The Owner Breeder

THE

£6.95 DECEMBER 2020 ISSUE 196

Galloping ahead

Anthony Honeyball’s bold expansion plan for his Dorset stable

PLUS

Prince A A Faisal

Rafha family continues to reap rewards

Australian demand

European yearlings in vogue

Brian Hughes

‘I’m determined to retain my title’

www.theownerbreeder.com

Generations OF SUCCESS

Bated Breath

Kingman

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The Classic winning miler siring Classic winning milers 2021 Fee £150,000 1st Oct, Special Live Foal

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Oasis Dream

A top-class 2YO and Breeders’ Cup Mile champion 2021 Fee £12,500 1st Oct, Special Live Foal

The proven source of Group 1 speed 2021 Fee £20,000 1st Oct, Special Live Foal

2007 b h Dansili - Tantina (Distant View)

2015 b h Acclamation - Exemplify (Dansili)

Frankel

2008 b h Galileo - Kind (Danehill)

The fastest to sire 40 Group winners in history 2021 Fee £175,000 1st Oct, Special Live Foal

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2000 b h Green Desert - Hope (Dancing Brave)

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 Equine Advertising: Giles Anderson/Anna Alcock 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:

1 Year 2 Year UK £60 £100 Europe £90 £150 RoW £120 £195 The Owner Breeder is published by a Mutual Trading Company owned jointly by the Racehorse Owners Association and Thoroughbred Breeders’ Association The Thoroughbred Breeders’ Association is a registered charity No. 1134293 Editorial views expressed in this magazine are not necessarily those of the ROA or TBA Our monthly average readership is 20,000 Racehorse Owners Association Ltd 12 Forbury Road, Reading, Berkshire RG1 1SB Tel: 01183 385680 info@roa.co.uk • www.roa.co.uk

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£6.95 DECEMBER 2020 ISSUE 196

Galloping ahead

Anthony Honeyball’s bold expansion plan for his Dorset stable

PLUS

Prince A A Faisal

Rafha family continues to reap rewards

Australian demand

European yearlings in vogue

Brian Hughes

‘I’m determined to retain my title’

www.theownerbreeder.com

Cover: Anthony Honeyball partners unraced three-year-old gelding Gabriel’s Getaway on the gallops at the trainer’s Dorset stable Photo: George Selwyn

Edward Rosenthal Editor

Hands-on approach sees Honeyball hit new heights T

hey say that fortune favours the brave and even in these challenging times there are those prepared to invest rather than hunker down against the vicious Covid storm.

Anthony Honeyball may not have set the world alight as a jump jockey but his training career is going from strength to strength, highlighted by a superb treble on Ascot’s televised card on October 31 that saw stable favourite Regal Encore, rising 13, capture the Grade 3 Sodexo Gold Cup in the silks of JP McManus.

The previous campaign saw the yard enjoy its best ever tally of 36 winners, at a strike-rate of 29%, a superb statistic that has been maintained during the early months of this season and which, unsurprisingly, provides the trainer with good reason to be cheerful.

“If the demand is there and we can afford it we are brave enough to keep expanding,” Honeyball tells Graham Dench (The Big Interview, pages 24-28).

“Our ambition is to keep building things up bit by bit, without getting ahead of ourselves. I’ve always wanted to do a good job and to make sure that I know everything about every horse, and we’ve got a nice number for that, but now I feel that if we keep building new infrastructure, like the new walker we’ve just put in, then we can cope with slightly larger numbers.

“We are never going to say that we don’t want any more horses, and we have put in plans for a new barn that will house 20 more, with a new office and owners’ room.”

Honeyball is assisted by his wife Rachael, a former jockey who partnered plenty of winners for her husband during her career in the saddle.

Now the couple are making a name for themselves as a partnership to be reckoned with at Potwell Farm Stables on the Dorset/ Somerset border, with their hands-on approach yielding results on the racecourse.

“I place them carefully and put a lot of thought into it, and either myself or Rachael will at some stage have sat on, schooled or

worked every horse in the yard,” Honeyball explains.

“We get a fair idea of what they are and what they can and can’t do, and it helps us to place them – what tracks might suit them, whether they might benefit from a tongue tie, and so on.

“If you are running as many as you can and your strike-rate is somewhere between 15% and 30% then the wheels aren’t falling off. You are doing something right.”

Prince A A Faisal has been doing plenty right on the breeding side for close to 40 years.

His famous maroon silks have been carried by a host of top-class performers, the latest of which is Mishriff, winner of the Prix du Jockey Club in July.

“The trainer has good reason to be cheerful with his superb strike-rate” It was the purchase of Eljazzi in 1982 that started a legacy for Prince Faisal’s broodmare operation, producing Classic heroine Rafha and subsequently talented runners and stallions Invincible Spirit and Kodiac, whose influence on the breed is now felt throughout the world.

In an exclusive interview (pages 36-40), Nancy Sexton caught up with Prince Faisal as he looks back on his decades of success and explains his personal approach to breeding top-class thoroughbreds.

British- and Irish-trained runners bagged four victories at this year’s Breeders’ Cup at Keeneland and Enzina Mastrippolito’s photographs capture the successful quartet in The Big Picture (pages 18-21).

THE OWNER BREEDER

1

HELLO YOUMZAIN By leading sire & emerging sire of sireS Kodiac

PRECOCIOUS, FAST, SOUND AND GENUINE! «

The most beautiful horse I have ever seen » Hubie de Burgh

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1st Sprint Cup Stakes Gr.1 - 1st Diamond Jubilee Stakes Gr.1 - 1st Sandy Lane Stakes Gr.2 st nd rd 1 Critérium de Maisons-Laffitte Gr.2 at 2 - 2 Prix Maurice de Gheest Gr.1 - 3 Commonwealth Cup Gr.1

Contents

December 2020

96

News & Views ROA Leader Recognising racing's resilience

TBA Leader Covid crisis forces change

News Brexit's implications for travelling horses

Changes News in a nutshell

Howard Wright Don't take sponsors for granted

Features continued 7 9 10 14 22

At the Breeders' Cup

The Big Interview With trainer Anthony Honeyball

Australian demand European yearlings popular down under

Prince A A Faisal Rafha's wonderful legacy

4

THE OWNER BREEDER

End of an era at Floors Stud

Sales Circuit Reports from Europe and the USA

Caulfield Files Analysing this year's top two-year-olds

The Finish Line With champion jump jockey Brian Hughes

Ownership central to recovery plan

Great British Bonus 18

Latest news and winners

TBA Forum 24

Awards for Oppenheimer and Quinn

Breeder of the Month 30 36

43 45 67 96

Forum ROA Forum

Features The Big Picture

Breeders' Digest

Mascalls Stud for Subjectivist

Vet Forum Levy Board research projects in focus

72 80 82 88 93

36

24

18

Did you know?

Our monthly average readership is

20,000

THE OWNER BREEDER

5

ROA_PrintAds_Support_2.pdf

2

18/04/2020

10:17

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

C

M

Y

CM

MY

CY

CMY

K

SUPPORT AT EVERY STEP

ROA Leader

Charlie Parker President

Resilience the byword with hope on horizon T

he introduction of the UK’s latest lockdown has been a sobering reminder of the challenging circumstances the country continues to face during this pandemic, whilst the hope of a vaccine early next year has given us some light at the end of the tunnel. The positivity emanating from that announcement has given the nation, and our sport, cause for optimism that we can return to normality in the near future, with fans back on course and a return to the atmosphere we have all missed so badly.

It was also a reminder of our sport’s resilience and the outstanding work of its participants that has enabled racing to continue in this difficult environment. Our industry’s tenacity and ability to muck in and help itself during this crisis is unsurprising but extraordinary at the same time. The BHA has reported that the number of horses in training, the number of registered owners and average field sizes have all shown year-on-year increases, which is truly remarkable.

Despite the imposition of the lockdown, racing continues, as an elite sport, behind closed doors, as it has done since June.

Owners, the primary funders of our sport, are allowed to attend under reinforced rules that further improve safety and minimise the risk of transmission on course. It is good news and the best of a bad hand. Moreover, it is recognition of the huge commitment owners make to the sport of racing and the vital role they play in the industry.

Enabling owners to get on to racecourses throughout this pandemic has been a real focus for the ROA. We know that the ability to go racing, to see your horse(s) and experience the thrill of a race is why so many people invest in the sport. We have worked incredibly hard to ensure we keep that thrill alive. We know that to maintain our industry and keep horses in training, it is imperative that we allow owners to go racing.

As an industry, we agonise over what we need to deliver for owners to keep them in the game while also trying to attract new owners with the same passion and love for the sport. It is an issue that, now more than ever, will be central to horseracing as it grapples with a recovery plan.

I have said before that retaining and attracting owners is not rocket science: prize-money and the raceday experience, coupled with off-track engagement through trainers’ teams, must be the key areas of focus. The camaraderie and friendships that develop during an owner’s journey also enrich the ownership experience and it is this aspect, in a way, which has been impacted most by the lockdowns and behind-closed-doors racing.

As an industry we desperately need crowds to return in meaningful numbers, not only to help with the revenues but also

to provide the atmosphere, joy, despair and exhilaration that cannot be measured but which help persuade us to take the step into ownership in whatever form.

Prize-money is the ever-present elephant in the room that must be addressed. At the most basic level we have to make sure our trickle-down model of funding works, and that owners and other participants share in the benefits of the sport’s income.

Prior to lockdown, the owner experience was being improved every day, but we can do more. Even in these Covid-affected times we can push for improvements, with initiatives such as allowing owners better access to their runners, clearer communication systems and enhanced digital access to information on your horses.

“The ability to see your horse(s) and experience the thrill of a race is why people invest in the sport” Different racecourses provide varying types of experiences to owners and huge strides have been made by the ROA to drive up the standard of facilities on course through the Racecourse Quality Mark. Significant improvements have been made to the behind-closed-doors experience through consistent and collaborative communication of issues to the tracks. When we get back on course more has to be done to better cater for all owners, whether syndicates or individual owners.

These are hardly new concepts for the sport but they really go to the heart of the enjoyment of ownership. The team at the ROA are completely focussed on delivering for owners in our Ownership Covid Action Plan over the coming months and year to ensure we maintain the fun and pleasure of owning a racehorse.

THE OWNER BREEDER

7

STAY ON TRACK WITH SMS/EMAIL RUNNER ALERTS AND MUCH MORE WITH TBA MEMBERSHIP

The TBA, working for breeders, supporting the industry.

TBA members can sign up to the Racecourse Badge Scheme for Breeders to receive free SMS and email alerts when horses they have bred are due to run.

There’s also events, training courses, employer support, third party public liability policy*, guidance documents, tax/legal hotlines, and much more.

Become a member, visit thetba.co.uk. * See policy document for terms of cover

@TheTBA_GB

01638 661321 l info@thetba.co.uk

JOIN TODAY thetba.co.uk

TBA Leader

Julian Richmond-Watson Chairman

Streamlined industry one effect of this Covid era T

hinking about the sentiment “Never let a good crisis go to waste,” which was attributed to Winston Churchill while he was working to form the United Nations in the mid-1940s, the crisis that has been Covid-19, while difficult to describe as good, is certainly one from which everyone involved with racing and breeding has much to learn.

The sport and its participants are spread throughout the land.

Yet one of the biggest lessons of the last eight months is that we have all learned it is possible to communicate using modern media to a much larger extent than we did in the past.

The crisis has accelerated everyone’s use of technology, and even those of us who might previously have been regarded as fully paid-up members of the Luddite movement have grasped the intricacies of Zoom and Teams, as we meet virtually, rather than travel across the country, spending endless hours in traffic jams that result in frustration and stress.

Several innovations that probably would not otherwise have been introduced immediately, such as staging race meetings with more races and restricting jockeys to one fixture per day, have brought discernible benefits. While these measures will not suit everyone, we must still ensure that the lessons learnt are not lost for the future.

The TBA has never been busier but the team, whether working from home or in our small office in Newmarket, have kept up with all the issues affecting breeders, making sure members are up to speed with all the various developments resulting from government decisions or the reaction of the sport’s administrators.

This emphasis on modern technology means that the TBA executive is learning to look at even better ways of communicating with our members, using educational and informative platforms that will not need the widely dispersed membership to congregate so often in Newmarket or other centres.

With Weatherbys, we are progressing the registration of stud premises, and the provision of movement and vaccination apps on mobile devices is up and running, so the traceability of all horses will become a much easier matter of common practice.

Brexit is also on the horizon, forcing us to adapt, and I am sure we will look back in a few years’ time and be amazed at the progress made through the use and advancement of technology.

The TBA should not stand alone. This is an opportunity for other organisations to look at their structures and practices to see if a more modern outlook, embracing new methods of working, can bring benefits to everyone.

The British Horseracing Authority has changed little since it

took over from the much maligned British Horseracing Board in 2007. With a cost base of over £37 million, it must make sense for Julie Harrington, the incoming Chief Executive, to consider a root and branch review of all BHA activities.

Everyone in the sport should set the target of making sure there is an updated structure that is affordable and can be supported over the next ten years. If this crisis has proved anything, it is that much of what we do, such as race planning, fixture planning and day-to-day processes, can be coordinated through modern technology that does not require individuals to be gathered in a central space.

Through the use of a more transparent system, we can ensure

“The crisis has accelerated our use of technology – we have all grasped the intricacies of Zoom” that the racing schedule avoids race clashes, while reactive programming, outside major races and racedays, can provide a much better balance of opportunity for the ready-to-run horse population. Modern technology can allow us to be much closer to the US model of matching runners and races to the benefit of all.

Technology on racecourses has improved enormously, but more can be done to make sure everyone is kept up to date on a raceday, for example by publishing all photo-finish data and pictures on a website for everyone to see.

Then again, that section of regulation that does not occur on the racecourse can be streamlined so that only rarely do individuals have to travel to be seen in person.

There are opportunities everywhere to learn from this crisis, to review structures and accelerate ways of thinking. Let’s not waste them.

THE OWNER BREEDER

9

News

Stories from the racing world

Steering group: avoid sending horses to Europe in January

O

wners, breeders and members of the industry have been advised not to travel horses to and from the European Union unless absolutely necessary for at least the first two weeks of January 2021, as uncertainty still surrounds the government’s negotiations over Brexit.

With the transition period expiring on December 31, the Thoroughbred Industries Brexit Steering Group, which is leading the sport’s preparations for the UK’s departure from the EU, has warned that there will be significant changes to how horses move between the UK and the EU from January 1, irrespective of whether a free trade agreement (FTA) is signed.

British racing’s leadership is in regular contact with government as it prepares the industry for Brexit yet some details are yet to be fully clarified. The new travel arrangements will also be entirely dependent upon any agreement that may be made by the government with the EU. The steering group is hopeful that any FTA signed will allow the outstanding points of detail to be resolved quickly.

However, as things stand, confirmation is still pending on a number of matters: The UK’s status as a third country listing for animal health purposes following the end of the transition period; Authorisations to allow British transporters to operate within the EU and EU operators to operate in the UK; Recognition of the General Stud Book (along with all other stud books and breeding books of all species), which identifies thoroughbreds and allows their movement as registered horses.

Even in the event of agreements on these key areas for British racing being confirmed in the coming weeks, the Thoroughbred Industries Brexit Steering Group is of the view that there will be additional friction in moving thoroughbreds through key ports from January 1, with the potential for significant disruption.

It is therefore advising that industry participants delay moving horses unless it is absolutely necessary within that initial two-week period, and to contact a

• • •

10

THE OWNER BREEDER

Future horse movements in the EU will depend on the details of any free trade agreement

transporter or shipping/customs agent for further guidance as a matter of priority.

“We advise not to schedule movements in the first two weeks of 2021” Furthermore, following confirmation of any FTA, the thoroughbred industry will need to understand the details of any equine health rules under which movements can take place as well as any replacement for the current Tripartite Agreement, which currently governs thoroughbred movements between Britain, France and Ireland.

The Chair of the Thoroughbred Industries Brexit Steering Group, Julian Richmond-Watson, said: “We know that

some people want to make plans for the New Year, but the picture will remain unclear until we know the terms of any new agreements between Britain and the EU. “Even if there is an overarching trade deal, we will still need specific arrangements to be agreed covering the movement of thoroughbred horses.

“If industry members want to avoid the risk of delays or disruption, we advise them not to schedule movements in the first two weeks of 2021.

“Our message right now is ‘stand by, change is coming’. We would ask participants to keep up to date with the latest information regularly via the Brexit page on britishhorseracing. com and await direct communication from their membership body once we know the details.

“We continue to work closely with DEFRA and all other relevant UK government departments, who are wellinformed about the needs of the racing and breeding industries. We are also in regular contact with our counterparts in Ireland and France and other EU jurisdictions.”

An eye for success

December 2020

visit studlife online: tweenhills.com/studlife

KAMEKO COMES HOME Dual Gr.1 winner Kameko has settled well into life at Tweenhills ahead of his first season at stud next year, when he will stand for £25,000 (Oct 1st SLF).

Kameko now fills the stable vacant since his paternal half-brother Roaring Lion departed us for New Zealand. We know he has the feet to fill the boots.

Kameko, Havana Gold and Lightning Spear will be paraded for breeders at Longholes Stud in Newmarket during the Tattersalls December Mare Sale, Covid protocols allowing.

For the 2021 season Tweenhills is proud to continue the ‘Your Success = Our Success’ scheme. Please visit tweenhills.com/success for more details.

GOODBYE LUCY, HELLO KATH

STARS HIT SALES

As one star arrives, another leaves.

Sadly, we lose Lucy Keicher in earlyDecember as she changes her career path. Lucy – along with sprocker Leo – has been a key part of the Tweenhills Office since October 2018 and we will be sad to see her go. Lucy is succeeded by Katherine Pennels, who joins us from Three Counties Equine Hospital.

The Tattersalls December Foal Sale (Nov 25th – 28th) will see foals go through the ring from the first Northern Hemisphere crop of Tweenhills’ Australian multiple champion Zoustar and the only crop left by Tweenhills’ world champion Roaring Lion.

STAFF PROFILE James Chong Stud Hand

How it began…

I grew up in Hertfordshire and had an interest in horses from a young age.

I did the National Stud Diploma course in 2017 and then went to do yearling prep at Cambridge Stud in New Zealand and Coolmore Australia. I was also a strapper for Peter Snowden in Australia, taking horses racing and to the trials etc. I returned to England and worked for Newsells Park Stud for year and a half before starting at Tweenhills in early-September.

Tweenhills life…

I’ve enjoyed doing a bit of everything here; working with yearlings, going on feed runs, helping with the stallions a bit. It’s a great place to learn. Keep an eye out for the Havana Gold ex Liberty Chery colt who sold for 50,000gns as a

The 21 Zoustars set to sell include three colts and two fillies from Tweenhills.

The outstanding bunch include this handsome boy out of Listed-winning sprinter Castle Hill Cassie: yearling last year; he was a cool guy with a great temperament.

And away from horses…

I’m a keen Manchester United supporter but we’ll skip that! I’d love to travel around South America – the Inca Trail in Peru is high up on the bucket list. I did do the Rotorua Luge when I was in New Zealand which was very cool; 800 metres downhill in a cross between a go-cart and a toboggan – what was I thinking?!

t as impressed as Gr.1 winner Mabs Cross no ‘Movember’ ts for Ben Shoare with his effor

You can find photos and all information on the Tweenhills draft at both the Foal and Mare Sales at tweenhills.com/consignment.

Five Roaring Lion ‘cubs’ are set to sell at the Foal Sale, four of them are fillies, including three gorgeous offerings from Tweenhills.

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

News

Government offers racing a lifeline Racing industry leaders last month welcomed the government’s decision to provide up to £40 million of loans for the sport.

The sum was part of a plan to provide financial assistance to major spectator sports, and called the Sport Winter Survival Package.

With no spectators having gone racing since March, bar two restricted pilot events, racecourses have had to shed jobs, while it has also reduced the flow of funds to racing’s participants, which in turn hits the rural economies where so many are based.

The Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, Oliver Dowden, announced that £300m of grants and loans would be made available across 11 sports.

The message to politicians has been that the racing industry faces a significant contraction if spectators cannot return by the spring, with the additional support for prize-money provided by the Levy Board lasting

Racecourses are set to be the prime beneficiaries of a £40 million loan package

only until April.

The survival package announced last month may present an opportunity to reduce some of the financial pressures on racing, and further discussions with the Levy Board were planned.

BHA Chief Executive Nick Rust said: “The support for racing recognises the sport’s position as the second biggest spectator sport in the UK and the financial peril faced by the tens of thousands who depend upon racing for their livelihoods.

“We are grateful to DCMS and its ministers and officials who have come together with their colleagues at the Treasury to secure this assistance for horseracing. We also thank the many MPs who have supported the need to help the racing businesses in their constituencies.

Once again, this demonstrates that when racing speaks to the government with one voice, we are so much more effective.”

ROA Chief Executive Charlie Liverton, on behalf of the Horsemen’s Group, added: “As we continue without spectators on courses, this financial support from the government is vital and welcome. There are clear challenges for our sport with the flow of funds to participants severely restricted, impacting the grassroots every day.

“I hope this additional support for racecourses will work for everyone in the sport and we see the funding trickle down to the committed participants that keep racing going. There is more to do to address structural funding issues, and we continue to support calls for levy reform.”

Given leaves training for new BHA position Group-winning trainer James Given is quitting the ranks in order to join the BHA as Director of Equine Health and Welfare.

Given qualified as a vet in 1990 and has long been a go-to trainer for racing journalists when it comes to veterinary affairs.

He began his racing career as assistant to Mark Johnston in 1995, before winning a scholarship to study training methods in Dubai, after which, in 1998, he took out a licence from a yard based at Wolverhampton racecourse.

In 1999 he moved his operation to his current base in Lincolnshire, from where he has enjoyed much success, winning Group races in Britain and overseas, though arguably his most notable victories have come in big handicaps, with Hugs Dancer winning the 2002 Ebor and 2003 Chester Cup. Already a member of the industry’s Horse Welfare Board, Given succeeds David Sykes in his new role. Sykes is

12

THE OWNER BREEDER

James Given: fresh challenge

returning home to Australia for family reasons and finishes at the BHA this month, with Given joining in January.

He will formally stop training and hand in his licence upon his commencement with the BHA. He will be permitted to retain an ownership interest in two unraced horses for a limited time to assist with the winding down of his business and the rehoming of his horses.

Given said: “I’m delighted to be

joining the BHA and welcome the opportunity to strive for ever improving welfare standards for racehorses. The current standards are world leading, but there is no time to rest on our laurels in a world demanding greater accountability.

“I look forward to working with colleagues across the industry, to show that racing is a compassionate sport that puts the welfare of horses at the centre of all we do. I know I’m joining a team that shares and represents these ideals.”

He added: “I have thoroughly enjoyed my time as a trainer and am eternally grateful to all the people who have helped me along this journey, to the owners, many who have become friends, and the outstanding people who have been part of my team, over many years of hard work.

“I’m also grateful to all the horses, fast and slow, willing and less so, that it has been a privilege and a pleasure to look after.”

New in 2021

WOODED GROUP 1 WINNING SPRINTER

BY WOOTTON BASSETT “WOODED stood out from the day he arrived for his good looks and ability. He’s always been very sound, never missing a day’s work. As a racehorse he had so many qualities, class, courage and speed and he fully deserved his Gr.1 win this year.”

Trainer Francis-Henri Graffard

AL SHAQAB SIRES 2021 1st 2-year-olds in 2021

1st 2-year-olds in 2021

At stud 2015

AL WUKAIR

ECTOT

OLYMPIC GLORY

Prix Jacques-le-Marois Gr.1 winner at 3, like Dubawi & Kingman before him

Dual Gr.1 winner, Gr.1 winning 2-year-old from the Montjeu sire line

Sire of dual Gr.1 winner WATCH ME & Group winning 2-year-old ETONIAN

At stud 2015

1st 3-year-olds in 2021

At stud 2015

1st 2-year-olds in 2021

RULER OF THE WORLD

SHALAA

TORONADO

ZELZAL

Invincible Spirit’s best 2 year-old performer - Ever

One of the highest % of 2-year-old winners in Europe, inc. Royal Ascot & July Stakes Gr.2 winner TACTICAL

Sea The Stars’ fastest Gr.1 winner, Chantilly Racecourse track record holder over the mile

Sire of multiple Gr.1 & Breeder’s Cup winner IRIDESSA from a small first crop

AL SHAQAB RACING

. Haras de Bouquetot, France . +33 (0)2 31 32 28 91 . contact@bouquetot.com . www.alshaqabracing.com

Changes

Racing’s news in a nutshell

People and business Liam Heard

Retires from the jump jockey ranks aged 34, having enjoyed 130 winners, and starts a new chapter working for the David O’Meara stable.

Henry Brooke

Schooling fall leaves the 30-year-old rider with three broken vertebrae in his neck and facing a lengthy spell out of action.

Luke Morris

Jonathan Sheppard

US-based trainer will send six members of his jumping team to Ireland this winter, including Winston C, a dual Grade 1 winner at Saratoga.

Lucy Alexander

Jockey set for spell on the sidelines after fracturing vertebrae in a fall at Newcastle last month.

Jockey achieves the rare feat of riding 100 UK winners for the tenth year in a row, achieving the milestone on Athmad at Wolverhampton.

Global alliance

Togetherforracinginternational.com is a website launched to promote education and career opportunities in the thoroughbred industry.

Paul Hanagan

Becomes the fifth Flat jockey currently riding to hit 2,000 winners after guiding Anif to success at Newcastle on November 3.

Joseph O’Brien

Young trainer lands his second Melbourne Cup when Twilight Payment defeated Tiger Moth, trained by his father Aidan, at Flemington.

People obituaries Bob Bowden 78

Former Chairman of Sedgefield racecourse and a director at bet365 who owned 1994 Whitbread Gold Cup winner Ushers Island.

Gerry Griffin 73

Ex-jump jockey who sourced future stars Monet’s Garden and Simply Ned at the sales for the Nicky Richards stable.

John Curant 69

Elaine Carson 65 Wife of five-time champion jockey Willie Carson who helped to run the family’s Minster Stud in Gloucestershire.

