me he was very good. William was retained here as a stable jockey for four or five years before Godolphin came for him, so we’ve always had a strong association with him. Then Frankie came back as a freelance in 2015.”

Dettori’s odyssey has continued in America, where he has been based since the end of 2023. Could there be a final chapter in his story involving a return to riding on these shores?

“I thought we were in the appendix by now!” John says. “I think he’d only come back for one meeting – and you know which one I mean.”

Thady adds: “I don’t know if he’s going to come back. Would I put him up… why not?

“If you watch the finish he rode recently on Wimbledon Hawkeye at Kentucky Downs, it was a serious ride.

“Age is the least important part of all of it. It’s where you are physically and mentally – if you’re riding well, you’re riding well.”

John Gosden in his barn at Hollywood Park the day after the inaugural Breeders’ Cup in 1984

GEORGE SELWYN

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Ballyhimikin Stud has rarely been far from the action this year, with Ombudsman and Estrange contributing to a summer to remember

Words: NANCY SEXTON

Ballyhimikin Stud has celebrated its share of high points over the years but it’s doubtful that James and Charlotte Hanly have ever experienced a year quite like this one at their Tipperary farm.

The winners have flowed throughout the summer, culminating in a golden York Ebor Festival at which Ombudsman emerged the hero in an extraordinary Juddmonte International and Estrange did her autumn Group 1 prospects no harm by running second in the Yorkshire Oaks.

Star Of Mehmas, a Listed winner last year, also defied top weight in the fillies’ sprint handicap while Rock On Thunder and America Queen were second in their respective assignments, the Gimcrack and Lowther Stakes. An amalgamation of various characters well known in the game can lay claim to be involved in the production of those successful homebreds, but the common thread in each case is Ballyhimikin Stud and its ability to breed

BILL SELWYN

William Buick celebrates aboard Ombudsman following his success in the Juddmonte International

and raise good horses.

An exclamation point on that arrived only two weeks on from York when A Bit Of Spirit came out on top in a tight finish to the Solario Stakes at Sandown Park. Seasoned players know full well never to be complacent when it comes to horses, but the emergence of A Bit Of Spirit as one of the season’s better two-year-olds alongside Rock On Thunder, America Queen and fellow stakes juvenile Andab suggests that this golden run could extend well into next year as well.

Few are more aware than the ups and down of this industry than James Hanly. He has been at the coalface for 45 years and as such is very much one not to take anything for-granted, instead deflecting praise to the team at Ballyhimikin with a nod to the influence of Lady Luck.

“I’m fortunate that I’m surrounded by good, intelligent people and I try to listen,” he says. “I know a lot about very little but I do know what I don’t know.

“We’re always learning, every day. A lot of it is luck. And having the passion.”

Located near Nenagh in Tipperary,

I’m fortunate that I’m surrounded by good, intelligent people

Ballyhimikin has been in the hands of the Hanly family for over six decades. Back then, it was primarily a beef cattle farm – cattle and sheep remain a major part of

Ballyhimikin today – with horses assuming a minimal but important, as it turned out, role under the eye of Maura Hanly.

“From an early age, it was all Arkle and Lester Piggott,” recalls Hanly. “My mother always had one or two mares and did it all herself. She bred the 1960 Irish Grand National winner Olympia so I’d hear that talk. And later on she bred Balidar, a champion sprinter, and then Davy Lad, the 1977 Cheltenham Gold Cup winner. So I used to hear all about these famous racehorses.”

Olympia, Davy Lad and Balidar, three very different horses but from the same source. Olympia inadvertently secured her place in history as the first of seven consecutive Irish Grand National winners for trainer Tom Dreaper, a record that still stands today. As for Balidar, who won the 1970 Prix de l’Abbaye for John Winter, he remains relevant to the breed today in his role as sire of Young Generation, in turn the sire of Cadeaux Genereux.

BILL SELWYN

Ombudsman storms clear in the Juddmonte International at York

BALLYHIMIKIN STUD

›› James Hanly: ‘I’ve been very lucky’

“I was a good rider when I was a kid,” he says. “My father worked incredibly hard, as did my mother – it was a different time.

“We were beef cattle farmers and I spent my childhood hunting, showjumping, picking stones and making hay and straw. It was a lot of physical work, I grew up very much in a work hard environment, but it was a very healthy, happy time.

“That hunting, point-to-pointing background is so important - it’s where a lot of our riders and racing people come from. My mother gave her spare time to helping run our local point-to-point and the hunt, and was also responsible for helping to start and run our local hunter trials.

“I remember in 1969 sitting in the car with my mother driving through the Curragh on my way back to school. She turned to me and said ‘next week Blakeney will win the Derby’. So for the next few days I went around the school as a nine-yearold in short pants talking about Blakeney, and of course he did win the Derby and I became a minor hero for about two days.

“It really was from that that this thing developed and became a passion. Passions can be dangerous… but you have to have it to produce these horses. It has to come

the foaling, riding, mucking out –everything. And in those days, there were no telephones. I went out there and didn’t speak to my parents for months. But we were happy.”

That period in Florida as well as spells working on a ranch in Canada and with trainer Charles Milbank in Chantilly provided the foundations for a return to home and the running of Ballyhimikin.

Ombudsman and Estrange are only the latest in a long line of good horses to have passed through the farm since then.

Queen’s Logic, bred out of the Diesis mare Lagrion (also later the dam of Dylan Thomas for the Coolmore partners), was a

This thing developed and became a passion... it has to come from the soul

who broke fresh ground for Lady Herries when taking the Caulfield Cup back in 1998. That’s to go with the high-class Japanese performer Admire Lapis, Derby third Grand Ducal and Norfolk Stakes winner Radiohead.

“Society Rock was an absolute beauty, a perfect specimen with perfect x-rays and scope, very light on his feet,” recalls Hanly of the near black Rock Of Gibraltar colt. “A great pair of judges bought him, Adrian Nicoll and Barry Hills, from us at Tattersalls. The horse went off to Barry but he then asked me to take him back, which I did.

“Anthony Stroud was instrumental in us sending him to James Fanshawe and he went on to win the Tattersalls Book 1 sales race for us.”

Society Rock ultimately became a topflight sprinter, winning the Betfair Sprint Cup at Haydock. He later stood at Tally-Ho Stud in Ireland, where he left behind the likes of Unfortunately and A’Ali prior to his early death.

“James Fanshawe is a brilliant trainer, a proper horseman and he did a great job with the horse,” says Hanly. “Society Rock looked like he was going to be a good stallion, and it was sad he died young.”

At the same time, the Balidar family remains in rude health, as showcased by the exploits of last year’s Group 2-placed sprinter Ano Syra, a homebred daughter of Kodiac.

“It’s very satisfying,” says Hanly. “We’ve had them so long and I love them. It’s a speed family and I send them to Kodiac, Mehmas, Blue Point and the likes.”

A wedge of today’s purple patch runs in tandem with the growing prominence of Night Of Thunder, the sire of Ombudsman and Estrange who were bred in the stallion’s final season at €25,000. He was priced at €75,000 in the year that Rock On Thunder was produced and has since risen to €150,000. It doesn’t take too much imagination to envisage him heading up the ladder again for 2026, especially if he maintains his hold over the British and Irish sires’ championship; he boasted a total of £5.2 million at the time of writing, over a third of which had been secured by Ombudsman and Estrange between them.

Back in 2022, the pair were part of a formidable Tattersalls October yearling sales draft for Ballyhimikin, with Estrange heading to Cheveley Park Stud on a bid of 425,000gns in Book 1 and Ombudsman among the highlights of Book 2 when sold to Godolphin through Stroud Coleman Bloodstock for 340,000gns.

Both are the products of well-found fillies sourced from Juddmonte.

Hanly takes up the story.

“My son Jack and I found Ombudsman’s dam Syndicate,” he says. “We’d always look

at the Juddmonte draft and try and pick out the best lookers. We sat in the ring, she came in and we bought her on a couple of bids.”

The price was 25,000gns and in return, the stud came into possession of a winning Dansili full-sister to Feilden Stakes winner Stipulate. It is one of Juddmonte’s most productive families that goes back to Lost Virtue via her Group 1-winning daughter All At Sea.

Hanly opted to roll the dice with Syndicate on the track and sent her back into training with John James Feane on the Curragh, who won another race – a Ffos Las handicap – at four.

“John said ‘if you leave her long enough with me, I’ll win a stakes race with her’,” recalls Hanly. “He really liked her. But I wanted to cover her and so off I went with her to Starspangledbanner - you see, she was rising four when I bought her.”

Ombudsman, who was co-bred with Jono Mills, is only the second foal out of Syndicate, whose third, a full-sister to Ombudsman, realised 900,000gns to SackvilleDonald at last year’s Tattersalls October Book 1 Sale.

“Anthony Stroud kept telling me to use Night Of Thunder,” says Hanly. “Would I listen? I missed him early on. Anthony also told me to use Wootton Bassett, and I missed him. And then he told me to use Palace Pier. So I need to listen more!

“You need access to good stallions for a

start and then you get an owner like Sheikh Mohammed and a trainer like John Gosden, and they are happy to wait. They give these horses all the time they need – Ombudsman first came out as a three-year-old. It’s a huge part of it all, getting them into places like that.”

It was in partnership with long-term allies Anthony Stroud and Trevor Stewart that Ballyhimikin bred Estrange. Her dam, the Oasis Dream mare Alienate, was sourced out of Juddmonte for 100,000gns in 2017 and there was an almost immediate pedigree update when her half-brother Logician won the St Leger in 2019.

Currently, each of the mare’s foals of racing age are black-type performers, the trio comprising the Group 2-placed Lmay and Listed-placed Basalt in addition to Estrange, whose four wins for David O’Meara include this year’s Lancashire Oaks and Lester Piggott Stakes.

Remarkably, when she lined up as one of four runners in the Yorkshire Oaks, she came up against a filly in the Ribblesdale Stakes winner Garden Of Eden bred by Hanly’s brother Eoin, his wife Stephanie and their son Mark at their Grange Hill Stud.

“Alienate is from another one of those Juddmonte families,” says Hanly. “She’s a ten out of ten – take her into a show ring and she would get a ten. She’s as good as it gets.

“Trevor Stewart owns the mare with myself and Anthony. Trevor has been a wonderful support. With horses, there are

a lot of difficult decisions and sometimes unfortunate things happen, but he takes the good and the bad. Trust is everything in everything, and there is that trust between us.”

Ballyhimikin was the primary custodian of Stewart’s outstanding mare Cassandra Go. Winner of the King’s Stand Stakes at Royal Ascot during her time with Geoff Wragg, she left behind four black-type runners led by Halfway To Heaven, whose own legacy spawns the likes of Magical, Rhododendron and Auguste Rodin. Another daughter, Tickled Pink, remains at Ballyhimikin for Stewart and is the dam of Victoria Road in addition to Andab.

“Cassandra Go was the ultimate,” says Hanly. “A champion racehorse and a champion broodmare. She lived until she was 25 and we now have her final daughter, Chaumet More, on the place, a beautiful mare by Night Of Thunder.”

Champion Stakes winner Pride is another long-term resident. Now living in retirement, she is a revered part of the group boarding on behalf of Sven and Carina Hanson’s Fair Salinia operation.

“The Hansons are wonderful breeders, and a great support to us,” says Hanly. “Sven has raced some very good horses over a long period of time. Pride still lives with us, aged 27. The best part of this game really is the people you meet and from all walks of life. I’ve been at it 45 years and I’ve seen a lot of interesting characters and been in

Halfway To Heaven, another high-flying graduate of Ballyhimikin Stud, wins the 2008 Irish 1,000 Guineas

BILL SELWYN

BALLYHIMIKIN STUD

a lot of interesting situations. There are some phenomenal horse people out there, and also a wonderful sense of humour that prevails around the place – you can’t take yourself too seriously at this game.”

Ballyhimikin, Anthony Stroud and Ed’s Stud, meanwhile, are the partnership behind A Bit Of Spirit. A winner of three races and placed twice in only five starts, the tough colt was tenacious in victory in the Solario Stakes to add to the bright start at stud made this season by his young sire Palace Pier.

He is the first foal out of Tanaaghom, a Dubawi member of the Fall Aspen clan via the branch responsible for Sheikh Hamdan’s Group 1 winners Mehthaaf and Elnadim.

“Kevin Ross bought him from us at the Tattersalls Somerville Sale,” recalls Hanly. “Kevin is a great judge and I was delighted when I heard he was going to Clive Cox. If you can get these horses into these places, then you’re starting off in the right direction.

“The mare came from Shadwell. Anthony picked her out. She’s by Dubawi and very, very good-looking – I like them correct. She had a brother, Antarah, who had won his first start at the time and was meant to be very good so there was a dream there with the family.”

He adds: “It’s all about the dream. As Yeats said: ‘I’m just a poor man, I have only my dreams. Tread softly, you tread on my dreams’. We all have our dreams.

“As I’ve said, producing these horses is a passion. We owned Society Rock when he won the sales race, and then we had a filly, Siringas, who won her first start by 13 lengths. Lady O’Reilly later partnered with us on her and she ended up winning the Nassau Stakes in Canada. An accountant would say sell all these, but it’s about the enjoyment of it too.”

As with any successful operation, Ballyhimikin is supported by a strong team network, several of whom have been with the farm for decades.

“I surround myself with good people,” says Hanly. “Never be afraid to employ

people who are better than yourself. Helen Jones has been with me for 25 years. Her husband Diarmuid is whipper in to the Black and Tans [Scarteen hounds]. These are horse people through and through.

“We have a lot of cattle and a lot of sheep on the farm, and the horses are mixed in with the whole lot of them. The North Tipperary area produces a lot of good horses, especially considering the size of the thoroughbred population. Gordon Lord Byron [bred by Roland Alder] came off it, as did this year’s Ebor winner Ethical Diamond [bred by William Kennedy]. Tiger Roll was bred by our great friend Jerry O’Brien not far from here.

“We’re trying to breed good, sound horses and good land is so important.”

Ballyhimikin heads to the Tattersalls October Book 1 Sale with eight yearlings, among them a Blue Point half-brother to Rock On Thunder, a Night Of Thunder grandson of Pride, a Saxon Warrior fullbrother to Victoria Road and a Lope De Vega filly out of Group 3 winner American Bridge who was bought for 260,000gns as a foal.

There are a further 11 yearlings in Book 2 and five in Book 3, including a St Mark’s Basilica half-brother to A Bit Of Spirit.

As the Lope De Vega filly illustrates, pinhooking remains a valuable complement to the stud. The current flagbearer in that department is America Queen, a €48,000 Goffs November pinhook who was resold as a breezer through Katie Walsh to Rabbah Bloodstock for €180,000 at Tattersalls Ireland.

“I was determined to buy a good filly foal last year,” says Hanly, “and I bought the

Lope De Vega filly off some good breeders in Langton Stud. The mare was rated 105, and this filly is some beauty.

“We love the pinhooking. Johnny McKeever, an old friend, is a great help with helping to select the foals. It’s an essential part of what we do because when you pinhook, you’re pitting your wits against the brightest and most hardworking people in the whole game.

“When you go out there, you’re at the coalface. There is no way of learning other than putting down your own money. And then you’re pitting your wits and your management skills against others, and you get to know the stallions and you get to know what’s going on. If you’re sitting at home, you don’t know.”

The Hanlys’ interest now extends to their son Jack, himself a successful breeder and pinhooker. With wife Charlotte also an invaluable cog, it remains a tight knit family operation, but Hanly is extremely cognisant of the outside influences that have helped pave the way – including the importance of a little bit of luck.

“I have been extremely lucky to have had some great people around me,” he says. “I can’t emphasise enough how important Charlotte has been in keeping the ship afloat and the importance of our team, the people minding the horses. Their dedication is the key. This job is 24/7 and they give 24/7.

“Paul Starr, who lives nearby, has also been invaluable when it comes to pedigrees and Michael Andree has been a great support for over 40 years. I’m really a tiny cog in all this – I’ve just been very lucky.”

Top sprinter Society Rock pictured with Kieren Fallon and trainer James Fanshawe

Estrange as a yearling at Tattersalls

BILL

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FINBAR KENT

FOff and

RUNNING

A well-known face on the sales scene, Finbar Kent is now making a name for himself as a consignor from his base at Glebe Stud in Newmarket

Words: NANCY SEXTON

inbar Kent made quite the sales debut in late August when turning over £158,000 for two yearlings at the Goffs Premier Sale in Doncaster, highlighted by a £110,000 colt from the first crop of Persian Force.

But then we shouldn’t be surprised. The Kent name has long been synonymous with differing aspects of the industry, notably as a constant supplier of winners from the various bases belonging to different members of the family on both sides of the Irish Sea. That has been particularly true this season for Finn’s father Richard, whose Mickley Stud scaled Group 1 heights at Royal Ascot courtesy of Docklands’ win in the Queen Anne Stakes. Appropriately, Harry Eustace’s stable star is a son of Mickley resident Massaat, a stallion who gives smaller breeders a chance at a fee of just £3,500.

Finn, in turn, is a well-known figure on the sales circuit, ranging from his time at the helm of a Mickley Stud draft or as part of the Yeomanstown Stud team. Spells

with Paul McCartan in Ireland and the likes of Spendthrift Farm and Hill ’n’ Dale in Kentucky have also given him an invaluable grounding ahead of making a leap under his own banner.

Based at Glebe Stud in Newmarket, Kent and business partner Declan Deegan opened their doors in February, attracting a collection of boarders through word-ofmouth before turning their attention to yearling prep. When all is done and dusted, around 30 yearlings will have passed through the Cheveley-based farm, ranging from a handful of Book 1 hopefuls to the much-admired Persian Force colt who set the ball rolling in such good style at Doncaster.

“I always wanted to develop my own reputation, my own name, my own brand,” says Kent. “I’m very proud of what my dad has achieved and what he’s done – he’s a friend to everyone and he’d do anything to help anyone. He’s bred an awful lot of good horses – I think he’s bred six Group 1 winners including Docklands of course. But

I just felt it was the right time to go out on my own and do my own thing.

“We moved into Glebe in February. I’d been on the lookout for my own place for a while and Glebe came up and I loved it. The landlord has done a wonderful job with it. They’re beautiful facilities – it’s 60 acres and there are 26 stables so it’s a real nice size. And it’s good, efficient land – it’s coped well with the summer we’ve had.

“We didn’t foal any down this season but I hope to next year. I didn’t really push for any business early on. I just wanted to see what I could take and find my feet. It was kind of worth of mouth to begin with and thankfully I got really well supported.”

That Doncaster sales debut may have pushed Kent and Deegan into the limelight but Kent is quick to acknowledge those who have helped him along the way, some of them responsible for inspiring a work ethic that can be seen underpinning Glebe as the season wends its way through the year.

