The best value sire in Britain of blacktype performers over the last three yearsno stallion standing for less than £25,000 in Britain has sired more blacktype performers in that period.
10% BLACKTYPE HORSES TO RUNNERS
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As this issue went to press news came through that 20 jockeys had been sanctioned under the new whip guidelines by the Whip Review Committee, with one horse, Lunar Discovery, disqualified from second place in an Ayr bumper. Hardly the best environment for the sport as we approach the big spring festivals at Cheltenham and Aintree.
Lunar Discovery’s conditional rider Charlotte Jones was found to have used her whip 11 times, four over the permitted maximum level, therefore triggering an automatic disqualification and a 14-day ban for Jones.
A statement sent out on behalf of Lunar Discovery’s trainer, James Moffatt, owners Kevin and Anne Glastonbury and the rider said they were “disappointed and upset” by the verdict though they were “accepting of the outcome that the review panel had reached”.
Brant Dunshea, BHA Chief Regulatory Officer, said: “Jockeys have had more than four weeks to adapt to the new rules through the bedding-in period. As the jockeys themselves have stated, it is now up to them to ensure that they ride within the new rules.
“Disqualification has been introduced as the ultimate deterrent for overuse of the whip. There is simply no excuse for using the whip four or more times above the permitted level.
“It was always likely that the disqualification rule would need to be invoked in the early stages of the implementation of the new rules. We hope that this sends a clear message to all jockeys and reinforces this deterrent effect.”
Lorcan Williams will miss Cheltenham after using his whip twice above the permitted level, and above shoulder height, during his winning ride on the Paul Nicholls-trained Makin’yourmindup in a Grade 2 contest at Haydock on February 18. He has been banned for 18 days. “This is a breach of the rules in most racing jurisdictions,” Dunshea said.
He continued: “Lorcan was advised on numerous occasions throughout the bedding-
in period of rides that would amount to a breach of the new Rules should he continue to ride in the same manner.
“The Review Committee have included a mandatory session with the British Racing School as part of his penalty. This is part of the purpose of the Committee, to bring about improvements in riding standards.”
Williams will no doubt feel hard done by and it’s impossible not to have a degree of sympathy for a young rider making his way in the sport being deprived of his opportunity to perform on the biggest stage of all.
Jump racing now faces the prospect of whip-related matters taking the gloss off its showpiece meetings, particularly when jockeys based in Ireland – where the rules have not changed – are thrown into the mix. They’ll have to adapt and quickly.
Of course, there will be plenty of positive stories to come out of Cheltenham – one man hoping for another Festival fairytale is Steve Preston (The Big Interview, pages 24-27), who savoured the Champion Chase victory of Sire De Grugy with his co-owners in 2014.
Amazingly, Preston and co will return to Prestbury Park for another shot at the two-mile feature with Editeur Du Gite. Could lightning strike twice? The nine-year-old loves Cheltenham and has already taken the scalps of top-rated duo Energumene and Edwardstone this season. Let’s hope the action on the track isn’t overshadowed by whip referrals to High Holborn.
“Let’s hope the action on the track isn’t overshadowed by whip referrals”
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Last month saw the Asian Racing Conference take place in Melbourne. The event seemed to be well attended, with some of the sport’s heavy hitters meeting to discuss a number of key issues that are facing all horseracing jurisdictions globally. British representatives included the BHA, racecourse groups and betting companies. What emerged, if you ignore the usual noise around the dreaded whip discussions, which was entirely unhelpful, were some common themes.
The attraction of the next generation of fans to the sport from Generation Z, people born between 1995 and 2010, has been touched on by British racing but no joined-up plan has been activated. There have been some successful initiatives targeting university students, but this has been driven in the main by entrepreneurial activities rather than an industry-inspired promotional strategy.
Traditional marketing and promotional activities may not work with a generation that interacts with each other, society and the world in a very different way than those that have gone before. Given our existing demographic, it is concerning that the next generation of fans, punters, syndicate members and owners are not being targeted in a coordinated fashion.
The rising interest in micro-ownership and syndicates is an obvious route for younger people to embark on the ownership journey, and the work that is being done in this area needs to continue as part of an overall package to attract new blood into the sport. Breaking down barriers, such as the relaxing of the dress code, will also help, but the real trick is to engage and communicate on the same platforms as your target audience and we have a long way to go on this front.
If attracting the next generation is both a threat and an opportunity, the theme of illegal betting and integrity emerged as a common issue flashing red on many countries’ dashboards. Whilst different jurisdictions have reason to be more concerned to protect their monopolistic and regulated gambling structures, Britain is not immune to the issue.
A recent pronouncement from an official at the Gambling Commission dismissed concerns that the increased financial and affordability checks were driving British punters on to the black market – and individuals out of racehorse ownership. However, in Melbourne this issue was highlighted as one of the biggest threats to the worldwide growth of horseracing. It is not difficult to imagine that the increasingly tech savvy younger generations will have very little difficulty accessing black market offshore betting platforms, which produce no levy or tax revenues and are of course entirely unregulated.
Illegal markets flourish in environments where government restrictions make black markets a more enticing proposition. It is a
common-sense argument, but one that the Gambling Commission appears happy to dismiss.
Making racing easier to understand – and therefore easier to sell – has been a constant subject over the years. There is no doubt that with the increased popularity of the World Pool betting races, a concerted effort around harmonisation of rules and races would really help. Whilst cultural differences exist around how societies across the world view the use of horses, a levelling up of basic rules and welfare concerns would be an obvious and beneficial start point to drive a global expansion.
Innovation of the product is taking place across the globe with new races, new fixtures and obviously greater rewards. Ongoing
strategy work has a real chance to allow the British racing product to further establish itself as the world leader.
There is a tendency to look overseas and just see headlinegrabbing prize-money totals, but not everything is blooming in the gardens of our neighbours, judging from the output of the conferences. We have a world-leading product; the government needs to back it with sensible actions around the gambling review, and racing leaders need to react to the fundamental issues that are facing the whole world.
Finally, we must also address the apparent changes to the global climate. Environmentally sustainable solutions to see the sport through times of extreme weather must be looked at and innovative solutions found. Reliance on the way things have been done for decades is no longer an option – new problems demand new solutions and opportunities to exploit.
“The real trick is to engage and communicate on the same platforms as your target audience”
Sea The Stars - Aghareed (Kingmambo)
THE HIGHEST-RATED TURF HORSE IN THE WORLD FOR A DECADE
A breathtaking six-time Gr.1 winner
Fee: £80,000 October 1st SLF
New for 2023
Showcasing - Roodeye (Inchinor)
THE EXPLOSIVE GROUP 1 SUSSEX WINNING MILER
His frst foals reached prices of 110,000gns, €95,000 and 90,000gns
Fee: £15,000 January 1st SLF
Showcasing - Bird Key (Cadeaux Genereux)
AN ELECTRIFYING START WITH HIS FIRST 2YOS
inc. Royal Ascot Gr.2 Coventry Stakes winner BRADSELL
Fee: £6,000 January 1st SLF
Invincible Spirit - Madany (Acclamation)
THE ROYAL ASCOT GROUP 1 WINNING SPRINTER
Defeated Sioux Nation, Invincible Army & Sands Of Mali in the Commonwealth Cup
Fee: £5,000 January 1st SLF
Standing at Derrinstown Stud
Mehmas - Pardoven (Clodovil)
THE HIGHEST-RATED SPRINTER IN EUROPE
Emphatic 3 3⁄4 length winner of the Gr. 1 Sprint Cup
Fee: € 15,000 January 1st SLF
Cape Cross - Asheerah (Shamardal)
A PROVEN SIRE
New for 2023
Sired a Gr.2 Arc weekend double in 2022 with ANMAAT and AL QAREEM
Fee: € 5,000 January 1st SLF
Will
(0)7787
With spring here, or at the very least just around the corner, it is time to look forward to and enjoy those vital weeks of the year when hopes are highest in the thoroughbred world as we welcome another busy breeding and covering season.
I use the word enjoy deliberately, because that is what everyone involved should be thinking, as on the one hand we see new-born foals emerge bright-eyed and on the other we fulfil long-planned matings, each taking place on a daily basis.
As I have said before in this column, thoroughbred breeding and racing have to be aspirational. We must have hopes and dreams about the outcome of all our decisions to be part of this exciting industry.
We have to believe that the next foal we produce will exceed our expectations at either the sales or on the racetrack, or both, and that we will be able to savour the financial or sporting success which comes with triumph, however small, but the greater the better.
Breeding is not a pursuit for pessimists. While the TBA’s Economic Impact Study, which was released to acclaim in January, paints a picture of the disturbing financial position that many breeders find themselves in, it also highlights the positive outcome of the Great British Bonus (GBB) scheme and how that is changing perceptions and reality around British-bred fillies.
Since its introduction by the TBA in June 2020, there has been an increase of 16.3 per cent in the auction price of GBB-eligible fillies. For foals alone the figure shows an improvement of almost 31 per cent, while the average price for jump-bred fillies has gone up by 26.5 per cent.
That latter statistic is particularly noteworthy. The breeding of National Hunt horses in Britain had been in decline for years, but TBA-driven initiatives such as the Elite Mares’ Scheme, the Mare Owners Premium Scheme (MOPS) and now GBB have been followed by a very noticeable turnaround in British breeding operations in this important sector.
Instead of being on a continuing decline, the number of foals with an intended career in jump racing born in Britain between 2019 and 2022 has increased by 16.4 per cent, from 671 to 781. The figures might seem small when set against the total numbers in Ireland, but they need to be measured against that country’s equivalent increase of 0.8 per cent in the same period.
There are more National Hunt mares being bred in Britain and more stallions whose main designation is to sire jump horses. A sector that was on its knees has been resuscitated by very modest, but targeted, interventions aimed at
changing behaviour.
There is still a long way to go, as GBB has been running for only two and a half years, a very short time in the longterm business of breeding horses. Changing behaviour for the 2021 breeding season was always going to be difficult, but the new Weatherbys Fact Book shows that the number of GB foals born last year increased by six per cent on 2020 and three per cent on 2021, and although the number of active broodmares continued to decline, there were more mares entering the system and British stallions covered a higher percentage of British-based mares.
Supporting the beginning of a horse’s racing career through prize-money increases in development races and
giving rewards to owners and connections at an early stage through the GBB scheme all makes sense. Similar systems employed around the thoroughbred racing world encourage winning connections to reinvest as a result of their early success rather than complain about modest returns.
These are only green shoots in a very difficult and uncertain environment, yet they provide hope that, with targeted intervention, whether it be through prize-money and/or carefully directed incentives, there is a real chance of taking UK breeding forward to support the quality and quantity of racing to which Britain aspires.
If we give breeders and owners belief that the rest of the industry wants them to succeed and enjoy the fruits of their endeavours, then we stand a far greater chance of improving the future of the sport in Britain.
“We have to believe that the next foal we produce will exceed expectations at the sales or on the track”
Tom Scudamore, the tenth winningmost jump jockey in history, retired with immediate effect last month after an unseat at Leicester left him believing the time had come to hang up his boots.
The 40-year-old’s final career tally was 1,499 wins over jumps in Britain and Ireland, and 12 on the Flat.
Scudamore, the son of former eight-time champion jockey Peter and whose family is steeped in racing, rode 13 Grade 1 winners, notably Thistlecrack, with whom he won the 2016 King George VI Chase.
Explaining his decision the morning after the Leicester incident, which came out of the blue, he told reporters: “I’m going to be 41 in May and after getting a concussion a couple of weeks ago, I now don’t bounce like I did. It was always important to me that I got to make the decision and I’ve been very fortunate that it was in my own hands. I had another fall yesterday and, while I’d love to still bounce back like I was 20, that’s not the way it is.
“Very few people get to go out on their own terms, whether it’s through
injury or getting the sack, so I’ve been very fortunate. My grandfather had to retire through a bad fall, so it was always clear to me that you wouldn’t always get
the choice of where and when you stop riding.
“It was always drummed into us that you’ll know when the moment is, and
The first in a series of 60 high-value developmental races for 2023 will take place next month at Doncaster, with funding for the contests being provided partly by owner-breeder giants Darley and Juddmonte.
The British Horseracing Authority (BHA) and host racecourses will also provide backing for the races, which will offer increased prize-money to horses at the start of their careers, as well as helping the longer-term objectives of supporting the UK breeding industry and ensuring more high-class young horses bred in Britain are retained to race here.
The BHA considers the initiative a first step towards materially increasing the values of Flat maiden and novice races, with discussions about further improvements for 2024 and beyond
currently ongoing.
The races comprise 20 £30,000 two-year-old restricted maiden and novice races supported by Juddmonte, 21 £30,000 two-year-old open maiden and novice events backed by the BHA Development Fund, and 22 £30,00050,000 three-year-old and up open maiden and novice races supported by Darley and the BHA Development Fund.
The £50,000 pots will be for races over longer distances, as part of the desire to foster the production of middle-distance and staying horses.
BHA Chief Operating Officer Richard Wayman said: “Well-funded development races provide an opportunity to boost returns to owners in the early stages of their horse’s career, thereby potentially supporting the
once you’ve made that decision it’s settled. For me, that time came yesterday.”
Two of Scudamore’s major triumphs were family affairs, on Next Sensation, trained by his brother Michael, in the 2015 Grand Annual Chase at the Cheltenham Festival, and Mighty Thunder in the 2021 Scottish Grand National for his dad and stepmother Lucinda Russell, while the bulk of his wins came for the David Pipe yard.
He said: “I rode a festival winner for my brother, I rode a Scottish National winner for my father and stepmother, and I rode the best part of 1,000 winners for my best mate. It doesn’t get much better than that.
“I’m very proud of what I’ve achieved, it was a great thrill to ride 150 winners [in the 2014-15 campaign] and I was very lucky that it was when David had a yard full of very good horses. The last few years have been more about quality
over quantity.”
He continued: “From a personal point of view, although it never weighed on me being a Scudamore or anything like that, there was a pressure that you didn’t want to be the one to drop the baton to let the side down, to be the fool, so to ride as many winners as I have over a long career, and big winners and Cheltenham Festival winners, now I can very proudly look my father and grandfather in the eye and say I did my bit to carry it on and I didn’t let anybody down.”
Scudamore, who recorded his first winner on Nordic Breeze for Pipe’s father Martin at Warwick on July 3, 1998, notched ten successes at the Festival, the first and last both coming in what is now the Ultima Handicap Chase, in 2008 on An Accordion and Un Temps Pour Tout in 2017.
Scudamore added: “I’ll take stock for a little bit now. David has already been asking if I can come and ride out at some point, plus I’ll make an appearance at Richard Hannon’s in the summer. I know nothing else other than riding horses, so I want to continue doing that, just not competitively.
“I’m still an ambassador for Coral and I’d like to do more on the media side of things, but I still want to stay involved in racing. In what capacity remains to be seen, but I’ve got plenty of things going on and I’ll remain as busy as I can.”
yearling market and, in doing so, assisting breeders at all levels.
“Juddmonte and Darley have been huge supporters of British racing for decades and we’re extremely grateful to them both for their financial assistance towards supporting this important part of the race programme. We look forward to working with them and other parties so we can build on this significant first step in future years.”
Sam Bullard, Darley’s Director of Stallions, said: “For many years Darley has worked to support breeders through sponsorship and this new development fund initiative is doing just that, as well as setting a new improved prize-money level for maiden races.
“This, combined with our contribution to the EBF, demonstrates how we can work together for the benefit of racing and we’re delighted to be involved.”
Juddmonte CEO Douglas Erskine Crum added: “We’re delighted to be supporting this well-targeted BHA
initiative to enhance the competitiveness of the British racing and breeding industries. It is an effective kick-start of a long-term plan to enhance prize-money substantially for developmental races, with all the benefits that will follow for breeders and owners.
“It is the right place to start for the UK racing industry to become more competitive with other major breeding and racing jurisdictions around the world and to support our own breeders and owners.”
Elsewhere on the prize-money front, Newbury’s total will rise by 16 per cent in 2023 to £6.06 million.
The amount includes a record executive contribution of £3.1m, an increase of £650,000 from 2022, when a Flat race was boycotted by trainers angry at the prize-money.
Six novice and maiden events between April and September will be staged for between £30,000 and £50,000, while Al Shaqab Lockinge day
will boast total prize-money up £95,000 on 2022.
Midweek jumps cards will have purse injections of £20,000 and Grade 2s will be worth £10,000 more than the minimum value.
The track’s Chief Executive Julian Thick said: “The financial challenges for horseracing and its participants are considerable, but we remain confident in the future of the racecourse and are happy to make this valuable investment at a time when horseracing needs it most.
“As an independent PLC we must run the racecourse on a sustainable basis and this year sees the largest amount the racecourse has ever invested in prizemoney, with £3.1 million in executive contribution, which represents a 26 per cent uplift.
“We are extremely grateful to our sponsors and partners who continue to support Newbury and have helped us boost the prize-money on offer.”
A reduced number of black-type races will be staged across Europe this year, it was revealed last month, with Britain already having voluntarily downgraded three Pattern events and eight Listed contests as part of a wider – and ongoing – strategic review of the programme.
The European Pattern Committee (EPC) has sanctioned 412 Group races – down from 425 in 2022 – and 415 Listed races (427 in 2022) in 2023.
In Ireland, the Listed 2,000 Guineas Trial, a seven-furlong contest for three-year-old colts and geldings at Leopardstown next month, has been upgraded to Group 3. Ireland will also stage a new Listed race for fillies and mares aged three years and older over a mile at Navan in June.
Among the more notable moves, the EPC agreed to upgrade Poland’s flagship race, the Wielka Warszawska, to Listed status as part of the committee’s support of the emerging racing nations in the European and Mediterranean
Horseracing Federation.
There were also some date changes announced for major races. The Group 1 Prix Saint-Alary at Longchamp will move from late-May to the Poule d’Essai fixture on May 14, while the Group 1 Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud will move back by a week to Saint Cloud’s evening fixture on July 8.
In addition to Britain’s already announced changes, a further 11 Pattern races have been downgraded, including the Prix Greffulhe and Prix Hocquart, both previously Group 2s but revised to Group 3 status.
The Kilboy Estate Stakes in Ireland has suffered the same fate, while the Group 3 Concorde Stakes has been downgraded to Listed level.
Italy’s sad slide continues, with five more Group races downgraded and four Listed contests losing that status. Furthermore, the country has 16 of the 48 races across the continent placed at risk of potential downgrade in 2024, depending on their performance this year.
Jason Morris, Chair of the EPC, said: “This year will see a significant reduction in the number of Flat Group and Listed races staged within Europe, with 25 fewer black-type races to be staged overall.
“This reflects the voluntary downgrades that Britain has already announced for this year to aid the competitiveness of their Pattern race programme as part of an ongoing strategic review. Downgrades were also applied by the European Pattern Committee to a number of Group 2, Group 3 and Listed races under ground rules which strictly enforce the highest standards of international quality control, with underperforming races facing automatic demotion.”
He added: “At the same time, the committee remains keen to encourage the development of the sport in the smaller racing jurisdictions throughout Europe, and Poland will now become the 11th country with a black-type race in 2023.”
Former British Horseracing Board (BHB) Chairman Sir Martin Broughton has suggested it could be time for the BHA to revisit the issue of the sale of pre-race data, once heralded as the future of funding for British racing.
Sir Martin, who has recently published his memoir Whenever I Hear That Song and is the subject of this month’s back-page interview, was an Independent Director of the BHB when the sale of pre-rate data was devised and brought in to replace the levy system under then Chairman Peter Savill.
The data model collapsed when a legal challenge by bookmaker William Hill was successful in the European Court of Justice (ECJ) in 2004.
Sir Martin told Owner Breeder: “At the time we lost the data rights issue at the ECJ, the view internally was that it’s going to take a dozen years or so before you can go back to the same argument.
“Life moves on, other decisions get made, we should within the industry look for other funding mechanisms, but what we shouldn’t discount is coming back to
data rights, because the whole data scene will have changed dramatically in 12 or 15 years.
“Is it time to revisit that issue and is the BHA looking hard enough at asking themselves that question? I haven’t done the research to see how the scene has moved on, but it could be the right time to revisit the sale of pre-race data, especially with the levy under more pressure than ever.”
Sir Martin’s tenure as BHB Chairman saw the amalgamation of the BHB and Horseracing Regulatory Authority into the British Horseracing Authority as the sport’s governing body.
“One of the things I saw as a great achievement in setting up the BHA was to get the vested interests off the Board,” Sir Martin explained. “I was severely disappointed when Steve Harman let them back on, because to me they should be there as observers and have their case heard but not have a vote.
“The role of a director on the BHA is not to tell them what your entity – RCA or ROA for example – feels is right, it is to do
what is in the best interests of racing. They can be two very different things. If you want unity of any sort, they shouldn’t be having a vote.
“Those individuals on the Board should listen, weigh up the arguments and come to a sensible conclusion. They have now removed the power of veto, which is a step forward for the sport.”
The Finish Line with Sir Martin Broughton, page 88
Sarah Guest, yard manager for Gloucestershire trainer John O’Shea, was named Employee of the Year at the 2023 Thoroughbred Industry Employee Awards sponsored by Godolphin, following a ceremony at York racecourse on February 20.
Following her triumph, Sarah (pictured) took home £10,000, with a further £10,000 to be shared with her colleagues at O’Shea’s stable.
Earlier in the evening
Sarah won the Leadership Award, which carried prize-money of £5,000 with the same amount again for her yard, meaning Sarah and her colleagues took home £15,000 following the ceremony. In total £128,500 was shared between all the winners on the evening.
Nick Luck, Chair of the judging panel, said: “Sarah is a richly deserving winner of this prestigious award and, despite the high quality of the finalists brought
forward to this evening’s ceremony, she was a stand-out selection to be named the Employee of the Year.
“Sarah is a shining example of the sort of hard work and dedication that keeps yards up and down the country running, and we as an industry can be rightly proud of her dedication to ensuring the wellbeing of her colleagues and the horses in her care.
“It is particularly pleasing to name an Employee of the Year from outside the nation’s most powerful yards. I hope this encourages all employers, no matter their size, to nominate their staff for recognition in 2024.”
The Thoroughbred Industry Employee Awards, previously known as the Stud and Stable Staff Awards, took place in person for the first time since 2020, and was being staged in Yorkshire for the first time in the event’s history.
Thoroughbred Industry Employee Awards 2023 winners
Employee of the Year & Leadership Award
Sarah Guest – John O’Shea
David Nicholson Newcomer Award
Ryan Kavanagh – Amy Murphy
Rider/Groom Award
Amy Vickers – Harry and Roger
Charlton
Stud Staff Award
Bethan Byrne – Godolphin Management Co Ltd
Dedication Award
Claire Ricks – Marco Botti
The Community Award
Gay Kelleway – For her work supporting Ukraine
Danny Brock
Former jockey banned for 15 years after being found guilty of engaging in corrupt and fraudulent behaviour to aid a group of gamblers.
Grand Annual Challenge Cup
Trophy for the two-mile contest, the oldest race at the Cheltenham Festival, is stolen from a silversmiths in Sheffield.
Ronan McNally
Armagh-based trainer banned from Irish racing for 12 years after being found guilty of multiple integrity breaches in December.
Jockey Club
Tom Marquand
Set to miss two months of the season after undergoing surgery on a dislocated shoulder following a mid-race fall at Randwick on February 11.
Gordon Elliott
Fined £1,000 after Zanahiyr is disqualified from third place in last year’s Champion Hurdle having tested positive for a banned substance.
Philip Hobbs
Trainer who is set to share his licence with Johnson White records his 3,000th winner courtesy of Zanza in the Denman Chase at Newbury.
Dress code scrapped at the group’s 15 racecourses though morning dress will still be required in the Queen Elizabeth II Stand on Derby day.
Randox Grand National Weights revealed for Aintree spectacular on April 15, with 2022 hero Noble Yeats allotted 11st 11lb, 1lb below top weight Any Second Now.
Steve Asmussen
Bet He’s Ready’s success at Oaklawn Park in February provides the trainer with his 10,000th winner in North America.
Richie McLernon
Jockey will miss the Cheltenham Festival with a broken leg sustained at Doncaster in late January.
Michael Halford
Trainer will operate a joint licence with Tracey Collins from March onwards, relocating to the latter’s Conyngham Lodge yard on the Curragh.
Katharina Irmer
Joins Goffs as its German representative, replacing Matthias Seeber.
David Brown
Calls time on training career aged 78; he sent out 228 winners in Britain including Frederick Engels in the 2011 Windsor Castle and July Stakes.
Baracouda 28
Brilliant staying hurdler for Francois Doumen, winner of two Stayers’ Hurdles and four Long Walk Hurdles among 18 career victories.
The Armed Man 10 Ten-time sprint winner for owner Carolyn Arnold and trainer Chris Fairhurst who was partnered to every success by Paula Muir.
