Tattersalls October Yearling Sale Preview 2016 by BarnesThompson

THE OCTOBER YEARLING SALE 2016

Tel: + 44 1638 665021 Fax: + 44 1638 669273 kevin.needham@bbashipping.com www.bbashipping.com

Welcome Ask almost anyone lucky enough to be connected professionally with the racing and bloodstock industry about Tattersalls and it’s long odds-on they’ll have fond memories and a tall tale or two to tell. Tattersalls is part of the fabric of racing and breeding, not just in the UK, but around the globe. Many of us tick off the seasons by the company’s sales calendar. It has become a part of the rhythm of our lives. I’ve been fortunate to be a regular at Park Paddocks for almost all my working life, since first experiencing the electricity of a yearling auction under the wise and generous tutelage of Sally Judd, then manager of Adstock Manor Stud. Since then, lifelong friendships have been formed in and around the Tattersalls sale ring to the extent that any visit ‘up the hill’ feels like popping in to see the family. We hope this second edition of the Tattersalls Preview will help to celebrate 250 years of this most extraordinary British success story in typically entertaining and informative fashion. We are again fortunate to have a superb collection of writers, who have helped us celebrate the past while very much keeping an eye on the future – there is a sale season coming up, after all! Finally, huge thanks go once again to all our advertisers. Valued clients old and new have quickly seen that, even in this digital age, there remains great value in being able to address your specific audience directly in an increasingly noisy marketplace. The Tattersalls international client base, and thus recipients of this Preview, remains probably our industry’s most influential – and that seems likely to be the case for at least another 250 years! Simon D. Thompson - Publisher (on behalf of Tattersalls)

The October Yearling Sale Contributors

CATHERINE AUSTEN

COLIN CAMERON

TIM COX

DAVID DERBYSHIRE

MARTIN MITCHELL

TONY MORRIS

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

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

Tim Cox worked for nearly forty years in major advertising agencies. Currently he is the Executive Chairman of the British Sporting Art Trust and a Trustee of the National Horseracing Museum.

David Derbyshire is a science journalist who writes for a range of national newspapers including The Daily Mail, Observer, The Guardian and International Business Times. He was formerly the Daily Mail’s Environment Editor and the Daily Telegraph’s Consumer Affairs Editor.

Martin Mitchell is Chairman of the Trustees of the British Racing School. Martin retired as Sales Director of Tattersalls in 2011, he currently acts as a consultant to the Group.

Among the most respected bloodstock commentators of his, or any, generation.

LEE MOTTERSHEAD

JULIAN MUSCAT

BILL OPPENHEIM

NIGEL REID

NANCY SEXTON

SIMON THOMPSON

After six years working on stud farms, Julian Muscat took up journalism in 1987. He spent 17 years at The Times and now contributes to a broad range of publications, principally Racing Post.

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

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

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

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

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

Thanks to: Editorial Consultant; Nigel Reid Editorial Manager; Charlotte Mitchell – Advertising Manager; Sile Hayes Design; Rob Briggs – Proofreader; Steve Cheney – Production Facilitator; David Ward – Printer. Pictures by Chris Bourchier, Trevor Jones, Matthew Lloyd, Sean Popke, etc. October 2016

Richard Tattersall

(1724â&#x20AC;&#x201C;1795) by Thomas Beach October 2016

Contents 8

An obligation to our history

The bonus bonanza

Good-looking genes

Old rules, new insights

Profitable by nature

The generation game

An Englishman abroad

Home is where the art is

The hard yards

Tattersalls Timeline (1766â&#x20AC;&#x201C;2016)

A patient approach

15 things I never knew about Tattersalls

Breaking down barriers

Memories are made of this

Starting out afresh

A ringside seat to history

YEARS

6 October 2016

38 October 2016

An obligation to our history Julian Muscat sits down with Tattersalls Chairman Edmond Mahony to discuss a philosophy as important today as it was 250 years ago

Captain Kenneth Watt

8 October 2016

Edmond Mahony

An artist's impression of the new Sale Ring

Tattersalls recently celebrated its 250th anniversary by hosting a media drinks reception and book launch inside the Wellington Arch, a towering structure at Hyde Park Corner, in London. The chosen site was very close to where Richard Tattersall first set up for business back in 1776.

Other changes have been infinitely more pleasing to contemplate. Mahony joined Tattersalls just as a significant sea-change was underway at the dawn of the 1980s. “All of a sudden John Magnier came along and started standing all these stallions in Ireland”, he reflects.

Guests looking out from atop the Arch will have reflected that the vista across Hyde Park would have been very different in Tattersall’s time. So, too, are prevailing conditions under which horses are sold, yet Tattersalls today still espouses the values through which its founder developed the business.

“That meant mares stayed in Ireland rather than being shipped out to Kentucky, and obviously, the Maktoum family came along soon after that. That was the game-changer, really. Keeneland’s July Yearling sale was where it was at, with those Northern Dancer yearlings and those of his sons. Now the big yearling sales are here.”

“I’d like to think the company has a reputation for being an honest broker between vendor and purchaser”, says Edmond Mahony, the chairman at Tattersalls since 1993. “Our founder was very much the man who started that, and I think that’s why the firm flourished in the 1700s and 1800s. It’s definitely been a theme, particularly with my predecessors. The integrity aspect of hosting bloodstock sales was uppermost in their minds to the extent it sometimes overrode commercial interests.” But Mahony feels obliged to allude to the present when he says: “The business has undoubtedly become complicated by litigation. The issues become more blurred and one has to recognise that a lot of it is completely outside our control. Where it is in our control, we try to maintain those values.” Were Tattersalls’ founder alive today, he would be astonished by the contemporary canvas. What was, in Mahony’s words, “a pretty unexciting business until the late 1970s” has transformed into compelling theatre as records continue to tumble out of the auction ring. Never before have so many individuals of immense affluence been so in thrall to the Turf. Throughout the tumult, however, the calm, outward expression of Tattersalls has barely changed. Mahony exemplifies it in every respect but one. There are now smiles on the faces of employees whose austere expressions once rendered them inscrutable and quite daunting to approach. It has not happened by accident. “Fostering good relations with our clients is something I tried to do from flag-fall”, Mahony says. “I’m not saying my predecessors hadn’t done it, but I think they were slightly more reserved in their relations. We tried to develop a more personal relationship. “Also, the company has been completely revamped since those days”, he continues. “It is divided into different departments, each of which has a director who has worked up through the ranks. I like to think we have a meritocracy now.” It’s fair to say that the nature of the business has changed more on Mahony’s watch than at any other time in the last 250 years. He endured something of a turbulent introduction. Soon after he succeeded Michael Watt he had to deal with the proposed introduction of VAT on bloodstock. The threat was so toxic that Tattersalls was forced to consider relocating to Ireland, where it already had the Fairyhouse sales complex. “Moving to Ireland was a real possibility”, Mahony recalls. “People talk about the implications of Brexit but the VAT issue was a huge worry, not just for sales in this country but for breeders who would be producing horses 20 per cent more expensively than anyone else. It occupied me the first couple of years when I took over. I was like a drowning man for a bit.”

Given the sudden shift in the balance of power, Tattersalls was fortunate to have the calibre of sales complex commensurate with the yearlings they were now selling. And for that, the company is beholden to Captain Ken Watt, who made it his mission to transform Park Paddocks into a world-class site. Having been invalided out of the war, Watt had settled in Cambridge when he was asked to look around Park Paddocks in 1942 with a view to joining the firm. Doors were falling off their hinges; it seemed as if very little had been done to the place since the original plot of land was bought from the McCalmont family back in 1884.

“I’d like to think the company has a reputation for being an honest broker between vendor and purchaser” “Park Paddocks was about one-tenth of the size it is today and Ken said when he first came here the place was a complete ruin”, Mahony says. “When the war ended people probably thought there wouldn’t be any more racing, never mind sales, so from Ken’s point of view it was obviously a big gamble to develop it. He put all his money into it.” Watt’s role advanced in tandem with the transformation of Park Paddocks. He became senior partner on Gerald Deane’s death in 1951 and held that position for three decades. Throughout, he had an indefatigable enthusiasm for the development even though he sometimes questioned the wisdom of it. “Ken always said the post-war era was quite a depressing time”, Mahony reflects. “Every decent horse was sold to America or overseas – Vaguely Noble (sold for a world record 136,000 guineas as a two-year-old in 1967) was a prime example. Argentina and India were other destinations; then later Japan, so I think Ken was quite fearful about how the business was developing at the time.” Then came Magnier’s entry, hotly pursued by patrons from the Middle East. The effect was that Tattersalls, the world’s oldest bloodstock sales company, can lay justifiable claim to being the world leader. When Mahony became chairman in 1993 annual turnover at Tattersalls stood at just under 62 million guineas. In the 23 years of his stewardship the company’s annual take has risen by more than 400 per cent to 262 million guineas. Richard Tattersall would be nodding in approval from on high. October 2016

The bonus bonanza

Global Applause

10 October 2016

The ÂŁ25,000 Tattersalls October Book 1 Bonus Scheme has been universally well received and, as Lee Mottershead finds out, is making a difference in all the right places

It is said you can’t please all of the people all of the time. Generally speaking, this is almost certainly true, but there are rare exceptions and one of them is the £25,000 Tattersalls October Book 1 Bonus Scheme. The initiative was launched last year to wide approval. Speak to the customers of Park Paddocks and they will tell you it is a success, a welcome enhancement to Europe’s premier yearling sale. Tattersalls’ thinking was searingly simple. Whereas a sales race is only an option for horses on one particular day, an extended series of races provides a carrot to many more sets of connections over a much longer period. So it was that the Book 1 Bonus Scheme was born. For those looking to purchase a potential superstar at the 2016 sale the nuts and bolts remain much the same. All yearlings sold, bought-in, or who fail to make their reserve during this year’s Book 1 auction, will become eligible for the scheme - plus any lot withdrawn but then offered at the Tattersalls December Yearling Sale - providing a one-off payment of £1,000 is made. Should a qualified horse then in 2017 win a specified Class 2, 3 or 4 novice race or maiden in Britain, or an open maiden in Ireland, the successful owner will receive £25,000 on top of the prize money. That would come in addition to the owner’s £7,500 share of any Plus 10 cash earned. Once again, there will be in excess of 300 races in the scheme. At the time of writing, in early July, seven owners have had the pleasure of receiving £25,000 from Tattersalls. Two of those seven were trained by Mark Johnston, whose knack of finding a real bargain has very much rewarded his patrons. The Sepoy filly Kilmah, consigned by Jamie Railton, was bought by Johnston for 32,000gns (or £33,600) and sold on to Abdulla Al Mansoori. When winning a novice race at Newmarket in May she netted a first prize of £4,528.30. In addition she collected the £25,000 Book 1 Bonus and a £10,000 Plus 10 payment. In total, she therefore earned £39,528.30. Even without the £2,500 portion of the Plus 10 money and the section of the Newmarket race winnings that went to the filly’s other connections, Al Mansoori recouped his initial outlay in one go. Johnston’s second early Book 1 Bonus success story was Mistime, bought for 28,000gns (£29,400). Although ineligible for Plus 10 money when winning a £4,528.30 pot at Chelmsford on the opening day of June, she still picked up for owner John Brown the lion’s share of that day’s £29,528.30 earnings. “The Tattersalls bonus has clearly worked for me with those two horses”, says Johnston. “I don’t think the creation of the scheme enabled me to buy any more horses at the sales or influenced me at the sales, although I have to say it might do in the future, as in the cases of Kilmah and Mistime the outcome has been so dramatic. It could also certainly make me take a slightly different attitude to the cheap end of the market at Book 1. Having said that, I’ve always favoured that end of the market at that particular sale anyway. The reason for that is the vast majority of horses there have very good pedigrees and there’s quite a strict selection process to get them into the sale.”

Mark Johnston “My approach to sales is look at what you want, not what you think you can afford. There are always horses who slip through that you want and can afford. For that reason I’ve always been a buyer at the bottom end of the best sales.” Johnston adds: “Bonuses, in general, I don’t like. In most cases we’re racing for our own money and I don’t like the fact they can distort the race programme and make us inclined to run in races we otherwise would not. That, though, doesn’t really apply to the Book 1 Bonus as it’s very simple. I’m certainly very proud of the fact we got back the value of those two horses in one hit. Both of them I bought on spec and sold later. It was my money that was risked in the first instance and the £25,000 would certainly have mattered to me had I won it. I know John Brown was very well aware of the £25,000 bonus he won as well.” Former bookmaking legend Brown, for over four decades synonymous with William Hill, was most definitely aware of the £25,000. “I think it’s a marvellous idea”, he says. “That sort of money makes a big difference. I’ll definitely be using the money we won to reinvest in October.”

“I don’t think we should underestimate that regardless of who the owner is, big or small, to win a £25,000 bonus is a great thing.” The trainer who got the bonus wheel rolling was Ed Dunlop, whose subsequent black-type performer Global Applause, a 78,000gns acquisition for Dr Johnny Hon, won a Newmarket Guineas Festival maiden worth £6,469 to the winner, taking his total reward to £31,469. Dunlop says: “It’s possible to buy a horse in Book 1 who isn’t overly expensive. Global Applause cost 78,000gns and to get a fair chunk of that back by winning first time out is marvellous. The horse has gone on to bigger and better things, but to have started out by winning £32,000 for a maiden is fantastic, especially in the current prize money climate. I don’t think we should underestimate that regardless of who the owner is, big or small, to win a £25,000 bonus is a great thing. I also much prefer this scheme to the old sales races, which, in the end, were not attracting many runners.” Dunlop’s point about being able to buy a relatively affordable yearling during the Book 1 auction is well made. In fact, over the sale’s three days last year, 63 of the 462 horses offered October 2016

Velveteen

Star of Rory

South Seas

Douglas Macarthur

Shozita

Seven Heavens

Pedestal

changed hands for 50,000gns or less. One of them was Poet’s Princess, bought for 34,000gns (£35,700) by SackvilleDonald and Hughie Morrison. On her second racecourse outing at Newbury in late June she collected, Tattersalls bonus included, a handsome £29,852. Not surprisingly a fan of the Book 1 incentive is Ed Sackville. He says: “It’s a fantastic scheme, particularly when you’re buying one of the sale’s cheaper horses, who, by winning a bonus maiden, can quite literally pay for himself or herself. A more expensive horse might not do that but could pay for a year’s training fees, which is a great incentive in itself.

Even if you don’t have a big budget Book 1 is still a sale to take seriously. Not every horse can make £100,000. SackvilleDonald bought one filly who has gone on to win a maiden - sadly not a bonus maiden - for 32,000gns and also Poet’s Princess, who cost 34,000gns and has won a bonus race. In fact, had she been in the Plus 10 scheme she would have paid for herself.” Sackville adds: “I much prefer the bonus scheme to the old sales races. With the Book 1 Bonus so many people have the chance to win a sizeable sum of money, whereas with the sales races the pool of people rewarded for buying at Book 1 was so much

HORSE

OWNER

BUYER

PRIZE MONEY WON

PURCHASE PRICE

Global Applause

Dr Johnny Hon

Charlie Gordon-Watson Bloodstock

£31,469

78,000 gns

Kilmah

Abdulla Al Mansoori

Mark Johnston Racing

£39,528

32,000 gns

Pedestal

Mrs John Magnier & Micheal Tabor & Derrick Smith

MV Mangier

¤51,360

200,000 gns

Mistime

J M Brown

Mark Johnston Racing

£29,528

28,000 gns

Drumfad Bay

Stonethorn Stud Farms Ltd.