“Dad sent me to Paul McCartan’s for

the summers when I was 16 and 17,” he recalls. “They were the best two summers. It was hard work but I was very lucky as well. Paul was riding the crest of the Kodiac wave back then so I was there at the time of Tiggy Wiggy, Kodi Bear and Coulsty. Paul was still at Croom House Stud at the time but he also had [his own stud] Ballyphilip to run as well. His work ethic is absolutely scary.

“I also went to Kentucky for a few years, firstly to work for Peter O’Callaghan at Woods Edge Farm. Then I did a stud season at Hill ’n’ Dale, where Curlin was the big stallion, and then the stallion night time shift at Spendthrift, which was an amazing experience with the likes Into Mischief.”

From Kentucky, it was a return to Europe and the machine that is Yeomanstown Stud. From stallions to breeding to pinhooking and breeze-ups, few operations cover such breadth as Gay and Annette O’Callaghan’s Kildare farm.

“Yeomanstown was a big learning curve,” says Kent. “When I first started, Gay

said to me you can come for a month and if you don’t like it here, we’ll shake hands at the end of it and be friends, or if I don’t like you, we’ll also shake hands and be friends.

I always wanted to develop my own reputation, my own brand

And I ended up staying for five years.

“It was incredible. It wouldn’t matter what business the O’Callaghan family went into, they would be successful. And I think

that comes from their work ethic. Gay would be the first man up every morning into the yard. They inspire that into you.”

It was at Yeomanstown that Kent met Deegan and come last November, the pair were scouring the foal sales hunting for potential pinhooks. Among them was a Persian Force colt out of Baroness Blixen bought for €30,000 and a Dandy Man filly out of Vichy France who cost €20,000; nine months on and while the Persian Force received the ultimate seal of approval by selling to the stallion’s owner Amo Racing for £110,000, the Dandy Man filly also turned a profit at Doncaster, in her case by selling for £48,000 to Peter and Ross Doyle.

“Myself and Declan went to the foal sales and we bought five foals and they were the first two to resell,” says Kent. “We wanted two horses that could showcase what we could do and they were just two very good physicals. They were perhaps lacking a bit of pedigree but they were proper Donny types with great action.

Finbar Kent: sales season has started well

FINBAR KENT

“We felt Persian Force was going to be a commercial first-crop sire who would be well supported by his ownership group. And the colt got to the sale and it just started unfolding. It was unbelievable.

‘It looks like it will be a decent sales season’

Opinion: what have you made of the yearling market so far?

have seen so far, it looks like it will be a decent sales season.”

Freddy Tylicki

“So far it’s been very healthy right the way through. There still seems to be a great appetite for racehorses and that seems to be getting stronger. People are buying horses left, right and centre. We operate plenty in the middle market and we’ve found that’s quite competitive, although there are some gaps here and there.

“I attented Keeneland for the first time and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Everyone was very helpful. It was a very strong, healthy market with a lot of international money – it was a real eye-opener.”

And I’d had luck with Dandy Man the year before - there’s quite a few trainers who have had luck with that stallion as well. So I was quite keen to look at them again.”

The momentum continued at the

Tattersalls Somerville Sale, where a Perfect Power filly out of Voom Voom sold for 40,000gns to the stallion’s trainer Richard Fahey, having been bought by Vicky McMahon for 27,000gns as a foal.

A Bated Breath filly originally purchased for just 7,000gns also turned a tidy profit when resold for 32,000gns to Virtue Assets.

It is all about to step up a gear, however, thanks to a debut presence at the Tattersalls October Book 1 Sale that includes a Saxon Warrior half-sister to Group 3 winner One Look. Paddy Twomey’s filly has kept good company since running away with the Goffs Million on her debut in September 2023, notably when taking the Kilboy Estate and Park Express Stakes. Out of the winning Holy Salt, she is also a halfsister to Italian Group 3 winner Baptism.

“She’s a real quality filly,” says Kent. “Her breeder was looking for someone to take her on for yearling prep. One Look has always been very talented and Saxon Warrior has come to life again this year. And it’s a proper fillies’ family going back.”

Kent’s Book 1 draft is completed by a Sea The Stars filly out of Kitkitty, a close relation to the stallion’s venerable eighttime Group 3 winner Al Aasy. She was bought for 90,000gns as a foal.

The highlight on paper of a trio destined for Book 2, meanwhile, is a

This Persian Force colt helped promote Finbar Kent at the Goffs Premier Sale

Freddy Tylicki: ‘There seems to be a great appetite’

‘The

Perfect Powers look like they’ll run’

Aidan ‘Mouse’ O’Ryan

“I like the look of the Perfect Powers. They look fast, sound sort of horses and they look like they’ll run. They’ve been received very well – he averaged around 40,000gns at the Somerville Sale. And the Persian Forces look sharp as well. It looks like they’ll run.”

half-brother to July Cup winner No Half Measures. By Territories, he was bred by Bumble Mitchell and Sally Nicholls out of the Helmet mare Fascinator.

“When I moved to Glebe, I was approached by Adam Hill, who helps Bumble Mitchell and Sally Nicholls, to see if I would prepare a few yearlings and consign them as well,” says Kent. “And one of them was this colt. He’s a belter, a big, deep, chestnut horse with loads of scope. He’ll be a headline act, all being well.”

Kent has reason to be positive given the

Freddy Tylicki

“I bought a lovely Caturra colt at the Somerville. He looks an early type. I thought Caturra stamped them well, there’s a Mehmas look to them.

“The Perfect Powers also look early, he’s stamping his stock too and people have latched on to them.

interest shown in his stock to go through the sale ring so far. But he is taking nothing for granted, highlighting the well-publicised decline in the foal crop as ‘terrifying’ in the long-run.

“The sales season has started off well, the market has been very vibrant,” he says, before adding: “There were 20 fewer yearlings in the Arqana August Sale, 70 fewer in Donny and 190 fewer in Somerville, which was cut back to a day this year. Then Fairyhouse is down 160 yearlings over the two books and Book 1 of

“Minzaal also looks to be stamping them well and I’m looking forward to seeing more of them at the next Irish sales. I also tried to buy a Naval Crown at Doncaster – he was a good racehorse and if the right one came along, I’d take a punt on him.”

Federico Barberini

“It’s early days with plenty of sales still to come but the Minzaals looks solid and I really like the Perfect Powers.

“I was at Keeneland – I’ve never seen a market like it, I think it’s the strongest sale I’ve ever attended. I saw a lot of Epicenters there that I liked –good movers with substance.”

the Goffs Orby Sale is down by 50 - where are they all?

“Yes, Tattersalls are up in numbers across all three books of its October Sale. But overall, there’s a big reduction in supply. Now that big pull back in supply could increase demand for this year, which in the short term is brilliant. But long term I think it’s terrifying.

“Plus there’s very few breeders left in this country and an even smaller younger generation coming through. Overall it’s very worrying.”

BREEDERS’ DIGEST

TOptimism as US market defies belief

NANCY SEXTON Bloodstock Editor

he Keeneland September Sale still had six days to run when its total sales smashed through last year’s record figure. Receipts of $411,749,500 had made the 2024 edition the highest-grossing thoroughbred auction in the world, but it didn’t take long for that accolade to be consigned to history, with notification that a new record would be forthcoming as early as the conclusion of Book 3.

As far as Europe is concerned, results from this season’s curtain-raisers, the Arqana August, Goffs Premier and Tattersalls Somerville Sales, have offered optimism for the autumn ahead. There was strong competition for what the market perceives as the better horses and in turn, each sale returned a healthy bump in the average and median price, in some instances to record levels. Granted, some of the lesser types struggled, but that is nothing new and undoubtedly several will go on to prove the market wrong on the track.

What unfolded at Keeneland last month, however, took matters to another level.

The final aggregate of $531,520,400, including private sales, was just one of several records set during the two weeks. The average across the five books finished at $175,807, up 17 per cent from 2024.

There were 56 yearlings who made a million dollars or more, between them sold to 31 different buyers. They were headed by a $3.3 million Gun Runner colt bought by MV Magnier and Peter Brant’s White Birch Farm, but the group also included a $2m Into Mischief colt sold during Book 3, traditionally the domain of middlemarket buyers. As such, $2m was a record price for that particular book; last year’s corresponding top mark was $900,000.

“It’s incredible,” agent Mike Ryan told the Keeneland press team. “I don’t think we’ve seen anything like this since Keeneland July in the ‘80s with the likes of Sheikh Mohammed and Robert Sangster.”

So what’s driving this remarkable enthusiasm? A key is undoubtedly the major tax incentive signed into law by

President Trump earlier this year. The One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which was passed by Congress in early July, makes permanent 100% bonus depreciation. That provision was part of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017, which originally included a phase-out schedule that made bonus depreciation 40% in 2025, 20% in 2026 and completely phased out by 2027. Now it will stay at 100%, retroactive to January 20 of this year. That means trainers, owners, breeders and farm operators can now deduct the full cost of key investments, such as horses, barns and equipment, in the same year that those investments are made. Suddenly, investment in the American thoroughbred business is more attractive and accessible.

A taste of what was to come at Keeneland had earlier been on show in August at the Fasig-Tipton Saratoga Sale in New York, at which no fewer than 25 yearlings made $1m or more and a record average of $626,366 was set.

All that might seem a mile away when it comes to this side of the pond, but there is some welcome relevance to our market in the possibility that it will alleviate any potential ramifications emanating from the US trade tariffs introduced by Trump back in the spring.

The participation of American-based buyers in the European yearling market has intensified in recent years to the point that Arqana and Goffs are happy to lay on planes out of the US for such buyers wishing to attend their sales. Tattersalls, meanwhile, has long been a happy hunting ground for Mike Ryan as the purchaser of top-flight performers such as Newspaperofrecord, Digital Age and Dynamic Pricing, winner of this year’s Grade 1 Just A Game Stakes. Ryan was one of around 20 individual American buying groups welcomed by Tattersalls to last year’s October Sale, making the team’s nine promotional trips to the US in 2024 worthwhile.

As a result, there has been some anxiety over how this year’s yearling market might be affected by the tariffs, under which horses carrying the ‘GB’ suffix are subject to a ten per cent charge upon entry into the US and those carrying either ‘IRE’ or ‘FR’ are subject to 20 per cent.

The waters were tested in August at Arqana’s flagship yearling auction, traditionally an event well attended by American buyers. Tariffs were certainly on the mind of buyers although plenty of them still participated aggressively, including Mike Repole, Ben Gowans, Kenny McPeek, Mike Akers, Justin Casse, Solis/Litt and Ramiro Restrepo’s Marquee Bloodstock. Several had an eye on starting their purchases off in Europe, including Repole and Casse, while those such as McPeek and Akers were planning to ship theirs straight back to the US, tariff or no tariff.

The Goffs Orby Sale is the next big test, but so far it seems a case of buyers getting on with it and absorbing the extra cost. Added to that, the strength of the American yearling trade has seen a number of domestic buyers shut out of their own market; if the chat is to be believed, then several of those in question have signalled their intention to shop in Europe instead. So while the potential effects of the tariffs still shouldn’t be underestimated, perhaps they won’t be so detrimental as originally anticipated. Let’s hope.

KEENELAND

Keeneland hosted a record September Sale

SALES CIRCUIT

Solid start

By CARL EVANS

GOFFS PREMIER YEARLING SALE

Britain’s first specialist yearling sale of the season created good business for all, some ascending figures, and the usual stamp of predominantly sharp horses who will be entering winner’s enclosures next year.

“Fair, but not bonkers,” was a summary of trade by trainer Richard Hughes when reflecting on two sessions which started with some circumspection on the part of buyers. Flares were lit toward the end of each day as a succession of six-figure lots lifted turnover to a figure of £14,327,000, down five per cent, but from a smaller catalogue with 77 fewer horses being offered to the public.

Of the 383 who padded around the ring in Doncaster, a total of 333 found homes at a vendor-pleasing clearance rate of 87 per cent. The average price of £43,025 was up nine per cent, while the median of £35,000 was a gain of 17 per cent.

Shadwell representative Angus Gold, making a welcome return to some headline buying, brought down the hammer for the

PINHOOK OF THE SALE

sale’s top lot, a filly by first-crop sire Minzaal who stands at the operation’s Derrinstown Stud in Ireland. This was to be Gold and Shadwell’s only purchase during the two days, a far cry from the time when Sheikh Hamdan was alive and an avid purchaser of yearlings, particularly at the Tattersalls October Book 2 Sale.

In 2019, Gold bought no fewer than 51 Book 2 yearlings for his boss, spending £8.5m guineas and waltzing to the position of leading buyer. In ascending order of valuation, a colt by Mehmas, who was bought for 150,000gns, could be found in joint-19th place among Gold’s purchases, but on the racecourse he proved to be rather better than that. Named Minzaal, he won the Gimcrack Stakes at two – when he was also placed in the Middle Park Stakes – before going on to top-level glory in the Sprint Cup at Haydock as a four-year-old. Sadly the Sheikh missed that victory having died the year before.

However, at what must have been a difficult time for his family, Minzaal and the brilliant Baaeed emerged and probably played some part in securing the Sheikh’s legacy through his daughter, Sheikha Hissa, who stepped up to head Shadwell’s

A daughter of Havana Grey (well, he was always likely to be responsible for something special) bought for €55,000 (approximately £47,600) as a foal at the Goffs November Sale and resold nine months later in Doncaster for £180,000. The buyer was Jason Kelly, while the beaming vendors with a 278 per cent increase on their investment were Alice O’Brien and Brad Wood who own Ashbrooke Stud.

Another notable pinhook, involving a foal who cost not much more than a long weekend away in a decent hotel, saw a Bated Breath filly bought for 1,000gns (£1,050) in 2024, rise in value to £40,000. Manister House Stud was the consignor, Jeremy Brummitt and Quantum Leap Racing the buyers.

QUOTE OF THE SALE

“Trade has been fair, but not gangbusters. We’ve been able to buy what we wanted. It’s been good, solid trade and everyone should be reasonably happy. The buyers have been able to buy and vendors have been able to sell.”

Stephen Hillen, bloodstock agent

racing and breeding operation. As a result, several years later, Gold was in Doncaster, checking out Minzaal yearlings and buying the filly who was consigned by Jane Allison’s Manor Farm having been bred by her, Hugo Merry and Jose Morera.

Minzaal was also responsible for a WH Bloodstock-consigned colt bought for £135,000 by Richard Hughes and Ted Durcan at the second session, while the same buying combination’s other purchases included a £175,000 Blue Point filly from Eugene Daly’s Longview Stud. She was bought at the first session, and at the second Hughes revealed he had received four calls from willing purchasers. A good season does not always result in a trainer receiving added investment in their skills, but it can do no harm.

Another cornerstone of British racing and breeding, Terry and Margaret Holdcroft’s Shropshire-based Bearstone Stud, enjoyed a sparkling opening day when trading colts by Showcasing (£180,000) and Perfect Power (£140,000), with each horse being knocked down to Anthony Bromley representing Rebel Racing’s Phil Cunningham. The same buying duo also lifted a £150,000 Dark Angel filly from the Baroda Stud draft and a

This Minzaal filly prompted a welcome foray into the Goffs Premier market for Shadwell

Ashbrooke Stud and their Havana Grey filly

GOFFS/ SARAH FARNSWORTH

SALES CIRCUIT

£125,000 daughter of Starman from Pa King’s Galbertstown Stables. In total, Cunningham bought eight lots for £830,000, not bad for a man whose early ventures into racing included a £30,000 yearling purchase via Bobby O’Ryan at Doncaster’s St Leger Sale in 2005. A pair of 2,000 Guineas wins later and that horse, Cockney Rebel, had created some foundation.

Another sale to the value of £180,000

GOFFS PREMIER YEARLING SALE

Top lots

Sex/breeding

F Minzaal- Hateya

saw agent Jason Kelly picking up a Havana Grey filly from Brad Wood and Alice O’Brien’s Ashbrooke Stud, while the same buyer lifted the second session’s top-priced horse with a finger click at £150,000 which gained him Tally-Ho Stud’s Mehmas colt.

Gone are the days when buyers had to be at the ring or on the telephone, and Kelly secured this one – on behalf of trainer Geoff Oldroyd, jockey PJ McDonald and Bond Thoroughbreds – via an online

Manor Farm (Wiltshire)

F Havana Grey - Cotai Beauty Ashbrooke Stud

C Showcasing - Epping Rose Bearstone Stud

F Blue Point- Fig Roll Longview Stud

F Dark Angel - Freddie’s Girl Baroda Stud

C Mehmas - Tuileries Garden

Tally-Ho Stud

C Perfect Power – Excelette Bearstone Stud

C Minzaal - Oriental Step

F Starman – Corazon

F Starman - Energetic Company

TATTERSALLS SOMERVILLE YEARLING SALE

Two days last year, back to a single session 12 months later and looking good with its slimmed-down appearance, this auction is becoming a solid platform for early autumn yearlings.

Its roots lie in Ascot, where a yearling sale was held from 2017 to 2019, but then Covid gave Tattersalls a sound reason to move it to Newmarket before renaming it in 2021. Five Somerville Sales later and the figures are looking good, and far higher than the final year at Ascot, where, in 2019, 127 sold horses provided turnover of 1,356,000gns at an average of £10,684.

bid while he was sat in an airport.

STATISTICS

Sold: 331 (86% clearance)

Aggregate: £14,297,000 (-5%)

Average: £43,194 (+9%)

Median: £35,000 (+17%)

190,000 Shadwell Estate Co Ltd

180,000 Jason Kelly/Bond Thoroughbreds/Bryan Smart

180,000Highflyer/Phil Cunningham

175,000 Durcan Bloodstock/R Hughes Racing

150,000 Highflyer/Phil Cunningham

150,000 Jason Kelly BS/Bond Thoroughbred/Oldroyd

140,000 Highflyer/Phil Cunningham

WH Bloodstock 135,000 Durcan Bloodstock/R Hughes Racing

Tally-Ho Stud 130,000 Rabbah Bloodstock

Galbertstown Stables

At the latest edition, 230 sold lots turned over 7,945,000gns (including

125,000 Highflyer/Phil Cunningham

private sales) at an average of 34,254gns. Comparing two sales six years apart is merely trivia, but the figures suggest Tattersalls was not wrong to up sticks from Ascot.

