Thoroughbred Owner & Breeder

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Thoroughbred Owner & Breeder inc Pacemaker February 2012

£4.95 | February 2012 | Issue 90

Incorporating

Difficult, moi?

Exclusive insight into the world of trainer Nick Williams

Plus • Betfair’s Martin Cruddace warns racing of catastrophe • Lucy Alexander: young rider making waves over jumps • Fresh faces out to impress in their first season at stud

www.ownerbreeder.co.uk

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DANEHILL DANCER

Top-class at 2 winning the Phoenix S.-Gr.1 & National S.-Gr.1.

A champion sire of over 130 SWs & a multiple champion 2yo sire.

Danehill Dancer’s Gr.1-winning 2yo’s include…

MASTERCRAFTSMAN 4 Gr.1 wins, European champion 2yo & a Classic-winning miler.

Just like the top sires Giant’s Causeway, Rock Of Gibraltar and Shamardal he was a Gr.1-winning 2yo that also won the St. James’s Palace Stakes-Gr.1.

From the family of Broad Brush & Capote, both champion sires in USA.

ALFRED NOBEL Top-class at 2 winning the Phoenix S.-Gr.1 & Railway S.-Gr.2.

Closely related to New Approach (European champion at 2 & 3).

Danehill Dancer’s sons at stud have already sired Gr.1 winners like…

STARSPANGLEDBANNER Champion sprinter in Europe: won Golden Jubilee S.-Gr.1 & July Cup-Gr.1.

Champion sprinter in Australia: won Caulfield Guineas-Gr.1 & Oakleigh Plate-Gr.1.

Danehill Dancer is becoming a sire of sires as 2 of his first sons to stud were:

• CHOISIR, sire of Starspangledbanner (CHAMPION SPRINTER), Chandlery (GR.2 WINNING 2YO IN 2011), Stimulation, Lady Springbank, Sir Parky, Laddies Poker Two etc.

• MONSIEUR BOND, sire of Gilt Edge Girl (GR.1 WINNING SPRINTER), Hoof It (GR.1 SPRINTER IN 2011), My Name Is Bond, Ladies Are Forever, Move In Time etc.

• ALFRED NOBEL • CANFORD CLIFFS • DANEHILL DANCER • DUKE OF MARMALADE • DYLAN THOMAS • EXCELLENT ART • FASTNET ROCK • FOOTSTEPSINTHESAND • GALILEO • • HIGH CHAPARRAL • HOLY ROMAN EMPEROR • HURRICANE RUN • MASTERCRAFTSMAN • MONTJEU • PEINTRE CELEBRE • POUR MOI • RIP VAN WINKLE • ROCK OF GIBRALTAR • • STARSPANGLEDBANNER • STRATEGIC PRINCE • THEWAYYOUARE • YEATS • ZOFFANY •

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Fee: €60,000

Danehill Dancer

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Fee: €15,000

Masterct foarals inft201sm1 maan de up to €100,000.

Champion sire & sire of sires.

European Champion 2yo - Firs

Fee: €4,000

Alfred Nobel Very precocious Gr.1 winning 2yo - First foals in 2012.

Fee: €10,000

Starspangledbanner

European champion sprinter - First foal

s in 2012.

Contact: Coolmore Stud, Fethard, Co. Tipperary, Ireland. Tel: 353-52-6131298. Fax: 353-52-6131382. Christy Grassick, David O’Loughlin, Eddie Fitzpatrick, Tim Corballis, Maurice Moloney, Gerry Aherne, Mathieu Legars, Jason Walsh or Sebastian Hutch. Tom Gaffney, David Magnier, Joe Hernon or Cathal Murphy: 353-25-31966/31689. Kevin Buckley (UK Rep.) 44-7827-795156.

E-mail: sales@coolmore.ie Web site: www.coolmore.com All stallions nominated to EBF.

Eclipse Champion Finalist and Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf Winner Stephanie’s Kitten

A World Class Sire Champion Two-Year-old Sire Champion Third-Crop Sire #1 SYnTheTiC Sire STanding in KenTuCKY #2 Turf Sire in norTh ameriCa #2 Sire of norTh ameriCan STaKeS winnerS wiTh 15 Behind only distorted humor and tied with giant’s Causeway

6915 Harrodsburg Road | Nicholasville, KY 40356 Phone: (859) 887-3200 | Fax: (859) 885-2666 | www.ramseyfarm.com LGB, LLC 2012 / Photo: Cindy Pierson Dulay

Feb_90_Editors_Owner Breeder 19/01/2012 10:25 Page 3

WELCOME FROM THE EDITOR Chief Executive: Michael Harris Editor: Edward Rosenthal Bloodstock Editor: Emma Berry Designed by: Thoroughbred Group Editorial: First Floor, 75 High Holborn, London WC1V 6LS Tel: 020 7152 0209 Fax: 020 7152 0213 editor@ownerbreeder.co.uk www.ownerbreeder.co.uk Advertising: Giles Anderson Tel: 01380 816 777 USA: 1 888 218 4430 Fax: 01380 816 778 advertise@anderson-co.com Subscriptions: Keely Brewer Tel: 020 7152 0212 Fax: 020 7152 0213 subscriptions@ownerbreeder.co.uk Thoroughbred Owner & Breeder incorporating Pacemaker can be purchased by non-members at the following rates: 1 Year 2 Year UK £55 £90 Europe £85 £135 RoW £99 £154 Thoroughbred Owner & Breeder incorporating Pacemaker is published by a Mutual Trading Company owned jointly by the Racehorse Owners Association and Thoroughbred Breeders’ Association The Thoroughbred Breeders’ Association is a registered charity No. 1134293 Editorial views expressed in this magazine are not necessarily those of the ROA or TBA ABC Audited Our proven average monthly circulation is certified by the Audit Bureau of Circulation at 10,003* *Based on the period July 1, 2010 to June 30, 2011 Racehorse Owners Association Ltd First Floor, 75 High Holborn, London WC1V 6LS Tel: 020 7152 0200 Fax: 020 7152 0213 info@roa.co.uk www.racehorseowners.net Thoroughbred Breeders’ Association Stanstead House, The Avenue, Newmarket CB8 9AA Tel: 01638 661 321 Fax: 01638 665621 info@thetba.co.uk • www.thetba.co.uk

£4.95 | February 2012 | Issue 90

Incorporating

Difficult, moi?

Exclusive insight into the world of trainer Nick Williams

Plus

• Betfair’s Martin Cruddace warns racing of catastrophe • Lucy Alexander: young rider making waves over jumps • Fresh faces out to impress in their first season at stud

www.ownerbreeder.co.uk

Cover: Trainer Nick Williams relaxes with his string during morning exercise in Devon Photo: George Selwyn

EDWARD ROSENTHAL

Finally: the interview we waited three years to get

N

ick Williams is not an easy man to pin down for an interview. In February 2009, when I was assistant editor of this magazine, I was asked by my former boss to arrange a meeting with the Devon trainer, who had a live Cheltenham Festival candidate in the shape of star hurdler Diamond Harry.

So the call was made, an interview date was set, the photographer was booked and then… Mr Williams phoned up and informed me that it would have to be cancelled because his wife wasn’t happy with the plan, on the grounds that it didn’t fit in with the yard’s working arrangements.

I was very disappointed. Firstly, for the magazine, as it would mean we wouldn’t get the article we wanted and would have to come up with another idea, and secondly, for myself, because opportunities to pen features were few and far between for a novice writer trying to make his way in racing journalism.

Since becoming editor, I have wanted to ‘rearrange’ the feature, and this month, three years late, I’m delighted to say that we have managed to speak to Nick Williams. Or, rather, Nick and Jane Williams, because the training operation is anything but a one-man show.

There are many husbandand-wife partnerships among the training ranks but very few, I would guess, are like Mr and Mrs Williams. Take, as an example, Jane’s handling of the sale of promising hurdler Pistolet Noir to the Paul Nicholls stable.

“I sold him because I was in a strop,” she explains. “I said I was going to divorce Nick – because we were always getting divorced – and I needed the money to buy a house. I rang up Anthony Bromley and the deal was done.”

As it turned out, the decision was a good one – “he didn’t train on and the money paid for a new block of stables”, her husband confirms – which just goes to show how unpredictable racing can be.

While the couple clearly have their own way of operating, which extends to their strategy of buying

THOROUGHBRED OWNER & BREEDER INC PACEMAKER

jumping yearlings from France, enabling them to escape the huge price tags that accompany ready-made performers from across the Channel, a waiting list of owners is testament to their success.

Alan Lee’s exclusive piece with Nick and Jane Williams is not to be missed. Turn to page 42 for the full story.

On the subject of unusual relationships, Betfair and British racing have not always seen eye-to-eye since the betting exchange was launched in June 2000.

Licensed in Gibraltar, Betfair is not obliged to pay levy on British racing bets like a high street bookmaker, although it does contribute a voluntary payment. The question of whether this is sufficient has been the subject of much debate within the sport but Martin Cruddace, the company’s Chief Legal and Regulatory Affairs Officer and this month’s Big Interview (pages 49-53), is adamant that Betfair is paying enough.

Cruddace goes on to say that increasing the levy rate of 10.75% is not the answer to UK racing’s funding shortfall, and warns that charging the betting industry more will prove disastrous.

“Even now [bookmakers’] promotional budgets are going to other sports that have a much better margin,” he says. “The pressure on us to emphasise other products would greatly increase the more expensive racing becomes.

“If you increase the rate of the levy, you might see a short-term spike, but it would lead to long-term decline.”

When Cruddace goes on to reveal how racing’s share of Betfair business has declined in the face of increased competition from other sports, such as football – a betting trend seen by all the big bookmaking firms – it certainly makes you sit up and take notice.

Yet, if they were all only allowed to bet on one sport, all things being equal, would they choose football or horseracing?

I think we all know the answer to that question.

“It’s an unusual

operation but a waiting list of owners is testament to their success

”

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Feb_90_Contents_Contents 19/01/2012 10:21 Page 4

CONTENTS FEBRUARY 2012

38

42

NEWS & VIEWS

FEATURES

7

16

ROA Leader

Kauto is King

Welcome back, Mr Bittar

9

TBA Leader

26

News

38

Lucy Alexander, jump jockey

Racing+ re-launch

14

Changes

42

Your monthly round-up

22

Tony Morris James Willoughby A tale of two nations

COVER STORY Nick Williams Trainer and wife Jane in focus

49

The Big Interview With Betfair’s Legal Chief Martin Cruddace

Racing is two distinct sports

25

Talking To...

54

New Sires Freshmen to watch

INTERNATIONAL SCENE 29

View From Ireland

61

Breeders’ Digest Talent exported

Moyglare Dinner fun

32

Continental Tales Josef Vána’s your Czech mate

35

Around The Globe New York’s casino windfall

4

Dick Turpin features in our look at the new crop of Flat sires (pgs 54-58)

Sales Circuit In the US and Australia

66

TBA Stallion Parade Tattersalls event previewed

Foundation Mares Allegretta

New charity is vital

11

The Big Picture

62

96

Flashback Danoli’s Irish Hennessy

Feb_90_Contents_Contents 19/01/2012 10:21 Page 5

BLOODLINES Simply the right policy – without the fuss We are able to provide cover for: 쮿 All risks of mortality 쮿 Theft 쮿 Stallion’s congenital or permanent infertility 쮿 Broodmare barrenness 쮿 Prospective foal 쮿 Foals from 24 hours

49

쮿 Yearlings unsoundness of wind 쮿 Horses at grass

FORUM 70

ROA Forum Richard Wayman’s first column as Chief Executive

74

TBA Forum Awards winners revealed

79

LEADING THE FIELD IN BLOODSTOCK INSURANCE

Breeder of the Month Peter Nelson, for According To Pete

82

Next Generation Club Welcoming new arrivals

84

Vet Forum

TO STAY

Equine genetics

AHEAD OF

DATA BOOK 86

Caulfield Files Japanese runners thrive in Dubai

88

European Pattern Results and reviews

93

Stallion Statistics Five sires break £3m barrier

94

THE FIELD CONTACT US TODAY

Global Stakes Results Worldwide Group and Graded Stakes winners

Our monthly circulation is certified at

10,003 Can other magazines prove theirs?

THOROUGHBRED OWNER & BREEDER INC PACEMAKER

BLOODLINES, ORCHARD HOUSE 167 KENSINGTON HIGH STREET LONDON W8 6UG TEL: +44 (0) 207 938 3033 FAX: +44 (0) 207 938 3055 ENQUIRIES@BLOODLINES.CO.UK WWW.BLOODLINES.CO.UK Bloodlines is a trading name of Bloodlines Thoroughbred Insurance Agency Ltd which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority.

5

JB0002_TOandBreederAdvert_Layout 1 13/01/2012 15:10 Page 1

01442 870444 | coleflatt.co.uk

F O R S A L E A S A W H O L E O R I N VA R I O U S L O T S B Y P R I VA T E T R E A T Y

PENDLEY FARM & CHURCH FARM A superb estate comprising two highly regarded racing yards with an extensive range of buildings and training facilities lying in beautiful and peaceful Chiltern Hills countryside.

Peter Harris developed this very successful training and breeding yard from a permit trainer over the jumps with great successes including Acarine, moving to a Public trainer in 1988. Concentrating on flat racing he introduced the ‘all-inclusive’ partnership plan which enabled a new type of ownership. He went on to train a list winners in groups 1, 2, 3, listed and major handicaps.

Pendley Farm, Tring, Hertfordshire ! A commanding Georgian residence set in beautiful parkland ! Extensive range of well-maintained buildings ! Circa 133 acres ! 66 stables ! Self-contained granny annex ! Exclusive five and a half furlong gallop Church Farm, Aldbury, Hertfordshire ! An extensive range of traditional brick buildings and modern timber stables ! Impressive Owners’ Reception building ! Circa 308 acres ! Westlands Farm extending to 28.38 acres and comprising a self-contained outlying equestrian unit with bungalow, six stables and permanent pasture ! Two detached cottages ! Seven flats for stable staff ! Well maintained gallops for the exclusive use of the yard ! 50 plus stables

Contact: Tel: 01442 870444 | Adrian Cole | adriancole@coleflatt.co.uk | or Josie Brown | josie@coleflatt.co.uk

Feb_90_ROA_Leader_Layout 1 19/01/2012 10:27 Page 7

ROA LEADER

RACHEL HOOD President Racehorse Owners Association

Welcome back, Paul; hard work starts now An open letter to Paul Bittar, the new Chief Executive of the BHA Dear Paul, Welcome back to British horseracing.

I am, of course, aware that you worked for the BHB between 2004-2005, so the unusual characteristics of the British racing industry are not lost on you.

From your time here you will appreciate that, whatever problems you faced when working in both Australian and New Zealand racing, they are unlikely to compare with those of our complicated, factionalised, betting operator-orientated industry. But, then, your old friend and countryman Greg Nichols, as a former BHB Chief Executive, would have left you in no doubt about that.

First, though, we need to be positive. It’s a real plus that you’re a racing man with an obvious passion for the sport. As such, you will be familiar with the heritage and tradition of British racing, showcased by our major races and festival meetings. I am sure you appreciate that, whatever our funding problems, our quality racing, with its well-deserved international reputation, is rightly admired throughout the world.

May I say you made a positive impression when you visited the UK in November and owners were pleased with your efforts in trying to help with the whip dispute. The fact that you are clearly good at getting on with people and have been involved in racing administration no doubt underlines your suitability for this job – though there does, as you know, remain a fundamental question mark over exactly what the job is. In my view, the ‘job’ is the governance and administration of the BHA. As we all know, the OFT decreed that commercial matters cannot be part of the BHA’s remit.

In addition, you probably don’t want to be reminded of the fact that, while British racing administration always seems to be in a state of flux, it is particularly the case at the moment. There are doubts whether the so-called restructure of the industry is going to proceed and whether the levy system can be replaced by a scheme acceptable to both government and racing, not to mention betting operators.

If the restructure does happen, it will mean we have a clear system where the commercial side of racing is based on an agreement between the horsemen and racecourses. Either way, the BHA is in the position of a regulator.

Anyway, I’m sure you’re looking forward to getting stuck into the BHA budget, which I understand is going to be your first big task. It’s just as well you’re a qualified accountant because the BHA shareholders have big expectations of your expenditure review and I, in particular, hope that you are going to take a ‘blank piece of paper’ approach, where every item of expenditure in the budget is questioned.

Integrity standards are, of course, crucial but it will come as no surprise to hear that owners are angry with the BHA’s ongoing gigantic budget (£29 million) particularly when, yet again, the BHA has suggested funding shortfalls in this budget by increasing charges to owners.

Forgive me for bringing this up again, but you’ve already been taken to task for suggesting the betting industry here makes the biggest financial contribution to British racing when it is, of course, owners who are by far the biggest contributors. I’m sure you now understand how this jarred, especially when you consider the damaging lack of prize-money and the extent to which the betting industry’s contribution to racing has declined in recent years.

Owners may be prepared to remain open-minded towards a ‘new broom’ approach at the BHA for a limited period and I, personally, am prepared to take a considered view on your apparent determination to work with the betting industry provided we see positive results. However, timing is of the essence and, with your background, we can only hope to see the signs of success in the immediate future.

“British racing

administration is in a state of flux over industry restructure and the levy

THOROUGHBRED OWNER & BREEDER INC PACEMAKER

”

With best possible wishes.

Yours,

7

Feb_90_TBA_Leader_TBA 19/01/2012 10:28 Page 9

TBA LEADER

KIRSTEN RAUSING Chairman Thoroughbred Breeders’ Association

The racing industry must not miss funding deadline TBA charitable status can help as collection and distribution mechanism

T

he racing industry is challenged with a very tight timeframe to comply with the government’s requirement to establish a charity by March in order to receive a percentage of the first of five tranches of £10 million each in net proceeds from the sale of the Tote.

I wish the BHA every success in meeting this deadline.

With the exception of the obvious financial year end, one wonders why the notice period given by the Department of Culture, Media and Sport is so short, when the same department extended, on more than one occasion, the procedure for managing the sale of the Tote.

The TBA Board has offered the TBA’s charitable status, which allows it to collect and distribute funding to the same recipient profile (those associated with horseracing, breeding, veterinary science and welfare), as a distribution vehicle should the BHA’s own new Racing Foundation Charity fail to meet this deadline. Naturally, the preferred route must be for the BHA to establish its own charity, but from experience of the TBA’s own recent restructuring, this can be a far longer process than originally imagined.

Surely, after the far from satisfactory outcome of the Tote sale, racing must mobilise itself to ensure that we do not score another own-goal, albeit of the government’s making, by missing the deadline for creating a charity through which to distribute funds. If we lose the opportunity to secure the first release of funds in 2012 as a result of bureaucratic requirements, this would be a disaster, not only financially but also for the BHA’s reputation.

It is essential that the process for inviting and processing grant applications for the charitable funds is dealt with in a transparent and timely manner. The TBA intends to submit an application for charitable funding in support of the thoroughbred and would, naturally, like to see support for a number of deserving causes, not least for welfare, training and veterinary research.

However, there is a need to ensure that while the process of providing new support for racing’s charities is most

welcome, this short-term gain does not compromise the longer-term future of other levy expenditure headings. This includes veterinary research and training, which rely on the Levy Board’s support. It is not a case of simply removing them from the list of Levy Board obligations in order to strengthen its contribution to prize-money. We must put safeguards in place to ensure that these vital services continue to receive direct attention and are not compromised by the attraction of new short-term funding.

In the inevitable surge of interest in securing new charitable funds, one issue that must not be allowed to escape our gaze is who are the likely recipients of the noncharitable element and what percentage of the £10m per annum release will be allocated to this sector?

The potential for conflicts of interest for the trustees is not inconsiderable and, on careful examination of the criteria for grant applicants for the noncharitable awards, there is potential for this funding also to provide direct benefit to members of the Horsemen’s Group. Of course, the picture could be different if the levy replacement discussions with the same government department proceed apace. But who within the racing and the bookmaking industries will have an appetite to ensure the son of levy will inherit the rightful responsibilities of its father?

One thing is for sure, we need to protect the interest of the horse throughout these negotiations and the TBA, through the Horsemen’s Group’s rightful influence in these negotiations, will be minded to follow this closely. The horsemen have an important role to play. Our members provide the racing product and, crucially, the Horsemen’s Group’s co-operation will be essential for the levy replacement discussions to come to fruition.

My name has been submitted for consideration for one of the trustee’s positions on the eventual Racing Foundation Charity. If appointed, my priorities will focus on working to ensure that the horse, and those that care and nurture him, are the real beneficiaries of this exercise.

“If we lose the

opportunity to secure the first release of funds from the Tote sale it would be a disaster

THOROUGHBRED OWNER & BREEDER INC PACEMAKER

”

9

In the Driving Seat...