BBA Ireland

¤42,881

200,000 gns

Poet's Princess

Paul Brocklehurst

SackvilleDonald/Hughie Morrison

£29,852

34,000 gns

Seven Heavens

K Abdullah

Juddmonte Farms

£41,557

620,000 gns

South Seas

Qatar Racing Limited

David Redvers Bloodstock

£29,269

145,000 gns

Star of Rory

D R Passant & Hefin Williams

SackvilleDonald

£29,269

80,000 gns

Velveteen

Qatar Racing Limited

David Redvers Bloodstock

¤49,375

50,000 gns

Douglas Macarthur

M J Jooste, Mrs Magnier, M Tabor & D Smith

MV Magnier

¤49,489

1,250,000 gns

Samharry

Hamdan Al Maktoum

Shadwell Estate Company

£37,028

600,000 gns

Eqtiraan

Hamdan Al Maktoum

Shadwell Estate Company

£37,450

250,000 gns

Shozita

Thurloe Thoroughbreds

Will Edmeades Bloodstock

£29,528

85,000 gns

12 October 2016

Mistime

Poet’s Princess

Samharry

Drumfad Bay

Eqtiraan smaller. What we have now creates a much more even playing field.” Among those who have scored on that field are Frankel’s Khalid Abdullah-owned son Seven Heavens, whose combined prize for dominating an Ascot maiden in July was a whopping £41,557, and the Aidan O’Brien-trained Pedestal, a winner at Tipperary in May. Another addition to the bonus brigade is Drumfad Bay, who on debut came away with a combined haul of nearly €43,000. The agent who signed for the daughter of Acclamation was BBA Ireland’s Adrian Nicoll. “When you suddenly earn €43,000 for winning a maiden it’s mighty helpful”, says Nicoll. “It’s a scheme that will encourage all of us. Prize money is not great, as we all know, so to win such a large bonus is a big attraction.” Nicoll is pleased. So, too, are Sackville, Brown, Dunlop, Johnston and all those who have either won £25,000 or been part of the team that has helped to win £25,000 for an owner. Not surprisingly pleased as well is Tattersalls, which does not believe the BHA’s decision to convert a large number of 2016 maidens to novice races - announced after the Book 1 Bonus was launched - has had an adverse effect on the scheme. Marketing director Jimmy George explains: “It has added a level of complication that wasn’t meant to be there, but

Kilmah really that was just an administrative thing and it hasn’t been detrimental to the scheme. In terms of the number of winners it is very unlikely it has had an impact. In fact, an interesting byproduct of the BHA’s changes is you can now win a Class 5 or 6 maiden and still be eligible for one of our races. That provides even more opportunities for people.” Giving his overall assessment of the scheme in year one, George says: “We’re very pleased and what we’re particularly pleased about is the profile of the winners. Of the first seven bonus winners, four as near as damn it paid for themselves by winning a £25,000 Book 1 Bonus. That’s exactly the profile of horse, owner and trainer we were aiming at. The idea of actually paying for your Book 1 yearling when you win your maiden or novice is hugely enticing for potential buyers and has definitely captured the imagination of Owners, Trainers and Agents. I think we can already say, it is clear that the Book 1 Bonus provides a massive incentive to buy at Book 1 of the October Yearling Sale.” Very clear indeed. October 2016

Good-looking

genes

14 October 2016

As science writer David Derbyshire discovers, shrewd bloodstock insiders are keeping a close eye on the latest developments in genetic and DNA research

fter Galileo Gold stormed to victory in the 2,000 Guineas under Frankie Dettori earlier this year, the thoughts of trainer Hugo Palmer turned naturally to the Derby. Palmer knew the thoroughbred was something special and believed he had the potential to be the best three-year-old colt in Europe. But his immediate future was uncertain. Galileo Gold’s muscular build and impressive speed indicated he was a miler like his sire Paco Boy. Yet there were clues in his pedigree that suggested the colt might do well at Epsom. He was out of a mare by Galileo and from the family of Montjeu - two sires with plenty of Derby winners between them. For centuries, trainers like Palmer have relied on a mixture of gut instinct, innate horsemanship and experience when deciding which races suit which horses. But this year, Palmer tried something different. In May the Newmarket trainer made headlines - and raised a few eyebrows - when he announced Galileo Gold would not be running in the Derby after a DNA test indicated he would be unlikely to stay the course. Palmer may not have been the first British trainer to use genetic tests when assessing a horse’s suitability for a specific race, but he was the first to come out in the open. “It’s the only time that I’ve done it”, says Palmer, who says the test was just a small part of the decision to keep Galileo Gold out of the Derby. “At that time it looked like it was going to be a very open Derby where no one could clearly see the winner. We were discussing the horse after the Guineas and I was saying I didn’t think he could stay a mile and a half, I didn’t think it suited the horse.” Dublin-based equine science firm, Plusvital, which includes the equine genetics subsidiary Equinome, carried out the test. The results concluded there was a 99 per cent probability Galileo Gold would not stay the one-anda-half miles needed for the Derby. “It came back confirming everything that we knew about the horse so we knocked it on the head there and then”, he adds. The decision generated controversy in the racing press. Some argued that DNA testing was taking the uncertainty, and fun, out of racing. Others argued it undermined traditional skills of horsemanship. But Palmer insists DNA tests have a useful role. “I view it as an interesting tool in your armoury if you want it”, he says. “Having done a genetic test, its implications have opened my eyes into thinking about what the optimum distances of a horse could be - and how that can contradict the normal assumptions that might be made based on pedigree.” Using DNA to assess horses for performance and breeding is still in its infancy. It was only in 2009 that scientists published the first complete horse genome - the entire genetic blueprint of a horse. The breakthrough has led to a host of discoveries about genetic links to health, stamina, speed, strength and breeding potential. One of the biggest names in this new branch of the racing industry is Equinome, a company spun off from research by Dr Emmeline Hill at University College Dublin and which merged last year with Plusvital. In 2010, Dr Hill discovered that a single gene played a vital role in determining the optimum racing distance for horses. It was an extraordinary finding because traits linked to single genes are rare. In humans, scientists know of only a handful. The ability of people to roll up their tongues is one - as is the stickiness of earwax, having a big toe shorter than the second toe and having a widow’s peak.

October 2016

“The implications have opened my eyes … and how they can contradict the normal assumptions that might be made based on pedigree” - Hugo Palmer Usually, complicated characteristics such as athleticism, height, muscle strength or intelligence - are the result of complex interactions between dozens, if not hundreds of genes, and environmental factors such as diet and upbringing. Despite initial scepticism, Dr Hill’s findings about the socalled speed gene have been repeated and validated in independent published scientific studies. Her test works like this: Almost every cell in a horse’s body contains a complete set of DNA, arranged in 32 pairs of chromosomes. Each of these chromosomes contains hundreds of thousands of genes, written in the four chemical ‘letters’ of DNA - named A, C, T and G. Any slight variation in the spelling of a particular gene can lead to a big difference in a horse’s appearance, health or performance. Dr Hill’s test looks at variations in the mysostatin gene (MSTN) that carries instructions on how to build a protein that regulates muscle development and muscle fibre type. Tiny changes in the make up of this gene can determine whether a horse will be built like sprinter Usain Bolt or long distance runner such as Paula Radcliffe. At one crucial point, the MSTN gene contains either the letter C or the letter T. Every horse inherits two copies of the MSTN gene, one from each of its parents. That means a horse can carry three possible variations - CC, CT or TT. Dr Hill found that horses with the CC combination have more rapid muscle development when they first start training and are more suited to sprints - with 98 per cent having an optimum race distance of a mile or less. These typically have seven per cent more ‘fast twitch muscle fibres’ than the other types of horses. This type of muscle tissue is used for bursts of movement. Animals with the TT combination tend to have relatively more ‘slow-twitch’ muscle - useful for endurance. They are leaner and more suited to distances over a mile-and-a-half. And those with the CT variants are usually the most versatile, doing well in middle distance races. Galileo Gold was discovered to be CC - making him best suited for races of a mile or less. Donal Ryan, chief operating officer of Plusvital/Equinome, says: “It’s not the first time that someone has made that decision based on a horse being a CC, but it is the first time someone has been public about it. “Initially, when the test first came out, there may have been some concerns that it would take away from the traditional skills of horsemanship, or it will be the silver bullet that means we can pick out the Group One winners straight away. “We never claimed that. It is a tool to complement existing horsemanship skills and existing ways of managing and breeding horses. Hugo had a feeling this horse wasn’t going to suit a mile-and-a-half and this test gave him greater confidence.” Ryan says the test deals with probabilities not certainties. Around 95 per cent of horses that are CC do best on shorter races - but that still leaves one in 20 that may be better on slightly longer distances based on the pace or conditions of the race. 16 October 2016

Since launching the speed gene test, Plusvital now offers seven more tests, based not on single genes but clusters of genes. The company’s scientists have analysed the performance and physical traits of thousands of horses and then used computer software to sift through the genes, looking for common patterns. One test, Distance Plus, looks at 48,000 genetic markers to refine the speed test. It can show whether a CC horse, for instance, is likely to do better at six-furlong sprints or miles. Other tests can give insights into whether a foal is likely to ever make it to the racecourse, a foal’s potential for elite breeding and racing success, and for American owners whether a foal will be more suited to dirt or turf racing. The company says more than 13,000 horses from 19 countries have been tested - including around 1,000 Group/Listed winners. It’s probably too soon to see the impact of the equine genetic revolution in race results. However, there is already evidence that horses are continuing to get faster, despite fears a few years ago that speeds had plateaued since the 1950s. A study at Exeter University in June looked at 600,000 races run by 70,388 horses on the Flat throughout British racing history. Lead author Dr Patrick Sharman found little improvement between 1910 and 1975. However, since then there has been a steady improvement in sprint races with the average winning time for a six-furlong race over the last 15 years being cut by one second. And, while changes in training and riding techniques are partly the cause, Sharman feels there may also be genetic change. “My hunch is that we are seeing a genetic change, with breeders focusing on speed rather than endurance”, Dr Sharman told the BBC at the time. That change has mostly been brought in through traditional breeding decisions based on pedigree. But the demand for speed and sprinting ability suggest the demand for DNA tests will only grow. The tests aren’t cheap however. The single speed gene test costs around £500, while a premium pack of all eight tests costs £1,215. Aware that the price may be prohibitive to some owners, other companies are looking at alternative routes. Geneticist Dr Steve Harrison, of Canterbury-based Thoroughbred Genetics, launched the first test for racehorse performance in 2000. Over the last decade his team has analysed DNA from thousands of animals to find genetic markers linked to stamina, strength, respiration and energy use. His tests analyse 750 genetic markers to produce graphs showing whether a horse is suited to sprints, stamina or something in between. By comparing the graphs of stallions and mares, owners can also improve their odds of breeding a winner. Thoroughbred Genetic’s tests also reveal the level of inbreeding. A degree of inbreeding is inevitable because virtually all the world’s 500,000 or so thoroughbreds trace their ancestry to just

28 healthy, fit horses born in the 18th and 19th centuries, while around 95 per cent are descended from just one stallion - the Darley Arabian born in 1700. Dr Harrison’s research has found that slightly more inbred horses tend to be better sprinters, while outbred mongrels are more likely to do well at longer courses. He says his tests are 75 per cent better than non-genetic methods of picking a winner. Harrison is most proud of his success with Sacred Choice, bred by Ken Williams’ Tarcoola Stud in Victoria. She collected nine wins from 37 starts including two of Australia’s major mile events - the Myer Classic at Flemington and the Doncaster Handicap at Randwick. “Her mother Sacred Habit wasn’t much good”, says Dr Harrison. “The genetic profile we did suggested the mother had potential, but was too inbred.” Following Dr Harrison’s advice, Williams bred her to Choisir to increase the ‘mongrelism’ in the offspring. “It did the trick”, says Dr Harrison. With DNA testing becoming more common, and more competitive, his company is looking to offer cheaper alternatives. Dr Harrison’s team is creating a computer database of tens of thousands of horses along with their DNA and performance profiles. Once the database is complete, the company will be able to offer virtual DNA tests to indicate the most suitable breeding and racing options. “The computer will work out what age it is likely to come into prominence and give it a profile with probability limits. In this way you can cyber test inaccessible animals”, he says. The accuracy of the test will vary from animal to animal and will depend which ancestors have been genetically screened. But Dr Harrison says the model, which he hopes to be up and running this year, still gives better results than purely looking at pedigrees. “Attitudes are changing as time progresses. You get younger people with fresher outlooks. They’ve been brought up on new technology and they are more willing to embrace it”, says Dr Harrison. “The contribution of genetics varies from 35 to 55 per cent. In some ways it is everything and in other ways it’s nothing. If you have a horse with the wrong genetic make up it won’t progress no matter what you do. It is similar to Formula 1 racing - it is partly due to the design of the car, but the rest is the management and the driver and the circumstances.” Donal Ryan agrees that the role of genetic factors in horse performance mustn’t be overstated. “Sixty per cent is out of our control - it’s the training, nutrition and management”, he says. “Genetics is the single biggest factor, but 60 per cent of a horse’s performance is not to do with their genes but the training, nutrition and management. “That’s great because it means there is sport in it. Our tests let you understand more about the horses so that you can manage and train them and place them in the races that gives them the best opportunities to perform to the maximum.” Galileo Gold

October 2016

Old rules, new insights As Bill Oppenheim and Dr. Emily Plant report, earnings statistics form only part of the picture when it comes to analysing sire data

18 October 2016

For at least the last forty years, there have been two principal statistical methods of measuring sire success: earnings and Black Type. Earnings are measured either by gross progeny earnings, or by some variation on average earnings per runner. Black Type is measured, ideally, in terms of ‘named foals of racing age’, and is usually a percentage of various BlackType levels (for example, Black-Type winners; Graded/Group Stakes winners; and Grade I/Group 1 winners) from foals. Around 1995, advances in veterinary medicine and management meant that sires could cover roughly double the number of mares they were covering before 1995, plus they could be sent to the Southern Hemisphere in the Northern ‘off season’ to generate yet more revenue. If we accept the assumption that ‘class is a pyramid’, the doubling of book sizes meant that top sires inevitably were covering more mares further down the class pyramid. Up until about the year 2000, the threshold for declaring a horse a top sire was 10 per cent Black-Type winners from named foals of racing age. By 2006 the foal crops had increased so much, and the average level of mare bred to stallions had decreased so much that I wrote a column that year saying “six per cent is the new ten per cent” – in other words, the top percentile of sires were not siring Black-Type winners one out of ten times, but one out of 16 2/3 times. This is quite an example of ‘unintended consequences’ – ‘Veterinary advances cause statistical havoc.’ This example shows how the definition of success has changed for Black Type. The flaws in earnings-based systems had been exposed much earlier. Tables based on gross progeny earnings obviously favoured sires with bigger crops and more runners. In the mid-1950s Joe Estes of the BloodHorse magazine is credited with having developed the ‘average earnings index’, which indexes, as the title says, the average earnings of each sire over a similar period. This was a respected measurement for at least thirty years, but in 1985 Spend A Buck won a $2.6-million bonus by winning a four-race series, of which the third leg was the Kentucky Derby and the fourth leg the Jersey Derby. This – at the time – huge payday resulted in his second-crop sire, Buckaroo, having an average earnings index over 8.00, which ostensibly made Buckaroo the second-best sire of all time. As a direct result of this skewing of the average earnings index by one huge earner, a group of us at the newsletter Racing Update, based in Lexington, devised an alteration that improved on the average earnings index. Abbreviated as APEX (Annual Progeny Earnings Index), this method measures the frequency with which a sire gets runners which reach one of three earnings thresholds in a racing year: ‘A Runners’ are the top 2 per cent of earners/runners; ‘B Runners’ are the next 2 per cent; ‘C Runners’ are the next 4 per cent, and therefore ‘ABC Runners’ combined constitute the top 8 per cent. There are actually 17 different APEX indices, based on class, age, and region, of which the ‘signature’ index is the combined A Runner Index. It is not a coincidence that before 2005 the top sires would have A Runner indexes over 4.00 with the super-sires over 5.00, while since 2005 the top sires have A Runner indexes of 3.00, and the super-sires score over 4.00. The ‘flattening’ of the top by this measurement parallels the decline in Black-Type percentage of foals. As an analyst and consultant, I have actually used the APEX data extensively, and the set of information that it creates informs most of my analysis and recommendations. For commercial sires, about 4 per cent of their foals become A Runners, which is roughly the same percentage which become Listed or Group winners. From the standpoint of my analysis I wanted to now try and isolate the ‘most elite’ group.

October 2016

TOP 20 SIRES FOR EU RACING BY APEX A RUNNER INDEX OF 435 NA/EU SIRES WITH 200+ YEAR-STARTERS 2010-2016 SIRE

YEAR HIS SIRE

1st Fls

(Runners) Year-Starters

A Runners

A Rnr Index

ABC Runners

ABC Rnr Index

Book 1 Yearlings

GALILEO

1998

SADLER'S WELLS

2003

IRE

1959

175

4.47

370

2.36

WAR FRONT

2002

DANZIG

2008

783

3.64

139

2.22

MONSUN

1990

KONIGSSTUHL

1997

D12EU

624

3.45

103

2.06

DUBAWI

2002

DUBAI MILLENNIUM

2007

ENG

1174

3.24

211

2.25

DANSILI

1996

DANEHILL

2002

ENG

1372

2.99

199

1.81

SEA THE STARS

2006

CAPE CROSS

2011

IRE

379

2.90

2.01

MONTJEU

1996

SADLER'S WELLS

2002

D12EU

1131

2.65

140

1.55

KITTEN'S JOY

2001

EL PRADO

2007

1539

2.53

208

1.69

DARK ANGEL

2005

ACCLAMATION

2009

IRE

815

2.45

116

1.78

TEOFILO

2004

GALILEO

2009

IRE

898

2.45

117

1.63

SCAT DADDY

2004

JOHANNESBURG

2009

D15NA

941

2.44

121

1.61

SHAMARDAL

2002

GIANT'S CAUSEWAY

2007

IRE

1295

2.43

201

1.94

21 -

ENGLISH CHANNEL

2002

SMART STRIKE

2009

681

2.35

1.51

DISTORTED HUMOR

1993

FORTY NINER

2000

1460

2.29

237

2.03

SIYOUNI

2007

PIVOTAL

2012

219

2.28

1.48

OASIS DREAM

2000

GREEN DESERT

2005

ENG

1562

2.18

226

1.81

LE HAVRE

2006

NOVERRE

2011

356

2.11

1.26

FASTNET ROCK

2001

DANEHILL

2006

IRE

384

2.08

1.27

AZAMOUR

2001

NIGHT SHIFT

2007

D14EU

666

2.03

1.61

DANEHILL DANCER

1993

DANEHILL

1999

RET-IRE

1386

2.02

190

1.71

A RUNNERS = TOP 2% OF EARNERS. 1.00 = AVERAGE.

