Tattersalls October Yearling Sale Magazine 2017

THE OCTOBER YEARLING SALE 2017

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WELCOME to the Tattersalls October Yearling Sale

2017

Few things mark the passage of time in the bloodstock industry as notably as a high-profile dispersal sale.

The Ballymacoll dispersal at Tattersalls features heavily in this – already our third – Tattersalls October Yearling Sale Preview.

It will give many of us an opportunity to pause for thought and take stock.

As John Berry has written so eloquently in this edition, dispersals are not simply an end of something (although they are most certainly that). They also represent the passing of a baton, a renewal and cause for optimism that our industry will continue in knowledgeable and reliable hands.

Dispersal sales come and go and some, such as Ballymacoll’s, are more important than others. However, even as they pass, the names will always remain, everyday reminders on Tattersalls catalogue pages that carry memories and information in equal measure. This is our DNA. We are once again fortunate to have knowledgeable writers such as John, as well as Julian Muscat, Bill Oppenheim, Nancy Sexton and Catherine Austen contributing to the Preview.

For them, like so many of us, racing and breeding remain much more than a job of work.

Finally, huge thanks must go to our advertisers. Valued clients old and new continue to see that, even in this digital, multi-platform age, there remains an advantage in being able to address your client base directly.

Simon D. Thompson – Publisher (on behalf of Tattersalls)

Contributors

CATHERINE AUSTEN

JOHN BERRY

COLIN CAMERON

ROBYN COLLYER

MICHAEL COX

SUE EVERETT

Catherine Austen was racing and hunting editor of Horse & Hound for a decade. She is now working as a freelance journalist, covering principally racing and equestrian sport, and is also press officer for Blenheim Palace International Horse Trials.

John Berry has been a trainer in Newmarket since 1995, and is also a breeder. He is a regular contributor to various publications including the TDN (USA), Winning Post (Aus) and Al Adiyat (UAE), and is also a TV presenter on At The Races. He is a Newmarket Town Councillor and a former Mayor of Newmarket.

Colin Cameron is a writer who also hosts lunches, salon suppers and debates where the great and good share wisdom. This way he keeps a foothold in the worlds of bespoke, wine, cigars, sport, politics, art, and other essential passions. Naturally, these include horseracing.

Robyn is a globetrotting Thoroughbred fanatic and a veteran of racing, stud and sales adventures in the USA, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and Newmarket.

When not enjoying a cup of tea, you’ll find her at the racecourse.

Michael Cox is a Hong Kongbased racing reporter with the South China Morning Post, and is known for a diverse portfolio that includes an irreverent weekly blog, investigative features and profiles of leading Asian racing stars.

Sue Everett is an Ecologist and Sustainability Consultant who advises on land management for farming and nature, and has a special interest in restoring flower-rich grasslands.

She also writes regularly for British Wildlife.

LEE MOTTERSHEAD

JULIAN MUSCAT

BILL OPPENHEIM

NIGEL REID

NANCY SEXTON

SIMON THOMPSON

Award-winning Racing Post journalist and writer, author of three books and regular contributor to TV and radio.

After six years working on stud farms, Julian Muscat took up journalism in 1987.

He spent 17 years at The Times and now contributes to a broad range of publications, principally Racing Post.

Bill is a columnist for Thoroughbred Daily News and a leading analyst of the thoroughbred business.

He is based in Scotland.

One-time racing manager, bloodstock writer and racing editor, Nigel writes on a wide range of subjects. He divides his time between Vancouver and England.

Bloodstock reporter, consultant and European representative for leading American bloodstock agency Schumer Bloodstock.

Publisher, and founder of Barnes Thompson Ltd, Simon’s career has been closely linked to Tattersalls since he walked his first yearling through the ring at Park Paddocks in 1984.

Thanks to: Editorial Consultant; Nigel Reid – Editorial/Advertising Manager; Robyn Collyer Design; Rob Briggs & Pete Staples – Subediting; Mat Loup – Production Facilitator; Steve Cheney; David Ward – Printer.

Pictures by Amy Lanigan, Trevor Jones, Matthew Lloyd, Sean Popke, Racing Post, Hong Kong Jockey Club, Breeders’ Cup etc.

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22 6 October 2017

incorporating Bottisham Heath Stud

Contents 8

In conversation with Edmond Mahony

12

A remarkable opportunity

18

Passing the baton

22

The Bonus factor

30

From strength to strength

36

New talent required

40

The spirit of adventure

44

Doing it the Del Mar way

48

Anywhere you want

52

The heat is on

58

Altogether, now

62

Longevity through commitment

68

Learning to fly

74

Green and pleasant land

78

It all adds up for Frankel

82

Royal Ascot winners by Tattersalls appointment

90

The ties that bind

96

Capturing the world in motion

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7

In conversation with

EDMOND MAHONY Julian Muscat sits down with the Tattersalls Chairman to discuss the Ballymacoll dispersal, new sales and the latest on Brexit

8 October 2017

“Ballymacoll is one of the biggest private portfolios of bloodstock that’s come onto the market for 40 years” – Edmond Mahony

JULIAN MUSCAT: How do you reflect on 2016 and what are your impressions of 2017 to date?

EDMOND MAHONY: What stands out in my mind from 2016 is the demand for Dubawi yearlings in Book 1 of the October Yearling Sale. Two of them made 2.6 million gns, one exceeded two million and one more exceeded one million.

Overall, we had record turnover in 2016, which also marked the first year of our Book 1 Bonus. We weren’t too far short of 50 individual Bonus winners (each one earned their purchaser £25,000), so it was quite a big commitment on our behalf to return that money to the purchasers.

So far this year, we saw incredible trade at our breeze-up sales, especially at the Craven. Although we didn’t set a record price, we established record turnover and a record average, together with an excellent clearance rate. So 2017 has started off really well.

JM: What can we anticipate at the round of sales in the autumn?

EM: We have marginally less yearlings in October Book 1 this year. Last year, we felt we had around 40-50 too many horses in the sale, so we’ve gone back to around the 500 mark. There are some fairly precocious horses in there, which will appeal to those who buy with the Book 1 Bonus in mind.

Book 2 is more or less the same size, but Book 3 clashes with Future Champions Day at Newmarket. Last year, we had two entire days of selling on the Thursday and Friday, This year, we sell throughout Thursday (October 12) and then we have two sessions either side of racing on Friday and Saturday morning.

It’s one of those years when the racing calendar is a week later than usual. That might help the Friday evening session; people seem to like coming in after racing.

Conversely, Book 3 stretches over four sessions, as opposed to two last year.

Overall, things are a lot more positive than they might have been. I think sterling is now competitive and that will help, particularly the horses-in-training and breeding stock sales.

JM: Tattersalls Ireland has introduced a new yearling sale at Ascot on September 12. What was the rationale behind that?

EM: It gives people the chance to sell their more precocious horses earlier in the year. We have also had successful breeze-up sales at Ascot in the last two years, so we wanted to tap into that. Graduates from the new sale will qualify for an auction race worth £150,000, which should prove attractive for that sort of horse. There will only be around 130 horses (as) we’re restricted by the number of boxes at Ascot. Hopefully, the sale will establish a niche place in the calendar.

JM: How do you assess the progress made by Ascot, Brightwells and Osarus over the last 12 months?

EM: The Brightwell sales, now run by Tattersalls Ireland, had a pretty amazing year. They sold the top-priced point-to-point horse in Flemenshill for £480,000.

All their sales posted gains. Ascot has held steady or marginally maintained the progress it made in 2016, and we have the Osarus Yearling Sale in September.

Osarus is an alternative outlet for French breeders, so it’s quite French-centric, but the results have been encouraging in terms of runners and winners. Hopefully, we will build on last year’s achievements.

October 2017

9

JM: What does the Ballymacoll Stud dispersal add to the mix this autumn?

EM: It’s going to be the highlight of the year for Tattersalls. It’s an extremely rare opportunity to sell two generations of work that has gone into building up the stock. It’s one of the biggest private portfolios of bloodstock that’s come onto the market for perhaps 40 years, since the Jim Joel dispersal I’d say.

And it’s a genuine dispersal, with the farm having already been sold. The stock they are offering include some lovely young mares carrying their first foals. These are black-type mares that are daughters of Islington and the like. These are jewels. For international breeders who want to pick up a foundation mare, it’s as good an opportunity as they are going to get.

Ballymacoll is renowned for its middle-distance families and that seems to be coming back into fashion. We think the dispersal will appeal to Japanese breeders, Americans, even Australians.

We have been promoting it as such.

JM: The Thoroughbred Breeders’ Association (TBA) has taken the industry lead in considering the implications of Brexit. Is Tattersalls involved with the process?

EM: The TBA has done a great job under Julian RichmondWatson’s chairmanship. They have set up four different sub-committees within the overall steering group, and two of our directors are involved. Rob Skeggs is on the taxation group and Gavin Davies is on the horse movement group.

To us, the question of movement of horses is extremely important.

The survival of the Tripartite Agreement, which predates the EU, is dependent on France and Ireland thinking the same way as Britain.

If the Tripartite Agreement works, great. If it doesn’t, we have to come up with solutions. All the ministers we speak to, and those in Europe we speak to, say the industry should come up with possible solutions since we know what the problems are. Hopefully, that’s what these groups set up by the TBA are going to do.

JM: Are you optimistic about a favourable outcome?

EM: What I can say is that we have good contacts with the relevant ministers. They are all supportive and they understand the importance of the industry to UK Plc. Thanks to the BHA and TBA, we’ve got further up the agenda than we might have done in bygone years.

Also, we are a much more united body than the last time we had a similar potential crisis over VAT in 1992-93. The industry was much more fragmented then, with everyone going off in different directions. There is much more singing from the same hymn sheet.

The other thing about Brexit is that we have people working on that side of things at Tattersalls Ireland. The situation is obviously as concerning for Irish bloodstock as it is for Britain. It has big implications for Irish vendors who sell in Britain, but also for Irish horses that want to race in Britain. Beyond that, like everyone else, we’ll just have to wait and see what happens.

10 October 2017

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A remarkable

OPPORTUNITY There is huge expectation surrounding the Ballymacoll dispersal of blue-blooded thoroughbred history this autumn, reports Julian Muscat

October 2017

13

I

n bloodstock circles, the word “dispersal” generates a magic of its own. Yet few dispersals have generated the level of expectation that is surrounding horses from Ballymacoll Stud ahead of their passage through the auction ring at Tattersalls this autumn.

It’s the biggest fanfare since Jim Joel sold off his fillies and mares at the same Newmarket venue more than three decades ago. The dispersal offers breeders a rare opportunity to buy into bloodlines that have bequeathed some remarkable equine athletes since the fabled nursery in Co. Meath, Ireland, was acquired

by Sir Michael Sobell and his son-inlaw, Arnold Weinstock (subsequently Lord Weinstock), 57 years ago.

Buyers will be spoilt for choice, just as they were when Joel’s breeding stock made headlines in 1986. As the Joel dispersal illustrated, any one of the fillies and mares could make their mark. At the top end, Sheikh Mohammed gave 600,000 gns for Lady Moon and was rewarded when her grandchildren, Moonshell and Doyen, landed the Epsom Oaks and the King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes respectively.

In the mid-range was Flying Fairy, bought for 90,000 gns and subsequent dam of multiple Group 1 winner Desert Prince. Meanwhile, down in the basement, Regal Beauty belittled her humble 5,200 gns purchase price when she produced King’s Theatre, another winner of the “King George”.

Others sure to attract attention include Islington’s Galileo half-sister Justlookdontouch, together with her stakes-winning four-year-old daughter, Abingdon.

The dispersal will start with nine Ballymacoll yearlings in Books 1 and 2 of the October Yearling Sales.

After that come 16 colts and fillies in and out of training, nine foals and 14 broodmares – all of which trace back to a pair of Ballymacoll matrons in Country House and Sunny Valley.

Peter Reynolds

“With its international market, the December Sales is the strongest of its kind in Europe, and the Weinstock family said they preferred to sell at Tattersalls” – Peter Reynolds

14 October 2017

“I think I was about fourth choice,” Reynolds recalls. “The annual salary of £800 didn’t appeal to the others, but I was just about to get married and had a nice house to live in. I think it was largely down to Major Dick Hern that I got the job.”

Hern’s recommendation would certainly have carried clout. In 1971, he succeeded Sir Gordon Richards on the latter’s retirement to train most of Ballymacoll’s homebreds, and made an immediate impact with a pair of top-class milers in Sallust and Sun Prince. The mighty Troy soon followed: his seven-length Derby triumph in 1979 ensured that Ballymacoll’s pale blue silks became synonymous with Classic triumphs.

“Dick had a great way about him,” Reynolds reflects. “I’ve never known a man tell so many dirty stories in front of women and get away with it.”

The beauty of such dispersals is that potential gems are everywhere. It can be said with confidence that the first Group 1 winner won’t be long in emerging once the gavel falls on the final lot this autumn. No fewer than 55 of them have graduated from Ballymacoll since the farm, the birthplace of Arkle, was bought from Dorothy Paget’s estate for £250,000 in 1960.

Central to the draft of fillies and mares is Islington and her extended family. Now 18 years old, Islington won four Group 1 races and holds the unusual distinction of having thrown 11 consecutive fillies as a broodmare.

All the stock were reared by Peter Reynolds, who joined Ballymacoll in 1971. Reynolds took over managing the farm a few years later on Charlie Rogers’ retirement.

As for Richards, he remained centrally involved with Ballymacoll as the outfit’s racing manager. “He was a great ally,” Reynolds reflects.

“One Christmas I was having trouble getting Lord Weinstock to agree to a bonus for the stud staff.

I asked Gordon to have a word, and within the hour Gordon rang me back to say Lord Weinstock agreed it as soon as Gordon mentioned it.

Islington

“That was Lord Weinstock for you,” Reynolds continues. “He loved exjockeys like Gordon and sent them

Golan

Lord Weinstock horses when they started training. Scobie Breasley, Lester Piggott and Freddy Head all trained horses for us.”

Ballymacoll would almost certainly be an ongoing concern today but for the tragic death of Lord Weinstock’s son, Simon, in 1996. Simon had been so enthused by Ballymacoll that he became a partner in 1974, when he was just 22 years old. He followed the stud’s fortunes assiduously; to his grieving father, Ballymacoll became something of a shrine to Simon’s memory.

Lord Weinstock maintained Ballymacoll until his own passing in 2002, upon which he instructed Reynolds to keep the nursery going for as long as he could make it pay without any capital injection. That was 15 years ago. The annual cycle of breeding horses in the name of Lord Weinstock’s executors has now run its course for the last time.

Reynolds hoped to conclude a private sale of Ballymacoll’s entire holdings, but exploratory talks came to nothing. Therefore, the 300-acre (121 hectares) farm was sold at a public auction in Dublin for €8.15 million this past July. And the Weinstock chapter will finally close when the last of the breeding stock passes through the auction ring in December.

Reynolds recognises it will be a poignant moment. “I’ll be feeling very sad,” he says. “It couldn’t be any other way, given that it’s been the last 46 years of my life. But it has been a great journey.

“We have sold horses well at Tattersalls in the past and I’m hoping for more of the same,” he continues. “With its international market, the December Sales is the strongest of its kind in Europe, and with the Weinstock family being based in the UK, they said they preferred to sell at Tattersalls.”

“He was having lunch with someone important – Margaret Thatcher I think – and the first he knew of Golan winning at Newmarket was when the Queen rang him up soon afterwards to congratulate him,” October 2017

15

Of Ballymacoll’s horses, Reynolds remembers Islington and multiple Group 1 winner Pilsudski, who was trained by Sir Michael Stoute, with particular fondness. He will also take equally fond memories of his dealings with Lord Weinstock into retirement with him, such as the time Weinstock missed seeing Golan win the 2,000 Guineas in 2001. “He was having lunch with someone important – Margaret Thatcher I think – and the first he knew of Golan winning at Newmarket was when the Queen rang him up soon afterwards to congratulate him,” Reynolds recalls.

Weinstock also came up with a memorable line when congratulating the late Prince Fahd Salman on winning the 1991 Derby with Generous. He told Salman it would be “vulgar” for him to win it again, in the process denying another owner the chance to experience the unique sensation.

Together with his father-in-law, Weinstock savoured that winning sensation when Troy triumphed in 1979. A Ballymacoll homebred did win the race for a second time when North Light prevailed in 2004.

Sadly, however, Lord Weinstock had died two years earlier.

The dispersal of Ballymacoll’s assets is one more nail in the coffin of the British owner/breeder, which is now a greatly endangered species. One such enterprise that continues to thrive is the Hascombe Stud of Anthony Oppenheimer, who bred and raced the 2015 Derby winner, Golden Horn.