Oisin Murphy

Champion jockey, 25, records his 1,000th winner in Britain on Perfect Sign at Southwell on October 27.

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THE OWNER BREEDER

Des O’Connor 88

Much-loved entertainer was a longtime racehorse owner, latterly with Philip Hobbs, and once dreamed of riding as an amateur.

Former champion apprentice who rode around 500 winners, including the 1976 Moyglare Stakes at the Curragh on Regal Ray.

Phil Harvey 77

Jump jockey from Leicestershire who enjoyed 92 winners and rode work on future Grand National winners ESB and Red Rum.

Anita Anderson Green 64

Co-owner with husband Ray of horses of the calibre of Sparky Gayle and Merigo, she received an OBE for her work with the NSPCC.

Looking to breed a high-class two-year-old?

Leading British Sires of Two-year-olds in 2020 In order of Group horses in GB & Ireland Sire

Group Group Group 1 Horses Winners Horses

2021 Fee

1 MUHAARAR

4

1

1

£10,000

Dubawi Frankel 4 New Approach 5 Kingman Showcasing Iffraaj Nathaniel Territories Al Kazeem Bobby's Kitten Sir Percy

4

3

2

£250,000

4

0

0

£175,000

2

2

1

PRIVATE

1

0

0

£150,000

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Exciting juvenile MUJBAR scoring in the Group 3 Horris Hill Stakes at Newbury

MUHAARAR Oasis Dream - Tahrir (Linamix)

Also standing Eqtidaar, Mohaather NEW FOR 2021 and Tasleet Get in touch for the best terms Discover the Shadwell stallions: www.shadwellstud.com | nominations@shadwellstud.co.uk Contact Richard Lancaster, James O’Donnell on +44 (0)1842 755913 or Tom Pennington on +44 (0)7736 019914 | tpennington@shadwellstud.co.uk and Ellen Bishop on +44 (0)7826 205155 | ebishop@shadwellstud.co.uk

2021 S A L E S D AT E S

February Sale February 4 - 5 Broodmares, Fillies/Horses in Training & Yearlings Craven Breeze Up Sale April 12 - 14 Europe’s Premier Breeze Up Sale Guineas Breeze Up & Horses In Training Sale April 29 - 30 Two Year Olds & Horses In Training July Sale July 5 - 9 Horses/Fillies In Training, Broodmares, etc.

August Sale August 30 - September 2 Horses/Fillies In Training, Broodmares, etc.

October Yearling Sale Book 1 October 5 - 7 Europe’s Premier Yearling Sale Featuring the £20,000 Tattersalls October Book 1 Bonus Book 2 October 11 - 13 Book 3* October 14 - 15 Book 4* October 15 - 16 *Featuring the £150,000 Tattersalls October Auction Stakes Autumn Horses In Training Sale October 25 - 29 The World’s Largest Horses In Training Sale December Sale Yearlings November 22 Foals November 24 - 27 Breeding Stock November 29 - December 2 Broodmares, Fillies/ Horses In Training, etc.

All dates subject to alteration

T: +44 1638 665931 sales@tattersalls.com www.tattersalls.com

Changes

Racehorse and stallion

Movements and retirements Golden Horde

Son of Lethal Force, winner of this year’s Commonwealth Cup, will take up stallion duties at Montfort et Preaux in France. His fee is €10,000.

For Fun

Haras de la Hetraie recruits four-yearold son of Motivator, a top-notch hurdler and winner of the Grade 1 Prix Alain de Breil in June.

Van Beethoven

Son of Scat Daddy, winner of the Group 2 Railway Stakes at two and later placed in Grade 1 company, is retired to Haras de Grandcamp.

Circus Maximus

Tough and talented son of Galileo, winner of three Group 1 races, is retired to stand at Coolmore in Ireland. His debut fee is set at €20,000.

King Of Change

Derrinstown Stud in County Kildare welcomes the Group 1-winning son of Farhh to its roster for the 2021 breeding season. His fee is €7,000.

Ghaiyyath

Godolphin’s outstanding middledistance performer, winner of three Group 1s this year, is named Horse of the Year at the Cartier Awards.

Elarqam

Son of Frankel and Attraction, successful at Group 2 level, is retired aged five to stand at Haras de Saint Arnoult in France. His fee is €6,000.

One Master

Top-class mare for Lael Stable and William Haggas, three-time winner of the Group 1 Prix de la Foret, is retired to the paddocks aged six.

The Last Lion

Son of Choisir, winner of the Group 1 Middle Park Stakes in 2016, moves from Kildangan Stud in Ireland to Hedgeholme Stud in Durham.

Magic Wand

Globetrotting mare, winner of a Group 1 in Australia and placed in multiple top-level contests around the world, is retired aged five.

One For Arthur

Winner of the 2017 Grand National for owners Belinda McClung and Deborah Thomson and trainer Lucinda Russell is retired aged 11.

Way To Paris

Deirdre

Son of Champs Elysees, winner of the Group 1 Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud in June, will stand his first season for €3,500 at Coolagown Stud.

Japanese-trained mare, shock winner of the 2019 Group 1 Nassau Stakes under Oisin Murphy, is retired to the paddocks aged six.

Shaman

Without Parole

Group 2-winning son of Shamardal is retired aged four and will join the roster at Yeomanstown Stud in County Kildare. His fee is €6,000.

Son of Frankel, winner of the 2018 St James’s Palace Stakes, is retired aged five to join the roster at Newsells Park Stud. His 2021 fee is £10,000.

Horse obituaries Wichita 3

Runner-up to Kameko in the 2,000 Guineas in May dies in Australia following surgery having sustained a leg injury during training.

Anthony Van Dyck 4

Derby winner in 2019, also successful in this year’s Prix Foy, suffers a fatal injury in the Melbourne Cup.

The New One 12

Colic claims the life of the popular hurdler, winner of 20 of his 40 races including Grade 1s at the Cheltenham and Aintree festivals.

THE OWNER BREEDER

17

The Big Picture

Thirty years in the making Audarya was Newmarket trainer James Fanshawe’s first runner at the Breeders’ Cup in a three-decade career when she contested the Filly & Mare Turf at Keeneland on November 7.

Despite a wide draw in stall 11, Pierre-Charles Boudot managed to navigate a passage to the rail and when asked to deliver her challenge, the daughter of Wootton Bassett knuckled down to overhaul favourite Rushing Fall near the line, to the delight of Fanshawe (above), who trains Audarya for Alison Swinburn.

Photos Enzina Mastrippolito

18

THE OWNER BREEDER

Breeders’ Cup

THE OWNER BREEDER

19

The Big Picture

20 THE OWNER BREEDER

Breeders’ Cup

Glass smashing Keeneland’s tight turf track posed a new question to Glass Slippers (left), whose previous top-level wins had come at Longchamp and the Curragh. Yet the daughter of Dream Ahead, trained by Kevin Ryan for owner-breeders Bearstone Stud, showed her versatility to take the Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint under a superb ride from Tom Eaves, who threaded a passage up the inside and kept enough in reserve to hold off Wet Your Whistle by half a length.

Breeders’ Cup Saturday also saw Irish-trained runners record a double with the Aga Khan’s Tarnawa, trained by Dermot Weld, taking the Turf under Colin Keane (top left) and the Aidan O’Brien-trained Order Of Australia causing an upset in the Mile under Pierre-Charles Boudot.

Photos Enzina Mastrippolito

THE OWNER BREEDER

21

The Howard Wright Column

Show some love to our sport’s sponsors S

GEORGE SELWYN

pot the missing link: breeders, owners, trainers, jockeys, stable staff, administrators, racecourse officials, raceday personnel, broadcasters, journalists, bookmakers.

All have a part to play in staging our sport and all have had their voices heard, one way or another, more or less directly, during the Covid-19 crisis and the pressing attempts made on behalf of British racing to keep the show on the road for almost everyone. However, one vital element is absent from the list – sponsors.

One of the chief pillars of prize-money generation seems to have been conspicuous by its lack of prominence. Yet retaining sponsorship at the very least is paramount if racecourses are to

Champ after victory in this year’s RSA Insurance Novices’ Chase at Cheltenham – the firm is no longer backing the Grade 1 prize

get back on their feet in 2021.

Take the latest joint initiative, or wish list if you want another description, in the shape of the document A Recovery Plan for British Racing, put together under the names of the BHA, Horsemen’s Group and Racecourse Association, and published towards the end of August. Its body material ran to 2,250 words.

The word sponsors appears just once, in reference to Customers, one of the eight workstreams devised for members of the industry Covid-19 Group, who in this case are Rod Street, of Great British Racing, and RCA Chief Executive David Armstrong.

According to the document, their work is “focused on attracting spectators as it becomes possible for them to return to the racecourse,” and “there is also a determination to ensure that racing is relevant to as wide an audience as possible, which includes owners and sponsors as well as racegoers.”

With new lockdown restrictions in place, things hardly seem to have moved on since the end of August, which means elements of the recovery plan are presumably still at the formative stage, waiting for external pressures to be lifted. So, the “return of owners” and “return of crowds”, which feature prominently in the document, remain objectives, along with such considerations as recognising “the importance of retaining owners and key investors.” But who is charged with looking after the return of sponsors, or recognising the importance of retaining them?

Sponsorship is generally regarded as being the direct concern of racecourses, virtually all of which have done an excellent job in guiding commercial backers large and small through two recent recessions and into raceday support. Although up-to-date figures are impossible to find through official sources, sponsorship as a percentage of total prize-money has held up remarkably well.

Zoom is all very well, once the impediments of “Can you see me?” “Am I on?” “Unmute the thing, please,” are negotiated. It definitely beats a conference call for efficiency, although it still requires the presence of a skilled chairman and an acceptance of its etiquette to make sure

You’ve had your wings clipped this year, haven’t you! You can say that again. No, on second thoughts, don’t say it again. The first time was painful enough.

For everyone involved in racing this has been a year like no other. The degrees of difference vary, but for the majority of fans and spectators, even journalists, it has meant staying at home, cocooned with single thoughts for company alongside the observations of television pundits and the cacophony of social media.

For those of us usually privileged to step outside Britain a number of times a year, it has been particularly difficult.

Missing major races abroad has been offset by online streaming services that offer greater and easier instant access to events than seems to be the case from home. Noone needs to miss a moment’s action anywhere these days, whether on TV or through much smaller devices.

The greater absence has been in face-to-face contact and personal exploration. No media device has yet been invented that can adequately replace tactile contact.

The Breeders’ Cup was unable to host a paying crowd or international visitors this year

22 THE OWNER BREEDER

ECLIPSE SPORT

Staying connected to global events

“Racing Post’s exit is hardly unexpected as lockdown has badly affected its finances” RSA was the Festival’s longest-established sponsor, having joined in 1974, when it was known as Sun Alliance. Merged with Royal Insurance to become Royal & SunAlliance in 1996, RSA has been a beacon of success in its sphere. It is not short of cash, and at the time of writing was the subject of a £7 billion takeover bid, which would give Stephen Hester, its Chief Executive and former Warwickshire Hunt follower in support of his first wife Barbara, a return of £16m for his shares and entitlements.

On that basis, the reasons for RSA’s exit from racing must be found elsewhere than the column marked penury. However, it remains a warning that British racing needs to put an arm around the shoulder of other company executives thinking on similar lines and provide reassurance that their support is both vital and appreciated.

that those who want to be heard can be heard.

The benefit of international events for administrators, and those who observe them, is the chance to discuss matters of importance away from the negotiating table.

Those opportunities have largely disappeared this year, and even formal gatherings have been curtailed.

The most significant casualty was the International Federation of Horseracing Authorities annual conference, which should have been held for the 54th time in Paris on the day after the Arc. Instead, and to the great credit of IFHA General Secretary Andrew Chesser, it went virtual, and four panel sessions and a keynote speech focusing on the impact of Covid-19 were conducted over separate days

by Zoom.

Moderated by Rishi Persad and featuring almost 20 personalities from around the world, the sessions are available on the IFHA’s website and YouTube channel. They are worth a watch.

The same theme runs through three webinars staged by the Asian Racing Federation in September, October and last month. Together with the IFHA sessions, they are a reminder of the work that goes on behind the scenes to keep the international circuit rolling. For the time being, they are a reasonable substitute for the real thing.

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However, whenever the economy is squeezed, marketing and promotion become the first business essentials to come under scrutiny, which means racing as a whole has a part to play in putting out a welcome mat for entrepreneurs and hard-nosed businessmen alike, especially at a time when racecourses should be finalising their 2021 budgets.

The danger signs are clear. Cheltenham started a new season last month with news that two of its Festival sponsors, RSA Insurance Group and Racing Post, are cutting their ties.

Racing Post’s exit is hardly unexpected, as lockdown and absence of racing badly affected the paper’s finances and staff numbers have been significantly reduced, but RSA’s departure is surprising, while formally unexplained.

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THE OWNER BREEDER 23 Hoofcare_88x265_An_.indd 1

22/04/20 11:32

The Big Interview

24 THE OWNER BREEDER

Anthony Honeyball

Life is

Anthony and Rachael Honeyball take a hands-on approach to training racehorses at their picturesque Dorset stable

SWEET

Former jump jockey Anthony Honeyball is making a name for himself in the training ranks, ably assisted by wife Rachael, as the couple continue on an upward trajectory that has seen them improve both the quality and quantity of stable runners Words: Graham Dench Photos: George Selwyn

C

ompetition within the ranks of ambitious young trainers pushing for a place among jumps racing’s elite has seldom been hotter, and in these troubled times the pressure must be all the more intense, so Anthony Honeyball’s 308-1 treble on a televised card at Ascot could hardly have come at a better time.

Honeyball has had his moments in a training career which began in 2006 – and plenty of them to be fair – but he’d never had a day quite like the last Saturday in October, when the JP McManus-owned stable favourite Regal Encore landed the feature Sodexo Gold Cup on an afternoon when Sully D’Oc AA, carrying the same colours, and Kid Commando had already graced the winner’s enclosure.

Bar a blip two seasons ago when a persistent virus forced him to shut up shop for a while, Honeyball’s career has been following a steady upward curve, and last season’s 36 winners represented a new personal best, but this was success of a different order.

Reflecting on the impact such afternoons can have, Honeyball says: “If you have one winner on a Saturday like that people might say jolly well done, but when you bag three you really are getting noticed and it shows how we are upping the quality.

“In races like that they could have all run well and none of them won, but it was very pleasing to get those

three winners and bag all of that prizemoney.

“We are a very solid 40-odd horse yard – maybe getting nearer 50 now – and last season they didn’t miss a beat, from our first proper runners in October through to lockdown in the middle of March, with most horses doing what we thought they should and a treble on the Saturday before lockdown.

“But we don’t race through the summer and so to have nine winners and over £100,000 prize-money just a week into November was a really good foothold for us so early in the new season. It put us somewhere around the top 20.”

Honeyball, whose wife Rachael rode out her claim when riding under her maiden name of Green and is an integral part of the team, adds: “Our ambition is to keep building things up bit by bit, without getting ahead of ourselves. I’ve always wanted to do a good job and to make sure that I know everything about every horse, and we’ve got a nice number for that, but now I feel that if we keep building new infrastructure, like the new walker we’ve just put in, then we can cope with slightly larger numbers.

“We are never going to say that we don’t want any more horses, and we’ve put in plans for a new barn that will house 20 more, with a new office and owners’ room. If the demand is there and we can afford it we are brave enough to keep expanding.

››

THE OWNER BREEDER 25

The Big Interview ››

“We want to have enough horses to keep the ball rolling and have winners at the day-to-day fixtures, and also to get more into that top echelon, competing at the big fixtures. At the moment we can have a busy few days or a week, but then we might go missing for a week or two as we haven’t got the numbers.”

One might have expected the numbers game to be increasingly difficult as the effects of Covid-19 bite. However, that is not Honeyball’s experience, although he acknowledges that there

“We didn’t lose any horses or owners and actually gained one or two” might be a lag before the full effects of the shrinking economy are felt in the training ranks.

He says: “It’s certainly no bad thing to be busy now and getting our name in the papers, but we hadn’t lost any horses or owners and we’d actually gained one or

Main image: the Honeyball string work their way up the main gallop that rises 120 feet; Left: conditional jockey Rex Dingle is a valued employee at Potwell Farm Stables; Right: stable star Regal Encore and Rachael Honeyball (nearside) working alongside Bob Bachus under Kayleigh McCammon

two, even though we were quiet through the summer without runners, so had nothing to shout about.

“I think some of our owners saw it as an opportunity to get a bit more of a bargain, and we’ve also got a lot of syndicates.

“There’s not much to enjoy in life at

26 THE OWNER BREEDER

the moment, but the horses can still run and it’s not hurting the syndicates too much. My theory is that people who own racehorses aren’t spending so much on a new car or a cruise this year and so perhaps have a share in another horse.”

Having an owner like McManus on the books alongside the syndicates and

smaller owners is no bad thing either, and his presence stems back to Regal Encore’s impressive bumper debut on an all-weather card at Southwell in 2012 at a time when turf racing was frozen off.

Honeyball recalls: “We were doing okay, with some nice winners, but to get an owner like JP to buy a horse and leave it with us was amazing, and something we wouldn’t have dreamed of at the time.

“Regal Encore has always been the flagbearer of our relationship, but we’ve sold JP one or two others which have done okay and it was nice to win with Sully D’Oc AA for him at Ascot in a

Anthony Honeyball

relatively high-profile race.”

Honeyball trains on the Seaborough Manor estate from which the late Richard Barber sent out so many top hunter chasers and point-to-pointers, and the lessons he learned while working for Barber, and his understanding of gallops with which he has been familiar for approaching 20 years, are key to the success the stable is now enjoying.

He says: “In terms of training we learned the vast majority of what we know today from Richard and Viv Barber, and the Barber family full stop have been a big help to us.

›› THE OWNER BREEDER 27

The Big Interview ››

“Richard was a genius of a trainer but didn’t want the limelight. Rachael and I were both point-to-point people and we went there because we felt it was the place to go. They looked after us so well, and perhaps haven’t had quite the praise they deserve.”

He continues: “We are using the same gallop that Richard was using when he was sending out 40 or 50-odd pointto-point winners a year and winning Foxhunter Chases left, right and centre at Cheltenham and Aintree, and that gallop was also used by Paul Nicholls when he had lots of his good horses in a satellite yard at Seaborough.

“It’s incredibly good and rises about 120 feet from start to finish without you noticing it. We know how to get them how we want them on it, and we know where we are with them.”

Honeyball, who says he learned “another layer of professionalism” in an enjoyable season with Paul Nicholls as a conditional, is particularly expert when it comes to placing his horses, as a strike-

“Either Rachael or myself will have sat on every horse in the yard” rate last season of 29% underlines. That percentage was not bettered by any trainer who sent out ten or more winners, and getting the measure of the team on the gallops is a massive help in this area.

He confirms: “I place them carefully and put a lot of thought into it, and either myself or Rachael will at some stage have sat on, schooled or worked every horse in the yard.

“We get a fair idea of what they are and what they can and can’t do, and it helps us to place them – what tracks might suit them, whether they might benefit from a tongue tie, and so on.

“If you are running as many as you can and your strike-rate is somewhere between 15% and 30% then the wheels aren’t falling off. You are doing something right.”

Aidan Coleman has ridden more winners for the stable than any other jockey in recent seasons, while Harry Cobden has been another significant ally, but when they are not available

28 THE OWNER BREEDER

Anthony Honeyball

‘Manners maketh the horse’ in Anthony Honeyball’s eyes

Bumper prowess prioritises manners over fitness Anthony Honeyball can boast impressive strike-rates across the board, but following his bumper horses has proved particularly profitable, with last season’s 11 winners from only 29 runners by no means untypical.

It might surprise some readers, then, to learn that he does not believe in getting his youngsters revved up in order to make a big impression in their early races. Far from it, in fact.

Instead, he and his wife Rachael pride themselves on having their debutants prepared more in terms of manners and temperament than hard fitness.

Explaining the ethos, he says: “Our strong point is to make sure that any bad habits are ironed out quickly, and so all of our horses get well prepared manners-wise. You won’t see too many of our young horses wearing hoods for example, because we’ll have ironed out a lot of the stresses before they go to the racecourse.

“We just try to make them straightforward, and the more straightforward they are the more flexible you can be with instructions.”

Honeyball learned a lot from his parents before he joined Richard Barber, and he has put it to good use. He says: “My dad John was known for the good work he did with difficult horses and did a lot of work with The Dikler when he was a bit mad.

“My mum was a good showjumper, so my background is in horsemanship. So is Rachael’s, as she did eventing and so on, and was then at Robert Alner’s before she joined Richard, where she ended up as head girl and was champion lady point-to-point rider one year.”

Honeyball continues: “We keep a close eye on them and if any young horse isn’t behaving as it should, we’ll try to work out why and sort it out. It’s more about that than training them hard to win their bumpers. If you see our bumper horses in the paddock you wouldn’t think that they are trained to within a minute of their lives. They are strong horses with good weight on them, and they won’t necessarily look fit and revved up.

“I hate to see whippety-light horses as that usually means they have got stressed at home or else have ulcers or something. Light horses are quite often on their nerves and anxious. Our horses normally go round quite relaxed, because that’s what we like to see.”

Honeyball has no hesitation in putting up one of his own lads.

He says: “We’ve got two cracking lads in Rex Dingle and Ben Godfrey – two lovely, hard working lads who are not too up and not too down.

“If there’s a gap between a Rex Dingle and an Aidan Coleman, the extra knowledge Rex has of our horses from working in the yard helps to bridge it.

You would be an idiot not to use him, as

he knows them so well and he buys into the way we think and what we want.

“Ben is in the same mould. It was the same here when Rachael was doing well, because she was so confident on our horses.”

It has been said that confidence breeds success, and success breeds confidence. If you want the proof, look no further, as this is one enterprise that continues to thrive in a difficult world.

Regal Encore

Triple Triumph at Ascot

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©Mars, 2020.

Australian demand

Far REACH

Russian Camelot: colt made history in May as the first northern hemispherebred to win an Australian Derby

Leading Australian colt Russian Camelot has helped ignite a trend that prompted the sale of 30 yearlings to the southern hemisphere this year Words: Emma Berry

V

ow And Declare’s Melbourne Cup victory of 2019 was greeted with a silent sigh of relief by many in the Australian racing and breeding industry: a local horse, bred locally, and trained by a local trainer. Of the previous nine winners of the race, only Prince Of Penzance had been bred relatively nearby – in New Zealand – with the rest hailing from Britain, Ireland, France, Germany and America.

Stabled next to Vow And Declare in Danny O’Brien’s stable at that time was a neat colt, judged to be aged three by southern hemisphere time, but in fact still a two-year-old, bred in Ireland and bought for 120,000gns at Book 1 of Tattersalls’ October Yearling Sale. Russian Camelot had caused quite a stir on his winning debut at Ballarat the previous month owing to the fact that he was approximately six months younger than his 11 rivals, but had trounced them pretty readily.

The hype surrounding the Camelot colt grew, and not without some justification. This May he made history by becoming the first northern hemispherebred to win a Derby in Australia when landing the Group 1 South Australia Derby at Morphettville. While Russian Camelot is by no means the first horse bred in Europe who has gone on to great success down under after being exported as a yearling – treble Melbourne Cup winner Makybe Diva is the dazzling trailblazer in this field – he can be seen as

having ignited a trend.

For more than a decade, Australian buyers have been increasing in numbers at the horses-in-training sales in pursuit of staying horses who might once have been purchased domestically to continue their careers under National Hunt rules.

The competition for these types, at public auction and by private transaction, has risen along with the prices. At the same time, trying to sell a yearling with a middle-distance pedigree but without a ‘Book 1’ page has become harder. But as the form horses became prohibitively expensive for some buyers, a strategy rethink was required, and it is one which has given a boost to the market for middledistance yearlings.

Russian Camelot was one of two plucked from the 2018 October Sale by Jeremy Brummitt for Danny O’Brien.

The following year O’Brien took charge of another six European yearlings, and this season the duo has bought ten. And they are not the only ones trawling the European yearling sales with an eye on the Australian export market. In 2020, around 30 yearlings bought across the European sales have headed south.

The Australian agent John Foote can be seen as a pioneer in this regard.

He bought Makybe Diva’s dam, the Juddmonte-bred Tugela, from Ballylinch Stud back in 1998 when she was carrying the future superstar.

“It all started a long time ago when

30 THE OWNER BREEDER

PA IMAGES

“Russian Camelot came along and captured the imagination”

we brought Makybe Diva out here as a yearling,” Foote recalls. “Then in about 2011, Sandy McGregor, an owner in Melbourne, approached me about buying racehorses. They started to get very expensive so I suggested we might buy a yearling or two. He got Gerry Ryan involved and I bought them a horse called Signoff.”

Bought for 75,000gns from Book 2, Signoff, a son of Authorized, ended up finishing fourth in the Melbourne Cup and

has a brace of Group 3 wins to his credit.

Subsequent yearling purchases by Foote include Group 1 Australian Cup winner Fifty Stars, who is now a five-time Group winner, and Listed scorer Furrion. Like Signoff, these two are also sons of Derby winners, respectively Sea The Stars and Camelot.

“I actually got away with it for a few years and then Russian Camelot came along and he has really captured everyone’s imagination,” says Foote.

“Fifty Stars is probably as good a horse as him, he’s certainly a very tough horse, but he didn’t capture the imagination. But that’s fine because it meant I was able to do it for a few years without anyone else getting involved.”

In recent weeks there has been some criticism in the Australian racing press regarding the “fly in-fly out” European challengers for the Melbourne Cup following the tragic fatal injury of Derby winner Anthony Van Dyck during this

year’s race. Some of the commentary has focused on the idea that horses from this part of the world are used to training and racing on more forgiving surfaces and that their bones have not been suitably conditioned to compete on the harder tracks often encountered in Australia. This, of course, overlooks the fact that the first three home this year – Twilight Payment, Tiger Moth and the marvellously consistent Prince Of Arran – all flew in for the race. Furthermore, the

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31

››

Australian demand Camelot, had won the Cox Plate on his first Australian start having been in the country for a matter of weeks.