TAMAYUZ First crop yearlings by the dual Gr.1 winning miler from the same production line as GALILEO and SEA THE STARS made up to €170,000 and averaged over €70,000 in 2011.

AMONGST THOSE STEERING THEIR CAREERS AS 2YOS THIS YEAR WILL BE: Freddie Head (4), Richard Hannon (3), Kevin Prendergast (3), John Dunlop, Jean-Claude Rouget, Tim Easterby, Brian Meehan, William Haggas, John Gosden, Amanda Perrett, Charlie Hills, Gary Moore, John Hammond, etc.

Fee: €15,000 (1st. January SLF)

D R I V E N

T O

S U C C E E D

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Tamayuz OwnerBreeder Feb12.indd 1

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Feb_90_News2_Owner 19/01/2012 10:44 Page 11

NEWS Stories from the racing world

Racing+ aiming to broaden its readership Weekly newspaper Racing+ has replaced the Racing Post as sponsor of Kempton’s prestigious three-mile chase on Saturday, February 25, and that will coincide with the publication’s re-launch as Racing Plus under new editor Chris Smith.

Racing+, which is produced on Saturdays and also daily for Royal Ascot and the Cheltenham and Aintree festivals, has been in existence for four years and has a circulation of around 12,000. Racecourse Media Group, the parent company of Racing UK, recently bought a significant stake in Racing+, whose majority owner is former Norwich City footballer Lee Power.

Smith, former editor of the Racing Post, has been brought in to smarten the paper up and improve the look of the title, which costs £1.20 and covers mostly betting and form, with races listed in time order.

“We’re dipping our toe in the water and seeing what happens,” said Smith. “There’s no immediate target in terms of increased sales but we’d like to appeal to The Sun or Mirror reader who likes racing and doesn’t want to spend £2 on a Racing Post.

“In four years the paper has existed without any real marketing and the plan is to give it an advertising push; we’re also developing our online presence.

“The re-design will see a different look to the form section but the racecards in time order will stay the same – it actually works fantastically well, especially when you want

GEORGE SELWYN

Newspaper takes over Kempton three-mile chase sponsorship from the Racing Post

Desert Orchid lands the 1990 Racing Post Chase – now the Racing Plus Chase

to follow the action on television.”

Smith said that Racing+ was unlikely to consider more frequent publication or targeting the bookmaker betting sheet market in the short-term, but did not rule out either in the future.

He added: “Of course we would like to broaden the circulation but a daily

newspaper is a completely different thing, requiring a much bigger staff.

“We will try to make Racing+ more attractive to people with a deeper knowledge of the sport and we’ll have some news items but we’re not going to include lots of industry stories or bloodstock coverage.”

Frankie Dettori is fronting a ‘Save Italian Racing’ campaign to highlight the plight of the sport in his native land.

The campaign has gained such momentum that the ‘Save Italian Racing’ Facebook page now has over 4,000 members.

As we reported in the Continental Tales column of our January edition, austerity cuts mean that Italian prize-money is set to be slashed in the coming months.

The situation deteriorated at the turn of the year, with a strike by both the racing and trotting industries meaning that there

THOROUGHBRED OWNER & BREEDER INC PACEMAKER

was no racing of any kind for the first three weeks in January.

Strike action reached its zenith when loud bangs (possibly fireworks according to a local reporter) went off during a 600strong protest outside the Italian parliament in Rome on January 12. No one was hurt in the incident.

At the time of going to press, latest indications suggested that total prizemoney available for racing (Flat and jump combined) for 2012 would be around €37.5 million (£31.25m) – a drop of 28% on the €52.25m (£45m) paid out in 2011.

GEORGE SELWYN

Dettori draws attention to Italian racing’s plight

Familiar face fronts the campaign

11

Feb_90_News2_Owner 19/01/2012 10:44 Page 12

NEWS

The story of the World Thoroughbred Rankings 2011, unveiled in London on January 10, was not that Frankel topped the chart but that he led the way with a rating of 136.

“Not enough” cried many pundits, while, significantly, racing’s foremost historian John Randall, not known for jumping on hyperbole bandwagons, reckons Frankel is undervalued by 136, a rating he described as “almost an insult”.

Frankel was rated by the international handicappers the equal of Sea The Stars, although as well as winning the Guineas like Frankel, the star of 2009 also won the Derby, Eclipse, International, Irish Champion and Arc, so arguably achieved much more than Frankel during his Classic year.

Sea The Stars would have rated higher had he stormed clear of his opponents in his races, but his biggest winning margin in eight victories was two and a half lengths.

Conversely, Frankel won four of his five races in 2011 by an aggregate 19 lengths – the other was his three-quarter length beating of Zoffany at Royal Ascot.

He raced exclusively at a mile in Britain last year. Should he demolish his opponents over longer trips in 2012, and step out of his geographic comfort zone, there is every chance he will rate higher.

As things stand he is joint-eighth among the best European Flat horses since the establishment of the international classifications in 1977 – Dancing Brave (141) is the benchmark, although the BHA’s handicappers have pointed out that ratings were more favourable in past years.

Australia’s sprint star Black Caviar was next best in 2011 on a mark of 132, which made her the highest-rated mare since the rankings

GEORGE SELWYN

Was Frankel undervalued by 136 rating?

Frankel’s rating was subject of much discussion when the 2011 rankings were unveiled

2011 World Thoroughbred Rankings (top ten) Horse Frankel Black Caviar Cirrus Des Aigles Danedream Canford Cliffs Rewilding Dream Ahead Excelebration Nathaniel So You Think

Nation Rating Britain 136 Australia 132 France 128 Germany 128 Britain 127 Britain 127 Britain 126 Britain 126 Britain 126 Ireland 126

started. Australian racing officials lauded the fact that 47 of the nation’s racehorses were among the 351 horses who achieved a world

ranking of 115 or more, up from nine in the 2004 classifications.

Shifting the other way was the United States, the appropriately named Frank Angst pointing out on thoroughbredtimes.com that “the rankings did not look favourably on North American racing in 2011 as North American-based horses were shut out of the top ten.”

Thoroughbred Owner & Breeder columnist James Willoughby feels the decline of US horses in the rankings is symptomatic of deeper problems within the American industry, whilst observing that horses from Japan are going the other way and set to take higher rank in the future.

Read James Willoughby’s take on the World Thoroughbred Rankings, page 25

Lease your way to success with new club

Eamonn Wilmott: behind the scheme

12

A new race club is on the search for a high-class Flat horse to lease for one year – and is prepared to pay £15,000 for the right one.

The club’s leasing process will be handled by Eamonn Wilmott, Managing Director of Horses First Racing, whose horses are based with Jeremy Gask.

Wilmott said: “In these challenging economic times and with prize-money even for Pattern races the way it is, I think this offer could hold

particular appeal for those looking to get black type into their racemares.

“When you include the cost of training and racing a horse over the year, you would probably need to win £50,000 in prize-money to better the guaranteed offer on the table – and that is no mean feat, even for the type of horses we are looking for.”

For more information on the club email info@horsesfirstracing.com

THOROUGHBRED OWNER & BREEDER INC PACEMAKER

TWEENHILLS TIMES AN EYE FOR SUCCESS

February 2012

Harbour Watch rated top 2yo by Timeform Harbour Watch was rated the top European two-year-old by Timeform in their Racehorses of 2011 publication.

Rated 121P, this unbeaten Acclamation colt was the impressive winner of the Richmond Stakes (Gr.2) at Goodwood last year for trainer Richard Hannon, and is one of the favourites for the QIPCO-sponsored 2,000 Guineas in May.

but he will continue to run in the colours of Sheikh Fahad Al Thani’s new partner and original owner Robin Heffer.

Harbour Watch has been trotting for a few weeks and will soon start cantering. He is sound and very well, and at this stage we are very happy with him.

Richard Hannon Jnr

Timeform’s top 2yo Harbour Watch winning the Richmond Stakes (Gr.2) at Goodwood

A half-share was purchased for Qatar Bloodstock prior to his Goodwood victory,

Makfi back

New website for Pearl Bloodstock Pearl Bloodstock will have over 50 horses in training in 2012, including exciting prospective three-year-olds such as Gr.1 winner Lightening Pearl, as well as Melbourne Cup winner Dunaden and 30 two-year-olds.

In addition, Classic contenders Strong Suit and Harbour Watch will be running under Qatar Bloodstock’s colours.

Makfi returned to Tweenhills in January from Westbury Stud in New Zealand looking in top form having covered a full book of 100 mares.

These included the dam of dual Gr.1 winner Tavistock, half-sisters to the 8-time Gr.1 winner Mufhasa and dual Gr.1 winner Lotteria, as well as the Gr.1 sprinter Bella Renza, Illuminates, a winner of 10 Stakes races, and Tapildo, a dual Gr.1 winner including the NZ Oaks.

FIRST VICTORIES Pearl Bloodstock achieved notable ‘firsttime’ victories in January. Proud Pearl won her maiden at Laurel in impressive fashion, giving Pearl Bloodstock its first winner in USA. A full-sister to Champion three-yearold filly Proud Spell she has an exciting future Stateside. Also Vulcanite now heads to Cheltenham following his comfortable 7l win over hurdles at Southwell, Pearl Bloodstock’s first victory over jumps.

To find out more on the horses and their trainers visit Pearl Bloodstock’s new website at www.pearlbloodstock.com

STAFF PROFILE

and working for an up and coming stud with a great new client.

Sam Imrie, Stallions and Sales

Leading up Ventura and a Sea The Stars foal recently at Tattersalls, who made 900,000gns and 340,000gns respectively. And I look forward to following the foal Ventura is due to have

by Makfi.

What did you do before joining Tweenhills?

Before joining Tweenhills a year ago I’d worked at Templeton Stud for two years preparing yearlings for the sales.

Prior to that I’ve been with Arrowfield Stud in Australia and Newsells Park Stud after graduating from the National Stud Diploma Course.

What was the appeal of Tweenhills?

The opportunity to look after such a high profile stallion as Makfi,

Most rewarding moment?

Other interests?

My 19 month old daughter and a baby on the way keep me busy enough.

Future ambitions?

To manage a stud or possibly get my own place, quite different from my initial ambition on leaving school which was to join the army!

Tweenhills Farm & Stud Hartpury, Gloucestershire, GL19 3BG W: www.tweenhills.com T: + 44 (0) 1452 700177 / 700545 M: + 44 (0) 7767 436373 E: davidredvers@tweenhills.com

Tweenhills Times_Feb12.indd 1

19/01/2012 09:13

Feb_90_Changes_Layout 1 19/01/2012 10:44 Page 14

NEWS In association with

Changes – R a c i n g ’ s n e w s i n a n u t s h e l l PEOPLE AND BUSINESS Richard Burton Bertrand Belinguier Ryan Mania Sulekha Varma Riding fee Dr Barry Johnson Sheikh Mohammed Denise Coates Mark Bradburne BHA Sean Flanagan Barney Curley Coral

Britain’s most successful point-to-point rider and leading amateur retires from the saddle aged 35 to focus on his business selling equestrian properties Former PMU Director General is elected President of France Galop on a four-year term; the 69-year-old replaces Edouard de Rothschild in the hot seat Jump jockey, 22, who quit in the summer of 2011 following Howard Johnson’s disqualification returns to race-riding Cardiff-born 26-year-old becomes Clerk of the Course at Huntingdon and Warwick after two years at Nottingham and Market Rasen Increases by 3% to £112.37 (Flat) and £153.42 (jumps) per race after agreement by Racehorse Owners Association and Professional Jockeys Association Former vet to Jack Berry becomes Chairman of World Horse Welfare, replacing Christopher Hall Gifts two colts by Street Cry to the Queen, having sent Her Majesty 2011 Derby third Carlton House by the same sire Founder and joint Chief Executive of bet365 is made CBE in the New Year’s Honours List; Grundy’s trainer Peter Walwyn is made an MBE Cheltenham Festival-winning jockey calls time on riding career aged 35 in order to concentrate on his electrician business and being a jockeys’ coach Will reduce administration costs by 5% in 2012 with directors setting a budget of £29 million, although it increases all licence/registration fees by 2.5% Jump jockey, 23, quits riding in Britain after lack of success with Evan Williams’s stable and returns to Ireland with the hope of continuing career Legendary punter/trainer scales down training operation and rents out half of his Newmarket yard to new handler John Butler Firm soon to relocate to Stratford in London aims to raise more than £500,000 for Macmillan Cancer Research in 2012

RACEHORSE AND STALLION – MOVEMENTS AND RETIREMENTS Madison Du Berlais Sahpresa Librettist Planteur Buena Vista Mister McGoldrick Awzaan Don’t Push It Ice Box Sarafina

David Pipe-trained chaser, whose wins included the Hennessy Gold Cup and Totesport Bowl at Aintree during the 2008/09 season, is retired aged ten Triple winner of the Sun Chariot Stakes for trainer Rod Collet is retired aged six to owner Teruya Yoshida’s Shadai Farm in Japan Sire of Group 2 winner Libranno moves from Haras du Logis in France to Allevamento Fattoria di Renaccino in Italy; his fee is €3,500 High-class middle-distance performer in France, winner of the Group 1 Prix Ganay last year, joins Marco Botti from Elie Lellouche Exceptional Japanese mare, winner of six Grade 1s and over £10m in prize-money, is retired aged five and is set to be covered by King Kamehameha Popular chaser for the Sue Smith stable is retired aged 14 after career which yielded 15 wins and more than £370,000 in earnings Son of Alhaarth, winner of the 2009 Middle Park Stakes for Hamdan Al Maktoum, is retired to stand at Haras Cuatro Piedras in Progreso, Uruguay Chaser who gave AP McCoy, Jonjo O’Neill and JP McManus their first wins in the Grand National in 2010 is retired aged 12 Runner-up in the 2010 Kentucky Derby joins Cactus Ridge at Calumet Farm in Kentucky; the five-year-old son of Pulpit will stand at a fee of $7,500 Classic-winning daughter of Refuse To Bend sold privately by the Aga Khan to Teruya Yoshida; the triple Group 1 scorer will visit Deep Impact at stud

PEOPLE OBITUARIES

AGE

Michael O’Brien Roger Fisher Barrie Cope Jo Winter Ron Hemmings Theo Howe Karl-Heinz Munchow

68 69 74 54 77 82 89

HORSE OBITUARIES

AGE

Bering See You Then Golden Silver Suny Bay Hidden Keel Strike The Gold Highland Valley Echo Of Light Rock And Roll Kid Fath Heart Of Joy Chichicastenango Urgent Request

28 31 9 22 7 23 6 10 6 15 25 14 22

Optima

Leading Irish jumps trainer for more than 30 years whose big-race haul included three Irish Grand Nationals and a Hennessy Gold Cup Trainer of talented hurdler Ekbalco and tough sprinter Beckermet who came into racing after working in the chemical industry Well-known figure on racecourses in the south of England with his seafood catering business Former amateur jockey who ran a pre-training livery yard in Oxfordshire and was the daughter of the late Fred Winter Bookmaker for more than three decades who was Racing and Trading Director and then Operations Director with Coral Much-respected jumps trainer in Australia who also saddled high-class Flat performer and dual Group 1 winner King Phoenix Leading owner/breeder in Germany, he won the 1964 German 2,000 Guineas with Dschingis Khan, sire of triple crown winner Konigsstuhl

Top-class colt, winner of the French Derby and runner-up to Dancing Brave in the Arc in 1986, who sired Pennekamp and American Post Brilliant hurdler for trainer Nicky Henderson, winning the Champion Hurdle three years in a row in the 1980s partnered by Steve Smith Eccles High-class two-mile chaser for the Willie Mullins stable, winning three Grade 1s including the 2010 Champion Chase at Punchestown Popular grey chaser who was the winner of the 1997 Hennessy Gold Cup and runner-up in two Grand Nationals for owner Andrew Cohen Talented novice chaser for trainer Charlie Longsdon who was set to line up at the Cheltenham Festival Son of Alydar trained by Nick Zito who won the 1991 Kentucky Derby and had stood at stud in Turkey since 1998 Promising hurdler for the Emma Lavelle yard, winner of three races and thought of as a future Grand National candidate Son of Dubai Millennium whose first two-year-olds ran in 2011 and who had been standing at Kildangan Stud in Ireland Tony Mullins-trained gelding whose biggest win came in the extended mile handicap at the 2009 Galway festival Son of Danzig, winner of the 2001 Lennox Stakes, dies of a snake bite while standing at stud in Western Australia Daughter of Lypheor owned by John Mabee who was runner-up in both the English and Irish 1,000 Guineas in 1990 Group 1-winning son of Smadoun who is the sire of Vision d’Etat, winner of the French Derby, Prince of Wales’s Stakes and Hong Kong Cup Son of Rainbow Quest who beat Cezanne in the 1994 Rose of Lancaster Stakes and claimed the Grade 1 Santa Anita Handicap a year later

B CAA pplement al feed su ability to ’s A nutrition the horse to facilitate acid build up and tic prevent lac le performance. sc improve mu

14

cular Integrity Promotes Mus Growth Supports Muscle une Function Improves Imm Fatigue Helps Reduce cle Recovery Enhances Mus

Equine Products UK Ltd., 22 Riverside Court, Newburn Haugh Industrial Estate, Newcastle upon Tyne NE15 8SG. Tel: 0191 264 5536 Fax: 0191 264 0487 email: info@equineproducts-ukltd.com www.equineproducts-ukltd.com

THOROUGHBRED OWNER & BREEDER INC PACEMAKER

NEW FOR 2012

DICK TURPIN “He won that

REALLY EASILYand is a VERY GOOD HORSE...

Richard Hannon (Trainer) 04/07/11 Chantilly after winning the Prix Jean Prat Gr.1

“Dick Turpin has

WON AT EVERY LEVEL during his racing career

and being a Gr.2 winning 2 year old should mean he really appeals

to commercial and home breeders alike. We always thought a lot of him at home and he has

PROVED HIS CLASS on the racecourse

time and time again. He was a genuine racehorse with a great turn of foot that served him well in both of his Gr.1 victories.”

Richard Hannon (Classic winning trainer)

2012 FEE: £7,000 1ST OCTOBER

By ARAKAN x MERRILY (Sharrood) Dual Gr.1 winning miler rated 127 “Dick Turpin proved to be one of the toughest and most consistent milers of his generation…”

A Group winner at 2, 3 and 4 years old Standing at The National Stud, Newmarket for 2012

Brian O’Rourke 07789 508157 Rachael Gowland 01638 675929 Rob Stapleton 07717 558766

Feb_90_Big_PictureV2_Owner Breeder 19/01/2012 10:40 Page 16

THE BIG PICTURE

Feb_90_Big_PictureV2_Owner Breeder 19/01/2012 10:40 Page 17

KING GEORGE VI CHASE

King Kauto Better than Arkle? Maybe not, but Kauto Star cemented his position as the best chaser since ‘Himself’ with a fifth victory in the King George VI Chase at Kempton under Ruby Walsh. The evergreen 12-year-old will now bid to win his third Cheltenham Gold Cup in March – and who would bet against him?

Photo George Selwyn

T HE CO M P LE T E PAC KKAG AG E S TALLION S AT OUT STAND ING VALUE F OR 20 12 BAHAMIAN BOUNTY by Cadeaux Genereux - Clarentia

Sire of 2011 stakes performers BOGART, FAREER and BOUNTY BOX and producer of yearling averages over £22,000 for the last 8 years

2012 Fee: £8,500 1st October

COCKNEY REBEL by Val Royal - Factice

43% winners/ runners with his first crop of 2 year olds

2012 Fee: £4,000 NFFR (1st October)

DICK TURPIN by Arakan - Merrily Dual Gr.1 winning miler - NEW for 2012

2012 Fee: £7,000 1st October

PASTORAL PURSUITS by Bahamian Bounty - Star Sire of the winners of 105 races and over £1.1million in prize money in his first 3 crops

2012 Fee: £6,500 1st October

e: studsecretary@nationalstud.co.uk

FU LL BOARD ING SERV ICES

Foaling, Permanent Boarding & Seasonal Boarding

S ALES CON SIGN MENT S AT ALL MAJOR UK SAL E S Sales Preparation, Spellers & Temporary Boarding e: stallions@nationalstud.co.uk Brian O’Rourke 07789 508157 Rachael Gowland 01638 675929 Rob Stapleton 07717 558766

CO CK N E Y RE B E L 2012 FEE: ÂŁ4,000 NFFR (1ST OCTOBER)

INCREDIBLE VALUE FOR MONEY:

43% winners/ runners strike rate (Racing Post, December 2011), higher than other first season sires including Excellent Art, Lawman, Sir Percy, Dylan Thomas and Teofilio

BAHAMIAN BOUNTY 2012 FEE: £8,500 1ST OCTOBER “I am a big fan of Bahamian Bounty and an even bigger one after this year having Bogart!

