Thoroughbred Owner Breeder

THE £6.95 DECEMBER 2021 ISSUE 208

On the march Simon Davies excited by his new recruits at Chapel Stud

PLUS

Alan King

Trainer flying high under both codes

German bloodstock

Focus on soundness pays off globally

John Oxx

Embracing life at Staffordstown Stud

www.theownerbreeder.com

The best form in the book Bated Breath

2007 Dansili - Tantina (Distant View)

The best value sire in Europe by blacktype performers in 2021 2022 FEE

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2015 Acclamation - Exemplify (Dansili)

The Breeders’ Cup Mile winner with 2YO brilliance 2022 FEE

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Frankel

2008 Galileo - Kind (Danehill)

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Kingman

2011 Invincible Spirit - Zenda (Zamindar)

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Welcome Editor: Edward Rosenthal Bloodstock Editor: Nancy Sexton Design/production: Thoroughbred Group Editorial: 12 Forbury Road, Reading, Berkshire RG1 1SB editor@ownerbreeder.co.uk www.theownerbreeder.com Twitter: @OwnerBreeder Instagram: ownerbreeder Advertising: Giles Anderson UK: 01380 816777 IRE: 041 971 2000 USA: 1 888 218 4430 advertise@anderson-co.com Subscriptions: Keely Brewer subscriptions@ownerbreeder.co.uk 01183 385 686 The Owner Breeder can be purchased by non-members at the following rates:

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£6.95 DECEMBER 2021 ISSUE 208

On the march Simon Davies excited by his new recruits at Chapel Stud

PLUS

Alan King

Trainer flying high under both codes

German bloodstock

Focus on soundness pays off globally

John Oxx

Embracing life at Staffordstown Stud

www.theownerbreeder.com

Cover: Simon Davies with his new recruit Bangkok, a Group 2-winning son of Australia, at Chapel Stud in Worcestershire Photo: Bill Selwyn

Edward Rosenthal Editor

Life’s a breeze for King after overcoming hurdles T

he saying goes that necessity is the mother of invention. Perhaps reinvention would be a more appropriate word when applied to trainer Alan King, who has successfully remodelled his business as a dualpurpose enterprise having learnt his trade and then made his name in the National Hunt scene.

From Relkeel, passed on to King by his former boss and mentor David Nicholson, to the likes of Katchit, Voy Por Ustedes and My Way De Solzen, the handler enjoyed a golden period when he was responsible for some of the biggest names in the sport.

Yet life moves on, fashions change, and increased competition for the best horses meant that a change of focus was required, especially when one is having to pay for the privilege of training somewhere as picturesque as Barbury Castle.

“I couldn’t afford to have the place empty through the summer months,” King tells Julian Muscat in a superb Big Interview (pages 46-50).

“I don’t like summer jumping; never have, but I had to do something. That’s why we started out on the Flat.”

The market for jumping talent sourced from France and Ireland has rocketed over the past decade and unless a trainer has the backing of a roster of owners with very deep pockets – it’s not unusual for a promising point-to-point or hurdle winner to make hundreds of thousands of pounds at auction – it’s impossible to compete at the highest level, as King has discovered.

He continues: “When it comes to spending power at the boutique jumping sales we’ve been found wanting for some time. We can’t afford to buy at the top end, and it’s been noticeable in our results.

“People wonder why the Irish are doing so well at Cheltenham but they have been buying all the top lots at these boutique sales for the last four or five years. We are seeing the consequences of that.”

King still has more jumpers than Flat horses but the gap appears to be narrowing with each passing season and the exploits this year of

outstanding stayer Trueshan, winner of the Goodwood Cup, Prix du Cadran and Long Distance Cup on Champions Day, might see more owners beating a path to his door with Royal Ascot rather than Cheltenham in mind.

Should that happen, the trainer will have some interesting advice on where they should put their cash, and for good reason, bearing in mind the avenue taken that helped unearth Trueshan for a bargain price of 31,000 guineas.

“With [bloodstock agent] Anthony Bromley, who buys 90 per cent of my horses, we have increasingly got stuck into the breeze-up sales,” King explains.

“Hopefully we will do that again next spring because it has worked very well for us. If an owner came to me today with a hundred grand to spend

“Owners with deep pockets are needed to compete at the highest level” on any kind of horse, I’d be pushing them down the breeze-up route.”

Trueshan’s success this year has been a superb advert for the talents of his sire Planteur, now based at Simon Davies’ Chapel Stud in the Malvern Hills in Worcestershire.

Despite no background in racing or with horses, Davies has made a significant investment in the sport as an owner, breeder and stud owner, having recently recruited Bangkok and Walzertakt to join his rapidly expanding roster of sires.

James Thomas discovers why this former military man – he spent 24 years in the army with the Royal Corps of Signals – is not afraid to plough his own furrow in the stallion sector and hears about his ambitious plans for the future (pages 38-44).

THE OWNER BREEDER

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Contents

December 2021

24

News & Views ROA Leader Levy system due for review

TBA Leader Supporting our staying horses

News Remembering Harry Beeby

Changes News in a nutshell

Howard Wright Interactive race-planning key

52 9 11 12 20 36

Features The Big Picture From Del Mar and Cheltenham

Chapel Stud Simon Davies' stallion operation

The Big Interview With trainer Alan King

German bloodstock Nation punching above its weight

Breeders' Digest Henry Beeby's tribute to his father

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24 38 46 52 59

››

An eye for success

visit studlife online: tweenhills.com/studlife

December 2021

2022 STALLION FEES ANNOUNCED Stud fees for the four Qatar Racing stallions standing at Tweenhills have been announced.

International sire sensation Zoustar will stand for £25,000 (Oct 1st SLF) in 2022.

‘Big Zou’ stands at AU$154,000 in his native Australia and his first Northern Hemisphere yearlings in 2021 included 16 that sold for six-figure sums.

Kameko will stand at £20,000 1st Oct SLF in 2022

STAFF PROFILE Sini Peslier

QIPCO 2000 Guineas winner Kameko will stand for £20,000 (Oct 1st SLF). He covered an outstanding first book of 120 mares in 2021, including dual Gr.1 winner Con Te Partiro and the siblings of 15 Gr.1 winners.

Havana Gold will stand for £12,500 (Oct 1st SLF) after enjoying his best season; his juvenile Stakes winners Chipotle and Fearby were bought for just 10,000gns and 21,000gns.

Lightning Spear will remain at £5,000 (Oct 1st SLF) – his first crop of yearlings averaged nearly four times his initial covering fee of £8,500.

MO UP FOR AWARD

Stud Hand Tell us about yourself…

Well, I’m 19 and grew up in Chantilly before moving to Belgium when I was 12. I started riding when I was 2 and a half and my father Olivier and sister Megane are jockeys, and my grandfather is a breeder. I’m currently a second-year Equine Business Management student at Hartpury.

How is Tweenhills life?

I started here on November 3 as a professional placement as part of my course. I’ve been doing general yard duties like taking the foals in and out, feeding etc, and I’ll be with the team at the Tattersalls Foal and Mare Sales. I’m here until the end of the breeding season, around July time, then I do my third year at uni.

What are your ambitions?

To have a house like David’s! I really enjoy being around the horses in a stud environment; I’ve ridden racehorses when training in the morning but that’s enough for me!

And away from horses…

Who gets time away from horses?! I have my own horse Elise nearby – she’s 12 and I’ve done quite a few international shows with her. I’ve been lucky to travel a lot, but I’d love to go on a road trip around the south coast of Australia.

ll vid Redvers and Hannah Wa Fergus Galvin , Tweenhills’ Da en Shedaresthedevil before te que and Sheikh Fahad with absolu at Fasig-Tipton $5m de ma ner win .1 Gr the triple

Mo Celita – one of the year’s big success stories

We were delighted to hear Mo Celita – owned

by David Howden and David Redvers – had been nominated for the Special Achievement Award (Flat) at the Racehorse Owners Association Horseracing Awards on December 9.

Our own Simple Verse and Roaring Lion are previous ROA Award winners, and with Mo’s fellow Northern sprinter Dakota Gold winning the Special Achievement Award (Flat) award in 2019, we are crossing our fingers for another big result - go Mo!

Tweenhills, Hartpury, Gloucestershire, GL19 3BG

David also part -owns Malavath who finished an excellent close second in the Gr.1 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf – cheers to a classy filly!

ryony of David , B r R acing’s ew r c ls il h T he Tween nd Hannah join Qata in a y R usbridge entive Peter Molon is first es r o ep y R h u rp n h Irish ng Oisin M ti la tu a r g con Cup winner Breeders’

Foals await their turn to be snapped by Caro the excel line lent NorrCaro is ahea lined Norr of theis Dece aheamber d of the Sale Deces.mber Congrat Saleulati s – chec ons kgooutto the ourCon othesignm r ent phot pageogra of our pherwebs Mela itenieforSaue all phot r whoos!recently gave birth to Monty Elliott Pipe .

W: www.tweenhills.com T: + 44 (0) 1452 700177 M: + 44 (0) 7767 436373 E: davidredvers@tweenhills.com

11295 - Tweenhills Stud Life - Dec 2021_V5.indd 1

18/11/2021 10:48

Contents 38

››

46

Features continued Sales Circuit Round-up from Europe and America

60

Caulfield Files Fastnet Rock-Galileo cross in focus

87

Dr Statz Recent European nicks

90

The Finish Line With John Oxx

112

Forum ROA Forum Racecourse accessibility audits planned

92

TBA Forum New opportunities for NH-breds

102

Great British Bonus Latest news and winners

107

Breeder of the Month Julian Richmond-Watson for Scope

108

Vet Forum Post foaling complications in the mare

6

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110

Did you know?

Our monthly average readership is

20,000

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At the ROA we work tirelessly to support, protect and promote the interests of racehorse owners everywhere. We collaborate across the industry to make sure that owners’ voices are heard within racing – making it a more open, enjoyable and rewarding sport for everyone.

SUPPORTING YOUR OWNERSHIP JOURNEY AT EVERY STEP. DISCOVER HOW - ROA.CO.UK

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ROA Leader

Charlie Parker President

Levy system overdue for review and update

A

s the end of the year approaches, much of the focus in racing has been off the course. Whilst the sport has managed to heave itself away from the worst impacts of the pandemic and has recovered very well with good crowd attendances, horses in training up and an increasing number of registered owners, you can’t help feeling that there should be more to the bounce back. Racing could be seizing its recovery and firing the boosters.

At this time of year, it is good to step back and reflect. To work out where we are and what needs to be done. I have often used this column to make the case for structural or commercial change in racing, everything from prize-money or corporate governance through to government support or commercial agreements.

These are changes, big levers that racing can pull, which will make a significant and material benefit to its participants in both the short and long term.

Last month I reflected on the unfortunate situation around the ARC prize-money investment. ARC has still committed to investing more than it did pre-pandemic, but racing missed out on further investment and importantly guarantees. As a sport we should reflect honestly on whether we can afford to lose out on these opportunities and what impact they may have on racing’s wider economic picture.

Whilst we focus on getting horses on courses, a look under the bonnet should show you that warning lights are flashing. Covid has had a long-term financial impact with lost revenues, lower prize-money when compared to other jurisdictions and significant impacts on horse movement abroad. With potential wage and overhead inflation incoming and revenues lower across the board, we should not be complacent. Relying on minimum values in the long term will not be enough. We need to take opportunities to help ourselves.

On our radar next is levy development. The levy was last reviewed by the government in 2017. Levy revenues are vital to the support of the industry through prize-money, integrity costs and equine and human welfare. These funds effectively kept the show on the road in June 2020 and have been integral to the successful rebuilding while executive contributions fell away.

The levy is another large structural and commercial issue in racing that has the potential to make a huge difference to the revenues and potential earnings of participants. Whilst bookmakers contribute to the sport through other routes like media rights and sponsorship, with new commercial agreements off the table for now, the levy is really the only transparent and controllable funding that participants can access.

Betting revenues are rising for bookmakers, especially online.

There is strong international demand for our racing product. Yet

revenues are flatlining for horseracing and falling for participants.

In real terms the levy has fallen significantly over the last 20 years, despite the work done to improve it in 2017. We still have a system that does not capture the growth in demand for British racing.

The levy contribution and other revenue inputs are about levelling up racing as a sport against international competition and not simply relying on our traditions and legacy to set us apart.

The first step is to persuade both government and bookmakers to bring forward the review date of 2024 so that we can present the case for reform. A decline in real terms, increased international competition and the remarkable shift in betting patterns to online from retail make the case for an earlier review compelling.

“It is essential that our world-leading product does not lose its lustre due to lack of funding” The industry should be pushing for the planned review of the levy to take place as soon as possible. If we wait until the current 2024 date, we could have lost considerable ground to competitors and our status as the world’s premier location for racing could be threatened. As the country moves forward into the post-Brexit era, it is essential that one of our world-leading products does not lose its lustre due to lack of action and funding.

We are a proud sport that gives an enormous amount to our communities and to our country. We are a world-leading equine nation with the most unique and iconic racecourses, in addition to our yards and studs, as well as our high welfare standards. It is incumbent on us all as participants to make the case to both politicians and bookmakers that levy development is a necessary change that will give racing a long-term boost and safeguard its future.

THE OWNER BREEDER

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HORSES FOR COURSES AND SALES RINGS TOO...

Racecourse performance and sales results b o t h i n d i c a t e t h a t C h e v e l e y Pa r k S t u d s t a l l i o n s represent some of the best value around

MAYSON

Invincible Spirit ex Mayleaf (Pivotal)

The UK’s Leading Sire of Sprinters 2021 (earnings) including Group 1 winner OXTED and Group 2 winner ROHAAN. 2021 yearlings have made up to £75,000 Fee: £6,000 (1st Oct. SLF)

TWILIGHT SON

Kyllachy ex Twilight Mistress (Bin Ajwaad)

One of Europe’s leading second crop Stakes sires, including the Group winners TWILIGHT JET and ARIA IMPORTANTE. 2021 yearlings have made up to 135,000gns Fee: £7,000 (1st Oct. SLF)

ULYSSES

Galileo ex Light Shift (Kingmambo)

16 first crop 2yo winners and 43% winners to runners including two Stakes horses – more than his illustrious sire GALILEO. A third of his runners are already rated 80 and above by Timeform.

2021 yearlings have made up to 300,000gns Fee: £10,000 (1st Oct. SLF)

DUTCH ART

Medicean ex Halland Park Lass (Spectrum)

Sire of 4 Group 1 winning sprinters including the 2021 Gr.1 July Cup winner STARMAN. Recent yearlings have made up to 200,000gns Fee: Private

Cheveley Park Stud

Results received to 21st Nov.

Tel: (01638) 730316 • enquiries@cheveleypark.co.uk www.cheveleypark.co.uk • L@CPStudOfficial

TBA Leader

Julian Richmond-Watson Chairman

Both codes benefit from support for staying stars W

ith the jumps season now in full swing, let’s remind ourselves that winning middle-distance Flat-race colts have the potential to provide the pool of stallions who support the world of National Hunt breeding.

The quality and standard of jump racing is unique to northwestern Europe and produces an enormous interest in and following to the sport as a whole, especially in its heartlands of Britain, France and Ireland. It is very much part of the diversity of horseracing that makes it so appealing to followers of both Flat and jumps.

Jump racing has the capacity to generate large crowds, as happened on Paddy Power Gold Cup day at Cheltenham on the middle Saturday of November, when, despite some relatively small fields, the crowd of 33,668 was the biggest since Gold Cup day on the same course in March 2020. It also has a huge, dedicated following and is very important towards the generation of levy and media rights.

In conjunction with the BHA, the TBA is currently updating our report on progress in revitalising the staying programme in Britain. As joint partners, we set out in 2017 to encourage more breeders to consider breeding middle-distance horses, as part of a ten-year plan to arrest the decline in breeding and racing these types of horses.

Already noticeable improvements are discernible in some areas, with an increase of more than 50 per cent in the number of mares being covered by stallions who won over ten furlongs or farther. In addition, the number of middle-distance horses being retired to stud in Britain who won over a distance in excess of ten furlongs has increased in each of the past three years.

It is encouraging to see such stallions being so well supported in 2021, and their attraction in 2022 will be noted with interest, given that the overall quality of middle-distance races continues to be sky high.

The IFHA’s list of top 100 Group or Grade 1 races for threeyear-olds and upwards in 2020, judged on the end-of-year ratings for the first four finishers, was led by the Juddmonte International for the first time, followed by the Irish Champion Stakes, Japan Cup, Breeders’ Cup Turf, Tokyo’s Tenno Sho and the Coral-Eclipse, all ten furlongs and beyond, as were 15 of the top 20 races, six of which were staged in Britain.

While there are encouraging signs, our report highlights that there is still a bias at the yearling sales in favour of more precocious horses, and unsurprisingly many owners want to see action on the track as soon as possible.

This makes absolute sense in the immediate commercial

world in which we live, and so, in order to maintain and enhance the diversity of the thoroughbred breed and British racing, those who are prepared to invest and wait a little longer for the middle-distance horses to mature must be incentivised to do so and rewarded.

Extra prize-money from the BHA’s development fund, along with substantial match-funding from racecourses, has been very helpful in key races, and while the new ratecard system means this will be harder to maintain at the same level as in 2020-21, whatever resources we have available should be used to keep up the good work, to retain as many of these horses as possible to race in Britain.

Any horse, with ability, who can stay over ten furlongs is a

“Those who wait a little longer for the middledistance horses to mature must be rewarded” valuable commodity, with multiple overseas buyers looking for middle-distance and staying horses to fulfil their race programmes. They are not breeding these horses, so the British breeding and gene pool is vital to sustaining these traits.

As the IFHA figures above show, most of the world’s great races are run over distances of ten furlongs or more, and so breeding to ensure the ability to win over these trips is vital if one expects to compete in them.

Fashion can be transient and if we wish to continue with the diversity and excitement of watching staying races and supporting jump racing as part of the mix, we must keep up our support and encouragement for those who see a long-term future in breeding for middle-distance and staying races.

THE OWNER BREEDER

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News

GOFFS UK

Bloodstock world pays tribute to industry titan Harry Beeby

Harry Beeby joined the Doncaster Bloodstock Sales team in 1964 and helped to turn the company into a rival to Tattersalls in Newmarket

T

ributes have been paid to Harry Beeby, former Chairman of Doncaster Bloodstock Sales (DBS)/ Goffs UK and father to Goffs Group Chief Executive Henry, following his death last month at the age of 83.

A driving force behind DBS, known today as Goffs UK, Beeby was widely respected throughout the industry, not only as a fine auctioneer but as a passionate supporter of the sport, a gentleman and a friend to many.

Beeby joined DBS as a full partner in April 1964. He had been working in London as an estate agent but came from a family of accomplished horsemen, notably as the son of distinguished trainer George, who sent out Brendan’s Cottage and Silver Fame to win the Cheltenham Gold Cup in 1939 and 1951 and Finnure to win the 1949 King George VI Chase.

With this background, Harry Beeby

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THE OWNER BREEDER

was identified by DBS founders Willie Stephenson and Ken Oliver as a fine fit for their fledgling sales company, which had been established in 1962. He duly took up their offer and thus began an enduring association that would see the Beeby name become synonymous with DBS and its development as a rival host to Newmarket.

In May 1964, Beeby auctioned his first horse, Beau D’Argent, who was bought in for 420gns. In no time, he was to become widely regarded as an excellent auctioneer in possession of a style that injected more speed into proceedings while retaining a powerful command of the ring.

“He’d be in the top three auctioneers of my time,” said agent David Minton.

“Himself and Peter Nugent were the auctioneers that we looked up to as young agents. He brought the speediness

into it all. He was superb.”

Agent Bobby O’Ryan is another to recall Beeby’s skill on the rostrum.

“He’d walk into that ring and size up the people very quickly, who was going to bid,” he said. “He was a great auctioneer but not only that, one of the real gentlemen of the business.

“He was a brilliant man, very straight and one who really enjoyed life.”

Arguably the greatest horse to pass under Beeby’s hammer was the triple Grand National hero Red Rum, who was sold at DBS in August 1972 for 6,000gns to Ginger McCain prior to his legendary career over jumps.

His gift as an auctioneer was subsequently vividly brought to life in this passage by Ivor Herbert in his book Red Rum. “Harry Beeby is the most polished auctioneer now operating,” wrote Herbert.

Stories from the racing world “No one is more adept at making the good points in each lot sound almost irresistible and then, when he has spotted a serious bidder, mesmerising him with full conviction: ‘Just your type, I know, sir,’ delivered, bright-eyed and glossy-haired from a beseeching position, half-way out across his rostrum, so that it takes a hard unflattenable heard to deny Beeby that further nod.”

Tim Hyde of Camas Park Stud fondly remembers those early years at DBS, ones which helped forge a friendship for life.

“I first met Harry in 1967 when himself and Ken Oliver came to our farm to view my father’s yearlings,” he said. “We sent yearlings to Doncaster that year and the stud has done so ever since. We had many great days together, he would stay at Camas Park and we greatly enjoyed hosting him.

“He was a thorough gentleman. He was a great judge of a horse, but more importantly, he was also a great judge of a man.

“He was the best auctioneer of his time, abilities that he has passed on to his son Henry, and he knew the business inside out – he helped grow Doncaster from very small beginnings to what it is now.”

“He was the best auctioneer of his time and a thorough gentleman” Beeby earned widespread respect for his handling of DBS as it grew from those “small beginnings”. It is well recounted, for instance, how the company didn’t always immediately chase for money, instead allowing those trainers who worked on spec to sell their horses on before clearing their debts. Such support yielded a core loyalty in return.

“He helped a lot of people in that way,” continued O’Ryan. “He supported them and then stood by them.”

His views are echoed by fellow agent and long-standing friend Peter Doyle.

“I started going to Doncaster to buy with my father and Ryan Price, and then Richard Hannon senior,” he remembered.

“Ken, Willie and Harry were the Three Musketeers. They created a very good ambience for which to do business,

Henry Beeby, here presenting his father with a painting, has continued the family association with DBS/Goffs

whether it be buying or selling. Harry would always make you feel very welcome and he always tried to help people the best he could.

“DBS would give the trainers credit for the horses – they knew they had to have the horses in the first place to train. The worry then was getting that phone call from Harry on a Sunday asking when the money was due – we all remember that Sunday phone call! But it was great how they looked after the trainers and everybody else.”

He added: “In the older days, we would stay in Punch’s Hotel on the Bawtry Road.

The sale would be over on the Friday and Harry would have a dinner for those left behind that night and it was always a great evening, very funny. He was always one to look on the bright side of life.”

Beeby was made Managing Director of DBS in 1976, a role he fulfilled until he became Chairman in 1998.

In his second year as Managing Director, DBS broke new ground as host of the very first European breeze-up sale.

Such sales were commonplace in the US, particularly Florida, but they were a new idea in Europe.

With Beeby at the helm, DBS launched the new initiative and with great success; today, the breeze-up sector is a major part of the overall bloodstock market in Europe and with that in mind, it was only fitting that it was at DBS that the first

Classic-winning breeze-up graduate, 2006 1,000 Guineas heroine Speciosa, was sold.

“I knew him for over 50 years,” said Minton. “We had a lot of laughs, especially on some of those Irish trips. I remember on my first trip to Ireland, he cured me of gin and tonic – to this day, I haven’t touched the stuff.

“He loved a party but always seemed to pull out extremely well in the morning.

He was also always absolutely immaculate and a stickler for tidiness.

“Harry was such a huge help to all of us. He was a huge supporter of those up-and-coming trainers and young agents such as myself and for us, that was a big help.

“He was a man I always looked up to, but he was a great friend as well.”

Beeby served as Chairman of DBS until 2016 and thus oversaw its merger with Goffs in 2008. He also served as a Director of Goffs from 2007 until 2018.

A devoted family man, he is survived by his wife Elizabeth, his great support for over 60 years, son Henry, who succeeded him at DBS, and daughters Caroline and Belinda.

“We’ll miss him very much,” said Hyde.

“He was a lovely man, a smart man, and our thoughts are with his wife Elizabeth and his family.”

Henry Beeby’s tribute to his father, Breeders’ Digest, page 59.

THE OWNER BREEDER

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News

European and Japanese runners enjoyed an excellent Breeders’ Cup at Del Mar last month, with five winners between them, and the management at Churchill Downs hopes that success could encourage more global runners in the Kentucky Derby, which next year takes place on Saturday, May 7.

Currently there is a ‘road’ each for Japan and Europe to nominate a runner to ‘The Run for the Roses’, with the current European standings headed by Group 1 Vertem Futurity Trophy winner Luxembourg, trained by Aidan O’Brien.

Hunter Rankin, Director of Racing at Churchill Downs, said: “We know that the Kentucky Derby is a great brand in this country and it’s a brand that’s recognised internationally, but only by accident. It’s a premium event but we want to increase its profile.

“To grow the event and sell those

14

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GEORGE SELWYN

International Kentucky Derby field desired at Churchill Downs

Luxembourg: leads European standings

tickets it’s important we increase our customer base outside of the United States. It’s a sporting event but it’s much more than that – it’s a party that attracts a who’s who of American celebrities.

“We need to increase the number of participants that want to compete in the Derby and the other races that are

happening that weekend.

“Of course, Guineas weekend at Newmarket falls at around the same time so it could be difficult for European horsemen to be involved in the event, but that’s not to say it’s not obtainable.

“It’s a new initiative for us and we will continue to beat this drum.”

Rankin also revealed plans for a Middle Eastern road to the Kentucky Derby, which would include in its series of races the UAE Derby, won by Mendelssohn prior to his run in the 2018 Kentucky Derby.

He added: “We want to continue to push the envelope. Europe’s the biggest challenge for us but people like Aidan [O’Brien] have supported the Kentucky Derby and there are groups that want to try and do it. We need to build on that.”

Brilliant St Mark’s Basilica tops Cartier standings St Mark’s Basilica fought off stiff competition from unbeaten star miler Baaeed, Arc hero Torquator Tasso and Saudi Arabia, UAE and York Group 1 winner Mishriff to be crowned 2021 Cartier Horse of the Year.

The awards were presented at the Dorchester Hotel in London last month, when also among the winners were Palace Pier and Starman, who like St Mark’s Basilica will be starting their stud careers in 2022.

St Mark’s Basilica, trained by Aidan O’Brien for the Coolmore partners, was unbeaten in four starts at Group 1 level this year, dominating the best of his generation in the Poule d’Essai

des Poulains and Prix du Jockey Club, before overcoming all-aged opposition in the Coral-Eclipse and Irish Champion Stakes.

The son of Siyouni became the sixth horse owned by a member of a Coolmore partnership to be named Cartier Horse of the Year, following Giant’s Causeway (2000), Rock Of Gibraltar (2002), Hurricane Run (2005), Dylan Thomas (2007) and Minding (2016). The colt also won the Cartier Three-Year-Old Colt award.

On receiving the main award, Paul Smith, son of Coolmore partner Derrick, said: “It’s a huge honour. It’s extra special to me – he’s in the

2021 CARTIER RACING AWARDS Two-Year-Old Colt: Native Trail Two-Year-Old Filly: Inspiral Three-Year-Old Colt: St Mark’s Basilica Three-Year-Old Filly: Snowfall

Sprinter: Starman Stayer: Trueshan Older Horse: Palace Pier Horse of the Year: St Mark’s Basilica Cartier/Daily Telegraph Award of Merit: David Elsworth

“xxx xxx THE EUROPEAN ROAD xx TO THE KENTUCKY DERBY xx xx”

Nominate your horse for the 2022 Triple Crown Series by January 26th. Then be in the running for a slot in the Kentucky Derby starting gate reserved for the European starter who wins the most points on the European Road to the Kentucky Derby!

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March 9, 2022

K E M P TO N PA R K R AC ECO U R S E , E N G L A N D

P O I N TS: 20- 8 - 4 - 2

Patton (Listed)

March 11, 2022

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P O I N TS: 20- 8 - 4 - 2

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April 7, 2022

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purple and white, my father’s colours.

We look forward to seeing him in his second career at stud now.”

Stablemate Snowfall, likewise a dual Classic winner, took the threeyear-old filly honours, the juvenile awards went the way of Native Trail and Inspiral, while Trueshan was named Stayer of the Year.

Veteran trainer David Elsworth was the recipient of the Award of Merit.

After watching a video tribute to his career, he said: “Well, what can I say?

I’ve never heard so much bull***t in all my life! Having said that, I’d like to thank Cartier and those misguided people who have got me up here.”

P O I N TS: 30- 1 2- 6- 3

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EUROPEAN ROAD TO THE KENTUCKY DERBY

LEADERBOARD RA NK/ HORSE

P OINTS

1. LUXEMBOURG (IRE) WESTERBERG, MRS. JOHN MAGNIER, MICHAEL TABOR & DERRICK SMITH

2. ANGEL BLEU (FR) MARC CHAN

3. ROYAL PATRONAGE (FR) HIGHCLERE T’BRED RACING & WOODLAND WALK

4. NOBLE TRUTH (FR) GODOLPHIN (SHEIKH MOHAMMED BIN RASHID AL MAKTOUM ET AL)

5. COROEBUS (IRE) GODOLPHIN (SHEIKH MOHAMMED BIN RASHID AL MAKTOUM ET AL)

6. SISSOKO (IRE)

20 10 10

4

4 4

JUSTIN CARTHY

7. MANU ET CORDE (IRE) MRS. JAMES S. BOLGER

8. BAYSIDE BOY (IRE) TEME VALLEY & BALLYLINCH STUD

9. ANCIENT ROME MICHAEL TABOR, DERRICK SMITH, MRS. JOHN MANGIER & WESTERBERG

10. UNCONQUERABLE (IRE) ATLANTIC THOROUGHBREDS

4 2 2 2

››

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15

News

Racecourses to receive fracture support kits The new kits are a boost to British racing’s equine welfare provision

Equine welfare has taken another step forward with the racing industry having received funding for revolutionary fracture support kits.