“Lord Weinstock was an amazing man,” Oppenheimer says in tribute.

“The Derby is the pinnacle of what we are all trying to do, and his stud did fantastically well. To have had two Derby winners and six horses placed in the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe is an incredible achievement, together with all those other good horses.

“There are two families at Ballymacoll that have produced very tough horses. They are distanceorientated, but they have produced fantastic results over a long period of time. When the dispersal comes up we will certainly be having a look.”

16 October 2017

SUN PRINCESS

– a front-running tour de force

Sun Princess Choosing a personal favourite from Ballymacoll’s roll call of champions is a fraught challenge. From Troy scorching the Epsom turf as though his hooves were on fire to Pilsudski’s determination to fight every fight from the pit of his stomach, the stud has bequeathed a trove of golden memories.

But the one with the greatest resonance was Sun Princess. Why on earth was a twice-raced maiden lining up for the 1983 Oaks? The answer was emphatic: a 12-length rout that remains a record for the fillies’ classic.

And that was just the beginning.

Dick Hern chose the “King George” for Sun Princess’ fourth start, where her headstrong inclinations resurfaced big-time. It’s a mystery how Willie Carson’s arms stayed in their sockets as the filly carted him around Ascot, yet she still somehow finished third behind the magnificent filly, Time Charter.

The Yorkshire Oaks was a front-running tour de force ahead of her St Leger triumph, where she outran the colts on testing ground. Her subsequent outing, in a vintage Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe renewal, saw her wrestle in turn with Carson in the saddle, then Time Charter, the extraordinary racemare Stanerra and Diamond Shoal before giving best close home to the globetrotting legend, All Along. It was an utterly heartbreaking defeat.

No matter: Sun Princess would race at four, by which time she might have better learnt to settle. It was a tantalising prospect; she was the first name on my “Ten-to-Follow” list. But no, the lemon was dry to the squeeze and Sun Princess never showed a glimmer of her best in three starts.

Sun Princess, who produced Dewhurst Stakes winner Prince Of Dance as her first foal, is survived at Ballymacoll by one granddaughter, Drama Class, and the latter’s three daughters, Centred, Eleanora Duse and Scottish Stage. Were it that I could afford to buy one of them in memory of their fabulous ancestress…

Julian Muscat

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Passing the

BATON The Ballymacoll Dispersal may be the end of an era but, as John Berry reports, dispersal sales offer unrivalled opportunities for the Thoroughbred industry to thrive

T

hroughout turf history, the great Thoroughbred families have continued to throw out good horses in a reassuringly timeless manner. That never changes. What does change, of course, is the horses’ ownership. New generations and new investors take responsibility for the breed’s progress as the baton of stewardship is passed from one stud master to another, and new custodians of the great bloodlines emerge.

Arguably the most successful domestic owner/breeder operation of the modern era, Ballymacoll remains a sterling source of highclass horses. Its dispersal truly is the end of an era.

Yet dispersal sales of the great studs have always been a feature of bloodstock history. To the wider world, the Duke of Cumberland (Prince William, the youngest son of King George II) will be forever remembered as the “Butcher of Culloden”. To us, he will always be the breeder of Eclipse.

However, he did not race the great horse. Eclipse was born in 1764; the Duke died the following year, aged only 44. At the dispersal sale at the Duke’s Cranborne Lodge Stud, Eclipse was sold to William Wildman for 75 gns.

Other lots in the sale included both Eclipse’s sire Marske (bought for 20 gns by a farmer from Dorset)

18 October 2017

and his dam Spiletta, who made a seamless transition from the stud of one nobleman to that of another, the Duke of Ancaster. Another lot was the seven-year-old (King) Herod who, bought by Sir John Moore, became, like Eclipse, one of the most influential stallions in turf history.

Spiletta’s change of ownership from one Duke to another was not a remarkable coincidence, but rather a predictable transition in the days when racing really was the sport of kings, when the aristocracy dominated the game. Such a situation persisted through the 19th century, for much of which Hugh Grosvenor, 1st Duke of Westminster, ranked as the preeminent owner and breeder. His death in December 1899 marked the end of an era as his son decided to not to race on his father’s scale. The late Duke’s executors consequently arranged a dispersal sale. Naturally, Somerville Tattersall was given the responsibility of arranging it, and Tattersalls’ 1900 July Sale at Park Paddocks was selected as the occasion.

The new Duke was out of the country at the time, but he left instructions with the family’s trainer John Porter to buy certain choice lots. Top of the list was a blue-blooded yearling filly (by Persimmon from Ormonde’s full-sister Ornament) whose beauty matched her lineage. Even though Porter had been authorised to buy her, the Kingsclere trainer was thrown into a quandary when the legendary gambler Robert Sievier

kept bidding against him. When Sievier made an unthinkably high bid of 10,000 gns, Porter decided that enough was enough.

Nowadays, blue-blooded yearlings show up at the sales in their droves. In the days of the great owner/breeders, however, such horses rarely came on the open market. Sievier had sensed that the Westminster dispersal sale presented him with a once-in-alifetime opportunity to buy a proper Classic prospect. He felt that he simply had to have Sceptre (as she was subsequently named). Thus, two years later, he found himself the proud owner/trainer of a horse unique in the history of the British turf: one who ran in every Classic race and won four of them.

Sievier’s fascinating tale goes hand in hand with the story of another of the great characters of the British turf.

Jack Joel’s origins were even less – considerably less – exalted than Sievier’s middle-class background, but the wealth of the South African diamond empire founded by his uncle Barney Barnato meant that the Joels became establishment figures within a generation. Joel was Sievier’s bête noir, and it probably vexed Sievier that Joel went on to enjoy huge success through the first quarter of the 20th century with the horses that he bred at his Childwick Bury Stud in Hertfordshire.

Jack Joel died, aged 78, in 1940.

There was no need for Childwick

October 2017

19

“Dispersal sales of the great studs have always been a feature of bloodstock history”

Bury to be dispersed, because his son Jim took over the operation. He reinvigorated the stud and became arguably Britain’s most successful and respected owner/ breeder of the post-war decades thanks to the likes of Classic winners Picture Play, Royal Palace, Light Cavalry and Fairy Footsteps, who all descended from his father’s best mare Absurdity.

As Jim Joel entered his 10th decade and faced up to the prospect of dying with no heir to take on Childwick Bury, he commissioned Tattersalls to hold a dispersal sale of his breeding stock. The mares and fillies who came under the hammer at the 1986 December Sale drew bloodstock connoisseurs from every corner of the globe, eager to grasp the special opportunity, just as Robert Sievier had done 86 years previously, to find a diamond in the mine.

Investors both large and small struck gold. Sheikh Mohammed bought one lot, paying 600,000 gns for Lady Moon. The Kris foal that she was carrying turned out to be Moon Cactus, who finished second in the Prix de Diane before excelling at stud, most notably by breeding 1995 Oaks heroine Moonshell and 2004 King George VI And Queen Elizabeth Stakes winner, Doyen.

At the other end of the scale, Michael Poland paid 5,200 gns for Regal Beauty. For Poland she bred King’s Theatre, a Group One winner at both two and three and runnerup in two Derbies before becoming a champion National Hunt sire.

Bob Sievier

Caption

Sceptre will always rank as the greatest graduate of a dispersal sale at Park Paddocks. However, the dispersal of the stock of the late Major Lionel Holliday (Britain’s three-time champion owner who had died in 1965) at the December Sale in 1967 threw up a horse to rival her for that crown. Racing in the colours of Major Holliday’s son Brook, Vaguely Noble had recently won the Observer Gold Cup (now Racing Post Trophy) at Doncaster by seven lengths. His price of 136,000 gns smashed the world record for a horse in training, but was then made to look a bargain. Ten months later, the colt won the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe before being syndicated to stand at Gainesway Stud in Kentucky at a valuation of $5,000,000.

Ballymacoll Stud is now taking its place in the long line of distinguished studs whose diaspora has been conducted through Park Paddocks. The quality of the herd – originally assembled by the Hon. Dorothy Paget before the property and its inhabitants were bought lock, stock and barrel by Sir Michael Sobell and his sonin-law Arnold Weinstock following her death in 1960 – is breathtaking.

Sceptre

20 October 2017

Happily, the end of the Ballymacoll era triggers umpteen bright new dawns. For many decades to come, breeders around the world will welcome visitors to their studs with the invitation, “Come to see our best mare. She’s from one of the old Ballymacoll families.” And as they reach the prized mare’s stable or field, hosts and guests alike will pause to gaze and admire, to reflect on Thoroughbred greatness, past, present and future.

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Thomas Hobson, raised and sold as a yearling

by Mount Coote Stud, runs out an easy six length winner of the 2017 Ascot Stakes at Royal Ascot.

Two days later, he went on to finish a close second in the Queen Alexandra Stakes at the same meeting.

... AND THE BIG THINGS TAKE CARE OF THEMSELVES!

Situated on 500 acres of prime limestone pasture within easy reach of Shannon and Cork airports and all the major stallion studs in Ireland, MOUNT COOTE STUD is a family-run operation which has a proud tradition of raising and selling top class horses. By giving our young stock the best possible start in life, we ensure that are able to achieve their full potential both in the sales ring and on the racecourse.

Racing Success Since 1963, the stud has raised and/or consigned the winners of 165 Black Type races, many on behalf of clients. These include: 14 Group 1 races • 25 Group 2 races • 44 Group 3 races

Sales Success

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The stud regularly features amongst the leading consignors at the top European yearling sales and also holds the record for the highest-priced broodmare ever sold in Europe.

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We take care of everything Boarding • Breeding Advice • Bloodstock Management Service Luke and Tabitha Lillingston, Mount Coote Stud, Kilmallock, Co. Limerick, Ireland.

T: +353 (0)63 20330 • M: +353 (0)87 919 5780 (Luke). luke@mountcootestud.com • www.mountcootestud.com

for e l ) sib rs of (13/7 n po e 7 es w21inn 201 r dy up es in a e ro Alr 5 G p rac rou G 7 October 2017

The Bonus

FACTOR

The Racing Post’s Lee Mottershead catches up with syndicate specialist Nick Bradley to find out just what makes the Tattersalls Book 1 Bonus scheme such a hit

O

ne leading supermarket chain likes to tell us “every little helps”. When the little is actually quite a lot, it helps greatly.

The Tattersalls Book 1 Bonus provides absolute proof.

The scheme, launched in 2015, has quickly established itself as a tremendously successful replacement to the sales races that previously existed.

All yearlings sold, bought in or who fail to make their reserve during the Book 1 auction become eligible for the scheme – plus any lot withdrawn but then offered at the Tattersalls December Yearling Sale – providing a one-off payment of £1,500 is made.

Should a qualified horse win a specified class 2, 3 or 4 novice race or maiden in Britain, or an open maiden in Ireland, the successful owner receives £25,000. That’s on top of the owner’s £7,500 share of any Plus 10 cash earned.

The potential to win – and win big – is obvious.

In 2016, Pedestal picked up €51,360 when scoring at Tipperary.

Later in the year at Glorious Goodwood, Lockheed’s maiden victory haul amassed £48,672. The sums are impressive.

Importantly, the Bonus scheme has made October Book 1 more of a sale for the masses, not just the elite. Not all yearlings can sell for seven-figure sums and not all buyers can compete in such a market anyway. Syndicate manager Nick Bradley has shown that Book 1 is now a marketplace for everyone.

(At the time of writing, Nick Bradley had enjoyed two Bonus wins in 2017, courtesy of the Roger Charlton-trained Klosters at Chepstow (total prize money £29,852) and the Joseph O’Brientrained Lynn’s Memory one day later at Bath (£37,093)).

22 October 2017

Nyaleti wins the Group 3, Princess Margaret Juddmonte Stakes

“If you don’t think about the Bonus then I don’t think you’re looking after your owners and the people who believe in you” – syndicate manager Nick Bradley

Lee Mottershead: What’s your general approach to Book 1?

Nick Bradley: It’s at the top of my list when it comes to sales. If there are 500 horses catalogued, I would probably view in the region of 150.

Last year, I was trying to find horses I liked with good pedigrees that I didn’t think would be selling for six figures, but who I did think had the ability to win at two.

LM: It seems Lynn’s Memory was one that got away initially?

NB: I was [the] underbidder in the ring. Fiona Marner had bought the filly for 40,000 gns, so I went to see her and Anthony Bromley, who she had been with when bidding, and bought the filly privately for a sum slightly higher than they paid in the ring.

I’m a tight Yorkshireman, which meant I didn’t go for the extra bid in the ring. Sometimes I just have to relax a bit more! Fortunately, Fiona had other fillies on her list, and as she’s a business lady, she could see she was making an instant profit.

October 2017

23

I’m actually very comfortable at buying horses at £40,000 but not so much above that. However, it’s all about calculating the odds. With the Bonus factored in, those odds are made to look much better. If the Bonus hadn’t existed, I wouldn't have ended up buying the filly.

LM: What attracted you to Lynn’s Memory?

Highclere Thoroughbred Racing's, Elation

NB: She’s by Acclamation out of a good mare and looked the type to run well and early at two. The British public doesn’t want to be hanging around waiting for horses to run at three. They pretty much want instant success.

That’s what I thought she could bring.

We were disappointed with her on her first visit to Bath, but it turned out she had finished third to the filly who went on to win the Queen Mary [at Royal Ascot]. I don’t think people had too much confidence when we took her back to Bath next time, but she won easily.

LM: Why were you happy to spend a bit more on Klosters?

Thurloe Thoroughbreds', Shozita

NB: Physically, I felt she was as good a horse as any of the 150 yearlings I looked at. I also asked Roger Charlton to look at the filly and he liked her as well. He also liked the idea of the Bonus. For me, she had it all. There were a couple of other people after her, but only at a low level, and I was able to get her for 45,000 gns, which I thought for the horse we were getting represented great value. I would have gone up to 55,000 gns, so I certainly had one or two extra bids in me.

LM: How choosy were you in selecting races?

NB: We restricted her to running in the £25,000 Bonus races. If you don’t think about the Bonus, then I don’t think you’re looking after your owners and the people who believe in you. If a Bonus race looks particularly hot you move on to the next one – and we felt the Chepstow race wasn’t the strongest.

Financially, the Bonus put our owners in front. That’s important, because when I buy horses I do so with the aim of letting people get involved in racehorse ownership for the long term. I want them to get their money back so it then gets recycled again and again. That lengthens their ownership experience.

LM: Any regrets from last year?

Zap, winning £44,950 on debut

NB: I should have bought Nyaleti, who won a Bonus race and later got Black Type as well. I looked at her pedigree and presumed I wouldn’t be able to afford her, but she only made 40,000 gns. I’ve lost a couple of nights’ sleep over that. I won’t miss a horse like her this year!

24 October 2017

Nick Bradley Racing's, Klosters, purchased for 45,000gns

Global Giant, Dr Johnny Hon's second Book 1 Bonus winner

BOOK 1 BONUS WINNERS PURCHASED FOR 70,000 GNS OR LESS HORSE

VENDOR

PURCHASER

PRICE (GNS)

WINNING

POET’S PRINCE BILLY DYLAN NYALETI LYNN’S MEMORY KLOSTERS ZAP CUTTIN’ EDGE OMEROS GULLIVER RAVEN’S LADY CRISTAL FIZZ DROCHAID VELVETEEN POET’S PRINCESS MISTIME KILMAH

Houghton Bloodstock Tally-Ho Stud Baroda and Colbinstown Studs Keith Harte Tally-Ho Stud Cheveley Park Stud Oghill House Stud Houghton Bloodstock Alun Douch Houghton Bloodstock Baroda and Colbinstown Studs Meon Valley Stud Highclere Stud Houghton Bloodstock The Castlebridge Consignment Jamie Railton

Mark Johnston Racing Peter & Ross Doyle BS Mark Johnston Racing Fiona Marner Bloodstock Bradley / Kelly Bloodstock R O’Ryan / R Fahey William R Muir Amanda Skiffington Tony Nerses Jamie Lloyd Jill Lamb Bloodstock Andrew Balding David Redvers Bloodstock SackvilleDonald / Hughie Morrison Mark Johnston Racing Mark Johnston Racing

28,000 62,000 40,000 40,000 45,000 70,000 50,000 50,000 50,000 38,000 45,000 40,000 50,000 34,000 28,000 32,000

£29,269.00 £31,469.00 £35,350.00 £37,093.00 £29,852.00 £44,950.00 £38,969.00 £36,446.00 £34,703.00 £36,770.00 £38,969.00 £36,446.00 €49,375.00 £29,852.00 £29,528.00 £37,028.00

October 2017

Son of Galileo, Amedeo Modigiliani

Group 2 winner, Rostropovich

25

Hitting THE TARGET The £25,000 Tattersalls October Book 1 Bonus Scheme is now entering its third year. To date, 60 £25,000 Book 1 Bonuses have been won, which means an extra £1.5 million in prize money has been distributed. However has this huge amount of Bonus money had the desired effect of encouraging owners to reinvest at Book 1 of the Tattersalls October Yearling Sale?

