ITB_Sept-Oct2021

SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER 2021

£4.95 • ISSUE 106

GALILEO AUTUMN DELIGHTS

1998-2021 > Aisling Crowe talks with

Matt Gilsenan of Norelands Stud about this autumn’s yearling draft > Andreas Jacobs explains how important it is that Alson stands in Germany, the problems Brexit has caused German breeders and how much he is looking forward to Gestüt Fährhof returning to Newmarket with a yearling draft

> Public Sector is now a US Grade 2 winner and has given Clearwater Stud’s October Book 1, Lot 190 a very tasty pedigree update > Qatar’s Al Attiyah family has enjoyed a great summer on European racecourses courtesy of their headline act Gubbass > Ross Doyle is celebrating 20 years as a bloodstock agent, he chats with Martin Stevens

EURO 2021

The

International Sire

Sensation Australia’s Champion sprinter whose phenomenal first crop broke all the records...

Triple Gr.1 winner Sunlight who broke the record for the highest priced horse ever sold at Magic Millions when selling for AU$ 4.2million

1-2-3 in the Gr.1 Coolmore Stud Stakes - the only sire to ever achieve this from their first crop 2 Champions from his first crop 3 Gr.1 winners from his first crop 4 crops have raced in Australia and so far 23 Stakes winners, 8 Gr.1 performers, 34 Stakes horses and already AU$43 million in earnings to date

Sire of 7 million-dollar yearlings to date

14 Stakes winners this season, including Gr.1 winner Zoutori

Don’t miss his first European yearlings selling this year Scan here

Y O U

C A N ’ T

W I N

I F

Y O U ’ R E

N O T

I N

B R E E D E R S ’ C U P WO R L D C H A M P I O N S H I P S Del Mar • Nov. 5 & 6, 2021 • 14 Championship Races • $31 Million in Purses and Awards It’s time to take your place on the world stage, pre-entry for the 2021 Breeders’ Cup World Championships opens online October 1 and closes at Noon (PDT), on Monday, October 25.

All Breeders’ Cup World Championships races are non-invitational and are open to all thoroughbreds competing around the globe.

Purses and awards total $31 million and each race pays through the 10th finish position!

Each Breeders’ Cup World Championships starter receives a travel award up to $40,000 for international horses shipping into California and exclusive world-class treatment on racing’s biggest stage, including the best seats, hotel accommodations, executive car service, and invitations to exclusive events.

For your copy of the Horsemen’s Information Guide, visit members.breederscup.com or contact the Breeders’ Cup Racing Department.

SCAN TO PRE-ENTER

BREEDERS’ CUP LIMITED M E M B E R S . B R E E D E R S C U P . C O M +1 8 5 9 . 5 1 4 . 9 4 2 2 • R AC I N G @ B R E E D E R S C U P. C O M 215 W. MAIN STREET, SUITE 250, LEXINGTON, KY USA 40507

€1,000,000 must be won by Orby yearlings.

All lots offered at this year’s Orby Sale will be eligible for Europe’s richest 2YO race in 2022, the Goffs Million, to be run over 7 furlongs at The Curragh next September.

A million reasons to buy at Orby.

MOTHER EARTH G1 QIPCO 1,000 Guineas, G1 Prix Rothschild 2021 etc.

Her half-sister heads a stellar catalogue

WINTER POWER G1 winner GEAR UP G1 winning 2YO LUCKY VEGA G1 winning 2YO

BROOME G1 winner

CREATIVE FORCE Royal Ascot Group winner

CADILLAC Group winning 2 & 3YO QUEEN SUPREME Multiple G1 winner

28 - 29 September 2021, Kildare Paddocks

PSRA Licence No: 001833

RAGING BULL Multiple US G1 winner

A LEADING FIRST SEASON SIRE

TIME AND TIME AGAIN...

SUNSET SHIRAZ 3rd Moyglare Stud Stakes Gr.1, 7f, Curragh 2nd Debutante Stakes Gr.2, 7f, Curragh BRED BY MOUNT COOTE ESTATES

ROMANTIC TIME Won Dick Poole Fillies’ Stakes Gr.3, 6f, Salisbury BRED BY WRETHAM STUD

THE KING’S HORSES 3rd Premio Primi Passi Gr.3, 6f, San Siro

ROCCHIGIANI Won Renate und Albrecht Woeste Zukunftsrennen, Gr.3, 7f, Baden-Baden BRED BY DR T GREWE

TARDIS Won St Hugh’s Stakes, L., 5f, Newbury BRED BY KEYFAN BLOODSTOCK

Statistics correct to 08/09/21

BRED BY W A TINKLER

A LEADING FIRST SEASON SIRE

25% STAK ES P ER FO R M ER S TO R U N N E R S

NOMINATION ENQUIRIES

Joe Callan 07872 058295 Tim Lane 07738 496141

contents september-october

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First Word

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News

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Hurricane breezes to Leger win

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What makes us human?

Ted Voute discusses the new Bloodstock Industry Code of Practice, and Cathy Grassick is delighted that crowds were back at Leopardstown and The Curragh for Irish Champions Weekend The big-race action at Doncaster and over Irish Champions Weekend saw the champion Frankel achieve yet more landmark successes

Baaeed makes his first Group 1 a winning one

The son of Sea The Stars took the Moulin in style and puts himself up with the best in his division

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Stallion table

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Ups and downs of international sire lines

Leading European stallion statistics, courtesy of Weatherbys

In part three of Alan Porter’s pedigree series, he continues to examine just which global sire lines are flourishing and which are diminishing

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10

Travel plans

The latest requirements for travel to Ireland and the UK for the Goffs Orby Sale and the Tattersalls October Yearling Sale

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Can data predict yearling ability?

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European tour

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Where champions grow

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Racing across nations

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Flying Start

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No two days are the same

Tom Wilson produces his research on the data methods he is investigating to predict yearling ability at the sales Aisling Crowe chats with Matt Gilsenan, stud manager at Norelands Stud, producer of this year’s five-time Group 1 winner St Mark’s Basilica, about this year’s yearling draft The first horse sold by Clearwater Stud at Tattersalls was subsequently named Public Sector, and the son of Kingman is now a US Grade 2 winner. He has given the farm’s October Sale Lot 190 a tasty pedigree update; we chat with Clearwater’s Farran Anstock

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Family business

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Jacobs: a man on an industry mission

US bloodstock agent Liz Crow is set for a return trip to Europe on the hunt for yearlings, writes Melissa Bauer-Herzog The various branches of the Qatari Al Attiyah family are enjoying racing and breeding horses in Britain and Ireland, and with yearlings to sell this autumn, are guided on their journey by bloodstock agent Will Douglass Mixed session results at the first European yearling sales: Arqana August and the Goffs UK Premier Sale

102 Photo of the month

The Goffs UK Yorton Sale

Martin Stevens talks to Ross Doyle, now in his 20th year as a bloodstock agent, about the family business that is bagging Group 1 results, buying top lots and busy across all European sales

Andreas Jacobs explains the importance of standing Alson in Germany, the problems German breeders are facing with Brexit, and is looking forward to Gestüt Fährhof consigning at Tattersalls once again

Photo Hurricane Lane wins the St Leger

follow us on twitter @InterThorough

contents september-october

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This publication may not be reproduced or transmitted in whole or part without permission of the publisher. The views expressed in International Thoroughbred are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publishers. While every care is taken in the preparation of this magazine, the publishers cannot be held responsible for the accuracy of the content herein, or any consequences arising from them.

the team editor sally duckett publisher declan rickatson photography alamy / debbie burt design thoroughbred publishing advertising declan rickatson 00 44 (0)7767 310381 declan.rickatson@btinternet.com subscriptions tracey glaysher itsubs@btinternet.com

the photographers equine creative media courtesy of stud farms tattersalls laura green arqana goffs uk

the printers micropress press

the writers

jocelyn de moubray aisling crowe alan porter martin stevens cathy grassick ted voute melissa bauer-herzog tom wilson

the stats weatherbys

accounts annie jones itaccounts@btinternet.com

plestor house, farnham road, liss, hampshire, gu33 6jq tel: 00 44 (0) 1428 724063 info@internationalthoroughbred.net www.internationalthoroughbred.net subscriptions: email or call as on the left, or log on to www.facebook.com/internationalthoroughbred

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first word

What makes us human?

It is the telling of tales... and the racing and bloodstock industries love a good story

T

HERE IS A REGULAR FEATURE on BBC Radio 2 hosted by Jeremy Vine called “What Makes Us Human?”

Science tells us that our closest relative is the chimpanzee from whom the human genome only differs by about 1.23 per cent. Apparently this amounts to about 40 million differences in our DNA, half of which likely resulted from mutations since the two species diverged.

These mutations resulted in the homosapiens species and its forebears becoming “bipedal” i.e. we walk on two legs, while chimpanzees essentially walk on all fours.

Interestingly, it is thought this is because humans largely developed on the plains of Africa where the early people needed to stand up to get the food they had spotted on low-hanging branches of the mid-height savannah-growing trees. The ape and chimpanzee, still residing in the forest, had no need to learn how to stand – any food available on a tree was 100ft above them, so standing up made no difference whatsoever.

Charles Darwin was the first to figure it out why the simple act of standing up made all the difference in separating man from ape. “Once we became bipedal, we had hands to carry tools around. We started doing that only 1.5 million years after we became bipedal.”

The eventual use of tools led those early humans to more group activity and support as we started working

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... that is what scientists argue sets us apart – it is our ability to think and plan for the future, and to remember and learn from the past – what theorists of early human cognition call “higher order consciousness”

together with axes and arrows to build shelters, get food and survive. I guess that developing inter-relationship then led to a need for communication and greater understanding of each other, our individual needs and the making of plans.

And that is what scientists argue sets us apart – it is our ability to think and plan for the future, and to remember and learn from the past – what theorists of early human cognition call “higher order consciousness.”

I have diverged though… the various A, B and C list categories who are invited to offer their opinion to Vine on his radio show take a less scientific stance, mentioning such concepts as our ability to love, enjoy making love, develop a culture, laugh together and care for others.

I would argue that what makes us human is our capacity to tell tales and develop stories, an age-old component of the human existence.

The earliest cave wall images have been found are in Indonesia and are at least 35,400 years old, drawn long before writing was invented.

As language developed these images of hunts and wildlife transitioned into stories of derring-do that were first told around the camp fire in the desert after the strong men of the village returned from a hunter-gathering trip, onward to the Iron Age man explaining how he deftly avoided the bogs on the moor,

first word to the Tudor table where the longevity of the latest wife of Henry VIII would have been debated, to the appearances of the first printed Bible, the oldest book in the world, and then onto tales of sporting prowess in the hunting field and in the early match races reported in early bulletins and newspapers alongside the terrible news that Sir Robert Peel’s Conservative government was bringing the first peacetime income tax charge in 1842.

Many now tell their tales via social media, which really is just the latest technology we have for our stories.

Human beings love stories. And the racing industry loves stories, and this fact was brought home to me at the recent Tattersalls Somerville Sale when chatting to an Irish vendor of longstanding, not someone who might be expected to be particularly verbose. He said: “A wise man in this industry once said to me that this industry is not about horses it is about people, and their stories.”

Digital marketing agencies talk about content marketing as though it were some new concept dreamed up in the 21st century, but story telling is as old as the human experience, and racing, as well as the bloodstock industry, is all the better for it.

And for me this is why the Racing League did not find a niche in my consciousness.

Obviously, as a new “thing” there are not years of history to reminisce upon, but there were just no

stories to be told about the teams, there was no natural cohesion within the teams to develop a team story, and little talk with the human interest stories from the team backers.

Team Swish, eToro Racing, Goat Racing – means absolutely nothing to me. A team following is generated due to a shared experience, which I can’t see is immediately forthcoming from these largely digital entities, or a loyalty created by geography or club membership. Team Newmarket and Team Ireland the only two which could legitimately create some form of brand loyalty.

No stories were told of how the teams came together, or even how the companies were formed or how the founders took their concepts to commercial reality.

I do know the punters enjoyed the racing – all the horses were trying hard for the enlarged prize-money pots – and probably those involved did as well, particularly if they were in with a shot of winning the cash.

But the mechanism for the sport is wrong, and has only really grown out of a need to try and engage these digitally rich young companies giving them a new outlet through which to put their money in the sport, Left, Dina Asher-Smith running in the Diamond League out of her usual Team GB kit but with her name for all to see, below, jockeys in team colours for the Racing League

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first word seemingly the BHA marketing unable to come up with any bright new shiny concepts themselves.

I have been contrasting my viewing experience of the Racing League with watching this summer’s weekly Diamond League, athletics being a sport I know little about apart from two weeks’ of expertise that I boast of through the Olympics.

Like the Racing League, the athletes do not wear recognisable colours – the usual national identity shrouded by commercial gear bestowed on them by sponsors. Particularly in the sprints through the live viewing it was difficult to follow who was who, just like in the Racing League, the lack of the usual colours meant the racing meant little.

But in the athletics, after watching three weeks of the sport, the action each evening coming thick and fast, I began to recognise names, know a little more of their individual stories. According to the commentary the 800m winner Keely Hodgkinson, just a 19-year-old, does like to party, seemingly her coaches managing to plot her a sensible course between training and letting her enjoy a normal life. Although the Racing League coverage did cover some of this sort of thing, generally the commentary came across as enforced marketing spin.

And for once as I was not watching athletics wearing a Team GB hat in the midst of Olympic national fervour, I began to follow the individuals just for themselves (although admittedly I was always more interested in the GBs racers) and it is a lesson to racing… it does not need to form teams, which is far from a natural fit for the sport, to gain a following.

The owner, the trainer, the jockey and the horse are teams in themselves – get their stories out, then the fan base will develop.

A

ND, this will be a anathema to a concept backed by Sky Sports, put it on mainstream TV, and on a week day evening. Not on a Sunday like this summer’s twilight meetings, Sundays are very different for families with so many other weekend activities, but maybe a Thursday after work and school, when there is very little else on the box apart from repeats.

And that goes for all racing, surely this is a slot that is being missed?

Use these young digital companies for whole race day sponsorship and individual series awards, with plenty of oomph around their spend to make it worth the investment... for instance use clever techniques for those watching to get their devices linked up with the companies’ websites and social media.

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In the athletics, after watching three weeks of the sport, the action each evening coming thick and fast, I began to recognise names, know a little more of individual stories – according to the commentary the 800m winner Keely Hodgkinson, just a 19-year-old, does like to party, seemingly her coaches managing to plot a sensible course between training and letting her enjoy a normal life

And make it a four or six-week series… the winning trainers / jockeys / horses get points which can build each week through a variety of races with conditions to suit as wide a variety of abilities and preferences in the horse, riding and training populations as possible, so, unlike the divided Racing League, all have a chance of competing and gaining a following that can be taken used for their own business marketing purposes.

Add in a few other attractions between racing, something other than best dressed competitions – I have never understood why British racing does not do this?

At Qatar’s HH The Amir Sword meeting, between the big races, the racecourse holds some local match events with riders dressed in local attire, it takes little time and provides interest through the dead time between racing.

Something similar on an equine-theme related activity in the UK could easily be conceived, who knows it might be fun and, importantly, in the UK, might help moderate the twixt race drinking.

Bring on a few A, B or C list celebrities – if this was being shown on mainstream TV there would be access to such types – with their social media cache and numbers of followers.

They might themselves become sporting fans or followers of racing and can spread the word – racing and sporting competition might even then get a mention on a daily radio show.

As scientists claim, humans have the ability to learn from past mistakes and can plan to improve, and we can communicate these thoughts to others and work to make better plans for the future.

Perhaps this is something we should think about more, not just in the concept of such as the Racing League, but maybe racing as whole needs to harness its “higher order consciousness”.

Local action provides racegoers with entertainment between races on Qatar’s HH The Amir Sword race day

HIS LEGACY CONFIRMED

THE SIRE SENSATION

SEA THE STARS

SIYOUNI

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140

5

53

106

Group 1 Winners

Group Winners

Stakes Performers

Classic Winners

Stakes Winners

Stakes Performers

A European Leading Sire in 2021 of Group 1 winners BAAEED and TEONA

The Leading French Sire in 2021 and sire of the top European 3yo in 2021, ST MARK’S BASILICA All statistics to 12/09/21

Don’t miss their yearlings selling at Goffs and Tattersalls this Autumn!

ted talks

TED TALKS...

‘s 0 In 2010 the Bribery Act was passed into law in the United Kingdom.

The act made bribery a criminal offence, punishable with up to 10 years’ imprisonment.

This legal development is reflected in this new Bloodstock Industry Code of Practice, which is designed to prevent serious malpractice in the bloodstock sales industry, including by banning: (a) bribery (whether described as “Luck Money” or not); (b) acting for both sides on a sale without prior informed consent; and (c) the practice of collusive “bidding up”

T

Self-regulation

HE MODERNISATION OF the code of practice for buying and selling horses has taken the whole of lockdown and more to develop from a simple one-page document, originally developed during Paul Roy’s tenure of Portman Square. The driving force back then was Henry Beeby and the first steps to a regulated industry were begun.

In our industry, rumours of inappropriate financial transactions swirl around the sales grounds every year.

The BHA, and Nick Rust, in particular, as a result of various

16

approaches, commissioned a report in which many people were interviewed to identify wrong doing, reportedly found in five or so cases.

The BHA vowed to take these cases through the legal system – and the report was leaked to the Racing Post for a series of sensationalised articles.

The industry subsequently responded very positively to the recommendations and a committee of stakeholders was formed to address the findings of the damming report.

I sat on the original Paul Roy committee alongside Henry Beeby, but was not chosen to be

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interviewed by the BHA (which to this day I found strange).

Subsequently, the TBA asked me to represent the breeders on the new forum.

Illegal transactions need two to tango and, if illegal transactions are/ were rife, indeed we must do everything to stamp them out.

Many smaller breeders had concerns. To date the BHA’s five cases have not been prosecuted, probably due to the lack of concrete evidence.

The new industry code addresses many of the BHA’s findings and enables the industry to self-regulate its business, a bit like the financial services

act in the City of London that governs hedge funds, banks and investments.

I think we have made a huge step forward – it is not complete but it will shows the industry that, if we have a problem, it will be forced to address abuse of the system legally.

The new code is robust and independent.

The code covers both auction sales and also private transactions.

So how, and where, will we see its implementation when we go to the sales?

Already the Tattersalls entry forms have included a section forcing those involved to accept

ted talks

“

...the BHA does regulate owners and trainers and some effort should be made to stop owners buying horses if they do not have the legitimate funds to finance their racing

“

the new code and abide by it.

The same will be done for the buyer of each lot at the time of purchase.

This means each buyer and seller has acknowledged the code and agreed to abide by it.

The vendors of all lots will contribute to a fund to finance the independent solicitor/barrister panel who will adjudicate any reported legal wrong doing.

As part of their membership of the Federation of Bloodstock Agents, bloodstock agents will need to undertake an online training module, which will also be part of new trainer licensing modules.

In time the manual will be available to all breeders and industry stakeholders and, although it isn’t a license, it is accreditation.

The code was developed around the law and, interestingly, there are a few legal anomalies as vendors are allowed to offer discounts

to principle purchasers, as long as they are offered to everyone and not to a select few.

But this code helps to legitimise our industry when

we are buying and selling.

It’s a tremendous step forward as it means breeders, bloodstock agents and the sales houses are not regulated by the BHA, but have reacted to industry concerns about transparency collectively and agreed to abide by the law and will be self-regulating.

The BHA does regulate owners and trainers, anbd perhaps some greater effort should be made to stop owners buying horses if they do not have the legitimate funds to finance their racing.

More rigorous checks on funding and the source of it should be a legal requirement, in conjunction with the possibility of issuing a formal owners’ licence.

Phoenix Thoroughbreds a recent example that could have been dealt with.

I believe that these items should be high on the agenda for discussion at future BHA meetings.

After the Phoenix Thoroughbreds (below, right) revelations, Ted reckons it is time that more conversations were had regarding “owners licences” and further checking source of finances

Goffs to sell at the first Dubai breeze-up sale GOFFS WILL be selling in Dubai next spring at the Dubai Racing Club’s (DRC) new breeze-up sale, due to be held at Meydan racecourse during Dubai World Cup week.

“The Dubai World Cup Breeze-Up Sale in association with Goffs” will be held at Meydan on Thursday, March 24, two days before the Dubai World Cup. The sale will be confined to a maximum of 69 two-year-olds, who will be sourced by Goffs. The sale will be open to both local and international buyers.

The two-year-olds will be shipped to Dubai for quarantine prior to the sale and will breeze on the Dirt track at Meydan on Wednesday, March 23. The juveniles will not work against the clock or laser.

Nominations will be opened to potential vendors, and stable visits will take place following the yearling sales season, led by director Nick Nugent alongside Tom Taaffe, Goffs’ international client relations consultant, who brokered the deal on behalf of Goffs.

Sheikh Rashid bin Dalmook Al Maktoum, chairman of the DRC, said:“The UAE, Dubai and His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum have long been great supporters of the sport.

“Therefore, we are excited to host the Middle East’s first breeze-up sale, and also the first-ever online sale to be conducted in the Gulf and Middle East.”

Sheikh Rashid added: “Dubai World Cup week is a meeting point for leading owners and bloodstock professionals and as such we are hoping for strong trade at the inaugural Dubai World Cup Breeze-up Sale.”

Henry Beeby, Goffs Group chief executive commented: “We are extremely grateful to the DRC for the confidence they have shown in the Goffs service by entrusting this prestigious sale to us.

“We have a long and successful track record in the breeze-up sphere having held Europe’s first breeze-up sale at Doncaster in 1977, which also proved the source of the first European Classic winner from a breeze-up in Speciosa who won the English 1,000 Guineas.”

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girls aloud

T

....Girls aloud

HERE IS NO DOUBT THAT COVID-19 has created many challenges for the racing and breeding sectors of our industry.

This has been particularly true in Ireland where a more conservative Government approach than in the UK has resulted in a slower relaxation of restrictions and return to normal life.

Our industries in Ireland and the UK have worked to find creative solutions to many problems, such as relocating sales and the creation of online sales. Facilities were also put in place to provide assistance to foreign runners – locally based experienced handlers were assigned to look after UK runners in Ireland, while special enclaves were established at Cheltenham and Punchestown to allow staff and connections to travel with horses.

Despite this creative problem solving, there were still many concerns on the run-up to Irish Champions Weekend that it would not be possible for crowds to return to the racetrack, particularly after only 1,000 spectators were allowed to attend each day of the Galway Festival, despite many petitions to the government, as well as the safe return of spectators to racing in the UK and to other sports in Ireland, such as GAA. Thankfully, due to the hard work of so many in the industry, to the excellent record for disease control within Irish racing and to the wonderful work of Dr Jennifer Pugh, the restrictions were lifted to allow crowds of 4,000 at Leopardstown on Saturday and to The Curragh on Sunday.

The weekend promised so much great racing action – there was palpable excitement among Irish racing fans, the tickets for the weekend were hot property and sold out quickly.

The racing did not disappoint and delivered top class results, race after race, and right from the get-go.

The plaudits of the first day went to trainers Ger Lyons with four winners and Jessica Harrington with three, only Aidan O’Brien broke their run of dominance with a magnificent performance from his Irish Champion Stakes and five-time Group 1 winner St Mark’s Basilica (Siyouni).

Lyons’ amazing day started with a two-year-old Listed race win with

Chris Hayes celebrating Flying Five Stakes victory on Romantic Proposal

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Cathy Grassick reviews the action from Irish Champions Weekend

Panama Red (Showcasing) followed up by Group 2 success with Atomic Jones (Wootton Bassett) and a Group 3 win with Camora (Zoffany), finishing off with a premier handicap win with Masen (Kingman).