Of more relevance when it comes to monetary comparisons are those which show the latest Somerville average was up 21 per cent year on year, while the median gained 14 per cent at 25,000gns and the clearance rate was a notable 91 per cent once private sales were included. There is no great surprise in those figures given the strength of yearling sales held so far this year, while the Somerville’s record for throwing up winners was clearly not lost

Rabbah Bloodstock snapped up this 160,000gns Havana Grey filly

TATTERSALLS

on the latest buying bench, although a glance down the pinhooking table makes it clear that no one who bought foals to resell at this event will be retiring on the profit.

Finding sharp two-year-olds was the plan for many, and it is likely that top-lot buyers Rabbah Bloodstock and Rebel Racing found just that type when spending 160,000gns each to buy yearlings by Havana Grey and Dark Angel respectively.

The Havana Grey, a filly bred by Lord Margadale at his Fonthill Stud in Wiltshire, was consigned by Jenny Norris, who had sold this year’s Royal Ascot winner Havana Hurricane at the Somerville 12 months earlier. Rebel Racing’s Dark Angel colt was bred at Guy O’Callaghan’s Grangemore Stud out of the Listed winner and Commonwealth Cup third Measure Of Magic, so he is bred to be fast and he should have early-season precocity over many rivals having been born on January 3.

A good turf season for Phil Cunningham’s Rebel Racing and trainer

PINHOOKER OF THE SALE

Richard Spencer – they pulled off the Ayr Gold and Silver Cup double on September 20 – has resulted in greater investment at the ring, and after buying eight lots at the Goffs Premier Sale in Doncaster, the organisation piled in once again, buying another seven for a sum of 677,000gns and taking the position of leading buyer.

These purchases, which Cunningham said was part of a push for quality over quantity, were achieved with the help of Highflyer Bloodstock’s Anthony Bromley, who was not riding just the one horse at this event, and with orders from other clients signed for a total of 26 yearlings.

Michael O’Leary’s Plantation Stud enjoyed a couple of handsome sales when gaining 135,000gns for a Too Darn Hot colt who went to Cunningham, and the same sum for a Palace Pier filly. She was added to a Ted Durcan and Richard Hughes haul ignited in Doncaster the previous week.

While trainers and owners were buying horses to race, the breeze-up specialists were seeking yearlings to sprint their stuff before being resold next spring. Tom Whitehead of Powerstown Stud saw virtue in a colt by leading first-crop sire Starman,

Notable rises in the value of horses bought late last year as foals and then reoffered at the Somerville were few in number, which makes a double for Egmont Stud’s Paula Flannery particularly worthy. An Oasis Dream colt Flannery bought for 20,000gns in December was resold for 75,000gns to P D Bloodstock and Robbie Fitzpatrick, and she gained the same sum for a son of Kodiac, bought as a foal for €32,000, and resold to Zhang Yuesheng’s Ace Stud.

TATTERSALLS SOMERVILLE YEARLING SALE

Top lots

Sex/breeding

F Havana Grey - Josefa Goya Norris Bloodstock

C Dark Angel - Measure Of Magic Grangemore Stud

C Starman – Pooky Tally-Ho Stud

C Too Darn Hot - Oasis Sunset Plantation Stud

F Palace Pier - Sweet Gardenia Plantation Stud

QUOTES OF THE SALE

“I couldn’t see too much, because I was leading her up, but it’s a great result, very satisfying.”

Jake Scott Campbell, launching his Lanark Bloodstock consigning operation in grand style through the sale of a Blue Point filly bred by Richard Frayne. Scott Campbell had advised Frayne on the mating when Blue Point was in his fourth season, just before his first crop hit the track, and at a time when his fee had dropped from a previous high of €45,000 to €35,000. That could have looked like an expensive mistake had Blue Point failed, but he didn’t, his fee this year was €100,000, and the rookie consignor now looks pretty smart. Incidentally, despite the name of his business, Smith Campbell is based not in Scotland, but Kildare. The ‘Lanark’ element derives from the place where his grandfather grew up.

“I might bring him back here for the Craven Sale if the wheels stay on the wagon.”

Realist Tom Whitehead of Powerstown Stud, pleased to buy a racy-looking son of Starman, but aware that in prepping a horse to resell as a breezer any little niggle can spoil the plan. In this instance, one that cost Whitehead the not insignificant sum of 145,000gns.

and after buying him with a bid of 145,000gns spoke of a return to Newmarket in Craven week next year.

STATISTICS

Sold: 234 (91% clearance)

Aggregate: 7,945,000gns (-13%)

Average: 34,254gns (+21%)

Median: 25,000gns (+14%)

Rabbah Bloodstock

Highflyer Bloodstock/Phil Cunningham

Powerstown Stud

This Dark Angel colt shared top honours

Phil Cunningham: leading buyer

SALES CIRCUIT

BBAG SEPTEMBER YEARLING SALE

The formula is fairly straightforward –Gestut Brummerhof presents a very well-bred yearling, Godolphin buys it and bingo, the top lot is sorted.

It is slightly more involved than that, and certainly more hectic for Godolphin representative Anthony Stroud, who was buying at the Goffs Premier Sale in Doncaster one day, inspecting yearlings in Germany the next and then hopping on another flight to Keeneland. In fact, he brought the hammer down for the latest Brummerhof special – a Sea The Stars filly bred on a foal share and out of the German 1,000 Guineas heroine Novemba – by bidding through BBAG representative Klaus Eulenberger shortly after arriving in the US.

The price was €750,000, another super return for vendor Gregor Baum and his family, albeit €100,000 below the sum they gained for a record-breaking Camelot colt at the same auction 12 months earlier when Godolphin was again the buyer. Named Del Maro, that colt finished second at Newmarket’s July Course on debut for Charlie Appleby.

Baum’s operation went on to become leading vendor at this single-session auction by selling nine lots for just over €1.5m, a chunk that helped turnover gain 13 per cent when reaching €8,404,100. The average and median prices both rose 14 per cent to sums of around €55,000, continuing the general uplift seen at yearling sales as the 2025 season unfolds.

Coolmore stallion Camelot joined the top-ten board once again when a son of his – also from Gestut Brummerhof – was sold

PINHOOK OF THE SALE

This Sea The Stars filly will race in Godolphin’s colours following her sale for €750,000

for €340,000 to racehorse owner Philip Baron von Ullmann. He did not have to wait long for a handy contribution to that investment, for two days later his top-class five-year-old Goliath – who he owns in partnership with American John Stewart –won the Grosser Preis von Baden. That race was won in 2022 by Mendocino, a half-brother to von Ullman’s just-bought Camelot colt, who he said will be trained by Joseph O’Brien.

Crispin de Moubray was another Camelot buyer when investing €240,000 on behalf of a client from New Zealand, while Liberty Racing signed for a €210,000 Gleneagles colt from Gestut Westerberg. Brummerhof also consigned a €200,000 Saxon Warrior colt out of the mare

Given that foal sales are anathema to many Germans, and BBAG does not stage an auction for horses of that age, its annual yearling sale is not exactly a hot-bed of pinhooking action. Just nine of the 198 offered lots were pinhooks, their route to Germany having taken in sales in France, Britain and Ireland. A daughter of De Treville who had been bought by Wilhelm Feldmann for €1,000 at Arqana in December produced a sweet percentage profit when reselling for €18,000, and while an Ardad filly out of a Dark Angel mare – and bought as a foal for just 1,000gns – was resold for a humble €5,500, the buyer was Mark Dwyer of Church Farm Stables, no stranger to a breeze-up auction success, and likely to have bought well on this occasion.

BBAG SEPTEMBER YEARLING SALE

Top lots

Sex/breeding

F Sea The Stars – Novemba

C Camelot - Mill Marin

C Camelot – Alaskasonne

C Gleneagles – Picobella

C Saxon Warrior – Wildfahrte

C Japan - Path Wind

Gestut Brummerhof

Gestut Brummerhof

Gestut Rottgen

Gestut Westerberg Consignment

Gestut Brummerhof

Gestut Fahrhof

Wildfahrte and already named Wildfuchs, which could present a challenge for racecourse bookmakers who like shouting the odds should he ever appear in Britain or Ireland.

No first-season sire in Germany is being followed with greater interest than the 2021 Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe winner Torquator Tasso, who stands at Gestut Auenquelle, and who was represented by 15 lots in the catalogue. Thirteen found buyers, including a colt who was sold for €160,000 to Denis Cengiz, and another who was knocked down to agent Alex Elliott for €115,000 on his way to a place with trainer Ralph Beckett.

Another new stallion, an icon to fans of staying races, is Stradivarius, who was represented by two lots. Both sold, including a €140,000 colt who was signed for by Jeremy Brummitt on behalf of Middleham Park Racing.

STATISTICS

Sold: 153 (77% clearance)

Aggregate: €8,548,100 (+15%)

Average: €55,870 (+16%)

Median: €56,074 (+16%)

750,000 Godolphin

340,000 Philip Baron von Ullmann

240,000 Crispin de Moubray

210,000 Liberty Racing

200,000 i.A. M.F. Weißmeier

200,000 Eckhard Sauren

GOFFS YORTON SALE

Making a welcome return to the sales calendar after a break of one year, this unique auction took place at the Futter family’s Yorton Stud near Welshpool in North Wales.

Welcome because as you drive along the lane towards James and Jean Potter’s large-scale, Grade 1 listed Victorian farm you gain a tangible sense of something special, historical, traditional, yet the sale was created to push innovative thinking about the way jumping horses are produced.

In the autumn of 2019, before Britain and Ireland got serious about running dedicated junior development races for three-year-old hurdlers, Dave Futter, taking a lead from the well-established French model, put on a sale of yearling and two-year-old unbroken stores. Rather than wait to send such horses to an established sale of three-year-old stores he was turning stock over earlier – and saying to other breeders they could do the same –while providing trainers with the youthful horses they could run 12 months later in such junior races.

A by-product was the pinhooking option, which saw two-year-olds bought at

HORSE TO FOLLOW

The sale-topping Doctor Dino gelding on his way to selling for £105,000

Yorton being offered the following summer at established store sales, and often making a profit.

Fast forward to 2025 and yearlings had been removed from the catalogue, but 33 two-year-olds, many bred at Yorton Stud, were lined up for sale at an auction staged as in previous years by Goffs.

Remarkably, all 33 lots sold, a reflection of the Futters’ understanding of the market

Stallion Wonderful Moon may not be on every breeder’s lips, but his sire Sea The Moon is no stranger to success. Eight-year-old Wonderful Moon, a Group 2 winner in Germany, stands at Haras de la Tuilerie and was represented in the Yorton Sale by one lot, a three-parts brother to a Listed-winning hurdler in France having been foaled by the Lomitas mare Wonderful Filly. Her two-year-old must have been a looker, for Rathmore Stud’s Peter Molony invested £58,000 to buy the “gorgeous individual”, who can be followed twice – at next year’s Goffs Arkle Sale and then on the racecourse.

ERSTWHILE TRAINER TO FOLLOW

Frenchman Nathan Vergne, 29, spent four and a half seasons with Philip Hobbs until returning home when Covid struck in 2020, where he opened a successful breaking and pre-training yard near Angers. Clients included Messrs Munir and Souede. Later this year Vergne will move to Maisons-Laffitte having nearly completed the steps to gain a full licence. At Yorton he bought a Blue Bresil gelding (£35,000) and a Masterstroke filly (£20,000) for his new project, saying he had noticed that Yorton’s young graduates were among the most forward and capable jumpers he had handled. He added that his stay in Britain, during which he had some 70 rides in point-to-points and seven winners, were “the best four years of my life”.

GOFFS YORTON SALE

Top lots

Sex/breeding

G Doctor Dino - Saint Grace Yorton

G Doctor Dino - Cool La Mag Yorton

F Nathaniel - All Risk For Love Yorton

F Walk In The Park – Tikinik

G Wonderful Moon – Mademoiselle

and decision to set realistic reserves, and while the other figures were down, a horse sold for £20,000 to £30,000 having been bred at the farm by one of Yorton’s resident stallions had made a profit.

Not every horse in the catalogue was home-bred, and trade was headed by a Doctor Dino gelding – already named Doctor Green – who the Futters had bought nine months earlier at Arqana for €65,000. That outlay turned into a profit when he was reoffered and sold for £105,000 to Oxfordshire-based Paul Cowley, a former amateur jockey and licensed trainer whose business is named Vanquish Bloodstock.

Cowley and his wife Alana run a 100-acre farm and have been steady foal pinhookers who decided to go up in price, but cut the time needed before reselling, by buying a two-year-old.

STATISTICS

Sold: 33 (100% clearance)

Aggregate: £905,000 (-20% from 2023)

Average: £27,425 (-13% from 2023)

Median: £20,000 (-27% from 2023)

Mags O’Toole

SALES CIRCUIT

Dai Walters, a firm supporter of the sale, was underbidder to Cowley, but he had earlier seen off interest from Dan Skelton for another son of Doctor Dino valued at £95,000.

The sale’s only offering by Nathaniel was a filly who fell to a bid of £65,000 from Mags O’Toole who was acting for an end-user, while a daughter of Walk In The Park made £60,000 and joined the Lew House Stables team managed by former jockey Marcus Foley.

KEENELAND SEPTEMBER SALE BOOK 1

This is a big sale – big in so many ways After two sessions of Book 1 it continued for another stamina-sapping ten days, involved a catalogue of 4,686 yearlings, which is more than Britain’s entire foal crop from 2024, and involved no fewer than 189 sires.

The sales figures contain a lot of numbers, and while last year’s sale worth around $428 million was the highestgrossing thoroughbred auction in history – and with record average and median prices – the latest edition looked set to trump that after Book 1 soared ahead year on year.

per cent, the average increased 13 per cent to $664,447, while the median gained 16 per cent at $550,000. Thirty-five horses sold for $1m-plus. In short, there is no

French trainers, with a racing programme offering plenty of scope for three- and four-year-olds, have enjoyed particularly good results with Yorton graduates and they made their presence felt once again, while British point-topoint handlers and small-scale licence

It was said the spring drought and firm ground meant four-year-olds they hoped to run and sell at that time of year had been held back until the autumn. Until those horses are sold, further buying has to be circumspect.

Despite falls in the key metrics, the

SALES CIRCUIT

was a $2.2m Gun Runner colt who was knocked down to ebullient trainer Wesley Ward, offered by Taylor Made Sales Agency.

Ward’s purchase was a full-brother to Preakness winner Early Voting and from the family of champions Speightstown and Silken Cat. The new owners of this choice specimen include Roy Israel, who Ward said had been in racehorse ownership for just a year.

Leslie and Larry Sarf’s LSU Stable, the seed of which was planted 58 years ago when the Sarfs went on their first date and chose a day at the races, also parted with a sum of $2.2m when buying a Gaineswayconsigned Flightline filly out of a Grade 3-winning mare. KAS Stables was another leading racehorse ownership operation that gained a plum lot when agent Pedro Lanz secured a Not This Time colt for $1.7m.

Repole Stable cruised to the position of leading buyer when investing $11,300,000 on 23 horses. Amo Racing picked up five lots, one in partnership, at an average of $1m, and while Coolmore interests bought

QUOTES OF THE SALE

“I own Pedigrees 360, and the horse rates really well in that.”

Resolute Racing’s John Stewart, whose purchase of a Flightline colt for $1.5m was guided in part by a pedigree analysis tool which he bought from its Australia-based founder earlier this year. The product uses artificial intelligence to predict the success of matings, but is it a handy source of information, or another step towards the removal of humans from the workplace? Stewart did add “we have a bunch of people that look at the horse” to back up the AI analysis.

“The most beautiful thing about him you didn’t even see, and that is his wonderful mind.”

Consignor Martha Jane Mulholland, reminding us that no AI robot or video footage can replace human analysis of the finer points of the horse. She was speaking after selling a colt by Into Mischief for $1.25m.

“As I’m starting to get the white hair now, I’m looking to get horses that go a little further.”

Trainer Wesley Ward, noted for speed horses, but with advancing years looking to slow things down. His comment was made after he bought a $2.2m Gun Runner full-brother to Preakness Stakes winner and young sire Early Voting. Not an obvious candidate for next year’s Norfolk Stakes at Royal Ascot.

the top lot and several other horses in partnerships, Godolphin did not appear on the list of buyers at Book 1.

Among consignors, Taylor Made Sales sold 44 lots for a total of $26m. Gainesway Farm’s 28 sales for just over $23m was an impressive outcome. Gun Runner led the sires’ table, his 24 sold lots generating $24.8m at an average of just over $1m. Flightline was represented by 23 sold lots who sold for an average of $880,000 and

KEENELAND SEPTEMBER SALE, BOOK 1

Top lots

Sex/breeding

C Gun Runner – Thoughtfully Hill ‘n’ Dale at Xalapa

C Gun Runner – Amour d’Ete Taylor Made Sales Agency

F Flightline – Four Graces Gainesway, agent

F Not This Time – Stave Hinkle Farms

C Flightline – Mira Alta Warrendale Stables

C Not This Time – Wembley Taylor Made Sales

ONLINE SALES

When online sales emerged towards the end of the last decade, it was said they might have a future selling proven horses with racecourse form, but would never be a platform for yearlings or foals.

That prediction was about to be tested at Auctav’s 100-lot online yearling sale in mid-September as Owner Breeder was about to go to press, while Tattersalls Online has added a yearling session to its digital November Sale.

The company will be hoping for better results than were achieved at another

innovative auction, a barrier trial sale involving a catalogue of five two-year-olds who had galloped the previous week at Leopardstown. Fair play to Tattersalls for trying something different, but after one withdrawal none of the other four found a buyer.

A 70 per cent clearance rate is good going for many online sales, but that was achieved by ThoroughBid at its late August Sale. Of 30 lots, 21 found a buyer, headed by point-to-point winner and placed hurdler Sharing Is Caring, who was offered from Shark Hanlon’s stable and sold for

STATISTICS

Sold: 228 (83% clearance)

Aggregate: $148,815,000 (+24%)

Average: $652,698 (+7%)

Median: $525,000 (+11%)

3,300,000 MV Magnier & White Birch

2,200,000 Wesley Ward

2,200,000 LSU Stables

2,000,000 David Lanigan, Ted Durcan, agent

1,700,000 Naohiro Sakaguchi

1,700,000 Pedro Lanz, agent

£28,000 to Lewis Jones.

The four-year-old’s point-to-point win came not in Ireland, but Wales, at a meeting held in May on the Pembrokeshire coast and an easy ferry ride for Irish trainers like Hanlon.

GoffsGo, the online sale launched by Goffs this year as one that is always live, was the platform for the £30,000 sale of three-year-old gelding Nyman, a sevenfurlong winner at two with an official rating high of 78. Offered in September from Henry De Bromhead’s stable, he was sold to North Yorkshire trainer Roger Fell.