ABC RUNNERS = TOP 8% OF EARNERS. 1.00 = AVERAGE

Working with Dr. Emily Plant of the University of Montana, we have identified that ‘most elite’ population as Group 1 and Group 2 winners (about 0.80 per cent of named foals of racing age, about 1/125), and we are using this information to enhance our analytic and consulting work. However, even refining and enhancing these sets of measurements doesn’t ever tell the whole story; there are a lot of other considerations. For example, these measurements only aspire to describe sire accomplishment, and do not take into consideration the dam’s side of the equation, especially in the cases of sires that ‘move their mares up’ significantly. ‘Sires which move their mares up’ is a separate calculation or series of calculations. Furthermore, evidence about the effect of sires’ ages is only beginning to emerge, and what is certain is that young sires who burst on the scene with their first crops mostly do not sustain their initial level of success in their next two or three crops. We assume that horses which sire, say, seven per cent Black-Type winners/foals have fairly level success across all their crops, but this proves not to be the case: it is routine for top sires to burst on to the scene all right, but then a steep decline in success is also routine. It would be a big help if, when market participants are assessing sire success, they would measure it not in terms of a linear straight line, but in terms of a diagonal pointing down; that is actually ‘normal’. Finally, there is one other very relevant measurement of sire success: the stud fee. There is an interesting group of sires which have their first 4-year-olds in North America in 2016 (so we designate them as F2012, meaning they had their first foals in 2012), in fact there are 10 or 12 of them who are still in the running to ‘make sires’. But by far the horse with the highest 2016 stud fee among them is Super Saver, who stood in 2016 for a $65,000 fee. The telling statistic here is that, by the end of 2015, Super Saver was outright leader among North American 2016 third-crop sires with three Grade I winners, and with a total of five Grade I/Grade II winners – suggesting that at least economic success at stud correlates highly with what we might refer to as ‘household names’. 20 October 2016

As for what makes a truly successful sire in performance terms, think of the myriad factors that really play into the equation of “success”. Some are relatively easy to quantify, others practically impossible. Obviously, we can easily adjust for foal crop size by measuring stallions in terms of performance percentages or with simple calculations such as average earnings per starter, but that only captures one facet. A horse who starts his stud career at a top commercial breeding farm will have the backing of top agents working on his behalf for marketing and promotion. If a horse receives support in the form of a book of top mares, surely we’d expect him to perform to a higher standard versus sires with a more modest harem. But how do we really quantify the concept of Mare Quality? Is it the race record of the mares themselves or the race record of the foals they’ve already produced? Should we measure the quality of a mare’s family, assessing how well her siblings and other close relatives have performed? But what do we do in cases of young mares not yet represented by runners? We’d also need to factor for the age of those mares and who owned them and planned their past matings. And once we’ve figured out how to quantify all of that, to be really accurate you’d need to consider who raised the foals and what kind of early life and education they experienced. Try modelling that with Big Data! What this business really demands is a different approach, a mix of many different perspectives. Using earnings gives you one piece of information about a sire, but you should also consider the number and percentage of Black-Type horses along with the current year stud fee. You have to look at the statistics and hard numbers, but also be willing to consult the oracle and read the tealeaves. Breeding and racing thoroughbreds is neither art nor science, but rather a perfect combination of both.

A New Generation Plusvital scientists have analysed 670,000 genetic markers on over 4,000 thoroughbred horses from 20 different countries, 739 unique sires and including 803 black-type winners to generate our new range of 7 individual tests - the most comprehensive genetic testing platform available for the Thoroughbred.

There’s POWER IN NUMBERS!

Our Range of Tests  Elite Performance Test v3.0  Speed Gene Test  Distance Plus v1.0  Raced/Unraced v1.0  Dirt vs Turf v1.0  Genomic Inbreeding  Projected Height Interested in how genetics can help inform your breeding, training and selection decisions? Call us on +353 (0)1 716 3775 or email info@plusvital.com to arrange a confidential conversation. October 2016

Plusvital.com

Equinome.com

Profitable by nature Colin Cameron discusses long-term plans with Alan Spence, owner of King’s Stand winner and Tattersalls October Sale graduate, Profitable

It is a brave owner who names a horse “Profitable”. The old Robert Sangster self-deprecating adage, adapted by the likes of Sir Richard Branson to cover businesses like aviation, springs to mind: “How do you make a million? Start with double that and invest in bloodstock.” Of course, Sangster more than washed his face, along with plenty of others whose skill and judgement of bloodstock over the years would substantiate such confidence in choosing names of a similar sentiment to Profitable. As for Alan Spence, he took the gamble and saddled a colt with such significant weight of expectations. His very own Profitable, winner of this year’s Group One King’s Stand Stakes, proved that, like handsome, Profitable is as Profitable does, fully vindicating his owner’s conviction. As of July, Profitable - an Invincible Spirit colt out of the Indian Ridge mare, Dani Ridge, and bought at Book 1 of the Tattersalls October Yearling Sale for 95,000gns by his trainer Clive Cox, for Spence - had earned his owner over £400,000 in purses and at the same time hugely enhanced an original capital value that has headed far north of that sales price on the back

Winning connections with the Princess Royal following Profitable’s King’s Stand win October 2016 22

of exploits at the track. After completing this season in training with Cox, Profitable passes to the hands of Darley, which will open up the lucrative revenue streams of stallion duty for the prospective champion sprinter. By any measure the name now rings true. Indeed, when naming the colt, if Spence had found “Profitable” taken there has been a gap now of 30 years since someone equally brave opted for Nice Little Earner, a suitable alternative, to be sure. Spence, who can also boast the likes of Priceless – a three-year-old Exceed And Excel filly out of a Rudimentary mare and trained like Profitable by Cox – to his name, is enjoying the moment. Likewise looking back. “From his two-year-old days, we knew Profitable had ability,” he recalls. “But he had to strengthen. Remember, he won as a juvenile and then got beaten.”

So now, after managing fourth in that Group One, a typical – and most professional - sprinter, maintains Spence. “He does everything right from his box at home to the starting stalls”, he purrs. Spence takes a moment – about the time it took Profitable to cover Ascot’s five furlongs, as he did so successfully in June this year, to compare the likes of Jukebox Jury which Mark Johnston trained for him, and other stayers, who have carried his red, white and blue colours. “It is altogether a new experience for me having a runner over these shorter trips. Sprinting is more intense and over in a few heartbeats or so. I like it; not least as I will take any winner over a second, including when the latter is at Royal Ascot and the former at somewhere less high profile.”

“How do you make a million? Start with double that and invest in bloodstock”

As a three-year-old there was only the merest of hints on the gallops of what was to come. But at the track? Spence shrugs: “He raced over six furlongs, which was too far at that point. Then from three to four he went from being a boy to being a man, according to Clive. After showing such good form at five we could even try him again at six furlongs in races like the July Cup.”

Take Spence’s own professional exploits and, with number of characters and spaces no issue, Highly Profitable would certainly pass as a potential summary. After a spell as clerk in the freight forwarding business – remember Freight Forwarder; one of Spence’s best known horses ahead of Profitable - he started up a corporate travel and shipping operation in the 1970s and sold up over a decade ago now for a sum near enough to £50 million for any margin of error in the estimate to be incidental.

October 2016

Around the same time as he started his business, Spence also began investing in bloodstock. Before spending 1,000 guineas on a horse called Starch Reduced, Spence was mainly a follower of football. This matured into receiving an invitation from Chelsea’s then owner Ken Bates to be a vice president of the London club, an offer he accepted with the sort of alacrity Profitable now habitually shows. Thanks to Starch Reduced’s winning debut at Goodwood in 1972 under Lester Piggott, Spence embraced racing in parallel with his first sporting love, the round ball game.

attracted an audience when pontificating about anything and everything to do with racing and beyond, was the beginning. A combination of curiosity and Pitt’s tried and tested sales pitch proved overwhelming and irresistible.

“Racing is not like football, with a television rights deal and worldwide following to sustain the sport financially”

Starch Reduced was trained by Arthur Pitt at Epsom. It was living in this racing centre steeped in the sport’s history and traditions that ultimately established an awareness and appreciation in Spence of the game. A chance conversation with Pitt, who always

Priceless October 2016 24

Today Spence’s immersion in racing extends to spending much time at the sales. “I arrive a day before the auction starts. I have already been through the catalogue and found what I like then have a look for myself. At this point I’ll ask my trainers – the like of Cox, Paul Cole, Roger Varian, Amanda Perrett and Mark Johnston - what they think and see if we have a match.”

If Cox and company try and second-guess their patron they will have little on which to go. Spence has no formal schooling in conformation and

any veterinary aspects of the horse. Instead he relies on his own instinct on which he drew to buy Pattern performer Black Spirit without any assistance from agent or licence holder. “I know when I like the look of something, whether they walk OK, and I have listened over the years to the experts”, Spence confides. “Even then the engine is always secret anyway.” He laughs: “And some of the best horses can look as if they have two halves.” All things being equal, the £25,000 Tattersalls October Book 1 Bonus scheme could be a deal maker. Any share in the attached bonuses that come to owners are, according to Spence, a welcome biproduct of investing in racehorses at Tattersalls. “Racing is not like football, with a television rights deal and worldwide following to sustain the sport financially. Owners put up most of the money in racing through entry fees. The game is pretty old fashioned in that respect. I imagine it will be a long time before anything changes markedly.” Spence could ponder long and deep on racing’s present-day challenges and the changes in Epsom that reflect the game’s sometimes-precarious finances. “More horses and better horses back then”, muses Spence, ruefully on Epsom’s fortunes since his own first horse. Instead, rather than dwell on the macro, Spence enjoys racing at a micro level. His son, Mike, also has horses in partnership (including some with his old man). When Spence Minor and Major compete against each other at the racecourse the view is that, rather than a Shakespearian confrontation, the family’s chances of success have increased. In terms of the sales, the pair dovetail. Father prefers to invest in horses that are unbroken and that have the potential to develop and fulfill their innate ability. In parallel, Mike Spence focuses on horses in training that could have been underperforming for reasons such as being run over the wrong trip, or are underestimated by the handicapper. Some homebreds by Profitable will be bolstering the Spence family’s involvement in due course. This will come on the back of nominations to Profitable that Spence retains as part of the arrangement with Darley. “I have no regrets at all about selling to Darley”, Spence maintains. “There is no sadness in that I don’t have the capability to stand him at stud and Darley has meant this will happen, which is great. We had lots of other enquiries. I am sure I will enjoy his progeny.” The deal with Darley has meant Profitable’s story for Spence continues after December 31st when his ownership ends. Prospective broodmares include, in due course, Priceless. And names? A little early for that, with the filly still at the track. But when the time comes, if Spence’s form is anything on which to go, the filly should produce something that is gifted a name rooted in value with every chance of proving also to have worth. Profitable

October 2016

Tip the Sales

At Saracen, we understand Sales Prep is a balancing act. For that extra bit of back up and support during sales preparation, Saracen are here to help. A combination of the correct feeds introduced at the right moment, and a fresh pair of eyes at regular intervals is all part of the service we offer. Consignors & Owner Breeders know they can rely on it.

Call a member of our dedicated specialist Thoroughbred team. POLLY BONNOR Tel: +44 7973 802 210 HETTA STEVENS Tel: +44 7702 563 247 CLARE ROBERTS Tel: +44 7714 768 250 or contact the Thoroughbred Office Tel: +44 (0) 1488 73 456 or visit www.saracenhorsefeeds.com/thoroughbred 26 October 2016

in your Favour Our goal, your success. In the ring, then on the racecourse.

FEED THE DIFFERENCE

working with October 2016

The

generation game

It is not only the bloodstock on offer at Tattersalls that features familiar family names, as Julian Muscat discovers

Airlie Stud

Camas Park Stud

Sonia Rogers and her son, Anthony

Timmy Hyde and his son, Tim Jr

Airlie Stud was established in the 1960s by the late Capt. Tim Rogers, who was Aide-de-Camp to Winston Churchill in Italy during the war. Anthony Rogers was 12 when his father died, after which his mother, Sonia, took up the reins. In his late teens Anthony spent six months at a City bank before he completed a business studies course at Cambridge Polytechnic. He then had working stints in Australia and the US before he returned to Airlie, aged 25, in 1996.

Is your mother still involved? Very much so. She is in the office every day and still comes to the Tattersalls sales every year. She loves looking at the foals and yearlings and we decide together where they should be sold. Sometimes we have quite heated debates but that’s a good thing.

First memory of visiting Tattersalls? I went there from school when I was 14 or 15, and found it quite stressful. I thought it would be more fun, although at that time I was more interested in racing and trying to get tips from people there.

Best result in the ring? We sold a Key Of Luck – Alleluia yearling filly for 900,000gns in 2006. I wasn’t actually there because my wife was having a baby, but overall, I’d say the best result was the Galileo filly out of the same mare we sold for 415,000gns in 2004. That was Allegretta, who went on to win a Group 1 race for Cheveley Park Stud. It’s a great feeling when you sell one well and it goes on to racecourse success.

Main line of business? We sell mostly the horses we breed and have some mares in partnership with long-standing friends. We run a largely commercial set-up but I’m not a ‘ballsy’ pinhooker; when we do it we tend to go for fillies with a pedigree. We have about 60 mares on two broodmare farms, and there’s also a third farm for the yearlings. Each year we’re looking to produce 35 yearlings and 15-20 foals for sale.

28 October 2016

Timmy Hyde took over Camas Park Stud in 1980 after his father, also Tim, trained jumps horses there on his retirement from a successful career as a jumps jockey, when he won the 1939 Grand National aboard Workman. Timmy traded primarily in show jumpers until he turned his attention to breeding and selling thoroughbreds. Timmy’s son, Tim Jr, is now a partner in Camas Park. His Summerhill Farm is adjacent to the property, which extends to a combined 350 acres. After qualifying as a vet, Tim Jr practised for three years before returning to Camas Park, aged 26, in 1997.

Is your father still involved? Yes, very much so. We do everything between us, while my wife and I handle everything on the veterinary side. My dad also has some mares in partnership with Paul Shanahan’s Ashtown House Stud.

First memory of visiting Tattersalls? I was in my mid-teens so I don’t remember too much about it – I remember getting a lift back to the airport with Ted Walsh and Jimmy Murphy. But over the years we have had some great results there.

Best result in the ring? For Camas Park, that would have to be when dad sold the Nureyev – Go Solo yearling for 3 million guineas in 1997. He’d bought the colt privately from the Eaton Sales consignment at Keeneland a couple of months earlier. On a personal level, we got 700,000gns last year for an Invincible Spirit – Liscune filly that I’d paid 90,000gns for as a foal. We have sold a lot of good fillies at Tattersalls over the years.

Main line of business? We were primarily pinhookers in the 1980s and 1990s but we are breeding more for the yearling market now. Some friends and clients are involved but dad and I now own most of the stock between us. I’d have about 30 mares and dad has 80-90, some of which are in the US.

Corduff Stud

Genesis Green Stud

James Egan and his son, David

Wally and Doreen Swinburn and their son, Michael

Corduff Stud sits in 220 acres near Naas, having moved from its original site close to Dublin Airport when the airport was expanded. David Egan and his father, James, are now at the helm. David gravitated towards the horse business after leaving university, having spent time working at Jonabell Farm, in Kentucky, when it was run by the Bell family.

Is your father still involved? Certainly. It’s great to have him here on the farm. He has a world of experience to tap into.

First memory of visiting Tattersalls? I was too young to remember much about it but the place has changed a lot since then. Every year we go, there’s a new surprise. You can feel a sense of pride about the sales grounds. The first horse I sold at Tattersalls was a yearling I’d bought as a ropey-looking foal with Joss Collins at Keeneland for $7,000. He resold for 80,000gns, which was about $140,000 at the time.