The Racecourse Association (RCA) led a successful collaborative bid involving the National Trainers Federation (NTF) and Association of Racecourse Veterinary Surgeons (ARVS) to the Racing Foundation which will enable the purchase and distribution of the kits, providing a significantly enhanced degree of

comfort and chance of rehabilitation for injured horses.

A total of £229,200 was awarded by the Racing Foundation to accompany the financial contributions made by all British racecourses, the NTF and ARVS. All tracks will receive a fracture support kit which will last up to ten years.

The sport’s independent Horse Welfare Board has endorsed the use of the fracture support kits, describing them as having the ability to “make a significant difference to equine

participants and the sport as a whole”, and “a beneficial tool for each racecourse veterinary surgeon to have at their disposal”.

The fracture support kits were made available from last month across all British racecourses.

Caroline Davies, RCA Racecourse Services Director, said: “I’m pleased that our vision to continue to enhance the safety of our equine participants has been matched by the Racing Foundation with its generous award of funding for the equine fracture kits.

“Limb fractures in horses are extremely complicated and, unlike similar injuries in humans, can in some cases be untreatable. This new equipment, however, will provide the best possible chance for an injury to be properly assessed, while discomfort to the horse is significantly reduced, and give the best chance of future rehabilitation.”

Simon Knapp, member of the Horse Welfare Board and ARVS, added: “The Horse Welfare Board welcomes the new fracture support system. This system will be present on all British racecourses and should be seen as a major welfare initiative.

“The kits are easy to apply, giving immediate and effective support to injured horses, resulting in rapid relief from pain and anxiety. Such an advanced support system will facilitate the transport of injured horses to centres of excellence, contributing to an improved prognosis for recovery and enhanced equine welfare, and we are confident that this will be welcomed by the racing industry.”

BHA to introduce new hurdle races in 2022 Details of a new programme of hurdle races designed to help the development of jump horses in Britain have been unveiled by the BHA. Named Junior National Hunt Development Hurdle Races, and exclusively for three-year-olds from October to December and four-yearolds from January to April, the races will be run from mid-October next year to the end of the 2022-23 National Hunt season.

They will be open to horses that have not previously competed in a Flat race, or a jumps race except for a bumper or Junior National Hunt Development Hurdle Race, and will

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carry the same status as bumpers and point-to-point races in that winners will not be precluded from competing in novice hurdles the following season.

The new junior hurdle races, in which a horse can compete a maximum four times, follows consultation between the BHA and Thoroughbred Breeders’ Association, and approval by the industry’s Racing Group.

TBA National Hunt Committee Chairman Bryan Mayoh writes about the initiative in this month’s TBA Forum (see pages 104-105), while BHA Chief Operating Officer Richard

Wayman said: “By adding these races to next year’s programme, we’ll be able to gain a much better understanding of the impact of providing young jumping horses with the opportunity to start their careers at an earlier stage.

“Such an approach is already well established in France and to some extent as part of a vibrant point-topoint scene in Ireland, and we hope that owners and trainers in Britain will support the introduction of Junior National Hunt Development Hurdle Races and view them as an ideal opportunity for the right sort of jumping horse.”

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HARZAND A leading European sire in 2021 with 52% winners to runners.

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SEA THE STARS Sire of 16 Gr.1 winners and 2nd leading European sire in 2021.

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SIYOUNI Sire of 5-time Gr.1 winner ST MARK’S BASILICA.

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ZARAK Sire of 2 Gr.1 horses with his first crop in 2021.

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News

Stradivarius story set to continue for another year However the year panned out, there must have been a considerable likelihood at the start of the campaign that this would be Stradivarius’ last on the track. But the star stayer will be back aged eight in 2022, much to the delight of his legion of fans.

This year brought three more victories, in the Sagaro Stakes, Lonsdale Cup and Doncaster Cup, but also three defeats, in the Gold Cup, Prix du Cadran and Long Distance Cup, the latter pair on ground softer than Stradivarius has always tended to prefer.

The Bjorn Nielsen homebred has won an impressive 19 of 32 starts across six seasons, and more than £3 million in prize-money, and his owner-breeder has decided to again postpone a stud career.

In revealing the news that the 2022 Flat season would be another graced by the son of Sea The Stars, joint-trainer John Gosden said that a fourth victory in the Gold Cup at Royal Ascot would be the prime goal, with retirement subsequently beckoning, potentially after Glorious Goodwood.

Gosden reported: “Mr Nielsen has been in to see the horse and the intention is for Stradivarius to stay in training next year, with the intention of three races: a prep run, the Ascot Gold Cup and the Goodwood Cup, at this stage.”

Explaining the possibly surprising decision to keep Stradivarius in training, Nielsen said: “He’s as enthusiastic as ever, which is quite amazing, but he is.

As long as he continues to show that, he

Stradivarius: will race on as an eight-year-old

will run in a prep, which will be either the Sagaro Stakes or the Yorkshire Cup, with the Gold Cup as his main aim.

“Then the option will be kept open, if he is at the top of his game and if conditions are right, for Goodwood, and that will be the end of his career after that.”

He added: “He’s been the soundest horse in the history of horseracing, he’s never missed a beat. He hasn’t missed an engagement in six years of racing, except when we took him out of Goodwood after that huge amount of rain.”

Stradivarius’s Gold Cup haul of three is bettered only by Yeats, with four, and who was eight when he won his final one, while his four consecutive

Goodwood Cup victories from 2017 is a record.

Stradivarius has finished behind five-year-old Trueshan – who featured in last month’s Magical Moments article – three times now, though on each occasion the word ‘soft’ appeared in the going description and there is a strong sense of connections feeling their old king deserves another shot at the young prince on a more favourable surface.

Nielsen added: “Meeting Trueshan on anything but a bog we would be very happy to do. Stradivarius will be eight next year and could he decline? Of course he could, and the odds are he might, but on a good-ground surface, I say bring it on. We’re not worried about anybody.”

New NTF role for Paul Johnson Experienced racing administrator Paul Johnson will succeed Rupert Arnold as the new Chief Executive Officer of the National Trainers Federation from the beginning of 2022.

Johnson has spent the last eight years at the British Horseracing Authority as Head of Racing, having previously worked at the Racecourse Association for two years. In the past he has also occupied positions at Procter and Gamble and Ladbrokes.

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On behalf of the National Trainers Federation, trainer Emma Lavelle said: “We are delighted that Paul has accepted the position as the new Chief Executive of the NTF. His experience and profile within the racing industry mean that he will be well placed to represent all trainers in the challenges that we will face together in the coming years.”

Johnson said: “It is obviously a great privilege to be appointed to the

role of CEO of the National Trainers Federation and to have the opportunity to continue the great work that the organisation does on behalf of British trainers.

“I am looking forward to working to ensure that the NTF can play an active role in industry discussions and that strong relationships with other stakeholders are built and maintained so that we can collectively continue to improve the sport for all.”

TIME TEST Dubawi ex Passage Of Time (Dansili) Bay, 16.0hh, 2012

LEADING FIRST SEASON SIRE

BY BLACK TYPE WINNERS

Only DUBAWI, KODIAC and WOOTTON BASSETT have had more 2yo Stakes winners this season Largest crops still to come, having covered 380 mares in the last three seasons including 160 quality mares in 2021 Yearlings sold for up to 400,000gns Outstanding son of the great sire of sires DUBAWI

“Time Test has had a great year, he looks very good, his stats are good – I will definitely be using him next year! He will be very popular with breeders.”

John Foley of Ballyvolane Stud

2022 Stud Fee

£15,000 1st October SLF

Nominations: 01638 675929 Tim Lane: 07738 496141

stallions@nationalstud.co.uk www.nationalstud.co.uk

Changes

Racing’s news in a nutshell

People and business Simon Claisse

Cheltenham’s Clerk of the Course conducts his final meeting in November after 22 years at Prestbury Park.

Kieren Fallon

Former six-time champion jockey leaves role as assistant to first-season trainer Darryll Holland in Newmarket.

Toby Bulgin

Dan Skelton

Trainer sends out his 1,000th career winner with Faivoir, ridden by his brother Harry, in a novices’ handicap chase at Ascot on November 19.

Racecourse Media Group

Media and data rights holding company agrees long-term strategic partnership with Flutter Entertainment through to 2028.

Roderick Duncan

Succeeds Jack Pryor as Clerk of the Course at Huntingdon – Pryor will continue as Clerk of the Course at Market Rasen.

Trainer who quit the sport in 1989 takes out a licence again and saddles Luckofthedraw to back-to-back wins at Fontwell and Huntingdon.

Peter Miller

California-based trainer who has enjoyed five Breeders’ Cup winners takes a hiatus and hands over the reins to his assistant Ruben Alvarado.

France Galop

Governing body will increase its prizemoney by €30 million to €278m in 2022 in view of healthy revenues from the PMU.

Jack Kennedy

Irishman’s rotten luck with injuries continues after he breaks his arm in a fall in a beginners’ chase at Navan.

Horse obituaries Solerina 24

The Bowe family’s superb mare won 22 races including five Grade 1s, recording a hat-trick in the Hatton’s Grace Hurdle.

Pivotal 28

Top-class sprinter became an exceptional stallion for Cheveley Park Stud, siring 32 Group/ Grade 1 winners.

English Channel 19

Excelled on grass in the US, taking the 2007 Breeders’ Cup Turf, later siring multiple Grade 1 winner Channel Maker.

Rock Hard Ten 20

Dual US Grade 1 winner had been at stud in South Korea, having previously stood at Lane’s End Farm in Kentucky.

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Sakhee’s Secret 17

July Cup winner for owner-breeder Bridget Swire was standing at Allevamento Il Grifone in Italy.

Erhaab 30

Winner of the 1994 Derby for ownerbreeder Hamdan Al Maktoum, trainer John Dunlop and jockey Willie Carson.

Haras de Quetieville

French basketball stars Tony Parker and Nicolas Batum join forces to buy the Normandy stud farm.

Paul Barker

Regional Clerk of the Course for Arena Racing Company in the north also takes on the Clerk of the Course role at Doncaster.

NEW FOR 2022

LOPE Y FERNANDEZ Lope De Vega ex Black Dahlia (Dansili) Bay, 16.0hh, 2017

EUROPEAN CHAMPION THREE-YEAR-OLD SPRINTER 5 x Gr.1 placed from 6.5 furlongs to 1 mile Timeform rated 120 at 3 & 4 years Group winning 2yo over 6 furlongs €900,000 yearling purchase at Arqana By one of the world’s leading sires LOPE DE VEGA

2022 Stud Fee

£8,500 1st October SLF

Nominations: 01638 675929

stallions@nationalstud.co.uk

Tim Lane: 07738 496141

www.nationalstud.co.uk

Changes

Racehorse and stallion

Movements and retirements

Golan Fortune

Useful chaser and hurdler for permit holder Phil Middleton is retired aged nine following the recurrence of a heart problem.

Contrail

Son of Deep Impact, winner of the Japanese Triple Crown last year, will start his stud career at Shadai Stallion Station in 2022.

Technician

Group 1-winning son of Mastercraftsman will stand at Haras de Montaigu next year at a fee of €3,000.

Khalifa Sat

Last year’s Derby runner-up is retired to Lacken Stud in County Wexford. The son of Free Eagle’s fee is set at €2,000.

Tarnawa

The Aga Khan’s superb mare, winner of the Prix Vermeille, Prix de l’Opera and Breeders’ Cup Turf for trainer Dermot Weld, is retired aged five.

Space Blues

Breeders’ Cup Mile win is the final appearance for the son of Dubawi, retired to Kildangan Stud in County Kildare. His fee is set at €17,500.

The Last Lion

Son of Choisir retired to stud after his victory in the 2016 Middle Park Stakes returns to racing – as a gelding – after a five-year absence.

Benbatl

Triple Group 1-winning son of Dubawi, who banked £5.9 million in prize-money, is retired to take up stallion duties at Big Red Farm in Japan.

Dee Ex Bee

Arctic Tack Stud acquires Farhh’s highclass staying son, runner-up in the Derby at three and Gold Cup at four, and winner of two Group 3s.

Santiago

Irish Derby winner is retired to stand under the Coolmore National Hunt banner at Castlehyde Stud in 2022.

Walzertakt

Group 2-winning son of Montjeu is acquired to stand at Chapel Stud on behalf of Simon Davies as a National Hunt sire next year.

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Muhaarar

Champion sprinter will relocate to Alain Chopard’s Haras des Faunes in France for the 2022 season in a deal brokered by Richard Venn.

Lope Y Fernandez

The National Stud recruits the son of Lope De Vega, a Group 3 winner at two who was placed five times in Group/ Grade 1 company.

People obituaries Harry Beeby 83

Former Managing Director and Chairman of Doncaster Bloodstock Sales, later Goffs UK, having joined the firm in 1964.

Andrew McNamara 76

Qualified vet became a successful trainer and saddled Boreen Prince to win the 1985 Arkle Trophy at Cheltenham.

Tom Greenway 38

Former jump jockey rode more than 40 winners as an amateur and conditional.

Kathleen McDowell 80

With husband Oliver she bred and owned Libranno, winner of three Group 2s including the Park Stakes at Doncaster.

Leslie Steele 101

Leeds-born bookmaker was a wellknown figure at northern tracks such as York, where he would often lay huge bets.

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The Big Picture

Boys in blue bonanza!

Despite having two horses taken out of the stalls and withdrawn in almost identical circumstances at this year’s Breeders’ Cup, Godolphin and trainer Charlie Appleby still enjoyed a sensational Grade 1 treble over the two days of racing at Del Mar in southern California. Space Blues enjoyed the perfect trip in the Mile (main image), Yibir came from off the pace in the Turf (above left), while Modern Games recorded a decisive success in the Juvenile Turf (above right), all three winners partnered by William Buick.

Photos Bill Selwyn 24 THE OWNER BREEDER

Breeders’ Cup

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The Big Picture

26 THE OWNER BREEDER

Breeders’ Cup

Made in Japan New ground was broken at this year’s Breeders’ Cup as Japan recorded its first ever victories at the meeting, with both winners trained

by Yoshito Yahagi. Oisin Murphy enjoyed his maiden Breeders’ Cup triumph as Marche Lorraine (nearside) edged out Dunbar Road in a sensational finish to the Distaff, while Loves Only You and Yuga Kawada (inset) finished strongly to take the Filly & Mare Turf.

Photos Bill Selwyn

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The Big Picture

28 THE OWNER BREEDER

Breeders’ Cup

Leading from the front The Brad Cox-trained Knicks Go and Joel Rosario (main image) recorded an all-the-way win in the Breeders’ Cup Classic, defeating Medina Spirit by two and three-quarter lengths. Mike Smith (top) produced a fine front-running ride on Corniche in the Juvenile, Jose Ortiz celebrated with his family after partnering Bobby Flay’s Pizza Bianca to success in the Juvenile Fillies Turf (middle), while his older brother Irad Jr and Twilight Gleaming (bottom, yellow silks) blitzed the field in the Juvenile Turf Sprint.

Photos Bill Selwyn

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The Big Picture

30 THE OWNER BREEDER

Cheltenham

Mania times it right on Midnight at Cheltenham Grand National-winning jockey Ryan Mania endures a heart-stopping moment in the Grade 3 Paddy Power Gold Cup at Cheltenham’s November meeting as Midnight Shadow pecks on landing after jumping the final fence. Luckily the partnership remained intact as the duo went on to defeat favourite Protektorat by three-quarters of a length.

Midnight Shadow, trained by Sue Smith for Mrs Aafke Clarke, is now being aimed at the King George VI Chase at Kempton on Boxing Day. Photo Bill Selwyn

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31

The Big Picture

32 THE OWNER BREEDER

Cheltenham

Heroes all Bryony Frost enjoys the reception at Cheltenham’s meeting in November after guiding Yala Enki to a game success in the Grade 3 Jewson Click and Collect Handicap Chase. Back On The Lash, seen jumping a spruce fence (right, top), took the crosscountry chase, Rachael Blackmore performed an amazing recovery to win on Gin On Lime in the novices’ chase, while Nube Negra saw off Politologue in the Grade 2 Shloer Chase.

Photos Bill Selwyn

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The Howard Wright Column

Data dissemination can help tackle small fields

BILL SELWYN

S

ometimes, solving a problem is best approached by looking through the other end of the telescope. Small fields, which have occupied the autumnal thoughts of many a commentator, could be a case in point.

Counting up the number of races with fewer than the guaranteed each-way betting level of eight runners, and the number with, say, five or fewer, and computing the answers as proof that there is too much racing to support the number of horses in training is at best a binary solution, whereas the constructive answer could be singular, namely that there are too many of the wrong races for the particular horses in training at the particular time.

Several years ago, the BHA’s racing department had the smart idea of introducing interactive races, slots in the programme that could be filled at late notice by adjusting the conditions of age, distance and terms according to a trawl of trainers’ suggestions, based on their stable strengths at a given time. The scheme was ditched, possibly on the basis that it did not receive appropriate input or floundered on trainers’ diffidence.

Maybe the idea could be resurrected when Paul Johnson joins the National Trainers Federation as Chief Executive in the new year. His prowess for tackling the intricacies of British racing politics has to be taken on trust, but there is no doubting his knowledge of race programming, after two years as RCA Racing Executive and nearly nine as BHA Head of Racing.

If interactive races do not work, interactive race programming, with a couple of races at each lower-grade meeting left open to racecourse interpretation, based on latest horse population information, could be the answer.

Success would depend on the collection and dissemination

Gin On Lime finished alone in a two-horse race at Cheltenham

of correct data from the BHA racing department, whose current strength of personnel is impossible to gauge from published information. The BHA annual report used to list every member of staff in every department, but that useful display of transparency disappeared under a welter of data protection paranoia, while the BHA website lists just Ruth Quinn, Director of International Racing and Racing Development, and Stu Middleton, Racing Operations Manager, as executives obviously connected directly with race planning.

Too much of a good thing is alienating armchair viewers Irish racing is becoming a pain in the neck, quite literally.

Richard FitzGerald’s legacy broadcasting deal of February 2018, which snaffled Ireland from what was then At The Races over to what was then Racing UK for five years from January 1, 2019 is in almost daily danger of swamping the British-based channel.

All 26 Irish racecourses, plus Chelmsford in a separate arrangement, jumped over the wall. Not only did it mean that Racing UK needed a new name, with RacingTV the not surprisingly unadventurous outcome, but it foisted a whole new glut of fixtures on to a schedule that at certain times of the week and year was already close to bursting point, squeezing time for adequate preview and review elsewhere smack up against the need to provide race coverage for the new product, which has an on-site presenter at every venue.

RacingTV is proud of its promotion of the Irish service, which can be commended for having extended the audience exposed to the exquisitely professional Gary O’Brien and the brilliantly analytical Ruby Walsh, although some other

36 THE OWNER BREEDER

contributors would benefit from a choke chain and onscreen subtitles. However, there is no escaping the dangerous overload of content.

Regular viewers will have their own examples, but a half-hour spell on a Friday afternoon in October, slaloming between Newbury, Sligo and Cheltenham, will serve the purpose.

The 3.58 at Newbury, a near-14-furlong handicap in which Hayley Turner produced a nicely judged ride to win on the favourite, ended at 4:05:01. The 4.05 at Sligo, a three-mile maiden hurdle – yes, a three-mile maiden hurdle, no less – was off at 4:07:37 and ended at 4:14:29. No time properly to preview the 4.15 at Cheltenham, a fascinating two-and-a-half mile handicap hurdle, which went off at 4:17:05.

I’ve no idea what happened after that, whether there was time to discuss either the Newbury handicap or the Cheltenham hurdle, or to debate an upcoming race, because my enthusiasm had been curdled in the double dose of two and a half minutes of non-active space squeezed in between

No mention of Johnson, for whose successor the job title has been extended to include betting.

Never mind, help could be coming round the corner from a source that is only too willing to introduce its members – the six-strong staff based in “a small office in Sharnbrook, Bedford,” including a ‘change manager’ and ‘product owner’ (no, me neither) who so far comprise the workforce of Racing Digital. Look out for their names in a two-minute YouTube video.

Launched at the beginning of August as a 50-50 joint venture company between the BHA and Weatherbys, this is a scheme that, I understand, began life as a £12 million project to revamp the BHA Racing Administration site, before being considerably watered down by the BHA’s tripartite partners.

Still, its purpose is “to transform and serve the sport we

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“If interactive races do not work, interactive race programming based on latest horse population info could be the answer” love by creating a next-generation digital platform for managing horseracing,” while Racing Digital promises the industry that “over the next three years we will replace many of the systems that you use with a new product that allows you to interact with the sport more easily.”

So far, Racing Digital seems to be a slow burner, in keeping with its timetable of six months discovery and three-year project, for at the last count its Twitter feed had just 27 followers. However, hope springs eternal and as long as that word interact appears in the mission statement, there’s a chance.

TWYDIL® PMC Newbury, the three-mile maiden hurdle at Sligo, no less, and Cheltenham.

This is not an entertainment channel; it is a service intended for serious followers of the sport, more than 75 per cent of whom, among a subscriber base that has increased to around 65,000 since 2019, live in Britain, and, of course, there is an answer to the overloading predicament.

As the promoters rightly point out, RacingTV Extra has developed apace, but that’s where the crick in the neck comes in. Picking up additional coverage by peering at an iPhone screen of four and a half inches or even an iPad measuring seven and a half inches across is a convoluted mismatch for having to follow events on the multi-inch television for whose HD projection I pay Sky a king’s ransom every year.

More televisions might be the answer, but no thanks.

Now, a separate RacingTV channel dedicated to Irish racing, that would be more like it.

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24/02/20 12:53

Chapel Stud

Burning

AMBITION Having leapt into stallion ownership last year with the acquisition of Planteur, Simon Davies continues to deepen his involvement with the addition of Bangkok and Walzertakt at Chapel Stud Words: James Thomas • Photos: Bill Selwyn

T

here has been a bustle in the hedgerow of British breeding of late, and the person responsible for some enthusiastic shaking of the branches is owner and breeder Simon Davies. While plenty of new players have burst onto the scene with free-spending sprees at the sales or significant numbers of horses in training, the 56-year-old has made his mark with a somewhat different approach.

In September 2020 Davies announced that he had bought Planteur and would be standing the Prix Ganaywinning son of Danehill Dancer at Chapel Stud in Worcestershire. Two more stallions have since been added to his bloodstock portfolio, with Bangkok and Walzertakt joining the team for the 2022 season.

These three signings represent the accelerating interest of a man who first encountered horse racing during the period when the likes of Lester Piggott and Vincent O’Brien were winning the Derby on a Wednesday afternoon.

Although he was not born into a racing family, Davies does have his father to thank for his early engagement with the sport.

“My father was a market trader and when the Derby was on a Wednesday afternoon he used to have a stall at Epsom,” Davies explains. “I used to work the market stall with him back in the early 70s. That was my earliest memory of racing, although I can’t remember who won the races as it was quite a while ago now.”

The intervening years saw Davies’

38 THE OWNER BREEDER

attentions trained well away from the racecourse, having spent 24 years in the Royal Signals regiment of the army.

Davies is now the owner and managing director of Spectra Group UK, which he founded upon leaving active service and whose website says is “a leading global provider of tactical and strategic mission-critical communications systems.”

The company can count significant players from the defence sector and the emergency services among its client base, and in an illustration of how well business has been going for Davies, in 2019 Spectra Group UK received the prestigious Queen’s Award for Enterprise for its revolutionary SlingShot device. This piece of equipment extends the range of radio networks up to thousands of miles by utilising commercial satellite networks.

High tech stuff, then, but not an obvious gateway into the world of thoroughbred breeding.

“I spent 24 years in the army and basically had no involvement in racing at all,” says Davies when asked how the stallion venture came into fruition.

“When I finished up in the army in 2004 I started my own business and that took up pretty much all of my time. That grew over the next ten years or so until we had a significant breakthrough on one of the products we’d developed. That came at just the right time and things basically took off from there.

“It was pretty full on and my wife, Rhian, works with me as the chief operating officer, which meant we

were working full-time day and night on growing the business. It sort of became a situation where you’d come home from work, ask the other half how their day was and they’d say ‘you know exactly how my day went, you were there!’

“So six years ago we decided we needed to do something different outside of the day job so we had something else to talk about. I’d always liked the idea of owning a racehorse so I rang around a few trainers local to me in Herefordshire and hit it off with Tom Symonds and his wife.”

Racing certainly provided Davies and his wife with something else to talk about, but they soon realised that owning just the one horse rather left

Roisin Close and Simon Davies pictured with Planteur, who joined Chapel Stud for the 2021 season

them a hostage to misfortune. Davies duly added a second and third to his string, and before long found himself the proud owner of 12 thoroughbreds.

“The problem with racehorses is there’s always some sort of issue – the ground is wrong or it’s not the right time to run – so we decided to buy another one, then another one and then another one. Before I knew it I had 12 racehorses, and that’s how it started. I didn’t have pots of money but I had a little bit of spare cash and the brief to Tom was to have some fun. Even though winners were hard to come by, we still had some great days out.”

Like so many owners before him, as Davies’ involvement deepened he found himself becoming increasingly

captivated by the breeding side of the racing game. Going down this line of thinking has only one logical conclusion: the realisation that breeding winners is better, and possibly more cost effective, than buying winners.

“I realised that to have top racehorses and be winning at Cheltenham you need to spend lots of money and have lots of horses to find the one who’s good enough to compete at that level,” says Davies. “So the breeding side started to interest me more, looking at pedigrees and trying to figure out which lines work together. From my point of view, to breed a winner would be more satisfying than buying a winner.

“I started breeding three years ago and that’s grown from one mare to

two mares the following year, and that jumped to 15 last year.”

However, it was when trying to plan the matings for a more significant number of mares that Davies found himself short on suitable options close to home. He says: “When I started looking at breeding and where I’d send my mare, the first mating was fairly easy as she went straight to Scorpion.

“When I had a few more mares it became a bit more difficult to find the right stallion in Britain. Last year we effectively sent all of them to Ireland apart from one mare who went to France and one who stayed in England and went to Nathaniel. I didn’t find there was a great choice in terms of stallion options and we found a lot of people

THE OWNER BREEDER 39

››

Chapel Stud

Group 2 winner Bangkok, a well-related son of Australia, has been added to the 2022 roster

›› were doing the same as us and sending

them to Ireland and France.

“We felt that had to change, not only from a cost point of view but in terms of improving the situation in Britain.

Finding the right stallion and having him stand in Britain was key. That was the driver, and knowing that I could support the right horse with most of my broodmares.”

And so a plan was formed to find a suitable candidate. Davies says that cost was a factor, and he was conscious of the fact new retirees to the National Hunt stallion ranks generally have to endure a lag time of at least five years between covering their debut book of mares and fielding their first runners.

Having already covered some sizeable books during five seasons at Haras de Bouquetot, but with French Flat breeders losing faith, the Group 1-winning Planteur found himself firmly in Davies’ crosshairs.

“This wasn’t done with a bottomless pot of money, so it was about doing it in an intelligent way,” says Davies. “We identified Planteur as the target and with the help of Richard Venn we got him. We knew he’d have lots of runners so he’d have a lot of prospects coming through, even if he hadn’t hit the top flight yet. And his popularity in France

40 THE OWNER BREEDER

was waning because people were starting to see him more as a National Hunt stallion than a Flat sire.”

When Planteur was acquired he had sired three black-type winners on the Flat and a handful of young jumps prospects of potential, but he lacked the headline act that every stallion needs to really capture the imagination. However, it was not long before that changed.

Shortly after it had been announced that Planteur was moving to Chapel Stud, his son Trueshan put in a pulverising performance to win the QIPCO British Champions Long Distance Cup by no less than seven and a half lengths.

This year the five-year-old has proved himself a top-notch performer, with Group 1 victories in the Goodwood Cup and Prix du Cadran earning him Cartier champion stayer status. In turn, he showed that his sire is a fine conduit for class, stamina and toughness.

“We thought we’d struck gold when Trueshan started winning all those big races and Alan King has done us a great service at just the right time,” says Davies. “You could say we had our eye on Trueshan before we bought Planteur, but we knew there were lots of other horses coming through as well. His eldest progeny are only six and they’re

generally hardy types who are tough and run a lot, just as he was.

“He pretty much has a winner somewhere everyday and what he’s done up to now has been achieved with, without wanting to sound disrespectful, some fairly ordinary Flat mares in France. With better mares going to him now, he should produce better progeny than he has already.”

Planteur has been subject to a small fee increase for 2022, up from £3,000 to £4,000. When asked how breeders received the horse in his first year at Chapel Stud, Davies’ response reveals a certain pragmatism, while also hinting at the scale of his ambitions.

“His final total was 77 mares, which is over what I’d planned for but not quite as much as I’d dreamt of,” he says. “It’s a good number though and he’s done very well. Everyone who’s come to see him has loved him. He’s a great-looking horse and stamps his stock.”