Wesley Ward will train this brother to Preakness Stakes winner Early Voting

The speed vs stamina debate

JOHN BOYCE cracks the code

There is much debate these days about the perceived lack of commercial effort behind the production of future middle-distance stars in Europe. The collective depth and strength of middledistance pedigrees residing within Coolmore, Juddmonte, Godolphin, Shadwell and the Aga Khan Studs ought to insulate Europe from any drift towards speed. With this level of support, surely Europe can uphold the valued breeding traditions of the past when the most prestigious races are contested at a mile-and-a-half and more. Let us take a look at some trends that have emerged since the turn of the millennium among Europe’s stallion ranks. The barometer I have used in an effort to uncover changing trends is the stamina index of a sire’s runners each year. In other words, have speed sires prospered at the expense of staying sires? Stallions with a stamina index of eight furlongs or less typically produce our early two-year-olds

and future sprinting stars, whereas those with an index of ten furlongs or more are definitely at the staying end of the spectrum.

Rather surprisingly, the number of individual speed sires supplying runners in

per cent reduction. Crucially though, the number of runners each year has remained broadly the same, if anything showing a slight upward trend.

Given the move towards ever larger books of mares in recent times,

Have speed sires prospered at the expense of staying sires?

Europe have fallen dramatically since 2000. That year there were 425 sires in Europe with a stamina index of eight furlongs and under. Their number peaked at 456 in 2004, but since then it has fallen year on year down to 222 in 2023. That represents a 48

particularly among speed sires, this is not surprising. At the beginning of the century, the average number of runners per speed sire stood at around 20. By contrast, this average has increased beyond 42 per sire in 2023 and 2024. The proposition that large

Speed sires: those with an annual stamina index of up to and including eight furlongs

Staying sires: those with an annual stamina index of ten furlongs and higher

books sizes are more likely to lead to more bad horses when a stallion fails cannot be proven or disproven here, although as you would expect the average stakes winner strike-rate has fallen slightly in the past five years.

Unsurprisingly, many of the most successful stallions in this sub eight-furlong category have demonstrated plenty of versatility in that they can also sire good horses at distances beyond that of their stamina index. Danehill Dancer, for instance, owns two of the best four seasonal tallies of stakes winners achieved in 2008 and 2009, when he sired 18 and 20 European stakes winners respectively. Many of Danehill Dancer’s Group/Grade 1 winners stayed at least ten furlongs, such as Mastercraftsman, Planteur, Legatissimo, Hillstar and Dancing Rain.

The same is true of Oasis Dream, who sired several Group 1 winners at ten furlongs and beyond including the 132-rated Midday. Meanwhile, there is the modern phenomenon Night Of Thunder, who has added a pair of top-notch tenfurlong performers – Ombudsman and Economics – to his resume in recent seasons.

The out-and-out speed influences in this cohort include Exceed And Excel, Invincible Spirit, plus modern standouts like No Nay Never, Havana Grey and Mehmas, all of whom have had at least one season of siring ten or more European stakes winners.

In the realm of staying sires – those with a stamina index of ten furlongs and more –we do not see the same attrition rate as with their speed counterparts. If anything, the 20-year trend is very slightly positive, one which peaked in the early 2010s. That said, the trend from then is downwards but the changes are minimal, and we don’t yet know if this is the start of something more drastic. What has increased is the number of runners in this sector, which may be counterintuitive to today’s thinking. So the average number of runners per sire has risen from 47 in the year 2000 to a high of 80 in the mid 2010s. It has been just shy of that maximum in the past three completed seasons at 77, 74 and 76.

Not surprisingly, since 2000 the great Galileo holds the top eight seasonal performances by number of individual stakes winners, his best three (all 35) coming in the space of four years in 2012, 2014 and 2015. The next four best years are by his sire Sadler’s Wells, while Frankel’s tally of 23 European stakes winners in 2022 is the 13th best and of course, the highest achieved by an active sire. That year, the Banstead Manor Stud stallion was represented by Group 1 winners Alpinista, Nashwa, Inspiral, Chaldean, Onesto, Westover and Homeless Songs.

Given the trend towards larger book sizes, it is a bit of a surprise that only two other active sires break into the top 30 annual performances by stakes winners – or

rather it says more about the sheer brilliance of Galileo and his sire.

The first is Sea The Stars, who made the top 30 on two occasions, the first in 2021 with 20 stakes winners, and the second (like Frankel) in 2022 with 19 stakes scorers. During that two-year period, Sea The Stars had the Group 1-winning brothers Baaeed and Hukum as well as the top fillies Teona, Emily Upjohn and Sea La Rosa running for him.

The third active sire among the top 30 seasonal performances is another Aga Khan Studs sire in Zarak with a tally of 17 European stakes winners in 2024, headed by the top-flight winners Haya Zark and Classic scorer Metropolitan.

So there we have it. To summarise, comparing the annual runner counts for the first five years of the period with the most recent five years, the number of runners by speed sires has risen by nine per cent. Against that, the number by staying sires has risen by 50 per cent.

Whatever anecdotal evidence there is indicating a decline in the production of the middle-distance and staying horse at the expense of their faster maturing and more speedy counterparts, it isn’t yet showing up in the 20-year macro metrics of the five main European countries. If anything the opposite is more likely to be the case. That is not to say that in terms of quality there isn’t some truth to it. That’s a question for next month’s column.

GEORGE SELWYN

Oasis Dream: Banstead Manor Stud veteran is primarily a speed influence but has sired several top horses over ten furlongs or beyond

A welcome outcross option

NANCY SEXTON looks at the emergence of Sands Of Mali as one of the year’s most exciting young sires

There were 130 Flat-orientated stallions standing for above £1,000 in Britain and Ireland in 2025, the bulk of the more desirable names in the hands of various major operations and just over 60 per cent of them carrying either Sadler’s Wells (primarily through Galileo), Danehill and/or Dubawi blood.

All of which makes the emergence of Sands Of Mali as one of the year’s ascending young sires all the more welcome. There’s undoubtedly a pedigree snob or two out there who would label his background as unfashionable. But isn’t it refreshing to see a successful young horse with an outcross pedigree? And after all, it makes him easy for breeders to use.

To recap, Sands Of Mali is a son of the French stallion Panis, a Group 3-winning sprinter who is probably a more effective stallion than his most recent fee of €2,500 at Haras des Faunes gives him credit for. In fact, so encouraging were his early results from his time in the south of France that he came to the attention of the Head family’s Haras du Quesnay, who stood him for four seasons from 2007. In all, Panis is the sire of 15 stakes performers and while Sands Of Mali is by far his best representative, he’s also thrown a Classic-placed colt in Veneto and a trio of Group 3 winners, so he’s far from being a one hit wonder.

Panis offers access to the Mr Prospector sire line via Miswaki, an important horse to the breed as the damsire of Galileo and Sea The Stars, and is out of a mare by Doonesbury, a grandson of Buckpasser.

Meanwhile, Sands Of Mali’s dam Kadiana is a daughter of former Tally-Ho Stud stallion Indian Rocket, a fast son of Indian Ridge, and out of a mare by the Lyphard stallion Sicyos. With Vitiges and Kashmir appearing next in his pedigree, Sands Of Mali is a complete outcross in five generations, something that is rarely seen today.

Sands Of Mali was shrewdly sourced as an Osarus yearling by Con Marnane, resold by the Bansha House maestro for £75,000 as a breezer and went on to become a top-flight sprinter for Richard Fahey, winning the Group 2 Gimcrack Stakes at two and Group 1 British Champions Sprint Stakes at three.

By the time he retired to Ballyhane Stud in 2021, he had earned his share of the headlines, not all of them positive, notably when passing through the Tattersalls December Sale for 600,000gns as owners Cool Silk Partnership and Phoenix Thoroughbreds sought to dissolve their alliance. Then a rising five-year-old, he was sent back into training with Fahey under the full ownership of Cool Silk, but a series of niggles prevented him from regaining his best form.

Thus, when he was retired to stand at Ballyhane Stud in 2001, Sands Of Mali had gone over two years without a win. However, a fast first-season sire is nearly always guaranteed to set the commercial pulses racing and launched at an inexpensive €6,500, his first crop of 84 foals is his largest by quite some way. That is, however, until next year’s crop is born.

By all accounts, the horse was busier than he’d ever been this year and deservedly so in light of the fact that his first crop contains the Group 1 Commonwealth Cup heroine Time For Sandals, Group 3 Ballycorus Stakes winner Copacabana Sands, last year’s Listed Windsor Castle Stakes winner Ain’t Nobody, who recently ran an excellent second in the Group 1 Nunthorpe Stakes, fellow Listed scorer Ellaria Sands and the stakes-placed Songhai and Aviation Time.

Both Time For Sandals and Copacabana Sands were sold at the 2023 Tattersalls Ireland September Sale and neither cost the earth; Time For Sandals was bought by her trainer Harry Eustace with DPA for €35,000 while Copacabana Sands made just €7,000 to DNA Equine. Both possess good back pedigrees yet in an illustration of how Sands Of Mali might be upgrading his mares, neither are out of extremely successful producers. Time For Sandals, for example, is a granddaughter of top sprinter Pharoah’s Delight but was a

BILL SELWYN

Sands Of Mali, now a Group 1-producing stallion with his first crop, captures the 2018 Group 1 QIPCO British Champions Sprint Stakes at Ascot

half-sister to just three minor winners from six foals of racing age at the time of her sale.

As for Copacabana Sands, she is a granddaughter of Cheveley Park Stud’s Group 1 producer Red Camellia, yet her dam, the 2008-foaled Montjeu mare Buttonhole, had just two winners to her credit when her daughter came under the hammer.

Interestingly, Time For Sandals is out of a mare by Bachelor Duke, meaning that she is inbred 3x3 to Miswaki. A similar pattern is also in the background of another fast Panis, Group 3 Prix de Cabourg winner Out Of Time, whose dam was by Midyan.

As admirable as Sands Of Mali’s start is, however, how often have we seen similar stallions fail to build upon the success of their first crop? That is especially true of those horses operating at the middle to lower levels of the market, where crop sizes tend to fall off a cliff as the stallions in question come closer

to having their first runners. Sands Of Mali is one such horse. He has 45 two-year-olds on the ground this year, yet once again he’s making the most of those opportunities.

Leading the way among those juveniles is Ipanema Queen, winner of the Listed Curragh Stakes over five furlongs in August. Bred like Time For Sandals by Rathbride Farm, she was an even cheaper yearling than Copacabana Sands, fetching just €4,500 from Hyde Park Stud at last year’s Goffs Autumn Sale.

Following her debut success at the Curragh in the spring, she now races for Barbara Banke’s Stonestreet Stables LLC and Amo Racing.

Another juvenile, Sands Of Spain, has also won close to £40,000 for Andrew Balding. The market has latched on to the promise of Sands Of Mali, with a yearling average of close to 50,000gns recorded during the early stages of the current sales season at the time of writing. Kevin Ryan and Stephen Hillen have

Blue hen’s influence grows

It is quite unlikely that when Sir Henry Cecil uttered the words “knee-high to a bumble bee” to describe his 1990 Prix de Diane winner Rafha, that he envisaged the daughter of Kris exerting such a powerful influence over the breed.

Prince Faisal’s diminutive homebred became a remarkable producer for her breeder, leaving behind Group 1-winning sprinter Invincible Spirit, another high-class speedster in Kodiac and Group 3 scorers Sadian and Acts Of Grace, herself dam of the Prince’s multiple Group 1 winner Mishriff.

What makes it so powerful, however, is the fact that Rafha’s web has since gone on to make the rare leap into ‘stallion family’ territory. Much of the weight rests with Invincible Spirit and Kodiac, who both joined Europe’s elite from a humble early base and are today responsible for 30 Group/Grade 1 winners between them. And in turn, with so many sons of their own at stud worldwide, the opportunity to inbreed to Rafha is becoming increasingly plentiful.

Appropriately, the trailblazer in that department was a Prince Faisal homebred, Orbaan, a son of Invincible Spirit who descends directly from Rafha as a grandson of Acts Of Grace. Winner of the Listed Prix de Saint-Patrick during his time with Andre Fabre, he boasts a record of seven wins from 78 starts – and perhaps with more to come given he remains in fair form aged ten.

Those interested in inbreeding to Rafha should take real encouragement from

recent results, notably the racing in August which featured three new stakes winners with double doses of the mare.

The trio includes the Group 2 Lowther Stakes winner Royal Fixation, a first-crop daughter of Palace Pier who is one of seven European stakes winners this year out of a Kodiac mare. She was bred by Flintstone Bloodstock out of the Group 3-placed Fixette and formed part of an important month for Palace Pier, who was represented not long afterwards by the Group 3 Solario Stakes winner A Bit Of Spirit.

Kodiac is also the damsire of Listed Corrib Stakes winner Tropical Island, one of the best sired by the average Invincible Spirit stallion Inns Of Court.

As for Kingman, sire of Palace Pier, he also featured as the damsire of Anaisa, who shed a new light on her rating of 74 when successful in the Listed Ripon Champion 2yo Trophy for Tim Easterby. By the Kodiac stallion Ardad, she was bred in the aftermath of her sire’s successful first crop of two-year-olds; that 2023 crop contains four stakes winners to date, which places him behind Wootton Bassett numerically on the European two-year-old sires list.

In all, there are seven stakes performers inbred to Rafha, four of whom have won their black type this year. Kingman appears in the background of four of the septet, including as the damsire of Italian Listed scorer Korisa (by Kodiac) alongside Anaisa. He is also the sire of the promising two-year-old Go Just Do It, who was last

already signed for a pair of colts at £55,000 and £50,000, underlining the notion that his stock are well liked by trainers.

Sands Of Mali still faces something of an uphill battle given the immediate numerical challenge facing him. There also remains some uncertainty over his future; an injunction application by Steve Parkin to have him removed from Ballyhane Stud, owned by his former advisor Joe Foley, was turned down by the High Court in Ireland back in February.

Whatever the future holds, however, it is clear that this is a very useful young stallion who appears capable of upgrading his mares and providing breeders with a sound, fast horse.

Exactly how far Sands Of Mali can climb up the ladder remains to be seen. However, for now, he has done enough to be regarded as a classy outcross option, which in itself has to be welcome news for the breed as a whole.

seen running third in the Group 2 Futurity Stakes at the Curragh.

In a measure of how prevalent this pattern has become in recent years, 14 of the 84 winners inbred to Rafha are juveniles of this year. In addition to Royal Fixation and Anaisa, they include the highly-tried Goodwood Galaxy (by Kodi Bear), Kempton winner Royal Bodyguard (by Kodi Bear), who ran third in a good nursery at Doncaster’s St Leger meeting, and Baby Basma (by Ardad), the winner of her only start to date at Cork. Such is Rafha’s influence today, there are numerous opportunities for breeders to delve into the family – the latest big name stallion to retire to stud from it is Mishriff, who stands at Sumbe in France. So whether by design or inadvertently, more breeders will undoubtedly head down the route of doubling up on the mare, and if the past summer is anything to go by, there will be a number who enjoy success.

BILL SELWYN

The Palace Pier filly Royal Fixation returns following her Lowther Stakes victory

EQUINE HEALTH

Strong starts begin in the gut

By LAURA STELEY

In the world of thoroughbred breeding and racing, much of the attention logically falls on pedigree, conformation and training. Yet beneath these visible pillars lies another foundation that is every bit as influential: the gastrointestinal tract. Increasing evidence suggests that gut health in foals and yearlings is not only central to digestion and nutrient absorption, but also to immunity, behaviour, stress tolerance and, ultimately, long-term athletic potential and health.

Gastrointestinal tract and microbiome

The equine gastrointestinal (GI) tract is an impressive system, stretching nearly 30 metres in an adult thoroughbred and weighing around 60kg. It is divided into the foregut; mouth, oesophagus, stomach and small intestine, and the hindgut; caecum and colon. As hindgut fermenters, horses depend on the caecum and large colon, which alone makes up about 60% of the tract, to break down fibre into volatile fatty acids (VFAs) – these supply up to 70% of their daily energy.

The stomach, by comparison, is small – about the size of a rugby ball – and produces acid continuously. The small intestine, some 20 metres long, moves digesta rapidly and is the only site where simple carbohydrates can be absorbed. The hindgut contains a diverse community of microorganisms consisting of fungi, parasites, protozoa, archaea, viruses and bacteria, collectively known as microbiota.

The microbiome refers to the microbiota, including their genetic material and the surrounding environmental conditions. Put simply, the microbiome is like the digestive tract’s ecosystem, providing essential nutritional facilitators (VFA break down), immune response enablers and microorganisms which possess the potential to cause disease.

Any change to the microbiome can alter the fermentation process, which can have far reaching affects for the horse, dependent upon severity and duration. Most gastric disturbances or diseases arise from a decline in diversity or loss

of stability within the microbiome. A balanced microbiome will help sustain normal inflammation response via the central nervous system function. Increased or consistent inflammatory response caused by abnormal microbiota can alter a horse’s behaviour. The microbiome can be influenced by an individual’s genetics, geographical location/environment, medication and supplement use as well as quick feed changes, to name a few! Due to advancing technology and associated decreasing costs in recent years, research into the equine microbiome has become more popular. Researchers are now able to run DNA sequencing on the microscopic communities inside the

Any change to the microbiome can alter the fermentation process

digestive tract with ease. At this point, we know that individual horses can vary greatly by microbiome make-up and any changes to the microbiome composition can have a detrimental effect on health. Louise Jones, nutritionist at Connolly’s RED MILLS, says: “The ability to distinguish between different gut bacteria and whether it is good or bad isn’t straightforward and gut health seems to be based more on the balanced composition of the microbiome, rather than the presence or absence of individual communities.”

Microbiome-gut-brain axis

The microbiome-gut-brain axis describes the constant communication between the trillions of microbes in the gastrointestinal

Exposure to pasture appears particularly important, with turnout accelerating microbial diversity and resilience

tract, the immune system, and the central nervous system. Although it is best studied in humans, there is growing evidence that it plays an important role in horses. It is widely accepted that approximately 75% of the equine immune system is located within gut-associated lymphoid tissue. The reason for this is to allow careful monitoring of potential harmful microbes which may have been ingested. However, if the microbiome becomes unbalanced, monitoring will become difficult, therefore compromising immunity response.

The microbiome-gut-brain axis regulates

many bodily functions, such as intestinal motility, intestinal secretions, visceral pain, hunger, mood, and emotion. In thoroughbreds, intensive management and training are associated with reduced microbial diversity, higher stress markers and an increased prevalence of gastric ulcers. Disturbances in the gut have been linked not only to digestive issues, but also to behaviour. Horses displaying stereotypies such as crib-biting and weaving, for example, have been shown to harbour distinct microbial communities compared to controls, suggesting that microbiome

imbalance may influence stress responses and compulsive behaviours.