Mark Johnston trained, Poet’s Prince

“It is not always easy to quantify the impact of promotional and marketing initiatives, but with the £25,000 October Book 1 Bonus it pretty quickly became clear that we had created a very popular scheme and most importantly, one that genuinely influenced the way buyers were behaving,” says Tattersalls Marketing Director Jimmy George.

“There were 42 Book 1 Bonus winners in 2016. Thirty-three of them were won in time for the Sale and to the best of our knowledge all the beneficiaries returned to Book 1. Probably the most telling indication that the scheme was hitting the target was when a winning owner asked us not to pay their £25,000 into their racing account, but to keep it in their Tattersalls account as they were determined to spend it at Book 1. At that point, it became readily apparent that this was a scheme that was working.”

George also stresses that the profile of the Book 1 Bonus winners is an important element. To date, the balance has been in line with the original aims for the scheme.

Invincible Army, wins the 50th Book 1 Bonus

“So far in 2017, 70 per cent of the Book 1 Bonus winners have been bought for 100,000 gns or less. This is exactly the sector of the Book 1 market we are aiming for. While Book 1 of the October Yearling Sale is Europe’s premier yearling sale with an average price to match that reputation, it is also a sale of around 500 yearlings, many of which can be bought for very reasonable sums. It is this sector that buyers have sometimes overlooked, but they now realise that they can win unprecedented prize money by focusing on Book 1.”

As well as the profile of horses, George notes that the winning owners have also fitted the intended target audience.

“The number of Book 1 Bonus winners owned by syndicates or partnerships has been particularly pleasing. Established syndicates, including Highclere Thoroughbreds, Thurloe Thoroughbreds, Nick Bradley Racing and Heart of the South Racing, have all won Book 1 Bonuses and not one of these winners has cost more than 80,000 gns.”

Similarly, partnerships have been equally successful, with probably the most spectacular success story being Mark Johnston’s top class two-year-old Nyaleti who hacked up in the Group 3 Princess Margaret Stakes.

Glorious Journey, wins on debut

“To put the impact of the Book 1 Bonuses into perspective, Nyaleti, who cost 40,000 gns at Book 1, turned herself into an immensely valuable filly by winning the Princess Margaret at Ascot, but she actually won considerably more prize money breaking her maiden than she did for winning a Group 3 race.

“This is huge, especially for horses that don’t go on to scale the heights of Nyaleti, and we are delighted that the scheme is rewarding owners with prize money that is not only unprecedented in Britain and Ireland but also as good if not better than anywhere else in the world.”

If George sounds a little evangelical when extolling the virtues of the Book 1 Bonus Scheme he is unapologetic.

26 October 2017

“I genuinely believe that the Book 1 Bonus is the best scheme of its type in Europe and I was interested to read Nick Bradley saying that as a syndicate manager he thought he would be verging on irresponsible not to be actively trying to buy for his syndicates at Book 1. I agree with him – but then I suppose I would.”

By Dominic Barnes

Nick Bradley Racing's, Lynn’s Memory

October 2017

27

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From strength

TO STRENGTH After celebrating its 250-year anniversary in fine style with record turnover, the pace of sales and winners at Tattersalls has continued into 2017

European record Four lots broke the one-million-guineas mark on the final day of last year’s Tattersalls October Yearling Sale Book 1, helping nudge the three-day total for the sale to a European turnover record slightly north of 88 million gns.

The record broke the previous amount, achieved at Tattersalls in 2015. Book 1 yearlings were averaging 228,078 gns, while the sale median came in at 130,000 gns.

The October sale’s final session also included a joint sale-topping 2.6m gns for a son of Dubawi. The colt, subsequently named Emaraaty and sent to be trained by John Gosden, is out of the Group 1 Prix de l’Opera winner, Zee Zee Top and became the joint-highest priced yearling in the world last year when knocked down to Shadwell Estates’ Angus Gold. The colt hails from one of the great Meon Valley Stud families and is a brother to the dual Group 1-winning Izzi Top, whose first foal, Dreamfield, also with Gosden, is a crack juvenile this year.

Speaking at the time of the auction, Mark Weinfeld of Meon Valley Stud said: “We are obviously delighted. You do dream, and we were thinking that he would get a million, and you never know what is going to happen until you are here.”

Breeders’ Cup The second day of the Breeders’ Cup at Santa Anita was a day to remember for Tattersalls graduates. There were Grade 1 victories for October Book 1 yearling and global superstar Highland Reel and Autumn Horses in Training purchase Obviously and Drefong, whose dam was purchased at the December Mare Sale.

Highland Reel’s magnificent win in the Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Turf was the fourth victory at the highest level for this son of Galileo, who also won the 2016 Group 1 King George VI And Queen Elizabeth Stakes at Ascot.

Highland Reel was purchased at Book 1 of the Tattersalls October Yearling Sale by John Warren Bloodstock for 460,000 gns from the draft of Camas Park Stud and is out of the Danehill mare Hveger, a sister to the Group 1 winners Elvstroem and Haradasun and also the dam of the dual Group 2 Great Voltigeur and Hardwicke Stakes winner, Idaho.

30 October 2017

A special year Appropriately, 250 years after Richard Tattersall founded the company that has proudly carried his name since 1766, Tattersalls achieved record annual turnover in 2016. In total, precisely 6,000 Thoroughbreds went through the famous sale ring at Park Paddocks in 2016, with 4,929 (82.2 per cent) selling for the record sum of 265,519,379 gns (£278,795,348), and a record combined average price of 53,869 gns (£56,562).

Reflecting on the 250th anniversary year, Tattersalls Chairman Edmond Mahony said: “It is a source of enormous pride to be only the ninth Chairman of Tattersalls in the company’s 250-year history and I am equally proud that the company has marked its anniversary year with unprecedented annual turnover in excess of 265 million gns and a record combined average price.

“Tattersalls has been a global hub for the bloodstock industry for a very long time and rarely has this been more apparent than during this historic year.

Every 2016 sale at Park Paddocks has seen gains in at least one of the key indicators of average, median, turnover and clearance rate, and the record averages achieved in Books 1, 2 and 3 of the October Yearling Sale stand out as achievements of particular merit.

“Individual highlights have included the world’s highest price for a yearling sold at public auction for the fifth consecutive year, more seven-figure yearlings than ever before, the highest auction price in Europe for a broodmare, and the highest auction price for a colt foal sold in Europe. In this memorable year, the uniquely international appeal of our market-leading sales has yet again been emphasised with buyers from every continent and more than 50 countries all playing a part.

“Equally importantly, horses sold at Tattersalls have, as ever, performed at the very highest level on the global stage.

Group winners in 12 different countries, headed by the likes of Postponed and Highland Reel, demonstrate why Tattersalls continues to be the venue of choice for so many vendors and purchasers from Britain, Ireland and further afield.”

October 2017

31

New recruits Tattersalls announced the appointment of Rob Skeggs as the new Finance Director in February. Skeggs succeeded the long-serving Paul Ryan, who retired in June 2016.

Tammy and Charles O’Brien

Already a well-respected figure within British racing, Skeggs joined Tattersalls after seven years as Finance Director of the Levy Board. Previously he had held several other senior finance roles, including Group Financial Controller for the Tote.

Speaking at the time of the high-profile appointment, Tattersalls Chairman Edmond Mahony said: “Paul Ryan has done an outstanding job as Finance Director for Tattersalls since 2001 and, at the same time as wishing him well on his forthcoming retirement, we look forward to welcoming Rob Skeggs to Tattersalls. Rob brings with him a deep understanding of the industry and a wealth of experience, and he will be a valuable addition to the Tattersalls Board.”

February also saw the recruitment by Tattersalls of Tammy O’Brien in the role of International Client Relations and Strategic Development. A wellknown and highly respected figure throughout the global racing and breeding industry, O’Brien joined Tattersalls after more than 20 years with Coolmore.

Tattersalls Gold Cup won by Decorated Knight

“I am proud to have spent more than 20 years working for a team respected and admired throughout the world,” O’Brien explained at the time of her appointment. “It is appropriate that I will be joining another firm that sets standards to which others aspire. The Tattersalls ethos combines a unique history and complete integrity with a global vision, and I am enormously looking forward to representing the company throughout Britain, Ireland and further afield.”

Tattersalls also announced the appointment of Timmy Hillman in the role of Group Flat Sales Representative. Hillman’s role includes inspections in Ireland for yearlings nominated to the Tattersalls October Yearling Sales as well as inspecting yearlings nominated to the Tattersalls Ireland September Yearling Sale and the new Tattersalls Ireland Ascot Yearling Sale.

February records The Tattersalls February Sale, meanwhile, saw records across the board. The turnover for the sale of 5,710,200 gns was more than double the previous February Sale record (set in 2016), while the average and median of 16,944 gns and 8,000 gns were both records for the sale, up 56 per cent and 60 per cent respectively on last year’s corresponding sale.

Dream Waltz

Among the sale highlights was the Oasis Dream filly Dream Waltz, consigned from John Gosden’s Clarehaven Stables, who was knocked down to Laurent Benoit’s Broadhurst Agency for 105,000 gns. The filly was purchased on behalf of Australian owner Peter Maher, who raced her Classic-winning dam Valentine Waltz.

Qatar dominance The bargain 9,000 gns Tattersalls Autumn Horses in Training purchase Chopin completed an extraordinary run of Tattersalls success at the prestigious threeday Emir’s Sword Festival in Qatar by winning the $1-million local Group 1 Emir’s Trophy.

In total, 10 of the 11 thoroughbred contests run over the three days at the Al Rayyan Racecourse were won by horses purchased by their connections at the Tattersalls Autumn Horses in Training, July, or February Sales.

32 October 2017

Chopin

Chopin’s victory earned his Bahraini owner Maher Lutfalla almost £500,000 in prize money, having purchased the German-bred son of Sabiango for only 9,000 gns at the 2015 Tattersalls Autumn Horses in Training Sale. The almost total Tattersalls dominance of the thoroughbred contests at Al Rayyan began with Jassim Ghazali’s 30,000 gns 2016 Autumn Horses in Training purchase, Thorndyke, followed by another shrewd Ghazali purchase, Hillside Dream, bought for 42,000 gns at the 2016 July Sale.

Gold Cup boost The Tattersalls Gold Cup received a welcome prize money boost in March: the Curragh Racecourse announced the 2017 running of the Group 1 event would be worth €300,000 in prize money.

Speaking at the time of the announcement, Derek McGrath, CEO of the Curragh Racecourse, said: “We are grateful to Tattersalls for their continued commitment to the Curragh. The boost in prize money will ensure we maximise the opportunity to attract the top middle distance horses in Europe.”

First run as the Ballymoss Stakes in 1962, the race has been sponsored by Tattersalls since 1985. Edmond Mahony, Chairman of Tattersalls, commented: “Based on official ratings, the Tattersalls Gold Cup was the second-best Flat race run in Ireland last year and the €50,000 increase in prize money reflects the global stature of the race. Tattersalls Irish Guineas weekend is among the highlights of the European racing calendar and we are proud to have been sponsoring the Tattersalls Gold Cup for more than 30 years.”

Tattersalls also sponsor the Tattersalls Irish 1000 and 2000 Guineas that take place on the same weekend.

Bonus entries The second year of the £25,000 Tattersalls October Book 1 Bonus Scheme attracted an impressive 425 entries, all of which stood to win a £25,000 bonus should they win

one of approximately 300 qualifying Maiden and Novice two-year-old races in Britain and Ireland. (The bonus scheme has been a terrific success again in 2017, as Lee Mottershead reports elsewhere in this edition.)

Ballymacoll March also saw Tattersalls appointed to conduct the Ballymacoll Stud Dispersal. Thirty Group 1 winners have been reared at Ballymacoll since its purchase by the Weinstock family 57 years ago. The dispersal at Tattersalls will number almost 50 lots, comprising 14 mares, 16 fillies and colts in and out of training, nine yearlings and nine foals, all of which trace back to the two Ballymacoll foundation mares Country House and Sunny Valley. The dispersal began at the Tattersalls July Sale and will culminate at the Tattersalls December Sale.

Referred to by the Racing Post as “one of Europe’s most important dispersal sales of recent times”, the dispersal is a unique opportunity to buy into some of the best families in the Stud Book. The magnificent champion four-time Group 1 winner Islington, in foal to Kingman, will be one of the headline acts. Other highlights among the broodmares will include the nine-year-old Galileo mare Justlookdontouch, in foal to Sea The Stars, whose first foal, the Sir Michael Stoute-trained multiple-Listed winner Abingdon, will be one of the stars of the eight regally-bred fillies in training.

Scat’s the Daddy Record-setting trade at the Tattersalls Craven BreezeUp Sale recorded a top price of 675,000 gns for a colt

by Scat Daddy. The two-day totals saw 98 lots sold for 14,120,000 gns, a new record, bettering the previous mark set in 2008 by more than two million gns. The average and median both rose 30 per cent and 42 per cent to 144,082 gns and 110,000 gns respectively, both setting new records as well. The sale saw a total of 57 lots sell for 100,000 gns or more, eclipsing the previous record of 40 set in 2008.

October 2017

Highland Reel wins the Breeder’s Cup Turf

33

French Teste Tattersalls confirmed it would sponsor the Listed Prix La Sorellina at La Teste de Buch Racecourse in France.

The prestigious contest, which is one of only two Listed contests to be run every year at La Teste, was named the Tattersalls Prix La Sorellina and took place on June 22. The result turned out to be an international collaboration, with the British-bred German Yearling sale graduate, French-trained filly, Dallas Affair, winning for U.S. owner George Strawbridge.

Royal memories The Tin Man led a spectacular Tattersalls-dominated final day of Royal Ascot with a magnificent sprinting display in the Group 1 Diamond Jubilee Stakes. Trained in Newmarket by James Fanshawe, the five-year-old son of Equiano produced a devastating turn of foot to see off a top class international field in the final Group 1 contest of the five-day Royal Meeting. Purchased for 80,000 gns at Book 1 of the Tattersalls October Yearling Sale by bloodstock agent Anthony Stroud, The Tin Man is now the winner of seven races, including two Group 1 contests and more than £850,000 for his owners the Fred Archer Syndicate.

One race earlier, the regally-bred Idaho made it a family double by winning the Group 2 Hardwicke Stakes, three days after all-conquering older brother Highland Reel landed the Group 1 Prince of Wales’s Stakes for the Ballydoyle team. Idaho was purchased for 750,000 gns at Book 1 of the Tattersalls October

Yearling Sale a year after the same connections bought Highland Reel for 460,000 gns through bloodstock agent John Warren.

On an extraordinary day that saw three Northerntrained winners at the Royal Meeting, Snoano, trained

by Tim Easterby at his Habton Grange Stables in Malton, landed the Listed Wolferton Handicap for owner Martyn Macleod. The gelded son of Nayef, bred

by Willie Carson at his Minster Stud, was originally purchased for 36,000 gns at the Tattersalls December Foal Sale and subsequently bought by Tim Easterby and Stroud/Coleman Bloodstock for 21,000 gns at the 2015 Tattersalls Autumn Horses in Training Sale.

Completing the Tattersalls-sold quartet was Wokingham Stakes winner Out Do, another shrewd purchase from the Tattersalls Autumn Horses in Training Sale. Bought as a yearling at Book 1 of the Tattersalls October Yearling Sale by bloodstock agent Charlie Gordon-Watson from Voute Sales, the gelded son of Exceed And Excel was subsequently snapped up for 18,000 gns by his current trainer David O’Meara.

Hotter in July The records continued to tumble at Tattersalls, with new benchmarks for turnover, average and median all set at the 2017 renewal of the July Sale. The three-day sale totals saw 574 lots sell for 14,691,700 gns, at an average of 25,595 gns and a median of 12,000 gns. The turnover was up 19 per cent on the 2016 renewal, whilst the average and median rose 19 per cent and 20 per cent respectively.

It originally seemed that the Godolphin-consigned filly Time Check would be the sale-topper, after realising 300,000 gns on the opening day. However, that figure was usurped during the last session on Friday evening when the Galileo filly Asanta Sana was knocked down to Saeed Manana for 330,000 gns.

Quality in demand At the end of the 2017 Tattersalls July Sale, Tattersalls Chairman Edmond Mahony said: “The Tattersalls July Sale continues to go from strength to strength. Tribute should be paid to the consignors, whose consistent support of the July Sale has made it an important international fixture, which regularly attracts buyers from more than 30 different countries. The significant consignments from Godolphin, Juddmonte Farms and Shadwell have yet again been particularly eagerly sought after, with Godolphin fillies fetching three of the top five highest prices.