It was not only the solid foundation laid down by Planteur that encouraged Davies to secure the services of Bangkok and Walzertakt, and nor does he imagine his stallion roster will remain at three.

“The plan was always to add other stallions, primarily if I could afford to when the right horse came up,” he says.

››

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different and appeal to different breeders and do different jobs, but they all compliment each other very well.

It’s probably too late this year, but I’ll absolutely be on the lookout to pick another one or two stallions up as I still see that there’s capacity for more goodquality stallions in Britain.”

With a classy race record underpinned by a blue-blooded pedigree, Davies is hopeful that breeders will share his view of Bangkok as a genuine dual-purpose option at an introductory fee of £3,000.

The son of Australia won six races over four seasons in training, most notably the Group 2 York Stakes and the Group 3 Sandown Classic Trial. He is a sibling to four black-type winners,

including Group 1 hero Matterhorn and the high-class Tactic, while another sibling, Mujarah, is better known as the

“From my point of view, to breed a winner is more satisfying” dam of Ribchester. His 500,000gns yearling price tag attests to his good looks.

“He fits the profile of another very tough horse and his pedigree is fantastic,” says Davies. “In our view he’s a dual-purpose stallion and we’re confident he can produce Flat and National Hunt horses. He’s another one I’m sure breeders will love when they come and see him because he’s let down well and looks fantastic.”

Davies is also dangling a lucrative carrot in front of breeders, with connections of Bangkok’s first blacktype two-year-old set to land a £25,000 bonus, with the breeder and owner each receiving £10,000 and the trainer claiming £5,000. The breeder of any two-year-old winner by Bangkok will also receive a free return.

Despite only debuting at the age of five, Walzertakt’s rapid progression

Planteur: now a proven Group 1 sire thanks to this season’s top stayer Trueshan

THE OWNER BREEDER 43

››

Chapel Stud ›› saw him defeat the up-and-coming

jumps sire Bathyrhon in the Group 2 Prix Maurice de Nieuil back in 2015 before the pair joined the Haras de la Hetraie stallion roster two years later.

While Bathyrhon’s profile at Hetraie took an upward trajectory, Walzertakt was moved on to Haras de la Croix Sonnet, where he sired some respectable crops during a four-year stint. Although his eldest progeny are only three, there are green shoots of promise with two hurdles winners in France, namely Santa Clarita and Wal Cassandre, while one of his daughters fetched €55,000 from Stroud Coleman Bloodstock at the Goffs Land Rover Sale.

Not only is Walzertakt a son of Montjeu, sire of a jumps great in Hurricane Fly as well as high-achieving National Hunt stallions like Authorized, Fame And Glory and Walk In The Park, the other half of his pedigree also holds considerable appeal. He is out of dual Group 2 scorer Walzerkoenigin, making him a sibling to six winners, four of whom gained black type.

He is a half-brother to Wiener Walzer, winner of two Group 1s, namely the German Derby and the Rheinland-Pokal, in which he beat a certain Getaway, while Aidan O’Brien trained his threeparts brother Port Douglas to win the Beresford Stakes. Walzertakt will stand at a fee of £2,500.

“Walzertakt is bred on exactly the same cross as Camelot, being a son of Montjeu out of a Kingmambo mare,” notes Davies. “We’ve had some very positive comments from breeders in Ireland and Britain about him already.

The thing with breeding is that it’s all a matter of personal choice, and this is why you need a range of options. It’s a game of opinions and having choice is what we’re all about.”

Although Davies is firm in his convictions, he recognises his position as a relative newcomer to the industry, and as such is happy to draw on the skills and knowledge that others have to offer.

Chapel Stud may have only opened for business as recently as 2019, but the woman at the helm, Roisin Close, has a wealth of experience to call upon. She spent 12 years at Tweenhills and, more recently, transformed Bucklands Farm & Stud from a ten-acre smallholding to a 100-acre farm that was home to three stallions.

“You’d be surprised how many stallions you get offered, but to get offered nice ones, that’s a bit different,”

44 THE OWNER BREEDER

Simon Davies: “finding the right stallion and having him stand in Britain was key”

“We’re moving into an interesting time and the team is really up for it” Close says of her involvement in Davies’ stallion venture. “I probably didn’t quite realise Simon’s ambitions when he first approached me with Planteur, but it’s become increasingly obvious that he’s been properly bitten by the bug.

“He’s very easy going but getting involved behind the scenes is part of the journey for him and I think he enjoys that side. He’s got a lot to offer, he’s a smart guy and he hasn’t got to where he’s got through letting other people do his work for him so he’s very much helping drive everything forward.”

The arrival of Bangkok and Walzertakt has seen Chapel Stud’s stallion roster grow to five, with Davies’ trio joined by Coach House and Hellvelyn. While the growing numbers means more work, and plenty of it, there is no mistaking Close’s desire to rise to the challenge.

“We have three stallions [for Davies] who are all exciting in different ways and there’s a lot of work going on in

the background,” she says. “You name it, we’re busy doing it at the moment; marketing, websites, open days, stallion parades. We’re not afraid of hard work though and I don’t want to be sitting twiddling my thumbs as I know what it takes to make a success of things in this industry.

“We’re moving into an interesting time and the team is really up for it.

We’ve got quite a lot of Planteur foals due next year, which I’m really looking forward to seeing, and we’re going to be busy as we’re putting in new stallion boxes and other facilities to facilitate the arrival of these extra mares. Bring it on!”

On those helping him realise his vision, Davies says: “I’ve surrounded myself with experts because, clearly, I’m not an expert on any of this and I’m learning on a daily basis. When it comes to pedigree advice, Tom Symonds is my go-to guy. When it comes to looking after my foals and yearlings, I use Scarlett Knipe [Cobhall Court Stud] and then Roisin does all the stallions at Chapel Stud, so I think I’ve got a great team in place. I wouldn’t be able to do it without them.

“They’re not all co-located, although they’re in the Hereford and Worcestershire area. Whether we bring all of those things into one location on one farm, that’s probably the goal at some point. But I’m not rushing into that because I’m comfortable with where we are at the moment.”

Davies may have reined in his racing string, but still has eight horses in training to look forward to over the coming months. His two Flat performers are based with Adrian Wintle, his four-strong National Hunt team is with Symonds and his two yearlings are undergoing their early education with Jane Allison, one of which, an El Kabeir filly sourced through Billy Jackson Stops, will be the owner’s first horse with Andrew Balding.

Davies will also offer a selection of foals at the upcoming Tattersalls December and Goffs UK January auctions. However, with a growing broodmare band to mate and a triumvirate of stallions to support, the man who got into racing as a distraction from a hectic work schedule now finds his focus firmly on his breeding interests.

“Any winner is a great thing and from a breeding point of view winning is the main ambition, and then winning black-type races,” he says. “It would be great to have winners as an owner, but, for now, that’s very much secondary to having success as a breeder.”

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The Big Interview

King of the

CASTLE

Once regarded as a dyed-in-the-wool jumps man, Alan King is reaping the benefits of an increasing focus on the Flat, yet his love of the winter game remains undiminished despite lacking the spending power of many of his big rivals Words: Julian Muscat • Photos: Bill Selwyn

A

lan King is basking in the afterglow of a Flat turf season to remember. The man more readily associated with the jumping code posted a series of firsts, among them a British prize-money haul in excess of £1 million and Trueshan’s inaugural Group 1 triumph for his trainer in the Goodwood Cup. Trueshan supplemented those gains by winning the Group 1 Prix du Cadran on Arc day, when King was an integral presence at Europe’s top table, and the Group 2 Long Distance Cup on Champions Day. It’s no wonder he is full of bonhomie as he reflects on a

46 THE OWNER BREEDER

seminal career chapter.

“It’s been a marvellous year, obviously,” he says from his office at Barbury Castle, in Wiltshire, where he has trained for all but one of his 22 years with a licence.

“Trueshan has been a great horse for us. He had another fine season but I’m sure a lot of people were thinking he’s one of those old stayers we tend to do quite well with. So I got a lot of satisfaction from winning a Group 2 race for two-year-olds over six furlongs with Asymmetric, which is a little way from the norm for us.”

King tapers away into a chuckle at

››

Alan King

A Flat campaign that yielded two Group 1s and over £1 million in prize-money has trainer Alan King in a positive frame of mind as he turns his attention to the jumps season

THE OWNER BREEDER 47

The Big Interview ›› the end of the sentence, and no wonder.

One can only guess what the late David ‘the Duke’ Nicholson would have made of Asymmetric’s Richmond Stakes triumph.

King spent 14 years as Nicholson’s assistant at a time when Nicholson ascended to the summit of jumps racing in the mid-1990s.

Nicholson had long earmarked King to succeed him. A tempestuous, dyed-in-thewool jumping man who considered softie Flat horses the poor relatives of stores, Nicholson could never have envisaged his protégé saddling the winner of a juvenile sprint at Goodwood – which hasn’t staged a single race over jumps in its 209-year history.

Were he alive to contemplate it, Nicholson would doubtless reflect how much has changed since he handed King the licence in 1999. He was adamant King would follow on from him at Jackdaws Castle, which was owned by businessman Colin Smith, but on Nicholson’s retirement Smith sold the property to JP McManus, who duly installed Jonjo O’Neill.

King thus moved to Barbury in 2000. It was and remains an expensive property to rent and that obliged King to contemplate how to meet his financial obligations. “I couldn’t afford to have the place empty through the summer months,” he relates.

“I don’t like summer jumping; never have, but I had to do something. That’s why we started out on the Flat.”

That particular career curve rose slowly until 2008, when King saddled a personalbest tally 23 winners, only for the curve to retreat. Come 2012 and his annual haul of Flat winners descended into single figures, since when the curve resumed its upward trajectory. So much so that in the last few years his Flat horses have earned almost as much as his larger string of jumpers, which have struggled to match the deeds of their predecessors.

The reasons for this are well established. “When it comes to spending power at the boutique jumping sales we’ve been found wanting for some time,” King says. “We can’t afford to buy at the top end and it’s been noticeable in our results.

“People wonder why the Irish are doing so well at Cheltenham but they have been buying all the top lots at these boutique sales for the last four or five years. We are seeing the consequences of that.”

This gives rise to a sea-change the like of which no sane observer could possibly have foreseen. In the 1980s British owners migrated from the Flat to jump racing because they felt they couldn’t compete with the Middle Eastern potentates’ spending power. With million-

48 THE OWNER BREEDER

The Barbury Castle estate provides a stunning backdrop to the dualpurpose string trained by Alan King, seen right in his office, while below, exciting novice chaser Edwardstone (right) works with Flat performer Glide Down

dollar yearlings turning out at venues like Redcar, jump racing promised a more rewarding environment for British owners.

That scenario has all but turned on its head. The buying power of jump racing’s biggest owners now ensures them a monopoly of the best young prospects, which have already advertised their prowess ahead of their sale by winning

a point-to-point in Ireland or races in France.

On the Flat, the vast majority of horses change hands as yearlings or at breeze-up sales, where the true extent of their merit remains unknown. King believes he now has better prospects of buying a decent Flat horse than a decent jumper for the same money.

Alan King

“There is more chance of that happening on the Flat,” King says. “That’s why we have gone down that route. As things stand my string is 60-40 in favour of jumpers but the gap is narrowing every year.

“With [bloodstock agent] Anthony Bromley, who buys 90 per cent of my horses, we have increasingly got stuck into the breeze-up sales,” King continues.

“Hopefully we will do that again next spring because it has worked very well for us. If an owner came to me today with a hundred grand to spend on any kind of horse, I’d be pushing them down the breeze-up route.”

The breeze-up route is where King and Bromley sourced Trueshan, for whom they gave 31,000 guineas at Tattersalls in 2018.

The horse’s stamina-laden pedigree was such that King doubtless had one eye on a future career over hurdles, yet Trueshan proved so adept on the Flat that he never switched codes.

The same could never be said of Asymmetric, a son of Showcasing whose dam and granddam were sprinters. The colt was sent to King after he failed to make a six-figure reserve at Tattersalls

earlier this year. There was never going to be the fallback of a career over hurdles had Asymmetric failed to cut it on the Flat.

That’s why the colt’s resounding Richmond Stakes triumph meant so much to King. “It wasn’t so much that we had anything to prove,” he reflects, “it was just satisfying to have gone and done it.

“To be fair, we hadn’t had that kind of [Flat] ammunition before. And not long afterwards we had a five-furlong winner at Sandown, which again was fairly unique

“I couldn’t afford to have the place empty through the summer” for us. It showed that we can get the job done given the right ammunition. It gave us a real buzz.”

With Asymmetric’s Richmond Stakes triumph coming two days after Trueshan had won the Goodwood Cup, King returned from Sussex with a sense of being rebranded. He has won 15 races at the Cheltenham Festival, among them the Champion Hurdle and Champion Chase, but he doesn’t hesitate when asked

whether his Pattern-race Goodwood double meant as much.

“Yes, absolutely,” the 55-year-old says.

“Perhaps even more of a buzz because it was something new again, and it helps to get your name out there. I think it gave my career a bit of impetus, too. A few more jumps owners have come to me since then.”

For all that, King’s love for the winter code remains unadulterated. It has been tough for him since prices paid for the best young prospects skyrocketed early in the new millennium. He was left feeling impotent when he could no longer compete, with the consequence that he has not won a Grade 1 race since Sceau Royal landed the Henry VIII Novices’ Chase four years ago.

There have been times when frustration overwhelmed him. In February 2008 he took Voy Por Ustedes to Newbury for the Game Spirit Chase ahead of that horse’s bid to win the Champion Chase for the second year running. Voy Por Ustedes was then a seven-year-old in his prime who’d been with King for more than three years.

In the Game Spirit, however, Voy Por Ustedes was routed by Master Minded, a costly, young, recent import from France who’d only just joined Paul Nicholls. The futility of bashing his head against a brick wall got the better of King, whose venting of his spleen in the winner’s enclosure was denounced as unsportsmanlike.

King quickly repented, although the incident underlined his intensely

THE OWNER BREEDER 49

››

The Big Interview

Alan King

›› competitive streak. And while that will

never subside, he has adjusted his mindset to accommodate the new reality. The best young prospects are beyond his reach.

Sceau Royal remains the mainstay of his jumping string, as evidenced by a recent quickfire double over hurdles embracing the Grade 2 Elite Hurdle at Wincanton. There are enough young horses with potential for King to anticipate a rewarding season ahead.

“It was very important that we made a good start to the new season, which we did,” he says. “We have well over 100 jumpers for the season. We’re probably lacking the Grade 1 horses we had a few years ago but I think we’ve got one or two pretty smart novice chasers in the group.”

As one of the few genuinely dualpurpose trainers in business, he also benefits from a change of scenery with the change in codes. “It’s something we look forward to,” he says. “I have always got excited in spring when the Classic trials start, and when we get to November we’ve had our fill of the Flat and are ready to get the proper jumpers going again.”

It’s a similar story for the staff, who all muck in with the Flat and NH horses in an integrated set-up. With horses on their hands 12 months a year, staff can take holidays when they want, rather than just in the summer months. And there is no five-month off-season when they are enrolled against their will to steam-clean boxes and repaint the yard.

Barbury Castle is about the only place you’ll ever see staying chasers leading raw two-year-olds in their work on the gallops.

“I have one barn for the two-year-olds but otherwise the horses are all in it together,” King says.

“The two-year-olds go out with the jumpers and we wouldn’t train them an awful lot differently. They never go beyond seven furlongs and some of these old three-mile chasers can give the twoyear-olds a good lead. If the two-year-olds can work well with them, you know you’ve got something quite useful.”

It’s good to see the spring back in King’s step after his exploits on the Flat.

“We are enjoying it,” he avers. “We have a smashing team of staff but we’re ready for a holiday, having not had one for two years. We’re hoping to disappear to the Maldives in January for a couple of weeks to recharge.”

When you venture that King’s Flat prize-money haul affords him the opportunity to extend the early-evening clink of cocktail glasses from one hour to two, he laughs and says: “We would probably have done that anyway.”

50 THE OWNER BREEDER

My Way De Solzen and Robert Thornton win the 2007 Arkle Challenge Trophy at Cheltenham

Jumping stars that put the stable on the map Alan King is responsible for one of the most extraordinary achievements in Cheltenham Festival history. In 2006 he won the Stayers’ Hurdle over an extended three miles with My Way De Solzen, whom he then saddled 12 months later to win the Arkle Chase over the minimum trip. It was an audacious double-strike, although perhaps not quite as maximal as it sounds.

“My Way was very much a softground horse,” King reflects. “In 2007 I walked the course on the Sunday before racing and it was proper heavy, so we decided to run him in the Arkle on the Tuesday. His other options were later in the week, but it’s a good job we ran him when we did because the ground was nearly quick by the end of it.”

King remembers My Way De Solzen with great affection, saying: “He wasn’t

as tough as [Champion Chase winner] Voy Por Ustedes but he was more talented. If I could have put My Way’s head into Voy Por’s body I would have had the ultimate racehorse.”

For all that, King’s most accomplished Cheltenham Festival winner has to be the 2008 Champion Hurdle winner Katchit, who required 14 starts on the Flat to break his maiden before his transfer to Barbury.

“When we bought him we had no idea what he would go on to do,” King reminisces of Katchit. “He wasn’t very big, and when he won a £15,000 race at Market Rasen on his third start for us I thought to myself: ‘Job done.’

“After that he never stopped improving. The sight of a flight of hurdles transformed him from an ordinary Flat horse to an absolutely top-class jumper. We were incredibly lucky to have him.”

CABLE BAY Sire of GROUP 1 HORSES

DRAGON SYMBOL 1

st

past the post in Gr.1 Commonwealth Cup

(placings reversed)

LIBERTY BEACH

Just behind Champion Battaash in Gr.1 King’s Stand

Sire of 18 INDIVIDUAL STAKES HORSES inc. LANEQASH, ATALIS BAY, JOUSKA, KING’S LYNN,

COLLINSBAY, UNCOMMON JAMES, ROPEY GUEST, SEPARATE, VISAYAS, BELLE ANGLAISE, ISABEAU, LIVE ON STAGE, NATASHA ROMANOVA, SCHRODERS MISTAKE, TOMFRE, FLYING MISSILE etc.

LAND FORCE

A Leading Sire in the Making...

ROCK SOLID NUMBERS 155 covered in year 1 | 118 covered in year 2

OUTSTANDING FIRST FOALS 81/118 mares in his 2nd crop came from breeders who used him in year 1

FANTASTIC SUPPORT Croom House, Highclere, Stetchworth & Middle Park, Fonthill, Ted Voute, New England, Oakgrove, The Royal Studs, Fittocks, Paul Shanahan, Brook Stud, W&R Barnett, Bill Dwan, Nick Bradley, Stringston, Brightwalton, Sheikh Isa, Sheikh Khalid, Mickley, H Bedford etc.

BRILLIANT PEDIGREE & FORM Gr.2-winning, Gr.1-placed 2yo by No Nay Never, from one of the best pedigrees in the stud book

Contact: Jake Warren +44 (0)7730 272 895 www.highclerestud.co.uk

+44 (0)1635 253 212 jake@highclerestud.co.uk

Follow us on social media

*Available for both sires

The German bloodstock scene

Quality OUTPUT As the recent source of Torquator Tasso and Princess Zoe among others, Germany’s breeding industry continues to punch above its weight Words: Martin Stevens

G

erman breeders’ annual output is dwarfed by the foal crops of Britain, Ireland and France, having fallen from around 1,000 a decade ago to no more than 800 in recent years. But what it lacks in quantity, it more than makes up for in quality.

That was illustrated most starkly in the past 12 months by the Adlerflug colt Torquator Tasso, who came with a storming late run to defeat Tarnawa, Hurricane Lane, Adayar and Sealiway to win the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe.

But he was by no means the only German-bred who shone on the global stage in that period. Princess Zoe, a former winner of the Prix du Cadran, finished second in the Gold Cup at Ascot; Real Appeal scored in the Ballycorus Stakes and Boomerang Mile at Leopardstown; Axana landed the Chartwell Stakes at Lingfield; and Schnell Meister took the NHK Mile Cup at Tokyo.

Some of the biggest stars of the Flat season have German roots, too.

Derby and King George hero Adayar is descended from Anna Paola, a Preis der Diana winner by Prince Ippi who became an important foundation mare for Sheikh Mohammed, while Irish Derby, Grand Prix de Paris and St Leger victor Hurricane Lane is out of a mare by Monsun’s champion son Shirocco.

In fact, German breeders can even claim a small slice of the credit for Galileo and his many top-class descendants, as the late Coolmore phenomenon’s maternal granddam Allegretta was the product of two German-bred parents in Lombard and Anatevka. Torquator Tasso, who stays in training with Marcel

52 THE OWNER BREEDER

Weiss in 2022, hails from the same highly influential distaff line.

The results are a vindication of German breeders’ focus on later maturation and middle-distance ability, and their observance of stringent breeding rules, especially in relation to stallions who can stand in the country. They must have achieved a sufficiently high rating, raced for more than one season and not on medication, and they should display no physical defects.

Gregor Baum of leading German nursery Gestüt Brümmerhof, breeder of Arc and King George heroine Danedream and this year’s German 1,000 Guineas winner and Coronation Stakes fourth Novemba, is rightly proud of his compatriots’ considerable success from such small representation.

“Torquator Tasso was a wonderful result and I’m very happy for the breeder and owner, as they’re such good people,” he says. “It shows what German breeding is capable of, even with only 800 foals or so each year.”

Klaus Eulenberger, Managing Director of Baden-Baden sales company BBAG, which sold both Danedream and Torquator Tasso, agrees that the results have put a spring in the step of the country’s racing industry, which has suffered some shrinkage over the past ten years as betting on other sports has become more popular.

“Everything seems quite positive in German breeding at the moment,” he says. “Even with the Covid situation there

were more mares covered in Germany this year than in 2020, and there have been a few more horses in training – not big numbers but significantly no decline either.

“I always feel it’s important to stress that German breeders have to aim to produce good, sound racehorses, because if they don’t it becomes hard to survive: there’s no premium system or breeders’ prizes, and purses in Germany aren’t huge, so they need to be getting winners with regularity.”

German-breds are not short of fans in other countries, but it does seem that the admiration doesn’t always convert into acquisition at source. For instance, Danedream was knocked down for just €9,000 as a two-year-old, and Torquator Tasso hardly cost the earth as a €24,000 yearling. International participation at Baden-Baden yearling sales is often healthy, but not as fevered as at other stops on the European auction circuit.

Baum, who has positioned Gestüt Brümmerhof as one of Germany’s most commercially astute studs and serves as Vice-President of BBAG, bristles a little at the suggestion.

“We think we usually receive fair prices for our stock, and we’ve sold yearlings for €820,000, €400,000 and €360,000 to

Torquator Tasso: Arc hero, a son of Adlerflug who cost €24,000 as a yearling, flies the flag for German breeding

Godolphin and Qatari operations in recent years,” he reasons. “So I think there is a lot of respect for German-breds from many of the bigger stables, but of course there are others who don’t sign for German horses as much as we would like them to.”

Eulenberger is more equivocal, saying: “It can be a little tricky as Danedream and Torquator Tasso don’t have fancy, internationally recognised pedigrees that an agent can easily purchase for an absent client – the quality of the individual has to be seen to be understood.

“The horses here are very different to what is available in Britain or Ireland; they are slower to come to hand and can’t be rushed by trainers, and they are being sold early in the season as our marquee sale has to coincide with the Grosse

Woche racing festival at Baden-Baden.

“They are worth the wait, though, and we believe BBAG has one of the highest strike-rates of stakes winners from the number of horses catalogued for any

“German breeders aim to produce good, sound racehorses” yearling sale in the world.”

BBAG sales have been remarkably buoyant in recent months, with the main yearling sale in September recording a five per cent increase in average price to €43,349 and ten per cent improvement in median to €43,094 and the mixed auction in October – source of Torquator Tasso in 2018 – seeing both key indicators

of market health surge by around a third.

“We were very happy with the yearling sale, especially with the strength of the middle market – it was probably the best we’ve seen in Germany in a long time,” says Eulenberger. “There was good, solid trade at the October sale compared with some other years, and the high clearance rates at both events were really encouraging.”

It’s fair to say that the domestic sires who produce the bulk of the lots in those BBAG yearling catalogues are in something of a transitional phase at present.

The country’s breeding scene had been ruled for most of the new millennium by the incomparable Monsun, source of world champion Manduro, multiple Group 1 winners Getaway, Maxios, Novellist, Shirocco and Stacelita, the three Melbourne Cup scorers Almandin, Fiorente and Protectionist, and the Queen’s Gold Cup heroine Estimate.

But since his death in 2012, the leading lights of the German stallion ranks have been In The Wings’ sons Adlerflug and Soldier Hollow.

Adlerflug, a seven-length winner of the Deutsches Derby, was little used in his early years at stud but shot to fame as the sire of Torquator Tasso, last year’s

THE OWNER BREEDER 53

››

The German bloodstock scene ›› Deutsches Derby hero and Arc runner-up

early days, as I didn’t want to use all of them.

“He gradually came good but all of a sudden that was it – he died. He has turned out to be an excellent sire, and if he’d lived I think he might have ended up in a similar realm to Monsun.”

Eulenberger adds: “The death of Adlerflug was bad enough, but then we also lost Lord Of England, the sire of this season’s impressive Preis der Diana winner Palmas, in October.

“Lord Of England’s son Isfahan looks very promising at Gestüt Ohlerweiherhof, having sired the Derby winner Sisfahan and Oaks second [Isfahani] in his first three-year-old crop, but Best Solution is the horse that many German breeders have got behind in recent years.”

Best Solution – a son of Kodiac out of Al Andalyya, a placed Kingmambo mare from the family of Juddmontebred-Classic winners Brian Boru, Flute and Workforce – was trained by Saeed bin Suroor to win the Autumn Stakes and finish second to Waldgeist in the Criterium de Saint-Cloud at two, and to win the Lingfield Derby Trial and St Simon Stakes at three.

He blossomed at four, when he landed the Grosser Preis von Berlin, Grosser Preis von Baden and Caulfield Cup, and was later bought by a syndicate of German breeders comprising Gestüt Brümmerhof, Gestüt Röttgen and Gestüt Hof Ittlingen, and installed at Gestüt Auenquelle.

He was the busiest sire in Germany in

Best Solution (right): German breeders have got behind the Group 1-winning son of Kodiac, who stands at Gestüt Auenquelle

BBAG

In Swoop, King Edward VII Stakes winner Alenquer and other top-notchers Alter Adler, Iquitos, Ito, Lacazar, Mendocino and Savoir Vivre.

Disaster struck when he died suddenly in April, midway through covering his best book of mares at an increased fee of €16,000 in recognition of his recent success. He managed to cover 27 mares in his final season.

Soldier Hollow, a four-time Group 1 winner on the continent bred by Car Colston Hall Stud in Nottinghamshire, has provided German Classic winners Pastorius, Serienholde and Weltstar, and fellow celebrities Dschingis Secret and Ivanhowe. He is no spring chicken, though, and doesn’t cover large books nowadays, with 45 mares visiting him in 2021.

“Breeders from around Europe came to Germany to breed to Monsun or buy his stock, and he has been hard to replace,” acknowledges Baum. “We were one of the partners in Maxios and we tried our best to make him into a successor to his sire, but he was not successful for many breeders – though he was for us, as he gave us our Preis der Diana winner Diamanta.

“Adlerflug had just reached the point where he was getting more interest from overseas breeders, having started out covering some not very good mares at a small stud. I owned some breeding rights in him that I gave to friends as a Christmas present to use for their half-breds in the

Klaus Eulenberger: ‘Everything seems to be quite positive in German breeding’

54 THE OWNER BREEDER

each of his first two seasons, covering 71 mares in his debut book in 2020 and 72 this year at a fee of €6,500.

“Best Solution is a very correct horse and is medium sized, not too big and not too small, so suitable for all types of mares,” says the stallion’s joint-owner Baum. “He’s not a typical Kodiac, as he has more of a frame and of course was a stayer rather than a sprinter. It’s interesting that his foals are also less like Kodiac, and more in the style of Kingmambo.

“The pedigree received a nice update recently when his full-brother El Bodegon won the Criterium de Saint-Cloud, which is over 2,000 metres, so funnily enough he looks like another stayer for the family.”

Gestüt Brümmerhof also owns outright the second busiest stallion in Germany in 2021, with 64 covers – its homebred

Hackwood Stakes winner and Haydock Sprint Cup third Waldpfad, who was retired to stand at Gestüt Erftmühle at a fee of €3,000 at the start of the year.

“He was a little late-maturing but he became a top-class sprinter and he beat five Group 1 horses in England, which we think is a very special achievement for a German-trained horse out of a Germanbred mare,” says Baum of the Shamardal half-brother to stakes winners Wiesenpfad and Waldtraut from the outstanding family of Waldgeist.

“For a Shamardal he is very correct, as a lot by the sire are not so correct even though it doesn’t stop them becoming brilliant racehorses. He should be the perfect outcross for a lot of mares, as he has no Danehill or Galileo in his pedigree.

“The decision to stand Waldpfad was very easy, and to help him out a little bit

we bought some mares for him as well as supported him with some nice mares from our existing broodmare band. We’re very hopeful for him.”