Harrington got a first Group 1 winner for Shalaa with No Speak Alexander’s success in the Matron Stakes, while Real Appeal (Sidestep) in the Group 2 Boomerang Mile and Ever Present in a premier handicap gave her the three wins.

The weekend had started with a bang for the Harrington team, but the “Grande Dame” of Irish racing was not done with by any means and a tremendous training performance saw her produce Discoveries to win the Moyglare Stud Stakes (G1) at The Curragh on Sunday. This impressive filly is a Niarchos family homebred full-sister to Alpha Centuri and a daughter of the late Mastercraftsman, what a loss he is to the stallion ranks.

A

NOTHER MAJOR HIGHLIGHT of the afternoon was the last Irish Classic of the season, the Irish St Leger. Following on from an exciting performance by Hurricane Lane (Frankel) for Godolphin and Charlie Appleby in the English counterpart in Doncaster the day before, the Irish edition had a lot to live up to, but boy did it deliver.

The ecstatic winning trainer Johnny Murtagh could be heard across The Curragh plains with his now-famous catchphrase “I love this game!” as Sonnyboyliston landed the knockout punch and handed the former jockey his first Classic as a trainer.

It was also a first Classic for a delighted jockey Ben Coen, who has been flying high this season.

The English raiders did get a look in at The Curragh and Native Trail (Oasis Dream) made it a weekend to remember for Godolphin’s trainer Charlie Appleby when adding to his Group 1 tally for the year in the National Stakes.

Other exciting performances were in high supply at The Curragh with a Group 1 winner for trainer Eddie Lynam courtesy of Romantic Proposal’s (Raven’s Pass) Flying Five success, a premier handicap success for trainer Charles O’Brien with Big Gossey (Guitafan), the Group 2 Blandford Stakes going to Paddy Twomey and Team Valour with La Petite Coco (Ruler Of The World), Michael O’Callaghan won the Tattersalls Super Auction Stakes with King X J (Cotai Glory), while the handicap went to Joseph O’Brien and Max Mayhem (New Bay).

Speaking of exciting performances, two of Irish jockeys showed some real hidden talents when performing poignant solos with the Newbridge Gospel Choir, Declan McDonagh and Donagh O’Connor singing as part of a moving tribute to the late Pat Smullen.

It was a beautiful performance of the classic “Stand By Me” and the two jockeys were backed up by a large group of Pat’s former weighing room colleagues. I think that Pat would have gotten a real kick from the tribute – but I am sure he would also have made a joke or two about the possible formation of an all-jockey Boy Band!

Bungle Inthejungle EVERY YEAR STEPPING IT UP A LEVEL Sire of Gr.1 Nunthorpe Stakes winner WINTER POWER

MAURICE OR MADELINE BURNS Rathasker Stud, Kilcullen Road, Naas, Co. Kildare, Ireland.

T 00 353 (0)45 876940 M 00 353 (0)86 2500687 or 00 353 (0)86 3774430 E i n f o @ r a t h a s k e r s t u d . i e W w w w. r a t h a s k e r s t u d . c o m

Irish Champion Stakes Gr.1

Jebel Hatta Gr.1

DECORAT

BE A PART OF THE

75%

winners / placed to runners from his first crop inc.

SILVER BULLET LADY First UK runner is a winner

DOMINATA Impressive winner

Triple Gr.1 winner with an exceptional pedigree www.irishnationalstud.ie/stallion/decorated-knight

Tattersalls Gold Cup Gr.1

Irish Champion Stakes Gr.1

KNIGHT RIDER Novice Stakes winner

CHARMING KNIGHT Debut winner

AND B R E

STILL TO COME

CR

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BIGG

TED KNIGHT O PS

UPDATE!

DAMAAR

wins Novice Stakes at Sandown 15.09.21

Standing at

in 2022

Contact: Gary Swift or Patrick Diamond at Irish National Stud • Tel: +353 (0)45 521251

Hurricane breezes to Leger win

Aisling Crowe reviews the big-race action at Doncaster and over Irish Champions weekend, which saw Frankel, currently topping the European sires’ table, achieve yet more landmark successes

In the zone: the Godolphin team of travelling head lad Chris Connett (left) and groom Kalu Ram with Hurricane Lane, jockey William Buick aboard, ahead of the final British Classic of 2021

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racing review

T

HE KING IS DEAD, LONG LIVE THE KING. The passing of Galileo in July left a void in the global bloodstock industry, but in the manner of all monarchical dynasties, the king’s heir apparent is now awaiting coronation as Europe’s champion sire.

Frankel currently enjoys a significant monetary lead over his own sire in the race to be crowned 2021 champion sire, a victory by the son would bring an end to the 11-year reign of Galileo as Europe’s champion stallion.

However, in ending that streak he is extending another as he follows in the hoofprints of Galileo and his grandsire Sadler’s Wells, whose own record of champion sire crowns in Britain and Ireland is 14.

Doncaster’s St Leger Festival provided Juddmonte’s world champion with a number of significant milestones – Group winner number 50 in the northern-hemisphere, his first St Leger winner and his first stakes winner as a broodmare sire.

That half century of Group winners was brought up by Cheveley Park Stud’s unbeaten two-year-old filly Inspiral in the Group 2 May Hill Stakes.

Her imperious victory in the hands of Frankie Dettori for the Gosden father and son team consolidated her position as one of the leading contenders for next year’s fillies’ Classics. The Group 1 Fillies’ Mile is being touted as Inspiral’s end-of-season target when she could become Frankel’s 19th individual Group 1 winner.

Inspiral is one of two Group winners from just three runners by Frankel out of Selkirk mares with the other, Senator, also bred by Cheveley Park Stud.

Frankel has the same number of runners out of Shirocco mares, but Hurricane Lane, who added the St Leger to his Irish Derby and Grand Prix de Paris victories, is by far the best horse bred on the cross and the only black-type winner.

Frankel’s current worldwide rate of black-type winners to runners is an excellent 15.6 per cent and Hurricane Lane has contributed significantly to that, along with his stablemate, the Derby and

Frankel’s current worldwide rate of black-type winners to runners is an excellent 15.6 per cent and Hurricane Lane has contributed significantly King George hero, Adayar.

“It was actually quite emotional for me as the breeder,” said Normandie Stud’s Philippa Cooper to GBRI after the season’s final Classic. “I just love the St Leger, it’s just a wonderful race. I think he gave it a bit of pizzazz. I was very worried about him today,

I think he’s so much better at a mile and half, but he relaxes so well in the race. It’s just incredible how well he relaxes. I think his class got him through.”

Cooper no longer owns Hurricane Lane’s dam, the Shirocco mare Gale Force – she was one of the mares sold when Cooper sold Normandie Stud in 2017 having dispersed previously some of her broodmare band.

Watership Down Stud bought Gale Force in-foal to Australia for 300,000gns at the 2019 Tattersalls December Mare Sale, and Chasemore Farm last year bought her Listedplaced Frankel daughter Frankel’s Storm on behalf of Chris Stedman for 160,000gns at Tattersalls last December.

Godolphin purchased Hurricane Lane as a yearling in the same ring, where he was consigned by John Troy, for 200,000gns and Cooper expressed her pleasure at his success for Sheikh Mohammed’s operation.

“It’s wonderful when you can sell horses to Godolphin and they do so well for them,

Noble Truth (right) under William Buick wins the Listed Flying Scotsman Stakes to give Frankel his first stakes winner as a broodmare sire, the colt out of the champion’s daughter Speralita

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racing review

Shalaa off the Group 1 winner mark: the sire’s daughter No Speak Alexander (far side), ridden by jockey Shane Foley, wins the Group 1 Matron Stakes

because nobody wants to sell horses and for them to do badly for other people,” she said. “To breed Classic winners is what we all aspire to, and doing it for others is something special, isn’t it?”

Frankel’s other significant achievement on Town Moor also came in the royal blue of Godolphin whose two-year-old Kingman colt Noble Truth became Frankel’s first stakes winner as a broodmare sire with victory in the Listed Flying Scotsman’s Stakes.

Bred by Jean-Pierre Dubois, the colt was

consigned by Haras des Capucines at the 2020 Arqana Select Sale, where he was the third-most expensive yearling, bought by Godolphin for €1.1m.

Noble Truth is out of the unraced Speralita and related to Frankel’s first Group 1 winner, the Japanese Oaks and Hanshin Juvenile Stakes winner Soul Stirring, who is out of Group 1 winner Stacelita, a Monsun halfsister to Noble Truth’s dam.

Noble Truth is one of three stakes performers out of Frankel’s daughters this

year; the others being the Group 3 Silver Flash Stakes runner-up Juncture, who is

by Dark Angel, and the Australian Listed Wizard Of Oz by Exceed And Excel.

First Group 1 winner for Shalaa

Shalaa’s stud career has been lived so far in the shadow of Mehmas, the colt who succeeded him carrying the Al Shaqab silver silks to victory in the Group 2 July and Richmond Stakes. Their racing careers

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racing review

To win two Group 1 races this weekend is something else, it really is... How can I be so lucky to have three fillies out of the one mare that have all won Group 1s? diverged after with Mehmas retiring to Tally-Ho Stud, in partnership with Al Shaqab, at the end of his juvenile career and Shalaa racing on at three, with injury preventing him from running until the end of the season.

Shalaa, who was bred by Mogeely Stud, was superior to Mehmas on the track, and was Europe’s champion two-year-old of 2015 after an unbeaten juvenile season that included Group 1 victories in the Prix Morny and Middle Park Stakes.

He retired to Al Shaqab’s French farm, Haras de Boquetot, and like Mehmas, his first crop are three-year-olds of 2021.

Unlike Mehmas, who has made such a blistering start to his stud career, Shalaa has been more of a slow-burner but he ignited on Irish Champions Weekend with the thrilling triumph of No Speak Alexander in the Group 1 Matron Stakes, a first win for the sire at the highest level.

Third in the Irish 1,000 Guineas earlier in the season, No Speak Alexander won the Group 3 Athasi Stakes in May for trainer Jessica Harrington to become Shalaa’s first northern-hemisphere Group winner.

Bred by Noel O’Callaghan’s Mountarmstrong Stud, No Speak Alexander is also the first Group 1 winner as a broodmare sire for Dandy Man. She is the first foal out of Rapacity Alexander, who won Chantilly’s Listed Prix le Fleche for O’Callaghan and trainer David Evans and is a full-sister to the Group 1 Hong Kong Sprint winner Peniaphobia.

“Everything was right for her today,” said Harrington. “She got no run in France [the Group 1 Prix Rothschild] where she got knocked over a furlong down, and we trained her for this day.

“We rode her today the same way we did in the Guineas, up at the sharp end, and she has probably got a bit stronger. It’s absolutely massive to win this race, she likes a bit of nice ground and today was the plan

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for her. We’ll see about where she goes next.”

Shalaa is the sire of three stakes winners worldwide from his first crop with two of them in Europe and one in his first Australian crop.

His other European black-type winner is King Shalaa, who was successful in the Listed Prix de la Californie at Cagnes-SurMer for his breeder and trainer François Rohaut and owner Sheikh Abdullah bin Khalifa Al Thani.

The son of Invincible Spirit shuttles to Arrowfield Stud for the southern-hemisphere season where he is the sire of Group 3 Randwick Breeders’ Plate and Group 3 Pago Pago Stakes winner Shaquero.

Discoveries makes it three for superstar mare Alpha Lupi

Shalaa’s first Group 1 winner was also the first of two Irish Champions Weekend Group 1 winners for Harrington – on Sunday at The Curragh she trained Discoveries (Mastercraftsman) to win the Moyglare Stud Stakes.

The filly further burnished the reputation of her dam Alpha Lupi for whom she is the third Group 1 winner from six runners.

Owned and bred by the Niarchos family, Discoveries is a full-sister to Alpha Centauri, who was Europe’s champion three-yearold miler in 2018, and a half-sister to the recently retired Alpine Star, who won the Group 1 Coronation Stakes last season.

All three fillies have been trained by Harrington as was their Dansili half-brother Tenth Star, who is also a black-type winner with victory in the Listed Golden Fleece Stakes at Leopardstown as a two-year-old.

A thrilled Harrington outlined the similarities and differences between the three fillies after Discoveries’ triumph.

“To win two Group 1 races this weekend is something else, it really is,” said the delighted trainer. “She is a lovely, lovely filly,

who is completely different to her full-sister who was a big grey filly, and when she arrived in to the yard she was quite different and not as big.

“She has grown a lot and is a filly with a lovely temperament, she is not as feisty as Alpha, and then Alpine Star, her half-sister looked completely different again.

“She is long and low and not very big, and not a great colour and this one is just a beautiful filly. How can I be so lucky to have three fillies out of the one mare that have all won Group 1s?”

Harrington also expanded on the siblings’ ground preferences, saying: “We hoped she would win the Alpha Centauri Debutante Stakes, but the ground came up soft that day and whereas Alpine Star wanted soft ground, Discoveries and Alpha Centauri go on top of the ground.”

Alpha Lupi by Rahy has a yearling full-brother to Alpha Centauri and Discoveries, and a colt foal from the first crop of Coolmore’s 2,000 Guineas (G1) and Vertem Trophy (G1) winner Magna Grecia.

This year the 17-year-old daughter of the dual French Classic winner East Of The Moon visited Sea The Stars, who sired his 16th individual Group 1 winner around the same time that Discoveries was becoming her dam’s third.

Alpha Centauri’s first foal is a 2020 colt by Galileo and in March she produced a full-sister, who has been named Earth.

This spring, Alpha Centauri was covered by the Niarchos family’s homebred Group 1 Queen Anne Stakes, Prix Morny and St James’s Palace Stakes winner Circus Maximus, a son of Galileo who retired to Coolmore this year.

Discoveries was the 17th individual Group 1 winner for Mastercraftsman, who in August died at the age of 15 at Coolmore’s Castlehyde Stud.

The winner of four Group 1 races including the National Stakes, he was possibly under-

racing review appreciated by some as a stallion but is the sire of 82 stakes winners at a rate of 6.5 per cent stakes winners-to-runners.

His son The Grey Gatsby, whose Group 1 victories included the Irish Champion Stakes, sired a Listed winner from his first crop on the same afternoon as Discoveries’ success – his daughter Mylady winning the Listed Junior Preissen at Dusseldorf for owner-breeder Gestüet Karlshof and trainer Markus Klug.

She is the first stakes winner for her sire, who stands at Haras du Petit Tellier.

A weekend for Oasis Dream and sons

The exploits of Juddmonte’s new kids in town, Frankel and Kingman, tend to overshadow those of Oasis Dream but the elder statesman of Banstead Manor is not regarded as one of the best stallions in Europe for nothing and his influence was keenly felt at The Curragh on the second day of Irish Champions’ Weekend.

His unbeaten son Native Trail, somewhat like his sire, was overlooked by many ahead of the Group 1 Vincent O’Brien National Stakes with much of the focus in the buildup on the unbeaten Point Lonsdale and the Group 1 Phoenix Stakes winner Ebro River.

After the race all anybody could speak of was Native Trail, who swept past the son of Galileo Gold and Coolmore’s hitherto unbeaten Group 2, Group 3 and Listedwinning son of Australia with a thrilling turn of foot, going clear by three and a half lengths.

He and jockey William Buick were emulating Pinatubo and Quorto, who both turned in scintillating performances for Godolphin and trainer Charlie Appleby on their way to victory in the Curragh juvenile Group 1.

“He is an interesting horse to be around, like a lot of the good ones when you get to know their characteristics!,” revealed a delighted Charlie Appleby.

“I took him to Newmarket a couple of weeks ago and if you asked me then would we be winning the National Stakes I would

have been on the fence but the team at home deserve full credit – Noel Kavanagh, who rides him, and Maria and Alex. who are all heavily involved. We definitely felt that the horse would come forward for that gallop and we changed a bit of the equipment on him there.

“William said he’s still really green and that going down to the start he still felt like a maiden. You saw him give the horse a bit of a shove to get him up on the revs early doors, but two down I knew that one thing this horse would do is gallop out strong. I’d say we will go straight to the Dewhurst; it’s the natural route to go with him.”

Unlike those previous winners Quorto and Pinatubo who were homebreds, Native Trail is a product of Juddmonte Farms breeding through and through and will ensure that

demand for the outfit’s drafts at the breeding stock sales, where they are always highly sought after, will remain insatiable.

His dam Needleleaf was sold as an unraced two-year-old at the 2015 Tattersalls December Mares Sale where she was bought for 60,000gns by Marc Antoine Bergracht on behalf of Haras d’Haspel, breeder of Native Trail.

He is the first foal out of the mare, an Observatory full-sister to the Group 1 Haydock Sprint Cup winner and Group 1 Prix Maurice de Gheest runner-up African Rose, who is the dam of Frankel’s Group 3 Princess Margaret Stakes winner Fair Eva. Needleleaf is also a full-sister to the Group 3 Prix d’Aumale winner and Group 1 Prix

Discoveries (No 4): becomes Alpha Lupi’s third Group 1 winner as a broodmare when winning the Moyglare Stakes at The Curragh

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racing review

Native Trail: the son of Oasis Dream winning the Group 1 National Stakes, reported by the Racing Post to be the “best two-year-old race of the year” so far

Marcel Boussac second Helleborine, and she is the dam of Calyx, the Group 2 Coventry Stakes winner by Kingman.

His second dam New Orchid was second in the Listed Aphrodite Stakes and is a Quest For Fame half-sister to Distant Music, winner of the Group 1 Racing Post Trophy.

It’s also the family of Group/Grade 1 winners Vanlandingham, Termagent and Funny Moon.

This year’s Arqana August Yearling Sale should have given some inkling as to the impression Native Trail had created at Godolphin –the team bought Needleleaf’s yearling filly by Oasis Dream’s “nephew” Kingman for €950,000.

The Group 1 Irish St Leger, which immediately followed the National Stakes, could not be a more different type of race to a juvenile Group 1, but Oasis Dream’s DNA was woven tightly into the result of that race, too, with both the winner and runner-up

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This year’s Arqana August Yearling Sale should have given some inkling as to the impression Native Trail had created at Godolphin... grandsons of the July Cup, Nunthorpe and Middle Park Stakes winner.

Johnny Murtagh celebrated his first Classic winner as a trainer, and young jockey Ben Coen was also winning his first Classic, when the Ebor winner Sonnyboyliston upset

the field of bluebloods for owners Kildare Racing Club.

He finished three-parts of a length ahead of Joseph O’Brien’s 2020 Melbourne Cup winner Twilight Payment, whose broodmare sire is Oasis Dream.

Bred by Diane O’Neill the four-year-old gelding Sonnyboyliston is extraordinarily the third Group 1 winner this season for Power, an Irish 2,000 Guineas-winning son of Oasis Dream who was also his sire’s first winner of the Group 1 National Stakes.

He is a half-brother to the Group 1 winner Curvy and related to Group 1 winners and sires Footstepsinthesand and Pedro The Great.

Power was bred by Norelands Stud and Hugo Lascelles and raced in the silks of Michael Tabor before retiring to Coolmore Stud where he stood for five seasons until 2017.

He was sold to Cambridge Stud in New

racing review Zealand where he was champion first and second season sire before transferring to Oaklands Stud in Queensland. He stands this season for A$13,200.

Sonnyboyliston won the Listed Martin Molony Stakes at Limerick back in June and was third to Broome in the Listed Devoy Stakes and filled the same position behind Japan in Chester’s Group 3 Ormond Stakes.

Last season he beat Thundering Nights, who went on to win the Group 1 Pretty Polly Stakes this year and finish third to La Petite Coco and Love in the Group 2 Blandford Stakes, in a Curragh three-yearold handicap.

He was also fourth in the Group 3 International Stakes to Helvic Dream, who became Power’s first Group 1 winner with victory for Noel Meade in the Tattersalls Gold Cup at The Curragh back in May. The Group 1 Prix Jean Prat winner Laws Of Indices was Power’s second Group 1

Sonnyboyliston

winner and the three-year-old is from the stallion’s final Coolmore crop.

Sonnyboyliston is out of Miss MacNamara

by Dylan Thomas, a five-time winner on the Flat and twice successful over hurdles.

She was bred by Airlie Stud and is a half-sister to Argentine Group 3 winner Karamala out of a Kingmambo half-sister to Bachelor Duke, winner of the Irish 2,000 Guineas.

Intriguingly, Dylan Thomas had a good afternoon at The Curragh as a broodmare sire with the Group 1 Moyglare Stud Stakes second Agartha (Caravaggio), also out of a daughter of the Arc and dual Irish Champion Stakes winner.

Dylan Thomas, at stud in Chile, is now the broodmare sire of two Group 1 winners in Europe, both of them by stallions who are closely related to each other as he is also the dam-sire of Kingman’s triple Group 1-winning son and young sire, Persian King.

OCTOBER YEARLING SALE 18-22 OCTOBER DEAUVILLE

750 chances

AUDARYA

© Zuzanna Lupa

Sold for €125,000 in October 2017

GRAND GLORY

to find a Group winner among the yearlings by ADLERFLUG, AUSTRALIA, CAMELOT DABIRSIM, DUBAWI, FRANKEL, GALILEO GALIWAY, KENDARGENT, KINGMAN, KODIAC LE HAVRE, LOPE DE VEGA, NO NAY NEVER PEDRO THE GREAT, SEA THE MOON SEA THE STARS, SHOWCASING, SIYOUNI STARSPANGLEDBANNER, WOOTTON BASSETT etc.

Sold for €18,000 in October 2017

CATALOGUE ONLINE

CONTACT: info@arqana.com - +33 (0)2 31 81 81 00 www.arqana.com

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29

LANWADES Breeders of 81 winners* Worldwide in 2021 (to 15th September) including 14 Group and Stakes winners

ALPINISTA

ZAAKI

winning the Gr.1 Grosser Preis von Berlin (her 5th win), also winner of Gr.2 Lancashire Oaks and Listed Daisy Warwick Stakes in 2021.

winning the Gr.1 Doomben Cup in 2021, also winner of three Gr.2’s in 2021.

He was sold as a yearling at Tattersalls October Book 2.

SANDRINE 2yo filly, winning the Gr.2 Duchess of Cambridge Stakes, also winner of the Gr.3 Albany Stakes and also 2nd Gr.2 Lowther Stakes, in 2021.

Other Stakes winners in 2021 include: ALBAFLORA, ALEAS, LE DON DE VIE, ORIENTAL MYSTIQUE, WYCLIF. 2yo winners so far this year include: SANDRINE, BOONDOGGLE, HELVETIQUE, KAWIDA, ALIZARINE, MADAME AMBASSADOR, MELODRAMATICA, SILVER KITTEN. *Includes 2nd and 3rd placings in Group/Listed races

LANWADES

The independent option TM

Share our Success See our 2021 yearlings • all consigned by STAFFORDSTOWN Goffs Orby Sale • 27th – 29th September 89 Colt SAXON WARRIOR – KINAESTHESIA by Sea The Stars By first-crop Classic winner and first foal out of a winning daughter of a 2yo Stakes Winner 112 Colt NEW APPROACH – LUISA CALDERON by Nayef By a Classic winner and sire, this colt is ¾ brother to dual Gr.2 winner LOXLEY; dam is sister to Champion, Gr.1 winner 336 Colt SEA THE STARS – ALAMODE by Sir Percy By a great Champion; the dam was Group-placed winner at 2: third dam World Champion ALBORADA 337 Filly SEA THE MOON – ALBIZZIA by Archipenko By a leading young sire in Europe; dam, a winner from the great “AL” family 342 Colt ROARING LION – ALL AT SEA by Sea The Stars From the only crop of a Champion; dam won 4 races incl.