Despite the faint whiff of sour grapes from some of the critics, there is no doubt that there are benefits to be found from a proper settling-in phase for horses being imported to Australia, whether as yearlings or later in their careers.

“Some people who have brought the racehorses out here have said they’ve had an issue,” Foote says. “That’s one of the reasons I decided to bring them out straight after the yearling sales. That way you settle them in, get them acclimatised and get them used to our regime and our harder tracks, let them go shin-sore a few times before they race. That’s why we decided to do that and I’m pleased we did.”

Danny O’Brien certainly sees no disadvantage in incorporating these youngsters into his training operation, particularly as they are not bred to be early two-year-old types.

“They go straight from the sale grounds into quarantine so they do two weeks there and another two weeks once they reach Australia,” he explains.

“We break them in straight away, usually around the middle of November, and we’ve found that they break in really well. They are getting out of the cold in Europe and coming into our summer, which they seem to appreciate, and then we just treat them like any other horse. We’re only just into it – Russian Camelot was the first one of the first year

TATTERSALLS

John Foote: can be seen as a pioneer of this market

32 THE OWNER BREEDER

EMMA BERRY

›› sixth-placed Sir Dragonet, another son of

The successful Quantum Leap Racing team are assisted by Jeremy Brummitt (right)

and we were probably surprised by how early he raced but, having said that, he effectively raced as a late-season twoyear-old in his own hemisphere.”

Australian agent Brad Spicer is another who has started to dip his toe into the European yearling market and, even though the Coronavirus pandemic prevented him from travelling this year, he was still active through his partnership with British agent Alex Elliott.

“It’s been really hard not being able to get there and to see the horses but I’m just so glad that I’ve been doing it for a couple of years so I know the process,” says Spicer. “I’ve had a lot of discussion with vets and their thought is to get them out to Australia and get them to throw a bit more bone so it hardens them up for when they’re ready for racing. I think there’s a lot in that, getting them here, conditioned and ready to go pretty much as four-year-olds.”

Spicer’s purchases in the last three years have also been the offspring of Derby winners. He picked up two Camelot colts last year following two by Sea The Stars and his German Derbywinning son Sea The Moon in 2018. Through Elliott, another son of Camelot was bought

from this year’s Orby Sale, along with a colt by Sir Percy at Tattersalls, both out of Shamardal mares.

He adds: “To be able to buy the stock of good middle-distance sires like Sea The Stars and Camelot, I think it’s the way to go for the future. I’m also a massive fan of Shamardal.”

At £160,000 and 150,000gns respectively, Spicer’s two latest European yearling recruits could still be deemed expensive but not when set against the record-breaking price of 925,000gns paid in October at Tattersalls for the Australian-bound English King – yep, you’ve guessed it, another son of Camelot. Plus there’s the bonus of the lively syndication market in Australia.

“We pretty much have investors before we go to the sales so they’re spoken for before we buy them,” Spicer notes. “The prize-money makes it a bit easier over here and a lot of the staying races are worth a lot of money. You do need to get a bit of return to the owners in some shape or form.”

And therein lies the gravest of problems facing British racing: the scant return to the majority of owners. This is nothing new, of course, but racing being forced to operate behind closed doors during the Covid-19 crisis has only exacerbated an already troubling scenario. A number of operators in the British market have reacted to this in pragmatic fashion by buying middledistance yearlings with a view to racing them here in the early stages before attempting to sell them overseas. A case of ‘have your cake and eat it’, up to a point.

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EMMA BERRY

Australian demand

Danny O’Brien (left) and family, pictured with Melbourne Cup winner Vow And Declare

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One such group of investors is behind Quantum Leap Racing, run by Eamonn O’Connor, which, like O’Brien, uses Jeremy Brummitt as their agent.

Brummitt was also responsible for buying English King as a yearling for owner Bjorn Nielsen.

“Over and above everything I’d like to win the Derby,” says Brummitt, who came close this year when English King started second-favourite at Epsom. “And it seems if you make a good fist of it but come up short you’ve got a very valuable commodity to sell abroad, or indeed to National Hunt racing.”

Beyond the issues prompted by the apparent inadequacies of the Australian breeding programme, not to mention the increasing focus on speedorientated stallions in Europe, Brummitt also has concerns regarding the future engagement of fans.

He adds: “In my view, we are in a dangerous place. In order to prosper in any racing jurisdiction you need durable, recognisable horses. People like horses that keep running because that’s the way to make the horse a hero and to create new fans. If you retire them after three runs, or they break down after five, then you are not going to connect with the general public. They can make a lot of money for shrewd operators in the business but it doesn’t advance our sport. Regardless of what the breeding professionals in Australia say about the demand for sprinters, that’s an industrydriven demand not a consumer-driven demand. The general public in Australia is focused on the Melbourne Cup, not the Golden Slipper.

34 THE OWNER BREEDER

“Venture capitalists think they can select a stallion that will win the Golden Slipper so they can sell shares in him, but that’s got nothing to do with cementing or enhancing the popularity of the business. Neither has trying to win the Windsor Castle Stakes instead of the Derby. The by-product of a failed Derby adventure is a horse that might race for five years and fill November Handicaps and Ebors.”

“We found that by buying that type, there’s a better chance of resale” Ralph Beckett, former trainer of the 100-rated Wyclif, who has been partially sold by Quantum Leap Racing to continue his career in Australia with Danny O’Brien, also operates for another race-and-sell venture, The Lucra Partnership, set up by Alex Elliott. That outfit’s first syndicate of two-year-olds has started successfully as it contained New Mandate, who was sold on to Marc Chan after winning a Sandown nursery and then went on to win the Flying Scotsman and Royal Lodge Stakes.

“Ralph has always taken a longer-term approach,” says Elliott. “We just found that buying that type of horse, there’s a

much better chance of resale. We’ve had a few horses along the way like [Further Flight Stakes winner] Mount Moriah, whose owner turned down a lot of money for him, and Skymax, who we sold to clients with an Australian angle at the end of his two-year-old year.”

He continues: “The way life has gone in general people have just become less patient, but if you can have a little patience with horses it stands you well. If the horses just miss the Australian ticket you can get your money back to go jumping. Say if you did a Royal Ascot syndicate and you raised X amount to buy five two-year-old types, for a start they would be hard to buy, and if they just missed they’re basically worthless.”

Elliott adds: “We didn’t expect New Mandate to be as fast as he is – he’s by New Bay out of an Authorized mare – but it’s an added bonus that he did so well at two.”

With the prize-money situation in Britain unlikely to improve in the near future, it is entirely understandable that owners decide to sell when a lucrative offer is made, or even set out with this aim as a specific game plan. Indeed, financial returns of this nature should stimulate continued or increased investment in young stock, while the enhanced Australian and American interest in the European yearling market can be viewed as nothing but a boon to beleaguered breeders.

“In Australia we don’t breed stayers so you have to buy them somewhere.

There’s only a limited number in New Zealand and there’s certainly a better selection in England,” says John Foote.

“All our breeders seem to want to do is to breed thousands of sprinters and it doesn’t make any sense to me. It’s like going to the Olympics and watching the 100, 200 and 400 metres and then going home. Horseracing is from 1,000 metres to roughly two miles, and that’s what it should be.”

Overseas investment in European stock is of course vital, particularly in this difficult year, but while solving one problem it could end up creating another. If we continue to sell so many of our good middle-distance bloodlines overseas, surely eventually we will be shorn of the thoroughbred product for which Britain and Ireland are so revered. Jeremy Brummitt warns that this scenario is closer than we think.

He says: “We already have too narrow a spectrum of stallions, and America and Australia are knocking on our door to provide something that they don’t have, but we are perilously close behind them.”

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Prince A A Faisal

Royal LEGACY Prince Faisal’s purchase of Eljazzi was an inspired acquisition that continues to drive the owner’s bloodstock operation nearly 40 years on Words: Nancy Sexton

M

emories of days spent on horseback as a child burn with the same clarity as if they were yesterday for HRH Prince A A Faisal. It was there in Saudi Arabia that the young prince developed a strong affinity for the animal that would evolve into a strong passion for horseracing, and thankfully for us, in European horseracing.

British racing, in particular, has been all the richer for his interest. In an involvement that spans four decades, rarely has a season passed when the maroon and grey epaulettes have not been carried by some performer of note.

To many, the 1990 Prix de Diane heroine Rafha ranks as the best, especially in light of her subsequent weighty influence on the Stud Book as the dam of leading sires Invincible Spirit and Kodiac. But there is also champion two-year-old Belardo to consider as well as the Prix Jean Prat winner Olden Times and Poule d’Essai des Poulains hero Make Believe.

In an illustration of the strength of the Prince’s small but select breeding programme, it is the blend of Make Believe and Rafha that sits behind his current homebred star, Mishriff. Bred by the Prince’s Nawara Stud Limited, this year’s Prix du Jockey Club winner has acted as a valuable tool in setting the stud career of his sire Make Believe in motion, and as a son of the Raven’s Pass mare Contradict, is also a great-grandson of Rafha.

Prince Faisal is swift to deflect his success to the assistance of Lady Luck.

Yet many would agree that the idea of ‘making your own luck’ often holds true in this business, and that by building a good team of people while developing an innate knowledge of the families at hand,

36 THE OWNER BREEDER

foundations are invariably laid for success.

“You need luck in this game and I’m just very lucky,” says Prince Faisal, whose string are split between John Gosden, Andre Fabre, William Haggas and Roger Varian. “I use a lot of what I learnt in Arabia on conformation. I look at my mare and I look at the stallion, and use common sense – I try to combine both in a way that will complement them.

“The advantage of breeding also is that you get to know the families. You can have a filly that is working well at home and then doesn’t go on – you have that knowledge going forward as opposed to buying one at the sales. I know my families well.”

Prince Faisal’s first winner arrived at Chester’s May meeting in 1980 when Kareem won for Peter Walwyn and by the end of that decade, the seed had been sown for a breeding operation via Bath winner Nawara.

“I enjoyed riding horses,” says Prince Faisal. “We had a big stable at home. I think that as a ten-year-old, I spent more time in the stables than in the house!

I would ride whenever I could, every morning and every night in the desert.

“However, racing was always my love.

I enjoyed visiting England but I don’t like travelling so I thought that if I had a stable there, it might encourage me to come over more and enjoy it.”

Nawara, by Welsh Pageant, came to be an important cog in the Prince’s fledgling breeding operation as the dam of Italian champion Alhijaz, who was trained by John Dunlop to win the 1992 Italian 2,000 Guineas. Appropriately, Alhijaz was among the best sired at stud by the owner’s Jersey Stakes winner Midyan.

Bought for $165,000 through the BBA

as a yearling, Midyan came at a time of auction ring investment, a period that also yielded his 1986 Gran Criterium winner Sanam as well as Eljazzi, arguably the most important purchase of all.

Landmark purchase

Prince Faisal paid 92,000gns for Eljazzi at the 1982 Tattersalls Houghton Sale through long-term advisor Major Johnnie Lewis in a transaction that was reflective of a strong background associated with Captain Tim Rogers’ Airlie Stud.

She was a daughter of the Eclipse and Sussex Stakes winner Artaius, a Round Table horse who was one of an army of stallions Rogers stood at that time under his Airlie umbrella, and out of the 1968 Yorkshire Oaks runner-up Border Bounty.

That made her a half-sister to the highclass miler Pitcairn, the British and Irish champion sire of 1980 in the year that his son Ela-Mana-Mou won the King George.

Prince Faisal says: “Nawara was the

RACINGFOTOS.COM

Prince Faisal has enjoyed a fruitful association with British racing that spans four decades

first horse that I bred and not long after, I bought Eljazzi as a yearling. I was at the sales looking at yearlings and I saw this nice filly. She was very strong, particularly behind the saddle, and correct. And I thought she had an interesting pedigree.

She was a half-sister to Pitcairn, a very good miler, and I liked her sire line – I thought Artaius might make a good broodmare sire.”

Eljazzi showed some promise for Sir Henry Cecil, notably when winning a Leicester maiden by four lengths on debut in the autumn of 1983. However, she didn’t win again and as anticipated, it was at stud that she ultimately flourished, primarily as the dam of Rafha.

Rafha was the mare’s first foal and followed in later years by the Blandford Stakes winner Chiang Mai. Even without Rafha, Eljazzi’s current legacy would still be immense given it covers Group 1 winners such as Pinatubo, Pride Of Dubai and Chinese White.

However, it is through Rafha, by Kris, that Eljazzi holds the most influence.

“Eljazzi was very good behind the saddle, she had great strength,” says Prince Faisal. “Kris didn’t, even though he

“I remember the first time that I saw Rafha, she was so small” was lovely in front and a very good walker.

Kris was also working well with mares with Djebel in their pedigrees, so I felt they could complement each other.

“At that time, Kris was doing extremely

well at stud [as the British and Irish champion sire of 1985], especially as a sire of fillies, and I had this idea that he might become a good broodmare sire.

“But all Eljazzi had done was win a maiden and Kris stood for £90,000 – Lord Howard de Walden had just raised his fee.

Everyone thought I was crazy.”

The resulting foal was a diminutive filly, in fact one so small that she was famously described by her trainer Sir Henry Cecil as being “knee high to a bumble bee”.

“I remember the first time that I saw Rafha, she was so small,” says Prince Faisal. “I said to Sir Henry, ‘I will be sending you a midget, so please no jokes’.

And when she ran at Newmarket as a twoyear-old, I remember another Newmarket trainer making a comment on her size – I responded that sometimes good things come in small packages!”

Rafha made four starts at two and progressed through each one to ultimately land the May Hill Stakes.

THE OWNER BREEDER 37

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“Her first race was a two-runner maiden at Goodwood, which she won,” says Prince Faisal. “She ran again at Newmarket but got caught on the rail, and then went to Epsom, where she idled in front and was beaten by Ruby Tiger [a subsequent multiple Group 2 winner], giving her weight.

“So then we decided to try her in the May Hill with the instruction to Steve Cauthen to hold on to her. I was watching in the stands next to Prince Fahd Salman, who had Knight’s Baroness in the race, and as they came into the straight, to my horror the bit went through her mouth.

She came up the straight with the rein in her mouth but still beat Prince Fahd Salman’s filly.”

He adds: “Henry suggested after her two-year-old season that she was so small that I should retire her. ‘She’s won her black-type,’ he said, ‘now is the time to send her to stud’. But I was keen to keep her for a three-year-old campaign and said to him that if he didn’t train her, I was sure that someone else would like to.

So we decided that we would look at her again in the spring and see how she was training.

“We worked out early on that she would not go for the Guineas, where she would clash with Sheikh Hamdan’s very good filly Salsabil. Then as she wasn’t working that well, we ran her in the Princess Elizabeth Stakes at Epsom to see where we stood, and she won by ten lengths. By that stage, it was too close for the Guineas so we decided that she would be trained with the Oaks in mind.”

“Other people have done well with the family and I’m pleased for them” Rafha consolidated her Classic claims by winning the Lingfield Oaks Trial and with Cecil’s Lupe Stakes winner Moon Cactus pencilled in for Epsom, was diverted to the Prix de Diane, only for her stablemate to make a late switch as well.

“Cauthen switched to Moon Cactus and we managed to get Willie Carson,” says the Prince. “Willie lost his iron coming out of the stalls but recovered and to my surprise she sprinted through the field and won, with Moon Cactus in third [she

38 THE OWNER BREEDER

Rafha: diminutive filly earned fame as the dam of Invincible Spirit and Kodiac

was later promoted to second].”

Niggles prevented Rafha from running again and she was retired to stud.

‘Knee high to a bumble bee’ she might have been but Rafha went on to become an outstanding producer as the dam of 11 winners to a wide range of stallions. Of those 11, four were stakes winners, namely Invincible Spirit (by Green Desert), winner of the Haydock Sprint Cup, Sadian (by Shirley Heights), winner of the John Porter Stakes, Acts Of Grace (by Bahri), winner of the Princess Royal Stakes, and Listed scorer Massarra (by Danehill). There was also the Group 3-placed Kodiac (by Danehill), who has followed Invincible Spirit’s example by becoming a major sire.

“At that stage, I wasn’t really breeding horses – I was buying them at the sales,” says Prince Faisal. “I had sold Eljazzi and a sister to Rafha. But when Rafha won the Prix de Diane, I thought I should keep her.

“The one thing I did with Rafha was use three different stallions in her first three seasons just to see what was dealt and what might work. And she kept breeding good horses for me.”

Most of the family, including Invincible Spirit and Kodiac, were trained by John Dunlop, with whom the Prince enjoyed a long association. Described as a “wonderful man”, Dunlop’s roll of honour for the owner included the aforementioned Alhijaz and Olden Times in addition to the Group 2 winners Azzilfi

GEORGE SELWYN

Prince A A Faisal

and Dandoun. Another talented horse, Group 3 winner Khamaseen, had the distinction of being Lester Piggott’s final Derby mount in 1994.

Rafha’s legacy

Both Invincible Spirit and Kodiac raced into their five-year-old seasons and made their names at stud from relatively humble beginnings; Invincible Spirit retired to the Irish National Stud at a fee of €10,000 in 2003 and at his peak commanded €120,000, while Kodiac retired to TallyHo Stud as a €5,000 stallion and today stands for €65,000. Between them, they are responsible for close to 100 Group or Graded stakes winners.

“I didn’t have many mares so I sold Invincible Spirit and Kodiac,” says Prince Faisal. “Both of them injured their pelvises in training and both came back from that.

There’s a toughness to them that I think comes from Rafha. Mentally they’re very sound – the Kodiacs in particular seem to run every week.”

He adds: “I actually thought that Kodiac was the better horse. He was very unlucky as when he came back from his pelvis injury, he never got his ground. He didn’t like soft ground and every time he was down to run, the rain came.”

As for Massarra, she was bought by Coolmore in 2009, for whom she has bred stakes winners Gustav Klimt, Wonderfully, Bliss and Cuff to Galileo.

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Prince A A Faisal ›› family and I’m pleased for them,” he says.

“It helps me but they also deserve the credit.”

Massarra’s Group 1-winning daughter Nayarra remains within the Nawara fold, although is catalogued to the Tattersalls December Mares Sale in foal to Churchill.

The Prince continues to retain ownership of her fillies Magical Rhythms, by Pioneerof The Nile, and Sooda, by Street Cry.

Latest jewel

The jewel of the family, however, is Contradict, a Raven’s Pass daughter of Acts Of Grace. A non-winner herself, each of her first three foals are stakes performers led by Mishriff. He is the third foal out of the mare after Listed winner Orbaan, a son of Invincible Spirit and the first stakes winner inbred to Rafha, and last year’s Craven Stakes runner-up Momkin. Unfortunately, she has been barren for the past few seasons but is now in foal to Frankel.

Assisted by Ted Voute, Prince Faisal maintains a select broodmare band that also includes Canadian champion Spring In The Air, dam of promising two-yearold Third Kingdom, and Group 3 winner Tamniah.

Interests are also maintained in various flagbearers now at stud; in addition to the bigger names such as Make Believe, they include Olden Times, a virtually private stallion, still going strong at the age of 22.

“He’s a Darshaan so I kept him as I would like some fillies by him to breed from,” says the Prince of the horse, whose fast dam Garah was bred from the sole crop of Ajdal. “Darshaan is such a wonderful broodmare influence and I would like to have some access to the line in my broodmare band. It’s not so easy to find nowadays – it’s almost an outcross considering how much Sadler’s Wells and Danehill blood there is around.”

Covid restrictions prevented Prince Faisal from travelling to watch his horses run in person this autumn. But that hasn’t diluted the passion for a sport that promises him much for 2021, notably through Mishriff and the year-younger Third Kingdom. Progeny of Frankel, Kodiac and Decorated Knight are also waiting in the pipeline.

“I’m very lucky to work with some fabulous people,” says Prince Faisal. “But the point is I’m just a lucky person.

“It’s an exciting sport. I go numb when they win until maybe midnight after the race. Then I don’t sleep and go downstairs and watch it all over again. It’s exciting just to have raised a horse, and then to watch it win a race, well that’s incredible.”

40 THE OWNER BREEDER

BELIEF IN YOUNG SIRE REAPING REWARDS For the past few years, much of the focus within HRH Prince A A Faisal’s breeding operation has been on providing support for his Classic winner Make Believe, a move which has gone on to reap outstanding rewards through homebred Mishriff.

Mishriff was a leading light of the three-year-old division this year for John Gosden, winning the Prix du Jockey Club before following up in the Prix Guillaume d’Ornano. He also ran a fine second on dirt in the Saudi Derby back in March.

Mishriff failed to fire on his final start in the QIPCO Champion Stakes at Ascot but remains in training for 2021.

The fact that he is from the first crop of Make Believe, who carried the Prince’s colours to victory in the Poule d’Essai des Poulains and Prix de la Foret, is a source of great satisfaction. The son of Makfi stands at Ballylinch Stud in Ireland and in addition to Mishriff, has supplied Prince Faisal with homebred Listed winner Tammani.

“I went to the Tattersalls Foal Sale and had asked Ted [Voute] to find me a foal,” says Prince Faisal. “Make Believe was by a new stallion, we really liked him and bought him for 180,000gns. Everyone thought I was crazy!

“I did think though that he was my best yearling that year, and sent him to Andre Fabre accordingly. And Andre liked him from very early on.”

He adds: “John Gosden is a wonderful trainer, his attention to detail is second to none and he thinks very highly of Mishriff. With it being the first year of the Saudi Festival, I felt we had to support it and so we sent Mishriff to the Derby – John thought he would be fine on dirt. He was a bit unlucky as he missed the break and made up a lot of ground to run second.

“Then he surprised me with how easily he won the Newmarket Stakes. I said to John then that a placing in a Classic would really help Make Believe.

That’s when we decided on the French Derby.”

Mishriff was spoken of as an Arc contender in some quarters following his wide-margin victory over The Summit in the Prix du Jockey Club. However, that option was never seriously considered, says the owner, with it instead being a potential avenue for a four-year-old campaign.

“John told me that he didn’t want to run him over a mile and a half this year,” he says. “He’s still growing and he wanted to give him as much time as possible. We look forward to next year.”

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Chapter closes as part Floors dispersal takes centre stage

TATTERSALLS

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here was a bittersweet moment during the recent Tattersalls October Sale when it was revealed that Floors Stud was set to downsize and relocate out of the Floors Castle Estate in Kelso, Scotland.

The news was confirmed to the wider world amid congratulations over the sale of its Frankel colt out of Attraction for 1,100,000gns to Godolphin. The later sale of a Dubawi grandson of Attraction for 2,100,000gns, also to Godolphin, further underlined the late Duke of Roxburghe’s ability as a breeder and the high regard in which the stud is held.

And so this month’s Tattersalls December Sale is set to feature a partial dispersal of Floors mares to be sold through Kiltinan Castle Stud. The dispersal also includes seven foals, who will have been offered the week before.

Sir Guy Innes-Ker, the 10th Duke of Roxburghe, passed away last August at the age of 64. His legacy within racing circles will always go hand in hand with Attraction, an ill-conformed homebred filly who captured the hearts of the racing public during a lengthy racing career highlighted by wins in the Newmarket and Irish 1,000 Guineas.

There is, however, a sadness that the Duke didn’t live to see the achievements of Palace Pier, another to bear the Floors stamp. Bred in partnership with Highclere Stud, the Kingman colt paid tribute to his late co-breeder as one of the year’s top milers, his victories including the St James’s Palace Stakes and Prix Jacques le Marois.

This Dubawi colt sold for 2,100,000gns to top Floors Stud’s Tattersalls October draft

There could also be plenty to look forward to from Royal Pleasure, a younger Kingman colt co-bred with Whitley and Newbyth Studs who made a winning debut for Sir Mark Prescott in the days leading up to Tattersalls.

His win provides a smart update for his dam Merry Jaunt, who takes her place within the dispersal alongside Listed winner Twitch and stakes-placed Hibiscus, a daughter of the demoted 1,000 Guineas winner Jacqueline Quest.

A pair of half-sisters to Attraction, Fusion and Federation, are also catalogued.

The Floors mares will undoubtedly be a highlight of the Mares Sale, yet it will also be accompanied by a tinge of sadness. It comes only a year following the dispersal of the majority of stock belonging to the late Lady Rothschild; that continues over into this year’s sale

with the entry of Group 1 winner Spinning Queen, a former 3,000,000gns purchase who was unable to take up her auction engagement last year.

The decline of the British ownerbreeder has been a long but gradual process. Years ago, the racing world benefitted from the presence of those who participated with the long view in mind – think Lionel Holliday, Sir Victor Sassoon, Jim Joel, Lords Derby, Astor and Rosebery – all of whom had developed families over a period of time. Times change and the industry is a very different and more commercial beast to the one then. However, that acknowledgement must not detract from any concern over the country’s dwindling pool of British-based owner-breeders.

In the case of Floors Stud, it was established in 1947 by the 9th Duke of Roxburghe. The Duke operated primarily as an owner-breeder and enjoyed his staying horses, who included the 1966 Northumberland Plate winner Sweet Story.

The 10th Duke inherited Floors Castle in 1974 and thanks largely to the achievements of Attraction and her relations, brought the stud into sharper focus within racing circles. There is no doubt that he would have taken great satisfaction out of this year’s Tattersalls October Sale, particularly Book 1 where six homebred yearlings realised close to 4,000,000gns. Fittingly, Attraction was a crucial element to that success and it was good to hear that she will remain in Floors ownership.

MINSTER STUD’S ELAINE CARSON WILL BE MUCH MISSED Late October brought the sad news that Elaine Carson had lost her battle with cancer at the age of 65.

In partnership with her husband, five-time champion jockey Willie, Carson sat at the helm of the couple’s successful Minster Stud in Gloucestershire.

For many years, the stud was perhaps best known as the birthplace of Minster Son, famously ridden to victory

by Willie in the 1988 St Leger. However, results from recent years have also continued to place the stud at the forefront of British bloodstock.

There was the Irish Derby and Dubai Sheema Classic hero Jack Hobbs, who was bred by the stud out of Swain’s Gold. One of the best sired by Halling, he now stands at

Overbury Stud in Gloucestershire.