There are plenty of other stallions in Germany worthy of breeders’ consideration besides: the likes of Protectionist, whose first three-year-old crop has yielded Group winners Amazing Grace and Lambo, and Reliable Man, who has 45 black-type performers to his name.

Both well-bred Group 1 winners stand at Gestüt Röttgen.

And in 2023 the country’s stallion ranks might gain a homebred Arc winner by a much-missed sire.

“Torquator Tasso is an extremely exciting prospect for German breeders and hopefully he’ll retire after winning his second Arc,” says Eulenberger, while Baum pleads with a laugh: “Such a talented horse from the line of Galileo could be a very important sire in Germany so please don’t make him sound too attractive, as we don’t want him being sold abroad!”

BRONWEN HEALY

BRONWEN HEALY

“Isfahan looks very promising having sired Derby winner Sisfahan”

Protectionist: Melbourne Cup winner has made a bright start at stud for Gestüt Röttgen

THE OWNER BREEDER 55

MILLOWITSCH

MEHL-MÜLHENS-STIFTUNG GESTÜT RÖTTGEN

Al Kazeem TOB-December 2021:Oakgrove Stud

16/11/21

11:09

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Al Kazeem

Harper - Grand Criterium de Bordeaux LR, Bordeaux

Saint Lawrence - Denford S. LR, Newbury

LEADING BRITISH SIRES OF 2YOS by black type winners to runners in Europe 2017 - 2021

bay 2008, 16.1hh by Dubawi - Kazeem (Darshaan) N Four-time Gr.1 winner by DUBAWI Won Gr.1 Tattersalls Gold Cup, 2015, Gr.1 Coral-Eclipse, 2013, Gr.1 Prince Of Wales's Stakes, 2013, & Gr.1 Tattersalls Gold Cup, 2013 N Joint Champion Older Horse in Europe in 2013 (9.5f-10.5f ) N Timeform rated 128 in three consecutive seasons N Sire of Group 1 winner ASPETAR, Stakes-winning 3yo miler USAK and Stakes-winning 2yos HARPER and SAINT LAWRENCE N 13% Stakes winners to runners for his colts N 2021 coverings included Group 1-placed mares Daahyeh and Ferevia

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Breeders’ Digest

Nancy Sexton Bloodstock Editor

Farewell to Harry Beeby, a gentleman of the turf

“The most tangible thing that he did was bring breeze-up sales to Europe and he made them work,” he says. “The idea was suggested to him but he took it and ran with it, he backed himself and believed in them. The next breeze-up wasn’t introduced until 13 years later, and now it’s a multi-million pound market.

“But it wasn’t the tangible things that set him apart. It was his whole approach to the business. He felt that a trip to Doncaster should be enjoyable. People often refer to the family feel of the place and that’s not because there are relations working with each other, it was just the way he welcomed everybody.

“He was champion of the underdog.

‘We need everyone’ was one of his great sayings as was ’it isn’t a crime to be broke’.

“Today, the person in the frontline running the sales company is not the one collecting the money. My father did both jobs, and he did it with a balance of integrity and decency that people found engaging. He was strong but at the same time, he was never rude. Of course, he was an English gentleman but I always said that he was one with the best attributes of an Irish dealer.”

Even when sales hadn’t gone well, he still adhered to the belief of work hard, play hard.

“People do say to me now that we’re all too serious but it was a different generation,” says Beeby. “At the end of every sale in that old ring, we’d go into the Horseshoe Bar and he’d always open a bottle of pink champagne. It didn’t matter whether the sale was good, bad or indifferent, he did it. He’d say you only go down this road once, and of course we must work hard and take it seriously.

But we must also have fun.”

Beeby’s interest in the business wasn’t just confined to DBS, however.

An accomplished commentator, he called finishes to the Cambridgeshire Handicap, St Leger and Scottish Grand National among many other races. He was also entrusted with carrying out stock valuations for the likes of Robert Sangster and Bert Firestone, which entailed trips to all corners of the globe.

“He was known for being a gentleman and for his integrity,” says Beeby. “I would speak to him every day. He was a great teacher, he moulded me but let me be my own man. He made sure he enjoyed life. He was an inspiration.”

GOFFS UK

R

acing lost a true friend last month with the passing of Harry Beeby, the former Chairman of Doncaster Bloodstock Sales (DBS) and Goffs UK. Goffs UK, or DBS as it was known for much of Beeby’s tenure, would not be the place that it is today without the original foresight and deft handling of Willie Stephenson, Ken Oliver and then Beeby – a formidable trio remembered today by agent Peter Doyle as ‘The Three Musketeers’.

Beeby, who joined the company two years after its inception in 1962, was a driving force behind that success thanks to a charm and intuitive understanding of the business that won him many friends.

Speak to anyone who knew him well and his sense of fun and enjoyment of a gathering is also fondly recalled as is his gift as an auctioneer, a style that was to set the tone for later auctioneers to come.

For many of his later years in the industry, he worked alongside his son Henry, who succeeded him as Managing Director of DBS in 1998 and today serves as Chief Executive of the Goffs Group.

For both it was a mutually beneficial partnership, with Beeby senior acting an invaluable sounding board while participating in what he described as “a young man’s game”.

“He was a wonderful teacher and mentor for me,” remembers Henry Beeby. “I bid spot at my first sale when I was 12. He handed the reins over to me when he was 60 and I was 32. I asked him why he was doing it and he said ‘because it’s a young man’s game and I think you’ll do it better’, which was a very generous thing to say.

“He was Chairman for the next ten years and he was always supportive – he would tell me what he thought and then would say ‘kick on and I’m with you’. That reassurance was important to have.

“He had achieved a lot with the company, but then we arguably achieved even more together, and the fact that it was done together made it all the sweeter.”

One of Beeby’s lasting legacies at DBS was the introduction of breeze-ups in 1977. But as Henry points out, his is a footprint that runs much deeper.

Harry Beeby (right) pictured with son Henry: “We arguably achieved even more together”

THE OWNER BREEDER 59

Sales Circuit • By Carl Evans

Global investment key as markets continue to rise

A Camelot colt from Ecurie des Monceaux topped the Arqana October Sale at €440,000

Wootton Bassett colt from La Motteraye Consignment and a €350,000 Churchill filly from Haras de Montaigu, but it will have surprised some to see Yorkshire trainer Nigel Tinkler buying near the top level, unless they consider the winners he has turned out in the past couple of seasons.

His Ubettabelieveit won last year’s Flying Childers Stakes and was placed at the Breeders’ Cup, and it was for that horse’s owners, Martin and Lisa Webb,

ARQANA

Buyers from around the world joined their French counterparts in making this a record-breaking edition.

Figures achieved at the 2017 sale, which had held top honours, were left trailing, with turnover of just under €27.2 million being a 32% increase on the figure achieved four years earlier. The average price of just under €46,000 was up ten per cent on that year, while the clearance rate of 84% was also a new high.

Not surprisingly the figures were also well up on the Covid-affected 2020 sale, which had to absorb yearlings from two other sales, but which, in the circumstances, performed better than many expected. Trade on that occasion was headed by a Siyouni colt who made €525,000.

Top-lot honours this year went to a €440,000 Camelot colt who was sold to Nicolas de Watrigant of Mandore International, acting for Coolmore’s MV Magnier. Consignor Ecurie des Monceaux, which has a superb record at this sale, traded not only the Camelot headline maker, but also the jointsecond lots on the top-ten table who each sold for €420,000. They were a son of Wootton Bassett who was bought by Stroud Coleman, and a colt

by Siyouni who also went the way of Magnier, but through the assistance of Laurent Benoit’s Broadhurst Agency.

American Peter Brant is no stranger to big-money buys, and his White Birch Farm purchases included a €400,000

ARQANA

Arqana October Yearling Sale

Anthony Stroud: Stroud Coleman Bloodstock signed for €2.395 million worth of stock

60 THE OWNER BREEDER

that Jamie Piggott, working with Tinkler, secured a €350,000 daughter of Wootton Bassett consigned by J K Thoroughbreds. The filly could one day meet up with Ubettabelieveit, who has taken up stallion duties at Mickley Stud.

Piggott and Tinkler also spent €120,000 on a Roaring Lion colt.

If trade was hot during the opening day’s Part I session, it became no easier for buyers when French trainers joined in for two days of Part II and another two sessions of Part III, a comment backed up by clearance rates on each day of around 84%.

Ecurie des Monceaux traded 26 lots for a total of €3,464,000 to become the leading consignor, ahead of Haras d’Etreham, which sold 21 horses for €2,193,000.

Anthony Stroud, who bought Group 1 winner Audarya on behalf of Alison Swinburn at this sale four years ago, with business partner Matt Coleman took the leading-buyer role with 15 yearlings bought for a total of €2,395,000.

Trainer Jean-Claude Rouget finished second on the list with 24 lots bought for €1,299,000.

Arqana October Yearling Sale Top ten Sex/breeding

Vendor

Price (€)

Buyer

C Camelot - Board Meeting

Ecurie des Monceaux

440,000

Mandore Agency/M V Magnier

C Wootton Bassett – Lucerne

Ecurie des Monceaux

420,000

Stroud Coleman Bloodstock

C Siyouni - Modern Eagle

Ecurie des Monceaux

420,000

Broadhurst Agency/M V Magnier

C Wootton Bassett - Belle Riviere

La Motteraye Consignment

400,000

White Birch farm

F Churchill – Shamiyra

Haras de Montaigu

350,000

White Birch Farm

F Wootton Bassett - Broken Applause

J K Thoroughbreds

350,000

Nigel Tinkler/Jamie Piggott

F Dubawi - Nuit Polaire

Ecurie des Monceaux

340,000

Gerard Larrieu

C Sea The Stars – Sefroua

Haras d’Etreham

320,000

Mandore Agency

C Wootton Bassett – Tubereuse

Haras de la Louviere

310,000

Stroud Coleman Bloodstock

C Cloth Of Stars – Tevara

Haras du Logis

280,000

Stroud Coleman Bloodstock

Statistics Year

Sold

Aggregate (€)

Average (€)

Median (€)

Top price (€)

2021

601

27,106,000

45,663

28,000

440,000

2020

578

18,603,000

31,249

20,000

525,000

2019

416

17,624,500

41,228

25,000

400,000

Committed buyers with interests in Saudi Arabia and Australia combined with another raft of horses from Shadwell’s downsizing exercise to provide the fuel that drove this four-day sale to record levels.

Turnover forged past the high achieved four years earlier with a session to spare, eventually attaining a mark of 31,471,300gns, almost 10 million guineas more than at the sale last year, and there were sizeable gains in the average (31,377gns) and median figures (16,000gns). No fewer than 63 horses sold for a six-figure sum (37 in 2020), while the clearance rate of 92% illustrates the appetite for European horses.

It also links to the frequentlyexpressed comment that racehorse owners, particularly in Britain, have to sell stock to stay in the black. Prize-money gained by decent handicappers of the sort cherished by overseas buyers at this sale does not guarantee an owner breaks even, yet they can be well rewarded in the ring. Horses with a Flat handicap rating of 95-plus, but particularly above 100, who vetted cleanly, had shown they handled quick ground and had not been over-raced, were at the top of shopping lists for buyers with substantial spending power.

Australians were among these select purchasers, but getting into and out of their country remained a challenge due to Covid restrictions. As a result some familiar faces from down under – Guy Mulcaster and Paul Moroney being but two – were absent, but they had called upon local agents to assess, vet and then purchase. Saudi Arabian buyers stood in

their way, and while Qatari buyers were frequently in action, interest from Bahrain was not as pronounced as might have been expected given moves to beef up racing on that island.

Michael Donohoe of BBA Ireland was one notably active representative of Saudi interests, and he gained the top two lots on day one – three-year-old colt

››

TATTERSALLS

Tattersalls Autumn Horses-in-Training Sale

Grocer Jack: high-class German performer realised 700,000gns to race in Saudi Arabia

THE OWNER BREEDER

61

Sales Circuit

TATTERSALLS

TALKING POINT

Saad bin Mishraf: busy for Najd Stud

››

Horoscope for 325,000gns, and juvenile I Am Magic for 200,000gns – and he also parted with 500,000gns to buy the Brian Meehan-trained two-year-old Hannibal Barca on day two, but he frequently found himself trumped by Saudi’s Saad bin Mishraf. Assisted by Peter Doyle, bin Mishraf was acting for Najd Stud’s Prince Faisal, a grandson of Saudi ruler King Salman, and clearly keen to recruit horses for his country’s expanding racing programme.

Najd Stud bought the top lot at sessions two to four, eventually hauling in 14 horses for 2,791,000gns to take

• Are the days when trainers become vendors at horses-in-training sales coming to a close?

Probably not in Sir Mark Prescott’s lifetime, nor that of Mark Johnston, two men whose staff do a high-class job of buffing, plaiting and polishing their horses before they go under the hammer. Yet for other trainers the time spent selling horses is time away from their yards, and it could be added that they don’t all present their stock to the standard of Prescott and Johnston. In some cases their staff misguidedly think a very slow dawdle around the ring is the best way to show a horse.

The future for many will lie in recruiting consignors to do the job, and while Jamie Railton and the team at Castlebridge Consignment have been carrying out such a service over many years, they have been joined by the Tom Blainmanaged Barton Sales. Barton sold 37 lots for 1.6 million guineas at the latest Tattersalls sale, taking third place among consignors behind Shadwell and Castlebridge.

Railton put the situation succinctly when he said: “This is not what trainers do – they train horses, while it’s our job to sell them,” while Blain said: “We started last year with some horses trained by Tom Ward and Tom Clover, who are mates of mine and who had seen our yearlings sell well. Then Harry Charlton [Roger’s son] asked us to consign for him and it’s gone from strength to strength.

“Selling horses is not what trainers do – they are busy, they need their staff at home, not here at the sales. We definitely add value to a horse. It’s not just about making the horse look smart in the ring, but getting them to the sales on time, talking to people in the right way and always being around to answer questions.

“We have all the notes on each horse and if a potential buyer has a question we can contact the trainer. It’s better for the horse’s owner, the trainer, and the buyer.”

leading purchaser honours. Among them was the sale topper, Grocer Jack, who made 700,000gns, and 400,000gns

purchase Boltaway. Grocer Jack, consigned by Ronald Rauscher on behalf of Dr Christoph Berglar, had finished

Tattersalls Autumn Horses-in-Training Sale Top Ten Name/sex/breeding

Vendor

Price (gns)

Buyer

Grocer Jack 4 c Oasis Dream - Good Donna

Ronald Rauscher

700,000

Najd Stud/Peter & Ross Doyle B/S

Hannibal Barca 2 c Zoffany - Innocent Air

Manton Lodge Stables

500,000

BBA Ireland

Boltaway 3 c Dubawi – Proviso

Juddmonte Farms

400,000

Najd Stud/Peter & Ross Doyle B/S

Dancing King 3 g Free Eagle – Agnetha

Kingsley Park

380,000

Blandford Bloodstock

Makram 4 g Make Believe – Spontaneous

Barton Sales

340,000

Blandford Bloodstock/Lindsay Park

Horoscope 3 c No Nay Never - Inca Wood

Coolmore

325,000

BBA Ireland

My Frankel 4 c Frankel - My Special J’S

Freemason Lodge Stables

310,000

Najd Stud/Peter & Ross Doyle B/S

Maglev 2 c Galileo Gold - York Express

Somerville Lodge Ltd

300,000

Red Baron’s Barn & Rancho Temescal

Old Flame 3 c Invincible Spirit – Lilyfire

Juddmonte Farms

250,000

Snowden Racing/Will Johnson B’stock

Laatansa 2 c New Bay - Louve Rare

Shadwell Estate Company Ltd

250,000

Najd Stud/Peter & Ross Doyle

Figures Year

Sold

Aggregate (gns)

Average (gns)

Median (gns)

Top price (gns)

2021

1,003

31,471,300

31,377

16,000

700,000

2020

971

21,735,100

22,384

9,000

925,000

2019

985

25,393,400

25,780

12,000

625,000

2018

1,049

26,853,500

25,599

12,000

1,000,000

2017

1,065

27,282,200

25,617

11,000

700,000

62 THE OWNER BREEDER

››

Sales Circuit ›› third in last year’s Deutsches Derby (later disqualified on a positive test), and his rating ensures he will be given a place in February’s $20 million Saudi Cup. Grocer Jack and Boltaway, who had been trained by Roger Charlton to win three races in the Juddmonte colours, were also on Donohoe’s list of possible purchases.

Stuart Boman of Blandford Bloodstock was among the agents seeking horses for Australia, and he managed to get in among the action on several choice lots. They were headed by the Mark Johnston-trained Diamond King, who made 380,000gns, but included Makram, another from

stable of Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott. Both horses cost 230,000gns.

The pick of American purchases was Maglev, who was knocked down for 300,000gns to California’s Tim Cohen of Red Baron’s Barn & Rancho Temescal.

Horses from the late Sheikh Hamdan’s Shadwell draft were popular throughout, and they dominated the final day’s trade with nine of the top ten lots. They were headed by Laatansa, a twice-placed twoyear-old from Ed Dunlop’s stable, and set to join other Najd Stud purchases in Saudi Arabia after selling for 250,000gns.

Over the four days 118 Shadwell horses were sold for 5,238,500gns as it became the leading vendor.

Charlton’s yard, and knocked down for 340,000gns.

Of all the exports sold at this sale in 2020, none has achieved more than Zaaki, who was bought out of Sir Michael Stoute’s stable by Boman for 150,000gns. Zaaki flew to Australia and has since landed two Group 1 wins and three Group 2s for Northamptonshire’s expat Annabel Neasham, who trains in Sydney. Boman and Neasham teamed up once again at this sale to buy Matthew Flinders from Ed Walker’s yard for 230,000gns, while Johnny McKeever purchased two horses – King Of Clubs from Hughie Morrison and Youth Spirit from Andrew Balding – for the Sydney

GOFFS UK

Point-to-pointers were returned to the mix at this one-day auction held in Doncaster, and they proved their value to the event by lifting turnover into seven figures.

They had been missing 12 months earlier due to a hiatus in pointing because of national lockdowns, but for the latest edition they were back in the fold alongside horses in training and yearlings. Those two groups were short of quality, and the clearance rate was held at 66%.

Music Drive, a four-year-old gelding by Muhtathir, headed trade when selling for £90,000 to Gordon Elliott and his close ally Aidan O’Ryan, acting for racehorse owner David Barnard. Travelling to Ireland to visit his horses from his home in Cornwall is apparently no problem for Barnard, who a day after this sale was at Sligo to see the Elliott-trained Minella

GOFFS UK

Goffs UK Autumn Sale

Music Drive: recent winner made £90,000

Aidan O’Ryan and Gordon Elliott were busy

Crooner land a bumper. Three weeks later Minella Crooner repeated the feat at Punchestown.

Colin Bowe, Ireland’s multiple champion handler of pointers, trained

and sold Music Drive, and he added to his day’s takings when gaining £31,000 for the winning four-year-old Reddys Island, who was also sold to Elliott and O’Ryan.

Bowe’s pointing colleague, Donnchadh

››

Goffs UK Autumn Sale Top Five Name/sex/breeding

Vendor

Price (£)

Buyer

Music Drive 4 g Muhtathir - Acland Street

Milestone Stables (Colin Bowe)

90,000

Aidan O’Ryan/Gordon Elliott

Silver Flyer 5 g Malinas - Silver Gypsy

Monbeg Stables (Donnchadh Doyle)

50,000

Donald McCain/Derek O’Connor

Excelcius 5 g Exceed And Excel - Crying Shame

Doninga Stables (Thomas Mullins)

40,000

Iain Jardine/Gerry McGladery

King Of York 2 g Kingman - Archangel Gabriel

Hambleton Lodge Stables (Kevin Ryan)

31,000

Scott Dixon Racing

Reddys Island 5 g Soldier Of Fortune – Gwendoliner

Milestone Stables (Colin Bowe)

31,000

Aidan O’Ryan/Gordon Elliott

Statistics Year

Sold

Aggregate (£)

Average (£)

Median (£)

Top price (£)

2021

113

1,014,800

8,981

5,000

90,000

2020

160

786,400

4,915

3,000

36,000

2019

101

895,200

8,863

4,000

150,000

64 THE OWNER BREEDER

BOBBY’S KITTEN Bay 2011 by Kitten’s Joy – Celestial Woods (by Forestry)

Sire of a dual Group winning 2yo in 2021

£7,000

❚ Winner of the Gr.1 Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint ❚ Sire of 23 first crop winners ❚ Sire of 9 second crop 2yo winners to date in 2021 SANDRINE (Gr.2 Duchess of Cambridge Stakes & Gr.3 Albany Stakes), FIGHTING KING (Listed-placed), BETTER HALF, BOONDOGGLE, CECIL STREET LAD, HEAT OF THE MOMENT, HELVETIQUE, MELODRAMATICA and SILVER KITTEN

SEA THE MOON Bay 2011 by Sea The Stars – Sanwa (by Monsun)

A Leading European Group 1 Sire

£25,000

❚ Sire of 33 Black-type horses including: Gr.1 and Gr.2 winnner ALPINE STAR. His 2021 Black-Type winners include: Gr.2 winner PRETTY TIGER, Gr.3 winners SAGAMIYRA and FAVORITE MOON, and Stakes winners MERCEDES, MOON A LISA, NOBLE MUSIC and PADOVANA ❚ Yearlings sold at 2021 Tattersalls October Sales Book 2 made 300,000gns, 280,000gns, etc.

SIR PERCY

Bay 2003 by Mark of Esteem – Percy’s Lass (by Blakeney)

A Potent Mix of Speed & Stamina

£7,000

❚ Undefeated Champion 2yo; Champion 3yo and Derby winner ❚ Sire of 50 Black-type horses including: Gr.1 winners SIR JOHN HAWKWOOD and WAKE FOREST; and Group winners ALYSSA, LADY TIANA, SIR ANDREW, PANTSONFIRE, LADY PIMPERNEL, ALLA SPERANZA, etc. ❚ Also sire of 87 individual 2yo winners including promising Listed winner KAWIDA in 2021 ❚ Yearling sold at 2021 Tattersalls October Sales Book 2 made 120,000gns

STUDY OF MAN

Bay 2015 by Deep Impact – Second Happiness (by Storm Cat)

Son and Grandson of Legends ❚ Winner of 3 races at 2 & 3, including the ‘Stallion Making’ Gr.1 French Derby (2,100m; 10½f), and £1,033,142 ❚ The only son of DEEP IMPACT (Japanese Super Sire & multiple Champion) at stud in England ❚ Supported by Europe’s leading breeders in his first season

£12,500

First Yearlings in 2022 All nominations on 1st Oct Special Live Foal terms

LANWADES

The independent option TM

info@lanwades.com • www.lanwades.com • Tel: +44 (0)1638 750222

Sales Circuit ›› Doyle, gained £50,000 for Silver Flyer

who was bought by Donald McCain, while Rob James, who rides for Doyle and trains his own string of pointers, sold Big Jim Beam for £42,000 to Highflyer Bloodstock. That was a net loss, for Big Jim Beam had cost €75,000 as a store, but his value may have been higher if not for a fall when looking set to score at Monksgrange in September.

The pick of those who had been running under Rules proved to be the Tom Mullins-trained hurdler Excelcius,

who was sold for £40,000 to Iain Jardine and Gerry McGladery, while the pick of the yearlings was a Highland Reel colt who David Easterby bought for £12,000.

This was to be the final Doncaster sale before the death of Harry Beeby, former Doncaster Bloodstock Sales/Goffs UK Chairman, who passed away little more than a week later at the age of 83.

Harry joined Doncaster Bloodstock Sales, the forerunner to Goffs UK, in 1964 at the request of founders Willie Stephenson and Ken Oliver, and went on

to become Managing Director and then Chairman, positions he held for a 40-year period until 2016. He acted as auctioneer until well into his 70s, but after retiring remained an ever-present observer at Doncaster’s ring, usually in company with his wife Elizabeth.

Harry Beeby was a big figure with a zest for life and a winning way with clients. Pictures of him adorn the walls at Doncaster, and serve as a reminder of a leading member of the bloodstock sales industry.

Another opportunity to buy Shadwell yearlings and some popular in-training horses from the Aga Khan helped draw in the buyers at these two sales.

Horses in training commanded a session of their own, as they had done in 2020 when trading took place in an empty auditorium and bids were taken by phone and online. Such problems were in the past for the latest edition, at which horses who had been bred and raced by the Aga Khan filled three of the top six places.

Three-year-old colt Erzindjan, entering the ring with a rating of 106 after winning a conditions race and being Group 3-placed for trainer Dermot Weld, headed trade when selling for €160,000 to agent Alessandro Marconi, representing Dubai trainer Ahmed bin Harmash.

The Mick Halford-trained pair of Silaiyli - €56,000 to Qatar trainer Ibrahim Al Malki – and Ebasari – €48,000 to Gordon Elliott – were other

GOFFS

Goffs Autumn Horses in Training and Yearling Sales

Group 3-placed Erzindjan was the highlight of the Goffs Autumn Horses in Training Sale

This was the four-year-old gelding Eagle’s Flight, who was knocked down to jockey/fledgling trainer Gearoid Brouder, who is based on the Curragh.

Aga Khan horses to bolster takings.

Halford also consigned the sale’s other six-figure horse, but on behalf of owner-breeder John Connaughton.

Statistics - Horses in Training Year

Sold

Aggregate (€)

Average (€)

Median (€)

Top price (€)

2021

95

1,279,900

13,473

8,000

160,000

2020

62

1,019,800

16,448

7,000

125,000

2019

75

991,400

13,219

9,000

70,000

Goffs Autumn Horses in Training Sale Top lots Name/sex/breeding

Vendor

Price (€)

Buyer

Erzindjan 3 c Lope De Vega – Eshera

Aga Khan Studs

160,000

Marconi/Al Aasfa/Bin Harmash

Eagle’s Flight 4 g Gleneagles - Love Excelling

Copper Beech Stables

100,000

Brouder Racing

Silaiyli 3 c Olympic Glory – Sinaniya

Aga Khan Studs

56,000

Ibrahim Al Malki/JS Bloodstock

Ebasari 3 g Lope De Vega – Ebayya

Aga Khan Studs

48,000

Aidan O’Ryan/Gordon Elliott

Tall Story 3 g Clodovil - Fantastic Account

Crampscastle Stables

40,000

John Bowden

Britzka 3 g Zoffany – Albarouche

Mulgrave Lodge

40,000

Aidan O’Ryan/Gordon Elliott

66 THE OWNER BREEDER

››

THE BEST GALILEO SINCE FRANKEL

WALDGEIST. See what some of EUROPE’S BEST BREEDERS have to say

First Foals at Goffs make up to €180,000

“Our filly is strong, correct and a good walker.

I like her so much, I sent three mares to Waldgeist this year!”

Derek Veitch, Ringfort Stud

“Of all the Classic-type stallions in Europe yet to have runners, I believe Waldgeist has the greatest potential!”

Luke Lillingston, Mount Coote Stud

“I have heard the Waldgeist foals are very nice, but I can’t believe many are nicer than our filly. She just oozes class, being attractive, scopey and really athletic.”

filly ex. EZALLI sold for €180,000 BUYERS INCLUDE:

Claire Manning/Jim Bolger Dermot Farrington Ger Burke Federico Barberini, etc.

Julian Dollar, Newsells Park

WALDGEIST beats the outstanding multiple Gr.1 winners ENABLE, SOTTSASS and GHAIYYATH in a vintage Gr.1 Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe

BALLYLINCH STUD

Thomastown, Co. Kilkenny, Ireland • Tel: +353 (0)56 7724217 • info@ballylinchstud.ie • www.ballylinchstud.com

Sales Circuit Goffs Autumn Yearling Sale Top lots – yearlings Sex/breeding

Vendor

Price (€)

Buyer

C Dark Angel – Moghamarah

Derrinstown Stud

180,000

Adam Driver

F Shamardal – Elshaadin

Derrinstown Stud

170,000

Kilbride Equine

F Dark Angel – Maqaasid

Derrinstown Stud

155,000

Adam Driver

C Teofilo – Rawaaq

Derrinstown Stud

140,000

Kerr & Co

F Profitable – Ostatnia

Abbeville Stud

95,000

Garrett Freyne

Statistics – yearlings Sold

Aggregate (€)

Average (€)

Median (€)

Top price (€)

2021

431

6.080.400

14,108

9,000

180,000

2020

172

1,115,700

6,487

4,450

40,000

2019

289

1,693,600

5,860

4,000

78,000

GOFFS

Turnover at this sale went into seven figures once again, and there was a 72% clearance rate.

Trade at the two-day yearling sale, which achieved a clearance rate of 92%, maintained the theme of strong demand for horses of that age throughout the late summer and autumn at venues across Europe. Much improved figures, including more than 100% rises in the average and median prices, helped restore the event’s place in the calendar after a rocky 2020, when it was online trading only and held two weeks after the in-training auction.

Horses consigned on behalf of Shadwell by its Ireland-based Derrinstown Stud dominated proceedings, accounting for 24% of turnover, eight of the top ten lots, and a quartet of horses who made a six-figure sum. They all came with deep pedigrees created by the late Sheikh Hamdan.

Top of the list was a Dark Angel colt who realised €180,000 to a bid from agent Adam Driver, who also gave €155,000 for a filly by the sire. Driver was operating for an undisclosed client.