3 x Listed races and is the dam of a triple winner, her first foal 345 Colt KENDARGENT – ALMA MATER by Sadler’s Wells By a multiple Champion Sire; dam is a SW half sister to Champions ALBORADA and ALBANOVA Tattersalls October Sales, Book One • 5th – 7th October 57 Colt GALILEO – HERE TO ETERNITY by Stormy Atlantic Half brother to Gr.1 winners TIME WARP (12 wins, £3,927,641) and GLORIOUS FOREVER (6 wins, £2,153,894) 134 Colt GALILEO – MADAME CHIANG by Archipenko Dam won Gr.1 Champions Fillies and Mares’ Stakes, Ascot; her first foal is 2021 Stakes winner ORIENTAL MYSTIQUE Tattersalls October Sales, Book Two • 11th – 13th October

952 Colt ROARING LION – SEYCHELLOISE by Pivotal Three-parts brother to SANDRINE; half brother to SEA THE SHELLS. Dam won 4 (Timeform 104); 2nd dam Group winner at 2 1164 Colt SEA THE MOON – ALVARITA by Selkirk Dam, a Stakes Winning daughter of World Champion ALBORADA is dam of 8 winners including 2 Black Type winners Goffs Autumn Sales • 3rd and 4th November Colt SEA THE MOON – AKRANTI by Pivotal Second foal; dam is PIVOTAL daughter of Group and Listed winner AKDARENA. Filly HAWKBILL – AKSAYA by Sea The Stars From sire’s only European crop; dam is daughter of Group and Listed winner AKDARENA Colt SIR PERCY – MARIA DI SCOZIA by Selkirk Half-brother to 3 winners; dam won twice (Timeform 90) and is granddaughter of Champion MARIA WALESKA Filly OASIS DREAM – BOHEMIAN DANCE by Dansili Half-sister to CITRONNADE (2 wins at 3, 2021); dam won at 3 and is daughter of Champion ISLINGTON Tattersalls December Yearling Sale • 22nd November Colt SEA THE STARS – ALTESSE by Hernando Dam won Listed and is half-sister to a further 7 winners, including Gr.3 winner ALLA SPERANZA, dam of Gr.2 winner SHINE SO BRIGHT

791 Colt SEA THE MOON – NEZHENKA by With Approval Dam a dual winner (Timeform 100) has so far bred 3 winners of 14 races; second dam a Stakes Winner

Colt STORMY ATLANTIC – KARAMELA by Mastercraftsman By the sire of 50 Group winners; dam won 7 races including Gr.3 in Argentina; family of Irish 2000 Gns winner BACHELOR DUKE

922 Colt BOBBY’S KITTEN – SAGESSE by Smart Strike Very closely related to SANDRINE, winning dam is half-sister to 4 Black Type winners and a further 5 winners

Colt BOBBY’S KITTEN – SONGERIE by Hernando Closely related to SANDRINE. Dam a Group winner in France at 2 (Timeform 115) and is dam of 4 winners to date

www.lanwades.com/sales/yearlings.html

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

RARE JEWELS TATTERSALLS OCTOBER YEARLING SALES “Take a good look at our draft which includes some rare jewels...

Sea The Stars colt x Chachmaidee, dam 7 time winner including Gr1 Matron Stakes etc.

Sea The Stars filly x Deveron, dam winner at 2 years and placed in Gr1 Prix Marcel Boussac, Gr3 Sweet Solaria Stakes etc.

Dubawi colt from the immediate family of Champion 2-y-o Eva Luna Nathaniel half-brother to outstanding sprinter/ miler and Classic-placed Delegator Shamardal colt ex Lamar, dam LR winner of 6 races Shamardal colt ex Qaws, from immediate family of 1000Gns placed Hathrah, Gr1 placed Hadaatha Shamardal filly ex Tranquil Star, from a multiple black-type family.”

BOOK 1

1580 F Golden Horn / Carlanda

72

C Nathaniel / Indian Love Bird

1650 F Gleneagles / Heartlines

115

C Shamardal / Lamar

1677 C Bobby’s Kitten / Lassies Envoi

235

C Dubawi / Rehn’s Nest

1684 C Adaay / Loveatfirstsight

423

C No Nay Never / Boater

1700 F Muhaarar / Melody of Love

445

C Sea The Stars / Chachamaidee

1713 C Australia / Moondust

486

F Sea The Stars / Deveron

1726 F Zoffany / Novel Concept 1776 C Territories / Sensible

BOOK 2

1800 F Muhaarar / Stella Point

523

C Oasis Dream / Encore Moi

1803 F Expert Eye / Sugar Mill

565

F Roaring Lion / For Henry

1849 C Oasis Dream / Afternoon

644

C Golden Horn / Itiqad

1861 C Brazen Beau / Arculinge

674

F Sioux Nation / Kristal Xenia

1880 C Ulysses / Boadicee

712

F Dandy Man / Luvmedo

1896 C Belardo / Carmens Fate

736

C Highland Reel / Menandore

1900 F Territories / Charleston Belle

819

C Oasis Dream / Papaver

1913 F Cracksman / Diablery

875

C Shamardal / Qaws

919

C Oasis Dream / Ruffled

BOOK 4

1007 C Teofilo / St Francis Wood

1935 C Hawkbill / Hisaronu

1073 F Shamardal / Tranquil Star

1964 C Mayson (GB) / Royal Grace

1144 C Cracksman / Agathe Sainte

1967 C Hot Streak (IRE) / Semayyel

1198 C Cracksman / Bahia Breeze

1973 C Exceed And Excel / Split Trois

1230 F New Approach / Bumptious

1989 F Charming Thought / Aegean Mystery

1305 F Night of Thunder / Dragon Beat

1994 F Outstrip / Amarone Red 2000 C Charming Thought / Astley Park

BOOK 3 1326 C Cracksman / Flourishing 1327 C Cracksman / Forbidden Love 1427 C Washington DC / Phantom Spirit 1438 F Washington DC / Princess Rock 1463 C Harry Angel / Sallabeh 1495 F Mastercraftsman / Subsequently

Houghton Bloodstock UK Ltd Fox Farm, Barnardiston Road Hundon, Sudbury Suffolk, C010 8EL

1577 F Hawkbill / Callendula

View our yearlings at www.houghtonbloodstock.co.uk Office: 01638 563238 • Robin: 07850 661468 • Malcolm: 07711 160856 • E: info@houghtonbloodstock.co.uk

euro racing

Baaeed makes his first Group 1 a winning one Jocelyn de Moubray reviews the action in Europe with Baaeed, the descendant of Height Of Fashion, winning his first top-level race The Group 1 Prix du Moulin winner Baaeed ridden by Jim Crowley

F

RANCE’S AUTUMN RACING programme returned to its traditional pattern with the opening week at Longchamp featuring the Group 1 Prix du Moulin over a mile, following a few days earlier the Prix de Fontenoy and Prix de la Cascade for unraced two-year-old colts and fillies respectively, races which still have a cachet for at least some of France’s leading trainers.

The Moulin attracted a field of six, including the Group 1 winners Order Of Australia and Victor Ludorum, as well as the unbeaten Baaeed, but the race was without either Palace Pier or Poetic Flare, the season’s leading milers to date.

The complexion of the race was changed when the Peter Schiergen-trained filly Novemba missed the break completely.

Jockey Bauyrzhan Murzabayev rode Novemba into the lead, as we can safely assume the other jockeys were expecting, but she had used up a lot of energy to get there and never looked like creating a surprise from the front.

As a result the race was slowly run and while Jim Crowley and Ryan Moore were always leading the remainder on Baaeed and Order Of Australia, Mickael Barzalona settled Victor Ludorum in last place a good few lengths behind his main rivals.

When the pack began to sprint in the straight Baaeed had to be driven, but he showed his tactical speed to take a decisive lead before the 200m marker. Order Of Australia and Victor Ludorum finished faster, but they had given the winner too much ground to be real threats.

Baaeed held on to win decisively by threequarters length from Order Of Australia with Victor Ludorum only a neck behind in third.

The son of Sea The Stars maintained his unbeaten record and this was an impressive performance on his first attempt in a Group 1.

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33

euro racing The time was only a modest 1m39.13, slower than the last three runnings of the race and nearly 2.5 seconds slower than Persian King recorded when winning the Moulin in 2020, and as much as four seconds slower than Green Forest’s race record in 1982.

On this basis, Baaeed will have to show more than this if he is to challenge the division’s two leaders.

Sheikh Hamdan Al Maktoum bought many very expensive horses during his decades involved in racing, but his best buy of all was probably Height Of Fashion, purchased from The Queen as a filly in training in the early 1980s.

Nearly 40 years later Height Of Fashion’s descendants are still producing top horses and she is Baaeed’s fifth dam.

His own dam Aghareed was trained in France by John Hammond to win a Listed race over 1m2f. Hammond also trained Baaeed’s second dam Lahudood, who was Group-placed in France before winning Grade 1s, including the Breeders’ Cup Fillies and Mares when transferred to Kiaran McLaughlin as a four-year-old.

Baaeed is Aghareed’s third foal and the first two, Kasbaan and Hukum, are also BHA

Hamdan Al Maktoum bought many very expensive horses during his decades involved in racing, but his best buy of all was probably Height Of Fashion rated over 100.

Hukum, a full-brother to Baaeed, has won over 1m6f, but it should not be too surprising that his younger brother is a faster horse as they are both inbred to Mr. Prospector 3x4x5.

The 1m2f Group 2 Prix du Prince d’Orange drew a strong field of three-year-olds with runners from Germany and England joining their seven French-trained rivals. This was yet another tactical race and those who

waited at the rear of the field, notably the promising colts Gregolimo and Integrant, had no chance of catching those who raced close to the slow early pace.

The finish was between the Aga Khan’s Saiydabad, a son of Blame trained by Jean Claude Rouget, who just got the better of the Schiergen-trained Lord Charming.

Saiydabad had looked a potential top colt in the spring and finished fourth in the Jockey-Club from an impossible draw and remains a horse who could compete successfully in Group 1s in the future.

Lord Charming, who benefited from an excellent ride from Murzabayev, was fourth in the Deutsches Derby and has performed to a high level all year.

Murzabayev himself deserves a small parenthesis as this young jockey from Almaty in Kazakhstan is yet to be fully appreciated outside Germany where he will be champion jockey in 2021 for the third consecutive season.

The 28-year-old Murzabayev started to ride in Western Europe in 2015 and quickly established himself in Germany. He has ridden around 500 winners since and looks to be more than capable of succeeding anywhere in the racing world. In Germany

Smart performances at four-day Baden-Baden

B

ADEN-BADEN RACECOURSE opened for the first time under new management and held four days’ racing, which were a huge success in every respect – excellent racing with runners and winners from all over Europe and the crowds were close to the daily COVID imposed limit of 10,000.

Baden-Baden in September is where the best German two-yearolds are often revealed and two fillies put up particularly good performances.

Stall Ad Epsias’s Pedro The Great filly Best Flying had previously created a surprise when winning in Deauville over 6f by 3l and 4l, but the Andreas Suborics-trained filly confirmed her class by winning at Baden-Baden over the same trip in similar fashion.

She made all the running to win unchallenged and is due to make her next start in the 7f Group 1 Prix Jean Luc Lagardère. Not sold as a yearling for €22,000 at the Baden-Baden October Sale, she is a half-sister to the three-year-old Best Lightning, who came close to winning Group races in Cologne and Chantilly this year.

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Gestüt Roettgen’s Adlerflug filly Wagnis made an impressive winning debut over a mile defeating two fillies who had run well before, and the second, who had been close to a subsequent Group winner in Rocchigiani, was receiving some 10lb due to the successful young jockey Sean Byrne’s allowance.

Wagnis is a half-sister to Wirko, who won a Listed race at Epsom in the spring, won comfortably in the excellent time of 1min41.04.

The two-year-colt Manolas, a full-brother to the dual Classic winner Brametot, made a winning debut over the same distance and his time was not far behind, on level weights, the 1m39.18 the four-year-old Rodaballo recorded in the Group 2 for older horses.

Rocchigiani came from behind to win the Group 3 Renate und Albrecht Woeste Zukunftsrenen over 7f giving his sire Time Test another black-type winner from his first crop.

Rocchigiani remains unbeaten after two starts and continues the success of his owner-breeder Dr Till Grewe, who purchased the dam Ronja as a yearling at the Keeneland September Sale for $50.000.

The daughter of El Corredor was a Listed winner herself and has

euro racing he regularly wins races which appear to be lost causes, and only very rarely loses those he should have won.

Gregolimo and Integrant finished fast to take third and fourth and are also highclass colts. Gregolimo is one of five blacktype winners from the second crop of the Haras de Colleville’s Galiway, who has to be regarded as one of the best sire sons of Galileo currently at stud in Europe.

Talented: Bauyrzhan Murzabayev

G

ALIWAY stood at only €3,000 in 2017 and produced 48 foals, who now include six black-type horses and five black-type winners.

Esope won the Group 3 Prix de Lutece at the beginning of September joining Gregolimo, the Group 1 winner Sealiway, Vauban and Galik. Three of these – Sealiway, Gregolimo and Galik – are out of Kendargent mares.

The other three-year-old performance of the “rentrée”, as everything is called in September in France, came from the Frankel filly Sibila Spain, who won the Listed Prix de Liancourt over 1m2f for trainer Christopher Head, the son of Freddy,

now produced five winners and two black-type winners.

Two of the Group races for older horses were won by the Madridbased trainer Guillermo Arizkorreta Elosegai with Kitty Marion and Rodaballo.

Kitty Marion was bought cheaply out of training, but the five-yearold Iffraaj mare is a high-class sprinter and narrowly got the better of Majestic Colt to win the Group 3 Golden Peitsche over 6f.

Rodaballo, a four-year-old son of Lope De Vega who was bought by his trainer at the Guineas Breeze Up in Newmarket, held on in another close finish to win the Group 2 Oettingen Rennen over a mile by a short head and a head from Jin Jin and Liberty London.

T

HE TWO MOST significant performances for older horses came from the three-year-old Intello filly Waldbiene in the Group 2 T von Zastrow Stutenpreis over 1m4f, while the Adlerflug colt Torquator Tasso won the Group 1 Grosser Preis von Baden to set himself up for a run in the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe.

Waldbiene, one of three Group winners for Haras du Quesnay’s Intello over the weekend as Dawn Intello and Bubble Smart took Group 3 races at Longchamp the following day, is trained by

and owner Yeguada Centurion.

Olivier Peslier took the filly straight into the lead and in a very atypical manner they ran the fastest 200m of the race straight from the stalls.

By the time Sibila Spain and Peslier reached the straight the race had long since been won and they passed the post over 2l clear of their rivals.

Sibila Spain had looked unlucky when fourth in both the Group 1 Prix Saint Alary and the Prix de Diane and is due to make her next start in the Group 1 Prix de l’Opera.

She is the 13th foal of her dam L’Ancresse, who was second in the Breeders’ Cup Fillies and Mares and looks likely to end her career as the best of them, even if her full-brother Master Of Reality has been Group 1-placed.

André Fabre won both the Fontenoy and the Cascade with the Medaglia d’Oro colt Chancellery and the Dubawi filly Agave.

This is probably significant in itself as the best recent winners of these races, Waldgeist, Victor Ludorum and Philomene were also trained by Fabre. Chancellery, who topped May’s Arqana Breeze Up Sale at £675,000, won without coming off the bridle and in a faster overall time than Agave, who is out of a half-sister to Enable.

Waldemar Hickst for Albrecht Woester’s Stall Grafenberg. She was bought from Haras de Saint Pair at Arqana August Sale.

Waldbiene, who comes from the magic Ravensburg “W” family of Waldgeist, Waldmark and Wurftaube, had made her three previous starts in France but appreciated running over 1m4f with a strong pace and defeated two of the placed fillies from the Diana in Walkaway and Isfahani to win in the excellent time of 2mi31.62.

Gestüt Auequelle’s Torquator Tasso has been among the best horses in Germany for two years now and had finished a close second to In Swoop in last year’s Deutsches Derby.

The Marcel Weiss-trained colt needs a strong pace to be shown at his best and defeated this year’s Derby winner Sisfahan by a length to win in the excellent time of 2min29.21 seconds.

This was the fastest Grosser Preis since 2007 and the only faster ones in recent times were won by the top horses Quijano, Borgia, Pilsudski, Lando and Lomitas. Those who went on to the Arc, Borgia, Pilsudski and Lando, all finished placed in Paris.

When he does retire to his owners’ stud Torquator Tasso will be popular as a top-class consistent performer by an excellent stallion and inbred to the dam of Allegretta from the same family as Galileo, Sea The Stars and Adlerflug.

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stallion stats Leading European Flat sires 2021: (by prize-money earned to September 13, 2021) Stallion

Breeding

Frankel Galileo Siyouni Sea The Stars Dubawi Lope De Vega Dark Angel Kingman Zoffany Australia Le Havre Kendargent Kodiac Wootton Bassett No Nay Never Camelot Shamardal Invincible Spirit Night Of Thunder Dawn Approach Footstepsinthesand Gleneagles Showcasing Dandy Man Mehmas Oasis Dream Mastercraftsman Iffraaj Mayson Nathaniel Make Believe Power Exceed And Excel Adlerflug Acclamation Dabirsim Bated Breath Intello Dream Ahead Toronado Muhaarar Rajsaman Anodin Cable Bay Teofilo Sea The Moon Territories Golden Horn

Galileo–Kind (Danehill) 2013 Sadler’s Wells–Urban Sea (Miswaki) 2002 Pivotal–Sichilla (Danehill) 2011 Cape Cross–Urban Sea (Miswaki) 2010 Dubai Millennium–Zomaradah (Deploy) 2006 Shamardal–Lady Vettori (Vettori) 2011 Acclamation–Midnight Angel (Machiavellian) 2008 Invincible Spirit–Zenda (Zamindar) 2015 Dansili–Tyranny (Machiavellian) 2012 Galileo–Ouija Board (Cape Cross) 2015 Noverre–Marie Rheinberg (Surako) 2010 Kendor–Pax Bella (Linamix) 2008 Danehill–Rafha (Kris) 2007 Iffraaj–Balladonia (Primo Dominie) 2012 Scat Daddy–Cat’s Eye Witness (Elusive Quality) 2015 Montjeu–Tarfah (Kingmambo) 2014 Giant’s Causeway–Helsinki (Machiavellian) 2005 Green Desert–Rafha (Kris) 2003 Dubawi–Forest Storm (Galileo) 2016 New Approach–Hymn Of The Dawn (Phone Trick) 2014 Giant’s Causeway–Glatisant (Rainbow Quest) 2006 Galileo–You’resothrilling (Storm Cat) 2016 Oasis Dream–Arabesque (Zafonic) 2011 Mozart–Lady Alexander (Night Shift) 2010 Acclamation–Lucina (Machiavellian) 2017 Green Desert–Hope (Dancing Brave) 2004 Danehill Dancer–Starlight Dreams (Black Tie Affair) 2010 Zafonic–Pastorale (Nureyev) 2007 Invincible Spirit–Mayleaf (Pivotal) 2013 Galileo–Magnificient Style (Silver Hawk) 2013 Makfi–Rosie’s Posy (Suave Dancer) 2016 Oasis Dream–Frappe (Inchinor) 2013 Danehill–Patrona (Lomond) 2005 In The Wings–Aiyana (Last Tycoon) 2010 Royal Applause–Princess Athena (Ahonoora) 2004 Hat Trick–Rumored (Royal Academy) 2014 Dansili–Tantina (Distant View) 2013 Galileo–Impressionnante (Danehill) 2014 Diktat–Land Of Dreams (Cadeaux Genereux) 2012 High Chaparral–Wana Doo (Grand Slam) 2015 Oasis Dream–Tahrir (Linamix) 2016 Linamix–Rose Quartz (Lammtarra) 2013 Anabaa–Born Gold (Blushing Groom) 2015 Invincible Spirit–Rose de France (Diktat) 2016 Galileo–Speirbhean (Danehill) 2008 Sea The Stars–Sanwa (Monsun) 2015 Invincible Spirit–Taranto (Machiavellian) 2017 Cape Cross–Fleche D’Or (Dubai Destination) 2016

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To Stud

Courtesy of Weatherbys

Rnrs

Runs

197 195 242 189 196 255 327 168 277 142 173 158 354 146 151 203 110 190 104 122 207 139 217 222 170 177 170 214 160 126 76 86 166 75 184 213 162 139 139 124 145 149 108 100 122 109 102 109

766 99 660 57 1000 85 731 91 729 94 1092 102 1532 121 611 68 1220 91 565 53 734 73 865 62 1745 124 620 61 571 52 835 71 457 56 933 77 447 51 544 41 982 69 572 64 981 74 1309 84 757 73 892 61 758 55 973 85 828 57 522 42 353 32 447 32 849 69 296 34 946 64 987 68 789 68 584 42 583 50 644 54 605 56 837 53 642 50 491 37 492 39 424 41 456 47 428 45

Wnrs

Wins 161 76 118 141 151 144 171 97 121 86 102 95 169 88 77 97 72 106 81 58 111 90 108 125 106 95 78 115 92 58 41 40 106 50 89 85 98 63 70 81 72 76 70 59 55 64 61 64

Wnrs/Rnrs% SWnrs SWs 50.25 29.23 35.12 48.14 47.95 40.00 37.00 40.47 32.85 37.32 42.19 39.24 35.02 41.78 34.43 34.97 50.90 40.52 49.03 33.60 33.33 46.04 34.10 37.83 42.94 34.46 32.35 39.71 35.62 33.33 42.10 37.20 41.56 45.33 34.78 31.92 41.97 30.21 35.97 43.54 38.62 35.57 46.29 37.00 31.96 37.61 46.07 41.28

19 15 11 18 16 13 10 10 8 8 6 3 5 7 6 6 9 5 7 2 2 9 3 4 8 4 3 6 3 3 3 4 7 7 5 0 3 6 1 4 4 0 1 4 4 4 0 3

£

29 5,776,956 19 4,947,485 17 4,128,769 27 3,941,789 19 3,388,542 14 3,085,558 11 3,081,863 15 2,650,253 9 2,558,412 17 2,427,441 8 2,250,487 8 2,200,432 5 2,166,040 7 2,113,841 9 1,924,055 6 1,856,621 10 1,688,988 6 1,688,145 9 1,662,887 4 1,584,377 5 1,550,227 10 1,544,152 3 1,529,638 6 1,521,940 10 1,510,163 6 1,477,393 3 1,460,896 6 1,413,891 4 1,404,130 5 1,402,294 4 1,372,968 5 1,367,108 9 1,356,982 10 1,349,674 7 1,337,904 0 1,282,740 4 1,236,930 6 1,236,075 2 1,205,900 4 1,117,188 4 1,110,568 0 1,081,557 1 1,064,302 4 1,056,617 4 1,034,011 6 1,007,259 0 990,068 3 981,449

SHALAA MEHMAS Sire of 2021 Gr.1 Del Mar Oaks winner GOING GLOBAL and of 2-year-old Gr.1 winner SUPREMACY, from his first crop

In 2021, Sire of Matron Stakes Gr.1 winner NO SPEAK ALEXANDER also Classic placed in the Irish 1000 Guineas Gr.1

THE GROUP ONE SIRES

GALILEO GOLD In 2021, Sire of a 2-year-old Gr.1 winner from his first crop EBRO RIVER st 1 Phoenix Stakes Gr.1 & 3rd Vincent O’Brien National Stakes Gr.1

TORONADO OLYMPIC GLORY

In 2021, Sire of a Gr.1 winner in each hemisphere TRIBHUVAN st 1 United Nations Stakes Gr.1 MASKED CRUSADER 1st William Reid Stakes Gr.1

Sire of 2021 Gr.1 Prix Jean Romanet winner GRAND GLORY, also Classic-placed in the Prix de Diane Gr.1 and the sire of dual Gr.1 winner WATCH ME AL SHAQAB RACING

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

sire lines

The ups and downs of international sire lines

I N

N 1981, the year in which his cornerstone book “The Classic Racehorse” was published, the late Peter Willett penned an article which we reprinted in the June-July issue of International Thoroughbred in which he pondered how a relatively small number of sires have wielded a disproportionate influence on

UREYEV, as we have mentioned in the earlier parts of this series, was a three-quarters brother to Sadler’s Wells, and he was a very good stallion without reaching the heights of his close relative.