“Strong international demand for quality breeding stock is always an encouraging sign, but arguably the feature of this week’s sale has been the apparently insatiable demand for horses in training at all levels of the market.

The combined clearance rate for the horses and fillies in training sold on days two and three was an extraordinary 95%, further enhancing the July Sale’s reputation as Europe’s premier midsummer sale.”

34 October 2017

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New talent

REQUIRED

Hong Kong demand for horses has never been stronger but, as the South China Morning Post’s Michael Cox discovers, the principles of purchasing suitable yearlings remain paramount

36 October 2017

T

he Hong Kong Jockey Club’s first significant steps into Mainland China with the establishment of a new state-of-the-art training centre signal an era of change. However, although more horses will be headed east, the types of horses required will remain the same.

“Athletic and correct [conformation],” has been, and remains, the mantra of the Hong Kong Jockey Club’s Mark Richards. Known to many as a former jumps jockey and television commentator, Richards is now entrusted with buying yearlings for the annual Hong Kong International Sale.

“The type of horse we are looking for is quite straightforward,” said Richards, who works alongside the Club’s racing advisor Nick Columb.

“Athletic and correct, with good bone and sound structure, because that is what you need in Hong Kong.

You have to start with a sound athlete, and that’s why Tattersalls is so important, because it has more of those

types of horses on offer than most sales. It has more strength in numbers than any of the other northern hemisphere sales.”

The strict soundness requirements are primarily because of Sha Tin and Happy Valley’s firm and relatively unforgiving racing surfaces, but also the Club’s rigorous veterinary checks and temperamental considerations.

In Hong Kong, racehorses are currently trained in the relatively tight confines of Sha Tin's ageing 75-hectare complex. The facility features three-storey stable blocks that resemble government housing, which reflects the nature of one of the most crowded cities in the world.

Sha Tin lacks paddocks for horses to rest and it takes a special type of animal to thrive in such an unnatural environment. That is why the Jockey Club has embarked on the ambitious plan to build a 150-hectare centre in Conghua, just outside the buzzing metropolis of Guangzhou and around four hours float ride from Sha Tin.

“Tattersalls is seen as the number one sale for yearlings … breeders want to go there. You are getting the best of everything” – Hong Kong Jockey Club’s Mark Richards October 2017

37

“There are types of bloodlines that do seem to work here in Hong Kong”

Conghua is not only twice as big as the 35-year-old Sha Tin complex, but a virtual oasis – a “horse heaven” nestled among beautiful forests and mountain ranges.

leading sire by prize money earned in the season that finished in July, with his progeny collecting more than HK$40 million [approximately £4 million].

After a “soft opening” slated for the start of 2018, Conghua is scheduled to be operational for the start of the 2018-19 season, when 200 horses will be stabled there. Those numbers look set to jump to 300 a year later and 420 by 2020.

“There are these oddities in pedigree, in what seems to work and what doesn’t, and nobody knows why.

We go about selecting our horses logically, but if they are by a sire that works then I am going to be a little more forgiving.

That means Hong Kong’s horse population will increase by more than a third in three years, so the club will be sourcing more talent. However, as far as the club is concerned, that talent will be more of the same “athletic and correct” prospects.

Still, for Richards, when it becomes time to bid it all comes back to that ‘athletic and correct’ template.

The Hong Kong International Sale must rank as one of the most unique racehorse auctions in the world. Jockey Club members gather to bid on two- and three-year-old horses that have been purchased by the club as yearlings from around the world, the vast majority of the unraced lots gelded.

Hong Kong boasts the biggest betting turnover per race in the world and among the highest prize money. Yet it doesn’t have a breeding industry, which won’t ever change due to the aforementioned space limitations and astronomic land costs.

That’s not to say that pedigree isn’t a consideration when it’s time for Richards and Columb to make their assessments.

“There are types of bloodlines that do seem to work here in Hong Kong,” said Richards, pointing to the success of the otherwise unheralded sire Holy Roman Emperor as an example.

Holy Roman Emperor, who stands for a moderate fee, was Hong Kong’s 38 October 2017

“At times, we’ve been taking a risk on first-season sires if we think they are the right type of horse, you can’t just limit yourself based on proven track record,” continued Richards.

“In the past, we stuck to standout sires but we’ve become more adventurous with our purchases because in the end we are still just trying to buy the right types.”

Richards and Columb will arrive five days before this year’s Tattersalls October Yearling Sale on October 3-5, running the rule over the prime selection of colts on offer (the Jockey Club does not purchase fillies).

“Tattersalls is seen as the number one sale for yearlings,” Richards said. “You get a great strength in depth and you have the very, very best. You have your yearlings by Shamardal, Galileo, Dubawi, Kodiac and Dark Angel, but you also have the first season sires coming through and Tattersalls does a very good job of sourcing the yearlings.

“Of course, the sale attracts a strong market, but it also comes down to the team Tattersalls has in place that source these young horses. Breeders want to go there. You are getting the best of everything.”

ABEL TASMAN, 1st, 2017 G1 Kentucky Oaks G1 Acorn Stakes Horse in Training purchase

AN EYE FOR TALENT In the world of bloodstock, reputation is everything. Just ask Mick Flanagan‌ As owner and director of Townley Hall Bloodstock, his passion, personal touch and outstanding international track record finds him held in the highest renown across bloodstock circuits the world over.

Mick has purchased several recent Group 1 winners across global racing’s main jurisdictions, including the USA (Abel Tasman, 1st, 2017 Kentucky Oaks & Acorn Stakes), the UK (Marcel, 1st, 2015 Racing Post Trophy) and Australia (Grand Marshal, 1st, 2015 Sydney Cup and Vanbrugh, 1st, 2015 Spring Champion Stakes). To see what he can add to your bloodstock portfolio, talk to him today. +353 (0)86 609 8119

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MARCEL 1st, 2015 Racing Post Trophy Gr 1 Foal purchase

GRAND MARSHAL 1st, 2015 Sydney Cup Gr 1 Horse in Training purchase

VANBRUGH 1st, 2015 Spring Champion Stakes Gr 1 Yearling purchase

October 2017

W W W.T O W N L E Y H A L L B L O O D S T O C K . C O M

39

The spirit

OF ADVENTURE Jenny McAlpine’s story illustrates how self-empowerment, the willingness to travel and seek out new racing relationships can lead to wonderful results. Christian Whitehead reports

T

he irrepressible Jenny McAlpine moves stealthily and intuitively across racing’s international borders like a Thoroughbred industry version of Charlotte Gray, the fictional Second World War secret agent.

Her years of experience, forged in an “old-school” environment, have earned the unhesitating trust of insiders everywhere. Her reputation for introducing the right people to the right people precedes her wherever she goes – and she goes everywhere!

“My father always told me, ‘It’s not what you know but who you know.’ I think that always stood out in my mind”

Like an aromatic cup of Australian Bushells tea, McAlpine’s family is steeped in Thoroughbred history, dating back to the 1930s when her grandfather Andy built Eureka Stud on Queensland’s Darling Downs.

Her roots are Scottish and she has inherited a Scottish work ethic.

“Working on the stud with my brother, whether it be picking up sticks, washing yearlings in preparation for sales, filling up water troughs, mucking out boxes, my dad [the late Colin McAlpine AM] was an old school slave driver and everything was about horses and Eureka,” McAlpine says.

A natural athlete herself, and fourth in the Queensland crosscountry championships as a student, McAlpine’s move into the world of teaching physical education in outback Queensland as an early adult was the catalyst for her recalibration to the Thoroughbred world.

40 October 2017

“I think after a stint in Western Queensland as a physical education teacher, I felt the pull of my passion for horses, having taken a career path away from the horses for five years. I was done,” says McAlpine.

“All I wanted to do was work in the industry in a professional way, and not just on the family farm.”

This broadening of her horizons led McAlpine, via an exchange in Pennsylvania, USA, and London (where she washed dishes at Selfridge’s to fund her obsession with travel and networking) to the hotbed of Sydney racing. There she was a prominent female figure in a racing world in transition, where male-only white lines were being erased and prominent women such as Gai Waterhouse were on the cusp of burgeoning careers as trainers and industry leaders.

“Gai Waterhouse and I became friends when I first moved to Sydney, before she even had her trainer’s licence,” McAlpine reveals. “She was a huge inspiration and motivation for me, both personally and professionally.”

Jenny with Oscietra, Black Caviar’s first foal in training

It’s impressive how many roles McAlpine has embraced and roads she has helped build across the trajectory of her career. Always loyal, she is never content with stagnation and mediocrity. From an early role in racing journalism, she would, at a moment’s notice, skip off on adventures around the world to horse sales and stud farms to meet and learn from as many people as she could.

Jenny with Gai Waterhouse October 2017

41

As Executive Officer of the New South Wales Bloodhorse Breeders’ Association, for instance, McAlpine’s relationship with leading Australian auctioneer William Inglis & Son helped create the initial racing bridge to Hong Kong just when it was becoming a rapidly expanding global force.

Her seemingly unquenchable thirst for knowledge and new racing connections also led her on solo sorties to studs and sales across North America and South Africa.

She says: “My father always told me, ‘It’s not what you know but who you know.’ I think that always stood out in my mind; to know everyone in the world of racing.

Not just in Australia but internationally.”

McAlpine’s rising profile also threw her into the spotlight of Coolmore, where she, along with Michael Kirwan and Duncan Grimley, was the driving force behind the establishment of Coolmore Australia in New South Wales’ Hunter Valley, as well as the launching of breedshaping US stallion import, Danehill.

Itchy feet and the promise of a new racing adventure, however, soon saw McAlpine jetting to the UK and a position on the English National Stud, where she utilized her connections made from previous visits to Tattersalls to anchor several features for Australia's popular Sky Racing television programme Bred To Win. Intuition again took McAlpine to Tattersalls when then Australian representative John Palmer passed away.

In consultation with Chairman Edmond Mahony, she was offered that prestigious position in 1994. She has been “rugging up” every December since to attend the December Sales and facilitate interactions between Australasian and European clientele.

McAlpine explains: “I act as a representative in Australia and make connections for Tattersalls to increase their sales awareness, expand their client base and service clients who wish to attend or buy in Newmarket.”

And it’s a role that is close to her heart.

“The people who work for Tattersalls are fine individuals and it is a wonderful team to work with. I love promoting the company and connecting people into Tattersalls and into Newmarket. It is such an exciting, historic and different sales atmosphere and I love taking buyers there, even to give them the sales ring experience and allow them the feel of a remarkable Tattersalls welcome.

“I love being a connector and helping people. I have always been a self-connector, so I love to share that benefit with others, especially on an international and personal scale. I get great satisfaction when I see a Tattersalls sale graduate perform well on the track, like stayers from the Autumn Horses in Training Sale. Or when a broodmare owner gets a great result with a mare purchased at the Tattersalls December Sales. It takes a bit of courage and risk to buy horses on the other side of the world in another currency and climate and bring them back here for a shot at a chance in a totally different environment.”

42 October 2017

Other than her pivotal role as Australian representative for Tattersalls, McAlpine is currently also controlling various marketing platforms for both Eureka Stud and Lindsay Park Racing.

Her role within Lindsay Park Racing continues what has been a decades-long association between the Hayes and McAlpine racing families. It is emblematic of the strength of bonds and associated racetrack and sales success that can be had by being brave and innovative enough to look beyond the microcosm of one’s own racing environment and ready associates.

Indeed, this bond also extended to the Sangster family, where McAlpine worked as marketing manager in the formative years of Collingrove Stud (now Swettenham Stud).

McAlpine’s racing philosophy has been shaped profoundly through her association with the Hayes family, and particularly her working relationship and general friendship with the late, multiple Champion Trainer Colin Hayes, who trusted her with launching Collingrove Stud in the mid 1990s.

McAlpine says: “I think Colin Hayes gave me so much support and instilled his confidence in me when I worked for him for 10 years at Collingrove as marketing manager.

The value of his belief in me made me perform to my best and believe in myself,” reflects McAlpine.

As McAlpine transitions now into a more active marketing role for Eureka Stud, since the passing of her father last year, she has also maintained her public relations role with Hall of Fame Trainer, David Hayes, whose sprawling, Euroa-based equine property has become a juggernaut. At the end of the day, racing is about memories, and McAlpine’s close association with the Hayes’ Stable has left an indelible imprint.

“I’ve had so, so many [memories] with the Lindsay Park stable,” she says. “I have been so lucky to be a part of so many incredible wins over the past 20 years with the stable, but I think the most fun was Tawqeet winning the Caulfield Cup. It was the most memorable and fun party ever with the Lindsay Park team!

“Also standing out are organising stallion parade days at Collingrove Stud for 10 years and the satisfaction and joy I got from putting the stallions on show for the public and making it a great and enjoyable event.”

This is precisely why McAlpine continues to excel in her role as Tattersalls Australian representative, and in forging relationships between a receptive and keen Australian audience and an equally in-tune UK racing product.

She is a walking endorsement of how self-empowerment, the willingness to travel and seek out new racing relationships can lead to wonderful and, sometimes, unexpected results – and, of course, those oh-so precious memories.

A word of warning, though: If Jenny McAlpine offers to take you on a stud tour, make certain she has constant access to Google Maps and a bottomless cup of coffee.

October 2017

43

Doing it the

DEL MAR WAY

Our West Coast correspondent Nigel Reid is California dreaming and excited by the prospect of some surf and turf at the 2017 Breeders’ Cup

F

or fans of elite international racing, the peripatetic nature of the Breeders’ Cup is one of its most endearing and interesting features.

Track names such as Arlington, Aqueduct, Belmont, Churchill Downs, Lone Star, Santa Anita and Woodbine have fired our imaginations and prompted a thousand road trips.

Now, at last, and for the first time since the Breeders’ Cup began at Hollywood Park in 1984, we can add the name of Del Mar and finalize plans for a pilgrimage to the place where the “surf meets the turf”.

44 October 2017

There’s something about California in the autumn that makes a “left coast” Breeders’ Cup renewal particularly alluring. It’s not simply the weather – although that’s quite an enticement at a time of year that can be, to say the least, unpredictable on the Eastern seaboard. Racing out west gives off a more relaxed vibe. It’s all a bit less urgent, somehow. Shirtsleeve order, nonchalantly placed straw trilbies, palm trees and, tantalizingly close, the mighty Pacific Ocean.

They no longer swim the horses in the Pacific for exercise, but it’s certainly close enough. Located just 20 miles north of San Diego and 100 miles south of Los Angeles,

“Famously founded by show business icon Bing Crosby, Del Mar was an overnight sensation and quickly became known as a place for idle West Coasters to ‘race all day and party all night’” Del Mar has been luring railbirds, Hollywood celebrities and four-legged superstars for 80 years.

Famously founded by show business icon Bing Crosby, Del Mar was an overnight sensation and quickly became known as a place for idle West Coasters to “race all day and party all night”.

A stalwart racing man his whole life, crooner Crosby owned the first winner on opening day and even arranged a match race in 1938 between America’s favourite racehorse, Seabiscuit, and the then South American champion, Ligaroti. Seabiscuit won, but it was dubbed

a “hellacious battle” by the NBC and drew a nationwide radio audience that helped cement Del Mar’s place in racing folklore.

Since then, there have been almost as many equine superstars as Hollywood stars and starlets on view at Del Mar and the track has become known as something of a launch pad for champions. Indeed, three of the past four Kentucky Derby winners – California Chrome, American Pharoah and Nyquist – each ran in the Del Mar Futurity as a prelude to fame and glory at Churchill Downs and beyond.

Del Mar races such as the $1-million Pacific Classic – Del Mar’s showcase race, run each August – the Bing Crosby Stakes, the Clement L. Hirsch Stakes and the two valuable juvenile contests, the Futurity and Debutante, are all important Grade 1 events with line-ups that wouldn’t look out of place at Breeders’ Cup weekend, and there is a rich supporting Stakes Programme that attracts runners state- and nation-wide.

It seems extraordinary that Del Mar has not hosted a Breeders’ Cup until now, but the 34th edition of racing’s world championships will finally bring its own glorious version of the turf to meet the spectacular Pacific surf on November 3 and 4. Bing would have been a proud man and could not have put on a bigger spectacle than the one we will undoubtedly enjoy this autumn.

October 2017

45

TATTERSALLS

out West

Highland Reel

stars of DEL MAR Plenty of racing heavyweights have graced Del Mar throughout its 80-year history, including an impressive list of performers who enjoyed “Horse of the Year” status.