He is a good source of 2 year old winners year in, year out.”

Kevin Ryan, Gr.1 winning trainer

PASTORAL PURSUITS 2012 FEE: £6,500 1ST OCTOBER Sire of Group winners and Gr.1 performers, sales race winners, Royal Ascot winners and Listed winners in his first 3 crops.

BAHAMIAN BOUNTY PASTORAL PURSUITS

Brian O’Rourke 07789 508157 Rachael Gowland 01638 675929 Rob Stapleton 07717 558766

Feb_90_Tony_Morris_Owner 19/01/2012 10:55 Page 22

THE MAN YOU CAN’T IGNORE COMMENT

Tony Morris Isn’t all racing the same? Not at all: the National Hunt scene and the Flat are two distinct and separate sports, which produce vastly different experiences for the viewing public

‘The illegitimate sport’ That had been the situation since the 1860s, when the growth of what was familiarly known as ‘the illegitimate sport’ resulted in the formation of the National Hunt Committee, and the arrangement stood the test of time for just over a century. In 1969 it was ended. Someone, applying false logic, determined that in the final analysis all racing was racing, so that one regulatory body should suffice; the National Hunt Committee disappeared, subsumed by the Jockey Club.

Of course, there have been a few more

22

GEORGE SELWYN

W

hen I became a racing journalist in 1963, I was very conscious of the fact that I was becoming involved with two very different sports. One was Flat racing, conducted between late March and early November, and the other was National Hunt racing, which ran between August and April. If I had needed confirmation that they were different, the fact that the former was regulated by the Jockey Club and the latter by the National Hunt Committee established it beyond doubt.

It made perfect sense that there were separate regulatory bodies for two sports so fundamentally different that one required competitors to face obstacles in the course of their journey while the other did not. Flat racing was a totally professional sport, allied to a significant breeding industry, while National Hunt racing still included a large amateur element, much of it from a farming, hunting and point-to-point background.

There was obviously some crossover, in that a minority of horses competed under both rules, a minority of owners and trainers were involved in both spheres, and there were a few – a very few – jockeys who plied their trade in both. Some members of the Jockey Club were also members of the National Hunt Committee, but among them it was a rare one who gave a significant commitment to both Flat and jumping.

Amateurs such as Sam Waley-Cohen, above on Long Run, are integral to jump racing

changes since that one. Now we have a Jockey Club which has no regulatory powers and has been transformed into an estate management company, specialising in the ownership of racecourses. Governance of the twin sports passed first to the Horseracing Regulatory Authority, then the British Horseracing Board (or was it the other way around?), and most recently, in 2007, to the British Horseracing Authority.

Among the other significant changes to the status quo I’ve seen are the arrivals of Sunday racing and all-weather racing, and an end to those traditional seasons. There is racing of some sort scheduled on every day of the year apart from Good Friday, Christmas Day and the couple of days before, and both sports have a 12-month season without a break.

The Flat season operates for the full calendar year, beginning on January 1 and ending on December 31, despite the fact that the BHA now chooses to disregard large chunks of it in determining the championships for trainers and jockeys. The

insanity of that decision has been well illustrated by the facts that in one year Dettori was proclaimed champion although Fallon had ridden more winners, and in another Sanders and Spencer dead-heated for the title, although Sanders was the true winner by a wide margin.

I’m never quite sure now when the National Hunt season begins and ends, but I do know that the new one starts a day after the arbitrary date set for the conclusion of the old one. In truth it scarcely matters what date is chosen and there may well be a case for switching to a January 1-December 31 season; wouldn’t the King George VI Chase on Boxing Day provide an appropriate climax to the campaign?

But you can bet your life that that’s one thing that won’t be changed. National Hunt racing has proved immune to the folk from Racing For Change, who clearly side with my view that it is a different sport, because they have left it alone, concentrating their attention on the Flat.

THOROUGHBRED OWNER & BREEDER INC PACEMAKER

Feb_90_Tony_Morris_Owner 19/01/2012 10:55 Page 23

From the great Sadler’s Wells stallion line

While they have been so eager to revamp the Flat racing scene, the modernisers have decided that jump racing is not in need of change.

And it is easy to understand why. It is still essentially the same sport that I described when referring to the scenario of half a century ago.

It still features a significant amateur element and remains closely allied to farming, hunting and point-to-point racing. It is a country pursuit, chiefly involving those brought up in the country, where horses may still be seen. And it is a relatively parochial one, of little or no importance anywhere aside from Britain, Ireland and France.

TOBOUGG Gr.1 proven sire

Global appeal of the Flat

Proven sire of the winners of 350 flat races and 27 Stakes performers, including Gr.1 The Pooka and Gr.2 winners Penny’s Gift and Barside. Best NH progeny include Gr.2 Hurdle winner and multiple Graded placed Bouggler, Gr.3 Chase winner Save My Blushes and Gr.2 Hurdle placed Shalone.

It is a very different sport from Flat racing, which has global appeal, is intensely competitive in consequence and is linked to a multibillion pound breeding industry. National Hunt racing is, first and foremost, a medium of entertainment, whereas Flat racing is that and a whole lot more besides. While some people profess to enjoy both sports equally, most would surely express a preference for one or the other, because the experiences are very different.

There was a time when Flat racing held sway as both the Sport of Kings and the king of sports, but that hasn’t been the way of things since football, cricket, tennis and a host of other pastimes in which it is easy to participate, rather than just watch, came along. It is now a minority-interest sport and inevitably so in an era when most people are brought up in towns, where they never see a horse.

In my time as a racegoer four major English conurbations have lost their Flat racecourses: London (Alexandra Park), Birmingham, Manchester and Liverpool all fell by the wayside, unregretted by the locals who had an abundance of alternative and presumably preferable pursuits to support. If huge towns like those failed to support a Flat racecourse, and other densely populated areas such as Sheffield, Leeds and Bristol have always shunned the sport, just why would anyone imagine that the potential exists to recruit thousands of the uninterested and inspire them to develop a passion for the sport?

Is it possible to credit that last year’s creation of the British Champions’ Series converted any non-believers into regular racegoers?

It is just possible that Frankel, by dint of brilliance that attracted attention in the wider media, may have alerted a few of the uninitiated to the fact that racing, like other sports, can produce a superstar, but he would have done that without the sheer coincidence of the British Champions’ Series.

To my mind, the actions of Racing For Change to this point have alienated us. We don’t object to change – we’ve seen and welcomed plenty of changes over the years – but those changes have evolved naturally rather than been imposed on us by marketing folk who have little or no respect for the traditions in racing and scant appreciation of the racegoing experience.

Racing For Change should have treated Flat racing just as it has treated National Hunt racing, i.e. left well alone. Of course, that would have meant they did nothing at all. That would have been fine by me.

“We “ We have have always alwayss been been a big big fan f an o off TTobougg’s oboug g’s p progeny rogeny ffrom rom early buy Penny’s Gift, early on on and and we we were were lucky luck y enough enough tto ob uy P enny’s G if t, his daughter. oug h h is Classic Classic winning winning d aughter. TThey hey are are good good looking, looking, ttough horses we buying att tthe on sider b u y ing a he ssales.” ales.” h orses that t h at w e would would always alwayss cconsider Peter Doyle Pe te r D oyle Gr.1 Champion 2yo and Gr.1 3yo. By a dual Gr.1 winner out of a dual Gr.1 winner.

STUD FEE: £2,500 1st October SLF (No Groom’s Fee)

“Jump racing is first

Classic bloodlines and a proven sire at a reasonable price

and foremost about entertainment; the Flat is that and a whole lot more”

THOROUGHBRED OWNER & BREEDER INC PACEMAKER

DOUBLE TRIGGER Successful NH sire

Sire of multiple NH winners including Russian Trigger (5 wins, L Midlands Grand National Ch), Faltering Fullback (5 wins), Double Dizzy (3 wins, 2nd Gr.1 Novice Ch), Solway Sam (5 wins), Trigger the Light (4 wins), Swincombe Rock (3 wins), Triggerman (4 wins), Gold Reef (3 wins), etc.

“I over past “I have have trained trained several several horses horses by

by Double Double TTrigger rigger o ver tthe he p ast have been been tough ffew ew seasons. seasons. They They have tough individuals individuals and and each each one one has has been been successful.” successful.” Alan Alan King King Champion European Stayer as a 4yo, Classic Winner as a 3yo, Listed 2yo winner.

STUD FEE: £1,750 1st October (No Groom’s Fee)

CLARENDON FARM Clarendon Farm Teffont Nr Salisbury Wiltshire SP3 5QU

Contact: John Haydon T: + 44 (0) 1722 716107 M: + 44 (0) 7970 019172 www.clarendonfarm.com

23

Daniel Hunt Fine Art OB Feb2012_Daniel Hunt Fine Art OB Feb2012 18/01/2012 11:03 Page 1

DANIEL HUNT FINE ART 60 Lower Sloane Street, London SW1W 8BP tel: +44 (0)20 7259 0304

George Lambert (circa 1700-1765) A Wooded Lake Landscape with a Village and Figures Bathing in a Lake signed and dated lower left: G. Lambert. 1752.

19 ½ x 23 ½ in. (50 x 60 cm.)

Provenance Mr. and Mrs. Paul Mellon, Richmond, Virginia Exhibited Richmond, Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, ‘Painting in England 1700-1850’, 1963 Royal Academy, London, 1964-65 Number 1 Royal Crescent, Bath Lambert – ‘The Father of English Landscape’ - was the first British artist to specialise in landscape painting, creating a new classicist vision, which inspired and refined successive generations of British artists. He truly was the founder of an artistic tradition. £22,000

Daniel Hunt is always looking for great paintings.

We have passionate collectors looking for great works from Old Masters to Impressionists and beyond.

We offer discretion, expertise, broking advice and collections management. email: daniel-hunt@btconnect.com

Feb_90_JWilloughby_Owner Breeder 19/01/2012 10:56 Page 25

JAMES WILLOUGHBY COMMENT

There are several factors at play in the emergence of a potential new racing superpower on the world stage and the decline of a once-formidable nation

The land of the rising rating

THOROUGHBRED OWNER & BREEDER INC PACEMAKER

GEORGE SELWYN

P

ublication of the World Thoroughbred Ratings (WTR) highlighted two racing nations going in opposite directions.

While 11 horses trained in Japan earned a figure of at least 120 – the best ever for that country – the ratings reflected a decline in quality at the top of the US ranks.

In both cases, the panel noted an evident multi-year trend driving these results.

Analysis of past classifications shows there is considerable variance in the quality of horses at the peak of each country's strengths; there is no writing off these results as a smallsample aberration.

In the case of Japan, it is easy to understand the reasons. It wasn't until Seeking The Pearl won the 1998 Prix Maurice de Gheest that a Japanese-trained horse took a Group 1 in Europe. Since then, Japan has enjoyed rising success internationally, emboldened by increasingly strong competition domestically.

Moreover, while for years their racing authority's protectionist policy prevented foreign investment, a more open approach has seen the influx of a handful of powerful bloodstock investors. Chief among them is Sheikh Mohammed, whose focus on Japan rose after Victoire Pisa and Transcend were one-two in the 2011 Dubai World Cup. Victoire Pisa earned 122 and Transcend 121 in the classifications. But the current star of Japanese racing is their latest Triple Crown winner Orfevre. While his 123 fell 13lb short of Frankel, he will rate higher this year when he takes on international competition in races such as the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe.

The organisation of Japanese racing, and its economy, has made this upsurge inevitable.

The state-run pari-mutuel betting system is the biggest in the world, turning over more than twice its nearest rival, the US. And its breeding industry is the envy of the world.

Japanese horses still took a long time to make an impact internationally, partly due to the insularity of their domestic focus. But results in such as the 2006 Melbourne Cup, in which Delta Blues and Pop Rock were first and second, have seen their hapless reputation on the world stage revised.

At the same time as the red line on the graph has been creeping up, the blue one has been steadily falling. Recently, the presence of one or two superstars has served to mask the

Victoire Pisa (left) and Transcend underlined Japan’s power in the Dubai World Cup

declining strength of US racing at the top level, but this year there was no such saviour.

The highest-rated US runner on 124 is the Breeders' Cup Classic winner Drosselmeyer, whose victory begged searching questions in and of itself. Written off as a poor winner of the 2010 Belmont Stakes, his win seemed more to expose the failings of those around him to sustain their form into the autumn.

“The organisation of

Japanese racing, and its economy, has made an upsurge inevitable” Rates of attrition in the US, owing to factors like training and racing on tough dirt tracks, has always been a limiting factor where ratings are concerned. Big figures can be achieved by wide-margin wins over lesser foes, but more often it is competition which drives performances recognisable as elite.

This requires the small number of horses capable of high class form to remain in shape

for a series of demanding races, but statistics and veterinary evidence point to US-trained horses standing fewer races now. One wonders whether the increased stringency of drug-testing procedures is making it trickier for trainers to keep their horses in peak form.

Whether US horses are less robust owing to being bred from runners whose frailties have themselves been masked by medication is a wider question.

It is not surprising the latest Classic crop – led by Kentucky Derby winner Animal Kingdom on just 121 – became so thoroughly shredded by the rigours of competition that Grade 1s for their age group became more a test of survival than merit by season's end. So much was lost by the failure of champion juvenile Uncle Mo. By far the best story of the season was the rivalry between talented females Havre de Grace, US Horse of the Year, and Blind Luck; however their ratings of 120 and 119 make it clear we were not watching a duel between Zenyatta and Rachel Alexandra. Those two are a reminder we don't have to go back far to remember the impression great horses in the US can make. Yet it is easy to discern how the balance of power is swinging away from the US, a fact its parlous finances exacerbate.

25

Feb_90_FoundationMares_Layout 1 19/01/2012 11:01 Page 26

THE FOUNDATION MARES

By JEREMY EARLY

ALLEGRETTA From sales-ring fireworks to winning some of the most prestigious races in the international calendar, the impact of her descendants cannot be underestimated

“Allegretta was a distinctly nervous filly who used to sweat up markedly” For all the ability shown, this was not exactly the profile of a potentially outstanding broodmare and Allegretta was sold to race in the USA for only 24,000gns at the 1981 Newmarket December Sales. She did little of note on the track there, including when third in an allowance race at Suffolk Downs over a

26

GEORGE SELWYN

T

he most successful broodmares of modern times in Europe include Hasili with her five Group/Grade 1 winners for Juddmonte and Alruccaba for Kirsten Rausing, but arguably Allegretta tops even those two as ancestress of nine winners of 18 Group 1s headed by six Classics, two Prix de l’Arc de Triomphes and one King George VI & Queen Elizabeth Stakes.

The eight to have been campaigned in Europe have been rated at least 120 by Timeform, with five rated 126 or above. That is a phenomenal achievement for a mare foaled only in 1978, and in a sense this success is a sign of the value of German bloodstock because Allegretta hailed from a family which had produced six winners of the Deutsches Derby between 1930 and 1982.

Allegretta was bred by Gestüt Schlenderhan and trained by Sir Michael Stoute. Given the family background, it was predictable that she would be suited by middle distances – her brother Anno, foaled a year later, was named champion German three-year-old after winning the Deutsches St Leger.

Allegretta showed above-average form to win at a mile and at nine furlongs at two, when also showing her stamina to be second in the Zetland Stakes, and she did well when chasing home Leap Lively in the Lingfield Oaks Trial early on at three. Unfortunately she then lost her form completely, probably because temperament got the better of her – she was a distinctly nervous filly who used to sweat up markedly.

Allegretta and Walter Swinburn head to post at Epsom for the Oaks of 1981

vastly inadequate trip of six furlongs, and was resold for $55,000 at Keeneland in 1984.

Her new owner, Michel Henochsberg of Marystead Farm, later admitted: “She was a useful race filly who gave the impression of not having much heart but she descended from an exceptional family. I went to look at her. She is not elegant, but she has an exceptional body. I was seduced.”

Allegretta’s first four foals did little to justify the purchase on the racecourse but the position changed in 1989 with the arrival of Urban Sea (by Miswaki), a 280,000 francs purchase at Deauville as a yearling for David Tsui and partners.

Suited by middle distances, Urban Sea was tough and game but took time to find her best form. After running third in the Prix Vermeille during her Classic campaign she appeared in the ring at Goffs France, where Tsui bought out his partners – there were several other horses in the package as well – for 3,000,000 francs, around £350,000.

This proved a bargain – and in a short time too, since Urban Sea improved significantly as a four-year-old, running second in the Prince of Wales’s Stakes before picking up the Prix Gontaut-Biron. She then sprang a surprise at 37-1 in the Prix de l’Arc de

Triomphe and was named champion older European filly. At five Urban Sea looked as good as ever in notching the Prix d’Harcourt but injury cut short her career.

Urban Sea’s record at stud was superb in terms of both numbers, with 11 foals, and quality. She was mated with stallions having a wide range of stamina, including getting four foals by Sadler’s Wells, two by Green Desert and one each by Cape Cross and Invincible Spirit. Intriguingly, though, all those to have raced at three or older have been suited by middle distances.

Galileo (by Sadler’s Wells) and Sea The Stars (by Cape Cross) allowed Urban Sea to join an elite band of mares to have foaled two Derby winners. They notched seven other Group 1s, including two Classics, a King George and an Arc, and Galileo has now become his sire’s successor as outstandingly the best stallion in Europe.

Galileo’s brother Black Sam Bellamy stayed 12 furlongs plus and notched a couple of Group 1s, My Typhoon (by Giant’s Causeway) collected the Diana Stakes over nine furlongs, All Too Beautiful (by Sadler’s Wells) ran second in the Oaks before landing the Middleton Stakes, Melikah (by Lammtarra) was placed in the Oaks and Irish THOROUGHBRED OWNER & BREEDER INC PACEMAKER

Feb_90_FoundationMares_Layout 1 19/01/2012 11:01 Page 27

Group 1/Grade 1 winners descended from Allegretta Foaled

Winner

f 1989 c 1997 c 1997 c 1998 c 1998

Urban Sea Anzillero King’s Best Anabaa Blue Galileo

c 1999 f 2002 c 2005 c 2006

Races (Timeform rating)

Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe (126) Deutschland-Preis (120) 2,000 Guineas (132) Prix du Jockey-Club (120) Derby, Irish Derby, King George VI & Queen Elizabeth Stakes (134) Black Sam Bellamy Gran Premio del Jockey Club, Tattersalls Gold Cup (121) My Typhoon Diana Stakes Tamayuz Prix Jean Prat, Prix Jacques le Marois (126) Sea The Stars 2,000 Guineas, Derby, Eclipse Stakes, Juddmonte International, Irish Champion Stakes, Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe (140)

Oaks and Urban Ocean (by Bering) won the Gallinule Stakes over ten furlongs and stayed further. Urban Sea’s final foal is the promising 2011 Blenheim Stakes winner Born To Sea; she died of complications that arose in producing him.

The income from sales of several of these as youngsters was considerable. Melikah topped the Deauville sale as a yearling in 1998 at 10,000,000 francs, All Too Beautiful went through the ring for a record 1,100,000gns as a foal at Tattersalls in 2001 and My Typhoon set a new record for the venue when fetching 1,800,000gns there a year later. Urban Ocean was a 230,000gns yearling.

If Urban Sea had been the only member of Allegretta’s family to have scaled the heights that would be a fine advert on its own, but there is more – and as with Urban Sea’s progeny it is colts who have dominated. Allez Les Trois, foaled the year after Urban Sea in 1990 and bought back as a yearling, won the Prix de Flore. Her 1998 foal Anabaa Blue went through the ring for 650,000 francs and won the French Derby and a couple of Group 2s.

There are also two Listed winners out of Allez Les Trois plus minor winner Al Ishq, dam of Tamayuz, one of the best of his age in France in 2008 when successful in the Prix Jean Prat and Prix Jacques le Marois and about to be represented by his first runners in 2012.

To return to Allegretta, her 1997 foal, King’s Best, sold for 2,300,000 francs and put up a brilliant display to win the 2,000 Guineas easily from Giant’s Causeway. Sadly he ran only once more but his ability enabled Allegretta’s yearling daughter by Diesis to go for 9,000,000 francs at Deauville that summer. Named Altruiste, she never ran but her daughter Alpine Snow appropriately landed the Listed Prix Urban Sea in 2009.

The achievements of such offspring as Workforce, Proclamation and Creachadoir have kept King’s Best’s name in the headlines, and a year after his Guineas victory Allegretta’s 1986 foal, Anzille, was represented by Anzillero, winner of the Group 1 Deutschland-Preis.

