Tob feb 2014

Feb_114_FrontCover_revised_OwnerBreeder 17/01/2014 17:10 Page 1

Incorporating

£4.95 | February 2014 | Issue 114

Mighty ambition Plus

Henry Daly on his desire to train 100 horses and taste Grade 1 glory again

• Phil Smith talks handicap headaches and punter puzzles • Claiborne Farm: US stallion operation on the front foot • Tony Morris looks back at racing’s wartime controversy

www.ownerbreeder.co.uk

29383_Excelebration_TBOB_DPS_Feb14_29383_Excelebration_TBOB_DPS_Feb14 14/01/2014 17:12 Page 1

❝Excelebration was close to being the best

• • •

Group 1 winner by a son of DANEHILL from a daughter of INDIAN RIDGE - just like DANCING RAIN and NAHOODH. His grandam MISS KEMBLE is a half-sister to Irish Oaks heroine PRINCESS PATI. His third dam SARAH SIDDONS won Irish 1,000 Guineas and Yorkshire Oaks.

• ALFRED NOBEL • CAMELOT • CANFORD CLIFFS • CHOISIR • DANEHILL DANCER • DECLARATION OF WAR • DUKE OF MARMALADE • EXCELEBRATION • FASTNET ROCK • • FOOTSTEPSINTHESAND • GALILEO • HENRYTHENAVIGATOR • HIGH CHAPARRAL • HOLY ROMAN EMPEROR • MASTERCRAFTSMAN • MOST IMPROVED • PEINTRE CELEBRE • • POUR MOI • POWER • REQUINTO • RIP VAN WINKLE • ROCK OF GIBRALTAR • SO YOU THINK • THEWAYYOUARE • ZOFFANY •

29383_Excelebration_TBOB_DPS_Feb14_29383_Excelebration_TBOB_DPS_Feb14 14/01/2014 17:13 Page 2

miler seen in Europe in recent years❞

Timeform Racehorses of 2012

1st Queen Elizabeth II Stakes-Gr.1 by 3 lengths 1st Prix Jacques le Marois-Gr.1 from Cityscape, Elusive Kate, Moonlight Cloud etc. st 1 Prix du Moulin-Gr.1 from Rio De La Plata 1st Hungerford Stakes-Gr.2 by 6 lengths 1st German 2,000 Guineas-Gr.2 by 7 lengths 1st Gladness Stakes-Gr.3 by 3¼ lengths 2nd Queen Anne Stakes-Gr.1 to Frankel 2nd Lockinge Stakes-Gr.1 to Frankel 2nd Queen Elizabeth II Stakes-Gr.1 to Frankel

Excelebration defeats 8 individual Gr.1 winners in the Prix Jacques le Marois-Gr.1

Also won 2 of his 3 starts as a 2YO over 6f. at Doncaster and Newmarket.

Fee: €20,000

The best son of Exceed And Excel Contact: Coolmore Stud, Fethard, Clonmel, Co. Tipperary, Ireland. Tel: 353-52-6131298. Fax: 353-52-6131382. Christy Grassick, David O’Loughlin, Eddie Fitzpatrick, Tim Corballis, Maurice Moloney, Gerry Aherne, Mathieu Legars or Jason Walsh. Tom Gaffney, David Magnier, Joe Hernon, Cathal Murphy or Jim Carey: 353-25-31966/31689. Kevin Buckley (UK Rep.) 44-7827-795156.

E-mail: sales@coolmore.ie Web site: www.coolmore.com All stallions nominated to EBF.

Bay, 2008, 16.1hh :: by INVINCIBLE SPIRIT ex MAYLEAF (PIVOTAL)

MAYSON FIRST FOALS 2014

FEE:

£6,000 (1st October LFFR)

THE HIGHEST RATED SON OF INVINCIBLE SPIRIT AT STUD With a pedigree that combines two of the most potent sprinting sire lines available today and a race record which included a thumping 5 length success in the Gr.1 Darley July Cup, MAYSON represents the perfect ‘breeder’s dream’.

Not only are his pedigree and race record beyond reproach, but he has gone from strength to strength since retiring to stud and is now as eye-catching an individual as you will see anywhere.

“He has a great walk and I was so taken with him that I’m sending him three mares.”

DEREK ICETON Tara Stud

“I went to see him during December Sales and he’s let down into a really striking horse.

I can’t wait to see his first foals.”

“He’s certainly a strong-bodied sort, who has a good walk and has developed into a taking individual.”

“I was really impressed when I saw him and think he’ll make a very commercial stallion.”

RICHARD BROWN

Bumble Bloodstock

CHRIS BUDGETT

Blandford Bloodstock

BUMBLE MITCHELL

Kirtlington Stud

VISITORS WELCOME BY APPOINTMENT

Why not come and see him for yourself?

N.B. Mayson’s first book included the dams of

PEERESS, HOORAY, EXCELLENT ART, PENITENT and SUPPLICANT.

Cheveley Park Stud

• Duchess Drive, Newmarket, Suffolk CB8 9DD Tel: (01638) 730316 Fax: (01638) 730868 enquiries@cheveleypark.co.uk www.cheveleypark.co.uk

Mayson-Owner-Feb2014_v2.indd 1

17/01/2014 11:06

Feb_114_Editors_Owner Breeder 17/01/2014 17:30 Page 3

WELCOME FROM THE EDITOR Publisher: Michael Harris Editor: Edward Rosenthal Bloodstock Editor: Emma Berry Designed by: Thoroughbred Group Editorial: First Floor, 75 High Holborn, London WC1V 6LS Tel: 020 7152 0209 Fax: 020 7152 0213 editor@ownerbreeder.co.uk www.ownerbreeder.co.uk Advertising: Giles Anderson Tel: 01380 816 777 USA: 1 888 218 4430 Fax: 01380 816 778 advertise@anderson-co.com Subscriptions: Keely Brewer Tel: 020 7152 0212 Fax: 020 7152 0213 subscriptions@ownerbreeder.co.uk Thoroughbred Owner & Breeder incorporating Pacemaker can be purchased by non-members at the following rates: 1 Year 2 Year UK £55 £90 Europe £85 £135 RoW £99 £154 Thoroughbred Owner & Breeder incorporating Pacemaker is published by a Mutual Trading Company owned jointly by the Racehorse Owners Association and Thoroughbred Breeders’ Association The Thoroughbred Breeders’ Association is a registered charity No. 1134293 Editorial views expressed in this magazine are not necessarily those of the ROA or TBA ABC Audited Our proven average monthly circulation is certified by the Audit Bureau of Circulation at 9,423* *Based on the period July 1, 2012 to June 30, 2013.

Racehorse Owners Association Ltd First Floor, 75 High Holborn, London WC1V 6LS Tel: 020 7152 0200 Fax: 020 7152 0213 info@roa.co.uk www.racehorseowners.net Thoroughbred Breeders’ Association Stanstead House, The Avenue, Newmarket CB8 9AA Tel: 01638 661 321 Fax: 01638 665621 info@thetba.co.uk • www.thetba.co.uk

Incorporating

£4.95 | February 2014 | Issue 114

Mighty ambition Plus

Henry Daly on his desire to train 100 horses and taste Grade 1 glory again

• Phil Smith talks handicap headaches and punter puzzles • Claiborne Farm: US stallion operation on the front foot • Tony Morris looks at horseracing during World War I

www.ownerbreeder.co.uk

Cover: Henry Daly surveys his horses at Downton Hall stables in Shropshire Photo: George Selwyn

EDWARD ROSENTHAL

Quest for Grade 1 success is a daily battle for Henry R

oll on Cheltenham? Not if you’re Henry Daly.

Well, that’s not quite fair. The Shropshire trainer, the subject of a superb interview with Alan Lee in this month’s magazine (pages 36-39), isn’t exactly keen to test his novices on jumping’s biggest stage.

For all the anticipation, excitement and razzmatazz generated by the Festival, the racing is as intense and competitive as it gets. The will to win at Prestbury Park is unsurpassed anywhere in the equine world. For the more inexperienced animals, the event can be something of a culture shock, on and off the track.

“It can be a terribly tough place for younger horses,” Daly says. “They go two strides quicker than anywhere else.

“In 15 years I doubt if I’ve had more than three runners in the Festival novice races. We deliberately kept Mighty Man away from Cheltenham because his mind would have been fried by the experience.”

The aforementioned Mighty Man, who was never at his best at Cheltenham, is undoubtedly the best horse to pass through Daly’s hands in his decade and a half with a licence. The ultratalented staying hurdler was also the last Grade 1 winner for the master of Downton Hall stables back in December 2006.

Other high-class runners have come and gone over the years but they had all well and truly vanished by the time of the 2010/11 season, which yielded the paltry figure of eight winners from 189 runners.

For a man used to a certain level of success – none of his previous terms had returned less than 28 winners – it was tough to bear.

Daly says: “We had a bacterial infection. It was treatable but it took a long time to fix it. We discovered what was wrong but then twice used the wrong drugs.

The third drug finally worked but the process had taken two months and by that time the horses were flat.

“The season was a write-off. The lads and jockeys got very down and although the owners were stoic to a man, we did lose a few [owners] subsequently.

THOROUGHBRED OWNER & BREEDER INC PACEMAKER

“It was a very interesting life lesson and not one I wish to go through again.”

Thankfully for the handler and his team, matters have improved since those dark days. This campaign has witnessed Daly’s best ever start, with over 20 victories before Christmas, something not achieved previously.

While there may not be a Mighty Man in the yard – or a Behrajan, Young Spartacus or Hand Inn Hand for that matter – the ratings of the novices indicate that the next Grade 1 triumph may not be too far away.

And don’t think that Daly isn’t desperate to unearth his next star. Beneath that calm exterior and tweed cap is a man hungry for glory at the highest level. The problem has been in communicating that message to a wider group of owners.

Daly explains: “I’m actually in awe of trainers like Paul Nicholls for their skill in promoting themselves. It’s a great talent.

Some people get it wrong and go over the top but those that get it right, like Paul, do it in spades.

“It’s not in my nature. I’m very aware that I’m missing out but it’s very hard to change the way you are made. I just find selfpromotion very difficult, but that is very different from being unambitious. You cannot train horses unless you are competitive.

“I need more horses and that is my frustration. But for choice, I would certainly have more. If I was offered 100, I would take them gladly.

“We have the room and I have the ambition.”

The ambition at Claiborne Farm in Kentucky is surely to live up to their own high standards in standing great stallions – no easy thing when that list includes Nasrullah, Secretariat and Danzig to name but three.

War Front, sire of last year’s Royal Ascot victors Declaration Of War and War Command, is one of the current stars on the roster.

Our Bloodstock Editor, Emma Berry, visited the famous US operation, which has been in business for over a century, to find out more about its history and plans for the future (pages 46-51).

“Beneath that calm

exterior and tweed cap is a man hungry for glory at the highest level

”

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Feb_114_Contents_Contents 17/01/2014 16:54 Page 4

CONTENTS FEBRUARY 2014

58 NEWS & VIEWS 7

ROA Leader

53 FEATURES 16

9

TBA Leader

36

Unified drug rules a necessity

10 12 20

Tony Morris Racing and the First World War

22

Howard Wright ARC under pressure

INTERNATIONAL SCENE 25

View From Ireland Prunella Dobbs on the up

29

Continental Tales Enrique Leon’s Guineas quest

33

Around The Globe Jerry Hollendorfer still going strong

4

41

Talking To...

46

Claiborne Farm US operation in focus

Rory MacDonald British Racing School’s main man

64

Sales Circuit Jumpers and stores to the fore

70

BHA handicapper Phil Smith

Changes Your monthly round-up

58

Henry Daly looks to the future

News Terry Biddlecombe remembered

COVER STORY The Big Interview

Hunting & Racing Strong ties between the two

The Big Picture Sprinter Sacre’s heartbreak

Gaming machines no good thing

53

Caulfield Files Hennessy’s posthumous impact

96

NEW! 24 Hours With...

Dave Roberts, jockeys’ agent, kicks off our new series Kentucky Derby hero Orb is just one of the star names at Claiborne Farm in Kentucky (pages 46-51)

Feb_114_Contents_Contents 17/01/2014 16:55 Page 5 B

4:53 pm

Page 3

BLOODLINES Simply the right policy – without the fuss We are able to provide cover for: All risks of mortality Theft Stallion’s congenital or permanent infertility Broodmare barrenness Prospective foal Foals from 24 hours

41

Yearlings unsoundness of wind Horses at grass

FORUM 73

ROA Forum Owners Jackpot initiative launched

80

Racecourse League Tables The latest Flat and jumps rankings

82

LEADING THE FIELD IN BLOODSTOCK INSURANCE

TBA Forum Stallion Parade line-up confirmed

86

Breeder of the Month Nigel Franklin, for Killala Quay

88

Next Generation Club Foaling season fuels dreams

90

Vet Forum Non-infectious conditions in neo-natal foals

AHEAD OF THE FIELD CONTACT US

DATA BOOK 92

TO STAY

National Hunt Grade Ones Top-level winners over jumps

Our monthly circulation is certified at

9,423

Can other magazines prove theirs?

THOROUGHBRED OWNER & BREEDER INC PACEMAKER

TODAY

BLOODLINES, ORCHARD HOUSE 167 KENSINGTON HIGH STREET LONDON W8 6UG TEL: +44 (0) 207 938 3033 FAX: +44 (0) 207 938 3055 ENQUIRIES@BLOODLINES.CO.UK WWW.BLOODLINES.CO.UK Bloodlines is a trading name of Bloodlines Thoroughbred Insurance Agency Ltd which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority.

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Foxwedge OB Feb 2014 f-p_Whitsbury OB Feb 2014 f-p 17/01/2014 08:52 Page 1

And many, many more...

Feb_114_ROA_Leader_Layout 1 17/01/2014 16:20 Page 7

ROA LEADER

RACHEL HOOD President Racehorse Owners Association

Gaming machine debate a conundrum for racing Support for the bookmakers over this contentious issue is badly misplaced

B

etting shops and gaming machines (Fixed Odds Betting Terminals) took up significant parliamentary time in January and, although a Labour party motion to bring about a change in legislation was defeated, the subject is not going to go away. The Prime Minister, himself, acknowledges there is a problem with the machines that have been dubbed betting’s version of the “crack cocaine” of the high street.

We are told gaming machines now account for over half of betting shop revenues, which is hardly surprising when you see how eagerly punters feed money into them. It is a high turnover, low margin type of gambling concept, encouraging the player to believe that a big win is moments away just so long as they keep going.

There is now a groundswell of real concern on both sides of parliament as to whether the machines fuel gambling addiction and prey on the lives of the most needy. The machines require none of the intellectual input or periods of quiet contemplation that often takes place before a bet is struck on horseracing.

The bookmakers tell us that the popularity and high profitability of the machines has kept many of their shops open. Certainly, betting shops have proliferated in a lot of town centres – in many cases against the wishes of residents – while bookmakers make the argument forcefully that a clamp-down on machines would inevitably have an adverse effect on their large, taxpaying companies, with big implications for employment.

The racing world sits uneasily on the fringes of this debate because, apart from the huge contribution made by owners, most of racing’s income emanates from the betting industry in the form of payments from the levy and for pictures shown in betting shops. To be clear, income from the statutory levy is not directly affected by betting on any activity other than horseracing but, if tougher legislation on machines leads to betting shop closures, there will be fewer people betting on

horseracing – or so the argument runs.

Recognising this, the BHA has weighed in with support for the bookmakers. But you wonder whether parading such self-interest against what is increasingly looking like a moral argument puts racing in a good light. We must also remember that bookmakers have done everything in their power over many years to steer punters away from horseracing and onto other betting activities, from which racing has never received a penny. It wasn’t so long ago that we were arguing vociferously that gaming machines were taking the bread from racing’s mouth; that the great majority of people who went into shops did so primarily to back horses and only then moved onto other activities.

Even in these days when some punters go into shops purely to play on the machines, horseracing continues to be a crucial part of the betting shop mix. And while we will never return to those days when our sport accounted for 80% of all betting turnover, there is great scope for an increase in racing’s betting market share if bookmakers diverted some of their marketing spend in our direction.

Potential problems for racing stemming from there being fewer betting shops could be counterbalanced if we were to start receiving levy from the increasing number of bets placed via the internet or phone. The fact that most of these bets are now diverted to overseas jurisdictions that are untouched by levy legislation, is a matter over which racing must continue to keep government onside.

If, as seems likely, a government of any complexion is going to make life difficult for bookmakers over gaming machines, racing would do well to distance itself from this debate. A less opportunist stance might create a better climate to get through legislation so that every time a bet is placed on British horseracing, wherever and however, our sport receives the revenue it justly deserves.

“It wasn’t long ago

we were arguing that FOBTs were taking the bread from racing’s mouth

THOROUGHBRED OWNER & BREEDER INC PACEMAKER

”

7

Tattersalls sales event

Banstead Manor tour - Frankel

Darley yard visit

monthly copy of Thoroughbred Owner & Breeder magazine copy of the annual Thoroughbred Stallion guide to regional events. Stallion parades, free badges, price for Stud Farming Course news and updates from the TBA For more information contact info@thetba.co.uk

Feb_114_TBA_Leader_TBA 17/01/2014 16:08 Page 9

TBA LEADER

RICHARD LANCASTER Chairman Thoroughbred Breeders’ Association

Working towards unified approach on drug rules International solution needs to be found to address anabolic steroids issue

E

ach year it is customary for Tattersalls and DBS to host industry liaison meetings, which offer a valuable opportunity for representative bodies to air any matters of concern raised by their members and debate new issues, rules and techniques. This year we will undoubtedly touch on the industry’s response to debate on the role of anabolic steroids in the racing and breeding industry.

Currently the BHA will not allow the use of anabolic steroids in training, which the TBA fully supports. The TBA Board would welcome harmonisation of the rules regarding anabolic steroids, but realises that a total ban may present new problems, and these should be carefully considered with all relevant parties prior to any hasty rule changes. In fact, it will not just be racing and breeding in Britain that will face these new problems, it will need a European and worldwide focus to produce a workable outcome.

Our veterinary advisers explained further in their information to the Board: “Anabolic steroids are chemical derivatives similar to the male hormone testosterone and have been used in animals and humans for many years. Their main therapeutic application is to rebuild tissues that are weakened by disease, injury or surgery. The primary effect on animals and particularly horses is to increase weight and muscle, in conjunction with feeding and exercise programmes, believed to be a result of increased appetite. Due to the similarities to testosterone there may be side effects including aggression.

“Anabolic steroids are detectable in horses for at least four weeks in blood and urine and sometimes longer, and in hair samples for up to two years, and currently can be obtained legally by veterinary surgeons in the UK for use in specific cases of horse debilitation and need. It is well known that the repeated or prolonged use of some anabolic steroids in susceptible juvenile horses can be damaging to their fertility. Anecdotal evidence suggests that the use of anabolic steroids in the thoroughbred

breeding industry in Great Britain is at a very low level and current opinion suggests that its use in horses is less beneficial than previously thought. Recently the use of an intra-articular preparation that contains a small amount of an anabolic steroid has been used to medicate some horses’ joints as a way of reducing inflammation and a similar product has also been used in damaged flexor tendons.

Recent publicity regarding the use of this preparation and intra-muscular anabolic steroids has reopened debate amongst racing authorities here and abroad.

“The TBA Veterinary Committee has pointed out that a similar extended ban in Great Britain would preclude the use of these drugs in any situation and would be difficult and expensive to monitor even though it may be desirable in principle. The testing of hair samples for anabolic steroids may result in unexpected results following historic use, producing difficulties perhaps with imported horses that have been reared in countries who do not insist on lifetime bans and that may change ownership, sometimes through sales rings.”

The TBA’s veterinary advisors also cautioned that a total ban may also preclude the beneficial use of steroids in ways that have yet to be discovered, or are currently being assessed. The international breeding community will have an opportunity to discuss this at the forthcoming International Thoroughbred Breeders’ Federation meeting.

Recent press comment that the international appetite for European-bred horses must not diminish the quality of our stock as British racing struggles to provide incentives to retain horses in training in this country is food for thought.

The TBA’s Flat Committee recently agreed to approach the BHA to offer funding for a series of races at varying distances for fillies and mares, just short of Listed status.

This is aimed at ensuring those with ability continue to race on in Britain rather than seeking black type overseas.

This is just one of the positive activities the TBA plans to support from sales levy income in 2014.

“The Board welcomes

harmonisation of the rules on anabolic steroids but realises that a total ban may present problems

THOROUGHBRED OWNER & BREEDER INC PACEMAKER

”

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Feb_114_News_Owner 17/01/2014 16:56 Page 10

NEWS Stories from the racing world

Terry Biddlecombe 1941-2014

GEORGE SELWYN

Three-time champion jockey and Gold Cup winner left a lasting impression

The best mates behind Best Mate: Terry Biddlecombe with his wife, former trainer Henrietta Knight

T

erence Walter Biddlecombe was born in the middle of a war and in his chosen profession such was his fearless bravery in the face of danger that he seemed as much soldier as jockey.

Forty-seven broken bones was the figure almost casually mentioned, as if there should be no fuss made of it, by his widow Henrietta Knight, the trainer whose ‘odd couple’ relationship with the former champion jumps jockey was such an integral part of the Best Mate story.

Among dozens of heartfelt and amusing stories and tributes, there were several insistences that Biddlecombe and Knight were far from the odd pair portrayed; that in their love and happiness they were, in fact, a ‘normal’ married couple.

They got together in the autumn of 1992, having met at a Malvern Bloodstock Sale.

10

Knight, who admitted to having a huge crush on Biddlecombe during his cavalier raceriding days when she was in her twenties, wrote in her book Best Mate: Chasing Gold: “Our meeting at Malvern was to mark the beginning of some of the happiest days of my life. I met Terry three weeks later outside the weighing room at Cheltenham racecourse and I distinctly remember the shivers ran down my spine. In less than a year Terry would become an integral part of my life.

“If I had not re-met Terry at Malvern, would I have noticed Best Mate in the pointto-point at Lismore a few years later? Most probably, I wouldn’t even have been there.”

A word association game nowadays would match Biddlecombe with Knight and Best Mate, the Gold Cup hero from 2002-2004, but play it a few decades earlier and you would have got answers that better reflect

why Biddlecombe is a racing great.

Born in Gloucester on February 2, 1941, the son of a farmer and permit holder, he was to partner his first winner aged 17, the platform for a marvellous career highlighted by three championships and victory in the 1967 Cheltenham Gold Cup on Woodland Venture.

It was, however, not for the titles and races he won that Biddlecombe forged his reputation, rather for the iron-man way he went about the job. To say he was the AP McCoy of his day is to ignore the reality that riding over jumps in the 1960s and 1970s was a brutally dangerous game; safety – and the equipment to make race-riding as safe as possible – was for future generations.

Biddlecombe’s mixture of courage and humour – he was adored by the public and known as ‘The Laughing Cavalier’ and ‘The THOROUGHBRED OWNER & BREEDER INC PACEMAKER

Feb_114_News_Owner 17/01/2014 16:56 Page 11

able to walk. An injection to numb the joint at Cheltenham from his ‘friendly doctor’ sorted him out, at least for the duration of the race.

Biddlecombe later said that given the choice, he would keep the Gold Cup rather than trade it for a Grand National victory, a

“I adored him and he

was special. He taught me a tremendous amount about horses and racing and life” contest that eluded him through bad luck. A split kidney meant he missed the ride on 1970 winner Gay Trip and two years later, riding that horse, he was an unlucky second.

His kidneys were to continue to cause him grief in his retirement after 900-plus winners,

along with the legacies of his falls, wasting and drinking – though his liking for that never left him as Mick Channon, who took on Knight’s jumpers when she retired, relayed, saying: “I’d go and see him for an hour after evening stables, for a chat, and that gave an opportunity for Hen to pop out.

“When she’d gone, he’d say, ‘Mick, get the bottle of scotch from the top shelf in the kitchen, but don’t tell Hen when she gets back’. I’d get the scotch, pour him a glass, then take the bottle back to the kitchen. One night Hen got back early and caught Terry.

He said, ‘Mick got me the scotch’. He’d drop me right in it. That happened more than once!”

Biddlecombe, who had suffered a stroke in October 2011, died on January 5. He is survived by five children and his wife, whose eloquent tribute included these words: “Terry was a wonderful friend to me. I adored him and he was special. He taught me a tremendous amount about horses and racing and life. He did an awful lot for racing; he has set the sport alight over the years. It will seem very strange without him.”

GEORGE SELWYN

Blond Bomber’ – was shown to good effect by the two rides for which he is most famed, his Gold Cup triumph and 1970 Welsh Grand National victory on French Excuse.

On the morning of his Chepstow win he had lost almost 9lb in two hours at his ‘second home’, a Turkish bath in Gloucester, while before weighing out he had a nosebleed that called for cotton wool to plug his nostrils. The gruelling race came down to a duel at the last fence, which Biddlecombe typically charged into, a crucial element in a dramatic victory.

His nosebleed still in full flow after the race, a doctor diagnosed dehydration, prescribing a pint of Guinness and tablespoon of salt. The jockey recalled: “It was horrible. I drank it because I was so thirsty, but the sudden rush of fluid brought on an attack of colic and I needed an injection to counteract the spasms. I’ve never felt so sick.”

Sick he might not have been, but injured he certainly was on the eve of his Gold Cup victory, a kick above the knee leaving him with ligaments so badly torn he was barely

Biddlecombe on the Queen Mother’s Game Spirit leading Charlie Potheen (nearside) and Pendil in the 1974 Gold Cup

THOROUGHBRED OWNER & BREEDER INC PACEMAKER

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Feb_114_Changes2pp_Layout 1 17/01/2014 16:58 Page 12

in association with

Racing’s news in a nutshell PEOPLE AND BUSINESS Welsh National Longstanding sponsor Coral extends deal for a further five years until 2017 and promises to increase prize-money above £100,000.

Ann Stokell Trainer has her Southwell base approved by the BHA following a licensing issue; she recently received 21 horses from owner Stephen Arnold.

Carl McEntee County Kildare native moves from Northview Stallion Station in Maryland to Darby Dan Farm in Kentucky as new Director of Sales and Bloodstock.

Jim Bolger Trainer will receive 15 two-year-olds owned

by Sheikh Mohammed in 2014.

Willy Twiston-Davies 19-year-old is appointed stable jockey to Mick Channon in West Ilsley.

Susannah Gill Betfair’s Head of Public Affairs will take up new role as Director of External Affairs with Arena Racing Company in March.

Channel 4 Station is reprimanded for a second time by Ofcom over the credits for its racing programme which “promoted advertising messages” regarding Dubai.

Michael Howard

Bryan Cooper

Former leader of the Conservative party resigns as Chairman of Arena Racing Company owing to a disagreement with the Reuben brothers.

21-year-old is appointed first jockey to Michael O’Leary’s Gigginstown operation in Ireland, replacing Davy Russell.

Peter Vela Leading breeder in New Zealand is awarded a knighthood in the New Year’s honours list; he bred 2001 Melbourne Cup winner Ethereal.

Anti-doping BHA strengthens its drugs policy by doubling the number of horses tested in training and increasing post-race sampling by 20%.

QIPCO Champions’ Day backer signs five-year deal to sponsor the King George and will be given branding rights at Royal Ascot.

Clive Cox Trainer of last year’s star sprinter Lethal Force joins the Cheveley Park Stud training roster for 2014.

e n i t i n L-Car sm Increase

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Goffs London Sale The Orangery at Kensington Palace is the venue for Goffs’ new breeze-up/horses-intraining sale on June 16.

22 Riversdale Court, Newburn Haugh Industrial Estate, Newcastle upon Tyne NE15 8SG. Tel: +44 (0)191 264 5536 www.equineproducts-ukltd.com

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>>

TWEENHILLS TIMES AN EYE FOR SUCCESS

February 2014

Red-letter year for stud’s three stallions

HAVANA GOLD - FIRST SEASON

HARBOUR WATCH - FIRST FOALS

MAKFI - FIRST RUNNERS

staff PROFILE

Marathon effort for Racing Welfare Some serious muscle strains are likely when a team of racehorse trainers take part in this year’s London Marathon.

They have been goaded into action

by Sheikh Fahad, a keen supporter of Racing Welfare, the charity which gives support, care and advice to racing and breeding industry staff who are in need.

Sheikh Fahad challenged trainers of horses under the Qatar Racing and Pearl Bloodstock banners to do some training of their own and get

Jamie and Jim join the hunt

fit for the 26-mile test of endurance, and it seems quite a few fancy themselves as racing’s answer to Mo Farah. Likely starters are Andrew Balding, Toby Coles (pictured in light training), Robert Cowell, Richard Hannon Jr, Charlie Hills and Olly Stevens.

Tweenhills’ head David Redvers is a competent stayer who was a shoo-in for a slot, while Sheikh Fahad is also booked for a place in the line up – his posse of runners will be known as the ‘Qatar Racing Eight to Follow’.

QIPCO’s Ascot deal QIPCO has become the sponsor of one of Europe’s most famous races.

It is supporting Ascot’s £1,000,000 King George VI & Queen Elizabeth Stakes, the mid-summer highlight of British racing and a contest that has been won by some great champions.

Jim Crowley (left) and Jamie Spencer at the meet

Two leading Flat jockeys showed their skill over jumps when spending a day as guests of David’s with the Ledbury Hunt.

Qatar-based QIPCO Holding will continue with it’s record-breaking sponsorship of the British Champions Series.

Jim Crowley and Jamie Spencer are usually perched well above their saddle, but ‘ride long, live long’ is an adage that applies when taking on the Ledbury’s famous hedges, and both men went home unscathed.

Not that Jamie’s day was entirely free of incident. He later tweeted: “Survived hunting, and now the driver tried to get on the M50 facing the wrong way.”

Phil O’Dwyer Second man/foaling

You have quite a CV for this industry…

I joined Tweenhills at the start of January having worked at Noel O’Callaghan’s Mountarmstrong Stud for six years. Before that I did spells with Derrinstown Stud and Ballysheehan Stud, and two years of yearling and foal consigning with Bill Dwan (of The Castlebridge Consignment).

No doubt born to the role?

My parents keep a few mares at home in County Kilkenny, and I did a course at the Irish National Stud, which gave me a good insight to the business. I have shares in a few horses of my own and last year sold two foals and five yearlings.

Young, but experienced then…

If I were a horse I’d have just turned 33.

What are your interests away from the job?

I like all sports, although I don’t understand cricket. Hurling is my favourite game, but I think I’m going to struggle to find a team in Gloucestershire.

Sightseeing plans?

I have been to Newmarket a good few times, but that’s about it in the UK. Given that Cheltenham is now so close I would like to get a day at the Festival.

Novellist (Johnny Murtagh), who won last year’s race

Short-term goal?

I’m looking forward to getting busy when the stallion covering season begins.

Tweenhills Farm & Stud Hartpury, Gloucestershire, GL19 3BG W: www.tweenhills.com T: + 44 (0) 1452 700177 / 700545 M: + 44 (0) 7767 436373 E: davidredvers@tweenhills.com

TWEEN335 - Tweenhill Times Feb 2014_V09.indd 1

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Feb_114_Changes2pp_Layout 1 17/01/2014 16:58 Page 14

RACEHORSE AND STALLION MOVEMENTS AND RETIREMENTS Countrywide Flame Triumph Hurdle and Fighting Fifth hero, also runner-up in the 2012 Cesarewitch, is retired aged five due to a degenerative bone condition.

Mount Athos Owner Dr Marwan Koukash moves his high-class Flat stayer, third in November’s Melbourne Cup, from Luca Cumani to Marco Botti.

Mad Moose Orfevre Japanese superstar, twice runner-up in the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe, is retired aged five after recording his sixth top-level win in the Arima Kinen.

Moonlight Cloud George Strawbridge’s exceptional mare, winner of six Group 1 races and over £1.4 million, is retired aged six; she will be covered by Galileo.

Baby Run Ten-time winner for the Nigel TwistonDavies stable is retired aged 14; his biggest success came in the 2010 Foxhunter Chase at Cheltenham.

Talented but wayward performer is forced into retirement after the BHA refuses to accept entries for the ten-year-old due to his habit of refusing to race.

Lily’s Angel Group 3 winner for the Ger Lyons stable is retired to the paddocks aged five.

Alianthus Son of Hernando, a dual Group 2 winner over a mile in Germany, is retired aged nine and will stand his first season at Haras de Victot in France.

The Lumber Guy US Grade 1-winning sprinter is retired to stand at Keane Stud in New York as the property of Spendthrift Farm; the son of Grand Slam’s fee is $5,000.

Unbeaten colt, viewed as a contender for this year’s Classics having been bought by Godolphin, is put down after suffering from colic.

Chatterbox 5

Promising hurdler for the Nicky Henderson stable is put down after severely damaging a tendon in the Ladbroke Hurdle at Ascot.

Silver Train 11

Breeders’ Cup Sprint winner dies from colic while returning from shuttling duties in Brazil.

14

Virginia ‘Bonk’ Walwyn 76

Wife of former champion Flat trainer Peter Walwyn who was a popular figure in the Lambourn racing community.

John Woodman 67

Jump jockey whose career was ended by a broken neck in 1971; he later worked as a bloodstock agent with Anthony Penfold.

Paddy Jones 77 Owner who enjoyed success with five-time winner Prince Dome and Royal Dome, successful for him seven times.

Sir Run Run Shaw 106 Hong Kong film tycoon and entertainment mogul who owned 1959 Portland Handicap winner New World, trained by Toby Balding.

Silver By Nature 11

Broodmare whose progeny include Grade 1 winners Jered and Jezki, who is one of the favourites for this year’s Champion Hurdle.

Leading jump jockey of his generation, winning three championships and the Cheltenham Gold Cup in 1972 on Woodland Venture.

Former head man to Edward O’Grady who was appointed travelling head lad to O’Grady’s father Willie in 1951.

Piping Rock 2

La Noire 18

Terry Biddlecombe 72

Tim Finn 86

HORSE OBITUARIES

Grand staying chaser with back-to-back wins in the Haydock Grand National Trial for owner/breeder Geoff Brown and trainer Lucinda Russell.

PEOPLE OBITUARIES

Leslie Brownell Combs II 80 Monsignor 19

Winner of Cheltenham’s Champion Bumper and Royal & Sun Alliance Novices’ Hurdle, he also defeated Best Mate in the Tolworth Hurdle.

St Nicholas Abbey 7

Outstanding two-year-old, later top-class middle distance performer, winner of six Group 1s including three Coronation Cups.

Sunshine Forever 29

Son of Roberto, a multiple winner at the top level in America and sire of Sunshine Street, fourth to High-Rise in the 1998 Derby.

Former President of Spendthrift Farm in Kentucky who syndicated Seattle Slew and Affirmed.

Paddy Fetherston-Godley 85 Owner/breeder who landed the Gimcrack and Middle Park Stakes in 1985 with homebred Stalker, trained by Peter Walwyn.

Johnny Limb 73 Multiple champion jockey in Kenya who served his apprenticeship in Newmarket with Sir Jack Jarvis.

Charles Weatherby 81 Former partner in Weatherbys who also headed the Jockey Club’s Racecourse Department and Inspectorate.

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THE BIG PICTURE

Feb_114_Big_Picture_SprinterSacre_Owner Breeder 17/01/2014 17:02 Page 17

K E M P T O N PA R K

SPRINTER SCARE There’s little sign of the drama to follow as Sprinter Sacre and Barry Geraghty follow Sire De Grugy and Jamie Moore to the start for the Desert Orchid Pattern Chase at Kempton on December 27. In the contest, 2-9 favourite Sprinter Sacre was pulled up, losing his perfect chase record in the process.

Caroline Mould’s star was later found to be suffering with an irregular heartbeat, although the problem corrected itself.

He remains on course for the Champion Chase on March 12 Photo George Selwyn

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Feb_114_Tony_Morris_Owner 17/01/2014 14:28 Page 20

THE MAN YOU CAN’T IGNORE COMMENT

Tony Morris The controversial acceptance of the government to Jockey Club arguments that racing should continue during the First World War is an intriguing element of our sport’s history

Three race meetings. And a war Britain’s declaration of war on Germany came on August 4, 1914, a Tuesday when racing took place at Birmingham, Brighton and Ripon.

Fixtures scheduled in the following weeks went ahead, while a considerable body of public opinion built up in opposition. The Jockey Club could not ignore what was commonly expressed; they called all members to a special meeting on September 16 to discuss the matter.

The view held by the stewards – Henry Greer, Lord Wolverton and Viscount Villiers – was plain. They wanted racing to continue and were quick to make it clear that their wish had nothing to do with providing a spectacle for those who found amusement in racegoing.

Their concerns were, rather, that a cessation would throw thousands out of work and would

20

ROUCH WILMOT LIBRARY

I

n the year when we commemorate the 100th anniversary of the start of the First World War, we will be regularly reminded of the ways in which every aspect of life in Britain was affected by the conflict. Where much professional sport was concerned, the impact was severe; it ceased for the duration.

Football kept going until the spring of 1915, long enough for Everton to claim the First Division title and for Sheffield United to beat Chelsea 3-0 in the FA Cup Final, but after that there was nothing until the autumn of 1919.

After Surrey’s triumph in the 1914 County Championship, there were four years when no first-class cricket was played.

While what was erroneously described as ‘the war to end all wars’ was being waged, there could hardly be an excuse for such frivolities.

The proper place for fit young men was in the armed services, fighting for King and country.

Controversially, there was racing throughout the conflict. What some might have considered the most frivolous pastime of all kept going, albeit on a much-reduced scale. Whereas the governing bodies of other sports accepted a suspension of activity was appropriate, the Jockey Club stood firm in its resolve to carry on. Carrying on regardless was too strong a term for its stance, but, unsurprisingly, that was how many interpreted it.

Gainsborough and Joe Childs (left) win the 1918 Derby, run at Newmarket

be damaging to the nation’s breeding industry.

After some debate the motion put to the meeting was that the fixtures scheduled at Newmarket and elsewhere should be carried out where the local conditions permitted, and the feeling of the locality was not averse to the meeting being held. The motion was carried unanimously, the lack of a single dissenting voice suggesting to some the Club had acted with insensitivity. Its message seemed to say the privileged classes were not going to be deprived of their fun, whatever the circumstances.

By the time of the Jockey Club’s next special meeting, March 16, 1915, there had been developments outside the sport. Most notably, Lord Kitchener, recruiter in chief to the armed forces, had argued that racing should cease, and those who worked in it might be employed in other roles more in the national interest. There were arguments among Club members this time, and just finding agreement on the wording of motions proved difficult, but finally the members voted to stand by the resolution it had passed the previous September.

But another, more powerful, club was yet to have its say. In May the subject was debated in the House of Commons, and members on both sides condemned the continuation of racing.

The upshot was a communication from the President of the Board of Trade to the Stewards of the Jockey Club, stressing the necessity for keeping the whole of the railway system free from congestion for the rapid and unimpeded transit of troops and munitions. Accordingly, all race meetings should be suspended for the duration of the war, ‘except at Newmarket, the peculiar circumstances and industries of which, dependent as they are entirely on racing, combine to make this exception expedient.’

There was no arguing with that. After the Windsor card on May 22, only Newmarket staged racing in England in 1915. The situation changed again early the following year. Just why there should have been any relaxation of the ban it was hard to know, but neither the War Office nor railway companies objected to the staging of a limited number of meetings at Gatwick, Lingfield, Newbury and Windsor.

Between them they had 24 days racing in 1916.

You’ve had your fun In February 1917 a similar schedule seemed to have been agreed, but at the end of April there came a missive from the Ministry of Food, stating ‘the War Cabinet had decided that it was necessary, in the national interest, to request the THOROUGHBRED OWNER & BREEDER INC PACEMAKER

Feb_114_Tony_Morris_Owner 17/01/2014 14:28 Page 21

Stewards of the Jockey Club to take steps to prohibit the holding of all race meetings after the week ending May 5.’ The wording seemed extraordinary – asking rather than ordering – but that was probably because the government was conscious of reneging on the agreement it had made two months earlier.

Perhaps even more extraordinary was the reaction of some members of the Jockey Club, who turned angrily on the Stewards, blaming them for not having sufficiently impressed on the government the real importance of the breeding industry and the necessity of racing. Could those members not see that, in the prevailing circumstances, the provision of feed for the cavalry’s horses on the continent must take priority over that for thoroughbreds at home?

In fact, there was soon another turn of events in favour of racing.

Needled by the criticism of their members, the Stewards of the Jockey Club sought a meeting with the Prime Minister, and that took place at Lord Derby’s London residence on July 4. This time they made their case for the need for more racing to good effect, Lloyd George consenting to the staging of 12 additional racedays, divided between Ayr, Brighton, Manchester, Stockton and Windsor. Newmarket had already staged its Craven and first spring meetings, and there would be five extra meetings there before the three regular October fixtures.