Eddie Read Handicap winner Kotashan, California specialist Flawlessly, the magnificent Cigar, who was on the wrong end of a massive Pacific Classic upset in front of a huge crowd, the amazing fillies Zenyatta and Azeri, and dual Breeders’ Cup Classic winner Tiznow are just a few from a cast list of racing heroes and heroines who have strutted their stuff at Del Mar. New stars will undoubtedly be discovered at the Breeders’ Cup to rival these great names and many others from the track’s proud 80-year history. But none are likely yet to steal top billing from the horse all others compare their pulling power to: the legend that is Seabiscuit.

Tattersalls will be hoping Del Mar in 2017 is as successful as California neighbour Santa Anita proved to be just over 12 months ago.

It was a day to remember in Arcadia, with Grade 1 victories for October Book 1 yearling Highland Reel, Autumn Horses in Training purchase Obviously and Drefong, whose dam was purchased at the December Mare Sale.

Leading the way in the Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Turf was Aidan O’Brien’s magnificent Highland Reel, who defeated favourite Flintshire and Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe heroine, Found. Highland Reel was purchased at Book 1 of the Tattersalls October Yearling Sale by John Warren Bloodstock for 460,000 gns from the draft of Camas Park Stud and is out of the Danehill mare Hveger, a sister to the Group 1 winners Elvstroem and Haradasun. She is also dam of the Great Voltigeur and Hardwicke winner, Idaho.

The Tattersalls Autumn Horses in Training Sale is the largest of its kind in the world and a consistent source of winners at the highest level. However, there can be few better advertisements for the sale in recent years than the Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint winner, Obviously. The son of Choisir was purchased as a two-time winning three-yearold at the 2011 renewal of the sale by Boomer Bloodstock’s Craig Rounsefell and Jamie Lloyd for 130,000 gns.

The third Grade 1 success for Tattersalls came via Drefong’s win in the Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Sprint that kept his unbeaten record. His victory was a timely reminder of the value to be found at the Tattersalls December Breeding Stock Sale, with his dam Eltimaas purchased there in 2010 for just 20,000 gns. The daughter of Ghostzapper is a halfsister to the Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile winner Action This Day and was purchased by Gary Mudgway Bloodstock from the draft of Shadwell Stud.

46 October 2017

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October 2017

47

ANYWHERE

you want

Getting away from it all can be complicated for those of us in the racing industry and so it helps to know someone who understands 48 October 2017

I

n an industry that has become globalized and 24-7-365, at its upper end at least, racing folk must take their hard-earned vacations when and where they can.

Finding the right person who understands the demands of horse people can help make the experience of choosing and organising a memorable holiday a refreshingly painless affair.

Kirsty Gordon’s Anywhere in Africa Safaris is a company that has been specializing in travel to Africa since 2008.

But Kirsty has a background in equestrianism, too, so she understands the pressures that come with a 12-month racing calendar and the strength-sapping sales season.

Kirsty has been competing at a variety of equestrian levels at home in South Africa since she was seven years old, and even came to the UK to try and qualify for the Beijing Olympics under the tutelage of internationally renowned eventer, Jane Holderness-Roddam.

Unfortunately for Kirsty, a bad fall and back injury in 2007 ended her Olympic dream and she returned home to Cape Town. However, it’s an ill wind that blows nobody any good and, upon her return home to one of

the planet’s most beautiful locations, she used her years of previous experience in the travel industry to establish Anywhere in Africa Safaris.

“It’s helpful to speak the same horse language, of course,” explains Kirsty. “But more important is that we never forget that the client has a choice.

“We know how long and demanding the racing season can be. People want to be challenged and stimulated, explore exciting new places, but they don’t always want to worry or think too hard about how all of that is organised. That’s where we come in.”

In a relatively short space of time, Anywhere in Africa Safaris, has become one of the most established and most reputable owner-managed safari tour operators in Africa.

In the luxury travel market, Kirsty’s firm offers intuitive knowledge and experience-based guidance to its clients, ensuring itineraries of high quality and superior value.

Kirsty has been in the travel industry since 1990, during which time she has travelled extensively to most countries throughout the African continent, building up vast experience along the way.

October 2017

49

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“My early childhood years were spent on the Garden Route, before leaving to further my studies in Johannesburg,” says Kirsty. “Not long after that I was managing an exclusive overland safari business in KwaZulu Natal. But home is most definitely Cape Town, and it is from this base that we’ve built Anywhere in Africa upon the foundation of some important principles.”

the Victoria Falls, hot air balloon experiences over the Masai Mara, cycling excursions through Cape Winelands, scuba diving and private boat cruises in the Indian Ocean Islands, and even an elephant back safari. Anywhere in Africa can also facilitate white-water rafting down the Zambezi River, luxury mobile safaris, a walking safari in Zambia, canoeing adventures on the Upper Zambezi and, for those of us who enjoy watching the world pass by our window, luxury train journeys on Rovos Rail.

Kirsty has learnt that every traveller is a one-off, each with a unique set of individual requirements.

She explains: “We treat each traveller as a VIP. In this day and age, affluent holidaymakers place more emphasis on service, personalization and enriching travel experiences, where you have the opportunity to have unique encounters with a destinations culture, history, people and wildlife.”

Kirsty’s personal service ensures that Anywhere in Africa tours are not “from the bottle”. They are for the discerning traveller; private and highly personalized, created for those who expect the highest level of luxury, service and attention to detail from the minute they begin planning their trip, to the day they return home.

Anywhere in Africa customizes itineraries for every client to reflect their budget, desires, tastes, interests, schedules, even if they come at the last minute – an aspect that should be appreciated by those of us involved in this crazy horse world of ours.

For those of us who can’t be away from the horses for even a few weeks, Kirsty’s company offers horseback safaris in the Serengeti, Kenya and Okavango Delta. However, if it’s time away from the horses and an opportunity to experience something truly different, then Anywhere in Africa Safaris’ flexible, tailor-made tours include helicopter rides over 50 October 2017

“Travel is the only thing you buy that makes you richer” – Anonymous

Anywhere in Africa books only the best of the best, using its intimate knowledge of regions to ensure each travel experience is truly special, hassle-free and life-affirming.

Founded in 2009 by CEO Kirsty Gordon, Anywhere in Africa Safaris focuses on high quality travel services with an emphasis on the ultra-luxurious.

Kirsty has more than 25 years’ experience in the Africa travel industry. Anywhere in Africa staff personally check hotels, resorts, lodges and restaurants, and listen to the clients’ requirements in order to deliver the right itineraries and experiences.

Anywhere in Africa has a 99-per cent satisfaction rate, with much of its business coming from referrals, repeat clients and business network recommendations.

Find out more about Anywhere in Africa by visiting: http://www.anywhereinafrica.com/

Cape Premier Yearling Sale 20 - 21 January 2018

South Africa’s Leading Yearling Sale

It’s A Lifestyle October 2017 51 Contact Adrian Todd (MD) E: adrian@cthbs.com T: +27 (0) 21 880 5720 Cape Thoroughbred Sales Office E: admin@cthbs.com T: +27 (0) 21 873 0734 European Representative: Mick Flanagan E: mick@townleyhallbloodstock.com M: +353 86 609 8119 W: www.capethoroughbredsales.com

The heat

IS ON

As Nancy Sexton reports, this year’s particularly strong crop of first-season sires should ensure keen competition between bidders looking to gain a winning advantage at Tattersalls

52 October 2017

T

he weight of expectation falls heavily on those young stallions with first yearlings on show at Tattersalls this autumn. Few sectors of the breeding industry are scrutinised to such a degree; buyers, whether they be owners, trainers or pinhookers, tend to be a forward-looking bunch and invariably keep an eye out for that next hot stallion.

Plenty this year would be keen to put their money on either Australia or Kingman. The pair went their separate ways after clashing in one of the deepest 2,000 Guineas in recent memory – Kingman finished second behind Night Of Thunder, with Australia only a head away in third.

Australia (Coolmore: 2014 fee €50,000) was a brilliant winner of the Derby before capturing the Irish equivalent and Juddmonte International. Also a Group 3 winner at two, he has the pedigree for the job as a Galileo son of the mighty Ouija Board, and his first crop of foals were duly well received last winter, selling for up to 300,000 gns.

“Australia was one of the very best sire prospects ever to come into Coolmore,” says David O’Loughlin, Director of Sales at Coolmore. “Aidan always told us he was a horse with no flaws – so sound, so genuine, so consistent, so talented.”

Similarly beautifully bred is Coolmore’s other young Derby winner Ruler Of The World (€15,000). By Galileo, he is the half-brother to Duke Of Marmalade and related to champion American sire A P Indy.

“Ruler Of The World had some very nice foals on offer last winter,” says O’Loughlin. “He’s a great looker with a super temperament. I think he’s the ‘sleeper’ in our group of young sires.”

Kingman (Banstead Manor Stud: £55,000), meanwhile, went on to develop into an outstanding miler for John Gosden. Soft ground failed to prevent him from hacking up in the Irish 2,000 Guineas and Prix Jacques le Marois, but it was on a sound surface that his turn of foot was showcased to greatest effect, firstly when cutting down Night Of Thunder to take the St James’s Palace Stakes before a similarly impressive win in the Sussex Stakes.

By Invincible Spirit out of a Classic-winning half-sister to Oasis Dream, he has naturally been well supported at Juddmonte – his first book contained 29 Group 1 winners and/or the dams of Group 1 winners – and his first foals averaged 142,348 gns.

Buyers are spoilt for choice when it comes to gifted milers, because this year’s group also includes another good son of Invincible Spirit, Charm Spirit (Tweenhills Farm & Stud/Haras de Bonneval: £25,000). Group 1-placed at two, Charm Spirit went on to sweep the Prix Jean Prat, Prix du Moulin and Queen Elizabeth II Stakes at three and was understandably warmly received in his first season, covering 81 Stakes performers and/or producers. A pair of his first foals broke the six-figure barrier at auction last winter.

The first foals by Toronado (The National Stud: £15,000), winner of the Sussex Stakes and Queen Anne Stakes, also lit up the ring, selling for up to 190,000 gns. Also an unbeaten Group 2-winning juvenile, the son of High Chaparral has the weight of Al Shaqab Racing behind him.

Al Shaqab also has the first progeny of champion Olympic Glory (Haras de Bouquetot: €15,000) to look forward to. Like Toronado, Olympic Glory was an excellent two-year-old for Richard Hannon, winning the Prix Jean-Luc Lagardere, Vintage and Superlative Stakes, and trained on to take the Queen Elizabeth II Stakes at three and Lockinge Stakes and Prix de la Foret at four.

Australia

Champion Sea The Moon (Lanwades Stud: £15,000), the 11-length winner of the 2014 German Derby, has also benefitted from the good early support

October 2017

53

Kingman of European breeders. His first crop includes a relation to Novellist that sold for 160,000 gns last year. Although a dual champion at three, he was also the emphatic winner of his only start at two and has the added allure of being the first son of Sea The Stars to stud.

While time will tell whether Sea The Moon can aid the early health of Sea The Stars’s sire line, there’s no denying the increasing influence of Shamardal, via his son Lope De Vega. That must bode well for the prospects of another son Mukhadram (Nunnery Stud: £7,000), the 2014 Eclipse Stakes winner. An admirable campaigner from the productive Mesopotamia line, he was also placed in the Dubai World Cup, Prince of Wales’s Stakes and King George. His first foals sold for up to 120,000 gns.

“The feedback from breeders and consignors surrounding Mukhadram’s first yearlings has been good,” says Richard Lancaster, Shadwell stud director. “I have seen several yearlings who are strong and forward, which is encouraging. They are stereotypical two-year-old types, which can only be deemed a positive in today’s commercially driven market place.”

As ever, there are a number of quick horses to pique interest. Darley’s Slade Power (Kildangan Stud: €20,000) was a champion sprinter for Eddie Lynam who racked up wins in the Diamond Jubilee Stakes, July Cup and QIPCO British Champions Sprint. A consistent horse, who was one of the first sons of Dutch Art to stud, he covered 49 Stakes performers in his first book while his first foals realised up to 150,000 gns.

Buyers looking to tap into that Dutch Art line also have the option of Garswood (£7,000), the Prix Maurice de 54 October 2017

Gheest and Lennox Stakes winner who stands alongside his sire at Cheveley Park Stud. Garswood was also a quick Listed-winning two-year-old, which wasn’t lost on the pinhookers who paid up to 75,000 gns for his first foals.

“I am encouraged by the visual progression in Garswood's progeny from foals to yearlings I have seen, and have at Cheveley Park Stud, with a number of well-bred fillies to go into training, as well as several attractive colts to offer at public auction,” says Chris Richardson, Managing Director of Cheveley Park Stud. “Inheritance, by Oasis Dream, a daughter of the dual Group 1 winner Peeress, has what I feel is a smart yearling filly. And Celeste, a half-sister to Megahertz and Heaven Sent, has a neat, well-balanced yearling colt. I feel Garswood certainly has plenty going for him.”

Two-year-old speed is also promised in spades by the Coolmore-based pair of No Nay Never (€20,000) and War Command (€15,000). Both are sons of leading American sires that have exerted a major influence on this side of the pond; champion two-year-old No Nay Never is the sole European-based son of Scat Daddy while War Command is by War Front, already a Grade 1 sire of sires courtesy of The Factor.

No Nay Never was an animal of sheer speed who won the Prix Morny and set a juvenile track record in the Norfolk Stakes at Royal Ascot. In addition, he was a Grade 3 winner at three who signed off his career with a close second in the Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint.

“No Nay Never is a truly international horse,” says Coolmore’s David O’Loughlin. “And his sire Scat Daddy’s record at Royal Ascot is nothing short of

Charm Spirit

phenomenal. The top class speed and precocity his progeny like Caravaggio, Lady Aurelia and of course No Nay Never himself show makes this line so exciting in this speed-obsessed world we operate in.”

War Command was a similarly commanding winner at Royal Ascot, in his case when pulling six lengths clear in the 2013 Coventry Stakes, a performance that was backed up by wins in the Dewhurst and Futurity Stakes.

“War Command is bred to be a sire: closely related to Silver Hawk and by War Front,” says O’Loughlin. “Danzig line horses are so dominant in the best races in Europe from five furlongs to a mile and War Front is probably the best conduit of Danzig at the moment. Coupled with War Command’s own tremendous speed [it] gives him a great chance to be a leading sire of speed horses.”

Royal Ascot was also the scene of Gale Force Ten’s (Irish National Stud: €5,000) biggest win in the Jersey Stakes.

Also Classic-placed in the Irish 2,000 Guineas, he shares his sire Oasis Dream with Norfolk Stakes runner-up Coach House (Bucklands Farm and Stud: £3,000) and blue-blood Morpheus (Tally-Ho Stud: €6,000), Frankel’s winning half-brother.

Mill Reef Stakes winner Moohaajim (Rathbarry Stud: €5,000) and July Stakes winner Alhebayeb (Tara Stud: €5,000) also offer the promise of the two-year-old speed so craved by the market.

Toronado

Alhebayeb’s sire Dark Angel is in the midst of another strong season, and he is also represented within this group by Hackwood Stakes winner Heeraat (Mickley Stud: £4,000).

October 2017

55

No Nay Never

Mukhadram Then there is Beresford Stakes winner Battle Of Marengo (Ballyhane Stud: €6,000), a high-class son of Galileo who also struck in a Derby trial at three, and the tough Group 2 winner Gregorian (National Stud: £4,500) to consider.

“Mukhadram’s first yearlings are stereotypical two-year-old types, which can only be deemed a positive in today’s commercially driven market place” – Richard Lancaster

56 October 2017

Slade Power

In addition, Tattersalls are set to offer a handful of yearlings by a pair of intriguing Kentucky-based sons of Galileo. Coolmore’s Magician (Ashford Stud: $12,500) was the easy winner of the Irish 2,000 Guineas in 2013 yet also was effective at up to 12 furlongs, the distance over which he defeated The Fugue in the Breeders’ Cup Turf at Santa Anita.

Lane’s End Farm, meanwhile, stand Frankel’s Group 1-winning brother Noble Mission ($25,000). Winner of the Champion Stakes, Tattersalls Gold Cup and Grand Prix de Paris, he has been supported by an array of international breeders and was responsible for foals that sold for $210,000 and $135,000 in the U.S. last year.

NOBLE MISSION (GB) Galileo (IRE) – Kind (IRE), by Danehill

3x Group 1 Winner Full Brother to Frankel First Yearlings of 2017

Tel: (859) 873-7300

Altogether, NOW As syndicate ownership grows, the joys of owning a racehorse – and winning on the big stage – are being experienced by more people. Catherine Austen reports 58 October 2017

W

hen The Queen presented us with the trophy after the Diamond Jubilee Stakes, she shook hands with every single one of The Tin Man’s owners,” says Jacko Fanshawe, wife of The Tin Man’s trainer James Fanshawe. “I think a lot of them were in something of a daze. Winning a Group One at Royal Ascot has to be the most amazing experience you can have on a racecourse.”