Sogann 7
Frankel’s stallion son whose first runners will race as two-year-olds this year dies after an accident at Norton Grove Stud in North Yorkshire.
Afternoon Deelites 31
Dual Grade 1 winner in the US dies at Old Friends Farm in Kentucky six days after the passing of his owner, the noted songwriter and pianist Burt Bacharach.
His2018and2019cropshaveproducedabetterstrikerateofGroupwinnerstorunners than Camelot,Siyouni,Kodiac,Acclamation,Churchill,DarkAngel,NightOfThunder,Australia, NewApproach,NoNayNeverandShowcasing.Infact,theonlyBritishstallionsdoingbetter areDubawi,FrankelandKingman.
215maresbredin2021&2022
EUROPEANCHAMPION2YOBYLOPEDEVEGA
Fee:£6,500Oct1stSLF
Historic Grand National winner for Rachael Blackmore, who became the first woman to capture the Aintree prize in 2021, is retired aged ten.
Bristol De Mai
Three-time winner of the Grade 1 Betfair Chase for owners Simon Munir and Isaac Souede and trainer Nigel Twiston-Davies is retired aged 12.
Saffron Beach
Star mare for trainer Jane ChappleHyam, winner of the Sun Chariot Stakes and Prix Rothschild, is retired aged five and will be bred to Frankel.
Jet Dark
Son of Trippi, winner of five Grade 1s in South Africa, is retired and will return home to Drakenstein Stud for the 2023 breeding season.
Sent out over 1,000 winners and was renowned for his skills with cheaply-bought horses, such as high-class sprinter The Tatling, winner of the 2004 King’s Stand Stakes.
Cath Walwyn 94
Popular figure in Lambourn where her late husband Fulke trained with great success for many years.
Peter Russell 95
Father of Grand National-winning trainer Lucinda Russell part-owned Ahoy Senor and was prominent in the whisky business.
Allen Davis 91
Former jump jockey rode between 1949 and 1977, retiring aged 46. He spent 30 years with the Newmarket stable of Walter Buxton.
After defeat in the Queen Mother Champion Chase and Tingle Creek on his previous two starts, and wind surgery, there were plenty of Shishkin doubters before the Ascot Chase last month. Boy did he silence them. He seemed to relish the step up in trip under Nico de Boinville, collaring Pic D’Orhy (left) two out and storming clear to win by 16 lengths, thrilling trainer Nicky Henderson and groom Jaydon Lee (below).
Photos Bill Selwyn
Funambule Sivola recorded back-to-back wins in the Game Spirit Chase at Newbury in February with a fine display of jumping at speed under regular rider Charlie Deutsch. The eight-year-old French-bred gelding, trained by Venetia Williams for My Racing Manager Friends, relishes a sharp two miles and decent ground and proved too good for Elixir De Nutz (left) and favourite Greaneteen.
Strewth! A 20-year-old apprentice skips from the home of British Flat racing to its nearest equivalent in the US, rides a winner on his second mount and promptly lambasts the sport in his native country. Wow, the wisdom of youth.
Tyler Heard swapped Newmarket for Kentucky at the end of last year, joining fellow claimer Grace McEntee at her uncle Paul’s yard. From there Heard obliged the early inquiries of home media as to his wellbeing by saying: “I drove 45,000 miles last year and spent more than 950 hours in the car. I didn’t make a penny, it probably cost me money to ride.”
A word in your ear, Master Heard. It’s the system, son, it’s the system.
So, instead of plying his winter trade between the all-weather venues of Britain, he and McEntee headed off to the single-track comfort of Turfway Park, a mixed racing, gaming and simulcasting facility owned by Churchill Downs, where, other than making one excursion to Charles Town in West Virginia, his total experience came from 13 rides spread over 12 days in his first month, for three winners. In the same period, McEntee went 15 rides without a winner, all at Turfway Park.
Other than riding against the clock, what will the pair have learnt from competing solely in fields of no more than 12 runners on a one-mile, left-handed, oval track, the likes of which can be found virtually anywhere in the States? Heard would have been
better off going to the UAE for the winter, where the variety of conditions provided by Abu Dhabi, Al Ain, Jebel Ali, Meydan and Sharjah, all within an hour’s distance of each other, would have provided a more rounded racing education, as it has in recent winters for such as Connor Beasley and Ray Dawson.
Forget, for a moment, those heated discussions at endless Cheltenham Festival previews, debating which horse runs where, if at all, and whether Willie Mullins can only be stopped by the Monopolies Commission. There is a far more fundamental question looming. Will Sir Tom Jones sing Delilah at Sandown and Newbury this summer? Come to that, will he even be allowed to sing his most recognisable ditties on a racecourse?
By remarkable coincidence, on the very day that two of Britain’s premier venues announced Sir Tom’s imminent on-course return, the Welsh Rugby Union issued an edict banning Delilah from Cardiff’s Principality Stadium. Having consulted domestic violence charities, the WRU decided that what has become the unofficial anthem of Welsh rugby was ‘problematic’ because its lyrics describe a man stabbing his unfaithful lover.
The WRU has tried the same tactic before, to little avail, and within a few days of its latest pronouncement the strains of Delilah swirled around the ground before Wales’s Six Nations match against Ireland. Still, the seed had been sown among the woke brigade, and Sandown and Newbury should take note.
If Delilah is worthy of debate, what about two of Sir Tom’s other greatest hits that are likely to be on his play-list? Green Green Grass of Home, the tale of a prisoner on Death Row, could set alarm bells ringing among welfare reformers, and then there’s perhaps the most famous of all, It’s Not Unusual. Racegoers of a certain age will turn to their trusty thesaurus and spot an alternative for the word unusual in queer, which
today, of course, figures prominently in a different guise among the diversity initials LGBTQ+, which British racing has been at pains to embrace.
Language is a fluid commodity, right up – or down, depending on how you view it - to a recent guide compiled by a Californian academic that amends words and phrases considered too violent, so that ‘jump the gun’ becomes ‘start too soon,’ ‘kill two birds with one stone’ is ‘feed two birds with one scone,’ and ‘don’t flog a dead horse’ turns into ‘don’t focus on that any more.’
I kid you not, and therein lies the danger for British racing, whose terminology has barely changed since the furlong and guinea were invented. The whip is an obvious candidate for opprobrium outside those who recognise its value for safety and encouragement, but there are others, maybe less obvious but just as likely to attract more than a passing glance from PC-driven critics.
Frivolously, ‘stakes’ could deter modern-day Joan of Arc disciples; ‘bloodstock’ might upset hemophobia sufferers, while ‘brought down’ would likely offend anyone with an inferiority complex.
More seriously, though, following on from the whip is the business of preparing young horses to be ridden, a process known from time immemorial as breaking. Breaking? What kind of message does that convey to the 50 per cent of the population who have no interest in horseracing and the proportion of those who would eliminate the sport if allowed?
And then there are black-type races, a phrase that hardly bears explaining to wokery warriors. And I’m not joking.
Instead, Heard headed for the US, unsure how long he would stay but definite about what he was leaving behind. “I feel as though racing in England is withering away,” he told the Racing Post.
As far as I am concerned, the only thing withering is in the adjectival use of the word, as applied to my opinion of Heard’s opinion. Small fields blight the US, as evidenced by Bob Baffert providing all four runners in a recent Santa Anita Grade 3; its racing at the lower levels makes unedifying late-night viewing on Sky Sports Racing; and progress towards reform through the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority is excruciatingly slow.
Yet the US is not alone – look around the world and horseracing is under pressure wherever you go.
Australia might be awash with prize-money, yet its poolbetting operation has gone violently into reverse, and the board of its regulatory body, Racing Australia, has not met for two years due to the breakout of inter-state warfare between Victoria and New South Wales, in a confrontation that makes the BHA’s recent governance problems look like a playground squabble.
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New Zealand’s programme was saved only by major surgery, while elsewhere among Asian Racing Federation jurisdictions, Singapore has slid off the international radar, Macau has lost all the appeal it had under the direction of Dr Stanley Ho, and South Africa has been brought to its knees by African Horse Sickness restrictions and the fall of racecourse and betting operator Phumelela.
In Europe, a perfect storm of Brexit, Covid-19 and economic uncertainty has added to the squeeze that was already being applied around the continent.
Irish racing remains in hock to its government and an imminent change of political colour could land it in serious trouble. For all France’s enticing premiums and strength of its jumps breeding, it cannot buy a decent two-year-old winner. And, with a few isolated exceptions, Germany and Italy are sinking faster than the Bismarck, if I am allowed to say that [see opposite].
And so back to Britain, where I fear some senior personalities have been guilty of further inflaming an already combustible situation, fanned by the flames of social media.
Martin Greenwood, the BHA’s lead jumps handicapper, described the fall in the number of local entries for the Grand National as “a continuation of the demise of the British National Hunt scene.” Demise? That’s death in my dictionary, which is probably not quite what Greenwood intended.
Then there was a comment by BHA Chair Joe Saumarez Smith, who in a message summing up perceptions about horseracing among some elements of the younger generation said: “If we just pretend that nothing’s happening, the danger is that there’s no racing in 30 years’ time.”
Coming at a Racing Together industry day, Saumarez Smith’s comment was probably intended as a rallying cry. To the likes of Tyler Heard, though, it could simply add fuel to their ill-judged arguments.
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Steve Preston and his merry band of co-owners tasted Champion Chase glory at the Cheltenham Festival with former top two-miler Sire De Grugy – could lightning strike twice courtesy of their latest star Editeur Du Gite?
Words: Julian Muscat
Very few people get to live the dream. The lucky ones describe it as surfing a wave of euphoria, a once-in-a-lifetime experience that is hard to put into words. The rest of us can only concoct this flight of fantasy through the prism of a fertile imagination, not to mention a covetous eye.
What, then, do we make of the man living the dream for a second time?
Steve Preston smiles and lets out a gentle sigh. “I will try to articulate it, but it is not an intellectual story,” he says. “It is all from the inside.”
His first surfboard was Sire De Grugy, whose Champion Chase triumph nine years ago was the stuff of fairy-tales. It was a special thrill for Preston to drape a red-and-blue scarf around the neck of the Duchess of Cornwall – as Camilla, Queen Consort was then – on receiving the winner’s trophy.
Sire De Grugy was a phenomenon: the £37,000 purchase whose five Grade 1 victories bankrolled connections the thick end of £900,000. When his racing days were over Preston and his cohorts, who owned most of the horse, threw a party in his local pub. And by any yardstick, that should have been that. It should have been the night when Preston returned to earth with a sore head and a treasure chest of memories. Instead, it was the catalyst for an improbable sequel.
On that night Preston inquired which of Sire De Grugy’s merry band of owners wanted to roll the dice again. His best friend, Barry Lockett, was up for it but three others – Neil McNulty, Dave Simpson and Preston’s eldest son, Liam – took the money and ran. “Understandably, they felt it could never
be as good again,” Preston reflects. “But two friends, Michael and Steve O’Brien, were at the party. They wanted to come in, so we went and bought Editeur Du Gite.”
Fast-forward five years and Preston has eyes on a second Champion Chase. Editeur Du Gite is on the rise, as was Sire De Grugy ahead of his victory in 2014. On his last start he beat Energumene and Edwardstone at level weights. It is as if the white stars on the arms of Preston’s silks are aligning for a second time.
That’s what makes the whole story so beguiling. It’s a classic example of overcoming the odds in a domain where regular Joes look in from the outside – as Preston, 64, did for most of his life. An avid racegoer from his formative years, he never expected to savour the thrill of ownership. It was beyond his financial means. Sire De Grugy was all but inflicted upon him when he was given £2,000 on his fiftieth birthday to put towards his first horse. Even then, he could never have envisaged standing proudly beside Sire at Cheltenham after the chestnut outran horses owned by JP McManus, Rich Ricci, the Whateleys and the Potts family.
“After Sire’s win, the late Andy Stewart [owner of Big Buck’s among other top-class horses] put it all into context,” Preston recalls. “He came up to us and said: ‘I don’t know how much money I have put into it, and I have no idea how many horses I have owned, but I have always wanted to win the Champion Chase – and I can’t. So the one thing you’ve got to do is enjoy it.’ That gave us perspective on how lucky we were.”
What Stewart would have made of the second coming is anybody’s guess. At
€150,000, Editeur Du Gite cost a good bit more than Sire De Grugy and has taken longer to find himself. But as Preston puts it with barely suppressed excitement: “As things stand, I would say Editeur has a realistic chance of a place. At the same time, he is the only horse in the Champion Chase who is still improving.”
That synopsis would have cut little ice before the turn of the year, when Editeur Du Gite, then a back-end eightyear-old, seemed typecast as a decent handicapper. That was about as much as Preston dared hope for, although the prospect of the horse scaling even those heights appeared remote when he arrived at trainer Gary Moore’s yard in the summer of 2018.
Back then he was brim-full of promise, having landed a competitive four-year-old hurdle race at Compiegne
on his second start. Then the wheels came off. He sat idle in his box for the next 18 months, after which two runs in the 2019-2020 season saw him pulled up at Sandown and finish last of six at Kempton three weeks later.
Preston maintains he kept the faith all along, although it was another ten months before the horse reappeared at Ascot in October 2020. He fared well enough then, and again on his next two starts, yet he looked anything but a topclass prospect when he was then pulled up at Chepstow in January.
At that point he was a seven-yearold novice chaser without a win over fences, but valuable lessons were learnt. It became apparent Editeur Du Gite was happiest when allowed to bowl along up front on decent ground. The transformation has been striking.
So much so that the red-and-blue scarves will once again be out in force on Champion Chase day. They allude to Preston’s childhood upbringing in Woking, much of which he spent with his father at local tracks like Plumpton and Fontwell, the dogs at Wimbledon and Catford and watching football at Crystal Palace, whose red-and-blue livery is replicated both in the scarfs and Preston’s racing silks. The three white stars on the sleeves commemorate Preston’s three sons.
“I used to sell peanuts at Selhurst Park [Crystal Palace’s home ground] when I was eight years old,” Preston reminisces. “All three of my boys are fans as well even though we moved north to Cheshire 30 years ago. I enjoyed the football but racing was always my favourite day out. My father was a ››
›› butcher who worked Saturdays, so we used to go racing on Bank Holidays.
“I much preferred jump racing,” he continues. “It became my passion to watch the spectacle of horses jumping, and the tracks we went to felt more intimate to me in every way. I’ve been to Royal Ascot many times; we got dressed up and I really enjoyed it, but I never felt the same feeling of being part of it as I do when I go to Cheltenham.”
Back then, Preston was less preoccupied with the mechanics of racing than the visceral thrill of being there. It mattered not whether he watched a championship race or a Class 6 handicap; he was sold on horses and jockeys engaged in the cut and thrust.
“Sandown is my favourite track, maybe because we had so many good experiences there,” Preston relates. “You make so many associations over the years, and when I was growing up I’d look at the owners and trainers in the paddock and think to myself: ‘Yeah, maybe one day, one day…”
That particular bell seemed ready to chime for Preston when he reached his late 40s. He’d advanced from selling Pretty Polly ladies’ tights to working for the sports equipment maker Umbro, where he became general manager after 17 years.
From there he ended up commuting weekly to Holland, where he worked for a firm that bought a bankrupt concern, turned it round and sold it on. But a second stab at reviving another company in distress foundered. “We got too big for our boots and we were out of our depth,” Preston recalls. “We got into financial difficulties.”
That’s when he was given £2,000 by friends and family on his fiftieth birthday to put towards buying a racehorse. At the time, however, Preston was more preoccupied with repairing his finances, which had been pummelled by his ailing investment and a divorce.
“But for that birthday present, I honestly don’t know whether I’d have ever bought a racehorse,” he reflects in sombre tones. “The divorce brought
uncertainty and I had a stake in a business that was struggling, and which eventually went bankrupt. I ended up in debt and I have always been careful with money. Since I’m not a gambler by nature, I doubt I would have bought a horse.”
However, the gift from family and friends implored him to. Even then, as his exploratory path into ownership began to take shape, he really should have backed out of it. He’d settled on Moore to pursue the project largely because the trainer agreed to own part of any purchase. He was also adamant that Moore had to find a horse from outside the stable. In return, Moore insisted on calling the shots governing where and when the horse would run.
The prospect of buying Sire De Grugy arose soon after. And that’s when Preston
should have walked away. “We’d never talked numbers with Gary [Moore],” he relates. “I was thinking maybe I’d put in £10,000 for 50 per cent of the horse. Then Gary said the horse would cost €50,000 and he was only prepared to take 25 per cent.
“Well, I don’t know how I managed to keep a straight face,” Preston continues. “I couldn’t possibly see how we could justify spending that kind of money. We just wanted to run around at Plumpton and Fontwell because we still had family in that part of the world.”
Nevertheless, having got that far, Preston felt compelled to go the extra mile. “I went along with it, wondering how on earth we were going to afford it,” he says. “I rang around all my friends and somehow we found the money.”
By the time the horse was divided up Preston had committed more than twice his initial budget. But that inauspicious beginning soon gave way as Sire De Grugy went from strength to strength. The whole episode was so improbable that Channel 4 inquired into making a documentary about it, although that never came to fruition.
Looking back, Preston realises how fortunate he was. And he greatly appreciates Moore’s honesty from the outset. “It was an incredible journey,” he
says, “and Gary gave us the best piece of advice we could have had. He told us to think of the money we’d put into the horse and training fees as lost money. He said we would never win anything in this game because no owner does.”
In heeding Moore’s advice, Preston and his partners never touched the money that accrued in the bank account
surprise, with Preston maintaining that a 20-length defeat by that horse would have justified Editeur’s place in the Champion Chase line-up.
The vista now looks very different after Editeur inched out Edwardstone in an epic duel from the final fence. “I don’t think I’ve ever been as excited watching a race,” Preston recalls. “The difference between being a fan and owning a horse is the nerves you feel when they run. That’s why we were jumping around like children when our number was called first in the photo finish.
“In all of Sire De Grugy’s [42] races he was never involved in a photo finish. It was something new to us, and the way Editeur Du Gite did it, coming back after he was passed on the run-in, made it extra special against the best two-mile chasers.”
he set up for their racing costs. There was one financial blip, when the partnership bought Sire De Grugy’s full-brother, Blue Sire, who proved of no account, but Sire’s career was so bountiful that the account remains in credit to the tune of some £200,000.
There is also Editeur Du Gite’s imminent run in the Champion Chase to come. The horse’s narrow defeat of Edwardstone in January was a welcome
Victory for Editeur Du Gite would be a case of lightning striking twice. In that event, however, Preston will not drape his red-and-blue scarf around the Queen Consort’s neck, as he did in a moment of jubilation nine years ago.
“I was told off big-time for that,” he days with a smile, “although the princess herself [as Camilla was then] could not have been nicer.” The fact that Preston was in a position to do it at all is the very essence of his story.
“Gary told us we would never win anything in this game as no owner does”BILL SELWYN Editeur Du Gite and Niall Houlihan take the scalps of Edwardstone and Energumene in the Clarence House Chase in January
Words: Martin Stevens
David Stack of Coolagown Stud in Fermoy, County Cork, is known as one of the livelier characters in the Irish bloodstock industry, as he’s never short of a few words of wisdom or friendly jibes.
Pinhooker and marketing expert Amy Lynam put it best, perhaps, when she visited the farm during the Irish Stallion Trail in January and tweeted a video of him leading up a horse accompanied by the caption “a rare few minutes of quiet from Davey Stack”, with the comment gleefully retweeted by the man himself.
Don’t go thinking that Stack is a figure of fun, or doesn’t take the business seriously, though. Quite the contrary, as he has gained considerable respect for determinedly building the family operation into a credible independent stallion station.
He has five stallions on his books for 2023: intriguing new recruit Storm
The Stars, Group 1 hero Way To Paris and proven sources of talented jumpers Carlotamix, Shantaram and Zambezi Sun.
Outlining the origins of Coolagown Stud, whose motto is ‘Home of the Gallopers’, Stack says: “My father Bernie was a pharmacist in Fermoy and started the farm in the 70s. He bred and trained a lot of point-to-point winners, and sold many on, especially to Tom Costello. He also bred Travado, a son of Strong Gale who won the Arkle for Nicky Henderson in a golden age of two-mile chasers.
“It was when I got into the business that I had the genius idea that we should stand stallions, and Air Display, a son of
Nikoli with a beautiful back pedigree who ran second in the Hollywood Derby, was our first. Two years later we bought Cezanne, who turned out to be completely infertile.
“Cezanne was a beautiful horse with a gorgeous temperament, and he was good enough to win an Irish Champion Stakes, but I think the phrase is ‘jaffa’. Completely seedless! Luckily we had him insured and he was replaced by Humbel, and the likes of Fleetwood and Papal Bull followed.”
Humbel, a big, tough Theatrical halfbrother to Breeders’ Cup Distaff heroine Escena, ran over hurdles towards the end of his career and got the odd good jumper, while Fleetwood, a well-bred son of Groom Dancer who took a Haydock maiden by eight lengths on his sole start for Sir Henry Cecil, supplied some classy handicappers like Poole Master and The Sawyer.
Papal Bull took Stack to the top table of racing. He was bought as a stallion prospect by a syndicate headed by Coolagown, and continued to race in their colours at five, when he was just pipped by Duke Of Marmalade in the King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes, the pair pulling well clear of Youmzain.
By David Stack’s own admission, building up the stallion roster at his Coolagown Stud has been a slow process but with a current selection of five names, the outfit is in a strong position for 2023
“My first child, Ryan, had just been born so I was unable to go to Ascot, but I was at home screaming at the telly,” says Stack. “The deal came about because I’d rung Coolmore to ask about another horse, Ask, and was told by Eddie Fitzpatrick that he was booked for The Beeches Stud but that they had another solid, nice-looking horse, who was Papal Bull. I went over and looked at him, and liked him, so we came to an agreement.
“The deal was that we could race him for another year, and Sir Michael Stoute told us he’d do well. Unfortunately we didn’t get a win, but he ran second in
the Princess of Wales’s Stakes and King George, and was unlucky in Germany, where he was just beaten into third by Kamsin in a Group 1 only for the winner, Oriental Tiger, to be thrown out later so we were up to second again.”
Like Fleetwood and Humbel, and other some-time Coolagown Stud residents such as Daylami and Ridgewood Ben, Papal Bull delivered several useful horses without hitting the heights of success.
They maintained an income stream for the stud, though, and crucially allowed reinvestment in incrementally better prospects, to the point that the roster
now boasts top-class performers by fashionable sires.
“We’ve had to sift through a lot of stallions to get to where we are now, it’s all been building up bit by bit,” says Stack. “You can’t expect just to buy a horse and for him to be a hit. I see Way To Paris’s popularity in his first two seasons here, along with the acquisition of Storm The Stars, as the culmination of 30 years of standing stallions. It’s been a hell of a slow process, but we got there.”
Way To Paris, a Champs Elysees halfbrother to dual Group 1 winner Distant Way who landed the Grand Prix de ››
Saint-Cloud and finished a head second to Sottsass in the Prix Ganay, has covered around 220 mares in his first two seasons at the operation.
“He’s a gorgeous horse and he was high-class, tough and sound in his racing career,” reports Stack. “He’s predominantly National Hunt but he’s covered some really high-class Flat mares, too, including the dams of top-level winners Byrama and Trip To Paris.”
Storm The Stars, a blueblooded son of Sea The Stars who won the Great Voltigeur Stakes and placed in both the Epsom and Irish Derbys, retired to Haras du Lion in France in 2018. His first two crops comprising 88 foals, now aged four and three, have already yielded a doubledigit tally of winners, including a few over jumps.
“He’s very good-looking –almost as sexy as the stud owner here! – walks for fun and has loads of presence,” says Stack. “From what I’ve seen, he tends to stamp his stock, and they look scopey but strong. They should be out early but also prove to be progressive and take well to fences. He’s got some interesting youngsters that have been purchased privately in France and brought to Ireland, some with Willie Mullins and quite a few with the point-to-point trainers.
“His biggest selling point is his page, though. He’s by Sea The Stars out of a Sadler’s Wells mare who’s a half-sister to Giant’s Causeway and the dams of Decorated Knight and Gleneagles.”
Storm The Stars’ dazzling distaff pedigree has inspired Stack to try something a little different with his own multi-purpose broodmare band this year.
“He’s got plenty of Flat mares booked in and I’m actually sending three of my own to him this year, including two by Acclamation,” he says. “I’m hoping to produce horses who either race on the level and show good form before selling at the horses in training sales, which seem so buoyant at the moment, or are precocious enough to win a bumper or a point-to-point, as that’s what the market wants.
“It’s a change of tack I’ve been thinking of for a while, as those sections of the business are so strong. We’ve got to mix it up a bit, and look at doing things a little differently, because studs like ours aren’t in a position to introduce a new stallion
to the market and just sit back and wait for 300-odd mares to rock up at the gates.”