Another daughter, stakes-placed Turbaine, has done her stuff as well, getting stakes winners over a range of trips. Tertullian won five Group 3s over seven furlongs, Terek won one at a mile and a quarter and Tusculum notched a Listed race over a mile and three-quarters before running fifth in the St Leger. He was sold for 440,000gns soon afterwards, confirming that involvement with the family is virtually a licence to print money.

NEXT MONTH: Drumrora THOROUGHBRED OWNER & BREEDER INC PACEMAKER

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Feb_90_View_From_Ireland_Owner Breeder 19/01/2012 10:50 Page 29

VIEW FROM IRELAND

By LEO POWELL, MANAGING EDITOR OF THE IRISH FIELD

Fifty years of Moyglare magic Kildare stud founder, 101-year-old Walter Haefner, honoured at K Club dinner

CAROLINE NORRIS

T

he 31st Moyglare Dinner was held in early January at the K Club in Kildare.

The event itself is only in its infancy compared to the celebration of the stud itself, for which 2012 marks 50 years in existence.

A huge attendance at this year’s dinner, occupying three spacious rooms, paid tribute to the founder of Moyglare, the 101-year-old Walter Haefner.

Though not in attendance himself, Mr Haefner still takes a keen interest in the stud, which he has now passed on to his daughter Eva-Maria Bucher-Haefner. She joined the Minister for Agriculture, Simon Coveney, and John McStay, who stepped down as Senior Steward of the Turf Club, in addressing the gathering.

Bucher-Haefner paid tribute to her father and the success he enjoyed during his period in charge of the stud, vowing to continue with his legacy. The farm has a tremendous record as owners and breeders, and Group 1 winners Again Tomorrow, Assert, Bikala, Brief Truce, Carwhite, Casual Conquest, Dance Design, Definite Article, Dress To Thrill, Go And Go, Market Booster, Media Puzzle, Refuse To Bend, Relaxed Gesture, Stanerra, Super Concorde, Trusted Partner and Twilight Agenda are just some of the horses that they have been successful with.

“The farm has a

tremendous record and has had many Group 1 winners ” Describing her father as primarily a breeder, his first love, she announced on the night that Moyglare Stud was in the process of putting together a series of races for fillies in Ireland, non-stakes races, which would qualify the breeder of the winner to a prize of €1,000. In total, 50 such races will be identified and they will be mostly made up of handicaps and maidens, run at every track in Ireland that stages Flat racing.

THOROUGHBRED OWNER & BREEDER INC PACEMAKER

Eva-Maria Bucher-Haefner and daughter Chiara enjoy the Moyglare Dinner

News of this wonderful gesture on the part of Moyglare was enthusiastically received by the industry and the idea behind the move was to acknowledge the role of breeders and to help them celebrate the victory of their product.

In addition, the stud is also to give a prize to the breeder of all the races on Moyglare Stud Stakes day at the Curragh. The 2011 Moyglare Stud Stakes was won by Maybe.

Minister Coveney further elaborated on his plans for a review of certain aspects of the Irish horseracing industry. An independent group will be given the task of carrying out the review following a tender process. This will hopefully commence in the spring.

The terms of reference for the review, potentially the most significant roadmap for the industry in its history, will include: • Contemplating the legislation currently in place and assessing whether it provides the most appropriate governance structures for the industry; • Evaluating whether the Horse Racing Ireland board structure, size and nomination process is appropriate and effective, and to

make recommendations for change if necessary; • Looking at the scope for streamlining all of the functions assigned under the legislation, including the independence of regulatory decisions, and making recommendations accordingly; • Reviewing current funding arrangements, having regard to funding systems in place in other major racing countries, and recommend an appropriate funding structure with regard to the long term development of the sector.

The Moyglare Dinner is jointly hosted by the stud and the Turf Club, and the Minister assured the members of the latter body that it was not his intention to deconstruct the Turf Club with this review, but rather to look at efficiencies.

McStay, on behalf of the Turf Club, made a presentation to the committee and management of Galway racecourse, acknowledging their considerable contribution to racing in Ireland. Chairman Tim Naughton and Manager John Molony were on hand to accept the award.

29

>>

Feb_90_View_From_Ireland_Owner Breeder 19/01/2012 10:50 Page 30

VIEW FROM IRELAND

New payment structure for foal levy One of the most contentious issues in Irish breeding circles during the last year was the foal levy, a statutory charge made when breeders sought to register their foal. While a public debate raged for a short while, it was behind closed doors that various representatives finally resolved the issue – at least for now.

While signing off on the new payment structure, the Irish Farmers’ Association representative James Murphy did still have some reservations. A further review of the new levy will undoubtedly be on the cards later in the year.

Murphy said: “IFA’s position is that the responsibility of delivering on this issue resides with Horse Racing Ireland and its success will be judged by the outcome. The problem will be totally resolved only when a flat rate levy based on the actual nomination fee is introduced.”

The Irish Thoroughbred Breeders’ Association said: “The ITBA, through our Foal Levy Committee members, initiated the call for

Band

Covering fee

2012 foal levy

2011 foal levy

A

€0-€1,000

€35

€39

B

€1,001-€2,500

€50

€77

C

€2,501-€5,000

€100

€153

D

€5,001-€7,500

€150

€153 & €231 (up to €7,500)

E

€7,501-€10,000

€200

€231

F

€10,001-€12,500

€250

€231 & €385 (up to €12,500)

G

€12,501-€15,000

€300

€385

H

€15,001-€17,500

€350

€385

I

€17,501-€22,500

€450

€385

J

€22,501-€30,000

€600

€385

K

€30,001+

€650

€385 & €615 (over €33,500)

FOREIGN

Pay Band F

€250

€231

change to the foal levy bands and the practical operation of the scheme in 2009. We welcome this change as it is fair and equitable, and gives a more even spread of bands.

“It is important that the HRI letter which goes out to stallion owners is more precise with regard to which band their advertised fee is in.

Despite the fact there will be a decline in the

income generated from the fund the ITBA accept that this new structure is more agreeable to a wider range of breeders.”

The main changes are that the number of bands increases from six to 11 and the amount paid within the bands has also been adjusted, downwards in the case of stallions standing at up to €17,500, and upwards in all other cases.

Peter Gibbons One of Ireland’s best known veterinary surgeons, Peter Gibbons, died on New Year’s Day at the age of 62. He was also a breeder and sales consignor of note and among the best horses he bred was the Group 1-placed Asset.

Peter was a member of the veterinary panels at both Goffs and Tattersalls Ireland, was a member of the British Equine Veterinary Association and a former committee member, a member of Veterinary Ireland, chairman of the Association of Irish Racecourse Veterinary Surgeons and served his local tracks Navan and Fairyhouse. He and his wife Ann owned Skara Stud.

Dennison receives OBE Well-known point-to-point owner Wilson Dennison was among just 55 people from Northern Ireland honoured in the Queen’s New Year’s List, joining the likes of golfers Rory McIlroy and Darren Clarke. He received an OBE.

RTE cuts three live days As has happened through the years with coverage of racing on the BBC, Irish

30

racing on the main terrestrial channel RTE is to suffer a cutback in 2012. This means now that 23 days instead of 26 will be shown.

The meetings losing out are the Easter Tuesday of Fairyhouse, the last day of the Leopardstown Christmas festival and Pretty Polly Stakes day at the Curragh.

RTE has signed a deal with the Association of Irish Racecourses that the same 23 days will be safeguarded in 2013.

Ryan promotion Roddy Ryan is the new Senior Steward of the Turf Club in Ireland. His two-year term will end in December 2013. He joined the Turf Club in 1997 and has served on many of its committees and on the Curragh Committee. A director of many companies, he has had a lifelong interest in racing and has been a successful owner and breeder.

Neville O’Byrne, a solicitor by profession, replaces Ryan as Deputy Senior Steward, while veterinary surgeon and stud owner Meta Osborne becomes a steward. The fourth steward is Charles O’Reilly, an owner and breeder.

CAROLINE NORRIS

In Brief

One of Ireland’s leading jumps trainers

Michael O’Brien dies aged 68 The wheelchair-bound Michael O’Brien, one of Ireland’s leading National Hunt trainers, died two days before Christmas following a long illness. Paralysed after a fall in America, where he was a champion jockey, he overcame this major setback to establish himself as a trainer, heading the trainers’ list on one occasion. He won three Irish Grand Nationals, with King Spruce (1982), Vanton (1992) and Glebe Lad (1999).

His Cheltenham Festival winners were Shawiya (Triumph Hurdle) and Kadoun (Pertemps Final), while his first good horse was Bright Highway, winner of the Mackeson Gold Cup and Hennessy Gold Cup in 1980.

THOROUGHBRED OWNER & BREEDER INC PACEMAKER

The Roberto Sire Line Dr. Fong

Halo

HAIL TO REASON Brian’s Time

Kris S

Dynaformer

Arch

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Deep Impact

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Rock Hard Ten

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Flying the flag at the Irish National Stud

Contact: John Osborne, Sinéad Hyland, Gary Swift or Helen Boyce.

Tel: +353 (0)45 521251 www.irishnationalstud.ie

Silver Hawk

Feb_90_Continental_Tales_Owner Breeder 19/01/2012 10:46 Page 32

CONTINENTAL TALES

CZECH

By JAMES CRISPE, INTERNATIONAL RACING BUREAU

RE

PUBLIC

Vána leads Pardubice rescue plan Country’s greatest jump jockey wants track run in ‘dignified, successful manner’

A

FR A

Josef Vána: pivotal to the Pardubice

NC

any racing expertise, fared little better and, following a storm of criticism, the new Chairman Jan Nemec fell on his sword in December after only ten months in charge.

Against this background, Vána led a group of businessmen who went to the town hall with a proposal that they should take over the running of the course, with one of their main aims being to raise the prize-money on offer for the Velká Pardubická itself.

“The present leadership of Dostihovy Spolek has failed and a completely different approach is needed,” Vána said. “For me it is not a matter of whether we rent the course and run it or we purchase shares. The main thing is that racing at Pardubice is run in a dignified and successful manner without all the mess that has piled up in recent years.”

The track is not under long-term threat, as the town owns it and is committed to racing. As regards Vána’s future involvement, the picture should become clearer at this month’s Annual General Meeting of Dostihovy Spolek.

Figures published by Petr Malik in the December issue of Paddock Revue show that only four countries staged more jump races than the Czech Republic in 2010. Britain, France and Ireland staged more than 86% of the 7,919 races, with fourth-placed Italy hosting 217, followed by the Czech Republic with 173. The USA (159), Japan (134), New Zealand (122) and Australia (95) were next.

E

New entries system could trip you up!

Trainers beware.

The method of entering horses in France changed on January 1, becoming exclusively handled by the France Galop website, and if you do not register early there is every likelihood that your entries will be rejected.

You now need to log on to www.francegalop.com and obtain a username and password before the entry procedure can begin. Registration currently costs €29.90 per year and can be paid for using a Weatherbys account.

And this registration cannot be done at the last minute. The rules of French racing state that any horse entered there needs to

32

nother page may yet be written in the incredible history of Czech racing’s greatest ever jump jockey, Josef Vána. Already the winner of the fabled Velká Pardubická Chase eight times (the most recent coming days before his 59th birthday), he now wants to take over the running of the home of the four and a quarter mile event, cash-strapped Pardubice racecourse.

The course has been in financial trouble for some time, not helped by a £26,000 negligence claim after a promising horse was killed having run loose following a fall in June 2008.

Dostihovy Spolek, the track’s management company, took the matter to the Court Of Appeal but came out on the wrong end of its judgement in November 2010.

Dostihovy Spolek has been operating at a loss for some years but has been kept afloat via loans from its majority shareholder, the town of Pardubice. It is now reckoned to be some £650,000 in debt, prompting allegations of incompetence and criminal activity.

Its board of directors is riven with political infighting. Four of the five directors were ousted early last year but the new appointees, who were devoid of

be on the France Galop database with its basic details of country of foaling, year of foaling, sire, dam and owner correct at least eight days before an entry can be made.

This rule has been in place for a while but was sometimes waived where overseas-trained horses were concerned.

But, now that entries can be made only using the internet, it will be much more rigidly adhered to, so trainers who do not have the foresight to cough up €29.90 more than a week prior to their first entry may be left out in the cold.

Furthermore, it will be the trainer’s own responsibility to make sure that horse

details are updated. If a horse is entered in France that appears on the France Galop website with the wrong owner, or as an entire horse instead of a gelding, that entry may be declared void.

We all know how snowed under trainers’ secretaries can become, especially at the height of the summer season with evening racing in full swing. But, even allowing for these changes, there is still a way of making a French entry with just one phone call (and at the same time passing on the responsibility of understanding and adhering to the new regulations) – contact the International Racing Bureau in Newmarket!

THOROUGHBRED OWNER & BREEDER INC PACEMAKER

IN

Dubai merely a diversion for Arizkorreta

APRH

GERMA

Guillermo Arizkorreta: waiting to see if new government supports racing

NY

Former Luca Cumani assistant Guillermo Arizkorreta will be endeavouring to saddle the first Spanish-trained winner at the Dubai International Racing Carnival in the coming weeks.

Although he has a second string to his bow in the form of Plantagenet, a fiveyear-old who won five of his first seven starts but has been beaten ten successive times since, his Middle Eastern hopes rest largely on the shoulders of all-weather specialist Ariete Arrollador.

A son of Kingsalsa who is unbeaten in three starts on Deauville’s sand surface, Ariete Arrollador can act on turf as well, as he showed when providing the yard with its first Classic victory in the 2010 Spanish 2,000 Guineas. But improvement wrought by the shift to an artificial surface culminated in his landing the Listed Prix Luthier in early December.

“Ariete Arrollador has always been brilliant in the mornings on fibresand,” Arizkorreta revealed, “so I could not wait to give him a race on the all-weather. I expect him to adapt well to the Tapeta surface at Meydan.”

A native of San Sebastian, he has no family connection with racing. In fact, his interest dates from a childhood meeting with the subsequent four-time French champion jockey Ioritz Mendizabal. The pair learnt to ride together and began exercising racehorses at San Sebastian’s Lasarte racecourse at the tender age of 13.

Arizkorreta represented Spain three times in the Fegentri amateur riders championships before getting a job with Cumani. His three years in Newmarket ended in September 2006 and two months later he took out a training licence.

He currently has 60 horses under his care at La Zarzuela racecourse in Madrid and enjoyed his best season in 2011, when he racked up 51 victories including 11 in France.

Although he hopes to begin the year in a blaze of Meydan glory, Arizkorreta is under no illusions about how tough 2012 will be back home given the current economic situation. “The most important thing for racing in Spain in 2012 will be to see if the new government will support our industry,” he concluded.

Plan to delay Derby scuppered by French

The German authorities have been defeated in their attempt to delay the German Derby by a week to avoid a clash with the final of the European Football Championships.

The French objected on the grounds that the Derby would therefore be run less than a week before the Grand Prix de Paris – the last three-year-old Group 1 of the year available to colts.

So the Derby remains on Sunday, July 1.

But the rest of the Derby festival at Hamburg, which races just once a year and, like so many German courses, is in a parlous financial situation, has been reshuffled.

Hamburg will now stage action on each of the two days before the Derby and carry on for three of the four days afterwards, concluding on Thursday, July 5.

Most of the supporting cards will be evening meetings to enable a crucial cash injection via simulcast betting into French PMU pools.

THOROUGHBRED OWNER & BREEDER INC PACEMAKER

FRANK NOLTING

SPA

Feb_90_Continental_Tales_Owner Breeder 19/01/2012 10:46 Page 33

Waldpark lands the 2011 Deutsches Derby, which is to remain in its traditional slot

33

A French fairy tale Dunaden,

Impressive winner of both Gr.1 Emirates Melbourne Cup and the Gr.1 Cathay Pacific Hong Kong Vase trained in Chantilly by M. Delzangles

Chantilly

France, the place to be for training

www.france-galop.com proprietaires@france-galop.com

Š F. Sorge - Scoop Dyga

Paris

Feb_90_AroundtheGlobe_Owner Breeder 19/01/2012 10:19 Page 35

AROUND THE GLOBE THE WORLDWIDE RACING SCENE

NORT H A M E R I CA

by Steve Andersen

Purses on the up as chips go down

“Our foal crop was

probably the smallest in the last decade.

That will change” officials expect the casino to generate up to $100m annually, with $30m for purses.

What is occurring in New York is similar to other venues in North America, where slot machines have subsidised prize-money and guaranteed the survival of racetracks in places as varied as Ontario in Canada, Louisiana in the south, New Mexico in the west and Florida on the eastern seaboard. Slots have been approved at Ohio racetracks.

Other states, notably California, Illinois, Kentucky, New Jersey, and Texas, have not THOROUGHBRED OWNER & BREEDER INC PACEMAKER

NYRA

T

he future of New York racing arrived on an autumn day last October when a decade-long wait for a casino at Aqueduct finally ended with the grand opening of a $1 billion facility on the racetrack.

In recent months, New Yorkers have flocked to the only venue in the five boroughs with slot machines. And thoroughbred racing is a major beneficiary. Purses at the New York Racing Association tracks – Aqueduct, Belmont Park and Saratoga – will rise substantially in 2012, NYRA will regain its financial footing three years after declaring bankruptcy, and the state’s breeding industry is expected to surge.

“This is all very good news,” said Jeffrey Cannizzo, the Executive Director of the New York Thoroughbred Breeders Inc., which administers the state-bred programme.

For the current Aqueduct meeting, which runs until April 22, prize-money has increased by 36%, or $8.6 million. The track had daily prize-money distribution of $275,000 at the 2011 winter meeting, a figure estimated at $375,000 this year. A maiden special weight race for horses running over a mile was worth $43,000 in 2011 but is now worth $65,000, while a $10,000 claimer over six furlongs was worth $20,000 last year but $30,000 this time.

Purses at the Belmont spring/summer and fall meeting and prestigious Saratoga summer meeting will rise later this year. Overall NYRA

Racing at Aqueduct in New York state has benefited thanks to the casino’s arrival

received government approval for slot machines at racetracks. Racing participants in those states can only look on with envy.

In each state with slot machines, the storyline has been largely similar. A surge of betting revenue from slot machines has helped many lower-tier racetracks thrive, giving horse owners greatly enhanced prize-money and contributing to a change in the landscape of American thoroughbred breeding. The statebred programmes in New Mexico, Pennsylvania and Oklahoma, an afterthought before slot machines, now have more robust breeding markets, despite the recent recession.

The casino at Aqueduct, about three miles from John F Kennedy Airport, has been a raging success. Operators typically expect $300 in daily revenue from slot machines. At one point shortly after opening, the Aqueduct machines were producing $600 a day, a figure that fell with the installation of more machines in December. NYRA has budgeted $380 in daily revenue per machine in 2012.

The casino is managed by Genting Group, a Malaysia-based company that operates more than 40 casinos in the UK through Circus Casinos, Maxim Casinos and Mint Casinos.

The Aqueduct casino’s success led New York Governor Andrew Cuomo to state a desire for a further expansion of casino gambling in a speech in January, calling for table games such as blackjack. For New York racing, the casino’s development is expected to mean more horses being shipped there and higher field sizes that will appeal to bettors. New York racing officials said that approximately 1,500 horses were available for racing on the circuit last winter, a figure that will be closer to 2,000 this year.

The full benefits will not be known for years but will be felt as quickly as this year for New York breeders. Cannizzo predicts the state’s foal crop for 2012 will be 1,500 to 1,800 foals, a substantial gain on the 2001 figure of 1,225.

“Our foal crop this past year was probably the smallest we’ve had in the last decade,” Cannizzo said. “That will change. We should see a significant increase of 300 to 500 more mares in the population in New York state.”

The state’s breeding fund – which enhances racetrack prize-money and pays performance bonuses to breeders and stallion owners – will rise 100% to $17m this year, he said.

“The revenue is flowing from the casino,” Cannizzo said. “It’s fantastic for racing.” >>

35

Feb_90_AroundtheGlobe_Owner Breeder 19/01/2012 10:19 Page 36

AROUND THE GLOBE

AUST R A L A S I A

by Danny Power

Complacency in AI court case?

Some of the arguments presented during the intriguing artificial insemination case that is before the Australian Federal Court make for incredible and embarrassing reading.

Justice Alan Robinson is hearing a case put forward by former Sydney Turf Club Chairman and prominent breeder Bruce McHugh that challenges the rule that disallows the use of artificial insemination in breeding. McHugh’s argument is one of restraint of trade.

He is battling some high profile opposition, including Thoroughbred Breeders’ Australia, the Australian Stud Book, some of Australia’s leading studs and prominent race clubs. Justice Robinson’s decision is expected in February.

Tony Bannon, counsel for the Sydney Turf Club, said: “Allowing artificial insemination would threaten traditions behind the sport’s appeal to kings, queens, sheikhs and billionaires.” Justice Robinson may have shifted uneasily in his seat after that.