The first year of life

From the moment a foal is born, the gastrointestinal tract begins a complex process of microbial colonisation. The foal’s first exposure comes directly from the mare; microbes are transferred during passage through the birth canal, and then reinforced through colostrum, milk, skin contact and even the dam’s manure and the surrounding environment. As we all know, colostrum provides an abundance of antibodies that

are rapidly absorbed through the foal’s small intestine during the first 24 hours of life, after which absorption capacity declines sharply. Confirming adequate passive transfer of immunity by measuring IgG levels is therefore crucial.

A foal’s developing gut microbiome will gradually stabilise over the first weeks and months. This early period is critical: if the foal suffers setbacks such as poor colostrum intake, diarrhoea, or exposure to antibiotics, the balance of gut microbes can be disrupted, with effects that persist well beyond the neonatal stage. Jones

GEORGE SELWYN

EQUINE HEALTH

›› explains: “At one month of age, foals spend around 20% of their day consuming forage, increasing to almost 50% of their day by five months of age (Boy & Duncan, 1979). At the same time, the profile and population of the gastrointestinal microorganisms develop to facilitate the fermentation of cellulose and hemicellulose (Lawrence & Lawrence, 2009). Although foals will begin to consume non-milk carbohydrate sources from around one week of age, their ability to digest and utilise them may be limited until around 3-4 months of age.”

One of the most familiar events in this period is foal heat diarrhoea, which occurs at around 5-15 days of age in 80-95% of foals. It is usually linked to a natural shift in microbial populations as the gut adapts to new feed sources and environmental exposure. While mild and self-limiting in most cases, it can be difficult to distinguish from diarrhoea caused by pathogens, which poses a far greater risk to health and development.

These early microbial shifts highlight just how dynamic and vulnerable the foal’s microbiome is, and why careful management is essential. Exposure to pasture is particularly important, with turnout accelerating microbial diversity and resilience. In addition, and where possible, restriction in movement or sterile housing conditions should be avoided as this can deprive the foal of the microbial exposure

Weaning is a challenge to a young horse’s digestive system

richness that helps train the immune system and stabilise digestion. With these measures in place, breeders can give foals the best possible start, laying a strong foundation for health and growth as they progress toward the weanling stage.

The challenge of weaning

Weaning represents one of the most profound challenges to a young thoroughbred’s digestive system and overall wellbeing. Up to this point, the foal has relied on its dam for both nutrition

and psychological security, while its gut has gradually adapted to small amounts of forage and creep feed. The abrupt shift that comes with separation; changes in diet, environment, and social structure, can destabilise the microbiome at precisely the time when the foal’s growth rate is at its peak. Jones echoes this point, saying: “Weaning, whether abrupt or gradual, induces small changes to the faecal microbiota (Jacquay et al, 2019). This suggests that a change in diet (i.e. transition from a milk-based diet) is the primary cause of alterations to the foal’s intestinal microbiome.” This alteration brought about via weaning can lead to an increased risk of gastric ulcers, diarrhoea, colic and longer-term growth disturbances.

From a management perspective, protecting the gut through this transition is critical. Providing gradual weaning strategies, where foals remain in familiar groups and are eased away from the mare rather than suddenly separated, helps reduce stress.

MonoShield Equine advises: “The weaning process should focus on minimising stress for both the foal and mare by preparing the foal with adequate creep feed and social interaction

beforehand, and then using gradual, partial, or group weaning methods to ease the separation.”

Ensuring ad-lib forage availability buffers stomach acid and stabilises microbial populations, while introducing creep feed or stud balancers before weaning ensures the foal is already accustomed to concentrate feed.

Avoiding excessive starch in the ration is essential, since undigested carbohydrate reaching the hindgut can disrupt microbial balance and trigger lactic acid production.

MonoShield Equine says: “Stress during weaning can make foals more susceptible to disease, so proper nutrition, management, and observation are crucial for their health and wellbeing.

“Monoshield Wean Master is a method that helps to minimise weaning stress, working from a nutritional approach to offset appetite setbacks and therefore weight loss in freshly weaned foals. It is fed by dosing the foal or adding to feed once a day for 30 consecutive days.”

Above all, careful attention to nutrition, environment and handling during weaning can preserve gut stability and resilience, laying the groundwork for the youngster to progress smoothly into the next phase.

Nutritionist Louise Jones: gut health ‘is based on the balanced composition of the microbiome’

From foal to yearling

The yearling stage brings its own unique pressures, particularly if the individual is bound for the sales ring. Growth is still rapid, but now nutrition must also support the conditioning required for sales preparation and/or the onset of pre-training.

Sales preparation often involves reduced turnout and increased concentrate feeding to achieve the desired condition and topline. At the same time, handling, travel and routine changes exert stress that further tests gastrointestinal stability. The colon and caecum rely on this to ferment fibre and produce volatile fatty acids, the primary source of energy for the young horse. Any disruption during this period can compromise energy availability, hydration, and immunity, leaving yearlings more susceptible to gastric ulcers, colic, or shifts in the microbiome.

Behaviourally, GI stress may also manifest as irritability, poor focus or stereotypies, issues that can be particularly problematic in the sales ring where condition and demeanour are scrutinised, as well as during the pre-training period. Management during this stage must therefore aim to protect the gut while still achieving the desired physique and topline.

Forage should remain the foundation of the diet, with concentrates carefully balanced to provide protein, copper, and zinc without an excess of starch. Maximising turnout where possible supports both skeletal development and microbial diversity, while minimising sudden dietary or management changes reduces the risk of digestive upset.

Unsurprisingly, ulcers and behavioural issues are common in sales yearlings, and there is growing interest in how early gut management can reduce these vulnerabilities. Research has shown that youngstock with greater pasture access have lower rates of developmental orthopaedic disease, and emerging evidence suggests that gastrointestinal health, immune function, and musculoskeletal soundness may be more closely interconnected than previously recognised (Lepeule et al., 2009; Mach et al., 2024).

Risk of Equine Gastric Ulcer Syndrome

Jackie Sterratt of Boehringer Ingelheim Animal Health UK Ltd advises: “Many people may not expect gastric ulcers to affect foals, but they are common and can be potentially serious. They can affect foals of any age, from a few days old all the way up to weaning and beyond (Boom and Kranenburg, 2024). The only way to reliably diagnose if a foal has gastric ulcers is via gastroscopy. Treatment will centre around reducing the acidity in the stomach with acid suppressant drugs such as oral omeprazole, some of which are licensed to be used in foals from four weeks of age.

“Certain times in a foal’s life may increase the likelihood of the development of gastric ulcers, for example during weaning (Hewetson and Tallon, 2021), so it is important to optimise management and nutrition during these times. Your vet may suggest using oral omeprazole as a preventative for gastric ulcers during these periods, which is licensed for this use at a quarter of the treatment dose.”

Ongoing research

A recently published cohort study, aptly called the Well Foal Study kindly funded by The Alborada Trust, tracked the health and performance of 52 foals bred for racing from birth until three years old (January 2018 - February 2023). Through integration of detailed health, performance and gut microbiome data, it has been possible to better understand the critical role played by early life gut bacterial communities in the lifelong health and performance of horses. The results turned out to be significant! The data showed that the risk of developing specific diseases as well as predicting athletic performance was directly linked to the bacteria present within the foal’s gut in the first few months of life. Athletic performance up to

EQUINE HEALTH

the age of three was positively associated with increased faecal bacterial diversity at one month old and with the abundance of specific bacterial families.

There is also evidence to support the detrimental impact of antimicrobial treatment in the first month of life on health and performance outcomes in later life (Leng et al., 2024). Of course, antimicrobial treatment is sometimes unavoidable, however, can we possibly look for ways to better support recovery? The proven relationship between early-life gut bacterial communities and subsequent athletic performance is new ground within the equine research field. As with many scientific findings, answers often conjure up even more questions and a second study is now underway.

The Well Foal Study II began in November last year, building on the findings of the first study. The project is investigating the origins of the foal gut microbiome in early life. Faecal samples are being collected from foals up to two months of age, alongside samples from their dams both before and after parturition. These include faeces, saliva, milk and udder skin, all of which will be analysed as potential sources of the microbes that colonise the neonatal gut.

A second arm of the study makes use of the in-lab equine gut model previously developed and published by the team, which allows researchers to simulate the foal gut microbiome using faeces to establish bacterial populations. In this system,

the effects of antibiotics on microbial communities will be reproduced to reflect the disruptions observed in one-month-old foals, which earlier work suggested may have long-term consequences for health

Digestive enhancers are

useful additions to a youngster’s diet

and racing performance. The model will then be used to test whether prebiotics, probiotics or postbiotics can mitigate the adverse impact of antibiotics on gut bacterial stability.

Digestive enhancers

Supplementation with digestive enhancers such as prebiotics, probiotics and postbiotics, are useful additions to a youngster’s diet based on individual need and circumstance. Research is ongoing in this area, with sometimes mixed results on efficacy. Sorcha O’Connor, nutritionist at Connolly’s RED MILLS, explains:

“Prebiotics are specific fibres that serve as food for beneficial microbes and help support microbial balance. Probiotics, such as saccharomyces cerevisiae (a yeast proven to improve fibre digestion), can stabilise the hindgut in horses on highstarch diets. Further research is needed to confirm the viability and benefits of other equine probiotics. Finally, more recently, attention has turned to postbiotics. These are beneficial compounds produced during fermentation, which can positively influence gut function and whole-body health.” Qualified nutritionists are always on hand to support clients when selecting digestive enhancers and they should be utilised.

The message is increasingly hard to ignore. Gut health in foals and yearlings is not a peripheral concern but a central determinant of welfare, performance and longevity. Youngsters given the best chance of developing and maintaining a healthy GI tract and balanced microbiome are more likely to achieve natural growth, greater immune resilience, balanced behaviour, and improved trainability.

By safeguarding the gastrointestinal system, from colostrum management and maternal nutrition to thoughtful weaning and yearling preparation, the thoroughbred industry invests in the invisible foundation of future success. Strong starts truly do begin in the gut, and the dividends of careful management can be measured not only in the sales ring but in the winner’s enclosure and beyond.

Ulcers are common in sales yearlings, and there is growing interest in how early gut management can reduce these vulnerabilities

GROW DEVELOP

James Read, Selwood Bloodstock says it all

"D&H Suregrow is a central part of our feeding regime for pregnant mares, foals and yearlings. We have fed the product for a number of years and are delighted at how the youngstock look. It delivers optimal growth and development in the youngstock without them getting too heavy. We even use it during sales prep.

I would happily recommend it to other breeders."

EQUINE ROYALTY

For feed advice, please call our helpline team on 01270 782 223 or email helplineenquiries@dodsonandhorrell.com www.dodsonandhorrell.com

EQUINE HEALTH

Increasing drought resistance on studs in challenging times PASTURE MANAGEMENT

By JOE GRIMWADE

Recent changes in climate have made it more difficult for stud managers to maintain adequate grazing during the summer months in many parts of the United Kingdom.

Several factors influence an area’s vulnerability, including:

◼ Regional and local variations in precipitation

◼ The aspect of the land (with north-facing slopes receiving less sunlight and thus having a rare advantage)

◼ Gradient

◼ Specific characteristics of soil, particularly its texture and profile

For those in susceptible areas, it is worth giving some thought to how we might adjust our paddock management to minimise the effect of drought – not expecting to produce lush grass throughout the summer but making small changes which, collectively, can increase grass production – as well as recovery after periods of drought.

Low stocking rates benefit any pasture, but they are often hard to achieve. Modern grassland management usually focuses on raising stocking rates for economic reasons, but this puts extra pressure on paddocks

Cattle and sheep grazing retains many benefits for studs

during drought. If you cannot lower horse numbers, moving any sheep or cattle off the land before droughts will preserve grazing for the horses.

Cattle and sheep or other forms of rotational grazing retains many benefits

including parasitic worm control. However, the life-cycle stages of these worms spent outside the horse are often susceptible to sunlight and this provides one of the advantages of periods when the grass is burnt off. Spreading droppings with a harrow should be avoided if possible – and picking them up is highly preferable – but this is one occasion when it might help to reduce the parasitic burden on your pasture.

When it is impractical to reduce stocking rates, supplying additional feed can be beneficial. For many, feeding concentrates throughout the year will be standard practice to supplement grazing, but hay is the most common solution to replace grazing.

Unfortunately, drought raises hay demand and lowers supply, leaving all livestock farmers worried about future hay costs, but good quality hay for horses on poor pastures can work very well; in summer, providing they are settled, they won’t need any more to eat than a stabled horse, although they will have the huge advantage of being able to roam. Try to feed

horses in areas that retain some grass cover to limit the risk of soilborne diseases being picked up in dust.

Maintaining a dense sward for as long as possible is beneficial because it shades the soil and increases the leaf area that can capture dew from the air. As a general rule, if you can leave some leaf on the plants, they will recover much faster than the plants grazed down to soil level and, as a result, rotating horses to fresh pasture earlier rather than later can help significantly.

Topping during a drought will only increase the stress on the plants and should be avoided, but topping little by little in preparation for a drought – with the topper set higher than normal – is likely to be beneficial.

Root growth can be promoted using several approaches, with timing playing an important role in managing drought conditions. Phosphorous and potassium in fertiliser primarily benefit the root system, while nitrogen supports plant growth above the ground. In some areas of the UK,

GEORGE SELWYN

It is not always possible to produce lush grass throughout the summer

droughts have been occurring earlier and more frequently, making autumn the most reliable time to apply phosphorous and potassium.

Applying low levels of nitrogen in the spring when rain is forecast can also help drought resistance by supporting plant development and health; granular fertilisers that regulate nitrogen release are generally preferred to minimise ‘flushes’ of grass. Liquid or foliar feed fertilisers may seem a logical alternative, but they can cause scorching and place greater stress on plants during drought when compared to granular fertilisers, which will sit on the surface until the rains arrive.

Soil structure (with the ideal being soil particles accumulating into ‘crumbs’ similar to a sponge cake) is another key component in encouraging strong root growth. Methods to maintain good soil structure include minimising mechanical operations when the ground is wet as well as limiting ground pressure by reducing the weight of machines and implements and using wide grass tyres.

Aerating the soil – typically with spikers, slitters or sub-soilers –can also be beneficial but, as above, is best completed in the autumn if you are in an area which could experience an early spring drought; opening up the soil before a drought period will increase the rate at which soil moisture is lost and could be counterproductive.

Increasing the soil’s ability to hold moisture is best achieved with high volume organic fertiliser, normally as farmyard manure. Its nutrient value may not be great, but it has huge potential to improve the soil’s ability to retain moisture, especially on lighter soils. Unfortunately, most farmers recognise its value – and will use it on their own land whenever possible.

Stable waste has rather complex (and not entirely logical) legislation which can make it difficult and expensive both to store and to get rid of. Potential solutions include using stable waste as bedding for sheep or cattle (which changes its legal status) and/or turning it into compost for the paddocks. This shouldn’t be seen as an easy process but, with careful management, stable waste can be converted into a useful fertiliser and conditioner in as little as eight weeks; my own experience of the process left me convinced that it improved the quality, quantity and palatability of grass.

Newsells Park – under the excellent management of Julian Dollar and guidance of Paul Overton – recycles its waste intensively, bringing in material from outside when it is beneficial. Regular turning, monitoring temperatures and providing adequate moisture and nitrogen are important factors in achieving success. The end product can be carefully checked for ‘undesirables’ as well as nutrient & pH levels.

One interesting option for the future is the development of Biochar, which is produced by burning biomass (like wood or stable waste) in a low oxygen environment; the process is called pyrolysis and is similar to how charcoal is produced. The end product (Biochar) is a stable (as opposed to unstable) form of carbon that can be used like compost and farmyard manure to improve soil health by increasing water retention, microbial activity and nutrient availability. It has the potential to have a positive effect on soil health over many years as well as mitigating climate change and providing a sustainable waste management system.

Plant selection can also be a key consideration – especially when overseeding permanent pasture; standard advice has been that Tall Meadow Fescue, Smooth Stalked Meadow grass, Timothy and Cocksfoot can offer good drought resistance pastures especially if combined with suitable clovers and herbs (like Sheep’s Burnet, Plantain and Yarrow).

Herbs also add an extra dimension to the nutritional value of grazing, but some can be difficult to establish; autumn sowing after hard grazing a paddock often provides the best results. Ryegrass is generally not drought tolerant but, for all the above, it is worth speaking to seed suppliers and agronomists to find the best species and solutions for your land. In my experience, Cotswold Seeds have a

particularly informative website and helpful advisors.

There are countries where irrigation is used on stud farms but, despite its obvious appeal, I haven’t come across it in the UK. The main reasons are almost certainly the cost and the availability of water; systems are likely to be very expensive to set up and run. With the warning that, once started, it has a negative impact on draught resistant herbage and is therefore difficult to stop, combined with the almost inevitable fact that extraction licences will become increasingly difficult to obtain or maintain, I suspect that it is best left unless you have access to large volumes of available water to make it a realistic proposition.

In summary, there are lots of little changes we can consider incorporating into our management systems to improve pastures during periods of drought and these can be cost effective by limiting the amount of hard feed and hay which is needed to replace grazing. Not all will be practical for everyone and there is comfort for those who cannot maintain green paddocks throughout the summer.

Firstly, any herbage that remains during a drought period is likely to have a much higher dry matter content and nutritional value than lush grass.

Secondly, the common vision of the perfect paddock is lush, even weed-free grass, but it probably doesn’t coincide completely with what is best for the horse as an individual. Much of the evolution of the horse was on relatively arid land and they are well adapted to the type of grazing which we often provide in periods of drought. Perhaps we shouldn’t be surprised that many people comment on how well their horses look on ‘dry’ pasture.

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The CEO Column

By LOUISE NORMAN

On Wednesday, September 10, British racing made history. For the first time in the modern era, our sport refused to race in protest at the government’s proposed tax rise on horseracing betting. It was an unprecedented step, but a necessary one.

That same day, hundreds of people from across the sport gathered in Westminster in a show of solidarity. Among them was Lord Allen, who had only just begun his tenure as Chair of the BHA, joining owners, trainers, jockeys, breeders and racing staff united with a single purpose: to call on the government to Axe The Racing Tax and protect the future of the sport we love.

While the attendance from MPs may have been lighter than hoped, the media coverage was unprecedented. Racing was on the front pages, across national broadcasters and splashed through print and online outlets. That blanket attention makes it much harder for politicians to ignore our message: racing is a vital national sport enjoyed by millions and deserves to be supported, not squeezed.