So too was John Kilbride, who

Hailing from the popular Derrinstown Stud draft was this €180,000 Dark Angel colt

TATTERSALLS IRELAND

››

Year

Benie Des Dieux: sold for €350,000

68 THE OWNER BREEDER

availed himself of a €170,000 Shamardal filly from Shadwell, while

Bert Kerr’s €140,000 was enough to buy a Teofilo colt from the draft.

Tattersalls Ireland November National Hunt Sale

million was a record.

The belle of the ball came once again from Willie Mullins’ Closutton stable of stars, which has sold the top horse – always a mare with a high-class racing record – at this event on several occasions. Last year’s star turn, Laurina, who sold for €290,000, had achieved a series of highs for Mullins before leaving his yard and joining Paul Nicholls and then Cormac Farrell, but this year’s best, Benie Des Dieux, had spent her

Foals, yearlings and jumping mares made up this gala of National Hunt gems at a five-day sale held at Fairyhouse.

Six horses made a six-figure sum – one more than last year – and some choice youngsters changed hands with the goal of returning to the same ring as Derby Sale horses in two or three years’ time. Turnover of just under €16

››

B ATSFORD S TUD

SWISS SPIRIT Invincible Spirit x Swiss Lake (Indian Ridge)

STUD RECORD:

LEADING FIRST SEASON SIRE IN GB AND IRELAND BY ​WINNERS TO RUNNERS 72% RUNNERS TO FOALS OVER 44% WINNERS TO RUNNERS ALREADY SIRE OF OVER 40 TWO-YEAR-OLD WINNERS, RATED UP TO 102 Recent winners include SAHEEL (Local Group 3 Batelco Stakes, Bahrain) SALES RECORD:

A LIFETIME YEARLING AVERAGE OF OVER Fee: £2,500 1st Oct. Terms (SLF) Also standing

£17,000

HAAFHD, HARBOUR LAW and PASSING GLANCE

Batsford Stud, Batsford, Moreton-in-Marsh, Gloucestershire GL56 9QF T: 01608 651890 • M: 07899 957355 • E: alanvarey@batsfordstud.co.uk

www.batsfordstud.co.uk

››

final four seasons with Ireland’s multiple champion trainer.

With four Grade 1 hurdling wins to her name, and having pressed the great Honeysuckle to half a length on her final run, ten-year-old Benie Des Dieux, a daughter of Great Pretender, was offered with just about the hottest ticket in covers, for she was carrying a Walk In The Park foal. Numerous wouldbe buyers threw bids into the ring for the Susannah Ricci-owned mare, but at €350,000, a record price for the sale, the hammer fell to Coolmore’s Gerry Aherne, who was acting for his boss, MV Magnier, and Bective Stud’s Noel and Valerie Moran.

Other exciting young broodmares on offer included Grand National runner-up Magic Of Light, carrying to Crystal Ocean and sold to Kieran and Cathal Mariga of Coolmara Stud for €185,000, while Grade 1-placed hurdler Buildmeupbuttercup, also carrying to Crystal Ocean, made €165,000 to an online offer from Jayne McGivern.

Coolmara Stable’s investment in the former Jessie Harrington-trained Magic Of Light was in part paid for by their sale of a €120,000 Crystal Ocean colt

TATTERSALLS IRELAND

Sales Circuit

The highlight of a well-regarded group of foals by Crystal Ocean was this €120,000 colt

foal who led trade for his age group.

Ben Case, assisted by agent Kevin Ross, headed interest from Coolmore to buy the youngster, who will be resold as a three-year-old store. His owner for now

is Lady Jane Grosvenor.

An €85,000 Walk In The Park yearling colt topped trade in his section, the buyer being Joey Logan, who is proving an omnipresent figure

Tattersalls Ireland November National Hunt Sale Top ten Name/sex/breeding

Vendor

Price (€)

Buyer

Benie Des Dieux 10 m Great Pretender – Cana

Closutton Stables

350,000

M V Magnier/Bective Stud

Magic Of Light 10 m Flemensfirth - Quest Of Passion

Baroda Stud

185,000

Coolmara Stables

Buildmeupbuttercup 7 m Sixties Icon - Eastern Paramour

Closutton Stables

165,000

Jayne McGivern

Salsaretta 8 m Kingsalsa – Kendoretta

Closutton Stables

135,000

Seamar Bloodstock Ltd

C Crystal Ocean - Daydream Beach

Coolmara Stables Ltd

120,000

Kevin Ross B/S/Ben Case

Diamond Hill 7 m Beat Hollow – Sixhills

Rossenarra Stud

100,000

Cottage Bloodstock

C Walk In The Park - Windermere Sky

Walshtown Stables, agent

85,000

Park Farm

C Poet’s Word - Dinaria Des Obeaux

Mountain View Stud

85,000

Joey Logan Bloodstock

C Crystal Ocean – Carrowmore

Hillview Stud

80,000

Aiden Murphy

C Crystal Ocean - Hour Before Dawn

Oliver Loughlin

80,000

Aiden Murphy

Statistics Year

Sold

Aggregate (€)

Average (€)

Median (€)

Top price (€)

2021

857

15,758,100

18,388

12,500

350,000

2020

529

10,055,100

19,008

13,000

290,000

2019

733

12,167,650

16,600

12,000

155,000

2018

771

13,003,350

16,866

11,000

200,000

2017

867

13,868,300

15,996

11,500

140,000

70 THE OWNER BREEDER

››

IT’S TIME TO GET ON THE RIGHT TRACK

FROM BREEDING SHED TO WINNING POST, WE’VE GOT THE RIGHT TRACK RECORD “Here at Ballyreddin Stud, all stock are fed Connolly’s RED MILLS feeds. Nutrition is so important throughout all stages of growth and can be the making or breaking of a horses’ development and future career. We use a combination of the Stud and Horse Care ranges when preparing our foals, yearlings and store horses for the sales and have been delighted with the results. I am confident they are receiving everything they need from the feed to support their development and achieve their full potential.”

John Dwan, Ballyreddin Stud

Contact our specialist thoroughbred team: UK: Adam Johnson +44 7860 771063 IRL: Lorraine Fradl +353 87 2575398 FR: Sylvain Prouvoyeur +33 6 9867 5138 Goresbridge, Co. Kilkenny, Ireland. Email: info@redmills.com

CRM A4 Ballyreddin Right Track Ad.indd 1

www.redmills.com 19/11/2021 10:27

Sales Circuit ›› at all types of auctions devoted to

jumpers.

Trade for yearlings, strengthened by a 200-strong catalogue of the size not seen for half a dozen years, was well up.

Turnover of €1.6 million was the best for the age group since 2014, while the

additional 900 lots were catalogued and the sale was held over 14 days.

The average price at the latest sale, €18,230, was a record, while the median of €13,500 had only been bettered once before. The clearance rate was 73%.

average price of €13,324 had not been bettered since 2017. The clearance rate was 69%.

It was a similar tale for foals, with turnover of €12,360,150 proving better than any year since the gluttonous times going back to 2007, when an

Tattersalls Ireland’s staff must be made of stern stuff, for after completing five days of selling at the company’s November National Hunt Sale, some team members travelled to Cheltenham for this auction the following day. They then hopped back on a plane and returned to Ireland for a single-session Flat sale 24 hours later.

Talk about congestion in the sales calendar, but if good trade helps resuscitate jaded bodies then events in the ring at the home of jump racing will have been a better tonic than energy drinks and Duracell batteries.

The biggest catalogue assembled since Tattersalls took over the running of the event helped record turnover – two words that have become commonly used when describing bloodstock auctions throughout 2021 – of £4,288,500, some £500,000 more than at any previous edition of the sale. No fewer than 50 of those 54 lots found a buyer for a clearance rate of 93%, the average price was £85,700 while the median achieved £63,500.

Fourteen horses made a six-figure sum, and proceedings were dominated

by Irish point-to-pointers, although the season had been running there since September and had only kicked off two

TATTERSALLS CHELTENHAM

Tattersalls Cheltenham November Sale

Arctic Bresil: Gerry Hogan snapped up this son of Blue Bresil at £305,000

the powerful physiques, good size and good movement expected of high-class future chasers, and since they came from top yards and were separated by just one and a half lengths in the race they were hard to separate in the ring.

Arctic Bresil, a son of Blue Bresil, finished runner-up in the race, but he came out on top under the hammer when leaving Sean Doyle’s yard to a £305,000 bid from agent Gerry Hogan, acting for an unnamed client. Doyle had bought the youngster for €62,000 at last year’s Derby Sale.

The race winner, Present Soldier, was offered by trainer Denis Murphy and Joey Logan and sold to Gordon Elliott and Mouse O’Ryan for £300,000.

They were acting for KTDA Racing, aka Daves Rabson and Page.

Willy Twiston-Davies had been a

weekends earlier in Britain.

The element of the sale which will linger longest was the first ‘million Euro maiden’ a title retrospectively dubbed onto a race held six days earlier for four-year-old point-to-pointers at Tattersalls Farm in County Meath.

The first three horses from that race all made it to Cheltenham where they were sold for the combined sum of £905,000, which equates to just over €1 million.

All three were by top sires and had

• The loss of leading buyers and owner-breeders has been felt across all areas of the racing and bloodstock industries, but fresh blood is filling the gaps in the sales ring.

Entrepreneurs, many relatively young, who become hooked on the game often have substantial money to spend on racehorses, and at this sale a number of names who would not have been involved five years ago made their presence felt with punchy purchases.

Dave Rabson and Dave Page of KTDA Racing and Anne-Marie and Jamie Sheppard bought two of the three highest-priced horses, while emerging Welsh trainer Christian Williams, with backing from Gwent Holdings of Newport in South Wales, spent £300,000 on two horses, headed by the £200,000 purchase of four-year-old Irish pointer Not Long Left. Until recently only Evan Williams (no relation) among Welsh trainers could be expected to spend such sums on a horse at Cheltenham.

Familiar Cheltenham faces such as JP McManus and Roger Brookhouse were not present, while Harold Kirk – who represents Willie Mulllins – was outgunned on several choice horses and left with one £80,000 purchase.

TATTERSALLS IRELAND

TALKING POINT

Master Chewy: joint next best at £300,000

72 THE OWNER BREEDER

››

Galileo - Pearling (Storm Cat)

Triple Gr.1 winner with £1,326,618 in earnings

FORGED FROM GREATNESS LEADING BRITISH AND IRISH FIRST CROP SIRES IN 2021 In order of percentage of winners/placed horses to runners 1 2 3 4 5 6

Sire Runners ACLAIM 63 ARDAD 56 CARAVAGGIO 66 DECORATED KNIGHT 21 PROFITABLE 81 COTAI GLORY 76

Winners 21 19 20 6 24 31

%WP/R 74.60% 73.21% 72.73% 71.43% 70.37% 67.11%

Statistics by Hyperion Promotions to 21.10.21

WIND YOUR NECK IN (TFR 96p) AN EXCITING PROSPECT FOR 2022 Won Novice Stakes at Salisbury Won Future Stayers Nursery Handicap at Newmarket

Notable winners include the well regarded ZAIN KNIGHTS (84p), SILVER BULLET LADY (82p), DAMAAR (79+), etc. and the very promising KNIGHT OF HONOUR (89P), third on debut, 'finished strongly, is open to significant improvement'

Standing at

Fee: €7,500 Oct. 1st

Contact: Gary Swift or Conor Hyland at Irish National Stud • T: +353 (0)45 521251 www.irishnationalstud.ie/stallion/decorated-knight

SCAN TO FIND OUT MORE

RACING’S ONLINE AUCTION HOUSE

ALL-WEATHER SALE

CHRISTMAS SALE

SUN 19 DEC FRI 1O DEC

SUN 16 JAN

OFFERING A SHARE OF £30,000 TO THE TOP THREE HORSES SOLD BASED ON POINTS SCORED FROM THE SALE TO 28TH APRIL INCLUSIVE.

BIDDING FROM 10AM

2ND

1ST

£20,000

ENTRIES CLOSE

£7,500 3RD

£2,500

POINT2RULES BONUS

£15,000 ANY BRITISH OR IRISH POINT-TO-POINT GRADUATES SOLD AT A THOROUGHBID AUCTION WHO WIN THEIR FIRST RACE UNDER RULES QUALIFY FOR A £5,000 BONUS. GRADUATES OF BRITISH POINT-TO-POINT RACES WILL QUALIFY FOR A FURTHER £10,000 BONUS.

#THENEXTSTEP IN THOROUGHBRED SALES | FOLLOW @Thorough_Bid

THE OWNER BREEDER 73

Sales Circuit ›› keen bidder on the first two horses,

but having missed out he gained the third, Master Chewy, who also made £300,000 when leaving the stables of trainer Pat Doyle.

unexpected star as a bumper horse and looking even more impressive as a hurdler. A four-year-old, he won a Grade 2 novices’ hurdle at Cheltenham two days after this sale.

Master Chewy joins Twiston-Davies’ father Nigel to be trained for AnneMarie and Jamie Sheppard, who have struck lucky with their £20,000 investment in I Like To Move It, an

Tattersalls Cheltenham November Sale Top lots Name/sex/breeding

Vendor

Price (£)

Buyer

Arctic Bresil 4 g Blue Bresil - Arctic Actress

Monbeg Stables (Sean Doyle)

305,000

Gerry Hogan Bloodstock

Present Soldier 4 g Presenting - Noras Fancy

Ballyboy Stables (Denis Murphy)

300,000

Aidan O’Ryan/Gordon Elliott

Master Chewy 4 g Walk In The Park - Shake The Tree

Suirview Stables (P. Doyle)

300,000

William Twiston-Davies

Smiling Getaway 4 f Getaway - One More Cookie Old Vic

Monbeg Stables (Donnchadh Doyle)

235,000

James and Jean Potter

Not Long Left 4 g Presenting – Annabaloo

Monbeg Stables (Donnchadh Doyle)

200,000

Christian Williams Racing/Gwent Holdings

Statistics Year

Sold

Aggregate (£)

Average (£)

Median (£)

Top price (£)

2021

50

4,288,500

85,770

63,500

305,000

2020

13

1,481,081

113,929

67,568

470,000

2019

32

2,982,000

93,188

69,000

330,000

Tattersalls Ireland November Flat Sale

Yearlings, foals and mares lined up at this one-day auction, which brought Tattersalls Ireland’s sales year to a close.

It was a quiet note on which to end, despite improvements in the figures which included a new high of €5,500 in the median. The average of just under €7,000 was the best since 2016 while turnover of €567,000 was almost €130,000 more than the sum achieved at

the Covid-affected sale 12 months earlier, despite a similar number of horses. Of the 141 who walked the ring, 82 found a buyer, a clearance rate of 58%.

Top-lot honours went to a €29,000 son of Tasleet who was knocked down to Thomond O’Mara. He had a breezeup plan in mind for his purchase, as did Willie Browne, who gave €25,000 for a filly by Holy Roman Emperor.

The top-priced foal proved to be a colt from the first crop of Tally-Ho

Stud sire Inns Of Court, who is a son of Invincible Spirit and formerly a consistent Group 1 performer on the track for Godolphin.

Tally-Ho’s Tony O’Callaghan parted with €24,000 to buy the foal, sold by Ballybin Stud. Likely plans call for him to be reoffered as a yearling.

A small group of mares to complete the sale struggled to find buyers. Eleven of the 22 on offer changed hands with a high of €10,000.

Tattersalls Ireland November Flat Sale Top three Sex/breeding

Vendor

Price (€)

Buyer

C (Y) Tasleet – Ejaazah

Lumville Farm

29,000

Kilronan

F (Y) Holy Roman Emperor - Spanish Berry

Hart Livery Farm & Stud

25,000

J B Bloodstock

C (F) Inns Of Court - Dover Vision

Ballybin Stud

24,000

Tony O’Callaghan

Statistics Year

Sold

Aggregate (€)

Average (€)

Median (€)

Top price (€)

2021

82

567,000

6,915

5,500

29,000

2020

72

439,700

6,107

3,000

45,000

2019

85

547,600

6,442

3,000

50,000

74 THE OWNER BREEDER

››

NEOW R F 2022

SUPREMACY Group 1 winning 2YO by MEHMAS HHH Brilliant Winner of Group 1 Middle Park Stakes HHH Impressive Winner of Group 2 Richmond Stakes (like his sire Mehmas) HHH The Top Rated 2 year old in England in 2020 - TF118 Standing alongside: DARK ANGEL, EL KABEIR, INVINCIBLE ARMY and SHAMAN Yeomanstown Stud, Naas, Co. Kildare, Ireland Tel: +353 (0)45 897314, Fax: +353 (0)45 897708 Email: office@ yeomanstown.ie • www.yeomanstown.ie A4 TOB Supremacy Dec.indd 1

16/11/2021 13:08

Sales Circuit ›› Arqana Deauville November

Foxfire Glow: led the week at €315,000

week later the Newport business was investing €365,000 on another pair of prospects at this event. They included the winning three-year-old gelding Ironica De Thaix, an AQPS-bred son of Coastal Path and knocked down to agent Tom Malone for €210,000.

Harold Kirk had greater success than he had experienced when trying to buy horses for Willie Mullins at Cheltenham. Working with Pierre Boulard, Kirk gained five lots for a combined sum of €604,000, headed by the €180,000 paid for three-yearold Quais De Paris, a son of Masked Marvel and third over hurdles for trainer Yannick Fouin on his sole start.

Mullins will also train the Derby Italiano-placed Alastor, a three-

ARQANA

A busy period in Arqana’s Deauville sales ring involved the one-day November Sale of Flat-bred yearlings, followed by the two-day Autumn Sale of jumping stock and then a day of breeding stock.

A buying bench from around Europe rolled in and a selection of wildcards helped beef up the intraining section.

The yearling sale, which was inaugurated in 2020, produced figures on a par with that opening edition, although the clearance rate gained eight points when climbing to 81% through sales of 168 of the 207 horses on offer.

Bloodstock agent Guy Petit made his mark when buying the top two lots for €30,000 apiece, namely sons of Zelzal and Dawn Approach.

Far bigger bank accounts were to be needed when the Autumn Mixed Sale opened, and it took a bid of €315,000 to secure three-yearold gelding Foxfire Glow, a son of Vadamos who had won twice over jumps for trainer Francois Nicolle.

Arqana chief Freddy Powell, taking phone instructions, brought the hammer down on behalf of Hubert Barbe’s HB Racing Advisory.

Bridgend trainer Christian Williams has an interesting new backer in the form of Gwent Holdings, which invested £300,000 on two Irish pointers at Cheltenham. Less than a

ARQANA

Yearling, Autumn Mixed and NH Breeding Stock Sales

Fabulous Dragoness: classy jumper headed the Magalen Bryant stock on offer

76 THE OWNER BREEDER

year-old colt by Helmet bought for €150,000.

The second day’s selection of jumpbred yearlings had plenty of British and Irish interest at the top level, and was headed by a €170,000 Doctor Dino colt who was bought by David Minton on behalf of racehorse owner Dai Walters.

Minton and Walters later teamed up to secure another son of Doctor Dino with a bid of €85,000, while the HB Horse Racing Advisory secured a Muhtathir colt for €90,000.

Ryan Mahon and J D Moore gained a gelded son of Authorized for an Irish client with a bid of €85,000, while a new partnership named Tridynion formed at Yorton Stud in Welshpool gained a No Risk At All colt out of a half-sister to Champion Hurdle winner Epatante for €82,000. Tridynion involves the Potter and Futter families in partnership with new Yorton recruit George Stanners.

Mares from the dispersal of stock owned by the late Magalen Bryant proved the headline makers at the single-session National Hunt Breeding Stock Sale. Bryant, whose colours were carried to victory in the Grand SteepleChase de Paris three times, died in mid-summer at the age of 92.

Fabulous Dragoness, a Poliglote sister to Bryant’s top-level hurdler Blue Dragon, headed trade when she and the Doctor Dino foal she was carrying were sold to Thierry Delegue of Pegase Bloodstock for €300,000. Delegue was acting for racehorse owner and erstwhile breeder Arnaud van Robais.

Rupert Pritchard-Gordon availed himself of another gem from the Bryant dispersal, namely Laterana, covered by Great Pretender, and knocked down for €140,000.

A five-time winner over jumps at up to Grade 3 level, Laterana comes from the family of JP McManus’s Cheltenham Festival winner Yanworth.

She will be heading to Ireland for her next cover with Success Days, a son of Jeremy standing at Kilbarry Lodge Stud in County Waterford.

Eighteen of the 19 Bryant-dispersal mares found a buyer, contributing €871,000 to the day’s turnover of €3,676,000.

A bigger catalogue and improved clearance rate of 83% meant the aggregate figure was nearly €1.4 million higher than at the 2020 sale, a rise of 60%. The average price gained ten per cent, while the median remained static.

››

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16/11/21

11:20

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Sales Circuit ››

Arqana Deauville November Yearling, Autumn Mixed and NH Breeding Stock Sales Top November yearlings Sex/breeding

Vendor

Price (€)

Buyer

C Zelzal - Prima Porta

Haras de Bourgeauville

30,000

Guy Petit

C Dawn Approach - Cranky Spanky

Haras de Montaigu

30,000

Guy Petit

C Hunter’s Light - Tequila Heat

Haras du Logis

26,000

Markus Nigge

Statistics - November yearlings Year

Sold

Agg (€)

Average (€)

Median (€)

Top price (€)

2021

168

1,061,500

6,332

5,000

30,000

2020

158

1,082,000

6,981

5,000

57,000

Top five mixed Name/sex/breeding

Vendor

Price (€)

Buyer

Foxfire Glow 3 g Vadamos – Fabiola

Francois Nicolle

315,000

HB Racing Advisory

Ironica De Thaix 3 g Coastal Path - Rebecca De Thaix

Daniela Mele

210,000

T Malone/C Williams/Gwent Holdings

Quais De Paris 3 g Masked Marvel – Liberalis

Yannick Fouin

180,000

H Kirk/W Mullins/PB Bloodstock

C Doctor Dino - Lofte Place

Sablonnets

170,000

Highflyer Bloodstock

Si Elegant 3 g Gemix - Melancholy Hill

Yannick Fouin

155,000

T Malone/C Williams/Gwent Holdings

Statistics – mixed Year

Sold

Aggregate (€)

Average (€)

Median (€)

Top price (€)

2021

294

9,246,300

31,679

20,000

315,000

2020

347

8,215,300

23,859

14,000

200,000

Top five breeding stock Name/sex/breeding

Vendor

Price (€)

Buyer

Fabulous Dragoness 6 m Poliglote - Nathalie Blue Magalen

Bryant dispersal

300,000

Pegase Bloodstock

Laterana 6 m Saint Des Saints – Latran Magalen

Bryant dispersal

140,000

RPG Bloodstock

Black Luna 7 m Soldier Of Fortune - Back The Winner

Montgermont

125,000

Chauvigny Global Equine

Femme En Or 9 m Astarabad - Belle Yepa

Enki

120,000

Yeo Barton Bloodstock

Belladame 7 m Saint Des Saints - Rainbow Crest

Corveller

90,000

Cava Associate

Statistics – breeding stock

Year

Sold

Aggregate (€)

Average (€)

Median (€)

Top price (€)

2021

157

3,700,500

24,026

16,000

300,000

2020

104

2,318,000

22,212

16,000

125,000

THE OWNER BREEDER 79

››

Sales Circuit ›› Fasig-Tipton

Fasig-Tipton once again compiled a catalogue replete with stars for its November Sale in Kentucky and were rewarded with a record-breaking renewal that turned over $103,699,000, a figure that smashed the auction’s previous record of $89,473,000 set in 2018, writes Nancy Sexton.

The average of $695,966 was the second highest in the sale’s history while the median of $300,000 was the third highest ever recorded.

Of the 149 horses that sold, 26 made a million dollars or more led by Grade 1 producer Magical World, a daughter of Distorted Humor who sold for $5.2 million to Whisper Hill Farm LLC and Three Chimneys Farm LLC. As ever, Japanese participation helped underpin the top end of the market, with such investors signing for 18 individual lots north of $500,000, 12 of them at seven figures. In all, Japanese buyers accounted for $34.55 million worth of stock.

FASIG-TIPTON

November Sale

››

Magical World was the highlight of an evening that turned over almost $103.7 million

Fasig-Tipton November Sale Top lots Name/breeding

Consignor

Price ($)

Purchaser

Magical World 11 m Distorted Humor - Pleasant Home

Hill ‘n’ Dale Sales Agency

5,200,000

Whisper Hill LLC & Three Chimneys LLC

Shedaresthedevil 4 f Daredevil - Starship Warspeed

Hunter Valley Farm

5,000,000

Whisper Hill Farm LLC/Flurry Racing/Qatar Racing

Swiss Skydiver 4 f Daredevil - Expo Gold

Runnymede Farm

4,700,000

Katsumi Yoshida

Guarana 5 m Ghostzapper - Magical World

Hill ’n’ Dale Sales Agency

4,400,000

Hill ’n’ Dale

Vequist 3 f Nyquist - Vero Amore

Bluewater Sales LLC

3,400,000

Spendthrift Farm LLC

Moonshine Memories 6 m Malibu Moon - Unenchantedevening

Denali Stud, agent

3,400,000

West Bloodstock

Hard Not To Love 5 m Hard Spun - Loving Vindication

Lane’s End, agent

3,200,000

Gainesway/Whisper Hill LLC

Bye Bye Baby 6 m Galileo - Remember When

Denali Stud, agent

3,100,000

Narvick International

Valiance 5 m Tapit - Last Full Measure

Bluewater Sales LLC

3,000,000

JS Company Ltd

Aunt Pearl 3 f Lope De Vega - Matauri Pearl

ELiTE, agent

3,000,000

Masahiro Miki

Brave Anne 7 m War Front - Liscanna

Ballysax Bloodstock

3,000,000

Masahiro Miki

Statistics Year

Sold

Aggregate ($)

Average ($)

Median ($)

Top price ($)

2021

149

103,699,000

695,966

300,000

5,200,000

2020

142

80,237,000

565,049

200,000

9,500,000

2019

128

68,011,000

531,336

300,000

5,000,000

80 THE OWNER BREEDER

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“[It was a] remarkable evening,” said Fasig-Tipton President Boyd Browning.

“Our friends from Japan have become a major component of this sale. We live in a global world and we’re fortunate that we have a global marketplace here.”

Mandy Pope of Whisper Hill Farm made a bold play over the course of the evening, signing in conjunction with Three Chimneys Farm at $5.2 million for Magical World and with Flurry Racing and Qatar Racing at $5 million for Kentucky Oaks heroine Shedaresthedevil.

Magical World, whose four foals of racing age are headed by triple Grade 1 winner Guarana, was sold in foal to Into Mischief by Hill ‘n’ Dale Sales Agency to dissolve its partnership with Three Chimneys.

Hill ‘n’ Dale successfully bought out Three Chimneys at $4.4 million for Guarana, also in foal to star sire Into Mischief.

It was Katsumi Yoshida of Northern Farm, however, who wound up as leading buyer thanks to the purchase of six mares for $12.725 million. They were headed by the outstanding racemare

Swiss Skydiver, a collector’s item by virtue of her win over Authentic in last season’s Preakness Stakes. Yoshida went to $4.7 million for the daughter of Daredevil, who had been purchased for just $35,000 as a yearling by trainer Kenny McPeek.

Northern Farm also came away with Grade 1 winners Princess Noor at $2.9 million, Simply Ravishing at $1.7 million and Duopoly at $1.6 million as well as accomplished producer Mongolian Changa, the dam of controversial Kentucky Derby winner Medina Spirit for whom Yoshida paid $1.05 million.

Also heading to Japan is the 2018 Epsom Oaks third Bye Bye Baby, a half-sister to Derby hero Serpentine who was purchased for $3.1 million in foal to Tapit by Narvick International on behalf of Grand Farm, the former Aidan O’Brien-trained Cheveley Park Stakes winner Brave Anna, who sold in foal to Quality Road for $3 million to Masahiro Miki, and Grade 1 winner Valiance, who made $3 million to Keisuke Onishi of the JS Company.

Coolmore made just one purchase under its own name but it was a high-profile transaction, with Jamie

FASIG-TIPTON

Sales Circuit

Japanese buyers included Keisuke Onishi

McCalmont going to $2.7 million on behalf of MV Magnier for Grade 1 winner and Commonwealth Cup runner-up Kimari.

Plans call for the daughter of Munnings to return to her former trainer Wesley Ward, who has saddled her to win six races so far.

Juddmonte Farms also made a single purchase, paying $1.7 million for the Grade 2-winning filly Nay Lady Nay, a No Nay Never sister to Coventry Stakes hero Arizona.

KEENELAND

Keeneland November Sale - Book 1

Satin And Silk: daughter of Galileo sold for $1.4 million to Claiborne Farm

82 THE OWNER BREEDER

Topped by the $3.1 million sale of Grade 1 winner Paris Lights to Spendthrift Farm, seven lots hit the million-dollar mark to headline a steady singlesession Book 1 of the Keeneland November Sale in Kentucky.

The session recorded gains acrossthe-board, with 118 horses selling for a total of $50,634,000 and an average of $429,102, which represented an increase of ten per cent from 2020. The median rose by 18% to $330,000.

Session-topper Paris Lights, a Curlin filly from the family of Broodmare of the Year Better Than Honour, was consigned as a supplementary entry

by ELiTE, as agent. In nine starts for Bill Mott, she won five races including the 2020 Grade 1 Coaching Club American Oaks at Saratoga, and plans now call for her to join the Spendthrift Farm broodmare band with a visit to its champion sire Into Mischief on the agenda.