Further relaxations were sanctioned for 1918, permission being granted for meetings at Birmingham, Gatwick, Haydock, Lewes, Wolverhampton and Worcester. Those courses, in addition to Lingfield, Manchester, Stockton and Windsor, had all staged meetings before the axe came down again at the end of May. The letter of May 17 from the Board of Trade to Lord Jersey, by now Jockey Club Senior Steward, was similar to its predecessors, up to a point. It stated: ‘The government fully recognise the national importance of horse breeding, and also realise that to maintain the thoroughbred breeding industry of this country a limited amount of racing is necessary.’

However, the letter went on: ‘But in view of the great strain on the facilities available on the railways for dealing with essential traffic, it has been decided that no Flat racing should be allowed after May 31, except at Newmarket... and that no extra trains should be run to Newmarket for the conveyance of racegoers.’

The government was not asking this time; it was issuing a command.

And the Jockey Club made no further representations for the restoration of fixtures outside Newmarket, where the season ended on November 1, ten days before the carnage in Europe ceased. Looking back, it is easy to recognise why much ill-feeling was generated over the continuation of racing, when so many other sports shut down for the duration. There was a case for carrying on, on a limited scale, but its necessity as the proving-ground for the horses with parts to play in a significant breeding industry would have been lost on those who could not see beyond the upper classes being determined to preserve their amusement.

I have often wondered what my grandmother would have thought.

The black-edged card which she received expressing condolences over the death in action of her husband bore the signature of the Secretary of State for War. He was Lord Derby, one of those most influential in the continuation of racing during the conflict.

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Feb_114_HowardWright_Owner Breeder 17/01/2014 15:30 Page 22

HOWARD WRIGHT COMMENT

With Lord Howard jumping ship, Arena Racing Company must find a new Chairman and fast – his successor will need to rebuild a damaged vessel

L

ARC sails into choppy seas were at pains to stress that his exit was in no way connected to the running of the racing business or its future strategy.

The decision is understood to concern one of Howard’s other group interests as Chairman, Luup, a provider of mobile payment solutions that has its origins in Norway, has a head office in London and a commercial centre in Dubai.

It numbers David and Simon Reuben as ‘key investors’.

Nevertheless, Howard’s standing down from Reuben Brothers’ involvement had important ramifications for ARC, which was left bereft of a well-known figurehead at arguably just the moment it needs one most.

The Reubens – Simon has shown the greater interest in ARC – are famously publicity shy, despite having built up enormous wealth through a conglomerate business whose scale of engagement is staggering. Their reasons for first taking on Northern Racing from the late Sir Stanley Clarke’s family and then taking over Arena Leisure, and any subsequent strategic

GEORGE SELWYN

ord Howard, who resigned as Chairman of Arena Racing Company on December 31, has relinquished a position of authority before. As Michael Howard MP, he stepped down as leader of the Conservatives after the party came second in the 2005 election. But there the similarity ends.

He gave way as Tory head six months after announcing his decision, during which time he effected a substantial reshuffle of the party’s front bench, bringing in several newcomers, including a certain David Cameron. Howard’s ARC departure featured no such well-planned succession.

It came quickly, only days after Howard had been on hand in an official capacity, presiding over the Welsh National fixture at Chepstow, one of two tracks in the ARC management portfolio in his native Wales.

Howard and ARC’s owners, the private equity, venture capital and real estate investment and development company Reuben Brothers,

A dispute with the Reuben brothers ended Lord Howard’s tenure as ARC Chairman

22

plans, have never been publicly explained.

The identity of ARC’s Board of Directors is not immediately obvious, and the most senior members of its executive team – mainly drawn from Northern Racing – would be instantly recognisable to no more than a few professionals and administrators, much less among the racing public.

Yet collectively they operate or manage 26% of Britain’s racecourses, including three of the four all-weather venues, and almost 40% of total fixtures.

The tally of sites was, of course, greater before the closures of Folkestone and Hereford in December 2012 provoked much criticism – however commercially sensible both decisions were – and acted as the precursors to a trail of adverse headlines.

Trickle becomes a flood Condemned stands and sewage leaking into the jockeys’ quarters at Bath; major problems with the surface at Wolverhampton; failure to sign a prize-money agreement with the Horsemen’s Group (although a deal was done with the BHA): they all stirred significant criticism.

Even the plan to build an all-weather venue at Newcastle provoked anger at the prospect of digging up a well-established turf track, while the injection of £2 million prize-money for allweather racing, climaxing in a new £1m raceday on Good Friday, was met with scepticism about future intentions.

Given the positive measures that ARC has introduced – enhancement of the raceday experience for owners, big screens at all tracks, a comprehensive annual membership scheme and greatly increased total prize-money – it would be little wonder if senior officials felt their efforts have been less than fairly appreciated.

Yet negative perceptions take time to turn around, and ARC’s identity crisis goes beyond its day-to-day PR and media operation, which is first class and stands to be enhanced by the recruitment from Betfair of Susannah Gill as Director of External Affairs.

The corporate image boost that the company urgently requires must start at the very top.

Failing a sudden and most unlikely change of approach by the Reubens, the chair vacated by Lord Howard needs to filled by someone with standing, authority and the ability to deliver a convincing, positive message.

THOROUGHBRED OWNER & BREEDER INC PACEMAKER

CC2639 TOB Feb - Roster:Layout 1 13/01/2014 19:13 Page 1

SHADWELL STALLIONS 2014 Standing at Nunnery Stud, England

NAYEF Gulch - Height Of Fashion

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A leading sire of 3YOS in Europe in 2013 including Stakes winners TASADAY, VALIRANN and SPARKLING BEAM.* 2014 Fee - £9,000 (1st JAN, SLF)

MAWATHEEQ Danzig - Sarayir

A Group winning last son of DANZIG with his first 2YO runners in 2014.

2014 Fee - £4,000 (1st JAN, SLF) SAKHEE

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SAKHEE Bahri - Thawakib 2014 Fee - PRIVATE

Also standing in England

HAAFHD Alhaarth - Al Bahathri 2014 Fee - £3,000 (1st OCT, SLF)

Standing in France: Haras du Mezeray

MUHTATHIR

MUHTATHIR

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WITH ALL THEIR STALLIONS

In 2013: 5th leading sire in France (prize money) & sire of Gr.1 winning 2YO (Prix Marcel Boussac) INDONESIENNE.* 2014 Fee - €7,000(1st OCT, SLF)

NAAQOOS Oasis Dream - Straight Lass

A Gr.1 winner and sire of a winning first crop of 2YOS in 2013.

2014 Fee - €4,500 (1st OCT, SLF) Standing in Italy: Allevamento di Besnate

MUJAHID Danzig - Elrafa Ah

Leading Italian based sire in 2013 for the second year running.* 2014 Fee - €5,000 (1st OCT, SLF)

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LEROIDESANIMAUX Fee: £17,500 (1st Oct. SLF)

Eclipse Award Winning Champion and sire of World Champion ANIMAL KINGDOM A leading sire of the winners of nearly $7.5m in the USA in 2013 and of $17m in total.

2013 yearlings made up to $400,000 and his biggest crops will race from 2014 onwards.

A mare in foal to LEROIDESANIMAUX sold for $550,000 in 2013.

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By Champion Sire DANEHILL out of dual Champion racemare SOUGHT OUT

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ARCHIPENKO

AUSSIE RULES

SIR PERCY

Group 1 winning leading international miler and one of the best bred stallions in the world

Multiple Group sire of 63% 3yo winners to runners and 19 individual 2yo winners in 2013

The Leading UK-based Sire with 77% lifetime winners to runners†

The Leading Active UK First Crop Sire by % winners to runners in Europe*

The Leading UK Sire of 2yos in 2013 by % winners to runners in Europe*

From the family of NUREYEV, SADLER’S WELLS and BLAME. His winners include LADY PENKO (dual winner and triple Stakes-placed) and impressive debut winner MADAME CHIANG, etc.

His 2013 successes included FIESOLANA (Gr.2 & Gr.3 x3) – sold at Tattersalls Dec Sale 2013 for 960,000gns, six 2yo Stakes performers, and the Classic placed GRAND TREASURE and WISH COME TRUE.

His 2013 winners included SIR ANDREW (Gr.2), SIR JOHN HAWKWOOD (rated 110), SIR JACK LAYDEN (winner and Gr.2 placed at 2; rated 109), MIRSAALE (rated 105) and SOUND HEARTS (LR; rated 105).

2013 yearlings sold at Tattersalls Book 1 & 2 averaged £51,450 – over 81⁄2 times his 2011 fee.

2013 yearlings sold at Tattersalls Book 1 & 2 averaged £46,725 – over 9 times his 2011 stud fee.

2013 yearlings sold at Tattersalls Books 1 & 2 averaged £43,137 – over 7 times his 2011 stud fee.

*Source: Hyperion Promotions

*Source: Hyperion Promotions

†50+ runners; crops born before 2011. *Source: Hyperion Promotions

Fee: £6,000 (1st Oct. SLF)

Fee: £6,000 (1st Oct. SLF)

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Fee: £6,000 (1st Oct. SLF)

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Lanwades-OwnerBreeder_Feb14.indd 1

17/01/2014 11:12

Feb_114_View_From_Ireland_v2_Owner Breeder 17/01/2014 16:11 Page 25

VIEW FROM IRELAND

By JESSICA LAMB OF THE RACING POST

Dobbs spurred on by Tottenham’s star Wicklow-based handler on the up with exciting hurdler Romantic Fashion

ALAIN BARR

T

rainer Prunella Dobbs’s double at Limerick’s Christmas meeting signalled her intent to restore the strength of her jumping team to the heights it reached when Our Girl Salley was in her prime.

The Wicklow-based trainer has a small yard, backed heavily by neighbours Jim and Ann O’Neill, who owned the Grade 3-winning hurdler Our Girl Salley and Punchestown festival winner Our Gar. She sent out four winners from her last five runners of 2013 to bring the total across all codes to six. Dobbs has pledged to focus on the Flat in 2014 but craves more jumping success, buoyed by Limerick hurdle victories for Romantic Fashion and Windsor Queen.

She said: “It was a great end to the year. I was really pleased with them both and what I really want this year is more like them. These days I have more Flat horses than ever and I would definitely like to build that up, but I

“It was a great end to the year. I was really pleased with both of them and I want more like them”

would also like to maintain the National Hunt side of the team too.”

Since her recent peak with Our Girl Salley, Dobbs has put the finishing touches to her operation. As well as a testing hill gallop and round sand gallop, she now has the use of a

In Brief Ballydoyle interest increases Aidan O’Brien’s jumps team that burst back into life last February is continuing to grow.

Last season he ran five horses in the colours of wife Annemarie and now JP McManus owns three of those – Carriganog, Draco and Shield – as well as a further five.

At the time of writing he has run 12

THOROUGHBRED OWNER & BREEDER INC PACEMAKER

Kathryn Tottenham (centre) and Prunella Dobbs (left) with Romantic Fashion. Also pictured are Mick Tottenham (second left), Caroline Shortt and Charlie Tottenham

new gallop in nearby Ashford.

She explained: “This has been such a help.

It’s a straight gallop with an incline and is great for fine-tuning. It’s only 15 minutes away and means we don’t have to go to the Curragh for that kind of work any more, which was always a marathon and very costly.”

Among the new owners already on her jumping roster is breeder Kathryn Tottenham, based in the nearby, historic Ballycurry House.

The 1,300-acre property has been in her husband Charles’s family for more than 200 years and is key to Tottenham’s production of horses like Romantic Fashion.

The breeder said: “I usually get somebody else to do the getting on and breaking bit, then I school them afterwards. We’ve a wonderful place here to ride. We have good woodland

horses this season and has five four-yearolds waiting in the wings that cost a total of €184,700 at the sales last summer.

These include the €66,000 son of Milan, Aqua Traverse, and the €65,000 son of Scorpion, Lieutenant.

HRI moves to lessen the load Horse Racing Ireland has pledged to reduce its costs to owners and trainers by 10% this year.

with lots of paths and I find it is quite good for getting them going.”

Tottenham has a background in eventing and breeding sport horses and ponies, but began buying thoroughbred foals in the late 2000s with a view to building a broodmare team. Romantic Fashion is likely to be the star of that after landing a bumper and maiden hurdle impressively. She is the first horse Tottenham has had in training with Dobbs and will not be the last.

Tottenham added: “I’m forever going up to see Romantic Fashion on the gallops, even in the wind and the rain earlier in the year.

Prunella has a good horse background; she’s been involved in eventing and hunting and a lot of the other equine industries, and I particularly like her attention to detail.”

It will drop prices for all services in a move it expects will save clients a total of €311,000 each year. In addition it will increase prize-money by 5%, making the total spend €48.5 million and the new minimum value for a race €7,500.

HRI have also boosted its contribution to the Turf Club’s integrity services by €167,000 to assist with equine forensic testing in light of major doping issues that arose in Britain last year.

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Feb_114_View_From_Ireland_v2_Owner Breeder 17/01/2014 16:11 Page 26

VIEW FROM IRELAND

Stewards to benefit as the pictures clear IRIS, and from the same, new production truck, set up to give the team scope for a full broadcast service, including interviews.

Helen Anhold, General Manager at IRIS, said: “This is only the beginning. We have all known for a long time that the equipment we were using needed upgrading. It was a huge expense for us as we had to replace everything, but it was worth it and there is more to come.”

Darren Lawlor, Navan racecourse’s Manager and the chief driving force of this project, added: “Switching to high definition makes the pictures sharper and brighter. It also magnifies

CAROLINE NORRIS

Switching Irish racing’s cameras to high definition this year will give the sport far more than just brighter pictures.

In a five-year deal, the two companies that have produced Irish racing’s pictures from the outset, Bart Arnold’s TVM and O’Doherty’s Audio Video Production, have joined forces to upgrade all cameras.

Previously one worked on shots for the integrity services and another on shots for commercial use, for the on-course screens, At The Races, SIS and connections’ videos.

Now both operate under the one banner,

Navan Manager Darren Lawlor, seen here with AP McCoy, is a fan of high definition

everything, making it easier to see things. The horses at the back of a field when it is strung out, for example.”

Watching races with improved clarity will improve the viewer’s experience, but more importantly it makes the details easier to see for stewards. Those crucial moves made when horses are in close proximity, often in a bunch, will be clearer to the naked eye and could give stewards a better insight into races than they have ever had.

The new cameras can produce close-up images and digital zooming, which can be used post-race for integrity purposes. Additionally, the introduction of new innovative truck mounts will enable new camera angles in addition to increased elevation, allowing for better overall viewing, and there will be an extra camera at most meetings too, with a hand-held camera at IRIS’s disposal.

Arnold added: “The hand-held camera can go anywhere and has on-board recording and a radio link so it can send pictures live or record them and send them later. It gives us the ability to produce on-course interviews.”

To make the most of these upgraded pictures, Horse Racing Ireland is giving financial support to racecourses to replace standard definition screens, all related equipment and their PA systems to improve on-course communications.

Gigginstown House Stud’s appointment of Bryan Cooper as its number one rider is set to pass on new opportunities to trainer Dessie Hughes’s team of jockeys.

News broke on New Year’s Eve that Davy Russell would lose his position with the owners from the following Monday and three days later Cooper, who has been operating as Gigginstown’s unofficial number two, was signed up.

It will give Cooper access to a high-class team of horses and insight into yards like that of Willie Mullins. The 21-year-old is set for a transforming season with this new association – but that does not come for free.

The partnerships he has built with boss Hughes’s owners and top horses may have to come to an end. He has said that it was a condition of the deal that he would still be based on the Curragh with Hughes, but Gigginstown are able to claim him on the track and they will also ask him to school and work horses they have with other trainers.

This will open the door at Hughes’s for champion conditional Mark Enright, who

26

enjoyed a good summer while Cooper was off with a broken leg, and long-standing member of the team Roger Loughran.

Both have been unwilling to talk about the potential Cooper’s new job leaves open for them for fear of seeming too eager, but at some point they will get the call up for the likes of Kerry National winner White Star Line, improving handicap hurdler Pink Coat and leading Triumph Hurdle hope Guitar Pete.

The last-named is in Gigginstown’s weakest division, juvenile hurdlers, and could prove the exception.

On the other side of the coin, Russell will now be able to commit to Ladbrokes World Hurdle winner Solwhit, if he returns from injury this season, as well as decent novice chaser Rebel Fitz and staying novice chaser Morning Assembly.

The latter two have been ridden by Barry Geraghty and Ruby Walsh, but both are under threat of being claimed by their trainers in the major races at the spring festivals. Russell is now freelance.

GEORGE SELWYN

More chances for Enright and Loughran

Dessie Hughes: plenty of riders

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Feb_114_Continental_Tales_v2_Owner Breeder 17/01/2014 14:31 Page 29

CONTINENTAL TALES

By JAMES CRISPE, INTERNATIONAL RACING BUREAU

SPAI

N

Classic aim for Noozhoh Canarias Young trainer Enrique Leon planning to conquer Europe with Arc day runner-up

THOROUGHBRED OWNER & BREEDER INC PACEMAKER

GEORGE SELWYN

S

Noozhoh Canarias (left) finishes a hugely creditable second for trainer Enrique Leon (inset) in the Prix Jean-Luc Lagardere

stud] Dehesa Milagro and is now back in training in Madrid. There is a big chance he’ll go to England for the Guineas – that is his main objective – but it depends on the ground.

The Poule d’Essai des Poulains is an option.”

The 25-string trainer knows Noozhoh Canarias, who cost less than £10,000, inside out as his dam, Darley-bred Singspiel mare Noozhah, was his first winner as a trainer in 2005. He saddled her to win six straight races in his native Canary Islands before she transferred to the mainland to win twice more in 2008.

“Noozhoh was always a superstar right from the beginning, he impressed everybody from day one, we even planned taking him to Royal Ascot for the Coventry Stakes before he got sore shins,” Leon reveals. “He did well at two but he was a baby and I believe he wasn’t really ready last year. I think the best is still to come.

“His owners [the Bolanos family] are from Gran Canaria, like me. They are real racing fans, and although they have had some quite big offers, they have not wanted to sell him. It is an SCOOP DYGA

pain is set to bid for its first ever British Classic success with the young Madrid trainer, Enrique Leon, planning a May foray to Newmarket for the 2,000 Guineas. The list of Iberian big-race triumphs in England currently features just one name, that of 2009 King’s Stand Stakes winner Equiano. However, Leon’s credentials, and those of the horse that he intends to bring, Noozhoh Canarias, should ensure that the visitor is taken seriously.

Leon may be only 33 years of age, yet he already knows what it is like to partner a Group 1 horse at Newmarket, albeit in his case on the gallops rather than the racecourse. He was once the regular work rider of the five-time top-level scorer Soviet Song, while working in the Suffolk town for trainer James Fanshawe.

And Noozhoh Canarias, though bred in the racing backwater of San Sebastian, has already proved he deserves to dine at Europe’s top table.

Last year, following three easy victories, the first two at his home course of La Zarzuela in Madrid and the third not far into French territory at La Teste, the son of the 2006 Prix de la Foret winner Caradak ventured much further afield to take part in the Group 1 Prix JeanLuc Lagardere at Longchamp on Arc day.

He was anything but disgraced, beaten just threequarters of a length into second by Karakontie. Yet this career best effort made less of a splash in his homeland than his previous Listed victory.

The Spanish media is some way short of racing-savvy and a Parisian defeat was deemed less newsworthy than his earlier La Teste rout, when so many Basques nipped up the coast to back the proverbial ‘good thing’ that the oncourse tote ran out of money to pay out! This amusing tale of cross-border plunder made all the national daily papers and even some of the evening television news bulletins.

Leon, of course, was much more taken by his Longchamp performance, though he insists that it still did not represent his horse’s true ability.

“Noozhoh ran his heart out and I feel he was very unlucky,” Leon says. “He didn’t like the soft ground at all and, just as he was fighting back with a furlong to run, he stumbled and then got hit by a rival jockey’s whip.

“He has had a few weeks rest back at [the

absolute pleasure to train for them as they make my life very simple.”

“Racing mad” from an early age, Leon decided to further his education by working in what he believed was the world’s best training centre – Newmarket – and gained a job there with Fanshawe thanks to fellow Spaniard Oscar Urbina, who at the time was stable jockey.

“I have huge appreciation for Mr Fanshawe and his family as at the beginning it was pretty hard because I didn’t speak English, but they helped a lot and made it very easy for me,” Leon explains. “I owe them a lot, they are great people, and without their help I wouldn’t be where I am.

“Soviet Song opened my eyes to many things, it was a huge experience for me to be with such a great filly on a daily basis. I had some beautiful but also some very difficult times with her. It was really tricky because of the language barrier, but she taught me so much.”

After two years with Fanshawe, Leon’s learning journey continued with a spell in California with Doug O’Neill before a second sojourn in Newmarket, this time with David Loder.

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Feb_114_Continental_Tales_v2_Owner Breeder 17/01/2014 14:31 Page 30

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Opportunity knocks with Derby gaps

SWITZE

The programme of top races in Scandinavia has received a major overhaul for 2014, most notably with the bringing forward of the Swedish Derby by five weeks.

Formerly staged on the second Sunday in August, the Swedish Derby remains a Listed dirt contest over a mile and a half but its 2014 date will be the evening of Saturday, July 5.

The Norwegian Derby maintains its position on the penultimate Sunday in August and will as usual be run on turf, but the Danish equivalent, which is different to the other pair in that it is restricted to Scandinavian-breds and thus unable to carry Listed status, has been moved forward five weeks to Sunday, August 3.

Nicholas Cordrey, Director Of Racing for the Swedish Jockey Club, admits that the reshuffle has been in part due to a desire to fit in better with the big races staged by Scandinavia’s most popular equine sport – trotting. Other factors also came into play.

“We wanted to make it easier for horses to go for all three Derbies, and in particular run

RL

AND

Swedish Derby winner Hurricane Red

in both the Swedish and Norwegian versions, which were formerly just a fortnight apart,” Cordrey explains.

“Ovrevoll [home of the Norwegian Derby] is quite a tricky turf track and now, with the two races separated by seven weeks, connections can opt to have a prep run at Ovrevoll in between if they so wish.

“The Swedish Derby has been moved from a Sunday to a Saturday evening partly inspired by what they have done to the Irish Derby.

We are currently working on getting some television coverage and we want to make it more of a festive occasion – in the past owners often had to rush off straight after the race in order to get to work on Monday morning.”

Another important development sees Denmark’s only Pattern race, the Group 3 Scandinavian Open Championship, swap places in the calendar with its closest Norwegian counterpart, the Group 3 Oslo Cup. This means that the evening of Thursday, July 31 will become a showpiece for Norwegian racing with the running of both the Oslo Cup and another Group 3 event, the Polar Cup.

Greece is again the word for Baker

Not long now until the start of what is surely the world’s most exclusive racing Festival, the ‘White Turf’ meeting which takes place over the last three Sundays in February on the frozen lake racecourse of St Moritz.

Last year the fixture was a triumph for Manton handler George Baker as his charge Ancient Greece became the first horse to win on all three racedays – a feat that is rumoured to have gained him a mention in Switzerland’s Sports Personality of the Year programme.

Ancient Greece has since done little to justify such star status, a decent handicap fourth at Glorious Goodwood being much the best of six subsequent starts. But, accompanied by his faithful groom, Cat Illott, he will be returning to the Alps for a second visit.

“I can’t believe that we will be having the same kind of success as last year,” admits Baker, who is pondering over the possibility of taking two or three other horses.

“He will start off on the opening day (February 9) again but will probably then wait a fortnight for the big race, the Grand Prix. He wouldn’t warrant a place in a field like that anywhere else except ‘Up The Mountain’”.

Indeed, there is every chance that the Grand Prix will be a very hot contest. Apart from Ancient Greece, its 33 initial entries include a pair of German-trained Group 3 winners and, among three more British hopefuls, none other than David Lanigan’s 2012 Epsom Derby runner-up Main Sequence, who boasts an official handicap mark that gives him 35lb in hand of Baker’s course specialist!

GEORGE SELWYN

DE

STEFAN OLSSON/SVENSK GALOPP

SWE

CONTINENTAL TALES

George Baker: looking forward to Swiss sojourn

30

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Shares in exciting Tim Easterby colt

IYDAP

Yourinthewill is a five-year-old chestnut gelding in training with Daniel Mark Loughnane. The Over The Moon syndicate hit the ground running recently with their first runner, Matraash, and this gelding is fully expected to follow him into the winner’s enclosure, having finished second recently at Wolverhampton. n £150 per month on a FREE on-loan basis – no further outlay required.

Grange Park Racing offer shares in this exciting bay colt who will be trained by Tim Easterby. He is eligible for all the Bobis Scheme & Yearling Bonus Races and will be entered in one of the top two-year-old bonus sprint races. All owners receive a percentage of prize-money and owner’s badges when the horse runs. n £220 per month for a 10% share – nothing to pay until March 2014.

Winning hurdler/chaser broodmare prospect

Lease on Willie Mullins National prospect

BQKKF Ixora was a very decent National Hunt performer (rated in the 130s over fences and hurdles in her pomp) who is now being sold as a broodmare prospect. By Milan, she is out of Tucacas who herself was Listed placed over hurdles. Both Ixora and Tucacas won at Cheltenham and she has the pedigree to make a top-class broodmare. n Ixora is on the market for £15,000.

FOUVW A rare opportunity to lease a share in Sir Vincent, a ten-year-old gelding in training with Willie Mullins. The son of Norwich is a four-time winner, having landed two bumpers, a novice hurdle and a novice chase. He is likely to make his reappearance in April, with the Galway Plate and the Kerry National his big targets. n Ten leased shares are available at £1,500 each which will cover the entire of 2014.

Beechwood Grange OB Jan 2014 f-p_Beechwood Grange OB Jan 2014 f-p 17/01/2014 09:01 Page 1

Haafhd

Sire of 37 individual winners of 63 races in 2013

Ch. 2001 15.3 h.h. (1.59m) by ALHAARTH – AL BAHATHRI (BLUSHING GROOM)

FEE:

£3,000

European Champion 3yo Rated 115+ at 2 • Rated 129 at 3

Won 5 races at 2 and 3 years, 6-10f, £492,288, and was placed 3 times, all but one of his starts.

Won Gr.1 2,000 Guineas Stakes, 8f, Newmarket by 1¾ lengths, beating Gr.1 winners Azamour, Grey Swallow, Whipper, Bachelor Duke, etc.

Won Gr.1 Champion Stakes, 10f, Newmarket by 2½ lengths, beating Gr.1 winners Chorist, Azamour, Refuse To Bend, Doyen, etc.

Won Gr.3 Craven Stakes, 8f, Newmarket, by 5 lengths, beating Three Valleys.

Won LR Washington Singer Stakes, 7f, Newbury, at 2 years 3rd Gr.1 Dewhurst Stakes, 7f, Newmarket 3rd Gr.2 Champagne Stakes, 7f, Doncaster.

Racehorses of 2004: “Hills had gone on record before Newmarket as saying Haafhd was as good as any miler he had trained”

STUD RECORD:

MELODY OF LOVE – Gr.3 Firth of Clyde S, at 2; 2nd LR Champion Trophy, 4th Gr.3 Prix Miesque, Maisons-Lattitte.

SWORDHALF – Gr.3 Preis de Winterkonigin, 2nd LR Premio Giovanni Falck. Champion 2yo filly in Germany.

TELWAAR – LR Free Handicap; 2nd LR Washington Singer S, at 2.

JUNOOB – LR Winter Derby Trial; 2nd LR Quebec S. SILVER GRECIAN – Gr.2 Superlative S; 3rd Gr.2 Champagne S, at 2.

COUNTRYWIDE FLAME – 9 wins, Flat and NH, incl: Gr.1 Fighting Fifth H’dle, 2012/13; Gr.1 Triumph H’dle; 2nd Gr.1 4-y-o H’dle, Aintree; Gr.1 Future Champions H‘dle; 3rd Gr.1 Champion H’dle, 2013, Gr.1 Spring Juvenile H’dle.

Sleeping Indian Bay, 2001, (16hh) by INDIAN RIDGE – LAS FLORES (SADLER’S WELLS)

FEE:

£3,000

Timeform rating: 122 STUD RECORD:

NIGHT CARNATION – 5 races, including: Gr.3 Sandown Sprint, 2nd LR Doncaster S, LR Queensferry S. HOTOTO – £271,089, including: LR Windsor Castle S, DBS Yearling S, 2nd LR Redcar Gold Trophy, 3rd Gr.3 Molecomb S, all at 2, 3rd Gr.3d Invitation Cup, 2013.

MELBOURNE MEMORIES – 3 wins at 2, including: LR Bosra Sham S, 3rd Gr.3 Fred Darling S, 2013.

MORACHE MUSIC – 4 races, Shergar Cup Sprint, 2nd LR Prix Zeddaan, 3rd Gr.3 Prix de Ris-Orangis, 2013, 4th Gr.3 Hackwood S, rated 109.

CARLITO BRIGANTE – Gr.2 Juvenile Hurdle, Leopardstown; Gr.3 Coral Cup, Cheltenham; 3rd Gr.1 World H’dle, Punchestown.

SHOW RAINBOW – LR Sandy Lane S; 3rd LR Cecil Frail S. FITYAAN – 3 wins, incl 2013, 2nd LR Shadwell Jebel Ali Sprint.

AARAAS – winner, 2nd Gr.3 Blue Wind S; 3rd Gr.3 Killavullan S, at 2.

ROWAN BRAE – 2nd LR Junioren-Preis, at 2.

EMIRATES CHAMPION – 5 wins, £208,883; 3rd Gr.2 Anatolia Trophy.

PRIMERA VISTA – 8 wins, 3rd LR Super Handicap; 3rd LR Prix du Ranelagh.

PASAKA BOY – 4 wins, 3rd LR Lingfield Dery Trial, 2013.

BIASED – 3rd LR Prix Charles Laffitte; LR Prix de la Pepiniere.

IMPERIALISTIC DIVA – 3rd LR Empress S, at 2.

KOKALTASH – 2 wins, 3rd LR Prix Isonomy, at 2, and many other winners.

Won 6 races, £252,417, 7-8f, from 3 to 5 years, and placed three times, from 12 starts Won Gr.2 Challenge Stakes, 7f, Newmarket, beating Gr.1 winner Somnus and 11 other Group winners Won Gr.3 Hungerford Stakes, 7f, Newbury, beating Gr.1 winner Attraction and 2 other Group winners Won LR Dubai Duty Free Cup, 7f, Newbury, beating Gr.1 winner Spinning Queen and 8 other Group winners Won LR Ben Marshall Stakes, 7f, beating Gr.1 winner Tout Seul and 3 other Group winners Won LR John O’Gaunt Stakes, 7f, Haydock Park, beating 3 Group winners 2nd Gr.2 Park Stakes, 7f, Doncaster, beating Gr.1 winner Court Masterpiece and 5 other Group winners 2nd Gr.2 Challenge Stakes, 7f, Newmarket, beating Gr.1 winners Somnus and Peeress, and 4 other Group winners

A MULTIPLE STAKES SIRE IN 2013 LEWISHAM – 2nd Gr.2 July S, at 2, rated 107.

SHOSHONI WIND – 3 races, 2nd LR Empress S. LOWAWATHA – 3rd LR Premio Pisa.

DAM BEAUTIFUL – 3rd LR Tipperary Sprint.

CAUGHT NAPPING – 3rd LR Oak Tree Juvenile Turf S. PROUD CHIEFTAN – 5 races, 4th Gr.3 Brigadier Gerard S, 2nd LR James Seymour S, 2013, rated 102.

LIGHTNING CLOUD – 6 races, 4th LR Garrowby S, 2013, rated 108, etc.

CONSISTENTLY SIRING 2YO STAKES HORSES

Apply: STEVE KNOWLES, BEECHWOOD GRANGE STUD, Malton Road, York YO32 9TH. Tel: 01904 424573 • Fax: 01904 427079 • Mobile: 07786 260 904 E-mail: steve@beechwoodgrangestud.com • Website: www.beechwoodgrangestud.com

Feb_114_AroundtheGlobe_Owner Breeder 17/01/2014 14:33 Page 33

AROUND THE GLOBE THE WORLDWIDE RACING SCENE

NORT H A MER ICA

by Steve Andersen

Veteran trainer still moving forward

THOROUGHBRED OWNER & BREEDER INC PACEMAKER

HORSEPHOTOS.COM

H

all of Fame trainer Jerry Hollendorfer was standing outside his stable at Santa Anita in early November when he motioned a visitor into his office.

Hollendorfer reached into his briefcase and grabbed the form of a recent private acquisition, a two-year-old gelding named Shared Belief.

On his debut in October at Golden Gate Fields outside of San Francisco, Shared Belief won a six-furlong maiden race by seven lengths, easily beating Hollendorfer-trained Time Jumper. A private purchase took place a few days later.

“I didn’t think there was anything in there that could beat Time Jumper,” Hollendorfer said at the time. “I was wrong.”

The question in 2014 is whether there is an American three-year-old that can beat Shared Belief. The gelding, by Candy Ride, won his first two starts for Hollendorfer at the now-closed Hollywood Park – the Grade 3 Hollywood Prevue Stakes over seven furlongs in November and the Grade 1 CashCall Futurity over an extended mile in December.

Shared Belief is a leading contender for the Eclipse Award as America’s champion juvenile male of 2013. He is expected to keep Hollendorfer’s name at the forefront of racing discussions in coming months as the Kentucky Derby approaches.

For the 67-year-old Hollendorfer, having a leading three-year-old in his stable is new territory to start a season. His stable has excelled with all runners, winning more than 6,550 races through January 5. He ranks fifth on the North American all-time list.

A perennial leading trainer in northern California, Hollendorfer’s stable has had more of a national presence in recent years. His 100horse stable had 2013 earnings of $11,221,769, a career-best figure that ranked sixth in the nation. From 2000 to 2013, Hollendorfer won 3,636 races with runners who earned $98.9 million.

“The one thing I try to do every day is to move forward,” he said recently at Santa Anita.

“I think it helps a person mentally. If you work hard, you’ll have a certain amount of success, no matter what business you are in.”

For Hollendorfer, that translates to a handson approach. He is typically at the barn at 4 am and sometimes does not leave until late afternoon, depending on whether the stable has runners. He spends the early part of the week in

Jerry Hollendorfer’s name should be kept in lights this year by Shared Belief

northern California, a stable overseen by his wife Janet, and weekends at Santa Anita in the south.

“At my age, doing better now than I have in the past, I’m grateful for that,” he said.

The success has changed his operation. He has a higher quality of horses, and frequently

“If you work hard

you’ll have a certain amount of success, no matter what business you are in” takes an ownership share in the runners.

Hollendorfer is part of the partnership that bought Shared Belief.

“The thing that I really enjoy is being able to buy a piece of some of the horses I’m training,” Hollendorfer said. “A lot of people have given

me young horses.”

Hollendorfer began training in 1979 and was inducted into the American racing Hall of Fame in 2011. He trained Blind Luck, the champion three-year-old filly of 2010, and turned the former Irish maiden Tuscan Evening into a ninetime stakes winner in the United States. Sadly, she was lost to an apparent heart attack in August 2010.

But Hollendorfer has never won a Triple Crown race, losing contenders such as Event Of The Year (1998) and Globalize (2000) to injury prior to the Kentucky Derby.

That could change this year with Shared Belief, whose campaign will be heavily scrutinised.

“I think what happens with the young horses, the ones that show a lot of promise, is that everyone praises them,” he said. “Then, after a few races, people try to pick them apart and knock them down.

“That’s legitimate. There are a lot of big races coming up. People want to focus on who will be the best.”

For early 2014, there will be plenty of focus on Hollendorfer.

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Feb_114_AroundtheGlobe_Owner Breeder 17/01/2014 14:33 Page 34

AROUND THE GLOBE

AUS TRA L IA

by Danny Power

When Melbourne man Bill Vlahos bought the American pinhooking business BC3 Thoroughbreds in 2008, it created very few headlines in Australia and only a modicum of interest in America.

First, few Australians had heard of Vlahos, and, second, the ready-to-run sales concept hadn’t really caught hold outside the US, despite serious efforts from the two selling companies, Magic Millions and Inglis, to promote the idea as a conduit to feeding a horse-hungry Asian market.

Five years later and the world knows all about Vlahos and BC3 Thoroughbreds – for all the wrong reasons. The business has collapsed, Vlahos is bankrupt, thousands of investors have done their money in a multi-million dollar get-rich punting scheme and a prized, royally-bred colt has died amidst a cloud of unfounded innuendo.

BC3 Thoroughbreds was formed in 2003 from the partnership of two Utah-based horsemen, John Brocklebank and Shane Chipman. Brocklebank had developed a knack of buying cheap yearlings and turning a profit when they resold as run-along two-year-olds.

Chipman, an ex-quarter horse jockey, had his own reputation as an excellent breaker and educator of young horses.

Under their business banner BC3 Thoroughbreds (B for Brocklebank and C for Chipman, and 3 for the silent financier, Utah businessman Craig Tillotson), they struck some early success when one of their resale horses, Brother Derek, won the 2005 Hollywood Futurity and the 2006 Santa Anita Derby. BC3 paid US$150,000 for Brother Derek at Keeneland in 2004 and sold him the following year at Barretts Horses in Training Sale for US$275,000.

Brocklebank’s and Chipman’s theory was that keeping a youngster in work from breaking in as a yearling until sale time as a two-year-old built bone density and didn’t harm the horse as long as the workload wasn’t stressful.

It’s not known what Vlahos paid for the BC3 brand, which also included the use of the expertise of Brocklebank and Chipman in Australia. On paper it looked like a perfect marriage that gave the Americans work all year round and, according to Vlahos, speaking to bloodhorse.com, Brocklebank retained equity in the business. Vlahos also told bloodhorse.com that he would be financing the purchase of the horses and he was looking for business partners to take 40% of the business.

34

INGLIS

A racing life – and lie – lived on the edge

Bill Vlahos: from relative unknown to unwanted notoriety in the space of five years

BC3 Thoroughbreds catalogued 16 twoyear-olds (from 17 yearlings bought) in its first year at the Magic Millions Horses in Training Sale on the Gold Coast late in 2008 and sold ten for a gross $687,000. It was a moderate but encouraging start, although not a profitable one.

Couldn’t miss ’em Australians hadn’t seen anything like the BC3 concept and the BC3 horses turned heads at the Gold Coast – the riders were decked out in the BC3 all black and the youngsters with flashy coloured leg bandages.

After that, BC3 Thoroughbreds swapped and changed its attack on the ready-to-run market, including conducting its own breezeup and auction extravaganza that was more Great Gatsby than great success.

Vlahos realised that BC3’s days of dabbling

in the pinhooking market wasn’t what he hoped, so in 2012 he changed the whole concept of the company from buyer/seller to syndicator. To launch himself into that market, Vlahos, front and centre at the Inglis Easter Yearling Sale, outbid his rivals to buy Black Caviar’s half-sister (by Redoute’s Choice) for an Australian record equalling $2,600,000 (for a filly) and she quickly became the star attraction at BC3 Thoroughbreds’ new training and spelling farm at Connewarre, near Geelong. The filly, Belle Couture, was narrowly beaten on her debut in a maiden at Bendigo in December.

It was during this foray into the top end of the yearling market that the first questions were being asked about the BC3 business model, principally, ‘Where’s the money coming from?’ It wasn’t hard to work out that the outgoings since the company first burst on to THOROUGHBRED OWNER & BREEDER INC PACEMAKER

Feb_114_AroundtheGlobe_Owner Breeder 17/01/2014 14:33 Page 35

AROUND THE GLOBE

the scene in 2008 far exceeded the incomings, and there was an executive structure at the top that was more top-heavy than a British Lion front-rower.

Last year, Vlahos was back again, standing under the famous Moreton Bay Fig tree at Inglis’ Newmarket saleyards. Surrounded by an entourage of staff, investors and backslappers, the Melbourne psychologist – self-proclaimed – paid an Australian record of A$5 million for the next foal from Black Caviar’s famous dam Helsinge, a big, strapping colt by Redoute’s Choice. So high profile was the colt that the general running of the sale was stopped while he was paraded on his own before entering the sale ring. Flashlights snapped, TV crews jostled for position and Vlahos was in his glee when the hammer thumped.

Little did most of us know that Vlahos was a man under extreme pressure. This exposure was a show of strength, confidence and wealth to appease a growing, grumbling (unseen) crowd of investors in a secretive punting syndicate that was named The Edge.

Many of The Edge investors were calling in their alleged profits and, in real terms, Vlahos needed to show them that all was well and at the same time encourage others to invest to keep some blood pumping through the shaky scheme to keep it alive.