James Emmett, for Thoroughbred Breeders’ Australia, chimed in by suggesting that if McHugh wanted to breed thoroughbreds by AI, there was nothing stopping him starting up a rival racing association for such horses.

“McHugh can put $1 million into a prize pool for a race and open it to horses bred through artificial insemination… that would

be very attractive,” he said. “Should Australia allow artificial insemination, the race rankings, which determine a thoroughbred’s rankings internationally, would be downgraded or eliminated.”

Emmett went on to say that “you can’t sensibly assess a horse’s ranking in races

“If the decision comes in favour of AI, the change will be felt round the world”

involving thoroughbred (and horses conceived

by AI)... it would be like comparing thoroughbreds and camels.”

Are Emmett and the TBA suggesting that horses conceived naturally are superior to those conceived by AI? I know that is one of the arguments some of the anti-AI push has thrown about, but surely nobody takes this claim seriously enough to use it as an argument in a Federal Court?

Try to sell that argument to the many

children conceived by artificial means throughout the world. Are they inferior, destined to be banned from competing against the naturally conceived at the Olympic Games?

North American racing commentator Frank Mitchell said Emmett’s suggestion of McHugh setting up a rival racing circuit was an example of the TBA not taking the case seriously.

“The TBA and their legal advisers have not met this issue with the seriousness and depth of understanding that it merits,” Mitchell said on his blog, Bloodstock in the Bluegrass.

“Artificial insemination is a serious business and it requires careful and judicious examination. There are measures that the Jockey Clubs of the world could take to moderate the influence of AI, but from the tenor of the arguments being made in Australia, those ‘Down Under’ seem to be punch drunk from the attacks on the natural cover requirements as a restraint of trade.

“The TBA’s counter-arguments make them appear to be reeling and waiting for the coming knockout punch. If the decision comes in favour of AI, the change will be felt round the world.”

McHugh’s counsel Ian Tonking argued the industry had become self-regulatory, anticompetitive and exclusionary.

On a lighter note, champion mare Black Caviar returned to trainer Peter Moody’s Caulfield stable on Boxing Day 60kg heavier, after doing her usual three-week “pre-train” on the water-walker at Peter Clarke’s Murchison farm, two hours north of Melbourne.

Moody said that the unbeaten Black Caviar, who has raced 16 times, would have three runs in Melbourne, the last the Group 1 Futurity Stakes over seven furlongs at Caulfield on February 25. He has not decided whether the great mare will race again before leaving for Britain.

“Everything is geared towards Royal Ascot in June but I haven’t looked beyond the Futurity,” Moody told the Herald Sun. “But she will need to have at least one run or a barrier trial before she leaves because you need to go to England race fit.”

Moody also announced his intention to expand his operation with the opening of a satellite stable at Rosehill in Sydney.

36

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12/01/12 10:53 AM

Feb_90_TalkingTo_Owner Breeder 19/01/2012 11:29 Page 38

Feb_90_TalkingTo_Owner Breeder 19/01/2012 11:29 Page 39

TALKING TO...

LUCY ALEXANDER

Making WAVES Lucy Alexander has established herself this season in the male bastion that is race-riding over jumps. A ride at the Festival would be “brilliant” and cap a breakthrough campaign

By Tim Richards • Photos George Selwyn

W

hat made you give up your university studies in favour of a career as a jump jockey?

I had much more interest in racing than studying at university and felt that if I attempted to do both I would end up with only moderate results. I wanted to have a proper go at the riding and give it my all.

You were going to study biology at Edinburgh University and then sports science. Do you miss academia and the student life?

After finishing school I took a year out and worked in racing. Then I attempted the biology course for a couple of months but realised I didn’t have any interest in it, so I applied for sports science the following year and did that for a couple of months before reaching the same conclusion. I don’t think I’m the type of person for student life, though they do get massive holidays!

How high on your list of disciplines is fitness, how strong a regime do you set yourself and do you have a strict diet?

I think fitness is a very important part of the job. I always played sport at school – hockey, netball, athletics – and I have always kept myself fit. I run a lot now if I am not racing, about four or five miles. I also have an equiciser, which I use every day. Seeking Power is a very slow horse of dad’s and when he runs over four miles in the heavy he is off the bridle from the start so you have to be fit to do him justice. Like THOROUGHBRED OWNER & BREEDER INC PACEMAKER

one of those mechanical horses, he just doesn’t really go anywhere how ever hard you ride.

Your father, Fife trainer Nick Alexander, was initially unhappy with your decision to quit university and start riding professionally. How did you change his mind?

I wouldn’t really say he was unhappy, but my parents could see that I wasn’t keen on university. And my father took the view that as long as I worked hard at whatever I did he would support me.

“Conditionals are not

normally released by their stable to ride out at other yards, so I have been lucky” How much did your background influence you?

My father’s father had a permit and dad now trains. I did Pony Club and started hunting with my brother when I was eight or nine. We weren’t allowed saddles until we went hunting; before that we were just bouncing about bareback for a few years! I started in point-to-points when I was 16, rode seven winners from 51 rides. I had a great horse of my dad’s called Wiseman,

who provided me with three wins on my first three rides pointing. That was followed by a stint as an amateur under Rules before turning professional last September. It has been pretty much a natural progression since starting when I was very small.

You have been much in demand in the north. Obviously the winners speak for themselves, but what has been the secret of your promotion among so many trainers?

Richard Hale, my agent, looked after me as an amateur and has done a great job for me as a professional, getting me loads of rides, while my dad has been very good letting me go away to ride out for various trainers.

Other conditionals would not normally be released by their stable to ride out on a regular basis at other yards and I’ve been lucky to have been allowed that advantage.

It is a big help to be able to go and sit on horses and give them a pop for different trainers.

Ferdy Murphy, who supplied your Castleford Chase winner Charingworth, said that “jockeys have either got it or they haven’t – and Lucy has definitely got it”. How do you deal with such praise?

It’s very nice to hear it because riding is about confidence and being fashionable. It can be a very fickle business and such words are a help, but must not be allowed to go to your head. And they wouldn’t because racing is full of so many ups and downs, one minute you’re flying and the next you’re on the floor.

39

>>

Feb_90_TalkingTo_Owner Breeder 19/01/2012 11:29 Page 40

TALKING TO... >> At present you claim 5lb – do you think trainers will support you as much when you lose your claim and is this something you think about?

I lost my 7lb claim on Charingworth at Wetherby after Christmas. Obviously having a claim is a big advantage and I am a long way off losing it (75 winners). Of course it’s much tougher without a claim but hopefully you are improving and making more contacts as you approach that landmark.

“I’ve had about 20

rides on the Flat and I didn’t really enjoy it. I just much prefer going over jumps” It has been said that your “real knack” is over fences. Do you prefer riding over fences rather than hurdles?

I like them both but, coming from the point-to-point world, riding over fences probably comes more naturally. It gives me a bigger buzz. As an amateur I was doing it for fun; now being paid for having that fun is different class. It helps to cover the petrol bills as well!

You have ridden out for top Flat trainers Sir Michael Stoute, Aidan O’Brien and Kevin Ryan. How did you come to work at such prestigious stables?

When I took a year out after school I went to Ballydoyle for about five months and loved it, went home to my dad’s to ride in point-to-points and then on to Newmarket to Sir Michael Stoute’s for a couple of months before making that abortive start at university. Richard Hale arranged for me to go to Kevin Ryan’s for a month last summer, when I rode loads of work and had two rides for him on the Flat, a winner and a second.

Originally, I had been to Ballydoyle for a morning on the gallops with my dad and it was after that visit when I left school I returned to Aidan O’Brien’s for five months and, again in 2010, for another threemonth spell. It was John Warren, the Queen’s Racing Manager, who kindly introduced me to Sir Michael Stoute.

What did you learn during your time at these famous yards and how did

40

it benefit your race-riding?

It tightened up my riding and sharpened me up generally. At Ballydoyle there are a lot of very good riders and I am sure having them round me all the time upped my game a bit. I suppose being in Flat yards tidied me up. I rode a couple of bits of work at Stoute’s, one with Kieren Fallon.

What would it mean to win a race at the Cheltenham Festival and do you have any potential rides?

Obviously it would be brilliant just to get a ride there. Graham Lee was injured when I won the Castleford on Charingworth and there is no obvious ride for me at the Festival so far.

Did you ever consider following in the footsteps of Hayley Turner on the Flat?

I do about 9st and would never have been light enough to do the job properly on the level. I’ve had about 20 rides on the Flat as an amateur and, I have to say, I didn’t really enjoy it. I just much prefer going over jumps. If I was 8st then I’d have to concentrate on the Flat because it would mean a much longer career. People keep saying if it can be done at the top level by a girl on the Flat, then why not over jumps?

The success of Hayley, Cathy Gannon and other girls on the Flat and the publicity they receive has definitely been a help to me.

Where do you see yourself in five years time?

I wouldn’t set myself numbers or anything like that. I just take each day as it comes and try to keep improving. In five years I hope I’m in one piece, riding winners and still learning.

Do you see a time when you will be based further south in order to ride more at the top tracks?

Not really, all my contacts are in the north.

Of course you don’t know what’s round the corner, but I am happy in the north. If the opportunity of a ride in the south came up then I’d take it.

Is there a jockey you model yourself on? Which one do you admire most, and why?

There isn’t one in particular. I do watch all the top jockeys and see what I can learn.

Tony McCoy is incredible setting record after record. In the north Graham Lee is very good. When he is pushing a horse on he is going up and forwards with the horse, not bouncing up and down. That’s something I’ve noticed; going with the horse is very important. If I have to pick one rider as far as women are concerned it would be Nina Carberry, who is very good.

Have you found the new whip rules, which limits usage to eight strikes in a jumps race, a help or a hindrance?

Even before the new rules came out I wouldn’t use my whip very much, so it hasn’t really affected me. It might sound silly saying this, but counting to eight over three miles on soft ground on a horse that’s not travelling can be harder than you think.

You can easily forget giving a horse a smack when there’s a lot going on around you and still a circuit to go. Keeping track of how many times you’ve used the whip in the course of a race like that can be difficult.

CLOSE UP AND...

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Paradise by Coldplay Perfect meal… anything cooked by my mum, especially fish Favourite TV programme… the racing channels My weakness is… trying to park the car I get nervous when… asked for an interview

CLOSE UP AND...

PROFESSIONAL I handle defeat by… learning from the mistakes Racing has taught me… to be positive I cope with the early starts and long days by… going to bed early and taking it all in my stride Best advice I’ve been given is…“get them in a rhythm” Race I’d most like to win… the next one

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15/11/2011 13:58

Feb_90_Williams_v2_Owner 19/01/2012 12:12 Page 42

NICK AND JANE WILLIAMS

Feb_90_Williams_v2_Owner 19/01/2012 12:36 Page 43

The team

WORKS Nick Williams holds the licence and picks out the bargain buys which have helped the yard rise to prominence, but, as wife Jane points out, their operation is very much a joint effort Words Alan Lee • Photos George Selwyn

T

here is a strong woman behind many fine trainers but very few like Jane Williams. Asked to describe the division of labour between herself and her husband, Nick, Mrs Williams replies fast and firm. “It’s very easy. I do all the work, he takes all the credit.”

The tone and expression indicate she is at least half-serious. Nick Williams is making a stir in jump racing by competing at high level with only a fraction of the horses trained by his leading rivals, but he is certainly not doing it alone. A morning spent on their converted dairy farm, on the southern edge of Exmoor, confirms that this is no ordinary racing couple, no conventional training stable.

We are sitting in the low-beamed dining room of their 15th century farmhouse.

Outside, a builder is working on a new stone patio, the latest stage in transforming a derelict property they took on ten years ago. “We had no money at all when we came here, we’re not wealthy people,” Nick insists. “Some months,” his wife adds, “we had to borrow to pay the mortgage. We’ve done this through hard work – and we’ve put three children through public school.”

Now, the rolling 100 acres of fine Devon land houses 35 horses, eight stable staff, 40 Hereford cows and assorted poultry enjoying the muddy legacy of midwinter floods. Two lots have already braved the windswept conditions, working four times up the woodchip gallop that completes its

climb on land borrowed from a neighbouring farmer. The next lot is set for a showjumping session in a specially created ring. Come lunchtime, all the horses will be put out for three hours in the paddocks that punctuate the property.

“I don’t want everyone else to know all our methods but we certainly couldn’t do this operation with 100 horses,” Jane says.

“I do all the training and I write up the programmes for each horse in a book every morning. They are all individual. Philip Hobbs once said that training was nothing more than galloping them up a hill twice a day. That’s about as far away as you could get from what we do.”

Nick, 55, has just sat down from buttering his wife’s toast. It seems a conciliatory gesture but it cuts no ice when

“It’s very easy. I do

the training and write up programmes for each horse, but Nick takes all the credit” Nick and Jane Williams make a remarkable team in many respects

talk moves to his recent sale of the accountancy practice they had run together in nearby South Molton. “I was coerced into giving it up,” Jane says. “I still don’t want to.”

The idea is to free up time for the flourishing training business, though both are continuing to work for long-standing clients of the practice. It is a change of direction neither had expected but the demands and ambitions of Culverhill Farm are growing. “We could have 50 or 60 horses if we wanted them,” Nick says.

“We’ve been turning them down. Not many yards have a waiting list, but we do.”

Two years ago, Nick Williams had sat in another part of the property and told me he thought it was possible to become champion trainer with 35 horses. His wife

>>

Feb_90_Williams_v2_Owner 19/01/2012 12:12 Page 44

NICK AND JANE WILLIAMS

Discount diamonds

Jane Williams leads second lot on Shalimar Fromentro, who cost just €2,500

>>

scoffs at the memory. “Nick’s a twit,” she says bluntly. “After that, so many people asked him for horses that he panicked and bought a lot of bad ones.” Her husband adopts a suitably penitent expression. “I don’t say anything now.”

Indeed, he makes a habit of not saying much.

Jane points out that the antipathy towards the media, widely ascribed to her, is actually down to Nick. “You’re just like that solicitor out of David Copperfield you are always quoting,” she scolds him. “Mr Spenlow,” he confirms.

“Whenever he wanted to get out of something, he would always say that his partner, Mr Jorkins, would never allow it.”

This is typical of the jousting between the couple. Usually it is good-natured. Jane is forthright and emotional, Nick absorbent and analytical. By their own admission, they bicker a lot. Sometimes, it gets worse, such as the day in 2010 when Jane spraypainted ‘Nick, You Are A Bastard’ on one of the outside walls. Or the day when she took it into her head to sell Pistolet Noir.

Bought cheaply in France, ‘Pistol’ was favourite for the Triumph Hurdle two years ago.

I ask why he was sold to Paul Nicholls. “You answer that question,” Nick prompts. Jane does not hesitate. “I sold him because I was in a strop. I said I was going to divorce Nick – because we are always getting divorced – and I needed the money to buy a house. I rang up Anthony Bromley and the deal was done.”

Rather than resent such admissions of

44

discord, Nick rocks with laughter. He laughs a lot and is agreeable company. “Commercially, it was a good call – he didn’t train on and the money paid for a new block of stables,” he says eventually. “But it happened by accident.

Personally, I would sell just about any horse, any time, because they are unbelievably fragile.

The best way of making money in this game is by selling horses. The crunch would come if we

“I sold Pistolet Noir

because I was in a strop. I said I was going to divorce Nick and needed money” got a very good one but Jane didn’t want a divorce that day – would the big offer be accepted then?”

Across the table, Jane reminds him that this has already happened. In the year of Pistolet Noir, the Williamses also trained Me Voici, who won the Finale Hurdle and the Victor Ludorum.

“We were offered £250,000 and turned it down,” she says. “What do we do this for? I’m 50 this year. I’m not going to live for ever. There has to be some pleasure in it. He was the best

An eye for bargains has been one of the arresting qualities of the Williams operation. Hennessy hero Diamond Harry cost only 11,000 guineas, while Grade 1 winners Reve De Sivola and Me Voici plus Grade 2 scorer Pistolet Noir were all picked up cheaply in France as yearlings.

Though Nick Williams insists there is “no real science” to the system – “just a nice type of individual with a good pedigree”– his wife gives him more credit, saying: “People underestimate what Nick knows about pedigrees. It’s a lifetime of learning and he has an instinctive feel for it. We’re realistic. If it is something Highflyer want, we’re not going to get it.

But Nick’s knowledge of bloodstock is unbeatable and, while others may go for fashionable sires, we go for the dam line.

“We have a set routine when we go to a sale. Nick will have gone through the catalogue closely and marked up the horses he is interested in. We only ever look at those horses, so we are fully concentrated, and we have a system of rating them. The ones we like are often the ones others don’t, hence the bargains.”

horse we’ll ever have. Nick and I both regarded him in the same league as Long Run. I’d never have sold him but he died at four and I’m still getting over it. His picture is my computer screensaver.” And then she shows her soft side and quietly weeps.

It is not all confrontation between the two.

Far from it. “Nick understands the programme book much better than I do,” Jane says. “And he has an encyclopaedic memory for horses and races. That puts him streets ahead of most people in this business and helps our operation a lot. I can’t even remember yesterday.”

There is, though, something of the accidental trainer about Nick Williams, an impression he readily accepts. “I’m a London boy, with no racing background at all,” he says. “I cut my teeth with a spell as a stable lad when I was 18.

It was at Bramley, near Guildford – Willie Musson was the trainer and Mark Tompkins was his assistant. It didn’t last long. I was doing anything to make money, from being a waiter in a local pub to dressing up in a beret and selling onions in a supermarket. Then, at 21, I went into accountancy.

“Both Jane and I were married before and we met through accountancy rather than racing.

Jane did have horses in her background but I’m still not sure how it went from having one horse under permit to what we are doing now.”

Out on the gallops, Nick is little help in identifying the horses cantering past. “We have so many bays with white faces,” he says with THOROUGHBRED OWNER & BREEDER INC PACEMAKER

>>

Whitsbury Feb OB 2012_Whitsbury Feb OB 2012 17/01/2012 16:06 Page 1

Feb_90_Williams_v2_Owner 19/01/2012 12:13 Page 46

NICK AND JANE WILLIAMS >>

that infectious laugh. “They all look the same to me.” Yet later, walking round their stables, he is a mine of information about pedigree, prices and planned races. He is also firm on certain issues. “I won’t have a horsewalker on the place,” he says. “You have to train the mental side of the horse, as well as the physical side.

Monotony is no help with that.”

He refuses to allow any owner a dominant role at the yard. That policy was tested when Jared Sullivan took his horses away from Charlie Mann and divided them between Williams and Nicholls. “He rang out of the blue but I said we couldn’t have more than four,” he recalls. “For Non Stop was the one I really wanted and I hope he’ll run in the Jewson at Cheltenham. I wasn’t so keen on Gauvain, because he’d broken down, but horses like him seem to thrive in our regime. He’s on target for the Ryanair.”

Cheltenham has an irresistible lure for Williams, despite his lack of fortune there so far.

“We’ve yet to have a Festival winner and quite a few of ours have got injured on quick ground there,” he says. “I hate the meeting in some ways – if I had my way, it would be run on slow ground at Newbury in February – but that doesn’t mean we won’t compete.” Indeed, he rattled off 15 potential Festival contenders, more than half the horses he has run so far this season.

Whether the Festival squad will include either of the horses with

which he is most closely identified remains in doubt. Diamond Harry and Reve de Sivola, who both run for the Paul Duffy Diamond Partnership, were not in strong work during January. “Reve has a little injury and we still hope he’ll come right for Cheltenham,” Williams says. The other horse just brings a deep sigh. “He’s mentally fragile, physically fragile. A nightmare.”

Twice this season Diamond Harry has been withdrawn, lame, on the morning of a big race. He did run in the Betfair Chase but

Nick Williams (top) rates Diamond Harry more of a National horse than Gold Cup contender

disappointed. Jane points out this is one horse in the yard with which her husband does all the training. “I’ve made a bad job of it, then, haven’t I,” he responds mournfully. “He’s run once since winning the Hennessy in 2010. Oddly, I would run him in the Grand National. I think he’s got more chance in that than the Gold Cup.” There are many more to excite the trainer – Urbain de Sivola, bought for Sullivan to contest the Triumph Hurdle, the revitalised Zaynar and the returning James de Vassy. “And we have plenty of nice unraced horses to run before the end of the season,” he says with relish.

Who is going to ride them is up in the air.

James Reveley took over as stable jockey when Daryl Jacob left to join Nicholls but it has not been a smooth transition. “Daryl had told me about 20 times he would not go to Paul, so that left a bit of a sour taste with me,” Nick says. “But the arrangement with James is loose and he has sometimes chosen to ride in the north when we have runners. It’s unresolved. In fact, the whole issue of a stable jockey is an area of conflict between Jane and me.”