Best result in the ring? We did very well with our pinhooks last year. The standout was the Shamardal – Red Bandanna yearling filly: we gave €175,000 for her as a foal and sold her for 625,000gns.

Main line of business? We have some friends who keep mares here but it’s largely the family’s horses. We breed a commercial herd and pinhook foals-to-yearlings; we’re not set up for breeze-up horses. Our annual draft is probably a 50-50 mix between homebreds and pinhooks. All we’re really looking for from the yearling sales is turkey at Christmas.

Set in 170 acres near Newmarket, Genesis Green has been selling at Tattersalls for 35 years. The stud was established in 1981 by Wally Swinburn, a former champion jockey in Ireland. His son, Michael, gradually assumed more responsibility and now runs the farm. Having completed the Irish National Stud course, Michael worked in Ireland and the US before returning to Genesis Green in 1983. He became stud groom three years later.

Is your father still involved? Yes. He works in the stud office while I am out with the horses. I try to avoid the office; it is not my natural environment.

First memory of visiting Tattersalls? One of the earliest memories I have is when we sold a pinhooked filly by Habitat as a yearling in 1987. We’d paid 100,000gns for her with a partner and the pressure of rearing her on the farm made me realise this wasn’t a game, it was pretty serious stuff. I got up each morning hoping she was still alive so I was relieved when she made 200,000gns.

Best result in the ring? That was when we sold Desert Prince (62,000gns) and Victory Note (85,000gns) in the same yearling draft in 1996. Victory Note then won the Poule d’Essai des Poulains and two weeks later Desert Prince won the Irish 2,000 Guineas. There were pictures of them both on the cover of the 1998 Tattersalls October Yearling Sales catalogue. In terms of prices, we sold a New Approach – Ahla Wasahl yearling colt for 600,000gns in 2014.

Main line of business? We started off by pinhooking but we don’t do so much of that now. It’s not so easy to nick one as it used to be. It’s a cut-throat profession. We don’t do big drafts either; I like to lunge all the yearlings myself so 25-30 is as many as we can handle. October 2016

Meon Valley Stud

Mount Coote Stud

Mark Weinfeld

Luke Lillingston

Established in 1980 by Egon Weinfeld, Meon Valley Stud has 250 acres of horse pasture within 1,000 acres overall. In 1977 Weinfeld, who passed away in 2013, bought two yearling fillies at Tattersalls, One In A Million and Odeon, and Reprocolor from that year’s December Sales. Together with Home And Away, bought as a yearling at Tattersalls the following year, these purchases became the bedrock of Meon Valley’s prodigious success. Weinfeld’s son, Mark, has been at the helm for more than 20 years.

Did you always want to succeed your father on the stud? We always had horses when we were young and father started Meon Valley as a hobby that would hopefully pay its way. He chose the stallions our mares would visit while I looked after the farming side; we also run cattle and arable land. I always went to the yearling sales with our drafts and gradually became more involved with the horse side of things.

First memory of Tattersalls? I remember going the first year we sold yearlings there in 1982. We had a Nonoalco – One In A Million colt that sold well, but what stands out for me was the fact he went on to be called Black Spout. I thought it such an awful name!

Any particular sales that stand out? Our yearling draft at Tattersalls in 1995 didn’t do as well as we’d hoped. We had a Sadler’s Wells – Colorspin colt which made 210,000gns when we thought he’d make more, and a Niniski – Top Of The League colt which made 32,000gns. We also took home a Nashwan – Someone Special filly, but these three yearlings turned out to be Kayf Tara, San Sebastian and One So Wonderful. They all won Group 1 races and we raced One So Wonderful ourselves. We won the TBA Breeder of the Year award on the back of that.

Best bit of business? That would be selling a Giant’s Causeway – Colorsnap yearling filly in 2003. She made 1.25 million guineas, the highest priced filly sold in Europe that year, and John Magnier, who bought her, named her Mona Lisa. She was pretty good, winning a Listed race and placing three times in Group 1 races, including when second in the Prix de L'Opera.

30 October 2016

Mount Coote was established in 1938 by Lillingston’s grandfather, also Luke, who was killed in the war. His son, Alan, inherited the property and offered his first horse for sale at Tattersalls back in 1958. A noted three-day eventer and amateur rider, Alan won the 1963 Champion Hurdle aboard Winning Fair. His son, Luke, had taken over day-today operations before Alan passed away in 2014. The farm embraces more than 500 acres.

Did you always want to succeed your father on the stud? Yes. I was mad-keen from an early age, so it was only a matter of time. I came back to work here in 2001 and was lucky to have had a long time with my father. Over the years responsibilities switched seamlessly from him to me. We had a party in 2008 to commemorate Mount Coote selling at Tattersalls for 50 consecutive years, and when we looked back through that catalogue there were only a small handful of vendors who are still selling today.

First memory of Tattersalls? One of the first memories was showing horses there with my sister, Georgina, when Prince Faisal came to look at one. He offered Georgina £20 to show it and I got nothing. I also remember showing a piggy little yearling by Mill Reef, which bit me on the arm just as I was telling Brian Swift, who was looking at him, that the horse was an absolute Christian. Tattersalls keeps upgrading the place but it doesn’t seem to change much. It’s always immaculately kept.

Best result in the ring? I remember my father selling Armada, a yearling colt by Shirley Heights, for 1 million guineas at a time when very few had done that before. That was pretty exciting. But more recently, selling Immortal Verse for 4.7 million guineas in 2013 was very special. She remains the most expensive mare ever sold in Europe. We all wear a commercial hat but it counts more when you sell a good racehorse than when you get a lot of money for a horse that doesn’t make it on the track.

Main line of business? We concentrate more on our own and our clients’ stock than pinhooking. I’m not a particularly brave pinhooker; hence we don’t do too much of it – although last year we got 200,000gns for a Zoffany colt on behalf of an investment company that had given 24,000gns for him as a foal.

Tally-Ho Stud

Whatton Manor Stud

Tony O’Callaghan and his sons, Roger and Henry

Peter Player and his son, Ed

Established by Tony O’Callaghan more than 30 years ago, Tally-Ho Stud is home to the successful sire, Kodiac. O’Callaghan sold at Tattersalls for 20 years from his previous base at Banagh Stud before he bought Tally-Ho. Tony’s brother, Gay O’Callaghan, owns Yeomanstown Stud (see page 32). Roger, one of Tony’s sons, now manages Tally-Ho.

Is your father still involved? Roger: Yes he is. I am his right-hand man and Henry his lefthand man, but Dad is very much in charge. I’ve wanted to work on the farm since I was a toddler. I used to say I went to school for my holidays. Henry: I went to college and then worked in Dublin for seven years before I came back home. I have just started looking after the books, while Roger is always out on the farm. Tony: We all get involved. We’ve developed a system over the years and it works well. The boys have been in it from the beginning, helping out in holidays and doing things before they went to school each day. We have 1,200 acres for the horses and cattle.

First memory of Tattersalls? Tony: I first came to Tatts to buy a mare, a filly from the first crop of champion sprinter Sing Sing. And I remember being there during the recession at the 1983 December Sales where no one was bidding for anything. They got so far ahead in the catalogue that they had to stop the sale for half an hour. Roger: I came to the breeze-ups when I was six or seven. All I really remember was that I didn’t bring a jacket and it was wet and windy.

Best moment in the ring? Tony: I’d have to say the Kodiac – Fuerta Ventura yearling filly we sold for 460,000gns in 2014. She was by our home stallion. Roger: And we should mention the Shamardal – Balloura colt we sold for 500,000gns at the 2012 breeze-ups. Dad pinhooked her for 53,000gns as a foal and she failed to sell as a yearling.

Before he inherited Whatton Manor’s 600 acres, Peter Player was manager of Hadrian Stud when he rented nearby fields and stables to breed horses. Peter’s son, Ed, spent 10 years away from the farm learning about finance and the horse business until he returned there permanently in 2005. He now manages the stud.

Is your father still involved? Yes. I run the day-to-day bit as he is away more often now, but we make the big decisions together. I have always been keen on horses, particularly the breeding side. Even when I worked in London I’d always work the sales for the stud. At that time I was an investment analyst, which was an entirely irrational thing to do. I’d always read the Racing Post before the Financial Times.

First memory of Tattersalls? I don’t remember the year – I was very young – but I do remember standing in the auction ring with my fists tightly clenched. I was terrified in case I was seen to be bidding. My nine-year-old son, Freddie, is also passionate and I took him to Tattersalls for the first time last autumn. He bid on his first foal and when the hammer came down Edmond Mahony looked at him and said: “I sell to the good judge in the gate.”

Best moment in the ring? We had our best year ever in 2014, when we sold Desert Haze (by New Approach) for 420,000gns as a yearling. We also topped Book 2 with a Poet’s Voice – Poppets Sweetlove colt that set a new sales record of 525,000gns. That gave us a warm glow inside. The most we have ever received was 600,000gns for Pietra Dura, a filly by Cadeaux Genereux, in 2000.

Main line of business? My father started with two very cheap mares; now we have 30. We also keep mares for some clients, among them George Strawbridge. We work closely with Ed Sackville when pinhooking, we’ll pinhook around 12 foals each year. And we’re always trying to buy a better class of mare.

Main line of business? Tony: It’s a family business and pinhooking is a big part of what we do. We had 50 breeze-up horses this year and there are no limits on numbers. If we see 30 horses we like, we’ll bid for them all. My father was a dairy farmer with a few horses but we have gone the other way. It’s a way of life. October 2016

Whitsbury Manor Stud

Yeomanstown Stud

Chris Harper and his son Ed

Gay and Annette O’Callaghan and their sons, David (manager), and Robert

Established in 1948, Whitsbury Manor Stud occupies 700 acres of pasture within the 3,000-acre Whitsbury estate in Hampshire. Chris Harper took over the stud from his uncle, the late bookmaker William Hill, 40 years ago. Showcasing is among four stallions currently on the roster. Harper’s son, Ed, took over running the stud three years ago, having qualified as a chartered surveyor. He returned to Whitsbury in 2000.

Is your father still involved? He is really helpful as a pair of experienced eyes when we walk around the stock. He also oversees pasture management while I’m stuck in the office selling nominations. When I left school I went to Reading University, spent three years working for Savills and then went into the horse business. I worked at The Oaks Stud in New Zealand and on my first night I foaled six mares with a torch in the pouring rain outside. I went home only when I was confident I wouldn’t have to delegate jobs I couldn’t do myself.

First memory of Tattersalls? I worked there as a bid spotter in 2002 during my gap year when a man unknown to me gave me the winning nod at 1.8 million guineas. That was for a Giant’s Causeway – Urban Sea foal; I was petrified until the sale was actually confirmed.

Best moment in the ring? The first big sale after I started managing the draft was a Teofilo – See You Later yearling colt in 2000, which we bred in partnership. He made 220,000gns and I realised on that day how much all the team put into it. We had a group highfive afterwards.

Main line of business? There’s the stallion side and we are also expanding on another front. Our broodmare band has risen from 30 to 60 over the last 12 years with the result that we have less of our clients’ horses on the farm these days. We also pinhook 6-7 foals each year, when we’ll try to support our clients as much as we can.

32 October 2016

Established in 1923, Yeomanstown was bought by Gay and Annette O’Callaghan in 1981. The stallions, among them Dark Angel, are based at nearby Morristown Lattin Stud, which is run by Robert O’Callaghan. A third brother, Guy, has Grangemore Stud in Kildare while a fourth, Peter, owns Woods Edge Farm in Kentucky. The combined acreage of Yeomanstown and Morristown Lattin runs to 600 acres. Gay’s son, David, took over operations in 2008.

Is your father still involved? Yes he is, as are my brothers, so to say I have taken over is not the right way of putting it. I got involved by accident, really. Some years ago, after I left college, a new head man started here and did his knee in soon after, so I ended up having to take over. I had no idea what I wanted to do back then, and I’m still here.

First visit to Tattersalls? It was around 1995 and I took four breeze-up horses there with Fozzie Stack. We were two teenage lads thrown in at the deep end but the horses sold quite well from what I remember. I went back again in December that year on a work experience trip with Michael Gaffney’s foals.

Best moment in the ring? Two months after Mecca’s Angel won the Nunthorpe, we offered her full-sister and Oliver St Lawrence, acting for Fawzi Nass, gave 825,000gns for her. The feeling was of relief and elation all in one. She was a special filly but it’s quite scary because you don’t really know what’s going to happen. Luckily it all came together on the day. (Mecca’s Angel’s sire) Dark Angel has been a good story for us all the way through.

Main line of business? We do a fair bit of pinhooking; we usually buy 30-plus foals each year and a few yearlings for the breeze-ups. Our annual consignment would a 60-40 split between homebreds and pinhooks. Between Book 1 and Book 2, we’d probably have a draft of 25 yearlings each year.

Get Cover

From the sales ring to the racecourse

Amlin Plus will tailor a policy to your requirements including: - All Risks of Mortality and Theft - Life-Saving Surgery - Colic Costs Extension - Operation Insurance - Transit Insurance Contact an expert

BLOODSTOCK INSURANCE SPECIALIST Telephone: +44 (0)800 917 9712 | Email: askamlinplus@amlin.com www.amlinplus.com Amlin Plus is a trading name of MS Amlin Underwriting Services Limited Authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority

October 2016

An Englishman abroad The experience of Tattersalls’ man across the pond remains an invaluable asset in these ever-changing times. And it also helps to be named after a racecourse! Dominic Barnes reports Lincoln Collins is a lucky man. If you are destined to be named after an English racecourse, it could have been worse than Lincoln - one suspects that ‘Plumpton Collins’ would have been hard to handle in the playground! Happily, his mother’s family enjoyed more success at Lincoln than Plumpton, so ‘Lincoln’ it was. “I guess having been named after a racecourse it was appropriate that I have ended up making a living in racing”, remarks Collins in an accent still true to his English roots, despite more than 30 years in America. In fact, dressed casually but neatly in distinctly English attire, there is little to suggest that the Tattersalls North American representative has spent almost his entire working life on the other side of the Atlantic - except of course the faded and ubiquitous New York Yankees baseball cap. “The cap is a throwback to my time in New York when I first came to America. It’s not really a trademark, or even a conscious thing, but more of a habit by now. In my role for Tattersalls I work pretty closely with Jimmy George and he always has a Tattersalls pen dangling round his neck - same sort of thing”, observes Collins before adding with a smile, “two old fools.” ‘Old’ depends on your perspective, but ‘foolish’ is not an adjective that readily applies to Collins. The Lexington-based Englishman has built a reputation for wise counsel which has seen his company Kern Thoroughbreds form long-standing associations with plenty of highly successful racing and breeding operations, in addition to his role as the eyes and ears of Tattersalls in North America. Currently, Collins’ principal client is My Meadowview LLC, the racing and breeding operation of the well-known businessman Len Riggio, of Barnes and Noble fame, and his family, for whom Collins purchased the 2012 Broodmare of the Year Oatsee back in 2008. “Oatsee was already the dam of Grade 1 winner Lady Joanne when we bought her for My Meadowview, so I cannot pretend to be a genius, but she has since produced the multiple Grade 1 winner Shackleford, who won the Preakness in 2011, the Grade 2 winner Afleeting Lady and Stephanoatsee, who was a Stakes winner and Grade 2-placed for My Meadowview. She is a ‘once in a lifetime’ mare and the Riggio’s have four fillies out of her so we hope that she has already left a lasting legacy.” There is a tangible sense of pride and affection when Collins talks about Oatsee, which tallies with an abiding impression of someone who cares deeply about the sport and more specifically about the stars of the sport - the horses. “This is not a sport or business that you can enter into half-heartedly”, stresses Collins, “and the same fundamental enthusiasm that took me to John Dunlop’s as a raw pupil assistant back in 1980 remains. I like to think that one of the reasons Kern Thoroughbreds has 34 October 2016

Lincoln Collins

October 2016

developed such a loyal client base is that the people we work for recognise and share the same values.” That certainly is the case with Tattersalls, who Collins has represented since April 2002. “It was not a difficult decision to accept the offer from Tattersalls”, he recalls. “For obvious reasons, I have always done plenty of business in Europe and Kern Thoroughbreds has had a long association with Luke Lillingston going back to the 1980s. When we worked for owner Gary Tanaka, the vast majority of the horses we bought for him were from Europe, including 2002 Eclipse Award winner Golden Apples, and the network of contacts we had established on both sides of the Atlantic suited Tattersalls perfectly.” Echoing those thoughts, Tattersalls Marketing Director Jimmy George added: “All overseas markets are important to Tattersalls, but some more so than others and North America is a key market for us. It’s the same ‘special relationship’ that is talked about in political terms but on a smaller scale. We have so many things in common, and plenty of differences, and to have someone like Lincoln, who has a profound understanding of what makes both sides tick, works extremely well for Tattersalls. So much of the thoroughbred business is about building relationships, and as well as knowing the business inside out, Lincoln is well respected and crucially for us, can open doors.” The challenges of managing racing and breeding operations for a variety of different clients, with a variety of different outlooks, lend themselves perfectly to the requirements of a sales company and Collins’ role for Tattersalls covers everything from the more obvious tasks of recruiting both horses and buyers, to securing the release of bulk shipments of sales catalogues from overly cautious US Customs officials.