Although Paris Lights headed into domestic hands, the top end of the market benefitted from the enthusiasm of Japanese buyers, as it had done at the previous day’s Fasig-Tipton November Sale.

Buyers included Masahiro Miki, who

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Sales Circuit led by the $2.3 million Grade 3-winning Tapit mare Pink Sands. Part of a powerful consignment from Gainesway, the six-year-old mare is out of Grade 1 winner Her Smile and in foal to Into Mischief.

Gainesway also sold the Tapit filly Mind Out, a stakes-placed half-sister to Canadian champion Miss Mischief, to Dana Bernhard for $1.2 million.

The Galileo mare Satin And Silk also rang a bell, selling for $1.4 million to Claiborne Farm, as agent. A former 900,000gns Tattersalls October yearling, the mare went winless in six starts for Aidan O’Brien. But she is very well-related as a half-sister to Grade 1 winner Materiality and Grade 2 winner My Miss Sophia (the dam of current Grade 2-winning two-year-old Annapolis), and is in foal to an exciting young sire in Coolmore’s Triple Crown hero Justify.

The session’s top weanling was another to boast a strong European background as a Frankel half-sister to Coventry Stakes winner Arizona. Bred

by Stephen Sullivan in a foal share with Juddmonte Farms, she went on to sell for $800,000 to Phil Schoenthal, agent for Matt Dorman’s D. Hatman

KEENELAND

›› purchased $3,675,000 worth of stock

Grade 1 winner Paris Lights headed a competitive Book 1 of the Keeneland November Sale

Thoroughbreds.

“It’s a great page, great family,” said Dorman. “She’s got great conformation, so she ticked all the boxes. She’ll be in the racing programme and hopefully improve her page and go from there.

She’s long term for us.”

Meanwhile, a busy day for the

Newmarket-based agency Avenue Bloodstock consisted of the purchase of five lots worth $1.92 million. Its purchases included the stakes-placed Exotic Notion, a Lemon Drop Kid halfsister to Grade 1 winner City Of Light bought for $800,000 in foal to Quality Road.

Keeneland November Sale – Book 1 Top lots Name/breeding

Consignor

Price ($)

Purchaser

Paris Lights 4 f Curlin - Paris Bikini

ELiTE, agent

3,100,000

Spendthrift Farm LLC

Pink Sands 6 m Tapit - Her Smile

Gainesway, agent

2,300,000

Masahiro Miki

Satin And Silk 4 m Galileo - Wildwood Flower

Eaton Sales, agent

1,400,000

Claiborne Farm

Mind Out 4 f Tapit - Kid Majic

Gainesway, agent

1,200,000

Dana Bernhard

Maxim Rate 5 m Exchange Rate - Catch My Eye

Eaton Sales, agent

1,200,000

Ever Union Shokai

Look Me Over 4 m Hard Spun - Wasted Tears

Hunter Valley Farm

1,200,000

Mt. Brilliant Farm

Downside Scenario 8 m Scat Daddy - Grand Breeze

Taylor Made Sales

1,150,000

Stonestreet Thoroughbreds

Vault 5 m Jump Stars - Di’s Delight

ELiTE, agent

850,000

Stonestreet Thoroughbreds

Lucky Dime 4 m Creative Cause - Indian Miss

Claiborne Farm

850,000

Katsumi Yoshida

Statistics Year

Sold

Aggregate ($)

Average ($)

Median ($)

Top price ($)

2021

118

50,634,000

429,109

330,000

3,100,000

2020

128

49,775,000

388,867

280,000

1,950,000

2019

166

71,499,500

430,720

300,000

3,200,000

84 THE OWNER BREEDER

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Caulfield Files

Bloodstock world views

s a pedigree consultant, there are times of justifiable pride when a client breeds a major winner thanks to your input. Maybe you spotted a young stallion’s potential before the rest of the crowd, or maybe you recognised that a stallion’s physique made him an ideal match for a particular mare. There are other times, though – especially in Europe – where the constraints of bloodlines and price effectively reduce the options to a mere handful, which limits the amount of skill required.

I was reminded of this when Fastnet Rock’s daughter Pizza Bianca stormed through to snatch victory in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf, becoming the first homebred Breeders’ Cup winner for Bobby Flay, a man usually described as an ‘American celebrity chef’.

During my long innings as a columnist for the Thoroughbred Daily News, I was asked by the TDN’s President Barry Weisbord – a close friend of Flay’s – to suggest matings for a few of Flay’s select group of European-based mares for the 2017 and 2018 breeding seasons. One of those mares was White Hot, the dam of Pizza Bianca.

White Hot first made the news in 2014, when she was consigned by Camas Park Stud to Book 1 of the Tattersalls October Yearling Sale. You can gain some idea of the strength of her pedigree from the fact that the bidding opened at 500,000gns.

Agent Ed Sackville and John Magnier were among those who tried to secure her but in the end it was James Delahooke, acting on behalf of Flay, who made the successful bid of 1,250,000gns.

While the filly had to play second fiddle that day to a Galileo half-brother to Harbinger which made 2,600,000gns, she had the distinction of being the highest-priced yearling filly in Europe in 2014.

It’s a reminder of the perils of the racing game that the sale-topping Galileo colt failed to win in three starts for Aidan O’Brien and that the top-priced filly never made it to the races, although she was listed under John Gosden in Horses In Training for 2015 and 2016. However, whereas the colt retained little of his original value, White Hot’s bloodlines meant that she was very deserving of a

BILL SELWYN

Further glory served up at Breeders’ Cup for elite cross A

Pizza Bianca: top American filly represents the successful Fastnet Rock-Galileo cross

bit of perseverance on Flay’s behalf. After all, her dam, the Darshaan mare Gwynn, had also been unraced after selling for 250,000gns as a yearling and her lack of a racecourse career hadn’t stopped her developing into an excellent broodmare.

Gwynn, a grand-daughter of that influential broodmare Royal Statute, will always be best remembered as the dam of Derby winner Pour Moi, who was by Montjeu, a son of Sadler’s Wells. White Hot too was by a son of Sadler’s Wells, in the incomparable Galileo. Gwynn had also done very well with Sadler’s Wells himself, producing the Prix de Diane second and Irish Oaks third Gagnoa, and she had also produced the lightly-raced Listed winner Kissed to a previous visit to Galileo.

Pizza Bianca isn’t the only one to add to the family’s prestige in 2021, as Gagnoa is the dam of Ancient Rome, the War Front colt who went so close to defeating Angel Bleu in the Group 1 Criterium International. Other notable updates have come from Ancient Rome’s sister Etoile, who made a winning debut in the Group 3 Fillies’ Sprint Stakes in 2019, and from White Hot’s brother Dawn Patrol, winner of the Group 3 Loughbrown Stakes over two miles after finishing third in the Irish Derby.

After buying White Hot, James

Delahooke commented: “She was my pick of the sale. We tried to buy a Bernardini filly in Keeneland and I was beaten by John Ferguson, and this is the nicest filly I’ve seen since. The page speaks for itself and she’s just a gorgeous filly. She ticked all the boxes.”

The description I was given to work with was “medium size, very correct, good bone, top physical”. Because there was so much money invested in White Hot, it was essential that she visit a stallion whose fee placed him among Europe’s elite. And it was also preferable that this unproven mare should visit a proven stallion in her first season in 2017, so the likes of Kingman and Golden Horn were ruled out. Her pedigree eliminated Galileo, Frankel, Teofilo, Australia and Gleneagles, and Sea The Stars was also crossed off because he created 2 x 3 to Urban Sea. There were considerable doubts about whether an unraced maiden mare would be able to access the £250,000 Dubawi, who would otherwise have been one of the main contenders. Similar doubts about accessibility applied to Shamardal, whose physical problems limited his 2017 book to 65 mares, owned exclusively by Godolphin, Rabbah Bloodstock, Shadwell or Sheikh Mohammed Obaid. Pivotal and

THE OWNER BREEDER 87

››

Caulfield Files discounted on the score of age and the risk of declining fertility (Dansili was to cover only 29 mares in 2017).

Another elderly sire, Invincible Spirit, had been a popular choice for Galileo mares, which had 31 foals of racing age by him, including nine two-year-olds of 2016. However, at that stage, his only black-type winner among the 17 starters was the filly Alea Iacta, who had disappointed after winning an oddly-run Group 3 as a juvenile. So he too was crossed off the list (perhaps wrongly, because his partnership with Galileo mares was to produce the Group 1 two-year-old winner Magna Grecia and three other black-type winners in 2018).

So what was left? Oasis Dream had an ultimately disappointing Group 2 winner to his credit from a Galileo mare, but that was his only black-type winner at that stage from 34 foals of racing age. Dark Angel’s potential was there for all to see, but he had only three foals of racing age out of Galileo mares, of which one had won. His cause wasn’t helped by the fact that his sire Acclamation had nothing out of the ordinary among his eight winners from nine foals out of Galileo mares [Dark Angel had three talented two-year-olds out of Galileo mares in 2021, headed by the dual Group 1 winner Angel Bleu].

Then there was the French-based Siyouni, who had done so well with his cheap crops that his fee had risen to €45,000 by 2017. We now know, thanks to Sottsass and St Mark’s Basilica, that he is one of the go-to stallions for owners of Galileo mares, but in the autumn of 2016 his statistics stood at one non-winning runner from two foals.

Among the stallions with promising records with daughters of Galileo were Exceed And Excel, Lope De Vega and Le Havre. But there was no getting away from the fact that the stallion with the best track record with Galileo broodmares was Fastnet Rock.

My recommendation read as follows: “Fastnet Rock has to be on the short-list in view of his record with other Galileo mares. As a son of Danehill owned

by Coolmore, he has been the default option for plenty of their Galileo mares.

The stats are that 48 mares have 74 foals (which includes a lot of young, untried horses), 38 have started, 28 have won and a pleasing nine (12%) have become black-type winners. They include the Oaks winner Qualify, this year’s Moyglare Stud Stakes winner Intricately, the leading Dewhurst contender Rivet [who was to win the Racing Post Trophy] and the Group winners Turret Rocks and Zhukova.

88 THE OWNER BREEDER

GEORGE SELWYN

›› Dansili, at 24 and 21-years-old, were

Pour Moi: related to Pizza Bianca

That’s five good Group winners from 38 starters. Fastnet Rock is a big, masculine horse, on the coarse side, but he clearly suits Galileo’s daughters, which generally possess plenty of quality. Fastnet Rock also sired the Group 1-winning filly Diamondsandrubies from a Sadler’s Wells mare with a Darshaan dam.”

I could have added that daughters of

“This season has also seen the partnership maintain its high profile” Fastnet Rock’s sire Danehill had enjoyed a spectacularly successful partnership with Galileo.

Highly successful nicks often start to tail off, as more and more breeders climb onto the bandwagon, but that hasn’t happened with the Fastnet Rock-Galileo alliance. Indeed the statistics remain impressive. Zhukova took the Grade 1 Man O’War Stakes in 2017, Unforgotten won the Group 1 Australian Oaks in 2018 and Personal won the Group 1 VRC Oaks in 2020.

The 2021 season has also seen the Fastnet Rock-Galileo partnership maintain its high profile, with Joie De Soir, Fenelon, Pizza Bianca and her fellow American black-type winner Star Devine helping increase the number of black-type winners to 24, from a total of 178 foals, which equates to 13% – just a little higher than the figures I worked with in 2016.

White Hot was sent to Fastnet Rock in 2017 and was believed to be in foal when she was entered for the December Sales.

However, she was withdrawn from the sale and no foal was reported.

Fortunately, her connections stuck with their original plan in 2018, with Pizza Bianca the result. White Hot has been transferred to the US, where Pizza Bianca was foaled, and she has also produced a 2021 colt by Uncle Mo before being bred to Not This Time.

It is going to be interesting to see what Pizza Bianca’s connections decide to do with their filly in the first half of 2022, as she has raced only on turf in her threerace career and there aren’t many big prizes available to American turf fillies until the second half of the year (the Grade 1 Belmont Oaks Invitational is in July).

It is also going to be interesting to see how far Pizza Bianca stays. She is the product of a mating between a champion Australian sprinter and a mare who could have been expected to shine over ten or 12 furlongs. Her come-from-behind style of racing suggests she is going to take after her dam rather than her sire, and this has often been the case with Fastnet Rock’s leading winners out of Galileo mares. Of his 24 black-type winners, Qualify, Magicool, Zhukova, Personal, Turret Rocks, Inverloch, Unforgotten, Star Rock, Fenelon and Joie De Soir have all enjoyed stakes success at a mile and a quarter or more, with most of them staying a mile and a half.

There have been exceptions though.

American three-year-old Star Devine gained her stakes win over five and a half furlongs and several others have thrived at around a mile.

Fastnet Rock is himself approaching the veteran stage, as he was born in September 2001. There was a time when he covered a phenomenal number of mares, with his Australian books usually exceeding 200 mares during his first 11 seasons, with his biggest test coming with a book of 273 in 2009. He began to shuttle to Ireland in 2010 and in 2013 he covered 190 mares in Ireland, followed by 212 in Australia. He hasn’t had to cope with such large numbers in recent years, His Irish book amounted to 57 mares in 2019, 38 in 2020 and around 55 in 2021.

It’s hardly surprising that his 38 mates in 2020 included as many as 13 daughters of Galileo, headed by the Classic-placed Group 1 winner Ballydoyle. They also included the dams of Group 1 winner Rivet and Listed winner Star Devine, as well as a sister to dual Classic winner Capri and a half-sister to Giant’s Causeway, so it seems that the Fastnet Rock-Galileo nick is set to succeed for several more years.

New for 2022 Five-time Group winner Royal Ascot 2YO winner

A ALI

The only horse in the last 20 years to have won both the Norfolk Stakes and Flying Childers Stakes

b. 2017 SOCIETY ROCK (IRE) x MOTION LASS (GB) WINNER of five races and £261,716 including: • Gr.2 Norfolk Stakes 5f Royal Ascot On just his second start • Gr.2 Prix Robert Papin 5½f Deauville • Gr.2 Flying Childers Stakes 5f Doncaster • Gr.2 Sapphire Stakes 5f Curragh • Gr.3 Sprint Stakes 5f Sandown

FEE 2022: £7,500 “A’Ali was a top-class sprinter and certainly one of the fastest 2YOs I have ridden. He travelled very well in his races and had push button acceleration which made my life easy. I was lucky enough to ride both Mehmas and Ardad, and A’Ali must have a top chance of replicating their success at stud.” Frankie Dettori.

“Good looking, powerful and precocious.” Simon and Ed Crisford.

M F

MEADOW FARM STUD

MEADOW FARM STUD, Newtown, Ramsbury, Marlborough, Wiltshire, SN8 2PP Contact: Catherine and Robert Dallas • Email: office@meadowfarmstud.co.uk • Phone: 07840 585800 • Web: www.meadowfarmstud.co.uk

THE OWNER BREEDER 89

Dr Statz

John Boyce cracks the code

Tried and tested - the partnerships that work

R

epeat what works. It’s a mantra used in almost every field of human endeavour. Sometimes we are smart enough to uncover why something works. Sometimes we are not quite sure. But we do it anyway. In our specialised world of thoroughbred breeding where genetic science is a comparatively recent arrival on the scene, we often resort to the tried and tested. It all starts with matings and while we can theorise endlessly as to why a stallion might have success with daughters of another, there is no getting away from repeating previously successful patterns, even if those patterns are not strictly statistically valid.

In my experience, waiting for such validation can mean missing the boat. A top-class horse bred on a specific cross could be the start of something significant. That said, I’d like to run through some successful nicks that are backed up by good enough sample sizes, thus carrying some validity. Remarkably there are only 15 nicks involving active or recently active European sires that have had more than 50 runners and the three most potent concern Galileo, whose strike-rates with Danehill Dancer (25.3% stakes winners), Danehill Dancer’s sire Danehill (24.4%) and Darshaan (20.8%) have set industry standards by which all other nicks are measured.

Galileo also takes centre stage in three more of the 15, this time as a broodmare sire. His daughters’ partnership with Fastnet Rock is currently returning 19.7% stakes winners, which is way above the norm for both the sire and broodmare sire, Fastnet Rock’s usual score being 8.6% here in the northern hemisphere and 9.5% from his Australian base.

Galileo, meanwhile, has managed an excellent eight per cent stakes winners as a broodmare sire and an even better 10.5% from his elite daughters. Dubawi is one of many sires that have benefitted from Galileo mares. Ghaiyyath and Night Of Thunder are just two of the top-class racehorses bred on the cross and there are many more in the pipeline, some of the best prospects no doubt in the hands of the Coolmore team as they have been sending some of their best daughters of Galileo to the Dalham Hall Stud stallion in

90 THE OWNER BREEDER

RECENT EUROPEAN NICKS (20+runners) Sire

BM Sire

Rnrs

BTW

Galileo

Pivotal

33

12

Galileo

Anabaa

28

10

35.7

Galileo

Storm Cat

46

14

30.4

Dubawi

Singspiel

33

10

30.3

Adlerflug

Monsun

27

7

25.9

Galileo

Danehill Dancer

95

24

25.3

Galileo

Danehill

217

53

24.4

Rock Of Gibraltar

Rainbow Quest

25

6

24.0

Lope De Vega

Dansili

32

7

21.9

Doyen

Big Shuffle

23

5

21.7

Galileo

Kingmambo

23

5

21.7

recent years.

All told, the Dubawi-Galileo partnership has produced 15.8% stakes winners, which is in line with Dubawi’s overall strike-rate.

The only other sire with more than 50 runners from Galileo mares is Oasis Dream and his record of one stakes winner from 69 runners (1.9%) is disappointing to say the least. This is a salutary lesson on how a nick can go wrong as the lone stakes winner Hard Dream, a Group 2-winning three-year-old, was the very first runner by Oasis Dream out of a Galileo mare and no doubt prompted many breeders to follow suit. Incidentally, Oasis Dream also has poor results from mares by Galileo’s sire Sadler’s Wells, but his partnership with Selkirk mares was more fruitful, producing 15.8% stakes winners.

Moving on to the nicks that involve between 20 and 50 runners, there have been some spectacular results in recent times. Once again, Galileo tops the poll, siring at least one in three stakes winners from mares by Pivotal (36.4%), Anabaa (35.7%) and Storm Cat (30.4%). He has no fewer than 18 Group/Grade 1 winners from daughters of these three broodmare sires.

Dubawi and Singspiel also break the 30% stakes winner barrier, their highlights including three outstanding progeny of Dar Re Mi in Too Darn Hot, Lah Ti Dar and So Mi Dar. Old Persian, Wuheida and Left Hand are other Group 1 winners from a cross that features inbreeding to Shirley Heights and Dubawi’s fourth dam Sunbittern, the sire and dam of High Hawk, who produced Singspiel’s sire In The Wings.

%

36.4

Dubawi also produces excellent results from Dansili mares, his six stakes winners headed by his promising first-season sire son Time Test. Once again the strength of this nick at 21.4% stakes winners is well above the average for Dubawi in general.

The same applies to his partnerships with Green Desert (18.9% stakes winners) and Danehill (17.2%).

Looking at some of the younger sires in this group, it is evident that Galileo mares are playing an important part in building reputations. Juddmonte’s Kingman has a healthy return from Galileo mares as do Siyouni and Lope De Vega, all scoring at least 12% stakes winners and above what they normally achieve.

Among the partnerships with between ten and 20 runners, the one that stands out is Sea The Stars with daughters of Kingmambo. You’ll struggle to find a better group of racehorses than Group 1 winners Cloth Of Stars (Timeform 132), Baaeed (Timeform 130) and Zelzal (Timeform 122) that showcase this particular nick. Its seven stakes winners account for 36.8% of the runners bred on the cross. Sea The Stars has also produced 36.8% stakes winners from daughters of the German star Monsun, including the talented sire Sea The Moon.

It is entirely likely that high scores achieved by combinations with lower runner counts will not endure, but that does not mean they will cease to be significant. There is absolutely no doubt that paying close attention to nicks will increase your chances of breeding a stakes winner.

WELL BRED, TOUGH & CONSISTENT STAKES WINNER

GR.1 SIRE OF CHAMPION STAYER TRUESHAN

HIGH-CLASS STAYER

BY MONTJEU

WON/PLACED IN 8 STAKES RACES

STAKES PRODUCER ON THE FLAT AND OVER HURDLES New dual Gr.1 winner Trueshan and new Gr.2 winner Road To Arc in 2021.

WON/PLACED IN 5 STAKES RACES

OUTSTANDING PEDIGREE Half-brother to 5 Stakes horses descending from the legendary Fall Aspen.

“Bangkok has the ability, looks and temperament to be a top-class performer at stud. He has courage and a constitution second to none.”

Andrew Balding, trainer

NEW SIRE IN 2022 Fee: £3,000 1st October FFR

57% WINNERS TO RUNNERS HIGHEST EARNING SON OF DANEHILL DANCER Gr.1 winner and won/placed in 12 Stakes races.

PATERNAL HALF-BROTHER TO THE LATE JEREMY, A LEADING NH SIRE Fee: £4,000 1st October FFR

BY A LEADING NH INFLUENCE IN MONTJEU Plus a half-brother to 4 Group horses including German Derby winner Wiener Walzer, sire of Grade 1 winner Adagio.

“Walzertakt is a very interesting addition to the GB NH stallion ranks bred on the same cross as Camelot.”

Richard Venn, bloodstock agent

NEW SIRE TO GB IN 2022 Fee: £2,500 1st October FFR

Concessions available

PLANTEUR BANGKOK WALZERTAKT HELLVELYN INDIAN HAVEN

Chapel Stud Ltd Chapel Lane, Bransford, Worcestershire WR6 5JQ 01452 717 342 chapelstud.co.uk

Roisin Close 07738 279 071 roisin@ chapelstud.co.uk

Tina Dawson 07776 165854 tina.dawson@ tdbloodstock.com

The special section for ROA members

GEORGE SELWYN

ROA Forum

The Racecourse Association would like to enhance the customer experience for all racegoers

ACCESSIBILITY AUDITS FOR RACECOURSES COMMISSIONED

T

he Racecourse Association (RCA) has commissioned access audits across racecourses in Britain to identify areas where the raceday experience can be enhanced to support racegoers with a disability.

Racecourses that have opted into the project will receive an audit of the raceday experience in its current form plus a detailed site audit to identify areas that can be developed to support racegoer accessibility.

Following these audits, the RCA will work closely with racecourses to implement the findings whilst disseminating best practice from other relevant sectors to maintain British racing’s commitment as a sport for all.

The project has been funded with a grant from the Racing Foundation plus contributions from the participating racecourses.

Following a detailed tender process, the RCA selected Level Playing Field and LiveTourism to conduct the audits. Level Playing Field is a leading organisation in customer accessibility in sport having worked extensively with football, cricket and both

rugby codes in Britain. LiveTourism, an existing partner of the RCA with the Quality Assured Racecourse Scheme, provide a sector-leading service in assisting sports with raceday experience programmes.

Subject to relevant Covid-19 restrictions, assessments will commence shortly and will run over three years.

Paul Swain, Raceday Experience & Communications Manager at the RCA, commented: “The RCA is delighted to share news of this exciting project which will help racecourses to offer the best experience possible for all racegoers. We are grateful for the unwavering support of the Racing Foundation and our member racecourses in making it happen.

“The RCA has been working to deliver this for some time and it represents a significant project as part of our commitment to diversity and inclusion. We will work closely with Level Playing Field and LiveTourism over the duration of this long-term project to enhance racecourse accessibility and ensure that racing remains a fantastic day out for all customers.”

Racing Digital: discovery update The team at Racing Digital are working to develop a nextgeneration digital platform for managing horseracing activities.

Sarah Gutteridge, Product Manager, explained: “The first six months of our project have been dedicated to understanding the needs of our customers, and we would like to thank everyone who has engaged with us so far, whether by taking part in interviews and phone conversations, sending in feedback, interacting via social media, or completing our surveys. The insights we are uncovering are invaluable and will help us to develop a truly customer-focused platform.

“Our discovery phase has seen us hold detailed workshops across all areas of racing administration, as well

92 THE OWNER BREEDER

as numerous interactions with our customers – the sport’s participants and stakeholders to better understand your needs.

“We are now working to create a project roadmap for the development of the new platform, so do continue to look out for updates from us in the new year to see how and when you will be able to get involved throughout the project. You can follow us on Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram, and email ideas@racingdigital.co.uk to be notified of the latest news from us or to just get in touch.”

If you would like to help in the meantime, please complete Racing Digital’s introductory survey to share your views on racing administration https://eachandother. fra1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_0fxx1P9edWvTC18.

New contact details:

www.roa.co.uk • 01183 385680 • info@roa.co.uk @racehorseowners

RacehorseOwnersUK

Racehorseownersassociation

Reasons to be cheerful: free admission for members Registered owners can enjoy the Racecourse Badge Scheme for Owners and either pre-book at entry stage via the RCA PASS website at www. rcapass.com or present their PASS card

Thrilled: the connections of Paddy Power Gold Cup winner Midnight Shadow

BILL SLEWYN

We are delighted that the ROA’s free admission schemes will continue in the New Year to ensure that all members can enjoy complimentary racing admission during 2022.

or quote their owner details or PASS card number on arrival at participating fixtures.

We would encourage pre-registration for the scheme where possible to help streamline the admission process, but it’s not necessary and offers flexibility of deciding on the day if you wish to go racing, which we know is highly valued by owners.

Members who are not registered owners can also enjoy free raceday admission, through the ROA PreBooked Admission Scheme. To use this scheme members must pre-register in advance to enjoy admission to a participating fixture. Members will not be granted admission on the raceday without pre-registering for badges under the terms of the scheme.

Full details of both schemes and the participating fixtures can be found in the members area at roa.co.uk.

News and updates will be shared in our Inside Track daily e-bulletin. Do we have your up-to-date email address?

Please check and update your contact information in the members area at roa.co.uk to ensure you receive our member communications.

The road to the 2023 Cazoo Derby

• £2,800 extra if entry confirmed – Monday, May 29, 2023 • £85,000 stake if entered by noon – Monday, May 29, 2023

Entry forms for the 2023 Cazoo Derby can be found in the Racing Calendar of November 11. All forms should be returned to Weatherbys by Tuesday, December 7.

BILL SELWYN

The traditional yearling entry scheme for the Cazoo Derby will return for the 2023 renewal of the race, with the initial entry point for horses at the yearling stage, scheduled to close on Tuesday, December 7, 2021.

No yearling entry stage took place for the 2022 Cazoo Derby due to the pandemic but after consultation with various trainers and racing organisations, the decision has been taken to reintroduce the yearling stage this December.

As before, the next scratching stage for the 2023 Cazoo Derby will then be in March 2023, at the start of the threeyear-old career.

The 2023 Cazoo Derby will be run for a prize-money total of £1,500,000, making it the richest purse in British racing. The Jockey Club has returned all of its races to pre-pandemic prize-money levels since October 2021 and continues to focus on prize-money investments moving forward.

The full entry structure for the 2023 Cazoo Derby: • £560 stake – Tuesday, December 7, 2021 • £1,100 extra if not scratched by noon – Tuesday, March 7, 2023 • Or £9,000 stake to enter – Tuesday, April 4, 2023 • £3,400 extra if not scratched by noon – Friday, May 19, 2023 • Except second entries which will pay £11250 extra if not scratched by noon – Friday, May 19, 2023

Adayar: 2021 Cazoo Derby hero

THE OWNER BREEDER 93

ROA Forum

BE HORSE AWARE CAMPAIGN

The Be Horse Aware campaign was launched in 2019 to promote safety on the racecourse in equine areas. The campaign built on a Code of Good Practice, which was co-written by industry stakeholders and supported by the Racecourse Association (RCA), ROA and National Trainers Federation to ensure all have a safe and enjoyable experience when in close proximity to racehorses.

The whole of British racing supports the Be Horse Aware campaign and Code of Good Practice. The fundamental principles aim to limit access to only those who require access to equine areas and to increase awareness of the dangers that can be associated with being around horses.

The RCA is promoting awareness by issuing printed signage for racecourses and reminders are being shared through digital platforms. Simple measures can be taken to avoid unnecessary accidents in and around equine areas, and owners continued support and cooperation is appreciated.

Only those with a genuine reason to be in an area of close proximity to horses should be admitted into them.

The most popular areas where horses and humans come into contact – the pre-parade ring, parade ring and winner’s enclosure – can easily become overcrowded. For the enjoyment, safety and practicality of all connections,

94 THE OWNER BREEDER

officials, racing staff and horses, individuals should not enter such areas without legitimate reason.

The RCA confirm that children under the age of 12 are strictly prohibited in and around equine areas. The safety of all connections and racegoers is paramount, especially young children.

Stakeholders’ continued support and cooperation of the campaign message and practices will help enhance and improve owners’ experience and safety on a raceday. More information on the campaign can be found at https://www. roa.co.uk/resources/be-horse-awarecampaign.html.

Horse awareness training

The National Horseracing College in Doncaster will be running horse awareness courses on February 11 and October 7.

These are day-long courses, which will look at horse behaviour, the theory of approaching horses, the dangers of the parade ring etc.

There is a basic horse-handling course in the afternoon where delegates are encouraged to handle horses, know how to approach them, how to safely lead them etc.