The day in Westminster began with leading jockeys in front of Big Ben in white silks emblazoned with the ‘Axe the Racing Tax’ message.  Alongside them, a digital advertising van and even a striking white horse statue circled Parliament Square,

driving our message home.

From the event, speeches were delivered by Brant Dunshea, Acting Chief Executive of the BHA, ARC Chief Executive Martin Cruddace, Jim Mullen, the Jockey Club Chief Executive, and trainer John Gosden. We also heard from Sarah Guest, former Employee of the Year of the Thoroughbred Industry Employee Awards, who spoke powerfully to Nick Luck about the very real threat to her job, her colleagues, and the racing yard she works for of John O’Shea. Her words cut to the heart of this issue: this is about people’s jobs and livelihoods.

What was most impressive, however, was the way our sport came together – owners, breeders, jockeys, trainers, racecourses, and leaders from across racing. It has been essential for the industry to stand as one, united in support of this campaign led by the BHA and supported by the Jockey Club and ARC. When the pressure is on, racing proves it can put its disagreements to one side and speak with one powerful voice. That is a strength we must continue to harness.

For owners, the threat is equally stark. We already know that the economics of ownership are challenging. Our latest ROA research shows that just 6% of owners plan to increase their ownership in the next five years, while 47% expect to reduce their

involvement. A further financial blow, and another squeeze on prize-money, will make ownership even less sustainable, stifling future investment at precisely the moment when our sport needs to grow.

The BHA has laid out clearly what is at stake if the government presses ahead with harmonising horseracing betting tax at 21%, the same level as online casinos, in the Chancellor’s Autumn Budget:

•  5 million racing fans a year at risk

• 85,000 jobs under threat across the country

• 4.1 billion contributed annually to the UK economy in jeopardy

• £330 million could be lost in just five years

This is not simply about numbers on a balance sheet. It’s about communities, livelihoods, and the survival of a sport, engrained in the country’s history and heritage and which contributes so much to Britain’s economy and cultural life.

That is why the ROA was there in Westminster to stand up for owners and to speak out for racing. But this is not something we can do alone. We need every owner’s voice.

Please show your support by writing to your MP asking them to support the #AxeTheRacingTax campaign. By visiting www.axetheracingtax.com you can find out more and who your MP is. Together, we can make a difference.

New BHA fee structure for owners

One of the clearest messages from our research is that the ownership experience can feel frictional and overly transactional. For many, the process of fees and registrations can be confusing, lack transparency, and is at times off-putting.

That is why the ROA has pressed the BHA to address this, and I’m pleased to say that from October 1 a new, simplified fee structure will be introduced. This change is designed to make costs clearer and easier to understand, while reducing barriers for owners.

The new model creates four straightforward categories: Joining, Annual, Additional and Race, replacing the patchwork of existing fees. For new owners, the joining cost will be significantly reduced, with no charge at all for individuals. For existing owners, most recurring fees are replaced by a single annual charge, while ROA members will continue to benefit from a 20% discount.

This may seem like a technical adjustment, but it marks meaningful progress. It shows that feedback is being listened to, and that improvements to the day-to-day ownership and admin experience are possible. It also underlines

Racing spoke with one voice in Westminster on September 10 BILL SELWYN

the role of the ROA in ensuring that the voice of owners is heard and acted upon.

Small steps matter. Simplifying fees is one such step, part of a bigger picture where we must continue to make ownership simpler, more rewarding, and more sustainable.

Recognising the people who make racing happen

Finally, I want to take a moment to shine a light on the Thoroughbred Industry

Your voice, your vote: shape the future of the ROA

I have spoken recently about the ‘reset’ and the changes taking place across the ROA, writes Louise Norman, ROA Chief Executive. At the heart of this work is our determination to not only enhance the membership experience but strengthen the association and lead from the front, retaining existing owners as well as creating growth.

A strong and unified voice for owners is essential. With significant changes ahead for the governance of the sport, it is more important than ever that owners are heard and represented.

I am therefore delighted that the ROA election has attracted 13 candidates, all standing with the shared ambition to drive change and strengthen the ROA’s position on behalf of owners.

The role of the ROA Board should not be underestimated. The Board provides vital leadership within the industry, ensuring owners’ perspectives are represented at every level. Having the right mix of skills, experience, and passion at the Board table is critical, and much of this work is enacted through our committee structure and the retention of invaluable industry knowledge.

The election platform, featuring all candidates and their manifestos, went live on September 22 - ROA members will receive notification via email. I urge every member to cast their vote before the platform closes on October 17. The newly elected Board members will be confirmed at this year’s AGM.

Employee Awards, sponsored by Godolphin. With six categories and over £125,000 in prize-money, these awards celebrate the dedication, skill, and care of the people who make our sport possible, and who look after our horses every single day.

Former overall winner Sarah Guest, who I referenced earlier, is a perfect example of the difference these Awards make, highlighting the incredible contributions of staff at every level of racing. Even on September 10, when racing stood still in

protest, stable and stud staff continued to care for our horses with professionalism and commitment. For that, we are enormously grateful.

I would encourage every owner to nominate someone they believe is deserving of recognition. Nominations are open at thoroughbredawards.co.uk and close on November 4.

Let’s make sure we celebrate and recognise the people at the very heart of our sport.

Alongside the election, we are also introducing changes to ensure our governance is fit for the future. We have streamlined and updated our Articles of Association, modernising our language and creating clearer succession planning across all roles. These changes may seem small, but they matter, ensuring the ROA remains relevant, accessible, and progressive in representing all owners.

One important update is extending the maximum term of Board service from ten to 12 years to bring the organisation in line with the current maximum three terms of four years, allowing us to retain vital expertise. We are also moving away from the titles of President and Vice President, adopting the more modern and recognisable Chair and Vice Chair.

This year marks another significant change, with Charlie Parker stepping down as ROA President. I am delighted to share that current Board member Dr Jim Walker has been nominated as our

new Chair, a recommendation that will be presented for member approval in the 2025 Annual Notices.

Since joining the ROA in 2023, Jim has been a tireless champion of owners’ interests, and his leadership will be crucial as we continue to tackle the big issues of prize-money, costs, and the ownership experience.

We are also strengthening our ties with the Racehorse Syndicates Association (RSA). The Board has nominated Dan Abraham, current RSA Chair, as an appointed ROA Board member, again subject to member approval in 2025. This ensures all owners, including shared ownership, have a clear and unified voice within the ROA.

The ROA must be more than a membership provider: it must be the essential representative body and voice for owners in the sport, now and in the future. Together, standing strong, we can ensure that racehorse ownership thrives at every level of British racing.

The ROA Board plays a crucial role in representing owners within the sport

BILL

SELWYN

Improving the experience and retention in focus

At the start of this year, the ROA formed a dedicated Owner Relations team in partnership with the BHA, with one clear aim: improving the experience and retention of owners in British racing, writes Kate Freeman, ROA Owner Relations

As highlighted in last month’s Forum, one of the first priorities has been the owner raceday experience. An industry working group has been exploring how data can be better used to personalise and recognise owners at the racecourse. That work is now moving forward, with the Jockey Club preparing to trial new approaches across some of their racecourse owners’ and trainers’ facilities through using data and how a differentiated experience for owners could work. This pilot will test how we can enhance the welcome, service, and sense of occasion for owners on raceday.

Importantly, this is not about creating divisions between different ownership types. Through our own research and reinforced by Project Beacon, we know

that many individuals began their journey into ownership through syndicates or partnerships – shared ownership remains a vital entry point. This highlights the potential this avenue offers in attracting racing fans to take their first step into the sport as an owner.

Differentiation, then, is about ensuring that every owner, at every level, enjoys a rewarding and engaging raceday. Our recent survey also demonstrated that the overwhelming reason people own a horse is the enjoyment of watching their horse run. For most owners, they make a real emotional – as well as financial – investment into their horse and it is essential we make the experience on the racecourse as memorable as possible, whatever the result.

Ultimately, the short-term focus here is retention. Our survey findings showed a mixed picture on future involvement in ownership:

- 47% of owners are planning to maintain their current level of involvement

over the next 3–5 years.

- 47% said they expect to reduce their involvement.

- Just 6% intend to increase their interests.

This feedback is a wake-up call for us at the ROA but also for the industry. Owners have told us what matters most to them, and we are determined to act on it. Raceday experience is a priority, but we are also strongly representing owners on other fronts, including the renegotiation of owner registration fees, where feedback was loud and clear.

Owners told us there are not only too many fees, but that they lack transparency on what those charges actually cover. This is an area where we are pushing for change – CEO Louise Norman’s column talks about a new structure for BHA owner fees that will be implemented from October.

The message is simple: by listening to owners and acting on their feedback, we can start to strengthen retention and make ownership as rewarding as it deserves to be.

BILL SELWYN

Shared ownership groups play a vital role and act as an entry point for many individuals

THE RACEGOERS CLUB COLUMN

York racecourse again received many plaudits for another excellent Ebor Festival. It is often cited as the benchmark for how a racecourse should be run. But what is it that York does so well?

Their customer service is excellent. I’ve always had the impression that York’s staff take great pride in their job and that shines through. From the moment we arrived, to a warm welcome as we were handed our complimentary racecards, York staff make their customers feel like they belong.

Four of us had an early start on Ladies’ Day, heading up by train from Kings Cross. We knew it was going to be a long day and we’d have to find time to eat our main meal. We’ve eaten in York’s Parade Ring restaurant and Ebor restaurant on previous visits. This time it was a late decision to go and those restaurants, as nice as they are, can be pricey. I did a bit of research and York has a few walk-up restaurants. You’re not guaranteed a table as it’s first come, first served.

On arrival we headed straight to the Gimcrack restaurant, as it provides a good-quality meal in a pleasant setting. We were able to enjoy a very nice threecourse lunch for less than £45 per head and the table was ours from 12.30pm until just before 3pm. In between

courses, we had just a short walk before stepping out onto the balcony of the Gimcrack Stand to watch the first two races from a prime position, overlooking the winning post.

There are many different ways to enjoy a day at the races on the Knavesmire, and York has the knack of finding something to suit most budgets. We thoroughly enjoyed our day and the talk on the train journey home was about returning to do it again at the Dante meeting in May.

The racing was excellent again, with all races staged for a minimum prize fund of £100,000. The highlights of our day were Royal Fixation’s impressive last-to-first run to win the Lowther and Minnie Hauk’s comfortable victory in the Yorkshire Oaks. What no one realised at the time was that Ryan Moore was probably riding with a stress fracture of his femur – these jockeys are so tough!

A day before, there was almost another shock win for a pacemaker in the Juddmonte International. Birr Castle looked like becoming the second 150-1 winner of a Group 1, just three weeks after Qirat’s shock victory in the Sussex. Birr Castle traded at just 2-1 in running, as he entered the home straight still 20 lengths clear after being ignored by the other runners, and it took a top-class

effort from Ombudsman to haul in the pacemaker with just half a furlong to run.

The Ebor meeting marks the end of the summer Flat racing festivals and usually by then, we have a good idea of the stars of the season. But not in 2025. Ombudsman may well go on to be the top-rated middle-distance horse, but that’s not a given. His stablemate Trawlerman is perhaps the only one who can claim to be clearly the best in his division. At the opposite end to the stayers, the sprinters continue to take turns beating each other. I don’t know how they are going to choose a champion sprinter.

As for the milers, Field Of Gold may well return in the autumn to atone for his poor display in the Sussex and claim the champion miler crown. But if he doesn’t and the season finishes without a standout performance from a threeyear-old or older horse, we’ll be relying on one of the two-year-olds to give us something to look forward to throughout the winter.

With all the doom and gloom surrounding racing amid the fear of what November’s budget might bring, racing could do with the fillip of a potential superstar to look forward to. What would racing give for another Frankel to emerge this autumn?

BILL

SELWYN

Minnie Hauk proved different class in the Yorkshire Oaks

TONY WELLS looks at the racing scene

Life after racing: Benny and Magic

For ROA members Celia Stevens, Sarah Irwin and Jane Reece, ownership has always been about more than racing results. Their horse Benny Flies High, known as Benny, has given them years of joy on the track, and now he’s doing the same in a second career.

Celia, Sarah and Jane bought Benny at the foal sales in 2015 and have cherished him ever since. “We’ve loved Benny since the day we bought him as a foal,” they explain. “Seeing him grow, race, and now thrive in his new chapter has been incredibly special. He will always mean the world to us, and we have so many happy memories of him both on and off the track. Following his second career is a joy, and we couldn’t be happier knowing he’s loved and being given every opportunity to shine.”

Recently, Benny moved to the home of Devon Saunders, who has retrained him for life beyond the racecourse. “We agreed he would come and live with me to retrain and hopefully go on to do some exciting things,” Devon says. “Me and Benny have our sights set on Windsor RoR classes for 2026, so watch this space!”

Benny isn’t the first thoroughbred to win Devon’s heart. Her other ex-racer, Magic (Stowaway Magic), was the trailblazer retrained to qualify for the Aintree National Championships in 2022. Sadly, a leg injury cut short his competitive career in 2023, but he remains a treasured part of the family. “Magic is a 17hh expensive field ornament now,” Devon laughs, “but because he is the most charismatic, charming man you will ever meet, he will forever have a home with me.”

For Devon, though, the story of Benny and Magic goes well beyond rosettes. “Yes, they often go on to make remarkable show animals, but they are so much more than that. Thoroughbreds are incredibly smart and very loyal, and if more people gave them the chance, they would get to experience the love they offer.”

Together, Benny, Magic, Devon and owners Celia, Sarah and Jane show the versatility of the thoroughbred and the meaningful lives they can lead after racing.

What does your racehorse or former racehorse mean to you? Share your story with us at hrochester@roa.co.uk.

Meet with Bobby

ROA’s Head of Business Development, Bobby Burns, will be visiting racecourses across October to connect with owners and ROA members. Bobby’s diary is filling up fast, and he’d love to meet you. Fixtures Bobby will be attending are below, or visit roa.co.uk/bb to arrange a meeting with him.

October

• 1 - Warwick

• 7 - Huntingdon

• 10 - Chepstow

• 13 - Hereford

• 20 - Plumpton

• 22 - Newmarket

• 27 - Bangor

Diary dates

Saturday, October 18

BRITISH CHAMPIONS DAY –DISCOUNT ON TICKETS

We’ve teamed up with Ascot racecourse and British Champions Day to offer ROA members Queen Anne Enclosure tickets at the reduced rate of £25.

Friday, October 24

MORGAN MOTOR TOUR AND CHELTENHAM RACES

Discover the Morgan Experience Centre, home to the Morgan Works, Malvern, followed by afternoon racing at Cheltenham, hosted in partnership with Venatour.

Visit roa.co.uk/events for info and to book places.

Benny Flies High with his owners

Bobby Burns: busy October diary

Sales season is centre stage

October, probably the one month of the year when the racing world pays nearly as much attention to events off the track as they do to those on it.

Tattersalls in Newmarket will be busy all month with three books of yearling sales followed by the largest horses in training sale of the year. The headlines will no doubt focus on the huge price tags of the fashionable yearlings purchased by the top ownership groups, but this is just as important a time for syndicates and racing clubs.

Most owners will be all too aware that ownership is an expensive pursuit and getting a positive financial return from ‘investing’ in bloodstock is a dream that most owners fail to turn into reality. An outside observer might well wonder why we all stay involved – likely they have not experienced the feeling of elation that is delivered from watching your horse win.

Economic pressures are certainly an impact, but thankfully shared ownership is allowing those that cannot afford sole ownership to still get involved. They also provide for those who would rather own a smaller share of several horses than spend the same amount on a single horse.

Many commercial syndicators will be at the yearling sales looking for horses that will provide their shareholders with the dream of owning one of next season’s top two-year-olds. Many more will be at the horses in training sales looking for Flat racers that look suitable for a switch to hurdles or those that will deliver their ownership groups some fun days out on the all-weather tracks over the winter.

Social media and newsletters will be full of opportunities in the coming weeks as shareholding is advertised. Great British Racing’s inthepaddock.co.uk allows you to find a syndicate based on budget and geographic location and the list of members of the Racehorse Syndicates Association, found on their website, is another good starting point to help find a suitable syndicate or racing club. There are also regular shared ownership days at racecourses across the country where you can find out more.

The bond that an owner develops with their horse is not just the domain

of the sole-owner. In every syndicate and racing club you will find people who love ‘their’ horse with the same emotion as any sole owner.

Shared ownership means that the highs and lows of racing are experienced with others. Each win is a shared celebration and each loss, a shared consolation.

Syndicates and racing clubs embrace technology and use digital communications to ensure that every shareholder is provided with regular and even real-time updates.

For many shared owners, a raceday that they cannot attend can still be experienced as if they were at the racecourse with jockey briefings and feedback provided immediately.

Away from the course, gallops videos, photos and updates arrive without needing to be requested and there are regular social events organised to bring

together syndicate and racing club members.

This is a great time of year to get involved. If your new purchase is going straight into training for the jumps or all-weather season, then opportunities to visit the stables or head to the races will be just around the corner. Even if a new purchase will not be on the racecourse for six months or more, the winter will be a time for dreaming of summer glory.

Those dreams can hardly be deemed unrealistic, either, as every summer festival this year has seen winners for shared ownership groups and those who have spent a few hundred or a few thousand pounds are regularly taking their seat at the top-table alongside those with far bigger budgets.

Let’s hope that many who start their shared ownership journey in the coming weeks arrive at their desired destination.

The horses-in-training sales offer plenty of opportunities for commercial syndicators

OUR PARTNERS SECTION

Woburn golf experience with Sir AP McCoy plus one-night hotel stay with Bid to Give

This month’s money-can’t-buy experience, available exclusively to ROA members in partnership with Racing Welfare, is a memorable two-day celebrity golf experience at His Grace the Duke of Bedford’s Woburn Golf Club on Monday, May 11 and Tuesday, May 12, 2026.

Day one will see the winning bidder treated to a fourball with a Woburn professional golfer on one of three outstanding courses, before heading to The Woburn, a charming 18th century hotel and restaurant at the heart of the picturesque village, with accommodation for three.

Day two of the package takes the winning bidder back to the golf club for a four-ball on the Marquess Course with Sir AP McCoy. Breakfast before the round is included, as well as hospitality throughout the day as part of Racing Welfare’s annual Woburn Golf Day – an extremely popular event that attracts personalities from across the horseracing industry every year.

All funds raised through the auction help Racing Welfare to provide their vital support services to the 20,000 people

working in the racing industry and their dependents. The auction closes on Friday, October 24 at 5pm. Place your bid at www.bidtogive.co.uk   Prize courtesy of His Grace the Duke of Bedford, Sir AP McCoy and Oakman Inns.