Another high-flying graduate, Al Shemali, took the 2010 Dubai Duty Free while Chriselliam, a yearling purchase owned in partnership with Emily Asprey and Chris Wright, won the 2013 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf.

Anyone who is a regular visitor to Tattersalls would have likely crossed paths with Elaine Carson, most probably at Minster’s usual place within the Wall Boxes. Only last year, the stud enjoyed an auction high with the sale of a Le Havre filly out of Phiz for 825,000gns to MV Magnier.

Now named Martinique, she has shown enough for Aidan O’Brien to suggest she is worth keeping an eye on and perhaps become another to do the stud proud.

THE OWNER BREEDER 43

BOBBY’S KITTEN

Bay 2011 by Kitten’s Joy ex Celestial Woods (by Forestry)

A LEADING EUROPEAN FIRST CROP SIRE IN 2020 • ONLY 3YO EVER to win Gr.1 Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint • Won 6 races at 2, 3 and 5 years and $1,424,417 in the USA and Ireland – all on Turf • Sire of 11 individual first crop 2yo winners of 17 races, including Gr.2 Beresford Stakes runner-up MONAASIB (to 20th Nov. 2020) • First stallion son of KITTEN’S JOY (Champion Turf racehorse and multiple US Champion sire) in England and Ireland

SEA THE MOON

Bay 2011 by Sea The Stars ex Sanwa (by Monsun)

A LEADING EUROPEAN SIRE IN 2020 • Sire of 25 individual Black-type horses to date including: ALPINE STAR (Gr.1 winner at 3 in 2020 and Gr.2 winner at 2) QUEST THE MOON (Gr.2 winner and Gr.1-placed in 2020, and dual Gr.3 winner) WONDERFUL MOON (Gr.2 and dual Gr.3 winner in 2020, and Gr.3 winner at 2) • Yearlings sold at the 2020 Tattersalls October Sales Book 1 & 2 made 480,000 gns, 210,000 gns, 200,000 gns, etc., averaging £154,975 – over 10 times his 2018 fee

SIR PERCY

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

A POTENT MIX OF SPEED & STAMINA • Sire of 49 individual Stakes horses including Gr.1 winners WAKE FOREST and SIR JOHN HAWKWOOD, and BERKSHIRE ROCCO (Listed winner, Gr.1 Classic-placed and Gr.2-placed in 2020) Sire of 84 individual 2yo winners incl. dual winner and Gr.3-placed PERCY’S LAD in 2020 • • Yearlings sold at the 2020 Tattersalls October Sales Book 2 made 150,000 gns (x2), 80,000 gns & 50,000 gns, averaging £112,875 – over 16 times his 2018 fee

STUDY OF MAN

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

SON AND GRANDSON OF LEGENDS • Winner of 3 races at 2 & 3, over 1600m - 2100m, including the ‘Stallion Making’ Gr.1 French Derby and £1,033,142 Only son of DEEP IMPACT (Japanese Super-Sire and multiple Champion) • at stud in England A grandson of the Racing/Breeding Legend MIESQUE, a dual Classic winner • and dam of Classic winners KINGMAMBO, EAST OF THE MOON, etc.

• Outstanding International Outcross Pedigree

info @la nw a d e s .c o m • w w w.l an w ad e s . c om • Te l : + 44 (0)1638 750222

LANWADES

The independent option TM

First Foals 2021

Sales Circuit • By Carl Evans

Quality key as international participation proves crucial Australian buyers faced a logistical nightmare and some four weeks of self-isolation if they hoped to visit Newmarket for this annual four-day sale.

Wisely, it seems, they did not try.

Yet that did not stop stables based in that country from raiding some of the premier jewels on offer, either through online and telephone bidding, or through using agents and contacts based in the UK. Little wonder they were so keen to dip into this basket of largely-proven European bloodstock given recent results down under, headed by a Melbourne Cup 1-2-3 for horses bred in this area of the northern hemisphere.

Ted Voute’s Saudi Arabian-based Najd Stud client proved another major player at this event as overseas investors swept the top-ten board, and while the many lower-tier buyers from smaller racing nations were absent, the chance to purchase online was not missed.

Buyers from 30 countries secured a horse, and a quarter of the 1,105 lots were the subject of an online bid. A total of 121 lots were sold to online bidders and a further 123 were underbid.

This was one of 2020’s rare sales that took place in its original format, date and venue, and while in-training sales can vary from year to year depending

TATTERSALLS

Tattersalls Autumn Horses-in-Training Sale

English King is destined to continue his career in Australia after selling for 925,000gns

on the quality of entered horses, the clearance rate of 88% was a crucial figure. Moving stock on is a vital component of racing.

Turnover of 21,735,100gns was down 14% while the average (22,384gns) and median (9,000gns) fell 13% and 25% respectively.

New Zealander Paul Moroney is a regular visitor to Britain and a frequent

TALKING POINT • Trainer Ed Walker referred to a perfect storm when reflecting on the sale of English King, the best horse he has trained to date. Walker’s comment referred to owner Bjorn Nielsen’s decision to sell, and the trainer admitted he had tried to dissuade his patron by pinpointing the potential riches the colt could gain by travelling the world.

However, Walker said Nielsen was concerned that such races could be cancelled by Covid-related issues, or that flight restrictions could thwart plans to travel the horse, let alone find seats on a jet for his owner and trainer. He also referred to Nielsen’s trading of yearlings which had been affected this year.

Of English King’s win in Lingfield’s Derby Trial [when breaking the track record] and preparation for the Derby, the trainer said: “He made lockdown a lot more interesting.”

Walker has yet to train a Group 1 winner, and the loss of English King has put a dent in those aspirations, but he is far too good to wait many more seasons, and when the big day comes the highs and lows he experienced with the colt will make the occasion all the sweeter. In the meantime, few trainers can be waiting more eagerly for a Covid vaccine.

buyer at Tattersalls, but from the other side of the world he had his most profound impact to date. Buying in tandem with his Melbourne-based trainer/brother Mike, and using Armando Duarte as his footman at the sales, the trio became leading buyers when sealing deals on three horses worth an aggregate of 1,475,000gns. Their pick proved to be the highlight of the sale, English King, a leading fancy for this year’s Derby, in which he was fifth, and just the type to do well in Australia.

Fending off lengthy resistance from Voute and his Saudi allies, Duarte brought the hammer down with a bid of 925,000gns, a record for a colt at the sale and second only to the filly Aljazzi’s 1,000,000gns valuation in 2018. Duarte’s other purchases for the Moroneys were three-year-old colts Emissary for 350,000gns and Keats for 200,000gns.

Australian agent Guy Mulcaster, acting for Sydney trainer Chris Waller, is an ever-present at Tattersalls’ in-training sales, but his absence did not prevent the stable gaining horses. Former Godolphin buyer John Ferguson stepped into Mulcaster’s role on several choice lots, headed on price by threetime all-weather winner Bullfinch, who made 370,000gns when exiting Roger

THE OWNER BREEDER 45

››

Sales Circuit

TATTERSALLS

Nat Rothschild.

Voute’s Saudi clients opted not to head Duarte’s 925,000gns bid for English King, but they spent exactly that sum in total on four other horses, headed by the 340,000gns they paid for four-year-old colt Derevo, a 97-rated three-time winner for Sir Michael Stoute’s stable in the colours of Prince Khalid Abdullah.

In his closing summary, Tattersalls’ Chairman Edmond Mahony referred to this year’s inaugural $30 million Saudi Cup night which included wins for two of the sale’s graduates. He also took satisfaction in noting that six horses had made 300,000gns at the sale, double the number who passed that mark in 2019.

Bullfinch will also head to Australia, in his case to the stable of Chris Waller

TATTERSALLS

›› Charlton’s stable and the ownership of

Armando Duarte: agent co-signed for 1,475,000gns worth of stock

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

Vendor

Price (gns)

English King 3 c Camelot – Platonic

Ed Walker Racing

925,000

Armando Duarte/Ballymore/ Paul Moroney

Bullfinch 3 c Kodiac - Thistle Bird

Waddesdon/Castlebridge Consignment

370,000

Chris Waller Racing

Emissary 3 c Kingman - Soviet Moon

Juddmonte Farms

350,000

Armando Duarte/Ballymore/ Paul Moroney

Derevo 4 c Dansili – Pavlosk

Juddmonte Farms

340,000

Voute Sales/Najd Stud

Urban Icon 4 c Cityscape – Fauran

East Everleigh Stables (R Hannon)

320,000

Voute Sales/Najd Stud

Piranesi 3 g Zoffany – Starship

Somerville Lodge (W Haggas)

300,000

Jane Chapple-Hyam

Fight Zone 2 c War Front - Agreeable Miss

Castlebridge Consignment

290,000

V de Sousa/Chris Dwyer

Desert Icon 4 g Sea The Stars - Plume Rose

Somerville Lodge (W Haggas)

210,000

Chris Waller Racing

Keats 3 c Galileo – Airwave

Ballydoyle Stables (A O’Brien)

200,000

Crystal Pegasus 3 c Australia - Crystal Etoile

Freemason Lodge Stables (Sir M Stoute)

190,000

Buyer

Armando Duarte/Ballymore/ Paul Moroney Chris Waller Racing

Figures Year

Sold

Agg (gns)

Average (gns)

Median (gns)

Top price (gns)

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

Arqana October Yearling Sale

There was another Covid-created revamp for this auction, which was expanded to five days in order to include yearlings that would have been offered at the Osarus September Sale.

It also contained horses that would otherwise have been consigned at Arqana’s August Yearling Sale and which added lustre to the event. The result was an €800,000 rise in turnover on day one when €9,500,000 was turned over, although the average price fell by 33% to €58,270. Importantly,

46 THE OWNER BREEDER

80% of these bluebloods found a buyer, a rise of seven points.

With the inflated catalogue, comparisons were largely irrelevant, but it will not have been lost on breeders and pinhookers that there were falls of 24% in average and 20% in the median.

The sale proved to be another successful one for yearlings consigned under the watchful eye of Henri Bozo from Haras des Monceaux, which traded 21 horses for €1,962,000, including a record high for the event of €525,000.

That was the sum paid by Sheikh

Joaan’s Al Shaqab Racing for a son of Haras de Bonneval’s Siyouni, whose list of top-grade successes continues to rise. Al Shaqab was to become the leading buyer, with 19 purchases for a total of €1,721,000.

The sale topper was foaled by the winning Dansili mare Prudente, a full sister to Prudenzia, the dam of Group 1 winners Chicquita and Magic Wand, but there was a host of other black-type performers on the colt’s page. Prudente and Prudenzia are no strangers to big sums for their offspring.

››

StAllIONS 2021 INviNCiblE SpiRit Fee: €80,000 (1st Oct terms)

PhOeniX OF SpaiN Fee: €12,500 (1st Oct terms)

FRee eAgle Fee: €8,000 (1st Oct terms)

decorated knight Fee: €7,500 (1st Oct terms)

FIRST 2YOs 2021

NatiOnaL DefeNse Fee: €5,000 (1st Oct terms)

FIRST 2YOs 2021

EQuiaNO NEW FOR 2021 Fee: €3,000 (In advance of covering)

ELusiVE PiMperNel Fee: €2,500 (In advance of covering)

DragON pulse Fee: €2,000 (In advance of covering)

Contact: Cathal Beale, Sinéad Hyland, Gary Swift +353 (0)86 6031979, Patrick Diamond +353 (0)85 1299236 or Helen Boyce.

Tel: +353 (0)45 521251 www.irishnationalstud.ie Terms & Conditions apply

INS-Owner-Breeder-Full-Page-2021.indd 1

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HRI WOULD LIKE TO THANK OWNERS FOR SUPPORTING IRISH RACING WE LOOK FORWARD TO WELCOMING YOU TO IRELAND IN 2021

racehorseownership.ie

››

Siyouni’s sons and daughters were popular throughout, and he romped the leading sires’ table by aggregate with 14 sales at an average of €122,750, almost three times his €45,000 fee in 2017. Since then it has been onwards and upwards, and with help from recent Arc winner Sottsass, that fee will rise from €100,000 to €140,000 in 2021.

A Sea The Stars filly proved next best at this sale when knocked down to racehorse owner Daniel Cole for €450,000. He was joined by Chantillybased expatriate Hiroo Shimizu, who will train the filly for Japan’s Shigeo Nomura.

A further 83% of horses offered at day two were knocked down to a buyer – an €85,000 Alderflug colt headed trade – and 82% of horses were sold on day three, which saw a €95,000 Lope De Vega colt in pole position.

Part III of the sale opened on the fourth day, which saw an 83% clearance rate and a top price of €42,000 for sons of Mastercraftsman and Whitecliffsofdover, while the final day continued in similar vein, with another 83% of successful sales and a €70,000 top price for a colt by Dark Angel.

When selling ended Arqana

ARQANA/ZUZANNA LUPA

Sales Circuit

Al Shaqab Racing paid a sale-topping €525,000 for this Siyouni relation to Magic Wand

President Eric Hoyeau reflected on “a long week”, “the uneasy financial situation breeders and pinhookers are faced with due to high production costs”, and he thanked “caterer Henri

Morel and his staff, who keep doing their best to serve our clients in spite of the logistical constraints”.

Anyone who has attended a sale since March will echo his last comment.

Arqana October Yearling Sale Top lots Sex/breeding

Vendor

Price (€)

Buyer

C Siyouni – Prudente

Haras des Monceaux

525,000

Al Shaqab Racing

F Sea The Stars - Matauri Pearl

Haras d’Etreham

450,000

Daniel Cole

F Exceed And Excel - Rose Et Or

Haras du Mezeray

280,000

Stroud Coleman Bloodstock

C Siyouni – Pacifique

Haras des Monceaux

210,000

David Menuisier

F Wootton Bassett – Texanne

Haras de Castillon

210,000

Eurl LG Bloodstock

C Siyouni - Newton’s Night

Haras des Monceaux

200,000

Federico Barberini

F Dabirsim - Twilight Tear

Haras de Grandcamp

182,000

David Redvers/Cornthrop

C Iffraaj - Royale Du Buisson

Haras des Monceaux

160,000

Stroud Coleman Bloodstock

C Le Havre - One Chance

Haras des Monceaux

150,000

Gerard Larrieu

C Sea The Moon – Octavine

Haras du Hoguenet

135,000

Federico Barberini

C Sea The Stars - Witty Guess

Haras des Faunes

135,000

Al Shaqab Racing

Figures

Year

Sold

Agg (€)

Average (€)

Median (€)

Top price (€)

2020

578

18,603,000

31,249

20,000

525,000

2019

416

17,624,500

41,228

25,000

400,000

2018

451

18,493,700

40,383

26,000

360,000

THE OWNER BREEDER 49

››

Budding talent & HARDY ANNUALS C HEVELEY PARK ST U D STA L L IO N R O ST E R 2 0 2 1

DUTCH ART

MAYSON

Sire of 3 individual Gr.1 winning sprinters.

His 2020 Stakes winners include Gr.1 July Cup winner OXTED and Listed winner MAYSTAR.

Medicean ex Halland Park Lass (Spectrum)

His 11 Black Type horses in 2020 include Gr.3 winners BRAD THE BRIEF and BOWERMAN.

Invincible Spirit ex Mayleaf (Pivotal)

Over 12.5% of his 3yo+ runners are rated 100+ by Timeform.

2021 fee: Private

2021 fee: £4,000 (1st Oct. SLF)

PIVOTAL

TWILIGHT SON

Champion Sire and Champion Broodmare Sire.

Sire of 20 individual first crop 2yo winners to date in 2020,

Now sire of 32 individual Gr.1 winners, including ADDEYBB and GLEN SHIEL in 2020.

including the Gr.3 and LR winner ARIA IMPORTANTE (also 2nd Gr.2 Gran Criterium) and Stakes-placed GRAMMATA.

Polar Falcon ex Fearless Revival (Cozzene)

2021 fee: Private

Kyllachy ex Twilight Mistress (Bin Ajwaad)

2021 fee: £5,000 (1st Oct. SLF)

ULYSSES

Galileo ex Light Shift (Kingmambo)

Dual Gr.1 winner by a Classic winner out of a Classic winning dam.

His popular first crop yearlings in 2020 made 320,000gns, 200,000gns, 170,000gns, 120,000gns, etc.

2021 fee: £10,000 (1st Oct. SLF)

Cheveley Park Stud

Duchess Drive, Newmarket, Suffolk CB8 9DD

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

Sales Circuit ›› Goffs UK Autumn Sale

Blending its Silver and Autumn Yearling Sales together with its usual package of Flat horses in training, but leaving out a point-to-point section, this sale took place at Doncaster just ahead of a local lockdown.

Irish pointers had headed trade in 2019, and in their absence comparisons with that sale were meaningless, but Goffs UK’s Managing Director Tim Kent expressed satisfaction with the overall 70% clearance rate and 75% clearance for the horses-in-training section. A quarter of the 308-strong catalogue was withdrawn, but 160 of the 229 lots found a buyer at an average price of just under £5,000.

A winning hurdler with placed form over fences headed trade when selling to bloodstock agent Ryan Mahon for £36,000. Crooks Peak, a seven-year-old son of Arcadio, had finished second at Kempton for Philip Hobbs’ stable a few days before the sale.

Next best was the four-year-old filly Arctic Fox, who fetched £25,000 when exiting Sir Robert Ogden’s ownership and Richard Fahey’s stable, bound for a new dual-purpose career at the Cumbrian yard run by Martin Todhunter.

A 79-rated daughter of Mastercraftsman, she had won three times on the Flat.

TALKING POINT • Ryan Mahon, who bought the top lot Crooks Peak, echoed the views of many bloodstock agents when reflecting on buying and selling horses in 2020.

The challenge of attending overseas auctions, with knock-on self-isolation periods, has been but one obstacle for agents, while changes in sales formats, locations and dates have been other headaches. Then there is the timeless issue of finding a buyer for a horse, which, given local and national lockdowns, behind-closed-doors racing and reduced prize-money, adds to a cocktail of uncertainty.

Mahon said: “It is a difficult time to be buying – they might go cheaper or they might go up but it is not a good time to be trying to push people into buying a horse when we don’t know what is going to happen, so we buy in the hope that things clear up and we can get back to some kind of normality.”

In similar vein, Tom Malone said at Goffs UK’s November P2P Sale that agents who might go to a sale with three or four orders are now finding they have just one.

Overall clearance rates at many sales have been satisfactory or even good since Covid reached Europe, but there appears to be a long road ahead. It will almost certainly pay to be fit to survive.

A War Command yearling filly led the Silver Sale, but her valuation of £12,000 was a long way down on the £45,000 best price achieved 12 months’ earlier. In fact, 17 horses made more than £12,000 at the auction in 2019.

That will not have worried the Vitruvian Bloodstock team which bought her for a paltry 800gns last year and enjoyed a profitable pinhook when trainer Tony Coyle brought the hammer down. The average price in the Silver

Sale section, where 63% of horses were sold, was £4,425, while at the Autumn Yearling Sale it was £4,052 with another 63% clearance rate.

Trade in this section was headed by a £15,000 filly from the first crop of Overbury Stud’s Jack Hobbs – a year earlier a Pearl Secret filly had headed sales when making £20,000. The Jack Hobbs was offered by Ken Arrowsmith’s Harts Farm Stud in Gloucestershire and sold to Ian Pallas.

Goffs UK Autumn Sale Top lots Name/age/sex/breeding

Vendor

Price (£)

Buyer

Crooks Peak 7 g Arcadio - Ballcrina Girl

Sandhill Racing Stables

36,000

Ryan Mahon

Arctic Fox 4 f Mastercraftsman - Aurora Borealis

Musley Bank Stables

25,000

Martin Todhunter

Tenfold 3 g Born To Sea - Dear Dream

Manton Park Racing

21,000

Gary Moore Racing

Dare To Begin 5 g Recital - Everybodys Dream

Coolmeen Stables

20,000

Stella Barclay

Figures Year

Sold

Agg (£)

Average (£)

Median (£)

Top price (£)

2020

160

786,400

4,915

3,000

36,000

Goffs Autumn Sale

Held as a live event behind closed doors with online and telephone bidding – the first of its kind in Britain or Ireland – this sale was restricted to horses in training. The selection of yearlings usually associated with the catalogue were moved to a later date in November.

The result was better than many would have expected. Goffs Group Chief Executive Henry Beeby thanked vendors, adding: “[They] gave us the

chance to prove the worth of our online platform as it was truly a leap of faith for every one of them.”

He followed up by saying: “I confess that today was quite surreal in many ways as we auctioned to an empty sales arena, but it certainly proved that the bloodstock industry is extremely adaptable, which gives us all belief that we will navigate a way through this terrible time.” He expressed pleasure that 250 registrations had been received for an 86-lot catalogue.

That was 18 horses fewer than in 2019, yet turnover went up three per cent to just over €1 million, the average price gained 24% (€16,448), and while the median was down 22% (€7,000) the clearance rate was static at 72%.

Helping push the average up were two horses who made six-figure sums, which compares to last year’s top lot of €70,000. Dual winner Paso Doble, an 86-rated three-year-old colt who was trained by Jim Bolger for Godolphin, headed trade when knocked down to

››

THE OWNER BREEDER

51

Sales Circuit son of Dawn Approach had won twice this year and shown he handled a trip and soft ground, which will stand him well in his new career with jump trainer Paul Nicholls.

This autumn’s theme of Australian buyers seeking out suitable talent to race on the other side of the globe was continued when Billy Jackson-Stops and trainer Matt Cumani teamed up to secure Taramansour with a bid of €105,000. A 92-rated son of Dansili, consigned by the Aga Khan having raced from Dermot Weld’s stable, Taramansour had won once but is a half-brother to a pair of Group 3 winners out of a Listed-winning mare.

Leading Sydney trainer Chris Waller also got in on the Aga Khan’s draft, landing the winning four-year-old gelding Bashiyr with a €50,000 bid.

GOFFS

›› agent Tom Malone for €125,000. The

Dual winner Pasa Doble headed online trade at the Goffs Autumn Sale, selling for €125,000

Goffs Autumn Sale Top lots Name/age/sex/breeding

Vendor

Pasa Doble 3 c Dawn Approach - Baila Me

Godolphin

Price (€) 125,000

Buyer Tom Malone

Taramansour 3 c Dansili – Tanoura

Aga Khan

105,000

JS BS/Matt Cumani

Alatar 3 g Ruler Of The World – Aliyfa

Aga Khan

64,000

John McConnell

Zarzyni 3 g Siyouni – Zunera

Aga Khan

62,000

David Barron

Razoul 5 g Mastercraftsman - Saree

Ballygallon Stud

60,000

Stroud Coleman/Sean Clancy

Figures Year

Sold

Agg (€)

Average (€)

Median (€)

Top price (€)

2020

62

1,019,800

16,448

7,000

125,000

2019

75

991,400

13,219

9,000

70,000

2018

79

1,466,100

18,558

9,000

200,000

Transferred from Cheltenham to Fairyhouse, this 24-lot catalogue revolved around Irish pointers and was limited to online and telephone bidding only.

Horses were assembled at Tattersalls Ireland’s sales complex and prospective buyers were able to book pre-sale inspections, but with Ireland undergoing a six-week lockdown the auction was held behind closed doors with pictures being relayed via Tattersalls’ website.

For the sales company it was a case of what-might-have-been, for the best horses sold well, yet the clearance rate was just 54%. Online bidding is proving increasingly popular and works well in

52 THE OWNER BREEDER

›› Winning pointer Ginto was one of two high-profile purchases made by Bective Stud

TATTERSALLS CHELTENHAM

Tattersalls Cheltenham November Sale

Tip.pdf

1

19/11/2020

10:39

TIP TWO WIN

[DARK ANGEL x FREDDIE’S GIRL]

C

M

‘A ‘A stakes stakes winner winner at at 2 2 and and classic classic placed placed at at 3!

3! The The second second highest highest rated rated son son of of Dark Dark Angel Angel in in the the UK/Ireland’ UK/Ireland’

Y

CM

MY

Aidan O’Brien

CY

CMY

K

STANDING AT MARCH HARE STUD

LUKE: 07580 948206

MATT: 07496 510741

WWW.MARCHHARESTUD.CO.UK @MARCHHARESTUD @LMSTALLIONSLTD LMSTALLIONSLTD@GMAIL.COM

Sales Circuit ›› conjunction with a traditional auction,

TALKING POINT

although on the evidence of this sale (but not Goffs’ Autumn Sale of Flat horses in training) there is nothing like the real thing when it comes to clearing stock.

There were consolations however, with four of the 13 sold lots making a six-figure sum, the top price was a record for a pointer sold in Ireland, and the average price headed north.

When Tattersalls converted Euros into Pounds, that average came in just under £114,000 with a median of nearly £68,000. Turnover was roughly half that achieved at Cheltenham in November last year, but the catalogue was almost 50% smaller.

Trade was headed by the record €470,000 sale of winning four-year-old pointer Ginto, who was offered from Gordon Elliott’s yard and returns there

• Tattersalls and Goffs UK worked together on a pre-Christmas calendar of sales revolving around point-to-pointers with the aim of maximising opportunities for vendors.

Tattersalls opted for three online events at Fairyhouse and a traditional auction at its Newmarket HQ, while Goffs UK went for two traditional sales, the first at Yorton Stud in Wales and the second at Doncaster in early December. Such harmony has been a feather in the caps of sales companies in 2020, but it will not have been lost on Tattersalls that until Covid turned up the Yorton Sale run by Goffs UK was not in the calendar, and that auction’s £570,000 record-price top lot Jonbon would, in all probability, have entered Tattersalls’ ring at the Cheltenham November race meeting. after being sold to Noel and Valerie Moran of Bective Stud.

The Morans, who struck success when creating and then selling a pre-paid business card venture, also gave €270,000 for another winning pointer, four-year-old Gringo D’Aubrelle from Donnchadh Doyle’s Monbeg

Stables to add to a string which includes Grand Roi, purchased for £400,000 at Doncaster in July, and recent Punchestown winner Hollow Games, who was bought for £255,000 at Tattersalls Cheltenham’s Festival Sale. Grand Roi and Hollow Games are trained by Elliott.