He didn’t have the same success as a sire of sires as Sadler’s Wells, but has an important enduring line via Polar Falcon and Pivotal to Siyouni, who already has one French Derby (and Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe) winner Sottsass at stud, with another, this year’s star St. Mark’s Basilica, in line to join him.

Storm Bird’s son Storm Cat started at a modest stud fee when he retired in 1988, but by the early years of the new century his asking price had soared to $500,000.

His best racing son the “Iron Horse” Giant’s Causeway has had a major impact in Europe through Shamardal and his son Lope De Vega, both of whom have promising young sons at stud.

In the US, Giant’s Causeway earned three leading sires’ titles, but hasn’t had an outstanding stallion son, although Not This Time made a very promising start with his first two-year-olds in 2020.

Instead, on that side of the Atlantic, the

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the development of the thoroughbred.

In a four-part series, Alan Porter has been discussing how pedigrees, sire lines and genetic knowledge have developed since Willett’s work and in this article, part three, he charts the rise and falls of sire lines across the globe

Storm Cat line has a more surprising flagbearer via Into Mischief, who descends from Storm Cat through Harlan and Harlan’s Holiday, both of whom died prematurely.

Into Mischief did win the CashCall Futurity (G1) at two, but started at a very modest fee. The now 16-year-old stallion has enjoyed a near-uninterrupted rise, and carried off the leading sires’ title in both 2019 and 2020, represented by the Horse of the Year, Kentucky Derby (G1) and Breeders’ Cup Classic (G1) victor Authentic in the most recent of those years.

Another international branch of the Storm Cat line, which might have a bright future, is that of the prematurely deceased Scat Daddy, who was by the “world-champion” two-year-old Johannesburg, who is by Storm Cat’s son Hennessy.

Scat Daddy’s sons at stud include No Nay Never, who has made an exceptional start in Europe, andin the US the undefeated Triple Crown winner Justify, whose first crop are yearlings of 2021.

The surprise package

A more surprising branch of the Northern Dancer line that has established enduring

roots is that of Try My Best, a brother to the brilliant, but sub-fertile, El Gran Senor.

Although he was an undefeated champion and Dewhurst Stakes (G1) winner at two, after a disappointing three-year-old season, Try My Best was relatively lightly-regarded when he retired to stud.

He wasn’t particularly outstanding in that role either, but still managed to sire two sons who have existing sire lines, Last Tycoon and Waajib.

Last Tycoon, a very good sprinter miler, had a good European stallion son in Marju, and a very successful son in New Zealand in O’Reilly.

The horse who extended the line was the short-lived Iglesia, who is responsible for Written Tycoon, a Grade 2-winning sprinter, who has become one of the best speed sires in Australia, and has a red-hot young son in Capalist.

Waajib was only a second-class performer, but has a thriving male-line that comes down through Royal Applause to Acclamation and his sons Dark Angel and now Mehmas.

The Try My Best line is flourishing through Royal Applause (top, left), his son Acclamation (bottom, left) and his son Mehmas

sire lines Deputy Minister and branches of Nasrullah fading away

One other branch of Northern Dancer line that rose rapidly but hasn’t fulfilled it’s promise and appears to be on the wane, is that of the champion two-year-old Deputy Minister, by many-time leading Canadian sire Vice Regent.

Deputy Minister was twice a leading sire, and left several stallion sons. Of those, only Awesome Again seems to have a shot of continuing the line, but it would require an outstanding son by either Horse of the Year Ghostzapper, or the close relatives Paynter and Oxbow.

Northern Dancer was a grandson of Nearco and at the time Willett wrote his article several other branches of Nearco,

...at the time Willett wrote his article, several other branches of Nearco, particularly those of Nasrullah and Royal Charger, had potentially bright futures

particularly those of Nasrullah and Royal Charger, had potentially bright futures.

Among branches of Nasrullah that have more or less faded from mainstream commercial breeding since then are those of Red God/Blushing Groom (despite being represented by horses such as Rainbow Quest, Rahy and Nashwan), Never Bend through Mill Reef and Riverman, and Princely Gift, a prolific sire of sires.

Nasrullah’s son Bold Ruler was a dominant sire line in the US in the late 1970s and early 1980s, and had a useful branch in Europe through Bold Lad, but despite What A Pleasure and Raja Baba earning sire premierships in the US, his line has rapidly boiled down to the one that comes down through Boldnesian, Bold Reasoning, Seattle

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sire lines

Pierro: the descendant of Sir Tristram is maintaining the Turn-to / Royal Charger line

Slew and A.P. Indy, whose grandson, Tapit, has been three-time leading sire in the US. Another branch of the line through Bold Reasoning’s son Super Concorde, via Big Shuffle, prevailed in Germany with Big Shuffle’s very successful son Areion.His current four-year-old Alson was a Group 1 winner at two in France and has been retired to Guestüt Faehrhof.

Sad to say, although he appeared as broodmare sire of A.P. Indy, Storm Cat and Gone West, Bold Ruler’s greatest son Secretariat never got off the ground as a sire of sires.

Another son of Nasrullah, the wilful Grey Sovereign, has a line that was transplanted to the US with Caro’s French-raced Siberian Express. It has come down through In Excess and Indian Charlie to the champion two-year-old Uncle Mo whose son Nyquist, also a champion two-year-old and a Kentucky Derby (G1) winner at three, made a bright start with his first crop in 2020.

Royal Charger: gained importance through Turn-to and grandson Hail To Reason

Royal Charger, a three-quarters brother to Nasrullah, followed his kinsman to the US.

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Inferior to Nasrullah as a runner and as a sire, Royal Charger turned into an important sire line influence through Turn-to, and that horse’s sons, Hail To Reason and Sir Gaylord.

Hail To Reason’s son Roberto won an Epsom Derby (G1) and has active lines in the US – Blame by Arch by Kris S., and Dynaformer. In Japan, he has Epiphaneia

by Symboli Kris S. by Kris S., and the young horse Maurice, who is by Screen Hero by Grass Wonder by Silver Hawk.

In South Africa it is through Al Mufti and his son Captain Al, and in Australia and New Zealand via the various sons of Red Ransom.

Not as good a runner, but more significant in the big picture than Roberto was Hail To Reason’s son, Halo.

Best at middle-distances on Turf as an older horse, Halo sired a game-changing son in Sunday Silence. Although he earned honours as Horse of the Year and Champion Three-Year-Old in the US, Sunday Silence’s distaff pedigree and conformation saw him rejected by US breeders. Their loss was Japan’s gain and, effectively single-handedly, Sunday Silence raised the standard of horses to a point where there is little doubt that the level of their middle-distance and staying horses is second to none.

Several of Sunday Silence’s sons have been successful sires, including a horse that was at least his equal, Deep Impact. Not only a dominant sire in Japan, Deep Impact, who died in July 2019, has continued to build the international reputation of Japanese horses.

In Europe he’s had just 59 starters, but no less than 19 have won black-type events, 14 of them Group contests, including the 2,000 Guineas (G1) victor Saxon Warrior, Fancy Blue, successful in the Prix de Diane (G1), Study Of Man, winner of the Prix du JockeyClub (G1), Beauty Parlour, who captured the Poule D’Essai des Pouliches (G1), and this year’s runaway Epsom Oaks (G1) heroine, Snowfall.

Saxon Warrior and Study Of Man are both at stud in Europe, and Deep Impact has several other stallion sons in Japan with his 2020 Japan Triple Crown-winning son, Contrail, yet to retire.

Halo’s son Southern Halo was a dominating sire in Argentina and from a shuttle crop sired More Than Ready, a Grade 1-winning sprinter, who has been leading sire of two-year-olds in North America and Australia a total of three times.

Turn-to was also responsible for Secretariat’s very talented half-brother Sir Gaylord. He had two excellent stallion sons, Habitat and Sir Ivor, but both, with one shining exception, were poor sires of sires.

That one exception Sir Tristram was a fairly moderate racehorse, but standing in New Zealand he became a stallion sensation taking the Australian title six times, the majority of his best offspring crossing the Tasman to compete there.

Sir Tristram sired a legitimate heir in Zabeel, who was twice the leading sire in Australia, 11 times a leading sire in New Zealand by combined Australian and New Zealand earnings, and twice the leading sire in New Zealand by New Zealand earnings.

Zabeel’s son Savabeel has been been leading sire in New Zealand five times, but the line is more likely to be extended by Pierro. By Zabeel’s grandson Lonhro, himself a leading sire in Australia, Pierro was a champion at two when his victories included the Golden Slipper (G1), and he was the highest rated three-year-old sprinter on the World Racehorse Rankings in 2013.

sire lines He already has 25 stakes winners in his first crop of three-years-old and up, six of them Grade 1 and, importantly for that part of the world, is flourishing when crossed with the all-conquering Danehill line.

Native Dancer: grandsire of Mr. Prospector, dam sire of Northern Dancer

The most glaring omission from Willett’s article was the name of Native Dancer, who since then has emerged as perhaps the pivotal sire of the second half of the last century – he’s not only broodmare sire of Northern Dancer, but through his son Raise A Native is paternal grandsire of Mr. Prospector.

At the time Willett’s article was written, Mr. Prospector was in his second season at Claiborne Farm in Kentucky where he’d moved after making a bright start in Florida. A brilliantly fast, if somewhat fragile individual, Mr. Prospector turned out to be not only an exceptional sire, but also an equally exceptional sire of sires.

His son Fappiano turned out to be a breed-changer in North America, one of the principal facilitators of the shift that has seen the American Classic Dirt horse develop into a tall, long-striding, on-pace, stretching-out miler type, many of those traits actually coming from Fappiano’s broodmare sire, the mighty Dr. Fager.

Through his Kentucky Derby-winning son Unbridled, Fappiano has established a line that comes down through Empire Maker and Pioneerof The Nile, to Triple Crown winner, American Pharoah.

The offspring from the first two crops of American Pharoah have proved much more effective on Turf than might have been anticipated, and a number have performed well in Europe. Indeed, it appears only a matter of time until American Pharoah has a son that will represent his sire line at highlevel on the European side of the Atlantic.

Unbridled’s most prolific stallion son was Unbridled’s Song but, one by one, his stallion sons have failed to make the grade, and it is now likely to be a question of whether his spectacular son Arrogate, who has first runners in 2021, can get an heir in the three crops he sired before his death in May 2020.

Indeed, it appears only a matter of time until American Pharoah has a son that will represent his sire line at high-level on the European side of the Atlantic Fappiano’s durable son Cryptoclearance sired the minor stakes winner Ride The Rails, who went to Argentina where he came up with Argentine champion miler, Candy Ride.

That horse retained his unbeaten record in three starts in the US, notably while soundly defeating Medaglia D’Oro in the Pacific

Classic (G1). Starting at a modest fee, he has gone on to prove himself a top-class sire.

His son Twirling Candy is responsible for the 2021 Belmont Stakes (G1) victor Rombauer and there are several other good young sons of Candy Ride in the pipeline.

Gone West: a sire for all surfaces

If Fappiano, until recently, had been principally a North American Dirt phenomenon, we can’t say the same for Mr. Prospector’s son Gone West, who has successful branches on both surfaces, and in several countries.

Of his many successful sons we can particularly note Elusive Quality, who did well on both sides of the Atlantic and has a top-class US son in Quality Road, the champion US sprinter Speightstown, who similarly has achieved at a high level in the US and Europe and has a good US-based son in Munnings, the very successful European stallion Zafonic.

His son Iffraaj has a stand-out son in Wootton Bassett, who is already represented at stud by Almanzor, and Western Winter, who has a sire line in South Africa.

Native Dancer aka the “Grey Ghost”: he ran 22 times, won 21 races and was a three-time champion

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sire lines Various branches of Mr. Prospector and sire Raise A Native

The Mr. Prospector son Machiavellian sired the Dubai World Cup (G1) hero Street Cry, who completed the unusual feat of achieving a leading sires’ title in Australia, and getting a champion two-year-old and Kentucky Derby (G1) hero Street Sense in the US. Other branches of Mr. Prospector we can note include Forty Niner, whose line is best carried on by Distorted Humor and sons, the European-raced Kingmambo, who had a Classic-winning champion and successful US sire in Lemon Drop Kid, but who has been a stronger influence in Japan through King Kamehameha. He has the excellent Lord Kanaloa and the promising Rulership to represent him.

The Mr. Prospector son Smart Strike has the Classic-winning champions Curlin and Lookin At Lucky, and the champion Turf horse English Channel, all of whom remarkably have all sired Classic winners.

And finally Seeking the Gold, whose line most notably comes down through the short-lived Dubai Millennium to Dubawi, the nearest thing to a rival that Galileo has had during the last decade or so.

In addition to Mr. Prospector, Raise A Native sired several other excellent stallions, including Exclusive Native, a leading sire in US in 1978 and 1979, and Alydar, a leading US sire in 1990.

There is one other branch that comes

Hyperion lost

Hyperion’s male line has all but disappeared, but for what might be a last flare up via Spirit Of Boom down via Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes scorer Majestic Prince through Majestic Light, Wavering Monarch, the champion two-year-old Maria’s Mon, and Kentucky Derby (G1) winner, Super Saver (now standing in Turkey).

The future of the line in the US appears to depend on champion sprinter Runhappy, whose first crop is now three, or the undefeated Happy Saver, who defeated older horses in the Jockey Club Gold Cup (G1) at three last year, and who is still in training.

The fate of other branches of Eclipse, as far as principal racing countries is concerned, appears likely to be similar to that of the male line descendents of the Godolphin Arabian and the Byerley Turk.

Mr. Prospector: was an “exceptional sire, but also an equally exceptional sire of sires”

When I was first in the industry, just a few years before Willett penned his article, Hyperion had several thriving branches, including Tudor Minstrel, a leading source of speed in Europe, and the-then apparently rising Forli branch that was dominant in Australia via Star Kingdom, whose line had even supplied a leading sire in North America in Nodouble.

Hyperion’s male line has all but disappeared, but for what might be a last flare up via Spirit Of Boom (by Sequalo by Rustic Amber by Thatching by Forli’s son, Thatch) in Australia.

Hyperion’s great-grandsire Bay Ronald also had lines coming down through Teddy to Damascus in the US (and which looked promising 25 years ago, but is now down to a trickle) and the German branch which enjoyed considerable success with Surumu and his son Acatenango, but also appears unlikely to persevere.

Another Eclipse line that had significant representation but is probably going to rely on something emerging from Germany is that of Blandford, who is likely to need something from the Monsun line to break out if it’s to survive.

Likely to effectively disappear in the next decade or so is the oldest native American sire line that of Eclipse (the imported 1855 son of Orlando, not the 1764 horse that stands at the head of all these lines).

There were two branches of this line: one via Domino that supplied a leading North American sire Broad Brush as recently as 1994, and the other branch which came down via Plaudit. It produced yielded Holy Bull, the 1994 Horse of the Year in the US. The new century has not been kind to either, despite Holy Bull’s grandson Mucho Macho Man taking the Breeders’ Cup Classic (G1) in 2013.

See the previous articles in this series in the August and June/July issues of International Thoroughbred at issuu.com/ international_thoroughbred Porter reaches his conclusion in next month’s November issue 44

www.internationalthoroughbred.net

TASLEET Showcasing - Bird Key (Cadeaux Genereux)

First crop yearlings hitting the headlines for the

Group 1 sprinter

Filly x Royal Blush sold for 75,000gns at Tattersalls Somerville Sale to Robson Aguiar - more than 10 x his fee!

“

Auctioneer Ollie [Fowlston] said when she was in the ring that she could be a QUEEN MARY filly – I know we all like to think it of our fillies, but I really think she could be.

”

- Consignor Paul Thorman, Trickledown Stud (on behalf of breeder Richard Tucker)

Don’t miss your chance to buy his stock this autumn!

Buyers in 2021 include Archie Watson, Dave Loughnane, Ed Bethell, Eve Johnson Houghton, John O’Donoghue, Johnny Murtagh, Karl Burke, Tim Easterby etc

#TasMania Contact Tom Pennington +44 (0)7736 019914 | tpennington@shadwellstud.co.uk Discover the Shadwell stallions: www.shadwellstud.com

Where dreams are born...

OUR GRADUATES INCLUDE

2 CLASSIC Winners 7 GROUP 3 Winners 3 GROUP 1 Winners 8 LISTED Winners 5 GROUP 2 Winners 5 Other Major Winners

Your chance to buy into our success Blue Diamond Stud (South), Wilbraham Road, Newmarket, CB8 0UW

Selling at Tattersalls October Yearling Sale 67

BOOK ONE

Bay colt

Justify / I’m Wonderful

New England Stud

306

Bay colt

Camelot / Sweet Gentle Kiss

New England Stud

481

Bay colt

Kingman/Dawn of Hope

New England Stud

A truly special offering with a stallion’s pedigree from the first crop of Justify. He has international appeal as the first foal of a full sister to Carpe Diem, the only son of Giant’s Causeway to win Grade 1s at two and three on dirt.

Line bred to Kingmambo this son of top class international sire Camelot has a true miler’s pedigree; he is the first foal of the Group 3 winning miler Sweet Gentle Kiss who in turn is a daughter of Classic-placed Cronso.

A son of the brilliant Kingman who excels with Danehill line broodmare sires, this colt is bred on a variation of the cross with Danehill Dancer that has produced 25 per cent Stakes winners to runners so far.

BOOK TWO

725

B/Br colt

Roaring Lion / Manasarova

741

Ch. filly

Gleneagles / Mince

1091

Bay colt

Gleneagles / Vetlana

Voute Sales Ltd.

1133

Bay colt

Zoustar / Zotilla

Voute Sales Ltd.

Voute Sales Ltd.

Voute Sales Ltd.

A colt from a family that has earned success around the globe, this son of Roaring Lion boasts some of the world’s greatest stallions in his pedigree with the brilliant More Than Ready, broodmare sire of 14 Group/ Grade 1 winners as his damsire.

New England Stud

This colt has speed written all over him as a son of European Champion Two-Year-Old Gleneagles and from a fast female line. His dam Mince was a Group 3 winner over 6f, and second dam Strut won a 5f Listed contest.

A son of the leading third crop sire Gleneagles, who is enjoying his best season to date with 11 individual Stakes winners, this colt is a grandson of the classy juvenile and Listed winning miler Ahla Wasahl.

A son of the Australian sire sensation Zoustar, this colt shares his broodmare sire Zamindar with Kingman, and hails from the noted Group 1 producing family of Lethal Force and Flotilla, his dam’s half-sister.

BOOK THREE

1377

Ch. filly

Decorated Knight / Lady Rasha

1388

Ch. filly

Decorated Knight / Maid To Master

1445

Ch. filly

Decorated Knight / Queen Sarra

1456

Ch. filly

Raven’s Pass / Rivercat

New England Stud

1808

Bay filly

Penny’s Picnic / Tarawa

Voute Sales Ltd.

A filly with a beautiful pedigree from the family of Bated Breath, Logician and City Scape and bred on a variation of the Galileo – Dansili cross that has 14.7% Stakes winners to runners headed by the Group 1 winner Magic Wand.

New England Stud

Decorated Knight’s sire Galileo has 7 individual Group/Grade 1 winners with daughters of Danehill Dancer, and this filly’s dam is a full sister to Danehill Dancer’s best son Mastercraftsman.

Voute Sales Ltd.

A half-sister to the classy juvenile Hector Loza, this filly is bred along similar lines to recent Grade 1 Hopeful Stakes winner Gunite who is inbred 4S x 4D to Mariah’s Storm while this filly is 3S x 4D.

The first foal of a winning Kitten’s Joy mare who is bred on a variation of the cross that produced Roaring Lion, this filly comes from the wonderful blacktype family of Group 1 winners Nathaniel, Great Heavens and Playful Act. The only yearling by Penny’s Picnic in the catalogue and her dam is a half-sister to the dams of Group 1 winners Arcano and Gilt Edge Girl and the dam of Royal Ascot winners Sword Fighter and Big Audio.