Competing with the colossuses of the Irish National Hunt industry, which have loyal followings and more money to spend on stallion material and marketing endeavours, is indeed a daunting task.
“We don’t have the budget to advertise our horses in their first two or three years, so we have to hope that word spreads about their first foals to get more custom, and luckily that’s exactly what has happened with Way To Paris,” says Stack. “The bigger studs can expect to cover 200 to 300 mares with their new horses, but I can only guarantee a fraction, so every mare you get is a triumph.
The costs of keeping horses and running a breeding operation have also soared in recent times, in line with general inflationary trends.
“Feed, hay and straw bills have all gone up,” explains Stack. “We were paying €13 per bag of feed a year ago, and now we’re paying €17. We use about 130 bags per week. That’s an extra €500 a week, so costs have nearly gone up by 33 per cent.
“I can’t do anything about it. If you don’t feed the horses properly your clients won’t be happy, and I treat every horse like my own anyway. Then on top of all those other overheads you have the wage bill, and you have to pay more to get competent staff as they’re so hard to come by. I live for each July, when foals are registered and I’m paid.”
It begs the question, if operating an independent stallion stud leads to such a precarious existence, why not do something else? Stack is, for instance, an IT whizz and that sector notoriously pays well.
“I do it for the craic,” he replies drily. “No, the serious answer is that for all the downsides, the stress, the costs, the annoyances, when it goes right it gives you a high that drugs couldn’t give you.
“It can be brutal. You can have a breeder who has a mare booked in for a late afternoon slot, but he has two other mares being covered elsewhere earlier in the day and it’s easier to stay there, so he rings up and says he’s not coming. It’s dog eat dog.”
“It can be something as simple as a mare who’s been barren for a few seasons and then comes back to us and clicks, and gets in foal on her first or second cover, or another mare who’s produced two disasters by other people’s stallions, and then gives birth to a lovely, healthy foal by one of ours.”
Much like how smaller, independent high street businesses compete against conglomerates by offering a more personalised, bespoke service, it no doubt
“When it goes right it gives you a high that drugs couldn’t give you”
Irish National Hunt stallion masters have placed all their chips on Sea The Stars proving to be a proficient sire of sires. It doesn’t seem a bad bet, when the world champion son of Cape Cross generally gets good-looking, sound and stamina-blessed stock.
Besides Storm The Stars at Coolagown Stud, there are at least seven other sons in jumps or dualpurpose roles across the Irish Sea.
Several have been heavily mined by breeders in recent years. None more so than Affinisea, a three-parts brother to Soldier Of Fortune who sold to the Tsui family for €850,000 as a foal and won a Roscommon maiden in a light career for Jim Bolger.
He has been the busiest sire in Britain and Ireland for the past two seasons, covering 325 mares at Whytemount Stud in 2021 and 382 in 2022, on the back of his early foals looking the part and winning a few point-to-points. His oldest crop, aged five, contains the smart hurdlers Affordale Fury and Ifiwerearichman.
Whytemount Stud last year added another Sea The Stars son to its roster in the shape of Behesht, a Listedwinning three-parts brother to Grand Prix de Paris victor Behkabad. He had previously stood at Calumet Farm in Kentucky, and covered 59 mares in his debut Irish book.
Another hugely popular Sea The Stars son is Crystal Ocean, who took the unusual route of being crowned joint-world champion and then retiring straight into a jumps role under the Coolmore banner at The Beeches Stud. The Prince of Wales’s Stakes victor, a half-brother to fellow top-flight winner
stands Coolagown Stud in good stead that clients get to sample Stack’s unique views on life.
“Quietness is not something I do, I can’t help chatting and talking to everyone,” he says. “I don’t believe in sitting back, you’ve got to put yourself out there as an approachable personality. If you go around acting like an asshole people will think twice about doing business with you.
“If you’re at a big stud you could probably get away with insulting people’s wives as much as you want because for every client you lose there’s five more waiting to get in. I can’t do that; I know I have to sell my personality.”
and promising stallion Hillstar, has been sent 281, 302 and 352 mares in his first three seasons between 2020 and 2022.
Eagles By Day and Fifty Stars joined the throng of National Hunt sires by Sea The Stars in Ireland last year. The former, out of teak-tough Lillie Langtry Stakes and Galway Hurdle winner Missunited, was a Group 3 winner and ran third to Japan in the King Edward VII Stakes, and stands at Glenview Stud, while the latter, a sibling to top hurdler Whiskey Sour, gained Group 1 laurels in Australia and was sent 76 mares at Sunnyhill Stud.
Harzand and Mekhtaal are the latest Sea The Stars sons drafted into jumps service in Ireland, along with Storm The Stars.
Dual Derby hero Harzand, from a strong Aga Khan Studs family, sired some useful Flat horses like French
Stack’s impish sense of humour isn’t always self-serving. He has been known to distribute tubs of sweets around the various offices on the sales grounds as thanks for their work behind the scenes.
“It’s just a small gesture for the good work they do,” he says. “We’re all on the same team working together, and you’ve got to look after people. I’d like to think I wouldn’t treat the person in the Vauxhall any different from the one in the Merc.”
Stack’s outgoing personality serves another important purpose. He is keenly aware of the mental health issues that afflict a lot of people in the breeding industry, doing work that can be lonely, frustrating and financially difficult.
Fusion and Soapy Stevens and a clutch of promising hurdlers at his old home of Gilltown Stud and he has now moved to Kilbarry Lodge Stud, while the well bred Prix d’Ispahan winner Mekhtaal transfers to Knockmullen House Stud after spending his first four seasons in France.
The French National Hunt stallion ranks still boast Sea The Stars’ Patternwinning sons Knight To Behold and Stellar Mass, as well as the unraced Zaskar, who is out of Zarkava and is thus a half-brother to the upwardly mobile sire Zarak.
Curiously, Britain is yet to gain a jumps-orientated stallion son of Sea The Stars, for all that National Hunt breeders there must wish they had easy and inexpensive access to Flat options Baaeed, Sea The Moon and Stradivarius.
“You don’t know what’s going on in other people’s heads, so a quick ‘hello’ or ‘how are you?’, or even a crappy joke, could make a huge difference,” he explains. “It’s particularly important in this business. I’ve had a few friends who have struggled, and I’ve told them they can call me whenever. I’d rather speak to them at two o’clock in the morning than deliver their eulogy.”
There’s no shortage of National Hunt stallions to choose between in Ireland, but it’s doubtful whether any besides Way To Paris, Storm The Stars and co are in the care of such a good egg. Here’s hoping they bring the jovial Stack some serious success.
Sireofthewinnersofover£1.5 millioninc.4stakeswinnersand 3otherstakesperformers
ASPETAR
WonGr.1 PreisVonEuropa,12f, Gr.2 York S,10.5f, Gr.2 GrandPrixdeChantilly,12f, inrecordtime, LR CockedHatS,11f, 2nd Gr.3 JohnPorterS,12f, LR GalaS,10f, 3rd LR DoonsideCup,10f
HARPER
WonLR GrandCriteriumdeBordeaux,8f, at2, LR PrixduRanelagh,8f, 2022
SAINTLAWRENCE
WonLR DenfordS,7f, at2, 2ndGr.3 PavilionS,6f, 3rdGr.3 PalaceHouseS,5f, 2022, Gr.3 HorrisHillS,7f, at2
USAK
WonLR PrixFBAAymerideMauleon,8f
GoldenSpell
2ndLR LegacyS,6f at2, LR PoloniaS,5.5f, 3rdLR BlenheimS,6f at2, LR
YeomanstownStudS,6f
Precisely
2ndLR GilliesFillies’S,10f, 2022
PersianRoyal
3rdLR QatarDerby,10f, 2022 (sold 450,000gns HITSales)
◆ JointChampionOlderHorseinEuropein2013 (9.5f-10.5f)
WonGr.1 EclipseS,2013,10f
WonGr.1 PrinceofWales’sS,2013,10f
WonGr.1 TattersallsGoldCup,2013,10.5f
WonGr.1 TattersallsGoldCup,2015,10.5f, WonGr.2 Prixd’Harcourt,2015,10f, Gr.2 JockeyClubCup,2012,12f
WonGr.3 GordonRichardsS,2013,10f, Gr.3 WinterHillS,2014,10f, 2ndGr.1 ChampionS,2014,10f, Gr.1 PrixGanay,2015,10f, Gr.1 IrishChampionS,2013,10f
3rdGr.1 JuddmonteInternationalS,2013,10f
◆ Timeformrated128 inthreeconsecutiveseasons
Words: Nancy Sexton
British jumps breeding has been struggling for a proper torchbearer following the retirements and deaths of Kayf Tara and Midnight Legend. The jumps sires table for 202223 is brutally black and white to that effect, with only one active Britishbased sire, Ocovango, within the top 35 at the time of writing. Commercially speaking, the situation isn’t much better, for while a polarised market is smitten with certain horses, the majority reside in Ireland, among them Blue Bresil, Crystal Ocean and Walk In The Park.
That assessment, however, fails to do justice to the ambition of various Britishbased stallion farms, some of them newer operations very keen to make a difference.
As outlined further in these pages, Alne Park welcomes Midnights Legacy and Ocovango while Overbury Stud has landed a coup with the arrival of Golden Horn following his purchase by Jayne McGivern’s Dash Grange Stud.
There is also plenty of ambition behind the burgeoning roster based at Roisin Close’s Chapel Stud on behalf of Simon Davies’ Dahlbury. Such has been its growth that it is easy to forget that it was only in 2021 that Davies and Chapel added its first stallion, Planteur (2023 fee: £4,000). The Group 1-winning son of Danehill Dancer is well known in Flat circles as the sire of Trueshan but those early French crops have also yielded a number of classy jumpers led by the Grade 2 scorers Gran Diose and Edidindo.
Planteur has been consistently well supported by outside breeders since he
Whether its the proven likes of Walk In The Park and Blue Bresil or emerging horses such as Golden Horn and Affinisea, jumps breeders are spoilt for choice when it comes to the stallions on offer in Britain and IrelandSire of Douvan and Min from his time in France, Coolmore’s Walk In The Park remains one of the most popular jumps stallions in Britain and Ireland
switched to Chapel Stud – his 2022 book included mares belonging to the Queen as well as trainers Nigel Twiston-Davies and Hughie Morrison – but as with every Dahlbury stallion, he can count upon a depth of home support; indeed, last season’s collection was highlighted by the Arkle Chase heroine Put The Kettle On, a £380,000 purchase.
Similarly, fellow Chapel/Dahlbury stallions Bangkok (£3,000) and Walzertakt (£2,500) were also the beneficiaries of good home support. Bangkok, a tough-as-teak Group 2 winner by Australia from the famous Fall Aspen family, stands his second season, while Walzertakt, a Group 2-winning stayer by Montjeu, switched from France in 2022 and has already been represented by winners from a handful of runners in these parts including In Excess, who holds several Cheltenham Festival entries for Willie Mullins. Chapel Stud is also home to the Irish 2,000 Guineas winner Indian Haven (£1,500).
Nor is David Futter’s Yorton Farm Stud ever far from the action. Long a driving force in pushing British jumps bloodstock forward, he invariably adds a fresh name to his roster each season. This year’s new horse is Ito (£3,000), a brother to Group 1 winner In Swoop. Ito was a German champion himself who won the Grosser Preis von Bayern and boasts the additional allure of being a son of the much-missed Adlerflug from an excellent Gestut Schlenderhan family. Early seasons in Germany have yielded several stakes horses and he deserves to be well patronised in his new spot at Yorton; after all, In Swoop covered over 200 mares in his first season in Ireland last year.
Pedigree is also a key element behind Masterstroke (£3,500), a Group 2-winning relation to Galileo and Sea The Stars. Yorton added the son of Monsun for 2020, since when his early French crops have thrown a Flat Group 2 winner in Miss Extra alongside jumpers such as Hades, third in the Grade 1 Prix Ferdinand Dufaure Chase, and Dreammy Bell and Floridee, both Grade 3 winners at Auteuil.
Yorton is also in the envious position of being able to offer two sons of Monsun since it is also home to the older Gentlewave (£3,500), whose roll call includes the likes of Poker Party, Gentlemansgame, Gentle Slopes and Easysland. Not only that, the Classicplaced Arrigo (£2,000) is the only British or Irish-based son of Shirocco, one of the first stallions to define the Monsun sire line as a major jumps influence. His first British-bred crop are foals.
Established as a stallion farm just over two years ago, Dan and Grace Skelton’s Alne Park Stud in Warwickshire has flourished to the stage where it will offer breeders three options for 2023, ranging from the proven Dink and Ocovango to first-year horse Midnights Legacy.
Dink, the only son of Poliglote at stud, was purchased out of France for the 2021 season after coming to attention as the sire of Nube Negra. Trained by Dan Skelton, the electric two-miler chaser lowered the colours of Altior in the 2020 Desert Orchid Chase before going on to land successive renewals of the Shloer Chase at Cheltenham. In return, Dink has been enthusiastically supported by the Skeltons along with a number of outside breeders since his arrival to Alne Park.
“I’m really excited about Dink,” says Grace Skelton. “He’s obviously already had good winners but there’s not actually that much stock out there by him. So it’s been great for us to see what he throws. The ones we have are correct, very well balanced with good bone and generally sensible brains on them. He’s also a pure-breeding bay.
“I try to look at ours with a stockman’s eye but what has been encouraging is the good reports we’ve had from other breeders and from those who have come to us to buy his stock. And his book is now filling up, which is reflective of that.”
Ocovango, a Group 2-winning son of Monsun, joins Alne Park having begun his stud career at The Beeches in Ireland. While his son, the Imperial Cup winner Langer Dan, is a much-loved member of Dan Skelton’s yard, Ocovango’s star has also risen in recent weeks due to the exploits of Champ Kiely, winner of the Grade 1 Lawlor’s Of Naas Novice Hurdle.
“Ocovango is something of a flagship horse and another elite stallion for us alongside Dink,” says Skelton. “Ocovango has a lot of stock on the ground but they’re winning at all levels and I think you consistently see a good attitude with them. It’s exciting because you’d have to anticipate that there is plenty more to come.”
Meanwhile, in Midnights Legacy
there is the unique opportunity to tap into the Midnight Legend sire line. Midnight Legend was a real friend to the British jumps breeder, making the most of the chances afforded to him to sire numerous high-class jumpers, among them Cheltenham Gold Cup hero Sizing John. He died in 2016 at his longterm home of Pitchall Stud but not before its owners David and Kathleen Holmes had embarked on a quest to breed a colt with the potential to stand at stud.
Midnights Legacy, out of the Generous mare Giving, is the outcome and an impressive one at that in light of a race record that included a novice win at two, another four wins in competitive Flat handicaps and a further three successes over hurdles. Indeed, such versatility is reminiscent of the race record compiled by his sire.
“I feel tremendously privileged to stand him on behalf of David and Kathleen,” says Skelton. “They’ve been in this business for so long and had so much success – they did so well with Midnight Legend and Passing Glance. I hope we can repay that faith.
“He’s a beautiful mover, very athletic, with a real Midnight Legend head. He always gave everything on the track and ended up being rated 101 on the Flat.”
She added: “It’s very exciting. The roster has trebled, and what I think is really exciting is that each horse offers something a bit different.”
Diva. Progeny by Telescope sold for up to 235,000gns in the past year.
At Nunstainton Stud, Falco’s arrival has come at an opportune moment thanks to the wide-margin win of Tahmuras in the Tolworth Hurdle. Tahmuras isn’t the first top-class horse sired by the French 2,000 Guineas winner since Falco’s earlier French crops contained Triumph Hurdle winner Peace And Co and Grade 1 jumper Hitman in addition to the top Flat performer Odeliz.
The size of Arrigo’s book increased for 2022, as did that belonging to Coronation Cup hero Pether’s Moon (£2,500). The recipient of almost 60 mares, his first crop contains the Listed-placed Anneloralas as well as the promising trio Moon Hunter, Lunar Discovery and Deere Mark.
Particularly well received last season was the St Leger hero Logician (£4,000). Snapped up for stud duty by Shade Oak Stud, the son of Frankel covered close to 180 mares in his debut season as befits a six-time winner who is out of a Daylami relation to Bated Breath and Cityscape.
The British dual-purpose market has received a very welcome shot in the arm with the addition of Golden Horn to Overbury Stud. A brilliant performer who lit up the 2015 season with victories in the Derby, Irish Champion Stakes, Eclipse Stakes and Arc, his move to Overbury last summer coincided with a productive run as a Flat sire highlighted by the win of Botanik in the Grand Prix de Deauville and Haskoy’s gallant performance when second past the post in the St Leger.
At the same time, Golden Horn’s reputation as a jumps sire continued to blossom; think high-class hurdlers First Street, Stag Horn and Nusret. As such, the son of Cape Cross makes a lot of sense from a dual-purpose perspective off his new fee of £8,000.
Making his place at Overbury all the more welcome is the fact he is standing
On a roster that offers access to some of the best sire lines of the current era, Shade Oak also stands a high-class and durable son of Dubawi in Dartmouth (£3,000). This Hardwicke Stakes winner is already off the mark on the Flat as sire of the 88-rated Naval College, who subsequently sold for 185,000gns to race on in Australia, while from a handful of early jumpers he has been represented by the winning filly Sailing Grace.
The Shade Oak roster is completed by another Hardwicke winner in Telescope (£3,000), whose early crops include multiple winners Ferns Lock and I Spy A
Falco is priced at £2,000 at Nunstainton, where he stands alongside the Derby runner-up Dragon Dancer (£1,500) and fellow Group 1 winners Cannock Chase (£1,500) and Kingston Hill (£2,000). The latter, who won the St Leger and was an unbeaten Group 1 winner at two, is off to a good start with the jumpers bred from his time with Coolmore, notably as sire of the recent Grade 2-winning hurdler No Looking Back. He also hit the headlines recently thanks to Butcher Hollow, successful in Ireland’s first four-year-old point-to-point of the season at Tallow.
Falco switches from James and Amelia Gray’s Elusive Bloodstock, which welcomes Linda’s Lad (£2,500) in return. Proven sons of Sadler’s Wells are dwindling by the year but Linda’s Lad, a Group 1-winning two-year-old, is one such horse with the Grade 1-performing jumpers Draconien, Cash Back and L’Estran among those to his credit.
Ask, one of Britain’s top active sires,
on behalf of a new investor in Jayne McGivern’s Dash Grange Stud, thereby further underlining the ambitious undercurrents striving to push the British industry forward.
“He’ll be very busy,” says Simon Sweeting of Overbury Stud. “I don’t
know how many he’ll end up covering but he has over 170 booked so far.
“There are some really super mares among them. Jayne is supporting him tremendously. Concertista [the high-class hurdler who was bought for €220,000 by Dash Grange Stud in
has just commenced his second season at Willow Wood Farm for £2,000. One of Sadler’s Wells’ final Group 1 winners when successful in the 2009 Prix RoyalOak, Ask enjoyed a good season last year as sire of Grade 2 bumper winner Lookaway.
Grazemoor Farm in Somerset is also home to another high-performing son of Sadler’s Wells in the Group 2-winning stayer Saddler’s Rock (poa), sire of current dual winning hurdler Shutupshirley from just a handful of runners. He stands alongside Yorkshire Cup winner Geordieland (poa), sire of the promising novice chaser Straw Fan Jack.
West Country breeders also have access to Group 1-winning miler Virtual (Etheridge Farm; poa), sire of the American Grand National winner and recently crowned American champion Hewick, as well as the roster at Vauterhill Stud, which includes two Classic winners
December] is just one of the mares that Jayne is sending and Put The Kettle On is also coming from Dahlbury.”
He adds: “It’s great to have a horse like Golden Horn in the UK. It shows that there are people in Britain who want to invest in jumps stallions, which is great. The likes of Jayne, Simon Davies and Brian Mayoh have been very important and have each a done a lot to keep good mares over here now. It puts the British jumps industry on a strong footing going forward – it’s a much brighter picture than it was 20 years ago.”
Golden Horn isn’t alone in promoting Overbury as an elite National Hunt sire source, however. The imposing Jack Hobbs (£3,000), who ran second to Golden Horn in the Derby prior to running away with the Irish equivalent, has long attracted good-sized books, with breeders no doubt taking confidence from his Group 1 race record, looks and outcross pedigree.
The first stores by the son of Halling
in Nutan (poa), already the sire of a Flat Group 3 winner out of his first small German crops, and Irish St Leger winner Sans Frontieres (poa), sire of the highclass hurdler Jack The Militant. Top Trip (poa), a Group 2-winning son of Dubai Destination, also resides at Vauterhill.
Overall, there is no shortage of Classic class on offer in Britain. The arrival of St Leger hero Leading Light (£2,500) to Dunraven Stud in Wales coincided with the emergence of his first-crop son Three Stripe Life as a Grade 1-winning novice hurdler. Only last December, another son, Southoftheborder, realised £145,000 at the Goffs UK Tingle Creek Sale off the back of an impressive point win.
Another St Leger winner, Harbour Law (£2,000), forms part of an eyecatching roster at Batsford Stud. While his first crop are three-year-olds this year, Batsford also offers two proven horses in Passing Glance (£3,000) and Frammassone (£2,000), a top jumper himself whose stud statistics read well in light of his small crops sired to date. As for Passing Glance, he has found favour late in life and deservedly so for a horse whose progeny range from the top Flat performer Side Glance to jumpers of the calibre of Dashel Drasher and Millers Bank.
Anyone looking for a durable horse could also do far worse than consider Diplomat (March Hare Stud: £1,500), a Group 2 winner who won over jumps in France, or triple Group 2 winner Marmelo
sold for up €110,000 last year while on the Flat two of his four runners have won led by The Gadget Man, a 91-rated gelding who subsequently sold for 310,000gns to continue his career with Chris Waller in Australia.
“Jack Hobbs obviously had The Gadget Man on the Flat last year and he ended up selling very well,” says Sweeting. “Trainers like his progeny and I keep hearing the Irish point-to-point lads like them as well. Next season will tell us more but he’s had a few run well in bumpers.
“Jack Hobbs is such an imposing horse and a wonderful outcross. He’s always had big books so there’s plenty coming through.”
For just £1,000, breeders can also access a Group 1-performing son of Dubawi in Frontiersman. A half-brother to Australia out of Ouija Board, the fourtime winner has consistently received good support following the arrival of his first foals. In the meantime, his only
(£2,000). A seven-time winner himself, Marmelo joined Norton Grove Stud last season where he stands alongside the equally tough and talented Century Dream (£3,000), Listed winner Forever Now (£1,000), a well-bred son of Galileo, and new recruit Wells Farhh Go (poa), a tough Group 3-winning son of Farhh.
Shamardal’s brother Yorgunnabelucky (£2,000) also continues to hold his own at Mickley Stud, notably as the sire of Gerry Feilden Hurdle winner Onemorefortheroad and Listed bumper winner Timeforatune.
Meiklehaugh Stud also stands the Earl Of Sefton Stakes winner Mahsoob (poa). ››
runner on the Flat, Miss Dolly Rocker, has shown fair form, notably when falling only a neck short of winning on her debut against a black-type rival last September
“Frontiersman is a great-looking horse,” says Sweeting. “He got 65 mares in his first year and then the foals started appearing – they’re very good-looking and that excited breeders. He got 105 mares the next year off the back of that. I sent my best mare Rosita Bay [dam of Thyme Hill].”
Finally, following last year’s passing of Kayf Tara, to whom British jumps breeding owes such a great debt, the mantle of Overbury veteran has fallen on to 20-year-old Schiaparelli (£2,000), that ever-reliable source of winners.
“Schiaparelli has his fans,” says Sweeting. “He keeps having winners and Indefatigable and Ronald Pump are still around. He’s been wonderful to us and he’s lovely to have around.”
“Overall, there is no shortage of Classic class on offer in Britain”BILL SELWYN
The British and Irish jumps stallion population remains awash with Sadler’s Wells blood – notably via Montjeu and Galileo – alongside increasingly that of Monsun.
The market remains infatuated with Montjeu’s son Walk In The Park and understandably so given that his small French-bred crops yielded Douvan and Min. His first Irish-bred crop are six this season, while in the past 12 months alone no fewer than 28 of his progeny (of all ages) have realised six figures at auction.
Walk In The Park stands at Grange Stud for a private fee, believed to be in the region of €25,000, and therefore heads a Coolmore jumps roster that remains as influential as ever.
Coolmore veteran Yeats (Castle Hyde Stud; €5,000) heads into the Cheltenham Festival in a strong place to retain the sires’ championship. Crowned champion for the first time last season as the likes of Flooring Porter, Conflated and Grand National hero Noble Yeats did him proud, he sits at the head of the current table with earnings of close to £2 million, a figure buoyed by the presence of seven
black-type winners – and counting.