Americans will be eager to seize the opportunities presented by the sliding pound. Given the parochialism of many US banks, he is always ready to assist Tattersalls’ clients with getting the best possible exchange rates. “The recent referendum took place shortly before the Tattersalls July Sale”, explains Collins, “and without doubt we experienced more last-minute interest than usual on the back of the favourable exchange rate. It was a good catalogue, but it was an even better one when everything became 15 per cent less expensive overnight! Buyers will be keen to take advantage for as long as sterling remains weak.” While accentuating the positives and specifically referencing the firm’s 250th year, Collins also notes that Tattersalls’ status as the world’s oldest firm of bloodstock auctioneers is another feature that appeals to the American market. “America is a young country - amazingly founded 10 years after Tattersalls - and Americans have a real respect for the firm’s history and tradition. First-time American visitors to Tattersalls love the rich history of the company and the reputation for integrity which goes with it.” Mention of the word ‘integrity’ inevitably leads to another topic, never far from the surface in any discussion of American racing. Collins has long been a vocal critic of the medication rules in North American racing and remains bemused and frustrated by the apparent indifference of so many of those involved in the business. “The medication rules over here are wrong on so many levels. We could discuss it for days and achieve absolutely nothing except a dramatic rise in my blood pressure. There are, however, two simple observations which I believe nobody can refute: Firstly, there are plenty of American-breds every year sold to race abroad, none of which can race on medication and they remain competitive, so what does that tell us? Secondly, Lasix very definitely does not allow horses to race more regularly. It is a strong diuretic and achieves precisely the opposite because of the dehydrating effects. I could go on”, he adds wearily, “but I would prefer to emphasise the benefits of buying horses at Tattersalls than dwell on the ills of American racing.”

“The great thing about Tattersalls is that there is something for everyone. There is a market-leading Tattersalls sale for every possible requirement”

As Collins emphasises, “The great thing about Tattersalls is that there is something for everyone. There is a market-leading Tattersalls sale for every possible requirement, whether buying or selling, and that makes my task reasonably straightforward. If North American horsemen are looking to buy or sell away from home, Tattersalls is the first port of call. I probably should qualify that statement slightly”, continues Collins, “It is hard to make a strong case for American owners sourcing potential Kentucky Derby winners at Tattersalls - although Animal Kingdom was out of a mare sold at the Tattersalls December Sale by a stallion whose dam was also sold at the Tattersalls December Sale - but pretty well every other base is covered. There would not be a year that goes by without a North American Grade 1 winner bought from one Tattersalls sale or another, or out of a mare or filly from the Tattersalls December or July Sale.” In post-referendum Britain, the Tattersalls story has become even more compelling with the unprecedented weakness of sterling against the US Dollar. As someone whose first job in America was on Wall Street, Collins keeps a careful eye on the global financial and currency markets and believes that 36 October 2016

He continues: “I cannot categorically state that the use of medication, approved or otherwise, has undermined the American thoroughbred, but it is interesting to note that there has not been one North American-bred winner of the Epsom Derby in the past 10 years and only one this century. There were six in the 1980s and five in the 1970s.” Whether or not the cumulative effects of medication over a long period of time have contributed to the dearth of American-bred Derby winners, the Tattersalls North American representative is adamant about one very positive aspect for those looking to buy at Tattersalls. “The quality of stallions standing in Europe, and particularly in Britain and Ireland, is better than at any time since I began working in the business in 1980. With the possible exception of Deep Impact, all of the world’s best turf stallions are currently in Britain and Ireland. I genuinely believe that more and more North American horsemen are becoming aware of the opportunities and”, he smiles, “if they are not, I guess I shall have to keep reminding them!”

New Approach’s best-ever crop – conceived after Talent won the Oaks, Dawn Approach won the Guineas and Libertarian was second in the Derby – are yearlings of 2016.

APPROACH

NEW

Dawn

Dawn Approach went undefeated at two, from March to October and won the Dewhurst, the 2,000 Guineas and the St James’s Palace Stakes all in faster times than Frankel. His eagerly awaited first crop are now yearlings.

The NEW Darley dynasty. Find the next generation at the yearling sales. www.darleystallions.com +44 (0)1638 730070 +353 (0)45 527600

Darley October 2016

Home

is where the art is British sporting art finally has a single home where the nation can enjoy a huge collection of works from the 17th century to the present day, writes Tim Cox

SirOctober John Cotton showing his Mantuan imports to Charles II at Newmarket by an unknown artist 2016 38

October 2016

“One of the boys who worked for Lord March took down a fowling-piece and said, ‘Now, Jack, I’ll shoot you’. As he spoke, he pulled the trigger… Clarke, was shot on the left side of his face, the middle half of which immediately became as frightful a wound as perhaps was ever beheld… The left cheek bone, eye, and other parts were shattered past hope: … His sufferings were so incessant, his groans so terrifying, and the wounds (by which the inside of the head was made visible) had been so bloody, raw, and torn, being at the same time most frightfully spread all round with gunpowder… The left eye was lost, the appearance of the bones was disfigured, and the deep stain of the gunpowder remained.”* Reading this description in 2013 of the accident to the jockey Jack Clarke was a second “eureka!” moment for David Oldrey. In 2007 he had already deduced in connection with the late Judy Egerton’s catalogue raisonné of George Stubbs that this was very probably Lord Farnham’s best horse, Conductor. The painting had been sold as ‘Horse with jockey up’ in 1949 and progressed to ‘Lord Farnham’s chesnut colt at Newmarket’ when offered in 1974. Finally, the painting has its full title: Lord Farnham’s chesnut racehorse Conductor at Newmarket with jockey up by George Stubbs (1773). Given the extraordinary way Stubbs has painted the peak of the cap over the left eye, here was confirmation that the jockey was Clarke, which in turn confirms the identity of his mount. Further evidence is provided by the unusual choice of the judge’s box on the Round Course, the only Stubbs portrait positioned there. Conductor’s biggest win had come in the King’s Plate on 15 April 1773 contested over the course and so finishing just opposite the present July Course stands.

This painting will be on display in the Fred Packard Museum and Galleries of British Sporting Art when it opens for business later this year. It will be one of many works of sporting art, covering a full range from the 17th to the 21st century, from traditional field sports to modern team games and from John Wootton and Peter Tillemans to Peter Blake and Mark Wallinger. A magnificent new home for an equally significant collection represents the perfect opportunity to explore all aspects of sporting art and to present the best examples of the genre. The permanent exhibition will be supported by a series of temporary exhibitions, which will concentrate on specific topics, be it a particular artist, period or medium, and will include photography and sculpture. The first temporary exhibition will feature the work of Chris Smith, the former photographer for the Sunday Times, and includes many of the famous pictures of Muhammad Ali. When the founders of the British Sporting Art Trust (BSAT) came together in 1977, one of their primary aims was to set up a permanent gallery for the display of sporting art. In 1986 they took a lease on two rooms in the National Horseracing Museum (NHRM). Since then they have mounted an annual exhibition using pictures from their own collection augmented with loans from the Tate and other collections. This year the Trust takes a major step forward and fulfils its original dream. In the autumn, the National Heritage Centre for Horseracing and Sporting Art (NHC) will open on the historic Palace House site at the heart of Newmarket. Sporting art will be displayed in nine galleries in Palace House itself and will be known as the Fred Packard Museum and Galleries of British Sporting Art, in memory of Fred Packard who was a passionate collector of sporting pictures.

“Now, Jack, I’ll shoot you”

Lord Farnham’s chesnut racehorse Conductor at Newmarket with jockey up by George Stubbs (1773) October 2016 40

Palace House, Newmarket, the last remaining portion of the palace built for Charles II Sporting art will be integrated with the other elements on the site: the National Horseracing Museum, in what was the trainer’s house and King’s Yard stables and the retired racehorses in the Rothschild Yard and Paddock. There will be displays twice a day in the Peter O’Sullevan Arena to demonstrate the important work of the Retraining of Racehorses (RoR) charity. Joe Grimwade, formerly of the National Stud and the Royal Stud at Sandringham, has joined recently as the RoR Yard and Public Engagement Manager. Newmarket and Palace House represent the perfect location in which to exhibit this full range of sporting art. The development of both the genre and the thoroughbred horse has gone on in parallel since the late seventeenth century. The royal connections with Newmarket began with James I as early as 1605 and horseracing emerged as the dominant sport from 1666 when spring and autumn visits by Charles II established the rhythm of the Newmarket racing year. Palace House is what is left of the third royal palace in Newmarket. It was built for Charles II in 1671. On 10 March 1731, the Daily Advertiser announced that “The Picture of Lord James Cavendish’s Horse which his Lordship rode on some time since for a very considerable Wager to Windsor, being near finish’d, we hear the same will be plac’d in the Jockey Club-Rooms at William’s Coffee-House, St. James.” This announcement is significant for two reasons. Firstly, it says that the Jockey Club was in existence at least twenty years before the Jockey Club itself thinks it came into existence. Secondly, a tradition of hanging paintings in the Jockey Club Rooms was established early. This particular Lord James Cavendish was brother to the third Duke of Devonshire. Richard Nash explores the early days of the Jockey Club and its links to sporting art in The Heath and the Horse.**

Racing pictures are not confined to Palace House. One exciting addition to the collection of the National Horseracing Museum is Sir John Cotton showing his Mantuan imports to Charles II at Newmarket by an unknown artist. This naïve picture shows racehorses before the influence of the eastern horse. The demand for Mantuan horses as racehorses goes back to the days of Henry VIII, who petitioned the Marquesses of Mantua frequently for horses to improve the speed of his “coursers”. This picture will surely stimulate further study into the early history of racing at Newmarket. That final thought is central to the purpose of the Fred Packard Museum and Galleries of British Sporting Art. Many early sporting pictures record an occasion that the artist wanted to capture on behalf of his patron, or a horse or hound that had given great pleasure. Over time the identity of the occasion or animal has disappeared, so that the picture ends up as ‘Horse with jockey up’ before later research reveals the champion’s identity. The BSAT will encourage and support research into all aspects of sporting art. But above all else, the art in the Fred Packard Museum and Galleries of Sporting Art is there to be enjoyed by as wide a group of visitors as possible. * Source: The Life of Thomas Holcroft, written by Himself. Published in 1816. ** The Heath and the Horse by David Oldrey, Timothy Cox and Richard Nash, published by Philip Wilson Publishers (2016) Tim Cox is Chairman of the Executive Committee of the British Sporting Art Trust. October 2016

No matter how much work is done beforehand, nothing quite prepares you for the sheer intensity and energy-sapping effort required. For some young horses it can all become a little too much, while others shrug it all off as though they were at home, grazing in a paddock. Last year, for instance, Book 1 yearlings offered for sale by Newsells Park Stud clocked up an incredible 2,090 showings. Monday was the busiest with 632 showings, but none of the five days came in at less than 153 – and that was after some of the horses had already been sold.

Newsells' Total Shows for Book 1:

2,090

Shows Per Day:

416

542

632

347

153

Saturday

Sunday

Monday

Tuesday

Wednesday

42 October 2016

Sa tu r

esd

n ed W

Lot 304 Filly by Dubawi x Loveisallyouneed the busiest yearling with

174 views in total

y Tuesda

For the yearlings and the dedicated teams who prepare, nurture and care for them in the months leading up to Book 1 of the Tattersalls October Yearling Sale, the five days of being permanently ‘on show’ is a unique test of horse and handler.

Mon da y

These are the hardest yards.

Spare a thought for the effort required by yearlings & handlers alike at the Tattersalls October Yearling Sale. As Nigel Reid writes, there will be blood, sweat and top lots

Sun da y

The hard yards

Newsells’ most popular yearling was shown 174 times during the sale, while the team averaged 100 showings each over five days. A remarkable test of nerve, strength and character – for handler and horse alike! And please spare a thought for the men and women who care for these potential champions with such dedication. I’ve done it myself and I know, come the week’s end, they will be utterly exhausted. From dawn until dusk they will stand, patiently, in all weathers. They’ll be kicked, bitten, trodden on and shouted at by the occasional ill-mannered agent (or, in my case, reprimanded by the auctioneer for not walking quickly enough). Despite it all, their professional pride and emotional connection to their charges ensure they receive each ‘not sold’ and empty box as a personal, heart-felt blow. But they’ll endure it all with a smile for their public, while any tears will be shed away from prying eyes usually in a stall with their yearling, who is still probably trying to bite them.

Yearlings from a Proven Gr.1 Nursery Houghton Bloodstock and the expert staff here at Fox Farm have enjoyed great success in producing top class racehorses including: Group One winners. MAYSON, by Invincible Spirit - Mayleaf,

winner of the Darley July Cup, Gr. 1 at Newmarket’s July Course, together with BELLE ROYALE, by Val Royale - Kahyasi Moll (IRE), winner of the Gamely Stakes, Gr. 1 at Hollywood Park.

For 2016 an Exceptional Draft including: half - brothers/sisters to 8 Stakes Winners/Performers including Classic Winning GALILEO GOLD COLTS Lot 341 Bay Camelot / Spitza Lot 71 Ch. Champs Elysees / Galicuix Lot 217 Grey Dark Angel / Mundus Novus Lot 365 Ch. Dutch Art / Tahirah Lot 263 Bay Pivotal / Privacy Order Lot 259 Bay Pivotal / Powdermill Lot 243 Bay Poet’s Voice / Palace Affair Lot 261 Bay LEDHAM, Sea The Stars / Prime Run Lot 533 Bay Shamardal / Chiosina FILLIES BayExceed And Excel / Dixie Bell Lot 141 Ch. Exceed And Excel / Lady Of The Desert Lot 209 Bay Iffraaj / Moma Lee ROBIN SHARPE Mobile: 07850 661468 MALCOLM BRYSON Mobile: 07711 160856 HOUGHTON BLOODSTOCK UK LTD. FOX FARM, HUNDON, SUFFOLK C010 8EL FARM: 01638 563238 INFO@HOUGHTONBLOODSTOCK.CO.UK

Top Class • • •

STAFF FACILITIES SERVICE

Tattersalls Timeline (1766â&#x20AC;&#x201C;2016) 1766

Richard Tattersall establishes Tattersalls Sales at Hyde Park Corner.

1838

Tattersalls hold sales outside of the Salutation Inn, Doncaster.

1865

Tattersalls Sales move from Hyde Park Corner to new site at Knightsbridge Green.

1869

Tattersalls takes lease of Glasgow Paddocks, Doncaster, for sales previously held outside Salutation Inn, Doncaster.

1886

First December Sales held at Park Paddocks, Newmarket.

1920

Tattersalls sales at Doncaster: New world record price for yearling Blue Ensign (The Tetrarch â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Blue Tit), bred by Sledmere Stud and sold to Lord Glanely for 14,500 gns.

1922

Tattersalls sales at Doncaster: Mumtaz Mahal sold to Aga Khan for top price of 9,100 gns.

44 October 2016

1923

July Sales attended by King George V.

1939

Last Sales held by Tattersalls at Knightsbridge Green.

1940

No July Sale or Doncaster Sales.

1945

September Sales: Future St Leger winner Sayajirao sold for record 28,000 gns.

1946

Knightsbridge Green site sold.

1947

Tattersalls sales at Doncaster resume.

1954

December Sales turnover passes the million-guinea mark for the first time.

1957

Last Tattersalls yearling sales at Doncaster. Tattersalls offices re-established in modern block on site of old offices at Knightsbridge Green.

1958

Tattersalls move yearling sales from Doncaster to Newmarket.

1961

Turnover for the year exceeded 3 million guineas for the first time.

1965

New sale ring completed at Park Paddocks, Newmarket.

1967

Vaguely Noble sold for 136,000 gns a world record for a horse in training.

1979

Tattersalls buys a 44% stake in Irish company Ballsbridge International Bloodstock Sales.

1982

Kenneth Watt retires as Chairman and is replaced by his cousin Michael Watt.

1985

Tattersalls increases its holding in Ballsbridge Sales and the operation becomes a wholly owned subsidiary called Tattersalls (Ireland).

1989

Tattersalls introduces the Tattersalls Breeze Up Sale.

1993

Michael Watt is succeeded as Chairman by Edmond Mahony but remains on the Board until his retirement in 1996, after 50 years with the company.

2000

A colt by Sadler’s Wells out of Darara sells for 3.4m guineas; a European record for a yearling.