It is not the only one, that much is clear. Yet, somehow, it works. As I leave, there are smiles, laughter and anticipation of the next stage in the grand plan. “The optimum is to have 35 or 40 horses all rated 140 or above,” Nick says.

“We both agree on that!”

Whitsbury Feb OB 2012 (B)_Whitsbury Feb OB 2012 (B) 17/01/2012 16:08 Page 1

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Feb_90_Big_Interview_Owner Breeder 19/01/2012 11:38 Page 49

THE BIG INTERVIEW MARTIN CRUDDACE

A fair

EXCHANGE Should Betfair contribute more money to the sport on which its business was founded? Not according to Martin Cruddace, the online firm’s Chief Legal and Regulatory Affairs Officer

By Edward Rosenthal • Photos George Selwyn

B

etfair has revolutionised betting but its effect on the on-course market has squeezed margins – good for punters but bad for racing, with its income based on gross profits. Do you have any sympathy with the view that Betfair should pay more to UK racing?

There is no evidence that margins have been affected. That was the finding of the

Martin Cruddace warns that bookmakers will stop promoting racing if they are charged more in levy fees

Donoughue Commission which looked into starting prices. Even the traditional bookmakers no longer say that margins have been affected in any material way.

Do I have any sympathy with the view that we should pay more to UK racing? Absolutely not. We pay effectively the levy on 10.75% of our gross profits on British horseracing like every other bookmaker. The fact that we get there through a different business model is largely irrelevant.

Betfair may be based offshore but we pay the levy as though we are British-based. Racing has not lost out from the fact that we are not licensed in the UK.

Your deals with other racing jurisdictions have been more favourable than to British racing, as you have had to pay to get the support of overseas racing nations. Is this not short-changing our sport?

No. It’s the basic principle of business that you pay the rate necessary in each jurisdiction. The cost of transacting in a country is the same for all operators, so if Ladbrokes wanted to operate in Tasmania, they would have to pay 20% as well. But the fact is that there are any number of factors to take into account, such as the overriding tax position in those countries.

We’re quite relaxed about what the levy rate

>>

Feb_90_Big_Interview_Owner Breeder 19/01/2012 11:38 Page 50

THE BIG INTERVIEW >>

may be here but we’re not going to pay any more than anyone else.

So you’re saying if the rate doubled it would be the same for everyone?

It would be the same for everyone but of course that would be an absolute disaster for British horseracing, because there would be no incentive for any operator to promote the sport. If you double the cost of that product then what will happen is that operators will promote only the products that are competing

with British horseracing. One of my frustrations with horseracing is that I don’t think it has quite understood that it has to compete with any number of products that it didn’t have to compete with ten years ago.

But isn’t that idea, that bookmakers would pass up the chance to promote the Cheltenham Festival or Grand National, ridiculous because these events generate so much revenue?

No, and I take issue with that point. If Don’t

“Roy and Topping? They’re the Statler and Waldorf of UK racing” Last year the Levy Board took the decision that betting exchange users should not be liable for levy payments, including those said to be acting as ‘quasi bookmakers’. The BHA, under the guidance of Chairman Paul Roy, believes differently and has joined forces with William Hill to launch a court challenge against the decision.

Cruddace says: “In relation to the challenge I’m immensely saddened. This is going to cost millions in prize-money – we’ve had to suspend our £1 million grass roots contribution for the next financial year. The Levy Board’s costs in defending its position are already around £650,000 and could be a lot more. Then, of course, you have the BHA’s costs.

“Even if the BHA were to be successful, and we were unsuccessful in our appeal to the Court of Appeal and, if unsuccessful there, the Supreme Court, it would go back to the Levy Board for a reassessment of its original decision. And then there is no guarantee the Levy Board would come to a different verdict. If it did, we would judicially review that decision.

“I’m so sad that the BHA, as the sport’s regulator, has got into bed with one of our main competitor’s in an effort to damage

Cruddace likens the men at the BHA and Hills to the Muppet characters

50

our business. Any sane person would say it is ridiculous to have this litigation.

“The only way the BHA could affect our business is if they could change the primary legislation and I don’t see the government interested in that in our lifetime.”

Whilst the BHA and William Hill have brought the judicial action against the decision of the Levy Board, interested parties – which includes Betfair – can intervene, and this has incurred significant legal costs for the betting exchange.

“For the first four months of this litigation our legal fees were £500,000; the estimate for the year is £1.7m,” says Cruddace. “I cannot go to our business and say, ‘We’re paying £6.5m in voluntary levy, we’re paying an additional £1m in voluntary contribution to grass roots racing and, by the way, can I have another £1.7m as the BHA has had a temporary loss of sanity?’

“I want to make it absolutely clear: if we’re successful I will be seeking those costs. The BHA is risking millions of pounds of prize-money with William Hill, whose online business is Britain’s largest non-levy paying bookmaker. It gives William Hill a badge of respect by joining forces and bringing this action; for the two to get into bed together is utterly wrong and history will show that this has been a catastrophic decision for UK horseracing.

“Paul Roy and Ralph Topping [Chief Executive of William Hill] have shown themselves to be the Statler and Waldorf of British horseracing by taking this action.”

Cruddace adds: “Ralph has decided to plough his own furrow in various areas.

He’s decided to single Betfair out for considerable attack, not only on the Bookmakers’ Committee, but at Gambling Commission level, at government level and also at HBLB level through this action with the BHA. But frankly, to us, he’s no more than a mosquito bite in his annoyance.”

Push It wins the Grand National then it has a major cost for the levy, because it’s a heavily backed favourite ridden by Tony McCoy. What I would say is that Cheltenham, Aintree and the Derby are to a large extent self-promoting.

It’s absolutely vital to have those crown jewels in the sport but they are a very small part of the overall picture.

Are you saying that bookmakers would turn their backs on the sport?

Yes. You’re seeing it even at 10.75%.

Promotional budgets are going to other sports that have a much better margin for bookmakers. That’s commercial reality. Of course we promote horseracing and we also compete for sponsorship of the crown jewels.

But much of the promotional activity from the major bookmakers on racing – the best price guarantee, for example – is effectively a loss leader. Their business model is to get people ‘in’ with such offers and then cross-sell them other products. The pressure on us to emphasise other products would greatly increase the more expensive racing becomes.

If you increase the rate of the levy, you might see a short-term spike, but it would lead to long-term decline.

Betfair pays British racing a voluntary levy. How can this be satisfactory?

Is the sport dissatisfied with the situation? The most important thing to remember is that without a long-term commercial agreement, you necessarily have a year-by-year agreement, so racing has never had the certainty of what the levy will deliver more than 12-24 months in advance. We paid the £6 million on the first day of the 50th levy scheme and we’ve entered into a legally binding deed for the 51st scheme [that starts in April] so that no-one can say we’re not legally obliged to pay for it.

As for the 52nd scheme, who knows what the position is going to be and whether we’ll have a commercial agreement in place? It wouldn’t be appropriate to extend the legally binding deed to pay for the 52nd scheme but I don’t anticipate there being any change to our commitment.

What share of your overall business comes from British racing?

Around 30%. Football accounts for more and about 50% of new customers place their first bet on football. The percentage of customers placing their first bet on British horseracing is declining all the time; you’d be lucky if it’s 20%. That’s not a Betfair problem and it’s not an internet problem, it’s a racing market share problem. When I started with Betfair in 2004 British horseracing accounted for around 6570% of business. There’s been a decline in market share but not in absolute terms. That reinforces my point; racing has to understand what a competitive world it is out there.

THOROUGHBRED OWNER & BREEDER INC PACEMAKER

Feb_90_Big_Interview_Owner Breeder 19/01/2012 11:38 Page 51

THE BIG INTERVIEW

“In 2004, British

racing accounted for 70% of business on Betfair. Now it’s nearer 30%”

Is quality racing more important to you than traditional bookmakers?

No, it’s important to the whole industry equally. On a Saturday, good quality action is enormously beneficial to our horseracing business. But we mustn’t overlook how important the more ordinary fare is to the levy coffers.

We were the first operator to share our data with the Levy Board and Race Planning Committee so races could be planned with levy yield in mind. It is important that the fixture list is produced with information on how much levy certain fixtures produce.

How important is race sponsorship to your business?

Sponsorship of better quality racing, such as the Betfair Chase, is important commercially to our brand and our identity among the British horseracing public. But there are a lot of initiatives that we do that have no commercial benefit but which we do because we believe it’s the right thing, such as giving £1m each year to grass roots racing and racing charities.

Unfortunately, that’s going to have to stop because of the BHA/William Hill litigation.

That £1m represents what the levy would be on international customers betting on UK racing.

THOROUGHBRED OWNER & BREEDER INC PACEMAKER

What other initiatives have you started?

We’ve launched a new jump racing series with JCR tracks that will culminate with a £50,000 final over fences and hurdles on Easter Saturday, for horses that you wouldn’t expect to see at Cheltenham. Last year we gave a sixfigure sum to Scottish racing, producing a series that culminated with a raceday that saw 0-70 horses running for a £25,000 first prize.

But is it a good thing to get moderate horses running for big purses?

People argue that [lower class racing] will dilute the quality of the breed. I’m afraid that sort of thinking is consistent with the idea that racing doesn’t have to compete. The fact is you have to look after the owner – and there are 65% of owners whose horses never see the winner’s enclosure. It is vital that the bread and butter owner has a chance of a big payday.

Would you support the ‘premierisation’ of British racing?

We support Champions’ Day at Ascot and believe premier racing is vital for the industry.

But if you do that to the exclusion of the smaller owner then you do so at your peril.

You should bear in mind that over 50% of

prize-money goes to about 30 people. The industry is benefited by ownership from the many thousands beneath those 30 people.

What about a third tier outside of the levy, supported by a commercial agreement between racecourses and bookmakers?

You have to be careful what you wish for, because for the prize-money it pays out it brings in a larger amount for the levy. We would welcome the ability of the bookmaking industry to get together and commercially fund third tier fixtures providing we didn’t have to pay levy on the income from those fixtures. You can’t have your cake and eat it.

How does Betfair view the proposed abolition of the levy and the possibility of a licence condition for bookmakers in order to take bets on British horseracing?

The BHA and racing are mistaken if they think this is the silver bullet. Even if the government introduces legislation to bring the UK business of offshore companies into the regulatory and tax net, the idea that it means you can impose a licensing condition that you make a payment to a particular sport is one which is bound to be open to

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Feb_90_Big_Interview_Owner Breeder 19/01/2012 11:39 Page 52

THE BIG INTERVIEW focussed on the company. The share price is also compressed because of the regulatory risk of going into other jurisdictions. But we’re now seeing a return to double digit growth, as we made clear in our last results announcement.

What is your relationship like with the Betfred-owned Tote?

Our relationship with the Tote continues to be constructive. They recognise that we’ve been good for them in allowing our three million customers to access the Tote product through our site, which has had a positive effect on Tote income. It is also great for our customers who don’t have to leave our site to place a Tote bet.

Betfair’s race sponsorship includes the G1 Betfair Chase, won last year by Kauto Star (above) for Paul Nicholls and Ruby Walsh

“The Voler La Vedette problem was a result of a perfect storm of all sorts of things; we’ve fixed it now”

>>

substantial legal challenge. Arguably it will be state aid and the government, if it wants to do that, has a very tricky legal minefield to navigate.

All of the more reputable companies would have no choice but to seek a gambling licence from the UK if the legislation demanded it. But the idea that they would do it without a legal challenge is far-fetched, in my view.

Changing from a private to a public company must have had a huge effect on many levels of your business. Why has the share price been so disappointing since the float?

We have to accept that we did disappoint the market with some of our numbers last year.

The IPO process made us take our eye off the ball. It took an enormous amount of management time, time that should have been

Have the traditional bookmakers accepted you after years of hostility?

In over 11 years of existence, various aspects of racing and traditional bookmakers have attempted to get the way we pay the levy changed, through Treasury reviews, through the Gambling Commission, through the HBLB consultation, through the Bookmakers’ Committee, and so far we continue to pay the levy like everyone else. Now is the time for the

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Feb_90_Big_Interview_Owner Breeder 19/01/2012 12:08 Page 53

THE BIG INTERVIEW bookmaking industry to work together and come up with a really good commercial deal that supports racing.

Martin Cruddace onâ&#x20AC;Ś

Do you resent efforts to remove you from the Bookmakersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Committee?

Weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re entitled to our seat, even though William Hill and the BHA have tried to take it away from us. It would be difficult to justify the seat on the committee if we didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t commit to legally pay the same amount of levy as if we operated under a UK licence. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s important that betting exchanges are represented at this level.

Sports book offerings Our intention is to bring in a more traditional sports book as part of our product offering, because we want our customers to be able to bet on everything they want to without having to leave our site. If you want to bet with us on the 1.05pm at Fontwell on your way to work at 7am, the liquidity might not be there for you, so we want to offer a sports book offering like the other operators with fixed odds betting. We hope it happens in this calendar year.

The Voler La Vedette saga created plenty of negative headlines for exchanges and Betfair. Discuss...

Being as much a technology company as a betting operator, this wasnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t great for us. Weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve identified what the problem was, which was a result of a perfect storm of all sorts of things that may happen once in x million times, and weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve fixed it. Clearly, in any technology company where you process over six million transactions every day, there is always a risk of technology failure. Thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s why the money stays in our system, to mitigate that risk to protect not only ourselves but also our customers.

We made the decision to void the inrunning win market and the place market. By ex gratia payment we compensated those customers that had placed winning bets up to the time of the technology fault during the race. But if you placed a losing bet up to that time then you still keep your money. So weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re taking the hit (reported to be ÂŁ100,000).

Mobile betting For our second quarter I think the number of mobile bets we had placed on our site was 16 million, more than all of our competition put together. We want to own

that space as much as possible. Youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll find that the phenomenal growth in the amount of people using the mobile product has to continue. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s what the next generation is doing.

Europe and beyond We have a lot of potential to expand, certainly into European jurisdictions. We are licensed in Denmark, we anticipate being licensed in Spain and Italy, and countries in Eastern Europe are looking to licence us and other operators. We also have legislation that allows for a betting exchange in California in May. We have a team looking at opportunities in the Far East but we have to accept that in the short to medium term our resources are better deployed elsewhere.

customers better? Probably. But, again, the first priority would have been to identify the source of the problem and fix it.

Do you let customers bet on credit?

In very small instances for larger customers, but it is de minimis; if you happen to be a very large customer and your money is tied up in a number of bets throughout the market. A number of them are bookmakers. If a rails bookmaker bets with another rails bookmakers, they donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t pay out straight away, they settle up later.

Did you feel the media criticism and reporting was over the top?

We suffer slightly from people wanting to see us fail and trip over; elements in the media, our competitors and horseracing. We need to try and change that. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s subjective whether or not the reporting was over the top. It was to be expected and I donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t have any complaints.

Could we have communicated with our

Is Betfair intrinsically linked with betting corruption?

California was the first state to introduce drug testing on racehorses. Funnily enough, there were positive examples, so people said therefore California was responsible for doping in horseracing. The recent corruption case

demonstrates that we have been the only company to share specific account information and details to help police the sport. The idea that corruption in horseracing started when we arrived in 2000 is ridiculous.

No-one has said there was not corruption before Betfair, but you have made it possible to lay a horse to lose by one click of a mouseâ&#x20AC;Ś If you know a horse is not going to win then youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve been able to profit from that information since chariots were racing in the Roman coliseum. Yes, in theory, laying a horse is easier in terms of pressing a button. But the fact is if someone is determined to make money through a corrupt activity they will do it, on any platform. The most important thing is to say that if you do it through us, you will be detected, you will be warned off and you may face criminal prosecution.

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Personal and Professional

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Feb_90_NewSires_Sept2010 19/01/2012 11:49 Page 54

NEW SIRES FOR 2012

Assessing the

NEW BOYS The Derby winner retires to Ireland alongside Canford Cliffs, while the British intake is headed by new recruits for Darley and the National Stud Words Jeremy Early • Photos George Selwyn

T

he tendency to keep colts in training as four- or five-year-olds is of tremendous benefit to the sport and, with luck, to the reputation of the horses concerned in so far as they are able to show what they are made of as mature thoroughbreds.

The policy can have an impact on the set of new sires on offer each year, though. Among the top British-trained colts of 2011, Frankel, Excelebration, Nathaniel, Strong Suit, Masked Marvel and Sea Moon will all be back for more on the track. The departure of Workforce to Japan has also removed one racing star from the stallion ranks but there is plenty for breeders to aim at across Europe and this

He was among the best of his age for each of the three years he raced, notching the Richmond Stakes at two, the Prix Jean Prat at three and the Premio Vittorio di Capua plus two Group 2s at four. Dick Turpin also finished runner-up in three Group 1s in his Classic year, including the 2,000 Guineas.

His pedigree, by Arakan out of a mare by Sharrood, contains more speed than stamina and he can be expected to sire runners very much in his own mould.

Poet’s Voice was also best at around a mile and it was a shame that his campaign as a fouryear-old proved abortive after a good debut run at Meydan. It was a different matter at two, when he won the Champagne Stakes, and at

feature turns the spotlight on the batch who will be covering their first books next month.

Britain There is a good range of talent among the six to stand in Britain. Top sprinters and milers have the edge, led by Dick Turpin (National Stud, £7,000) and Poet’s Voice (Dalham Hall Stud, £12,000).

Dick Turpin is a timely replacement for Myboycharlie, who has moved to Haras du Mézeray. The newcomer compiled an excellent record, showing fine consistency in running 20 times for nine wins and four placings for earnings of nearly £1 million.

“Dick Turpin is a

THE NATIONAL STUD

timely replacement for Myboycharlie; his pedigree contains plenty of speed”

A Group winner at two, three and four, Dick Turpin is now at the National Stud

54

three when he proved a real force from August onwards. He easily landed the Celebration Mile before touching off Rip Van Winkle in the Queen Elizabeth II Stakes, where he showed both a turn of foot and battling qualities.

Poet’s Voice is good-looking and by the young star in the Darley firmament, Dubawi, who is only ten but is responsible for

THOROUGHBRED OWNER & BREEDER INC PACEMAKER

Feb_90_NewSires_Sept2010 19/01/2012 11:49 Page 55

Dream Ahead, above, beating Goldikova, is at Ballylinch Stud; Prime Defender, left, joins Hedgeholme Stud

six Group 1 scorers over a wide range of distances. The distaff pedigree includes that marvellous mare Exclusive, dam of Exclusive Native, as fourth dam.

By Bertolini out of a Superlative mare it was no surprise that Prime Defender (Hedgeholme Stud, £1,750) proved best at short distances.

He had a long career, showing smart ability and toughness in contesting 57 races through six seasons, winning eight of them.

THOROUGHBRED OWNER & BREEDER INC PACEMAKER

The highlights came in the Free Handicap and Sandy Lane Stakes in 2007, the Cammidge Trophy in 2009 and the Group 2 Duke of York Stakes in 2010. He showed plenty of courage as well as pace to get the better of Showcasing in the last-named and also showed his mettle when beaten only a couple of lengths in the July Cup and Haydock Sprint Cup in 2008. Prime Defender is likely to sire runners that take after him in stamina.

Sixties Icon will be represented by his first runners this season while his Cape Cross halfbrother Native Ruler is about to embark on his own career at stud (Louella Stud, £800).

Having won a ten-furlong maiden at three, he missed the whole of his four-year-old season through injury but made an astonishing comeback when beaten only a nose by the tough Dandino in the Group 2 Jockey Club Stakes after 21 months off the track.

Trained like his dam, the Oaks winner Love Divine, by Sir Henry Cecil, Native Ruler was subsequently a length and a quarter behind Duncan when fourth in the Yorkshire Cup. Eastern Anthem (Withyslade Farm, £2,000) ran only once in 2010 and not at all in 2011 but it is worth remembering how good he was over middle distances. Winner of five of his 15 starts, his tally included the Sheema Classic and second places in the Grosser Preis von Baden and Preis von Europa, in which he went down by a nose to Jukebox Jury. Eastern Anthem has a cracking pedigree, by Singspiel out of dual Classic heroine Kazzia, and it will be fascinating to see how he fares.

The Gold Cup in June will not seem quite the same without Geordieland (Beech Tree Stud, £1,500), who ran in four editions from

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Feb_90_NewSires_Sept2010 19/01/2012 11:50 Page 56

NEW SIRES FOR 2012

Lilbourne Lad was retired at the end of his juvenile season and heads to Rathbarry

>>

2007 onwards. He made his presence felt in most of them too, chasing home Yeats when second in 2007 and 2008, and third in 2009.