W: BlueDiamondStud.co.uk

ANAPURNA • TWIST ‘N’ SHAKE • TELECASTER • DASHING WILLOUGHBY • CAROLINAE • ALESSANDRO VOLTA • OPERA HOUSE • ZEE ZEE TOP • DASH TO THE FRONT • POET • ONE SO WONDERFUL • COLORSPIN • MILLIGRAM • NOUSHKEY • SOMEONE SPECIAL • YOUR OLD PAL • YANKEE DOODLE • LADY CARLA • IZZI TOP • SUEZ • SUN BOAT • FRANCE • ALKAADHEM • KAYF TARA • MONA LISA • BALLET CONCERTO • PHOTOGENIC • BALALAIKA • JUST SPECIAL • NECKLACE • UNSCRUPULOUS • MUDEER • HYABELLA • KISSOGRAM • MOVIEGOER • CEZANNE • DYNASTY • STAGECRAFT • CHESA PLANA • RAPPA TAP TAP • PICK OF THE POPS • SAN SEBASTIAN • RELATIVELY SPECIAL • MULLINS BAY • HAVANE SMOKER • CASPAR NETSCHER • DASH TO THE TOP • TORCH ROUGE • BELLA COLORA • CROESO CARIAD • SHIROCCO STAR • COQUET • HIPPY HIPPY SHAKE • MEDIA HYPE • MARSH DAISY • JAZZI TOP • SPEEDY BOARDING • DEUCE AGAIN • CAROLINAE • BALLET CONCERTO • STARCASTER • AL SUHAIL BOOK ONE • VALUE PROPOSITION • ANAPURNA • TWIST ‘N’ SHAKE • TELECASTER • DASHING WILLOUGHBY • CAROLINAE • ALESSANDRO VOLTA • OPERA HOUSE • ZEE ZEE TOP • DASH TO THE FRONT • POET • ONE SO WONDERFUL • COLORSPIN • MILLIGRAM • NOUSHKEY • SOMEONE SPECIAL Lot CARLA 28 B.C. •Oasis Dream Fizzi Top (Frankel/Zee Zee Top) • YOUR OLD PAL • YANKEE DOODLE • LADY IZZI TOP • SUEZ •xSUN BOAT • FRANCE • ALKAADHEM • KAYF TARA • MONA LISA • BALLET CONCERTO • PHOTOGENIC • BALALAIKA • JUST SPECIAL • NECKLACE • UNSCRUPULOUS • MUDEER • HYABELLA • KISSOGRAM • MOVIEGOER • Lot 61 B.F. Roaring Lion x Hippy Hippy Dancer/Hyperspectra) CEZANNE • DYNASTY • STAGECRAFT • CHESA PLANA • RAPPA TAP TAP • PICKShake OF THE (Danehill POPS • SAN SEBASTIAN • RELATIVELY SPECIAL • MULLINS BAY • HAVANE SMOKER • CASPAR NETSCHER • DASH TO THE TOP • TORCH ROUGE • BELLA COLORA • CROESO CARIAD • SHIROCCO STAR • Lot •150 B.F. Lope Vega x •Millistar (Galileo/Milligram) COQUET • HIPPY HIPPY SHAKE • MEDIA HYPE MARSH DAISYde • JAZZI TOP SPEEDY BOARDING • DEUCE AGAIN • CAROLINAE • BALLET CONCERTO • STARCASTER • AL SUHAIL • VALUE PROPOSITION • ANAPURNA • TWIST ‘N’ SHAKE • TELECASTER • DASHING WILLOUGHBY • CAROLINAE • Lot 154 B.C. Ulysees x Miss to the Front) ALESSANDRO VOLTA • OPERA HOUSE • ZEE ZEE TOP • DASH TO THEDashwood FRONT • POET(Dylan • ONE Thomas/Dash SO WONDERFUL • COLORSPIN • MILLIGRAM • NOUSHKEY • SOMEONE SPECIAL • YOUR OLD PAL • YANKEE DOODLE • LADY CARLA • IZZI TOP • SUEZ • SUN BOAT • FRANCE • ALKAADHEM • KAYF TARA • MONA LISA • BALLET CONCERTO • Lot PHOTOGENIC • BALALAIKA • JUST SPECIAL • (Montjeu/Zee NECKLACE •Zee UNSCRUPULOUS • MUDEER • HYABELLA • 166 B.C. Invincible Spirit x Monzza Top) KISSOGRAM • MOVIEGOER • CEZANNE • DYNASTY • STAGECRAFT • CHESA PLANA • RAPPA TAP TAP • PICK OF THE POPS • SAN SEBASTIAN • RELATIVELY SPECIAL • MULLINS BAY •Lot HAVANE SMOKER • CASPAR NETSCHER • DASH TO THE TOP • TORCH ROUGE • BELLA COLORA • CROESO 222 B.C. Australia x Queen Arabella (Medicean/Hyabella) CARIAD • SHIROCCO STAR • COQUET • HIPPY HIPPY SHAKE • MEDIA HYPE • MARSH DAISY • JAZZI TOP • SPEEDY BOARDING • DEUCE AGAIN • CAROLINAE • BALLET CONCERTO Lot • STARCASTER • AL SUHAIL • VALUE PROPOSITION • ANAPURNA • TWISTPoint) ‘N’ SHAKE • TELECASTER • DASHING 237 Ch.C. Night of Thunder x Return Ace (Zamindar/Match WILLOUGHBY • CAROLINAE • ALESSANDRO VOLTA • OPERA HOUSE • ZEE ZEE TOP • DASH TO THE FRONT • POET • ONE SO WONDERFUL • COLORSPIN • MILLIGRAM • NOUSHKEY SOMEONE SPECIAL • YOUR OLD PAL • YANKEE DOODLE • LADY Lot 288•B.C. Kingman x Speedy Boarding (Shamardal/Dash to the CARLA Front) • IZZI TOP • SUEZ • SUN BOAT • FRANCE • ALKAADHEM • KAYF TARA • MONA LISA • BALLET CONCERTO • PHOTOGENIC • BALALAIKA • JUST SPECIAL • NECKLACE • UNSCRUPULOUS • MUDEER • HYABELLA • KISSOGRAM • MOVIEGOER • CEZANNE • DYNASTY • STAGECRAFT • CHESA PLANA • RAPPA TAP TAP • PICK OF THE POPS Lot 296 Ch.F. Pivotal x Strictly Lambada (Red Ransom/Bella Lambada) • SAN SEBASTIAN • RELATIVELY SPECIAL • MULLINS BAY • HAVANE SMOKER • CASPAR NETSCHER • DASH TO THE TOP • TORCH ROUGE • BELLA COLORA • CROESO CARIAD • SHIROCCO STAR • COQUET • HIPPY HIPPY SHAKE • MEDIA HYPE • MARSH DAISY • JAZZI TOP • SPEEDY BOARDING Lot 330 B.F. Iffraaj x Very Dashing (Dansili/Dash to the Top) • DEUCE AGAIN • CAROLINAE • BALLET CONCERTO • STARCASTER • AL SUHAIL • VALUE PROPOSITION • ANAPURNA • TWIST ‘N’ SHAKE • TELECASTER • DASHING WILLOUGHBY • CAROLINAE • ALESSANDRO VOLTA • OPERA HOUSE • ZEE ZEE TOP • DASH TO THE FRONT • POET • ONE SO WONDERFUL • COLORSPIN • MILLIGRAM • NOUSHKEY • SOMEONE SPECIAL • YOUR OLD PAL • YANKEE DOODLE • LADY CARLA • IZZI TOP BOOK TWO • SUEZ • SUN BOAT • FRANCE • ALKAADHEM • KAYF TARA • MONA LISA • BALLET CONCERTO • PHOTOGENIC • BALALAIKA • JUST SPECIAL • NECKLACE • UNSCRUPULOUS • MUDEER • HYABELLA • KISSOGRAM • MOVIEGOER • CEZANNE • DYNASTY • STAGECRAFT • CHESA PLANA • Lot 543 B.F. New Bay x Farewell to You (Leroidesanimaux/You Too) RAPPA TAP TAP • PICK OF THE POPS • SAN SEBASTIAN • RELATIVELY SPECIAL • MULLINS BAY • HAVANE SMOKER • CASPAR NETSCHER • DASH TO THE TOP • TORCH ROUGE • BELLA COLORA • CROESO CARIAD • SHIROCCO STAR • COQUET • HIPPY HIPPY SHAKE • MEDIA HYPE • MARSH DAISY Lot 643 B.C. Nathaniel x Italian Connection (Cadeaux Genereux/Bianca Nera) • JAZZI TOP • SPEEDY BOARDING • DEUCE AGAIN • CAROLINAE • BALLET CONCERTO • STARCASTER • AL SUHAIL • VALUE PROPOSITION • ANAPURNA • TWIST ‘N’ SHAKE • TELECASTER • DASHING WILLOUGHBY • CAROLINAE • ALESSANDRO VOLTA • OPERA HOUSE • ZEE ZEE TOP LotSO 683 Ch.C. Farhh x Last Tango InParis• NOUSHKEY (Aqlaam/Strictly Lambada)SPECIAL • YOUR OLD PAL • YANKEE • DASH TO THE FRONT • POET • ONE WONDERFUL • COLORSPIN • MILLIGRAM • SOMEONE DOODLE • LADY CARLA • IZZI TOP • SUEZ • SUN BOAT • FRANCE • ALKAADHEM • KAYF TARA • MONA LISA • BALLET CONCERTO • PHOTOGENIC 695 B.C. Tasleet x Likeable (Dalakhani/Balalaika) • BALALAIKA • JUST SPECIAL • NECKLACE Lot • UNSCRUPULOUS • MUDEER • HYABELLA • KISSOGRAM • MOVIEGOER • CEZANNE • DYNASTY • STAGECRAFT • CHESA PLANA • RAPPA TAP TAP • PICK OF THE POPS • SAN SEBASTIAN • RELATIVELY SPECIAL • MULLINS BAY • HAVANE SMOKER • Lot 1077 Ch.C. Postponed x COLORA Tropicana Bay (Oasis Dream/Ballet Ballon) CASPAR NETSCHER • DASH TO THE TOP • TORCH ROUGE • BELLA • CROESO CARIAD • SHIROCCO STAR • COQUET • HIPPY HIPPY SHAKE • MEDIA HYPE • MARSH DAISY • JAZZI TOP • SPEEDY BOARDING • DEUCE AGAIN • CAROLINAE • BALLET CONCERTO • STARCASTER • AL SUHAIL • VALUE PROPOSITION • ANAPURNA • TWIST ‘N’ SHAKE • TELECASTER • DASHING WILLOUGHBY • CAROLINAE • ALESSANDRO VOLTA • OPERA HOUSE • ZEE ZEE TOP • DASH TO THE FRONT • POET • ONE SO WONDERFUL • COLORSPIN • MILLIGRAM • NOUSHKEY • SOMEONE SPECIAL • YOUR OLD PAL • YANKEE DOODLE • LADY CARLA • IZZI for TOPGREAT • SUEZ • SUN BOAT • FRANCE • ALKAADHEM Fillies eligible BRITISH BONUS Scheme • KAYF TARA • MONA LISA • BALLET CONCERTO • PHOTOGENIC • BALALAIKA • JUST SPECIAL • NECKLACE • UNSCRUPULOUS • MUDEER • HYABELLA • KISSOGRAM • MOVIEGOER • CEZANNE • DYNASTY • STAGECRAFT • CHESA PLANA • RAPPA TAP TAP • PICK OF THE POPS • SAN SEBASTIAN • RELATIVELY SPECIAL • MULLINS BAY • HAVANE SMOKER • CASPAR NETSCHER • DASH TO THE TOP • TORCH ROUGE • BELLA COLORA • CROESO CARIAD • SHIROCCO STAR • COQUET • HIPPY HIPPY SHAKE • MEDIA HYPE • MARSH DAISY • JAZZI TOP • SPEEDY BOARDING • DEUCE AGAIN • CAROLINAE • BALLET CONCERTO • STARCASTER • AL SUHAIL • VALUE PROPOSITION • ANAPURNA • TWIST ‘N’ SHAKE • TELECASTER • DASHING WILLOUGHBY • CAROLINAE •

Tattersalls October Yearling Sales 2021

1983 – 2021 MEON VALLEY STUD have bred the winners of 1115 races, £19,694,772 (approx) (including 65 stakes winners of 129 stakes races)

www.meonvalleystud.co.uk

travel for the european yearling sales

SALE PLANS & TRAVEL RULES

UK

IRELAND

Tattersalls October Sale: October 5-16, 10am

Goffs Orby Sale: September 28-29, 10am Yearlings eligible for the €1 million Goffs Million

All Book 1 Yearlings eligible for the £20,000 Tattersalls October Book 1 Bonus All Book 3 and 4 yearlings are eligible for the £150,000 Tattersalls October Auction Stakes

CURRENT ENTRY REQUIREMENTS TO THE UK (as on 02.09.2021): Travel from Ireland There is no need of proof of a negative test, no need to quarantine, and no need to complete a passenger locator form Travel to UK from elsewhere 1. Take a COVID-19 test. To board your transport to England, you need proof of a negative result from a test taken in the three days before the service departs.

2. Complete a passenger locator form.

When you arrive in England from an amber list country • In addition to taking a COVID-19 test in the three days before you travel you must pre-book and pay for COVID-19 day two test to be taken after arrival in England. You must do this whether you are fully vaccinated or not.

• After you arrive in England you must take the COVID-19 test on or before day two. If you will be in England for less than two days you still need to book and pay for a day two COVID-19 test. You only need to take the test if you are still in England on day two.

If you are not fully vaccinated • You must quarantine at home or in the place you are staying for 10 days • You must take a COVID-19 test on or before day two, and on or after day eight. If you are in England for less than 10 days, you need to quarantine for the time you are here. You need to pre-book day two and day eight travel tests. You only need to take the tests if you are still in England.

When you arrive in England from a green list country Before you travel to England you must follow the rules are as above as regards testing before travel and pre-booking and taking a day two test.

You do not need to quarantine unless the test result is positive.

If you will be in England for less than two days you still need to book and pay for a day two COVID-19 test.

You must follow these rules even if you have been fully vaccinated.

Goffs Sportsman Sale: September 30-October 1, 10am Yearlings eligible for the €100,000 Goffs Sportsman’s Challenge CURRENT ENTRY REQUIREMENTS TO IRELAND (as on 02.09.2021):

If you are travelling to Ireland you must fill out a Passenger Locator Form before departure.

Passengers arriving into Ireland from inside EU + Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, Switzerland Ireland is part of the EU Digital COVID Certificate for travel originating within the EU/EEA. The Digital COVID Certificate is accepted as proof of vaccination, recovery or negative test.

If you have valid proof that you have bene vaccinated or recovered from COVID-19 in the past 180 days, no travel-related testing or quarantine will be necessary.

If you do not have valid proof of vaccination or recovery, you will need to present evidence of a negative RT-PCR result from a test taken within 72 hours prior to arrival into the country. No further travel-related testing or quarantine will be necessary.

Passengers arriving into Ireland from outside EU + Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, Switzerland (includes those arriving from Great Britain) If you have valid proof of vaccination, no travel-related testing or quarantine will be necessary.

If you have valid proof of recovery from COVID-19 in the past 180 days (see above), no travel-related testing or quarantine will be necessary.

If you do not have valid proof of vaccination or recovery, you will need to: • present evidence of a negative result from a RT-PCR test taken within 72 hours prior to arrival into the country • self-quarantine for 14 days If you receive a negative result from a RT-PCR test taken from day five onwards after arrival into Ireland, you will be able to leave quarantine.

Keep checking details government websites to ensure you are aware of any changes and use this site / app too: apply.joinsherpa.com

www.internationalthoroughbred.net

49

yearling data

Can data be used to predict a yearling’s racing ability?

The yearling sales season is now in full flow, writes Tom Wilson, who discusses whether data science, leveraging various machine learning techniques, can help purchasers gain an information edge at the bloodstock sales Tom is finding a strong correlation between the ability his computer is predicting for pre-sale yearlings in his database and the actual ratings they achieved as two-year-olds

OUR OBJECTIVE was to develop a predictive model to provide a projection of potential ability of yearlings pre-sale, with a target outcome to predict the potential official rating classification that the yearling could achieve in their two-year-old season.

Preparing the data

In order to build any predictive model,

50

www.internationalthoroughbred.net

we first have to go through an exhaustive exercise of data collection and data preparation.

To enable training and testing of our predictive model we compiled a dataset consisting of the race records of all two-yearold horses racing in the UK and Ireland since 2015. This has then been combined with a dataset of all yearling sales information for the same time period.

All the historic data inputs used for our model have been time stamped based on the time the horses would have been purchased as yearlings.

This is important as to avoid “data leakage” which would lead to bias in our model – we want a set of records that reflect the known information we would have had at the time of the yearling purchase itself.

We then define a target variable for our

yearling data For the purposes of this piece we will be using two separate models, the outputs of which will be combined into our final prediction.

We do this as often combining the outputs of two separate models can be more informative than using a single unique model.

model – this is the outcome that we are trying to predict.

As a target variable we are using the highest Official Rating that the horse achieved in their two-year-old season.

Identifying the important features

Now that we have collated a dataset, it becomes important to identify the variables that are useful in predicting the outcome we are trying to identify. Here we go through a process known as “feature selection” Feature selection involves testing the statistical significance and predictive power of our input variables against the target outcome.

Through this process we tested 130+ input variables, refining down to 12 independent input variables that had predictive power in helping us understand the Official Rating achieved by the horse as a two-year-old.

These variables comprised of various aspects relating to: ● Sire racing performance ● Sire progeny racing performance ● Dam racing performance ● Dam progeny racing performance In order to handle unraced mares or mares with no racing progeny, we have built separate models to handle these cases.

Of the 177 horses who were predicted to achieve an official rating of 100+ as two-year-olds, 78 of them did (44.8%)

Training, testing and evaluating performance

In order to train and test our model we split our original dataset to separate training and testing datasets.

Our training dataset consists of two-thirds of our original data, with the remaining third being used to test and validate our model.

Whilst not a silver bullet, we can see evidence from our outputs that our model is able to categorise the higher ability horses into the higher official rating classes and the lower ability horses to the lower OR classes.

In the model, of the 177 horses who were predicted to achieve an official rating of 100+ as a two-year-old, 78 of them did (44.8 per cent) and 34 achieved an official rating of 9099 (19.2 per cent), while 97 of the 177 horses predicted to achieve a two-year-old rating of 100+ achieved a rating of 90+, 64 per cent, around two-thirds.

We believe that can provide an impressive

Arqana August Sale 2021 Rank

Stallion

Dam

Predicted OR

Night Of Thunder

Etive

100+

2 29

Kingman

Keegsquaw

100+

€275,000

3 120

Galileo

Ysoldina

100+

€500,000

4

116

Lope De Vega

With Your Spirit

100+

€100,000

5

166

Galileo

Dixieland Kiss

100+

€400,000

6

165

Australia

Diamond Tango

100+

€260,000

7

95

Sea The Stars

Sasuela

100+

€90,000

8

336

Oasis Dream

Brasiliera

100+

€47,000

9

155

Teofilo

Chilli Spice

100+

€90,000

10

51

Sea The Stars

Mayhem

100+

€185,000

1

Lot 2

Price €70,000

www.internationalthoroughbred.net

51

yearling data Goffs UK Premier Sale 2021 Rank

Lot

Stallion

Dam

218

Mehmas

Luminous Gold

100+

£75,000

2 163

Pivotal

Honour

100+

£22,000

3

393

Gleneagles

Volunteer Point

100+

£72,000

4

311

Shalaa

Rowan Brae

100+

£68,000

6 247

Mayson

Montjen

90-99

£25,000

7

276

Muhaarar

Parle Moi

90-99

£12,000

8

284

No Nay Never

Poetic Imagination

90-99

£95,000

9

283

Bated Breath

Pine Ridge

90-99

vendor

Starspangledbanner

Obligada

90-99

£30,000

1

10 269

Predicted OR

Price

Tattersalls Somerville Sale 2021 Rank

Lot

Stallion

Dam

1 41

Mehmas

Melodize

100+

28,000gns

2

62

New Bay

Nexxia

100+

10,000gns

3

238

New Bay

Craftybird

100+

vendor

4

272

Night Of Thunder

Fleabiscuit

100+

78,000gns

5

290

Night Of Thunder

Ifubelieveindreams

100+

50,000gns

6 214

Gleneagles

Bibury

100+

7

70

New Bay

Penny Rose

100+

vendor

8

224

Mehmas

Chaenomeles

100+

33,000gns

9

133

Mehmas

Startori

100+

50,000gns

10

180

Gleneagles

Zenara

100+

18,000gns

starting point without considering any important aspects such as physical examination, trainer placement and it does not account for unknowns such as injuries to the horses.

And, of course, horses may also have gone on to achieve a higher official rating in their three-year-old seasons.

Of the 192 horses predicted to have an ability potential of 90-99, 58 (30.2 percent) achieved that band in their two-year-old season, and 48 (25 per cent) improved beyond that band and were rated 100+,

52

www.internationalthoroughbred.net

while 106 of the 192 (55.2 percent) horses who were predicted to have a potential ability of 90+ achieved that level or higher.

We use charts known as a Confusion Matrix as a visual method of displaying the assignment of predictions from the model based on the predicted vs. achieved ratings.

In the clustering the model categorises the higher potential horses into the higher rating bands, and the lower potential horses into the lower rating bands.

Predicted OR

Price

2,000gns

Applying in practice

Bringing theory into practice we have applied the techniques to evaluate yearlings from this year’s Arqana August, Goffs UK Premier and Tattersalls Somerville Yearling sales in 2021. In the tables left and above we have listed our top 10-rated yearlings from the sales. It will be fascinating to see how these yearlings perform next year.

For further information contact Tom on Twitter @TomWilsonHorses or via email racingsquared@gmail.com.

Night Of Thunder: two G1 winners

in 2021, and his sprinting daughter Suesa is not only rated the best horse in France this year, she’s officially the highest-rated French filly since Treve.

By Dubawi out of a Galileo mare — with better first-crop stats than either of them.

norelands stud

Aisling Crowe chats with Matt Gilsenan, stud manager at Norelands Stud, producer of the five-time Group 1 winner St Mark’s Basilica, about this autumn’s October Book 1 yearling draft

Where champions grow

N

ORELANDS STUD in Kilkenny’s stunning Nore Valley has a long and storied heritage that traces back over a century but possesses an equally glorious present with the dams of recent champions residing on the McCalmont family’s farm, watching over the next generation of potential superstars.

The racecourses of Europe have been the stage on which luminaries such as St Mark’s Basilica, Golden Horn and Magna Grecia have shone, but their relations have also dazzled in the Tattersalls sales ring.

In 2019, Norelands sold two of the five most expensive colts at Tattersalls October Book 1 – one was the 3.1m guineas Frankel half-brother to European champion Golden Horn, while the other was the Siyouni half-

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brother to that year’s 2,000 Guineas hero Magna Grecia,who was subsequently named St. Mark’s Basilica.

The Frankel colt was named Dhahabi, was purchased by Godolphin and is the most expensive Frankel yearling sold at public auction in Europe.

He finished third in the Group 3 Autumn Stakes behind subsequent Group 1 Vertem Futurity second One Ruler and Van Gogh, who went on to win the Group 1 Criterium International at Saint-Cloud.

At last year’s Book 1, Dhahabi’s full-sister brought a winning bid of 2m guineas from Godolphin, while St Mark’s Basilica’s full-brother failed to meet the valuation placed on him by his breeder Bob Scarborough – despite his older brother providing him with a Group 1 update prior to the sale when third in the

National Stakes (G1) at The Curragh.

That colt has since been named Paris Lights and put into training with Jessica Harrington, while St Mark’s Basilica has gone on to win five Group 1 races in succession – the Vertem Futurity on his final start at two, and then the Poule d’Essai des Poulains, the Prix du Jockey Club, the Eclipse Stakes and the Irish Champion Stakes (G1).

The constitution and talent required to win consistently at the highest level were apparent in the embryonic racehorse, who was purchased by MV Magnier from Norelands for 1.3m guineas in 2019.

“When he came to the sales we were in good shape with such an update like that Magna Grecia’s Classic victory and he was very well received,” explains Norelands Stud’s manager Matt Gilsenan.

“St Mark’s Basilica was a gorgeous horse,

norelands stud a significant update to the catalogue page.

The fillies’ third dam is the champion East Of The Moon and her fourth the outstanding Miesque.

“She is owned by a very good client and friend of ours Craig Bernick. It’s a fantastic family and she is a very typical Kingman – very pretty with just enough bone, a really quality and lovely moving filly who should be very exciting at the sales,” says Gilsenan.

“It’s a lovely first cover and the mare has a gorgeous Lope De Vega filly on the ground.

She is a lovely mare herself, but this is a really quality filly and with a page like that we should be busy if it all works out!”

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not over-big, with a beautiful action and an unbelievable temperament. When you are showing a horse for four full days before they sell it tests their temperament hugely, but St Mark’s Basilica was brilliant. I think that has been a major part in his success.”

Although neither his dam Cabaret nor Fleche D’Or, the dam of Golden Horn, has a yearling going to Newmarket this autumn, the Norelands draft for Book 1 does not lack star appeal.

The stud’s very first yearling (Lot 42) due through the ring this year has a pedigree that would adorn any of the best training and breeding establishments the world over.

She is a daughter of Kingman out of Galileo Gal, a Galileo half-sister to three brilliant Group 1 winners – Alpha Centauri, Alpine Star, and this year’s Moyglare Stakes winner Discoveries whose Curragh win gives

When you are showing a horse for four full days before they sell, it tests their temperament hugely

HE YEARLINGS that Norelands consigns at Tattersalls are, as with the mares on the farm, a mixture of those owned by clients and others in which the farm owns a part.

Lot 60 from the first crop of Coolmore’s Group 1 2,000 Guineas and Racing Post Trophy winner Saxon Warrior is one of the latter; owned by Norelands alongside the novelist and author Patrick Robinson.

“The colt is a half-brother to Parchemin, who we also bred, and who is with André Fabre. He has won a Listed race in France at two and three and was fifth to St Mark’s Basilica in the Prix du Jockey Club.”

Parchemin is the first winner out of Hint Of Pink and his Ribchester half-sister was the second highest-priced yearling from the first crop of the four-time Group 1 winner when she went through the ring in Book 2 making 300,000gns.

“The Ribchester filly was bought by Demi O’Byrne for Peter Brant and is in America.

This is a very strong, big-walking colt with a great back page. Hopefully, Parchemin will run again before the sale and give another update to the page.”

The Saxon Warrior colt features inbreeding to Galileo – his broodmare sire is Teofilo, the first champion two-year-old sired by the phenomenal stallion. Saxon Warrior, a grandson of Galileo, out of another of his juvenile champions in Maybe, is a stallion that has impressed Gilsenan with the quality of his progeny.

“We love Saxon Warrior, obviously he

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norelands stud has a fantastic pedigree, but he has some very good foals and we were impressed with them. We sold a couple last year and they were very easy-moving,” he remarks.