Yeats is one of five living Coolmorebased stallions within the top eight stallions by prize-money. Verdana Blue’s sire Getaway (Grange Stud: €7,000) fills third, Walk In The Park holds fifth, Mahler (The Beeches: €5,000) sits sixth and fellow established Grade 1 sire Westerner
STALLIONS, RACING CLUB, TRAINING AND SPELLING
Stud
(Castle Hyde Stud: €5,000) holds eighth.
The younger division of Coolmore’s roster is also reflective of that demand for Monsun and Sadler’s Wells-line stallions. For instance, the Monsun horses Maxios (Castle Hyde Stud: €6,000) and Vadamos (Grange Stud: €6,000) officially covered 451 mares
l Winner of Group 1 Poule d’Essai des Poulains.
l Already the Sire of Black-Type winners under Both Codes including Cheltenham Festival entrants TAHMURAS and HITMAN
l Stock in 2022 made 110,000gns, £67,000, etc.
Fee: £2,000
By Lemon Drop Kid ex. Lynwood Chase
l Group Winner over 10/12f, incl. Canadian International.
l Oldest Crop just turned 5.
l Sire of Winners under Both Codes.
Fee: £1,000
By
Mastercraftsman ex. Audacieusel Unbeaten Group 1 winning 2yo.
l Classic Winner & Champion Stayer in Europe at 3.
l Already a Sire of Winners under Both Codes.
l Already the sire of Group 2 Hurdle winner NO LOOKING BACK , IRISH HILL and recent 4yo Irish Point-to-Point winner’s BUTCHER HOLLOW and BEN SOLO
Fee: £2,000
By
Sadler’s Wells ex. Alakanandal Consistent Group Level Performer over 12f, incl. beaten a short head in the 2006 Derby.
l Sire of Winners under Both Codes.
l Top class pedigree, looks, confirmation and temperament.
Fee: £1,500
For further details contact; Chris Dawson: Gypsy Lane, Ferryhill, Co. Durham, DL17 0LG www.nunstaintonstud.com • Facebook: Nunstainton Stud • Tel: 07796 530084
1st Group 2 Great Voltigeur
2nd Group 1 Irish Derby
3rd Group 1 Epsom Derby
1st 3YO’s in 2022; sole 3YO at Go s sold for €55,000 HIT with Gabriel Leenders, Willie Mullins, Tom George, etc
We’re very happy with them and he’s a stallion very much on our radar.” - Harold Kirk , principle agent for Willie Mullins, who has several by Storm The Stars
“
FIRST FOALS WELL RECEIVED IN 2022 & SOLD TO MORGAN SHEEHAN, GERRY HOGAN, ETC
120+ QUALITY MARES IN FOAL EACH SEASON
A huge addition to the Irish stallion ranks”
winner In Swoop (€4,000), who covered just over 200 mares in his first year at The Beeches Stud.
Galileo naturally also features heavily within the Coolmore jumps battalion. As a brilliant stallion with a propensity for throwing tough stock, especially over middle distances, the idea of Galileo becoming an important influence over jumps has been unsurprisingly embraced by stud masters and breeders. As such, a number of those horses have been afforded numerically exceptional chances – as we saw again last year when, between them, his jumps-orientated sons covered close to 1,100 mares.
between them in 2022. Both switched to the jumps sector having had some success on the Flat – Maxios as the sire of German Oaks heroine Diamanta and Vadamos as the sire of top New Zealand filly La Crique – but, as is typical of their sire line, both have also made an impression over jumps. That observation is particularly true of Maxios, whose
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Coolmore stand several of the more productive names, notably Mahler and Soldier Of Fortune (The Beeches: €8,000), both of whom have sired Grade 1-winning jumpers, while hopes will be running high for champion stayer Order Of St George (Castle Hyde Stud: €6,500), a popular young name at the sales whose first crop turned three this year. Irish Derby and St Leger hero Capri (Grange Stud: €2,500), fellow St Leger winner Kew Gardens (Castle Hyde Stud: €3,500), Highland Reel’s high-class
l Bred by Cheveley Park Stud, Tough Consistant Winning Miler,
l Group 1 winner osf Lockinge Stakes; also Listed Race Winner.
l Trained by John Gosden, running 14 times, 5 wins and
l 2 seconds, 4 thirds, ¾ brother to Iceman
l Virtual has sired 75 winners to date of over £1,000,000
l Including the exciting young chaser Hewick, winner of the
l Grand National at Far Hills USA; Galway Plate; bet365 Gold
l Cup, Sandown; Class 2 Durham National Chase, Sedgefield.
l Eclipse Award winner 2023.
l Stud fee: £750 Concessions for Non-TB NFFR.
GR.1/GR.2 SIRE ON THE FLAT, OVER HURDLES AND JUMPS
GR.1 SIRE OF CHAMPION STAYER TRUESHAN
A BRAND PASSIONATE ABOUT THE GREAT BRITISH THOROUGHBRED
HIGHEST EARNING SON OF DANEHILL DANCER
Gr.1 winner and won/placed in 12 Stakes races.
PATERNAL HALF-BROTHER TO THE LATE JEREMY, A LEADING NH SIRE
Fee: £4,000 1st October FFR
Concessions available Chapel Stud Ltd Chapel Lane, Bransford, Worcestershire WR6 5JQ 01452 717 342 chapelstud.co.uk
HIGH-CLASS STAYER BY MONTJEU
WON/PLACED IN 5 STAKES RACES
HALF-BROTHER TO 4 GROUP HORSES
Including German Derby winner Wiener Walzer, sire of Grade 1 winner Adagio. Bred on the same cross as Camelot.
FIRST NH WINNERS PROVING
GREAT PROSPECTS
40% winners to runners inc. Zertakt, In Excess, Wal Cassandre, etc.
Fee: £2,500 1st October FFR
WELL BRED, TOUGH & CONSISTENT STAKES WINNER
WON/PLACED IN 8 STAKES RACES
OUTSTANDING PEDIGREE
Half-brother to 6 Stakes horses including 2022 Gr.2 winning 2yo The Foxes, descending from the legendary Fall Aspen.
Fee: £3,000 1st October FFR
Donal White’s Foxwood Stud has certainly hit the ground running. Only officially open for business in recent months, its first covering season is going to be a busy one with breeders seemingly keen to take advantage of young stallions representing the Sholokhov and Saint Des Saints sire lines as well as a proven option in Racinger.
White is in a prime position to appreciate the merits of Sholokhov having worked closely with the stallion during his time at Glenview Stud. As such, the acquisition of his Group 3-winning son Night Wish appears to be a natural fit, especially as the stallion has already made a bright start with his first runners conceived at Haras de Montaigu in France. Night Wish, a brother to the German Group 1 winner Night Magic from a high-class German family, stood his first season in Ireland last year for White at Michael Shefflin’s Annshoon Stud and now switches to the Cork-based Foxwood, where he heads the roster at €4,000.
“Night Wish is an imposing horse, around 16.3 with great limbs, great scope and a fantastic hind leg,” says White. “From what I’ve seen, he stamps his stock. He’s also out of a very good race mare by Monsun [Night Woman]. I like those German families as they tend to be tough, sound horses with good wind and limbs, and you see them train on, which I think is so important in our game. Night Wish himself won a Group 3 as a six-year-old.”
Night Wish’s first crop are fiveyear-olds and already include a Listed Auteuil winner in Odiago. Crucially, however, he also has a potentially high-profile clutch of representatives in Britain and Ireland, among them
brother Idaho (The Beeches: €3,000) and the beautifully-bred Group 1 winner Mogul (The Beeches: €3,500) also have young stock coming through.
Other sons of Galileo at stud in Ireland include El Salvador (Killack Stud; poa), whose progeny sold for up to £120,000 last year, and Bahrain Trophy winners Shantaram (€1,000) and Feel Like Dancing (€1,500). Irish St Leger winner Flag Of Honour (poa), whose first crop are yearlings, has also switched from the National Stud in Newmarket to Ballycurragh Stud, where he stands
point winner Omaha Wish, now with Dan Skelton after selling for £100,000, Ile De Jersey, a dual winner for Nicky Henderson, and Fontainebleau scorer Ivaldi, who was second recently at Ascot for Paul Nicholls.
“He’s had 13 individual winners and then his first runner in a point-to-point over here [Omaha Wish] won and went to Dan Skelton,” says White. “For a relatively young stallion with small crops, he’s doing very well.”
In Saintgodrel, Foxwood boasts the distinction of standing the only son of Saint Des Saints at stud in either Britain or Ireland. Saint Des Saints continues to exert a formidable influence, including via his son Jeu St Eloi, for whom a select representation in these parts includes the highly promising bumper winners Inthewaterside, D Art D Art and It’s For Me; the latter, trained by Willie Mullins, was favourite for the Weatherbys Champion Bumper at the time of writing.
Like Night Wish, Saintgodrel spent the first part of his stud career in France
alongside Hardwicke Stakes winner Snow Sky (poa), by Nayef. The latter is off the mark with his first runners, while his stock have sold for up to 180,000gns.
The majority of those younger Galileo horses are yet to be truly tested with their runners, but, it has to be said that judging by some of the older sire sons, his jumps legacy has yet to match that belonging to Montjeu. With that in mind, Derby winner Wings Of Eagles (The Beeches: €3,500), by Montjeu’s son
– his first crop are three-year-olds –before switching for 2022 to Annshoon. He looks set to be busy this season at a fee of €2,500.
“He is a gorgeous horse,” says White. “He could just be a diamond in the rough. I wanted a Saint Des Saints but the big thing for me is a horse’s family and he’s got a super pedigree – he’s out of a very good mare in Loumie, who is by Loup Solitaire.
“It helps that Jeu St Eloi is going very well. It shows that the line is working well here and off the back of that I have a few mares booked.
“I have a couple of yearlings and two-year-olds myself by him, and they’re old-fashioned types, big, strong, gorgeous horses. But I’d say they’d be early enough as well.”
Group 2 winner Racinger (€3,000) joins from France having supplied several high-class jumpers out of small crops, among them Farouk d’Alene, a very smart novice chaser for Gordon Elliott last season.
“There’s plenty of action with him as well,” says White. “The point-to-point people love him as a few have had a good touch with his progeny. They’re forward going and get the job done, which suits those lads.
“He has a fantastic walk and presence. Don’t forget, he was a fourtime Group winner over a mile so he’ll give you a bit of speed as well. I think he’s going to work very well in Ireland, he’ll get his best chance here anyway. I’m really looking forward to covering my own mares with him.”
He adds: “We had over 300 people through our gates for the Irish Stallion trail, which was phenomenal really. It was great to see the interest. All of our horses offer something a bit different, whether it be their race records or their pedigrees. There’s one to suit different types of mares.”
Pour Moi, could be an interesting play, especially in light of the fact that his first French-bred four-year-olds include a Listed winner on the Flat alongside a handful of winners over jumps.
Arctic Tack Stud’s Ol’ Man River (poa) not only offers direct access to Montjeu but also proven ability – he was a Group 2 winner at two – and strong pedigree, as a son of the Classic-winning miler Finsceal Beo. His first crop are still only five but he is off the mark in the pointing field as well as under Rules.
The older Jukebox Jury (Burgage
‘He could just be a diamond in the rough’Night Wish: ‘an imposing horse with great limbs and scope’
One of the toughest sons of the great DUBAWI who outfought Highland Reel in the Hardwicke S & St Leger winner Simple Verse in the Yorkshire Cup.
Winner of 8 races & placed 5 times for earnings over over £680,000 and possesses the ideal attributes for a sire of NH horses.
Early foals have brought €35,000, €24,000, €21,000, €20,000, €20,000 etc.
Pure-breeding bay; sires strong, correct foals with great temperaments.
Sire of high-class flat winner NAVAL COLLEGE and 3-year-old debut hurdle winner SAILING GRACE
Course-record setting St Leger winner; Combines high cruising speed and tremendous acceleration. Won his first 6 races, at 3 and 4 years, 10-14.5f, £547,731, and was placed 3 times, all his starts.
Son of the superb racehorse and emerging super-sire, FRANKEL. From a family exuding class in every generation.
Fantastic conformation, great movement, outstanding temperament.
Ideal combination of Size, Scope and Power
183 mares covered in 2022 including 45 elite NH mares.
Now ready to take off as a Leading Sire with...
Over 525 live offspring aged 5yo and under with over 100 from TBA Elite Mares.
Already sire of high-class 6-year-old chase winner
FERNS LOCK RPR 155 and INHF winner SLADE STEEL and multiple hurdle winner I SPY A DIVA
Offspring sold for £130,000, €85,000, €78,000, €70,000, €68,000, £60,000 etc.
was repatriated from Spain to stand at Clongiffen Stud. The sire of winners in Spain, his first Irish-bred crop are foals.
Clongiffen also offers an intriguing prospect in the form of Austrian School (€1,500). The son of Teofilo was a hardy five-time winner and Listed-placed but also of interest is the fact he’s a halfbrother to Tiger Roll.
Glenview Stud, the jumps arm of Rathbarry Stud, has long held a reputation as a source of quality jumping stock, being inextricably linked for many years with the likes of Strong Gale and Presenting. Today, various inmates still carry that same weight, ranging from Blue Bresil to Sholokhov.
Stud: poa) did plenty to enhance the Montjeu legacy as sire of the Triumph Hurdle winner Farclas in his first crop. Also responsible for the popular mare Princess Zoe on the Flat, Jukebox Jury was back in the news recently thanks to the Grade 1-winning novice hurdler Il Etait Temps. His first Irish foal crop turned four this year and it doesn’t take too much imagination to envisage him taking even higher order as they start to hit the track.
Might Bite’s sire Scorpion (poa) stands at The Old Road Stud while Camelot’s high-class son Hunting Horn (€2,000) – a relation to High Chaparral –has just commenced his third season at Castlefield Stud.
Understandably popular has been the Irish Derby winner Santiago (Castle Hyde Stud: €4,000), the only son of Authorized at stud in Britain or Ireland. Also a descendant of Allegretta, he covered 188 mares in his debut season last year.
Another growing trend is the momentum behind sons of Sea The Stars, and with that in mind, why not consider his own three-parts brother Sea’s Legacy? The sire of winners on the Flat, the son of Green Desert now stands for a private fee at Longford House Stud.
Getting back to Sea The Stars himself, Martin Stevens discusses the popularity of the line in this magazine’s interview with Coolagown Stud’s David Stack. However, to recap, sons such as Crystal Ocean (The Beeches: €8,000), Affinisea (Whytemount Stud: poa), Harzand (Kilbarry Lodge Stud: €5,000), Behesht (Whytemount Stud: poa),
Eagles By Day (Glenview Stud: poa), Fifty Stars (Sunnyhill Stud: €3,000), Mekhtaal (Knockmullen House Stud: €2,500), and Almighwar (Garryrichard Stud: €1,500) all remain extremely popular.
Crystal Ocean’s first crop of yearlings sold for up to 135,000gns at Book 1 of the Tattersalls October Sale – the colt in question has joined Andrew Balding. Crystal Ocean isn’t the only member of his family available to Irish breeders either, since Garryrichard Stud stands his Group 1-winning half-brother Hillstar (€2,500). The son of Danehill Dancer has made a brisk start at stud as the sire of a pair of Listed-placed bumper performers from a handful of first-crop runners.
The Danehill Dancer brand has also been warmly received in recent years. Prix Greffuhle winner Sumbal (€2,500) is one such horse as the recipient of over 100 mares in each of his first two seasons for Boardsmill Stud. Formerly in France, his first crop are three-year-olds.
The late Jeremy did much to fuel the Danehill Dancer momentum over the sticks and the market has unsurprisingly gone on to show appreciation for the handful of his sire sons. They include Group 2 winner Success Days (Kilbarry Lodge Stud: €2,000), a six-time scorer whose first foals sold for up to €70,000. The grey forms part of a progressive roster at Kilbarry Lodge Stud that also stands L’Homme Presse’s sire Diamond Boy (€5,000), Martaline’s half-brother Pillar Coral (€1,500) and Derby winner Harzand
Jeremy is also sire of Kool Kompany (€2,000), a dual Group 2 winner who
Blue Bresil (poa) remains all the rage in the ring – ten of his progeny broke the six-figure mark in 2022 – and deservedly so given he has gifted the racing world with Constitution Hill alongside current stars Good Land, Blue Lord, L’Autonomie and Royale Pagaille.
Shishkin’s sire Sholokhov (poa) remains in service at the age of 24, as does Annie Power’s sire Shirocco (poa) at 22. Youmzain (poa), an established source of talented horses under both codes, is also in residence; his first Glenview-bred crop are four-year-olds.
Glenview’s knack for securing the right horses must bode well for the prospects of Old Persian (poa), who retired in 2021. A striking son of Dubawi, whose own jumpers include the Grade 1 winners Dodging Bullets and Hisaabaat, his nine wins included the Grade 1 Northern Dancer Stakes. Popular with breeders, he has received over 140 mares in every season to date.
In County Carlow, Burgage Stud is reaping the rewards of importing Jukebox Jury from Germany. However, it doesn’t end there since its dual Group 2 winner Sea Moon (poa), the only son of Beat Hollow at stud in Britain or Ireland, has made a bright start with his early runners, which include the stakes-placed Nikini and Hi Stranger out of a first crop of 23 foals. His book hit three-figure territory in 2022, while that belonging to the stud’s Group 1 winner Fascinating Rock (€5,000), a proven stakes sire on the Flat during his time at Ballylinch Stud, was eye-catchingly rich in quality.
Another operation with deep jumping roots is Knockhouse Stud. Once the home of Beneficial, Knockhouse would appear to have plenty to look forward to in the Derby and Arc hero Workforce (poa), whose first Irish-bred crops include Working Away, a £330,000
purchase by Gordon Elliott following an impressive pointing success, and the Grade 2-placed Man At Work, a £155,000 purchase to join David Pipe.
Similarly, the Derby runner-up Libertarian (poa) has made a bright start, notably as the sire of Grade 2 winner Watch House Cross out of his early crops.
They complement a roster at Knockhouse that also includes the older, proven pair of Tirwanako (poa), the sire of Adrimel and Gabynako among others, and Kap Rock (poa), a half-brother to Kapgarde, as well as the younger Boscaccio (poa) and Waldkonig (poa). German Group 2 winner Boscaccio, by the much-missed Mount Nelson, retired last year, while new addition Waldkonig is a Group 3-winning Kingman halfbrother to Waldgeist.
There are unlikely to be too many free moments over at Ronnie O’Neill’s Whytemount Stud given the incredible popularity of his young Sea The Stars horse Affinisea (poa). The County Kilkenny-based stud, however, also has another highly promising young horse in Manatee (€2,000), a Group 2-winning
Monsun half-brother to Dartmouth who is already off the mark with his first French-bred runners. Their Group 2-winning stud-mate Valirann (€2,000) is also making a fine impression thanks to first-crop representative Knappers Hill, winner of the Grade 2 Aintree Champion Bumper and Elite Hurdle, and fellow Grade 2 winner Ballybawn Belter.
As outlined earlier in the magazine,
Coolagown Stud has boosted its roster with the addition of Storm The Stars (€3,000). He joins a varied roster at Coolagown already headlined by the Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud winner Way To Paris (€3,500), the only son of Champs Elysees at stud.
Boardsmill Stud, which did so well with Mount Nelson until his death in 2019, continues to stand a favourite in 22-year-old Court Cave (€4,000), while also catching the imagination of breeders with the King George winner Poet’s Word (€6,000). The seven-time winner is already off the mark with his first Flat-bred two-year-olds, while his jumps-bred stock have been very well received at auction. He covered 245 mares in 2022.
Other busy stallions of 2022 include Arctic Tack Stud’s Jet Away (poa), also the recipient of over 200 mares. A Cape Cross relation to Dansili and Champs Elysees, Jet Away was quick to spring to prominence in the pointing field, a start that has been mirrored under Rules by the Grade 1-winning mare Brandy Love ››
and Grade 2-placed hurdlers Outback Flyer and Three Card Brag.
In addition to the aforementioned Ol’ Man River, the Arctic Tack roster also includes the high-class and well-bred stayer Dee Ex Bee (€3,500). A Farhh relation to Dubai Millennium, this Derby runner-up covered approximately 100 mares in his first season last year.
Another Derby runner-up, Khalifa Sat (€2,000), is standing his second season at Lacken Stud.
Classic class is also boasted by Lucky Speed (Sunnyhill Stud: poa), the German Derby winner whose first crop are off the mark in the pointing field, and Galileo Chrome (Compas Stallions; €3,000), the St Leger winner of 2020 who has been well supported since his retirement to stud in 2021; his first crop includes a half-brother to National Stakes winner Al Riffa.
Melbourne Cup hero Rekindling (poa), a High Chaparral grandson of blue hen Souk, also deserves to be well supported at his home of Longford House Stud, which also stands the Group 1 producer Rajsaman (poa) and St Leger winner Brian Boru (poa).
Pedigree and ability also sit behind Jet Away’s relation Mirage Dancer (€3,500). Part of a young roster alongside Hunting Horn at Castlefield Stud, the Frankel grandson of Hasili was a smart performer in Europe before heading to Australia, where he struck in the Group 1 Metropolitan Handicap. He was unsurprisingly popular in his first season, covering over 130 mares.
Nor do they come much better-bred than Rich History (poa), a winning Dubawi half-brother to Group 1 winners Kyprios, Search For A Song and Free Eagle. He covered just over 100 mares in his first season at Kedrah House Stud last year, where he stands alongside the Sadler’s Wells horse Well Chosen (poa), whose roll call from relatively small crops includes the likes of Adamantly Chosen, Carefully Selected and Jury Duty.
The Old Road Stud said farewell to stalwart Cloudings earlier this year at the age of 29. While already home to St Leger winner Arctic Cosmos (€2,500) as well as the high-class stayers Mizzou (€1,750) and Mores Wells (€1,750), the stud took steps to fill the void by securing Ilaraab (€2,500) for 2023.
there is plenty of value to be found in some of the older, less expensive horses. Frankel’s talented half-brother Bullet Train (Woodfield House Stud; poa) is a case in point given that his stud record consists of a Group 1 performer on the Flat in Chapada. Previously at stud in America and Australia, his first Irish-bred crop are four-year-olds.
Blackrath Stud stands Chacun Pour Soi’s sire Policy Maker (poa) as well as Saddex (poa), currently in the news thanks to Editeur Du Gite. In Northern
Ireland, Tullyraine House Stud offers Primary (poa), sire of the high-class two-mile chaser First Flow.
The Irish National Stud also offers a popular dual-purpose option in Elusive Pimpernel (€2,000), who has several big crops in the pipeline following the success of early jumpers such as Coeur Sublime, Ex Patriot and Thedevilscoachman.
Rosshill Stud is home to Gamut (€3,000), whose stud record is headlined by those classy chasers Road To Riches and Road To Respect, while the roster at Anngrove Stud ranges from Famous Name (€1,000), the winner of 20 stakes races, to Group 1-winning two-year-old Marcel (poa). The chance to tap into Group 1 ability can also be accessed via Gladiatorus (Windmill View Stud: €1,000) and Fuisse (€2,000), a top-class miler whose first French-bred crops include Auteuil Grade 3 scorer Belle Promesse. Fuisse joined Roveagh Lodge Stud for the 2022 season, where the son of Green Tune stands alongside Mount Nelson’s Classic-placed halfbrother Monitor Closely (€2,000), himself the sire of Grade 2-winning chaser Eclair De Beaufeu.
Students of jumps pedigrees will undoubtedly appreciate the burgeoning roster at Knockmullen House Stud in Ireland given that it includes Group 3 winner Silas Marner, the only son of Doctor Dino’s sire Muhtathir at stud in Britain or Ireland, and Group 1 winner Mekhtaal, a son of sire-of-the-moment Sea The Stars.
A €300,000 yearling, Mekhtaal won the Prix d’Ispahan and Prix Hocquart for Al Shaqab Racing and spent the first part of his stud career standing under his owner’s banner at Haras de Bouquetot in France. He is advertised at €2,500.
runners is off the mark thanks to the winners Purple Song, a debut scorer last year at La Teste, Angie and Zvolkov. Each are trained by Francois Nicolle on behalf of Alain Jathiere, who campaigned Silas Marner during the latter part of his racing career.
“It’s amazing to think what a great influence Muhtathir has become over jumping, especially with Doctor Dino,” says Doyle. “Silas Marner has been lucky because his owner has supported him with mares, put the foals with good trainers and now he’s getting winners. He’s a bit of an outcross and he’ll be getting a bigger book this season.”
Silas Marner stands for €2,000, while the Knockmullen House roster is completed by the hardy Group 3 winner Quest For Peace (€800), a well-bred son of Galileo whose first small crop contains The Galahad Kid, a multiple winner in bumpers and point-to-points.