2006

Magical Romance sells for a world record price for a broodmare of 4,600,000 gns on the second day of the December Mare Sale which turned over just short of 30 million guineas; the highest grossing day in European auction history.

2006

Annual turnover at Tattersalls tops 200 million guineas for the first time, with a record 233 million guineas worth of bloodstock sold.

2007

Tattersalls creates the Tattersalls Millions Race series worth £2.3m. Turnover hits 244 million guineas.

2008

Tattersalls takes a 20% stake in leading Australian auction house William Inglis & Son Limited.

2013

A Galileo filly out of Alluring Park sets a new world record for a yearling when selling to Al Shaqab Racing for 5,000,000 guineas.

2013

Dancing Rain becomes the first Oaks winner to be sold at public auction carrying her first foal in over 50 years. She sells for 4 million guineas.

2013

Immortal Verse set a European record for a broodmare when selling for 4.7m guineas at the Tattersalls December Mare Sale.

2013

Tattersalls turnover reaches 248 million guineas, another record.

2014

Tattersalls takes a majority stake in French sales company Osarus.

2014

Tattersalls sets a new turnover record of 263 million guineas.

2014

Irish 1,000 Guineas winner Just The Judge sells for 4.5 million guineas; the highest price for a filly at auction in British auction history.

2015

Tattersalls launches the £25,000 Tattersalls October Book 1 Bonus to replace the Tattersalls Millions race series.

2015

Tattersalls buys Brightwells Bloodstock Sales which hold auctions at Cheltenham and Ascot racecourses.

2016

Tattersalls celebrates its 250th Year Anniversary.

October 2016

A patient approach Success found Blue Diamond in a hurry but, as Tony Nerses explains to Julian Muscat, sustained growth calls for calm heads

46 October 2016

“Winning the Derby is indescribable, really. It’s incredible and emotional; it’s a feeling you never get in any other situation” Tony Nerses

There are different ways of doing things when it comes to breeding horses. Some studs adopt strict performance criteria in deciding which fillies to admit from the racetrack. Others will only use a certain type of stallion. More still set targets in respect of where they want to be in five years’ time. Blue Diamond Stud is not like that. Yes, there are quality controls aplenty, but they don’t make hard and fast rules. The stud recently set up by Tony Nerses for his close friends, the Kuwaitis Saleh Al Homaizi and Imad Al Sagar, has a simple philosophy. “We don’t like to rush things”, Nerses says as he surveys the paddocks at Blue Diamond North, the 60-acre nursery near Newmarket formerly known as Dachel Stud. “Everything happens within our comfort zone”, Nerses continues. “We don’t go to the sales thinking we need to buy 15 yearlings. We go to buy nothing, and if we see something we like, we try to buy it. It’s the same with mares. For us, it is a very comfortable way to do business.” The results are speaking for themselves. Back in the autumn of 2004 the Kuwaiti friends asked Nerses to buy them some horses for racing in Britain. Nerses returned from Tattersalls with a yearling by Mull Of Kintyre who, as Araafa, won the 2006 Irish 2,000 Guineas, and a foal by Montjeu who, as Authorized, won the Derby the following year. To this day, Authorized remains the only Derby winner bought as a foal by connections who also raced him. Success has continued apace, but the pivotal moment in the operation’s short history was the decision to buy Blue Diamond North in 2010. “We’d been thinking about having a stud of some sort for breeding purposes but we didn’t know whether it was commercially viable from our point of view”, Nerses says. “We only had four or five mares at the time, so the question was whether we should pay millions of pounds for a stud. What encouraged us was that most of our horses in training were in Newmarket. It suited us to be able to give them a rest and

do all the veterinary checks. We learnt first-hand what their problems were, which was very helpful.” The die was cast. It says much about the Kuwaitis’ passion for the sport that their bloodstock interests quickly outgrew Blue Diamond North. The acquisition of more land became imperative, so on their behalf in 2013 Nerses bought Blue Diamond South, the 265acre property formerly known as Chevington Stud, on the other side of Newmarket. Blue Diamond South is home to the broodmare band, which has now swelled to 58. And while Nerses maintains there are no further expansion plans, he will find it hard to curb the enthusiasm of his bosses. Both Al Homaizi and Al Sagar have been involved with horses for many years. Nerses, 70, first met Al Homaizi in 1981, when he was working as British-based secretary to Prince Yazid Saud, of Saudi Arabia. “Saleh was a teenager then and he became a friend of the Prince,” Nerses recalls. “He always loved horses. Even though he was young, he already had his own stables in Kuwait. Saleh then had some horses with the Prince; they won the 1984 Cambridgeshire with Leysh, who was trained by Steve Norton.” Prince Yazid was a prominent racehorse owner in Britain at the time. He owned the 1988 St James’s Palace Stakes winner, Persian Heights, who was trained by Geoff Huffer from La Grange Stables in Newmarket, which was then owned by a Kuwaiti businessman known to Al Sagar. Nerses met Al Sagar, who also raced horses in Kuwait, in the mid-1980s. Both Al Homaizi and Al Sager, who are cousins, hail from prominent Kuwaiti families with extensive business interests at home. When Prince Yazid moved to France in 1990 Nerses opted to stay in Britain, where he has lived for more than 50 years. Originally of Armenian extraction, he came to Britain from Iraq, to where his parents had fled at the onset of the Armenian Genocide in Turkey in 1915.

October 2016

Nerses kept his eyes open during his 14-year tenure as the prince’s right-hand man. In the mid-1980s the prince had horses with the likes of Peter Walwyn, John Dunlop and Barry Hills, whose assistant at the time was Peter Chapple-Hyam. A brief meeting with the latter was sufficient for Nerses to entrust him with Authorized 20 years later. All the while Nerses was learning about horses. When the prince moved to Paris he bought horses in Britain to race in Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, where Al Homaizi was the leading owner for several years.

“We don’t like to rush things”

Then, in 2000, Al Homaizi raced a horse in Britain in his own name, and which Nerses bought for him. Fanaar wasn’t bad,

either: he won the Wood Ditton Stakes on his debut and ran third in the Group 3 Earl Of Sefton Stakes the following year. That would prove the template. Al Sagar joined the alliance soon after, and in 2004 Nerses was dispatched to Tattersalls with his first significant order for two men who wanted to try their luck at a higher level. They could not have made a better start. “Looking back, it was remarkable that I picked up Authorized and Araafa within six weeks of each other at Tattersalls”, Nerses says. “Since then, Tattersalls has always held special memories for me. I also bought Tariq and Hamoody there, and 48 October 2016

this gave Saleh and Imad the encouragement they needed to dip their toe even further into the water. It helped to lay the foundations for what we have today.” In addition to 58 mares, the horses-in-training head-count for Blue Diamond Racing now stands at 80, spread among 15 trainers. A notable milestone was reached in 2010, when Nouriya became the Kuwaitis’ first homebred Stakes winner. They have savoured great success with horses bought at public auction but the emphasis is gradually shifting towards homebreds.

There are some potential blue-hens in the band, too – notably Pearling, a full-sister to Giant’s Causeway and You’resothrilling, herself dam of Classic winners Marvellous and Gleneagles. Pearling’s four-year-old is Decorated Knight, recently an impressive winner of the Group 3 Meld Stakes at Leopardstown. Ajaya, last year’s winner of the Group 2 Gimcrack Stakes, is another homebred – in his case out of Nessina, a half-sister to the dam of Juddmonte stalwarts Cityscape and Bated Breath. More than that, the Gimcrack Stakes highlighted another dimension to Blue Diamond’s activities, since the third horse home, Raucous, was bred by Blue Diamond and sold as a yearling at Tattersalls in 2014.

Although Nerses is Blue Diamond’s heartbeat, he does not own any of the horses. He doesn’t want to disturb the equilibrium established from Blue Diamond’s opening flourish. He buys all the horses anyway and is more than content with his role. He also works exclusively for the two Kuwaitis. “I have a comfortable life as things are”, he says. “I’m not one of those people who wants to be everywhere at the same time. I am easy-going by nature.” He is aware he has set a particularly high bar from the outset and is striving hard to emulate it. A multitude of photographs of one subject in the offices at Blue Diamond South attest to his task. Authorized’s 2007 Derby triumph takes pride of place,

Winning connections after Authorized’s 2007 Derby win

That year Nerses decided to offer most of the farm’s yearlings for sale at auction. “I didn’t want people to think we were selling the inferior ones”, he reflects of a crop that was dispersed among different consignors. “They were all on the market with reserves”, he continues. “It was a big success, but I’m not sure whether we will do that again. We are trying to breed the best, so to sell them as yearlings could be a dangerous situation for us. But I would like to sell a few for the owners to have some (financial) return, so I think we will offer the best ones and see whether they make the right money. Otherwise, we’ll be happy to bring them home.”

and if that were not enough, Nerses has named two roads on the farm to commemorate the racecourse deeds of Authorized and Araafa. These powerful visual incentives prompt Nerses to muse back to that famous day at Epsom. “Winning the Derby is indescribable, really”, he says. “It’s incredible and emotional; it’s a feeling you never get in any other situation.” It’s an experience he yearns to repeat for the two men behind Blue Diamond, and one he doesn’t believe will necessarily prove elusive. “I just have a feeling”, he says with a smile. “In racing, there is always hope.” October 2016

things I never knew about Tattersalls by Martin Mitchell 2016 is the 250th anniversary of the founding of Tattersalls and, to mark the occasion, the Directors of the company invited me to produce a book capturing a snapshot of the life of the firm from its inception to the present day.

about Tattersalls, to study its archive and to hear about the development of the firm from those involved, thereby introducing me to a number of facts both about the firm and its clients, which had passed me by during the forty years I worked there.

The book, now published, is meant to entertain rather than educate, but it did give me the opportunity to read

So here are 15 facts and observations about Tattersalls that were certainly new to me.

THIS IS WHY RINGO GOT UP AT 9AM

In 1966 Beatlesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; drummer Ringo Starr and his then wife Maureen attended the December Sales. He bought no more than a couple of whiskies and rather unkindly was reported as saying that the only reason heâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;d remember the day was that he had to get up at 9am. 50 October 2016

"Where do we put the Gorilla?" Liz Clarke, Sales Desk Supervisor, recalls being asked that very question by a member of the Control Office during a very busy Sale. Her response is not recorded!

When Tattersalls bought the lease on its first location at Hyde Park Corner, the site was at the edge of a swampy wasteland, frequented by cutthroats, known as the Five Fields. By the time it moved to Knightsbridge a century later the area had become the fashionable residential district it remains today.

Former auctioneer, Peter Holmes, recalls the Sales of Shares and Nominations held at a leading Knightsbridge hotel. During the lunch break a few gin and tonics were frequently enjoyed resulting, on one occasion, in the man changing the lot numbers falling ignominiously off the raised dais.

The section showing photos from the 1950s and 1960s reveals the smartness and elegance of those at the Sales in those days; no jeans and beanies – rather mink coats and trilbies.

The grandson of Richard Tattersall, the firm’s founder, was also named Richard, although he was commonly referred to as ‘Old Dick’. He was a skilled fighter, but owing to an injury sustained as a child he was only able to fight in a seated position.

One of the best-proven racehorses ever to be sold at Tattersalls was Solario. Winner of the St Leger and Gold Cup and already a successful stallion, he was sold in 1932 for 47,000 gns, a figure unmatched in the ring for many years.

Tattersalls’ accounts team spends much of the earlier part of the year gently coercing clients to forward payment for horses purchased the previous autumn. Reasons for an inability to pay are legion, but Finance Director, Paul Ryan, particularly remembers one man, who claimed that he was unable to pay, since he was in the jungle and had just taken a bullet in his leg!

The record price for a yearling, sold at Park Paddocks, rose from 117,000gns in 1971 to 5,000,000gns in 2013, a 4,273% rise! October 2016

Auctioneer, Matt Prior, recalls honing his skills at local Sales of all types, where items under the hammer might include Garden Gnomes or boxes of toilet paper. On one occasion his mistaking a rotavator for a lawn mower resulted in less than friendly abuse from his audience.

Many of the stables in Somerville Paddock were previously used at the now defunct Northolt pony-racing track. Purchased in the post-war years, they were transformed into 48 larger boxes and are still in service.

The famous Manton training yard was owned by Tattersalls between 1927 and 1947, when it was sold to George Todd. 52 October 2016

The Fox Rotunda, now used as Tattersalls’ logo, and the large arch situated in the car park were both dismantled when the Knightsbridge site was demolished and reconstructed at Park Paddocks.

Tongue-twister horse names often cause problems for fast-talking auctioneers. When faced with selling an offspring of the sire Mistertopogigio, David Pim paused and said: “Lads-I’m not even going to try to say that one!”

Tattersalls Sales are international. However, I never realised they were this international!

2 p u o r G

Mount Coote regularly features amongst the leading consignors at the top European yearling sales and consigned the record-breaking 4,700,000 gns mare IMMORTAL VERSE at the 2013 Tattersalls December Sales.

O OT E T C

ed, d, foal l by n a B n a a One M d sold as a fo s n in a raised oote Stud, w le i C Mount Godolphin M .2 the Gr an in 2016. d at Mey

Since 1963, the stud has raised and/or consigned the winners of over 150 Stakes races, many on behalf of clients. These include:

1 p u o r G

Situated on 500 acres of prime limestone pasture within easy reach of all the major stallion studs in Ireland, Mount Coote Stud is a family-run operation which has a proud history of producing top class horses.

MOUNT COOTE STUD

e g a k c a P e t e l p The Com

COOTE

Luke and Tabitha Lillingston Mount Coote Stud, Kilmallock, Co. Limerick. T: +353 (0)63 20330. M: +353 (0)87 919 5780 (Luke) E: luke@mountcootestud.com www.mountcootestud.com

3 p u o r G

Home of

LILLINGSTON BLOODSTOCK Mount Coote is also the home of Lillingston Bloodstock which provides clients with a comprehensive service covering all aspects of the bloodstock and racing industry. In association with Kern Thoroughbreds (Lincoln Collins and Joe Miller in Kentucky), the agency has achieved exceptional results over the last decade, including: YEARLING PURCHASES 6 Group 1 winners purchases as yearlings for an average of €94,000 €94,000. RACEHORSE PURCHASES 6 Group 1 winners, including 2 outright Champions. BROODMARE PURCHASES The dams of 5 Group 1 winners, including 3 Classic winners. STALLION PURCHASES 12 Group 1 producing sires, including 6 Champion Sires.

by chase s r u p ing ke yearl York Sta s 0 0 0 , f €35 Duke o won 6 race a , y r .2 Memo ins the Gr e has now 530,000. l a c i Mag ngston, w n 2016. H nd over € a Lilli at York i Luke

RACING AND STUD MANAGEMENT A personalised service, tailored to each individual client’s needs, from mating advice right through to client/trainer interface.

Luke Lillingston or Barry Lynch T: +353 (0)63 20330. M: +353 (0)87 919 5780 (Luke) or (0)87 762 2837 (Barry) E: luke@kernlillingston.com barry@kernlillingston.com

Breaking down

barriers As Nancy Sexton reports, South African buyers represent an increasingly formidable team at the Tattersalls October Yearling Sale

54 October 2016

No new player approached last yearâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Tattersalls October Yearling Sale with more enthusiasm than Mayfair Speculators, a heavy-hitting partnership headed by multiple South African champion owner Markus Jooste.

Their recent investment consolidates the burgeoning interest of South African owners in European racing that would surely be greater if the criteria for the export of horses out of South Africa did not make the process so tricky.

A relatively young participant in European racing, the outfit came away from Newmarket with 12 lots bought in conjunction with Peter and Ross Doyle worth a total of 4.89 million guineas. In the process, they struck up strategic partnerships with the China Horse Club and Qatar Racing while the promising Douglas Macarthur, another youngster in whom they have an interest, was knocked down to MV Magnier for 1.25 million guineas.

Back in 2008, Jehan Malherbe of Form Bloodstock made his first buying trip to the October Yearling Sale and went on to reward his clients with the purchases of Group 1 winner Europa Point and Group 3 winner Mickdaam among others. Much of his work is done alongside champion South African trainer Mike de Kock, whose globe-trotting achievements with the likes of Ipi Tombe, Asiatic Boy and Igugu have done so much to open international eyes to the value of the South African Thoroughbred.