Geordieland was invariably waited with before coming with a fine run in the closing stages and he used this talent and his stamina to good effect when winning seven races, principally the Group 2 Grand Prix de Chantilly, Yorkshire Cup and Henry II Stakes.

He was also runner-up in three other Group 2s.

Ireland There are more Group 1 winners as new sires in Ireland than in Britain and France together, with Derby hero Pour Moi (Coolmore, €20,000) leading the way. The colt’s triumph at Epsom still seems fresh in the mind given the way it was achieved as he stormed past horse after horse in the straight to get up close home.

His subsequent injury and retirement were blows to the shape of the season, as well as his connections, but at least he is able to strut his stuff at stud. Overall he won three of his five starts, including also the Prix Greffulhe, and being by Montjeu out of a Darshaan mare his being very well suited by a mile and a half was entirely predictable. The distaff family is exceptional, with first-rate fillies Awaasif and Snow Bride among Pour Moi’s relatives.

Coolmore have also bagged the admirable Canford Cliffs (€17,500), one of the best milers of recent years and successful in seven of his 11 starts, highlighted by five Group 1s in a row, including the Sussex Stakes from Rip Van Winkle and Queen Anne Stakes from Goldikova. His turn of foot had to be seen to be believed.

The pedigree, by Tagula out of a Marju mare, is not so fashionable as Pour Moi’s but Canford Cliffs has good looks to go with his superb ability and will surely be well patronised.

The third new Coolmore stallion, Zoffany (€7,500), also landed a Group 1, the Phoenix

56

Stakes as a juvenile. That was one of five races he won that year, including also the Tyros Stakes, and although he failed to triumph in his Classic campaign he put up two fine performances before training off, going down by three-quarters of a length to Frankel in the St James’s Palace Stakes and by a head to Mutual Trust in the Prix Jean Prat. Zoffany has a commercial pedigree, by Dansili out of a Machiavellian mare, and he may prove a surprise package.

Dream Ahead (Ballylinch Stud, €17,500) had two magnificent campaigns, proving himself one of the best of his age in both. At two he was officially rated the equal of Frankel after winning his first three starts, among them the

2011 Derby winner Pour Moi

Ballyhane has signed Roderic O’Connor

Prix Morny and the Middle Park Stakes by a stunning nine lengths.

Things did not go to plan early on for Dream Ahead as a three-year-old but once he returned to distances short of a mile he excelled himself, winning the July Cup, Betfred Sprint Cup and Prix de la Foret, accounting for Goldikova in the last-named.

Diktat was a sprinter and the distaff family is a fast one, so Dream Ahead looks a safe bet to make his mark with juveniles and horses best at up to a mile or so, helped by the proven skills the team at Ballylinch have at marketing and managing their sires.

The same comment applies to Rathbarry Stud, who are standing Lilbourne Lad (€7,500).

This one raced only at two last year and showed consistency, toughness and talent with three wins and three placings from eight outings.

His principal success came in the Railway Stakes but he also landed a Listed race and finished a good second in the Gimcrack Stakes and Middle Park Stakes. There is some stamina on the female side but with top-ranking speed sire Acclamation at the top and Green Desert also close up Lilbourne Lad stands every chance of getting off to a flyer with his first crop.

Roderic O’Connor (Ballyhane Stud, €9,500) had two stellar moments and picked up two Group 1s in the process. First, after running second to Frankel in the Dewhurst Stakes, he notched the Criterium International, then last spring he made all to triumph over Dubawi Gold in the Irish 2,000 Guineas.

His form at middle distances was nowhere near so good and in all probability, like a few of Galileo’s progeny, he was best suited by a mile.

Roderic O’Connor’s dam is by Danehill and although Gold Cup winner Gildoran is in there the recent trend has been for speed.

Ballyhane has also acquired the German 2,000 Guineas winner Frozen Power (€4,500),

by Oasis Dream. The former Godolphin THOROUGHBRED OWNER & BREEDER INC PACEMAKER

>>

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Feb_90_NewSires_Sept2010 19/01/2012 12:09 Page 58

NEW SIRES FOR 2012 >>

representative, who will cover a maximum of 125 mares, is a half-brother to the dual Classic heroine Finsceal Beo and was no slouch himself, winning the Listed Prix de Huderie at two before taking the Group 2 Mehl MulhensRennen in his Classic season.

Frozen Fire (Coolagown Stud, €3,000) did not run in 2011 and the last race he won was the 2008 Irish Derby, but his level of form in that event showed him a very good colt as he stayed on strongly to beat Casual Conquest. He is by Montjeu from a good German family.

Big Bad Bob started his stallion career at Islanmore Stud and that too is the destination for another of Cristina Patino’s homebreds, his relative Elusive Pimpernel (€1,000). The son of Elusive Quality won a pair of Group 3 contests – the Acomb and the Craven – and was runner-up to St Nicholas Abbey in the Racing Post Trophy. Elusive Pimpernel’s dam Cara Fantasy (Sadler’s Wells) is a daughter of Big Bad Bob’s third dam Gay Fantasy.

France The French intake is pretty small and in truth the stallion industry in that country is under strong pressure. Wootton Bassett (Haras d’Etreham, €6,000) certainly looks a good one to have captured though.

Little went right for him in 2011 but as a twoyear-old he was unbeaten in five starts, culminating in a decisive victory in the Prix Jean-Luc Lagardere in which he made most of the running to defeat Tin Horse. Wootton Bassett had plenty of pace, as one would expect with Iffraaj as his sire and a mare by Primo Dominie as his dam, and he is unlikely to prove a major influence for stamina.

The unbeaten juvenile Wootton Bassett will stand in France, scene of his best win

The same can be said for Dalghar (Haras de Saint Arnaud, €4,000), who is by champion sprinter Anabaa out of the Miswaki mare Daltawa, also dam of Dalakhani and Daylami.

Dalghar stayed a mile, including winning a Listed event at that trip at Deauville, but did most of his racing over shorter distances.

His biggest success in 18 runs came in the Prix du Palais Royal but he ran well to be placed in five Pattern races, notably when second in the Criterium de Maisons-Laffitte, Diadem Stakes and, probably his best effort, behind Sahpresa in the Prix du Pin. Never On Sunday (Haras du Grand Camp, €3,000), by Japanese-foaled Sunday Break, was a different kettle of fish since he stayed a mile and a half, though he was certainly effective over less. He won seven of his 17 starts, including the Group 1 Prix d’Ispahan and

Soul City joins his sire Elusive City among the ranks of French stallions

58

Group 3 Prix du Prince d’Orange.

However, arguably his best performance came when beaten into third, less than a length behind Vision d’Etat, in the 2009 Prince of Wales’s Stakes. He also finished second in the Gulfstream Park Turf Handicap after being transferred to the States. Sunday Break is by Forty Niner out of a Storm Cat mare and the dam is by Kendor, so Never On Sunday is unlikely to be a pure stamina influence.

By Indian Ridge out of a Rainbow Quest mare, Rayeni (Haras des Sablonnets, €2,000) took after his sire in having plenty of speed. He stayed a mile, finishing second to Mastercraftsman in the Irish 2,000 Guineas on heavy going, but he won the Group 3 Killavullan Stakes over seven furlongs at two and the Listed Waterford Testimonial Stakes over six at three. He also went close in the Gladness Stakes as a four-year-old.

Soul City (Haras du Saz, €1,800) was at his best as a juvenile, winning four of his seven outings headed by the Prix La Rochette and Goffs Million. His best run thereafter was third place in the Irish 2,000 Guineas. Attempts to turn him into a middle-distance colt proved futile, predictably given that his sire Elusive City won the Prix Morny and his dam’s sire Polish Patriot the July Cup. Haras de la Hetraie boasts an impressive dual-purpose roster and added to its ranks this year is the British-trained Group 2 winner Shakespearean (€3,000), whose sire Shamardal was a dual French Classic winner. Further bolstering his appeal in France is the fact that his dam Paimpolaise raced there and is a halfsister to the good French sprinter Pont-Aven.

Joining Hetraie’s sister operation Haras de la Barbottiere in the Pays de Loire is Monitor Closely (€2,000). By Oasis Dream out of a classy racemare from a superb Cliveden Stud family, he stayed better than one might have expected given his breeding and was suited by a mile and a half or more, over which distances he won the Great Voltigeur Stakes and finished third in the St Leger.

THOROUGHBRED OWNER & BREEDER INC PACEMAKER

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by ALHAARTH – AL BAHATHRI (BLUSHING GROOM)

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Ch. 2001 15.2 ½ h. h. (1.59m)

European Champion 3yo

rated 115+ at 2 rated 129 at 3

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Multiple stakes sire in 2011 of 55 individual winners – SILVER GRECIAN, CARLITO BRIGANTE, SHOW RAINBOW and many other multiple winners.

Apply: STEVE KNOWLES,

BEECHWOOD GRANGE STUD, Malton Road, York YO32 9TH. Tel: 01904 424573 Fax: 01904 427079 E-mail: steve@beechwoodgrangestud.com Website: www.beechwoodgrangestud.com

THOROUGHBRED OWNER & BREEDER INC PACEMAKER

59

Archi-Aussie–Percy fp Owner Feb_Arch Aussie Percy 17/01/2012 15:54 Page 1

ARCHIPENKO Group 1 winning miler and one of the best bred stallions in the world Rated 2lbs higher than his outstanding sire KINGMAMBO. Half brother to the dam of 2010 American Champion BLAME from the superb stallion producing family of NUREYEV and SADLER’S WELLS.

His first crop are yearlings in 2012 Fee: £5,000 (1st October SLF)

New at LANWADES for 2012

AUSSIE RULES Classic winning miler by DANEHILL from the family of ALBANOVA, ALBORADA, QUARTER MOON, YESTERDAY, etc.

A Leading European 2nd Crop Sire 2011 His first two crops include: • 7 Group/Stakes winners • 38 individual 2yo winners • Earnings of over £1.7 million Fee: £5,000 (1st October SLF)

SIR PERCY Unbeaten CHAMPION 2YO and Classic winning CHAMPION 3YO The Leading 2nd Crop Sales Sire at the major UK and Irish yearlings sales in 2011, with an average of 43,679gns and a top price of 260,000gns. *Stallions standing at £10k or less, 10 or more yearlings sold to 13/10/11

The UK’s 2nd Leading 1st Crop Sire with 11 winners of 18 races from 5f to 8f, incl.

COQUET (LR winner), ALLA SPERANZA, SALFORD ART, PERCY JACKSON, etc.

FULL Fee: £6,000 (1st October SLF) BOOK

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Feb_90_Bloodstock_Intro_Owner 19/01/2012 11:51 Page 61

BREEDERS’ DIGEST

By EMMA BERRY, Bloodstock Editor

Our bloodstock coverage this month includes:

• Sales Circuit: Keeneland January and Magic Millions – pages 62-65 • TBA Stallion Parade preview

– pages 66-68

Deep impact of Japanese commitment to excellence

T

may have emboldened Japanese breeders but their commitment to excellence – specifically through top-class middle-distance bloodlines – is longstanding and makes them an increasingly dominant presence on racing’s world stage. As Andrew Caulfield points out on page 86, Orfevre may not be heading to Dubai but Japanese raiders are to be feared at the carnival. Last year’s one-two in the Dubai World Cup was no fluke and only tightened quarantine laws have prevented Japanese horses returning for assaults on the Melbourne Cup following the quinella of Delta Blues and Pop Rock in 2006.

EMMA BERRY

THOROUGHBRED OWNER & BREEDER INC PACEMAKER

Melbourne Cup winner Delta Blues

Among Deep Impact’s other stakes winners are Best Deal, a son of the French-bred Grade 1 EP Taylor Stakes winner Commercante; Gentildonna, out of the Cheveley Park Stakes winner Donna Blini; and Adam’s Peak, from the British-bred mare Singhalese, winner of the Grade 1 Del Mar Oaks. Deep Impact’s Grade 3-winning sons Frere Jacques and Danon Ballade are both members of the same family, with Singspiel’s dam Glorious Song and her half-sister Angelic Song as their third and second dams respectively.

The rollcall of great mares visiting Deep Impact will not stop there: Sarafina has recently been purchased privately by Yoshida from the Aga Khan following “an offer he could not turn down” and she is already confirmed among his book for 2012. The three-time Group 1 winner is just one of a clutch of recent high-profile European purchases by the Shadai operation, along with Stacelita and Sahpresa, while Yoshida has also bought significant shares in the Arc victrix Danedream and Prix Marcel Boussac winner Elusive Kate.

Along with these private purchases, the Yoshida family and plenty of other Japanese buyers have been active at recent sales in Europe and America, buying the top lot at Keeneland January and spending decent sums on Reve d’Iman, Wyola, On Verra and Lolly For Dolly at Tattersalls in December.

The flipside of so many European owners enjoying good sales is that these horses are now lost to the gene pool in this part of the world. The recent favourable exchange rate

What Gina did next Since its inception, the committee of the TBA’s Next Generation Club has gone to great lengths in its attempts to introduce a younger audience to the delights of the sport.

One of its highest profile members is Gina Bryce, a presenter on At The Races and writer for this magazine, who has a lot of experience in both the racing and breeding side of the industry. Her parents Colin and Melba run Laundry Cottage Stud, which bred Wootton Bassett, and she rides out for the likes of Paul Cole, Michael Bell and John Berry.

On March 15, Bryce is aiming to add ‘Cheltenham Festival-winning jockey’ to her list of achievements when she lines up alongside 11 other riders for the St Patrick’s Day Derby, run in aid of Cancer Research UK. Last year’s inaugural race raised £250,000. If you would like to help Gina and her fellow competitors to beat this tally, you can sponsor her via www.justgiving.com/GinaBryce.

EMMA BERRY

here’s nothing new about top-class European and American racehorses being exported to Japan.

Through both stallions and broodmares, ‘outside’ influences are evident in many of Japan’s top families and judging by recent events that will continue to be the case.

Workforce is the first Derby winner to head to stud in Japan since Oath, whose export after his 1999 victory followed a rash of similar departures, including High-Rise (1998), Lammtarra (1995), Erhaab (1994), Commander In Chief (1993), Dr Devious (1992) and Generous (1991). He joins on the list of stallions in Japan his erstwhile stablemate Harbinger and the former European-trained Bago, Conduit, Fantastic Light, Falbrav, Johannesburg, Rule Of Law, Storming Home, Stravinsky, White Muzzle and Xaar.

It is hard to imagine that the importing of any horse could have a bigger impact on a nation’s bloodlines than the arrival of the American-bred Sunday Silence in Japan. The great horse died in 2002 but is represented in the stallion ranks of his adopted home by 34 sons and an increasing number of grandsons.

One of those sons, and arguably the best on the racecourse, Deep Impact, is a son of Oaks runner-up Wind In Her Hair, a granddaughter of the Queen’s Highclere, who, through Height Of Fashion, has been responsible for quite a dynasty in Europe too.

His eldest runners have only just turned four but Deep Impact already has 12 stakes winners to his name, including the Grade 1 winners Real Impact, Joie De Vivre (a three-parts sister to Japan Cup winner Buena Vista) and Marcellina, winner of the Oka Sho, Japan’s equivalent of the 1,000 Guineas.

Marcellina is out of the Irish-bred, Italiantrained Marbye, who won the Prix d’Astarte in Teruya Yoshida’s colours before being shipped to Japan to take up broodmare duties. She has also produced the Grade 3 Nisai Stakes winner Grandezza to another son of Sunday Silence, Agnes Tachyon.

Gina Bryce in training in Newmarket

61

Feb_90_Sales_Circuit_Sales 19/01/2012 12:03 Page 62

SALES CIRCUIT

Keeneland January continues US upswing in prices Newsflash: The US bloodstock market continues to rebound from the depths plumbed in 2008 as demand exceeds supply for quality offerings in early 2012. The Keeneland January horses of all ages sale, held in Lexington from January 9 to 12, in uncharacteristically mild winter weather until snow arrived on the last day, eclipsed the total gross proceeds of last year’s five-day sale after just two days of selling.

At its conclusion, the numbers against a year ago continued at the explosive levels seen at Keeneland’s November sale: gross proceeds increased 50.5%, from $25,250,350 for 1,021 sold to $37,991,900 for 1,003 lots sold; average price was up 53.2%, or $37,878 versus $24,731; median rose 100% to $15,000 from $7,500; and RNA rates decreased to 19.8% from 27.4%.

Broodmares and broodmare prospects brought the top prices, with demand for quality in pedigree, performance and physique fueling the surge at all levels. The four most expensive mares went to foreign interests, with the saletopping Thunder Gulch mare Topliner, the dam of 2011 Grade 1 winner Star Billing, in foal to Darley’s Medaglia d’Oro, selling for $1.4 million to Katsumi Yoshida. The next highest lot was Spice Island, the Tabasco Cat dam of 2010 Grade 1 winner Ice Box. Offered in foal to Tapit, she sold for $775,000 to Qatari interests, with agent Hunter Valley Farm signing the ticket.

Later-born yearlings sold vigorously throughout the sale, too. The sale’s highest-priced weanling was a Unbridled’s Song colt that Rick Porter’s Fox Hill Farm purchased for $490,000.

Porter has had a successful relationship with the Taylor Made sire, racing such stakes winners by him as Old Fashioned, Rockport Harbor, Eight Belles, Honest Man, and Winslow Homer, to

62

KEENELAND

By Sid Fernando

Topliner, in foal to Medaglia d’Oro, topped the sale and is another on her way to Japan

Keeneland January horses of all ages sale Top lots Sex/Name/Breeding

Vendor

Buyer

Price ($)

M Topliner (Thunder Gulch)

Hill N Dale Sales Agency

Katsumi Yoshida

1,400,000

M Spice Island (Tabasco Cat)

Bluewater Sales LLC

Hunter Valley Farm, Agent

775,000

M Magnificent Honour (A P Indy)

Paramount Sales

Blandford Bloodstock

600,000

F Cozi Rosie (Pleasantly Perfect)

Lane’s End

Shadai Farm

525,000

C (Unbridled’s Song-Ideal Image)

Havens Bstk Agency Inc

Fox Hill Farm

490,000

M Touching Beauty (Tapit)

Gainesway

Eaton Sales, Agent

450,000

M Art Princess (Officer)

Gainesway

Katsumi Yoshida

400,000

F (Empire Maker-Ticker Tape)

Eaton Sales

T Hyde

400,000

Five-year tale Year

Gross ($)

Catalogued

Sold

2012

37,991,900

1,594

1,003

2011

25,250,350

1,827

1,021

2010

23,895,100

1,753

982

2009

32,824,000

2,379

1,338

2008

70,446,000

2,548

1,493

THOROUGHBRED OWNER & BREEDER INC PACEMAKER

Feb_90_Sales_Circuit_Sales 19/01/2012 12:04 Page 63 C

THE POWER OF

BREEDING

PERFORMANCE

“

A proven sire of Classic stock, and an affordable outcross for Northern Dancer-line mares.

”

KEENELAND

-Tony Morris

Spice Island was sold to Qatari interests carrying to Tapit

name a few. Porter also owns 2011 Horse of the Year Havre de Grace.

Coolmore’s Ashford Stud-based Giant’s Causeway led all covering stallions with two or more mares sold, with a $475,000 average, followed

by Gainesway’s popular young horse Tapit, who had five in-foal mares bring an average price of $420,000. Lane’s End’s Candy Ride was third, with two mares averaging $340,000. Unbridled’s Song led all sires of weanlings, with two averaging $357,500.

Keeneland holds four sales each year, beginning with January’s mixed auction, followed next by its April sale of two-year-olds in training, then by its marquee September yearling sale, and ending with the November mixed sale. Last year, three of the four sales – excepting April – were up by gross proceeds, most notably the November auction which grossed $208,511,200 versus $147,392,200 in 2010. With January now in the books, this is the second consecutive year that the January sale’s gross proceeds have risen and the upward trend is becoming obvious.

Tom Thornbury, Keeneland’s congenial associate Director of Sales, took some time at the end of the auction to give his take on the trend.

“The big question before this sale was whether it would follow the price gains of the November sale,” he said. “The November sale was augmented by a couple of sensational dispersals (the Edward P Evans and Palides Investments NV dispersals led November with Christmas Kid at $4.2m and Royal Delta at $8.5m, respectively, headlining each) that elevated the market to dramatic heights, but the January sale is such a mixed bag of different-valued stock.

“This was borne out on the first day, for example, with one horse bringing a ‘no bid’ and another selling for $1.4 million. But as we looked at the numbers today, we realised that this sale was up on all scores.”

Thornbury, correctly, attributes price gains to the concentration of quality on offer.

“Over the last three years, breeders have been reducing their herds by eliminating their lesser-quality stock,” he said. “The bottom has been eliminated, or is currently being eliminated, so to speak. It’s a cycle that addressed the overproduction we faced before the bottom fell out. As a result, we’ve had a reduction of sales days – four this year at January, while we had five days last year – and perhaps next year we’ll have only three days, which is what this sale once was, as far back as I can remember.”