Racing personalities taking to the dance floor for charity

Racing Welfare has announced a starstudded line-up of racing personalities for the charity’s glittering fundraisers – Racing Come Dancing at Newbury racecourse on November 2 and the northern fixture at York racecourse on November 8.

Following eight weeks of professional ballroom training, which is generously sponsored by the Tote, ten couples will perform a group and solo routine in front of a packed audience and celebrity judging panel. Tickets for the black-tie event are now available for those who’d like to witness the action live, including a champagne drinks reception and three-course meal.

Dan Skelton and wife Grace are among those to step up for the southern event, with Dan saying:

“I can’t dance! But Grace can and [daughter] Florence is the biggest Strictly fan, so I’ll be doing all I can to not let them down. It’s for a great cause and we’re always going to

support where we can. I’m off to find a dance miracle-worker now as this will be too big a job for the standard dance instructor!”

He may have stepped back from the commentary box, but Derek ‘Tommo’ Thompson will also be putting his best foot forward, having signed up for York, partnered by his wife, Caroline.

Tommo said: “I’ll be doing my best to bring some Night Fever action to the dance floor at York, sequins and bell bottoms at the ready!

“And what a great charity to be supporting – Racing Welfare. Where would our great industry be without their vital support, advice and financial assistance where necessary? Our sport requires incredible physical and mental stamina, which isn’t always easy, but Racing Welfare is always there for you. As they say: happy staff, happy horses. I hope my taking part in this event will raise some laughs too!”

The full line-up and tickets can be found at racingwelfare.co.uk/racing-

come-dancing. Places are strictly limited, so early booking is encouraged to avoid disappointment.

All proceeds from Racing Come Dancing will go directly to Racing Welfare, the charity that supports the workforce of British horseracing.

Derek Thompson: Travolta or tragedy?

You could be playing golf with racing legend Sir AP McCoy

World Pool boost at York

In August, World Pool was in action for the first three days of York’s Ebor Festival, which featured last year’s IFHA’s top-ranked race, the Juddmonte International Stakes. With a purse of £1.25 million, the Group 1 contest, won by Ombudsman, was the most valuable race ever run on the Knavesmire.

World Pool continues to make a significant contribution to prize-money on major racedays in the UK and Ireland.

In July, two new races from York –the Group 2 York Stakes and the Dash Handicap – were added to the World Pool fixture list for the first time and World Pool’s involvement boosted prizemoney across the two contests by over £40,000.

This was welcomed by York Chief Executive William Derby, who at the time said: “York is honoured that the Hong Kong Jockey Club has chosen to increase the number of races from the Knavesmire that are available to global bettors via World Pool.

“The boost in global betting profile

means that we have invested further in the purses for two races. Since the first renewals post pandemic (2021), the Dash [Handicap] has now doubled in value to £100,000, with the York Stakes increased by over 30% in the same time span to now be £150,000.”

There was further expansion at this year’s Nunthorpe Stakes day, which combined with two new World Pool races from Newmarket to make a composite card of nine races and saw total turnover from World Pool bet types on the day hit HK$259.6m (around £2.5m).

However, prize-money is just one way World Pool gives back to racing. Supporting the grassroots of the sport is also a major focus.

Every World Pool fixture of six or more races features a World Pool Moment of the Day, where one memorable performance or story is chosen, with the groom of the winning horse receiving a cheque for £4,000.

At York, the Charlie Hills-trained

Trefor, Ed Walker-trained Royal Fixation and Australian mare Asfoora, who landed the Nunthorpe, were World Pool Moment of the Day winners.

The ongoing battle in the UK and Ireland in the World Pool Jockeys’ Championship continued at York, with jockeys scoring points, determined by World Pool odds, for every win in a World Pool race.

Oisin Murphy stretched his lead to 151.15 with two winners on the Knavesmire and is clear of secondplaced Kieran Shoemark (96.60) and Richard Kingscote (91.75), who has recently relocated to Hong Kong.

The chasing pack will be hardpressed to catch Murphy before the championship concludes on British Champions Day at Ascot in October, where the winner will receive £50,000 to donate to a charity of their choice.

World Pool will return to the UK for a new fixture for 2025, on Dewhurst Stakes day on October 11.

Five races will be globally commingled from Newmarket and will be joined by seven races on Might And Power (Caulfield Stakes) day from Australia.

TBA FORUM

Annual report launched at 108th AGM

The TBA’s 108th Annual General Meeting was held on September 1 at the Jockey Club Rooms in Newmarket. Chairman Philip Newton noted the critical challenges facing the breeding sector and British racing, but pointed to key areas of strategic progress, as well as launching the association’s 2024 annual report, which members can find on the TBA website.

Newton warned of the difficult crossroads at which the sport finds itself, referencing sustained pressures on betting turnover, racecourse attendances and audience engagement, highlighted by the continuing decline of the foal crop. He emphasised an urgent need for all parties to achieve a transformative funding solution, evidencebased action, a robust commercial arm and greater alignment across the industry to safeguard the future of both British breeding and racing.

Whilst recognising the ongoing challenges faced by breeders, he highlighted key areas of progression, including the publication of the 2026 fixture list in August, which included an additional £4.4m in prizemoney, of which £3.2m would be directed towards developmental races, which are crucial for supporting the domestic breeding market and the development of young talent in Britain.

Looking to the year ahead, Newton outlined some of the key priorities for 2026. The first concerned a greater alignment between the TBA, ROA and BHA around the owning and breeding strategy, which is part of a broader industry framework. Part of the plan is focused on the owner and breeder pathway, ensuring a more collaborative approach and focus on the retention of owners and breeders.

Newton closed his speech by thanking outgoing Chief Executive Claire Sheppard for her unwavering commitment and dedication to the role over the previous eight years.

Deputy Chair Kate Sigsworth presented on the TBA’s ongoing commitment to the welfare of the thoroughbred and continued investment into veterinary research, surveillance of infectious diseases, and studies to explore genetic diversity, and announced the planned introduction of a fixed rate equine welfare levy to be placed on all British foals bred to race from January 2026.

The AGM’s official matters of business included confirmation of membership fees for 2026 (£180 for full member from January 1) and the co-opted appointment of Colm Donlon, MD at Morgan Stanley and a successful NH owner-breeder, to the Board. It was also confirmed that Matt Prior would continue as a co-opted trustee for a second term.

The TBA would like to thank Sam Bullard and Anita Wigan, who left the Board, both having contributed enormously during their time. It was announced that Julian Richmond-Watson would step down from his position of Honorary President of the TBA.

Introduction of mandatory welfare levy

Announced at the AGM, the TBA will introduce a mandatory equine welfare levy of £60 per foal, payable at foal registration and to be collected by Weatherbys, from January 2026 for all thoroughbreds, and all foals registered for racing from the non-thoroughbred register (NTR), born in Britain, which will ensure the sustainability of essential health, welfare and aftercare activity for all horses bred to race. This new

levy will replace the two voluntary donations of £12.50 each to the TBA and Retraining of Racehorses (RoR) which have not been subject to inflationary increase in over 30 years.

Following consultation with breeders and an assessment of the approach taken by other international racing jurisdictions, the new levy will ensure the breeding sector contributes to the funding of aftercare, bringing it into alignment with other industry stakeholders who make mandatory contributions.

Breeder contributions via the new £60 levy will support aftercare initiatives through RoR, as well as facilitating a broad range of workstreams overseen by the TBA, which aim to maintain and enhance the health and high welfare standards of thoroughbreds domiciled in Britain.

£25 of the breeder levy will provide RoR with the necessary funding to underpin the delivery of their three-year strategy, on behalf of the thoroughbred industry, with their Articles of Association recently amended to now include formalised educational provision and support frameworks for all thoroughbreds bred to race (and not just those who went into training with a licensed trainer).

£35 of the breeder levy will allow the TBA to continue vital work around equine infectious disease control and prevention; biosecurity and border controls; vaccine and medication availability and stewardship; continued support and communication of veterinary research; lifetime traceability of the thoroughbred; and genetic diversity.

Further details can be found on the TBA website or by speaking with Victoria Murrell in the TBA office.

TBA Chairman Philip Newton addressing the AGM audience

Breeders’ Day returns

After its successful introduction into the TBA’s events calendar a year ago, Breeders’ Day at Warwick returns next month, on November 20, where a seminar will precede an afternoon of racing, which last year included seeing future Listed scorer Charisma Cat win the concluding TBAsponsored bumper.

This year’s seminar focuses on mares in National Hunt racing, whether that be on the racecourse or in the breeding sheds, taking a look back at how the NH scene for mares has improved over the years, and how breeders can maximise the opportunities that are available.

Through an exclusive partnership with Warwick, the TBA is delighted to offer a Breeders’ Day package for £35, which includes general admission and access to the event space which is solely for the TBA during the day, a buffet lunch and desert, and tea and coffee. There is also access to a paid bar.

The TBA encourages all members to come along and bring a non-member friend or colleague for the discounted member price. The non-member cost is £55.

To secure your spot at the Breeders’ Day at Warwick, book via the events page of the TBA website.

Featured membership benefits

AF (formally The AF Group)

For 30 years, AF has been helping landowners across the country secure better value for key costs incurred in running their businesses. With a combined buying power from over 3,000 rural organisations, AF can help members save money whether on fuel, energy suppliers, telecoms or feed and bedding.

Assistance with HR and payroll ensures AF members stay legally compliant, reducing the risk of costly financial penalties. Fuel cards can help save money on diesel against the pump price, and fuel tank monitoring tracks usage against the current market costs, ensuring members get the very best value every time.

Changes to Junior National Hunt Hurdles in 2025-26

For the coming season, the BHA have announced that the following changes would be implemented to the Junior National Hunt programme:

◼The first race of the season will be delayed until November

◼No penalties for winners of these races will be carried onto a horse’s future career except when running in a Class 1 race. This includes juvenile and novice hurdle races during the same season

◼Non-winners of Junior National Hunt Hurdles will be permitted to run in Junior NHF Races (3yo only before end of 2025 or 4yo only after December 31) run until the end of the season

◼A Class 2 weight-for-age race will be introduced to the programme at the end of the season which will carry a total prize fund of £20,000 minimum

The programme of races until the new year are as follows:

Date Course

November 3 Hereford

November 12 Bangor-on-Dee

November 20 Warwick (fillies)

November 23 Exeter

November 28 Doncaster

November 30 Leicester (fillies)

December 4 Wincanton

December 9 Ayr

December 11 Taunton

December 17 Ludlow (fillies)

December 21 Lingfield Park

December 30 Haydock Park

For further information on making the most of an AF membership, please contact Alix Jones.

Racing TV

TBA members can now get Racing TV at a special discounted rate, saving you over £150 while allowing you to enjoy the best in racing coverage.

This offer is only available to new and reinstating residential customers in the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland. A 12-month minimum term applies. To qualify for the discount and receive your code, call the TBA on 01638 661 321 or email alix.jones@thetba.co.uk.

Warwick will stage the raceday on November 20

STEVE CARGILL

TBA FORUM

Angel flies in for third top-level win

Atop-level winner at two and three in the Moyglare Stud Stakes and Irish 1,000 Guineas, Fallen Angel, bred by Steve Parkin’s Branton Court Stud in Yorkshire, added a third Group 1 win to her record when capturing the Prix Rothschild at Deauville.

Fallen Angel runs for Wathnan Racing, whose colours were also carried to victory on the other side of the Atlantic at Del Mar in the Yellow Ribbon Handicap by Heredia, a six-year-old bred by Andrew Stone’s St Albans Bloodstock. The mare, who won the Atalanta Stakes in 2023 and finished third in the Sun Chariot Stakes, was landing her biggest win to date since returning to the track after a 19-month absence.

Staying Stateside and at Saratoga in the Hall of Fame Stakes, Luther suffered interference on his run round and passed the post second, before being promoted to first in the Grade 2 turf contest over a mile. The son of Frankel was bred by part-owner Nicholas Jones of Coln Valley Stud.

Frankel experienced a strong August with numerous stakes winners, which included Juddmonte homebred filly Red Letter, winner of the Snow Fairy Fillies Stakes on the Curragh. She completed a trio of stakes successes for homebreds. Oasis Dream filly Better Together started the run when taking the Prix de Lieurey at Deauville, whilst the middle winner was Jonquil in the Celebration Mile.

Carrying the Juddmonte silks but bred by Sarl Darpat France, Latakia, a daughter of Frankel, made a successful debut at Nantes in May as a four-year-old. She has rapidly ascended the ladder, rebounding from a Listed defeat in June with success in the Prix Luth Enchantee at Clairefontaine at the beginning of August and following up three weeks later in the Group 2 Prix Alec Head (ex Prix de Pomone) at Deauville. The Newsells Park Stud and Merry Fox Stud-bred Damysus captured the Prix Nureyev at Deauville, which was also the scene of Hotheaded’s win in the Prix Michel Houyvet. Both are sons of Frankel. Hotheaded was bred by Godolphin, also responsible for Dance To The Music (Dubawi), who won the Sweet Solera Stakes at Newmarket the same day as her owner-mate.

Lanwades resident Study Of Man was responsible for three stakes winners, each one bred by Kirsten Rausing. In the Ballyroan Stakes at Leopardstown, Sons And Lovers gained a deserved maiden Group win, whilst Suite Francaise was far too good for the opposition in the Dick

Hern Stakes at Haydock Park. At Chester, Allonsy made every yard a winning one when recording her second Listed success of the season in the Chester Stakes.

Freshman sire Palace Pier has got off to a promising start and the Dave Westonbred Royal Fixation took top honours in the Lowther Stakes. Earlier in the week and the Overbury Stallions and Dukes Studbred Gewan captured the Acomb Stakes on the Knavesmire.

Whitsbury Manor Stud-bred Havana Grey filly Rosy Affair was a two-time stakes scorer in the month. Winner of the Flying Fillies’ Stakes at Pontefract, she reappeared 13 days later in the Prix de Meautry and gained a first Group victory. The Hampshire-based breeders were also breeders of Super Sox (Showcasing) who landed back-to-back renewals of the Platinum Stakes.

The Gredley family were left celebrating an extremely valuable win for Wimbledon Hawkeye after the son of Kameko won the Nashville Derby at Kentucky Downs in the hands of Frankie Dettori. Another Grade 3 winner in the States was the Kirtlington Stud and Mary Taylor-bred Motorious, who gained the Green Flash Handicap at Del Mar via the stewards.

At Deauville, Tadej, a son of Ardad and named after the four-time Tour de France winner, won the Prix de Cabourg. He was bred by Star Cottage Stud and Niall O’Keeffe.

In Ireland, Bucanero Fuerte won the Phoenix Sprint Stakes on the Curragh, the

Fortescue Bloodstock-bred Elana Osario captured the Give Thanks Stakes at Cork, and the Desmond Stakes went the way of the Jon and Julia Aisbitt-homebred Johan

The Shadwell-bred Naomi Lapaglia took the Hurry Harriet Stakes at Gowran Park.

At home, Miss Justice, bred by Al Shahania, won the Upavon Fillies’ Stakes at Salisbury while the Habton Racing-bred Anaisa, a daughter of Overbury resident Ardad, landed the Ripon Champion Two-Year-Old Trophy on the August bank holiday.

There was success for the Nick Hughes and Michael Owen-bred Roman Dragon in the Queensferry Stakes and for the Joshua Knox-bred Lethal Levi in the Hopeful Stakes.

On the continent, the Mick Channonbred Miss Attitude won the Prix du Cercle and the Mette Campbell-Andenaes-bred Nastaria landed another Listed, this time the Steher Stutenpreis. In Scandinavia, Aphelios, bred by Kingwood Stud, took the Zawawi Spring Cup at Klampenbourg and followed up in the Polar Cup at Ovrevoll, also the scene of Thunder Sea’s strike in the Lanwades Stud Stakes for breeder Malcolm Green.

The Violet Stakes at Monmouth Park went to the Highgate Stud-bred Breath Away (Bated Breath) and the Saratogastaged Michael G Walsh Novice Stakes over hurdles went to the Rebecca Philipps-bred Golden Horn gelding Little Trilby

Results up to and including August 31 and provided by GBRI.

Royal Fixation and William Buick proved too good in the Lowther Stakes

Secure your place on the Stud Farming Course

Book your place on this year’s TBA Stud Farming Course, which takes place from December 9 - 11 at the British Racing School, Newmarket.

The course will give delegates a comprehensive overview of key stud management topics through a series of talks from industry experts including those from Newmarket Equine Hospital, Rossdales Veterinary Surgeons, and the Royal Veterinary College.

The first day will focus on the reproductive management of the broodmare, practical paddock management and parasite control.

Day two covers a range of horse management topics including upper respiratory tract disorders, nutrition of the yearling, sales preparation and managing the commercial stallion.

The final day’s schedule will focus on foaling and care of the newborn and older foal including weaning as well as

Post-mortem subsidy

While EHV-1 is not notifiable by law, the TBA recognises the vital importance of screening for the presence of the virus enabling a rapid response to all positive cases.

All breeders are encouraged to notify Stanstead House of all cases of equine abortion or neonatal foal death. This allows monitoring of any disease outbreaks for which immediate action is paramount.

management of growth defects and limb corrections.

In addition, across the three days there will be visits to Newmarket Equine Hospital and Juddmonte Farms as well as a tour of the British Racing School. A course dinner on the first night will give delegates the opportunity to socialise with fellow delegates, speakers and industry professionals.

The course fee for 2025 is £465 (including VAT) for TBA members or £600 (including VAT) for non-members. Non-members who join the TBA as Full or ACCESS members at the time of booking will be eligible for the TBA member rate.

Discounts are available for TBA members sending three or more delegates – please contact the TBA office for more information. The fee will include all lunches, refreshments, dinner on the first night and online access to some of the course material after the event.

Polly Gundry and Exeter races visit

Spaces are filling fast for the regional visit to Polly Gundry and Exeter racecourse on October 21, which will offer members one of the first opportunities to meet new CEO Naomi Mellor.

Attendees will start at Holcombe Brook, near Ottery St Mary, where former champion lady point-to-point jockey Gundry, along with husband point-to-point handler Ed Walker, have trained over 200 winners.

Afterwards, everyone will move on to Exeter racecourse for Best Mate Day and a private box, where lunch will be served. There will be an update on TBA activities and the wider breeding industry, before an afternoon of racing which comprises seven races.

Tickets can be booked through the TBA website and are priced at £40 per member and £50 per non-member.

Diary dates

Tuesday, October 21

South west regional day, Exeter

Start the morning at Polly Gundry’s Holcombe Brook before heading to Exeter racecourse for your chance to listen to an industry update and pose questions to trustees, all ahead of an afternoon’s racing.