October 2016

Gaynor Rupert, owner of Drakenstein Stud, is another regular force at the sale. In 2012, she spent 570,000gns on a Galileo filly through Badgers Bloodstock, while last season her colours were carried to victory at Goodwood by Imvula, an inexpensive purchase out of Book 1 in 2013. For Mayfair Speculators, whose investors also include Bernard Kantor, these recent buying trips mark the first steps towards gaining a strong footing as an owner in Europe. And judging by the results of their early purchases, which include recent Prix de Royaumont winner The Juliet Rose, they are well on the way. Jooste, a self-made billionaire who is the chief executive of furniture manufacturer Steinhoff International, was exposed to horse racing at an early age through the interest of his father, a punter. His first foray into ownership during the early 1990s set the tone for things to come. The first horse to carry his colours was none other than multiple Group 1-winning champion National Emblem, subsequently a successful stallion. Jooste and his wife Ingrid have owned countless good horses since then, notably Legal Eagle, a four-time Group 1 winner already in 2016, Cape Guineas winner Act Of War, recent Durban July winner The Conglomerate and international campaigner Variety Club, successful in the Champions Mile at Sha Tin. The son of Var now stands at Klawervlei Stud, an operation in which Jooste is also a partner, and is one of 12 stallions worldwide in whom he has a share. Another, Jooste’s champion two-year-old Delago Deluxe, stands at Newhaven Park in Australia. “The exploits of Variety Club in Dubai and Hong Kong made us think that it was time to spread our wings a little bit”, says his racing manager Derek Brugman, who has the task of overseeing Jooste’s ‘couple of hundred’ horses in training. “We’ve been racing a long time in Singapore and Australia and thought it was time to make people start realising that South Africa has a very good product.

Variety Club

Variety Club winning the Godolphin Mile 56 October 2016

“We are involved in some of the bigger racing partnerships of the world. They are strategic partnerships with a view that they might buy South African horses down the line and eventually race them on to the world stage.” The extent of Jooste’s ambition to make South Africa one of the world’s top buying destinations has been evident through the development of Cape Thoroughbred Sales. Established with the support of Jooste alongside a number of other prominent stud owners, the company hosted its first yearling sale in Cape Town in January 2011 and has made significant strides since then, culminating with the sale of a Silvano colt at this year’s renewal for a record-breaking R6 million to Mayfair Speculators and MV Magnier. Mayfair Speculators’ European string is split between Aidan O’Brien, David Wachman, Richard Hannon, William Haggas, Andre Fabre and Nicolas Clement.

“We are always trying to explore different markets or options” In O’Brien’s care is Douglas Macarthur, the 1.25 million guineas Galileo brother to Oaks heroine Was bought in association with MV Magnier. Always highly regarded by connections, he recently burst into the Classic picture for 2017 when the impressive fivelength winner of his second start at Leopardstown. Purchases made under their own name at last year’s Tattersalls October Yearling Sale were led by a 650,000gns Sea The Stars half-brother to Yorkshire Oaks winner Shareta sold by Barronstown Stud. He is now in training with Andre Fabre. They also paid 600,000gns for a Galileo colt out of Crystal Valkyrie from New England Stud and 525,000gns for a Shamardal colt out of Group 3 winner Ballybacka Lady from Oaks Farm Stables. The Galileo colt has been named Air Supremacy and is another in training with O’Brien while the Shamardal colt, named Giants Treasure, is with Richard Hannon. The full- or half-siblings to Highland Reel, Elusive Wave and Harbinger are also among their juvenile armoury. “Generally we buy upper end market horses, particularly those with residual value, perhaps in the stallion market”, says Brugman. “We’re looking at different types of horses here. The European horse is different in that you’re looking for a bigger horse that stands over more ground, very much a Classic type. The South African breed is a mix of that and the Australian sprinter.”

Tattersalls October Yearling Sale, Book 1 Graduate Mickdaam

Jehan Malherbe’s Form Bloodstock signed for four yearlings at Book 1 last year worth a total of 855,000gns. They were led by a Fastnet Rock half-brother to Group 1-winning juvenile La Collina that cost 425,000gns and also included a 210,000gns Speightstown filly out of a sister to Mastercraftsman. “Together with Mike de Kock we are always trying to explore different markets and options”, says Malherbe of the decision to target Tattersalls in 2008. “We wanted to try and purchase some quality fillies to bring to South Africa. “On our first visit, we bought three fillies at an average of 41,000gns. Two came from Book Two. “One we wound up keeping ourselves. The worst of them won five races, one won six and was Group 2-placed [Atlantic Oak] and the third was a dual Group 1 winner [Europa Point].

Lot 142 of the 2015 Tattersalls October Yearling Sale, Book 1 now named Air Supremecy in training with Aidan O’Brien

“We haven’t bought many - just a couple each year - usually for Mary Slack of Wilgerbosdrift. Sheikh Mohammed bin Khalifa is also a long time client and Mauritzfontein Stud are supporters. We have also bought for Klawervlei Stud.” Irish-bred Europa Point was purchased for a relatively inexpensive 60,000 gns on behalf of Mary Slack and went on to win two successive Group 1 events, the L Jaffee Empress Club Stakes and the President’s Champions Challenge over colts, for Mike de Kock. A star of the 2011-2012 season, she was crowned the champion older horse, champion middle distance runner and Horse Of The Year at that year’s Highveld Feature Season Awards ceremony.

Lot 440 of the 2015 Tattersalls October Yearling Sale, October Book 1 2016 57 now in training with Andre Fabre

“We can’t compete financially at the top end, so we have to try and 'box clever'” “Europa Point was a good looker by a sire, Rock Of Gibraltar, that we liked but who was a bit out of fashion”, says Malherbe. “She was from the Fall Aspen family, so had extra appeal due to Fort Wood. She won nine races including two Group 1s. Then her half-brother [Richmond Stakes winner] Harbour Watch arrived to enhance the pedigree.” Other notable purchases made by Form Bloodstock in recent years include Chester Vase winner Mickdaam, who cost 360,000gns, Qatar Derby winner Tannaaf, who cost 280,000gns, and the Group 1-placed Espumanti, who cost 130,000gns. “With Mickdaam, we were asked by Sheikh Mohammed bin Khalifa to buy him the best Dubawi in that sale”, says Malherbe. “There were only five and we got lucky. Tattersalls £25,000 October Book 1 Bonus winner Douglas Macarthur owned by Markus Jooste, Mrs Magnier, M Tabour & D Smith

“Espumanti won six races including two Group 2s. She was multiple Group 1-placed and is an exciting addition to the Wilgerbosdrift broodmare band. “Tannaaf was quite a late foal with scope to develop as he matured. He won the Qatar Derby last year and Mike [de Kock] still thinks he has a future. “We can’t compete financially at the top end, so we have to try and “box clever”. We try to stick to proven sires who may be off the boil or out of fashion. “With fillies, they are going to come to South Africa, so they have plenty of time – as a result we can buy late foals and immature sorts who don’t make the big money but are well bred.” Malherbe plans to attend the October Sale again this year although he concedes that it could be tough going to make the trip as productive as other years. “With the very weak exchange rate, it’s getting harder to find South Africans who can invest at the level required at Tattersalls”, he says. “The Slack family have been staunch supporters and have had major success, so hopefully we will be there again. Or maybe someone in the UK will have noticed our strike rate and throw us a bone!” As for Mayfair Speculators, a return trip is definitely on the cards, especially given their successful early dip into European ownership with The Juliet Rose. “The Juliet Rose has been a fantastic experience”, says Brugman of the well-related Monsun filly. “We enjoy the people that we race with - that’s an important starting point - and it’s wonderful to race on the world stage. “And it’s just fantastic to be able to compete across Europe without worrying about any of the shipping barriers that we have in South Africa. That’s a big thing.”

Marcus Jooste in discussion with his October 2016 58 Racing Manager Derek Brugman

Weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve got

Pedigree!

Bloodstock expertise and innovation since 1770

Please contact Nick Craven:

+44 (0)7850 025835

ncraven@weatherbys.co.uk

Pedigrees | Private Stud Books | Digital | Publications www.weatherbys.co.uk Sanders Road Wellingborough Northamptonshire NN8 4BX

October 2016

Memories are made of this Big moments in the sale ring at Tattersalls live long in the memory. Here are just a few, as told to Catherine Austen Sir Mark Prescott recalls the sale of Vaguely Noble The most eagerly awaited sale of my time was that of Vaguely Noble, Lot 1044, consigned by La Grange Stables, at the Tattersalls December Sales in 1967. Mr Brook Holliday had inherited the horse in 1965 on the death of his father, the premier British-based breeder of the post-war era, Major Lionel Holliday. Major Holliday had been the governing director of LB Holliday and Co, manufacturers of aniline dyes, based in Huddersfield. A blunt Yorkshire man, he tolerated fools not at all. In total he employed 13 private trainers at his La Grange Stables in Newmarket, which he had purchased in 1947. Only two survived unscathed – Dick Hern left of his own accord and Walter Wharton outlived him. “I really can’t understand why these trainers complain”, the Major once observed, “they come to me on their bicycles and drive away in their Bentleys…” While the modern concept of Human Resources might not have been the Major’s strongest point, he certainly understood horses and foxhounds, qualities which he shared with his last trainer, fellow Yorkshireman, Walter Wharton. Although the Major had bred and raced three Classic winners, as so often, when he died, the best was left behind. Vaguely Noble, by Vienna out of Lancashire Oaks winner Noble Lassie, now owned by his son Brook and still in Walter Wharton’s capable hands, lit up the 1967 two-year-old autumn campaign by scoring scintillating victories in the Sandwich Stakes at Ascot by 12 lengths and the Observer Gold Cup, now the Racing Post Trophy, at Doncaster by seven lengths.

Sir Mark Prescott

The previous year, 1966, Brook Holliday in an attempt to finance hideous death duties, had sold 28 of his horses in training for 98,230 gns, as well as 20 mares and four foals for 60,195 gns. Even this proved to be insufficient and, to intense worldwide interest, it was announced that Vaguely Noble would take up his place in the December Sales of 1967. I had only been assistant trainer to Mr Jack Waugh at Heath House for a few months. On the day of the sale, as the daily 60 October 2016

Vaguely Noble

ritual of evening stables ended, Mr Waugh grabbed my arm “Come on, Boy, lets nip up the sales and see what Mr Wharton’s good horse makes…” It was about 6:15pm on a dark, dank, cold, drizzly evening. We found it hard to find a parking spot and had to force our way into the pre-sale ring. In those days this was an ill-lit area, covered with straw and surrounded by tar-varnished boxes that then stood where today’s restaurants, offices and trot-up areas are situated. The great horse was already parading. Tall and elegant, if a trifle unfurnished, he was wrapped up in a striped Whitney exercise rug and his head was hooded. He occasionally broke into a jog trot and was a trifle warm between his hind legs. Walter Wharton, stocky, rotund, elegantly turned out in a suit, trilby hat, highly polished shoes and a heavy white riding mackintosh, stood alone in the middle of the ring – doubtless experiencing mixed emotions of pride and apprehension, in equal measure. Mr Waugh and I squeezed into the recently built and smoke-filled sales ring – not an inch was spare, many of the spectators hoping that, against the trend of the time, the horse would remain in Britain. However, in five minutes he was sold for the then record price for a horse in training - United Statesbased agent Albert Yank outbidding the Frenchbased agent Godolphin Darley at 136,000gns.

Julian Dollar, Newsells Park Stud The sale of our Galileo colt ex Shastye for 3.6 million guineas in October 2013 was very special – the price itself makes it stand out, but it meant so much to the whole team at Newsells Park. We brought the colt to the sales with high expectations and he did not disappoint. Gerry Meehan, Newsells Park’s yearling manager, had him in peak condition and showed him off beautifully that first few days. I vividly remember how he would stand perfectly on the patch of grass just above the ‘O’ boxes at Tattersalls for minutes on end without ever moving a muscle. By the time we walked up to the sale ring, there was already a great buzz about the horse and we were hopeful that he would break the million-guinea mark. Neither Gerry nor I had ever consigned a yearling to make a million before, so when David Redvers opened the bidding at a million guineas on behalf of Sheikh Fahad al Thani, that got ours and everyone else’s attention! David later told me the plan had been to open the bidding at two million guineas in a bid to buy the colt in one go, but he didn’t get the chance! There was a good deal of delay before John Magnier started bidding and for a little while, I thought a million might be the only bid. Somehow I felt disappointment! But then Mr Magnier started bidding, first against David and latterly against Sheikh Fahad himself and things gradually worked their way up. The bidding built in gaps of 100,000 and 200,000 guineas, while all you could hear were the quiet, clear words of the auctioneer, Philip Myerscough, and the colt’s footfall as he walked around and around the ring. It was pure theatre that only Tattersalls at its best can provide. Sheikh Fahad put in a last push with his final bid of 3.5 million guineas, but Mr Magnier was not to be denied and made his final bid of 3.6 million a winning one.

His new owner, American plastic surgeon Dr R Franklyn, sent him first to Paddy Prendergast in Ireland, but, following the sale of part of the horse to Nelson Bunker Hunt, Vaguely Noble was transferred to Etienne Pollet in France, for whom he won four of his five races, including the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe, beating the Derby winner, Sir Ivor, by three lengths.

It was a great moment. Great for Newsells Park Stud and the Jacobs family, who have invested so much and a great reward for Andreas Jacobs and particularly for his late father Klaus J Jacobs, who restarted Newsells Park Stud back in 2000. That sale would have meant so much to him.

Subsequently, Gainesway Farm in the United States purchased 25 per cent of the horse for 1.25 million dollars, and while at their stud, Vaguely Noble sired such turf notables as Dahlia, Empery and Jet Ski Lady. He died in 1989, aged 24.

For me personally, it was special, but we had another yearling to sell five lots later, so it was straight back to business and an hour or so later I was back at home doing the washing up. I told the wife that I hadn’t envisaged doing the washing up after that kind of a sale. She just smiled and told me to get on with it!

For Gerry it was a special moment. He is the consummate professional and had long deserved to sell a horse of that calibre. I was delighted for him and his team.

The stables at La Grange were closed down. Brook Holliday continued to have horses with Denys Smith, including such useful performers as Hard Fought, Royal Prerogative and Tuddenham; latterly he had minor interests in horses with James Bethell and Tim Easterby. He died in 2014, aged 85. Walter Wharton moved to Melton Mowbray to resume his training career, but was destined never to train a horse even approaching Vaguely Noble’s ability. As he once said himself, without a trace of self-pity, “aye, it was a shame that sale, but there’s now’t gained by crying over spilt milk.” Walter Wharton died, earlier this year, aged 92. The Newsells Park Team with Galileo X Shastye sold at the 2013 Book 1 Sale for 3,600,000 gns

October 2016

Harbinger

Lot 230 of the 2015 Tattersalls October Yearling Sale, Book 1 now named Seven Heavens sold by Cheveley Park Stud for 620,000 gns

Harry Herbert, Highclere Thoroughbred Racing

Chris Richardson, Cheveley Park Stud

As you can imagine there have been many memorable moments at Tattersalls, but maybe the two best are the bids that secured us Motivator and Harbinger.

In 1995 Cheveley Park Stud topped the sale with two yearlings, both of whom made 600,000gns, which was pretty special. One turned out to be Happy Valentine, who won a Listed race for Godolphin, and the other was Entrepreneur, winner of the 1997 2,000 Guineas. His is one of Cheveley Park’s foundation families, which most recently produced the dual Group One heroine Integral.

John Warren was mad about Harbinger, and after seeing him for the first time he phoned me to say, “Stop looking at whatever you are looking at, come and see what I have found!” When John gets that excited it’s very infectious, and it was such a thrill seeing this beautiful son of Dansili quietly with no one else around. When the moment came to bid we thought we would have no chance of getting him, especially when the bidding went over 175,000gns. I think in the end we bought him on one bid at 180,000gns, and John then started panicking and said, “How on earth are you going to afford him?” I told him that we would just have to ask our shareowners for more money, as the average was meant to be 150,000gns. Thankfully, everyone agreed to put a bit more in to the syndicate and as a result they enjoyed the thrill of a lifetime, as Harbinger became the highest-rated horse in the world. We sold him for a very large sum to Japan at the end of his career, returning a significant dividend to his owners.

On the other side of the coin, buying Russian Rhythm as a yearling was a real stand-out moment. She was consigned by Ted Voute, and Mr and Mrs Thompson paid 440,000gns for her in October 2001. I think Sheikh Hamdan was the underbidder, and it was a real thrill to acquire such a filly, who won four Group Ones for us, including the 1,000 Guineas. She was a phenomenal race-mare, and her five daughters are now producing for us. Tattersalls has proved a most fantastic setting and opportunity for some of the best-bred horses to be offered at public auction. Thirty years ago, sales at the very highest end were based in America – now there has been a role reversal, really, and the best bloodstock available for purchase is centred on Europe. Last year we were chuffed to sell a Frankel colt for 620,000gns at Tattersalls – the highest-priced yearling Mr and Mrs Thompson have achieved in 41 years of involvement. He won first time out at Ascot last week in the colours of Juddmonte Farms, who don’t buy many – we were all delighted, and that is an example of how the sale platform, led by Tattersalls, has evolved.