Sea The Stars recently added a 16th individual Group 1 winner to his growing resume of stars and the champion threeyear-old of 2009 is responsible for half of the Norelands draft at Book 1 this autumn.

Above, St Mark’s Basilica winning the Eclipse Stakes, and, left, selling at Tattersalls in 2019

Photo courtesy of Tattersalls and by Laura Green

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The sire’s 15th Group 1 winner Baaeed is one of three by Sea The Stars out of Kingmambo mares and that is exactly the cross offered by Norelands in Lot 140, a chestnut filly out of the German Listed winner and Group 3-placed Mambo Light.

She is already the dam of six winners, including the Australian Group 3 winner Le Juge by Dansili and the French Listed winner Frankel Light.

“Again it’s an unbelievable pedigree. She’s all quality, absolutely beautiful and she belongs to Bob as well,” outlines Gilesnan.

“Lot 140 is a beauty – a filly as good as her and with that page should be busy on the sale ground. With these well-bred fillies, you have a ten-year plan really, whereas with a colt I suppose there is a higher risk, there’s really only one shot with them.”

That pedigree Gilsenan enthuses about is another Niarchos gem and goes back to her third dam, the Group 1 Phoenix Stakes

norelands stud

Lot 140 is a beauty – a filly as good as her and with that page should be busy on the sale ground.

With these well-bred fillies, you have a ten-year plan really, whereas with a colt I suppose there is a higher risk, there’s really only one shot with them winner Aviance (Northfields). She is the dam of multiple US Grade 1 winner Denon, as well as the Group 1 Moyglare Stud Stakes and Coronation Stakes winner Chimes Of Freedom, who in turn is the dam of US champion sprinter and sire Aldebaran.

Aviance’s Firth of Clyde Stakes-winning daughter Imperfect Circle is the dam of Spinning World and second dam of 2019 Preakness winner War Of Will and Group 1 National Stakes winner Pathfork.

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OT 280 is a son of Sea The Stars and the first foal of Soltada, a Dawn Approach half-sister to Group 1 Nunthorpe Stakes winner Margot Did, who has foaled the Grade 1 Belmont Invitational Stakes winner Magic Attitude and the Group 2 Prix de Sandringham winner Mission Impassible to Sea The Stars’s half-brother, and Dawn Approach’s grandsire, Galileo.

“We bought Soltada in France as a threeyear-old and own her in partnership with Patrick. The colt comes from a lovely family and is inbred to Urban Sea, which is proving to be quite successful!” Gilsenan adds.

Also proving to be continually successful is Norelands Stud and, with the normal amount of luck and good health everyone requires, they will also have a draft of gems for the 2022 yearling sales, not least the halfbrothers to their most recent diamonds.

“This year Cabaret had a Kingman halfbrother to St Mark’s Basilica, and Fleche D’Or has a Kingman colt as well.

“The last two years at the sales with Fleche D’Or have been incredible, unbelievable really. Hopefully, her Frankel filly will run soon – she’s named Princesse D’Or and is with Charlie Appleby. Dhahabi was injured, but the word is that he is on his way back.”

Fleche D’Or has a Sea The Stars yearling filly, who is very closely related to Golden Horn, on the Kilkenny farm, but she won’t be seeing the inside of a sales ring with the Fleche D’Or partnership understandably eager to maintain that bloodline.

Fleche D’Or’s 2014 Acclamation daughter Cercle D’Or is a member of the Norelands broodmare band and Gilsenan is firmly of the belief that it pays to buy into the families from the great breeding establishments.

“Anthony Oppenheimer has done such an amazing job with that pedigree, we bought Fleche D’Or before Golden Horn had even

run, but what an incredible achievement to keep those families producing Group 1 winners like that,” he exclaims.

“It’s a lesson for all of us that if you buy off the really top breeders such as Hascombe, Juddmonte, Coolmore and all these operations who have access to the best bloodlines you always have a chance of success with it. We have always tried to do that at the sales.”

Success breeds success. A look through the Norelands draft for the 2021 Tattersalls October Book 1 Sale, and a glance at the farm’s history at the Newmarket sales’ complex, supports that well-worn maxim.

Norelands Stud Tattersalls October Yearling Sale 2021 draft Book 1 lot 42 60 140 280 439 Book 2 lot 520 581 628 706 714 715 762 766 865 873 1087 1155 1251

Horse br,f. ch,c. ch,f. ch,c. b,c.

b,f. b,f. b,f. b,f. ch,f. b,c. b,c. b,c. br,c. b,f. b,f. b,f. br/gr,f.

Sire-Dam Kingman-Galileo Gal Saxon Warrior-Hint Of Pink Sea The Stars-Mambo Light Sea The Stars-Soltada No Nay Never-Cash In The Hand

Australia- Emotion Siyouni-Gabrielle Oasis Dream-Inca Trail Siyouni-Love Is Blindness Australia-Madam Baroque Australia-Madeenaty Invincible Spirit-Moorside Kodiac-Most Beautiful Dark Angel-Propel Muhaarar-Pyrenean Queen Lope de Vega-Unpretentious Zoffany-Allez Y Zoustar-Cheetah

Damsire Galileo Teofilo Kingmambo Dawn Approach Exchange Rate

Exceed And Excel Dark Angel Royal Academy Sir Percy Royal Applause Dansili Champs Elysees Canford Cliffs Dubawi Zoffany Invincible Spirit Rip VanWinkle Tiger Hill

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BECAUSE EVERY YEARLING DESERVES A STARRING ROLE We understand that you have ‘LOTS’ of individuals.

So, for that extra bit of back up and support, Saracen are always 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 & Breeders know they can rely on us.

Call a member of our dedicated specialist Thoroughbred team.

POLLY BONNOR Tel: +44 7973 802 210 CLARE ROBERTS Tel: +44 7714 768 250 DANIELA NOWARA Tel: +33 676 17 88 99 contact the Office Tel: +44 1488 73456 or visit www.saracenhorsefeeds.com/thoroughbred

SUCCESS SERVICE SCIENCE SUPPORT

clearwater stud

Flying start Public Sector was the first yearling consigned at Tattersalls

by Farran Anstock at the renamed Clearwater Stud.

The son of Kingman is now a Grade 2 and Grade 3 winner, and has given his half-brother a very tasty pedigree update ahead of the Tattersalls October Yearling Sale

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BIG FAT STAKES RACE pedigree update around six weeks ahead of selling is what every yearling consignor yearns for… the pedigree will show its improvement and there is still enough time for that success to seep into buyers’ minds.

When that is a winning Grade 2 performance, followed up two weeks later by Grade 3 success and a decent Grade 1 (albeit after the yearling sales conclude) is being talked about as the legitimate target; when those wins were produced by the first horse you sold under a new banner at Tattersalls, the horse whom you always thought was one of the nicest that had been bred on the farm, and when you have that colt’s yearling halfbrother catalogued in Newmarket as Lot 190, and he is just as nice, then the autumn looks quite promising.

Farran Anstock of Clearwater Stud (previously Kathyrn Stud) is in that very happy position with his yearling colt by Golden Horn, a half-brother to Public Sector, winner of the mile Grade 2 National Museum Hall Of Fame Stakes at Saratoga on August 6 and the Grade 3 Saranac Stakes on September 4.

The three-year-old colt by Kingman is

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trained by Chad Brown and was bought by Mike Ryan for Klaravich Stables in Book 1 2019 for 170,000gns.

“He was our first horse through the ring at Tattersalls as Clearwater Stud. He was ‘the horse’ for that year and we were we were a little bit disappointed with the money he made, but he is a Grade 2 winner now so, fingers crossed, he keeps progressing now,” recalls Anstock, who laughs: “We’ve were watching the odds for the 20 minutes leading up to the Grade 2 thinking, ‘Oh god, why is he going off favourite?’ A lot of ours seem to go off favourite, and so we never get our real good bet, but winning with them is a win itself. Breeding them is a big enough gamble anyway!”

Anstock’s father Fergus started breeding horses in 2006 under the banner of Kathryn Stud, the mares based at the 80-acre farm in Buckinghamshire the yearlings then sent on to Bumble Mitchell to prep and consign.

When Anstock jnr decided that he might like to become fully involved in the business, before taking on mission control, he was despatched on a working and learning tour that encompassed Lynn Lodge Stud, Coolmore (Australia and Ireland), the National Stud and its courses.

He came home in 2018, the stud was

clearwater stud

The Kathryn Stud-bred and Clearwater Stud-sold Public Sector winning the Grade 3 Saranac Stakes under Irad Ortiz Jnr for trainer Chad Brown.

The $400,000 Grade 1 Hollywood Derby on November 27 at Del Mar has been pinpointed

by Brown as the main autumn target for the son of Kingman.

“He came out of it in good shape. He continues to develop,” said Brown to the NYRA Press Office in early September. “To win two stakes at the meet for a three-year-old is impressive.

I’m very pleased with how far this horse has come along this year.”

Photo courtesy of NYRA and by Susie Raisher

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clearwater stud renamed Clearwater Stud due to its proximity to a water mill, and the family business closed its circle.

“We had Public Sector entered in the foal sales,” recalls Anstock. “The week I came home they would have been going off to Bumble for prep. We went out to the paddock and I said, ‘Geez, we can’t sell this horse, he’s gorgeous!’

“And Dad was very much the same, but there was only there was only a few horses around to sell that year and we needed to pay for the next year, so it was a bit of a gamble keeping him, but he just developed to be even nicer.

“He was just so easy, he was just really straightforward. Some horses you get a little bit worried that they then don’t have that ‘spark’ in them to perform, but he never lacked the spark. He just never gave it to you in a negative way. He’d come out of the box in the morning and rear up, that was that was like his party trick, but then he’d walk on fine and worked.”

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IS YOUNG DAM Parle Moi is certainly doing her thing – she has had four runners of racing age, three runners and two winners, with Public Sector promising to become one of the year’s leading US Turf three-yearolds “It’s amazing what an update can do for people’s perception of a family, we’ve had interest right since Public Sector won his maiden in 2020,” reveals Anstock. “We’re hopeful the Golden Horn is a nice horse. He is well put together, moves very well, an easy mover, he is very clear winded, too.

“The mare is obviously doing it, and she has a Ribchester colt at foot and is in-foal to Persian King. We couldn’t really afford to go back to Kingman so we thought we’d try the next best thing, try and keep some sort of link back to Public Sector – he’s pretty special to us.

“We’ve got some lovely horses to sell this year so, hopefully, we might be able to send Parle Moi back to Kingman again in 2022!”

This year’s Clearwater Tattersalls October draft is the biggest so far with five in Book 1, three in Book 2 and five in Book 3.

Sometimes in this business you get so much bad luck, that you kind of don’t notice the good luck!

“We’ve got the only New Approach catalogued, we have one of just three by Mastercraftsman, one of four by Golden Horn and the only filly by American Pharoah. So, if anything, we’ve got a some rare commodities, people aren’t going to be spoiled for choice.

“And we have a fabulous colt by Tamayuz [Lot 1141], physically he’s probably one of the strongest ones we’ve ever bred,”says Anstock.

The farm’s breeding decisions are a three-way plot developed by Anstock jnr and snr alongside long-term bloodstock advisor

Jeremy Brummit – each man producing a list for each mare and debating the options.

“We get the yearling sales out of the way first so we know what sort of budget we have for the next year,” continues Anstock jnr.

“Jeremy’s and Dad’s lists are often very similar, and then I come up with a few random ones that maybe are a little bit more current – I get laughed out of the room with some of them!

“Persian King, though, was kind of my decision, and Mastercraftsman, well you just can’t ignore a stat so we sent him a very good mare, and we’ve got a really strong colt.

“Maybe that was a touch of luck, considering that he is no longer with us.

Sometimes in this business you get so much bad luck, that you kind of don’t notice the good luck!”

Breeding a Derby winner has always been the Anstocks aim, but the team recognises the difficulty of trying to achieve that landmark goal, whilst matching the commercial, perhaps speedier, needs of a stud farm.

“Balancing it all is tricky, getting the money and getting the horses to the sales and then making the right decisions when the mares go back to stud – for a homebred operation, its vital you get it

Team Clearwater at York races (from left to right): Fergus Anstock, bloodstock advisor Jeremy Brummitt, Farran Anstock, and brother Harry, who is a pro golfer

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clearwater stud sell as a yearling in Book 2 so we kept her, raced her and she won a Listed race at two.”

Anstock would like to prep for outside owners, but wants to ensure that the quality is not diluted, he wants to maintain the Book 1 focus and for Clearwater to be known as stud that sells.

“When we set out with Clearwater, we thought the best thing was to get them sold to good people,” he explains.

“Hopefully, people will pick up on the fact that when we take them to the sales they are there to be sold.

“We want them to go to good trainers, we want them to end up like Public Sector with a trainer such as Chad Brown. If we can get Mike Ryan back down to look at a few more again this year, then, amazing!

“Book 1 is where we want to be, we want to breed good Group-winning horses. We kind of feel like we’ve failed when we don’t, but it’s a hard game and every year teaches you how hard it really is.”

right,” outlines the 31-year-old.

“We want to breed a Derby winner, it’s kind of what we set out to do, but it is hard to cater for that market and at the same time bred Derby types and make them commercial. So we have been looking at faster options for some of the mares who have possibly thrown an odd slower one here or there.

“We’ve got an Expert Eye filly [Lot 1359] this year, she’s out of Interchange one of our favourite mares. Physically the filly’s all there, and there always be someone looking around for a fast source. So we’re hopeful she’s going to catch someone’s eye because she’s strong and early looking.”

When those mating plans also are made they are operated around a set strategy.

“When we sit down to choose the matings, we always breed for a filly – if we get a filly, which stallions would we be happy to have a filly by?” outlines Anstock. “And Ulysses is one of those stallions – we have two yearlings by him to sell this year, a colt and a filly [Lot 589, Lot 1321].

“We are big fans of Ulysses, and both are strong physicals – that’s why we went back to him again this year.”

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HE FARM is due to offer two fillies in Book 1 – Lot 315 by American Pharoah out of Tiburtina, and a Kingman out of Polly’s Mark (Lot 215).

The daughter of Mark Of Esteem has been the most successful mare for the farm in the sale ring – her 2013 Montjeu colt fetched 650,000gns and her 2014 Dubawi filly was bought by John Ferguson for 700,000gns. She has had three runners, one stakes performer and all have been highly rated.

“They have all done enough, they’ve all won they’re all decent ratings, we’re still confident in Polly’s family. Her Kingman is very much the same as what she’s been giving us – a strong athletic good mover,” reports Anstock.

“The American Pharoah filly is very strong. She’s grown since she came back from the America in the spring, she’s very strong with big shoulder and muscular.

“She is out of Tiburtina, whom we couldn’t

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Holiday time: the Ribchester filly out of Allumage (Lot 1852) and the American Pharoah filly out Tiburtina (Lot 315) enjoying their time on the farm in May

Clearwater Stud Tattersalls October Yearling Sale 2021 draft Book 1 lot 147 190 210 315 389

Horse b,c. b,c. b,f. b,f. ch,c.

Sire-Dam New Approach-Melinoe Golden Horn-Parle Moi Kingman-Polly’s Mark American Pharoah-Tiburtina Mastercraftsman-Artisti

Book 2 lot 530 589 1141

b,c. b,c. b,c.

Farhh-Examinee Ulysses-Giennah Tamayuz-Adore

Book 3 lot 1321 1359 1612 1797 1852

ch,f. b,f. gr,c. b,c. b,f.

Ulysses-Ferrier Expert Eye-Interchange Australia-Dijlah Wings Of Eagles-Star Search Ribchester-Allumage

Dam sire Sea The Stars Montjeu Mark Of Esteem Holy Roman Emperor Cape Cross

Monsun Tamayuz Oasis Dream

Iffraaj Montjeu Linamix Zamindar Montjeu

Lancade

winner 100. German 1.000 Guineas, Gr.2

Classic Winners Miss Yoda

winner 162. Henkel-Preis der Diana - German Oaks, Gr. 1

Talk to us and we will assist you!

October Mixed Sales 15th and 16th October 2021 www.bbag-sales.de

the doyles

Family business

Ross Doyle, now in his 20th year as a bloodstock agent, chats with Martin Stevens about the family’s bloodstock agency, which is flourishing with Group 1 results achieved, top lots purchased and busy days buying racehorses across all European sales

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E HAVE BECOME SO accustomed to Peter and Ross Doyle buying blue-chip champions across the board that the profile of one of their more recent star purchases, the Group 1-placed Happy Romance, has a pleasingly nostalgic feel to it.

The Dandy Man filly was sourced by the Doyles at their happiest hunting ground of Doncaster, and for the bargain sum of £25,000. Her breeder and vendor Jimmy Murphy of Redpender Stud had previously sold the champion Canford Cliffs and high-class half-brothers Estidhkaar and Toormore to the Irish father-son team of agents.

Trained by Richard Hannon jnr – who else? – as a two-year-old Happy Romance won 2020’s Weatherbys Super Sprint, the Goffs UK Premier Yearling Stakes and the Group 3 Dick Poole Fillies’ Stakes, in which she took the notable scalp of Alcohol Free.

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Happy Romance is the sort of horse the agency made its name with.

I think she’s only going to get better too...

This year, she has won the Listed Chelmer Fillies’ Stakes and the Hackwood Stakes (G3) and finished fourth in the Haydock Sprint Stakes (G1) to take her career earnings to well in excess of ten times her purchase price. Her value as a broodmare prospect is, of course, much higher still.

So, is it fair to still think of Happy Romance as the archetypal Peter and Ross Doyle Bloodstock horse, even when they’ve bought winners at all points of the distance spectrum – sprint sensations galore, crack milers such as Canford Cliffs, Dick Turpin and Paco Boy, middle-distance marvels such St Leger Classic runner-up Mojo Star, Japan and Pether’s Moon, and even a celebrity staying chaser in Lostintranslation?

“Some agents don’t like being pigeonholed but we don’t mind it if it’s for buying good horses!” says Ross with a laugh.

“Yes, of course, Happy Romance is the sort of horse the agency made its name with.

I think she’s only going to get better, too, and could do some serious damage later this season and next year as well, if she’s kept in training.

“If we had four or five like her running for us each year we’d be very happy!”

Thankfully, the Doyles usually do have more than a handful of high-class runners advertising their agency on an annual basis, and that has been the case for Doyle

the doyles ever since he made his first serious foray into buying horses 20 years ago this sales season.

Before that, Doyle had been interested in the family business for as long as he can remember.

“When I was a kid Peter trained five or six point-to-pointers from our home in County Wicklow; it was much more of an amateur sport back then compared to what it is now, although it was still an important educational ground for young NH horses in Ireland,” he recalls.

“We used to go to the point-to-points as a family, and we’d walk the track together.

There were some tough days but also some good days, and the good days were great.

We’d go back to the local pubs with the trophy to celebrate. It was great fun – I remember that vividly.”

To demonstrate a truth that every bloodstock agent will know – that the same pedigree can produce wildly varying results – Doyle’s brother Craig has next to no interest in racing, although he has shown the family knack for success by working his way to a senior position in the prominent technology company Commscope.

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OYLE, on the other hand, was hooked on the industry from a young age, although he did take a small detour before following his father into the agency.

“I was always keen on it and loved being around the horses and watching the racing on TV, especially when Peter started working with Liam Browne on the Flat and it all became very interesting,” he says.

“I did a business studies degree after school, and then rugby played a big part in my life. I played for Ireland in a Rugby World Cup Sevens qualifier, which was a nice honour, and won the All-Ireland League with St Mary’s in 2000. That was probably the last hurrah for me in the sport.

“Not long after that, at the age of 23 or 24, I went into racing full-time. Before then I’d been going around the sales with Peter Ross Doyle: bought his first horses alongside Richard Hannon jnr in 2001

Photo courtesy of Tattersalls and by Laura Green

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the doyles Peter and Anna Doyle: Peter recently purchased the Tattersalls August HIT Sale top lot on behalf of Prince Faisal bin Khalid’s Najd Stud

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Photo courtesy of Tattersalls and by Laura Green

whenever I could between college, and had met the likes of Liam Browne and Richard Hannon snr.

“Then the following year I met Richard jnr at Goffs and we just sort of hit it off, really.”

It was during that sales season in 2001 that Doyle and Hannon jnr struck up a productive business relationship, just as their fathers had done at Deauville around 15 years earlier. The new alliance was anointed with the sort of ingenious purchases the older generation had become renowned for.

“We were never pushed together but Richard jnr had one or two clients to buy for so I helped him out, and we just had similar

the doyles ideas about things and got on well together,” says Doyle.“We bought Rockets ‘N Rollers, who was unbeaten at two and later won the Spring Trophy, and a useful horse called Pigeon Point at that first yearling sale we worked together; a few weeks later we found the CL Weld Park Stakes winner Rag Top in Newmarket. The rest is history, thank god.”

Thus Doyle became the third generation of bloodstock agents in the family, with Peter having also helped out his legendary father Jack before going it alone in the industry.

“Jack was some man,” he says. “He was Leinster champion sprinter, rode in the RDS and won a couple of shows there, played rugby for Ireland, and rode and trained a

When Richard jnr and I started out we put a lot of pressure on ourselves to try and live up to what our fathers had done

few point-to-pointers before buying and selling no end of good horses. He was a great character and a wonderful raconteur. I can see why people still talk about him today.”

Unsurprisingly, Doyle felt the weight of history on his shoulders when he embarked on becoming an agent, as well as no little burden of expectation.

“Oh, I had big shoes to fill, I knew that,” he says. “Some people might say it’s easy to follow in those footsteps, but it can have the reverse effect as well. When Richard jnr and I started out we put a lot of pressure on ourselves to try and live up to what our fathers had done, to show we could find those big winners at good prices too.

Happy Romance (near side), a three-year-old filly by Dandy Man, was bought for £25,000 at the Goffs UK Premier Sale by Peter & Ross Doyle.

She is seen here winning the Group 3 Hackwood Stakes at Newbury.

In September, she was Group 1 fourth in the Haydock Sprint Cup and holds an entry in the Group 1 British Champions Sprint for her owner, the McMurray family

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the doyles “You’re looking for those horses who can fly the flag for you, to prove you can do it, and that happened early.

“We’ve been lucky to work for some great owners who were extremely loyal and put their trust in us even at a young age. They saw we were willing to put our necks on the line, just like Richard snr and Peter had done, and Jack before them too. Clients appreciate it when you buy a horse you really like on spec and stand over it, it gives them confidence as well.”

It was only to be expected that Doyle would continue the agency’s fine reputation for unearthing accomplished athletes at bargain prices, as he learned his trade from Peter and his mother Anna, whose part in this story should not be underplayed.

“Anna supported Peter from the start,” says Doyle. “It was just the two of them for a while, and it was tough back then as they weren’t buying the numbers we have been for the last ten or 15 years.

“Anna brought an insurance agency on board to dovetail the buying. It ran for a long time and it was a very clever idea, as it meant the agency could provide clients the complete package of purchasing, transportation and insurance. It led to people giving them more business on the buying side.

“That was all Anna’s baby in the background, but she’s a very good judge of a horse, too. She comes from a family of accomplished show jumpers, and there are broadly similar ideas between the two disciplines in terms of what you want to see in a young horse and how they’re brought along.”

D

OYLE SAYS THE KEY LESSONS he learned from his parents were to take a thorough approach to inspections, and to apply strict standards to the stock

on show.

“They’ve always been very particular in seeing nearly every horse in a sale,” he says. “Having a catalogue with comments on every single horse’s page was always a big advantage to them, so that when they were standing around the ring with a client, or Liam Browne or Richard Hannon snr,

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The Epsom Derby runner-up, Peter and Ross Doyle-purchased Mojo Star breaking his maiden tag at Newbury in August.