Tattersalls Cheltenham November Sale Top lots Name/age/sex/breeding

Vendor

Price (€)

Buyer

Ginto 4 g Walk In The Park - Tina Rederie

Cullentra House Stables (G Elliott)

470,000

Bective Stud

Gringo D’Aubrelle 4 g Saddler Maker – Erbalunga

Monbeg Stables (D Doyle)

270,000

Bective Stud

Gentlemansgame 4 g Gentlewave - Grainne Ni Maille

Monbeg Stables (D Doyle)

250,000

Mags O’Toole

Percy Warner 4 g Ocovango - Fugal Maid

Cullentra House Stables (G Elliott)

100,000

Basil Holian

Free Handshake 4 g Zambezi Sun – Toulouzette

Ballynoe Stables (B Hamilton)

95,000

Gavin Cromwell Racing

Figures Year

Sold

Agg

Average

Median

Top price

2020

13

£1,481,081

£113,929

£67,568

€470,000

2019

32

£2,982,000

£93,188

£69,000

£330,000

2018

40

£3,095,000

£77,375

£65,000

£190,000

Into the topsy-turvy landscape created

by Covid came another first – a ‘world’ record price at a bloodstock auction in North Wales.

Held at James and Jean Potter’s Yorton Farm Stud near Welshpool, the Goffs UK November P2P Sale was due to be staged in Doncaster, but switched venues when that town was placed in a Tier 3 lockdown. Any hope of getting around that restriction was ended when, at midnight on November 3, England went into a four-week lockdown.

However, the lifting of a similar closure in Wales a few days before this sale took place on November 12 enabled the auction to proceed.

For those Irish point-to-point handlers holding stock they hoped to

››

54 THE OWNER BREEDER

GOFFS UK

Goffs UK November P2P Sale

Jonbon set a record for a pointer sold at public auction when knocked down for £570,000

Shadwell Stallions

First Foals 2021

E QTIDAAR Group-1 winning sprinter by leading sire of sires, Invincible Spirit

Fee: £5,000

Jan 1st, SLF

M UHAARAR The best son of Oasis Dream and sire of high-class juveniles BARADAR and MUJBAR

Fee: £10,000

Jan 1st, SLF

First Yearlings 2021

T ASLEET Group 1 sprinter from the family of BATTAASH

New

Fee: £5,000

Jan 1st, SLF

M OHAATHER The best son of SHOWCASING

Won a vintage renewal of the Group 1 Sussex Stakes in a faster time than Kingman Group winner at two, three and four

OR: 123 | TF: 129

Get in touch to discuss terms Discover the Shadwell stallions: www.shadwellstud.com | nominations@shadwellstud.co.uk Contact Richard Lancaster, James O’Donnell on +44 (0)1842 755913 or Tom Pennington on +44 (0)7736 019914 | tpennington@shadwellstud.co.uk and Ellen Bishop on +44 (0)7826 205155 | ebishop@shadwellstud.co.uk

THE 10 FURLONG WORLD CHAMPION €5,000

FASCINATING ROCK. Dual Group 1 winner and Timeform Rated 127

ONE OF THE WORLD’S LEADING SIRES €125,000

LOPE DE VEGA.

Sire of 12 individual Gr.1 winners on 4 continents

CLASSIC WINNER, CLASSIC SIRE €15,000

MAKE BELIEVE.

Sire of 5 first crop Stakes winners including Gr.1 wnr MISHRIFF

CLASSIC WINNING DUBAWI €20,000

NEW BAY.

Outstanding first crop of 2yos include Group winners NEW MANDATE & SAFFRON BEACH

THE BEST GALILEO SINCE FRANKEL €17,500

WALDGEIST.

4 Gr.1s including the Arc from ENABLE, SOTTSASS, MAGICAL & GHAIYYATH

AUNT PEARL by LOPE DE VEGA winner of

Juvenile Fillies Turf

©Alex Evers/Eclipse Sportswire

BALLYLINCH STUD

Thomastown, Co. Kilkenny, Ireland

Te l : + 3 5 3 ( 0 ) 5 6 7 7 2 4 2 1 7 • i n f o @ b a l l y l i n c h s t u d . i e • w w w. b a l l y l i n c h s t u d . c o m

Sales Circuit Yorton was not to be missed, and a very worthy 63 ‘selected’ lots were assembled. That figure included three British pointers and a handful of bumper horses.

Among the Irish contingent was Kilkenny-based Paul Holden and his daughter Ellmarie, who respectively owned and trained Jonbon, a fullbrother to Willie Mullins’ outstanding chaser Douvan, and who was set to run before March’s shutdown of racing and pointing.

Put back on ice, Jonbon was finally unleashed in a four-year-olds’ maiden race at Dromahane in early November, he hacked up in great style and four days later walked into the ring at Yorton where he was knocked down to JP McManus for £570,000, who headed underbidder Tony Barney, a racehorse owner who keeps horses with Leicestershire-based trainer Laura Morgan. Barney was disappointed to miss out, but soon collared the onceraced winning Irish pointer Bold Endeavour, offered by handler Warren Ewing and sold for £190,000.

Jonbon’s valuation – another red rosette for the bridle worn by Coolmore’s Walk In The Park – headed the £480,000 record for a pointer set by Flemenshill at Tattersalls Cheltenham in 2017, and was a superb pinhook result for a horse who had cost €140,000 at last year’s Tattersalls Ireland Derby Sale of stores.

For those who are wondering why Yorton, the answer is that the stud has held two Goffs UK-run auctions of its own unbroken stock in the past 15 months, it has the space and the stables, and is little more than a 90-minute drive from the ferry port in Liverpool

GOFFS UK

›› race and sell in the spring the switch to

Hamish Macauley went to £215,000 for recent point winner Jim Key

TALKING POINTS

››

• Jump racing has lost or is losing some key owners, with the likes of Gigginstown running down over a five-year period, Trevor Hemmings cutting back and Paul and Clare Rooney putting all their interests into Flat racing. Yet fresh blood keeps popping up.

The emergence of Noel and Valerie Moran as high-value investors at Gordon Elliott’s yard has been welcome – they bought the top two at Tattersalls Cheltenham’s online November Sale – while at Goffs UK’s November P2P Sale a little-known racehorse owner named Tony Barney announced his presence when offering £560,000 for top lot Jonbon. The head of Countrywide Park Homes Ltd, one of Britain’s largest caravan park site operators, Barney missed out on that gem when taking the role of underbidder to JP McManus, but he did spend £265,000 in total on two other horses. Hopefully he will be rolling the dice again before long.

• Rural North Wales might not be the most central location in Britain, but Yorton Farm Stud is run by Dave Futter, a man for whom everything is possible.

His willingness to work with Goffs UK and stage the November P2P Sale at short notice was vital to the event’s relocation from Doncaster due to Covid lockdowns. Vendors from Ireland and Britain, some of whom were new to the location, were grateful for the chance to sell, and Yorton’s aesthetic charms were not lost on first-time visitors.

Ironically, a number of Irish vendors had to accept accommodation at the Premier Inn on the English side of the border, and, with all pubs and restaurants in lockdown mode, evening meal options were limited to takeaways in bedrooms. Hopefully that is the last time such restrictions are in place should the stud be used again for similar auctions.

Goffs UK November P2P Sale Top lots Name/age/sex/breeding

Vendor

Price (£)

Buyer

Jonbon 4 g Walk In The Park - Star Face

Coolmeen Stables (Ellmarie Holden)

570,000

J P McManus

Jim Key 4 g Shantou - Queeny’s Princess

Fiddaun Farm

215,000

Hamish Macauley

Bold Endeavour 4 g Fame And Glory – Araucaria

Bernice Stables (Warren Ewing)

190,000

Laura Morgan Racing

Undersupervision 4 g Doyen - Dances With Waves

Monbeg Stables (Cormac Doyle)

130,000

Twiston-Davies Equine

Starevitch 4 g Sinndar - Folie Star Gate

Milestone Stables (Colin Bowe)

105,000

Tom Malone/Jamie Snowden

Figures Year 2020

Sold

Agg (£)

Average (£)

Median (£)

Top price (£)

47

3,058,500

65,074

45,000

570,000

THE OWNER BREEDER 57

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Sales Circuit ››

The Holdens and their bloodstock advisor Michael Shefflin were delighted with Jonbon’s sale. Joining in the sense of joy was rider Derek O’Connor, who had partnered Jonbon. His win had come during a weekend when he rode his 1,250th point-to-point winner and landed a maiden race at Lisronagh on another newcomer named Jim Key. The four-year-old son of Shantou joined the ferry crossing to Yorton where he was sold to agent Hamish Macauley for

£215,000. O’Connor and his wife Carol owned the four-year-old, having bought him at Doncaster in May last year as a store for £11,000.

Of the 63 lots offered, 47 found a buyer at a clearance rate of 75%. Goffs UK’s Tim Kent admitted trade had been “selective” at times, but given the constraints created by Covid he was very satisfied with that figure. Turnover in excess of £3 million justified the sales company’s resolve to put the event on,

and while the average (£65,074) and median (£45,000) were some way below the figures achieved at Cheltenham’s November and December Sales in the past three years, the marked change in circumstances have to be factored in.

Correction in trade is no bad thing to prevent overheating, and while pinhookers who have bought at the top of the market can feel the sting, the shrewd ones tend to bounce back.

FASIG-TIPTON

The Fasig-Tipton November Sale in Kentucky was billed as a ‘Night Of The Stars’ and it proved to be just that, grossing $80,237,000 in total sales during an evening of frenetic bidding that featured no fewer than 22 milliondollar lots, writes Nancy Sexton.

They were led by the champion Monomoy Girl, fresh off her seventh Grade 1 win in the Breeders’ Cup Distaff, who commanded a record $9.5 million bid from B. Wayne Hughes’ Spendthrift Farm.

Overall, it was a night during which Hughes flexed his financial muscle to a momentous degree, eventually coming away with $25,030,000 worth of stock, among them six million-dollar lots.

His determined interest helped fuel an evening during which 142 horses changed hands for a total of $80,237,000, an 18% increase in gross from 2019 and the second highest gross of all-time for the sale. The average rose by six per cent to $565,049. However, the median dropped by a third to $200,000.

The $9.5 million paid for Monomoy Girl set a new benchmark for a racing/ broodmare prospect sold at public auction.

Bought for $100,000 as a yearling by BSW Bloodstock/Liz Crow on behalf of Michael Dubb, Sol Kumin’s Monomoy

Brad Cox: leading trainer will welcome Monomoy Girl back to his barn in 2021

FASIG-TIPTON

Fasig-Tipton November Sale

Champion Monomoy Girl will race for Spendthrift Farm after selling for a record $9.5 million

Stables, the Elkstone Group and Bethlehem Stable, five-year-old Monomoy Girl has gone on to become one of the greats of the modern era as the official winner of 13 of her 15 starts and approximately $4.5 million in earnings. Her seven Grade 1 victories for trainer Brad Cox include the 2018 Kentucky Oaks and two renewals of the Breeders’ Cup Distaff while the daughter of Tapizar also finished first past the post in the 2018 Grade 1 Cotillion Stakes, only to lose the race in the stewards room.

With her dominant victory in the Breeders’ Cup Distaff at Keeneland only the day before still very fresh in the memory, it was heartening to hear that plans call for Monomoy Girl to rejoin Cox with an eye on a six-year-old campaign.

For consignor ELiTE, her sale capped a remarkable evening that also featured the sales of fellow multiple Grade 1 winners Midnight Bisou for $5 million to Chuck Allen, who was buying out his partners in the mare, and Uni for $4.1

million to Peter Brant’s White Birch Farm.

Spendthrift’s high-flying haul also included the purchase of last year’s top two-year-old Bast for $4.2 million as well as the Grade 1 winners She’s A Julie and Get Stormy for $3 million and $2.75 million. Spendthrift General Manager Ned Toffey indicated that She’s A Julie could visit the farm’s champion sire elect Into Mischief next season while Get Stormy looks likely to return to trainer Mark Casse.

Multiple Grade 1 winner Rushing Fall, meanwhile, was bought by Jamie McCalmont on behalf of MV Magnier for $5.5 million with an eye on sending to Galileo next season.

The daughter of More Than Ready headed into the ring as the winner of six Grade 1 races for Chad Brown, among them three at Keeneland – the Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup and two renewals of the Jenny Wiley Stakes – in addition to the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf at Del Mar.

THE OWNER BREEDER 59

››

Sales Circuit ››

TALKING POINTS • Covid-induced travel restrictions failed to prevent Japanese interests from making their presence felt.

Leading the way was Katsumi Yoshida of Northern Farm, who spent $6.3 million on four lots led by $2.2 million for the Grade 1-placed Miss Besilu, in foal to Into Mischief.

Nobutaka Tada also paid $1.6 million for Indelible, a Tiznow halfsister to Breeders’ Cup Juvenile

winner Essential Quality in foal to Nyquist.

European participation was restricted although French agent Meridian International did secure Flirt, dam of Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf hero Fire At Will, for $500,000 privately outside the ring.

• Anticipation ran high ahead of the auction debuts of the first crop of Triple Crown hero Justify but ultimately it was Grade 1 winner City Of Light who helped propel

Rushing Fall: six-time Grade 1 winner could form part of Galileo’s book next season after selling for $5.5 million to Jamie McCalmont

the weanling session thanks to a $600,000 colt who sold to Larry Best’s OXO Equine LLC. The colt was bred by the Irish-based Camas Park Stud out of Breaking Beauty, a winning daughter of Into Mischief purchased by the breeders for $300,000 at Keeneland in November 2019.

As for Justify, six of his first crop went under the hammer, of which two sold inside the ring for $400,000 and $300,000.

Chuck Allen went to $5 million to buy out his partners in five-time Grade 1 winner and $7.5 million earner Midnight Bisou

Fasig-Tipton November Sale Top lots Name/age/sex/breeding

Vendor

Price ($)

Buyer

Monomoy Girl 5 m Tapizar - Drummette

ELiTE, agent

9,500,000

Spendthrift Farm LLC

Rushing Fall 5 m More Than Ready - Autumnal

Indian Creek, agent

5,500,000

Jamie McCalmont, agent for MV Magnier

Midnight Bisou 5 m Midnight Lute - Diva Delite

ELiTE, agent

5,000,000

Chuck Allen

Bast 3 m Arch - Laffina

Hill ’n’ Dale Sales

4,200,000

Spendthrift Farm LLC

Uni 6 m More Than Ready - Unaided

ELiTE, agent

4,100,000

White Birch Farm Inc

She’s A Julie 5 m Elusive Quality - Kydd Gloves

Denali Stud

3,000,000

Spendthrift Farm LLC

Got Stormy 5 m Get Stormy - Super Phoebe

Bluewater Sales

2,750,000

Spendthrift Farm LLC

Miss Besilu 9 m Medaglia d’Oro - Quiet Dance.

Taylor Made Sales Agency

2,200,000

Katsumi Yoshida

Paris Bikini 8 m Bernardini - Lacadena

Taylor Made Sales Agency

1,950,000

Katsumi Yoshida

Mother Mother 4 f Pioneerof The Nile - Mother

Gainesway, agent

1,800,000

Spendthrift Farm LLC

Figures Year

Sold

Agg ($)

Average ($)

Median ($)

Top price ($)

2020

142

80,237,000

565,049

200,000

9,500,000

2019

128

68,011,000

531,336

300,000

5,000,000

2018

140

89,473,000

639,093

327,500

7,500,000

60 THE OWNER BREEDER

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FIRST RUNNERS 2021

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FIRST FOALS 2021

S H O W C A S I N G – F U R B E L O W ( P I V O TA L ) £ 2 5 , 0 0 0

1 ST O C T S L F

Triple Gr.1 winner at two and three in Ireland, France and UK, and the fastest winner of the Royal Ascot Gr.1 Commonwealth Cup

FLAG OF HONOUR

FIRST FOALS 2021

GA L I L E O – H AWA L A ( WA R N I N G ) £ 3 , 0 0 0

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Four-time Group winner including Gr.1 Classic Irish St Leger at three & Gr.3 Eyrefield Stakes at two

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1 ST O C T S L F

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Sales Circuit Book 1 Keeneland November Sale

Book 1 of Keeneland’s November Sale may have lacked the blockbuster names of Fasig-Tipton’s star-studded sale the night before but in keeping with that auction, it witnessed a market that bore little reflection of the Covid-stricken world beyond the bloodstock bubble, writes Nancy Sexton.

Led by the $1.95 million filly Concrete Rose, eight horses changed hands in the ring for a million dollars or more. In turn, they contributed to gross sales of $49,775,000 for 128 horses sold at an average of $388,867. The median was $280,000.

Total sales dropped markedly from the $70,449,500 realised in 2019, although that was achieved off a significantly bigger catalogue that featured the sale of 163 horses. While the average also represented a reduction, that fell by only 10%, while the median was down by just seven per cent.

With online bidding continuing to gain popularity, the session featured 62 bids that were placed via the internet, resulting in nine purchases headed by the $1.65 million paid by the Japanese-based K I Farm for Ollie’s Candy.

American owner Larry Best of OXO Equine LLC swooped to land the day’s top two offerings in Concrete Rose and Indian Miss.

Concrete Rose was an outstanding turf performer for trainer Rusty Arnold,

Top turf filly Concrete Rose joined Larry Best’s broodmare band on a $1.95 million valuation

TALKING POINTS

››

• After failing to sell in the ring for $1.9 million, Australian Group 1 winner Con Te Partiro was subsequently purchased privately for $1.6 million by David Redvers to join Sheikh Fahad’s Qatar Racing broodmare band at Tweenhills Farm and Stud. A globe-trotting daughter of Scat Daddy who also landed the Sandringham Handicap for Wesley Ward in 2017, she is likely to be shipped back to Britain where options include a visit to either Kameko, Zoustar, Frankel or Dubawi.

• Progeny of American Triple Crown hero Justify had the distinction of heading three individual sessions of the sale led by a colt from Hunter Valley Farm, who sold for $600,000 during the opening day to agent Donato Lanni. MV Magnier also paid $475,000 for a relation to the former high-class Ballydoyle two-yearold Johann Strauss. Overall, five foals from the first crop of Justify, who stood his first season at Coolmore’s Ashford Stud in Kentucky for $150,000, sold at Keeneland for an average of $427,000.

Keeneland November Sale Top lots Name/age/sex/breeding

Vendor

Price ($)

Concrete Rose 4 f Twirling Candy - Solerina

Lane’s End, agent

1,950,000

OXO Equine LLC

Indian Miss 11 m Indian Charlie - Glacken’s Gal

Hill ’n’ Dale Sales Agency

1,900,000

OXO Equine LLC

Cherokee Maiden 3 f Distorted Humor - Folklore

Bedouin Bloodstock, agent

1,850,000

Narvick International

Ollie’s Candy 5 m Candy Ride - Afternoon Stroll

Taylor Made Sales Agency

1,650,000

K I Farm

Lady Prancealot 4 f Sir Prancealot - Naqrah

Taylor Made Sales Agency

1,600,000

Shadai Farm

*Con Te Partiro 6 m Scat Daddy - Temple Street

Bedouin Bloodstock

1,600,000

David Redvers Bloodstock

Holy Helena 6 m Ghostzapper - Holy Grace

Hidden Brook, agent

1,500,000

Spendthrift Farm LLC

Houtzen 6 m I Am Invincible - Set To Unleash

Woods Edge Farm

1,500,000

Stonestreet Thoroughbred Holdings

Gingham 3 f Quality Road - Chapel

Brookdale Sales, agent

1,000,000

Claiborne Farm, agent

Expo Gold 12 m Johannesburg - Clouds Of Gold

Taylor Made Sales Agency

950,000

Buyer

Hunter Valley Farm, agent

*private sale Figures Year

Sold

Agg ($)

Average ($)

Median ($)

Top price ($)

2020

128

49,775,000

388,867

280,000

1,950,000

2019

166

71,499,500

430,720

300,000

3,200,000

2018

134

61,853,500

459,578

350,000

4,200,000

62 THE OWNER BREEDER

KEENELAND

››

The fastest son of Frankel

His highest rated miler and only Gr.1 winning miler son at stud anywhere

Won Gr.1 St James’s Palace Stakes in the 2nd fastest time ever 3 Gr.1 placings inc 3rd Gr.1 Breeders’ Cup Mile

He was a very sound and tough colt, and incredibly good natured. He won the St James’s Palace in courageous style off a strong pace and he showed great speed in the Breeders’ Cup Mile.

John Gosden, Trainer

Frankel ex Without You Babe

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winning six of seven starts including the Grade 1 Belmont Oaks and Grade 3 Edgewood Stakes, the latter at the shock expense of champion Newspaperofrecord.

Now a rising five-year-old, the daughter of Twirling Candy was offered

by Lane’s End as agent for Ashbrook Farm and BBN Racing.

“I didn’t want to go quite that high, but honestly I didn’t think I’d touch her below $2 million,” said Best. “She’s a beautiful horse and you can’t take away that record from her. I’m just thrilled to have her. I have admired Concrete Rose for a long time. I have a multiple Grade 1 winner, Cambier Parc, and Concrete Rose beat her [in the Belmont Oaks] and I said, ‘Wow, what a horse.’”

Best also went to $1.9 million for elite producer Indian Miss with an eye on bolstering the first book of his one-time Classic hope Instagrand. The Grade 2-winning son of Into Mischief was recently retired to stand at Taylor Made Stallions in Kentucky.

Indian Miss is the dam of five winners from as many foals to race led by

KEENELAND

Sales Circuit

Larry Best of OXO Equine LLC swooped to land the day’s top two lots

champion American sprinter Mitole and Hot Rod Charlie, who had run second in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile only days before. She was sold by Hill ’n’ Dale Sales Agency in foal to the American champion sire elect Into Mischief.

Particularly notable, however, was the strong participation from Japanese interests. Between them, Japanese-based buyers spent approximately $11 million on broodmares and broodmare prospects during the day, capped by the $1.85m paid by Emmanuel de Seroux’s Narvick International for Cherokee Maiden. De Seroux was acting on behalf of Yoshiyuki Ito’s Grand Farm for the Distorted Humor filly, who is closely related to current Japanese phenomenon Contrail.

As noted above, K I Farm also came away with Grade 1 winner Ollie’s Candy at $1.65 million, while Shadai Farm went to $1.6 million for the top Irish-bred turf filly Lady Prancealot. The latter is one of a number of American success stories for former Tally-Ho stallion Sir Prancealot, whose Grade 2-placed daughter Tonahutu was also snapped up by Shadai, in her case for $350,000.

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Al Kazeem TOB-December 2020:Oakgrove Stud

13/11/20

15:59

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GALILEO 12.84 PRIDE OF DUBAI 12.12 NIGHT OF THUNDER 8.16 CLODOVIL 8 FRANKEL 7.84 SEA THE MOON 7.84 8 SHAMARDAL 7.69 9 DUBAWI 7.58 10 SOLDIER HOLLOW 7.38 11 AREION 7.22 12 SEA THE STARS 7.14 13 GALIWAY 6.9 14 BELARDO 6.82 15 KINGMAN 6.51 16 GOKEN 6.45 17 NEW BAY 6.25 WOOT TON BASSET T 6.25 19 TEOFILO 6 20 SPEIGHTSTOWN 5.71 19/10

Caulfield Files

Bloodstock world views

St Mark’s Basilica (nearside) defeats stable companion Wembley in the Group 1 Dewhurst Stakes

A

s often as not, the Group 1 programme for two-year-olds in Europe produces at least one dual winner at the highest level, to give everyone a clearer idea of the generation’s champion. For example, in 2019 we saw Shamardal’s unbeaten sons Pinatubo and Earthlight achieve difficult Group 1 doubles, with Pinatubo taking the National and Dewhurst Stakes and Earthlight the Prix Morny and Middle Park Stakes.

Needless to say, there was little that was normal during the 2020 season, what with Covid and the contaminated food episode which forced the withdrawal of St Mark’s Basilica and Pretty Gorgeous from their Group 1 targets on Arc day.

Fortunately, these two were able to race less than a week later, when Pretty Gorgeous took the Fillies’ Mile and St Mark’s Basilica the Dewhurst. It’s impossible to know whether they would have tried for further Group 1 glory had they been able to run and win at Longchamp, but the end result was that each of Europe’s 13 Group 1 events confined to two-year-olds had a different winner.

Remarkably, each of the 13 has a different sire and even their broodmare

sires were largely different, the only duplication being Sadler’s Wells. Nearly 40 years after his birth, the perennial champion sire and holder of multiple broodmare sire championships added to his laurels as the broodmare sire of the Irish colts Thunder Moon and Van Gogh.

“Europe’s 13 Group 1 races for two-yearolds each had a different winner” A May foal, Thunder Moon won a very competitive National Stakes on good going in September but was unable to confirm the form with third-placed St Mark’s Basilica when the two met again on soft ground in the Dewhurst, finishing third.

Sadler’s Wells also exerted his influence through his sons and grandsons, with

Galileo inevitably leading the way. With 150 foals in his 2018 crop, Galileo had plenty of ammunition and his 26 juvenile winners made a bold attempt to provide him with his seventh juvenile sires’ championship. Although they fell short of that target, four of them - Shale, High Definition, Divinely and Lone Eagle – enjoyed Group success, something which just eluded Galileo’s smart son Wembley, runner-up in both the National and Dewhurst Stakes.

Shale contributed to Donnacha O’Brien’s eye-catching start to his training career with a pair of Group successes, most notably a victory over the future Fillies’ Mile winner Pretty Gorgeous in the Moyglare Stud Stakes. In becoming a Group 1 winner, Shale followed in the footsteps of her dam Homecoming Queen, who trounced the opposition as a 25-1 chance in the 2012 1,000 Guineas.

Shale is yet another example of the exceptional results achieved by Galileo with mares from the Danehill male line, as her broodmare sire is Holy Roman Emperor. Galileo has 57 black-type winners out of Danehill mares, which equates to 18%, and he has six Group 1 winners, headed by the Classic winners

THE OWNER BREEDER 67

STEVEN CARGILL

Sadler’s Wells’ influence on the breed highlighted by this year’s star juveniles

››

Caulfield Files Gurkha, among his 23 black-type scorers out of Danehill Dancer mares. These equate to an impressive 19%.