Until relatively recently, that experience was really only the preserve of ultra-wealthy, high-spending single owners. However, the inexorable rise in syndicate ownership of racehorses means that many more people can experience the thrill of victory on racing’s biggest stages.

The Tin Man, who had already taken the Group One QIPCO British Champions Sprint Stakes on QIPCO British Champions Day at Ascot in October 2016 before he narrowly won the Diamond Jubilee Stakes in June this year, is owned by the 12 members of the Fred Archer Racing – Ormonde syndicate. Bloodstock agent Anthony Stroud bought the son of Equiano at Tattersalls’ October Book 1 Yearling Sale in 2013.

Jacko explains: “James had trained his dam, Persario, his damsire [Bishop Of Cashel], his half-brother Deacon Blues and his dam’s half-brother Warningford, so, although we didn’t expect to be able to buy him, we went to the sale to see him go through the ring.

“I was very keen to buy a really nice horse to start off the syndicate. There wasn’t a great deal of interest in him, so Anthony started bidding and James kept saying, ‘Are you sure you have got enough people to go into him?’ I said ‘Yes of course I had,’ and he was knocked down to Anthony for us at 80,000 gns. Actually, I had no one! But a couple of days later I could have sold him twice over.”

Jacko admits that The Tin Man’s first race, at Doncaster in May 2015, was hugely disappointing.

“He behaved appallingly and screamed his head off all day. He was gelded the following week!” she says.

But he won next time out, back at Doncaster, and has climbed the sprinting ladder since. As of the end of July, his earnings stand at £860,560.

The Tin Man winning the Diamond Jubilee Stakes for Fred Archer Racing – Ormonde syndicate

“He’s a lazy, laid-back horse and certainly wouldn’t get your heart beating on the gallops,” says Jacko. “But he always runs as well as he can – if he had a bad run, there is always a reason for it.

“People who join my syndicates are those who understand racing and know about horses” – Nick Bradley October 2017

Trainer James Fanshaw congratulated by The Queen

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Nick Bradley Racing

Heartache winning the Queen Mary Stakes for The Hot To Trot syndicate

“Winning the Diamond Jubilee Stakes was possibly the best moment I’ve ever had in racing. I think syndicates work so well because it is such fun to share that experience with other people. We treat every member of the syndicate as if they own the horse individually.

They can come and see him whenever they like, they are kept informed and involved, and once a month we have a ‘Fred Archer Racing’ morning with breakfast etc. It’s a friendship: 12 people having an immense amount of fun.”

The Tin Man wasn’t only syndicate-owned winner at Royal Ascot 2017. The 75 members of The Hot To Trot Syndicate nearly exploded with joy when Heartache took the Group Two Queen Mary Stakes for trainer Clive Cox. No one denies that well-bred, well-conformed potential superstars often cost a lot of money. But syndicate ownership is a feasible and sensible way to buy quality – just ask Messrs Magnier, Tabor and Smith. However, the level of investment shown by the gentlemen of Coolmore is not always necessary to have a fighting chance of racecourse success, and there is a great deal of value to be had at Tattersalls’ October yearling sales.

Headway, bought for 60,000 gns at Tattersalls October Book 2 Yearling Sale in 2016, was just inches away from giving the Royal Ascot Racing Club a “home victory” when second by a head in the Group Two Coventry Stakes at Royal Ascot 2017.

Ascot’s director of racing and communications, Nick Smith, says: “The beauty of syndicate ownership is that there are so many syndicate models. For a tiny investment someone can be involved with a set-up like Elite Racing and have a very small share in a large number of horses. At the top of the tree are operations like Highclere Racing [which manages the Royal Ascot Racing Club’s horses] where, for a larger investment, you can own a much bigger share of some potentially very high-quality horses.”

Of the horses currently in the ownership of the Royal Ascot Racing Club, three – Headway, Comprise and Snow Wind – were bought at Tattersalls as yearlings. So, too, was the club’s 2005 Derby winner Motivator, who was 60 October 2017

knocked down to John Warren for 75,000 gns in October 2003 and earned more than £1 million in prize money.

“John, whose record at the sales speaks for itself, talks to us about budgets, which are usually between 60,000100,000 gns,” says Nick. “Membership of the Royal Ascot Racing Club may not be the cheapest syndicate ownership option, but it is great value. Not only can you come racing in luxurious surroundings on all of Ascot’s 26 annual racedays, including Royal Ascot, but with six racehorses running for you, you probably get 15 days’ racing on other courses, plus stable visits and dinners in Newmarket. And we’ve done trips overseas in the past.”

The Royal Ascot Racing Club will celebrate its 20th anniversary next year, but one of the hottest ownership syndicates on the circuit, Nick Bradley Racing, was only founded in early 2016.

Nick Bradley Racing has a total of 60 horses spread across a dozen trainers. Among them are Cribbs Causeway, whom Roger Charlton trained to win three times in a row this summer and who cost 30,000 gns at Tattersalls October Book 2 Yearling Sale in 2015, and Melesina, bought from the same sale for 22,000 gns and winner of a Group 3 and a Listed race for Richard Fahey.

“Syndicate ownership is increasingly popular,” says Nick. “We offer a professional syndicate. I maintain a share in each horse and so I’m index-linked to how they run. With 60 horses under my management, I have sway with the trainers and look after the owners’ interests in managing and placing the horses. I add value to what our owners get back by helping trainers plot a campaign and how each race is approached.

“The types of people who join my syndicates are those who understand racing and know about horses, which sets the bar high. I try to get as much of an owner’s investment back as possible; as close to a 100 per cent return, if not more. We have made £1.2million in prize money and sales money already. Then those owners, having had a good experience, can go in again.”

Nick says that he targets Tattersalls’ October Book 1 Yearling sale in particular. “It’s the best in Europe,” he states.

Flown

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October 2017

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62 October 2017

Longevity

THROUGH

commitment

Stability through uncertain times has been a feature of Tattersalls’ success, as Colin Cameron finds out

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o the fashionable London eatery, Daphne’s, for a three-person panel of Highclere Thoroughbreds’ Harry Herbert, Classic-winning trainer Andrew Balding and Hayley Turner, steadily morphing from high-ranking jockey into respected broadcaster and pundit.

The expectant crowd of diners settles down for an informed evening of turf insight.

Amid general chat about fancied runners at three and older, as well as prospective two-year-olds poised to show their stuff, the not insignificant matter of buying a horse is raised. Herbert doesn’t pause for breath. “You would go to Tattersalls,” he advises.

The direction is given without one of Herbert’s signature salesman’s flourishes. Instead, the guidance comes with a style that you would convey counsel about where you should head for the highest quality suit (Savile Row) or a top-rated doctor (Harley Street, of course). A champion racehorse? Well, as Highclere Thoroughbreds, Baldings past and present, and many others have done for centuries now, head east of London, to Tattersalls.

Those at Daphne’s inspired by the night’s troika of wisdom will find their way there if they’re truly intent on chasing success. Whether they invest in one of Herbert’s shares, or look to own something themselves for Balding to train, their pride and joy may first have caught an expert’s eye at Tattersalls.

That has been the case whether Britain has been on the crest of an economic wave or amid economic doldrums. Tattersalls’ long-earned heritage and reputation tempers the paralysis in investment that can come with dips in the short-term economic cycle, while peaks remain an invitation and welcome encouragement to bid. With centuries of trade to Tattersalls’ name, periods of boom or bust seem rather ephemeral.

So what has ultimately lodged Tattersalls, an Anglo-Irish concern dominant in the European arena selling the best stock bred both in Britain and beyond, in our subconscious minds to the extent that most look no further for a destination to buy bloodstock? How has its name reassured the wavering investor during economic fluctuations?

“The brand’s pretty amazing,” says Jonathan Heilbron. Having been a CEO and president for over a decade at Thomas Pink, the shirtmakers that somehow ooze heritage despite only being founded in 1984, Heilbron acknowledges that Tattersalls’ centuries of trade make it a leading brand worldwide.

To Heilbron, Tattersalls’ is an example of how longevity is achieved through commitment to regular reinvention and modernization. “Continuity in quality of service, staying connected and remaining relevant; these are key to sustaining a reputation,” he says.

Today, Thomas Pink is part of Louis Vuitton Moët Hennessy (LVMH), the “House of brands” that has turned nurturing names into an art form. And Tattersalls is more than simply a logo with historic value.

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“Taking the long view is also important,” Heilbron adds.

“There are times when business isn’t notably profitable.

But you stand out by holding the line. The likes of Louis Vuitton and Chanel would be the same. These companies hold firm during economic cycles. In this way, you clearly define yourself as here to stay.”

That’s welcome news to the locality. For Matt Hancock, MP for West Suffolk, a constituency that is home to Tattersalls and much of the surrounding bloodstock endeavours, the auction house is a vital part of the local ecosystem.

“There is the direct benefit to the local economy of employment,” says Hancock, also Minister for Digital in the Department of Culture, Media and Sport. “Then beyond that, people – important clients – come to Tattersalls from all over the world. This sets Newmarket apart and is one of the reasons why the town can rightly claim to be the headquarters of racing.”

“Racing today is global and Tattersalls mirrors that” – Matt Hancock, MP By virtue of its global reach, Tattersalls provides some insulation to the locality against British downturns.

Hancock, who has served as Her Majesty’s Paymaster General and as a Minister of skills and enterprise as well as at Small businesses, Industry and Enterprise, concurs.

“Tattersalls is a global entity,” he argues. “Racing today is global and Tattersalls mirrors that.”

The leather artisans, G. Ettinger, also has a global reputation for excellence. The head office of the 83-year-old luxury craftmakers is in the capital, with the Midlands home to production. Robert Ettinger, the second generation in charge of this family concern, believes companies such as Tattersalls are the basis for Britain’s reputation as home to specialist skills.

G. Ettinger’s roots are in saddlery. The connection is sustained today by the Ettinger ambassador status of 21-year-old Jessica Mendoza, an aspiring British Olympic equestrian star who already has the Rio Olympic Games to her credit. Needless to say, she is short odds to have the best luggage at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.

Ettinger and the world’s best-known bloodstock auction house benefit from Britain’s status as the mother of racing, and a central player in the equine world. In the case of Tattersalls, this goes back centuries.

Perhaps this length of service is key to understanding the prominence of Tattersalls today. Ettinger smiles: “The view is that if you have been doing something for so long in a world that goes back years you must, at very least, be doing something right.”

64 October 2017

䜀爀攀愀琀 䈀爀椀琀椀猀栀 刀愀挀椀渀最 䤀渀琀攀爀渀愀琀椀漀渀愀氀 䰀攀琀 甀猀 漀瀀攀渀 甀瀀 琀栀攀 攀砀挀椀琀椀渀最 眀漀爀氀搀 漀昀 䈀爀椀琀椀猀栀 刀愀挀椀渀最 昀漀爀 礀漀甀⸀

䘀漀爀 洀漀爀攀 椀渀昀漀爀洀愀琀椀漀渀 瀀氀攀愀猀攀 挀漀渀琀愀挀琀 䄀洀愀渀搀愀 䈀漀猀猀漀洀 漀渀㨀 ⬀㐀㐀 ⠀ ⤀ 㜀㄀㔀㈀ ㄀ ㌀ 켥 愀戀漀猀猀漀洀䀀最爀攀愀琀戀爀椀琀椀猀栀爀愀挀椀渀最⸀挀漀洀 眀眀眀⸀最爀攀愀琀戀爀椀琀椀猀栀爀愀挀椀渀最椀渀琀攀爀渀愀琀椀漀渀愀氀⸀挀漀洀

October 2017

䜀爀攀愀琀 䈀爀椀琀愀椀渀㨀 琀栀攀 戀椀爀琀栀瀀氀愀挀攀 漀昀 栀漀爀猀攀爀愀挀椀渀最⸀

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Smooth PASSAGE How many would have invested with relish in real estate amid the financial crisis of 2008? “House prices in the UK suffered record drop in 2008,” the Daily Telegraph advised in 2009. The market “blew up”, according to The Guardian. The beginning of a crisis in housing, warned The New Statesman. Even the usually moderated language of the BBC was stretched to find temperate words, settling on “a year of turmoil”. By any measure, an economic downturn.

And yet bloodstock prices at Tattersalls? Sales at Park Paddocks in autumn 2008 featured, 4,304 horses sold for 167 million gns at an average of 38,935 gns, a mean not exceeded in the next two years and better than five of the previous eight years following the millennium.

Tattersalls might not claim to have, as Gordon Brown did during his years as Chancellor of the Exchequer, abolished boom and bust. At the very least, Park Paddocks has often represented shelter from the worst of any economic downturn.

66 October 2017

Yearlings from a Proven Gr.1 Nursery & Book 1 Bonus specialists Houghton Bloodstock and the expert staff here at Fox Farm have enjoyed great success in producing top class racehorses including Group One winners MAYSON & BELLE ROYALE.

We are also the producer of FIVE Book 1 Bonus winners to date including OMEROS , POET’S PRINCESS, RAVEN’S LADY, STAR OF RORY, POET’S PRINCE (pictured)

2017 Tattersalls October Book 1 Draft COLTS Lot 38 Kodiac / Lady of The Desert Lot 67 Sea The Moon / Lovina Lot 115 Shamardai / Music Show Lot 154 Dutch Art / Privacy Order Lot 160 Le Havre / Queen’s Logic Lot 215 Toronado / Shy Lady Lot 237 Kodiac / Spasha Lot 314 New Approach / Ahla Wasahi Lot 315 Dawn Approach / Al Baidaa Lot 344 New Approach / Arsaadi Lot 365 Born To Sea / Bella Bella Lot 368 Australia / Blanche Dubawi Lot 473 Champs Elysees / Gallicuix

FILLIES Lot 80 Sea The Moon / Majestic Roi Lot 107 Dark Angel / Moma Lee Lot 113 Shamardai / Mount Elbrus Lot 243 Camelot / Spiritza Lot 304 Dubawi / Wonder Why

ROBIN SHARP Mobile: 07850 661468 MALCOLM BRYSON Mobile: 07711 160856 HOUGHTON BLOODSTOCK UK LTD. FOX FARM, HUNDON, SUFFOLK C010 8EL FARM: 01638 563238 INFO@HOUGHTONBLOODSTOCK.CO.UK

Top Class • STAFF • FACILITIES October 2017 67 • SERVICE

Learning

TO FLY

Robyn Collyer reports on the challenges facing all the yearlings on offer at Tattersalls as they prepare for life in the fast lane

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tanding ringside at Europe’s premier auction house when the sales topper walks through the ring can steal your breath and send goosebumps charging down the back of even the fiercest of old necks.

However, while this might be the high point of a yearling’s career to date, it’s only the start of a long and arduous journey. Many challenges await the young horse before it cuts through the turf, patriotically flying its master’s silks for the first time.

While the final purchase ticket is being signed and the fall of hammer insurance secured with a phone call, the chosen one will quietly slip back to the calm of the stable blocks, its life forever changed. Once settled, and still sporting the “lot number” sticker on its hind quarters, a trusted pair of hands will escort the youngster to have its wind tested and a blood sample taken for future analysis.

68 October 2017

Once the green light has been given and a racehorse trainer assigned by the new owner, the yearling is shipped out to his new home. Not all trainers prepare their own yearlings for racing the following season.

These days, the fashion is for youngsters to be sent to pre-trainers who are well equipped to give the yearlings the time and focus they will need to become fullyfledged racehorses.

At this delicate stage, young horses can be made or ruined. Therefore, a successful trainer or pre-trainer will seek to gain and build trust, ensuring that the yearlings feels safe and become confident while being faced with new challenges and pressures.

Although the breaking process varies from one establishment to the next, it’s good to understand each horse as an individual, based on a sound knowledge of both pedigree and physical type.

“There is something sacred and mesmerising about witnessing a horse race for the first time”

A horse’s pedigree reveals the genetic traits that have gone before. It can leave little clues as to how the horse may develop and mature, hinting at the type of performer they may become.

In the first few weeks, the emphasis will be on introducing those skittish and nervous newbies to the delights of trotting and cantering, moving forward and accepting changes in direction from their skilled and dedicated teachers.

The horse’s physicality will also play a large role. Those horses that mature faster may be ready to step up sooner to the demands of earlier breaking, while the bigger, slower-maturing horses may require extra time. Time is the great leveller, allowing bone density to increase as larger frames develop.

The process can take about four weeks, but that’s not set in stone. Some horses will start training but then need time off after a few weeks to strengthen and develop.

While their large frames are growing rapidly, this time away to strengthen and ease off the pressure can often be highly beneficial.