What has emerged is that The Edge, by all reports, was nothing more than a Ponzi scheme. Few bets were ever played and the profits a dupe. By late 2013, Vlahos was sued by a group of investors, for $26m, wanting their money and during cross-examination in a Sydney court he claimed that $194m in a bank account had “disappeared” and the funds were under the control of a mysterious Dubaibased partner, Daniel Maxwell.

Investigations by a rabid media on the chase of a big story have discovered that the account did not exist, while efforts to find Maxwell have drawn a blank.

Helsinge colt, nicknamed ‘Jimmy’, had become a struggle. The big horse had suffered a suspected spider bite that resulted in a leg infection that required a large dose of antibiotics. The colt reacted badly to the treatment and developed laminitis. Despite efforts to save him at Werribee Veterinary Clinic, he was humanely put down late in December.

Fortunately for Inglis, the colt was insured.

Whether the handful of BC3 clients who had paid BC3 up to $250,000 (plus $70,000 insurance) for a 5% share in the colt (which was not forwarded to Inglis) will benefit from

“This dreadful story

has terrible ramifications for the many small investors in the betting scheme” any insurance payout remains to be seen. An autopsy (the result of which has not been revealed at the time of writing) will determine if the death of the colt should trigger an insurance payout.

No doubt the mystery surrounding the colt’s sorry demise and the ongoing Vlahos saga has resulted in considerable scuttlebutt running like a virus through social media and sections

of the racing industry, but there is no evidence of foul play surrounding the colt’s illness. It is not uncommon for spiders to bite horses (and it’s hard to prove) and certainly not uncommon for horses to have an adverse reaction to antibiotics.

This dreadful story has terrible ramifications for the many small investors who have put money into the betting scheme – some reports suggest that $500m of paper money has been lost, although it is more likely that the realmoney figure is between $70-$100m.

Vlahos was clever to spread his net wide and teased investors with dividends, mostly financed by the new money to come into the scheme. Very few diehard racing people, who could easily doubt Vlahos’s figures of a 6% return per quarter on investment, were invited into The Edge.

In the past five years, BC3 Thoroughbreds has spent close to $20m on yearlings in Australia and New Zealand. Until 2013, its credit rating was high. Little did the racing industry know that the money paid for yearlings was coming via dubious means, although many had their suspicions.

Where is the rest of the money? Most of it appears to have been spent on an extravagant lifestyle and the high cost of running a failed, top-heavy business.

And while the get-rich Ponzi scheme in many ways is adrift from the racing industry, it is the Australian racing industry that is suffering a backlash it did not need in an integrity issue-riddled past 12 months.

Soon after, Vlahos allegedly suffered an attack by unknown assailants at his Connewarre farm and during the affray his car was torched – in the car was his laptop with all his documentation on The Edge. Police believe Vlahos’s injuries were self-inflicted.

Within days, Vlahos declared himself bankrupt and went into hiding. BC3 Thoroughbreds was put into the hands of an administrator. It was discovered that the 2013 yearlings, including the A$5m colt, had not been paid for. Inglis and Magic Millions moved quickly to repossess the bloodstock.

Unfortunately, life for the Redoute’s ChoiceTHOROUGHBRED OWNER & BREEDER INC PACEMAKER

INGLIS

An attack – but by whom?

The A$5 million colt nicknamed ‘Jimmy’, whose sad death typified a sorry saga

35

Feb_114_HenryDaly_Owner Breeder 17/01/2014 15:39 Page 36

THE BIG INTERVIEW HENRY DALY

On the right

PATH

By his own admission, Henry Daly is “exceptionally bad” at self-promotion but with his Shropshire stable continuing to fire in the winners, the trainer is happy to let his horses do the talking Words Alan Lee • Photos George Selwyn

T

he other Downton, Sunday night television heaven for millions, was not filmed here but might easily have been.

Downton Hall is an 18th century country house approached through venerable gateposts and up a half-mile drive with verdant views to all sides. Past the cricket ground and the walled garden lies surely the most gloriously sited stable-yard in Britain.

It has not always seemed so desirable. The late Tim Forster brought his assistant trainer here, 20 winters ago, and sought his opinion about moving from Letcombe Bassett. “I

36

thought Tim was completely mad,” Henry Daly recalls. “It was just a sea of mud and muck, barns falling down, roofs falling in. It was very hard to see the potential.”

Forster had forged the idea over Sunday lunch with his friend Micky Wiggin, who had just inherited this estate. “It started out as a joke,” Daly says. “Micky said he had no idea what to do with it, so Tim said he would come and train here. It was a throwaway line, and they both laughed, but over lunch they saw it wasn’t so ridiculous.”

Driven by the energy of Wiggin, a long-time

Chairman of nearby Ludlow racecourse, the yard was ready for Forster within six months and the facilities now on show were complete within 18. “That was quite remarkable, because it was a ramshackle old estate. Before Micky, a spinster called Mary Rouse-Boughton had lived in three rooms of the house. There were other rooms no-one had been in for 50 years.”

It had also never been a base for thoroughbreds but quickly housed some mighty good ones. “In the first couple of years here, Tim had Martha’s Son and Dublin Flyer.

THOROUGHBRED OWNER & BREEDER INC PACEMAKER

Feb_114_HenryDaly_Owner Breeder 17/01/2014 15:39 Page 37

The place worked.â&#x20AC;? Sadly, Forster did not live to enjoy it for long but he would greatly approve of the manner in which Daly has continued operations in this rural idyll near the evocatively-named Shropshire hamlets of Stanton Lacy and Hopton Cangeford.

Much of the droll, self-deprecating pessimism of Forster is replicated in his successor. Linked with the enviable setting, it is a façade that leads some to perceive Daly as a Corinthian throwback, content to train a few dozen horses for his owner/breeder patrons so long as it does not interfere with his shooting.

Henry Daly, who trains near Ludlow racecourse in Shropshire, has made his best ever start to a season

>>

THOROUGHBRED OWNER & BREEDER INC PACEMAKER

Feb_114_HenryDaly_Owner Breeder 17/01/2014 15:40 Page 38

H E N RY D A LY >>

The reality is quite different.

“Those who think that should talk to my bank manager,” he sighs. “I have rent and bills to pay, like everyone else. I need more horses and that is my main frustration. We have 45 here and it’s true that 50% of them are for owner/breeders – I realise not many trainers have anything like that percentage. But for choice, I would certainly have more horses. If I was offered 100, I’d take them gladly. We have the room and I have the ambition.

“I suspect people think I don’t worry about it but that is only because I never show it. I’m reserved, very reserved. I’m actually in awe of trainers like Paul Nicholls for their skill in promoting themselves. It’s a great talent. Some people get it horribly wrong, going over the top, but those who get it right, like Paul, do it in spades.

“I’m exceptionally bad at it. It’s not in my nature. I’m very aware I am missing out but it’s very hard to change the way you are made. It’s not deliberately trying to stick in the past, I just find self-promotion very difficult but that is very different from being unambitious. You cannot train horses unless you’re competitive.

It’s all about winning.”

He has done a good bit of winning this season – 26 by the turn of the year was comfortably a personal best – but he did hardly any of it three seasons ago, when the tally dropped to a mortifying eight. “It was a very interesting life lesson,” he says wryly. “Not one I wish to go through again.

“We had a bacterial infection in the yard.

Unlike a virus, the infection was treatable but it took a long time to fix it. We discovered what was wrong but then twice treated them with the wrong drugs – basically, the vets could not find the right antibiotic to kill the bacteria. The third drug finally worked but the process had taken up two months by that time, the horses had been given an awful lot of drugs and were naturally flat.

“The season was a write-off. The lads and jockeys got very down and although the owners were stoic to a man at the time, I

suspect we did lose a few through it subsequently.”

I ask how Daly himself coped with the stress. “I actually think I am better when things are going badly than when they’re going well but I rarely raise my voice anyway. In 15 years of training it might have happened twice and I can’t think when or why.”

In that horror season of 2010-11, the glory days brought to Downton Hall by horses such as Behrajan and Mighty Man seemed a distant

memory. “For the first ten years here, we always had a horse to win us a good race or two,” Daly muses. A picture on the wall of his cosy office, in what was once a game larder, backs him up, recalling the 2003 Cheltenham Festival victories of Young Spartacus and Palarshan.

“Behrajan was a bit of a freak. He was by Arazi and bred to win an Arc but he stood 17.1 hands, turned up here for less than ten grand and was a smidgen below Gold Cup class.

He was very, very good and a delight to train.”

Then and now: Mighty Man (above) was a Grade 1 winner for Daly while Quentin Collonges (grey) is Grand National-entered

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THOROUGHBRED OWNER & BREEDER INC PACEMAKER

Feb_114_HenryDaly_Owner Breeder 17/01/2014 15:40 Page 39

H E N RY D A LY

‘I fear for the future of jump racing’

Mighty Man was placed twice in the World Hurdle but he won the equivalent Aintree race twice and was beaten only by Big Buck’s in his bid for a hat-trick in 2009. “He was magic at Aintree, he went round the track like a motorbike,” the trainer says. “Cheltenham never really suited him as well. We put off chasing because he was such a good hurdler but he won his first two novice chases and it was a shame he went wrong, because he was very good at it.”

Daly’s last Grade 1 success was the Long Walk Hurdle victory of Mighty Man in 2006 and he has had no Festival winners since the 2003 double. There have been times when it has been too easy to forget him as a force in National Hunt racing but, to widespread approval, those times are over. Last season ended with Quentin Collonges, a contender for this year’s Grand National, taking the Bet365 Gold Cup at Sandown Park and this one began with a double at Towcester, which led serenely to a first-ever treble.

“We’ve never had so many winners by this time of year and we undoubtedly have a better quality bunch of horses now – the ratings of the novices, in particular, tell you that,” he explains. “I won’t be aiming many at Cheltenham, though, because it can be a THOROUGHBRED OWNER & BREEDER INC PACEMAKER

Few men espouse the traditions of jump racing more clearly than Henry Daly, so every supporter of the code should be troubled by his concerns for its future.

By his own admission, Daly is anything but impulsive or effusive. His words are generally weighed carefully. Yet he says: “I believe in my lifetime, jump racing will no longer exist.

“I actually formed this view about ten years ago and although I hope very much that I’m wrong, nothing has happened since to dissuade me. We are in the entertainment industry. However else we dress it up, that’s what it is and I fear the society we live in will not accept jump racing as a form of entertainment.”

Such alarm is frequently spread in conjunction with the Grand National but it is not this iconic race that causes Daly his gloomy prognosis. “The National doesn’t worry me because Aintree has gripped the situation so firmly – they are so far ahead of the rest of us in understanding the issues and acting on them.

“Elsewhere, jump racing is being routinely dumbed down. Even at Ludlow, my local track, the fences are half as stiff as they once were. No-one wants to see horses falling but

the sport is actually called JUMP racing. My fear is that this dumbing down will continue until the sport is an irrelevance.”

As a past President and long-serving council member of the National Trainers’ Federation, Daly is well qualified to speak on the financial issues affecting his profession. He fears for those operating at the lower end of the scale and believes casualties are inevitable. “Some of the figures are quite alarming,” he says.

“Equally, it’s very hard for trainers to put their fees up for fear of driving owners away – I haven’t raised mine for five years.”

He also has some trenchant opinions on prize-money – specifically on one Grade 1 course that is failing in its responsibilities.

“Just before Christmas, there was a day when Ludlow put on £80,000 prize-money and Newbury offered only £55,000,” he says. “How can that be?

“If you were to ask every trainer in England to name their top three courses, at least 50% of them would include Newbury.

Everybody wants to run their horses there because it is a fantastic track. But it is shameful that they are not providing better prize-money and I just hope the new management there turns it round.”

terribly tough place for young horses. They go two strides quicker than anywhere else.

“In 15 years, I doubt if I’ve had more than three runners in the Festival novice races. We deliberately kept Mighty Man away from Cheltenham in his novice year because his mind would have been fried by the experience.

I thought I was being clever by taking him to Sandown the previous Friday for a quiet National Hunt novices’ hurdle but I hadn’t

aversion to Flat racing and a love of country pursuits. Behind the tweeds and the unexcitable nature, though, lies a man more driven than many might imagine.

“We’ve only got one horse here that even ran on the Flat and I’ve no interest in taking out a Flat licence unless the finances dictate it – going to Taunton on a wet Monday is quite fun but the thought of a twilight meeting at Wolverhampton fills me with dread.

“But I do want to build the numbers up here.

I’m always amused when hearing a trainer say they’d ideally only like 15 or 20 horses. I simply don’t get that logic. With that number, the finances are dire. Very, very few trainers make a lot of money these days, yet the public perception persists of a champagne lifestyle.

The reality is extraordinarily different, even for the most successful.”

Not that Daly is complaining about his lot.

At 47, his two teenage children have grown up on this magical estate and now, thankfully, the winners are flowing once again.

“My brother, Dermot, works in the City,” he says, “and when I sit up on my gallop, first thing on a crisp, frosty morning, with the sun coming up over Clee Hill, I think, ‘He might earn a few quid more than me, but you really can’t better this’.”

“I’ve got no interest in taking out a Flat licence; the thought of Wolverhampton fills me with dread”

registered that it was a military day – the band started up as he went into the paddock and he went mad.”

Such patience with youngsters was handed down by Forster in their ten years together and has remained entrenched in Daly, along with an

39

DAR6259 OVERBURY OB page Cityscape 16 JAN14 15/01/2014 16:28 Page 1

Of all the milers in Europe, only Frankel and Excelebration were rated his superior.

Cityscape OVERBURY STUD

CALL SIMON SWEETING ON 07796 174926 OR (01386) 725552 simon@ovstud.co.uk www.ovstud.co.uk

ALSO STANDING DELEGATOR KAYF TARA SCHIAPARELLI

THE FORM

NEW £5,000 OCT 1, SLF There’s much more about him on our website

TIMEFORM 127 THE SAME AS SHARPEN UP HIMSELF!

He beat or was rated above Moonlight Cloud, Immortal Verse, Al Kazeem, Declaration Of War, Poet’s Voice, Cape Blanco, Monterosso, Lethal Force, Lope de Vega, Rio de la Plata, Elusive Kate, Most Improved.

THE PHYSIQUE

Powerful shoulder, well-balanced, good bone, lovely mover, kind temperament.

THE FAMILY

From the Best In Show family that has already produced 19 sires of G1 winners, led by Redoute’s Choice. His half-brother is fellow record-breaker Bated Breath – rated inferior to Cityscape on the track.

Feb_114_TalkingTo_Owner Breeder 17/01/2014 14:46 Page 41

TALKING TO...

PHIL SMITH

Ahead of the HANDICAP Phil Smith has one of the most responsible jobs in the sport as head of the team that rate Britain’s racehorses; it’s a role, and an art, that has evolved over more than two decades

By Tim Richards • Photos George Selwyn

T

ell us about your first involvement in racing, where it all started and where it led…

I was asked by a friend from Southampton University, who kept his own ratings, to join him at the Derby to celebrate my 21st birthday, on June 3, 1970. It was my first experience of racing and we had three winners including Nijinsky. I was completely hooked and started keeping my own ratings the following day. Initially, I kept the twoyear-olds and later on I rated the Pattern and Listed races.

You were a teacher and professional footballer. How and why did you enter the world of handicapping?

I was a semi-professional footballer and started teaching PE and then moved on to economics, history and finally maths. I had met Geoffrey Gibbs, who was the senior handicapper at the time, and he was interested in a book I had written in 1992 called 21 Years of the Pattern. We discussed the book together and I was completely enthused by Geoffrey. So when a job for a handicapper was

>>

GEORGE SELWYN

How much of a punter were you, and how successful?

I was a punter for 24 years and had only one losing year. But I never won huge amounts because as a teacher I never had a big enough bank to risk very much, so my stakes were pretty small. My biggest win was on Fairy Footsteps in the 1981 1,000 Guineas. I thought I’d done my dough the week before when Lester Piggott ripped his ear in a stalls accident at Epsom and looked unlikely to ride her. But fortunately he did and got her home, thank God!

Phil Smith has been handicapping horses, privately and professionally, since 1970

Feb_114_TalkingTo_Owner Breeder 17/01/2014 14:47 Page 42

PHIL SMITH

Neptune Collonges and Sunnyhillboy so nearly provided the Grand National dead-heat craved by race handicapper Phil Smith

>> advertised, I applied and luckily got it. I owe my handicapping career totally to Geoffrey.

At what level did you play football and which teams did you play for?

What was the pinnacle?

I played at the top non-league level for Altrincham and Northwich Victoria. I was the number 9, striker. I didn’t score a lot of goals for Altrincham but I did for Northwich.

I had a ten-year career and the pinnacle was playing for Altrincham at Goodison Park against Everton in the FA Cup third round and we drew 1-1. It was great as I support Everton, though I didn’t that day. They kept kicking me! The replay was switched to Old Trafford and we got 35,000 at both games.

The Grand National weights are published in February. The National is a unique event – how do you view it, as a headache or do most of the horses handicap themselves?

It is a privilege, not a headache. Very few people have handicapped the Grand National and when you land the job you try and stick with it because it is great fun. A fair number of horses do handicap themselves, although I review every horse in the race. I start off with the previous year’s result as a

42

base, then take in the top weights and everything filters down from the best horses.

I do take Aintree form into consideration but don’t find I have to stick with published ratings; I can pretty much come up with a bespoke handicap. It is the only race where we don’t necessarily use our official ratings, although in 75-80% of cases I actually do.

Do you make special allowances because the race stands alone?

I usually raise horses that run well over the course in the Topham, Becher and Sefton Chases, which sounds quite harsh, but I put them up because I want to make sure they get into the National. Horses that run well over the Aintree fences often replicate their performances in the National. Once horses have shown an ability to handle the track and the fences I think it is important to get them into the race.

What is the idea behind the Handicappers Blog, available on the BHA website?

When we started the blog three or four years ago the idea was to try to explain how we arrive at various ratings. Most people know a little bit about handicapping but there aren’t many that know a lot about it, so we give

them as much information as possible.

Hopefully we make it interesting and help to improve people’s overall knowledge. We get lots of very positive feedback and the blog receives more hits on the BHA website than anything else.

Do you see your job as setting a puzzle for racing enthusiasts to unravel?

The basic job of a handicapper is to give all of the horses an equal chance. Yes, setting a puzzle is important. But it is even more important that when owners and trainers go racing with a runner in a handicap that they believe they have a chance. We are unhappy if they feel they don’t – and we’re equally unhappy when they think they are a certainty. Another aspect of the job is to keep our figures as consistent as possible, because people like to compare generations using our ratings. Also, we shouldn’t forget that we are part of the entertainment industry and we want racegoers to enjoy exciting finishes.

Do you get a hard time from trainers? How do you handle their complaints and frustrations?

Increasingly less so; when I started 19 years ago I used to get a hard time from some THOROUGHBRED OWNER & BREEDER INC PACEMAKER

Feb_114_TalkingTo_Owner Breeder 17/01/2014 14:47 Page 43

PHIL SMITH trainers who were inclined to pick on the ‘new boy’. Nowadays I hardly ever get a complaint. I think this is partly due to the fact all trainers have to go to a handicapping session in the British Racing School before being granted a licence. I oversee a four-hour class which goes into handicapping in depth, so all new trainers of the last 18 years have been on my course and should be much more knowledgeable about the idiosyncrasies of rating horses. As a result, the modern-day trainer has become much more analytical and when we discuss ratings he or she finds it easier to understand why we have arrived at a certain figure.

The key to handling complaints is to be flexible, and not to be stubborn. It’s amazing how often a horse which a trainer complains about wins its next race, and that happened as recently as Kempton’s Christmas meeting.

Who would give you the biggest ear bashing?

The trainers today are all pussycats compared with those of yesteryear. Ginger McCain used to give us a hard time and since Neville Callaghan has retired things have got a lot easier and less volatile.

What has been your most satisfying moment in handicapping? And what has been your biggest mistake?

The closest ever finish in the 2012 Grand National between Neptune Collonges and Sunnyhillboy was the most satisfying because you can’t get much closer. In the days before the introduction of the margin of a ‘nose’ that result would have been called a dead-heat. It was both satisfying and disappointing as it would have been great to have been responsible for a dead-heat. It was an interesting race for me because I told Ruby

Walsh Neptune Collonges was his best ride, but he didn’t choose it.

My biggest mistake came after about three years in the job when I became big-headed and over confident and dropped a horse of Michael Bell’s for winning, albeit a poor race.

I made this extravagant decision because the winner should have won further. I thought it would be clever to drop a horse for winning.

“Trainers today are

pussycats compared to yesteryear’s, such as Ginger McCain and Neville Callaghan” It won its next race as a hot favourite. The key to handicapping is to keep it simple: don’t try and over-complicate things.

Which are the most difficult horses to handicap and why?

There are lots, very in often Pattern races. A recent example is the Feltham Chase won by Annacotty. I expected him to finish last, so I struggled to come up with a sensible figure.

I worked on a time comparison between his race and the King George, but nothing fitted.

Annacotty is massively lower than any other Feltham winner I can remember. Maybe I’ve underestimated him, and he was wearing blinkers for the first time. We’ll see.

Interestingly, not one of the last 18 Feltham winners has gone on to win the RSA Chase.

How many handicappers do you have working for you? How often do you meet to discuss races and ratings?

We have 11 and we all cover different distances and codes. Before the all-weather the Flat handicappers used to go on safari in the winter and have fun! But now of course the job, both Flat and jumping, is all year round. We meet only twice a year as we live in different corners of the country, but we are constantly emailing and phoning each other.

Every Monday each handicapper sends out a list of horses which he did not handicap last time but wants to drop, and must ask permission to do so from the person who handicapped it in its last race. This helps to give us a commonality of approach. It is so important we are consistent.

Which have been the best Flat horses and jumpers you handicapped?

Frankel and Kauto Star, both by a long way.

Kauto Star is my favourite. He was incredibly consistent at the top level, year after year.

Great credit to his trainer Paul Nicholls for keeping him sweet and sound for so long.

Kauto Star produced 19 performances above 170 and that sort of thing only ever happens every 40 years or so. He gave me more fun and pleasure than any other horse.

Racing in the north is less competitive than at the big southern tracks. Should the handicapping system reflect this, rather than treating all winners the same?

This is a question we are asked fairly consistently. I did some research about northern-trained horses in handicaps at the Cheltenham Festival and Aintree and they actually have an amazingly high success rate.

Malcolm Jefferson, Donald McCain, Ferdy Murphy and Lucinda Russell have all done very well there. So it is not strictly correct to suggest that northern horses are at a disadvantage

Kauto Star was Smith’s favourite horse to deal with as a handicapper

43

>>

Feb_114_TalkingTo_Owner Breeder 17/01/2014 14:47 Page 44

PHIL SMITH

Smith pictured with connections of 2010 Grand National hero Don’t Push It, JP McManus, Jonjo O’Neill and Frank Berry (l-r)

>> when

they venture south. But the general quality of the jumpers in the north is nothing like as good as those in the south. Our job is to give them a chance and when they go to Cheltenham and Aintree they boast a high percentage strike-rate in handicaps. Funnily, we never get a complaint about northern Flat horses being rated too highly and unable to compete in the south.

Why are handicappers so quick to put horses up after an impressive win/effort, but so slow to reduce ratings?

Historically that’s absolutely true. But in recent years I’ve been encouraging the team to drop horses more quickly. However, there is a huge proviso. And that is an integrity issue, which is one of the most important aspects of our job. If trainers knew that if they won and then their horse was pulled up or disappointed we would automatically drop its rating, there would be an incentive to cheat. We have a major integrity function to keep everyone honest. But I must say that in recent years we have been inclined to drop horses a fair bit quicker.

How do you ensure that Irish-trained horses are not advantaged when they run in Britain?

Since 2003 we have assessed Irish jump races in the same way we do every English race.

On the Flat we are happy to take the Irish handicappers’ decisions. But jumping we are applying the same methodology to the Irish as we do with the English. It is worth remembering there can be a huge difference in the quality of the ground and when some

44

“The novice chase

situation is damaging the sport and I have just produced a paper on the subject” Irish horses come here after running on heavy they improve on the better going.

The novice chase situation in Britain, with two/three-runner races and lack of opportunities for high-class recruits from hurdling, is damaging the sport. What should be done?

It certainly is damaging the sport and I have just produced a paper on the subject that has gone to my boss, Ruth Quinn, the BHA’s Director of Racing. So watch this space…

You often take flak from journalists when rankings are revealed, including when you reduced the rating of Dancing Brave and co in tandem with Frankel being given a mark of 140. Was it really necessary to tinker with the ratings?

Well, it was unofficial. I did an exercise, which said this is how these figures would have looked with modern-day methodology.

The guys who were handicapping in 1987 were operating in a marginally different way from they way we do it nowadays. We did it out of interest and fun, and Dancing Brave is still officially 141. Only unofficially is he 138.

Frankel is 140.

CLOSE UP AND...

PERSONAL

CLOSE UP AND...

PROFESSIONAL

How do you relax… on holiday with my wife and playing golf

Most demanding part of my job… hitting the deadlines with so much racing

Most exciting moment in my life… getting married in 2012

I’d encourage more people to go racing by… attracting the over 50s, who have more time and money than the younger generation

Four dinner party guests… Catherine and I are quite reclusive, but I’d like Beyoncé to join us!

Favourite holiday destination… following the Tour de France in the Alps and Pyrenees My weakness is… chocolate

My ambition is… a dead-heat in the Grand National Best horse I have seen… Kauto Star I feel the pressure when… I’ve had a bad result in a handicap

THOROUGHBRED OWNER & BREEDER INC PACEMAKER

DAR6259 OVERBURY OB page Delegator 16 JAN14 15/01/2014 16:28 Page 1

SEA THE STARS OUTSTAYS DELEGATOR

WITH RIP VAN WINKLE AND MASTERCRAFTSMAN BEHIND There are Classics. And then there are classic Classics: races full of big names, names that resonate.

The 2,000 Guineas of 2009 was just such a race...

The favourite that day, after showing stunning powers of acceleration to defeat two future G1 winners in the Craven, was Delegator – the best-ever sprinter or miler

by Dansili. Top class over a mile at three, Delegator also won the G2 Duke Of York on his first start over six furlongs.

OVERBURY STUD

GLOUCESTERSHIRE CALL SIMON SWEETING ON 07796 174926 OR (01386) 725552 simon@ovstud.co.uk www.ovstud.co.uk ALSO STANDING NEW CITYSCAPE KAYF TARA SCHIAPARELLI

Every bit as good as his sire at three DELEGATOR

DANSILI

Timeform125

Timeform125

Won G3 Craven Stakes

Won G3 Prix Messidor

Won G2 Celebration Mile (dq’d)

2nd G1 Poule d’Essai des Poulains

2nd G1 2,000 Guineas

3rd Prix Jacques le Marois

2nd G1 St James’s Palace Stakes

3rd Prix du Moulin

3rd G1 Queen Elizabeth II Stakes

DELEGATOR £4,000 OCT 1, SLF More than 100 mares in his first book in 2013

Feb_114_Claiborne3_Owner Breeder 17/01/2014 14:52 Page 46

CLAIBORNE FARM

On the

FRONT LINE For more than a century, Kentucky’s Claiborne Farm has been a byword for excellence in the thoroughbred lexicon and its reputation continues through one of the world’s most sought-after stallions, War Front Words and photos Emma Berry

D

espite a marked physical similarity, when the Grade 2 winner War Front followed his sire, the mighty Danzig, to the stallion barn at Claiborne Farm in 2007, it would have been a case of hope over expectation that he would also follow the extraordinary stud career of his father, who had died the previous year.

“One of the reasons dad brought him back to the farm was that he was so much like Danzig,” says 24-year-old Walker Hancock, who is set to become the fourth generation of his family in charge of Claiborne when he takes over the running of the farm from his father Seth in the near future.

Bred and raced by Joseph Allen, War Front was raised at Claiborne, like so many of his contemporaries on the farm’s 12-strong stallion roster. Though he still has some way to go to emulate Danzig fully, the 12-year-old has made an eye-catching start, with five Grade or Group 1 winners to his name already – including, significantly, two in Europe – and at the time of writing he had already recorded two Grade 2 winners within the first fortnight of 2014. Such is the present clamour for nominations to War Front that his book – strictly limited to 100 mares – could easily be filled three times over, but it was a different story back in 2009.

“In his third season we sent out a letter that was sort of a begging letter trying to get people to breed to him,” recalls Claiborne’s Bloodstock Manager Bernie Sams. “I think that year he bred around 68 mares. But that was also the year he got Lines Of Battle, Jack Milton and Departing. In many ways it was probably his best book of mares as Seth had

46

bred a number of good mares to him that year and so had Joe Allen.”

While the likes of The Factor, Summer Soiree, and Data Link had already signalled through top-level wins that War Front was a sire of serious note, 2013 was to prove a major breakthrough year on the international stage, the red-letter day coming on June 18 when his sons Declaration Of War and War Command secured a dream Group-race double at Royal

Walker Hancock, left, and Bernie Sams

Ascot. Both horses were bred by Allen and raced by him in partnership with the Coolmore team. Declaration Of War is now War Front’s first son to stand in Europe, under the Coolmore banner in Ireland.

Sams says: “The number of emails, texts and phone calls we all had that day was phenomenal. That probably did more for War Front to make him an international sire than if he’d had the Kentucky Derby winner.

“Coolmore have supported the horse – they started breeding mares to him in his fourth year at stud and since then they’ve been big supporters and own quite a few with Joe Allen. It’s been a good relationship for Claiborne too.

“There are a lot of European mares coming to Kentucky for him this year. My problem is I haven’t been able to take as many of them as I’d like to because he only breeds 100 mares and that’s it.”

In the age of colossal books, this refreshing policy isn’t restricted to War Front but is in place across the Claiborne roster.

“The maximum for any stallion would be 120. Young horses like Orb, Data Link, Algorithms and Trappe Shot will breed 120 but the idea at that number is to be able to compete against other stallions who will have much bigger books,” Sams explains.

“As they get down the road and become proven we’ll try to take back a little bit and keep them to around 100. We breed War Front twice a day and that’s the book he gets.

“There are 40 shares, of which Mr Allen still owns significant interests, along with [Claiborne] farm. There are a few other shareholders but it’s a pretty tightly held syndicate.

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War Front, who reminded Seth Hancock so much of his sire, Danzig

Four great names to have inhabited one stallion box over the years

Most of the people in there are people who breed to race anyway, so I think as we go down the road there’ll probably be fewer offered as yearlings than in recent years.

Previously he was a $15,000 stallion and there were a lot more commercial people who bred to him then.”

In fact, War Front has stood for as low as $10,000 in his fourth year at stud but that was also the year his first runners hit the track and since then his fee, like his reputation, has climbed annually. The annus mirabilis that was 2013 also saw Declaration Of War go on to capture the Juddmonte International after his Queen Anne Stakes victory, and War Command add the Dewhurst and Futurity to his Coventry Stakes win, while Derby wins (in Virginia, Illinois and the UAE) were provided

by Departing, War Dancer and Lines Of Battle.

In the sales ring a War Front colt topped Keeneland September at $2.5 million and 43 of his yearlings sold for an average of $378,186 – another reason why he now commands a fee of $150,000, making him the most expensive stallion in the US along with Tapit, a son of the late Claiborne resident Pulpit.

History made and in the making Of course War Front is merely the latest in a long line of illustrious names to have graced the stallion barns at the 3,000-acre farm in Paris, Kentucky, and relating his rise to prominence is only scratching at the surface of Claiborne’s rich history. Founded in 1910

by Arthur Boyd Hancock Sr, the farm received its first stallion, Wrack, in 1916. He was followed by the imported Poule d’Essai

>>

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Feb_114_Claiborne3_Owner Breeder 17/01/2014 14:53 Page 48

C L A I B O R N E FA R M

Everything about the farm itself is understated, the only extraordinary feature being the success of its graduates over the decades

>> des Poulains winner Sir Gallahad III, sire of

for the then-juvenile Secretariat. Walker Hancock has some big shoes to fill.

In the graveyard behind the farm office – one of three equine cemeteries on the gently rolling property – are the headstones of 21 horses. Twenty of them were Claiborne stallions, including Nasrullah, his son Bold Ruler and grandson Secretariat, whose damsire Princequillo is also nearby. The deeds of that quartet alone are enough to fill several history books, but alongside Secretariat in this revered corner of horse heaven is found Mr Prospector and next to him, Nijinsky. The only non-stallion among them is Swale, Seth Hancock’s homebred Kentucky Derby and Belmont Stakes winner who collapsed and

GEORGE SELWYN

Triple Crown winner and fellow Claiborne sire Gallant Fox and the first of ten champion sires to stand at the farm. In 1949, Hancock was succeeded by his son, AB ‘Bull’ Hancock Jr, under whose reign Nasrullah was imported, future champion sires Bold Ruler and Round Table were born at the farm (on the same day) and English Triple Crown winner Nijinsky returned to North America to be syndicated

by Claiborne.

At the age of 23, Seth Hancock, the younger of Bull’s two sons, took up the reins following the death of his father at just 47 and made his mark instantly by encouraging the farm’s clients to get involved in a stallion syndicate

Owner/breeder Joseph Allen, second right, leads in War Command at Royal Ascot

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died just eight days after his 1984 Belmont victory.

But Claiborne’s heritage is far from being all about the stallions. In the Marchmont Cemetery is buried Personal Ensign, one of the most talented racemares of all time with 13 unbeaten starts to her name. Her genetic superiority was such that she produced three Grade 1 winners and was Broodmare of the Year in 1996. She was one of the jewels of the Phipps family’s broodmare band, which resides at Claiborne and marks a long association between two racing families. The Hancocks’ long established partnerships with prominent fellow breeders who remain as clients has not only seen reflected glory for Claiborne on the racecourse but has also aided its mission of securing a plethora of well-credentialed stallions.

The Phipps family’s influence is evident again in one of Claiborne’s new recruits for this season, the Kentucky Derby winner Orb. Bred by Ogden Mills ‘Dinny’ Phipps with his cousin Stuart Janney III, the son of Malibu Moon was another to have been foaled at Claiborne and later return triumphant.

“It’s always great to have a Derby winner come to the farm, especially one who’s been raised here and one that has the history of going back through the Janney and Phipps families and their longstanding relationship with Claiborne Farm,” says Sams.

“It was fantastic even to have the horse win the Derby for those connections. For this country it’s pretty much what it’s all about.

“If you look at the stallion roster here now, Arch was bought as a yearling, Blame was raised here, Flatter was raised here, along with Orb, Stroll, Horse Greeley, Parading, >>

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Feb_114_Claiborne3_Owner Breeder 17/01/2014 14:53 Page 51

C L A I B O R N E FA R M >> War Front. Really the only outside horses are

First Samurai – but he belonged to Bruce Lunsford, who has mares here – and Trappe Shot belonged to Mr Brady who’s been a long-time client of Claiborne.”

And it’s not only the equine lines that have longevity at Claiborne. Current general manager Bradley Purcell was born and bred at the farm, his father Billy having been a broodmare foreman for decades, and it’s a similar story for many of his co-workers.

Sams adds: “For the guys out on the farm to raise those horses, see them leave, run like they have and come back as stallions, it’s great.”

Marchmont’s hallowed grounds also contain a mare who could hardly have been better named when one considers her impact on the breed: Special. A grand-daughter of Rough Shod, who was bought in England by Bull Hancock in 1951, Special, as the dam of Nureyev and grandam of Sadler’s Wells, has played a significant role in extending the Claiborne influence on a global scale, and that could expand yet further through her great grandson, Blame (see panel, right).

“To raise those

horses, see them leave, run like they have, and come back as stallions is great” Famed as the sole conqueror of Zenyatta, Blame’s six Graded stakes victories included the Fayette Stakes at Keeneland in 2009, in which he was chased home by his fellow Claiborne graduate Parading, a great grandson of Personal Ensign who has followed his sire Pulpit to stand on the Claiborne roster. Like Blame, he has his first runners this year. That continuity is echoed by the second new stallion at the farm for 2014, War Front’s Grade 1 winner Data Link, bred and owned by Stuart Janney.

Claiborne’s motto is ‘Doing the usual unusually well’. It’s a slogan which can be read as both modest and boastful, and its paradoxical nature strikes at the very essence of the farm itself. No imposing gates or signs adorn the entrance; the small office is homely rather than flashy. The only hint at the high-grade operation conducted within its walls are the leather headcollars which hang there, bearing brass nameplates to make racing historians go weak at the knees: Buckpasser, Herbager, Easy Goer, Damascus, Danzig, Mr Prospector. The list goes on.

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The Breeders’ Cup Classic winner Blame has his first runners in 2014

Take Blame to be Claiborne’s new star With War Front now an established name among the world’s elite stallions, the team at Claiborne will be eagerly following the racetrack progress of the first crop of Blame this season.

“At this point all the reports out of Ocala [where the breeze-up sale takes place in early March] have been very good about Blame. Hopefully he’ll be our shining star for next year,” says Bernie Sams.

Now eight, Blame gained notoriety by becoming the only horse ever to topple Zenyatta’s crown when repelling her late charge in the 2010 Breeders’ Cup Classic at Churchill Downs. His success was timed to perfection, earning Claiborne, who co-own and co-bred the son of Arch with Adele Dilschneider, the Eclipse Award for Champion Older Male in its centenary year.

While he may have broken the hearts of Zenyatta’s many fans, Blame was fully entitled to be as good a racehorse as he was. The three-time Grade 1 winner is bred in the purple, his pedigree having the name Claiborne running through its core like a stick of Brighton rock.

Blame now stands alongside his sire, while his broodmare sire Seeking The Gold remains at Claiborne in retirement at the age of 29. The three horses have paddocks within calling distance of one another.

Blame’s dam Liable is out of Nureyev’s three-parts-sister Bound, whose parents Nijinsky and Special – also the grandam of Sadler’s Wells – were both Claiborne residents, as were eight of the 15 stallions in his first four generations.

The modern-day norm – shuttle stallions, big books of mares, state-of-the-art covering sheds – is eschewed for more traditional ways, but then the old covering shed has served the farm very well, with six of the 11 American Triple Crown winners having been conceived within, while ten Kentucky Derby winners have been raised at Claiborne.

The stallions, without rugs, their coats naturally long in midwinter, are allowed just to be horses for as much time as is naturally possible on a farm which is about to head into its busiest period. The mares, precious as many of them are, mostly foal down in the paddocks.

When interviewed for a centenary feature in the Blood-Horse in 2010, Seth Hancock, who has steadfastly stuck to his guns over the farm’s traditional approach to breeding and rearing thoroughbreds, admitted: “There is pressure; I’d be lying if I said there wasn’t. This

place has been a going concern for a long, long time. We have ten stallions here now; the oldest is just 16, so our roster is young, though it’s obviously not as strong as it was when I took over. Pulpit is terrific, and we’re excited about First Samurai and War Front and Flatter. Hopefully Blame will come back here and the playing field will level out so we can compete for some of these big-time horses again.

“I have no regrets. We’ve done everything we can do to try to position ourselves for the future, and I think we are well-positioned.

Having said that, we still need to have some things happen.”

Pulpit died in 2012 but has provided the Claiborne roster with two sons and a grandson. Blame is back and War Front has happened. In the meantime, Claiborne has continued to do business as usual. That is to say, unusually well.

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Feb_114_Hunting_Owner Breeder 17/01/2014 15:22 Page 53

HUNTING & RACING

Tradition

WITH PURPOSE Riding to hounds is what gives jockeys their bottle, according to the fearless Paul Carberry, and plenty in the world of racing share his passion for the sport Words Catherine Austen

VIKI ROSS

I

t’s no secret that National Hunt racing, at least, has its roots firmly lodged in the hunting field. Point-to-pointing started when two hunting men, Edmund Blake and Cornelius O’Callaghan, challenged each other to a race in 1752 for four-and-a-half miles across country from Buttevant Church to Doneraile Church in Co Cork. They jumped everything in their path, and by keeping the steeple of Doneraile church in sight (steeple-chasing), the two men kept to the planned route along the banks of

the Awbeg River. The same line can still be taken while hunting with the Duhallow Foxhounds now.

Amateur jump racing evolved from there – and subsequently became a professional sport.

And a few decades ago, many Flat trainers would have spent their (all-weatherless) winters hunting. But does hunting still have any relevance to the modern racing world, and how strong are the ties between the two?

“The volume of racing is so much greater

now and people are training more and more horses – who had 100 horses 25 years ago, let alone 150?” says Ralph Beckett. “The demands on a trainer’s time – all year round – are so much greater.”

Beckett is one of a handful of major trainers who still go hunting regularly, managing a dozen days a season with the local Tedworth hounds and, further afield, the big-jumping Portman.