Edward Prosser, Keeneland’s European representative Since first reporting from Tattersalls in July 1997, I watched nearly every day’s trading at Park Paddocks for the next 15 years and, of course, many memories live on from both inside and outside the sale ring. But it was a day in that first year of covering sales that stands out when, on a dank Saturday afternoon in November, a 10-monthold baby not only became the world’s dearest foal, but the most expensive thoroughbred ever sold in Europe. Prospective buyers were expected to dig deep for this full-brother to Derby winner Generous - he’d had a sibling make 540,000gns - but nothing like the 2.5 million guineas he realised once underbidder John Magnier gave second best to Joss Collins, acting for new US buyer Satish Sanan.

Joss Collins October 2016 62

Although foals have subsequently made more in America, nearly 20 years on he’s still the dearest member of his age group to sell at a European auction.

Bloodstock Pocket Previews OUT FRIDAY, SEP 16

To advertise please call +44 (0) 208 263 0225 or email bloodstock@racingpost.com

Donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t miss our essential Pocket Previews News on the catalogue highlights and leading players Features on leading sellers and shoppers All the stats that matter

OUT FRIDAY, NOV 11

Starting out Racing reputation will take first-crop sires only so far, as Nancy Sexton reports.

Tattersalls October Yearling Sale, Book 1 Graduate & three time Classic winner Camelot 64 October 2016

afresh Little sparks as much debate during the yearling sales season than first-crop sires. Retirement often follows a career of the highest calibre on the track, yet however brilliant they may have been, they must then prove themselves again at stud. Acceptance in the sale ring marks the first step. Classic winners, popular sprinters and top international performers are among those whose progeny will come under scrutiny at this year’s Tattersalls October Yearling Sale. A number of them were Tattersalls graduates themselves, including Camelot (Coolmore: 2014 fee €25,000 [Bk 1, 25/ Bk 2, 17]), who was the most expensive Montjeu yearling sold in 2010 when knocked down to Demi O’Byrne for 525,000gns at Book 1. It was money well spent. After capping his unbeaten two-yearold season with victory in the Racing Post Trophy, he returned at three to sweep the 2,000 Guineas, Derby and Irish Derby, thereby demonstrating a versatility rarely seen at Classic level. As befits a triple Classic winner, Camelot has a group of powerfully connected yearlings on the ground, among them half-siblings to Group 1 winners such as Bracelet, Fame And Glory and Leading Light. Camelot’s first foals gained the market seal of approval at last year’s winter sales, with 16 selling for an average of 74,746gns. “Camelot is like his father Montjeu in so many ways except he was also champion two-year-old and a Guineas winner at three”, says David O’Loughlin, director of sales at Coolmore. “Physically he has so much quality it’s hard to believe. Very much a sire who stamps his stock in his own image, I’d be surprised if they are not the most talked about first crop at this year’s yearling sales.” The first foals belonging to fellow Coolmore inmate Declaration Of War (€40,000 [Bk 1, 13/Bk 2, 16]) were also unsurprisingly popular last year, with nine selling across Europe for an average of 51,996gns. Another filly realised $800,000 at Keeneland. The first son of War Front to stand in Europe - he stood a single season for Coolmore in Ireland before switching to their American arm - Declaration Of War was an extremely tough performer for Aidan O’Brien, winning the Queen Anne Stakes and Juddmonte International before running a close third in the Breeders’ Cup Classic.

“We have several top-notch yearlings by him here at the farm and I’m hearing very positive reports from plenty of breeders who know the time of day”, says O’Loughlin. “Declaration Of War was very impressive when winning both of his starts at two in France and year in year out the Danzig influence is seen to good effect in all the major two-year-old, sprinting and miler contests around Europe.” Champion juvenile Dawn Approach (Kildangan Stud: €35,000 [Bk 1, 25/Bk 2, 10]) was another particularly tough performer, winning each of his first seven starts including the 2,000 Guineas, Dewhurst and National Stakes. He was also precocious, becoming the first winner for his sire New Approach when successful over five furlongs on his debut in late March 2012. Such attributes have naturally already stood him in good stead in the market place, with his first foals averaging 76,344gns led by a colt out of Simonetta bought by John Ferguson for €300,000. “Dawn Approach gets well-made correct types, just like himself, and I am certain his progeny will be just as popular at the sales this year as they were last”, says Sam Bullard of the stallion, whose first crop includes the half-siblings to Makfi, Margot Did and Red Cadeaux. “Remember that his father, New Approach, made a bigger impact at the start of his career than any other son of Galileo.” A select group of six foals also advertised Farhh (Dalham Hall Stud: £17,500 [Bk 1, 4/ Bk 2, 9]) to good effect last winter, averaging 44,089gns. An admirable campaigner who won the Lockinge and Champion Stakes, he shares his sire Pivotal with Siyouni and Kyllachy. “Farhh was a teak-tough performer himself”, says Bullard. “He showed talent and tremendous courage. His first foals are very attractive types and as sons of Pivotal such as Siyouni are making such an impact at stud, I would like to think that Farhh will go on to prove just as successful as his own sire at producing top-class performers.” There were also good words for the first northern hemisphere crop of dual Australian Group 1 winner Epaulette (Kildangan Stud: €7,500 [Bk 1, 2/Bk 2, 16]), a son of leading Australian sire Commands from the good German family of Anna Paola and Anna Monda.

His first crop of yearlings include the progeny of 46 Black-Type winners alongside the half-siblings to Order Of St George, Simple Verse and Toormore. October 2016

Dawn Approach

No fewer than 50 of his foals were sold, among them a colt that realised €130,000 to John Ferguson. His half-brother Helmet has made a strong start with his first European two-year-olds since then, something that can only enhance his profile. “We have put a lot of faith in our Australian shuttle stallions starting with Exceed And Excel”, says Bullard. “As a threeparts-brother to Helmet, Epaulette has been hugely popular with breeders and I fully expect his yearlings to reward breeders’ faith in this Group 1-winning sprinter.” Sadly, the Prix Morny and Middle Park Stakes winner Reckless Abandon (Kildangan Stud: €10,000 [Bk 1, 1/Bk 2, 3]) proved sub-fertile to the point that the son of Exchange Rate was removed from stud duty midway through his debut season. However, he left behind 17 registered foals and those that head to auction will no doubt attract their share of interest in light of their sire’s precocious profile. Sub-fertility has also hindered the career of Al Kazeem (£18,000 [Bk 1, 6/Bk 2, 3]), who reached his zenith for Roger Charlton in 2013 when successful in the Tattersalls Gold Cup, Prince Of Wales’s and Eclipse Stakes. A thoroughly admirable campaigner, the son of Dubawi did his connections proud on his return from stud, notably when landing a second Tattersalls Gold Cup before embarking on a second stint as a stallion at his owner’s Oakgrove Stud.

66 October 2016

Meanwhile, he has 21 registered foals out of that first crop, including those out of Group 1 producers Dolores and Request. For two seasons, Cheveley Park Stud offered breeders the enticing prospect of a Classic-winning son of Galileo with miler speed in Intello (£25,000 [Bk 1, 15/Bk 2, 17]), now a resident of Haras du Quesnay. The regally connected Wertheimer homebred won both starts at two for Andre Fabre and enjoyed his finest moment at three when the easy winner of the Prix du Jockey Club. He was also third in the Poule d’Essai des Poulains and Arc. His first book included Group 1 winners/producers such as Balisada, Hannda and New Orchid while Cheveley Park Stud sent the high-profile performers Chorist, Hooray, Red Bloom and Spacious. Buyers also liked what they saw at the sales, paying an average of 63,730gns for his first foals. “With tremendous speed in his family, he showed an electric turn of foot to win the Prix du Jockey Club and was truly unlucky not to win the Poule d'Essai des Poulains”, says Chris Richardson, managing director of Cheveley Park Stud.

Declaration of War

Intello

Lethal Force

Farhh October 2016

“They’re sharp, well-balanced individuals” “His foals, as we saw last year, were extremely well received and I am thrilled by the yearlings, who look most attractive sorts, with great minds.” Speed is an attribute always keenly appreciated in the sale ring and in July Cup and Diamond Jubilee Stakes winner Lethal Force (£12,500 [Bk 1, 3/Bk 2, 19]), Cheveley Park is also home to a sprinter of the highest class. Swiss Spirit

Pinhookers targeted his first foals with zest, paying up to 110,000gns and an average of 37,524gns. “They’re sharp, well-balanced individuals”, says Richardson of the stallion, who is the first son of Dark Angel to stand at stud. “They look very progressive and catch the eye and I look forward to his stock making an impact this year.” Another top sprinter, Golden Jubilee Stakes and Betfred Sprint Cup winner Society Rock (Tally-Ho Stud: €8,000 [Bk 1, 4/ Bk 2, 19]), also attracted his share of supporters last year, with his first foals selling for up to €95,000. Invincible Spirit continues to make a good impression as a sire of sires, and next in the pipeline is Whitsbury Manor Stud’s Swiss Spirit (£4,500 [Bk 2, 4]). A very quick horse from a noted sprinting family, his first foals realised up to 68,000gns. The ever-popular Green Desert sire line is also represented by St. James’s Palace Stakes winner Most Improved (Coolmore: €6,000 [Bk 2, 13]), the first son of Lawman to stud. Havana Gold (Tweenhills Farm & Stud: £8,500 [Bk 1, 2/Bk 2, 12]), meanwhile, represents the potent combination of Galileo over Danzig. By Teofilo out of Group 3-winning sprinter Jessica’s Dream, he was a smart two-year-old who won his first four completed starts, including the Somerville Tattersall Stakes. Cityscape (Overbury Stud: £5,000 [Bk 2, 1]) was a consistent performer at the highest level who broke the track record when successful in the Dubai Duty Free. He is also a welcome representative of the Sharpen Up line. Another tough customer, Challenge Stakes winner Red Jazz (Ballyhane Stud: €4,500 [Bk 2, 3]) has the added attraction of being a son of Johannesburg, who has already hit the heights as a sire of sires through Scat Daddy. Looking further afield, the first crop of Gestut Fahrhof’s Maxios (€10,000 [Bk 1, 1/Bk 2, 6]), the 2013 Prix d’Ispahan and Prix du Moulin winner who hails from the powerful Coup De Folie family, caused a stir at last year’s foal sales. Three of his representatives realised six figures, led by a filly out of Remote Romance who sold for 180,000gns to Anthony Stroud.

Tattersalls October Yearling Sale, Book 1 Graduate Society Rock 68 October 2016

The Tattersalls October Sale also offers the chance to secure a yearling from the first European crop of the late Leroidesanimaux (Lanwades Stud: £17,500 [Bk 1, 1/Bk 2, 3]). A brilliant turf miler, he made a swift impact at stud in the US as the sire of Kentucky Derby and Dubai World Cup winner Animal Kingdom out of his second crop.

For the latest racing, breeding & bloodstock news subscribe to The Irish Field in print or online at

www.theirishfield.ie/subscribe

Irelandâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s largest selling breeding and racing publication since 1870. Read in over 70 countries worldwide For advertising queries, contact Brendan McArdle on +353 87 6859993 or bmcardle@theirishfield.ie

Print | Online | Mobile www.theirishfield.ie

October 2016

A ringside seat to history When I started to cover yearling sales at Tattersalls – exactly 50 years ago in 1966 – the record price for one in that age group was 28,000gns. The colt who had set that mark, back in 1945, was a full-brother to that year’s outstanding Derby winner Dante, and, as Sayajirao, he was to win the St Leger in the colours of his intrepid buyer, the Maharaja of Baroda. That transaction created a sensation, almost doubling the price of the previous record-holder, a Fairway colt bought by Dorothy Paget for 15,000gns in 1936. We had come to regard Sayajirao as a one-off, so we didn’t go to Park Paddocks in the expectation of witnessing record-setting bidding duels, but the times were about to change. A son of Charlottesville topped the business in 1966, finally erasing the 21-year-old record when knocked down to agent Tim Vigors for 31,000gns, and over the next 20 years I lost count of the number of times I saw a new record established. Nobody could have guessed that there would be yearlings selling for seven figures and more by the mid-1980s. It all became so frantic.

stand to collect a winner’s trophy always appeared to be too much of a chore. But he evidently did have a sense of humour, bestowing the name of Breeders Dream on a son of Tudor Melody after he had been forced all the way to 30,000gns for the colt at the 1969 Houghton Sales. I soon formed the opinion that the best auctioneer at Tatts was Michael Watt, who much later ran the firm with great distinction. He knew all the buyers and the kind of horses they liked, and it was an education to see him work, gently cajoling them to have that extra bid. I well remember the time when I went to have a word with Frank More O’Ferrall, of the AngloIrish Agency, after his successful bid of 27,000gns for a yearling. Asked to identify his client, Frank replied: “I don’t think I can do that at the moment, as my limit was supposed to be 12,000gns. Michael Watt was in really persuasive form, wasn’t he?”

I made numerous long-term friendships with the agents I first met at Tatts in the 1960s. More O’Ferrall was among them, along with such as I can’t say that I Frank Dempsey, John particularly enjoyed my Corbett (both pioneers role as sales reporter Bloodstock media of the trade with Japan), during that time. I far preferred how things doyen Tony Morris has Richard Galpin (who at one time seemed to have were in my early years clients everywhere), Tim at the game, when most been watching recordVigors, Ray Barnes and investors were conscious breaking yearlings sold Peter Wragg. The lastthat the yearlings they named was the opposite bought would have to at Tattersalls for 50 of flamboyant in the ring, compete with many never with the unique bidding destined for auction – the years. And he’s seen technique of raising one products of numerous eyebrow. But the one I powerful private studs. some things… probably admired most was Bert Kerr, who had Yes, that was a different been long at the game world, but it still came and was recognised as an outstanding judge throughout the as quite a shock when we realised that there was one investor with an alternative outlook and plan of campaign. It began very industry worldwide. We corresponded by letter across the Irish Sea – and I learned much from him. I was also a witness to his famous much on the quiet, but it was impossible to miss the fact that judgement, watching him secure a number of exceptional bargains. one man was bidding regularly – and often successfully – on a lot of the most highly regarded yearlings through the ring. Bert was a study in concentration on his seat at the bottom of That man was Lord Harrington, who for some time declined the stairs, just below and to the left of what used to be the Press to reveal the identity of his client. But that was never going area. He would sit there, never budging from first lot to last, to remain a secret for long while inquisitive journalists were making pencil notes about each and every one on his catalogue, sniffing around. occasionally taking a sip of something from a glass – an aid to stamina, I suppose. At December Sales a session might last We eventually learned that Harrington was buying on behalf upwards of twelve hours; you had to admire the incredible of David Robinson, who had made a fortune in TV rentals. Of bladder control, apart from anything else. course, it was common knowledge that numerous successful businessmen had been drawn into racing, only to discover that But he could see what others failed to see in a yearling, and it was not so easy to make money on the turf. But Robinson two I remember well were Vela, picked up for 720gns at the had an original plan, setting out to purchase a portfolio of October sale in 1968 and Hard to Beat, a 920gns acquisition attractive yearlings and install them with private trainers Paul Davey and Michael Jarvis in Newmarket. And he made it work. at the Houghton auction two years later, both bought for Bert’s Paris-based Brazilian client Stephen Sokolow. Vela became the best French-trained filly at two and was to top the market when The green and red Robinson colours became familiar to she returned for the 1971 December Sales and fetched 62,000gns. racegoers all over the country, and in 1969 they were carried by 42 individual winners of 96 races. Robinson was leading owner, Hard to Beat became France’s champion 2yo, won the Prix Lupin in the following spring, then was sold on for a huge sum to a in terms of both races and prize money won. It would have Japanese owner before his victory in the Prix du Jockey Club. been nice to think that he enjoyed the success of his venture, but he never seemed a very jolly sort, and descending from the A great man, Bert. Such a privilege to have known him.

70 October 2016

QIPCO BRITISH CHAMPIONS DAY RACINGâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S BREATHTAKING FINALE

TICKETS ON SALE

britishchampionsseries.com

#ChampionsDay

Do you see things (((COVER ARTWORK ON that SEPERATE FILE))) donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t exist? Imagination is a wonderful thing, without it nothing would change. For a split second you imagine what it would be like to be a bit more ordinary, but where would that get you?

DO NOT PRINT THIS TEXT

Join a Private Bank that gets you. Call 0203 733 7419 Visit investec.co.uk /privatebanking

David Newell, Sartorial Designer See how his imagination shaped an aesthetic investec.co.uk /privatebanking

Private Banking

Banking | Lending | Investing Minimum eligibility criteria applies. Please visit our website for further details. Investec Private Banking is a part of Investec Bank plc (registered no. 489604). Registered address: 2 Gresham Street, London EC2V 7QP. Investec Bank plc is authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and the Prudential Regulation Authority and is a member of the London Stock Exchange.