The son of Sea The Stars now has two Classic second placings to his name, has won £431,740 in prize-money earnings and has a BHA rating of 116

and one of them had a question, they could immediately give a detailed answer from their notes.

“They’re also extremely strict on conformation, and they drilled that into me at the start. It’s so important to have naturally strong, correct individuals who’ll be able to take their racing.

“But then, after all that, you also have to bring something to the table yourself, learned through your own experience; to develop an instant feel for a horse, taking into account their looks, their movement and their attitude, and then to trust your instincts about what you’ve seen.”

Are there ever any disagreements between the generations?

“Not too many, we’d agree 99 per cent of the time,” says Doyle. “When we’re narrowing everything down to a shortlist and discussing our opinions we might have the odd ‘I’m not sure about that’ moment.

“But we’ve learned that it’s better to leave those horses on the list rather than take them off, because it might be a marginal thing we disagree on, and the margin between good and average horses can be very fine.

“So we take the view that three heads are better than one, and have another look at the horse in question. It’s always worth showing that horse to a trainer or client and they might like it, and it could just be their next good horse.”

Buying top-notch racehorses at reasonable prices will be a family affair for the foreseeable future.

“Peter and Anna are still a big part of the team, and will be for as long as they want to be,” says Doyle. “They enjoy the sale circuit, and have made lots of friends on it over the years, among all the consignors, buyers, pinhookers and other agents.

“Some might be competitors but they’re friends first and foremost; we’re all just trying to find the next good horse and they enjoy the camaraderie. It’s been a huge part of their life for such a long time and they’ll continue to do it for as long as they can.”

No doubt about it, there will be many more precocious and classy winners like Happy Romance who have ‘Peter and Ross Doyle Bloodstock’ stamped on their sales records to come in the years ahead.

TAT T E R S A L L S O C T O B E R Y E A R L I N G S A L E , B O O K 1

U N R I VA L L E D S U C C E S S

Highest Rated Horse in the World 2021 ST MARK’S BASILICA

purchased at Book 1 of the Tattersalls October Yearling Sale

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

A RICH HISTORY OF

SUCCESS GR.1 WINNERS

BRED OR CONSIGNED

Aunt Pearl

Red Rocks

Eva’s Request

Belardo

River Keen

Astaire

Chriselliam

Al Wukair

Sudirman

Forever Together

Together Forever

Priory Belle

Wizz Kid

Opinion

BELARDO

BALLYLINCH STUD

Thomastown, Co. Kilkenny, Ireland

15 BLACK

Current crop of TYPE 2YO & 3YO SALES GRADUATES include: AUNT PEARL · 1st Breeders’ Cup JFT Gr.1 · 1st Jessamine Stakes Gr.2 BAYSIDE BOY · 1st Champagne Stakes Gr.2 BURGARITA · 1st Prix de la Seine L · 3rd Prix de Diane Gr.1 EL DRAMA · 1st Dee Stakes L · 2nd Thoroughbred Stakes Gr.3 FRANCESCO GUARDI · 3rd Denford Stakes L ISABELLA GILES · 1st Rockfel Stakes Gr.2 · 1st Prestige Stakes Gr.3 · 3rd Chartwell Stakes Gr.3 JUAN DE MONTALBAN · 2nd Derby Italiano Gr.2 JUBILATION · 2nd Prix de Cabourg Gr.3

LONE EAGLE · 1st Zetland Stakes Gr.3 · 1st Cocked Hat Stakes L · 2nd Irish Derby Gr.1 MARCH LAW · 2nd Chesham Stakes L SAFFRON BEACH · 1st Atalanta Stakes Gr.3 · 1st Oh So Sharp Stakes Gr.3 · 2nd 1,000 Guineas Gr.1 SEE THE ROSE · 1st Prix Six Perfections Gr.3 · 3rd Prix de Sandringham Gr.2 SKY ANGEL · 2nd German 1,000 Guineas Gr.2 · 2nd Prix Imprudence Gr.3 SOLDIER RISING · 2nd Saratoga Derby Gr.1 STATEMENT · 2nd Fred Darling Stakes Gr.3 · 3rd Princess Elizabeth Stakes Gr.3

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gestüt fährhof

Jacobs: a man on an industry mission

Alson (and below) the son of Areion who has joined the roster at Fährhof

Andreas Jacobs talks to Aisling Crowe about standing new sire Alson at Gestϋt Fährhof, the difficulties Brexit has created for the German breeding industry and the yearlings the farm is sending to Tattersalls Photography courtesy of Gestuet Fährhof by Marc Rühl and Zusanna Lupa

C

HANGE IS IN THE AIR over Germany, not just politically as citizens vote for a new Chancellor after 16 years of Angela Merkel’s leadership, but in the oxygen breathed by its thoroughbred racing and breeding

industry.

One of its most venerable institutions Gestüt Fährhof is going through a process of renewal overseen by Andreas Jacobs, the third generation at the helm of the operation which was founded by his grandfather Walther in 1960.

While most of us have found ourselves grappling with questions of an existential nature at one time or another, particularly over the past 18 months, the changing winds in Germany which gust around racing, together with the ramifications of the rupture between Britain and the EU, have ensured that Jacobs and others within the sport believe it is imperative to act now to attempt to secure a future for the thoroughbred in one of the

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globe’s most noted equine nations.

One of the most visible expressions of that belief is the recent announcement that Fährhof will stand Alson from next year in a partnership with the colt’s owners and breeders the honoured Gestüt Schlenderhan, Germany’s oldest thoroughbred stud farm.

“We are standing him in full partnership with Schlenderhan,” states Jacobs. “Our families know each other very well, our trust is complete, and we are working together on this as we will work together on other projects in the future. This is a very strong symbol of the partnership of two great studs in Germany.

“Alson is a very good-looking horse and he was a very good two-year-old. He represents the best of German breeding and also the necessity of investing in stallions in Germany.”

That best of German breeding includes Alson’s broodmare sire Galileo, a product of Schlenderhan’s most majestic family through his grand-dam

gestüt fährhof Allegretta, and the sire of his second dam Monsun, who raced for Baron von Ullmann and retired to stud at Schlenderhan from where he became outstandingly successful.

Alson is a half-brother to the Group 2 MehlMulhens-Rennen winner Ancient Spirit and himself won the Group 1 Criterium International and Baden-Baden’s Group 3 Zukunftsrennen at two, when he was also second to Victor Ludorum in the Group 1 Prix Jean-Luc Lagardère by just three-parts of a length.

He was third to that same horse in the Group 1 Poule d’Essai des Poulains, beaten less than 2l, by then having become a stablemate to Victor Ludorum in the yard of André Fabre for whom he won the Listed Prix Matchem.

The speed in his pedigree, which allowed him to excel at 7f and a mile, comes from his sire Areion, who was a triple Group winner at 6f and a son of Moyglare Stud’s Big Shuffle. He was second to Soviet Star in the Group 1 July Cup and third to Salse in the Prix de la Forêt (G1).

“I believe Areion is a completely underestimated and undervalued horse and so Alson is an interesting combination of Areion, Galileo and Monsun,” Jacobs says.

This venture returns a horse to the Fährhof stallion yard, which gained its first resident in 1968 and was home to the brilliant Lomitas.

B

UT THE CATALYST for the partnership is a profound desire to preserve and improve the future of the German breeding industry, which has been hit badly by the effects of Brexit.

The transport of around 80 per cent of the nation’s thoroughbred broodmare band to stallion farms in the UK and Ireland every year is no longer viable and moves are afoot to increase the quality and quantity of stallions in the country.

“I really hope that more exciting stallions will be retired to stud in Germany over the coming years because if not then German breeding will disappear because people will not be able to finance it.

“The financial disadvantage now of sending a German mare to England or Ireland is huge. We have huge transport costs and now we have all the paperwork costs and the VAT costs, and last, but not least, we have a disadvantage because the tests, like swab tests and so on, carried out in Germany are not recognised by English and Irish studs so we usually lose one cycle when we send mares over.

“It is a massive disadvantage and is a no-go in

the long run for German breeders.

“I think people will come together and buy horses, we have no choice, we have to,” is Jacobs’ stark assessment.

“Alson is a good blend and he will be a successful horse, obviously we will have to find other stallions and that will be the key to keeping German breeding alive, something I really worry about.”

Racing in Germany is attuned to the later maturing type, with all of the country’s Group 1 contests at least 1m2f in duration. There are no Group 1 or Group 2 races for juveniles and only four Group 3 races for them, but the social licence under which the industry operates is becoming stricter as those winds of change start to swirl around society.

Already rules have been changed in relation to the whip, an issue that is not unique to Germany, but what is different is the attitude to training and racing young horses.

Regulations have been introduced which prevent two-year-olds racing until July and they must undergo tests to ensure that they are physically able to compete. With the ever-increasing emphasis on speed in other parts of the racing world, these developments in Germany seem to ensure that the traditional strengths of German horses will be protected, but could also lead Germany on a different road to other racing nations, such as Ireland and the UK. “I advocate for a bit of speed but there is no need to completely change the ‘brand’, and the brand includes

The financial disadvantage now of sending a German mare to England or Ireland is huge ... it is a massive disadvantage and is a no-go in the long run

Andreas Jacobs: focused on revitalising the German breeding industry

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gestüt fährhof

I advocate for a bit of speed, but there is no need to completely change the ‘brand’, and the brand includes the late-maturing, tough stayer...

thelate-maturing, tough stayer so I am very much a fan of this, for Germany as a breeding nation, to leverage that asset.

“We really need to revitalise German breeding with new stallions so we keep the numbers of mares and foals stable. It is a challenge and it is something I can only encourage the world to support because losing a nation is not a good option for racing globally,” recognises Jacobs.

In response to the shifting tectonic plates Jacobs has also examined the Fährhof broodmare band with a forensic eye, positioning the farm to adapt to the changing world by offering a potent blend from the storied German families with stallions of global impact. It takes into account the realities of the German situation with the desire to maintain an international outlook and reputation for offering the best product.

That is reflected in the septet of yearlings Fährhof sends to Tattersalls this year, the first since the sale of the former Jacobs family-owned Newsells Park

Yearlings showing off their action for the camera ahead of their appearances on the Fährhof social media accounts

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Stud to Graham Smith-Bernal earlier this year.

Jacobs explains: “If you look at the small group that we are sending you notice that most of them are colts. We still keep half of our fillies to carry on the breeding and we sell all of our colts.

“We try to have international pedigrees somehow blended into our old German lines – people can recognise easily because of the first letter of the mare’s name carrying on which I think is a lovely, lovely thing to implement.

“I actually implemented the same in South Africa [where Jacobs owns Maine Chance Farm] and we carried on the tradition in Newsells Park for 20 years, every horse follows the first letter of the mare, which I think is nice to build families.”

Those traditions, allied to the heritage associated with the farm, is something few other consignors in Park Paddocks can offer to potential purchasers.

It is something Jacobs believes is an enormous advantage. The staff not only know the yearlings since birth, but they also knew their mothers and

gestüt fährhof grandmothers. In some families the bloodlines go back six generations.

“If you have an owner-breeder who also sells commercially you have the huge advantage of knowing that the breeder did a pre-selection through his own breeding programme, before you buy the horse, before the horse is offered to you at the sales – this is a significant element,” he argues.

One of the most exciting yearlings that Fährhof is taking to Newmarket is a perfect example of what Jacobs and his team has set out to achieve.

Lot 157 is one of five yearlings from the first crop of the unbeaten Triple Crown hero Justify and he hails from Fährhof’s renowned “L” family with the brilliant Lomitas as a half-brother to his second dam, and the champions La Colorada and La Dorada as his third and fourth dams respectively.

Described by Jacobs as a “tough horse and identical to his sire”, he is out of the Group 3 Schwarzgold Rennen winner La Saldana by Fastnet Rock.

The first Fährhof yearling through the ring is only a third generation Fährhof bred, but Lomitas still figures largely in her pedigree as the sire of her second dam. Lot 55 is a daughter of Kingman and the only filly amongst the Fährhof draft in Book 1.

“We bought this filly’s second dam Hasay, she is a Lomitas mare and naturally I am a great fan of Lomitas, and we were lucky because Hargeisa [dam of Lot 55] became a Group winner in Italy and Group placed in France as a two-year-old.

“Interestingly, the mare is relatively small but this filly is an amazingly scopey Kingman, she is the boss in the paddock and she is a very impressive Kingman filly,” describes Jacobs.

L

OMITAS, also features in the breeding of Lot 221, one of just four yearlings by the much-missed Shamardal catalogued for Book 1, and he had an incidental role in bringing her family to Germany.

As a young horse Lomitas had a fear of the starting stalls and so great had it become that he refused to enter the stalls when favourite for the 1991 Group 2 Mehl-Mulhens Rennen.

Jacobs’ grandfather tasked Monty Roberts with curing Lomitas’ phobia – so successful was Roberts’s intervention that Lomitas went on to win three Group 1 races.

Walther Jacobs then asked Roberts to buy him some yearlings in Kentucky and one of those was the Devil’s Bag filly out of Grade 1 Yellow Ribbon Stakes winner Queen To Conquer, bred by Barronstown

Above, handwalking yearlings on a misty autumn morning at Fährhof, right, Jacobs in charge of the microphone entertaining clients on a stud open day

Stud. Named Quebrada, she became Germany’s champion two-year-old and three-year-old filly with her victories including the German 1,000 Guineas.

As a broodmare she also excelled, producing three stakes winners and two stakes-placed performers and is the second dam of five stakes winners headed by the Group 1 Premio Presidente delle Repubblica winner Querari.

She is also the second dam of Lot 221, who is out

Gestüt Fährhof Tattersalls October Yearling Sale 2021 draft Book 1 lot Horse 55 b,f.

107 ch,c.

221 ch,c.

250 ch,c.

Sire-Dam Kingman-Hargeisa Justify-La Saldana Shamardal-Quariana Farhh-Saltita

Book 2 lot 827 ch,c.

1102 b,c.

1207 b,c.

Roaring Lion-Path Wind Camelot-Wacaria Dark Angel-Bella Sonata

Dam sire Speightstown Fastent Rock Lomitas Galileo

Anabaa Makfi Silvano

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gestüt fährhof

No need for an Instagram filter to bolster this photo of yearlings grazing the well-managed paddocks at Fährhof, the stud having begun life in 1960

Our team love it because they get huge recognition for the work they do and we also show that a German stud is doing a proper job

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of Quebrada’s unraced Lomitas daughter Quariana.

Lot 221 also has a connection to another Fährhof-bred Group 1 winner as Jacobs explains.

“This colt is probably the smartest, most racy colt.

We had the first Group 1 winner by Shamardal out of a Lomitas mare, he was called Zazou. That is why, when Darley kindly opened Shamardal’s book to 20 outside mares that year, we went back, she was accepted and so this is the product and he is a very smart-looking colt.”

Fährhof’s final offering at Book 1 is the only yearling in the catalogue by Darley’s Group 1 Champions Stakes and Lockinge Stakes winner Farhh.

“The S family is not our family,” says Jacobs of Lot 250’s lineage. “We bought the second dam from a neighbouring farm, and it is a very tough family.

There is the Oaks winner Serienholde, who was sold to Japan, on the page and she has already produced a Group 1 winner with her first foal. It is a very good family. We did the mating because Farhh over Galileo is proven and this looks like the next Derby winner. He is a really nice horse, but a more Classic horse.”

The development of the Fährhof yearlings is being fully documented on the farm’s Twitter and Instagram accounts, an idea born of Jacobs’ and his family’s passion for horses, working with them, and

www.internationalthoroughbred.net

riding them and his desire to showcase the human and equine talent that Germany has to offer.

“As a family we love horses and we come from the angle of working with the horse; we really love to work with horses so the idea of not just showing posed pictures and classic stuff suits me very well.

“Our team love it because they get huge recognition for the work they do and we also show that a German stud is doing a proper job.

“Germany is one of the strongest horse nations in the world, particularly when it comes to breeding warmbloods, but that is forgotten about sometimes and I wanted to bring this across, that we are super good horse people with great infrastructure and great staff.

“I wanted to show that so people recognise that, to honour the team, honour the horses and show that we are professionals.”

It is this behind-the-scenes element, the desire to share that love and talent with a wider audience, that will set the social media accounts apart.

It is also that same passion that is aiming to breathe new life into Germany’s thoroughbred industry, giving it the shot of oxygen required to face into its challenges with strength and conviction and withstand whatever may be carried on the wind.

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liz crow

European

tours

Melissa Bauer-Herzog chats with US bloodstock agent Liz Crow, buyer of the Breeders’ Cup winner Aunt Pearl at the Tattersalls October Sale.

The agent is looking forward to a return trip to Europe this autumn on the hunt for more stars

W

HEN AUNT PEARL crossed the line first in the 2020 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf (G1), it was a culmination of a plan that got its start decades earlier when bloodstock agent Liz Crow first sat on a horse.

Put into riding lessons by her mom at six years of age, Crow quickly caught the horse bug and a trip to the track a few years later with her grandparents led to young Liz falling in love with racing. After high school, she entered the Equine Business programme

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liz crow The 2019 BSW Euro Venture / Liz Crow team of Barry Weisbord (far left), Nicholas De Watrigant and Crow in purchasing mode at Tattersalls, 2019 Photo courtesy of Tattersalls and by Laura Green

at the University of Louisville, which is when she found the perfect job.

Experiencing everything in the industry from foal watch to becoming an assistant trainer, it was time with bloodstock agent Peter Bradley that secured the idea of what she wanted to do in the industry.

“I worked for Pete for four years and to me the sales just stuck,” she said. “I found it the most interesting part of the business because I think it brings everything together into one.

“I love the idea of trying to find the next great horse, and I decided I wanted to be a bloodstock agent during my time with Pete.”

After her time with Bradley, Crow started working at BSW/Crow Bloodstock in late 2015 and became a partner in the company a few years later. It was three years into her time there that her interest in buying yearlings overseas started to become a reality.

She’d always thought about going to a European sale to buy horses but it wasn’t until her BSW/Crow business partner Bradley Weisbord brought up the idea of going to Europe that it was set into motion.

The pair had been inspired by Mike Ryan and Chad Brown’s previous ventures to European sales leading to the purchase of horses such as the 2018 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies’ Turf winner Newspaperofrecord, and they quickly followed their footsteps.

“Barry came up with the idea of us putting together this Euro venture,” Crow said of the decision. “We credit Mike Ryan and Chad Brown for being the first to do that and show that it worked with Newspaperofrecord.

“We saw that and thought why not us?

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liz crow Why not go over to Europe and give it a try?

“Tattersalls seemed to have the best cumulative group of horses from pedigree to physical hence we landed there as our first stop.”

Buying thoroughbreds overseas wasn’t exactly a new adventure for BSW/Crow, who had found success purchasing proven horses abroad and privately for clients.

The bloodstock agency had privately purchased racehorses such as champion Uni, the graded stakes winner Thewayyouare from Europe through their racing careers, but Crow had to change her approach for European yearlings.

“When I’m looking at a yearling in Europe versus over here, I have to adjust my eye a little bit,” she explains. “European yearlings are typically smaller physicals than the American yearlings and they really focus on the walk over there; they like a big loose walk and they just look for different physical attributes than we look for a lot of time. It’s an adjustment of your eye for sure.”

With racehorses in North America training on the Dirt, Crow also realised she needs to find yearlings who could stand up to training on the surface.

W

ITH THAT IN MIND, she admits she tends to look for yearlings who have more bone, but, overall, she looks for the same thing in European yearlings as she does in America – a nice horse is a nice horse.

With European auctions operating a

European yearlings are typically smaller physicals than the American yearlings and they really focus on the walk over there

little differently than those in North America, Crow had to learn how the auction system in Europe works, but with Turf racing growing in the US it was worth the added research.

“I think the European Turf pedigrees are a lot deeper than American Turf pedigrees,” she said of a major reason they went to Europe. “I think American Turf racing is starting to expand and get stronger with our Turf Triple Crown both for fillies and colts.

“There’s plenty of money to be made on the Turf in America and I think that there’s more opportunities to buy a quality Turf pedigree in Europe.”

Crow’s trip to Tattersalls in 2019 proved to be successful with the Grade 1 winner Aunt Pearl among the nine yearlings purchased under the BSW Euro Venture name.

Seven of the other eight have made at least one start with each hitting the board.

From observing the careers of those horses, she has also learned what she has to adjust when she’s looking for to find horses who will be successful in the US. “The biggest lesson I learned is that speed is

The 2019 BSW Euro Venture / Liz Crow Tattersalls October Book 1 purchase Aunt Pearl winning the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf last autumn. The Lope De Vega filly cost 280,000gns and was one of nine purchases for the team at that year’s October Sale

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liz crow The two-time Breeders’ Cup winner Monomoy Girl was bought by BSW Bloodstock and Liz Crow as a Keeneland September Yearling for $100,000 in 2016.

She was resold by Elite at last autumn’s Fasig-Tipton Kentucky November Sale for $9,500,000, bought by Spendthrift.

She has won over £3 million in prize-money earnings

really important in American Turf racing,” she reflected. “Getting out of the gate is important and the fact that we have tighter turns than they have in Europe. I will focus more on looking for speed this year than focusing on a long-distance Turf horse.

“Our biggest success was Aunt Pearl and she’s obviously a gate-to-wire type of runner.”

BSW/Crow has often shown that it isn’t afraid to try new things to help its clients find success. It has made an impact in North American racing through both its purchases, but also via its Elite Sales consignments at Horses of Racing Age Sales. The step into the European yearling market made perfect sense for Crow.

“It’s really interesting that two of the last three years Tattersalls purchases have won the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf.

“I think it’s proven that we’re probably having a higher likelihood of winning these Grade 1s and bigger races in America if we’re looking at every single sale and trying to spread the diversity of what we’re trying to purchase rather than just focus on one thing.

Aunt Pearl as a sales yearling in 2019. She was bred by Ecurie Des Charmes and Ballylinch Stud Photo courtesy of Ballylinch Stud

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“We’re always trying to expand and thinking outside the box a little bit.”

The BSW/Crow team had to miss adding that diversity to its sale travels last year due to the pandemic, but is planning on returning to Tattersalls this year.

While recent news has her worried about how travelling will be in October, she noted that they’ve been working closely with the Tattersalls team to ensure they can go to the sale.

She conceded that its not something they can control, but says they will be there if at all possible.

“We’re definitely watching the news week-to-week, definitely a little concerned about getting over there, but I still have confidence that we can make it,” she said.

“We’re working with Tattersalls and Jimmy George and his team just trying to make sure that we can get there but obviously we have no control over that.

“I’m getting more concerned by the week, but I’m sure we’ll figure it out.”

BSW/Crow likely won’t be the only ones headed over to Tattersalls this year with the sale having been well-represented in the US in 2021.

Dual 2021 Grade 1 winner Domestic Spending, the Commonwealth Cup (G1) winner Campanelle, and the Grade 2 winner Public Sector are just a few of the US-based Tattersalls graduates who have visited graded stakes winner’s circles in recent months.

The Ben McElroy purchase Twilight Gleaming made the trip from the Goffs Orby to Wesley Ward’s yard and then back to Europe to finish second in Royal Ascot’s Queen Mary Stakes (G2) and win a 5f Listed race at Deauville.

The transatlantic journey for yearlings from Britain to the US is a successful one, and it looks as though another draft will be heading stateside this autumn.

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the al attiyah family

Various branches of Qatar’s Al Attiyah family, leading owners at home, are enjoying their racing interests in Britain and Ireland courtesy of the Weatherbys Super Sprint winner Gubbass, various top-class broodmares purchased and breeding for Al Wasmiyah Stud, exciting yearlings to sell in Book 1, and horses to buy for fun on the track.