The cost is £85 + VAT per person which includes lunch and refreshments.

For further details see thenhc.co.uk, email Georgina Ridal G.Ridal@theNHC. co.uk or call 01302 861008.

Transfer of colours

BILL SELWYN

Care must be taken regarding close contact with horses at the races

News in brief A member contacted us recently to ask whether it is possible to transfer colours to a friend. It is possible and the fee payable is £367.20 (inc VAT, plus an applicable colours registration fee). A colours transfer form (CO3 form) can be found on the Racing Admin website or obtained from Weatherbys.

No charge applies where a transfer is made to a spouse, parent or child (or the executors or the administrators of such persons).

The following link sets out the colours registration fees and shows the 20% discount that applies for ROA members: https://www.roa.co.uk/ benefits/discounts/20bha.html When colours lapse they are typically held on a 90-day reservation.

It may be possible for an owner to reregister the colours during that period.

ROA/Tote Owner Sponsorship Scheme

Are you making the most of owner sponsorship to recover VAT on your ownership costs? The ROA Owner Sponsorship Scheme, run in partnership with the Tote, helps support owners by underpinning their ability to recover their racing-related VAT. We run four 12-month schemes throughout the year and it’s very easy to add a horse to the scheme. Horses need to be in training and owned by ROA members.

The scheme can also support owners where their trainer may be between yard sponsors.

See roa.co.uk/sponsor for more information and see the online form to add a horse to the next 12-month scheme beginning on January 1.

Ascot offers

Members can enjoy three very special racing and hospitality offers from Ascot racecourse this month and in 2022.

King Edward VII Enclosure tickets: members can book two King Edward VII enclosure badges at all meetings excluding Royal Ascot, King George Saturday, Dubai Duty Free Shergar Cup and QIPCO British Champions Day. To book, please complete the form in the members area at roa.co.uk. Please note applications must be received by 5pm the day before the meeting.

Royal Ascot 2022: members can enjoy a generous 50% discount on tickets for the first two days of the Royal Meeting next year – Tuesday, June 14 and Wednesday, June 15. Please note there are three different price points for Royal Ascot Queen Anne: best price, advanced price and general admission. The exclusive code for members applies 50% off across all three (up until midnight the day before racing).

Members can also enjoy a discount on Queen Anne admission during 2022 fixtures (excluding Champions Day and Royal Ascot).

See the discount code and how to book in members area at roa.co.uk.

Frankie Dettori: big screen debut

Frankie Dettori film

Frankie Dettori has dominated Flat racing for over 30 years and now the superstar jockey is appearing on the big screen in a new documentary that details his extraordinary life.

The movie Dettori, made by Embankment Films, offers an intimate, behind-closed-doors look at Frankie, from stepping out from the shadow of his own champion jockey father, escaping from the inferno of a deadly plane crash and the ups and downs of his racing career, in which he repeatedly pushed himself to new heights of success, proving himself to be the best time and again.

The film is available to purchase on Amazon, DVD and Blu-Ray whilst a number of cinemas will be hosting screenings this month. To watch a trailer and see a listing of upcoming cinema screenings see frankiedettori.com. You can also get a personalised message from the champion rider.

The documentary follows swiftly on the heels of Dettori’s latest book, Leap Of Faith, available in all bookshops and online.

Membership fee

There will be no increase in the annual membership from January 1. The annual subscription will remain at £261. Joint

membership is available for two members living at the same UK address and is £435.

As well as The Owner Breeder magazine, printed and digital editions, members continue to receive: • Free admission on days without a runner • Third party liability insurance • 20% discount on most BHA registration fees • Owners’ parking label • Daily e-bulletin The Inside Track • ROA/Tote Owner Sponsorship scheme • Raceday Curtailment Scheme • Member-only discounts on hospitality and owner relevant products • 20% discount on ROA VAT Solution

Retraining of Racehorses winter webinars

Retraining of Racehorses (RoR) is once again running a series of online sessions this winter designed to help riders get the very best out of their former racehorses.

The RoR winter webinars 2021-22 comprise of four enlightening sessions, one a month. The first session was in November and the fourth and last will be in February.

Registration is free and open to all. The webinars are aimed at anyone with an interest in retraining former racehorses or considering rehoming one, with advice and feedback that caters for all levels, from grassroots upwards.

All four sessions will be held on a Wednesday evening, starting at 7pm.

Viewers will simply need to register in advance to receive the free feed and to submit questions. Each session will incorporate filmed footage of demonstrations, expert panellists and a live Q & A hosted by broadcaster Mark Hayward.

Among those due to share their expertise at subsequent sessions are British event riders Nicola Wilson and Laura Collett, and former British Eventing Performance Manager Yogi Breisner.

For further details and to register see www.ror.org.uk.

Charity Christmas cards

The Jessica Bethell Charitable Foundation is a Middleham-based charity which supports local causes and research into meningitis. It was set up in memory of Jessica Bethell who tragically and suddenly lost her life to the disease in 2012 at 24.

You can order your charity Christmas cards now

The foundation’s Christmas card depicts an image of horses returning from exercise on High Moor, Middleham, photographed by Barney Curran.

Cards are priced at £10 for 10 plus P&P. Orders can be placed with Hannah on 01969 640360 or please email office@ jessicabethellfounation.co.uk. Cards can also be collected from trainer Ed Bethell’s Thorngill Stables in Middleham.

The Injured Jockeys Fund Christmas card ‘Stride for Stride’ has been painted specifically for the IJF by renowned equine artist Jane Braithwaite, featuring a traditional winter racing scene. See the shop at ijf.co.uk.

Three gift ideas that last all year

ROA membership as a gift: you don’t have to be an owner to enjoy many of the benefits of membership. Introduce friends and family to enjoy free admission and other benefits during 2022.

The Owner Breeder: annual digital subscription to view the magazine on your computer, laptop, table and smart phone (12 issues) is £18.99, while an annual print subscription for UK residents (12 issues) is £60. European residents £90, Rest of the World £120.

Share in a racehorse: create a memory maker by giving the thrill of shared ownership as a gift. Options can be sourced by location and to suit all budgets at inthepaddock.com

Runner over the festivities?

The ROA Guide to Racecourses lists contact information, badge allocations, travel links and photographer details to help make your day as enjoyable as possible. See roa.co.uk/g2r.

Please share how you find your experience as an owner when you go racing with a runner. It takes a few moments to complete our online feedback form at roa.co.uk/feedback.

Your views and comments are valued and vital to help shape and enhance the owners’ raceday experience.

THE OWNER BREEDER 95

ROA Forum

MAGICAL MOMENTS Andrew Buxton has discovered that two Eds are better than one

96 THE OWNER BREEDER

MARK CRANHAM

T

he passing of three-time Hatton’s Grace heroine Solerina received honourable mention in Changes further up this magazine, and while Molls Memory did not scale such giddy heights, she too was in the news recently as the winner of the same race for a third time.

In her case it was a seven-furlong handicap at Newbury’s October meeting, which she took for the third year on the spin and with a mighty winning distance of four and threequarter lengths – some going for an 18-runner handicap over that trip, even allowing for the heavy going.

That was the penultimate run of her career, while the six-year-old’s final start came last month at Doncaster, where she finished a highly respectable fourth of 15 in the Listed Wentworth Stakes.

Molls Memory’s owner-breeder Andrew Buxton had the mare’s dam, the dual winner Bright Moll, in a partnership, bought his fellow owners out when she was injured early in her career and started breeding with her – along have come five winning progeny.

Alongside Molls Memory there have been Lochan Mor, who ran for Buxton and finished in the first three in 13 of his 17 starts; Tartiflette, another who was at her best over seven furlongs for Buxton, winning three times and now a broodmare; Hezmah, who achieved black type and won three times for the late Hamdan Al Maktoum; and the Group 3 Chipchase Stakes winner Aeolus, also a close second for Buxton in the Stewards’ Cup. Explaining his background in racing and as an owner, Buxton, a banker for 40 years with Barclays and who ended his career as its Chairman, says: “I was brought up in Cheshire, where all my family rode ponies/horses and hunted with the Cheshire and Wynnstay, so I was used to horses from an early age.

“We went to the local point-topoints and to the Grand National almost every year. However, Flat racing seemed a strange sort of racing that never entered my head until, much later in my life, my brother-in-law became a handicapper and encouraged me

Molls Memory wins the same Newbury handicap for the third year running in October

to take an interest, which resulted in various fairly unsuccessful partnerships.

“That changed about 20 years ago when I became a part-owner of first Glen Ida and then Bright Moll, and there is nothing like some success, however small, to stoke the fires of enthusiasm.”

Indeed there is not, and while Bright Moll ran only five times, all at two, she was a winner on debut at muchmissed Folkestone, finished a fine fifth in the Group 2 Queen Mary Stakes and concluded her short but sweet career with a commanding victory in a novice event at Haydock.

Buxton continues: “Bright Moll was bought for Michael Bell by Luke Lillingston and she was a wonderful filly with a lovely nature. As well as being a first-class racehorse, she was a pet.

“She would certainly have got black type but suffered a career-ending injury and was retired. She was such a pet that I wanted to keep her, so I bought out my two partners and started to breed from her.

“I knew nothing at all about breeding but was helped by my sister and then by Rachel Wilson, who ran Hockham Lodge Stud in Norfolk. Bright Moll had six foals, before her injury got too much for her, all of which won apart

from one. Two got black type. With prize-money and sales included, the short line produced £500,000 and has provided the financial backing for a lot of fun.”

That ongoing fun has come from around ten racehorses owned to date.

Buxton continues: “I started with Michael Bell. I was looking for a competent trainer, preferably in Newmarket, because I lived in Suffolk, and asked David Thompson [the late owner of Cheveley Park Stud] for advice.

“There’s no point in a small owner, like myself, going to a trainer with 200 horses, being relegated to yard three and hardly ever meeting the boss. I wanted someone who I could communicate with and who would be sympathetic to a newcomer.

“Michael was very welcoming and the breakfasts provided by his then wife, Georgina, were legendary, very often with Hayley Turner, who used to ride a lot for Michael. However, Newmarket is an expensive place to have a horse trained and Bright Moll’s first foal, Lochan Mor, wasn’t a star.

“He ran 17 times and won only once, although he came second nine times and gave me lots of fun. When he was

ROA VAT Solution

four, I moved him to Ed McMahon, near Lichfield, who had trained for my brother-in-law and charged much less than Newmarket prices.

“He was a down to earth, practical trainer who used his own farm for the gallops and, having moved there, Ed trained my next two foals, Tartiflette – my wife’s favourite Alpine dish – and Aeolus, the Greek god of the wind, named by my granddaughter, very well. He won the Sandy Lane Stakes at Haydock with Aeolus.

“Ed’s farm had the bad luck to be on the planned route of HS2, which was going right through the middle of the farm, and, at the same time, Aeolus started to have some problems with his feet, so I decided to move back to Newmarket.

“Rachel Wilson and I went round various yards on a Newmarket Open Day, talked to trainers, looked at the feed and the bedding in the horse boxes, and ended up with Ed Walker as our first choice.

“Ed took over the training of Aeolus, found a solution to the foot problems, and has proved again and again a wonderful trainer. He won the Chipchase Stakes at Newcastle with Aeolus, and has trained the next two foals, including Molls Memory.”

Buxton has plenty of good days tucked away in the memory banks, with hopefully lots more to follow. All of his family have become a fan club, which has given him some wonderful family occasions, while asked to identify his magical moments he replies: “I can think of three specially magical moments, although every win is a magical moment.

“Firstly, Bright Moll winning her first race at Folkestone, with my wife and I listening to the commentary on a mobile phone on a train from Inverness to London and going wild, much to the surprise of the other passengers, when she won very easily.

“Secondly, but probably the most magic of all magic moments, Aeolus winning the Group 3 Chipchase Stakes the day after my wife’s funeral. I am absolutely sure that she organised a party of angels who pushed him

to the front. I had travelled down to Newcastle from Aviemore that day and went back by train that evening holding the extremely large Newcastle cup, which I didn’t know we were even racing for, and placed on a table in the train, much to the amusement of the other passengers.

“Thirdly, my last foal, Molls Memory, winning at Newbury this year, which meant she’d won the same race three years running. Both Aeolus and Molls Memory inherited Bright Moll’s wonderful temperament, as did Lochan Mor. “I have had a policy of giving away my geldings – Lochan Mor is now showjumping and Aeolus is training for dressage, both helped by the calm temperament of their dam, Bright Moll.

Molls Memory is a great favourite of

“There’s nothing like some success to stoke the fires of enthusiasm” Ed Walker’s four-year-old daughter Matilda.”

Buxton adds: “Racing is a game of highs and lows. The highs are when you win and have a fabulous day’s racing, the lows are when your horse is injured.

“Glen Ida was fatally injured in a race at Goodwood, Bright Moll was injured on the morning gallops at Newmarket and never raced again.

Another horse, Ambertide, was struck into in a race at Hamilton and never raced again.”

Molls Memory won’t be racing again either, but happily, following a successful career in which she did honour both to her name and dam, that is for entirely positive reasons, and her proud owner-breeder can look forward to playing more generation games.

With only four months until Making Tax Digital for VAT goes live (April 1, 2022), HM Revenue & Customs has started to send out correspondence to all VAT registered businesses who are not yet signed up for Making Tax Digital and didn’t meet the previous £85,000 turnover threshold requirement.

All VAT registered businesses need to sign up for MTD before the submission of their first VAT return after 1 April 2022. Thereafter all VAT return submissions are to be made to HMRC via MTD compliant software and all VAT records must be stored digitally.

With owners in mind, the ROA has launched ROA VAT Solution, in partnership with Xero accounting software and HubDoc document collection and management software to take the compilation, document storage and submission of MTD VAT returns off your hands, so that you can spend time focusing on the sport you love.

Furthermore, our service is transparent, meaning that our clients can log in to view transactions, reports and submitted VAT returns.

We deal with all HMRC’s queries on your behalf and equally important, we are always on hand to ensure our clients can speak to one of our team if there are any concerns or queries.

The ROA VAT Solution team is on hand to support owners, working together as the owners’ stakeholder within racing.

To engage ROA VAT Solution as your Agent to take over your existing VAT registration is simple and free. All you need to do is complete our Agent Flyer from www.roa.co.uk/vat or email our team on vat@roa.co.uk to request a copy by email or post.

Car parking labels The ROA priority car parking label for 2022 will be sent out to members this month with a new car parking label holder.

The new label will be effective from January 1 and replaces the 2020 orange label which was rolled over for this year.

THE OWNER BREEDER 97

ROA Forum

OWNERSHIP MATTERS P

with Philip Davies, MP for Shipley

hilip Davies’ interest in horseracing stemmed from his parents owning a betting shop in Doncaster when he was growing up, and from his grandfather owning horses with Jack Berry.

His first steps into ownership came when he worked for Asda, when a few colleagues got together to buy two horses – Morning Warning and Nessen Dorma – that were put into training with Kevin Ryan and James Given. Nessen Dorma won four races and gave the partners a huge amount of fun.

Philip also owned some pointto-pointers in partnership with Lord Daresbury and trained by David Easterby. The most successful was Royal Deal, who was unbeaten in points.

What do you enjoy most about racing and owning racehorses?

Horseracing is the finest sport in the world and it has three particular appeals to me. First of all is the horses – they are the most wonderful animals with their own particular personalities. Seeing their progress at close quarters is a fantastic part of ownership.

Second is the people – racing has some marvellous characters and entertaining people, and you get to meet a huge range of people. I have always owned horses in partnership with others and sharing the ups and downs with others is particularly rewarding.

Finally, I love having a bet – something we shouldn’t be so embarrassed about. People say the betting industry would be nothing without horseracing – and obviously there is some truth in that – but racing would not be a successful sport without betting. We forget that at our peril.

What are the key matters that impact on your ownership experience?

Obviously having a winner is the best feeling in the world and the ultimate experience you seek, but most of all, it has to be fun. Having a trainer who

98 THE OWNER BREEDER

Philip Davies MP says that horseracing is the finest sport in the world

is welcoming, totally honest about the ability and prospects of your horse, and who communicates well is also essential. Having a great day at the races when your horse runs is also crucial – racecourses can’t make every horse running there a winner, but they can make sure that every owner has a great day out irrespective of the result.

How well does the racing industry cater for owners and which areas could be improved?

I think that facilities at racecourses have improved considerably for owners over recent years, although there are still some that need to look at best practice elsewhere. The ROA has done a great job in recent years in lobbying to bring about this improvement.

One longstanding frustration is that it can feel like a bureaucratic nightmare putting together a group of people to own a horse in partnership, with the forms and costs involved. I am sure many people must give up during the process, and I hope more effort will be given to streamlining the process – otherwise we will drive people away from the sport.

What are your thoughts on welfare in relation to your horses in training and in terms of aftercare?

The welfare of racehorses is absolutely critical and that doesn’t

just mean when they are in training but also once they are retired. Finding a suitable home for a horse after its racing career has ended is very important to me – as with all owners I am sure – and there is never any excuse for cruelty. I once had a very bad experience with someone who took on a horse I part-owned and so making sure there is a proper agreement in place is also something people need to consider when a horse is given a new home.

I think we should also remember that we are one of the best in the world when it comes to the welfare of horses in training and once retired. We mustn’t be complacent, and we must always seek to improve, but on the whole we have a record of which we can and should be proud.

Which courses look after owners particularly well?

The horses I have owned have tended to ply their trade at a more lowly level – and obviously I cannot speak for courses which I haven’t attended as an owner – but I have had particularly good experiences at Chester, Haydock and more recently Market Rasen.

As I mentioned earlier, I think the standard of facilities has improved greatly in recent years and I hope that increased investment in owners at racecourses will continue into the future.

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ROA Forum

Racing Post Go North Series The Racing Post Go North Series finals, worth a total of £270,000, will form part of an expanded Go North Weekend. The finals will take place over March 25-27, beginning at Musselburgh on Friday, March 25 before heading to Kelso on Saturday, March 26 and concluding at Carlisle on Sunday, March 27.

Each fixture features the £30,000 final races for the various series staged across the campaign, with Kelso’s fixture hosting the newly added middledistance hurdle series and bumper series finals.

On the opening day at Musselburgh, finals will take place for the juvenile hurdle, mares’ hurdle, two-mile hurdle and stayers’ hurdle series, with the two-mile chase, middle-distance chase and staying chase series reaching their conclusions at Carlisle on the final day.

To celebrate the introduction of the two new categories, each series has been renamed in honour of a northern racing star who excelled at the particular discipline or whose story speaks to what makes northern racing special.

BILL SELWYN

Cloth Cap in action at Kelso, which stages the second day of the Racing Post Go North Series final

Benefit in focus: third party liability insurance scheme All ROA members receive automatic third party liability insurance cover (up to a limit of liability of £10 million) against potential damages if their racehorse causes damage or injury, through a scheme arranged through Weatherbys Hamilton.

The ROA introduced this scheme as owners are currently vulnerable to claims even when their horse is in someone else’s possession.

Tragic accidents have left many owners concerned about the risks of a claim – potentially running into millions of pounds – being brought against them by a third party for which they have inadequate protection.

The law may define a racehorse’s owner as any individual who has a financial interest in that horse, so all members of a partnership or syndicate should be mindful of their potential exposure to that risk.

In the case of managed syndicate

100 THE OWNER BREEDER

ownership it is important to have third party liability insurance in the name of the syndicate, so all syndicate members have the benefit of cover should they each be found liable in law for their proportion of a multi-million pound damages award.

Legal precedent has not yet been established as to how racehorse ownership amongst syndicate members is regarded and apportioned in UK Law, but the ROA membership third party liability scheme would respond for a ROA member who is part of a syndicate that is not directly insured itself for third party liability, for their individual proportion of the amount awarded in an action where the syndicate is found to be legally liable for damage.

The ROA members’ third party liability insurance scheme applies to horses in training, horses being prepared to go into training and horses temporarily out of training. It also extends to provide cover for owners

who are amateur breeders.

Terms and conditions apply. See roa.co.uk/third for full policy wording, frequently asked questions and further resources on this important benefit, including a short video clip with Jonny McIrvine of Weatherbys Hamilton explaining why third party liability cover is an important consideration for all owners.

According to current interpretation of the Animals Act 1971, owners of animals are regarded in law as being liable for their actions irrespective of whether they keep the animal and of whether negligence on the part of the keeper is established.

If you own an animal you are just as much at risk of being held liable for the consequences of its actions, regardless of whether you have never even seen it, or are, in fact, its regular keeper.

Individual syndicate members must be members of the ROA to enjoy protection.

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Most of the offspring of my french mares have won and the bonus of breeders prizes have been very welcome.

Mrs Vicky Ward, Newmarket We have been clients of Haras D’La Riviere since 2018 and although it is early days we stand at 100% on each of a) covered mares in foal, b) successful foalings and c) offspring sold at auction. We have received sound advice when required aided by local knowledge and a trusted network.

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Andrew Gray MRCVS, Proxygene Bloodstock First mares sent in 2013. Excellent facilities, my mares are so well treated by Neil and Debra from conception to birth.

Cherish FR just won four races in 8 weeks and Kensington Agent FR won last month. Plus all French premiums are available too.

Liza Judd, London I have had a long-term boarding mare with Deb and Neil since December 2017 and I am happy to recommend them.

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THE OWNER BREEDER 101

TBA Forum

The special section for TBA members

Shadwell homebreds shine on biggest stage

BILL SELWYN

W

hilst not the end of the British Flat season, it draws to a crescendo with British Champions Day at Ascot, which witnessed a Group 1 double for Sheikha Hissa Hamdan Al Maktoum’s Shadwell operation. Eshaada kick-started the day’s celebrations, coming out best of a finalfurlong tussle with Albaflora. Thirty-five minutes later and Baaeed maintained his unbeaten record in the Queen Elizabeth II Stakes when winning from Palace Pier.

Although no longer in Shadwell’s ownership, Alnaseem, in the care of former Newmarket-based trainer Ed Vaughan, completed a treble of stakes winners in October when taking the HBPA Stakes at Presque Isle Downs in Pennsylvania.

Winner of the Ribblesdale Stakes at Royal Ascot from Eshaada, Loving Dream gained her Group 1 victory in the Prix de Royalieu at Longchamp for ownerbreeders Trevor and Libby Harris of Lordship Stud.

The second weekend of the month was a successful one for the Thompson family’s Cheveley Park Stud. Frankel’s daughter Inspiral readily went away in the closing stages to win the Group 1 Fillies’ Mile, while the day later, Canonized grabbed winning black type in the Rockingham Stakes at York.

The highlight on the second day of Future Champions Day was the Group 1 Dewhurst Stakes which witnessed Native Trail run out the comfortable winner. A son of Oasis Dream, the Banstead Manor Stud resident was also on the mark with Azano, winner of the Guisborough Stakes

Baaeed (farside) maintained his unbeaten record in the Queen Elizabeth II Stakes at Ascot

at Redcar.

That same weekend Al Suhail landed the Group 2 Challenge Stakes at Newmarket. The son of Dubawi was bred by Meon Valley Stud, who were also responsible for American stakes scorer Value Proposition, a son of Dansili.

Value Proposition and Alnaseem were not the only Stateside stakes successes.

There were breakout top-level wins for Blowout (Dansili) in the First Lady Stakes at Keeneland and for the Widgham Studbred Mutamakina, a daughter of Newsells Park Stud-based Nathaniel, in the Grade 1 EP Taylor Stakes.

The Kathryn Stud-bred Public Sector (Kingman) was a good winner of the Grade 2 Hill Prince Stakes, while Tuned was an authoritative winner of the All Along Stakes.

Bred by Lawn Stud, the operation owned by TBA Chairman Julian Richmond-Watson, Scope followed up his

Listed Noel Murless Stakes win at Ascot with victory in the Group 1 Prix Royal-Oak just over three weeks later.

In Australia there were a pair of Group 3 scorers. Grand Promenade, bred by DJ Erwin Bloodstock and subsequently sixth in the Melbourne Cup, won the Bart Cummings at Flemington, while the Hungerford Park Stud-bred Wentwood won the Bendigo Cup. Tweenhills-based stallion Havana Gold had a decent Flat season and juvenile son Chipotle, bred by Theakston Stud, added to his Royal Ascot success with a win in the Two-Year-Old Trophy at Redcar. A stakes double for the month was achieved when Havana Red, bred by Richard Tucker in Devon, was a Listed winner at Bro Park, just outside Stockholm.

Godolphin and Juddmonte both won a pair of Listed contests in the month with homebreds. Godolphin’s winners were Maria Amalia (Dubawi) in the Schloss

TBA Stud Farming Course 2021 This month the TBA’s Stud Farming Course will make a welcome return (December 7-9) and it is not too late to sign up. The cost of the course is £395 for TBA members and their employees, and £495 for non-TBA members. There are discounts for members sending four or more delegates.

Based out of the British Racing School in Newmarket, the three-day course features an extensive range of stud management topics, including mare reproductive management, bio-security and infectious diseases, rearing of youngstock, grassland management, nutrition, sales

102 THE OWNER BREEDER

preparation and stallion management, all delivered by industry experts.

Delegates will also make external visits to stud and veterinary practices, while there is a dinner on the first evening which provides an opportunity to talk to fellow delegates, speakers and industry professionals.

Bookings for the course can be made through the events page of the TBA website, and for more information or to register an interest, please contact Heather Ewence on heather.ewence@thetba.co.uk or 01638 661321.

Roland-Stutenpreis at Dusseldorf and Zakouski in the Ben Marshall Stakes at Newmarket. Juddmonte’s winning duo were Kingman’s son Masen in the Knockaire Stakes and Georgeville in the Trigo Stakes, both at Leopardstown.

Vadream and Ville De Grace gained maiden Group wins for their ownerbreeders. Vadream, bred by Crispin Estates, took the Group 3 Bengough Stakes, while scoring in the same grade was Ville De Grace. The three-year-old, bred by Hunscote Stud and Chris Humber, took the Pride Stakes.

Group-winning juveniles were also on the mark. Don Chicco, bred by Mickley Stud, Hard Syndicate and Kate Whitehouse, won the Group 2 Gran Criterium at Capannelle, while Lady Bamford’s homebred Dreamflight, a daughter of Frankel, defeated the boys in the Group 3 Prix Thomas Byron.

Kawida, a daughter of Lanwades resident Sir Percy, added to her ownerbreeder Kirsten Rausing’s superb year when taking the Listed Montrose Fillies’ Stakes. Another juvenile filly to win in Listed company in October was the Emily Rothschild homebred Jumbly, winner of the Radley Stakes.

Heading into next season and Bay Bridge looks one to be excited about following his win in the Listed James Seymour Stakes. He was bred by James Wigan’s London Thoroughbred Services.

There were also Listed wins for the Crossfields Bloodstock-bred Tis Marvellous in the Rous Stakes and She Do in the Boadicea Stakes.

On the continent there were Listed wins for the Newsells Park Stud-bred Dato in the Grand Prix de Nantes, the Qatar Bloodstock and China Horse Club-bred Nash Nasha, a Dubawi daughter of Just The Judge, in a Hannover Listed contest, Anasia in the Prix Charles Laffitte, Bois d’Argent in the Prix du Ranelagh, Musetta in the Prix Casimir Delamarre, and Shine For You in the Prix Solitude.

JUMPING FOR FUN There were some notable victories over obstacles in October. Allmankind, a son of Sea The Moon and a homebred of the Gredleys, took the Grade 2 Old Roan Handicap Chase. The following weekend Larry (Midnight Legend), bred

by Cotley Hill Stud, took the Grade 3 Gold Cup Handicap Chase at Ascot, while at Wetherby, Molly Ollys Wishes (Black Sam Bellamy) took the Listed Mares’ Hurdle.

Meanwhile, in the US, trainer Gordon Elliott landed the Gladstone Hurdle Stakes with Realist, a gelded three-year-old bred by the Queen.

TBA Chief Executive Claire Sheppard, TBA Executive Secretary Victoria Murrell, TBA Environmental Sustainability Working Group Chair James O’Donnell, pictured with Sarah Wynn from ADAS and Rhianydd Lee-Jones from the Racing Foundation

TBA and Racing Foundation win environmental sustainability award The environmental Impact of Stud Farms Assessment project, which the TBA conducted earlier in the year with the assistance of funding from the Racing Foundation, was one of the winners at this year’s British Association for Sustainable Sport (BASIS) Awards, which took place in October.

The BASIS awards recognise those in the sports sector who have introduced initiatives that have a positive impact on the planet and communities.

The project won the Innovation, Initiatives and Products Award Category. It was instigated by the TBA’s Environmental Sustainability Working Group, which seeks to collaborate on grassland management practices that enhance air and water quality and soil health, mitigate flood risk and increase biodiversity while also reducing the carbon footprint of studs.

The group’s Chair, James O’Donnell, commented: “Winning this award is a major achievement for the horseracing industry and is the result of a true collaboration between the

TBA and the Racing Foundation.

“It goes to show what can be achieved when the industry works together.

“Environmental sustainability is an important subject that will be at the forefront of people’s minds going forward and this project, and subsequent award, is a great place to start.”

Rob Hezel, Chief Executive of the Racing Foundation, added: “Environmental sustainability is crucial for horseracing’s long-term future and as such, we were delighted to fund the Environmental Sustainability of Stud Farms project.

“The Racing Foundation’s 20212023 strategy includes environmental sustainability as one of its key funding areas, and this TBA study was the first application of its kind we received.