“I genuinely enjoy it and it’s the one sport I can do with my wife,” he says. “And my

Joint-master David Redvers (scarlet coat) leads the Ledbury field

>>

Feb_114_Hunting_Owner Breeder 17/01/2014 15:22 Page 54

HORSE & HOUND

HORSE & HOUND

HUNTING & RACING

Gold Cup winner Denman stands to attention at the meet with Charlotte Alexander

>> daughter, who is eight, is now happy to go

hunting without her mother, so I can take her out, which I love. So it’s about family as much as anything for me.

“And it gets me away from everything – it’s a holiday in itself.”

Beckett hunted the Marlborough College Beagles while he was at school there, and his fellow Group 1-winning trainer James Fanshawe hunted the beagles at Stowe.

Fanshawe, the son of a famous master and huntsman, no longer rides to hounds, but among the Newmarket trainers who still make the pilgrimage to nearby Leicestershire to hunt across the county’s famous grass and hedges are Michael Bell, riding his trusty hack Ruby, and Toby Coles, who cuts a dash in top hat and scarlet tails.

54

Coles is passionate about hunting, saying: “It’s about horsemanship, but also about an understanding of the way nature and the world around us works. Hunting teaches you to know what is going to happen before it happens – and either to do something to help it or slam the brakes on if necessary, such as avoiding breaking a horse down.

“Those who made the best soldiers in the last War were very often those who went the best in the hunting field, and that can be compared to racing. It gives you the ability to read yourself and your surroundings. And conversely the sharpest thinkers in racing are probably the best in the hunting field as well – not just in terms of jumping huge fences but in watching what is really going on, the venery side of the sport. Major Hern made

sure Willie Carson hunted, and some of the great hunting figures of that era, such as the Hon Migs Greenall, greatly respected him for doing it.”

Having grown up hunting with the Quorn and the Cottesmore in Leicestershire, Coles says that he got few days while he was learning his craft as an assistant trainer and in his first couple of years after going solo.

“Until I started in racing, hunting was my life, and then racing became my life, and I didn’t want to confuse the two,” he adds.

“But now I am trying to do more and more hunting. It freshens up one’s eyes, not so much the thrill of galloping fast and jumping things but the actual hunting and the hounds.

“And I’ve probably got more owners from going hunting than I have by socialising and pressing the flesh in London!”

Coles has also visited the Ledbury to follow David Redvers over the whacking hedges for which his pre-Christmas meet at Tweenhills Stud is renowned.

Redvers’s racing and bloodstock commitments mean he gets only “six or seven” days’ hunting a season now, but he has been a joint-master of the Ledbury since 2005.

“It’s a great release from the pressures of everyday life,” he says. “A lot of it for me is about community. I have a genuine affection for the land and the people round here, and I get to see people from the local area that I don’t see often enough.

“Hunting and racing have always been intertwined. It’s a fantastic second career for racehorses and a great schooling ground for young riders. Those who have grown up in the hunting field are better prepared for the demands of race-riding. Their basic horsemanship skills are undoubtedly better.”

Redvers persuaded trainer Mikel Delzangles to have his first day’s hunting at the Tweenhills meet this season – but he’s not sure that, after sustaining four broken ribs in a fall, the Frenchman will be back.

Other trainers who escape the pressures of life on the hunting field include Eve Johnson Houghton, with the Old Berks, and Ann Duffield with the Bedale, where she is joined by trainer’s wife Deirdre Johnston. Another female trainer, Di Grissell, has long been a master of the East Sussex and Romney Marsh.

Redvers also masterminded the Ledbury’s Golden Button – a three-and-a-half mile race across natural hunting country along the banks of the River Severn. It has been won twice by jockeys: former Flat rider Eddie Ahern took it in 2007 aboard the former Jonjo O’Neill-trained chaser World Wide Web, who was enjoying his ‘retirement’ as a hunter with the Ledbury’s Ridley family, and Paul Carberry won it two years later on the THOROUGHBRED OWNER & BREEDER INC PACEMAKER

Feb_114_Hunting_Owner Breeder 17/01/2014 15:22 Page 55

HUNTING & RACING

Hunting: ‘It’s a holiday in itself’

NICO MORGAN

DAVID REDVERS

Brendan Powell-trained Mandingo Chief.

Davy Russell also rode in it that year, but fell early on.

Other Flat jockeys who love hunting include Jimmy Quinn and Jim Crowley, and Ahern introduced Adam Kirby to the sport four years ago.

“I’d never been before and Eddie took me to the Cottesmore with him and I had a really good time,” says Kirby. “It was fascinating to me: nice company, everyone was very welcoming, the jumping was great and I fell in love with it. I’ll always go now.”

While Tattersalls Chairman Edmond Mahony usually goes home to Ireland to hunt with the Louth, of which he has been a master since 1998, the Thurlow, local to Newmarket, attracts many racing figures.

Darley’s Sam Bullard can be seen in Leicestershire, but wearing the black coat and tan collar of Ireland’s famous Scarteen Hunt. Bullard had followed in John Ferguson’s footsteps by becoming a master of the pack, which has strong ties to racing.

Its senior master and huntsman Chris Ryan worked for Frank Dunne in the days of Stanerra, and oversaw her preparation for and victory in the Japan Cup in 1983.

Flat jockeys enjoying some winter sport: a laid-back Jamie Spencer, left, out hunting with the Ledbury and Adam Kirby flies a hedge in Cottesmore country

THOROUGHBRED OWNER & BREEDER INC PACEMAKER

PAUL BUDDIN

Several of the Scarteen’s neighbouring packs have ample racing connections.

Coolmore vet John Halley is a joint-master of the County Limerick. Camas Park Stud’s Timmy Hyde is a former Tipperary master, and his son, Tim Hyde jnr, is Vice-Chairman and a regular field master of the famous pack, whose former huntsmen include Gold Cup and Grand National-winning jockey Capt Evan Williams.

Most of the Irish packs have jockeys, former and current, among their regular followers. Norman Williamson hunts regularly with the Meath, while Charlie Swan is often seen out with the Limerick packs and Jim Culloty hunts with the Duhallow – and Barry Geraghty, Davy Russell and even Ruby Walsh are regularly seen out. But there’s one Irish jockey whose love of hunting comes even before his love of race-riding. Step forward Paul Carberry.

He whips-in to the Ward Union, Ireland’s only pack of staghounds, and hunts as many days a week as his racing commitments >>

The great Ruby doubles as trainer’s hack and hunter for Michael Bell

TBA Chief Executive Louise Kemble takes a Heythrop hedge in her stride

CATHERINE POWER

more owners from going hunting than by pressing the flesh in London”

NICO MORGAN

“I’ve probably got

Darley’s Dawn Laidlaw and Jimmy Hyland, with Tom Burns of Victor Stud and Deirdre Johnston enjoying a day’s hunting in Ireland with the Scarteen

55

Feb_114_Hunting_Owner Breeder 17/01/2014 15:22 Page 56

HUNTING & RACING >> allow. He has described hunting as “vital” to

“Young horses hone

their skills on the hunting field, learning balance, patience and courage” flooding – witnessed Sam Twiston-Davies, Tom Bellamy, Ryan Hatch and Charlie Deutsch come and join the fun. TwistonDavies was riding the quirky Mad Moose, now banned for planting himself at the start in his races, and his behaviour on the hunting field was rather similar.

Perhaps hunting will sweeten him up, as it did Silver Birch before his 2007 Grand National win. The top-class chaser Kingscliff was another who hunted regularly during his racing career.

But most horses either hone their skills on the hunting field as young horses, learning balance, patience, courage and to jump and gallop with their peers, or come to it as a second career when their racing days are finished.

“So many racehorses do, and always have, end up hunting,” says Retraining of Racehorses (RoR) Chief Executive Di Arbuthnot. “They are pack animals and love jumping and competing together. Why wouldn’t they take to it?”

56

Hunting gives Carberry the edge

HORSE & HOUND

his preparation for riding in races such as the Grand National (see panel, right).

There are few British jump jockeys who didn’t grow up in the hunting field. Robert Thornton’s father Martin was one of the best professional huntsmen of his era and ‘Choc’ grew up following him over the walls, rails and hedges of the Zetland and Belvoir countries. Colleague Sam Jones, whose grandfather Peter Jones hunted the Pytchley from 1971-2005, does some whipping-in for the VWH. And when last year’s Grand National winner Ryan Mania took time out from his race-riding career a couple of years ago he took a job as whipper-in to the Fife Hunt.

The hedges of Cheshire attract jockeys like flies to a honeypot. Lord Daresbury, himself a champion amateur rider and retiring Chairman of Aintree racecourse, is master of the Wynnstay, and his sons Tom, Jake and Oliver hunt with the pack when they are not riding winners on the track.

Joe Tizzard is a regular with the Blackmore and Sparkford Vale in Dorset, while a recent meet of the Heythrop – on a Saturday when most of the racing was cancelled due to

Paul Carberry is the whipper-in for the Ward Union Staghounds in Ireland

In an open letter to the-then Minister for the Environment, John Gormley, when the Ward Union’s licence to hunt was under serious threat in 2009, jump jockey Paul Carberry eloquently described what hunting did for him...

“Every Friday in winter I miss racing to hunt with the Ward Union. Why? I need to keep my eye in.

“I get up on a racehorse each Friday, November to February, and we’re off, hounds out front. Way up ahead there’s a wild Irish red deer stag, and he’s out there jumping and towing us across huge hedges, cavernous drains, deep ditches and through the beautiful lush green Irish countryside.

“So, when it comes to the Grand National and I am coming to Becher’s Brook, I see the tension in the English jockey’s shoulders. I sense his fear. He doesn’t realise it but he is holding his

Marcus Armytage has hunted many exracehorses, including the Martell Cup winner Kings Fountain. He also had an ill-fated day on the former Gold Cup winner See More Business, during which the great horse ran away with him and then tried to impale himself on an iron gate.

“I start shaking when I read those three words, See More Business,” jokes Armytage.

“Kings Fountain was very good but, like in his races, he unfailingly uprooted one fence a day. Given his size, luckily it was usually the fence which came off worst.”

Another Gold Cup winner, Denman, has taken to the sport more successfully in the

horse just a ‘gnat’s tight’ and we’re seven strides out, galloping 40 miles an hour, to a deadly drop. Suddenly you are there.

The moment of truth, and in my head I know I jumped bigger following the stag the previous month.

“I kick on, I hear the brush of the top of the fence and we’re heading down and down, and the horse lands, I adjust my balance and I feel his lungs fill, his head comes up and we are galloping on. Out of the corner of my goggles I see a flailing body, the English jockey is gone and I look around and there are just a few of us in contention now, Barry [Geraghty], Ruby [Walsh], and this year, coming on behind me, is Puppy [Robert Power], all regulars hunting with the Ward Union.

“How come all the big jump races are being won consistently by Irish jockeys? It all starts with brave kids hunting bold ponies. Hunting is what gives us our bottle.”

hands of Charlotte Alexander.

Many ex-racehorses find a hunting home on Exmoor and Dartmoor. There is little or no jumping, but crossing the moor takes stamina, speed and light-footedness – the characteristics of a thoroughbred. Welsh Grand National hero Edmond and the multiple winner Village King are happily hunting with the huntsman and the former master of the Devon and Somerset Staghounds respectively.

There are many, many more horses and humans who find that hunting offers the same sort of adrenalin rush as racing. Long may the links continue.

THOROUGHBRED OWNER & BREEDER INC PACEMAKER

OUTSTANDING SERVICE AT OUTSTANDING VALUE STALLIONS 2014 BAHAMIAN BOUNTY £8,500 (1st Oct SLF) by Cadeaux Genereux - Clarentia DICK TURPIN £4,000 (1st Oct SLF) by Arakan - Merrily PASTORAL PURSUITS £4,500 (1st Oct SLF) by Bahamian Bounty - Star e: stallions@nationalstud.co.uk

FULL BOARDING SERVICES Foaling, Permanent Boarding, Temporary Boarding, Seasonal Boarding and Spellers

SALES Highly professional sales preparation and consignments.

All major UK sales attended e: stallions@nationalstud.co.uk

Call Brian O’Rourke on 07789 508157 or email stallions@nationalstud.co.uk National Stud Ltd., Newmarket, Suffolk CB8 0XE | Managing Director: Brian O’Rourke

Feb_114_MacDonald_Owner Breeder 17/01/2014 15:23 Page 58

RORY MACDONALD

Schooling in

PUBLIC

Long-serving Rory MacDonald OBE will be a mighty tough act to follow as Chief Executive at the kitchen sink learning environment that is the unique British Racing School Words Richard Griffiths • Photos George Selwyn

I

t doesn’t take long in the company of its Chief Executive Rory MacDonald to appreciate the strength and depth of the British Racing School’s role within the industry.

It is the supplier of a key group of participants in the sport of racing: those who ride the horses, and those who look after them.

The fact that young people can attend the BRS for free, with the guarantee of a job in a racing yard in return for dedication, discipline and hard work, is an achievement that should drop jaws.

MacDonald, who received an OBE for his work at the Newmarket complex, is not someone who strikes you as immodest. Yet even he describes the facilities and opportunities at the BRS as “extraordinary”. He is right to. “Anybody who comes here is actually bowled over by the place,” he adds.

Again it is hard to disagree.

The British Racing School is tucked away on the outskirts of Newmarket, found next to a small railway bridge, not far past the grand landscape of Godolphin.

First impressions are of a neat, wellmaintained, purposeful facility. Nothing flash, but it is a place where you will be given every chance to do things the right way. The presence of a £40,000 horse riding simulator, the only one of its kind in the UK, with screens that tell you whether you are leaning too heavily to the right or left, or hitting the horse in the wrong place, is testimony to that. A computer game raised on the very finest of technological steroids.

You can hardly blame MacDonald for lacking the words to describe how much the place has changed since he joined, part-time, in 1992. He will leave his post this September, but is already in a new role as a Trustee of Retraining of

58

Racehorses, which he started in January at a time when the future role of the RoR is under review.

Anyone who cares to scan the range of training courses offered by the BRS will be impressed by how much goes on in an environment where calm efficiency defies the steady buzz of the A14 right beside it.

They include: pre-apprenticeship courses for 16 to 22-year-olds; a foundation degree run in partnership with Warwickshire College; a licence course for every type of rider; qualifications for trainers and assistant trainers; training for racing secretaries and yard managers; a general racing industry course that lets you learn about aspects such as breeding, welfare, funding, betting, the levy, racecourses and the appeal of racing; plus an academy for those who seek management opportunities in racing.

While a cuddly toy seems to be missing from that long list, it is pretty much a one-stop shop for training anyone for anything in the world of horseracing.

“It should be,” MacDonald says. “After all, it is called the British Racing School. Our job here is to deliver the training that the industry asks of us; and we have a letter of agreement each year with the BHA that actually specifies what that is. We have to be specifically alert and in tune with what racing wants, so we will develop things where we think there is a market.”

He cites the flexible learning programme, a two-year diploma course, run in partnership with over ten local schools, as an innovation that has met its brief. Pupils attend the BRS one-day a week – it has brought into racing riders Luke Morris and William Carson Jr. Likewise, MacDonald enthuses about a pony

>>

Feb_114_MacDonald_Owner Breeder 17/01/2014 15:23 Page 59

â&#x20AC;&#x153;Anyone who comes

here is actually bowled over by this extraordinary placeâ&#x20AC;?

Feb_114_MacDonald_Owner Breeder 17/01/2014 15:23 Page 60

RORY MACDONALD >> racing academy, which is for eight to 15-year-

olds.

“Pony racing was becoming too elitist,” MacDonald says. “You need to have a certain amount of money to own a pony in the first place and live in a certain part of the country.

That precludes quite a lot of people. We have been lucky enough to get some funding and it does open up pony racing to a raft of new people.”

To emphasise that this course is not viewed as a frippery, the BRS website highlights that Barry Geraghty, Jamie Spencer and Nina Carberry all graduated from this sphere, while a certain Frankie Dettori says: “When I was 11 years old living in Italy there was a pony race on one of the family racedays at Milan racecourse.

I had a pony called Sylvia and we entered the race. I came last but it was a brilliant experience and the closest you can get to the real thing when you are that age. After that I knew I didn’t want to do anything else.”

Almost at the opposite end of the BRS spectrum, MacDonald speaks of the BRS Management Academy as “one of the better things we do here.”

Restricted to those who work in racing, industry organisations that have sent employees on this course range from individual racecourses to the Levy Board, National Stud and racing media groups.

“The middle management of racing needed to up its game,” MacDonald explains. “So we started to look at those people who are just below what I would call moving into important positions.

“Some of the major clients we have are racecourses and there are people who are not yet in a racecourse management position but certainly in the zone for that. It has been a huge success and I know that Jockey Club Racecourses, for one, are very happy with it.”

However, the training of wannabe managers, while impressive, pales, to this observer at least,

in comparison to the emphasis that the BRS places on giving a chance to young people.

“The idea is that there should be some sort of ladder that allows people starting at the bottom to progress to wherever their ability takes them,” MacDonald says.

“Somebody could start here, with next to no GCSEs, go through a foundation degree – their apprenticeship – and could then actually go on for an honours degree at university, should they want to.”

Run in partnership with Warwick University, the Foundation Degree is the first of its kind in horseracing.

“This course is important because we are trying to attract good people into racing,”

The next generation: Luke Carson, 19, is the grandson of Classic-winning jockey Willie Carson and enroled on the Apprenticeship in Racehorse Care course at BRS

60

MacDonald says. “We shouldn’t be saying that you are going to be mucking out horses for the next 40 years, or something like that. This is a ladder for everyone to progress.

“This place is quite principled about what it does. We have the idea that you can be whatever you want to be in life, and we will help you, we will support you. We are the catalyst, but only the individual can make it happen.

“That is why the training for our Apprentice Foundation course is free, and that is a fundamental principal: it should be available to anyone and everyone, irrespective of their ability to pay, or worse still to incur debt.”

All change in two decades Since 1992, when the BRS was 100% financed via racing’s Levy Board, much has changed in allowing students free access. As an approved training provider, the BRS can access government funding.

With racing now providing around 25% of funding for the apprentice course, and the government around 65%, the school’s commercial arm, set up in 1988, provides the rest of the budget mostly by letting out its facilities for conferences.

Although there are some policy clashes between the aims of the BRS and the government agencies, there is much support from the latter for the task of finding every student a job (starting off in a racing yard).

“That, in my book, is a fundamental principle of this school,” MacDonald continues.

“There is no point in training people for something if you cannot put them into a job.

THOROUGHBRED OWNER & BREEDER INC PACEMAKER

Feb_114_MacDonald_Owner Breeder 17/01/2014 15:24 Page 61

RORY MACDONALD

Rory MacDonald and jockey coach Richard Perham in supervisory mode (left), while above, BRS pupils take in one of the important lessons conducted in the classroom

This isn’t some intellectual pastime – this is about giving people the skill to go into a job.”

Mind you, that’s only once some of the young people have had the shock of their lives.

The nine-week course – which increases to 14 weeks from July – requires total dedication. As MacDonald shows me a plan of the BRS campus, I quite innocently ask where the shuttle bus is to take the students into town.

MacDonald looks aghast, explaining that if students lack the determination to stay on the straight and narrow for such a small part of their lives, they might not be ideal foundation course material. I withdraw my application there and then.

“The whole mantra of this place is that we have fantastic facilities, but the students need to work for a living,” MacDonald says, adding that some students have left home for the first time and may need help with the basics such as cooking and cleaning. A member of the BRS team sleeps in each section of the dormitories every night. One less chance to party, one more test of their devotion to the cause.

“I think people from other sports are really impressed by racing in that it does have a scheme like this: to educate young people before they go into a job,” MacDonald adds.

“You need to have people who are employable and you need to have effective training. But what it does mean is that training here has to do what it says on the tin; preparing them to go into a job in a yard.

“Young people come here, they will be working harder than they have ever worked in their life, and they will be mixing with a whole group of people they have never mixed with THOROUGHBRED OWNER & BREEDER INC PACEMAKER

before. On top of that, we are taking them in every direction, out of their comfort zone.

“There is a lot going on in their lives already but we have to make this training demanding because we wouldn’t be doing them any favours by preparing them for a job they couldn’t do. It isn’t just about getting the stable work and riding right. But in many cases we have – to use the jargon – to ‘man them up’.

Their personal development needs to be sufficiently robust for them to work in racing.”

The foundation course will receive around 800 applicants a year, of which 230 will be taken on after fitness tests, functional skills tests and a personal interview with MacDonald. Yes,

“We shouldn’t tell

people they will be mucking out for the next 40 years; every person can progress” all 230 of them.

“I have to know every kid that comes through here sufficiently well that I can talk to a trainer honestly about taking them on,” explains MacDonald. “What you can’t do is give a trainer blarney and tell them the person they are getting is something they are not.

Because next time you ring a trainer up…

“I have legal duty of care while they are here.

I am legally responsible for them. That is quite an obligation but, wherever they are, they are supervised.

“We have to be careful in our selection. We take only people who we believe are going to achieve the qualification. If they can’t achieve the qualification they don’t get into a job.”

As I tour the facilities, I see two girls sitting quietly, with cases, at the back of a leisure room, waiting for transport. They have not made it.

“Some of the kids have had a rough upbringing, they may have some sort of medical/mental health condition, but the key question is: are they going to be able to do the job or aren’t they?” MacDonald says. “Because if they are not able to do the job, you have to say, ‘Look, there are probably better options for you’. Besides, we can’t afford failures. That is why you have to be honest with people. And sometimes it is very tough.”

All pupils undergo regular reviews, “particularly with their riding, particularly with their work rate”, according to MacDonald. “If they don’t come up to scratch on that, they will go into special measures, which is basically saying, ‘Look, you are not there at the moment.

We will take a week out, we will put in place a raft of measures to help you to get up to scratch.

But if you can’t make it, then a job in racing is probably not for you – at the moment’.

“It concentrates people’s minds. When I ring up a trainer, I have to be very honest. And it is me who does the ringing up; 170 [successful graduates] ready for careers in racing.”

Unlike those who take a Blackadder view of army life, MacDonald believes his service, which he left as a Major, has helped him impart structure and discipline to his role. Although each pupil happily calls him ‘sir’, he is straight, upfront, rather than draconian, and quick to praise a team that includes jockey coach Richard Perham.

Many might find it hard to imagine the BRS without Rory MacDonald, and his reply to questions about who might succeed him are revealing: someone with a passion for horseracing, he says, and a passion for young people “who strives to be better tomorrow than they are today in everything they do.”

You wonder if he realises he could be describing himself.

61

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12/11/2013 15:53

Feb_114_Bloodstock_Intro_Owner 17/01/2014 15:19 Page 63

BREEDERS’ DIGEST

By EMMA BERRY, Bloodstock Editor

Our bloodstock coverage this month includes:

• Sales Circuit: Brightwells, Goffs, Keeneland January and Magic Millions – pages 64-69 • The Caulfield Files: The emerging influence of the late Hennessy in Japan – pages 70-71

Goffs goes to town on new venue

T

he sales calendar is an ever-evolving beast and this year sees two brand new auctions tied in to major racing festivals.

Brightwells, which has done a great job in creating a market for ‘boutique’ jumpers-in-training sales, has added an extra date to its list with a select auction set to take place on the Thursday evening at Cheltenham during the Festival (March 13).

But it is Goffs that has really stolen the show, with the announcement of its London Sale at The Orangery at Kensington Palace on the Monday of Royal Ascot week (June 16).

“We considered a number of central London venues but this was the one we settled on and it’s a beautiful setting,” said Goffs’ Chief Executive Henry Beeby. “The plan is to hold the sale mid- to late-afternoon so it doesn’t interfere with other events, such as the GBR party. There’ll be a reception in the Orangery and we are aiming for it to have a garden party feel, a bit like a Royal Ascot picnic, rather than a more formal function.”

The sale itself will consist of breezers and form horses, with some of the latter, it is hoped, potentially holding entries for Ascot.

“We’ve discussed this with the BHA and they are prepared to work with us regarding any transfer of ownership,” Beeby added.

As was the format for Goffs’ March breezeup sale, which is not being staged this year, horses will be breezed on the Polytrack at Kempton over the weekend prior to the sale, with video footage available on the Goffs website. The horses can be viewed at the racecourse, where they will parade as they are sold, with a live video link to be shown at The Orangery and bid-spotters also in place at Kempton for any agents who wish to be there.

in Britain. Westlake, a ten-year-old halfbrother to Frankel’s dam Kind, by Frankel’s grandsire Sadler’s Wells, has been recruited

by Andrew Spalding’s Hedgeholme Stud in Country Durham.

A full-brother to Powerscourt, who won the Arlington Million and Tattersalls Gold Cup, Westlake raced six times for Dermot Weld, winning his final three starts to achieve a rating of 99. He was part of the Juddmonte draft at the 2008 Tattersalls Horses-inTraining Sale, where he was sold for 12,000gns to Qatari owner Abdulaziz Ali Abdullah Al Kathiri. He will return to Tattersalls on February 6, though this time he is not for sale. Westlake is one of 13 stallions appearing at the TBA Stallion Parade, which takes place on the morning of the February Sale (see TBA Forum, page 82).

“We’ve had him here only since Christmas but he’s a really good-looking horse and I’m looking forward to showing him to breeders at Tattersalls,” said Spalding, who was made aware of Westlake by his friend Conrad Allen.

“We decided it was worth giving him a chance on pedigree alone and it gives smaller breeders an opportunity to use this bloodline.”

Allen, who trains in Newmarket and was previously based in Qatar, still operates on behalf of a number of Qatari owners. He said: “I knew Westlake’s owner as I buy horses for one of his friends. He asked me to look the horse up and see if there was anything I could

Family matters for Westlake The wait for Frankel’s first foal is over, though it’s unlikely that we’ve heard the last of Frankel fever, which will be inflamed again once the foal sales start later in the year. With his three-parts brother and former lead horse Bullet Train ensconced in Kentucky, there’s an intriguing new addition to the stallion ranks

THOROUGHBRED OWNER & BREEDER INC PACEMAKER

Pippa Boyle and her ex-racehorse team outside the gates of Buckingham Palace

do, and when I did, I thought ‘wow’. They bought him pre-Frankel and have decided to give him a chance at standing in England.”

Westlake raced a further three times in Qatar and has already covered mares privately, with a small number of yearlings and foals on the ground in that country.

Racing is just the first chapter As most racehorses retire before they have even reached double digits in age, they will generally have plenty of years of active life ahead, even if not suitable for breeding purposes. Placing the right horse in the right home with the right rider is thus one of the most important tasks faced by their owners and trainers.

Happily, a number of organisations, headed

by Retraining of Racehorses (RoR), are dedicated to doing just this and many racing yards take it upon themselves to find homes for their ex-racehorses. One trainer’s wife who works tirelessly in this cause is Pippa Boyle, who set up Jim Boyle’s Ex-Racehorses 11 years ago and has rehomed more than 100 horses in that time.

While many of us were nursing hangovers, Pippa and a team of four riders and former racehorses took part in the All The Queen’s Horses parade in London on New Year’s Day. Six-year-olds Isingy Red (Charlotte Bruton) and Regal Approval (Torie Joyce) were joined by seven-year-old Tatawor (Nat Warren) and led by 21-year-old veteran Law Dancer (Aimee Owsin), with the first three-named all having been trained in Epsom by Jim Boyle.

“The parade started at the Ritz and finished at Parliament Square, and the horses behaved amazingly,” said Pippa. “They found the first 100 metres very exciting – the noise, lashing wind and rain – but they soon settled and stood patiently to meet and greet the public.”

And it’s not just young thoroughbreds who can excel in a second discipline. At the recent RoR/SEIB Racehorse to Riding Horse Show Championships, I was delighted to see Jack Dawson win the Endurance section. Jack was trained by my husband, John, until the age of 10 and won 11 of his 71 races. At 17, he retains the enthusiasm he displayed on the racecourse and has covered 1,500km in ‘retirement’ with rider Lorna Kidson.

63

Feb_114_Sales_Circuit_Sales 17/01/2014 15:51 Page 64

SALES CIRCUIT

By CARL EVANS and EMMA BERRY

Form is key at Brightwells Fresh from racecourse success, Tell Us More nears the record price at Cheltenham

Brightwells December Sale, Cheltenham Top lots Sex/Name

Vendor

G Tell Us More (Scorpion-Zara’s Victory)

Lingstown Stables

Price (£) 290,000

Buyer

G Mystical Dreamer (Flemensfirth-Voodoo Magic)

Willow Stables

160,000

Gordon Elliott

G Racing Europe (Kayf Tara-Titanic Quarter)

Kilbarry Lodge Stud

120,000

Tom Malone

G Oficial Ben (Beneficial-Up)

Silverfort Stud

120,000

Jonjo O’Neill

G Sir Abbot (Morozov-Paddyeoin)

Leighmoney Stables

85,000

Frank Berry

G Tiger Roll (Authorized-Swiss Roll)

Thorne Farm Racing

80,000

Mags O’Toole

G Capote (Oscar-Kinsellas Rose)

Saundercourt Stables

75,000

Highflyer Bloodstock

G One For Arthur (Milan-Nonnetia)

Ballydarragh Stables

60,000

T Malone/L Russell

G Inner Drive (Heron Island-Hingis)

Hackness Villa Stables

60,000

Highflyer Bloodstock

G Benzel (Beneficial-Jezel)

Silverfort Stud

55,000

Jonjo O’Neill

Harold Kirk

EMMA BERRY

Five-year tale

Harold Kirk claimed Brightwells’ top lot

Brightwells December Sale, Cheltenham

Year

Sold

Agg (£)

Avg (£)

Mdn (£)

Top Price (£)

2013

31

1,569,000

50,613

30,000

290,000

2012

39

1,818,600

46,631

26,500

165,000

2011

55

1,672,000

30,400

25,000

75,000

2010

34

899,000

25,853

20,000

75,000

2009

43

1,147,200

26,679

17,000

100,000

>>

64

EMMA BERRY

B

rightwells completed a year of auctioneering at Cheltenham with a sale whose figures pushed annual trade slightly ahead of results achieved in 2012.

A smaller catalogue for this sale – thought to be a reflection of reduced numbers running in British and Irish point-to-points and dry weather throughout November leading to firm going – was a factor which contributed to a drop in aggregate on the night, but the £1,569,000 which went through the till took 2013 turnover by Brightwells at Cheltenham to £11,561,500.

That was a narrow £28,200 up on the figure posted 12 months earlier, although it had leapt 27%, and so consolidation was a good result. Annual clearance of 71% (324 horses offered and 230 sold) was not to be sniffed at, while an average price of £50,267 was a fine advertisement to place before vendors ahead of sales during 2014.

If pinhookers can find a handsome, scopey gelding and train him to win a point-to-point, bumper or maiden hurdle then the right people will be at Cheltenham to invest, as witnessed by the £290,000 sale of Tell Us More to Harold Kirk on behalf of Irish trainer Willie Mullins. Messrs Henderson and

Sales-goers in Kentucky for Keeneland’s opener faced beautiful but chilly conditions

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Proven Sire of WINNERS under BOTH codes incl.

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by Cadeaux Genereux - Clarentia £8,500 (1st Oct SLF)

“The 19 year old son of Cadeaux Genereux has become a model of consistency who rarely fails to throw up an above average juvenile” Racing Post 15.07.13 Sire of 19 winners from 52 two year old runners in 2013, including 5 Stakes winning/ placed 2 year olds: ANJAAL Won July Stakes Gr.2 CORAL MIST Won Firth of Clyde Stakes Gr.3 FIG ROLL Won Bet365 Empress Stakes L. COOL BAHAMIAN 2nd Weatherbys Bank Stonehenge Stakes L. EASTERN IMPACT 3rd Cantor Fitzgerald Equities National Stakes L.

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65

Feb_114_Sales_Circuit_Sales 17/01/2014 15:51 Page 66

SALES CIRCUIT >> Nicholls and their British training colleagues

Goffs December National Hunt Sale Top lots Sex/Breeding

Vendor

C Beneficial-Tanit Lady

Shanaville Stables

Price (€) 39,000

Buyer Kevin Ross Bloodstock

C Jeremy-Poulkovo

Tinnakill House

35,000

Rathmore Stud

C Flemensfirth-Mucho Macabi

Grange Stud

30,000

G H Bloodstock

C Presenting-Papoose

Quill Farm/Ballincurrig House

30,000

Kevin Ross Bloodstock

C Scorpion-Spring Baloo

Grange Hill Stud

30,000

Abbeylands Farm

C Kayf Tara-For More

John Kent

30,000

First Of Many

C Gold Well-Musicienne

Jamestown Consignment

29,000

Rathmore Stud

C Robin Des Champs-Roli Flight

Ethel Browne

29,000

Rathmore Stud

C Robin Des Champs-Liss Agragh

Five Naughts Stud

29,000

J J Frisby

C Flemensfirth-Kestral Heights

Beeches Stud

28,000

John O’Byrne

Five-year tale Year

Sold

Agg (€)

Avg (€)

Mdn (€)

Top Price (€)

2013

210

1,901,850

9,056

6,500

39,000

2012

169

1,410,950

8,348

5,800

55,000

2011

110

883,850

8,035

5,900

70,000

2010

214

535,300

5,818

3,200

35,000

2009

225

775,000

6,250

3,450

40,000

KEENELAND

must be relieved Mullins merely makes raids on British racecourses and does not operate here full-time, for the son of Scorpion has joined a yard brimming with young talent.

He was teed up for his ring appearance by trainer Willie Codd on behalf of owner William Drew, who bought him as a threeyear-old for €27,000 at Goffs’ Land Rover (stores) Sale last year. Victory on his point-topoint debut a few days before this auction was a tried and trusted route that came good once again.

His sale came close to the record at this venue, which remains the £310,000 paid for Fascino Rustico, who was second for owner John Hales in a novices’ hurdle at Kempton’s Christmas meeting. County Clare’s Ronnie O’Leary was the vendor on that occasion, and he was again in action at this sale, offering Mystical Dreamer, whom he bought for €27,000 at Tattersalls Ireland last year.

O’Leary prefers to tackle British bumpers as a way of showcasing such a horse, and after this one, a big gelding who looks ready to

Poncha De Leona awaits her turn in the heated pre-parade ring at Keeneland prior to topping the January Sale at $775,000

66

THOROUGHBRED OWNER & BREEDER INC PACEMAKER

Feb_114_Sales_Circuit_Sales 17/01/2014 15:52 Page 67

SALES CIRCUIT tackle a fence, landed such a race at Sedgefield he was knocked down to Gordon Elliott for £160,000.

Goffs December NH Sale Improvements in all figures at this foal sale – bar the top price – created a pleasing note on which Goffs ended trading in 2013.

A 74% clearance rate (up from 64%) plus rises in average and median of 8.5% and 12% respectively were good results, and, while an additional 18 weanlings went through the ring, a 34% gain in turnover was another substantial plus.

The sales company hopes to convert this one-day sale into a two-day event, and, given the demand for three-year-old National Hunt stores, many of whom come from auctions such as this, its ambition could soon be achieved.

Kevin Ross was the buyer to follow, for he not only took the top lot – a €39,000 son of Beneficial – but also the leading filly, a €25,000 daughter of Yeats. These two Ross purchases had won red rosettes as the leading colt and filly at the previous day’s foal show.

Sisters to Hurricane Fly and Oscar Whisky were represented by foals who made €30,000 apiece.

DICK TURPIN

by Arakan - Merrily

£4,000 (1st Oct SLF)

Keeneland January Horses Of All Ages Sale Keeneland’s January fixture is often held with snow on the ground but few sales-goers will have endured quite such challenging conditions as those experienced for the first two sessions of the fourday fixture, with the wind chill factor bringing the temperature down to around -25F. The icy blasts did little to affect the warmth of trade in the ring, however, with Much Macho Man’s dam Ponche De Leona leading the way when sold to Grand National-winning owner Betty Moran for $775,000.

The 15-year-old grey daughter of Ponche was sold in foal to WinStar’s Distorted Humor and she has a two-year-old full-brother to her Breeders’ Cup Classic-winning son to race for her this season.

She was one of three mares to reach the three-quarters of a million mark, with the dual graded stakes producer Life Happened, carrying

>>

By ARAKAN, sire of Gr.1 winning 2yo TOORMORE, Gr.3 winning 3yo SRUTHAN, and multiple Gr.2 and Gr.3 winner TRUMPET MAJOR. 2013 Tattersalls December Foal Sale average of 20,755gns.

TOP 5 LOTS IN 2013 SELLING FOR Lot 910: ex Imperialistic, sold for 70,000gns Lot 771: ex Presto Levanter, sold for 30,000gns Lot 507: ex Whirly Dancer, sold for 28,000gns Lot 629: ex Heckle, sold for 24,000gns Lot 809: ex Adaria, sold for €22,000 Some of the industry’s most shrewd judges were among the purchasers of his first foals.

Peter & Ross Doyle

Johnny McKeever

Tattersalls.com

Tattersalls.com

Stephen Hillen

EMMA BERRY

Call Brian O’Rourke on 07789 508157 or email stallions@nationalstud.co.uk National Stud Ltd., Newmarket, Suffolk CB8 0XE Managing Director: Brian O’Rourke

Unbridled Belle is off to Japan after being sold for $400,000

THOROUGHBRED OWNER & BREEDER INC PACEMAKER

67

Feb_114_Sales_Circuit_Sales 17/01/2014 15:52 Page 68

SALES CIRCUIT >> to

the late Harlan’s Holiday, holding sway early when selling to Jason Litt for $750,000 only an hour into the sale.

She was joined at that figure by Sweeter Still, a Rock Of Gibraltar half-sister to Kingsbarns, offered in foal to the Racing Post Trophy winner’s sire, Galileo. In fact, she was the only mare in the catalogue with a Galileo cover and is now the property of Phyllis Wyeth, having been bought on her behalf by Braxton and Damian Lynch of Royal Oak Farm. Sweeter Still is one of a number of mares selected by the couple to visit Wyeth’s homebred stallion Union Rags, the Belmont Stakes winner who is standing his second season at Lane’s End Farm.

Craig Bernick, President of Glen Hill Farm, picked up two of the ten best-selling mares at Keeneland when going to $425,000 to secure Poule d’Essais des Pouliches winner Flotilla’s half-sister Louvakhova and $300,000 for the unraced Dynaformer mare Rietondale, the dam of Grade 1 runner-up Stormy Len. Glen Hill Farm has already enjoyed a Grade 2 victory in 2014 with the success of War Front filly Pontchatrain in the Monrovia Stakes on the first day of the Keeneland Sale, and the new purchases will eventually join the broodmare band at the Florida farm which was established by Bernick’s grandfather, the Alberto VO5 founder Leonard Lavin.

It was the first time since 2009 that the sale had not recorded a seven-figure transaction, but the 2014 median of $20,000 was also the highest throughout that period, indicating the good depth to the market. Several notable withdrawals, plus the absence of a dispersal to match last year’s 78-strong Fares Farm consignment, which brought more than $7 million, hit the overall figures for the sale – which last year saw a top price of $1.45m for a yearling Street Sense half-sister to Fillies’ Mile winner Certify, while Grade 1 winner Nereid led the mares at $1.3m. Vendors and

Keeneland January Horses Of All Ages Sale Top lots Name (Sire)

Consignor

Purchaser

Price ($)

Ponche De Leona (Ponche)

Blake-Albina T’Bred Services

Brushwood Stable

775,000

Life Happened (Stravinsky)

Select Sales, Agent

Solis/Litt

750,000

Sweeter Still (Rock Of Gibraltar)

Eaton Sales

Royal Oak Farm

750,000

Louvakhova (Maria’s Mon)

Hill ‘n’ Dale Sales

Glen Hill Farm

425,000

Unbridled Belle (Broken Vow)

Hill ‘n’ Dale Sales

Haruya Yoshida

400,000

Patti’s Regal Song (Unbridled’s Song) Paramount Sales

River Bend Farm

325,000

Lady Kierkegaard (Arch)

Winter Quarter Farm

Fleetwood Bloodstock

310,000

Rietondale (Dynaformer)

Mill Ridge Sales

Glen Hill Farm

300,000

Heavenly Pride (Sky Mesa)

Taylor Made Sales

Chadds Ford Stable

290,000

Liam’s Dream (Saint Liam)

Lisa & Tim Turney

Three Chimneys Farm

290,000

Five-year tale Year

Sold

Agg ($)

Avg ($)

Mdn ($)

2014

1,027

41,025,700

39,947

20,000

Top Price ($) 775,000

2013

1,105

45,207,300

40,912

15,000

1,450,000

2012

1,003

37,991,900

37,878

15,000

1,400,000

2011

1,021

25,250,350

24,731

7,500

1,400,000

2010

982

23,895,100

24,333

8,000

1,085,000

included Tom Goff of Blandford Bloodstock, who bid $165,000 for a yearling filly by Arch.