By
Wootton Bassett,Ilaraab won over half his starts – eight races in total –including a pair of Group 3 races.
There might be a plethora of young stallions coming through but as ever
“You can see how he cost €300,000 as a yearling – he’s a lovely model, 16.1 with a good walk,” says the stud’s Gordon Doyle. “To get a Group 1 winner is fantastic. Sea The Stars is the hot sire at the moment and it’s a lovely family. I think the fact he’s out of a Silver Hawk mare [Group 3 winner Aiglonne] is a huge bonus. I’m a big fan of that Roberto line as I think there’s a toughness to them –Bob Back was a Roberto.”
Silas Marner was another to arrive having spent his early seasons at stud in France, and from a handful of
“Quest For Peace is a very goodlooking horse and he gets good lookers with great temperaments,” says Doyle. “He has a few nice horses coming through – we’ve got a few pointers to run by him.”
Fraam x Iberian Dancer (El Gran Senor)
Lawman x Abunai (Pivotal)
Polar Falcon x Spurned (Robellino)
10% black-type horses to runners 47% winners/runners
Stock has made up to €170,000 to Roger Brookhouse, Ben Pauling, Highflyer B’stock, D J Jeffreys, etc.
Fee: £2,000 1st Oct. Terms (LFFR)
Champion Three-Year-Old Stayer and Classic Winner
By a Classic Winner and Multiple Classic Sire
FIRST 3YOS IN 2023
Fee: £2,000 1st Oct. Terms (LF)
Gr.1 Aintree Chase winner 2022
OVER 60% won/placed to runners under both codes
One of 3 Active NH Sires in GB to Sire a Gr.1 Winner
Fee: £3,000 1st Oct. Terms (LFFR)
Batsford Stud, Batsford, Moreton-in-Marsh, Gloucestershire GL56 9QF
T: 01608 651890 • M: 07899 957355 • E: alanvarey@batsfordstud.co.uk www.batsfordstud.co.uk
Owners who secure sponsorship for their racing activities may be able to register for VAT, enabling them to reclaim VAT on racing expenses and on the purchase price of their racehorse. The ROA runs the Tote Owner Sponsorship Scheme which members can access to secure sponsorship.
For more information on how the scheme works visit www.roa.co.uk/sponsorship
The idea of staging a Europeanorientated breeze-up in Dubai would have been an alien concept not that long ago. But the racing world continues to grow smaller by the year and when Goffs announced in the summer of 2021 that it planned to hold such a sale the following spring in conjunction with the Dubai Racing Club (DRC) at Meydan, it was greeted with enthusiasm.
It was a major undertaking by Goffs and the DRC, one that required the shipment of 69 two-year-olds from Europe to Dubai. Once there, they were breezed ahead of the sale but in a leisurely fashion with an emphasis on movement rather than the clock.
To recap, 54 of the 69 lots offered sold for a total of €8,374,539 and an average of €155,084. A Curlin colt sold by Tom Whitehead’s Powerstown Stud, who had been a $150,000 pinhook, topped the sale on a bid of AED2,500,000 (€619,808) to Mohd Al Subousi; he has since joined Charlie Appleby in Newmarket.
The inaugural auction was staged against the backdrop of an expanding race programme in the Middle East and, as envisaged, plenty of those sold did remain out there to race. However, the Curlin sale-topper wasn’t the only one to return to Europe. At the time of writing, the sale has thrown six winners in Britain and Ireland, among them Dubai Jemila, a Dubawi filly who became its first winner when scoring at Ayr in August for Jaber Abdullah and Kevin Ryan, and Laafi, a Cloth Of Stars colt who was a back-end Nottingham maiden winner for Sheikh Hamed Dalmook Al Maktoum and William Haggas.
However, the action in recent weeks has unsurprisingly shifted to the Middle East. Mr Raj (by Bolt d’Oro) ran third in the UAE 2,000 Guineas, Lahresh (by Iffraaj) broke his maiden by daylight at Meydan in January and Go Soldier Go (by Tapiture) was similarly impressive last month in victory at the same track. In Saudi Arabia, Zefzaf (by Mo Town) and Desert Man (by Night Of Thunder) were good maiden winners at Riyadh, while Al Muheeb (by Cracksman) is a winner in Qatar.
The star turn, however, has come
in Japan courtesy of the Frankel colt Labeling, who went some way to repaying the €520,000 investment of Hirokazu Okada and Big Red Farm when running third in the Grade 1 Asahi Futurity Stakes at Hanshin.
All of which should put this year’s sale, scheduled for March 21 at Meydan, on a sound footing.
“Last year, it took a leap of faith from the vendors to support the sale, they took it and for the most part they were positive about it,” says Goffs CEO Henry Beeby. “It’s been well supported again. I think we all learnt a lot last year, particularly on what was best to take to the sale and you’ll see from this year’s catalogue that it is weighted towards American-bred horses.”
Indeed, of the 17 horses to realise the equivalent of €150,000 or more last year, 11 were sourced in America. They included the sale-topping son of Curlin, whose price tag underlined the Middle Eastern desire for a big, twoturn, dirt-bred colt.
One year on and 52 of the 73 entries are by North American-based sires, with the majority pinhooked out of the Kentucky yearling sales. That’s not to say, however, that it isn’t again a melting pot of international bloodlines.
“I think the quality of the catalogue has improved again this year,” says Tom Taaffe, Dubai Sale Co-ordinator. “Vendors see it as an opportunity. It was a good start last year, the top price was higher than any other
breeze-up sale in Europe and they’re winning all over the world with some headliners among them. The reaction from vendors to it again has been pleasing – we’ve taken on board all their feedback from last year and made improvements.”
He adds: “I think the strategy of having horses within different tiers of the market available to buyers worked well and we’re doing that again this year but with more emphasis on the top and middle types of horse.”
Beeby is similarly positive. “It’s a wide team effort headed by Nick Nugent and Tom Taaffe,” he says. “It’s a huge privilege for Goffs to be appointed by the DRC to hold it again. It’s a vote of confidence in us and we’re excited to be going back.”
It’s the season of stallion incentives and one that deserves particular mention is that attached to Newsells Park Stud’s second-year horse A’Ali.
Anyone sending a mare to the Group 2-winning son of Society Rock this season will automatically be in line to access a unique sporting promotion, namely the chance to attend the Dubai World Cup, Rugby World Cup Final or Wimbledon Ladies’ Singles Final via a prize draw. Not only that, the tickets come with flights and accommodation included for the Dubai and Rugby prizes, and lunch and afternoon tea attached to the Wimbledon Ladies’ Final.
“A’Ali’s partners were keen to highlight what a great sporting chance a mare had of producing quality, fast and precocious winners if she was covered by one of the fastest and most precocious sprinters of recent years,” explained Newsells Park Stud’s general manager Julian Dollar. “And what better way to do that than by offering great sporting prizes to the breeders themselves? Not only could your mare be visiting the next Ardad or Havana Grey, but you could also be attending a memorable sports final.”
The implementation of incentives continues to evolve year on year but it has to be said that Newsells Park has just raised the bar again.
Tattersalls swung open the doors to its Park Paddocks complex in Newmarket with this annual two-day sale.
The TBA stallion parade provided its traditional hors d’oeuvres and then it was largely business as usual, albeit with the variations which are the hallmark of a mixed auction. International buyers made their presence felt, although the figures could not match last year’s sale, at which a cull of Shadwell stock –including a 175,000gns yearling colt who headed trade – helped push up the key indicators. On the plus side, a clearance rate of 84 per cent, just one point down, was evidence of Tattersalls’ pulling power and sensible reserves.
The 356 horses who walked the ring, 28 fewer than at the sale 12 months earlier, generated turnover of slightly more than four million guineas, a drop of 29 per cent. The average price of 13,899gns was down 22 per cent, while the median dropped 30 per cent to 7,000gns.
Day one provided most of the highlights, which included three horses who made a six-figure sum. They were headed by the ten-year-old mare Now Or Never, a daughter of Bushranger with a black-type race record and pedigree – her half-sister, Fairyland, was a dual Group 1 winner, the pair having been foaled by a half-sister to sire Dream Ahead.
Consigned by David Redvers’ Tweenhills Stud, Now Or Never – who raced as Now Or Later while in Australia with trainer Robert Smerdon – was a Group 3 winner who had been placed in the Irish 1,000 Guineas when trained in Ireland by Michael O’Callaghan for Qatar Racing. She later gained a Group 2 win down under before returning to Britain and a place in the breeding sheds.
BBA Ireland’s Michael Donohoe, such an active buyer of mares during the autumn, was again in poll position when making a bid of 250,000gns for the mare, who had a Zoustar two-year-old colt on the ground and a Kameko foal in utero. Donohoe, who buys regularly for Yulong’s Zhang Yuesheng, did not name his client, but said they kept stock in Europe and Australia.
The Tom Blain-managed Barton Sales
sold two horses who made 140,000gns, the first being a Galileo colt from his sire’s penultimate crop. This one was knocked down to Con and Neil Sand’s Bronsan Racing ahead of a place with an undisclosed Irish trainer.
Barton Sales also traded the six-yearold mare Queenhope carrying to New Bay. She failed to sell in the ring when bidding halted at 120,000gns, but was later the subject of a 140,000gns transaction to agent Hugo Merry, acting for Imad Al Sagar’s Blue Diamond Stud.
A filly who made an impact was Moon De Vega, a maiden winner consigned by Jamie Railton and sold for 98,000gns to a client of agent Matt Coleman as a breeding prospect.
Day two’s highlight revolved around the gelding Brentford Hope, whose sale for 90,000gns put down a marker to the aspirations of Paul Nicholls’ nephew, the fledgling Lambourn trainer Harry Derham, and also the growing network of clients that are putting trust in Herefordshire agent Ed Bailey, who brought the hammer down.
Brentford Hope had been bought by his trainer, Richard Hughes, for €130,000 as an Arqana May breezer, but with three wins on the Flat and various places over hurdles he had reaped nearly £90,000 back on the track. His sale to Bailey and Derham completed a successful piece of business.
A Galileo filly who made €340,000, the highest price at any of Europe’s February Sales this year, gave this mixed auction a feather in its cap.
She was part of a draft from David and Tamso Cox’s County Kildare-based Baroda Stud, which could take pride in selling the top lot at each of the sale’s two sessions, and no fewer than four horses who made a six-figure sum.
A three-day auction last year, it was reduced to a two-session event for the latest edition at which 424 horses took their turn in the ring.
Buyers maintained a theme seen at other February sales by focusing on the cream of the catalogue, which comprised Flat and jump-bred yearlings, mares and horses in training. As a result – and despite a smaller catalogue – the clearance rate was down eight points at 64 per cent, although that fall was
slightly bigger among the selection of young yearlings, of which 62 per cent found a buyer.
With 66 fewer horses to choose from turnover dropped 28 per cent to €4,348,550, the average price took a seven per cent dip to €15,929, but the median held steady at €10,000.
The aforementioned Galileo saletopper was Red Azalea, a Coolmorebred winner and frequently placed for Donnacha O’Brien’s yard having been foaled by the Group 3 winner Music Box. BBA Ireland secured this one, and, from the same Baroda Stud consignment, Nomadland, an unraced four-year-old daughter of Frankel with a strong pedigree made in Japan. She fell to a bid of €110,000, while Barry Lynch’s €75,000 offer gained him the five-year-old mare Romanosa, a Listed-placed maiden by Holy Roman
Emperor out of a Dubawi mare.
Baroda Stud also offered the top-priced yearling, a Sottsass colt who was sold with a pinhook plan in mind to Tally-Ho Stud for €115,000. Other yearlings to find favour included a Night Of Thunder colt who made €110,000 to a bid from agent Billy Jackson-Stops on behalf of Tony Elliott’s Rogues Gallery Racing, a pinhooking syndicate which plans on reselling in the autumn.
The sale’s other six-figure transaction was one of €100,000 and involved the four-year-old colt Tosen Wish, a winner of two of his three starts in Ireland before being knocked down to a new partnership involving Stephen Thorne’s Shamrock Thoroughbreds and Team Valor. Tosen Wish, a winner at Dundalk for Joseph O’Brien just ahead of the sale, was put through the ring by The Castlebridge Consignment.
This mixed sale at Doncaster, Britain’s first bloodstock auction of the year, threw up mixed messages.
Quality horses sold well, as witnessed by the £150,000 transaction involving broodmare prospect The Glancing Queen, and there was a January Sale record price for a jumpbred ‘foal’/young yearling of £75,000. However, breeders of such youngsters will have been concerned by a 48 per cent clearance rate in that area of the catalogue.
Of 183 weanlings who walked the ring, just 87 found a buyer, even though several seasoned traders said the stock was generally of a good standard. It was to be a similar story at the subsequent Tattersalls Ireland February Sale where jump-bred yearlings were the theme and a slightly smaller
catalogue could not prevent a seven point drop in the clearance rate. Sire power was also the theme among jump-bred yearlings offered at the Goffs February Sale.
Have rising costs and interest rate increases made foal buyers draw in their horns for what is a two-and-a-half year project if they trade their stock as stores? Yet pinhookers who dabble in this area of the market, one which is popular across a wide strata of the population in Ireland, but less so in Britain, are probably finding value for money, particularly when buying good-looking young stock by sires just outside of the elite.
Happily for Goffs UK this two-day sale achieved some plusses in the figures, with turnover gaining ten per cent at £2,019,000 and the average price rising 24 per cent to £12,778. The
overall clearance rate of 56 per cent (a decline of 15 percentage points) was achieved through sales of 158 of the 281 lots on offer.
If British breeders were feeling a little deflated by the foal clearance rate, they had a champion in their corner who remains determined to be positive, namely Herefordshire-based Simon Davies, who with his wife Rhian heads Dahlbury, the banner under which they race and breed horses and stand stallions. It was Davies who gained The Glancing Queen, a daughter of Jeremy with a record of seven wins under Rules for trainer Alan King.
Davies outbid a group from Cheshire’s Peel Bloodstock when buying the nine-year-old, who joins a band of 35 Dahlbury mares, although he said mating plans were undecided. The Glancing Queen’s sire is a paternal
half-brother to Davies’s leading stallion Planteur, so she will not be heading to his barn.
The top-priced foal, a son of Walk In The Park whose £75,000 valuation set a new high for his age group at the event, was a half-brother to leading two-mile chaser Nube Negra and consigned by Grace and Dan Skelton’s Alne Park Stud in Warwickshire. Gerry Aherne, who works for Coolmore and heads Fethard’s Prospect Stud, lowered the hammer for this one, as he did on multiple occasions when chasing Walk In The Park foals last year.
Goffs representative Peter Molony was active as poacher and gamekeeper, buying the ten-year-old Kapgarde mare Cap Soleil for £75,000 and also trading the top-priced point-to-pointer. This was five-year-old Rockstown Native, who Molony bought as a foal for
€18,000, failed to sell as a store, but came up trumps after putting the son of Califet into training with Paurick O’Connor. An impressive maiden race
win on his second start teed up his sales-ring return, and he duly made £82,000 to a bid from Matt Coleman on behalf of Jonjo O’Neill.
Sire power drove the market at this one-day sale where young jump-bred yearlings comprised the bulk of the catalogue.
A handful of two-year-olds opened proceedings and a clutch of broodmares ended the day, but neither section attracted much attention, a contrast from 12 months earlier when the mare Robin De Carlow from Willie Mullins’ stable left with top-lot honours and a €70,000 valuation.
In the absence of such a prized lot all attention focused on yearlings, the majority of which were bought with a view to being resold as three-year-old stores. At that stage their sire’s name can be the difference between a profit
and loss, the popular stallions being an easier sell to agents and their prospective racehorse owners.
As a result, yearlings by Walk In The Park, Blue Bresil, Getaway, Nathaniel and the well-promoted young sire Crystal Ocean headed the top-ten board, and it was a drop down to the 14th horse to find one by a lesser-known sire. This was a colt by Goliath De Berlais, who stands at Haras de la Tuilerie and whose oldest crop are two-year-olds.
Given that Goliath Du Berlais, a son of leading sire Saint Des Saints, won Grade 1, 2, and 3 races over fences in France, he deserves to succeed. His
aforementioned yearling, who was sold to Kevin Ross for €29,000, could prove well bought.
In the business-as-usual world at the head of the market it was no surprise that sire-of-the-moment Walk In The Park featured, with his colt from Walshtown Stables taking the numberone spot when selling to pinhooker
Dick Frisby for €49,000. Frisby said he had bought 15 foals by the Coolmore sire during the autumn.
Two sons of Blue Bresil from Ballincurrig House Stud and Borris House respectively sold for €45,000 to Kieran Shields and €44,000 to Kevin
Ross, while a Getaway colt caught the eye of Henrietta Knight, who secured the Dunahall Stud offering with a bid of €42,000.
Tattersalls Ireland CEO Simon Kerins acknowledged there had been polarisation in the market and said buyers had set exacting standards when assessing horses. The result was a 53 per cent clearance rate and turnover dropped by a quarter, partly due to a catalogue containing 33 fewer offered horses. However, Kerins pointed out that the average figure of €12,451 and median of €8,500 had dipped only slightly.
Nine races at Cheltenham during the afternoon’s Festival Trials Day was followed by a 40-lot auction of point-to-pointers and bumper performers.
The catalogue was dominated by the usual quality selection of young Irish pointers, although there were no four-year-olds because in Ireland their season starts on February 1. Despite that fact, leading buyers were poised and £2.4 million was turned over inside two hours. The average price gained two per cent at £80,200, but the clearance rate took a fall of 17 points to 75 per cent, a figure gained through sales of 30 lots.
Gordon Elliott was not a shy buyer while undergoing a suspension from his job as a trainer, and he has continued to be an ever-present at all relevant
auctions since returning to his position as head of Cullentra House. On this occasion he lifted the top lot, Wingmen, although he needed no introduction to the five-year-old son of Kayf Tara for he already trained him, and had sent him out to win a point-to-point on debut at Ballycrystal in County Wexford six days before his ring appearance.
Elliott and his wingmen, Mouse O’Ryan and Eddie O’Leary, were poised as the gelding walked in and minutes later their £250,000 bid had been successful, as Wingmen transferred from the ownership of The Crocodile Pockets Syndicate to that of Bective
Specialist sales of pointers and bumper performers are all about youth and six-year-olds are rarely accepted, but a mare of that age also fell to Elliott and O’Ryan and their KTDA Racing clients following a bid of £185,000. Magic Dawn had failed to sell as a store and her owner-breeder, Michael Hickey of Sunnyhill Stud, elected to train her himself, gradually realising through her homework that she was above average.
A full-sister to a Grade 2 winner over hurdles, from the family of Gold Cup winner Kicking King and by Hickey’s stallion Doyen, Magic Dawn won a
mares’ bumper at Punchestown on New Year’s Eve, and her owner decided to cash in “to balance the books”.
Another bumper winner, five-year-old Sao Carlos, had won at Market Rasen for trainer Olly Murphy carrying the colours of his father, bloodstock agent Aiden. He subsequently recommended the horse to well-known racehorse owner John Hales, and it was his bid of £190,000 that proved decisive. Given that Al Ferof, Noland and, more recently, Hermes Allen were all tipped to Hales by Murphy snr, it was no surprise he was prepared to listen when Sao Carlos came up in conversation.
BBA Ireland, long-time buyers of fillies and mares, have never been busier in that area of their work.
The agency’s Michael Donohoe was the leading purchaser at Arqana’s December breeding stock sale, with BBA Ireland lifting 46 lots from the ring for an aggregate of €9.2m, more than double the spend of any other buyer. Donohoe headed back to Deauville with colleage Eamonn Reilly for this two-day sale again with a strong budget.
Reilly and Donohoe accounted for nine lots, including four of the top ten and three of the top five, parting with €743,000 to end the sale as leading buyers in the process. Their acquisitions included the ten-year-old sale-topping mare Rasmiya, a daughter of Galileo with a Mehmas cover and bought on a bid of €315,000.
Rasmiya, who had been sold by breeder Christopher Hanbury as a yearling for 230,000gns, won a Bath maiden for Al Shaqab Racing and trainer William Haggas. At stud she has produced three winners, including one at Listed level, although that black-type success by Jouza came before Rasmiya was offered at this sale last year in foal to Ectot. She failed to sell on that occasion when bidding halted at €105,000 – 12 months later she was valued at three times that sum.
Selling through leading vendor Haras de Bouquetot, another former Al Shaqab runner who sold to the BBA Ireland was four-year-old Shalaa filly Majal, who realised €102,000. BBA Ireland also secured the four-year-old Fastnet Rock filly Zerziyna, a granddaughter of the great Zarkava
consigned by her breeder the Aga Khan. As with many other recent purchases by BBA Ireland, the client they bought Zerziyna for with a bid of €200,000 was undisclosed, but a planned mating for the filly with Lucky Vega, who is owned by Zhang Yuesheng, may have been a clue.
Six horses sold for a six-figure sum, including a yearling son of first-crop sire Persian King who made €105,000 to a bid from agent Hamish Macauley – he was acting for pinhookers Tony and Roger O’Callaghan of Tally-Ho Stud –while the tough sprinting mare Air De Valse, whose wins included the Group 3 Prix du Petit Couvert and a placing in the Group 1 Prix de l’Abbaye, was sold for
€240,000 to breeder Sofiane Benaroussi.
A nomination to Camelot, offered by Coolmore Stud with proceeds going to support Turkish and Syrian people affected by the recent earthquake, saw Harry Fowler of Rahinston Stud lower the hammer at €62,000 on behalf of an owner-breeder client.
Arqana had to be pleased with the outcome of this sale, for while turnover of €3,810,300 was a dip of six per cent it had risen 54 per cent last year when an additional 68 horses walked the ring. For this latest edition the average price rose 15 per cent to €15,476 while the median gained eight per cent when reaching €6,500. The clearance rate was unmoved at 80 per cent.
16hh SCAT DADDY (USA) MADERA DANCER (USA) (RAHY (USA))
An exceptionally fast horse, tough, with a good nature, and by the legendary Scat Daddy
Oisin MurphyRACING CAREER:
At 2 Won Compton Beauchamp Novice Stakes 6f, British Stallion Studs EBF Novice Stakes 6f, second in Gimcrack Stakes (Group 2), fourth in Flying Childers Stakes (Group 2) and Criterium de Maisons-La tte (Group 2).
At 3 Won Franklin Simpson Stakes (Group 3), second in Desert Code Stakes (Listed), third in William Walker Stakes (Listed).
16.1hh KINGMAN GO LOVELY ROSE (IRE) PIVOTAL
2023 FEE: £4,000
OCTOBER 1ST TERMS
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16hh SIR PERCY LULLA (OASIS DREAM)
2023 FEE: £5,000
OCTOBER 1ST TERMS
A Son of Kingman rated 118. Beaten a head in Queen Elizabeth IIStakes (Group 1), beating Palace Pier and four other Group 1 winners.
RACING CAREER:
At 3 won Ben Marshall Stakes (Listed), beating Accidental Agent (Gr.1) and Century Dream (Gr.2). Second in Heron Stakes (Listed).
At 4 second in Queen Elizabeth II Stakes Group 1), beating 5 Gr.1 winners, fourth in Queen Anne Stakes (Group 1).
2023 FEE: £1,000
OCTOBER 1ST TERMS
A Winner at 2, 3, 4, and 5yo, including 6f Maiden Winner at 2. Group and placed.
RACING CAREER:
At 2 Won 32Red.com Novice Stakes 8f, British Stallions EBF Novice Stakes 6f, second in Washington Singer Stakes (Listed), third in Superlative Stakes (Group 2), fourth in Chesham Stakes (Listed).
At 3 won Al Biddah Mile, second in International Trial Stakes (Listed) and fourth in Surrey Stakes (Listed). He also won at 5 and 6 years.
We all know that stamina is valued much more than speed in Europe, with prize-money for the big middle-distance races almost double that on offer for the Group 1 sprints. And when you add in the greater number of stallions chasing glory at the speed end of the spectrum, you quickly realise that our annual sires’ championship will only ever be won by a sire whose stock are suited to racing over middle distances.
I often wonder what the championship would look like if it was based on available earnings per runner at the various distance ranges. Nevertheless, our champion sires are worthy of their titles, particularly in recent years when it typically takes a broad body of excellent work to win the championship, unlike in years gone by. In any case, top-class stallions are never one dimensional and discovering their strengths and weaknesses, or should I say strengths and greater strengths, is always fascinating. To this end, I thought it worthwhile running the rule over our three most recent champion sires, Galileo, Frankel and Dubawi, to understand their individual strengths and how they vary from one to another.
It is generally accepted that Galileo is the doyen of all sires, better even than his own great sire Sadler’s Wells.