After a short period of being “let down” – essentially being given a rest after the hard work of yearling sales preparation – the youngsters start a lengthy process of re-education. It’s a bit like us leaving primary school for secondary education.

A good trained eye will spot the horse that may need time away. Horses who are given time off often return to training looking all the better for their rest.

Our new kids are learning all the time now, as their minds develop continuously, questioning all the new challenges that come along daily.

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green monsters” by passing through them repeatedly until the sight, feel and presence of them are mundane.

Without over-facing or rushing, yearlings tend to be trusting animals. However, if rushed or bumped along, negative experiences can lead to fear and anxiety.

Whether trotting, cantering or galloping, each horse will be given the opportunity to lead and have other horses come alongside, or “upsides”. Bumping and jostling within the string all adds to their education, helps build confidence and hones that all-important competitive streak, as well as highlighting the temperament of each horse.

Challenging the young horse by asking it to come out of its comfort zone is an important part of the yearling’s education.

As part of their acclimatization, the yearlings will generally head out in larger strings, led by an older, wiser “hack” that has steady sound temperament and a wealth of experience. These little herds will trot and canter to increase fitness, with variations in routine added to help keep these young minds active. Some strings may introduce flatwork, trotting figures of eights and circles to improve flexibility and balance. Some may allow for a slightly scenic ride back home, or longer time to pick grass.

Then comes an anxious day for teachers and youngsters alike as starting stalls are introduced. Extraordinarily, yearlings become quickly accustomed to these “scary

Challenging the young horse by asking it to come out of its comfort zone is an important part of the yearling’s education.

70 October 2017

Other practices are becoming popular in pre-race education. Paddock schooling, for instance, allows the horse to have a good first experience at the racecourse, letting the horse become accustomed to the parade ring without focusing on running in a race.

Barrier trials, while essential in Australia, are also becoming more popular in the UK, These are usually targeted at younger horses that may display slight hesitation at jumping and starting well. These “mock races” give the horse the chance to learn how to start quickly and efficiently.

Finally, with its auction appearance and many challenges now only a distant memory, the young two-year-old horse will enter serious work and be patiently prepared for that special day when his new owner sees his silks fly across the new turf on raw promise and potential.

There is something sacred and mesmerising about witnessing a horse race for the first time. Harnessing that spirit can give wings to almost any man as we continually refine the art of horsemanship, and try to fly.

®

Kingman “A truly gifted miler with exceptional Classic bloodlines, making Kingman one of the most exciting stallion prospects in the world” tony morris

First yearlings selling 2017 Contact Shane Horan or Claire Curry 2011 b Invincible Spirit - Zenda (Zamindar) 16.1hh (1.65m) to stud 2015

+44 (0)1638 731115 nominations@juddmonte.co.uk www.juddmonte.com

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Auctioneer Ollie Fowlston in Dubai at the ERA Horses in Training Sale

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Alex Mommersteeg and Scandinavian Representative Major Lennart Jarven, presenting the Tattersalls MolmĂś Sommar Handicap, Sweden

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Melissa Jordan and Matthew Prior at the Singapore Turf Club, Kranji

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Jimmy George with Frankel’s first Group 1 Winner, Shadai's homebred filly, Soul Stirring

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Melissa Jordan presenting the prize for the Premio Tattersalls Circo Massimo, Campenelle Racecourse, Rome

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Committee Member Mr SAW Lip Khai presenting the Tattersalls Trophy 2017 to winning connections Trainer: PK Leong Winner: Nature Is Nature Owner: HY Leong

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Edmond and Fiona Mahony presenting the trophies for the Tattersalls Irish 1,000 Guineas won by Winter to JP Magnier, Ryan Moore and Aidan O'Brien

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(L-R) Andres Vial, Jimmy George, John & Ana Fulto, Haras de Pirque, Chile

10 Jimmy George at Markopoulo Racecourse, Greece

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11 (L-R) Jimmy George, George Tay, Ma He, Eric Koh, Busan Racecourse, South Korea

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12 Kincsem Park, Budapest, Hungary 13 Major Lennart Jarven presenting the Tattersalls Norsk 1,000 Guineas trainer / owner Mr Bjordal

October 2017

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and GREEN

pleasant LAND Ecologist Sue Everett takes a closer look at the increasingly technical challenges facing those who protect the grass beneath our feet – and hooves

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urf is just the same old green grass; or is it? Not so, across the fair miles of grass gallops that form the British racing industry’s vital training grounds around the English towns of Newmarket and Epsom, and the racing village of Lambourn.

Under the stewardship of the Jockey Club Estates (JCE), this turf and the soil that supports it, “are the natural resources for the horseracing industry, like financial services are to the City of London”, says Nick Patton, Managing Director of JCE. Much of the 3,000-acre [1,200 hectares] estate is ancient grassland that has not seen a plough in living memory.

Across these areas, wild grasses such as wild Red Fescue, Crested Dog’s Tail, Brown Bent and the fragrant Sweet Vernal grass growing on undisturbed soil together form the essential ingredients for an industry worth an estimated £250 million each year.

Used by nearly 3,500 horses daily, maintaining the training gallops and other parts of the grassland across the estate in good condition is a challenge, requiring

the application of science plus the expert knowledge of skilled and dedicated teams of staff working every day throughout the year.

And, while the principal management objective for the estate is to provide safe, effectively and sustainably managed facilities for training some of the world’s finest racehorses, it must also balance other uses and objectives, including nature conservation and public access.

These require sensitive interfacing with local people, partnerships working with organisations that include the Epsom Downs Conservators and the government agency Natural England, coupled with special management interventions.

A significant acreage is immensely valuable for nature.

For example, nearly 800 acres [324 hectares] of the Newmarket training grounds are designated as nationally important Sites of Special Scientific Interest for ancient, flower-rich downland turf and rare and endangered wild plants that include the Lizard Orchid, Pasque Flower and Spiked Speedwell.

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“We have very extensive areas of open spaces where we allow public access at no cost to the taxpayer” – Nick Patton, Jockey Club Estates Managing Director

Chalkhill blue Part of this designated nature zone, the Devil’s Dyke, is an Anglo-Saxon linear earthwork and dry ditch, constructed around 1,300 years ago, which is also a scheduled Ancient Monument and European Special Area of Conservation.

To promote the wild species of these rather special grasslands means taking a more “hands-off” approach to management. They are not used for racehorse training, are mown less or cut for hay and no fertilisers or pesticides are used. Part of the Devil’s Dyke is occasionally sheepgrazed and invading scrub must be kept at bay.

Lying within a very intensively farmed region often called the “bread-basket” of England, these areas of the estate provide valuable places not just for wild flora but also for ground-nesting birds such as Skylark and Meadow Pipit and downland butterflies that include the Chalkhill Blue – a species that is otherwise scarce in this English region.

This conservation effort brings its own reward to those responsible for protecting such a rare and valuable natural resourse, as Patton confirms: “Our staff love to hear the Skylarks singing in the areas we leave for them to safely nest undisturbed.”

Not that JCE staff are the only beneficiaries of Mother Nature’s beauty. The Newmarket training grounds and gallops are within walking distance of a bustling market town and a population close to 20,000. Many of those walk and enjoy the land and landscape after 1pm, when the gallops are no longer in use.

Pasque flower At Epsom, an Act of Parliament made in 1986 formalised a right of access for the public, providing it does not interfere with the training of horses. A particular challenge for all the land with permissive and statutory public access is dealing with some of the inevitable conflicts associated with dog-walking. Putting this into context, an estimated one in four British households owns at least one dog.

That means there could be approximately 7,000 pet dogs on the doorstep of Newmarket’s training grounds and 3,000 close to Epsom’s grounds. As well as members of the public walking their dogs, there are also an increasing number of professional dog walkers walking two, three or more dogs at any one time.

Following several near incidents of racehorses being upset by dogs, new dog-control measures (dogs on leads before noon and at other times if horses are present) were introduced on the Epsom grounds in 2016 to ensure a safe environment for members of the horseracing industry and the public. Fortunately, this intervention seems to have been successful.

The training grounds across the estate provide a major resource for Britain’s horseracing industry that is of immense cultural and economic importance, while also providing green and pleasant open spaces for people to relax and for nature to thrive. Sustaining the turf and its soil beneath, now and for future generations, is a challenging task requiring dedication, expertise and teamwork around the clock.

Fortunately, it’s a job that is in safe hands.

76 October 2017

HIGH maintenance Keeping turf and soil in good heart requires a careful regime of mowing, resting and using gallops on rotation, with careful and limited application of fertiliser based on regular soil analysis. A mile of “watered gallops” at Newmarket is kept in good condition during dry periods by irrigation, and Newmarket’s “peat” gallops are tended by the addition of organic matter when needed.

Climate-change impacts are already apparent in this area: there are longer periods without rain, placing increasing challenges on turf maintenance.

Harrowing, rolling and spiking to aerate the ground are also practised to help to promote good root growth, reduce grass thatch build-up, promote grass tillering and prevent soil compaction.

Mowing provides the foundation management. The cutting height varies between individual gallops, but grass is often kept to a height of around 12 centimetres, with a closer cut only at the end of the growing season or when individual gallops are taken out of use for a while.

JOCKEY CLUB ESTATES TRAINING GROUNDS Lambourn, West Berkshire (500 acres/202 hectares): Purchased and developed

by JCE in 2006. Now used by 800 horses daily.

Training ground of Many Clouds – the 2015 Grand National Winner.

Epsom, Surrey (250 acres/101 hectares): Currently used by 160 horses daily and home of the English Derby, Epsom was the training ground of Eclipse, the undefeated 18th-century British Thoroughbred racehorse who appears in the pedigree of most modern Thoroughbreds. Estimated to contribute £3m per year to the local economy.

Knowing when to mow and how often is both a science and an art, dependent on a ground-keeper’s expert and intimate knowledge of the estate. Mowing machinery has been carefully selected, with a cutter developed in association with Votex, to a specification with a GPS system (to avoid overlapping cuts), lowimpact turf tyres and a wider cutting bar that reduces the number of tractor passes. This saves time and also reduces the risk of soil compaction.

Some of the most intensively used gallops are occasionally re-seeded with suitable grass species, usually several varieties of Fescues and Rye-grass that are chosen to produce the desired hard-wearing and springy turf. The availability of artificiallysurfaced all-weather gallops is a necessary resource when more vulnerable turf gallops need to be closed due to prevailing inclement weather and poor ground conditions.

Newmarket, Suffolk (2,500 acres/1,011 hectares): The largest training grounds in Britain and an international centre of excellence for the racing industry, used by 2,500 horses daily under the care of 80 trainers, with 14 miles of artificial all-weather gallops and 70 miles of turf gallops. The racing industry here contributes an estimated £250 million to the local economy, employing 3,500 people.

October 2017

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ITALL ADDS UPFOR

FRANKEL

Frankel the racehorse was a class apart, but the statistics show that it will be as a sire that he can join the pantheon of world greats, says Bill Oppenheim

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A

s everyone involved in the breeding side of the Thoroughbred horse business knows, it’s one thing what they did on the racetrack, but when they go to stud it’s a whole new ball game.

Until Sea The Stars won six Group 1 races from six starts, at a mile (once), a mile and a quarter (three times), and a mile and a half (twice, the Epsom Derby and the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe) as a three-year-old in 2009, Secretariat was considered the best racehorse any of us had ever seen. Yet at stud he was barely a top 10 sire, and survives in pedigrees primarily as the broodmare sire of sires. Scientists caution us that breeding populations tend to breed back to the middle, and outliers like the greatest racehorses are particularly prone to that trend.

Sea The Stars’ reign as the greatest racehorse of modern times lasted precisely 18 months, until April 30, 2011, when Frankel, making his sixth career start, and his second as a three-year-old, blasted off to a 10-length lead after a half-mile in the 2,000 Guineas at Newmarket, and coasted home a sixlength winner. I was privileged to be there that day, watching the race from the Tattersalls box, and it was absolutely breathtaking. You thought you were watching a tearaway pacemaker... and then you realized it was Frankel.

He went on to finish his racing career a perfect 14for-14, stepping up to 10 furlongs in the second half of his four-year-old year. As a racehorse, he seemed to be from a different planet. While Sea The Stars was rated 140 by the venerable publication Timeform at the end of his three-year-old year, Frankel was rated 143 at the end of his three-year-old year, and 147 – the highest rating ever awarded – at the conclusion of his four-year-old year.

In 2010, Sea The Stars covered arguably the best book for a first-year sire in history: there is a statistic abbreviated in the Class Production Index (CPI) that assigns an index figure to a horse’s race record. The average CPI of Sea The Stars’ book of mares in 2010 was 11.04 (the average in the commercial population is estimated to be 2.00).

Frankel’s first book of mares in 2013 had an average CPI of 12.47.

At the 2015 yearling sales, 26 yearlings from Frankel’s first crop were offered for sale, of which 19 were sold for an average of $712,617* (approximately 570,000 gns),

80 October 2017

“By several metrics he is siring the highest number and percentage of good (if not yet Group 1) horses seen in a long time – if ever”

and a median of $500,000* (approximately 400,000 gns).

However, there were rumblings: he patently did not “stamp” his foals, meaning they tended to look more like the dams than they did like him. This hasn’t proven over the years to be a particularly reliable guide, but people were still nervous.

Frankel’s first foals are now well over halfway through their three-year-old year, and the proof is on the racecourse. At this writing, the grumbling is that he still does not have a Group 1 winner in Europe, but his filly Soul Stirring is a Group 1 Classic winner in Japan, where she won the Japanese Oaks. I believe that it’s just a matter of time, because by several metrics he is siring the highest number and percentage of good (if not yet Group 1) horses seen in a long time – if ever.

The first useful metric is “percentage of Group Stakes Winners (GSW) to named foals”, of which there were 113 in his first crop. By the end of July, he had sired 10 GSW, which is 8.8 per cent of foals – and his dual Classic-placed colt Cracksman (second in the Irish Derby, third in the Epsom Derby) wasn’t even a Group winner by the time we did that calculation. By contrast, Frankel’s sire, Galileo, universally acclaimed as the No. 1 sire on the planet, has sired 8.4 per cent GSW/foals.

A second metric is ‘percentage of APEX (Annual Progeny Earnings Index) A Runners/foals”. APEX A Runners are only the top two per cent of earners in a racing population; 10 per cent A Runners/foals is almost unheard of these days. Frankel already had 14 individual A Runners by the end of July, which is 12.3 per cent A Runners/foals and there will be more to come. Frankel himself improved by four points, by Timeform ratings, from three to four, and it is almost a certainty that a lot of Frankel’s runners will be even better at four than they are this year at three.

Finally, there is a metric that measures the percentage of runs by a sire’s progeny that achieve certain threshold Timeform speed ratings levels: Timeform 85+ and Timeform 95+. The best sires not named Frankel will score 30 per cent runs rated 85+; Frankel scores 60 per cent. The best sires not named Frankel will score 15 per cent runs rated 95+; Frankel scores 31 per cent.

Early though they are, these metrics tell us Frankel is well on his way to being a world top five sire. You know how you see horses described as having a “high cruising

The average CPI book of mares in 2010

speed”? That’s Frankel so far as a sire. He is siring the highest level of “average” horse I’ve ever seen.

What you then want to see from those horses with the really high cruising speed is that devastating finishing kick. My crystal ball says that’s coming. Sires who start out siring a lot of good horses rarely don’t start coming up with Group 1-winning stars. Even if it hasn’t happened by now, my prediction is very much that it’s going to. *Courtesy of Thoroughbred Daily News

Percentage of GSW to named foals

SEA THE STARS

GALILEO

11.04

The average CPI first book of mares in 2013

8.4

Percentage of GSW to named foals (to end of July)

FRANKEL

FRANKEL

12.47 CPI = Class Production Index (the average in the commercial population is estimated to be 2.00).

8.8

GSW = Group Stakes Winners Since the data for Bill’s prescient piece was originally compiled back in July, Frankel’s progeny continue to win Group events.

October 2017

81

ROYAL ASCOT

WINNERS

by Tattersalls

appointment BARNEY ROY St James’s Palace Stakes, Group 1 sold Tattersalls December Foal Sale by The Irish National Stud for 30,000 gns Among the very best three-year-olds of 2017, the Richard Hannon-trained colt was well bought at the Tattersalls December Foal sales back in 2014.

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THE TIN MAN Diamond Jubilee Stakes, Group 1 sold Tattersalls October Yearling Sale, Book 1 by Newsells Park Stud to Anthony Stroud BS for 80,000 gns A late flourish under Tom Queally brought a huge Royal Ascot cheer from the horse’s syndicate owners, proving once and for all that big winners are possible for the many and not just the few.