Haruya Yoshida of Japan’s Oiwake Farm was represented by his son Masahi, whose three six-figure purchases were headed by Grade 1 winner Unbridled Belle, in foal to Bernardini, at $400,000.

“As in November, during January we saw extraordinary demand for broodmares, which signals that horsemen are making a long-term commitment to the industry,” commented Keeneland’s Director of Sales Geoffrey Russell.

industry observers alike, however, will have taken heart from a strong clearance rate of 80% and solid demand for mares and ‘short’ yearlings in the six-figure price range.

Top of the youngsters was a colt by America’s newly-crowned champion sire Kitten’s Joy, who fetched $235,000 to a bid from Philip Blake A number of European buyers braved the Kentucky cold – though some only got as far as Chicago and found themselves stranded when connecting flights were cancelled in the snowstorm – and those on the buyers’ sheet

Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale Top lots Sex/Breeding

Vendor

C Redoute’s Choice-Hades

Newhaven Park

Price (A$)

F Fastnet Rock-Headway

Milburn Creek

700,000

C More Than Ready-Polaway

Newhaven Park

600,000

Ellerslie Lodge/Bryce Heys

C Northern Meteor-Ms Bowie

Musk Creek Farm

525,000

Gai Waterhouse/James Harron B/s

1,000,000

Buyer Jon Kelly/Gai Waterhouse Tom Magnier

C Lonhro-Noesis

Willow Park Stud

520,000

Sun Bloodstock

F Redoute’s Choice-Luna Bella

Arrowfield Stud

500,000

James Harron Bloodstock

F Fastnet Rock-Fleur De’here

Newgate Farm

460,000

Chris Waller

F Fastnet Rock-Zavana

Baramul Stud

450,000

C C Lai

C More Than Ready-Ringa Ringa Rosie Rothwell Park

450,000

Boomer Bloodstock

C Star Witness- Pachanga

Glenlogan Park

450,000

James Harron Bloodstock

F Fastnet Rock-Native Song

Three Bridges T’breds

450,000

Matchem Racing

EMMA BERRY

Five-year tale

Four Star Sales made two ‘warm rooms’ from converted stables at Keeneland

68

Year

Sold

Agg (A$)

Avg (A$)

Mdn (A$)

2014

521

75,082,500

144,112

120,000

Top Price (A$) 1,000,000

2013

497

67,677,500

136,172

105,000

1,350,000

2012

492

62,570,000

127,175

100,000

960,000

2011

503

62,575,000

124,403

90,000

1,150,000

2010

515

66,640,500

129,399

95,000

925,000

THOROUGHBRED OWNER & BREEDER INC PACEMAKER

Feb_114_Sales_Circuit_Sales 17/01/2014 15:52 Page 69

SALES CIRCUIT

PASTORAL PURSUITS EMMA BERRY

by Bahamian Bounty - Star £4,500 (1st Oct SLF)

Yearlings being readied to face the cold in Kentucky

“It’s very healthy to see buyers competing for broodmares at all strata of the market. And it’s very encouraging to see major investors coming to central Kentucky to establish their American breeding and racing programmes.”

Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale Viewed from a wet and windy corner of Northern Europe, Australia’s Gold Coast seems particularly appealing in early January, and it proved a honeypot for bloodstock buyers who attended this annual auction of yearlings.

A catalogue of 663 youngsters was put together for the upper-tier Book 1 of the sale and it achieved a clearance rate of 87%, which was not only very good but up on last year’s 83% figure. Turnover rose by 11%, while the average and median shifted upwards by 6% and 14% respectively.

The full figures, which can be seen on the accompanying table, were a fine result for Magic Millions, whose Managing Director Vin Cox said: “They are a beautiful set of numbers, they really are.”

One round number, A$1,000,000, was the sum paid for the saletopper, a Redoute’s Choice colt knocked down to Californian Jon Kelly, who is a familiar face at European auctions. This was a case of Jon Kelly and his wife Sarah buying from John Kelly and his wife Sarah – the latter pair of Kellys run Newhaven Park, which consigned the yearling.

Australian trainer Gai Waterhouse will handle his future, and she was also the leading buyer during this part of the sale, spending A$8,235,000 on 39 lots in partnership with James Harron Bloodstock.

Second on the list of high-priced buys was a filly by Coolmore Stud’s Fastnet Rock, who fell to Tom Magnier with a valuation of A$700,000.

She was one of several paternal half-sisters who featured among the top-ten buys.

Redoute’s Choice and Fastnet Rock, two stallions who shuttle to France and Ireland respectively, filled the top two slots on the leading sires’ table by average.

THOROUGHBRED OWNER & BREEDER INC PACEMAKER

SIRE OF 24 INDIVIDUAL TWO YEAR OLD WINNERS IN 2013 AND A WINNERS/RUNNERS STRIKE RATE OF 41% WITH HIS EUROPEAN 2YO’S OF 2013. 23.12.13 VENTURA MIST Won Totepool 2yo Trophy, L.; 3rd Firth of Clyde Stakes, Gr.3; 2nd Bet365 Empress Stakes, L. LILBOURNE LASS 3rd St Hugh’s Stakes, L., and winner of over £68,000 AL MUTHANA 2nd Prix de Cabourg Jockey Club de Turquie Gr.3 2013 Doncaster Premier Sale yearling averages of over 5 times his 2011 stud fee, and sire of 3 Lots selling for more than 11 times his 2011 stud fee: Lot 201: ex Sheer Indulgence, sold for £100,000 Lot 340: ex Ashes, sold for £100,000 Lot 248: ex Talampaya, sold for £80,000

“We’ve been lucky with the sire – Lilbourne Lass has won 3 this year and Auld Burns won the Tattersalls Sales Race for us; and this colt is the best physical specimen we’ve seen all day”.

Ross Doyle, EBN 28.08.13, purchaser of Lot 201

Call Brian O’Rourke on 07789 508157 or email stallions@nationalstud.co.uk National Stud Ltd., Newmarket, Suffolk CB8 0XE Managing Director: Brian O’Rourke

69

Feb_114_Caulfield_Owner Breeder 17/01/2014 15:20 Page 70

CAULFIELD FILES ANDREW CAULFIELD REPORTS ON THE BLOODSTOCK WORLD

Emerging line W

hen you think of Japan’s breeding industry, the name Sunday Silence is overwhelmingly dominant.

After all, nine sons of this great stallion ranked in the top dozen sires in Japan in 2013, with Deep Impact taking his second championship.

Surely the time is going to come when Japanese breeders will need alternative bloodlines and one possible option may come via the unexpected form of another – very different – American stallion. The one I have in mind is Storm Cat’s son Hennessy, who died of heart failure at the age of 14 in 2007 while on shuttle duty in Argentina. In a peripatetic career, Hennessy had also stood one season in Japan and three in Australia, in addition to his years at Ashford Stud in Kentucky.

Hennessy had raced only at two, when he matched some of the achievements of his sire Storm Cat, such as finishing a close second in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile and earning a weight of 124lb on the Experimental Free Handicap.

However, he bettered his sire in some areas.

After narrowly losing his first start, Hennessy reeled off four wins by a total of 25 lengths, including impressive victories in the Grade 2

Hollywood Juvenile Championship, Grade 2 Sapling Stakes and Grade 1 Hopeful Stakes.

An injury ended Hennessy’s career after nine races, before he could run at three, so we were left in the dark as to how he would have progressed or how far he would have stayed.

The chances are, though, that he wouldn’t have stayed much beyond the 8.5 furlongs of his narrow Breeders’ Cup Juvenile defeat.

His stallion career largely celebrated his ability to pass on his speed, often coupled with his precocious juvenile talent. We were reminded of this a few years after his death, when his daughter Special Duty won the Prix Robert Papin and Cheveley Park Stakes as a prelude to her ‘victories’ in the English and French 1,000 Guineas.

Hennessy’s 2001 season in Japan supplied him with a Grade 1 winner, Sunrise Bacchus, winner of the February Stakes over a dirt mile, and now Japan is the permanent home of two of his most accomplished northern hemisphere sons in Johannesburg and Henny Hughes.

Johannesburg never quite showed the same brilliance as a sire that had made him such an exceptional two-year-old. How many juveniles

GEORGE SELWYN

Hennessy influence could prove to be useful in Japan

Johannesburg is now in Japan, where his sire Hennessy served a season

manage to become a Group 1 winner in two countries, let alone four, as Johannesburg did by winning the Phoenix Stakes, Prix Morny, Middle Park Stakes and Breeders’ Cup Juvenile?

Even though he has proved less effective as a stallion he still managed to sire a magnificent total of ten Group/Graded winners in his first crop. It could be significant that two of these ten – Scat Daddy and Teuflesberg – have sired first-crop Grade 1 winners, while another of

Pistolet keeps firing through his sons Arvico and Balko When Top Ville’s son Pistolet Bleu died at 13 in 2001, after covering 325 thoroughbred mares in his first season as part of Coolmore’s National Hunt squad, I guessed that would be the end of his male line. After all, his presence in Ireland was partly a result of his disappointing results as a sire of Flat horses in France (and partly a response to the excellent results achieved by his own jumping stock and that of other sons of Top Ville).

A winner of the Criterium de Saint-Cloud and Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud, Pistolet Bleu was to prove a major loss to the Irish industry, judging by a legacy which featured the likes of Sizing Europe, Cappa Bleu, Merigo, Geos, Katarino, Vodka Bleu, Snap Tie, Copper Bleu, Seven Is My Number, Parsons Pistol, I’msingingtheblues and Ramses Bleu.

Fortunately, France’s jumping trainers do not automatically geld their horses and consequently two sons of Pistolet Bleu were represented by stakes-winning jumpers in December. The better known of the two is the

70

Devon-based Arvico, whose son Arvika Ligeonniere recorded his fourth Grade 1 success over fences when he took the Punchestown Chase. Arvico had won all three of his starts over hurdles in France, having earlier scored five times on the Flat.

The other son of Pistolet Bleu to make his mark in December was the French-based Balko. Born in 2001, Balko raced exclusively over jumps, winning nine of his 19 starts. His six successes over hurdles included a Grade 2 at Auteuil and he also won two important chases on the same track, including the Grade 2 Prix Congress.

Balko’s first foals were born in 2008 and among them are Fago, a familiar name following his very useful victories at Newbury and Haydock; Michto, a Grade 3 winner over fences at Auteuil; and Walk Sibo, a Listed winner over jumps at Cagnes-sur-Mer in December.

Balko also scored with the ex-French Gitane Du Berlais, an impressive all-the-way winner

of a Listed juvenile hurdle at Aintree. This talented filly could just be the tip of the iceberg for her sire, as Balko has some sizeable crops in the pipeline, with nearly 70 two-year-olds this year and a similar number of yearlings.

Make a note of his name.

Gitane Du Berlais looks promising for Balko

Feb_114_Caulfield_Owner Breeder 17/01/2014 15:20 Page 71

THOROUGHBRED OWNER & BREEDER INC PACEMAKER

Cacique’s fertility battle worth the fight

HUGH ROUTLEDGE

them – Sageburg – has a first-crop Group 2 winner. Scat Daddy has also sired the exciting No Nay Never from his second crop. For good measure, Johannesburg’s ten first-crop Group/Graded winners included the very fast filly La Traviata, already the dam of Middle Park Stakes winner Crusade.

It was announced in October 2009 that Johannesburg had been sold to Japan, so his first Japanese crop reached the races in 2013.

Despite being smaller than those of some of his high-profile rivals, this crop did well enough to earn Johannesburg fourth place among Japan’s juvenile sires.

His 30 winners were led by Fukuno Dream, a Listed winner on turf and dirt, and Horai Akiko, who established herself among the best of her sex with three wins from four starts, including the Grade 3 Kokura Nisai Stakes and the Grade 2 Daily Hai Nisai Stakes. Although technically not a first-season sire, Johannesburg has been included in this category and topped the table by a sizeable margin.

It will be fascinating to see whether these results restore breeders’ faith in Johannesburg, as it seems that the Japanese quickly lost interest in him. The Japanese Stud Book credits him with only 28 foals in 2012 and 14 in 2013.

Henny Hughes is another whose career has had some peaks and troughs. At his best he was a top-notch sprinter, but sprinters tend not to be highly prized by American breeders and Henny Hughes initially did little to counteract this prejudice.

Having started at $40,000, his fee was soon in freefall, to the extent that he was available at $12,500 in 2012. He managed to attract only 22 mares that season, so it came as little surprise when Darley sold him to Western Australia in July 2012.

The perverse world of racing and breeding then played one of its tricks. By the end of 2012 Henny Hughes ranked second among North America’s leading sires of two-year-olds, thanks largely to his champion daughter Beholder. In next to no time he was heading back to Kentucky for the 2013 season.

Even though Beholder was busily adding to her reputation with victories in the Grade 1 Las Virgenes Stakes and Grade 1 Santa Anita Oaks (and ultimately the Breeders’ Cup Distaff), Henny Hughes wasn’t rushed off his feet, despite his modest $7,500 fee. The next stop on his itinerary proved to be Japan, as he was sold to the Yushun Company in October.

This latest move was prompted by the success of a couple of Henny Hughes’s sons.

The first, Henny Hound, became a Grade 3 winner over six furlongs in 2011. Then Keiai Leone won one of Japan’s top dirt tests for twoyear-olds in 2012, before developing into a Grade 3 dirt winner at three.

Dominant became Cacique’s second Group 1 winner with victory in Hong Kong

The continuing misfortune suffered by The Fugue in the Group 1 Hong Kong Vase tended to divert attention from the unexpected winner, the ex-English Dominant. While some might argue that Dominant had luck on his side in beating the English-trained daughter of Dansili, it mustn’t be forgotten that Dominant also accounted for such seasoned international performers as Dunaden and Red Cadeaux.

The irony of the result was that Dansili’s daughter had been outpointed by a son of Dansili’s brother Cacique.

Dominant was last seen in England in July 2011, when he started favourite, on the strength of his victory in the £150,000 Tattersalls Millions 3-Y-O Cup, to beat the redoubtable Twice Over in the Group 2 York Stakes. Although Dominant wasn’t quite up to the task, he earned a Timeform rating of 115p.

He was by no means the only highly rated colt from Cacique’s first crop. Census, winner of the Geoffrey Freer Stakes, was rated 120, while Mutual Trust was given a figure of 122 on the strength of his victory in the Prix Jean Prat. The Listed winner Slumber also did well, with a rating of 116.

This collection of smart performers would have been admirable enough in any circumstances. However, they came from a crop which numbered just over 30, because Yushun Company has every reason to be delighted with their purchase, as Japan’s top two-year-old prize, the Asahi Hai Futurity in mid-December, was won by Asia Express, a Florida-bred son of Henny Hughes.

Bought for $230,000 at Ocala in March 2013, Asia Express is now unbeaten in three starts.

After winning his first two starts on dirt at Tokyo, he adapted very well to turf in the Asahi

of the fertility issues which had beset Cacique in his first season. These problems became more pronounced in Cacique’s second season, which resulted in only a handful of foals. However, one of them was Canticum, whose victory in the Group 2 Prix Chaudenay suggested he was a very smart stayer in the making. Unfortunately this promising colt died soon afterwards.

It is worth pointing out that the dams of Canticum, Census and Slumber never raced and that Dominant’s dam didn’t win until the 13th attempt. Even Mutual Trust’s dam, Posteritas, was rated no higher than 91, even though she was a Listed winner.

The magnitude of Cacique’s achievements demanded that he be persevered with and veterinary study helped establish a workable management system. So, after two blank years, Cacique was back in action in 2012. He justified all the hard work by achieving 80% fertility and he was similarly successful with another limited book in 2013.

This resurrection of his career is all the more welcome in view of Dominant’s Group 1 win. With Dansili continuing to prove himself one of the world’s elite stallions and their youngest brother Champs Elysees showing plenty of promise, we have the unusual prospect of all three brothers being major assets to the British industry.

Hai Futurity, and ended 2013 as the top-rated juvenile in Japan.

It will be interesting to see whether a son of Henny Hughes has sufficient stamina for the Japanese colts’ Classics, the shortest of which is over a mile and a quarter. It could be in his favour that his broodmare sire, Running Stag, was a Group winner over a mile and a quarter in France and the US.

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Purses peak but what about race values?

Richard Wayman believes that minimum values have fallen behind where they should be With just about every major meeting towards the end of last year having beaten the weather, total prizemoney in 2013 ended up higher than previously forecasted at £114.2 million. This exceeded the previous high of £110.5m in 2009 with, in between those years, prize-money dropping sharply to £93.9m in 2011 before recovering to £97.8m in 2012.

Last year’s £16.4m increase was largely the result of the Levy Board increasing its prizemoney budget by £12.1m, with the rest of the growth coming from racecourses (£2.5m) and owners’ stakes (£1.8m). The latter tends to increase as prize-money rises as the entry fee for a race is usually set as a fixed percentage of the race’s prize-money.

As has been reported in previous months, a further increase in prize-money is expected this year to around £123m. This is partly as a result of the contractual prize-money agreements signed with 39 supportive racecourses and, also, the latest levy settlement, which included an additional voluntary contribution of £4.5m from the four largest retail bookmakers.

The prize-money agreements have established the crucial link between the media rights income received by the tracks and their total contribution to prize-money, but they were never intended to dictate how this

contribution is allocated across fixtures.

Rather, it is the minimum values set out in the Rules of Racing that provide the mechanism for dealing with prize-money at an individual race level. The values that will apply in 2014 are, with one or two minor exceptions, unchanged from last year and, in most cases, much lower than several years ago.

The current race classification on the Flat was introduced in 2005 when prize-money totalled £98.6m. As the following table shows, nine years later, races at Class 2 and below can be run for less despite the fact that total prizemoney will be around £25m higher.

Flat Race Values Race Type

2005

2014

Group 1

£200,000

£200,000

Group 2

£90,000

£90,000

Group 3

£50,000

£60,000

Listed

£28,000

£37,000

Class 2

£20,000

£19,000

Class 3

£14,000

£11,500

Class 4

£10,000

£7,250

Class 5

£5,000

£4,000

Class 6

£3,500

£3,000

Lack of space prevents me from providing the same analysis for jump racing but it shows a similar picture with, for example, the minimum value for a 0-115 handicap chase

having fallen from £8,000 in 2005 to £5,800 in 2014.

Now, of course, we have to acknowledge that some things have changed during the intervening period, not least that the fixture list has expanded significantly from 1,349 to 1,464 fixtures. The vast majority of the growth in fixtures is accounted for by the introduction of floodlit twilight meetings from September through to April; 102 of these are programmed for 2014 and with prize-money of at least £30,000 per fixture, twilight fixtures would account for between £3-4m of the increase in total prize-money.

I can only conclude that, even after taking the additional fixtures into account, the current situation is illogical – total prize-money is higher than it has ever been and yet minimum values are often a long way short of where they were.

Of course, these lower values suit those racecourses who now enjoy much more flexibility when allocating their prize-money budgets. Indeed, the scale of this flexibility is illustrated by the fact that if every race was run at its minimum value in 2014, total prizemoney would be around £80m rather than the forecasted £123m.

It obviously doesn’t work anywhere near so well for owners, particularly those with horses operating at the lower levels of the race programme, who can win a race but take home prize-money that doesn’t get close to covering the month’s training bill.

The numbers speak for themselves and the situation needs addressing.

Exclusive marquee at the Cheltenham Festival The ROA will once again have an exclusive facility for members and their guests for the four days of the Cheltenham Festival, March 11-14.

This year the ROA marquee is in a new location, albeit remaining in the tented village but situated much closer to the paddock.

The facilities will be similar to previous years, providing a comfortable base with television viewing, a cash bar, hot and cold food available to purchase and unreserved seating. In addition, members and their guests can enjoy complimentary

THOROUGHBRED OWNER & BREEDER INC PACEMAKER

tea or coffee on arrival.

The ROA marquee is always a popular meeting point at the Festival, and we hope to see many of our returning members and welcome new visitors and guests to the new facility next month.

Rates for members and their guests, which remain excellent value, are as follows:

Members Guests

Daily rate

Weekly rate

£30 £40

£85 £125

As usual, admission to the ROA marquee does not provide admission into the racecourse itself, and members and guests will require admission badges to get into the course. Admission badges can be purchased directly through Cheltenham racecourse either online at cheltenham.co.uk or by calling 0844 579 3003.

Bookings for the ROA marquee can be made online at racehorseowners.net or by calling the ROA office on 020 7152 0200.

Marquee badges regularly sell out so order now to avoid disappointment.

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ROA FORUM

ROA Owners Jackpot: how it works At each of the Jackpot Fixtures, the ROA will make bonus payments totalling £10,000.

These will be shared between ROA members who own an eligible winning horse at the meeting.

If only one race at a Jackpot Fixture is won by an eligible winner, the ROA member concerned would receive the entire £10,000. Alternatively, if there are four eligible winners, each would receive £2,500.

Irrespective of the number of winners, there will be a minimum bonus payment of £1,500 guaranteed.

To be eligible, a horse must be owned entirely by an ROA member or: l In

the case of a Joint Ownership, owned at least 51% by ROA members;

lIn

the case of a Racing Partnership, both Nominated Partners must be ROA members

The full terms and conditions of the ROA Owners Jackpot are displayed on the ROA website at racehorseowners.net

74

ROA launch Owners Jackpot with £120,000 up for grabs Exciting new initiative will enable members to win individual bonuses of up to £10,000

W

The ROA Owners Jackpot has been designed e are thrilled to announce a valuable to support those members operating at new benefit for ROA members with grassroots levels where the financial returns are the introduction of the ROA at their most dire. The Jackpot Fixtures have Owners Jackpot in association with the Racing been selected to ensure an even spread across Post.

Britain as well as between codes.

At the ROA we are constantly striving to add The racecourses staging the fixtures are to the package of benefits offered to owners and, following feedback from among the 39 tracks that the survey of ROA made their commitment members at the end of to owners by signing last year, we are prize-money agreements launching a bonus with the Horsemen’s scheme that will return Group, establishing a £120,000 to members contractual link between this year. their media rights Starting at Leicester on income and their own contributions to prizeThursday, February 13, the ROA Owners Bruce Millington, Racing Post Editor money.

The ROA is Jackpot will provide particularly grateful to bonus payments to the Racing Post for its support of the scheme. Last successful ROA members at a Jackpot Fixture year’s members’ survey showed just how much each month, where bonuses totalling £10,000 owners value the Racing Post and its unrivalled will be on offer. coverage of British racing.

At each of these meetings, ROA members owning an eligible winner will receive bonuses As well as being displayed by the Racing Post of at least £1,500, and possibly as much as and in the pages of the ROA Forum, details of £10,000, depending on how many other eligible the Jackpot Fixtures will be shown in BHA winners there are on the same card. The bonus publications, including the Racing Calendar, and we look forward to ROA members targeting payments will be made in addition to the their horses towards the Jackpot Fixtures in the advertised prize-money and will be paid out by hope of securing a significant bonus payout. the ROA to our members.

“This injection of

bonus payments will be very well received

by ROA members”

THOROUGHBRED OWNER & BREEDER INC PACEMAKER

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ROA FORUM www.racehorseowners. www.racehorseowners.net net ROA Owners Jackpot Fixtures 2014

What they say...

Date

Racecourse

Code

Thursday, February 13

Leicester

Jump

Wednesday, February 26

Wincanton

Jump

Friday, March 28

Wetherby

Jump

Tuesday, April 29

Nottingham

Flat

Thursday, May 29

Haydock Park

Flat

Tuesday, June 10

Salisbury

Flat

Thursday, July 17

Hamilton Park

Flat

Friday, August 29

Sandown Park

Flat

Wednesday, September 17

Beverley

Flat

Friday, October 10

Newton Abbot

Jump

Thursday, November 6

Fakenham

Jump

Friday, December 12

Bangor-On-Dee

Jump

Richard Wayman, ROA Chief Executive: “We are always looking to extend our package of benefits and feedback from members, especially those operating at the lower end of the scale, is that the chance to win bonus prizes is very welcome.”

Bruce Millington, Editor of the Racing Post: “We are delighted to be supporting the ROA Owners Jackpot initiative, which rewards owners at the grassroots level of the industry.

There are already a host of excellent benefits available to members of the ROA but this injection of bonus payments will be very well received.”

Janet Davies, BHA Sunday Bonus recipient: “We wouldn’t have run if it had not been for the attraction of the BHA Sunday Bonus, and I will certainly be targeting the ROA Owners Jackpot Fixtures this year.”

Lady Cobham, an ROA member for over 25 years: “Not only will the ROA Owners Jackpot be attractive to owners, but it is also good for racegoers, who will see more runners and competitive sport than would have been the case without this boost.”

Lady Cobham (above, right) says the Owners Jackpot will mean more competitive racing while Janet Davies (below, right) won a Sunday Bonus payment and will now target ROA Owners Jackpot Fixtures

THOROUGHBRED OWNER & BREEDER INC PACEMAKER

Come and meet the ROA! ROA regional meetings provide ROA members with the opportunity to hear from Council members and staff on latest developments within the industry and, crucially, to provide their own opinions to the ROA team.

The first regional meeting of 2014 will be staged at the ROA Jackpot Fixture at Wetherby on Friday, March 28, where guests will be welcomed with drinks and lights refreshments an hour before racing.

ROA members who live in the area will receive an invitation to attend, but other members are welcome to join us.

Places are limited so anybody wishing to attend should contact Keely Brewer on 020 7152 0200 or email kbrewer@roa.co.uk

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MAGICAL MOMENTS

GEORGE SELWYN

with ROA member Liz Prowting

JOHN HOY

ROA FORUM

Annacotty and Ian Popham give owner Liz Prowting (inset) a Grade 1 success in Kempton’s Kauto Star Novices’ Chase

K

auto Star provided connections with many magical moments, and the race that honours him at Kempton on Boxing Day witnessed one such for winning owner Liz Prowting.

Annacotty’s win in the Kauto Star Novices’ Chase – previously the Feltham – provided her with a first Grade 1 success after 27 years of racehorse ownership and ROA membership.

Happily, it was far from her only great day on the racetrack, and Prowting was quick to mention a cherished victory at Newbury a dozen years earlier.

“My best and most amazing win was in the Mandarin Chase with our homebred Windross,” she says. “It was a great surprise to all of us. Alan King and I stood there with our mouths open. And we both just burst into tears. Alan said he so wanted to win a good race for me. You could say my magical moment was a Mandarin moment!”

Prowting came within three-quarters of a length of winning the same race again in December, when her Faultless Feelings was denied by Financial Climate. The winner’s trainer Oliver Sherwood said he regretted it was Prowting’s horse that his had beaten.

“I was clapping his horse and he came over and said that, which was very nice of him – but typical of the people you get in jump racing, a lot of them are such good value,” Prowting says.

76

“It was nice to land a

Grade 1, however my best win was in the Mandarin Chase” Two days earlier at Kempton it was others clapping her winner, Annacotty. “It was nice to win a Grade 1 certainly, and he was only a fiveyear-old taking on older horses,” says Prowting, “and it was Martin’s first Grade 1 winner too.”

The ‘Martin’ is trainer Keighley, who rode Prowting’s first homebred winner, Air Shot, at Chepstow in 1994.

“They then won at Bangor but on the third start they were second at Worcester, and David [Nicholson] gave Martin an almighty bollocking,” recalls Prowting. “He’s never forgotten it and still talks about it with me to this day!”

The Duke was Prowting’s first trainer, the owner saying of her background: “I started riding when I was five and when I left school went to work in a hunting yard. I’ve pretty much always worked with and been around horses. One day a great friend rang and said

David Nicholson wanted to train a horse for me.

“I said, ‘That’s very nice but I don’t know him’. I’d never thought about owning a racehorse, and my husband Peter wasn’t too keen – and he still isn’t; he thinks it a colossal waste of money – but I went to see him, and the funny thing was it felt like I had known him and Dinah for 100 years.

“David rang a short while later and said he’d found a horse but that he did not want me to see it for three weeks while he got it into shape.

I said no way, I’m coming tomorrow, and I did.

“That was 1986 and the horse was Woodside Road, who won six times. That’s how it all started.”

Eight horses had represented Prowting this season at the time of writing, three trained by Keighley, three by King and one each by Philip Hobbs and Richard Phillips, with Letsby Avenue and Coyaba winners, along with Annacotty and Faultless Feelings.

Prowting, who with her husband features in The Sunday Times Rich List, her other half having been one of the biggest players in the construction business, says she seldom misses her horses run and plans to be at Cheltenham in March, where she may have a runner or two.

“I was once asked by friends in the US where I would most like to go on holiday and I replied the Cheltenham Festival,” she says.

“They looked at me like I was mad, but it’s my holiday of a lifetime.”

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www.racehorseowners.net

MEET THE COUNCIL Sally Bethell wants to see more young people enter ownership What is/was the day job?

Very active partner with James in the day-to-day running of JD Bethell!

Why did you get involved in racing politics and what do you bring to the ROA Council?

I know a little and felt it was time to learn more about the politics of racing. As a member of the ROA Council I will try over the next four years to help the ROA in their fight for more prizemoney and much higher standards at the racecourses.

I would also like to encourage new and younger owners into racing and it would also be nice to think we could entice more homegrown owners.

owner of Fossgate and a Trustee in Clarendon Thoroughbred Racing, which has owned many successful horses since it was launched in 1997, including more recently Bradbury, Braidley and True Pleasure.

Are you involved with any other racing organisations?

I am also a member of the Racing Syndicates & Clubs Association (RSACA).

What do you love/hate about racing?

I love the glamour, buzz and people on a good day’s racing. I hate the subterfuge which seems to be creeping into our modern day’s racing.

Where would you like the sport to be in five years time?

In five years I would like to see the finances in racing used more efficiently and a very much more candid approach to drug testing.

How has your background/ upbringing influenced your views?

My family had been involved in racing in the Channel Islands, my father an elected member to the Channel Island Racing and Hunt Club in 1958. My sister Jane is married to Robert Armstrong.

How long have you owned horses and how much success have you had?

I have had horses for around 25 years. I am the

Sally Bethell with Fossgate (left) and True Pleasure, trained by her husband James

ROA BENEFIT IN FOCUS: Raceday Curtailment Scheme

THOROUGHBRED OWNER & BREEDER INC PACEMAKER

Compensation payments were automatically triggered on two occasions during 2013, at Bath in October and at Lingfield in December, when flooding in the jockeys’ changing room and fog forced the

JOHN HOY

One of the most frustrating situations an owner can experience is the late abandonment of a race meeting. The disappointment of not being able to race is compounded by the reality that the owner will shoulder the considerable costs of getting their horse (and themselves) to the racecourse.

The ROA’s Raceday Curtailment Scheme, provided by Weatherbys Hamilton LLP, provides a payment of £100 to any members who own at least 51% of a horse that had been due to run at a meeting that is abandoned after at least the first race has taken place.

The aim of the scheme is to provide a little help towards meeting some of the costs that owners are left to pick up in these situations.

Prince Of Burma: foiled twice in 2013

respective race meetings to be abandoned.

In each case, a payment of £100 was sent off by Weatherbys Hamilton to owners of qualifying horses the day after the abandoned race.

One ROA member, Eric Griffiths, owner of Prince Of Burma, was unfortunate enough to be affected by both the Bath and Lingfield late abandonments. At Lingfield in December, one owner had two runners affected, and another, Canisbay Bloodstock, had three runners affected, and those owners received compensation of £200 and £300 respectively.

Full details and the terms of this scheme and all the other benefits of membership appear on the ROA website at racehorseowners.net.

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ROA FORUM

TRACK TALK

THE LATEST NEWS FROM THE UK’S RACECOURSES

Help us to improve your raceday experience The ROA Raceday Committee visit all 58 British racecourses at least once per year. However, they cannot attend every fixture, and feedback from owners who have had a runner is therefore a vital component of the assessments of each racecourse.

To assist in the collection and collating of this important data, a new online feedback form has been created on the ROA website.

It will take only a few minutes to complete and will provide the Raceday Committee with much needed additional

information with which to encourage racecourses to provide the best raceday experience they can.

Members are actively encouraged to provide feedback using the form, which is available in the members’ area at racehorseowners.net

Ludlow cash boost

Wincanton add-ons

GEORGE SELWYN

Ludlow was one of the 39 racecourses to sign a three-year Prize-Money Agreement and they have now pledged to invest over £400,000 of their own funds towards total prize-money of £1 million in 2014. With the exception of the two leasehold fixtures staged at the track, all other meetings will offer total prizes of at least £60,000, with all races other than bumpers and hunter chases worth at least £6,000.

Ludlow deservedly remains popular with owners and congratulations are due to Bob Davies and the rest of his team for their enlightened approach.

Popular West Country track and Gold Standard Award holder Wincanton has recently announced an enhanced package for winning connections.

The winning owner will now receive a platter of local Somerset cheese alongside their race trophy, DVD and bottle of champagne. They will also have the opportunity to purchase a bespoke ink and oil celebratory painting, from Wincanton’s artist-inresidence, Hannah Fowler.

Ludlow: guarantees £60,000 meetings

York to offer prize-money of £6m in 2014

Declaration Of War wins the 2013 Juddmonte International, which will be worth £800,000 this year

78

GEORGE SELWYN

York has announced that it will increase its prize-money in 2014 to a new record of over £6 million.

Aside from its self-funded evening in July, all remaining racedays have a prize fund of at least £100,000, a feature race worth at least £25,000 and no contest worth less than £10,000.

The racecourse, which contributed over £2.7m to prize-money from its own funds in 2013, will put on the richest race ever staged at York when the Group 1 Juddmonte International is run for £800,000 (up £50,000) on August 20.

York also stages Europe’s richest Flat handicap, with the Betfred Ebor to be run for £265,000 (up £15,000).

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www.racehorseowners.net

Did you know: Prize-money payments Many owners question how the total prizemoney displayed in the racing press becomes the very different amount credited to their racing account when their horse wins or is placed.

The distribution of prize-money is set out in the Rules of Racing and the exact percentage of the total prize fund received by each successful owner depends on a number of factors, including whether it is a Flat or jumps race, the type of race and also the number of prizes the racecourse is offering (tracks can choose to offer anything between three and ten prizes).

There are some constant principles, however, including that, collectively, the successful owners in Flat races receive 80% of the total prize-money, with the remainder split between trainers 7.85%, jockeys 5.77%, stable staff 4.75% and industry causes 1.63%.

The distribution over jumps is slightly different with owners collectively receiving 78.25%, trainers 7.85%, jockeys 7.52%, stable staff 4.75% and industry causes 1.63%. The industry causes comprise industry training, jockeys’ valet attendance, the PJA pension fund and the National Association of Stable Staff.

Breakdown of prize-money (%)

FEBRUARY 13

ROA Owners Jackpot Day

THOROUGHBRED OWNER & BREEDER INC PACEMAKER

At Leicester (see page 74 for details).

Flat

Jumps

Owner

80

78.25

Trainer

7.85

7.85

At Wincanton.

Jockey

5.77

7.52

MARCH 11-14

Stable Staff

4.75

4.75

Industry Causes

1.63

1.63

An owner’s racing account (which can be either a Weatherbys Bank account or a BHA account) is credited with prize-money 15 days after the relevant race, with Weatherbys Bank account holders having access to the money from that time. BHA account holders, meanwhile, can access the money only at the beginning of the following month.

On the racing account statement, owners’ prize-money is split between the amount originating from the owners’ entry fees and the added prize-money from all other sources. This division is for VAT-purposes only, with VAT added to the latter.

Punchestown ROA offer The Punchestown festival provides a grand finale to the jump season in Ireland, and Punchestown racecourse is once again generously extending free admission to ROA members on the first day of this year’s festival on April 29, Boylesports.com Champion Chase Day. The card features three Grade 1 races and last year the track’s opening day attendance record was broken when over 18,600 visitors flocked to see the imperious Sprinter Sacre win the feature race.

Members will be able to gain free admission on production of a valid ROA Horseracing Privilege

Diary dates and reminders

Photocard at the allocated visitors’ turnstile. The first race is at 3.40pm and the last race is at 7.15pm.

The festival runs from Tuesday, April 29 to Saturday, May 3 and further details can be found at punchestown.com

Sprinter Sacre: starred on the first day of the 2013 festival

FEBRUARY 26

ROA Owners Jackpot Day

ROA marquee at the Cheltenham Festival ROA members can book places for themselves and up to three guests in the ROA Marquee, located in a new location in the tented village (see page 73).

MARCH 28

Regional Meeting and ROA Owners Jackpot Day At Wetherby. To attend the regional meeting, please contact the ROA office.

APRIL 29

ROA Owners Jackpot Day At Nottingham.

APRIL 29

Free admission to opening day of Punchestown festival Free admission for ROA members to Boylesports.com Champion Chase day at Punchestown (see adjacent story).

MAY 29

Regional Meeting and ROA Owners Jackpot Day At Haydock Park.

Bookings for all ROA events can be made online at racehorseowners.net or by calling the ROA on 020 7152 0200.

Codes of Practice 2014 The Horserace Betting Levy Board (HBLB) has published the 36th edition of the Codes of Practice on equine disease, in preparation for the 2014 equine breeding season.

Applying to all breeds of horse and pony, and to both natural mating and artificial insemination, the Codes are an essential guide for the prevention and control of various equine diseases that represent a potential major threat to equine breeding.

Further detail on recent and current research on equine infectious disease is available on a new online resource, racehorsehealth.hblb.org.uk, and users can sign up for online news updates.

The 2014 Codes are available online at codes.hblb.org.uk and can also be downloaded in PDF format for printing or viewing offline.