Although both could get plenty of juvenile Group winners, Sadler’s Wells’s stakes-winner strike-rate of 6.6% is lower than Galileo’s 7.2% and Galileo’s
also featured a Group 1 winner, Clemmie, at six furlongs, a feat that eluded his sire. Frankel, meanwhile, with an average winning distance of 7.4 furlongs, sires two-year-olds with a bit more zip than his sire and grandsire whose juveniles have a higher stamina index of 7.6 furlongs. Frankel gets 5.1% stakes winners and 4.3% Group winners, both metrics behind Galileo’s 7.2% stakes winners and 5.5% Group winners. It’s also notable that Frankel has yet to sire a Group 1-winning two-year-old at six furlongs or less.
That’s also true of Dubawi, but at least he has seven stakes-winning youngsters at sprint distances. The Dalham Hall Stud resident also has a higher strike-rate than Frankel among all his juveniles with 5.3% of his runners winning black-type races. But it took Dubawi until his eighth crop to sire his first Group 1-winning two-year-old when Wuheida landed the Prix Marcel Boussac. Since then, he’s added Wild Illusion, Too Darn Hot, Quorto, Modern
Games and Albahr.
There was no such wait for Frankel’s first major two-year-old winner, his first crop featuring Japan Group 1 scorer Soul Stirring. Moreover, he’s already equalled Dubawi’s tally of six from seven fewer crops, Inspiral and Chaldean (a first Group 1-winning colt on home soil) his most recent.
When it comes to three-year-olds, Galileo is still very much the king with 13% stakes winners, although he is in the club house now, and his strike-rate is very unlikely to improve from now on. Indeed, it may well fall and end up below Frankel’s 12.9%, as the Juddmonte star is still in his prime.
Dubawi, meanwhile, gets three-yearold stakes winners at a rate of 11.7%, but there is much more to explore here. You might have been encouraged to believe that Dubawi, with an average winning distance of 9.3 furlongs for his threeyear-olds, given the right mare, would
sire a good number of top-class middle-distance Classic types. Well, that has not been the case, with his only European three-year-old Group 1 winners over 12 furlongs and beyond being St Leger hero Eldar Eldarov, the Grand Prix de Paris winner Erupt, and German Derby victor Waldpark; none of these make Dubawi’s top ten racehorses based on Timeform ratings.
Frankel’s sophomores, meanwhile, and indeed his top racehorses of any age, are awash with stayers. No fewer than five of his top ten runners, based on Timeform ratings, have won Group 1s over 12 furlongs or more. They feature two St Leger winners in Logician (TF126) and Hurricane Lane (128, also an Irish Derby winner), Derby and King George hero Adayar (131), Irish Derby scorer Westover (126), plus Grand Prix de Paris hero Onesto (127).
For his part, Galileo has a higher percentage of Group 1-winning threeyears-olds at a mile-and-a-half and beyond (9.3%) than either of the British pair and his top-class three-year-olds
are too numerous to mention here. That Frankel is better equipped than Dubawi to supply top-class 12-furlong threeyear-olds is a distinct advantage in any future champion sire battles they may fight out.
Where the Dubawis really shine are as older horses. There is no other sire out there whose stock display such improvement from three to four and beyond. Of the three under review, it is Dubawi’s 14.7% stakes winners to runners that outscores Galileo’s 13.6% and Frankel’s 10.4%. Moreover, to go from 11.7% among his three-year-olds to 14.7% for his older horses is remarkable, given that Galileo can muster only a 0.6% improvement and Frankel’s strike-rate actually falls by 2.5%. No fewer than six of Dubawi’s best ten horses – Ghaiyyath (133), Postponed (130), Benbatl (129), plus Monterosso, Lord North and Al Kazeem, all rated 128 – did their best work beyond the age of three.
Typically, Dubawi’s stock contain
more speedy types than the other two. He has 17 stakes winners at less than seven furlongs, headed by four Group 1 winners in Creative Force, the Kildangan Stud-based pair Space Blues and Naval Crown, plus Lucky Nine in Hong Kong. Group 1-winning sprinters have understandably been outside the scope of either Galileo or Frankel.
Another point of difference among the three is that Frankel is more likely to come up with top-class fillies. His stakes winners are split 48 to 50 among males and females, but the strike-rates are 14% to colts and geldings and 18.1% for his fillies and mares.
The following metrics perfectly sum up the three champions. Seven per cent of the Group victories by Dubawi’s progeny have been in sprints; 34% by his milers; 35% by his 9-10.5-furlong horses; and 24% by his 12 furlong-plus runners. The corresponding breakdown for Frankel is: 4%, 34%, 31% and 31%, and for Galileo 1%, 27%, 32% and 40%.
“Six of Dubawi’s best ten horses did their best work beyond the age of three”
One of my small pleasures during European racing’s largely fallow period at the start of each year is to watch the Road to the Kentucky Derby’s ever-changing points table. On most weekends until the middle of April, the candidates can fight for ranking points to become one of the select 20 horses allowed to contest the Run For The Roses on the first Saturday in May.
Fascinating though this process is (and wouldn’t it be nice to see more than 20 battle-hardened colts fighting for a place at Epsom), one could be forgiven for wondering what significance the Kentucky Derby has for European racing. It was once won by Northern Dancer, who was to shape the breed in Europe, but that was nearly 60 years ago. Since then the majority of Kentucky Derby winners have failed to make much impact on the European industry, rather like the 1957 winner Iron Liege, who proved a flop when part of Marcel Boussac’s failing empire from 1959 to 1967.
There were a few exceptions, of course. The 1989 winner Sunday Silence, by way of Japan, sired several sons who were responsible for European Group 1 winners, with Deep Impact leading the way with such as Saxon Warrior, Auguste Rodin, Study Of Man, Snowfall and Fancy Blue.
Pleasant Colony, the hero of 1981, also had his moments, thanks largely to the Irish Derby and King George winner St Jovite, while Seattle Slew, the 1977 Triple Crown winner, was responsible for the European Group 1 winners Seattle Song, Septieme Ciel and Magic Of Life. Others with a European Group 1 winner to their credit included the 1975 winner Foolish Pleasure, whose daughter Baiser Vole won the Poule d’Essai des Pouliches, and 1987 winner Alysheba, whose daughter Moonlight Dance took the Prix SaintAlary. None of them, though, was to enjoy lasting European success in the manner of Northern Dancer.
Two Triple Crown winners, Secretariat and Affirmed, scrape into the last 50 winners of the Kentucky Derby, thanks to their remarkable exploits in 1973 and 1978. Secretariat’s direct impact on European racing was limited to a handful of Group winners, such as Dactylographer (William Hill Futurity), Athyka (twice a winner of
the Prix de l’Opera) and Bluebook (a triple Group 3 winner). Affirmed, for his part, became a successful sire of European turf performers, hitting the Group 1 target with Bint Pasha (Prix Vermeille and Yorkshire Oaks), Zoman (Prix d’Ispahan), Trusted Partner (Irish 1,000 Guineas), Tibullo (Gran Criterium) and Regal State (Prix Morny).
But if we turn the spotlight onto the 25 Kentucky Derby winners from 1990 to 2014, their impact on Europe has been pretty negligible. I should point out that two of the 25 – Funny Cide and Mine That Bird – were geldings, Barbaro died before he could take up stud duties and War Emblem sired only 120 foals.
That still leaves the likes of Strike The Gold, Lil E. Tee, Sea Hero, Go For Gin, Grindstone, Silver Charm, Real Quiet, Charismatic, Monarchos, Smarty Jones, Giacomo, Big Brown, Super Saver (now in Turkey), Animal Kingdom (now in Japan), I’ll Have Another, Orb (now in Uruguay) and California Chrome (now in Japan). Of the others, Unbridled was to establish a male line which has exerted a powerful influence on the Triple Crown events but its success hasn’t extended to Europe.
Coolmore stood a couple of the more notable Kentucky Derby winners of these 25 years at its Kentucky arm, Ashford Stud. Fusaichi Pegasus, the winner in 2000, entered the record books with a valuation of $70 million at the start of his stud career, but his stud fee went from an
initial $150,000 to $7,500. Then there was Thunder Gulch, who also carried Michael Tabor’s colours to victory in the Florida Derby, Belmont Stakes and Travers Stakes. Thunder Gulch had his moments as a stallion, notably being responsible for Horse of the Year Point Given and record-earning mare Spain, but the fact that his first two dams were distinguished European racemares didn’t translate into European success at stud.
In the circumstances, one could have been forgiven for thinking that the Coolmore team would have been wary of further winners of the Kentucky Derby when looking for much-needed outcrosses for all their Sadler’s Wells line mares. But how could they resist the many attractions of American Pharoah, who in 2015 became the first Triple Crown winner since Affirmed in 1978? In addition to his Classic treble, the son of Pioneerof The Nile also numbered the Breeders’ Cup Classic and a pair of juvenile races among his eight Grade 1 successes.
Then, three years later, history was to repeat itself when Justify landed the Triple Crown before being retired to Ashford. There was speculation that Justify’s breeding rights had been bought for $60 million before the second leg of the Triple Crown, with a contingency that the price would rise to $75 million if he were to win the Preakness and Belmont Stakes.
In acquiring the services of two outstanding dirt performers, the Coolmore team cited the fact that European racing and breeding had been revolutionised during the 1970s and ’80s by American stallions who owed their reputations largely to their exploits on dirt.
For example, Mill Reef and Riverman were by Never Bend, who had finished second in the Kentucky Derby. The excellent Sir Ivor was by Sir Gaylord, who had the misfortune to break down the day before the Kentucky Derby, which he had been expected to win. Sir Gaylord – a half-brother to Secretariat – was also responsible for Habitat, a top miler who became a useful stallion in Ireland. The dual Arc winner Alleged was by Hoist The Flag, a champion juvenile who was first past the post in all six of his career starts prior to fracturing a leg. Another
champion juvenile, Hail To Reason, gave us the Derby winner Roberto.
Then there was the unprecedented string of top European performers sired by Northern Dancer, such as Nijinsky, Sadler’s Wells, El Gran Senor, Lyphard, The Minstrel, Try My Best, Secreto, Be My Guest, Northern Taste, Northern Baby, Nureyev, Storm Bird, Lomond, Shareef Dancer, Northern Trick, Ajdal and Unfuwain. Northern Dancer’s Americanbased son Danzig, who raced only on dirt, later mirrored his sire’s success in Europe. Northern Dancer, of course, had his chance to become a Triple Crown winner in 1964, only to run out of stamina when odds-on for the Belmont Stakes.
One common denominator owned by the dirt horses who made such an impact on European breeding was that they had top European turf horses close up in their pedigrees. Among the six stallions in the first three generations of Northern Dancer’s pedigree were Nearco, Hyperion and Mahmoud; Sir Gaylord and Hail To Reason were both sons of the Irish-bred Turn-To, while Sir Gaylord’s broodmare sire Princequillo was conceived in France; Never Bend’s pedigree was largely European, combining bloodlines developed by the Aga Khan and Marcel Boussac; and Hoist The Flag was a grandson of the great Ribot and his second dam was the French-bred Triomphe.
The list of North America’s leading stallions is another reminder of the extent to which American breeders were reliant of imported bloodlines. In the 33 years between 1930 and 1962, imported stallions topped the table no fewer than 21 times, with Nasrullah, Princequillo, Mahmoud, Bull Dog, Blenheim, Sir Gallahad and Sickle among them.
American Pharoah, though, has a largely American pedigree, the only foreign interloper in his first four generations being the Argentine-bred Lord At War, the broodmare sire of American Pharoah’s sire Pioneerof The Nile.
This hasn’t stopped him shining with Sadler’s Wells line mares – it was Sadler’s Wells’s daughter Imagine who provided him with his first Group 1 winner, the Criterium International scorer Van Gogh. American Pharoah has also made an excellent start with daughters of Galileo. Twelve of this partnership’s first 14 starters are winners and among them are Above The Curve (Prix Saint-Alary), Pista (Park Hill Stakes) and the Group/Graded placed performers Monarch Of Egypt,
Hudson Ridge and Thinking Of You. With the American-raced Scarabea also picking up black type, that’s six blacktype performers from 14 runners. We are likely to learn more about this cross in the next few years, as there are now 34 foals of racing age bred this way.
Above The Curve was one of an impressive total of four Group or Grade 1 winners for American Pharoah in 2022, the others being the American sprinter American Theorem, top American mare As Time Goes By and the very successful Japanese colt Café Pharoah.
Above The Curve is the odd one out in that the other three all won on dirt, but American Pharoah has already sired enough good turf horses, including Harvey’s Lil Goil, Four Wheel Drive and Sweet Melania in the US, to suggest his progeny have a future in Europe. He also has a Group 2 winner and two Group 3 winners in Australia. He shuttled for five
Australia is by no means the only country where Justify’s first runners have created a big impression. He has been represented by five winners from nine runners in Ireland, 22 winners from 59 starters in the US and four winners from 13 runners in Japan. There have also been winners in France and Saudi Arabia. His American black-type performers include the Grade 3 winners Champions Dream and Just Cindy, Grade 2-placed Listed winner Justique, Grade 1-placed Verifying and the Grade 3-placed Prove Right and Alpha Bella.
Even so, his select group of Irish runners have arguably shown greater potential. Leader of the pack is Statuette, who won both her juvenile starts, including the Airlie Stud Stakes over six furlongs in June, even though she was described by trainer Aidan O’Brien as a very big filly (and she has every right to be big, as Justify and her broodmare sire Pivotal both nudged towards 17 hands).
consecutive years, but his last three visits saw him cover 144 mares, then 101 and finally 26 mares, so it is hardly surprising that he didn’t return in 2022.
The same applied to Justify after his book fell from 149 mares in 2019 and 142 mares in 2020 to 82 mares in 2021. Australian breeders must now be wishing he was still available to them, following the success of his daughter Learning To Fly.
With daughters of Fastnet Rock and Stravinsky as her first two dams, Learning To Fly possesses plenty of speed. After winning a trial over the odd distance of 792 metres in mid-January, she was again successful when she made her official debut in the Group 3 Widden Stakes over 1,100 metres. Back in action for the third time in less than a month, Learning To Fly finished strongly to land the Inglis Millennium, again over 1,100 metres. Although this race is only a restricted Listed race, it carried more than ten times the prize-money of her Group 3 win, and this success propelled Justify to the top of Australia’s first-crop sires’ table, well ahead of second-ranked Harry Angel.
Another of Justify’s Irish daughters, Aspen Grove, sprang a 66-1 surprise in taking the Newtownanner Stud Stakes over a mile. Fourth in that race was Dame Kiri, another Justify filly who returned to action late in the season to run out a ten-length winner of a six-furlong maiden. After Dame Kiri’s win, Aidan O’Brien commented that: “I’d say the Justifys are not two-year-olds at all and I was surprised they were doing what they were doing. All they want is a bit of time.” That may be relevant to another Justify filly, Diamondsareforever, who shares the same broodmare sire – Fastnet Rock – as Learning To Fly. Diamondsareforever made her debut towards the end of 2022 in a mile maiden at Dundalk and won going away. She dwarfed the opposition and should make up into a fine middledistance filly – especially as she is out of Pretty Polly Stakes winner Diamondsandrubies.
Another Dundalk winner, Bertinelli, also showed plenty of potential. Bertinelli and Dame Kiri are the first two winners among the 12 starters sired by Justify from Galileo mares. As there are now 59 foals of racing age bred this way, Coolmore and its associates have invested very heavily in this partnership, so it is going to be fascinating to see how it develops.
Interestingly, all four of Justify’s Japanese winners – Awesome Result, Yuttitham, Giuoco Piano and Jovian –have done their winning on dirt, so Justify appears to have plenty to offer buyers, no matter whether they are looking for a dirt or a turf horse.
“Justify’s Irish runners have shown arguably even greater potential”
Applications are now open for horses to join the March Tote Owner Sponsorship Scheme. We run four schemes throughout the year, with each running for a 12-month period. Members who have had horses on the March 2022 scheme have already been invited to renew their place.
The scheme provides sponsorship for horses in training which are wholly owned by ROA members. In the case of a racing club or syndicate, all club/ syndicate managers need to be ROA members in order for the horse to be eligible, or where the horse is owned in a partnership, all owners need to be ROA members.
A sponsorship payment of £100 per horse is made to the owner entity once the particular scheme their horse is sponsored under has closed. This is paid into their racing account.
Sponsored horses will need to carry a Tote logo on the chest and collar of the owner’s colours. There are no provisions for branding on attendant’s clothing or horse rugs.
Sponsorship allows the ownership entity to register for and reclaim the VAT charged on the purchase price
of their horse and many associated fees. This can represent an annual VAT recovery of over £4,700 for each horse, benefiting owners to the tune of £7.5m each year.
In quick succession HMRC have:
• August 1, 2022 – revamped the online VAT application system.
• November 1, 2022 – removed the option to submit the VAT return via the government gateway.
• November 29, 2022 – automatically signed all VAT-registered businesses to Making Tax Digital (MTD).
• January 1, 2023 – introduced a new point penalty system for late VAT submissions.
Many owners that come to us with VAT queries and to appoint us as their agent express their frustration at being disproportionately affected by the recent changes implemented by HMRC.
As a dedicated VAT team, we can take away the bother that comes with VAT administration, leaving you to focus on the sport that you love.
Separate from the ROA membership team, we are focused on VAT matters and dedicated to compiling detailed, accurate and timely VAT submissions. We also ensure that owners registered under the scheme are maximising the potential of their VAT return within HMRC’s guidance. With over 20 years of experience in the scheme and extensive experience communicating with HMRC on the behalf of VATregistered owners, we are able to adapt swiftly to HMRC’s changes and pivot to meet their requirements.
Our quarterly charges are competitive and you can always reach a member of our team if you need to discuss your VAT return.
Appointing the ROA VAT Solution as your agent is quick and seamless. Simply email a copy of your VAT certificate to vat@roa.co.uk or call 01183 385685 with your VAT certificate to hand, and we can take over your VAT return the same day.
For further information about our service and fees visit www.roa.co.uk/ vat/roa-vat-solution.
Our contact details:
As part of the run up to the Cheltenham Festival, we have spoken to a number of owners who have experienced the pinnacle of ownership and enjoyed a winner at the Festival. We posed a series of questions to them about the day, how the win felt and, most importantly, how they celebrated!
The stories can be found on the Cheltenham hub on the website – www.roa.co.uk/cheltenham23.
We started the series with ROA Board member Mouse Hamilton-Fairley, who tasted success in the ultracompetitive Pertemps Final last year with her homebred gelding Third Wind.
I got into racing through eventing and then point-to-pointing back in the 1980s. I was hooked and so then took out a permit and went on to have a full dual-purpose training licence for 11 years. Since then, I have been an owner in various guises – owner-breeder, partnership member and syndicate owner, so I have enjoyed the ups and downs of the ownership experience across the spectrum.
I bred Third Wind. My mother, Ann Plummer, bred the dam and the granddam from her foundation mare Drama School. I trained Third Wind’s dam, Act Three, for the Runs in the Family partnership she set up and when I stopped training I kept her and bred from her. It’s been a real family journey all the way.
What do you remember about the lead up to the race?
I remember not being that hopeful and telling my friends not to back him! He had run a rather lacklustre race the previous time in the Rendlesham at Haydock Park, a race he had won the year before, so I wasn’t at all confident. Even when all that rain fell on the Wednesday, I was still doubting
his chances but everyone will tell you I always err on the side of pessimism before a race.
Where did you watch the race?
We watched from the stand in the owners’ and trainers’ section. Any doubts that my 92-year-old mother wouldn’t get back to the winner’s enclosure in time were completely dispelled as she literally cantered through the crowds to greet him back in!
How did you feel when Third Wind crossed the line in front?
Complete disbelief to start with as he came from so far behind – I kept looking at [trainer] Hughie [Morrison] and my son and saying, ‘Did we actually win?’ Even though I had dreamt of that moment for years, when it actually happens, it is so hard to take in. A few tears were certainly shed.
How did you celebrate?
After the agony of surviving a rather needless stewards’ enquiry, the course entertained us with the customary champagne, hosted for us by the charming Zara Phillips, and then the champagne just kept flowing – back upstairs in the O&T bar and then in the Moët bar! I was floating on air with my phone constantly buzzing and people sending me pictures from their TVs at home and at work of me and Third Wind.
I think I had nearly 100 messages that day, some from people I hadn’t seen for years, such is the reach of the Festival. I still watch the replay regularly if I ever need cheering up, it’s the best pick me up! Sadly, Third Wind has had a niggling tendon injury this season so won’t be back to defend his crown but there is always next year!
I will be forever grateful to Hughie and the team at Summerdown and Tom O’Brien for giving me the best day of my racing life.
The last Saturday in January was certainly a notable day for Scottish yards, as not only did Ahoy Senor land the Cotswold Chase at Cheltenham but less than an hour later Cooper’s Cross gave Selkirk-based Stuart Coltherd his biggest success in 20-odd years’ training at Doncaster.
The Sky Bet Chase – Great Yorkshire Chase to give you more of a fixing – was also by far the most significant victory for eight-year-old Cooper’s Cross, who defied odds of 16-1 to run out a good winner under the trainer’s son Sam.
The son of Getaway had meant to be in the Peter Marsh Chase the previous weekend, but that Haydock contest was lost to the weather.
The blessing in disguise was principally to the benefit of owner and ROA member Jimmy Fyffe, who deserves any bit of fortune that comes his way, given his support of various yards through 12 jumpers to have run this season alone.
Their jockeys’ kit is pink and black – quite a long way removed from the tangerine that Fyffe’s beloved Dundee United play in. He is a director of the club and a sponsor and partner through his firm JF Kegs, a drinks wholesale company.
His team were not in action on the afternoon that Cooper’s Cross hit the back of the net at Doncaster to provide Fyffe with one of his magical moments in the sport, and it was followed seven days later by Collingham also winning in front of the ITV Racing cameras, in his case the Scottish County Hurdle at Musselburgh – a first winner over jumps for jockey Charlie Maggs.
“I got involved in racing through my grandparents having a small flutter on a Saturday, my dad followed suit, then myself and my brother enjoyed watching the races and having a small bet or two,” explains Fyffe.
That interest has grown into fullblown passion down the years.
“I have owned well over 100 horses now,” he says. “I have 17 National Hunt horses in training plus some for the Flat season. I also own mares and several young National Hunt horses coming through.”
With JF Kegs based in Dundee, and Fyffe also owning a pub estate in Scotland, it’s not much of a surprise that trainers north of the border receive his business, though the love is spread further afield as well.
“I like to use Scottish trainers but also have one in Ireland and two down south,” says the owner. “The Scottish trainers are Sandy Thomson, Stuart Coltherd, Jim Goldie and Ian Jardine. Also in the north there’s Nicky Richards, while in Ireland there’s John McConnell, and further south in England I have Laura Morgan and Donald McCain.”
Fyffe has, at the time of writing, enjoyed 13 winners this jumps season already – far and away his best tally as a single owner – but he doesn’t dwell on identifying those particularly sweet
occasions when asked for his most cherished days.
“I’ve had several magical moments,” he says. “Endless Power winning the Grand Sefton at Aintree in 2008, Sir Chauvelin winning the Qatar Summer Handicap at Glorious Goodwood in 2018, Blue Flight winning the Listed chase at Kelso in 2013, and Socialist Agenda and Collingham winning the last two Scottish County Hurdles.
“There’s also Geojimali winning the Silver Cup at Ayr in 2006, Orlaith winning a Listed race at Newbury in 2019, Great Fighter winning the Gold Cup at Musselburgh in 2017, and Cooper’s Cross winning the Sky Bet Chase at Doncaster.”
However Cooper’s Cross fares next – he was entered for two handicap chases at the Cheltenham Festival,
the three-mile-one-furlong Ultima and shorter Plate – Fyffe, friends with Douglas Pryde of Grand National hero Auroras Encore fame, hopefully has much to look forward to this spring as his best-ever campaign over jumps builds to a climax.
He says: “I’m having a brilliant season, probably the best I’ve had so far as an owner. I’ve got better quality coming in, I’ve been reinvesting over the years and definitely now got the best quality that I’ve had. I’ve had serious horses in the past, but the amount I’ve got now and the quality is a lot better.
“I should have two or three runners at Cheltenham, I’m hoping to anyway as I’m down there for three or four days. I’m looking to have Benson running, also Bringbackmemories in the juvenile handicap hurdle, and hopefully Storm Nelson.
“For the Grand National I’ve got Hill Sixteen, hopefully he’ll get in. If he gets soft going he’s got a serious chance –I’ll be trying to emulate Auroras Encore.
“There’s also a race there for Cooper’s Cross. The more immediate plan with him is under discussion as we speak, and then a bit further ahead there’s a £100,000 three-mile chase on Grand National day.
“Another one I’ve got is Florida Dreams, he won his only bumper at Musselburgh really well and he’s being aimed at Aintree too, for the bumper. There’s a lot to look forward to.”