Thursday, November 20

Breeders’ Day, Warwick

Should the result of a post-mortem show a positive EHV-1 result, the TBA can help with up-to-date advice and veterinary assistance. Preventing the disease is vital to our breeding industry and the association offers a £200 subsidy towards the cost of a post-mortem to members who meet the criteria.

Full details, including the online application form, can be found on the website under the equine health heading.

The event returns for the second year. Prior to racing, the TBA will host a dedicated forum open to both TBA members and any interested non-members, featuring some topical themes, panel sessions and Q&As, with the full details to be published in due course.

Correction

Julian Dollar was photographed with Calixto Iglesias-Herrera in last month’s issue, not as previously printed. We apologise for this error.

TBA Stud Farming Course: well established and respected

BREEDER OF THE MONTH

The staff know that something bigger is happening here

D J WESTON: Royal Fixation

There is a sense of a long-term plan running on target for Dave Weston, whose Flintstone Stud is gearing up for a busy end of the year.

Royal Fixation became the first European Group winner that the Wiltshire-based breeder and his partner El Tanner have produced from their small and select band of mares when she claimed the Group 2 Lowther Stakes at York.

Previously a neck second to the top-class Venetian Sun in the Duchess of Cambridge Stakes, the Ed Walker-trained filly earns Weston the August TBA Breeder of the Month award with her length defeat of America Queen in the Group 2 event.

“It was a big result for us,” Weston says. “We’ve got a great group of staff and I think they all know that something bigger is happening here.”

Weston’s parents and grandparents had an interest in racing and during his working career developing an electronics business, he had the odd share in a horse.

His life changed when he met Tanner, an equine nutritionist and experienced horsewoman, by chance when the feed company she worked for rented out his house on the Badminton Estate during the weekend of the horse trials.

The couple bought the odd mare and have created Flintstone Stud from an old dairy farm outside Marlborough over the last 20 years.

“The first horse who was bred on the farm was called Bedrock Fred, he was by

Monsieur Bond and was supposed to be a sprinter but he just grew and grew,” he recalls.

“We couldn’t sell him and so we pointto-pointed him. I wanted to become a trainer, I’d done the courses, but the BHA said I couldn’t have a licence because I’d never been an assistant trainer anywhere.

“The only way I could get one would be to train two open point to point winners. Anyway, we ran him at Larkhill under my name and he won with Jack Barber, then two weeks later he won again. I rang the BHA and said I want my licence!”

The stud’s first real success story was Robema, a Cadeaux Genereux mare who bred Pontefract Silver Tankard winner Connect and his Roderic O’Connor brother Atlantic Sun, who was also Listed placed.

Weston explains: “When we first started, with the money we were spending, we couldn’t afford the really good mares or the fancy stallion fees.

“We muddled through, had a good year then a bad one, like most breeders I think, and never really made any money. It’s only in the last few years, just before I sold the business, that we decided that we’d start to buy a few better ones.”

Among those bigger purchases was Royal Fixation’s dam Fixette, for €180,000 at Arqana at the end of 2021. The daughter of Kodiac, who was twice placed in Group 3s in France at sprinting distances, would become the dam of Listed Prix la Fleche winner The Fixer after her purchase.

Fixette has rewarded Flintstone Stud with 180,000gns from Opulence Thoroughbreds for Royal Fixation. The mare also has a Havana Grey filly entered at Book 2 of this month’s Tattersalls October Yearling Sale in Newmarket, to be consigned by Aughamore Stud. The mare is now back in foal to Palace Pier.

“We’ve got her to look forward to and we’re also going to Book 1 with a Lope De Vega filly that we bred out of a mare called Dazzling Beauty and a Wootton Bassett half-sister to Facteur Cheval.

“The Wootton Bassett filly is a big pinhook for us [bought for 410,000gns]. I’m more of a risk taker than El, but my logic was that if we don’t sell her she’s potentially a good broodmare for us moving forward.

“We are commercial in that we want to sell but if it’s a filly, we aren’t against keeping them to race.”

Weston has split up his bloodstock investment around the world, with several other mares boarding in Ireland who could return home in time as well as the odd jumper being trained from the farm to provide some fun during the winter. It’s very much a family venture, with Tanner and their children an integral part.

“We also set up something in Australia, we’ve had our first foals out there and got some yearlings going to the sales early next year, but the plan in Australia is straight commercial, whereas this is more of an all-round interest,” he says. “We feel like it’s all coming together now.”

Royal Fixation, bred by Dave Weston and EI Tanner at their Flintstone Stud, wins the Lowther Stakes at York

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A bite of the apple

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WELFARE & AFTERCARE

The hidden prize: why welfare defines true success

Equestrian competitions are often seen as a pursuit of rosettes, titles and results. Yet for Retraining of Racehorses (RoR), a charity founded on welfare, they are also a way of setting standards, educating owners and raising the profile of former racehorses. At this year’s National Championships, held in August at Aintree, welfare was placed firmly at the heart of the event, underpinned by new initiatives designed not only to protect horses on the day but to show the wider equestrian world what good practice looks like.

Ahead of the championships, RoR, with the support of equine insurer Agria, introduced a strengthened welfare framework across its competitions. This included updated rules, the introduction of a welfare stewarding team in official tabards so that competitors and owners knew exactly who to approach for support or advice, and clearer guidance on how to raise concerns. Copies of the welfare rules were distributed in print at the showground, making them visible and easy to reference.

The stewards’ role was not about policing competitors: they were present to offer guidance, provide reassurance and, crucially, celebrate good practice. Competitors were encouraged to use the weighbridge and have their horses condition scored, with stewards issuing ‘suitably mounted’ certificates to combinations who met RoR’s horse-torider weight ratio thresholds.

What distinguished the championships this year was the way these measures were embedded seamlessly into the event. Competitors and spectators alike could see welfare being monitored, encouraged and rewarded in real time. The welfare stewarding team were approachable and

visible, turning what could have felt like scrutiny into a culture of support. Their presence also ensured that if a welfare concern was raised, it could be addressed quickly and constructively.

RoR also introduced ‘good horsemanship awards’, designed to highlight and reward the kind of care that often goes unnoticed behind the scenes. Whether through patience shown in handling a nervous horse, or careful attention to the external environment and how it might affect a horse, the awards sent a clear signal: how a horse is cared for is just as important as what it achieves in the arena. As a welfare charity, placing this priority at its events is paramount for RoR, and the overwhelmingly positive response confirmed its importance. Hundreds of Iikes and comments on social media praised the approach, with many saying RoR is leading the way for welfare at competitions and expressing hope that other equestrian bodies will follow suit.

That enthusiasm was echoed in the media, with 28 pieces of coverage across print, broadcast, online and social channels, reaching an estimated audience of more than 74,000. From BBC Look North to ITV Wales, and from the Yorkshire Post to the Northern Echo, stories of former racehorses thriving in second careers

helped raise the profile of both the event and its welfare-first message.

For you, the racehorse owners, this matters. Knowing that thoroughbreds are not only competing successfully in second careers, but doing so within a framework that puts their welfare first, strengthens the case for racing’s social licence. Owners can be reassured that once a non-racing agreement is signed and a horse is registered with RoR, its journey beyond the track is supported by a charity committed to welfare in every setting.

The National Championships have always been a flagship for RoR, attracting hundreds of combinations from across the country and demonstrating the versatility of the thoroughbred. But they are just one part of RoR’s broader mission, which spans education, welfare support, traceability and outreach to thousands of owners across Great Britain.

RoR has now set a new benchmark where success is measured not only by the quality of a dressage test or the precision of a showjumping round, but by the welfare and partnership underpinning every performance. Beyond the rosettes, the message is clear: the welfare of the horse is the true prize, and ensuring it remains so is vital for both equestrian sport and the reputation of racing itself.

The stewards were on hand to offer guidance and celebrate good practice

Quirke of fate sets Conor and Kathryn on road to Big success

They say lightning never strikes twice, but it certainly has in Hunting Hill Stud’s case via the exploits of Big Evs and more recently Big Mojo, writes Peter O’Reilly. All this soon after their accountant diplomatically suggested to Conor and Kathryn Quirke that they might want to get another job!

If you haven’t heard of Hunting Hill Stud/ Quirke Bloodstock and its lovely proprietors, then be prepared, because the big softy from Liverpool and the former phone shop manager from Cork are a breadth of fresh air in what can be, at times, quite a stuffy industry.

Conor had no equine background, but fate works in mysterious ways. When his phone company boss suggested a marketing degree might be the way to progress, Conor took the hint and set upon enrolling. However, a night on the beer with a good mate who was looking to do an equestrian course saw the two swap courses by closing time – a case indeed of Guinness being good for you!

Kathryn’s entry into the equine industry was more typical, as a pet pony ignited her passion which was further fuelled by a couple of years spent in training yards, including with Donald McCain. In 2015 the pair met while doing the stud management course in the National Stud in Newmarket and following stints across the globe encompassing Australia, New Zealand and the USA, they returned to Cork and Conor’s late grandfather’s farm in Castletownroche in 2018.

The 96-acre farm is an idyllic place to raise thoroughbreds, with generous fields surrounded by wonderful natural hedging that helps keep stock sheltered from the vagaries of the Irish climate. Hunting Hill is an organic nursery in every sense of the word, with not only the land and soil nourished in its natural state, but also its equine inhabitants who are kept outdoors from the time they foal to weaning and, indeed, when being prepped for the sales (a lesson learnt from their US experience).

Matching the quality of the land is those who walk it every day and nurture its stock. Initially it was tough going – “youthful ignorance” as Conor says – with off-farm work in nearby Castlehyde helping to pay the bills, but 2020 saw them make the jump to full-time work at home. Cue long, cold nights foaling with hot water bottles, complete with a pull-out bed in the barn, but the couple

were slowly rewarded when their first colt foal (by Acclamation) sold well at Tattersalls UK in November of that year.

As they say, start as you mean to continue, and this colt, subsequently named Rousing Encore, finished second in the Group 2 Mill Reef Stakes. He kickstarted what is fast becoming a trend of Group-class horses arising from Hunting Hill, be they born, reared or acquired. Big Evs moved them into the Group 1 league, and he has certainly showcased the canny eye of Conor and Kathryn, as he was spotted breezing with a colt who was a half-brother to a foal they had pinhooked and was their original focus of interest.

Acquired for big Hunting Hill supporters RP Racing (Paul and Rachael Teasdale), Big Evs went on to win the Windsor Castle, Molecomb, Flying Childers, Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint and King George Qatar Stakes before retiring to stand at Tally Ho Stud. Not far behind came Big Mojo, who was bought by Conor for RP Racing at the December 2023 Tattersalls Yearling Sale. A recent winner of the Group 1 Betfair Sprint Cup at Haydock, he could be heading to Hong Kong or the US for his next big outing. Hopefully his siblings will follow in his footsteps as Conor and Kathryn bought his fine-looking dam last year (in foal to Blue Point) and have his half-brother, a cracking foal by Showcasing.

The corner has thus been well and truly turned for Hunting Hill, as its small collection of mares (seven foaled this year, with Kathryn saying ten is their optimum) also includes Jolie Chanson (dam of Rousing Encore) and Ares Choix (dam of Magny Cours, second in the Tattersalls Super Sales race at the Curragh and Beenham, Havana Grey’s first Classic winner in the 2024 Italian

1,000 Guineas).

Don’t be fooled, though, into thinking this is all due to the exploits of the two ‘Biggies’ – rather it is due to the knowledge and skill of the stud principals, whose experience and knowledge enabled them to pick up both Ares Choix and Jolie Chanson for under €4,000 each. As Conor says: “Look out for a good mare with a not so good cover”, with Jolie Chanson purchased in foal to Dunaden. Good covers are in abundance now, though, with both Lope De Vega and Night Of Thunder figuring highly in this year’s coverings – a testament to how far the farm has come in the last couple of years.

Whilst all breeders need a bit of luck, or as Conor aptly puts it “every horse is like a lottery ticket”, the hard yards put in by the couple in the early days and indeed every day now continue to pay off. Every penny earned is reinvested in the farm, with the sale of Magny Cours ensuring a fine concrete surface for the stable yard.

A crucial ingredient in their success has to be the care and attention they lavish on all their equine inhabitants. Kathryn admits to being far too emotionally invested in the stock and still finds it difficult despatching them to the sales. For her, welfare is everything, as can be seen in the pensioners’ paddock, where an assortment of retired mares and geldings live in luxury, and even more clearly by their Hunting Hill business card, which has the unique and very welcome message: ‘Should this horse need a home when it retires, please contact us’.

Whilst the breeding industry faces many speedbumps at present, it is comforting to know that it is not all doom and gloom, as with young breeders like Conor and Kathryn, the future is bright.

Big adventure: Kathryn and Conor Quirke

Our jury have their say: Is British racing suffering a ‘talent drain’ of horses and people?

James Ferguson, trainer

Steve Bradley, Royal Ascot-winning owner and breeder

There are various factors behind the loss of talent. Regarding the lack of apprentices being employed, there used to be a small financial incentive for the trainer, which has been removed. When you do get a successful one like Warren Fentiman, although Richard Fahey has first claim, he has an agent working to develop his career so he might have other rides that Richard knows nothing about. Richard Hannon snr used to have five or six apprentices – it was dog eat dog to get the best rides.

For the senior jockeys, look at someone like Tom Eaves. He is driving all around the country and only allowed to ride at one meeting per day, so that limits the earning potential. It’s all very well going to Ayr for 12 rides over three days, but what about when you’re going to Ayr for one or two rides? That’s your day’s work and you’re only getting a few hundred in the kitty and you’re driving four and a half hours each way. Getting a licence to ride in Hong Kong is serious business.

On the horse front, I’ve got an Almanzor who is a three-parts brother to Wootton’Sun [sold to race in Saudi Arabia]. He’s in training and will hopefully run this year. What’s my goal for him? My goal is to get a couple of wins under his belt and if someone comes in with a treasure chest as a three-year-old, they can have him. But I’m not going to take that £200,000 or £300,000 out of the sport – I wouldn’t mind having another broodmare, so I’ll go back in.

Trainers don’t like losing these horses, but they realise there is a limited racing programme for ones like Wootton’Sun. He topped out as a four-year-old and would have ended up in Class 2 handicaps giving a stone and a half to something inferior, likely being devalued. Even Coolmore have cashed in on some of their three-year-olds.

I think the horse talent drain has been going on for a while because of the cost of having a horse in training in this country. The real human talent drain is in jockeys coming through the ranks. Trainers used to take a percentage of an apprentice jockey’s prize-money and fee and that money was used to pay for the horses to get the kids started. The BHA took that away. When I started training you had four or five apprentices to choose from, all excellent. Andrew Balding would have five of them, Richard Hannon would have four. We used Dan Muscutt when he was with Andrew, who also had David Probert, Oisin Murphy, Rob Hornby and Kieran Shoemark. Now I couldn’t even name you five apprentices! I have Fred Daly, who rides out for me. It’s about the next generation of jockeys. If you’ve giving an apprentice their first ride, which owner are you going to ring up and say ‘listen, you’re paying £30,000 a year to have your horse in training, I’m going to put a kid up that’s never ridden before’. You should have horses in the yard that they can ride. But who pays for them? The trainer does. When you have five meetings in one day, you’re almost not running horses because you don’t have a suitable jockey.

Andrew Braithwaite and the team at the British Racing School do a super job, but I think it’s getting harder and harder – the dream of kids becoming jockeys is no longer a dream. Established jockeys have always gone over to Hong Kong. Someone like Andrea Atzeni is a fantastic rider. He was at that stage where he had to go. For me it’s about the talent coming through. The drain on horses is always going to happen so long as these horses can win so much more money when they race abroad. I have an owner, Bon Ho – we have had a load of runners in Australia for him. But why would he spend all that money to then bring them back? So, they stay there. You can run a solid Group 2 stayer out there and they can be a Group 1 horse. William Haggas sent Dubai Honour to Australia and he’s won millions – he’s not running any faster out there! If he was owned by you or me, he’d be staying there and running for that prize-money every week.

”

Andrew

Braithwaite, Chief

Will Douglass, bloodstock agent

It is a great feather in the cap of our industry that our horses are so highly sought after. British and Irish racing is incredibly well respected across the globe and unfortunately, we are in a situation where owners do need to sell to keep the ball rolling and reinvest.

Most owners go back in after a good sale. Do they reinvest every penny? No, I don’t think they do, but that’s the same in any industry – if you’re a trader in markets you take out profit. That is how people make their money so you can’t expect them to put everything back in, especially if it’s a hobby. An owner could cover their racing costs for the next four or five years.

I think more horses are being sold abroad privately and while the fillies are a loss for the breeding industry in the long term, they could also go to public auction and be bought by Japan, America and Australia anyway. The sale of colts and geldings take away from our racing, but the majority sold are not stallion prospects.

Hong Kong buyers are after nice, improving handicap/Listed level horses, the same with Australia, but it’s hard to say it’s massively damaging the breed. We must embrace it.

While we don’t want to lose top-quality horses and need our racing to remain competitive while maintaining field sizes, I do not think it’s a drain. It’s a great outlet for European racing and our racehorse owners, especially in Britain and Ireland where the prize-money is not what it

On the people side, it’s not something I know a huge amount about, but I think again it’s the strength and reputation of British racing. Individuals have gone overseas to ride, work, train and be stewards for a very long time, and that’s because of our great grounding. Plenty of these people have essentially been headhunted, but I don’t think it’s a talent drain. The economy isn’t exactly thriving here at the moment, so there are other reasons for people wanting to move abroad.

Executive, British Racing School

At the British Racing School (BRS), our aim is to produce the world-class riders that our sport needs to flourish, and we support 140 young people into racing yards each year through our foundation course.

There are definitely some wider societal challenges that we face in doing this, one of which is that in an urbanised society fewer young people have access to horses and ponies – we know that around 15% of riding schools closed as a result of Covid. However, despite this, applications to the course are up 18% on last year and we’re expanding our pony racing offering so there is a stronger pathway into racing.

Every day, we see brilliant, talented and enthusiastic young people who are coming into the sport, although retaining them long-term is an issue which comes down to a multitude of things such as pay, work/life balance and culture.

In Britain we can also be a victim of our own success, as the good riders we produce, in partnership with trainers, are employable anywhere in the world. We are seeing an increasing number of BRS graduates working abroad, particularly in Australia, after they have gained three or four years of experience in the UK.

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TOO DARN HOT

Now up to six G1 wins in Europe, matching the achievement of Justif y and Giant’s Causeway: no stallion this century has had more at this point in his career. Heʼs now sired the winners of 33 Group races –more than any other European stallion this centur y.

His own sire, Dubawi, and Frankel are next on the list. The hottest ticket? His 2025 yearlings, selling now.