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ROA FORUM www.racehorseowners. net

Flat Racecourse League Table Ptn Racecourse

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34

Ascot York Epsom Downs Newmarket Goodwood Chester Doncaster Sandown Park Newbury Haydock Park Musselburgh Ayr Pontefract Salisbury Ripon Ffos Las Carlisle Thirsk Newcastle Windsor Kempton Park Leicester Beverley Hamilton Park Nottingham Warwick Catterick Bridge Redcar Lingfield Park Bath Yarmouth Wolverhampton Chepstow Southwell

Figures for period January 1, 2013 to December 31, 2013

Ownership

Avg racecourse spend per fixture (£)

Avg HBLB spend per fixture (£)

Avg owner spend per fixture (£)

Avg prizemoney per fixture (£)

Total no. of fixtures

Total prize-money (£)

Avg racecourse spend per fixture 2012 (£)

I I JCR JCR I I ARC JCR I JCR I I I I I I JCR I ARC ARC JCR I I I JCR JCR I I ARC ARC ARC ARC ARC ARC

349,480 160,032 120,544 91,698 84,714 77,393 54,738 53,586 46,673 41,800 31,993 29,569 28,935 27,239 27,030 23,461 21,280 20,943 20,782 20,262 20,202 18,719 17,864 17,024 16,842 15,897 15,840 15,226 15,199 14,678 12,327 12,228 10,464 9,435

132,552 105,147 71,576 80,576 75,890 44,521 59,046 54,329 63,275 49,022 24,856 39,428 32,701 28,193 27,349 9,820 16,458 22,797 21,439 19,189 14,786 19,612 21,001 22,944 24,029 21,236 18,099 18,507 19,908 14,970 19,900 15,627 14,790 16,824

178,627 84,648 81,087 76,304 27,928 8,364 36,978 17,531 27,912 15,671 5,055 10,820 3,804 5,408 4,510 3,081 4,489 5,650 6,615 4,735 4.735 4,932 3,108 3,448 5,815 3,926 2,733 13,843 3,009 2,853 3,089 2,473 2,761 1,932

660,659 349,827 273,207 249,275 188,532 130,278 151,711 126,246 140,910 107,681 63,375 81,138 66,440 63,389 59,671 36,762 43,591 51,757 51,103 45,080 40,408 44,564 43,988 43,750 49,491 41,469 39,172 49,877 39,530 32,951 35,605 31,846 29,016 29,124

18 17 12 38 19 15 25 18 17 24 17 14 16 15 16 8 11 15 18 26 88 20 20 18 18 11 17 15 94 20 26 115 15 41

11,891,857 5,947,060 3,278,480 9,472,447 3,582,104 1,954,165 3,792,783 2,209,306 2,395,467 2,538,203 1,077,375 1,135,937 1,063,035 950,842 954,732 275,712 479,500 776,350 919,850 1,172,086 3,555,911 891,280 879,760 787,500 890,845 456,158 665,925 748,150 3,704,514 659,018 925,725 3,662,249 435,235 1,194,096

376,146 157,927 115,897 84,383 87,914 70,940 57,572 48,039 45,320 35,090 26,483 20,344 18,755 25,109 25,580 22,021 15,448 22,834 26,320 16,451 16,389 14,628 13,214 20,764 13,222 22,120 13,267 13,484 12,771 18,037 11,967 11,003 9,452 9,862

Up/ down

▼ ▲ ▲ ▲ ▼ ▲ ▼ ▲ ▲ ▲ ▲ ▲ ▲ ▲ ▲ ▲ ▲ ▼ ▼ ▲ ▲ ▲ ▲ ▼ ▲ ▼ ▲ ▲ ▲ ▼ ▲ ▲ ▲ ▼

Jumps Racecourse League Table Ptn Racecourse

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40

80

Aintree Cheltenham Ascot Haydock Park Sandown Park Kempton Park Newbury Ayr Perth Chepstow Cartmel Musselburgh Warwick Wincanton Ludlow Wetherby Newton Abbot Newcastle Market Rasen Stratford-on-Avon Wolverhampton Huntingdon Exeter Kelso Carlisle Taunton Ffos Las Plumpton Fontwell Park Hexham Fakenham Worcester Doncaster Bangor-on-Dee Uttoxeter Southwell Towcester Leicester Lingfield Park Catterick Bridge

Ownership

Avg racecourse spend per fixture (£)

Avg HBLB spend per fixture (£)

Avg owner spend per fixture (£)

Avg prizemoney per fixture (£)

Total no. of fixtures

Total prize-money (£)

Avg racecourse spend per fixture 2012 (£)

JCR JCR I JCR JCR JCR I I I ARC I I JCR JCR I I I ARC JCR I ARC JCR JCR I JCR I I I ARC I I ARC ARC I ARC ARC I I ARC I

232,451 228,095 93,112 84,693 74,582 49,724 44,171 32,200 28,814 28,363 24,931 23,906 23,438 22,334 21,304 20,783 20,588 19,755 19,383 18,614 17,500 17,318 15,865 15,431 14,468 14,236 14,191 13,820 13,275 12,838 12,677 12,278 11,797 11,416 10,908 10,436 9,393 9,192 9,155 8,131

126,319 115,449 89,760 79,715 70,983 61,538 68,030 44,664 23,250 29,766 19,059 33,411 35,871 33,109 27,547 28,816 27,466 27,831 28,362 21,871 24,500 22,498 30,743 33,177 32,505 28,670 24,238 25,042 21,679 13,923 25,148 18,198 41,223 22,595 23,598 18,942 14,393 26,818 21,433 29,292

66,206 60,723 16,886 17,584 15,148 9,779 15,511 11,627 1,521 8,476 4,982 4,144 6,333 4,931 4,600 4,728 0 3,872 4,846 4,451 0 3,911 5,112 3,098 4,504 4,889 3,754 3,929 3,218 2,277 0 3,655 5,565 3,297 4,653 2,795 2,927 3,883 1,794 2,608

424,977 404,267 199,758 181,992 161,134 121,373 127,712 88,971 53,586 67,525 48,971 62,836 65,642 61,235 53,717 55,257 48,054 52,269 52,844 45,998 42,000 44,215 52,787 53,622 52,309 47,794 42,183 42,792 39,029 29,769 37,825 35,683 58,585 37,557 39,809 32,640 26,873 40,448 32,382 40,587

8 15 7 7 10 12 10 10 15 15 7 8 9 18 15 17 19 9 19 16 1 16 15 12 13 12 19 14 21 13 9 21 9 14 24 19 15 9 10 9

3,399,812 6,064,012 1,398,306 1,351,943 1,530,773 1,456,482 1,277,119 889,715 803,785 1,012,881 342,800 502,685 590,778 1,102,235 805,760 939,369 913,034 470,423 1,004,027 735,966 42,000 707,437 791,809 643,469 680,014 573,532 780,394 599,084 819,600 387,000 340,424 749,347 527,266 525,800 955,406 620,168 403,100 364,032 333,072 365,285

231,612 216,280 124,411 91,057 59,207 53,477 46,033 28,295 28,788 16,652 25,659 19,761 11,230 25,559 16,347 23,021 24,493 21,664 19,986 21,077 0 9,165 14,634 25,379 14,509 18,956 17,254 12,098 13,709 11,954 21,119 9,210 31,625 13,021 13,174 14,161 8,648 10,097 18,943 3,580

Up/ down

▲ ▲ ▼ ▼ ▲ ▼ ▼ ▲ ▲ ▲ ▼ ▲ ▲ ▼ ▲ ▼ ▼ ▼ ▼ ▼ ▲ ▲ ▲ ▼ ▼ ▼ ▼ ▲ ▼ ▲ ▼ ▲ ▼ ▼ ▼ ▼ ▲ ▼ ▼ ▲

EXPLANATION The tables set out the average prize-money at each fixture staged by a racecourse over the last 12 months. They show how this is made up of the three sources of prizemoney: 1. Racecourses’ contribution 2. Levy Board (HBLB) 3. Owners The tables also confirm the number of fixtures staged and the total amount of prize-money paid out by each racecourse throughout this period.

The racecourses are ordered by the average amount of their own contribution to prizemoney at each fixture. This contribution originates from various sources including media rights, admission revenues and racecourse sponsors.

If a racecourse has increased its average contribution at each fixture compared with the previous 12 months, it receives a green ‘up’ arrow. If its average contribution has fallen, however, it receives a red ‘down’ arrow.

As these tables are based on the prize-money paid out by each racecourse, the abandonment of a major fixture could distort a racecourse’s performance.

OWNERSHIP KEY JCR Jockey Club Racecourses

ARC Arena Racing Company

I Independently owned racecourse Gold Standard Award

THOROUGHBRED OWNER & BREEDER INC PACEMAKER

Courses et Elevage OB Feb 2014_Courses et Elevage OB Feb 2014 15/01/2014 13:01 Page 1

COURSES & ÉLEVAGE THE FRENCH REFERENCE MAGAZINE ON RACING AND BREEDING PLAT

Longchamp, l’Abbaye de Qatar Prix de

COURSES E L E VA G E

€, 1 000 m Gr. 1, 350 000

croyable d, en une in Wizz Kid,

remontée…

JUIN-JUILLET 2013 - N° 324 - € 13

COURSES E L E VA G E

2014 JAN.-FÉV. 2014

DÉC. 2013 N° 327 - € 45

L ARC DE TRÊVE

LES ÉTALONS POUR 2014

FLOTILLA BRILLE POUR SA RENTRÉE DANS LA POULE D ESSA I DES POULICHES

STYLE VENDÔME LE PLUS

INTELLO, ROI DU JOCKEY-CLUB

Mayson ajuster le favori Dyga) Dyga cette course, vient (Photo amp. Photo Scoop en France dans ) rent entraîné Prix de l Abbaye de Longch ce ssé), seul concur Wizz Kid (G.Mo (D.J.Allen) pour remporter all final étourdissant Dans un rush au centre, et Hamish Mc Gonag (P.Hanagan), suscep tible aucune façon équation à événem ent, en de cette mêmes cherir. la difficulté 4) 9.4 9d amoind pratiquement les sprint, ce sont nt les Gr. 1 et les Gr. 3 0 2rmille données. cas tenir compte de 0l alour55 e de de 0l ,Abbay vaux qui dispute 54329e,1 le Prix avec une horde Il faudra en tous toire pour cerComme 9d habitud du terrain, rédhibi six des sept fait le plein, ent a du m dissem amp Longch s de corde, t nt sur les 1.0009dents aise au dépar tains, et des numéro . 2 e ayant été les ) 3 britannique déferla eurs de 0l épreuv Seule franç ne, couteau entre derniers vainqu s inférieurs à 9 Mais aussi, Bois de Boulog annonce 19 partants, de 2 à l affaire est d autant ( !), dotés de numéro4 40er. les performances sur Le programme de 540 sorties le client du PMU, le plonge dans un près Pour assimil nt 9 d qu elle se garder 10 ans, qui totalise ête pour le pronostiqueur sur 1.000 m. chinois pour plus complexe ffaire, 1.200 m et celles 0l affaire, ent anglais, du é un seul et un véritable casse-t papier totalem quel bout prendre ent dénich qui ne sait par tres sont nombreux et les au départ , la lui, qui aura finalem ée rent frança is tant les paramè 4 40es référence oblig unique concur confiée à Gérald Mossé difficil dif Mayson,, la juxtapositions consiste à trier les éléments de jockeys Collet Wizz Kid, permettra deux autres noms eur Joe) et ce dont on ne Une approche issue du betting tout en notant (Monsi niveau Gr. 1, 400 2. s,1 avec La classificationfaire une idée du casting. Et déjà testés au éviden s, Olivier Peslierghtly). Le retrait de se ) ces d9 ailleur ts de de françai 49 ant 9 d regroupant six cepend z (Defini résulta déduit guère 2) premiers tiers, Thierry Thullie du seul 2 ans en lice (Cay suggèrent les 5 .9 d9 un d9 abord les réserves que cavaleries dans le contexheure souse un resté dernièr de es en Arenberg) est telles charges 133 Verde, Prix d rgés de ces exercic te des lots surcha -tenu du fait que, sur le Angleterre, et compte

FORT DANS LA POULE D ESSAI

DES POULAINS

RACING

TRÊVE, ÉBLOUISSAN TE

DANS LE PRIX DE DIANE

Solemia (IRE)

Généalo gies

2008 en Irlande le 20 Février Jument baie, née : Wertheimer & Frère Propriétaire mer & Frère Eleveur : Werthei

de 2 à 4 ans.

- 442 04106€Vict./7 735 441 €/DM 5 v. (3 Gr.) - 8 pl.

(En FR) : 19 c.- -2011 : En FR : 271 Parts./4 POLIGLOTE: Cumuls 2001 Production (FR).

(FR) - SOLEMIA = 2 000 m.

FRIO WELLS Gr.).

En 2012 :: 32 SWS (dt 15 Vqs. Au total : Wertheimer & Frère.

éleveur = 5,06.

(FR), b., 1988,ans - 71 651 €. - IdP(Saint-Cloud - 1 600 m) - 1er BROOKLYN’SàDANCE Zariba 3 ans - 1 pl. à 3 8 c. - 3 v. 2 etGr.3 (Evry - 2 100 m) - 1er Prix Gr.2 (Longchamp). e 2è Prix de Royallieu - 4 pl. à 2 1er Prix Cléopâtr oud - 1 600 m) - 2 v. à 2 et 3 ans Gone West : 8 c.

Prix Belfonds (Saint-Cl YN (USA), f. b., par (3è Prix Isola €. Mère de : 1993 : WEST BROOKL ans - £ 28 406L.).

Mère de vqs. et 3 ans - 23 095 : 16 c. - 1 v. - 8 pl. à 3 et 4 Conquer or St. Cote Quest (f.00)s St. L., 4è Pipalong St. L.,(2è Prix de Malleret Gr.2). € 500 - 2 pl. 67 Bella L., Hopping ans 3 : 1 v. à - 2 v. à 3 et 4 ans Campanillas (f.08)f. b., par Slew O’Gold : 6 c. L.). Mère de : (USA), 3è Prix Joubert (CL Weld Park St. Gr.3).

L., Pépinière la 423 1994 : GOLD DODGER 2 pl. - £ 65 à 3 ans 42 686 € (Prix de c. - 2 v. à 2 ans Gold : 10 c. - 2 v.

4 CHINTZ (f.06) : 4(USA), h. b., par Seeking The L.). - En obstacles : 4 v. Nearco 14 YN’S GOLD - 46 039 € (Prix de Suresnes Hcap Hurdle L.).

1995 : BROOKL Lady Angela Nearctic (3è Cordon Bleuc. - 2 v. à 2 et 4 ans en FR et 5 pl. de 3 à 5 ans 5 Dancer :8 à 9 ans - £ 56 068 7 de: Cat de Native pl.

Mère Storm 14 par Gr.2).

2 Maid H. STORM (GB), f.-b., Northern Dancer Natalma (4è Prix Robert Papin Almahmoud 4 ans $ 52 646 pl. - $ 273 600 (Indian 1996 : BROOKLYN’S 4 USA - 4 pl. à 2 et : 16 c. - 6 v. à 3 et 4 ans - 8Prix de Sandringham Gr.2).

Hail To Reason 19 S. L., 3è STORMINA (f.02) L., Summer Finale SADLER’S WELLS Lalun Bold Reason Gr.1).

L., Frecracker S. 3 Marcel Boussacans (Prix € b. 1981 420 - 188 Forli 2 et 3 Mère de: 5 3 c. - 2 v. à 2 ans à 3 ans - 9 pl. à Fairy Bridge Thong SILASOL (f.10) :m. b., par Gulch : 11 c. - 1 v.Critérium Special de Bordeaux L.).

(IRE), 514 €.

Grand 10 19 4è L., Control ans Of 3 des 3 Ans 1997 : Out Vieux Manoir - 1 v. - 2 pl. à 5 40 704 € (3è Coupe par Caerleon: 3 c.

Vali POLIGLOTE Val de Loir GLEAM (FR), f.b., (3è Prix La YN € 850 BROOKL 164 : 9 1998 pl. de 2 à 6 ans b. 1992 Armistice Mère de: : 53 c. - 6 v. - 27 11 Val de l’Orne L.). ans - 8 pl.

Kakofonic (m.03) Aglae Grace Aglaé Haras de la Huderie Wells : 16 c. - 5 v. à 3 et 4 de Courdu Gr.3, 1 Rochette du Lys Gr.3, m. b., par Sadler’s Turn-To 2 Jim Laffitte Gr.3, Prix CT PARK (GB), ALEXANDRIE 2001 : PROSPE617 510 (La Coupe de Maisons-Gr.1, Hocquart Gr.2, Niel Gr.2, Gr.3).

Somethingroyal Sir Gaylord $ 1 b.b. 1980 du Jockey-Club Gr.2, Prix de Condé Cambremont celles L., 2è Prix l H. Gr.2, 3è San Luis Rey H. 4 Apachee pl. - £ 36 876.

Alora Murray Memoria .

Américaine de 2 à 8 ans - 8 9 llian: 66 c. - 4 v.à 2 et 3 ans - 1 pl. à 3 ans Etalon en Argentine v.

Nasrullah (GB), h.b., par Machiave 19 Halling : 6 c. - 3 L.). Mère de 2 vainqueurs.- 5 pl.

2002 : LE REVEUR (IRE), f. b., par L., Lalun Never Bend 5è Prix Finlande : 15 c. - 2 v. à 3 et 5 ans 1 2004 : NEVER GREEN Wells de Paris 49 600 € (Prix Occitanie Princequillo St. L., 2è G. P.Hurdle 22 (FR), h. b., par Sadler’s Castle t Gr.2).

WELLS Water CT Pontefrac Reef Mill Virginia Milan Mill 2005 : PROSPE 659 € (Prix Greffulhe Gr.2, - £ 42 962 (2è Sharp Novices’ - £ 20 511.

16 259 : 2 v. - 6 pl. c. - 1 v. en obstacle - 8 pl.

Hard Ridden 3 Gr.1). - En obstacles Away : 15 S Harvest Maid Hardicanute SHIRLEY HEIGHT (IRE), h. b., par Gold 1 2006 : OLD WAYA (IRE), f. b., par Poliglote : Prix - 1 800 m).

Grandmaster b. 1975 (Saint-Cloud) - 2è 1 2008 : SOLEMI Prix Aquatinte II (Maisons-Laffitte - 3è Prix Dictaway oud - 2 400 m) 2è Prix Blue Cross Hardiemma Grand Cross à 2 ans : 1erPrix Rose de Mai L. (Saint-Cloud) Joubert L. (Saint-Cl 14 à 3 ans : 5è Tourelles L. (St-Cloud) - 1er Prixmp).

Gr.3 Nearctic ville 2 des Paris Gr.2 (Longcha mp - 2 400 m) - 2è Prix d’Hédou Prix de Northern Dancer Natalma du Conseil de Seymour BROOKLYN’S DANCE L. (Longcha (Saint-Cloud - 2 100 m) - 4èmp) - 1er 1 Lord Court Martial à 4 ans : 1er Prix mp) - 1er Prix Corrida Gr.2- Prix Vermeille Gr.1 (Longcha b. 1988 17 (Longcha Barra II ) - 3è Qatar (Longchamp - 2 400 m).

Lyphard Goofed Gr.1 10 Pomone Gr.2 (Deauville Triomphe de Manoir l’Arc Vieux Qatar - Prix de 5 TE Vali VALLEE DANSAN Val de Loir Wertheimer.

Jacques : 10 éléveur re 1999). b. 1981 2è mère Spy Song TE (USA), b., 1981, ket en Décemb 16-c VALLEE DANSAN = 1,47.

Green Valley Guinées à Newmar Ampola Charles Sly Pola (Vendue 19 000 - 3 pl. à 3 ans - 15 778 €.du- IdP (Chantilly) - 4è Prix b.b. 1967 m) - 3è Prix Château 4 c. - 1 v. à 3 ans -Laffitte).

(Deauville - 1 600 1er Prix d’Isigny mp) - 4è Prix Timandra (Maisons : 7 c. - 1 v. - 3 pl. - 21 472 € à Laffitte L. (Longcha par Saint Cyrien dont: (FR), 1986 : f. bb., Sansai L.).

Japon HE - Gr.1 Tokyo Sports Hai de vainqueurs au DIAMOND VALLEY L’ARC DE TRIOMP 2 et 3 ans. Mèrev. au Japon (2è Hakodate Kinen L.,: 19 c. - 5 v. en plat et en Cyrien QATAR - PRIX DE (m.98) : 4 us. - 99 engts. y L.).

Himalayan Blue IER (GB), 1987 : h. b., par Saint de 3 ans et au-dess James Henness s.

(Prix CHEVAL juments € T et ci-dessu 011 voir : - 108 VAILLAN chevaux entiers obstacles - 5 pl. 1988 : f. b., par Shirley Heights - 191 729 €. Etalon.

– Terrain collant.

07/10 - L. - Pour (FR), 99 c. - 7 v. - 53 pl.

Mère de: m – Temps : 2’37"68 (Shirley Heights) Shirley Heights : : 14 c. - 1 v. - 6 pl. - 10 672 €.

BROOKLYN’S DANCE Distance : 2 400 1990 : m. b., par - Brooklyn’s Dance SURFSIDE (GB),(FR), 1991 : f. b., par Rainbow Quest arias Dubai f.b., 4a, 58 kg, Poliglote de : G.P. di Milano Gr.1, QUEST OF FIRE: 1 v. à 2 ans en Allemagne. Mère 1 – SOLEMIA (IRE), Frère (Olivier Peslier) Carlos Laffon-P (Mejiro McQueen) Gr.1).

Gr.1, Baden Art Preis von Baden €.

QUILA (f.97) : 14 v. (G.P. von Wertheimer & Stay Gold - Oriental QUIJANO (h.02) 2è Hong Kong Vase Gr.1, 1Grosser ans - 5 pl. - 25 763 m.al., 4a, 59,5 kg, : 11 c. - v. à 3 n) Y. Ikee City Of Gold Gr.3, 2 – Orfevre (JPN), Rainbow Quest Ltd (Ch. Soumillo (Lammtarra) (2è Prix La - £ 4 151.

1992 : h. b., par Sunday Racing Co b., 3a, 56 kg, Monsun - Melikah QUESTAN (GB), Angleterre : 1 v. à 6 ans - 1 1pl.v. - 5 pl. - 35 703 € à 2 et 3 ansL.).Mère de: m.

En Lilas c. des 7 (USA), Prix Kris: troke 4è par L., Gr.1, f.b., Fabre Etoile 1993: 3 – Masters (Grand Critérium L., 3è Prix Petite (M. Barzalona) A. Krissante (USA), 262 € de 2 à 5 ans3è Prix de Fontainebleau - Haya Samma (Pivotal) Sorellina L., Saraca Godolphin SNC Gr.3, - 3 v. - 9 pl. - 341 c.

4a, 58 kg, Lando 13 Blanc b., ): f.

Turquie. en (FR), Gr.1). Etalon OKAWANGO(m.98 Gr.3, 2è Prix Edmond Audon 4 – Haya Landa Mère de: Prix La RochetteJockey-Club Gr.1, Poule d’Essai Blondel) Mme L. Swallow (Green Tune) 5 794 € à 3 ans.

Gr.3).

Mme O. Fau (F. kg, Monsun - Green t Gr.3, 4è Prix dub., par Riverman : 6 c. - 4 pl. L., 3è Prix de Lutèce (GB), f. b., 3a, 54,5 1994 : f.

N. Clémen Michel Houyvetpl. - 85 729 € de 2 à 4 ans.

5 – Yellow And Green Green Bend (USA), .01): 2 v. - 66 400 € (Prix Al Thani (Th. Thulliez) : 19 c. - 3 v. - 10 Gr.2).

GREEN(f West Hurdle Gone DOUBLE Cheik A. Bin Khalifa b., 3a, 54,5 kg par Novices’ 1997: h.b., Dovecote - Bayrir (FR) - St (GB), f.

Gone Far (USA),obstacles : 1 v. - £ 13 304 (3èpas couru. Mère de : (GB) - Shareta (IRE) 6 – Great Heavens En Gr.1, Juddmonte z : n’a - Robin Hood (IRE) (GB) - Sea Moon e. : f. bb., par Saumare 286 663 (Derby d’Epsom Mikhail Glinka (IRE) Funsie (FR), 1999 4): 4 v. à 2 et 3 ans - £ 1Trophy Gr.1). Etalon en Angleterr 12 non placés : Camelot - Méandre (FR) - Hemingway (IRE) - Saonois (FR).

AUTHORIZED(m.0 nal Gr.1, Racing Post 5 c. - 1 pl. à 3 ans - £ 1 306. ans - 10 pl.

Ernest Nicholas Abbey (IRE) (FR) 3 : à our Internatio v.

Ciel 1 : 16 c. : m. b., par Septieme Aventino (JPN) - Kesamp - 1/2 l - 21/2 l - 1 l - nez - tête Royallieu Gr.2). f. b., par King’s Best Rejess (IRE), 2000 TE (IRE), 2003 : 2è Prix de Royallieu Gr.2, 4è de 400 €.

-7l-1l L., PRINCESSE DANSAN 228 400 € - 114 Distances : encol 86 300 € (Prix Joubert € - 457 200 € €).

Age 2 3 4 Total

Cses 2 5 7 14

Vict.

1(1) 1(1) 3(2) 5(1)

2

3

2(1) 1(1) 3(2)

1(1) 1(1) 2(1)

Sommes 4 17 000 € 74 350 € € 1(1) 2 450 805 € 1(1) 2 542 155

€ - 914 400 O. Fau (8 793 Prix : 2 285 600 995 €) - 4è Mme mer & Frère (87 Eleveurs : 1er Werthei

301

⌜REPORTS ON ALL FRENCH GROUP RACES, FLAT AND N.H. ⌜REPORTS ON ALL GR.1 RACES IN GREAT BRITAIN AND IRELAND, AND ON MAJOR INTERNATIONAL MEETINGS. NGS. ⌜FRENCH PROVINCIAL LISTED RACES AND PROVINCIAL MEETINGS (CAGNES, PA U, VICHY…). ⌜GROUP RESULTS AND WINNER’S FULL PEDIGREE. ⌜ONE SPECIAL FEATURE (INTERNATIONAL RANKINGS, THE BREEDING SEASON IN FRANCE…) AND “AT A GLANCE SECTION”. ⌜FRENCH SALES ANALYSIS. ⌜FULL LISTED RACES RESULTS IN FRANCE. ⌜FRENCH RACING REVIEW (IN ENGLISH). ⌜FLAT AND JUMP RACING STATISTICS IN FRANCE.

ROUN OF THE FRED UP N H FLAT RACING SEC ASON

By Desmond

Stoneham

So brave, so tough

Solemia, on previous She was a 40.5-1 form, was not the Qatar Prix de l Arc field having outsider but one of the most consiste best horse to line Arc been up for the 91st the gutsiest individu de Triomphe at Longchamp and that was when only out of the money on one nt performers in the on bottomless going. al in the field of 18 and one October 7 but she was the race a fourth she made her racing debut. Olivieroccasion in 13 outings of time so equals the content with the For the third time in 13 years, the few to adapt to the Doyasbere, Freddy record currently Peslier was winning runner Head, Yves Saint-M jointly was the moral winner up s position although it the Japanese had to be had previously landed artin and Pat Eddery. set by Jacques is fair to state that and a racing a hat trick which with Christophe ing the victories ended in 1998 with The 39 year-old Soumillon at the certainty to win as he surged into Orfevre of Sagamix followleft to run that the furlong marker. the lead Peslier rode a blinderHelissio (1996) and Peintre Célèbre It in the Arc. He was the a neck to Olivier colt was running on empty and was just with 20 metres the early always perfectly following year. leaders Ernest Heming Peslier and Solemia he finally went positioned behind forlorn hope to win under by way and Robin pacemaker Aventino who rallied so Hood on the was useless and their third victory Europe s richest race. For the gamely after looking a On was the other hand, never able to play rail. Orfevre s Wertheimer family, in the Arc and his intended role. old filly. The America the second with it was Masterstroke from Mickael Barzalona made a great his start wide on Godolphin s number the Prix du Cadran n-bred Ivanjica set the ball a home bred four-yearlead with Solemia 17 stall and he rolling in 1976 five years later but and Prix Royal-Oak winner Gold and then to make a forward at the two furlong marker where was challenging for the it River was Soumill move the landed first from on who took over the asked Orfevre success for Alain the race a long way back.

49 year-old Carlos racing empire after the death of and Gérard Wertheimer wife Patricia is the Laffon-Parias, it was his first their father, Jacques. For success in the Arc and advised the grand daughter of Alec Head who and his The influence Wertheimer family. for many years trained of the going and Gold River Indeed, he was and the trainer of Ivanjica tion of these two the latter was ridden by his The Japanese colt son Freddy famous French racing to run. The Arc swept past his rivals to lead with families was continueso the associalooked in the bag more d by Solemia. the far rail when but he faltered late than a furlong left veering right under on where Solemia extreme exhausti and even brushed In front of 52 rallied on in the final 000 finished seven lengths so gamely. She won by back to beat people Solemia (O.Pesl a neck and Mastersstrides away third in front Yellow and Green, troke of the 133-1 in the Prix de Orfevre (C.Soumillon) on ier) rallied l Arc de Triomp the Camelot, Sea MoonGreat Heavens, the triple Classic chance Haya Landa, he. (Photo Scoopline winner and favourit Dyga) ground played an and Shareta. There is little e doubt that the very in looking at the enormous role in the result and there was very little heavy in the first five form before the race. The only point was Orfevre and previous Group 1 conditions race although she had Haya Landa had previously only winner occasions. The won a influence of the been placed in top company on several going can best Khan s Shareta. be She (rec 1 kilo) in the was unlucky when just touched shown through the Aga Group 2 Prix Corrida off by a nose to Solemia taken by Siyouma at Saint-Cloud where , third place Chariot Stakes and since the winner of the Group 1 Kingdom of Bahrain was place. Shareta wentthe Grade 1 E.P.Taylor Stakes, Sun and Haya Landa on to win the Darley took fifth opposition look Yorkshire rather ordinary in the Qatar Prix Oaks and then make the was just over two Vermeille where never a factor in lengths away third on the good to Solemia the Arc where she soft ground. Shareta Japanese, it was also a brutal defeatwas beaten just under 13 lengths. was on two previous For the occasions. On a and one which has previously happene was caught in the similar surface in d final 1999, strides El Condor

by Mick Kinane later on very soft and Montjeu. Eleven Pasa to the line and nowground, Nakayama Festa was caught years

by Workforce that the Arc was Orfevre had to settle for second place. It was no close run in a time of surprise 2 37 68 which was the slowest since 47

Two special issues : « Yearlings Sales Guide », with the Aug.-Sept. issue and « ETALONS », the stallions feature in the Dec.-Jan.-Feb. issue.

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Feb_114_TBA_Forum_Owner 17/01/2014 16:01 Page 82

TBA FORUM The special section for TBA members

Stallion parade line-up confirmed The TBA is delighted to confirm that 13 stallions will be on show at the TBA Stallion Parade on Thursday, February 6 in the sales ring at Tattersalls, immediately preceding the February Sale.

Stallions on parade...

CAPTAIN GERRARD CITYSCAPE DELEGATOR DICK TURPIN EMMA BERRY

EQUIANO FINJAAN FOXWEDGE MOUNT NELSON PASTORAL PURSUITS SAYIF STIMULATION SWISS SPIRIT WESTLAKE

Selkirk’s Group 1-winning son Cityscape will be on parade at Tattersalls

This popular event gives breeders the unique opportunity to see all the stallions, including first-season sires Cityscape, Finjaan, Swiss Spirit and Frankel’s close relation Westlake at one venue. The parade begins at 10am prompt and each stallion will be shown individually in the sales ring, with commentary from Gina Bryce.

After the parade, breeders are invited to

inspect the stallions in Further Paddock, where they can also speak with the stallions’ connections about their 2014 season mating plans. Breeders are also warmly invited to join us in the TBA hospitality box (Further Paddock 459) for refreshments.

The TBA would like to thank Tattersalls for their continuing support of this annual event, which is not to be missed.

TBA Stud Farming Course receives rave reviews from delegates This year’s Annual TBA Stud Farming Course received enthusiastic reviews from the 45 delegates hailing from studs large and small in the UK, Ireland and Switzerland who attended this popular course held once again at the British Racing School in December.

Twenty-two lectures covering topics ranging from conception to management of limb deformities, and taking in foaling, nutrition, sales preparation and stallion management, were delivered by vets and industry experts well versed in their chosen topics.

Delegates during the visit to Ed and Tanya Peate’s pre-training yard at Penny Farm

82

A dinner at the Bedford Lodge on the first evening allowed delegates and speakers to mingle informally, and visits to Rossdales Equine Hospital, Ed and Tanya Peate’s pretraining yard at Penny Farm, Brinkley and a behind-the-scenes tour of the British Racing School provided a break from the lecture theatre.

As always the catering at the Racing School received special commendation from delegates, who also welcomed the chance to learn from speakers who work at the ‘coal face’ of the industry and were keen to apply theory to practical situations encountered by all in daily stud work.

TBA member Hilary Fitzsimons commented that the course offered “a comprehensive range of well-presented subject matter, delivered at an excellent pace and provided a wonderful opportunity to network with other breeders with a variety of experience and knowledge.”

The 2014 course will take place in December (dates to be confirmed) and information will be available later on in the year.

THOROUGHBRED OWNER & BREEDER INC PACEMAKER

Feb_114_TBA_Forum_Owner 17/01/2014 16:01 Page 83

www.thetba.co.uk

TBA representative Richard Wilson presents Carol Herbert with the trophy for Miss Biscotti’s win at Fakenham

Mark Spincer, Managing Director of Doncaster racecourse, receives the mares’ race award from Jade Taylor

Rewarding courses for mares’ races to present Fakenham racecourse with its much deserved award. Both hosted TBA mares-only races at their respective meetings and racegoers at Fakenham saw a thrilling result as Carol Herbert’s Miss Biscotti claimed the prize at 100-1. Ridden

by Nico de Boinville, this was only the

With only one more racecourse to receive its certificate from the 2011/12 season, the penultimate presentation was made at Doncaster on December 29 by one of our young members, Jade Taylor.

A few weeks earlier, loyal members Richard and Rachel Wilson were delighted

second outing for the five-year-old but she turned in a sparkling performance, going straight into the lead and maintaining it throughout.

The TBA would like to thank both courses for their efforts in offering and promoting races specifically for mares.

Health and Safety seminars under way across UK Following the launch of the industry guide to ‘Health and Safety in the Racing and Breeding Industry’ (commonly known as the Red Book), a series of seminars organised by the BHA and delivered by the British Racing School has begun. This oneday course provides delegates with an insight into the new publication, including an overview of the principles of health and safety management systems, legal requirements, how to develop and implement a policy, and the role of insurance in risk management strategies.

The course has been devised by Tony Payne, Health and Safety advisor to the TBA and British Racing School, together with Stuart Pickering, advisor to the Northern Racing College.

The course is accredited by the Institute of Occupational Safety and Health and a short test will take place at the end of the day to assess knowledge gained and enable delegates to achieve certification. Delegates on the first course in December found the day extremely informative and a useful

complement to the Red Book. More seminars will take place this year as follows: Tuesday, February 11 – Northern Racing College, Doncaster Tuesday, April 15 – Oaksey House, Lambourn Tuesday, June 3 – British Racing School, Newmarket

THOROUGHBRED OWNER & BREEDER INC PACEMAKER

The cost per delegate is £40 and further information can be obtained from Clare Higgins at the British Racing School: clare.higgins@brs.org.uk or 01638 675907.

If members are unable to make these dates, please contact Caroline Turnbull at Stanstead House as further seminars will be arranged on a rolling basis.

83

Feb_114_TBA_Forum_Owner 17/01/2014 16:01 Page 84

TBA FORUM

TBA diary dates

McCoy a real asset to Elms

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 6 TBA Flat Stallion Parade at Tattersalls, Park Paddocks

TBA Flat Stallion Parade at Tattersalls preceding the start of the February sale.

Members are invited to join us in the TBA hospitality box after the parade.

For further details contact Pauline at the TBA on Pauline.Stoddart@thetba.co.uk or 01638 661321.

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 7

EBF/TBA Mares’ Novices’ Chase Series At Bangor-on-Dee.

SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 8

EBF/TBA Mares’ Novices’ Chase Series At Newcastle.

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 18

EBF/TBA Mares’ Novices’ Chase Series At Wetherby.

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 24

TBA Mares Only Club Race At Marks Tey.

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 24

EBF/TBA Mares’ Novices’ Chase Series At Plumpton.

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 25

Godolphin Stud & Stable Staff Awards At the Jumeirah Carlton Tower hotel, London.

NEW MEMBERS Ms S L C Evans, Hampshire; M Fonseka, Northamptonshire; N P Franklin, Nottinghamshire; P Gillbard, Devon; E Hawkings, Hampshire; A Hogg, North Yorkshire; S Malcolm, Buckinghamshire; The Blow Family Partnership, Nottinghamshire.

18-35 MEMBERS Stacey Bosley, Somerset; Harriet Bradford, Essex; James Purves, Selkirkshire; Bobby Richmond-Watson, London; John White, Wiltshire.

84

Carla McCoy, from The Elms Stud, wins the January 2014 Stud Staff Award

January’s Stud Staff Award winner is Carla McCoy, from The Elms Stud, Northamptonshire, who has been nominated

by Stud Groom Sarah Baker for her conscientious, calm and caring attitude to her role there.

Having worked at The Elms Stud for four years, McCoy is described as “a thoroughly dependable member of staff who regularly

takes responsibility when Sarah is away.”

She is especially skilled at treating sick and injured horses, and comes into her own when caring for sick foals or managing fostering situations. As a member of a small team, living on site, she is held in high regard by all at The Elms for the key role she plays in the success of the stud, and is a well-deserved winner of the January Stud Staff Award.

EBF/TBA Mares’ Novice Chase Series Simon Munir’s Une Artiste proved she was back on track after winning the EBF/TBA Mares’ Novices’ Chase on December 12 at Huntingdon.

Sent off the 8-15 favourite, Une Artiste

was accompanied throughout by market rival Baby Shine and it required some intervention from jockey Barry Geraghty before taking command in the home straight to score by two and a half lengths.

THOROUGHBRED OWNER & BREEDER INC PACEMAKER

Feb_114_TBA_Forum_Owner 17/01/2014 17:22 Page 85

www.thetba.co.uk

Breeders’ Prizes for TBA members Breeder

Prize (£)

The National Stud

1,800

Horse

Sire

Dam

Steventon Star

Pastoral Pursuits

Premiere Dance

Date

Course

07/12/2013

Wolverhampton

Whitsbury Manor Stud & Mrs M E Slade

1,800

Betimes

New Approach

See You Later

18/12/2013

Lingfield

Dr B Drew & Mr J Burke

1,800

Tears Of The Sun

Mastercraftsman

Perfect Star

20/12/2013

Southwell

Prizes subject to confirmation of qualification with Weatherbys

Breeders’ Prizes

National Hunt HBLB Breeders’ Prizes worth £1,000 or more Breeder

Horse

Sire

Dam

Goldford Stud

Prize (£)

8,000

Riverside Theatre

King's Theatre

Disallowed

L. Dettori

6,000

Dodging Bullets

Dubawi

N. Franklin

5,000

Killala Quay

Karinga Bay

Margaret Cuff

5,000

Willow's Saviour

R. D. M. Sharp

2,500

Based on date money was paid

Date

Course

12/12/2013

Huntingdon

Nova Cyngi

27/12/2013

Kempton Park

Madam Bijou

06/12/2013

Sandown Park

Septieme Ciel

Willow Gale

21/12/2013

Ascot

De La Bech

Karinga Bay A

Vallis Vale

07/12/2013

Chepstow

R. D and Mrs J. S. Chugg

2,500

Royale Knight

King's Theatre A

Gardana

08/12/2013

Kelso

New England, Myriad & Watership Down

2,500

Seven Nation Army

Rock Of Gibraltar

Crepe Ginger

20/12/2013

Ascot

P. Murphy

2,500

Carole's Spirit

Hernando

Carole's Crusader

21/12/2013

Haydock Park

D. J. and Mrs Deer

2,500

Modus

Motivator

Alessandra

01/01/2014

Cheltenham

R. J. and S. A. Carter

2,500

Bitofapuzzle

Tamure

Gaelic Gold

02/01/2014

Huntingdon

Helshaw Grange Stud Ltd

2,000

Mwaleshi

Oscar

Roxy River

21/12/2013

Haydock Park

Longdon Stud Ltd

1,750

Makari

Makbul

Seraphim

14/12/2013

Doncaster

J. B. Sumner

1,750

Mickie

Kayf Tara

Island Mist

27/12/2013

Kempton Park

Ian Low

1,750

Like Minded

Kayf Tara

Sun Dante

07/12/2013

Aintree

Mr and Mrs N. Faulks

1,500

Amore Alato

Winged Love

Sardagna

26/12/2013

Kempton Park

J. F. F. White

1,250

Westward Point

Karinga Bay

Hottentot

07/12/2013

Wetherby

Mr Richard Evans

1,250

Bucking The Trend

Kayf Tara

Macklette

10/12/2013

Fontwell Park

B. Derrick and P. R. Rodford

1,250

Midnight Lira

Midnight Legend

Bally Lira

19/12/2013

Exeter

Cheveley Park Stud Ltd

1,250

Samstown

Kingsalsa

Red Peony

05/12/2013

Market Rasen

Exors Of The Late Peter Lamyman

1,250

Loose Chips

Sir Harry Lewis

Worlaby Rose

26/12/2013

Kempton Park

Jeremy Hinds

1,000

Violet Dancer

Bertolini

Another Secret

06/12/2013

Sandown Park

Juddmonte Farms Ltd

1,000

Tantamount

Observatory

Cantanta

07/12/2013

Aintree

See breeders' prizes table effective from January 1 on TBA website, www.thetba.co.uk. Prizes subject to confirmation of qualification with Weatherbys

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85

Feb_114_BreederOfTheMonth_Owner 17/01/2014 15:53 Page 86

BREEDER OF THE MONTH www.thetb a. co. uk Manufacturers of

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Words Alan Yuill Walker

NH BREEDER OF THE MONTH – December 2013 Charlie Longsdon is, or has been, involved with two of the principal candidates for the December Breeder of the Month award.

Not only did he saddle a new recruit Killala Quay to win the Grade 2 Neptune Investment Management Novices’ Hurdle at Sandown Park, but he is also the former trainer of Willow’s Saviour, successful in Ascot’s Grade 3 Ladbroke Hurdle. In deciding which of the pair was the more deserving, the adjudicating panel adhered to the official ranking of those races.

Whether Killala Quay (by Karinga Bay) reaches the dizzy heights of such previous winners of the Sandown feature (registered as the Winter Novices’ Hurdle) as See More Business (1999 Gold Cup) and Neptune Collonges (2012 Grand National) remains to be seen, but as the winner of three of his five seasonal appearances to date, he is obviously a bright prospect.

To a large extent the background to Killala Quay revolves around the late Owen Brennan and his widow Pat, together with their good friend Richard Kent of Mickley Stud in Shropshire. It was Brennan who trained Killala Quay to win his first race, a bumper at Uttoxeter, while his dam Madam Bijou has been mated exclusively with Mickley stallions.

Following Killala Quay, she has had progeny by Needwood Blade, Multiplex and Captain Gerrard. Killala Quay himself was actually bred by Nigel Franklin (who wins a supply of TRM’s world-famous Calphormin plus a bottle of premium Irish whiskey), while his three younger siblings were bred by Peter Mina, whose Derbyshire base, Ellerslie Lodge, is currently home to her unraced four-year-old Multiplex filly Bella Bijou and her two-year-old colt by Captain Gerrard.