Although Galileo has been mated to far fewer daughters of Holy Roman Emperor, they too have a high percentage of black-type winners, with their four stakes winners representing 17%. Shale is the only one of the four not produced by the prolific Inca Princess, dam of the Criterium International winner Johannes Vermeer, Group 2 winner Elizabeth Browning and Listed winner Sapa Inca. The aforementioned Wembley is the latest potential Group winner out of Inca Princess.

Galileo now has Group 1 winners out of mares by seven different sons of Danehill, the others being Desert King (Kew Gardens), Mozart (Magician), Rock of Gibraltar (Photo Call and Line of Duty), Dansili (Magic Wand) and Exceed And Excel. Exceed And Excel’s daughters could hardly have made a more impressive start with Galileo, as their four winners from five foals feature Derby victor Anthony van Dyck, the Group 1winning Magic Attitude and her Group 2-winning sister Mission Impassible. That’s 60% Group winners.

In view of all the above, it is hardly surprising that the Galileo/Danehill alliance also played its part in 2020’s Group 1 two-year-old races. The Wertheimer-bred and -raced Galiway never managed to become one of the 38 Group winners sired by Galileo from Danehill’s daughters, but he did win a Listed race on his final appearance, having earlier been placed at Group 3 level Galiway’s bloodlines were strong enough to earn him a place at Haras de Colleville alongside the popular Kendargent, who had out-performed a similarly unexceptional racing career.

Galiway has succeeded in siring a Group winner from each of his modestly-sized first two crops and both of them – Kenway and Sealiway – are out of Kendargent mares.

Mature enough to make a winning debut at Saint-Cloud in May, Sealiway progressed well, adding another three victories, most notably storming home by eight lengths from Nando Parrado on heavy ground in the Prix Jean-Luc Lagardere.

Bearing in mind that Sealiway was conceived at a fee of only €3,000, it would be unfair to expect a lot of black-type in his pedigree, but his dam Kensea won the Prix Herod, a Listed race over 1,400 metres, on very soft ground as a two-year-old.

68 THE OWNER BREEDER

GEORGE SELWYN

›› Minding, Serpentine, Sovereign and The

Sealiway: Group 1 winner for Galiway, another product of the Galileo/Danehill alliance

Magic six for Teofilo

Few stallions made a bigger impact in 2020 than Teofilo, who first advertised the potential of the Galileo-Danehill cross by becoming Europe’s champion two-yearold in 2006. With six northernhemisphere-bred Group 1 winners to his credit during 2020, Teofilo did extremely well for a stallion priced at €30,000 in 2021, with one of the six being the two-year-old Gear Up. Sold by Jim Bolger’s Redmondstown Stud as a yearling, Gear Up has won three of his four juvenile starts, including the Acomb Stakes and Criterium de Saint-Cloud.

We shouldn’t be too surprised that Gear Up showed tremendous stamina and courage to repel repeated challenges over 2,000 metres at Saint-Cloud. Teofilo’s other Group 1 winners in 2020 included Subjectivist, winner of the Prix Royal-Oak over a distance just short of two miles, and Twilight Payment, who became his sire’s second winner of the Melbourne Cup with a heroic display over two miles.

Teofilo, of course, was bred and trained

by Jim Bolger, as was his unraced daughter Halla Na Saoire, who has now supplied Bolger with Mac Swiney, winner of the Vertem Futurity on heavy ground at Doncaster.

Mac Swiney’s dam Halla Na Saoire is a sister to the Irish Derby third Light Heavy, as well as being a half-sister to Halla Siamsa, dam of Teofilo’s 2011 Dewhurst Stakes winner Parish Hall. Parish Hall became one of the first major winners inbred to Sadler’s Wells, with a son of Galileo as his sire and a daughter of Montjeu as his dam. And now Bolger has bred the first black-type winner closely inbred to the incomparable Galileo. To do so, Bolger sent his daughter of Teofilo to

New Approach, whom Bolger had developed into a champion at two and three. Also a winner of the Futurity Stakes, Mac Swiney is inbred 2 x 3 to Galileo through two champions who jointly won 13 of their 16 starts There have so far been a strictly limited number of runners inbred to Galileo, but it is a safe bet – following Mac Swiney’s emergence – that he will be just the tip of the iceberg. In addition to there being numerous highly-qualified sons of Galileo available to British and Irish breeders, there is also a growing number of young stallions with dams by Galileo, led by Darley’s Night Of Thunder. This winner of the 2,000 Guineas has started so well that his fee has been raised from €25,000 to €75,000.

The Coolmore stallion team includes two other 2,000 Guineas winners, Saxon Warrior and Magna Grecia, with dams by Galileo, as well as the Prix du Jockey Club and Arc-winning Sottsass and top-class U S Navy Flag.

Tally-Ho Stud’s Galileo Gold, whose .first crop races in 2021, is yet another 2,000 Guineas winner with a dam by Galileo. Ghaiyyath, an outstanding performer bred to the same pattern as Night Of Thunder, has been retired to stand alongside him at Kildangan, increasing to seven the number of major winners out of Galileo mares at Irish studs.

That figure is likely to rise in a year’s time, as the Dewhurst Stakes winner St Mark’s Basilica is also owned by the Coolmore partners. A 1,300,000gns yearling, on the strength of his being a half-brother to Magna Grecia, St Mark’s Basilica is bred to the same pattern as Sottsass, both being sons of Siyouni. As Siyouni’s sire Pivotal and broodmare sire

››

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Timeform rated 126

Won or placed 2nd in all his starts.

is matched by his physical stature and I am sure he is extremely well it as a stallion.”

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Caulfield Files ›› Danehill have both enjoyed highly fruitful

associations with Galileo, it comes as little surprise that he too is thriving with daughters of the 12-time champion sire.

To conclude this section on the contribution of the Sadler’s Wells line, the four-length triumph of Van Gogh in the Criterium International highlighted that advancing years need not be a barrier to success in the equine world. In winning at Saint-Cloud, Van Gogh became the fifth Group winner, and tenth individual winner, produced by Sadler’s Wells’s excellent daughter Imagine. It was back in 2001 that Imagine won the Irish 1,000 Guineas prior to becoming the fourth of Sadler’s Wells’s five winners of the Oaks. Van Gogh was born when Imagine was 20 and Imagine herself was born when her sire Sadler’s Wells and dam Doff The Derby were 17.

Doff The Derby, in turn, was born when her dam Margarethen was 19.

Imagine started her broodmare career in Ireland, where she produced three consecutive smart performers in Horatio Nelson (winner of the Prix Jean-Luc Lagardere), Red Rock Canyon (who established himself as a highly effective pacemaker, capable of hanging on for a place in Group 1 company) and Kitty Matcham (won Rockfel Stakes). Imagine’s next two Group/Graded winners – Viscount Nelson and Point Piper – were sired by Giant’s Causeway after her permanent move to the US. Imagine may not be finished yet, as she has a 2019 sister to Van Gogh.

International Pharoah

Whereas Imagine must be near the end of her broodmare career, Van Gogh’s sire American Pharoah appears to be on the verge of an exciting international career as a stallion. Although he seems to be held in a little less regard than Justify, Coolmore’s other American Triple Crown winner, it may prove relevant that the handicappers rated American Pharoah the better of the two by a comfortable margin: Timeform rated Justify 129, as opposed to American Pharoah’s 138.

I was sceptical whether American Pharoah, with his first three dams being daughters of Yankee Gentleman, Ecliptical and Tri Jet, had the pedigree to be as effective as a stallion as he had been on the racecourse. However, his exceptional talent, combined with his physique, action and temperament, seems to be compensating well for the blue-collar nature of the bottom half of his pedigree.

His first two crops have produced Group/Graded winners in Europe, the US and Japan. In Japan, his three-year-old sons Café Pharoah and Danon Pharaoh

70 THE OWNER BREEDER

Listed winner Janina, is by Indian Ridge’s fast son Namid, whereas Pretty Gorgeous is out of Lady Gorgeous, a Listed-placed winner by Compton Place, another fast son of Indian Ridge.

Vega bucks the trend

Mac Swiney: Vertem Futurity winner is the latest star performer for his sire Teofilo

have been excelling on dirt, but plenty of others have been shining on turf in North America and Europe. In the US, his four Graded winners on turf include the Grade 1-winning Harvey’s Lil Goil and Four Wheel Drive, winner of the 2019 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint. Van Gogh is his third Group winner in Europe, following Maven (Prix du Bois) and Pista, who landed the Park Hill Stakes prior to her second in the Prix de Royallieu. Other talented European runners include the Group 1-placed Monarch Of Egypt and Listed winner Ocean Atlantique. Heavy ground doesn’t appear to faze the American Pharoahs.

Danehill impact

Inevitably the Danehill line also made an impact on the top two-year-old action in 2020. At the age of 12, Dansili’s son Zoffany cropped up not only as the sire of a two-year-old Group 1 winner – National Stakes winner Thunder Moon – but also as the broodmare sire of another, the Prix Marcel Boussac winner Tiger Tanaka. This progressive filly is by Danehill’s son Clodovil, which means that she is inbred 2 x 4 to Danehill. Her dam, the minor two-year-old winner Miss Phillyjinks, belonged to Zoffany’s first crop.

Almost inevitably, Kodiac was the other son of Danehill to make an impact.

Already a two-time champion sire of two-year-olds in Britain and Ireland, Kodiac added another nine juvenile black-type winners to his tally during 2020, including the Group scorers Campanelle (won Prix Morny and Queen Mary Stakes), Ubettabelieveit (Flying Childers Stakes), Nando Parrado (Coventry Stakes) and Umm Kulthum (Firth of Clyde Stakes).

Campanelle’s sire Kodiac, of course, is a three-parts-brother to Invincible Spirit, whose son Lawman was responsible for the Fillies’ Mile winner Pretty Gorgeous.

Coincidentally, there is another link between these leading two-year-old fillies.

Campanelle’s dam, the two-year-old

Although the 2021 fees of many stallions have been revised downwards, one who bucked the trend was Lope de Vega, whose fee has risen for the seventh time in seven years. Back in 2014 he was available for €12,500, but breeders will have to pay ten times that amount in 2021.

The constant increases in his fee have partly been fuelled by his ability to sire plenty of smart two-year-olds, which has also resulted in increased demand for his stock from American buyers.

The Ballylinch Stud stallion’s 2018 juveniles featured eight black-type winners, headed by Newspaperofrecord, Phoenix Of Spain and Antonia de Vega, and the following year saw three more two-year-old Group winners in Lope Y Fernandez, Max Vega and Ecrivain. The latest season saw Aunt Pearl, Lucky Vega, Cadillac and La Barrosa all become Group/Graded winners. The unbeaten American filly Aunt Pearl showed great potential in landing the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf, while Lucky Vega established himself as one of his sire’s fastest sons by easily winning the Phoenix Stakes and finishing a close second in the Middle Park.

I wrote about Mehmas, the champion first-crop sire, in another article a couple of months ago. The Middle Park Stakes provided a measure of his success, as he was represented by three of the market leaders. One of them, the Listed winner Method, performed below expectations but Supremacy added the historic Group 1 to his earlier success in the Richmond Stakes. Third place went to Mehmas’s Gimcrack Stakes winner Minzaal. It may be worth remembering that Mehmas’s first crop numbered nearly 150, but his next three crops are smaller, especially his 2020 crop, which is credited with 52 foals in the Return of Mares.

No Nay Never, sire of the Cheveley Park Stakes winner Alcohol Free, is another who doesn’t always have huge numbers on his side. Alcohol Free comes from a crop of around 100 and No Nay Never’s 2019 crop is slightly smaller.

However, the tremendous success enjoyed by his first crop in 2018 translated into a 2019 book of 160 mares, for a crop of at least 123 foals, and he is credited with covering 193 mares in 2020, which was the first year he wasn’t shuttled to Australia.

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www.redmills.com 21/10/2020 15:17

ROA Forum

The special section for ROA members

EDWARD WHITAKER

Recovery plan focuses on ownership

Enabling owners to go racing during this pandemic-affected year has been a key focus for the ROA

T

he ROA is setting out its crossindustry Ownership Covid Action Plan, drawing together the immediate priorities to help the sport retain owners.

As the impact of Covid on ownership crystallises, the retention of horses and owners in British racing has never been more important. Directly, owners contribute £641 million to fulfil the racecourse fixture list, from which the majority of industry revenues flow. The industry must secure this investment now and in the future to protect jobs and livelihoods.

The plan outlines the key areas for improvement within the industry to help retain owners in the near term. It will operate in tandem with the ROAled Industry Ownership Strategy which over the past three years has seen a number of initiatives implemented to improve the ownership experience.

Over this period, with the initiatives supported and implemented by the sport’s stakeholders, British racing saw an increase in individual runners, as well as the number of registered owners remaining stable.

Sixty per cent of owners surveyed intend to reduce participation or leave racing as a result of either the raceday experience or prize-money.

The Ownership Covid Action Plan is targeting improvements to those two areas specifically, to ensure that racing tackles the main reasons that owners leave the sport. Within the plan, six priority initiatives will be worked on, looking to address prize-money and the raceday experience:

72 THE OWNER BREEDER

New commercial agreements: agreeing new commercial agreements with racecourses, working alongside the Horsemen’s Group, to ensure a fairer distribution of income from executive contributions into prize-money and thereby ensuring horsemen receive an appropriate share of racing’s gross income; Prize-money distribution: delivering a more equitable and simpler distribution of prize-money across British racing to fairly reward participating parties, including owners; Levy reform: supporting the work of the industry with government to maximise revenue within racing and improve the distribution of prize-money to owners, trainers, jockeys and racing staff; Owner attendance: working closely with the BHA, RCA and racecourses throughout the UK to protect owner attendance at behind-closed-doors (BCD) fixtures and improve badge allocation and general attendance numbers; Ownership experience: working closely with the BHA, RCA and racecourses directly to improve the provision for owners on and off course at BCD fixtures, including food, drink and hospitality; Syndicates: promoting the fastest growing ownership model by working with Great British Racing to build a new, dynamic syndicate promotional and

marketing platform, including support for racehorse trainers.

Prize-money

The Horserace Betting Levy Board (HBLB) will retain the ratecard funding mechanism at its current levels. This will ensure that racing can maintain the current minimum prize-money values for each race class, which are at 100% of their normal levels for lower-class and middle-class races and 75% of their normal values for higher-class racing.

This amounts to £20.8 million over the four months.

In addition to the ratecard, HBLB will continue to support the Appearance Money Scheme with funding of £2.2m and the Divided Race Fund with £700,000.

2021 is also the first full year of funding for the Great British Bonus (GBB) scheme, as well as the final year of funding for Plus 10. In total £700,000 has been made available for both schemes in the four-month period.

In November the BHA agreed to the addition of 14 further fixtures to this year’s fixture list. The fixtures were added following a proposal submitted to the BHA from the Racecourse Association, which had the full support of the Horsemen’s Group. The proposal was based on the premise that these fixtures would be created to support racecourse finances, which continue to suffer as a result of the absence of spectators.

In addition, these fixtures will generate extra opportunities to race, primarily for lower-rated horses, as well

Racing behind closed doors

Industry owner protocols for racing behind closed doors continue to be updated in line with government guidance. As an elite sport, racing was able to continue during national restrictions imposed in England from November 5.

Owners are advised to check the position with the relevant racecourse and follow regional government guidance where different rules may apply, in Scotland and Wales.

The ROA website provides step-bystep guidance for owners going racing and a number of resources designed to help and assist owners. In particular, our racing behind closed doors guidance at www.roa.co.uk/raceday/racing, which provides guidance around any special restrictions while racing is behind closed doors. The full owner protocols can be

found at www.britishhorseracing.com Owners and participants have acted with great responsibility and professionalism since the stringent controls have been in place and continued observance of measures will be vital to ensure that the sport continues behind closed doors.

We would like to thank owners for their unstinting support this year. The simple pleasure of watching your horses race and networking on the racecourse has been missed by so many. Of those that have been racing, we are very grateful to have received valuable feedback on your experiences.

The ROA will continue to work closely with all stakeholders to ensure that owners can have the best experience possible while racing remains behind closed doors, as we look ahead to keeping owners and all participants safe as restrictions ease.

Racehorse Relief Fund

The ROA and Racing Foundation successfully launched the Racehorse Relief Fund (RRF) on October 14 as a fund of last resort to support the needs of racehorses whose owners are suffering financial hardship as a result of the impact of Covid-19.

The fund is part of the package of measures agreed earlier this year by the leadership of racecourses, horsemen and BHA. The RRF will help mitigate potential welfare and financial effects of Covid-19 on racing, supporting horses, owners and trainers whilst helping businesses maintain financial stability. It also provides valuable breathing space to trainers and horses to fully assess the right path for a horse, whether in racing or beyond. The fund gives horses significant protection and ensures the industry’s high welfare standards are being met.

The RRF will provide a financial lifeline to many, allowing horses to remain on licensed yards and for yards to cover daily out-of-training costs. The fund has an initial funding limit of three months.

The fund has strict eligibility criteria to identify that all other options have been explored and the horse is no longer affordable. Owners applying must do so in respect of all their horses, where multiple ownership interests are involved.

Applications can be made by either the owner or trainer online at www. rrfund.co.uk. All applications should be supported by the required training and veterinary records.

GEORGE SELWYN

as providing opportunities to race for an additional £500,000 in prize-money.

Having considered the proposal, and having undertaken detailed modelling of the horse population and the current race programme, the BHA executive concluded that up to 14 additional BHA fixtures could be added to the fixture list without significantly reducing field sizes at existing fixtures.

Furthermore, it was possible to stage these additional fixtures at times when they are able to meet demand from the betting industry and its customers, and, in doing so, generate a positive return for the HBLB. The fixtures will be funded by the HBLB with races staged at agreed minimum values and appearance money being offered.

HBLB will continue to make its standard Raceday Services Grants (RSGs) to racecourses of £12,571 per fixture, at a total cost of £5.5m in the four months, as its principal contribution towards the regulatory and integrity costs incurred in the running of fixtures. £1.35m will be available to racecourses through the Fixture Incentive Fund, to be paid at 75% of normal levels. This fund is used to encourage racecourses to host fixtures on mid-winter weekdays for the benefit of the generation of off-course betting turnover and to provide opportunities for the horse population.

HBLB has agreed a £200,000 provision to maintain the ongoing supply of personal protective equipment on racedays, as well as £450,000 to support additional raceday regulatory costs incurred in connection with Covid-19 requirements.

Andrew Balding: panellist

RoR online events This year’s Retraining of Racehorses (RoR) annual Showcase is going online. The popular educational event will be staged across four evening sessions over the first three weeks of December. A stellar cast of experts from both racing and equestrian sport will feature among the panellists offering advice to viewers on caring for and retraining former racehorses.

The line-up of panellists includes leading racehorse trainer Andrew Balding, Olympic athletes Richard Davison and Tina Cook, and former British Eventing Performance Manager, Yogi Breisner, who led the British team to four successive Olympic team medals. Joining them will be experienced competitors, vets, equine physios, retrainers and coaches, with each session hosted by a professional broadcaster in Nick Luck and Mark Hayward.

The RoR Virtual Showcase, which is generously supported by the Horserace Betting Levy Board, launches with a webinar session on Wednesday, December 2. The full RoR Virtual Showcase schedule can be found online at ror.org.uk.

THE OWNER BREEDER 73

ROA Forum

MAGICAL MOMENTS Sarah and Nigel Faulks’ Roksana is a star of the staying division

74 THE OWNER BREEDER

GEORGE SELWYN

O

ctober 31 at Wetherby was anything but a Halloween horror story for Sarah Faulks, proud owner along with husband Nigel of West Yorkshire Hurdle winner Roksana, whose return to action was a real treat.

The eight-year-old slammed her male rivals, which included Stayers’ Hurdle winner Lisnagar Oscar, Wholestone and Next Destination, by upwards of eight and a half lengths to leave her connections dreaming of further Cheltenham Festival success, her previous triumph having come in the 2019 Mares’ Hurdle. Interestingly, the first three in the Wetherby Grade 2 were all

by Dubai Destination.

Racing has pretty much always been part of Faulks’ life, and she is seriously immersed these days as a breeder as well as an owner.

She says: “I’ve been interested in racing for probably over 30 years – from a childhood passion to now.

“We’ve a small stud farm in north Devon, with eight broodmares and attendant young stock. We‘ve learnt a lot over the years. We’ve made many mistakes but have learned slowly from them and invested by upgrading both our broodmares and our racehorses.

“Horses have always been my passion and I’m lucky enough to have a husband prepared to indulge and share that passion!”

She continues: “It was back in 1991 when we first started buying stores together, one being a yearling filly we subsequently trained ourselves to go pointing, Miss Match. She became one of the first mares we bred from, and Misstree Dancer and Misstree Pitcher are her daughters.

“We’re both lawyers by trade, I’d ridden all my life and hunted. Nigel was also a farmer and he’s allowed me to slowly adapt the farm for horses over the past 30 years.

“His interest in racing started a long time ago too, at Cambridge, where he’d read The Sporting Life – and spend nearly every afternoon in Ronnie Wallis’ betting shop – before he picked up any academic law book!

“We hunted, and then started training

Roksana beats the boys with ease in the Grade 2 bet365 Hurdle at Wetherby in October

our own point-to-pointers about 18 years ago, only two or three a year for fun. We then started breeding from one or two and it grew from there. It was all rather haphazard, and then we tried running one or two of the better pointers under rules.”

Their homebred pointers included Tony’s Time, Pendragon, Beachtime, Misstree Dancer and Misstree Pitcher, with Misstree Dancer going on to win several times under Rules, including at Newbury between Christmas and new year in 2010, but sadly her ownerbreeders lost her after she was placed at Doncaster in December 2012.

“Her best RPR was 133,” says Faulks, “and in her memory we sent a mare back to Bandmaster and ended up with Bandsman!

“We still have Misstree Pitcher as a broodmare and her first daughter, Misstree Song, has run respectably in bumpers and over hurdles. She crashed out at the last when looking like winning at Newton Abbot but I’m pleased to say she wasn’t hurt.

“She likes fast ground, so is back here for a holiday, and will go back into training after Christmas. She’s

by Librettist – a half-brother to Dubai Destination – the sire of Roksana.”

The Faulkses have owned or bred

several dozen horses, with Sarah saying: “Certainly until we upped our game about 12 years ago we did not really keep records – it was better that way, and good that we always both had the day job to keep the show on the road!

“We then decided to invest in better broodmares. When Dan [Skelton] told us he’d found a good broodmare, we asked if she had black type. He said no because she hadn’t run, but he said he’d guarantee she’d get black type – that was an unraced four-year-old, Roksana!

God willing, she’ll join our broodmare band in due course.”

French fancies

Faulks describes their USP as Frenchbred mares – currently on the books are Sardagna, La Bombonera, Ardissone, Analifet and Daring Rose, along with British-breds Only For Love and Misstree Pitcher, with the aim being to run a commercial stud.

She says: “We try just to run fillies but end up running some geldings, for example those with poor conformation, like Solomon Grey, or those that we cannot give away at the sales, Amore Alato for example.”

Skelton has been the trainer of choice for a while but the couple have had a few on the roster down the years. Sarah

saying: “We started with Gerald Cottrell back in 1997 with a couple of Flat horses, and we’ve had horses with several West Country trainers, but we’re now happily settled with Dan. This is, I think, our sixth season with him.

“We got to know Harry [Skelton] through Misstree Dancer, when he rode her to come out of the fog at Newbury that December 2010 day to win a good chase. We trust Dan completely and he and his team do a fantastic job. They also keep you informed and involved with lots of updates and video clips.

“We know they will do what’s best for our horses, and to win if possible.

Equally, Dan will tell you his true view – and he’s a man who loves a plan. We work very well together.

“The facilities are fantastic and Dan is always looking to improve things and never stands still. Each horse is assessed and treated as an individual to achieve its potential. Solomon Grey

“Dan [Skelton] will tell you his true view – and he’s a man who loves a plan” is an example of a really fragile horse who Dan and his team have brought the best out of; he can be frustrating as he doesn’t always want to make an effort.”

Eighteen years on from starting to train their own point-to-pointers, the couple have naturally banked a fair few magical moments, and Sarah says: “Every win is special where each horse has done his or her very best for you – and you especially appreciate that when you have bred them.

“Our point-to-point wins meant a lot, as did Misstree Dancer’s win at Newbury, and Amore Alato’s wins – at Kempton on Boxing Day in December 2013, or that intermediate chase at Sandown in 2016.

“However, the most special moment

has to be winning the Mares’ Hurdle at Cheltenham with Roksana in March 2019. Her two Grade 2 wins also meant a lot; the one before Wetherby was at Newbury in March 2018 with Bridget [Andrews] on board. Not only was it the first big win for us and Roksana, but also showed what a super talent Bridget was becoming, and has become.

“The win recently at Wetherby was special for lots of reasons. It was a shame not to be there but that didn’t dampen our excitement and enjoyment.”

The couple are realistic that the vast majority of owners and breeders, despite being the sport’s backbone, do not turn much of a profit – if any – and that the months and years to come will be a challenge for smaller owners and breeders to keep going.

Sarah says: “In the last 12 years, we’ve turned a profit twice, broken even twice, and the rest have been losses. My husband has retired from the day job, and I’d like to, and we don’t want the day job subsidising the breeding operation.

“The thing with National Hunt breeding is that it takes four or five years to know if a broodmare is going to be any good. We’re trying to upgrade and, God willing, Roksana will be part of that.”

She feels British National Hunt breeders are a little disadvantaged compared to brethren in France and Ireland when it comes to the range of quality stallions available to mares here, and indeed in comparison to Flat breeders in Britain too, while she also underlines what a difference better prize-money would make.

“It would encourage people to buy horses, which would in turn help breeders,” Sarah notes. “Covid has brought its own challenges, but lack of prize-money is the real issue, along with for National Hunt breeders here the quality of stallions available.”

It’s a long road, and it might be the Long Walk next for Roksana, who in Ascot’s pre-Christmas Grade 1 hurdling highlight would be putting her best foot forward again to underpin that bottom line – and a second top-flight victory would have healthy long-term benefits too.