HIGHLAND REEL Prince of Wales’s Stakes, Group 1 sold Tattersalls October Yearling Sale, Book 1 by Camas Park Stud to J Warren Bloodstock for 460,000 gns What a remarkable career Highland Reel is having. The five-year-old’s win at Ascot was a Royal Meeting highlight and made it Group 1 win number six. His yearling full-brother is going to be a busy boy at Tattersalls October Sale, Book 1.

84 October 2017

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IDAHO Hardwicke Stakes, Group 2 sold Tattersalls October Yearling Sale, Book 1 by Camas Park Stud to MV Magnier for 750,000 gns Idaho and Highland Reel’s dam, Hveger, has visited Galileo seven times, proving there is little point in messing with a winning formula. A full-brother is in the Tattersalls October Yearling Sale, Book 1 this year. You’ll get only short prices on lightning striking again.

OUT DO Wokingham Stakes sold Tattersalls Autumn Horses in Training Sale by Bedford House Stables to Hemsley Bloodstock for 18,000 gns sold Tattersalls October Yearling Sale, Book 1 by Voute Sales to C Gordon-Watson Bloodstock for 55,000 gns A battle-hardened eight-year-old speedster, Out Do rewarded connections’ patience with a valuable Royal Ascot prize that took his earnings through the quarter-of-a-million mark.

86 October 2017

RARE RHYTHM Duke of Edinburgh Stakes sold Tattersalls October Yearling Sale, Book 1 by Highclere Stud to John Ferguson Bloodstock for 650,000 gns Defying a year-long absence, Rare Rhythm proved the virtue of perseverance in the best setting possible. It proved no fluke. The five-year-old repeated the feat next time out at York in a manner that left the handicappers scratching their heads.

SNOANO Wolferton Handicap, Listed sold Tattersalls Autumn Horses in Training Sale by Shadwell Stud to Stroud Coleman BS / Tim Easterby for 21,000 gns sold Tattersalls December Foal Sale by Minster Stud to Shadwell Estate Company for 36,000 gns Snoano has given his owners a high-old time on the racecourse. To date, the Tim Easterby-trained fiveyear-old has run 25 times, won five races and earned connections more than ÂŁ130,000 in prize money.

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BLESS HIM Britannia Stakes sold Tattersalls October Yearling Sale, Book 1 by Cooneen Stud to Richard Knight Bloodstock Agent for 100,000 gns sold Tattersalls December Foal Sale by Rosyground Stud to Dermot Farrington for 65,000 gns Bless Him needed no divine intervention at Royal Ascot. The David Simcock-trained sophomore won in a style that suggests more valuable prizes will come his way before too long.

ZHUI FENG Royal Hunt Cup sold Tattersalls October Yearling Sale, Book 1 by Corduff Stud to Peter & Ross Doyle Bloodstock for 340,000 gns sold Tattersalls December Foal Sale by Jockey Hall Stud to Blandford Bloodstock for 235,000 gns Zhui Feng has been a model of consistency for his owners John Connolly and Odile Griffith and gave them a day out they won’t soon forget. The Royal Meeting victory took the four-year-old’s prize money earnings north of £310,000.

THOMAS HOBSON Ascot Stakes sold Tattersalls October Yearling Sale, Book 2 by Mount Coote Stud to Blandford Bloodstock for 35,000 gns Punchestown, Cheltenham and Royal Ascot all come alike to the Willie Mullins-trained seven-year-old and, according to his trainer, a trip “Down Under” and a tilt at the Melbourne Cup awaits this enthusiastic son of Halling.

His time is now Since Dubawi’s first runners set foot on a racecourse, no sire anywhere has surpassed his ratio of Group winners.

And he gets 16% Stakes winners to starters – or 20% from his best mares – stats that mark him out as one of the very best stallions in any era.

Athletic prowess? Absolutely.

The heart and mind to be racehorses? Most certainly.

That’s the essence of what makes a Dubawi so good.

Much more on Dubawi at www.darleystallions.com

Darley

+44 (0)1638 730070 +353 (0)45 527600

90 October 2017

The ties

THAT BIND The bloodstock and racing world has closer links to the sport-horse industry than many people imagine, as Catherine Austen discovers

A

t 4.30pm on the first Saturday in June, the dining room at Tattersalls Ireland was packed with people watching Wings Of Eagles on a big screen whistle past a large field to win the Investec Derby. Among them were the trainer Gordon Elliott, Juddmonte Farms’ Jamie and Camilla Trotter, Lorna Fowler and Jessica Harrington.

The Duke of Roxburghe wasn’t there – he was outside on the cross-country course, watching his daughter Bella fly round the three-star track. Half an hour later, when top British rider Oliver Townend had a particularly large grin on his face as he rode into the one-star prize-giving, it wasn’t because he had won the class: it was because he held a £20 each-way ticket on Wings Of Eagles at 50/1.

The three-day event at Tattersalls Ireland every June has become Irish eventing’s showpiece and one of the most popular events in Europe. Its permanent facilities are a real treat after the temporary tented arrangements at most horse trials, the Ian Stark-designed cross-country courses are fair and beautifully built, and riders, owners and supporters alike all get a positive, warm welcome.

The prestigious event also shows the ties binding the bloodstock and racing world to the sport-horse industry are closer than many might think. If thoroughbred racing and breeding forms the central pinnacle of the horse world, the enormous equestrian sport and leisure industries are the foothills surrounding it.

Thoroughbreds have always been prized in eventing for their stamina, speed and bravery. In the intensely professional and competitive modern-day eventing, “blood” horses can lack the movement and extravagant jump of a warmblood. For a while after the “endurance” elements of cross-country day – the roads and tracks and steeplechase phases – were lost from the sport in 2004, the tide turned against Thoroughbreds.

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However, at the highest four-star level of eventing – Badminton, Burghley and four other events worldwide, including Kentucky in the US – those original qualities remain key. While there are many more ex-racehorses competing at the higher levels of the sport in America, Australia and New Zealand than there are in Europe, the clever continental breeders of sport horses have realised how to combine “blood” with movement and jump.

There is now barely a top horse without some smart Thoroughbred breeding in its pedigree.

Take the 1978 St Leger winner Julio Mariner: he became a top-class sire of showjumpers, dressage horses and eventers after being exported to the Netherlands in 1988, and his genes can be seen in the families of Olympic medal winners today.

However, it’s not just the horses that migrate across the apparently rigid boundaries between racing and other equine disciplines.

The National Hunt and eventing worlds have long had strong connections: many event riders are called in to school chasers over fences, for example, and Tina Cook won double gold at the 2009 European Eventing Championships on Miners Frolic, a National Hunt-bred son of Miners Lamp owned in part by the Embiricoses, who owned her father Josh Gifford’s Grand National hero, Aldaniti.

Andrew Hoy winning Badminton 2006 on Moonfleet

Irish trainer Ted Walsh, whose daughter Katie evented up to three-star level, bred the outstanding event horse Lenamore.

The little grey won Burghley in 2010 with Caroline Powell and took team bronze medals at both the World Equestrian Games in 2010 and the London Olympics in 2012.

More surprising are the links between the Flat scene and eventing, but once one starts looking, they jump up at every turn.

Sir Peter Vela is one example. He is one of New Zealand’s foremost owners and breeders, through New Zealand Bloodstock and Pencarrow Stud, and Eminent carried his colours to victory in the bet365 Craven Stakes at Newmarket this April. Sir Peter has been a long-time sponsor and supporter of the greatest event rider of them all, Sir Mark Todd, who himself trained a New Zealand Oaks winner, Bramble Rose, in his eight-year career hiatus between 2000 and 2008.

“I’ve always loved racing and have been involved in it in various different ways,” says Sir Mark. “There have always been stronger links than many people realise between eventing and racing, and they continue to develop.

“There is less chance of winning any real prize money if you own an event horse – although that is changing – but the relationship between the horse, the owner and the rider is often closer and more personal, which attracts people. At the end of the day, a good horse is a good horse – it doesn’t matter whether it is a racehorse, an event horse, a dressage horse or a showjumper.”

92 October 2017

Andrew Hoy winning Badminton 2006 on Moonfleet

And Irish agent John Troy is owner-breeder of Loughton Pearl, a Cruising mare competing successfully at advanced level with Mark Kyle. The Leicester-based Irish eventer also rides horses for Ronnie Bartlett, sponsor at the Cheltenham Festival and owner of Arkle Chase winner Simonsig. Bartlett also owns New Zealand former world champion Blyth Tait’s current four-star ride, Bear Necessity V, while Blyth himself has bred Flat and jumps winners.

The Sangster family, meanwhile, has interests in several horses with New Zealand riders based around Marlborough, such as Tim and Jonelle Price.

“There have always been stronger links than many people realise between eventing and racing, and they continue to develop.”

– Sir Mark Todd

Someone who knows the disciplines of racing and eventing inside out is Lady Lloyd Webber. She rode for Britain at under-21 and senior level, was part of the team that won gold at the 1985 World Championships and finished second at Burghley in 1987. After her marriage in 1991, she and her husband Andrew founded Watership Down Stud, but her ties to eventing remain strong. She is a trustee of the British Eventing Charitable Foundation, her daughter Bella events, and Madeleine herself has been competing her own young horse, Unfinished Business, in the prestigious Burghley Young Event Horse classes this year.

“It is wonderful and so appreciated that Tattersalls supports eventing,” Lady Lloyd Webber says. “The worlds of racing and eventing are getting closer; there are more synergies than ever with the Retraining of Racehorse (RoR) classes (the final at Barbury Castle is worth £2,000 to the winner, which is a good prize in eventing) and the need for thoroughbred blood in the breeding. Not surprisingly, many of the stakeholders are interested or involved in both disciplines.”

Sir Mark Todd

October 2017

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In America, the crossover has long been well-established.

George Strawbridge, owner of brilliant racehorses such as Moonlight Cloud, Forever Together and Selkirk, owned many of event rider Bruce Davidson’s top horses, such as his 1995 Badminton winner Eagle Lion. He still has eventers with riders such as Boyd Martin today.

Trainer Graham Motion sent Icabad Crane, who came third in the 2008 Preakness Stakes, to eventing with the US’s most successful event rider, Philip Dutton, when his racing career was over.

Swiss businesswoman Barbara Keller is another who owns racehorses and eventers. Odeliz gave her a first Group One winner in the Prix Jean Romanet in 2015, but she derives as much pleasure from seeing Australian triple Olympic gold medallist Andrew Hoy ride her eventers, The Blue Frontier and Right To Play’s Jack Sparrow.

Andrew has been involved with the Victoria Racing Club in Melbourne for many years. He and his German wife Stefanie met Barbara there during the Melbourne Cup several years running. She invited them out to St Moritz for the White Turf a few times, and the relationship progressed from there.

Lady Lloyd Webber

“It is wonderful and so appreciated that Tattersalls supports eventing. The worlds of racing and eventing are getting closer” – Lady Lloyd Webber

“Barbara is a through-and-through horsewoman who loves riding her horses and watching them compete, whether it is at race meetings round the world or now at horse trials,” said Andrew. “She came to Badminton for the first time this year and was blown away by it.”

Hoy, of course, took the Badminton title in 2006 aboard Moonfleet, owned by Susan Magnier. All the Magnier children evented in their teens, as did Aidan O’Brien’s children. Sarah and Ana both won the pony eventing class at Tattersalls, while both Joseph and Donnacha finished second, and all four represented Ireland at the European Pony Eventing championships. Trust those two families, horsemen and horsewomen to their bones, to take pleasure in success with horses wherever they can find it.

94 October 2017

Bella Lloyd Webber and Jazzin Along at Tattersalls International Horse Trials

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move¡ment 'mu:vm(ə)nt (noun) An act of changing physical location or position 96 October 2017

Capturing the world

IN MOTION Artist Jeremy Houghton has turned his attention to the paddocks of late but, as Nigel Reid reports, the work remains about movement

T

he definition of movement is something that has captivated renowned artist Jeremy Houghton for many years, but it’s a term that might equally apply to the artist himself.

Houghton has become an artist in demand in racing and breeding circles and, this year alone, he has undertaken private commissions for Shadwell and Juddmonte. He has also undertaken work for the Royal Studs and his equine output has been on display at the contemporary equestrian specialist Osborne Studio Gallery in Belgravia.

Houghton was born, brought up and still resides in the Cotswolds, and horses have always been a part of his life. That familiarity with his subject shines through an equestrian portfolio that includes many racing and breeding subjects.

After finishing school, Houghton studied at Exeter University, graduating with a degree in Law in 1996. Having continued to paint throughout his time as an undergraduate and, later, alongside a series of teaching jobs in schools, he went on to study fine art at the Slade School of Fine Art in London and then at AixMarseille University, France.

Houghton left his studies in Marseille to take up a job as Head of Art at the International School of Cape Town. He combined teaching at the school with travel in Africa (including a residency at Rorke’s Drift, the famous former mission station in KwaZulu-Natal) and continuing to paint and draw until 2004, when he returned to the UK with the intention of developing a full-time career as an artist.

In 2009, Houghton was commissioned to paint HM The Queen presenting a new riband to Her Majesty’s Gentlemen at Arms on the occasion of their Quincentenary, and his reputation as a collected artist then began to take flight – there’s that movement again.

Following a solo exhibition at the Saatchi Gallery London in 2010, Houghton’s international reputation was established. His skill in depicting movement and light led to his selection as one of the Official BT Art of Sport Artists for the London 2012 Olympics. In the same year, Houghton received an award from the Society of Equestrian Artists for “Best Sporting Artist”.

Jeremy Houghton

High-profile commissions and residencies have followed regularly. Houghton was invited to become Artist in Residence at Highgrove, the royal estate of HRH The Prince of Wales, resulting in the exhibition “A Portrait of Highgrove”. And, in the summer of 2013, Houghton became Tour Artist for the Aston Martin Centenary Tour of Europe. In 2015, he spent a lot of time as artist-in-residence for Land Rover Ben Ainslie Racing trying to keep himself and his materials dry while spending weeks chasing those magnificent racing yachts of the Americas Cup. October 2017

97

Houghton spoke with us earlier this summer while enduring a lengthy rain delay at Wimbledon where he was working as this year’s Championship Artist.

“I’m extremely privileged to be the Championship Artist at Wimbledon,” he says. “Normally, past artists at Wimbledon were asked to capture what happens behind the scenes, but they want me to produce six paintings of all the finals for their collection.

“I have got two weeks to enjoy the tennis and take down all the information I need in my sketchbook.”

Houghton has been painting these various masters of their athletic disciplines for years, but never tires of the excitement he feels at being so close to such power and dynamism, whether it be tennis, sailing, motor racing or polo or indeed racehorses.

“These are the rock stars,” he says with genuine excitement.

Not that Houghton was complaining about the rain. Part of his working process involves him taking time away from the subject to allow a kind of gestation period.

“I like to distance myself from the subject once I’ve taken initial sketches,” he reveals. “I can then edit right down until I’m left with the work that I want to concentrate on.”

But, irrespective of how fast the subject matter is hitting a ball, driving, running, sailing or galloping, the process remains the same – and it is painstaking.

Houghton will make several sketches and take sometimes hundreds of photographs of his subject: “It’s all helping me find the right balance of tone, the right balance of light areas and dark areas, so that once I start constructing the picture I’ve got a healthy balance of tonal shapes which will create an interesting composition that will help me bring out the best.”

After that, he then returns to his studio to begin the editing process: “From those sketches and photographs, I’ll distil the ones I think have got potential right down to just two or three images, or compositions that I think will work.”

The perpetual chase to capture movement applies to the artist, as much as the work. From the student studying 98 October 2017

“I like to distance myself from the subject once I’ve taken initial sketches” – Jeremy Houghton law at Exeter bunking off lectures (“I got my degree but I’m not sure who was more surprised, them or me!”) in a Volkswagen camper van that doubled as a mobile studio, to the residencies and private commissions that have followed, Jeremy’s endeavour continues at pace.

It also seems likely horses will continue to feature heavily in Houghton’s portfolio (“I’d quite like to try the Cheltenham Festival one day,” he admits), but with the possibility of a Rugby World Cup in Japan in 2019 on the cards, there will be plenty of movement elsewhere for him to chase and capture.

As for the artist, the movement of his career remains steadfastly upwards.

Heart FELT TIPS We’d like to thank Jeremy for taking time out from his busy schedule to talk with us and to mention his Heart Felt Tips initiative.

Heart Felt Tips organises for children who are suffering economic hardship to receive pencil cases packed with pens and other art supplies: creative tools that they all too often lack. These pencil cases also contain “Tip Sheets”, which offer ideas to stimulate imaginative thinking.

Creative stimulus and hope for the future shouldn’t be denied to families having a hard time – Heart Felt Tips aims to help ensure that doesn’t happen.

For more information, visit www.heartfelttips.co.uk

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