Franklin lives near Newark and for many years he had horses in training locally with Derek Shaw, from whom he purchased Killala Quay’s dam, Madam Bijou, as a two-year-old. “I had a few with Derek at the time and he persuaded me to buy her,” says Franklin. “She showed a lot of speed at home but never ran due to damaging a stifle.

“I had become interested in racing as a boy through Owen Brennan and his jockey son Martin. I used to work on oil rigs and in steel erecting, before returning home to help my father as a builder and developer. Having worked for both Derek Shaw and John Fretwell, I also had an agricultural fencing business and built a 50-box yard for Derek Shaw, where Michael Appleby is now based.”

Remarkably, Madam Bijou is the only broodmare that Franklin has ever

GEORGE SELWYN

Nigel Franklin

Killala Quay scores at Grade 2 level at Sandown in December

owned, although he once bought a half-sister, but she ended up as a polo pony.

“When Madam Bijou first went to stud I wanted to mate her with Needwood Blade, but Owen Brennan persuaded me to send her to Karinga Bay instead as he said his stamina would work well with her sprinting sire Atraf,” Franklin added.

In due course Owen and Pat Brennan were responsible for sending Killala Quay and her youngster to Mickley Stud with a view to him joining Donald McCain, but in the event the gelding returned to the Brennans to race for his present owners, Richard and Susan Perkins – they owned the yard where Brennan trained.

Understandably, the success of Killala Quay has rekindled Franklin’s interest in racing and he has rejoined the TBA. “At one time I decided that I could not afford to have racehorses and run my own business,” he reflects. “So I cut back and then packed it in altogether. I rather regret selling Killala Quay now, but it’s good to see him doing so well.

“And I had a nice surprise the week before Christmas when Weatherbys telephoned to tell me that I was due a £5,000 breeders’ prize.”

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86

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Sire of 4 black type horses in 2013 including stakes winning sprinter HALLELUJAH and Gr.2 placed Caelis Sire of NINE black type horses with Group or Listed winners from every crop inc:BLAINE - Gimcrack Stakes Gr.2 TEMPLE MEADS - Mill Reef Stakes Gr.2 IVER BRIDGE LAD - Prix de Seine-et-Oise Gr.3, 2nd Sirenia Stakes Gr.3, 3rd Cornwallis Stakes Gr.3 HALLELUJAH - Garrowby Stakes LR in 2013, 3rd Summer Stakes Gr.3 AVON PEARL - Swedish Open Mile LR in 2013, 2nd Polar Mile Cup LR in 2013 Caelis - 3rd Marjorie L. Everett Handicap Gr.2, Santa Barbara Handicap Gr.2 in 2013, 4th Vanity Handicap Gr.1 Avomcic - 3rd Premio Nogara LR in 2013

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87

Feb_114_TBA_NGC_Owner 17/01/2014 16:00 Page 88

NEXT GENERATION CLUB

www. nextg ener ati onc l ub . c om

By KATHERINE FIDLER

Racing dream begins with the foaling season

Sean McGuinness The TBA and NGC were deeply saddened at the recent news of the death of Sean McGuinness, who had been a recipient of the NGC/BHA Graduate Scheme Bloodstock Work Placement in 2012, when he spent time at Tweenhills Farm and Stud and Newsells Park Stud.

NGC Chairman, Sam Hoskins, said: “Sean was a brilliant ambassador for the NGC work placement, taking every opportunity offered to him and making many friends along the way. It is desperately sad that he was unable to fulfil the potential he so obviously had to make a successful career in the industry. Our sincere condolences go to his family.”

88

EMMA BERRY

H

orseracing is a sport most cyclical in its nature, a trait for which we should be very grateful when it comes to our equine heroes.

Sea The Stars made the summer of 2009 his own when repeatedly beating arguably the most talented generation of three-year-olds in recent years, before turning his attention to the older brigade and repeating those efforts. Yet here we are, poised ready to watch his first Classic crop take on their rivals in the hope of witnessing a similar performance.

Likewise, Frankel still looms large in racing’s consciousness, a gift to all fans who will never forget either his breathtaking performances or what he did for the sport. His first foals will be evoking a similar excitement by their very presence – a feeling not exclusive to those by the great one himself.

There is something magical about seeing a foal take its first steps, or gallop around a field for the first time – whimsical though it may sound on paper, in the flesh it is anything but.

However, for those few minutes of awe, there is a lot of work behind the scenes, and this is the time of year stud staff are gearing up for a busy few months ahead.

“The end of March and the beginning of April is the busiest time,” says Barton Stud Manager and NGC committee member Tom Blain. “Everything is still in at night because of the weather, and we not only have lots of mares foaling but we have barren mares and maiden mares, plus those who foaled earlier going to be covered.”

Foals should be able to suckle by around three hours after birth

Barton Stud has a large number of both temporary and permanent boarding mares, but each one needs the same amount of time and attention as the big day approaches.

“Seasonal boarders arrive from the second week in January onwards depending on their status,” says Blain. “Maiden mares [those who have never been covered] and barren mares [broodmares who are not in foal] arrive early, and earlier foaling mares are put under 24-hour camera supervision.

“Later-foaling mares tend to arrive a couple of months before their due date to give them plenty of time to settle in.”

The action plan for mares ready to foal is a well-practised one, Blain and his team having delivered plenty of foals year in, year out – which includes having a night watchman on duty to monitor those close to foaling on camera and checking all the other residents.

“All the equipment needed for and after foaling is always clean, ready and waiting,” says Blain. “As long as the mare is displaying normal signs of stage one labour – walking the box, sweating, pawing ground, getting up and down, and milk from her teats – close observation and waiting is required.

“Once the waters break – stage two – and the mare lies down, correct presentation of the foal is checked, and all being well foaling is smooth

and problem free.”

Job number one after a potential future champion has made its way into the world is to ensure he or she is kept safe from infection, which includes treating and monitoring the umbilical stump, and making sure they receive their all important first milk – colostrum – which contains antibodies from the mare to give the foal’s immune system a kickstart.

“The suck reflex is present within about ten minutes,” says Blain. “Foals normally stand within 15 minutes to one or two hours, and are normally suckling by the three-hour mark. The antibodies can be absorbed only within the first 12-24 hours of life, so receiving good-quality colostrum is vital.”

As for the new mother, there are also plenty of checks, the most important of which is ensuring the placenta has been passed – if not it can be life-threatening.

All of this goes on within just the first few hours of a foal’s life – a scene that will be repeated thousands of times across the country in the coming months – and from then on there is still plenty of work for the stud staff to undertake.

Some of those born will go on to win, some may even be champions, and the lucky few will earn their place as a stallion at stud – a job that will be in focus next month.

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89

Feb_114_Vet_Forum_Owner Breeder 17/01/2014 16:09 Page 90

VET FORUM: THE EXPERT VIEW

By DEIDRE CARSON, BVSc, MRCVS

Addressing newborn problems A number of acute non-infectious conditions are encountered in neonatal foals

T

his is a brief, whirlwind tour of a few of the more common non-infectious conditions of neonatal foals that breeders need to be on the look out for. Anyone looking after foaling mares and newborn foals should know how a ‘normal’ foaling will progress, what a ‘normal’ newborn foal looks like and how it should behave. Every foal must receive adequate good quality colostrum within 12 hours of birth and this can be even more important if the foal is compromised by any one of these non-infectious conditions.

Neonatal Maladjustment Syndrome (NMS) Neonatal foals are particularly susceptible to the effects of low blood oxygen and birth trauma, so anything which shortens or prolongs the birth process, such as red bag or dystocia (difficult foaling), can affect the foal. Often the ‘incident’ is not recognised and the birth may appear normal. However, very soon after birth the foal will start showing signs of abnormality.

These can vary enormously and may include appearing a bit slow or sleepy (dummy foal) or excessively agitated. There may be a poor or non-existent suck reflex, inability to stand or persistent aimless walking/circling.

Occasionally the foal will convulse and a few will vocalise abnormally, hence the old name ‘barker’ foal. These foals require urgent veterinary attention and should, where possible, be given oxygen while you wait for the vet. They will initially be given anticonvulsants, anti-inflammatory medication (corticosteroids) and antibiotics, and may also require intravenous fluids and feeding by stomach tube. Treatment and nursing may be necessary for several days. Every year a few foals require intensive, 24/7 hospital treatment and nursing, and there is no guarantee of survival, even with the very best care.

Prematurity/dysmaturity While we assume a ‘normal’ gestation is 340 days, there is actually a wide range of ‘normal’, i.e. 315 to 365 days, depending on the mare.

Anything that causes a mare to foal early (for example surgery, severe or chronic pain, infection or other stressful event) will usually result in the birth of a ‘premature foal’. If the foal is too premature, it will have virtually no chance of survival.

In other mares, the foal’s maturation in the uterus is impaired and this results in a foal that

90

A newborn foal receiving treatment in an intensive care unit

is not ‘ready’ to be born, even if it is carried to term. These are called dysmature foals.

In both of these groups the normal physiological mechanisms needed to allow life outside the uterus have not been properly ‘switched on’ and the foal may simply not be ready for life in the outside world. These foals often have a very fine coat and soft ears. They may be unable to stand unassisted, have soft (incompletely ossified) bones and may be very small and weak, although some are of average size.

In some mild cases, all these foals need is to be fed, either by bottle or stomach tube and provided with basic nursing care until their systems have a chance to catch up. Others may require more intensive treatment, including assistance to stand and suck, more intensive nursing care such as tube or intravenous feeding, surfactant and oxygen administration, and hormonal support just for starters. The foals must be kept warm. If the foal is too severely impaired it may not be possible to save it. Twin foals are often either premature or dysmature and can be very difficult to save.

Haemolytic anaemia The antibodies in colostrum are derived from the mare’s own blood and concentrated in the colostrum in the weeks before birth. The mare

produces these in response to antigens she has been exposed to in her environment and via vaccination. It is essential that foals receive these antibodies soon after birth to help them fight infection in the first weeks of life.

However, in a small number of foals, some of the antibodies they receive from their dam actually attack the foal’s own red blood cells, causing them to rupture (haemolysis) because of an incompatibility between the blood types of the mare and the stallion. The resulting anaemia may be life threatening. The foal appears normal at birth but within a few days will become weak, rapidly tire and appear depressed. Respiratory rate increases, the urine appears dark or reddish and the gums will appear paler than normal.

Diagnosis is based on clinical signs and blood results. The foal may require transfusion of washed red blood cells, normally from its dam and ideally after cross-matching. More than one transfusion may be required and affected foals must be closely monitored for secondary problems such as infection, and for second and third ‘waves’ of haemolysis. Other supportive treatment is needed and a few foals will die, despite treatment. Mares who produce one haemolytic foal are likely to have others, although the risks can be reduced by covering with compatible stallions and testing the mare THOROUGHBRED OWNER & BREEDER INC PACEMAKER

Feb_114_Vet_Forum_Owner Breeder 17/01/2014 16:09 Page 91

in the month prior to foaling.

These mares must be attended at foaling and the foal prevented from sucking from the mare.

The colostrum should be stripped from the mare (this can be started prior to foaling) and discarded until it has become ‘normal’ milk (usually around 24 hours). The foal should be given donor colostrum which has been sourced prior to the foaling, and then mare’s milk or replacer until it is safe to allow it to suck from the mare. If no donor colostrum is available, a plasma transfusion should be given using commercial plasma or plasma from a crossmatched donor.

Ruptured bladder Symptoms of ruptured bladder (normally just a small tear) are usually not seen until several days after birth. Colt foals are more frequently affected than fillies. The foal will usually appear normal at birth and may even be seen to urinate normally during the first few days but will then start showing signs of illness. Symptoms include reduced appetite, dullness, straining to urinate, abdominal distension and laboured respiration. Some may show signs of colic.

Urine leaks from the damaged bladder into the abdominal cavity, causing pressure on the diaphragm, the accumulation of toxins and potentially life-threatening electrolyte abnormalities.

Diagnosis is based on clinical signs, scans of the abdomen and abdominal fluid and blood analysis. Surgery is necessary to repair the bladder defect but is usually delayed until after the urine has been drained from the abdomen and the electrolyte levels restored to near normal. If caught early enough, most of the affected foals make a quick and complete recovery.

Severe limb deformities It is not possible to describe in this short article all of the limb deformities which might be seen in newborn foals. The very severe ones can cause dystocia (difficult foaling) or may result in the foal being unable to stand, let alone walk properly. You should call your vet if the foal has been unable to stand within a few hours of birth. If the foal cannot stand but has a good suck reflex, you should express the colostrum from the mare and feed it to the foal by bottle within the first couple of hours after birth and then every hour or two until your vet arrives.

Some foals will require splinting, either with specially formed plaster or fibreglass splints, or commercially available adjustable devices.

Some conditions, for example excessively straight fetlocks, may be improved with a large dose of oxytetracycline that helps to ‘relax’ the soft tissue structures. Exercise will need to be regulated and adjusted according to the THOROUGHBRED OWNER & BREEDER INC PACEMAKER

An x-ray showing fractured ribs in a young foal which have been repaired surgically

condition. For example, fetlock contracture can be improved with periods on a level, clean surface as long as the fetlock does not knuckle over when weight bearing. On the other hand, mild carpal (knee) contracture may get worse if the foal is allowed too much exercise and becomes tired. Short periods of exercise a few times a day are better than one longer period.

Ask for advice early in the foal’s life, as these conditions are easier to manage the earlier they are seen.

Meconium impaction Within a few hours of birth all foals should be seen to pass their first droppings or ‘meconium’. This is usually soft and moist but in some foals it is dry and pebbly. In a few, and it is usually colts again, the meconium becomes ‘stuck’ within the pelvic canal or rectum. The foal will strain unsuccessfully and may stand stretched out with the tail held rigid. In a few cases, the foal will develop colic signs and these may be severe.

Treatment is usually by administration of an enema (either commercial buffered phosphate or specially prepared acetyl cysteine) but analgesia may be required until the blockage is cleared. In very mild cases a dilute solution of dishwashing liquid can be effective, but care must be taken during administration to avoid damaging the delicate rectal lining.

Rib fractures Some larger foals or those that are born after a difficult or rapid foaling might suffer from fractured ribs. These may not be immediately apparent, especially if there are only one or two ribs involved. Usually, only one side of the chest is involved but up to seven or eight ribs may be

affected. The foal may not show any signs of abnormality but the fractures might be detected by close palpation of the chest in the days after birth.

In the more severely affected foals, they will show laboured respiration and the affected area of the chest will collapse during inspiration rather than expand like a normal chest. Most affected foals do not require further treatment but in a few cases surgery is necessary to repair some of the ribs and stabilise the chest wall.

Sadly, in a few cases, the fracture ends damage the lungs or heart and the foal may either die or require euthanasia.

Atresia ani/coli I have included this because, although pretty rare, it can cause symptoms similar to meconium impaction. In affected foals, the anus or part of the colon (large bowel) is missing or incompletely formed. The most obvious feature is that no faeces will be passed.

If the anus is affected, there may simply not be an opening under the tail. Simple surgical treatment may be possible in some of these cases. In atresia coli, the foal may appear completely normal initially but will develop signs of colic. It may be necessary to perform a barium enema or exploratory surgery to make a correct diagnosis. Depending on the location and extent of the malformation, it may be possible to correct it, but in most cases this is sadly not an option.

Fortunately, most foals are carried to term and are born uneventfully. There are few events more exciting than the birth of a normal foal but early recognition of any abnormality will provide the best opportunity for a successful outcome.

91

Feb_114_Databook_Leader 17/01/2014 17:00 Page 92

DATA BOOK STAKES RESULTS

National Hunt Grade Ones 60 HENRY VIII NOVICESâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; CHASE G1 3!.$/7. 0!2+ $ECEMBER F 'OOD

61 TINGLE CREEK CHASE G1 3!.$/7. 0!2+ $ECEMBER F 'OOD

().4%2,!.$ &2 B G 0OLIGLOTE 1UEEN 0LACE $IAMOND 0ROSPECT O-#HRIS 'ILES B-% !UBREE # "RESSON TR-0AUL .ICHOLLS 'RANDOUET &2 B BR G !L .AMIX 6IRGINIA 2IVER )NDIAN 2IVER 4AQUIN DU 3EUIL &2 B BR G 6OIX DU .ORD 3WEET ,ALY -ARCHAND DE 3ABLE

3)2% $% '25'9 &2 CH G -Y 2ISK (IRLISH 0ASSING 3ALE O-4HE 0RESTON &AMILY &RIENDS ,TD B-,A 'RUGERIE TR-'ARY -OORE 3OMERSBY )2% B G 3ECOND %MPIRE "ACK 4O 2OOST 0RESENTING #APTAIN #ONAN &2 B G +INGSALSA ,AVANDOU 3ADLER S 7ELLS

Age

Age

Starts

Wins

Places

Earned a

().4%2,!.$ B G .ORTHERN $ANCER 3ADLER S 7ELLS

&AIRY "RIDGE

POLIGLOTE B 6AL DE , /RNE !LEXANDRIE !PACHEE $IAMOND 0ROSPECT QUEEN PLACE CH 6ALENDA

-R 0ROSPECTOR 3OCIABLE !NGEL &RENCH &RIEND (ARD 4O &IGHT

Wins

Places

+ENMARE (IGH 2IVER "E -Y 'UEST "AINO "LUFF 2APIDS ,YPHARD 6ACARME 6IRUNGA "ON 3ANG -ISS -OOD -ISSY .ORTHFIELDS .O 0ASS .O 3ALE .O $ISGRACE 9OUTH 2EACHOUT !ND 4OUCH %VERYTHING .ICE 'REEN $ANCER #HAMBERLIN /N 4HE 7ING !LFARO ,AIDA $ARIGA (IGHEST (ONOR

4AKE 2ISKS MY RISK B -ISS 0AT

0ASSING 3ALE HIRLISH B 4ARA +ANE ))

4AKE 2ISKS ISN T THE BEST KNOWN &RENCH STALLION BUT HIS NAME CROPPED UP TWICE IN THE FINAL MONTHS OF &IRSTLY WE SAW 4AC DE "OISTRON ONE OF HIS FIVE 'ROUP WINNERS ON THE &LAT

BECOME HIS FIRST 'R WINNER WHEN HE LANDED THE 0RIX 2OYAL /AK AT ,ONGCHAMP 4HEN -Y 2ISK ANOTHER OF THESE FIVE 'ROUP WINNERS WAS RESPONSIBLE FOR 3IRE DE 'RUGY THE PROGRESSIVE GELDING WHO ENJOYED A HIGHLY PROFITABLE $ECEMBER THANKS TO A GRADED DOUBLE WITH VICTORIES IN THE 'R 4INGLE #REEK #HASE AND 'R $ESERT /RCHID #HASE 3IRE DE 'RUGY HAS NOW WON HALF OF HIS STARTS

HAVING ALSO BEEN A 'R WINNER OVER HURDLES 4AKE 2ISKS AND -Y 2ISK WERE BOTH PROLIFIC 'R WINNERS OVER A MILE SO IT IS HARDLY SURPRISING THAT 3IRE DE 'RUGY IS EXCELLING OVER THE MINIMUM DISTANCE OF TWO MILES (E STAYS A BIT FURTHER

THOUGH AS HE HAS WON BOTH HIS STARTS OVER TWO AND A QUARTER MILES (IRLISH THE DAM OF 3IRE DE 'RUGY IS AN UNRACED SELLE FRANÂ¥AIS (OWEVER

HER SIRE 0ASSING 3ALE HAD BEEN A HIGH CLASS MIDDLE DISTANCE PERFORMER

WINNER ON THE &LAT AND WAS VICTORIOUS IN THE 'R 'RAN 0REMIO DEL *OCKEY #LUB IN )TALY (IRLISH HAS PREVIOUSLY PRODUCED THE WINNING HURDLER CHASER -AGOT DE 'RUGY TO 4ZAR 2ODNEY AND THE ,ISTED PLACED CHASER .ASSOR DE 'RUGY TO !SSESSOR 4HE NEXT DAM 4ARA +ANE )) WON THREE CROSS COUNTRY RACES DURING A RACE CAREER 62 JOHN DURKAN MEMORIAL PUNCHESTOWN CHASE G1 05.#(%34/7. $EC F 'OOD TO 9IELDING

!26)+! ,)'%/..)%2% &2 B G !RVICO $ARAKA !KARAD O--RS 3 2ICCI B-9 ,EPAGE TR-70 -ULLINS 2UBI ,IGHT &2 B G .ETWORK 'ENNY ,IGHTS ,IGHTS /UT

Starts

63 NAVAN NOVICE HURDLE G1

64 LONG WALK HURDLE G1

0ISTOLET "LEU ARVICO B !RVIKA

!KARAD DARAKA B 6ANELIA

.!6!. $ECEMBER F 9IELDING TO 3OFT

"2)!2 (),, )2% B G 3HANTOU "ACKAWAY "OB "ACK O--RS !NDREA 7YLIE B-6 #ONNOLLY TR-70 -ULLINS !ZORIAN )2% B G 7ESTERNER %LIANE DI 2UPETTE #OSMONAUT /NLY TWO RAN Age

Starts

Places

Places

(OIST 4HE &LAG !LLEGED

0RINCESS 0OUT

SHANTOU B 3HAIMA /H 3O 3HARP "OB "ACK

Earned a

Earned a

"AVAWAY

2OBERTO 4OTER "ACK ,E "AVARD #HILLAWAY

!3#/4 $ECEMBER F 3OFT

2%6% $% 3)6/,! &2 B G !SSESSOR %VA DE #HALAMONT )RON $UKE O-0AUL $UFFY $IAMOND 0ARTNERSHIP B-' 4RAPENARD 4 4RAPENARD TR-.ICK 7ILLIAMS 3ALUBRIOUS )2% B G "ENEFICIAL 7HO 4ELLS *AN 2OYAL &OUNTAIN 4WEEDLEDRUM '" B M "EAT (OLLOW 4WEED -ILL 3ELKIRK Age

Starts

Wins

Places

Earned a

2%6% $% 3)6/,! B G

"2)!2 (),, B G

BACKAWAY B

Wins

Wins

3HAREEF $ANCER

/NLY TWO FINISHED Age

4HE 6AUTERHILL 3TUD IN $EVON MUST BE MORE THAN HAPPY WITH THE DECISION TO IMPORT THE &RENCH STALLION !RVICO AT THE START OF 4HE STALLION S FIRST THREE YEARS IN %NGLAND HAVE COINCIDED WITH THE EMERGENCE OF !RVICO S SON !RVIKA ,IGEONNIERE AS ONE OF THE MOST SUCCESSFUL CHASERS IN )RELAND 4HIS BOLD GELDING WAS RECORDING HIS FOURTH 'R VICTORY WHEN HE LANDED THE ODDS IN THE 0UNCHESTOWN #HASE ! SON OF 0ISTOLET "LEU !RVICO WAS A FOUR TIME WINNER FROM SIX FURLONGS TO A MILE AND A QUARTER AT TWO BEFORE PROVING THAT HE STAYED A MILE AND THREE QUARTERS BY WINNING THE 'RAND 0RIX D !NGERS !RVICO ALSO SCORED THREE TIMES OVER HURDLES 0ISTOLET "LEU ALSO SIRED JUMPERS OF THE CALIBRE OF 3IZING %UROPE 'EOS +ATARINO AND 6ODKA "LEU !RVIKA ,IGEONNAIRE S DAM $ARAKA SHOWED LITTLE ABILITY ON THE &LAT IN &RANCE (OWEVER SHE HAD A RESPECTABLE &LAT PEDIGREE WITH THE 'RAND 0RIX DE 3AINT #LOUD WINNER !KARAD AS HER SIRE AND THE DUAL 'R WINNER -ARGOUILLAT AS HER BROODMARE SIRE (ER BEST WINNER PRIOR TO !RVIKA ,IGEONNAIRE WAS $ARASTAN A WINNER OF A 'R HURDLE AT !UTEUIL AND A 'R CHASE AT %NGHIEN 4HE %NGHIEN CHASE WAS OVER THREE MILES AND A FURLONG

BUT THE FREE RUNNING !RVIKA ,IGEONNAIRE SEEMED NOT TO STAY WHEN TRIED OVER THREE MILES AND NOW DIVIDES HIS TIME BETWEEN TWO MILES AND TWO AND A HALF

(IGH 4OP 3EGA 6ILLE !RMOS 0AMPA "ELLA +ENDIE "LUSHING 'ROOM "AILLAMONT ,ODEVE .UREYEV "EAUTE $ANGEREUSE !LLICANCE "USTED ,ABUS #ORDOVILLA !BDOS ,ICATA 'AIA $IATOME -ARGOUILLAT 4ITA (UNTERCOMBE 6ANDA $IANA "OWLING 'REEN 4OP 6ILLE

Earned a

3)2% $% '25'9 CH G .EARCTIC .ATALMA "OLD 2EASON 3PECIAL 6AL DE ,OIR !GLAE 3IR 'AYLORD !MERICAINE 2AISE ! .ATIVE 'OLD $IGGER 3OCIAL #LIMBER 4URF !NGEL (ERBAGER 4AKE ! 3TAND (ARDICANUTE 6ALENSOLE

!LTHOUGH 0OLIGLOTE WAS IN THE SPOTLIGHT AS THE SIRE OF THE !RC WINNER 3OLEMIA THE (ARAS D %TREHAM VETERAN HAS ARGUABLY MADE A BIGGER IMPACT IN RECENT YEARS AS A SIRE OF JUMPERS (E BECAME &RANCE S CHAMPION SIRE OF JUMPERS IN AND THEN REPEATED THE FEAT IN THANKS LARGELY TO THE 'R WINNING HURDLERS 3AINT DU #HENET AND .IKITA DU "ERLAIS 4HE SON OF 3ADLER S 7ELLS THEN MADE IT THREE TITLES IN THE SPACE OF FOUR YEARS IN .OW 0OLIGLOTE HAS A COUPLE OF VERY PROMISING YOUNG CHASERS IN THE CARE OF 0AUL .ICHOLLS /NE 7ONDERFUL #HARM HAS WON A PAIR OF 'R NOVICE CHASES AND THE OTHER (INTERLAND TOOK THE 'R (ENRY 6))) .OVICES #HASE (INTERLAND HAS LOOKED POTENTIALLY SMART FROM THE MOMENT HE WON A ,ISTED RACE AT !UTEUIL ON HIS DEBUT OVER HURDLES IN -AY AND HE QUICKLY BECAME A 'R WINNER AFTER HIS TRANSFER TO %NGLAND (E OUGHT TO BE TOUGH AS 0OLIGLOTE RACED TIMES AND HIS DAM 1UEEN 0LACE RACED A TOTAL OF TIMES IN &RANCE 1UEEN 0LACE WON OVER FURLONGS ON THE &LAT BEFORE BEING TRIED OVER HURDLES BUT HER DISAPPOINTING EFFORTS SAW HER RETURNED TO THE &LAT AND SHE WON THREE MORE TIMES IN HANDICAPS (ER SIRE $IAMOND 0ROSPECT WAS A HIGH CLASS AND VERSATILE SON OF -R 0ROSPECTOR WHO KEPT FINDING ONE TOO GOOD FOR HIM AT 'ROUP LEVEL )NITIALLY RETIRED TO STUD IN &LORIDA

$IAMOND 0ROSPECT EVENTUALLY RETURNED TO &RANCE WHERE HE WAS MODERATELY SUCCESSFUL SIRING A HANDFUL OF ,ISTED WINNERS ON THE &LAT (INTERLAND ONLY JUST HELD ON WHEN HE GAINED HIS FIRST 'R SUCCESS AND SOME OF HIS OTHER PERFORMANCES HAVE RAISED DOUBTS AS TO THE EXTENT OF HIS STAMINA 0ERHAPS THIS IS BECAUSE HIS BROODMARE SIRE WAS FAST ENOUGH TO BE PLACED IN SUCH TOP SPEED RACES AS THE SIX AND A HALF FURLONG 0RIX -AURICE DE 'HEEST AT $EAUVILLE AND THE 0RIX DE LA &ORET OVER SEVEN FURLONGS AT ,ONGCHAMP

92

Starts

"RIAR (ILL S RECORD NOW STANDS AT FOUR SUCCESSIVE VICTORIES SINCE HE WAS BOUGHT FOR a ON THE STRENGTH OF AN ENCOURAGING POINT TO POINT VICTORY %VEN SO HE STILL APPEARS TO BE A WORK IN PROGRESS (AVING SPRUNG A SURPRISE IN THE 7EATHERBYS #HAMPION "UMPER HE HAS MADE THE SUCCESSFUL TRANSITION TO HURDLING

NOTABLY MAKING ALL TO BEAT A SOLITARY OPPONENT IN THE 'R .AVAN .OVICE (URDLE "UT EVERYTHING ABOUT HIM SUGGESTS THAT IT IS AS A STAYING CHASER THAT "RIAR (ILL WILL BE AT HIS MOST EFFECTIVE 7HEN HIS SIRE 3HANTOU WON THE 3T ,EGER HE WAS FOLLOWING IN THE FOOTSTEPS OF HIS SECOND DAM /H 3O 3HARP 3HANTOU WENT ON TO WIN THE 'RAN 0REMIO DEL *OCKEY #LUB AND 'RAN 0REMIO DI -ILANO BEFORE RETIRING TO STUD IN )TALY WHERE HE SIRED SEVERAL VERY USEFUL PERFORMERS 4HE 0RIX 6ERMEILLE WINNER 3WEET 3TREAM WAS THE BEST OF THEM 3HANTOU WAS SWITCHED TO )RELAND AS A JUMPS STALLION AT THE AGE OF IN NO DOUBT IN THE HOPE THAT HE WOULD PROVE AS EFFECTIVE AS SOME OF !LLEGED S OTHER SONS SUCH AS -ONTELIMAR AND &LEMENSFIRTH 3HANTOU S FIRST )RISH CROP HAS PRODUCED THE VERY USEFUL CHASERS "ALLYNAGOUR 3UPER $UTY AND /UR &ATHER AND HE HAS FOLLOWED UP WITH THE SMART HURDLER CHASER -ORNING !SSEMBLY IN HIS SECOND AND "RIAR (ILL IN HIS THIRD (IS SUCCESSES EARNED HIM A BOOK OF THOROUGHBRED MARES IN AND A SIMILAR BOOK IN "RIAR (ILL S BROTHER SOLD FOR

AS A FOAL IN AND THERE ARE SEVERAL OTHER SIBLINGS 4HEIR DAM "ACKAWAY IS AN UNRACED SISTER TO "OSTON "OB A 'R WINNER OVER BOTH HURDLES AND FENCES WHILE "RIAR (ILL S SECOND DAM "AVAWAY WAS AN UNRACED HALF SISTER TO THE SMART HURDLER AND CHASER $ANNY (ARROLD 4HE NEXT DAM #HILLAWAY WAS A HALF SISTER TO THE VERY USEFUL CHASER 'OLDEN &REEZE

!26)+! ,)'%/..)%2% B G

4OM 2OLFE 7AVY .AVY 0RINCE *OHN $ETERMINED ,ADY .ORTHERN $ANCER 3WEET !LLIANCE +RIS /H 3O &AIR (AIL 4O 2EASON "RAMALEA #ARRY "ACK 2OMANTIC -ISS $EVON ,UEUR $OREE !RCTIC 3LAVE &REEZEAWAY

.IJINSKY .INISKI

6IRGINIA (ILLS

ASSESSOR B 0ETINGO $INGLE "AY "ORDER "OUNTY )RON $UKE EVA DE CHALAMONT CH "EL .ATURA

3ICAMBRE )NSULAIRE 2OYAL %XCHANGE &UDNATURA

.ORTHERN $ANCER &LAMING 0AGE 4OM 2OLFE 2IDIN %ASY 0ETITION !LCAZAR "OUNTEOUS " &LAT 0RINCE "IO 3IF !UREOLE )SMENE )) 2OYAL #OINAGE ,ITTLE 3TORMY .OVITUR &UDNA

THOROUGHBRED OWNER & BREEDER INC PACEMAKER

Feb_114_Databook_Leader 17/01/2014 17:00 Page 93

Caulfield on Silviniaco Conti: “His sire Dom Alco has proved a powerful source of stamina, siring the likes of Neptune Collonges, Grands Crus, Unioniste and Sire Collonges”

4HE CONNECTIONS OF 2EVE DE 3IVOLA MUST BE WONDERING WHY IT TOOK THEM SO LONG TO RETURN HIM TO HURDLING AFTER HE STRUGGLED TO REPRODUCE HIS BEST FORM OVER FENCES /F COURSE THE SON OF !SSESSOR RAISED THEIR HOPES WHEN HE WON HIS SECOND START OVER THE BIGGER OBSTACLES

BUT EIGHT CONSECUTIVE DEFEATS THEN FOLLOWED #ONTRAST THIS TO THE GELDING S RECORD SINCE HIS RETURN TO HURDLING .INE STARTS HAVE RESULTED IN FOUR VICTORIES INCLUDING TWO EDITIONS OF THE 'R ,ONG 7ALK (URDLES AND ONE OF THE VALUABLE 'RAND 0RIX D !UTOMNE A 'R AT !UTEUIL (E IS CLEARLY BACK IN THE TYPE OF FORM WHICH BROUGHT HIM THREE 'RADED VICTORIES DURING THE SEASON INCLUDING THE #HAMPION .OVICE (URDLE AT 0UNCHESTOWN 4HREE MILES NOW SEEMS A MINIMUM DISTANCE FOR 2EVE DE 3IVOLA (E NO DOUBT OWES HIS STAMINA TO !SSESSOR

WHO FOLLOWED IN THE FOOTSTEPS OF HIS OWN SIRE .INISKI IN WINNING THE 0RIX 2OYAL /AK OVER NEARLY TWO MILES AS A THREE YEAR OLD !SSESSOR WENT ON TO WIN THE 9ORKSHIRE AND $ONCASTER #UPS AT FOUR

AS WELL AS THE 0RIX DU #ADRAN OVER TWO AND A HALF MILES !SSESSOR S OTHER NOTABLE ACHIEVEMENT AS A STALLION IS THE VERSATILE -Y 7AY DE 3OLZEN

WINNER AT THE #HELTENHAM &ESTIVAL OF THE 7ORLD (URDLE AND !RKLE #HASE 2EVE DE 3IVOLA S DAM %VA DE #HALAMONT WAS A LIGHTLY RACED WINNER OVER A MILE AND A HALF 4HIS DAUGHTER OF )RON $UKE HAS TWO OTHER WINNERS TO HER CREDIT INCLUDING .EVA DE 3IVOLA

DAM OF THE 'R WINNING CHASER 3OLEIL DE 3IVOLA AND THE TALENTED 5RBAIN DE 3IVOLA %VA DE #HALAMONT ALSO HAS A FILLY BY !SSESSOR 4HE NEXT DAM "EL .ATURA FAILED TO WIN IN AS MANY AS ATTEMPTS ON THE &LAT AND OVER JUMPS BUT FARED MUCH BETTER AS A BROODMARE (ER TEAM OF EIGHT WINNERS FEATURED THE PROLIFIC WINNER &OEHN DE #HALAMONT 65 KAUTO STAR NOVICES’ CHASE G1 +%-04/. 0!2+ $ECEMBER F 3OFT

!..!#/449 )2% B G "ENEFICIAL -INI -OO -IN !RDROSS O--RS 0ETER 0ROWTING B-0 #ROTTY *NR TR--ARTIN +EIGHLEY 'REEN &LAG )2% B G -ILAN %RIN 'O "REA 5N $ESPERADO 4HIRD )NTENTION )2% B G !ZAMOUR 4HIRD $IMENSION 3UAVE $ANCER Age

Starts

Wins

Places

!NNACOTTY STARTED AT IN A FIVE HORSE FIELD FOR THE +AUTO 3TAR .OVICES #HASE WITH HIS PRICE REFLECTING HIS RECORD OF ONLY ONE WIN IN FIVE PREVIOUS STARTS OVER FENCES (OWEVER THE SON OF "ENEFICIAL PROVED MUCH THE BEST OF THE FIVE

SCORING BY TEN LENGTHS AFTER LEADING THROUGHOUT )T SHOULDN T BE FORGOTTEN THAT HE HAD STARTED FAVOURITE IN THREE OF HIS FIRST FOUR RACES OVER FENCES

HAVING WON TWO OF HIS THREE RACES OVER HURDLES AS WELL AS ONE OF HIS THREE STARTS IN POINT TO POINTS !NNACOTTY IS VERY WELL SUITED BY THREE MILES HARDLY SURPRISING IN VIEW OF HIS STAMINA PACKED PEDIGREE (IS DAM -INI -OO -IN TACKLED DISTANCES OF UP TO THREE AND A QUARTER MILES AND WON THREE TIMES OVER HURDLES 7HAT S MORE

SHE WAS SIRED BY !RDROSS THE OUTSTANDING STAYER AND DUAL !SCOT 'OLD #UP WINNER WHO SIRED THE #HAMPION (URDLE WINNER !LDERBROOK

PLUS SUCH NOTABLE JUMPERS AS !NZUM

!VRO !NSON 9OUNG +ENNY AND 3IR 4ALBOT !NNACOTTY S SECOND DAM -ULLOCH "RAE WAS AT HER MOST SUCCESSFUL OVER FENCES WINNING FOUR CONSECUTIVE RACES AT UP TO THREE MILES AND A FURLONG 3HE WOULD PROBABLY HAVE STAYED FURTHER GIVEN THE CHANCE AS SHE WAS A SISTER TO "IGSUN A WINNER OVER FOUR MILES AT #HELTENHAM WHO WAS ONE OF THE LEADING FANCIES FOR THE 'RAND .ATIONAL -ULLOCH "RAE WAS ALSO A HALF SISTER TO THE 3COTTISH .ATIONAL WINNER !NDROMA 66 CHRISTMAS HURDLE G1 +%-04/. 0!2+ $ECEMBER F 3OFT

-9 4%.4 /2 9/523 )2% B G $ESERT 0RINCE 3PARTAN 'IRL %LA -ANA -OU O-*0 -C-ANUS B-& $UNNE TR-. (ENDERSON 4HE .EW /NE )2% B G +ING S 4HEATRE 4HURINGE 4URGEON 3AMETEGAL &2 B G 3AINT DES 3AINTS ,OYA ,ESCRIBAA 2OBIN DES #HAMPS Age Starts Wins Places

3EE RACE IN THE *ANUARY ISSUE -9 4%.4 /2 9/523 B G $ANZIG 'REEN $ESERT

"USTINO &LYING &AIRY &AIRY &OOTSTEPS %LA -ANA -OU SPARTAN GIRL CH 7ELL (EAD

Earned a

$ERRING $O #AMENAE #HARLOTTESVILLE 3EGA 6ILLE ,A 3EGA .IJINSKY 'REEN $ANCER 'REEN 6ALLEY 0RIMERA &IRST "LOOM &LOWER $ANCE 4OM 2OLFE 2UN 4HE 'ANTLET &IRST &EATHER ,EVMOSS ,E -ELODY !RCTIC -ELODY -OURNE 3UNYBOY &AIR "ID ,E ,EVANSTELL 3TELLA 2OMA 2OMAN .OSE

9OUTHFUL

!RDROSS MINI MOO MIN B -ULLOCH "RAE

0ITCAIRN 2OSE "ERTIN 3ADLER S 7ELLS 2IVER $ANCER

Northern Dancer 0AS DE .OM 3IR )VOR #OURTLY $EE "USTED 3HIP 9ARD -ILL 2EEF 'LASS 3LIPPER 0ETINGO "ORDER "OUNTY (IGH (AT 7IDE !WAKE Northern Dancer &AIRY "RIDGE )RISH 2IVER $ANCING 3HADOW

67 KING GEORGE VI CHASE G1

(IGH 4OP BENEFICIAL B

&OREIGN #OURIER

DESERT PRINCE B

!..!#/449 B G 4OP 6ILLE

Earned a

+%-04/. 0!2+ $ECEMBER F 3OFT

3),6).)!#/ #/.4) &2 CH G $OM !LCO 'AZELLE ,ULU !LTAYAN O-0OTENSIS ,IMITED -R #HRIS 'ILES B-0 *OUBERT TR-0AUL .ICHOLLS #UE #ARD '" B G +ING S 4HEATRE 7ICKED #RACK +ING S 2IDE !L &EROF &2 GR G $OM !LCO -ARALTA !LTAYAN Age