Bloodstock agent Will Douglass is guiding the family on its exciting racing path in Europe

Racing across nations 88

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the al attiyah family Gubbass (Mehmas) winning the Weatherbys Super Sprint at Newbury

F

AMILY NETWORKS: racing is full of them, fathers, sons, mothers, daughters owning, riding, training racehorses. As the racing cliché is oft repeated “it is in the blood”.

A newer aspect of this phenomena in the British and Irish racing ranks is the arrival of family networks of owners from Qatar, keen to race thoroughbreds on the cloudy islands of Britain and Ireland many miles from their bright Middle Eastern homelands.

Qatar’s Al Attiyah family, which seemingly boasts an endless supply of cousins, is currently enjoying the many aspects that racehorse ownership offers in the UK … from watching exciting two-year-old winners and Group 1 performers, to counting down the days until their well-bred yearlings head from stud farms to be sold at Tattersalls.

Bloodstock agent Will Douglass has been deciphering the family relationships and managing its bloodstock and racing interests in Europe, which very much is a growing and ambitious venture.

Mr Jassim Bin Ali Al Attiyah Photo: courtesy of QREC

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the al attiyah family The connections stem from the sales work he has done alongside Qatar’s former champion trainer Gassim Ghazli, and the result of a number of networking, pre-COVID trips to the region.

“I met Jassim Bin Ali Al Attiyah with Gassim Ghazali many years ago. He is a lovely man and works quite high up in the Qatari ministry. He had a few horses here a few years ago, but they never actually ran,” recalls Douglass. “We took them to Doha, and one of them ended up being really really good, a Footstepsinthesand colt called Almigdam.

“Two years ago, he gave me a call and said, ‘I want to do it again’. So we bought two, both by Footstepsinthesand – a horse called US Cliff and Riktar, they cost £37,000 and 27,000gns.

“US Cliff was a really nice horse, and had two or three runs at the back end of his two-year-old career. We took him to Qatar where he won his first race with Gassim, and did really well. He was sold on out there.”

T

HIS YEAR’S RACING HIGHLIGHT for Al Attiyah has been undoubtedly the two-year-old performances of his Mehmas colt, Gubbass.

He was bought by Douglass at the Tattersalls Ireland September Sale for £26,000 and is a first foal out of the Lope De Vega mare Vida Amorosa. Last September Douglass found himself in the fortunate position of being ahead of the Mehmas curve.

“I was keen to buy a Mehmas because of the Al Shaqab connection and at Fairyhouse last year there were loads of them,” he says, adding, “I was quite surprised that the sales company hadn’t reacted quicker to put more into Book 2 because they were all good enough to be in there – by then Mehmas had just started to show as a stallion what he was capable of.

“At the September Sale I actually underbid the Mehmas colt who has subsequently been named Beauty Inspire [Lot 108, sold for £25,000]. He is trained by Ger Lyons and is now a Group 3 winner.

“I then bought a Footstepsinthesand colt, wh0 is now called Redad, and then

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I had kind of thought it was ‘fill-your-boots time with Mehmas’ at the sale and there was value to be had, although I still only bought one!

Gubbass for £26,000gns. I really loved him, and we would have given quite a lot of money for him. I had kind of thought it was ‘fill-your-boots time with Mehmas’ at the sale and there was value to be had, although I still only bought one!”

As has so quickly become a characteristic of progeny by Mehmas, the son of Vida Amorosa was a true-to-type-yearling-turntwo-year-old by the sire – straightforward and showing signs of ability from the get-go.

His trainer Richard Hannon was certainly not shy about stating this fact, and his prediction was proved correct – the horse made a 6l winning debut at Leicester in April.

“I went to the yard in January and Richard was saying, ‘This is nice’, though admittedly he does say that quite a lot!” laughs Douglass.

“But, to be fair, Gubbass just did look ‘nice’. As the early spring progressed Richard always talked about him and kept saying he loved him.

“Gubbass went to Leicester in April and won well, and jockey Sean [Levey] said after he’s well above average. He beat Angel Bleu decisively, and he went on to win his next two before Royal Ascot, and then won the Vintage Stakes at Goodwood.”

As is the wont with horses things did not initially go to plan for Gubbass – any hopes to run at Royal Ascot had to shelved, the horse was not quite right through the late spring and a 10-day stint of “doctor green” was administered.

The natural remedy duly worked its magic and in July, three months after his racecourse debut, Gubbass shrugged off his absence from action, went down the road to Newbury, galloped over 5f, picked up £98,340 in prize-money and broke the juvenile course record when winning the Weatherbys-sponsored Super Sprint.

“Richard had been talking about the Super Sprint since about March,” admits Douglass.

“He kept saying, ‘He only cost 26 grand, he’ll have to go close’. And then he went and won. It was great. And Jassim’s cousins were there, and everyone was delighted.”

Al Wasmiyah Stud’s Noor Al Hawa winning Qatar’s The H H Amir Sword. It was the son of Makfi’s fifth race win in succession, the horse winning seasonal earnings of 2,941,200QAR (£584,000) Photo: courtesy of QREC

the al attiyah family The horse has since gone on to finish third in the Richmond Stakes (G2) and fifth in a competitive Group 1 Prix Morny.

“We were really pleased with his Morny run,” says Douglass. “We think he probably wants lightning quick ground as his recordbreaking Newbury run proves, and Sean said that he just didn’t get a run in France when he needed it. He finished a close-up fifth in a very good race.”

Gubbass has all range of autumn entries – stretching from the valuable sale races that he is so well-qualified for, through to the Group 2 Mill Reef Stakes and on to stallionmaking international Group 1 engagements.

“At the moment we are planning to go to the Mill Reef, to France for the Prix Jean Luc Lagardère and then possibly the US for the Breeder’s Cup,” outlines Douglass.

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UT DESPITE ALL THOSE BIG-RACE entries and probable emerging stallion plans, the Super Sprint victory has been pivotal.

“Despite the poor prizemoney, Jassim likes to have horses in England – he and his family usually spend a lot of time in London and they love England and its racing, especially the big summer Festivals,” outlines Douglass. “Winning the Super Sprint was great because it paid for every single yearling we bought last year.

“Our yearling spend was 86,000gns so we paid for their purchase, though there was not a lot left over to go towards the training fees!

Richard is not so expensive, but when you have three in training, the bills, well they are just rapid,” explains the agent ruing the state of racing’s finances.

While there are significant funds from home to put towards the racing interests, the approach taken by the Qatari-based owner and the agent is realistic.

“Jassim doesn’t really spend more than 40,000gns on a horse, and I don’t want him to because that’s kind of where he is happy at.

“It means there is less pressure, and we can operate a simple plan. If they are middleof-the-road and we think they can be a fun horse in Qatar, they go straight out there.

If they’re no good, we sell them on, and if

Mr Ali Bin Hamad Al Attiyah Photo: courtesy of QREC

For us I think they’ve got to be rated 75 or above; if, as a two-year-old, they’re rated at least 75 you might get into a nice Festival nursery

they’re good, then they stay; he has got a bit lucky though,” admits Douglass.

“We run it a quite rigidly and keep tabs on what we’re doing so we don’t have to throw money away. If we have one that is not good enough for us, we try and make a decision straight away to move him or her on.

“For us I think as juveniles they’ve got to be rated 75 or above; if as a two-year-old they’re rated at least 75 you might get into a nice Festival nursery. And then if they can progress at three you could be into the 80s and then you appeal to a resale market. That way you will get your running, and then can still take advantage of the strong resale market in the UK.” The pair has indeed taken advantage of that resale market, albeit privately, and Gubbass has a new part-owner. Keeping it in the family, the colt’s new part-owner Al Wasmiyah Stud is a Qatari and Europeanbased concern, owned by the brothers Ali and Mohammed bin Hamad Al Attiyah, who are cousins of Jassim.

As their trading name suggests the business breeds, produces and owns racehorses in Qatar, this year enjoying great success winning the valuable HH The Amir’s Trophy with Noor Al Hawa and finishing up as the season’s fourth leading owner.

In Europe, Ali and Mohammed’s interest, despite their young ages, is via a long-term stud and business venture.

“They are in their mid-20s and again I met them through Gassim Ghazali in January 2017. We bought a mare privately shortly afterwards called Catch The Sea. She had a Dark Angel colt foal that year, and we sold him as a yearling in 2018 for 200,000gns.

“Later that year I started doing more and more for them, and they became more and more interested. We bought a mare called America Nova in-foal to Siyouni for 550,000gns, and the Siyouni went on to make 800,000gns in 2019 as a yearling to Shadwell. We also bought a mare called Cup Cake, who is the dam of Suedois, and she’s got a really nice Sea The Stars colt going to Book 1 this year.

“We’ve lost America Nova and Catch The Sea, but we’ve added Shena’s Dream, the dam of Miss Amulet. And we bought a mare called Queen’s Code privately. She is the dam of Umm Kulthum, and when we bought her

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the al attiyah family

Taking the long term view WILL DOUGLASS teamed up with bloodstock agent Charlie Gordon-Watson 11 years ago, and the pair are seen at most of the European Flat sales, either working together in their quest to buy quality horses, or alongside their individual clients, the younger ones generally Douglass’s domain.

The business partnership suits the man from Northumberland very well indeed – as he explains, although he is very ambitious, plans to head out on his own are for the long term.

“If I go to sales, I don’t even sign my own name, I don’t see the fascination with it!” he laughs.

“Who cares? I just want to get the good horses for the clients. Everyone knows who’s buying them – you advertise them when they’re good, and you don’t advertise them when they’re bad! It’s how it works.

“Charlie is a great brand. He’s been around a long time, bought more Group 1 winners than anyone else, he is probably one of the best yearling purchasers and best judges there is, he has a lot of respect and he is a great person for meeting people.

“We’ve been working together for a while now. Very occasionally we have an odd difference of opinion, but we bounce ideas off each other, too, we do different things for clients and, you know, do you want to change something isn’t broken? It just works so well.

“Everyone asks, 'Will you leave and head alone?' But why would I? This is a really tough industry on your own, doing your own legwork, travelling around, it is pretty lonely, I think it’s really difficult.”

But maybe we could suggest there is a middle ground?

Is C Gordon Watson/Douglass Bloodstock too long a name to write on the sales docket?

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she was in-foal to Galileo Gold, and she has had a filly,” smiles Douglass at the luck of having a Galileo Gold on the ground.

“We also bought another mare privately called Bulrushes, who was the dam of Snazzy Jazzy and the dam of four individual stakes winners. She has a Dark Angel going to Book 1 this year and is in-foal to Lope De Vega.

“They’ve got an Invincible Spirit filly called Traisha, who won a Listed race at Bath last year. She’s quite exciting to retire – she’s out of Dress Rehearsal, she’s got a really good pedigree and was a 400,000gns yearling.

“Finally, we bought a Frankel filly foal last year, whom we’re going to keep. She’s really nice. We love her.”

Mohammed and Ali ring Douglass every day to discuss horses and races.

“Originally, I started putting things to them and saying, ‘You know, what about this or that?’ But they will ring me now every day asking me about things, did you watch that race, did you see that? I have to be on the ball!

“But I don’t push them because they’re young.

“We’re spending a lot of money, keep fees are a lot of money. And so if they ring me, and says, ‘What about doing this?’ I say, ‘Yeah I think we could do that. You want to do it?’”

them; this is still very much a business interest for them.

“I try to stop spending money, but also, I said, ‘Look, if you want to buy a few colts, let’s buy a few at around 20-30 grand and, you know, we’ll can just have some fun’.

“I think that you’ve got to balance it out.

It’s no good, just being all mares and foals.”

The rigours of COVID have been difficult – the family, on all sides, has been unable to travel to see the horses, which is undoubtedly a passionate endeavour for all and something they like to actively enjoy, and despite the frequent phone calls with Douglass, it is just not the same as being in Europe to see the horses themselves.

With travel now easing up, hopefully the family will have a chance to see Gubbass in his international engagements this autumn.

October Book 1 Lot 470: by Sea The Stars and out of Cup Cake, bred by Al Wasmiyah to be consigned by Watership Down Stud

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ND WHILE BREEDING top-class racehorses and creating the stud’s business “brand” is very much the end game for the brothers – it has even extended to race sponsorship of the Pretty Polly Stakes – breeding is a slow-burn and for young men keen to enjoy the racing world, a decision has been made to turn up the fun factor.

Douglass explains: “For next year we bought a Ribchester filly foal because she’s related to a good horse we have in Qatar.

She’s just going to be a bit of fun, but it looks as though Ribchester is going to be alright.

“I think we just want to have a few runners to subsidise the fun – I think Ali saw the year Gubbass was providing for his cousin.

“But we want to do it in the right way so that, if they’re good enough, we can keep

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deauville and doncaster

No two days are the same

T

HE ARQANA AUGUST SELECT SALE was a sale of two halves. Session one produced down-turned faces and querying looks, day two turned the frowns upside down.

The Saturday evening session of the Arqana August Sale is often a tricky opener for the European yearling sale season, and this year proved no different.

The average of €202,930 was 28 per cent down on the 2019 (comparative) sale, the median saw a drop of 19 per cent and the turnover came in at €11,717,000, a fall of 21 per cent on the 2019, the lowest session aggregate since 2012.

The 2019 renewal is a tough year to measure against as it was a record-breaker – it produced a €230,000 median, the best-ever registered in an August session, and an average of €285,000 which, until this year, was the second-best ever. Aside from that difficult standard to measure against, the opener for 2021 was undoubtedly disappointing with a top price of €950,000 given by Godolphin for the Kingman filly out of Needleleaf sold by Haras d’Haspel.

Conversely, this year’s day two session was an immensely strong record-breaking day and one of the very best sessions ever seen at the August Arqana Sale – it produced an

Both the Arqana August and the Goffs UK Premier Sale were all about Day 2 average price of €307,7878, the first time the average has broken the €300,000 mark at an August session.

The early evening spend and top price of €2,400,000 given by Charlie GordonWatson for the Dubawi filly out of Typical (Lot 108) set the tone for the Sunday session, which also bagged another seven-figure price given by Oliver St Lawrence for the Siyouni colt sold by Ecurie des Monceaux (Lot 152).

Ten horses sold for €500,000 or more, just two less than the same session in 2019.

Sunday’s selling produced an aggregate of €18,845,000, the second-best ever for an August session only behind the €20,215,000 turnover achieved in the same stint in 2015.

Although the lot numbers and sessions are allocated alphabetically, with such small sessions of only 78-odd horses it is perhaps inevitable that the day’s returns can be so radically different – with the equivalent a small sample size, it only takes a couple of horses to be sold on one day rather

han the other to alter the data. If those horses happen to be millionaires, then the results can be radically altered.

Arqana, along with the consignors, will have taken a deep breath of relaxation on Sunday as the session really saved the sale – Monday’s trade was down on 2019 and, although far from a disaster (falls of 13 per cent in the average, a drop of 5.6 per cent in turnover and four per cent in median), it was perhaps a realistic performance in light of global events.

It also clearly identifies that “big money for big horses” phenomenon even pervades French racing where the racing returns are far stronger all the way through the levels than in most nations.

The whole sale produced its sixth-best turnover since 2000 – one that was, importantly, over €40,000,000 – its fourthbest average of €162,638, its fifth-best median of €100,000, its fourth horse to sell for over €2 million and its 20th millionaire.

Moving north to Doncaster

The Goffs UK Premier Sale is always identified by a strong clearance rate and, despite everything that has been thrown at the bloodstock world for the last two years, the sale was true to type – Day 1 achieved an

Arqana August comparative 2015-2021(2020 not included) Year

Offered

Sold

%

Aggregate

Average

Median

Top price

2021 324 246

75.93

40,339,000

162,638

100,000

2,400,000

2019 304 228

75.00

43,727,000

187,671

125,000

1,625,000

2018 316 230

72.78

38,071,000

159,939

107,500

1,400,000

2017 305 231

75.74

38,505,500

165,587

110,000

1,550,000

2016 340 261

76.76

40,595,667

152,566

110,000

1,400,000

2015 333 257

77.18

42,881,000

163,292

95,000

2,600,000

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deauville and doncaster Goffs UK Premier Sale: comparative returns 2015-2021 Year

Offered

Sold

2021 366 326

%

Aggregate

89

13,316,000

Average

Median

40,847

32,000

Top price 220,000

2020 403 339

84

11,528,500

34,007

27,000

170,000

2019 448 397

87

18,468,000

46,519

35,000

440,000

2018 463 420

91

19,066,500

45,396

35,000

380,000

2017 443 390

88

19,767,750

50,687

37,000

270,000

2016 454 396

87

17,455,000

44,078

34,000

280,000

2015 477 416

87

17,776,000

42,731

30,000

280,000

88 per cent sales rate which improved to 91 per cent for Day 2, the sale concluding at 89 per cent.

Through seven years of the sale since 2015 every single session of the Goffs UK Premier Sale has achieved a clearance of 84 per cent or above, with four sessions achieving over 90 per cent.

The overall performance of the sale can be viewed in a number of ways.

First, as an improvement on the difficult year of 2020 and an interim year as the sale builds its way back to its achievements of 2019, which produced its second-best ever average and median and its third-best turnover after two years of record-breaking turnovers in 2017 and 2018.

If 2020 is used as a reference year then there were improvements of between 15 per cent and 20 per cent across all markers.

However, if last year’s results are ignored due to the complexities of 2020, then the figures are some way off the results of 2019.

This year’s top sector performed in a similar fashion to 2020 with 13 horses fetching six-figures compared to 12, both years radically different to the previous norm which saw 35 six-figure lots in 2019, 37 in 2018 and 42 in 2017.

This was also the first commercial yearling sale without the strong active participation of Shadwell, such a dominant force in the market for the last ten years.

Over the last four years, Shadwell has bought between 13 and 22 horses at the Premier Sale with, on average, ten purchases for €100,000 or more.

This year’s non-participation meant that at a spend of over a million was taken out of the market.

Of course, as ever in this dynamic world of bloodstock trading, others came to fill the gap, hence the high clearance rate was maintained. Understandably this was at lower levels, though maybe not down to a level that a year of pandemic and continuing poor prize-money in the UK might have suggested would be the case.

The consignors generally worked with realistic reserves, and many took horses who successfully filled the “trainers brief”as future racehorses rather than sales horses.

The sale was kept tight by the sale company – 366 lots were sold compared to

420 in 2018 and 390 in the record-breaking year of 2017 – but this reduced size, allied with the absence of Shadwell, the nonparticipation of King Power and Godolphin, and just one purchase made by MV Magnier, means that it is no surprise the turnover was reduced compared to the years of 2019-2015.

In the end the average price held up well – the flourish on Day 2 when six of the top ten lots were sold having a marked impact.

In reality, the performance of the Premier Sale can only really be assessed once we reach the end of the yearling season and there is a greater understanding as to where the commercial market is sitting for 2o21.

Jocelyn de Moubray will pull that analysis together for our December issue The Goffs UK Premier Sale top lot: the colt by Harry Angel colt sold by Houghton Bloodstock to Alex Elliott for £220,000 (Lot 296)

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deauville in pictures

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deauville in pictures

Clockwise from top left: 1. The sale top lot, the filly by Dubawi bought by Charlie Gordon-Watson for €2.4 million from Haras d’Etreham (Lot 108) 2. Viewing the La Motteraye Consignment 3. The Day 3 top lot, Lot 335 by New Bay sold by Gestüt Ammerland to John and Thady Gosden for €320,000 4. What’s that in the sky? The Monceaux team spots something up above 5. Ready and waiting... bagging a good spot ahead of the first session 6. What a bottom! Lot 4, a colt by Roaring Lion from the family of Time Charter, bought by Oliver St Lawrence for €140,000 7. Get those socks clean!

8. Frankie Dettori telling anyone who will listen just how he won the Prix Jacques les Marois on Palace Pier Photos by Laura Green

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doncaster in pictures Debbie Burt

By Sarah Farnsworth and courtesy of Goffs UK

By Sarah Farnsworth and courtesy of Goffs UK

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doncaster in pictures

By Sarah Farnsworth and courtesy of Goffs UK

Debbie Burt Debbie Burt

Clockwise from left: 1. Lot 196, the colt by Night Of Thunder and out of Kentucky Belle, has a disturbed morning 2. James Horton with Ed Sackville signing on behalf of Manor House Stud. The team bought three lots at the Premier Sale, including the Day 1 top lot, for an average price of £99,000 3. Team Longview: the farm’s colt by Showcasing and out Fig Roll made £85,000 4. West Country trainers sticking together: Marcus Tregoning and Rod Millman 3. Lot 359, the second top lot, colt by Kodiac sold by Tally-Ho Stud and bought by Blandford Bloodstock for £210,000 4. The Day 1 session topper by Dark Angel 5. Breeders Mick and Fiona Denniff and consignor Ed Player of Whatton Manor Stud with agent Richard Brown after he bought Lot 282, a colt by Ardad out of Pigeon Point, for £100,000

By Sarah Farnsworth and courtesy of Goffs UK

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photo of the month: the goffs uk yorton sale The Yorton Sale top lot, a two-year-old gelding by Isfahan, who sold for £80,000. It is second-best price given in the three years of the sale of young NH horses at the stud in Shropshire Photos courtesy of Goffs UK

THE GOFFS UK YORTON SALE is now three years old, and this year’s sale, which took place at the Shropshire-based stud on September 9, proved to be the best yet hitting a seven-figure turnover for the first time at £1,138,000 and with a 95 per cent clearance rate with 41 of the 43 lots offered successfully sold.

The average was up by 13 per cent to a record £27,756, while the median increased by 30 per cent to £26,000.

Previous graduates from the sale include the French runners Paros, Anneloralas, Lorason and Master Nonantais.

The sale’s top lot was a two-year-old gelding by Isfahan (Lot 15), who was knocked down to former NH jockey Marcus Foley bidding on behalf of pre-training yard Lew House Stables, for £80,000. The horse was purchased to race for a partnership.

The horse had been originally bought as a yearling by agent Richard Venn and Yorton’s David Futter for €15,000 at BBAG Sales 2020.

The Pether’s Moon two-year-old gelding out of the Listed-winning mare Azza (Lot 33) made £75,000.

He was one of five lots bought by Nicolas

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Trainer Alan King interviewed by Arnaud Poirier (left) and Nick Luck (right) for France Sire after King purchased Lot 47, a two-year-old gelding by Pether’s Moon and out of Fabrika (Presenting) for £42,000

Bertran de Balanda’s NBB Racing.

The French-based Sue Bramall, who bought the twice-raced and one-time-winner Master Nonantais by Masterstroke at the sale last year for £22,000, went to £28,000 for a two-year-old gelding by the same sire, one of four lots purchased by Bramall.

After the sale, Yorton Stud’s owner David Futter said: “We are blown away. We have worked for many years to achieve this – it

is the culmination of years of planning and long hours by our wonderful Yorton team.

“We were encouraged leading into today as we had many positive comments from buyers but we never expected that level of trade, especially given the difficulty endured by us all over the last 18 months.

“We have welcomed a big crowd of buyers from the UK, Ireland and France and we are very grateful to everyone who came and supported the sale. We now have to figure out how to match this in 2022 – it will be some challenge!”

Goffs UK managing director Tim Kent commented: “What an incredible day at Yorton!

“This sale is only in its third year and has already achieved some fantastic results on the racecourse and in the sales ring, both of which have given David Futter and his team the increased confidence to improve the quality of horses catalogued for sale at the unique event.

“And these improvements have been richly rewarded with a sale that generated more than £1 million in turnover, whilst recording record prices for both average and median.”

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SAXON WARRIOR

Gr.1 winner at 2 and 2,000 Guineas winner at 3 by DEEP IMPACT

Contact: Coolmore Stud Tel: +353-52-6131298. Castlehyde Stud Tel: +353-25-31966. E-mail: sales@coolmore.ie Website: www.coolmore.com