GEORGE SELWYN

All-Weather Championships 2020/21

Lingfield stages Finals Day on April 2

The All-Weather Championships started on Tuesday, October 20 and run through to Good Friday, April 2 inclusive.

Finals Day, at Lingfield Park on Good Friday, April 2 features six championship races. The seventh race is an apprentice handicap. This race will be subject to the same eligibility that governs the AllWeather Finals, detailed in Point 1 below; winning a fast track qualifier will not give a guaranteed starting position in this race.

The six Championship categories are: three-year-old, sprint, mile, marathon, fillies & mares and middle-distance.

There are two ways a horse can qualify for a final race. A horse must run a minimum of three times on the allweather in Great Britain, Ireland or France (or twice if it has also run at least once on dirt at Meydan) during the qualifying period between October 20, 2020 and March 26, 2021 (inclusive) and be rated high enough to ’make the cut’ by order of its official BHA rating.

Alternatively, a horse can win one of four fast track qualifier races for each championship category, which will qualify for free and guaranteed entry into the final race.

In the event of two or more horses being rated the same for a place in the championship final races, the places will be awarded based on specified tiebreaking count-back rules.

Entry for the championship final races will be at the normal six-day entry system with 48-hour decs.

A reserve system will operate for the six championship final races in the same way that they currently operate for other notable races in Britain. Two reserves will be selected for each final race.

A provisional list of qualifying fixtures and updates on standings and full rules governing the All-Weather Championships can be found at awchampionships.co.uk.

THE OWNER BREEDER 75

ROA Forum

Club savours birthday winners

Despite the restrictions Let’s Get Racing Club’s members have enjoyed racing in 2020

The Let’s Get Racing Club was launched in October 2019 with a mission to increase the diversity of those participating in racing, especially ownership.

Maria Bourke, who founded the business, is steeped in horseracing – her father was a National Hunt jockey in the 1970s and her mother’s family bred Grand National winners. She explained the last 12 months: “I got started in ownership in 2016 by buying a broodmare and a filly to race. Last year Dawn and Russ, my partners, suggested we set up a club and try to reach people who perhaps had never experienced the joy of horseracing or seen racing as a sport that welcomes them. In response to that idea we launched the Let’s Get Racing Club.

“Our first year, as with any venture, has involved a lot of hard graft and until last week we’d not had that effort rewarded on the track. Then at Kempton on November 4, Risaalaat, trained by Mark Walford, won well, breaking our duck.

Then on November 7 our two-year-old with Karl Burke, Tipperary Tiger, hosed up at Doncaster in his maiden!

“We have just under 100 owners from across the UK, Ireland and the US. Throughout Covid-19 they have joined us in virtual race days on Zoom, as the best replacement for the real thing we could find.

“Covid-19 hasn’t stopped us having fun or building a fantastic community.

Our owners are from many different backgrounds and come in all shapes and sizes, which we think is

wonderful. Our youngest owner is 21 years old and our eldest is 86 years. We have couples, widows, single people, racing enthusiasts, those who don’t know one end of a horse from the other… and we come together through racing and our horses.

“For some of our more isolated members, watching the horses run and hearing about their exploits at home has been a lifeline.

“We are so excited for 2021 when we can meet up for yard visits, events and at racedays. The relationships being formed online now are going to blossom when we can be physically together. We can’t wait!”

Bourke continues: “We hope that our work in reaching new audiences will benefit us but also racing in general. We believe that growing the sport’s base is one way to future-proof racing.

“We also believe that owners need to take greater responsibility for the lives of their racehorses after that career ends.

So, we donate a percentage of each lease share to Yorkshire Racehorse Retraining and Rehoming. Our owners are involved in helping that organisation make their Christmas Online Horse Show a huge success – they deserve it as their work is critically important.

“Horseracing can unite people and can serve as a welcome distraction from some of the difficulties we are all facing up to. We would welcome anybody struggling right now and who has any interest in horse racing to reach out to us and join in the conversations we are starting on Facebook and Twitter.

“We are here for you and won’t be stopped from making racing everyone’s sport.”

For more information on the club see letsgetracing.co.uk.

CURTAILMENT SCHEME KICKS IN AGAIN Fog forced the abandonment of Kempton Park on November 5 after the third race. This triggered the ROA Raceday Curtailment Scheme for 53 qualified runners.

This was the sixth time the scheme has been triggered this year,

76 THE OWNER BREEDER

following abandonments at Hereford, Newcastle, Chelmsford City, Yarmouth and Ayr after the first race had taken place. The owners of 159 horses have received a payment of £100, totalling £15,900.

Payments are made direct to

qualifying owners’ racing accounts and on behalf of members our thanks to Weatherbys Hamilton who provide the scheme and facilitate payments so swiftly.

Further details of the scheme can be found at roa.co.uk.

ROA Forum

News in brief Personalised china gifts

With Christmas fast approaching we have teamed up with Susan Rose China to give ROA members a 12% discount across its horseracing range in the run-up to the festive period.

Susan Rose China provides personalised English bone china gifts with your specific name and colours, with its range including cups and saucers, teapots, mugs, trinket pots and even Christmas tree baubles.

The china is handmade in Stokeon-Trent and is hand-decorated in its workshop, which is also in Stoke – the heart of the English pottery industry. Products can be dispatched worldwide.

Members can order online and gain the 12% discount when using the code RACING15 on all orders placed on or before December 12. Details of the full range can be found at susanrosechina.co.uk.

Charity Christmas card

Clementine St John Webster visited Middleham to paint a scene of Low Moor, and the fabulous image is the subject for the Jessica Bethell Charitable Foundation Christmas card.

Cards are £10 for a pack of ten.

Orders can be placed by email to office@jessicabethellfoundation.co.uk or call 01969 640360.

Transfers can be made via Weatherbys Bank to the Jessica Bethell Charitable Foundation, sort code: 60-93-03, account number: 00306964. Please use your surname/ postcode for any bank transfers.

Cheques can be made payable to The Jessica Bethell Charitable Foundation and sent c/o Hannah Watson, Thorngill Stables, Coverham, Leyburn, North Yorkshire DL8 4TJ.

Car-parking label

In the current situation of Covid-19 protocols where the usual forms of accreditation are on pause, we will not be sending out a car-parking label to members for 2021.

Free parking has always been a popular benefit of membership, and when restrictions ease around going racing we will ensure members receive their owners’ car-parking label to facilitate this benefit.

Membership fee held Exclusive gifts from Susan Rose China

Tote owner-sponsorship

Are you reclaiming VAT on your costs of ownership? The ROA runs four Tote owner-sponsorship schemes throughout the year, which enables members to register for, and reclaim, VAT on their costs of ownership.

During 2020 over 1,750 horses have been sponsored by the scheme. During August 21% of runners across all four schemes won or were placed.

We’re very grateful to the Tote’s support of the scheme, which we know is so vital to so many members.

Applications are being taken for the scheme starting on January 1.

Reminders have been emailed to members who had horses on the January 2020 scheme inviting them to renew for next year.

78 THE OWNER BREEDER

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 individuals living at the same UK address and the cost is £435. Members continue to receive: – Regular eBulletins with news and updates relevant to owners – daily during Covid-19; – Third liability insurance cover – for owners and amateur breeders; – Access to support from the ROA membership team.

Stocking fillers

We have a special offer from Racing Post on their new books and products range, perfect for a festive stocking filler. ROA members can enjoy a 10% discount on the new product range which includes the story of Enable: Queen of the Turf and the Racing Post Guide to the Jumps. A discount code

This year’s Christmas card in aid of the Jessica Bethell Charitable Foundation

can be found in the members’ area of the ROA website and used at the checkout. See racingpost.com/shop for this offer which will run through until Christmas Eve.

Racing Post digital edition

The daily digital version of the Racing Post is the must-have newspaper for essential racing information. The digital edition is identical to the print version and available from 3am (UK) every morning. Normally the monthly plan retails at £70 per month but ROA members can purchase the subscription for a reduced price of £49 per month.

To pick up the discount code, head to the discount code section in the members’ area of the ROA website.

ROCS cover

A partnership between the ROA and bloodstock insurance broker Lycetts enables members to take advantage of cover provided by the Racehorse Owners Compensation Scheme (ROCS).

This insurance policy is designed specifically for horses in training and allows owners to insure against specified veterinary fees and also for compensation for livery fees while a horse is recovering from one of the specified conditions.

ROCS provides financial compensation for the owner of a racehorse that is injured, either temporarily or permanently; the costs of treating the horse at a top veterinary clinic; and the value of the horse if it dies.

Coverage is provided by Convex and has recently been improved by simplifying the insured conditions.

Full details and terms can be found at roa.co.uk.

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10/12/2019 17:27

ONE MILLION

in GBB bonuses paid out in just five months!

The Great British Bonus scheme smashes through £1 million barrier Owners, breeders, trainers, jockeys and stable staff have all benefited from the GBB, which has so far recorded 79 successes, including nine multiple winners, of which four are over the Jumps.

As well as paying out more than £1 million in prize money, including £200,000 paid out in Jumps bonuses, the scheme has proved its value in the sales rings of Tattersalls and Goffs.

“We are thrilled to have broken the magic million pound barrier of distributed bonuses and are delighted the scheme has achieved all its ambitions in reaching every corner of the racing and breeding industry,” said scheme manager, Grant Pritchard-Gordon.

And, according to ITV Racing…

“From Hurdle and National Hunt races at Hereford, Bangor and Kelso to maiden races at Newmarket, Sandown and Newbury, we have seen bonus winners from every part of Great Britain.”

GBB multiple-bonus winners:

“The Great British Bonus scheme has contributed over a million pounds of bonuses to prize money and, in this uncertain climate, is very welcome indeed.” Richard Hoiles “The Great British Bonus is a fantastic innovation.” Alice Plunkett

Bonus payments:

GBB winners:

9

79

£ 1,270,000 #JUMPINGTOIT

Trainer

Neil King tops the GBB Jumps trainers’ league table Perfect Myth - trained by Neil King and owned by Richard Vines won her second GBB bonus, earning an extra £40,000 to date.

I’ve never won so much in all my years in racing. This ensures that we can keep breeding from this wonderful family for a few more years.

Richard Vines

Bonuses won

Bonus payments

Neil King

2

£40,000

Harry Fry

3

£30,000

Alan King

2

£20,000

Henry Daly

2

£20,000

Dan Skelton

2

£20,000

Donald Whillans

1

£20,000

Nicky Richards

1

£20,000

GBB Jumps winners to date:

MONTENAY Trainer: John Mackie • Owner: Eventmasters Racing

POGO I AM Trainer: Harry Fry • Owner: Sandie & David Newton

MARADA (multiple winner) Trainer: Dan Skelton • Owner: Little Lodge Farm & Dan Skelton

EMMARELLI Trainer: Dr Richard Newland • Owner: Mrs Emma Stewart

BELATRIX LESTRANGE Trainer: Henry Daly • Owner: The Henry Daly Racing Club

LADY BOWES Trainer: James Moffatt • Owner: Bowes Lodge Stables

MARTELLO SKY Trainer: Lucy Wadham • Owner: The Sky Partnership

ALL CLENCHED UP Trainer: Fergal O’Brien • Owner: Fergal O’Brien

CHILLI FILLI Trainer: Henry Daly • Owner: Strachan, Lewis, Gabb, et al

PERFECT MYTH (multiple winner) Trainer: Neil King • Owner: R J Vines

STAINSBY GIRL Trainer: Donald Whillans • Owner: Alistair Duncan

WYNN HOUSE (multiple winner) Trainer: Alan King • Owner: Rupert Anton

FAIRFIELD FERRATA Trainer: Jedd O’Keeffe • Owner: Mrs J A Darling

ISHKHARA LADY (multiple winner) Trainer: Harry Fry • Owner: The Horse Flys Partnership

RUBYTWO Trainer: Nicky Richards • Owner: Langdale Bloodstock

For more information on eligibility, visit greatbritishbonus.co.uk TBA GBB TOB A4 Mailer_December.indd 1

*Information correct at time of going to press

16/11/2020 10:56

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1

19/11/2020

10:40

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The special section for TBA members

THE TBA

TBA Forum

Anthony Oppenheimer and Ruth Quinn were recognised for their contribution to the industry by the TBA in November

Oppenheimer and Quinn win prestigious awards

T

he two most prestigious awards that the TBA hands out each year, the Devonshire and Dominion bronzes, were announced last month, with Anthony Oppenheimer and Ruth Quinn receiving their respective trophies.

The Andrew Devonshire Bronze, which recognises outstanding achievement and contribution to the British thoroughbred breeding industry, was awarded to Anthony Oppenheimer, who was the TBA’s Chairman between 1985 and 1988.

He said: “It is a great honour and I am absolutely amazed. It was not something that ever entered my mind that I could possibly win. I was Chairman of the TBA for four years, and even then it never entered my mind that when awarding it to all of these famous people, I would actually get this honour.

It is tremendously exciting.

“I never had the ambition of winning this award but now I have won it, it is just fantastic and I am really honoured by it. My father would be absolutely thrilled if he could look down, this is very much the highlight of my life.”

The familiar silks of half black and white body with a red cap were brought into the winner’s enclosure twice during the late 1990s after the Coronation

82 THE OWNER BREEDER

Stakes following the homebred victories of Rebecca Sharp in 1997 and Balisada in 1999, both trained by the late Geoff Wragg.

More recently, the silks have been carried to Classic success by Golden Horn in 2015, who also took the Eclipse, Irish Champion Stakes and Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe. Two years later and another star three-year-old colt was racing in the shape of Cracksman.

Last season further Classic success was achieved in the Irish Oaks with Star Catcher, while in the truncated 2020 Flat season, Frankly Darling emulated Star Catcher in winning the Ribblesdale Stakes at Royal Ascot, while Dame Malliot defeated all-comers in the Princess of Wales’s Stakes, before being placed in a trio of Group 1s across Europe.

This year the Dominion Bronze was awarded to Ruth Quinn, the British Horseracing Authority’s Director of International Racing and Racing Development, in recognition of her contribution and long-term commitment to the improvement of the thoroughbred through her work in race programming.

Quinn has been instrumental in the recent work to revitalise the staying programme, the improvement of race

opportunities for Flat fillies and mares, and the creation of a comprehensive jump mares’ programme. The BHA Director has also worked tirelessly with the British and European Pattern Committees to ensure a balanced and robust Pattern exists within Great Britain and Europe.

Quinn commented: “It’s an honour to receive the Dominion Award.

Horseracing is my life and the driving, ever-present reason for that is the thoroughbred. Anybody who knows me well would recognise just how strongly and passionately I feel about our collective responsibilities towards the long-term health of the thoroughbred breed.”

TBA Chairman Julian RichmondWatson said: “This year’s recipients are two very worthy winners of the awards.

The Board of Trustees agreed that their long-standing contribution and commitment to the improvement of the breed should be justly rewarded and recognised. The TBA is committed to the long-term future of the industry and pays tribute to Anthony and Ruth, who have dedicated considerable time and effort to the British thoroughbred.”

To view video interviews with the award winners, visit the TBA’s YouTube channel.

Employer information: post-Brexit immigration Employers are reminded that from January 1, 2021 if you wish to recruit anyone from outside the UK, you must be a Home Office-licensed sponsor.

This includes hiring people from EU countries.

EU citizens already living in the UK before December 31, 2020 can continue to rely on their passport or national identity card as proof of being able to work in the UK until June 30, 2021. In order to have proof beyond this date, EU citizens and their family members must make an application under the EU Settlement Scheme (EUSS) before June 30, 2021 and be awarded either ‘pre-settled’ or ‘settled status’ in order to retain the right to live and work in the UK. Further information on this can be found by visiting www.gov.uk and searching ‘Apply to the EU Settlement Scheme’.

From an employer’s point of view,

RoR services available to Britain's breeders In the October issue readers were informed of Amroth Bay’s win in the TBA-sponsored class at the Retraining of Racehorses (RoR) online show over the August Bank Holiday weekend. That show demonstrated the charity’s great success in showcasing the ability and versatility of ex-racehorses.

Members are reminded of the work that RoR does not just to help and promote thoroughbreds once they have left training, but also to assist owners of thoroughbreds at other life stages. Thoroughbred breeders can access support through the following services offered by RoR:

becoming a Home Office-licensed sponsor will mean that you are able to recruit skilled workers from anywhere in the world, but only people who meet the job and salary requirements will be eligible.

The Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) ruled this autumn that various stud and stable staff roles would not be added to the UK’s Shortage Occupation list (SOL) for now, despite detailed evidence having been provided by the BHA in collaboration with both the NTF and the TBA. There are review dates set for the next couple of years and work is already underway to develop evidence for these reviews.

It is advised that if your organisation is not already a licensed sponsor and will want to sponsor eligible skilled workers from January 1, 2021 you should apply now. Applications can be made via www.gov.uk under ‘Apply for a sponsor licence’.

Providing information on rehoming and retraining outside of the racing industry – sound and healthy thoroughbreds that never made it into training may be suitable riding prospects for the leisure industry.

RoR may be able to advise on this and identify an appropriate commercial retraining facility for re-educating such horses, or alternatively they may be advertised for sale or loan on www. https:// sourceahorse.ror.org.uk/ Dedicated support phone line (01488 648998) – if you would like guidance or a second opinion on the options available to your thoroughbred(s). RoR will take your call, assess your requirements and direct you to the appropriate professional(s).

Employment rules are changing from January 1

GEORGE SELWYN

Overseeing the emergency intake of vulnerable stock – if breeding stock are part of a larger mixed group with racing stock and require immediate evaluation and care on welfare grounds, RoR may facilitate their intake to an appropriate rehabilitation centre for assessment.

It may be that TBA members’ regional representative can offer practical advice at a local level in the first instance. They can be contacted through Stanstead House.

THE OWNER BREEDER 83

TBA Forum

Champions Day delight for deep-ground runners The action continued thick and fast following the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe weekend (covered in last month’s article). The feature European races came on British Champions Day at Ascot. The ground at the Berkshire track was soft, which could easily be described as too fast for The Revenant.

Despite this, the son of Dubawi went one place better than 12 months previously to take the Group 1 Queen Elizabeth II Stakes and follow up his win at the Arc meeting just two weeks before.

Earlier on the card and Hollie Doyle was celebrating her maiden top-level win having guided Glen Shiel to victory in the British Champions Sprint. The six-year-old had only made his Group race breakthrough two starts previously and held on from Brando, another son of Pivotal, by a nose, with One Master a half-length back in third completing a trifecta for British-breds.

Soft underfoot conditions at Longchamp later in the month proved no barrier to success for the Mascallsbred Subjectivist in the final French Group 1 of the season, the Prix RoyalOak, in which the three-year-old made all and ultimately won comfortably. The chief supporting contest on the day was the Group 2 Prix de Conseil de Paris in which the Harbour Watch three-year-old Baron Samedi was making his Pattern-race debut on the back of four handicap wins, having started out off a mark of just 65.

The Joseph O’Brientrained gelding, who was bred by Usk Valley

Stud, took the lead in the final furlong and held on for victory.

The previous day in France but at Saint-Cloud, Grand Glory gained a deserved and hard fought first Pattern win in the Group 3 Prix de Flore.

Winner of the John Smith’s Cup at York in summer 2018, the William Johnstone-bred Euchen Glen missed 2019, but has more than made up for it this autumn. Having won the Old Borough Cup at Haydock Park in September, the son of Authorized, sired when the Derby winner was based at Dalham Hall Stud, took the rearranged Group 3 Cumberland Lodge Stakes at York on October 9, before following up with a win 15 days later in the St Simon Stakes at Newbury, another Group 3 contest. On the same card Mujbar, a Shadwell homebred son of resident stallion Muhaarar, stayed on strongly for victory in the Group 3 Horris Hill Stakes.

Having hit form in late August, Dakota Gold, a son of Equiano, has been in fine form and the six-year-old gained a pair of stakes wins within the space of five days in the middle of October. Bred by Redgate Bloodstock and Peter Bottowley Bloodstock, the gelding won the rearranged Group 3 Bengough Stakes in handsome style and four days later was an even easier winner of the Listed Rous Stakes at Nottingham.

Breeder Anita Wigan has

enjoyed a decent season; from only eight mares she has been represented

by Group 2 Coventry Stakes winner Nando Parrado, also runner-up in two Group 1s, the Prix Morny and Prix JeanLuc Lagardere. The week following it was the turn of the three-year-old Angel Power to break through at Pattern level when winning the Group 3 Pride Stakes in impressive fashion.

The following weekend witnessed a Group 3 double for British-breds at Chantilly, both of whom were ridden to victory by Richard Kingscote.

Lullaby Moon, bred by Bearstone Stud, squeezed through a tight gap against the rail, but soon burst clear for victory in the Prix Miesque, while the Chasemore Farm homebred Brad The Brief (Dutch Art) won the Prix de Seine-et-Oise in good style to maintain his progressive profile.

The Bluehills Racing Limited-bred Elisa Again improved on her second place finish in the Group 3 Premio Verziere last year in the middle of the month and on the same San Siro track, Fulgentia became Dalham Hall Stud resident Territories’ second stakes winner in the Premio Ubaldo Pandolfi.

Stateside and Almanaar (Dubawi) won the Grade 3 Monmouth Stakes at Monmouth Park for Shadwell, while on the other side of the country the Joseph Skinner-bred Never Be Enough (Sir Percy) took the Kathryn Crosby Stakes.

There were juvenile Listed victories for the John Deer-bred Harper, a son of his resident stallion Al Kazeem, in the Grand Criterium de Bordeaux, the Mike Channon-bred Nastase (Sixties Icon) in the Rockingham Stakes, the Car Colston Hall Stud-bred Erasmo (Oasis Dream) in the Prix Saraca, and Prince Lancelot in the Prix Zeddaan. There were first stakes wins for the Equity Growth Partners-bred Jouska (Cable Bay) in the Boadicea Stakes and the Geraldine Rees and Douglas McMahonbred Last Empire (Pivotal) in the Prix de Bonneval, while Zakouski took the Listed Ben Marshall Stakes.

Results up to October 31. Produced in association with GBRI. Glen Shiel: Group 1 glory aged six

84 THE OWNER BREEDER

Elite Mares Scheme 2021 Applications are now open for the TBA/HBLB Elite National Hunt Mares Scheme and will be accepted until the end of January. Offering up to £4,000 in grants to owners of British-based mares that have proven themselves on the track (achieved an official mark of 130+) or as a broodmare (produced offspring that achieved a mark of 135+ for a mare or 145+ for a gelding). The scheme is only available to mares owned by a member of the TBA. The grants are used towards the cost of a nomination to one of a select set of British-based NH stallions, which have themselves demonstrated appropriate ability either as a racehorse or as a sire and have been nominated by their owners.

Winners of black-type races over obstacles in Great Britain, Ireland or France will be treated as having the following minimum ratings if these are above those actually awarded: – Grade 1 WFA winners or winners of three Grade 2 races: 150 mares, 160 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.

When the above measures are applied, horses relying on winning races that are confined to three- or four-year-olds will be treated as having achieved ratings 5lb below those stated above. Winners of more than one such race will be treated as having achieved a rating 5lb higher than those defined as above.

A mare that qualifies for the scheme by satisfying multiple criteria (either as a race mare and producer, or as a producer of more than one qualifying horse) will be regarded as having achieved an official rating increased by 10lb for every additional qualification.

For a full list of eligible mares, visit the Elite Mares Scheme page on the TBA website where there is also an online application form. If you believe that your mare has attained the necessary credentials and is absent from the list or for further information, contact Stanstead House or email rob. davey@thetba.co.uk. Applications

for the Elite Mares Scheme close on January 31, 2021.

Stallions eligible for the scheme: • Cannock Chase • Cockney Rebel • Dartmouth • Eastern Anthem • Falco • Flag Of Honour • Frontiersman • Gentlewave • Geordieland • Haafhd • Harbour Law • Jack Hobbs • Linda’s Lad • Masterstroke • Norse Dancer • Passing Glance • Pether’s Moon • Planteur • Saddler’s Rock • Sans Frontieres • Scalo • Schiaparelli • Scorpion • Telescope • Top Trip • Universal

Criteria

Grant

Category 1

Mares that have achieved a peak official rating of 150+, or have produced a NH horse with a peak official rating of 155+ (mare) or 165+ (gelding) in Great Britain, Ireland or France.

£4,000

Category 2

Mares that have achieved a peak official rating of 140-149, or have produced a NH horse with a peak official rating of 145-154 (mare) or 155-164 (gelding) in Great Britain, Ireland or France.

£3,000

Category 3

Mares that have achieved a peak official rating of 130-139, or have produced a NH horse with a peak official rating of 135-144 (mare) or 145-154 (gelding) in Great Britain, Ireland or France.

£2,000

Racecourse Badge Scheme for Breeders Would you like to know when a horse you have bred is entered or declared to run? The TBA’s latest benefit is receiving outstanding reviews from members, who are now able to receive free text or email updates when a horse they have bred is entered or declared to run in any UK race.

Historically, members were required to submit a new form each year to activate the Racecourse Badge Scheme for Breeders (formally known as a PASS card). However, in conjunction with Weatherbys, this format has now been

upgraded meaning that one application will last for the duration of your TBA membership.

On resumption of racing the RBSB will also allow members free access to over 1,200 races if a horse they have bred is declared to run – this may include premier fixtures such as Royal Ascot and Newmarket’s July Festival.

New forms can be downloaded from the members’ area of the TBA website or by contacting Alix Jones on 01638 661321.

THE OWNER BREEDER 85

TBA Forum

BREEDER IN FOCUS – SIMON DAVIES

S

imon Davies, who has been steadily building a breeding enterprise since 2015, has solved a dilemma he faced last season by taking matters into his own hands. Hence Danehill Dancer’s smart middle-distance son Planteur has been repatriated to England at the age of 13 and will shortly start his first stint at Chapel Stud in Worcestershire, after seven seasons in France.

Bred and raced out of France by the Wildenstein family, Planteur won the Prix Noailles and finished second in the Prix du Jockey Club and Grand Prix de Paris as a three-year-old, and won the Prix Ganay from Sarafina and Cirrus Des Agles at four. He was bought by Middle East connections and moved to Marco Botti in Newmarket to run in the 2012 Dubai World Cup, where he finished third.