“We hope this study and its recognised success will build momentum and be the first of many applications for the funding of further research, resourcing and initiatives to enhance sustainability throughout the thoroughbred sector.”

Associate subscription – the perfect gift Can't think of the gift for someone you know that has an interest in the bloodstock industry? The TBA's associate subscription is just the thing.

Costing just £60, the subscription is ideal for friends and family who want to get involved and learn more.

Giving access to webinars and resources on TB-Ed, as well as discounted access to courses, the subscription provides access to race badge offers and discounted access to TBA events, seminars and courses. There is also the regular e-bulletins providing the key information and insight into the industry which will keep them in the know.

For more information, visit www.thetba.co.uk.

THE OWNER BREEDER 103

TBA Forum

Taking advantage of earlier opportunities for NH horses

BILL SELWYN

By Bryan Mayoh, TBA National Hunt Committee Chairman

Bryan Mayoh points to the advantage enjoyed by Irish- and French-bred horses such as dual Cheltenham Gold Cup hero Al Boum Photo

changer’ for British horses.

Designed to help the development of jump horses in Great Britain, the series of hurdle races will take place from midOctober 2022 to the end of the 2022/23 jumps season. The purpose of the new

Elite Mares’ Scheme returns for 2022 A record number of stallions have been made available to TBA members and the TBA/HBLB Elite Mares' Scheme for 2022. Applications are now being taken for the scheme and will be accepted until January 31, 2022.

The TBA/HBLB Elite National Hunt Mares’ Incentive Scheme was created to highlight to breeders the quality of National Hunt stallions standing in Great Britain.

TBA members who own mares rated 130+ who have produced a runner of a defined performance level (see below) are eligible for subsidised nominations to British-based stallions which are eligible and nominated by their managers under the Terms of the Scheme.

Winners of black-type races over obstacles in Great Britain, Ireland and France will be treated as having the following minimum ratings, if these are above those actually awarded: • Winners of two or more Grade 1 WFA

104 THE OWNER BREEDER

races: 155 mares, 165 geldings • Grade 1 WFA winners or winners of three Grade 2 races: 150 mares, 160 geldings • Winners of two Grade 2 WFA races: 145 mares, 155 geldings • Winners of a Grade 2 WFA race: 140 mares, 150 geldings • Winners of a Grade 3 or a Listed WFA race: 135 mares, 145 geldings • Winners of a Graded/Listed handicap: 130 mares, 140 geldings N.B. 2 x Grade 3 or Listed wins are treated as equivalent to a Grade 2 win.

When the above measures are applied, horses relying on winning races that are confined to three-year-olds or four-yearolds will be treated as having achieved ratings 5lb below those stated above.

A mare that qualifies for the scheme by satisfying multiple criteria (either as a race mare and producer, or as producer of more than one qualifying horse) will be regarded as having achieved an

races is to provide an option for horses raised in this country to gain early experience over obstacles, such as is available in France via three-year-old hurdle races and Ireland via four-year-old point-to-points.

Frontiersman: Overbury sire is on the list OVERBURY STUD

The recent announcement that the BHA is to stage a series of NH Junior Development Hurdles from October 2022, aimed principally at National Hunt-breds, is good news for breeders, owners and trainers alike, for it could be a ‘game

Official Rating increased by 10lb for every additional qualification.

Grants Owners of mares nominated for the scheme will receive a grant entitling them to a discount on the nomination fees of any of the stallions which are included in the scheme. The grant value is determined on the category of the mare.

Category 1a/1b: £4,000 Category 2a/2b: £3,000 Category 3a/3b: £2,000 These grants, which are paid direct to

young British jump horses is placing them at a significant disadvantage to those raised in Ireland and France.

Evidence gathered by the TBA indicated that horses raised in France have long been outperforming those raised in Britain and Ireland in the principal jump tests in this country, and a key factor is that many of the most successful horses first raced over obstacles at the age of three.

Among the French-bred horses that raced in jump races as three-year-olds are the Cheltenham Gold Cup winners Kauto Star, Long Run and Al Boum Photo, along with outstanding performers Master Minded, Buveur D’Air, Espoir D’Allen, Big Buck's, Dynaste, Vautour, Min, Frodon, Clan Des Obeaux, plus Grand National winner Neptune Collonges. Many of these horses enjoyed long top-level careers.

More recently the challenge to French hegemony has come from horses developed in Irish point-to-points. The Irish domination of the 2021 Cheltenham Festival was heavily based on horses that began racing over obstacles early in life, generally in four-year-old point-to-points.

Of the 13 Grade 1 winners over obstacles none first appeared in a Flat race; only one in a NH Flat race; three over hurdles and no less than nine in Irish point-topoints.

All but two first raced over obstacles before reaching the age of five. None of the six winners of chases, and only three

The races will be open only to three-year-olds (October to December) and four-year-olds (January to April) that have not previously raced in Flat or jump races other than NH Flat races or NH Junior Development Hurdles.

A key element of the new races is that they will have the same status as National Hunt Flat races and point-to-points, in that winners will not be precluded from competing in novice hurdles during the following jump season. However, just as for NH Flat races, there will be a maximum number of starts in Junior Development Hurdles, this being set at four. Races will be eligible for £20,000 Great British Bonus prizes for winning British-bred, British-sired fillies.

BHA Chief Operating Officer Richard Wayman said: “By adding these races to next year’s programme we’ll be able to gain a much better understanding of the impact of providing young jumping horses with the opportunity to start their careers at an earlier stage.

"Such an approach is already wellestablished in France and to some extent as part of a vibrant point-to-point scene in Ireland.

“We hope that owners and trainers will support the introduction of Junior NH Development Hurdle races and view them as an ideal opportunity for the right sort of jumping horse.”

The initiative follows concerns raised by the TBA that the racing programme for

What to do next?

For a full list of eligible mares, visit the Elite Mares' Scheme page on the TBA website (www.thetba.co.uk) where an online application form can also be

the stallion owner on receipt by the TBA office of a positive 1st October pregnancy certificate, apply to the 2022 breeding season only and cannot be carried forward to any future season.

of 18 placed horses, followed the conventional route of starting out in NH Flat races. The Grand National winner, Minella Times, also began as a four-yearold ‘pointer’ in Ireland.

Ironically, the most important Britishbred success at Cheltenham, the Champion Hurdle win by Honeysuckle, came from a mare whose first run brought victory in an Irish point-to-point six days before her actual fourth birthday; whilst the British four-year-old point-to-point winner, Energumene, whose success in a maiden race at Larkhill came over five months before his actual fourth birthday, won Grade 1 chases at both the Dublin and Punchestown festivals.

So, whether it be French, Irish or British-bred horses that began over obstacles as three-year-olds or four-yearolds before winning major jump races, it is increasingly clear that starting to jump obstacles earlier in life gives horses a significant advantage. It is to counter these advantages for horses raised abroad, whether raced in French juvenile hurdles or Irish four-year-old point-topoints, that the new NH Junior Development Hurdles are aimed.

These races are also being supported in the British point-to-point field, with the TBA sponsoring a series of five four-yearold only races from February onwards.

This will be the first-time races of this nature have been staged in Britain in the spring.

found. If you have a mare which you believe has attained the necessary credentials but is absent from the list, please contact Rob Davey (rob. davey@thetba.co.uk).

Stallions in 2022 Elite Mares' Scheme ASK BANGKOK DARTMOUTH DINK FALCO FLAG OF HONOUR

FRONTIERSMAN GENTLEWAVE GEORDIELAND HAAFHD HARBOUR LAW JACK HOBBS

LEADING LIGHT LINDA’S LAD LOGICIAN MARMELO MASTERSTROKE NORSE DANCER

NUTAN PASSING GLANCE PETHER’S MOON PLANTEUR SADDLER’S ROCK SANS FRONTIERES

SCALO SCHIAPARELLI TELESCOPE TOP TRIP UNIVERSAL WALZERTAKT

SCHEME DETAILS

Category 1a Mares that achieved a peak Official Rating of 150 or more

Category 2a Mares that achieved a peak Official Rating of between 140-149

Category 3a Mares that achieved a peak Official Rating of between 130-139

Category 1b Mares who have produced a NH horse officially rated 155 (mare) OR 165 (gelding) or more, in Great Britain, Ireland or France

Category 2b Mares who have produced a NH horse officially rated 145-154 (mare) OR 155164 (gelding) or more, in Great Britain, Ireland or France

Category 3b Mares who have produced a NH horse officially rated 135-144 (mare) OR 145-154 (gelding) or more, in Great Britain, Ireland or France

THE OWNER BREEDER 105

TBA Forum Simon Cox co-opted to TBA Board Last month the TBA welcomed Simon Cox, the current President and CEO of Molson Coors EMEA & APAC, to the Board of Trustees as a co-opted member.

A member of the National Hunt Committee, Simon has spent 32 years in the brewing industry, including roles in China, Denmark and Vietnam. A member of the board of the Professional Jockeys Association, he has owned jump horses for a decade and currently has horses in training with Ian Williams. More recently, Cox has expanded his interests in thoroughbred breeding and has mares stationed at Shade Oak Stud, also home to Logician, in whom he is a shareholder.

Married to Louise and a father of

Could a TBA bursary help further your career?

The TBA bursary enables anyone to submit an application for a grant to fund an educational course or continued professional development activity which allows them to develop or further their career in the thoroughbred breeding industry.

The TBA believes in an inclusive workplace and industry, and actively encourages applications from individuals who can benefit greatly from a bursary fund that can provide access to industry training and development.

Example grant requests include: • Training course, e.g., Stud Secretary’s Course, The Racing Industry Course, National Stud Lecture Series • Entry cost for attendance to an industry event or conference • Equipment to support development of career • TBA courses • TB-Ed online learning platform courses and resources To apply for the TBA bursary please visit thetba.co.uk/tbabursary-applications/ where you will find a downloadable application form.

106 THE OWNER BREEDER

three, outside of racing Simon is a passionate follower of Liverpool Football Club and a keen traveller who will be trying to add to the over 50 countries he has visited in the coming years.

Simon said: “I’m first and foremost a passionate racing fan and over the last decade have deepened my involvement in racing through owning and breeding National Hunt racehorses. I’m delighted to join the TBA Board of Trustees and am really looking forward to supporting the ongoing growth and health of the breeding industry.

"I want to continue to learn about the wider industry, but I hope my knowledge of jump racing and my business experience will be of use to the team from the start.”

Simon Cox: passionate racing fan

TB-Ed course in focus – Paddock Management The course follows on from the level two course which was released earlier in the year. It looks at the specific roles of paddocks within a stud farm, the paddock performance in relation to soil and, how to improve and maintain pasture in preparation for grazing.

There are five key areas addressed within the course: • Paddock suitability • Productivity • Performance • Methods of preparing grazing • Approaches to improving grassland Some of the specific topics that are covered include the impact of seasonal features and climate in relation to paddocks, types of grasses, soil

sampling, soil structures and the use of different pieces of machinery.

The final module is a video presented by Joe Grimwade (equine stud management consultant) and Paul Overton (independent equine agronomist), which takes the student on a paddock walk discussing repairing and preparing paddocks in autumn.

There are key fact documents, a paddock assessment template, and a summary of the strengths and weaknesses of some common grasses.

Sign up now to TB-Ed for free at tb-ed.co.uk. The cost of the Paddock Management course is £150 to non-TBA members, while TBA members can access the course for half price at £75.

Key dates for 2022 With the new year nearly upon us, members are advised of the following dates for events in 2022.

Further events will be added to the calendar and members are advised to keep an eye on the news section of the TBA website for the most up to date information.

January 25 – NH Stallion Showcase, Goffs UK, Doncaster February 3 – Flat Stallion Parade, Tattersalls, Newmarket February 28 – GBB, Stage 3 deadline for 2020-born Flat fillies May 16 – NH Breeders’ Awards Evening, Doncaster May 31 – GBB, Stage 2 deadline for 2021-born fillies July 6 – Flat Breeders’ Awards Evening, Chippenham Park August 31 – GBB, Stage 3 deadline for 2019-born jump fillies September 7 – AGM, Tattersalls September 14 – Breeders’ Day, Sandown Park racecourse September 30 – GBB, Stage 1 deadline for 2022-born fillies

Have yourself a merry little bonus £4 million already paid out £4m

paid out

46 multiple-bonus winners worth £1,401,500

GBB Flat winners 194

GBB Jumps winners 92

GBB Flat bonus payments £2,904,500

GBB Jumps bonus payments £1,072,875

I had become a little disillusioned with the breeding game, but with DRAGON BONES’ success and GBB, I am a bit more encouraged than I was two or three years ago, so I am going to put two mares in foal next year.

Nigel Ford, breeder of DRAGON BONES – GBB’s leading mare

GBB has been incredible. DRAGON BONES won a listed race and still her bonuses are worth more than double her prize money. It’s a fantastic scheme for everyone involved: owners, breeders, trainers, jockeys, and, of course, the stable staff. It’s a great reward for all parties.

Ian Williams, trainer

Be sure to breed, buy and race GBB fillies and mares!

For more information on eligibility, visit greatbritishbonus.co.uk TBA GBB TOB Mailers A4_December.indd 1

Information correct at time of going to press

16/11/2021 16:01

Breeder of the Month Words Howard Wright

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BREEDER OF THE MONTH (October 2021)

Bloodstock success can turn on a quirk of fate, as Julian Richmond-Watson, named the TBA Breeder of the Month of October for his owner-breeder success with Scope in the Group 1 Prix Royal-Oak, can testify. Had plans gone according to schedule, Scope would not have been born at all.

TBA Chairman Richmond-Watson takes up the story: “I meant to sell Scope’s dam Look So, who didn’t run at two years, as a three-year-old at the end of 2007. She hated the kickback at Kempton on her debut, then won a Newbury maiden at 100-1, the only winner I’ve ever had at that price, but she didn’t go on and wasn’t good enough to keep. But there was a mix-up over putting her into the sales and she didn’t get in, so I decided to run her as a four-year-old.

“She won her first two races in the spring, both by a neck, but even more significantly, about a month later her half-sister Look Here won the Oaks for me. So, there was no way she was going to the sales!”

Richmond-Watson’s route to Look So, Look Here and Scope was formed several years before he founded his Lawn Stud on the family’s Wakefield Lodge Estate at Potterspury, near Towcester, when at the 1990 Tattersalls December Sales he gave 13,500gns for the French-bred Derniere Danse. History points to another quirk of fate.

At the time of the purchase, recorded to Milltown Stud in Ireland, the market did not seem to reflect that Derniere Danse’s two-year-old half-sister Divine Danse had won a Group 3 and finished

LOUISE POLLARD

JULIAN RICHMOND-WATSON

Scope: Group 1 victor descends from his breeder’s Last Look family

second in the Group 1 Prix Morny and Prix Robert Papin, while few would have known that her yearling half-brother was to become Pursuit Of Love.

Derniere Danse’s fifth produce for Richmond-Watson was Last Look, by Rainbow Quest, and again he recalls: “I couldn’t put Last Look in training because she wasn’t correct, so I thought I’d get two foals out of her and sell her, but the first two came out perfectly straight, so she stayed, and her daughter Kristina produced the Lingfield Oaks Trial winner Kayah for me.”

Although Richmond-Watson has owned horses since 1970, he is a relative late-comer to the breeding sector. His father Sonny – baptised Richmond Noel but known throughout his life as Sonny, for reasons that noone in the immediate family can now explain – owned horses from the 1950s, including the 1960 Queen Anne Stakes winner Blast, and started a stud on the Wakefield Lodge Estate. He became deputy Senior Steward of the Jockey Club, which position his son overtook in 2003 as the Senior Steward responsible for completing the commercialisation of

British racing’s former regulatory body.

“My father and I didn’t agree about the way the stud should go forward,” Richmond-Watson explains, “so I just raced horses until he gave up, not long before he died in 2002 at the age of 94.

Then I founded Lawn Stud.”

The fortunes of the stud have been firmly founded on the Derniere Danse dynasty and continues through the Look So-Look Here axis that provides the foundation of the current team of six mares.

Look Here died in 2019 but has a filly foal by Night Of Thunder to represent her, while her daughter Hereby, who won five of her nine races, including the Listed Noel Murless Stakes, and finished third in five others, is due to produce her first foal, by Fastnet Rock, in the spring.

Scope’s winning half-sisters Regardez and Glance are also beginning to make their presence felt. Regardez, whose son Impatient won twice for her breeder before being sold for 95,000gns to the Middle East, has an Oasis Dream colt foal and is in foal to Study Of Man. Glance, who signed off her racing career by winning on the Deauville Polytrack in late-November 2019, has a first foal colt by Gleneagles and is in foal to Too Darn Hot. “I’m heavily into the family,” says Richmond-Watson, who, as well as having to pit his wits on behalf of TBA members, admits he faces an interesting conundrum in finding the next mate for Scope’s dam Look So, especially given his association status. “I try to use British stallions where I can, but that’s not always possible. Look So is rising 18, so I’ll just have to consider what’s best for her. I’m still debating with myself.”

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108 THE OWNER BREEDER

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Vet Forum: The Expert View

Perineal damage

During second stage labour the foal is usually delivered in a ‘diver’s’ position with the forelegs extended and the head resting on the cannon (shin) bones or knees. It is not unusual for a small amount of tearing of the skin of the vulva to occur, especially in first foaling mares or mares with scar tissue from previous foaling damage or stitching (caslicks).

Occasionally, if the foal’s feet are directed too high or as a result of the very forceful nature of the mare’s contractions, one or both of the feet might penetrate the roof of the vagina causing a tear. The damage might result in a localised communication between the vagina and rectum (fistula) but, in some cases, the tear might continue through the muscle of the anus (third degree tear) causing a degree of incontinence and contamination of the reproductive tract.

A fistula might not require surgical intervention if very small but larger fistulae and third degree tears do require surgical treatment if the mare is to breed again in the future.

Retained placenta

During pregnancy, the outer part of the placenta – the chorion – is firmly attached to the inner surface of the uterus. This attachment is so tight, in fact, that oxygen and nutrients are freely exchanged between the maternal blood vessels and the foal’s circulation enabling the foal to survive and grow. At foaling, the inner ‘sac’ or amnion is delivered with the foal as a white ‘shroud’. The chorion usually separates from the uterus and is delivered within 30 minutes to four hours. Delivery of the placenta may be assisted by tying it up into a knot at around hock level to prevent the mare walking on it and tearing it (Fig 1).

In some mares, the placenta does not come away and this is known as ‘retained placenta’. If the placenta has not been delivered within around four hours, it is necessary to call for veterinary advice as this condition is potentially life threatening. You should not attempt to pull the placenta out as this would risk the

110 THE OWNER BREEDER

placenta tearing. Treatment usually consists of injections or intravenous infusion of oxytocin which encourages contraction of the uterus and can loosen the attachment to the uterus.

This may need to be repeated.

Your vet might accompany such medication with gentle manual ‘teasing’ of the placenta away from the wall of the uterus, avoiding force which might cause a tear. If the whole placenta is retained, your vet might pump water or sterile fluid into the umbilical vessels of the placenta to encourage it to separate.

After any mare foals it is essential to check the placenta to ensure that it has all been delivered. The normal placenta is ‘F’ shaped with the two horns providing the arms.

Occasionally, the tip of one or both of the horns is retained. This should also be treated as an emergency. Your vet will need to insert a clean, gloved arm into the uterus and locate and remove the retained piece(s). In either instance, after manual removal of the placenta, the uterus should be flushed with a large volume of sterile saline.

If any piece of placenta is retained for longer than eight hours, there is a significant risk of the mare developing endometritis (uterine infection), toxaemia and laminitis, which may prove to be fatal. Unfortunately, these conditions can occur even if treatment is prompt but the risk is very much reduced.

Post-partum haemorrhage

During pregnancy, the blood supply to the uterus increases greatly. Any foaling mare is at risk of haemorrhage from one of the major blood vessels supplying the uterus either during or, more commonly, in the 24 hours after foaling. While older mares are at greater risk of this, even young mares can be affected with a significant risk of mortality.

In most cases the haemorrhage is contained and a blood clot (haematoma) forms within the broad ligament which supports the uterus within the abdomen. In other case, haemorrhage into the abdomen occurs and these cases are often fatal.

Signs to look out for are colic; pain;

PROF SIDNEY RICKETTS

Post foaling complications in the mare

Figure 1 Placenta tied up

pale mucous membranes; increased respiratory and heart rates; low body temperature; depression and inappetence. Some mares just appear quiet while others show severe pain.

Diagnosis is based on clinical signs but there is a need to differentiate between this and other causes of post-foaling colic. Ultrasonography and abdominal fluid analysis can provide useful information. Treatment is aimed at keeping the mare calm and out of pain using anti-inflammatory analgesics (such as flunxin or phenylbutazone) and sedatives to facilitate the formation of a clot. The foal should be kept with the mare to help to reduce her stress unless she is in so much pain that the foal is at risk of injury. Tranexamic acid is believed to encourage clot formation and may be given. In some cases, a blood transfusion may be required in an attempt to save the mare.

Unfortunately, some mares that survive may suffer organ damage due to the low oxygen levels associated with the blood loss and these may need intensive therapy even after the haemorrhage has stopped. In mares that survive, fertility is generally considered to be quite good once the haematoma has resolved. However, it is widely believed that a mare that has haemorrhaged is at increased risk of haemorrhage at subsequent foalings.

Uterine tear

The average thoroughbred foal is around 50kg at birth, although is it not uncommon to see one weigh in at over 60kg. The process of foaling requires considerable force from the

muscular wall of the uterus and the abdominal muscles.

Occasionally, during either the movements of the foal as it prepares for birth or as the contractions progress, damage can occur to the uterus which may result in a tear or hole in the uterine wall. This is more common in a difficult foaling (dystocia) where assistance has been needed but can occur in an apparently normal foaling if one of the foal’s hooves has pushed through the uterine wall. This will usually go unnoticed until the mare starts to show clinical signs such as abdominal pain (colic), elevated temperature (pyrexia), reduced gut activity and depression. Peritoneal (abdominal) fluid analysis can assist diagnosis. These tears can be difficult to diagnose and it can sometimes be necessary to perform exploratory surgery to find and treat a tear.

Many cases respond to medical treatment with antibiotics, intravenous fluids and other supporting treatment but others will require surgical repair and treatment. According to one study, the survival rate is around 75% in both treatment groups if caught early.

Colon torsion

Unfortunately this is a significant cause of mortality in mares in the first few weeks after foaling. After foaling and as the uterus involutes (returns to normal non-pregnant size) there is suddenly more room in the abdomen and the large colon becomes displaced and/or twisted. If the displacement is slight or the twist

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Figure 2 Low grade colic signs

only partial, the chances of recovery are much greater. In severe cases, the torsion may be 360 degrees or more and the blood supply to the colon is rapidly compromised resulting in death of the affected portion and the onset of shock.

The severity of initial signs will depend on the degree of displacement and/or torsion. In mild cases, the mare may present with low grade colic (Fig 2) which may respond to medical and conservative treatment. In severe cases, the pain might be so severe that analgesics are ineffective or only work for a very short time. These cases are surgical emergencies but even with prompt diagnosis and treatment the mortality rate is high.

Endometritis

During foaling the cervix opens and it remains open until after the first ovulation at foal heat. This means that there is an increased risk of bacteria entering the uterus during and/or soon after foaling. The normal post-foaling uterus contains some degenerating blood and other fluids which will normally be expelled as the mare starts exercising and the uterus

contracts and involutes.

In some mares, either because of poor vulval conformation, contamination during foaling or for unknown reasons, the fluid becomes infected and it acts as an excellent growing medium for bacteria.

Infection of the lining of the uterus is called endometritis. In some cases, the mare produces an abnormal discharge but does not become systemically ill.

In many cases, however, the mare can become toxaemic as toxic bacterial products from the uterus are absorbed into the circulation.

This causes the mares to develop a temperature and become obviously ill.

In addition, affected mares will often develop laminitis, which can be severe and difficult to treat.

Treatment of the endometritis involves large volume flushes of the uterus to remove any contaminated fluid and other debris, and antibiotics – administered into the uterus and systemically – and anti-inflammatory medication. Intravenous fluids might be needed. Urgent and specific treatment for the laminitis such as the use of ice boots, frog and/or sole supports and suitable bedding to cushion and pack into the hooves must be instigated.

Reference

Laura H Javsicas, Steeve Giguère, David E Freeman, Dwayne H Rodgerson, Nathan M Slovis Comparison of surgical and medical treatment of 49 postpartum mares with presumptive or confirmed uterine tears Vet Surg 2010 Feb;39(2):254-60.

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THE OWNER BREEDER

111

John Oxx needs no introduction but it’s worth underlining just how much he achieved in his 41 years training before his retirement last November. There were close to 2,000 winners, including 35 European Group 1s, among them 13 Classics. Pride of place among the individual stars inevitably belongs to Sea The Stars, Ireland’s highest-rated colt ever, but also attaining household-name status were Alamshar, Azamour, Sinndar and Ridgewood Pearl. Unusually perhaps, while operating with ruthless efficiency at the top end of the sport, Oxx seemed to remain universally liked and respected. What’s more, the dignity with which he handled losing the patronage of the Aga Khan and then the Tsui family was an example to us all.

Interview: Graham Dench

I

’ve had no trouble adjusting and life is very good. I was lucky that when I said I was going to stop training I had a couple of calls fairly quickly from people asking if I might be able to give them some help, and that was great. I’ve always been interested in the breeding side of the business and a switch in my head flicked and I started looking ahead. The training is over and done with and we move on.

you would like to buy and that breeders would want to use, and I’m sure it’s no different now, although they’ve had great success, with Indian Ridge and Invincible Spirit in particular. It’s a beautiful place and it has thrived both as a working stud farm and a tourist attraction.

I really loved training racehorses. I loved being with them and watching them all the time – at exercise, doing their work, walking home and so on. I loved the routine of evening stables, feeling their legs, interacting with the riders and the staff, then planning their work based on what I’d seen. Training racehorses is 24/7 observation, but I liked the daily routine, even though it left no time for anything else. I enjoyed that much more than the racecourse, as by then your work was done, although of course it gave everyone a lift when the horses were winning.

The chance to be involved with Staffordstown Stud came out of the blue. Staffordstown is Kirsten Rausing’s yearling farm, where they send the weanlings to stay for a year before they go to the sales or into training. I was surprised to get asked, but it’s very nice to be working for such a successful farm. Kirsten built it up from scratch, relying on what she felt were good bloodlines, good people and good land, without resorting to what’s fashionable, and I like that. I’m enjoying it already.

Currabeg is now rented to John O’Donoghue and his wife Jodi and it’s nice to see and hear horses around the place again, as it had been empty since last November. John is starting from scratch, which is very hard, but he used to come here in his holidays from college and he’s been assistant to Roger Varian for the past four years. They are a very capable couple, and we are very impressed by them. It’s very hard for somebody who hasn’t inherited a team of horses, as I did, but I’m sure that they will expand into it. They just need a bit of luck.

GEORGE SELWYN

You can’t train for breeders without being interested in breeding, and I enjoy that end of the business. I was Chairman of the Irish National Stud from 1985 to 1990 and it was an informative and interesting time. It was particularly difficult to get your hands on the stallions

Oxx with exceptional performer Sea The Stars and jockey Mick Kinane

112 THE OWNER BREEDER

John hasn’t said it to me, but I’ve read that he will never put a horse in Sea The Stars’ box. Currabeg is a big place and he doesn’t need to at the moment, but if things take off and he’s short of a box I expect he’d be happy to fill it! Alamshar and Sinndar were in that same box too, but that was just luck, really. I’d make a list and ask my assistant to put these eight horses in a particular row which I liked, but

I’m not sure they gave it a lot of thought until maybe the last fellow. Perhaps Sea The Stars was there by design though.

It’s a difficult environment, particularly with the strength of the opposition, but Irish racing is doing well. People in England are complaining that all the good horses are being sold to Hong Kong and America, but in Ireland selling horses has always been a way of life and some trainers make their living from trading. The standard of horseracing here is very high and a lot of young trainers have carved out a niche and are doing well. I think we can be pretty optimistic about the future.

Numbers in training on the Curragh dropped from about 1,500 to 900 after the crash and we’d like to get them back up again. I think it will happen. It’s not under-used, as a lot of trainers from outside use the gallops, but we would like to have more trainers who are resident on the Curragh and it’s difficult finding a property in a good location. A lot of work has been put in over the years, and the specification for all-weather gallops has improved enormously since we put in the first woodchip gallop almost 50 years ago. There’s been huge investment, thanks to the generosity of Mrs Eva Maria Bucher-Haefner of Moyglare Stud.

I have a long list of things I’d like to do now that I’m retired from training, and my wife Caitriona will no doubt have another one, but Covid has restricted us.

It will be nice to have more holidays, to go to the theatre and to art galleries, and to enjoy some of the simple things in life.

We’ve got a house full of books too and I always said I’d sit and read once I retired, but that hasn’t happened yet. When Covid is properly over I’ll hopefully mix some of those things with the work I’m still doing, which is enjoyable and not so stressful as training.

GEORGE SELWYN

The Finish Line with John Oxx

THE

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The sire of 21 Stakes horses including Gr.1 winner Havana Grey and 2021 Stakes winners:

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Fearby 5-length winner of the Dragon Stakes, Listed at Sandown

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Breeding the future

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