He adds: “I’m more into the jumps but like to have a bit of interest in the summer, so have got seven or eight for the Flat season, including some nice young ones coming through.
“I’ve got a National Hunt mare who is due in about a month and a half to two months’ time, I’ve got a Flat mare called Sister Midnight, she’s in foal to Iffraaj and is due in the next month or so as well.
“I’m not big into breeding, just doing it lightly. They’re boarders, at places that look after them well.”
He continues: “The best things about ownership are seeing your colours carried to victory in any kind of race –from a seller to a Graded contest – and meeting lots of good people in the racing world.
“The worst thing in my book is the prize-money – Ireland and France have far better payouts for lower-grade races.”
There are also, often, far better prices about northern-trained runners down south than they ought to be, which suits Fyffe just fine.
He says: “When Scottish horses go down south you normally get inflated prices about them, which is great for us, great for me! Look at Cooper’s Cross the other week, 16-1, I just couldn’t believe it, in an 11-runner race.”
It hasn’t, of course, all been a bed of roses – “I’ve got lots of nice memories but some sad ones too as we’ve lost quite a lot of good horses, though that’s the nature of this game,” admits Fyffe – but as winter becomes spring, 2023 is looking pretty bloomin’ promising.
“If Hill Sixteen gets soft going in the National he’s got a serious chance”Scottish County Hurdle victor Collingham is contributing to his owner’s stellar campaign
With the economic situation prompting many owners to re-evaluate their current racing spend, an area where some owners may make savings is by looking at the racing account they have in place.
BHA Account: Owners with a BHA account won’t incur any account charges. The BHA account is an
invoicing account which settles by direct debit or direct credit on the 15th day of the month for the previous month’s accrued racing transactions. The table below refers to withdrawals and provides further details relating to the settlement of prize-money.
Weatherbys Racing Bank Account: Owners with a WRB account have the flexibility of a normal bank account,
FEATURES This is a simple monthly invoice arrangement.
It is restricted solely to your racing transactions (entry fees, jockey fees, prize-money, gallop fees and ROA membership).
It does not extend to your payment of training fees.
however they will incur charges for monthly account management fees and racing transaction fees may apply. All partnerships and syndicates will need to operate a Multi Owners Account. Owners with this type of account should be aware that their charges are due to increase from April 1.
The following table sets out a comparison of the two accounts currently available to registered owners.
A Weatherbys Bank account combines racing transactions (entry fees, jockey fees, prize-money, ROA membership etc) with the flexibility and features of a normal bank account.
PAYMENTS
You will receive an invoice at the beginning of each month. The balance will be requested by direct debit on the 15th day of that month.
If sufficient funds are not available at the time of the monthly direct debit an overdue account fee will be charged. If the account is not settled on a subsequent direct debit request, further charges will be incurred and all ownership activities related to the account suspended, with the result that any horse you have an interest in will not be allowed to run.
You will receive a bank statement at the beginning of each month or you can access your statements online at any time. If your account is overdrawn this can be settled via cheque, bank transfer or card payment. You can also view your accounts via the Weatherbys Mobile Banking App.
If you have received prize-money you will be able to access it as soon as it has cleared on your account, typically 15 days after the race date. You can use funds on your account to automatically pay your training fees, gallop fees, and any other racing or bloodstock bills.
WITHDRAWALS
The British Horseracing Authority arrangement does not allow requested withdrawal of funds nor the retention of credit funds.
Instead, if you are in credit at the end of the month, the full credit balance will be sent to your nominated account by direct credit at the beginning of the following month.
You can access your funds in a variety of ways including auto payments, online banking and telephone banking. Further information is contained in the Weatherbys Bank leaflet ‘Account Terms and Conditions’ available at www.weatherbysbank.com
INTEREST No interest is payable on funds. Weatherbys Bank may pay interest on credit balances at the prevailing rates. The current rates table can be viewed on www.weatherbysbank.com or is available from Weatherbys Bank on request.
TRANSACTION
CHARGES
None
Overdue account charges: £50.16 (inc. VAT) for the second letter
Racing Account
A simple bank account for UK resident sole or joint owners looking to separate their racing finances from their day-to-day banking.
Multi Owner Account
This account is available to syndicates, clubs and partnerships.
Racing Gold Account
The flagship account available to sole or joint owners, bloodstock professionals and companies, and also owners who reside outside of the UK.
Banking charges will apply, for further details dependent on the type of account required please visit https://www.weatherbys. bank/racing-bank/racing-banking/current-accounts-page/
OTHER SERVICES
More information on the range of banking services offered by Weatherbys Bank can be found by calling 01933 304777, by emailing: bank@weatherbys.co.uk or on the internet via www.weatherbysbank.com
This year’s Dublin Racing Festival (DRF) came in for plenty of praise in the media. So, what is it that Leopardstown is doing so well to receive such plaudits?
I attended both days again this year. It was my second visit and compared to last year I noticed the increase in attendance – I wasn’t surprised to hear that crowds were up 40% on last year. What was surprising was that 27% of all tickets were sold to British-based racegoers.
For an event that is only in its sixth year, Leopardstown seems to be getting an awful lot right. It starts with the welcome you receive. The staff seem genuinely happy to see you and greet you with a smile on their faces. I spoke to a number of staff over the two days and all of those were extremely helpful, both young and old.
There has been a lot said about the DRF being good value for money and it is, but my overriding memory is that I felt valued as a customer. It’s hard to pinpoint one reason for this; it’s an accumulation of things. My friends and I are of an age where we like to make a base for the day when we go racing, so we arrive before the gates open to ensure we can grab a table. We have been doing this at UK racecourses for several years. The difference at Leopardstown is people respect that you’ve got there early and do not try to nip in and take your seat if you leave it vacant for five minutes. We were all able to go and watch each race, safe in the knowledge that our table will still be ours when we got back. If only it was like that at Sandown, Epsom, Ascot etc.
The price of a pint of Guinness was €6 and they took cash or card. There wasn’t anyone in a hi-vis jacket telling you to drink up 30 minutes after the last race and the bars were still open when we left at 6.30pm. I haven’t even mentioned how good the racing was yet.
Willie Mullins dominated the DRF, as he usually does, winning over half the races and six of the Grade 1s. But it wasn’t all the expected ones that won. Lossiemouth, Blue Lord and Facile Vega all suffered shock defeats. Willie still won those races with his second strings, with Danny Mullins being the beneficiary of the odds-on failures. The Irish Arkle was arguably the most competitive two-mile novice chase of the season and it has determined who should take on Jonbon at Cheltenham. El Fabiolo will certainly give Nicky Henderson’s charge something to think about and don’t discount Banbridge if he were to turn up. Connections are favouring the Turners with him, where he will almost certainly bump into Mighty Potter and whatever Willie decides to run.
Just a few weeks ago, there were several odds-on favourites for the Festival, but Trials Day at Cheltenham and the DRF have mixed it all up and we now have a far more competitive Festival to look forward to.
There were many highlights over the weekend but if I had to pick one from each day, on the Saturday it was a trip to the paddock, thanks to fellow Racegoers Club members Mike and Lesley Humphries, who have a share in Battleoverdoyen. I even managed to grab a quick word with Davy Russell. And on the Sunday, it was the reception given to Honeysuckle as she entered the paddock, both before and after the Irish Champion Hurdle.
My favourite quote of the weekend though was from TV presenter Brian Gleeson, after A Dream To Share had won the bumper. Brian must have been beaming with pride, as his wife Claire owned the winner and his son John rode the gelding. Yet he still found time to make everyone smile when he said. “I watched the race with Claire and it was special –we bred the horse and the jockey!”
You could say that with the introduction of the DRF, Leopardstown has produced a ‘Field of Dreams’ and as the quote from the film of the same name goes. “Build it and they will come.” And that is certainly happening in Dublin on the first weekend in February. It’s now a permanent fixture in mine and my friends’ racing calendars, as you’re guaranteed to have Fun Fun Fun, as the final winner at this year’s DRF was so aptly named.
As the National Hunt season reaches top gear, we are pleased to announce further concessions have been added to the Racegoers Club rota, with Jockey Club Racecourses now including all of their 14 courses in the scheme.
All the concessions are now listed in the members’ area of the ROA website. We have made these easier to read by listing them by course and by month.
Each course operates a different system of how to secure your concession, so please make sure
you check each meeting carefully for how they are administering their Racegoers Club concessions.
If you do not have a login to the members area, please email info@ roa.co.uk and we will send your login details.
Racing Welfare are staging their Yorkshire Three Peaks Challenge on Saturday, July 8. The county of Yorkshire includes both Malton and Middleham racing centres, along with nine of the UK’s racecourses, and is also the home of the famous three peaks of Ingleborough, Pen-y-ghent and Whernside. Starting and finishing in Horton-in-Ribblesdale, the challenge is 25 miles long and includes over 1,500 metres of ascent.
The Racing Welfare Yorkshire Three Peaks Challenge is the perfect team event but is also open to any individuals who want to take part. Fully qualified guides will lead the challenge starting at 6.30am and with all participants having up to 12 hours to complete the challenge. Upon completion of the challenge, all participants will be invited to the post-event celebration. More details of the challenge can be found at racingwelfare.co.uk
The challenge will raise funds for Racing Welfare, whose assistance for those who currently work or are retired from working in racing now extends to home energy grants. This grant is specifically aimed at meeting increased home energy costs for those living on or below the minimum income level (as defined by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation) and has been developed in response to the increase in energy supply prices and to meet the basic needs of home energy supplies.
As fuel bills soar by unprecedented levels, one member of the sport’s workforce explains how Racing Welfare’s
financial grants have helped to relieve the pressure brought on by the rising cost of living.
Single mother Gemma Snook has worked in racing for more than 20 years, as a rider and groom, racing secretary and now in an administrative role. Despite temporarily falling out of love with the sport and opting to run a Lambourn pub for a period, she said: “Working in racing is addictive. It is not a job, it is a lifestyle, and eventually it pulls you back! I’ve been in Newmarket for 12 years now and am raising my sevenyear-old son here.”
Gemma received financial support from Racing Welfare in 2021 through the targeted grants programme: “I’ve had the Return to School grants over the last two years,” she explained. “When I saw the fuel grant advertised on social media, I contacted my local welfare officer to find out about that too – I thought, if you don’t ask, you don’t get!
“In my former role as a racing secretary, I was in regular contact with my local welfare manager, Aimee, to
support the young stable staff at the yard. As well as accessing the support services for myself, I often signpost the staff on the yard to Racing Welfare, too. When I asked Aimee about the grant, she gave me all the information I needed to be able to apply right away. As I’d already received a couple of grants previously, the process was pretty straightforward.”
Gemma’s application for the £300 grant was successful and went some way in reducing the pressure brought on by soaring fuel costs. She said: “The grant helped to relieve that immediate pressure, but I know the struggle will continue along with the ongoing cost of living crisis. I’ve still got an outstanding fuel bill even after the £300 was used to pay some of it off. The grant was a great help, and it has certainly lifted some of the weight from my shoulders, but it’s a real cost of living crisis now.”
Gemma anticipates needing to come back to Racing Welfare as the cost of living continues to rise. She adds: “I’m a single mum and the price of life has gone up. It’s not difficult to picture myself needing financial support from Racing Welfare again in the future. I wouldn’t hesitate in recommending anyone working in racing who is facing financial difficulty to speak to their local welfare officer about the help that is available.” Racing Welfare’s home energy grant will be available to eligible racing staff living below the minimum income standard until the end of March 2023. Further financial advice and guidance remains accessible 24/7 via racingwelfare.co.uk or the Racing Welfare app.
The British Thoroughbred Retraining Centre has developed a spelling station at their facility in Lancaster. Based just ten minutes from the M6, the facility is for active racehorses and is intended to provide horses with a break from the normal training routine or can be used for rest and recovery purposes. The minimum length of stay is four weeks and maximum is six months.
The centre has excellent facilities for up to 12 horses at a time and a dedicated team, headed up by Chief Executive Gillian Carlisle, who was
responsible for managing the spelling stables for active racehorses at the Hong Kong Jockey Club.
The weekly cost of £140 includes feed, bedding and daily turn out, with additional costs for veterinary charges or supplements. For full details contact the centre on 01524 812649 or email enquiries@thetrc.co.uk or visit https://thebtrc.co.uk/home/facilities/.
All profits from spelling stables will go directly to the BTRC’s charitable vulnerable horse programme to help retired racehorses that may struggle in their second career.
We are once again hosting our Cheltenham hub online. It’s your one-stop shop for everything about Cheltenham, including entries, stories, memories, offers from the Tote, and general information on the meeting.
One element which always proves popular is the listing of Cheltenham preview evenings. The nights are sure to find some winners and promote some healthy debate up and down the country. To include your preview night in our directory email details to info@roa.co.uk.
The ROA Cheltenham hub can be found at www.roa.co.uk/ cheltenham23.
The ROA Racecourse Accreditation Scheme was launched in 2019 to independently review owners’ raceday experiences using a defined set of criteria. We appointed AA Hospitality Services to complete a fair, consistent and independent assessment and ability to provide constructive feedback.
In 2022 we introduced an owners’ feedback section – this is an important addition to the overall process as it allows owners to share their thoughts on the raceday experience. Courses achieving high standards across both elements have been awarded the Gold Standard to signify exemplary performance.
The ROA’s goal, working in close collaboration with racecourses, is to improve and enhance the raceday experience for owners. We collectively recognise that going racing with a runner is a highlight of being an owner, therefore we want to ensure that this is a positive and memorable experience and where possible exceeds expectations, recognising the commitment and contribution owners make to the sport.
In 2022, 60 courses in the UK participated in the scheme, delivering an average percentage quality score of 80%, with 12 courses attaining the ROA’s Gold Standard award for 2022.
Aiden Murphy is one of the most accomplished bloodstock agents in the business. His outstanding contribution to the British industry as both a breeder and a buyer were recognised at last year’s TBA National Hunt Awards when he was presented with the Queen Mother’s Silver Salver, writes James Thomas
Murphy first arrived in Britain in the autumn of 1984 with the intention of spending a few months with David Nicholson, when ‘The Duke’ was still based at Condicote. The best part of four decades on, he is still here and as busy finding winners as ever before.
“The Duke and Dinah were amazing to me – I always say my best years in racing were in the Cotswolds,” he says. “I loved every minute of it. I bought many horses with The Duke over the years and would like to think we bought lots of good ones.”
When Nicholson retired in 1999, Murphy’s client base expanded to include trainers such as Andy Turnell, Kim Bailey, Alan King and, most notably, Philip Hobbs, for whom he sourced a whole host of top-class talents, including
three-time Grade 1 winner Captain Chris and the popular and prolific crosscountry chaser Balthazar King.
“Philip was a fantastic trainer to work with and we had some great years with the likes of Captain Chris, Menorah, Massini's Maguire, Balthazar King, Fingal Bay, Copper Kay and many more,” says Murphy. He continues to be a key cog in the Bailey stable, with their joint purchases including the exciting and unbeaten novice hurdler Chianti Classico.
He is also the father of upwardly mobile young trainer Olly Murphy, who has made a rapid ascent of the ranks since taking his licence out during the 2017-18 season. Olly enjoyed his Grade 1 breakthrough when Itchy Feet landed the 2020 running of the Scilly Isles Novices' Chase.
“Nowadays my focus has to be on Olly since he returned to the UK to train, and it’s a full-time job helping him find winners and developing the yard here at Warren Chase,” says Murphy. “Hopefully he has a nice team coming together including novices such as Chasing Fire, Ukantango, Go Dante, Strong Leader and Clonakilty, to name just a few.”
While the landscape of National Hunt sales in Britain has shifted significantly since Murphy arrived in 1984, with boutique point-to-point auctions more of a focal point among a muchexpanded calendar, he says his focus on finding his next winner has remained constant.
“For me, very little has changed over the years as to where winners are sourced,” he says. “I’ve bought horses like Captain Chris, Cue Card, Champ, Rule The World, China Rock, Noland and Thomas Darby, plus many more from the
Tickets are now on sale for this year’s TBA NH Breeders’ Awards Evening, which will take place on the evening of Monday, May 22. The celebratory affair, which honours British-bred successes from the 2022-23 National Hunt season, will be hosted at the Hilton Garden Inn on the first evening
store sales, while horses like Massini’s Maguire, Al Ferof, Menorah and Hermes Allen came through the point-to-point or bumper route.”
Murphy has proved equally adept at breeding successful runners as he has at buying them and had particularly good results with the progeny of Kayf Tara, who he latched onto long before the late, great Overbury Stud resident was established as an 11-time British champion sire.
Murphy’s most prolific broodmare was undoubtedly Presenting Copper, from whom he bred four winners from as many runners in partnership with Alan Peterson. The quartet is headed by Copper Kay, a daughter of Kayf Tara who won six races, including a Listed Cheltenham bumper in which Murphy bred the one-two, with Presenting Copper’s second foal Which One Is Which in second.
When Presenting Copper returned to Kayf Tara a second time she bred Copperless, who went on to land the Grade 3 Swinton Handicap Hurdle for the Murphy father-and-son combo. There is a poignant subplot to that story, however, as Presenting Copper died of colic while foaling Copperless, who in turn tragically sustained a fatal injury while in training at Warren Chase last autumn.
“Kayf Tara was the most amazing sire and changed British National Hunt breeding over the past two decades,” says Murphy. “His legacy will live on as I think he’s also a very good broodmare sire, but now is the time to move on to find the next generation of stallions.
“I honestly think that British breeders have not had as smart a team of stallions available to them for many years. Golden Horn is a big addition to the Overbury Stud roster and added to this with the established studs and Grace Skelton’s expanding operation, there’s a wide choice of stallions to suit everyone's budget.”
of the Goffs UK Spring Store Sale.
Kindly sponsored by Goffs UK, an enjoyable evening is assured and owners, breeders, trainers and National Hunt enthusiasts are invited to attend. A drinks reception and dinner is followed by the presentation of awards.
Tickets for the event can be purchased from the event page of the TBA website, where there is further information available.
Flying Legend was sourced to stand in Britain ahead of the 2012 stud season on the back of promising results from small crops in Ireland. Unfortunately for him he did not see out the year for another breeding season, having succumbed to a debilitating illness. From that sole British conceived crop has come his best performer, the ten-year-old Iwilldoit. Bred by the late Reg Brown, the gelding, who is trained by Sam Thomas, made a triumphant seasonal return in the Classic Handicap Chase at Warwick in the middle of January – his first run since taking the 2021 Welsh National. Breeder Liz Lucas had a new year present when Midnight River took the New Year's Day Handicap Chase at Cheltenham. The son of Midnight Legend, who had been third in the Paddy Power at the track in November, was bred out of the Presenting mare Well Connected.
On the opening evening of the Dubai World Cup Carnival, the Meon Valley Stud-bred Al Suhail captured the Group 2 Al Fahidi Fort over seven furlongs. The son of Dubawi stormed to success, drawing clear by four lengths. Later in the month and the Hampshire-based operation were represented by Prince Eiji, another son of Dubawi, who won the Group 3 Firebreak Stakes over a mile on the dirt.
Godolphin’s Naval Power, whose sole defeat last season in five runs came when sixth in the Dewhurst, got his season off to a fine start, taking the
Murphy’s involvement in the industry extends beyond his own interests and those of his clients, as he served on the TBA NH Committee during a period when some significant initiatives were introduced. Murphy says: “I was delighted to be on the TBA Board for seven years and saw so many changes in that period. Most of all the introduction of the Great British Bonus, which has given British National Hunt breeders a huge incentive to continue breeding and supporting British NH stallions.
“Thanks to people like Robert WaleyCohen, Bryan Mayoh and many others I
nine-furlong Listed Jumeriah Classic by over a length.
Stateside and the David Curranbred Amy C (Charming Thought) won her first Graded stakes in the Grade 3 Las Cienegas Stakes on the hillside course at Santa Anita.
Meanwhile, down in Australia, there was no more appropriate winner of the Listed Australia Day Cup at Warwick Farm than Chalk Stream. A first winner for the King on Australian soil, the fiveyear-old was bred by the late Queen.
Results up to and including January 31. Produced in association with GBRI.
think the British National Hunt breeding Industry is much better for having this scheme.”
And, as all the above attests, the British National Hunt breeding industry is much better for Murphy’s presence, too. Reflecting on being awarded with the prestigious industry accolade, he somewhat modestly says: “Being awarded the Queen Mother’s Silver Salver for my contribution to our industry was a huge honour and I was delighted to accept, albeit I could name many people who deserve similar for their commitment to the industry.”
A total of 18 stallions were on show at this year’s NH Stallion Showcase, which was held on the opening day of the Goffs UK January Sale. Always a popular event, it was supported by Goffs UK and proved to be the ideal location for breeders to see up close some of the newer stallions on the scene, as well as the more established. Stabled in yards A and B, attendees were well catered for in the TBA marquee, which served refreshments throughout the day.
New to the stallion ranks for 2023 is the only son of Midnight Legend in the shape of his eight-time-winning son Midnights Legacy. Alne Park also welcomed Ocovango to the stud late last year and both will cover their first British books this season. They were joined on the day by the third stallion at the Skeltons' base, Dink, who is in his third season covering in Britain.
Fresh off the back of his latest Grade 1 winner Tahmuras, Nunstainton brought its Pivotal stallion Falco, who moved north from Hundred Acre Farm late last year. The Dawson family also brought along Classic scorer Kingston Hill, sire of impressive Tallow four-year-old point scorer Butcher Hollow in early February.
Golden Horn is one of the most promising stallions in the NH sphere on either side of the Irish Sea and the Overbury team were on hand to show off the son of Cape Cross.
Chapel Stud brought all three Dahlbury stallions – Planteur is the most established, being the sire of Trueshan. He was joined by Bangkok, whose first foals arrive this spring, and Walzertakt,
who will cover his second crop of British mares this year.
Three of the five Yorton stallions were shown off. Adlerflug stallion Ito, a full-brother to In Swoop, and new to Britain in 2023 was accompanied on the journey from Wales by Adlerflug’s half-brother Arrigo and Masterstroke, the Monsun relation to Galileo and Sea The Stars.
Another triple-handed was Shade Oak. Classic scorer Logician was the busiest British-based NH stallion last
year, whilst he was joined on the trip to the Goffs UK sales complex by Dartmouth, whose first crop have turned four, and Telescope
Frammassone, freshly relocated to Batsford Stud, Virtual, sire of Eclipse champion Hewick, and the multiple Group winner Marmelo completed the line-up.
The TBA would like to extend its thanks to Goffs UK and the studs and stallion owners who helped to make the day such a success.
Stradivarius (Sea The Stars) strutted his stuff around the sales ring at Tattersalls in early February at the TBA Flat Stallion Parade. He was one of seven first or second-season stallions to make their way to Park Paddocks for the event, which took place immediately before trade got under way for the Tattersalls February Sale.
The three-time Gold Cup hero was joined by fellow freshman and Overbury Stud stallion Caturra, the Flying Childers Stakes-winning son of Mehmas.
Kicking off the second-season stallions was the triple Group 2 scorer and Newsells resident A’Ali (Society Rock), and he was joined by the Group 2 York Stakes winner and son
of Australia, Bangkok (Chapel Stud), Norton Grove Stud resident and Group 2 Celebration Mile hero Century Dream (Cape Cross), the National Stud-based Lope Y Fernandez, the Group-winning son of Lope de Vega, and Mickley Stud’s Flying Childers hero Ubettabelieveit (Kodiac).
Commentaries were provided by Gina Bryce and Shirley Anderson-Jolag, both of whom the TBA are grateful to for giving up their time. The TBA would also like to thank all who supported the parade, with special recognition to the stallion handlers, stud farms, Tattersalls and Weatherbys.
All photos by Adam Smyth
A new event to the TBA calendar for 2023 is the Worm Workshop, which will take place at Askham Bryan College in York on the afternoon of Tuesday, August 22 on the eve of the Ebor Festival.
The event will bring together leading experts on parasitology, agronomy and veterinary science, such as Professor Jacqui Matthews (FRCVS), Dr Laura Peachey, Charlie Cooke (MRCVS) and Paul Overton, to discuss how to construct a worming and faecal worm egg
count sampling programme; how to effectively manage paddocks for breeding and young stock; anthelmintic resistance; and any new learnings and research in this area.
Free to members and TBA Access subscribers, this event is designed to give a broad perspective of this complex subject area, with plenty of opportunity for questions during panel Q&A sessions. To sign up, visit the events section of the TBA website.
Ahead of the 2023 foaling season, Weatherbys introduced biothermo microchips, which have the ability to take temperature readings, as well as storing each horse's unique identification number.