Starts

THOROUGHBRED OWNER & BREEDER INC PACEMAKER

Wins

Places

Earned a

3),6).)!#/ #/.4) CH G 2HEFFIC $OM 0ASQUINI

"OURSONNE

DOM ALCO GR .ONOALCO !LCONACA 6ELA !LTAYAN GAZELLE LULU CH 4ATIANA ,ULU

0OSSE !LEEMA 1UART DE 6IN +ALINE ,ULU

4RAFFIC 2HENANE ,A 6ARENDE !RCTIC 3TAR .EARCTIC 3EXIMEE 3HESHOON #ENERENTOLA &ORLI )N (OT 0URSUIT 2ED 'OD !LANNYA $EVON 1UARTELETTE 6IEUX #HATEAU 6IOLINE $ 0

4HE +ING 'EORGE 6) #HASE HAS PLAYED AN IMPORTANT ROLE IN THE PROMOTION OF &RANCE S NON THOROUGHBRED JUMPERS 4HE SELLE FRAN¥AIS .UPSALA TOOK THE RACE AND WAS SOON SUCCEEDED

BY THE DUAL WINNER 4HE &ELLOW 4HEY WERE FOLLOWED BY THE LIKES OF !LGAN

&IRST 'OLD AND %DREDON "LEU BUT THEN THE RACE WAS DOMINATED FOR SEVEN YEARS BY TWO &RENCH BRED WINNERS n +AUTO 3TAR AND ,ONG 2UN n WHICH ARE THOROUGHBREDS )T WAS THE TURN OF THE NON THOROUGHBREDS AGAIN IN

WHEN 3ILVINIACO #ONTI USED HIS STAMINA TO VERY GOOD EFFECT TO WEAR DOWN THE +ING S 4HEATRE GELDING #UE #ARD /F COURSE SEVERAL OF THESE &RENCH BRED +ING 'EORGE WINNERS WENT ON TO WIN THE #HELTENHAM 'OLD #UP AND IT WOULD BE NO SURPRISE WERE 3ILVINIACO #ONTI TO FOLLOW IN THEIR FOOTSTEPS (IS SIRE $OM !LCO HAS PROVED A POWERFUL SOURCE OF STAMINA SIRING THE LIKES OF THE 'RAND .ATIONAL HERO .EPTUNE #OLLONGES 'RANDS #RUS 5NIONISTE AND 3IRE #OLLONGES AS WELL AS THE SPEEDIER !L &EROF $OM !LCO OWED HIS PLACE AT STUD TO HIS RECORD OVER JUMPS WHICH INCLUDED SIX WINS OVER HURDLES

INCLUDING TWO ,ISTED EVENTS AT !UTEUIL 3ILVINIACO #ONTI S DAM 'AZELLE ,ULU RACED ONLY ON THE &LAT WINNING FIVE TIMES AT UP TO A MILE AND A HALF FROM STARTS AND SHE WAS ONCE BEATEN A HEAD OVER FURLONGS 'AZELLE ,ULU S FIRST FIVE STARTERS ARE ALL WINNERS !MONG THEM ARE 3ILVINIACO #ONTI S YEAR YOUNGER SISTER 4OSCANA #ONTI

WINNER OF A ,ISTED CHASE OVER NEARLY TWO AND THREE QUARTER MILES AT !UTEUIL

AND 5CELLO #ONTI A VERY USEFUL CHASER IN &RANCE 4HE CHANCES ARE THAT THERE ARE MORE CHAPTERS WAITING TO BE WRITTEN AS 3ILVINIACO #ONTI S BROTHER !DAGIO #ONTI HAS BEEN PLACED ON HIS FIRST TWO STARTS 4HEN THERE S A FILLY BY .ETWORK A GELDING BY 0OLIGLOTE AND A FILLY BY -ARTALINE WHO IS A SISTER TO 5CELLO #ONTI 3ILVINIACO #ONTI IS OUT OF A DAUGHTER OF !LTAYAN AS IS !L &EROF !LTAYAN APPEARED TO HAVE THE PEDIGREE OF A MILER BUT HE PROVED SUITED BY A MILE AND A HALF ENDING HIS THREE YEAR OLD SEASON WITH WINS IN THE 0RIX -AURICE DE .IEUIL AND 0RIX DU #ONSEIL DE 0ARIS 3ILVINIACO #ONTI S SECOND DAM

4ATIANA ,ULU WAS BY 1UART DE 6IN WHO SIRED THE DAMS OF A COUPLE OF $OM !LCO S BETTER WINNERS 3IRE #OLLONGES AND .EW !LCO 1UART DE 6IN MADE HIS MARK IN "RITAIN WITH 2OLLING "ALL 3UN

!LLIANCE .OVICES #HASE AND 6AL D !LENE 2ACING 0OST #HASE

AND ALSO SIRED SOME MAJOR WINNERS OVER FENCES IN &RANCE /NE OF THEM THE OUTSTANDING 5CELLO WAS TWICE A WINNER OF THE 'RAND 3TEEPLE #HASE DE 0ARIS 3TAMINA WAS ONE OF 1UART DE 6IN S STRONG SUITS AS HE WON OVER TWO AND A QUARTER MILES ON THE &LAT AND COUNTED THE 'RANDE #OURSE DE (AIES D !UTEUIL AMONG HIS HURDLING VICTORIES 68 RACING POST NOVICE CHASE G1 ,%/0!2$34/7. $ECEMBER F 3OFT

$%&9 ,/')# )2% CH G &LEMENSFIRTH /SIERY 'IRL 0HARDANTE O-*OHN 0 -C-ANUS B-7 -C#ARTHY TR-0AUL .OLAN 4RIFOLIUM &2 B G 'OLDNEYEV /PIUM DES -OTTES !PRIL .IGHT #HAMPAGNE &EVER )2% GR G 3TOWAWAY &OREVER "UBBLES 2OSELIER Age

Starts

Wins

Places

Earned a

$%&9 ,/')# CH G (OIST 4HE &LAG !LLEGED

0RINCESS 0OUT

FLEMENSFIRTH B $IESIS %THELDREDA 2OYAL "UND 0HARDANTE OSIERY GIRL CH ,ET S #OMPROMISE

0HARLY 0ALLANTE .O !RGUMENT /SIERY 7OOD

4OM 2OLFE 7AVY .AVY 0RINCE *OHN $ETERMINED ,ADY 3HARPEN 5P $OUBLY 3URE 2OYAL #OINAGE .ATO ,YPHARD #OMELY 4AJ $EWAN #AVADONGA .ARRATOR 0ERSUADER 2ENWOOD 'OOD /H

7E HAVE BECOME ACCUSTOMED TO SEEING MANY NOVICE CHASES FALL TO GELDINGS WHOSE NAMES CARRY THE &2 SUFFIX BUT THE 2ACING 0OST .OVICE #HASE WAS WON BY $EFY ,OGIC A HORSE WITH A TRADITIONAL )RISH JUMPING PEDIGREE 4HIS SON OF &LEMENSFIRTH IS OUT OF A HALF SISTER TO 3TRONG 0ROMISE

WHO WAS GOOD ENOUGH TO FINISH SECOND IN ONE EDITION OF THE #HELTENHAM 'OLD #UP AND THIRD IN ANOTHER 4HEN THERE S THE THIRD DAM

/SIERY 7OOD 3HE WAS A HALF SISTER TO THE SMART STAYING CHASER 7OODLAWN AND TO #ONNIVANCE THE SECOND DAM OF THE HIGH CLASS STAYING CHASER #ONTRADEAL !NOTHER BRANCH OF THIS FAMILY PRODUCED THE HIGH CLASS HURDLER "ANNOW "AY 4HERE IS THEREFORE GOOD REASON TO HOPE THAT $EFY ,OGIC WILL CONTINUE TO ADD TO AN IMPRESSIVE RECORD WHICH STANDS AT FOUR WINS AND FOUR SECONDS FROM EIGHT STARTS AT THE TIME OF WRITING !LL OF HIS WINS HAVE BEEN GAINED AT UP TO TWO AND A QUARTER MILES WHICH MAY REFLECT THE FACT HIS SIRE WAS BEST AT AROUND A MILE AND A QUARTER (OWEVER

&LEMENSFIRTH HAS SHOWN HE CAN SIRE GELDINGS WHO SHINE OVER LONG DISTANCES SUCH AS 'OLD #UP HERO )MPERIAL #OMMANDER AND THE STAMINA PACKED 4IDAL "AY $EFY ,OGIC IS BY NO MEANS THE FIRST TALENTED PERFORMER SIRED BY &LEMENSFIRTH FROM A MARE BY THE 3T ,EGER SECOND 0HARDANTE )NTERESTINGLY

THE BEST OF HIS PREDECESSORS THE SMART HURDLER ,USKA ,AD DID ALL HIS

93

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Feb_114_Databook_Leader 17/01/2014 17:00 Page 94

DATA BOOK STAKES RESULTS

National Hunt Grade Ones >>

WINNING AROUND TWO MILES /N THE OTHER HAND THIS CROSS ALSO PRODUCED 3YDNEY 0AGET A USEFUL STAYING CHASER $AUGHTERS OF 0HARDANTE HAVE ALSO DONE WELL WITH SEVERAL SONS OF 3ADLER S 7ELLS SUCH AS -ILAN SIRE OF *EZKI

/SCAR /SCAR 7HISKY AND /SCAR $AN $AN #LOUDINGS #LOUDY 4OO "RIAN "ORU &OX !PPEAL AND /LD 6IC 3NOOPY ,OOPY AND #HELSEA (ARBOUR 4HE "ENEFICIAL GELDING +ID #ASSIDY IS ANOTHER GOOD RECENT WINNER WITH A DAM BY 0HARDANTE

,%/0!2$34/7. $ECEMBER F 3OFT

Wins

Places

Age Starts Wins Places

3EE RACE IN THE *ANUARY ISSUE

.ORTHERN $ANCER

"%.%&&)#)%.4 )2% CH G "ENEFICIAL 3UPREME "REDA 3UPREME ,EADER O-! 3HIELS .IALL 2EILLY B-0 4OMANY TR-!* -ARTIN (IDDEN #YCLONE )2% B G 3TOWAWAY (URRICANE $EBBIE 3HAHANNDEH !RVIKA ,IGEONNIERE &2 B G !RVICO $ARAKA !KARAD Starts

,%/0!2$34/7. $ECEMBER F 3OFT

4(% 45,,/7 4!.+ )2% B G /SCAR "OBBING "ACK "OB "ACK O-"ARRY #ONNELL B-! !HERNE TR-0 &ENTON +ING OF 4HE 0ICTS )2% CH G 2OCK OF 'IBRALTAR "ELLE 2EBELLE )N 4HE 7INGS -OYLE 0ARK )2% CH G &LEMENSFIRTH ,OVELY 0RESENT 0RESENTING

3ADLER S 7ELLS

2ELIANCE )) 3NOW $AY 6INDARIA "OB "ACK BOBBING BACK B "ALLYVOONEY

Earned a

$ERRING $O #AMENAE 4OP 6ILLE #HARLOTTESVILLE 3EGA 6ILLE ,A 3EGA BENEFICIAL B .IJINSKY 'REEN $ANCER 'REEN 6ALLEY 9OUTHFUL 0RIMERA &IRST "LOOM &LOWER $ANCE "USTED "USTINO 3HIP 9ARD 3UPREME ,EADER (ABITAT 0RINCESS :ENA 'UIDING ,IGHT SUPREME BREDA BR 'ALLANT -AN 9A :AMAN )RISH %XCHANGE !SK "REDA 7HISTLING 7IND 7INTER 3ERENADE 3WEET (EART 6

2OBERTO 4OTER "ACK 3ALLUCEVA ,EVERET

.EARCTIC .ATALMA "OLD 2EASON 3PECIAL 4ANTIEME 2ELANCE ))) 2OI $AGOBERT (EAVENLY "ODY (AIL 4O 2EASON "RAMALEA #ARRY "ACK 2OMANTIC -ISS 3ALLUST !LICEVA ,E "AVARD -ERRY 0ALM

3AMETEGAL 3AINT $ES 3AINTS HIMSELF ALSO SHONE OVER JUMPS (IS RECORD CONSISTED OF SEVEN VICTORIES FOUR SECONDS AND A THIRD FROM COMPLETED STARTS !FTER WINNING OVER HURDLES AND FENCES AT THREE IT WAS AS A FOUR YEAR OLD THAT THE SON OF #ADOUDAL DEVELOPED INTO A FOUR TIME GRADED WINNER AT UP TO NEARLY TWO AND A HALF MILES OVER HURDLES ,E 2OCHER S BROODMARE SIRE !DIEU !U 2OI WON THE 'R 0RIX (OCQUART IN (IS DAM "ELLE DU 2OI WAS A MIDDLE DISTANCE WINNER AT ,ONGCHAMP BEFORE BEING PLACED OVER HURDLES 3HE HAS PRODUCED NUMEROUS WINNERS OVER JUMPS INCLUDING 2OI DE 'ARDE A WINNING STAYING CHASER IN "RITAIN ,E 2OCHER IS A THOROUGHBRED HIS SECOND DAM !RCTIC "EAUTY BEING A HALF SISTER TO THE &RENCH 'UINEAS WINNER 2ED ,ORD WHILE HIS THIRD DAM WAS A HALF SISTER TO THE !RC WINNER 3OLTIKOF AND TO THE DAM OF THE 0RIX DU *OCKEY #LUB WINNER 6AL DE L /RNE

BEING VERY ABLY REPRESENTED BY THE LIKES OF $EDIGOUT AND "OSTON "OB AND HIS BROODMARE DAUGHTERS ARE ALREADY KEEPING UP THE GOOD WORK PRODUCING SUCH AS 4HE 4ULLOW 4ANK AND "RIAR (ILL "OBS 7ORTH S IS THE SECOND 'R JUMPING WINNER PRODUCED BY A DAUGHTER OF +ING S 4HEATRE FOLLOWING 3HINROCK 0ADDY "OBS 7ORTH S DAM &ASHIONISTA IS A SISTER TO ,AST 4HEATRE

A ,ISTED PLACED WINNER OF FIVE RACES AT UP TO FURLONGS ON THE &LAT PRIOR TO WINNING OVER HURDLES AND &ASHIONISTA IS ALSO A THREE PARTS SISTER TO THE SMART MIDDLE DISTANCE FILLY "ALLYKETT .ANCY BY .ORTHERN $ANCER S SON (ERO S (ONOR "OBS 7ORTH S SECOND DAM ,AST &LAIR PRODUCED ANOTHER THREE BLACK TYPE PERFORMERS INCLUDING THE USEFUL HURDLER )L 4ROVATORE ,AST &LAIR WAS A HALF SISTER TO THE &RENCH

'UINEAS WINNER 5KRAINE 'IRL AND "OBS 7ORTH S THIRD DAM 0ADDY S &LAIR WAS A HALF SISTER TO THE )RISH 'UINEAS WINNER "ALLYMORE

72 LEXUS CHASE G1

73 CHRISTMAS HURDLE G1

71 FUTURE CHAMPION JUVENILE FINALE HURDLE G1

(IGH 4OP

(AVING FADED BADLY WHEN TRIED OVER THREE MILES AND A FURLONG AT 7ETHERBY

"ENEFFICIENT SHOWED HIS APPRECIATION OF A MARKED REDUCTION IN DISTANCE TO RECORD THE THIRD 'R SUCCESS OF HIS CAREER n WITH ALL THREE COMING AT UP TO TWO AND A QUARTER MILES !LL THREE WINS WERE SOMEWHAT UNEXPECTED AS THEY WERE GAINED AT AND

AND HE HAD ALSO STARTED AT WHEN HE WON THE *EWSON .OVICES #HASE "ENEFFICIENT WON A POINT TO POINT PRIOR TO BEING SOLD FOR _ IN -AY (IS SIRE "ENEFICIAL DIED IN AT THE AGE OF IN THE YEAR HE RECORDED HIS FIRST SIRES CHAMPIONSHIP "ENEFICIAL COVERED AROUND ONLY MARES IN HIS FINAL YEAR BUT ONCE COVERED AS MANY AS IN A SINGLE SEASON )N ADDITION TO "ENEFFICIENT HIS CURRENT REPRESENTATIVES INCLUDE THE 'R NOVICE CHASE WINNER !NNACOTTY

THE 'R WINNING HURDLER -ORE /F 4HAT

THE 'R NOVICE CHASE WINNER "ALLINAHOW ,ADY AND THE SMART CHASER +ID #ASSIDY PLUS THE LIKES OF -ALA "EACH 2EALT $UBH ,EAD +INDLY ,IGHT AND 3ALUBRIOUS "ALLINAHOW ,ADY S DAM IS BY THE TWO TIME CHAMPION SIRE 3UPREME ,EADER AS IS "ENEFFICIENT S DAM THE UNRACED 3UPREME "REDA 4HE 'R NOVICE HURDLE WINNER 4OP -ADAM IS ANOTHER OF "ENEFICIAL S WINNERS OUT OF 3UPREME ,EADER S DAUGHTERS "ENEFFICIENT S DAM IS A HALF SISTER TO A COUPLE OF TALENTED WINNERS NOTABLY )RISH HURDLER !SKLYNN

&AIRY "RIDGE

OSCAR B

"%.%&&)#)%.4 CH G

94

Earned a

4(% 45,,/7 4!.+ B G

69 PADDY POWER DIAL-A-BET CHASE G1

Age

70 FUTURE CHAMPIONS NOVICE HURDLE G1

#(%034/7 $ECEMBER F YDS (EAVY

,%/0!2$34/7. $EC F 9IELDING TO SOFT

,%/0!2$34/7. $ECEMBER F 3OFT

,% 2/#(%2 &2 B G 3AINT $ES 3AINTS "ELLE DU 2OI !DIEU !U 2OI O-!* 7HITE -RS ! 5NDERHILL B-3 2INGLER 2OGER &RIEH TR-.ICK 7ILLIAMS +ENTUCKY (YDEN )2% CH G +ENTUCKY $YNAMITE #AP 3ERENA (IGHEST (ONOR 6IOLET $ANCER '" B G "ERTOLINI !NOTHER 3ECRET %FISIO

"/"3 7/24( )2% B G "OB "ACK &ASHIONISTA +ING S 4HEATRE O-4HE .OT !FRAID 0ARTNERSHIP B--RS , %ADIE TR-.* (ENDERSON &IRST ,IEUTENANT )2% CH G 0RESENTING &OURSTARGALE &OURSTARS !LLSTAR 2UBI "ALL &2 CH G .ETWORK (YGIE ,UTE !NTIQUE

:!)$0/52 &2 B G 2ED 2ANSOM :AINTA +AHYASI O--RS 3 2ICCI B-(( 4HE !GA +HAN S 3TUDS 3# TR-70 -ULLINS 2ULE 4HE 7ORLD '" B G 3ULAMANI %LAINE 4ULLY 0ERSIAN "OLD -ALA "EACH )2% B G "ENEFICIAL 0EPPARDSTOWN /LD 6IC

Age

Age

Age

Starts

Wins

Places

Earned a

,% 2/#(%2 B G .IJINSKY 'REEN 6ALLEY #ADOUDAL 3EA (AWK )) #OME 4O 3EA #AMARILLA SAINT DES SAINTS B ,YPHARD 0HARLY #OMELY #HAMISENE 4ANERKO 4UNERIA 4ORREFRANCA +ALAMOUN +ENMARE "ELLE OF )RELAND !DIEU !U 2OI 3HERGAR 0OMME 2OYALE 0OMME 2OSE BELLE DU ROI GR 3EA "IRD )) !RCTIC 4ERN "UBBLING "EAUTY !RCTIC "EAUTY !RMISTICE $AME DE 'RACE !GLAE 'RACE

Starts

Places

Earned a

"/"3 7/24( B G

'REEN $ANCER

&OR THE SECOND SUCCESSIVE YEAR 3AINT $ES 3AINTS FINISHED RUNNER UP TO 0OLIGLOTE ON &RANCE S TABLE OF LEADING SIRES OF JUMPERS WITH HIS MARGIN OF DEFEAT STANDING AT LESS THAN

IN (E OWED HIS HIGH RANK TO A STRONG TEAM OF STAKES WINNERS

INCLUDING 3TORM /F 3AINTLY 'R

3AINDOR 'R 3AINT 0ALOIS 'R 3AINT &IRMIN 'R -ONPILOU "ALBIR DU -ATHAN ,ATERANO AND 6LADIMIR !NOTHER CONTRIBUTOR WAS A THREE YEAR OLD GELDING CALLED ,E 2OCHER WHO WON TWO OF HIS FIRST THREE STARTS FOR .ICK 7ILLIAMS BEFORE FADING INTO SEVENTH PLACE IN 'R COMPANY AT !UTEUIL IN .OVEMBER ,E 2OCHER MADE HIS "RITISH DEBUT IN THE 'R &INALE *UVENILE (URDLE AND WAS GOOD ENOUGH TO SURVIVE A COUPLE OF SLOPPY JUMPS TO WIN /F COURSE 3AINT $ES 3AINTS IS NO STRANGER TO SUCCESS IN "RITAIN AND )RELAND THANKS TO THE LIKES OF 1UITO DE ,A 2OQUE )RISH 3AINT 1UEL %SPRIT

,YREEN ,EGEND 3ALUT &LO AND

Wins

(AIL 4O 2EASON 2OBERTO

"RAMALEA

BOB BACK BR #ARRY "ACK 4OTER "ACK 2OMANTIC -ISS +ING S 4HEATRE FASHIONISTA B ,AST &LAIR

3ADLER S 7ELLS 2EGAL "EAUTY "USTED 0ADDY S &LAIR

Starts

Wins

Places

Earned a

:!)$0/52 B G 4URN 4O .OTHIRDCHANCE .ASHUA 2ARELEA 3AGGY *OPPY "EAUCHEF 2OMAN :EPHYR .ORTHERN $ANCER &AIRY "RIDGE 0RINCELY .ATIVE $ENNIS "ELLE #REPELLO 3ANS ,E 3OU !LCIDE 0ADDY S 3ISTER

!LREADY A WINNER AT THREE CONSECUTIVE #HELTENHAM &ESTIVALS "OBS 7ORTH MUST HAVE EVERY CHANCE OF EXTENDING THIS IMPRESSIVE SEQUENCE IN

JUDGING BY HIS VICTORY IN THE ,EXUS #HASE (E HANDED OUT A SIMILAR BEATING TO THE JOINT FAVOURITE 3IR $ES #HAMPS AS HE HAD IN THE #HELTENHAM 'OLD #UP AND HE SHOULD BE EVEN HARDER TO BEAT WHEN AN EXTRA QUARTER MILE IS ADDED TO THE DISTANCE OF HIS VICTORY AT ,EOPARDSTOWN "OBS 7ORTH S EARNINGS NOW STAND IN THE REGION OF a

YET HE WAS UNSOLD AT AT THE ,AND 2OVER 3ALE AND THEN COST ONLY a AT $ONCASTER S 3PRING 3ALE (IS THREE PARTS SISTER BY "IG "AD "OB MADE AS A FOAL IN "OBS 7ORTH S SIRE "OB "ACK LIVED TO THE GRAND AGE OF BUT HE HAD BEEN IN RETIREMENT FOR SEVERAL YEARS AND HIS LAST FEW FOALS WERE BORN IN !LTHOUGH "OB "ACK WILL SOON BE RUNNING SHORT OF AMMUNITION HE IS STILL

4URN 4O .OTHIRDCHANCE .ASHUA "RAMALEA 2ARELEA 3WORD $ANCER $AMASCUS +ERALA .EARCTIC #HRISTMAS 7IND "ALLY &REE .IJINSKY )LE DE "OURBON 2OSELIERE "LUSHING 'ROOM +ADISSYA +ALKEEN 3HIRLEY (EIGHTS $ARSHAAN $ELSY (ABITAT :AHRA 0ETITE %TOILE (AIL 4O 2EASON

2OBERTO RED RANSOM B !RABIA

+AHYASI ZAINTA B :AILA

!FTER A SEQUENCE OF NINE SUCCESSIVE DEFEATS :AIDPOUR FINALLY RETURNED TO THE WINNERS ENCLOSURE WHEN FACED WITH THREE INFERIOR RIVALS IN THE #HRISTMAS (URDLE AT ,EOPARDSTOWN 4HIS WAS THE THIRD WIN AT THE TOP LEVEL FOR THE SON OF 2ED 2ANSOM WHO WAS BOUGHT FOR AT THE !RC 3ALE 4HE GELDING HAD PREVIOUSLY TAKEN THE 2OYAL "OND .OVICE (URDLE AND THE (ATTON S 'RACE (URDLE (IS SIX GRADED VICTORIES HAVE BEEN GAINED OVER DISTANCES RANGING FROM TWO MILES TO THREE BUT THE STYLE OF HIS #HRISTMAS (URDLE SUCCESS SUGGESTS HE NOW APPRECIATES A STIFF TEST OF STAMINA :AIDPOUR NO DOUBT OWES MUCH OF HIS STAMINA TO HIS DAM THE TOP CLASS +AHYASI FILLY :AINTA WHO BEGAN HER CAREER WITH SIX STRAIGHT VICTORIES INCLUDING THE 0RIX 3AINT !LARY AND 0RIX DE $IANE :AINTA PROVED DISAPPOINTING AS A PRODUCER OF &LAT PERFORMERS THOUGH HER :AMINDAR COLT :AIDIYN WAS WELL FANCIED TO WIN THE 'R 0RIX (OCQUART AFTER

THOROUGHBRED OWNER & BREEDER INC PACEMAKER

Feb_114_Databook_Leader 17/01/2014 17:00 Page 95

Caulfield on Bobs Worth: “His earnings now stand in the region of £650,000, yet he was unsold at €24,000 at the 2008 Land Rover Sale and then cost only £20,000 at Doncaster”

WINNING HIS FIRST TWO STARTS (OWEVER :AIDPOUR IS THE SECOND OF :AINTA S SONS TO HAVE MADE AMENDS OVER JUMPS 4HE FIRST WAS HER $AYLAMI GELDING :AYNAR WINNER OF THE 4RIUMPH (URDLE AND THIRD IN THE #HAMPION (URDLE :AYNAR ALSO WON A 'R NOVICES CHASE :AIDPOUR AND :AYNAR ARGUABLY OWE SOME OF THEIR PROWESS OVER JUMPS TO THEIR BROODMARE SIRE +AHYASI 4HIS $ERBY WINNER SIRED SUCH FINE JUMPERS AS +ASBAH "LISS 0ADDY S 2ETURN

+ALAHARI +ING +ARABAK !NSAR !FSOUN

3ENTRY $UTY $ARWINS &OX AND 6INO 'RIEGO :AINTA WAS BRED ALONG SIMILAR LINES TO :ARKASHA DAM OF THE BRILLIANT :ARKAVA "OTH MARES ARE BY +AHYASI AND DESCEND FROM 0ETITE %TOILE S DAUGHTER :AHRA :AHRA RANKS AS THE SECOND DAM OF :AINTA AND THE THIRD DAM OF :ARKASHA 4HIS FAMILY HAS PRODUCED SEVERAL OTHER TALENTED JUMPERS INCLUDING THE TOP &RENCH HURDLER :AIYAD AND THE !INTREE (URDLE WINNER :ARKANDAR 74 CHALLOW NOVICES’ HURDLE G1 .%7"529 $ECEMBER F (EAVY

#!04!). #544%2 )2% B G 7ESTERNER (OLLYGROVE 3AMBA !CCORDION O-*OHN 0 -C-ANUS B--RS 3 "RENNAN TR-.ICKY (ENDERSON 4IMESREMEMBERED )2% B BR G !KBAR .ATIVE (OPE "E -Y .ATIVE /SCAR 2OCK )2% B G /SCAR #ASH !ND .EW 3UPREME ,EADER Age

Starts

Wins

Places

Earned a

#!04!). #544%2 B G Northern Dancer 0AS DE .OM $ANEHILL (IS -AJESTY 2AZYANA 3PRING !DIEU WESTERNER B 0ETINGO 4ROY ,A -ILO 7ALENSEE "ON -OT ))) 7ARSAW 7AR 0ATH ))) Northern Dancer 3ADLER S 7ELLS &AIRY "RIDGE !CCORDION 3UCCESSOR 3OUND OF 3UCCESS "ELLE -USIQUE HOLLYGROVE SAMBA B 7OLVER (OLLOW &URRY 'LEN #LEFTESS 'IRSEACH 4ARQOGAN (APPY ,ASS .EVER /N 4IME $ANZIG

#APTAIN #UTTER WAS ONE OF THE LONGEST PRICED CONTENDERS FOR THE #HALLOW .OVICES (URDLE AT .EWBURY

BUT THE PROGRESSIVE SON OF 7ESTERNER STAYED ON STRONGLY TO IMPROVE HIS RECORD OVER HURDLES TO THREE WINS FROM THREE STARTS )T IS HARDLY SURPRISING THAT STAMINA WON THE DAY FOR #APTAIN #UTTER AT .EWBURY AS 7ESTERNER WON TWO EDITIONS OF THE 0RIX DU #ADRAN AND ONE OF ITS "RITISH COUNTERPART THE !SCOT 'OLD #UP .ONE OF HIS NINE 'ROUP VICTORIES WAS GAINED OVER A DISTANCE SHORTER THAN ³ FURLONGS THOUGH HE WAS FAST ENOUGH TO FINISH SECOND IN THE !RC 4HE GOOD WINNERS FROM 7ESTERNER S EARLY CROPS ARE ALSO SHOWING A DEGREE OF STAMINA &OR EXAMPLE +ATKOVANA WAS RUNNER UP IN THE 'R 'RAND 3TEEPLE #HASE D %NGHIEN OVER AN EXTENDED THREE MILES WHILE #REEPY WON A 'R NOVICE HURDLE OVER TWO MILES FIVE FURLONGS AND 'RANDIOSO WON A 'R NOVICE CHASE OVER A SIMILAR DISTANCE #APTAIN #UTTER S BROODMARE SIRE !CCORDION NEVER RACED BUT HIS BROTHER 3ONUS WON THE 'OODWOOD #UP AND WAS PLACED IN THE 0RIX DU #ADRAN AND !SCOT 'OLD #UP #APTAIN #UTTER S DAM THE UNRACED (OLLYGROVE 3AMBA HAS A DISTINGUISHED BACKGROUND (ER HALF SISTER (OLLY 'ROVE ,ASS DID VERY WELL WITH !CCORDION PRODUCING THE HIGH CLASS CHASER !LBERTAS 2UN WHO NUMBERED THE 23! #HASE AMONG HIS 'R VICTORIES (OLLYGROVE 3AMBA WAS ALSO A HALF SISTER TO 3OUTHOLT A VERY USEFUL CHASER AT AROUND TWO AND A HALF MILES TO 4HE 0ROMS A SMART HURDLER WHO STAYED THREE MILES AND TO -ISTER -OROSE

WHOSE BIGGEST WINS INCLUDED THE 'R -ARTELL !INTREE (URDLE AND 'R 3COTTISH #HAMPION (URDLE 4HEIR DAM THE &URRY 'LEN MARE 'IRSEACH WAS A TALENTED STAYER ON THE &LAT BEFORE WINNING OVER HURDLES AND THE NEXT DAM (APPY ,ASS WON AT UP

TO A MILE AND A HALF 4HIS FEMALE LINE ALSO PRODUCED %ARTHMOVER WINNER OF THE #HRISTIE S &OXHUNTER #HASE AT #HELTENHAM 75 FORT LENEY NOVICE CHASE G1 ,%/0!2$34/7. $EC F 9IELDING TO 3OFT

#!2,).'&/2$ ,/5'( )2% B G +ING S 4HEATRE "ADEN &URRY 'LEN O-*OHN 0 -C-ANUS B-+ENILWORTH (OUSE 3TUD TR-*% +IELY -ORNING !SSEMBLY )2% B G 3HANTOU "ARRACK 6ILLAGE -ONTELIMAR &OXROCK )2% B G &LEMENSFIRTH -IDNIGHT ,IGHT 2OSELIER Age

Starts

Wins

Places

Earned a

#!2,).'&/2$ ,/5'( B G .ORTHERN $ANCER 3ADLER S 7ELLS

&AIRY "RIDGE

KING S THEATRE B 0RINCELY .ATIVE 2EGAL "EAUTY $ENNIS "ELLE &URRY 'LEN

7OLVER (OLLOW #LEFTESS

BADEN B 3T -ORITZ

,INACRE -ACHETE

.EARCTIC .ATALMA "OLD 2EASON 3PECIAL 2AISE ! .ATIVE #HARLO #RAFTY !DMIRAL %VASION 3OVEREIGN 0ATH #YGNET (ILL 'AIL #LEFT 2OCKEFELLA 4RUE 0ICTURE -ACHERIO %ASTERN 3LIPPER

WINS INCLUDING HIS VICTORY OVER -ORNING !SSEMBLY IN THE 4OPAZ .OVICE #HASE WHILE FINISHING SECOND ON HIM ON ANOTHER COUPLE OF OCCASIONS THE +ERRY .ATIONAL AND THE 'RADE $RINMORE #HASE 4HREE MILES CLEARLY SUITS #ARLINGFORD ,OUGH AS DO TESTING UNDERFOOT CONDITIONS THOUGH HE ALSO WON ON GOOD GROUND (IS DAM "ADEN WAS A USEFUL HURDLER IN )RELAND GOOD ENOUGH TO WIN A ,ISTED RACE AT &AIRYHOUSE "ADEN STILL HAD TIME TO DEVELOP INTO AN EXCELLENT PRODUCER BEST KNOWN AS THE DAM OF 4HISTHATANDTOTHER A 'R WINNING HURDLER WHO DEVELOPED INTO A VERY SMART CHASER (ER !CCORDION GELDING 4HE 4OTHER /NE ALSO SHOWED SMART FORM #ARLINGFORD ,OUGH S BROODMARE SIRE

THE )RISH 'UINEAS WINNER &URRY 'LEN OCCUPIES THE SAME POSITION IN THE PEDIGREES OF SUCH GOOD WINNERS AS #OMPLY /R $IE +INGSCLIFF

,IKE ! "UTTERFLY AND 3IR /* 76 ISTABRAQ DECEMBER FESTIVAL HURDLE G1 ,%/0!2$34/7. $ECEMBER F 3OFT

+ING S 4HEATRE THE CHAMPION SIRE OF

IS SETTING A VERY STRONG PACE IN THE RACE FOR THE CHAMPIONSHIP "Y THE START OF HE HELD A LEAD OF NEARLY a

THANKS TO 'R VICTORIES FROM #UE #ARD AND #ARLINGFORD ,OUGH AS WELL AS 'R WINS BY 2IVERSIDE 4HEATRE 4HE .EW /NE AND +INGS 0ALACE AND 'R WINS BY -INELLA &ORU AND 4HEATRE "IRD (E ALSO HAS ANOTHER POTENTIAL GRADED WINNER IN -ENDIP %XPRESS #ARLINGFORD ,OUGH HAS BEEN SOMETHING OF A SLOW LEARNER OVER FENCES AND DIDN T WIN UNTIL HIS NINTH ATTEMPT HAVING TWICE HAD TO BE PULLED UP (OWEVER HE SEEMS TO HAVE BENEFITED FROM A NEW PARTNERSHIP WITH !0 -C#OY WHO RODE HIM TO BOTH HIS

(522)#!.% &,9 )2% B G -ONTJEU 3CANDISK +ENMARE O-' #REIGHTON B-!GR $EL 0ARCO TR-70 -ULLINS *EZKI )2% B G -ILAN ,A .OIRE 0HARDANTE /UR #ONOR )2% B G *EREMY &LAMANDS 3ADLER S 7ELLS Age Starts Wins Places Earned

a

3EE RACE IN THE *ANUARY ISSUE (522)#!.% &,9 B G .ORTHERN $ANCER 3ADLER S 7ELLS

&AIRY "RIDGE

MONTJEU B 4OP 6ILLE &LORIPEDES 4OUTE #Y +ENMARE SCANDISK B 9ANKEE ,ADY

+ALAMOUN "ELLE OF )RELAND ,ORD 'AYLE #EOL !N /IR

.EARCTIC .ATALMA "OLD 2EASON 3PECIAL (IGH 4OP 3EGA 6ILLE 4ENNYSON !DELE 4OUMIGNON :EDDAAN +HAIRUNISSA -ILESIAN "ELLE /F 4HE "ALL 3IR 'AYLORD 3TICKY #ASE 6IMY 0AL !N /IR

National Hunt Graded races $ATE 'RADE 'R#

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THOROUGHBRED OWNER & BREEDER INC PACEMAKER

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)NDEX

95

Feb_114_24Hours_v2_Owner 17/01/2014 16:52 Page 96

24 HOURS WITH… DAVE ROBERTS

I

don’t do sleep. My body just wakes at five, sometimes even half past four, and aided by plenty of black coffee I start to sort out which trainers I am going to ring first. I try and check the ground at the various meetings as early as I can and by 5.30am I am going through the form, looking at the races.

At this time of year on a typical Monday I could be working on eight meetings, two a day over the four days ahead. Generally I am working four or five days in advance. I see myself as a salesman, selling jockeys to trainers and it’s all a question of how much you put into the job.

I have between 40 and 50 jockeys on my books with AP McCoy, Dicky Johnson, Tom Scudamore, Paddy Brennan, Tom O’Brien, Paul Moloney, Nick Schofield, Leighton Aspell, Robert Thornton and Jamie Moore among them.

I have been doing the job for 27 years and it has become an obsession. And it needs to be for you to keep at it. I just get this amazing adrenalin rush at five o’clock every morning.

Guessing, I would say I make about 350 phone calls and texts a day. On Friday mornings, with the weekend declarations, I have three hours to sort out as many as six meetings, which is manic. That’s when I have two landlines and three mobiles all active at the same time.

I don’t do breakfast, but at about 10.45am I’ll have more coffee and grab whatever is in the fridge for about 30 seconds.

At one o’clock on a Monday the entries come out for Saturday and Sunday so potentially you could have as many as 11 meetings in front of you. You ring round as long as you want to; I’m not happy until I’ve rung everybody.

I tend not to read what’s in the papers or the formbook, but watch every race on television and keep a list of dodgy jumpers. I can’t afford to miss a race because I rely on my eyes; that’s my formbook.

The best thing about dealing with AP is that he’s totally, totally professional.

He always accuses me of being obsessed and you know what we all think about him. So maybe we are two of a kind.

Being at Towcester for his 4,000th winner was a surreal day. It was just 24 hours after my father had passed away

96

‘AP accuses me of being obsessed’

He makes hundreds of phone calls every day, manages the careers of 50 jockeys and sleeps two hours a night – welcome to the glamorous world of agent Dave Roberts and my emotions went from rock bottom to right off the top of the scale.

When AP lent down, shook my hand and said: “That’s for you, and for your dad who will be watching,” it was a very personal moment between the two of us. What he said sums up AP. Just typical.

For me, the most satisfying moment during our association was when he beat Sir Gordon Richards’s record of 269 winners in a season on Valfonic at Warwick in 2002. I don’t think 280-plus in a season will ever happen again.

Furthermore, I don’t think people will realise how good AP is and what he has achieved numerically until some time after he has retired. I reckon jockeys will be winning the title with around 160 or 170 winners.

I’m not sure why, but I have no interest in Flat racing and never watch the Derby or Royal Ascot. People tell me I’d have been a lot better off if I’d gone down the Flat route, where there is more prize-money. I get 10% of what

jockeys earn, which is their riding fee (£157.72) and prize-money.

I don’t bet at all because I am in a very privileged position and would lose the trust of trainers.

Chelsea Football Club is my relaxation. My son Josh and I are season ticket holders. I try to go to all midweek and night matches. My daughter Beth is into dance and musicals and I go to musicals with her. Josh and Beth help me to switch off.

I won’t really think about food until about 8.30pm, and I’ve started cooking myself, which gives me pleasure and something else to focus on at the end of the day.

I don’t enjoy sleeping and generally have only about two hours a night so I go to bed about one or two o’clock after watching sport I’ve recorded, quite often four hours of darts. Sometimes I’ll sleep on the sofa in the office. It’s a lifestyle your body gets used to.

Interview by Tim Richards THOROUGHBRED OWNER & BREEDER INC PACEMAKER

DAR6241 OB page Helmet, 15 JAN14 13/01/2014 13:46 Page 1

Have you met Helmet?

New to Britain: The best two-year-old by the world’s best sire of two-year-olds who trained on to win a Classic in record time.

Helmet blazed away with the Australian equivalents of the Dewhurst, the Racing Post Trophy and the 2,000 Guineas and was higher rated at three than his sire and grandsires – Exceed And Excel, Danehill and Singspiel.

Darley’14

DECIDEdestiny

The facts, stats, latest developments, foal galleries and race videos.

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Exceed And Excel – Accessories (Singspiel) £8,000 Oct 1, Special Live Foal Stands at Dalham Hall Stud, Britain +44 (0)1638 730070 +353 (0)45 527600 www.darleystallions.com

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