When Planteur returned to Meydan to claim the same spot a year later, he was owned by Sheikh Joaan bin Hamad Al Thani, who at the end of 2013 retired him to Al Shaqab’s stallion squad at Haras de Bouquetot. Five seasons later he switched to Haras du Grand Courgeon, and now, a further two seasons on, a deal brokered by bloodstock agent Richard Venn has brought him back to England.

Davies, who expects to close a deal on another overseas import, explains: “This year I had eight broodmares to send to stud, and seven went abroad.

Six went to Ireland and one to France, and the other to a Flat stallion, Nathaniel.

That’s where there’s the biggest hole in National Hunt breeding in Britain, and my own experience tells me that if I’m seeing there’s nothing to send my mares to, lots of other people must be in the same boat.

“I’d been looking for a stallion for 12 months or more and finding a good one is difficult, but Planteur ticked a lot of boxes for us. There aren’t that many of his offspring in England at the moment, but he has had plenty of winners in France.

“He clearly has Flat potential, with Trueshan winning on Champions Day and others coming through, while he’s had winners over hurdles trained in England, such as Zizaneur and Lord Torranaga.

“He’s definitely a stallion on the up, and there is a lot of progression to come from him because his oldest progeny are five. Rather than buying a stallion who’s just been retired and gets a boost over the first couple of years but then has a downturn for a couple of years before he has runners, we’ve got over that initial hump with Planteur. We’re providing

86 THE OWNER BREEDER

Simon Davies with his recently-recruited stallion Planteur, whose oldest progeny are five

quality and I’m sure British breeders will send mares to him.”

Davies, who claimed his very first winner as an owner when Planteur’s daughter Plansina was successful at Wolverhampton in October, is leading the charge, saying: “I’ve 13 broodmares for next year and probably at least ten will go to Planteur."

Living six miles outside Hereford, Davies is a strong believer in local connections. All but one of his horses in training are with Tom Symonds in Hentland, and his mares and young stock are housed with Scarlett Knipe at Cobhall Court Stud in Allensmore, while Planteur has taken up residence under the watchful eye of Roisin Close at Chapel Stud in Worcestershire.

“I’m okay at my day job,” Davies says, “but I’m still learning a lot about the bloodstock business, so I rely very heavily on the experts - Tom, Scarlett and Roisin.

“When I first decided to get involved, I rang a few local trainers, but my house pretty much overlooked Tom Symonds’ gallops, and when I was invited to the yard, I hit it off with Tom and Elsa. They are very good at the communications side, which is a big draw and makes it that much more enjoyable.

“The mares, yearlings and foals are kept with Scarlett, who’s as good as they come in that field, and Roisin is great at what she does and has a marvellous setup. I’m surrounding myself with experts.”

Davies, who admits to a longtime interest in racing but no previous direct

involvement, took up ownership six years ago, as an outlet to his all-consuming day job as Chief Executive of his own company, the Spectra Group, a global provider of communications systems.

He reflects: “I was running Spectra with my wife Rhian as COO, and we were working so closely day in and day out that when we’d finish work and come home, there was nothing to talk about. It was no good asking, ‘What was your day like?’ because we knew, we’d been there! So, we looked around for something that we could do together but was completely outside telecommunications and the defence sector in which we work.

“I decided to take the plunge into ownership, as much from the social and enjoyment point of view as anything.

We weren’t looking to break any world records, but as usually happens, when you get one horse, you get another, then one picks up an injury and you get another.

“The progression into breeding really stems from Tom Symonds, who’s a member of the TBA National Hunt Committee and has an encyclopaedic knowledge of pedigrees and families. It all started from retiring a couple of mares who were clearly not going anywhere as racehorses, and rather than sell them for a pittance we decided it was worth breeding from them.

“We felt rather than spend a lot more money on racehorses, it would be much more satisfying to breed them and then race them, when you get twice the enjoyment. So far, it’s working very well.”

HIGHEST EARNING SON OF

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TRUESHAN Winner of 7 races from 11 runs including the Gr.2 British Champions Long Distance Cup at Ascot by 7l.

STAKES

PRODUCER ON THE FLAT AND

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SIRE OF STAKES HORSES INCLUDING:

CONSISTENT AT THE HIGHEST-LEVEL

Trueshan, Edidindo, Agnès, Domagnano, Plegastell, Road To Arc, Henry Brulard, Manguzi, Over Reacted, Golconda, Marinka, Milos and Fly d’Aspe.

Won/placed in 12 Group/ Stakes races winning over £2.2m including: Won Gr.1 Prix Ganay-Prix Air Mauritius Won Gr.2 Prix d’Harcourt

52% winners to runners

Won Gr.2 Prix d’Noailles

“Planteur was a pure athletic horse with a great constitution and a fighter.”

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

FROM THE IMMEDIATE FAMILY OF PEINTRE CELEBRE Out of Plante Rare, also dam of Stakes winner Pilote d’Essai, and the granddam of multiple Gr.1 winner Persian King.

Fee: £3,000 1st October LFFR

Marco Botti, trainer

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

Tina Dawson 07776 165854 tina.dawson@tdbloodstock.com

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“Instead of selling all these Group winners, I’d like to actually have a Group winner as an owner-breeder,” she told GBRI. “It’s a bit frustrating really. To own and breed is the ultimate fun, so that is my ambition for next year.

“I would have sold her [the Ulysses yearling] for a bit more money but I decided to buy her back, and I’ve actually sent her to Mark Johnston who was the underbidder anyway, so he was pleased. He’s done so well with the family, I thought it was the obvious choice really. It would just be my luck if she weren’t any good, but that’s three good horses in a row she’s produced now.”

With Reckoning having a Roaring Lion colt foal at foot, earmarked for sale as a yearling, and in foal to Too Darn Hot, it is no wonder Hearn has set her sights on becoming the owner-breeder of a winner out of her star mare.

BREEDER OF THE MONTH – OCTOBER

MASCALLS STUD

S

usan Hearn has been breeding racehorses from just a handful of mares since the early 1980s at Mascalls Stud, which she owns with husband Barry, the founder and chairman of promotions company Matchroom Sport.

In recent years, her breeding operation has done an excellent job of promoting itself. When Subjectivist, a son of Teofilo, won the Prix Royal-Oak at Longchamp, he became the second Group 1 winner since 2018 for the small Essex stud following Urban Fox, winner of the Pretty Polly Stakes at the Curragh.

Subjectivist arrived in France after finishing unplaced in the St Leger, the race in which his year-older three-parts brother Sir Ron Priestley (by Australia) had finished runner-up to Logician 12 months earlier.

The siblings were bred out of the Listed-placed Danehill Dancer mare Reckoning, who joined the Mascalls Stud broodmare band when purchased for 160,000gns at the Tattersalls December Sale in 2014.

The mare has already repaid her purchase price with Sir Ron Priestley, Subjectivist and her Group 2-placed two-year-old Muhaarar filly Alba Rose selling for a combined 232,000gns to trainer Mark Johnston at Book 2 of the Tattersalls October Sale in recent years.

Her current yearling, a filly by Ulysses, was bought back by Hearn at the same sale earlier this autumn in a move that could signal a change in policy at Mascalls Stud.

SPECIAL MERIT – OCTOBER

WILLIAM JOHNSTONE Euchen Glen’s Group 3 success in the Cumberland Lodge Stakes at York was the first by a Scottish-trained horse at that level in more than seven years.

Happily, the wait for a second was much shorter, just 15 days in fact, when the Jim Goldie-trained gelding defied a penalty in the St Simon Stakes at Newbury.

Owner-breeder William Johnstone currently has five broodmares looked after by a daughter and granddaughter at his Bellslea Stud on the outskirts of Ayr. His family’s involvement with the sport in Scotland also extends to a 50%

GEORGE SELWYN

Words Hyperion Promotions Ltd

Subjectivist (left): bred by Mascalls Stud

shareholding in their local racecourse.

Johnstone’s interest in breeding was sparked by a chance encounter 60 years ago with a breeder of prize-winning chickens. Struck by the fact the best of them were inbred, he has adopted a similar approach to his bloodstock.

Euchen Glen is by Authorized, a grandson of Sadler’s Wells, out of Jabbara, a grand-daughter of his threeparts brother Nureyev.

The Melbourne Cup could be on the agenda next year for the much improved seven-year-old, who is named after a river near to the Dumfriesshire village of Sanquhar.

“It’s actually spelt Euchan, with an ‘A’ rather than an ‘E’, and pronounced ‘Yoekun’,” said Johnstone.

“When Jim Goldie’s wife, Davina, asked if I’d decided upon a name for the horse, I shouted back across the yard ‘It’s Euchan Glen’. I didn’t write it down.

Davina registered the name, but she must have thought it sounded like an E instead of an A, so that’s how it ended up being spelt the way it is. I don’t mind, though. It’s been lucky for us.”

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E

very breeder is concerned whether their new born foal will develop into a top athlete, able to withstand the rigours of training and go on to race. In racing an immature two-year-old is expected to gallop at speeds approaching 35 miles an hour, despite their skeleton not yet being fully developed.

The prevalence of developmental orthopaedic disease (DOD) can be high in foals, an epidemiological study reported an overall prevalence of DOD of 60% amongst Thoroughbreds, Standardbreds and Warmbloods (Lepeule et al. 2008). Whilst the underlying risk factors for DOD are complex, nutrition, in terms of mineral availability and balance, is known to be critically important (Mcllwraith 2005).

Protein quality is determined by the amino acid composition of the diet.

Thus, the amino acid composition of the diet, rather than the crude protein content, is important to the growing horse. A steady growth rate can be obtained by avoiding excesses or deficiencies in either energy or protein and will help to reduce the incidence or severity of developmental orthopedic diseases (DOD).

In terms of growth and development of young horses we need to pay particular attention to the following minerals and their interactions – calcium, phosphorus, zinc, copper, manganese and silicon.

“Over 90% of the body’s calcium & phosphorus content is deposited between the 8th & 11th months of gestation, hence mineral intake in the mare is paramount at this time”

Calcium and Phosphorus The incidence of DOD has been reported to be higher where the dietary intake of calcium or phosphorus was low or deficient, or where extreme ratios between these two minerals were apparent in the diet (Knight et al. 1985). It is also important to note that over 90% of the body’s calcium and phosphorus content is deposited between the 8th and 11th months of gestation, and hence mineral intake in the mare is paramount at this time (Coenen 2000).

A calcium deficient diet can lead to bone demineralization in an attempt to restore calcium balance.

When supplementing calcium and phosphorus, it is vital to ensure that not only is the absolute intake sufficient, but also that these two minerals are present in the diet in an appropriate ratio relative to each other. An excess of phosphorus, relative to calcium, results in reduced calcium absorption in the small intestine. In contrast, excess dietary calcium has less effect on phosphorus absorption, as phosphorus is primarily absorbed in the large intestine.

Copper and Zinc Copper is required by growing horses as a component of several copperdependant enzymes involved in elastin and collagen formation (NRC, 1980). Inadequate copper intake does not appear to slow growth rate; but inadequate copper from normal bone and cartilage development may result in foals with decreased bone density and DOD (Lewis,1995).

Zinc is also integrally involved in growth, including cartilage turnover.

Inadequate zinc intake is associated with a reduced growth rate, and supplementation with zinc, as part of a complete trace mineral package, has been shown to increase bone

mineral density compared to a basal unsupplemented diet (Ott and Asquith 1995). It is vitally important to ensure that supplemental zinc is present in the diet ‘in balance’ with other trace minerals such as copper, as an excessively high zinc to copper ratio in the diet can inadvertently reduce copper absorption as they compete for absorption sites.

Sodium zeolite Sodium zeolite is a bioavailable silicon-containing compound.

Silicon enhances bone calcification and is present in large quantities in connective tissue. Silicon is a normal part of the horses’ diet and is found in grains and soil, but not in a form that horses can readily absorb. Silicon is essential for collagen formation and calcification of bone, which help give bone its strength and durability.

Silicon is also required for the maintenance of articular cartilage, as well as for ensuring the integrity of joints and ligaments. Sodium zeolite has been shown to be an available source of silicon in horses (Lang et al. 2001) and furthermore is able to increase the silicon concentration in mares milk thus delivering supplemental silicon to the foal (Lang et al. 2001). However, most significantly, daily supplementation with sodium zeolite has led to dramatic and significant reductions in the rate of bone related injuries in young quarter horses in race training (Nielsen et al.

1993).

Conclusion The foundations for a horses’ skeletal health and future athletic success can be established before it is even born. Ensuring broodmares have an appropriate intake and balance of macro-minerals, trace minerals, and amino acids in the diet to pass on to the foal, both in utero and following birth via the milk, is critical.

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and back). The subsequent pregnancy of the mares of the same foals was monitored, but on this occasion CALPHORMIN was fed in addition to their normal diet (which remained unchanged). Consideration had also been given to the choice of stallions to ensure no genetic effect could compromise the results of the study.

CALPHORMIN has undergone significant trailing in broodmares to validate the efficiency of the formula. 38 foals from 5 different stud farms were x-rayed to establish the incidence of growth-related problems in their hocks and patella (right and left) and fetlocks (right and left, front

At a similar time of year, the siblings of the first control group of foals, born to the same dam, were also X-rayed according to the same protocol. The results showed a statistically significant and marked reduction in the prevalence of joint lesions (p<0.05), Fig 1 below.

Winner of the 2017 & 2018 Champion Stakes, Ascot.

The highest-rated horse in the Northern Hemisphere. Born & Raised on CALPHORMIN

CRACKSMAN Hascombe & Valiant Stud

0.5 0.53 0.4 0.3 0.2

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‘Twilight Payment’ winner of the Melbourne Cup 2020.

0.1 0

Broodmares feed not supplemented with Calphormin

“CALPHORMIN is an integral part of my breeding programme.”

Same broodmares feed supplemented with Calphormin

JIM BOLGER Racehouse Trainer & Breeder of TWILIGHT PAYMENT

Average number of osteochondrosis lesions per weanling

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92 THE OWNER BREEDER

Vet Forum: The Expert View

HBLB Thoroughbred Research Consultation Group: an update on recent projects O ne of the three central purposes of the Horserace Betting Levy Board (HBLB), as set out in the Betting and Gaming Lotteries Act 1963, is to apply money raised from the levy to “the advancement and encouragement of veterinary science or veterinary education”. Over the past 30 years the HBLB has spent £32 million with this aim and in 2019, out of a total spend of £73.8m, the HBLB allocated £2m on this purpose.

The HBLB’s research funding supports work aimed at: • Benefiting the health and wellbeing of horses, particularly the thoroughbred; • Minimising the impact and improving the clinical management of disease and injury in all age groups; • Promoting successful breeding and production; • Preventing and treating injury in racehorses.

The research funded has made a significant contribution to the health and welfare of both thoroughbreds and the wider horse population.

Previous research topics have included epidemiology of racecourse injuries, which has informed improved racecourse design and safety protocols; the science and treatment of tendon injuries; investigations into worming protocols, with the aim of combating the effects of resistance to wormers; and investigations into a number of infectious diseases relevant to the thoroughbred.

As well as funding research, the HBLB has supported long-running surveillance work focused on equine influenza and infectious disease monitoring.

This was previously performed at the Animal Health Trust and, since its recent closure, is continuing, with Levy Board funding. The HBLB also supports the production of the Codes of Practice, which informs best practice for a number of equine diseases. This combination of surveillance, testing and education has been critical to preventing and reducing the potentially devastating impact

of many diseases, including equine influenza, on the racing industry over the last 20 years.

Each year the Thoroughbred Research Consultation Group meets to review the research work that has been done within the last 12 months and to listen to representatives from the industry to better understand priority areas for funding. A summary of the major projects that finished in 2019 follows:

Clostridium botulinum Type C Vaccination Trial for Grass Sickness

Dr Jo Ireland, University of Liverpool Grass sickness is a potentially fatal disease (mortality rate >85%) that affects the nervous systems of horses grazing at pasture. The most common clinical signs of the disease are related to a slowing down of the intestines leading to colic.

Horses of all ages can be affected by grass sickness but it is most commonly seen in horses from 2-7 years of age.

No specific causal agent has yet been identified however toxins of the Clostridium botulinum bacteria have been suggested. This large scale detailed project investigated whether a vaccine for Clostridium botulinum would be protective against grass sickness.

This was a randomised controlled trial where horses were either given a placebo or the vaccination. In total, 120 premises, 224 horse owners and 85 veterinary practices from across the UK were involved (Figure 1).

Though the study recorded a significant difference in the levels of antibodies (part of the immune response) in the blood to Clostridium botulinum after vaccination and a suggestion of some protective effect, due to the low incidence of Equine Grass Sickness during the years of the trial, they were not able to demonstrate a statistically significant protective effect against Equine Grass Sickness. However, valuable data about the safety and effects of using clostridial vaccines in horses was gained and it is expected that the data gathered will inform future research into this disease.

Figure 1 Map showing locations of EGS cases reported to the nationwide EGS Surveillance Scheme during 2007-2009, reproduced from Wylie et al., Equine Veterinary Journal (2011) 43; 571-579

Prediction of Antigenic Drift in Equine Influenza Viruses

Dr Debra Elton With 23 race meetings lost due to an outbreak of equine influenza in 2019, it is clear that research in this area is vital. One of the challenging aspects of dealing with any influenza outbreak is the constantly evolving strains of the virus. The purpose of this highly technical study was to develop methods to help predict new strains and to develop tools to study those changes.

The researchers particularly looked at the expression of haemagglutinin proteins on the surface of equine influenza viruses. Haemagglutinin is one of the proteins that is used to

THE OWNER BREEDER 93

››

Vet Forum: The Expert View hopefully reduce this type of injury and better inform the decision-making during rehabilitation.

More information about the fund and previous projects can be found at https://racehorsehealth.hblb.org.uk/

The fund also sponsored a number of small projects including:

Figure 2 Strains on the superficial digital flexor tendon

â&#x20AC;şâ&#x20AC;ş describe different strains of viruses.

Last yearâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s outbreak, for example, was H(haemagglutinin)3N8.

The researchers produced a number of viruses that were genetically the same apart from various mutations in the genetics that code for the haemagglutinin, and then characterised the changes in the structure of the haemagglutinins that were expressed on the viruses surface.

The study has created useful tools for the surveillance and research of equine influenza and helped regarding preparedness for dealing with emerging strains of influenza.

Measuring Local Strain Distributions Through the Equine Superficial Digital Flexor Tendon as a Novel Indicator of Injury Risk: Effective Injury Management and Prevention Professor Hazel Screen, Queen Mary University of London This major research project investigated

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the use of ultrasound slip elastography to quantify sliding that occurs between fascicles (structures that make up a tendon) in equine superficial digital flexor tendon injury (Figure 2). It was hypothesised that reduced sliding between the fascicles may make horses more injury prone.

The technique was developed for use in people to determine the margins of tumours. A significant amount of work has now been done to adapt the system to study tendon injury in both human and equine athletes.

To date the project has achieved the goal of establishing the hardware and software to enable imaging in the horse.

They now plan to use the new clinical imaging tools to assess risk of injury in the field and to assess track- injured horse over time.

Superficial digital flexor tendon (SDFT) injury is a significant cause of retirement from training. Information that could help to better predict injury rates and to assess damaged tissue would

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The Finish Line with Brian Hughes Ulsterman Brian Hughes, 34, started out on the Flat, riding 18 winners while attached to Kevin Prendergast’s Kildare stable. With a background in hunting and showjumping, he switched to National Hunt and moved to England in 2005, winning the 2007-08 conditional jockeys’ title. Renowned for his work ethic, Hughes even rode out on the gallops on the morning of his wedding. He has partnered over 100 winners in each of the previous six campaigns and was champion jockey for the first time last season.

Interview: Tim Richards

I have a hectic schedule from my home in North Yorkshire. On consecutive days in November I was at Exeter followed by Musselburgh, then Huntingdon followed

by Ayr. I have done over 33,000 miles in my new Audi A4 during lockdown and clock over 75,000 miles a year. Travelling is the downside of the job but I can’t afford a helicopter! I am able to employ two drivers who are unlucky having to sit and listen to me for hours on end. I can use the travelling time sleeping, on the phone, being interviewed, reading the papers or studying my iPad. All I have to do is ride the horses.

My sister Elaine is an accountant and she handles all my book work. She is in charge of everything from insuring the car, paying the tax, all the bills and much more. My wife Lucy is a teacher and she looks after our two children, Rory, 3, and Olivia, 18 months. Lucy has a horse and the children have ponies. They don’t let the grass grow under their feet and I don’t have to think about anything, just the racing. Lucy has had to go to weddings, funerals and other functions on her own because of my commitments, particularly at weekends. But that’s the nature of this job.

I’m quite active and ride out for Donald McCain, Nicky Richards, Brian Ellison, Keith Dalgleish and I school for most of the Malton trainers, Ruth Jefferson, John Quinn, Ollie Pears and Peter Niven. If I’m at Cheltenham I might call in at Charlie Longsdon’s. There’s not a lot of spare time, but when I get a moment I spend it with the kids and give Lucy the chance to

96 THE OWNER BREEDER

changing-room across the parade ring to the showers. The racecourses have had to lay down a lot of new rules and restrictions. You continually find staff disinfecting everywhere all the time.

Racecourses are doing their utmost and we appreciate that. It’s not as it was, but the racing hasn’t changed.

ride her horse. I just like to chill out with the family and that’s important so that Lucy can have a bit of time to herself.

Lucy and I enjoy an occasional Chinese takeaway but I just eat to live, not live to eat. I am also teetotal.

When racing stopped in March, Wetherby was my last meeting and I had some really good mounts the following week. Of course, that was tough as it has been for everyone. One minute I was flat out, racing all over the place and trying to keep the pressure on Dickie [Johnson] who was chasing me in the championship. For the first week I suppose I was glad of a quiet time but then it got boring compared with all the dashing here, there and everywhere. Lucy wasn’t going into school and I didn’t ride out for six or seven weeks because Lucy’s grandfather isn’t well and we didn’t want to contract the virus.

I am not the tallest person in the world and I am around the 10st mark. During lockdown I ran every day to keep up my fitness. The last six weeks when Jack Berry House in Malton reopened I was in there twice a week to work on my fitness and strength. I’ve had over 350 rides already this season so I need to be fit and strong; the fitter you are the better you can take the falls. Any summer I’d spend a lot of time in the gym preparing my body.

I don’t have to diet, just eat when I need to, though I do enjoy chocolate.

Being northern-based I hope becoming champion gave northern racing a bit of a boost. At the turn of the year when it was nip and tuck with Dickie in the championship a lot of people would come up to me wishing me luck and it was great there was such a following in the north. Going back to the 90s, jumping in the north was a powerhouse with the likes of Arthur Stephenson, Denys Smith, Mary Reveley, Gordon Richards, Peter Easterby, Michael Dickinson and Ken Oliver. There are still a lot of very good trainers in the north, capable of competing with the best in the south, but there just isn’t the money up here. So the big-priced horses go to southern-based stables.

During Covid everyone has to give and take in all walks of life, including jockeys. The main thing is we have been back racing. Some of us find ourselves changing in what are normally racecourse dining rooms or restaurants. Now that we are allowed to shower again we may have to walk outside from a temporary

GEORGE SELWYN

B

eing champion hasn’t changed me as a person. I’m proud that it’s happened, though I don’t think I get any more rides as a result. Every jockey sets out wanting to be champion.

The fact that I was champion in a shortened season, due to coronavirus, has made me even more determined to retain the title.

Brian Hughes and Snow Leopardess strike in the mud at Haydock on November 21

Richard Hale has been my agent for 15 years. I speak to him at least two or three times a day and I trust him a million per cent. He gets me on the best horses, but he’ll also tell me if I shouldn’t take a certain ride and when I’ve had a bad day he’ll pick me up. He’ll even advise me to take a day off if he thinks I need it.

He is my mentor.

5 STAR

REVIEWS

for his first Northern Hemisphere foals

INTERNATIONAL GR.1 SIRE SENSATION

Colt out of Stakes placed 2yo sprinter White Bullet

Colt out of Gr.3 winning 2yo sprinter La Rioja

Filly out of Gr.3 winner Lightening Quick

Colt out of dual Gr.1 winner La Collina

“I’m even more excited about Zoustar now that I’ve seen his foals. Scopey, muscled with a good walk, they should go down very well at the sales.”

“The Zoustars have everything you want; tremendous presence, correct, incredibly well balanced with a lovely way of moving.”

“I think these Zoustars are what every breeder hopes for and when they see them they’re going to sell very well.”

The Hon. Peter Stanley, New England Stud

Sara Cumani, Fittocks Stud

David Cox, Baroda Stud

Contact Hannah Wall or Alice Thurtle at Tweenhills E: hannah@tweenhills.com E: alice@tweenhills.com T: +44 (0) 1452 700177

The Darley roster, 2021

A bright, blue future Dalham Hall Stud, Newmarket £250,000 DUBAWI £45,000 TOO DARN HOT £35,000 NEW PINATUBO PRIVATE NEW APPROACH £20,000 GOLDEN HORN £20,000 IFFRAAJ £17,500 CRACKSMAN PRIVATE FARHH £14,000 MASAR £12,500 HARRY ANGEL £10,000 TERRITORIES £7,500 POSTPONED CHARMING THOUGHT £4,000 OUTSTRIP £4,000

Kildangan Stud, Ireland NIGHT OF THUNDER €75,000 €40,000 BLUE POINT €30,000 NEW GHAIYYATH €30,000 TEOFILO NEW EARTHLIGHT €20,000 €17,500 RIBCHESTER €10,000 BELARDO €10,000 PROFITABLE €7,500 RAVEN’S PASS €5,000 BURATINO

Haras du Logis, France €7,000 CLOTH OF STARS €5,000 ULTRA €4,000 BOW CREEK €4,000 HUNTER’S LIGHT

Find out more on darleystallions.com Call to discuss your mares and your plans: +44 (0)1638 730070 +353 (0)45 527600v +33 (0)2 33 36 21 20 Terms: Oct 1, Special Live Foal