Thoroughbred foals born in Britain from this year onwards will be supplied with the new microchip via their regular attending vet, which will enable handlers to take temperature readings and to upload them to the health area of the digital passport, where a baseline temperature can be calculated. Existing microchip scanners will be able to read the microchip number, but new devices may be required to access the temperature data, such as the halo smart microchip scanner.
Older thoroughbreds will not be retrospectively issued with the new microchips, but it is hoped that all British and Irish-bred foals will be implanted with them from the 2024 season onwards.
Enhancements to the health tab on the e-passport now enable breeders to record the heights and weights of their foals, as well as viewing the temperature data they have uploaded for each individual. This is part of the ongoing process of digitisation of equine identification and health data.
A podcast discussing the introduction of the bio-thermo microchips, featuring Sharon O'Regan (Weatherbys) and TBA Trustee and veterinary consultant James Crowhurst, is available on the TBA website.
The 30-day foal notification captures important data on the whereabouts of each individual, prior to foal registration. This information is crucial to the industry in demonstrating the fullest level of transparency and accountability
at all stages of each thoroughbred's life. A dedicated traceability helpdesk (traceability@britishhorseracing.com) is now available to support breeders with timely compliance of the 30-day foal notification. Breeders are encouraged to
make contact at the earliest opportunity to discuss any challenges or delays that may impact on their ability to fulfil this obligation, which when completed successfully will ensure that their thoroughbred is eligible to race.
An exciting line-up of regional days is scheduled for this year, when members and TBA Access subscribers will have the chance to see behind the scenes at some of Britain’s most prestigious racing and breeding operations. There will also be the chance to learn more about the industry and the thoroughbred at the TBA’s educational events, such as the Bloodstock Conference. Further dates and details will be announced shortly.
April 20 – Cheltenham
Visit a local trainer’s yard, see the horses in action and hopefully receive a tip or two for racing in the afternoon. Dine at the racecourse and enjoy an afternoon of racing, which is given over to fillies and mares.
April 25 – Weatherbys, Northampton
Weatherbys opens its doors to members so you can see
what it takes to keep the racing and breeding industry rolling. A tour of the offices is followed by an update on new technology for the sector and a lunch.
June 27 – Bloodstock Conference, Tattersalls
With interesting and entertaining speakers lined up, this free event for members and TBA Access subscribers promises to be an annual date for your diary.
July – London
A trip to the famous Household Cavalry followed by an afternoon visit to a sporting gallery.
At time of going to press all events are provisional and subject to change – visit the events page of the website for the latest news.
GBB has nothing to hit but the heights!
GBB set to hit £10 million bonus payout milestone this year! Who will be the lucky owners coming up roses?
As an owner/breeder and an agent, the efect that GBB is having on the industry is very evident. It is an innovative scheme that not only supports British-bred fllies – in that they attract a premium in the sales ring –but also strengthens the British market with the incentive to use British stallions and foal mares in this country.
James Wigan, London Thoroughbred ServicesGBB has been a fantastic initiative and is really achieving what it set out to do. As a result of Fairfeld Ferrata’s success, I have other owners wanting GBBregistered mares, so we go to the sales specifcally looking for them.
Jedd O’Keefe, Trainer of Fairfeld FerrataI always sex test the pregnancies of the mares under my management. If they are believed to be carrying a flly, I ensure they foal in Britain to make the best use of the super GBB scheme.
Ed Sackville, AgentDon’t miss out!
#BREEDBUYRACE
Give Liz Lucas of Swanbridge Bloodstock a turn on Mastermind and there’s little doubt she would choose Midnight Legend as her specialist subject – and that’s even before she was named TBA Breeder of the Month for the New Year’s Day exploits of his son Midnight River.
“I’m still an obsessive fan of Midnight Legend,” she admits, which helps to explain why Emma Lavelle was picked to train one of her earliest jumps purchases when she and partner John Leveson, who moved north to set up a veterinary practice in the East Riding village of Brantingham near Brough, 15 minutes from Beverley, in 1993, expanded into breeding racehorses.
“We were just starting out and pinhooked some nice foals with decent pedigrees, with the intention of keeping the fillies and selling the colts,” Lucas recalls. “At the time, Emma trained a chaser by Midnight Legend called Easter Legend, who won the EBF/TBA Mares’ Novices’ Chase Finale at Newbury in March 2011, which got me watching her horses, and I sent her a Presenting mare that I bought for £14,500 as a yearling at Doncaster in January 2010.”
Named Well Connected, she hardly covered herself in glory when running twice in bumpers as a five-year-old, but connections knew she had an engine. “Emma thought a lot about her from what she did at home,” Lucas explains. “But it was lashing down with rain on her first-ever run and she came back with badly-torn chest muscles. When she ran again, I think she just thought to herself, ‘I don’t fancy this’.”
Undeterred, and armed with the
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for £7,000 and put into training alongside Midnight River at the Skelton yard. Her third foal, by Telescope, is Triple Choice, who has been retained to run in the Swanbridge Bloodstock colours from Mel Rowley’s Shropshire stables.
combination of racing information and a pedigree page that made Well Connected a half-sister to the useful Royal Guardsman out of a sister to a French Grade 3 chase winner and another useful jumper in Iris Royal, she went to stud. Her first mate? None other than Midnight Legend, and the resulting produce, Midnight River, who was sold into Dan Skelton’s yard for £40,000 at the Goffs UK May Sale in 2018, took his earnings into six figures with his sixth win from 16 outings in Cheltenham’s New Year’s Day feature, prompting a wellpublicised aeroplane celebration from jockey Harry Skelton.
“Midnight River was always a lovely foal, good tempered, and he sold well for us,” Lucas says. “He went to a good trainer, which is half the battle when you’re selling.”
Sadly for Lucas’s obsession, the association with Midnight Legend ended there, for Midnight River proved to be a member of his third-last crop before his death in July 2016. However, Well Connected goes on, serving British-based stallions, as befits her owner’s position on the TBA National Hunt committee.
Following Midnight River, Well Connected had a dead foal by Gentlewave, before returning to the Yorton Farm-based sire and producing Gentle Connections, whom Yorton bought
Having missed a year in 2018, Well Connected is represented by a three-yearold Getaway filly, who will be among a batch of ten from the stud going to the sales this spring, a two-year-old Telescope sister to Triple Choice and a yearling colt by Postponed, who made an unfruitful visit to the Goffs UK January Sale. Well Connected visited Nathaniel last year, and once the offspring has arrived, she is booked into Logician.
“I try to support British-based stallions where I can, especially those with good, middle-distance form,” Lucas says, pointing to a schedule that brings a maximum of 35 horses on to the 250acre site at any one time, with numbers currently swollen by a group of what Lucas calls ‘lockdown’ horses, who were unable to be sold under Covid-19 restrictions.
Lucas is also a staunch supporter of the TBA-backed Great British Bonus scheme, for which her son Oliver Leveson fronted a short promotional video extoling the success of Gentle Connections, with every reason, as she gets closer to becoming the scheme’s second £100,000 winner, of which her breeder collects 20 per cent.
“We’ve made more out of the scheme than we did by selling Gentle Connections,” Lucas says. “GBB is a complete game-changer for breeders of fillies. You couldn’t give them away a few years ago. Now we have agents and trainers coming up to us at the sales and specifically asking to see GBB-eligible fillies.”
Concentrated, safe and easy to use, multi-dose syringe. Stabilise, build and protect the gut microbiome FAST.
· Foal heat digestive tract disturbance
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ALSO RECOMMENDED FOR ADULT HORSES DURING PERIODS OF DIETARY CHANGE, STRESS, TRAVEL OR MEDICATION.
Plasma is that portion of whole, unclotted blood which is left once the cells have been removed. It is usually pale amber and is essentially water containing a wide range of dissolved proteins (such as globulins –including antibodies against infectious diseases – and albumin), glucose, electrolytes, hormones and other beneficial factors. In contrast, serum is the liquid that remains once blood has been allowed to clot. Clotting binds the cells and clotting factors within the clot itself.
If you are familiar with seeing blood being taken for laboratory testing, you may have noticed that different coloured tubes are used. Usually, one tube is for serum in which the blood is left to clot. The other tubes contain an anticoagulant (different colours indicate different anticoagulants) so that tests can be performed on whole blood or the plasma. Plasma usually comprises about 60-70% of blood volume.
To obtain larger volumes of plasma, a large volume of blood must be collected from a donor animal. This must be done under sterile conditions to avoid contamination of the plasma. Blood is collected into sterile containers (usually sterile plastic blood collection bags) containing a suitable anticoagulant. The bags are then either hung for several hours to allow separation of the cells from the plasma under gravity (Fig 1), or they are spun at very high speed in a centrifuge. The cells are then taken off, leaving the plasma ready for use.
In commercial settings these processes, apart from collection of the blood, are largely mechanised. Fortunately, commercially produced plasma is available frozen (Fig 2) and suitable for storage for emergency or routine use in convenient one litre volumes. It has more reliable and higher levels of antibody than single-donor derived plasma and does not require elaborate laboratory equipment or long periods of time to prepare once in stock. With a few exceptions, mentioned below, plasma is administered via intravenous transfusion.
Plasma collected from a local
donor horse will contain antibodies to diseases which might be encountered in that horse’s environment, but the levels are unpredictable and variable. Commercially produced plasma is available with higher quantities of certain specific antibodies, for example against Rhodococcus spp and can usually provide more reliable benefits if it is available when needed.
Failure of passive transfer
The most common use of plasma in foals is to treat those with failure of passive transfer (FPT). Foals are born without a fully functioning immune system and depend on ingesting adequate amounts of good quality colostrum from the mare in the first few hours of life to achieve high enough levels of antibodies to protect them against infection. In some cases this doesn’t happen for any of a variety of reasons, either because the mare has run milk and lost her colostrum, the colostrum is of poor quality, the foal doesn’t suckle normally, or the foal’s gut doesn’t absorb the antibodies.
On most thoroughbred studs, a blood sample from the foal is tested 24-48 hours after birth to measure the immunoglobulin IgG (antibody) levels. If it is low (usually taken as less than 4 g/l) then the foal is at significant risk of infection, especially in a ‘high risk’ environment. Plasma can be administered to boost the IgG level and provide the foal with protection, which lasts much longer than simply administering antibiotics (Fig 3). In most instances, one litre is administered and the blood test repeated about 24 hours later. A second litre may be needed but, anecdotally, there does appear to be slightly increased risk of reaction to a second transfusion.
In some geographical areas and on some studs, Rhodococcus equi is a significant cause of infectious disease in foals. Infection causes abscess formation, mainly in the lungs, and in many cases clinical signs are not apparent until the disease is well advanced.
Plasma with specifically higher levels of antibody to Rhodococcus equi is available commercially (for example, Hypermune-RE, Veterinary Immunogenics Ltd, see panel) and this is frequently administered to foals born on studs where the condition is considered endemic, soon after birth and then again at three to four weeks of age when the foal is most likely to be challenged by infection and circulating antibody levels
will be dropping. There is some evidence to indicate that using anti-Rhodococcus plasma can significantly reduce the incidence of disease in treated foals.
Septicaemia means (literally) ‘blood infection’ and is a life-threatening condition, especially in foals. The infection usually enters the body through a wound or the urachus (navel) but can also extend from the respiratory or gastro-intestinal tracts. Once in the blood, the infection can spread to other parts of the body causing significant damage.
Septicaemia is a medical emergency and aggressive treatment is required from early on to have any chance of recovery. Antibiotics are essential but plasma can also be useful because it contains other helpful substances in addition to antibodies against antigens and toxins. The additional substances provide an energy source and protein for the foal, substances that support the body’s positive inflammatory processes and the circulation. Repeated doses of plasma might be needed in addition to other supportive and treatment measures.
Enteritis
Diarrhoea is common in foals and most cases will respond to oral administration of adsorbents such as activated charcoal, bismuth subsalicylate or montmorillonite plus electrolytes and/or probiotics. In a few cases, the diarrhoea is so severe that intravenous fluids (possibly including plasma) are required to maintain hydration and the
circulation.
In a few cases, oral administration of plasma, harvested from the dam, can be used in an attempt to supply antibodies and other plasma constituents to the damaged gut surface. The science is contradictory, as any potentially useful proteins should be digested before they can act on the gut lining, but this practice is still advocated by some clinicians and does appear to be of benefit in some cases.
Lawsonia intracellularis is a bacterium which causes damage to the lining of the intestine resulting in both loss of protein from the gut and interference with absorption of nutrients. It mainly affects weanlings but may also be seen in yearlings. Affected animals may develop diarrhoea or present with weight loss and swellings below the throat, lower limbs and around the sheath.
In mild cases, antibiotics and good quality feed can support recovery but in severe cases, the protein levels in the blood become dangerously low and it is necessary to administer plasma to help bring the protein levels up. Other hypertonic fluids may be used to try to reduce fluid loss in the tissues and support the circulation.
Adult horses that develop colitis are at significant risk of severe loss of fluids and protein from the body in a very short period of time. They can sometimes go into shock and/or become toxaemic due to the absorption of toxins from the damaged gut and the fluid losses. They require intensive fluid and supportive therapy and this may include plasma.
As with foals, plasma can provide antibodies and proteins to help fight the cause of the colitis and toxaemia as well as supporting the circulation, aiding clearance of the causative agents and aiding healing. Several litres of plasma are needed to treat adult horses and this can add considerably to the already potentially high cost of treatment required.
Horse eyes are particularly predisposed to trauma because of their rather pronounced location towards the front ‘corners’ of the head. Ulcers or damage to the cornea (surface) are common and in most instances will resolve quite
quickly with topical drops or ointment. Occasionally, however, an ulcer can be slow to heal and so plasma may be used to assist in the healing process. Blood is collected into a couple of edta plasma tubes and the cells discarded. A few drops of plasma are instilled into the eye several times a day until deemed no longer of use.
Platelet Rich Plasma (PRP) is a sterile, blood-derived product used for the treatment of joint, tendon and ligament injuries. Platelets are a normal component of blood. Blood is collected from the patient and specially processed to concentrate the platelets and other factors in the plasma before the product is injected into the damaged area. The evidence for its effectiveness is mixed, but it is widely used to try to increase the speed and/or quality of healing. The doses may be frozen so that several treatments can be administered over time (Fig 4).
Aside from its use in foals, plasma is occasionally used to assist in the treatment of endometritis (uterine inflammation and/or infection) in mares. Blood is collected from the mare and the cells removed. The plasma – usually 50 to 100 mls per dose - is then instilled into the uterus during oestrus on one or more days. The aim is to reduce inflammation, promote healing and help to control any bacterial contamination of the lining of the uterus.
As with any biological product, particularly where the donor and recipient are different, there is potential for adverse reactions to occur. Fortunately, single transfusions of plasma to a foal do not commonly cause a reaction although occasionally the foal will demonstrate
elevated heart and respiratory rate as though going into anaphylaxis.
It is important to administer plasma slowly to foals and adults to minimise the risk of any reaction. Second or subsequent transfusions are more likely to provoke an adverse reaction and so more attention must be paid to the
patient during and after administration. Occasionally a ‘flare’ might be seen after injection of PRP. With any intervention where the skin is punctured by a needle or catheter, there is a risk of infection so good skin preparation is essential for both collection and administration of any blood product.
Established in 1992, Veterinary Immunogenics has specialised in providing high-quality plasma products to veterinarians, breeders and trainers in the UK, Ireland and Europe for over 30 years under the HYPERMUNE and HYPERMUNE-RE brand names.
“At Veterinary Immunogenics, we take great care and pride in providing veterinary biologic products that help animals live longer, healthier lives. Veterinary Immunogenics was borne out of a passion for horses,” explains Veterinary Immunogenics CEO,
Andrew Macarthur.
“There’s nothing more disappointing than losing a foal when something could have been done to help it. It’s happened to us and it’s heartbreaking. That’s the reason we’ve dedicated our lives to producing the safest, most effective equine plasma treatments possible.”
From their Penrith, UK facility, Veterinary Immunogenics collects and processes HYPERMUNE and HYPERMUNE-RE hyperimmunised plasma for the treatment of a variety of equine conditions
including failure of passive transfer and Rhodococcus equi infection.
Hyperimmunised plasma contains increased levels of antibodies (immunoglobulin) over untreated plasma. These increased antibodies have been shown to provide greater protection from infections, as well as promote faster healing and recovery times.
Both HYPERMUNE and HYPERMUNE-RE are rigorously tested and produced under the regulations of the UK Veterinary Medicines Directorate and Home Office licences.
Since the Speed Gene was identified in thoroughbreds over a decade ago by researchers at University College Dublin, breeders have had the option of basing their mating decisions on real science.
The Speed Gene can be used to predict the optimum racing distance for a racehorse – analysis of DNA samples from runners that have completed their racing careers has shown that the test is accurate for 98% of horses.
The effect of the Speed Gene on distance aptitude is due to a mutation in the myostatin gene, which disrupts the production of the protein in muscle. The mutation is linked to a marker for which the genetic categories are given – CC for sprint distances, CT for middle distances and TT for longer distances. The presence of the mutation affects muscle development and differentiation.
Horses that are CC have a higher rate of muscle growth and a higher proportion of fast twitch muscle fibre types, leading to a performance advantage as two-year olds and over sprint distances. CT horses are better suited to mile and middle distances, can perform well as two-year-olds, and tend to outperform CC horses as three-yearolds as the opportunity to race over longer distances arises. TT horses are later maturing and are better suited to longer distance races, and therefore are more effective as three-year-olds and
as older horses.
Mare owners aiming to breed a certain type of horse – an early-twoyear-old or miler, for example – can use the Speed Gene information when forming their decisions on which stallions to patronise, which could be
especially helpful if they are running a commercial operation and targeting the sales.
The Speed Gene test is available exclusively from Plusvital Ltd – for further information contact info@ plusvital.com.
At a recent equine disease surveillance meeting, Defra passed on the following message regarding the reporting of avian influenza.
The message stated: “There has been coverage in the media on avian influenza ‘spilling over’ into mammals, including otters, foxes and seals in Britain. The presence of influenza of avian origin in mammals is not new, nor is the ‘spillover’ in Great Bitain.
“Scavenging mammals can be opportunistic and predate on
infectious dead or sick wild birds and be exposed to large quantities of virus. That gives a possibility for the virus to enter a host population that it doesn’t normally maintain in. The evidence suggests no increased risk to GB mammals following these findings.
“In England, reports of dead wild mammals (two or more dead mammals in the same location, nervous disease or other unusual mortality) should be reported to
the relevant local APHA Veterinary Investigation Centre. Reports will be assessed and triaged, but not all carcasses will be collected.
“Reports where poisoning is suspected should be reported to the Wildlife Incident Investigation Service (WIIS) on 0800 321600.
“Reports of found dead wild birds should be reported through the new online reporting tool at gov.uk/ guidance/report-dead-wild-birds or the Defra helpline on 03459 335577.”
Replicating the effects of natural light for stabled horses is the inspiration behind the redesigned Equilume Stable Light.
Timed delivery of blue-enriched light by day and soft red light at night, with gradual transitions at sunrise and sunset, mimics natural dawn and dusk to provide the ideal stable environment for horses.
With racehorses spending a large proportion of their day inside, they often miss out on hours of daylight, which can affect their body clock and impact on their health and development.
Research has shown that the Equilume Stable Light can help counteract these issues, with benefits including enhanced daytime alertness, improved growth and development in young stock and optimised gestation lengths for mares.
Ronan Cox, Equilume CEO, said:
“The development of the Equilume Stable Light is a game-changer, replicating the benefits of sunlight and providing optimised circadian lighting for the maintenance of health
and well-being in stabled horses
“We have redesigned the Stable Light and made significant improvements including customisable lighting settings so horses have the correct lighting to suit their needs.”
Sir Martin Broughton’s colourful life and business career is detailed in his recently published memoir, Whenever I Hear That Song, which charts his rise from a workingclass background in west London and early days as a chartered accountant to high-flying positions with British American Tobacco (BAT) and British Airways. As Chairman of the British Horseracing Board he came close to securing a new funding mechanism for the sport, while his brief tenure in the same role at Liverpool FC saw an intense court battle over the sale of the club. Sir Martin’s familiar red and green silks have been carried by the likes of Champion Chase victor Dodging Bullets, yet he missed out on buying three-time Cheltenham Gold Cup hero Best Mate and was also luckless in his quest to acquire the Tote and his beloved Chelsea FC.
Interview: Edward RosenthalIt was an interesting process to write the book, but I don’t think I could say it was cathartic. Some of the facts you can check, some of it’s just your memories. But I really enjoyed doing it. My wife, Jocelyn, had always lamented the fact that she didn’t ask her parents enough questions before they died. So, I thought, why not write the book and put it out there? It was when I was lying in hospital after an operation to treat a pulmonary embolism that I decided the time was right to record my life story. Writing a book is a bit like owning a horse; you don’t do it to make a profit. But if you can make some money for charity, it’s a good thing.
Wherever you go in the world people are interested in football, so in some ways the common language is football. Having had a strong interest in the game, there was always a subject you can come back to where you felt on home territory. Fortunately, in most of the places I went to with BAT, they did speak English. That wasn’t the case in Brazil or Argentina – in South America football is certainly the common language.
Aviation is about the last remaining major industry which hasn’t consolidated. If you look at consumer goods, tobacco and mining, those individual companies around the world have merged and you finish up with a Unilever, BAT or Rio Tinto. That
hasn’t happened in aviation – it’s inevitable it goes down that route at some stage.
The tobacco industry is amazingly resilient although a lot of people think the business has disappeared. In the south-east of England not many people smoke and there’s a move towards vaping. But around the world, where it declines around 2% per annum, it’s still an enormous industry. When you have a dangerous product, it needs to be in the hands of responsible people.
Did I ever get over missing out on owning Best Mate? Because I loved Hen [Knight] and Terry [Biddlecombe], I certainly felt very happy at their success. I just always struggled to see him in Jim’s [Lewis] colours! I think I got over it seriously when Dodging Bullets won the Champion Chase in 2015. To win a Grade 1 at Cheltenham, I felt like I’d got there and done it.
I’d say Dodge’s win in the Champion Chase tops everything, while his win in the Tingle Creek was also special. Another big day was Taquin Du Seuil’s win in the JLT at the Festival, while Oscar Time, my first ever runner in the Grand National [co-owned with twin brother Steve and Robert WaleyCohen] just about got his nose in front at the elbow before finishing runner-up to Ballabriggs. We still celebrated like we’d won the race, as to finish second was a huge achievement.
Not winning the bid for the Tote is like losing a race – you turn your attention to something else and look for the next opportunity. I’m delighted that Alex [Frost] took it on and I think he’s doing a good job – at last it’s heading in the right direction. Fred [Done] was never interested in the pool, he was interested in the shops. It lacked TLC over a seven-year period – it takes a long time to recover from that lack of investment. The British public isn’t really
used to pool betting and I’m not sure it will ever be a big part of the scene, but I think it will continue on a slow growth trajectory.
Very few people are lucky enough to make a difference at a national phenomenon – Liverpool and Manchester United, in global terms, are the two most recognised and best supported teams. To get an opportunity to make a difference at a club like Liverpool was great. We had two viable bidders for the club; you make your decision – you think you’ve made the right call, but you don’t know for sure – and it’s only later you can say you got it right.
We put together a £2.5 billion package in 20 days to buy Chelsea and made it to the final two or three contenders. My son Michael and I were disappointed we weren’t successful, though my wife and daughter were very happy! And it’s easy to see why – our life would have been completely transformed. We’re pleased we had a go – we were fronting a bid for the fans and I think it would have been a good thing for the club.
I’ve got seven horses with Paul [Nicholls], four with Jonjo [O’Neill] plus Peking Rose with Fergal [O’Brien]. Irish Hill, a recent winner at Ascot, is entered in both the Coral Cup and Martin Pipe while Sir Psycho is also entered in the Martin Pipe. But the one I’m most excited about is Henri The Second. He’s a chaser really, so to win a Grade 2 over hurdles suggests he has a big future over fences.
Whenever I Hear That Song, priced at £20, is available to buy at nineelmsbooks.co.uk. All proceeds from the sale of the book will go to Retraining of Racehorses.
I have two fillies by Too Darn Hot. They have lovely temperaments and have done very well. They are looking sharp!
Jessica HarringtonI have about a dozen Too Darn Hots and they are very similar to him. From day one, he cantered like an old pro – he was a beautiful-moving colt – and his progeny seem to be the very same. I think they will be late-summer horses, if not autumn horses, like he was. You’d expect him to have a really good number of winners by the end of the season and quality horses out of that number as well.
Malcolm BastardWe retained our Too Darn Hot filly out of Smart Change [a half-sister to Stay Thirsty and the dam of Without Parole] and she is going well in pretraining in the US. The pre-trainer likes her and she seems to be the highlight of our group. We are sending a mare to him this season on the back of her.
Tanya Gunther£40,000 Oct 1, SLF Dalham Hall Stud