Thornbury also noted that the “stratospheric percentage increases in prices for ‘weanlings/yearlings’ tells you that those who bought for resale in 2011 made money and, as people make money, they are more inclined to spend it at a higher level to compete.”

Based on the numbers alone, Thornbury believes that “those buying at higher prices are confident in the market,” and he said this can send only positive signals to those who breed horses. Thornbury’s encouraging assessment and the numbers behind it indicate that the upswing in the marketplace is a harbinger of better days. >> THOROUGHBRED OWNER & BREEDER INC PACEMAKER

13 2-year-old winners inc. 3 blacktypes Best crops to hit the track in 2012 Limited books

NAYEF Discover more about the Shadwell Stallions at www.shadwellstud.co.uk Or call Richard, Johnny or Audrey on

01842 755913 Email us at: nominations@shadwellstud.co.uk

63

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Feb_90_Sales_Circuit_Sales 19/01/2012 12:04 Page 65 C

SALES CIRCUIT

BRED Improved trade for BGRILLIANTLY ROUP WINNING Australian yearlings SON OF DANZIG

EMMA BERRY

Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale

THOROUGHBRED OWNER & BREEDER INC PACEMAKER

of the best yearlings “One I have ever seen. He should appeal to breeders being a strong sort by Danzig from an illustrious female line.

”

-Marcus Tregoning

GEORGE SELWYN

Juveniles by Fastnet Rock and Redoute’s Choice filled the first two places of the Magic Millions 2YO Classic at the Gold Coast on January 14 and the two stallions finished in the same order at the concurrent Magic Millions Yearling Sale, with Demi O’Byrne and James Bester going to $960,000 to secure the Fastnet Rock colt out of Rose Of Cimarron.

Coolmore’s Fastnet Rock, whose fee is listed as private ahead of the 2012 northern hemisphere covering season, has enjoyed a tremendous season in Australia, where his runners include the top-rated filly Atlantic Jewel, winner of the 1,000 Guineas at Caulfield for a Coolmore syndicate, and the VRC Oaks winner Mosheen.

“James and Demi absolutely loved the horse and they were raving about him all week,” said Tom Magnier of Coolmore Australia. “We are really trying to get the good Fastnet Rock colts. We knew there were plenty of people interested in him and we would have to do a bit of fighting to get him.”

The four-day select sale concluded with an impressive clearance rate of 84.4%, which saw 492 yearlings change hands for a total of $62.6 million. The median rose from $90,000 last year to $100,000 and the average price was also up, to $127,175 from $123,675 in 2011.

“The story of the sale is the clearance and the median price,” said Magic Millions Managing Director Vin Cox. “And the average price has increased on last year’s figures, so all in all we’re very happy.”

A brother to dual Group 1-winning mare Melito was the star attraction on the second day of the sale, selling for $750,000 to Gerald Ryan, who also trained Melito.

Ryan said of the Redoute’s Choice colt: “I wasn't sure whether I’d buy him or not until I saw him out the back there just before he went into the ring. I looked at him and thought, ‘He’s a good horse, just buy him’.

“Melito was a top mare for the stable and she’s now at stud and in foal. This bloke looks a more early type than his sister, so he could certainly be one for the race next year.”

Gai Waterhouse trained the first two home in the Magic Millions Classic and she ended the week as leading buyer at the sale. In partnership with James Harron, the Sydney-based trainer bought 20 yearlings for a total of $5,112,500, signing for a colt and a filly by More Than Ready for $680,000 and $600,000 apiece. The colt, which was the third top price of the sale, is out of the Danehill mare Aqua d’Amore, who was trained by Waterhouse to win the Group 1 Futurity Stakes.

Fastnet Rock may have topped the sale but Australia’s former champion sire Redoute’s Choice led the stallion averages, with eight individuals selling for an average $356,250. The leading first-season sire was Darley’s Victoria-based shuttler New Approach, with three yearlings sold for an average of $172,500.

Another freshman, Widden Stud’s Sebring, a former top-class juvenile by More Than Ready, was also popular, with a draft of 26 selling for an average $154,423 Gai Waterhouse: leading buyer and top price of $450,000.

MAWATHEEQ First foals in 2012 Concessions available for quality mares and multiple bookings Discover more about the Shadwell Stallions at www.shadwellstud.co.uk Or call Richard, Johnny or Audrey on

01842 755913 Email us at: nominations@shadwellstud.co.uk

65

Feb_90_Stallion_Parade_v2_Owner 19/01/2012 12:04 Page 66

TBA STALLION PARADE

First fifteen set to line up at Tattersalls TBA Stallion Parade at Park Paddocks, Thursday, February 2 at 10am Words Emma Berry • Photos Trevor Jones

T

he TBA Stallion Parade is becoming a welcome tradition at Tattersalls’ oneday February Sale and the line-up for this year’s 15-strong showcase is arguably the strongest ever assembled.

Eleven Group 1 winners will parade in the sales ring before the day’s auction begins, and early visitors to Tattersalls will have the chance to see four Guineas winners alongside two Eclipse winners, two Juddmonte International winners, an Arc winner and a Lockinge winner. Not bad for a chilly midwinter’s morning.

Our new stallion feature, which starts on page 54, gives a greater insight to the attributes of Dick Turpin, one of the most exciting new recruits to the British ranks this season, and he will be joined by his fellow National Stud resident, the dual Classic winner Cockney Rebel, who enjoyed a good start with his first-crop runners in 2011. The son of the late Val Royal sired ten individual two-year-old winners, including the 99-rated Rebellious Guest.

New to Britain in 2012 is Aussie Rules, who retired to Coolmore in 2007 and is already the sire of seven stakes winners. He joins Lanwades Stud, the birthplace of many of his illustrious family and, as a Classic-winning son of Danehill, is an exciting addition to the English ranks.

Aussie Rules will be accompanied on the short trip from his new home by Archipenko, the regally-bred winner of five Group races, including the Group 1 Audemars Piguet QEII Cup at Sha Tin in 2008. The first yearlings by the son of Kingmambo will be put

Acclamation’s best son Equiano

to the market this year.

Oasis Dream has just won the TBA award for leading British-based sire by earnings in Britain and Ireland for the second time in three years and both Whitsbury Manor Stud and Mickley Stud will be hoping that he follows his own father Green Desert as a sire of sires, as both studs stand young sons of Oasis Dream.

Richard Kent’s Mickley Stud is home to Captain Gerrard, whose four stakes wins all came over the minimum trip. He followed up his Cornwallis Stakes win with victory at three in the Palace House Stakes and has his first Sakhee: sire of three Group 1 winners

Feb_90_Stallion_Parade_v2_Owner 19/01/2012 12:05 Page 67 C

STANDING FORGROUP1 BREEDING

EXCELLENCE

“

My method of assessing sire performance, called APEX ratings, says unequivocally that Sakhee is a top-flight sire. His ‘A Runner Index’ ranks him in the top 10 percent of ‘commercial’ stallions.

”

-Bill Oppenheim Aussie Rules stands in Britain for the first time in 2012

yearlings at the sales this year from a first book which was just short of 100 mares.

The Juddmonte-bred Showcasing was one of the best of his generation as a juvenile, winning the Gimcrack and finishing third to Awzaan in the Middle Park Stakes. Now based at the Harper family’s Whitsbury Manor Stud, an outfit noted for its success with speedy stallions over the years, he will have had every chance to make a flying start in his new career, covering 117 mares in his first season in 2011.

The Newsells Park Stud team will be eagerly anticipating the start of the Flat season as this spring we will see the first runners by dual Group 1 winner Mount Nelson. The offspring of the imposing son of Rock Of Gibraltar were well received at the 2011 yearling sales, with 34 selling for an average of 35,854gns.

He is complemented at the Royston stud by top-class sprinter Equiano, the best son of one of the most sought-after stallions at last year’ sales, Acclamation. Twice the winner of the King’s Stand Stakes, Equiano was unsurprisingly well supported in his debut season with a book of 127 mares.

Stanley House Stud’s Notnowcato had a decent winners-torunners strike rate last year with six first-crop winners and his tally has already been extended by the New Year’s Day victory of the Rae Guest-trained debutante Miss Cato. There will doubtless be more to come this season from the offspring of a horse who produced his best form at four and five when winning the Juddmonte International and the Coral Eclipse Stakes in consecutive seasons.

He is not the only Juddmonte International winner on display as Sakhee also includes that great midsummer event on his CV and he followed it up less than two months later with victory in the Arc. Bred in America by Shadwell, he has resided at the organisation’s Norfolk base, Nunnery Stud, since his retirement to the stallion barn in 2003 and during that time has produced the Group 1 winners Sakhee’s Secret, Presvis and Tin Horse.

Cheveley Park’s homebred Virtual was twice a Listed winner at three but saved his best efforts until the following year when winning the Lockinge Stakes and finishing third to Goldikova then Aqlaam in the Prix Jacques le Marois and Prix du Moulin repectively.

He was a welcome replacement at stud for his late three-parts brother Iceman and he is another who will have first-crop yearlings on sale later this year. >> THOROUGHBRED OWNER & BREEDER INC PACEMAKER

SAKHEE will be on show at the TBA Stallion Parade at Tattersalls, Thursday 2nd February.

SAKHEE Concessions available for quality mares and multiple bookings Discover more about the Shadwell Stallions at www.shadwellstud.co.uk Or call Richard, Johnny or Audrey on

01842 755913 Email us at: nominations@shadwellstud.co.uk

67

Feb_90_Stallion_Parade_v2_Owner 19/01/2012 12:05 Page 68

TBA STALLION PARADE >>

Notnowcato has first three-year-olds

Tweenhills Stud resident Makfi returns to Newmarket where he first burst on to the scene when winning the 2,000 Guineas in 2010. He lowered the colours of Goldikova later that season in the Prix Jacques le Marois and was the first stallion purchase of major new owner/breeder Sheikh Fahad Al-Thani. A son of one of Britain’s most exciting young stallions, Dubawi, his first foals are certain to be popular come the end-of-year sales.

Another with first foals arriving in the forthcoming months is the grey Hellvelyn, who represents a first foray into the stallion market for Roisin Close of Bucklands Farm.

A Coventry Stakes winner by the late Danzig sire Ishiguru, and with speed influences on both sides of his pedigree, Hellvelyn’s first runners will be worth keeping an eye on in 2014.

Indian Haven is another representative of a new stallion operation, the Wiltshirebased Withyslade Farm, where he stands alongside Eastern Anthem. An Irish 2,000 Guineas winner by the late Indian Ridge from a good Cliveden Stud family, Indian Haven is standing for the first time in Britain having started his stud career at the

Native RULER Cape Cross – Love Divine Bay 16.2hh 2005 £800+VAT NFNF Oct 1st

By Cape Cross, the sire of Sea The Stars and Ouija Board out of the oaks winner Love Divine, and half brother to the European champion Sixties Icon.

Indian Haven now stands at Withyslade

Irish National Stud. During his tenure there he sired the stakes winners Aspen Darlin, Ashram, Beachfire and Tellovoi.

Concluding the line-up is another recent retiree, the tough Group 2-winning sprinter Prime Defender, a stalwart of Barry Hills’s stable for six seasons before joining the Hedgeholme Stud roster. Not many stallions retiring to stud these days can claim a racing record of 57 starts for eight wins and nine places but it is testament to the son of Bertolini’s consistency and durability that he was able to perform with such credit for so many years.

Rainbow HIGH Rainbow Quest – Imaginary Bay 16.1hh 1995 £800+VAT NFNF Oct 1st Group winning son of Classic sire Rainbow Quest.

Sire of Real Treasure, 2 wins and placed over hurdles and won and placed over fences.

Simply Blue, 2 wins and placed twice over hurdles.

The Rainbow Hunter won and placed over fences, winner of 2 P-P’s and won and placed over hurdles.

Rated 132.

Lambs Cross made £60.000 at the breeze ups and has won over hurdles. Western High, bumper winner and placed horses Rainbow Haze and Murchan High.

Denounce Selkirk – Didicoy Bay 16.2hh 2001 £650+VAT NFNF Oct 1st The three parts brother to Cityscape, leading Miler in 2011. From the family of Xaar, Spinning World, El Gran Senor and Try My Best

Sir Henry Cecil described him as ‘….Potentially a high class Group performer. He is a lovely mover with a top class pedigree. I can see him at stud, producing horses of real ability both on the Flat and National Hunt. I strongly recommend him, as I feel that he is a very exciting stallion prospect.’

Won at 3yrs and placed 4 times from 7 starts including 2nd by a nose in the Gr.2 Jockey Club Stakes and 4th in the Gr.2 Yorkshire Cup.

‘Denounce was a miler with great potential, good looking and beautifully bred, so he should breed some winners.’

Sir Henry Cecil Sire of Destiny Of A Diva, 3 wins and placed 5 times on the flat.

Other Denounce horses in training with Reg Hollinshead, Robin Dickin and Linda Perratt.

Enquiries to Jonathon Dodd; Louella Stud, Bardon Grange, Grange Road, Hugglescote, Leics LE67 2BT Tel: 07584 513899 / 01530 813357 Email: info@louellastud.co.uk www.louellastud.co.uk

68

THOROUGHBRED OWNER & BREEDER INC PACEMAKER

ownerbreeder ad pages 02.2012_OwnerBreeder Ad pages 01.2012 18/01/2012 15:01 Page 69

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See him at the TBA Stallion Parade at Tattersalls in February BUCKLANDS FARM & STUD, GLOUCESTERSHIRE Contact: Roisin Close T: 01452 849077 M: 07738 279071 W: www.bucklandsfarmandstud.co.uk

NE 20 W f 12 or

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PRIME DEFENDER

Ch. 2004, 16.1 h.h., by BERTOLINI â&#x20AC;&#x201C; ARIAN DA, by SUPERLATIVE

TOUGH AND CONSISTENT GR.2 WINNING SPRINTER Won 8 races from 2 to 7 years, incl.

WON 5f Maiden, Sandown Park (as 2-y-o) WON 6f Conditions Stakes, Wolverhampton (as 2-y-o) WON LR European Free Hâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;cap, 7f Newmarket (as 3-y-o) WON LR Sandy Lane Stakes, 6f Haydock (as 3-y-o) WON LR Cammidge Trophy, 6f Doncaster (as 5-y-o) WON Conditions Stakes, 6f Haydock (as 6-y-o) WON Gr.2 Duke Of York Stakes, 6f York (as 6-y-o) WON Conditions Stakes, 6f Doncaster (as 7-y-o)

PRIME DEFENDER CAN BE SEEN AT TBA STALLION PARADE This remarkably tough son of BERTOLINI was regarded by Timeform as: â&#x20AC;&#x153;Strong, good bodied, smart performer, tactically versatile, impresses in appearance....â&#x20AC;?

All the attributes for a Stallion capable of producing precocious stock!

Fee for 2012:

ÂŁ1,750 (Oct 1st)

WINSTON, DARLINGTON, CO. DURHAM DL2 3RS. Enquiries: ANDREW SPALDING â&#x20AC;˘ Telephone: 01325 730209 â&#x20AC;˘ Mobile: 079 90 518751 â&#x20AC;˘ Fax: 01325 730769 e-mail: andrew@hedgeholmestud.co.uk â&#x20AC;˘ www.hedgeholmestud.co.uk

THOROUGHBRED OWNER & BREEDER INC PACEMAKER

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Feb_90_ROA_Forum_Owner 19/01/2012 12:20 Page 70

ROA FORUM The special section for ROA members

Plenty to achieve and co-operation will be key Richard Wayman vows to fight hard for all owners in his first column as ROA Chief Executive It is a huge honour for me to have been appointed Chief Executive of the Racehorse Owners Association and to have been given the opportunity to represent the single biggest contributors to the funding of British horseracing.

Although the ROA Forum is normally used to update you on latest industry developments, as this is my first contribution, I thought I would take the opportunity to tell you a little bit about some of my hopes and aims.

I should begin by saying, though, that racing has been my passion since a chance visit to Tattersalls at the age of eight and I have been fortunate enough to have been involved in the industry throughout my professional life including, most recently, as the Assistant Racing Director at the BHA. In terms of racehorse ownership, I have been a member of various partnerships for the last 15 years or so, and my dreams are currently centred on a three-year-old filly, who made a pleasing, if unspectacular, start to her racing career on the final day of the 2011 Flat season.

I am not the first to suggest that prize-

money is the key indicator of the health of our sport and, set against a backdrop in which owners in Britain have received very low rates of return compared with all other major racing nations, the 15% reduction over the past two years provides ample evidence of a patient in need of serious treatment.It is

“Reversing the trend

of a decline in owners should be the priority for the whole sport” not surprising that the number of owners has been in decline since 2007, leading to fewer horses and a worrying increase in the number of races attracting small fields.

Reversing these trends should be the priority, not just for the ROA but for everybody involved in running the sport and I firmly believe that we have a greater chance of succeeding in this by working together with our partners in the Horsemen’s Group.

Even though we are going through difficult times, the success of the Horsemen’s Group

in encouraging significantly increased contributions to prize-money from racecourses during 2011 provides hope for the future. We will continue to focus on securing a levy (or levy replacement) agreement that deals with many of the current shortcomings, as well as achieving a fairer share of the increasing media rights payments paid directly to racecourses.

The ROA’s role does, of course, extend beyond prize-money with our raison d’être being to promote and protect the interests of racehorse owners in Britain. Although this has a number of aspects, I believe we should be focusing on enhancing the experience of racehorse ownership, ensuring that owners’ voices are heard and also by providing benefits that members find of real value.

We should be the first port of call when an owner has a problem and I would also like the ROA to get more involved in encouraging new owners into the sport.

Finally, we must never lose sight of the fact that the ROA exists only because of its members’ continued support and I am particularly looking forward to meeting with as many of you as possible in the coming months so that I can learn more about what is important to you and how the ROA can help you get the very most out of racehorse ownership.

The Racehorse Owners Association and the Professional Jockeys Association reached agreement on a 3% riding fee increase for this year.

From January 1, the Flat jockey fee was £112.37 and the jump riding fee £153.42.

Michael Harris, ROA Chief Executive at the time of the decision, explained: “Having discussed this at length, the ROA Council took the view that this represents a balanced decision in these very difficult economic times when prize-money is falling and costs are rising.

“While this doesn’t match the current rate of inflation, virtually nobody is receiving inflationary increases in the wider world at the moment. Against that, the Council took into consideration that jockeys’ expenses represent an increasing proportion of their income. Motoring and fuel costs have risen dramatically in the past year and jockeys riding below the very top level are really struggling.”

Jockeys also receive 13% on top of their riding fee to cover the Professional Riders Insurance Scheme (PRIS).

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GEORGE SELWYN

Riding fee increase agreed

Jump jockeys now receive £153.42 per ride

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In Brief GEORGE SELWYN/MATTHEW WEBB

Cheltenham Festival Golf Day and Preview Dinner at Celtic Manor

The Festival is the busiest meeting of the season but our facility (inset) is a haven

Order your Cheltenham marquee badges now to escape the throng

Tariff bands for jump races

the facility for themselves and up to three guests on all of the four days. Gates open at 10.30am each day.

ROA Member Guest Daily £27 £38 Weekly £80 £125 ROA marquee badges can be purchased online at racehorseowners.net or by calling the ROA on 020 7152 0200.

ROA marquee badges do not allow admittance into the course. Members can purchase Club badges from the racecourse direct by calling 0844 579 3003 or visit cheltenham.co.uk/fixtures.

The closing date for orders will be Thursday, March 8.

GEORGE SELWYN

A visit to the Cheltenham Festival is one of the highlights of the racing year and the experience is undoubtedly enhanced by having a welcoming base to escape the throng of the crowd at one of racing’s busiest fixtures.

The ROA marquee offers such a haven and as a consequence attracts repeat visitors and owners with runners each year. Located in the horseshoe shaped tented village area, next to the paddock, the marquee provides unreserved seating and several large overhead TV screens.

Hot and cold food is available to purchase and there is a cash bar. The marquee is equipped with Totepool betting facilities.

Members can book badges for entry into

New ROA merchandise online With the ongoing popularity of our ROA silk ties, we have introduced a smart shade of maroon as a new colour for 2012 (above right). We are also producing premium items for the ROA range. These include an elegant sterling silver engraved brooch for

THOROUGHBRED OWNER & BREEDER INC PACEMAKER

ladies (pictured) and sterling silver engraved cufflinks for men, to be available soon.

You can purchase these items exclusively through our website and they would make perfect gifts. For the range of merchandise visit www.racehorseowners.net

A 10% discount is on offer for ROA members on packages for The Official Cheltenham Festival Golf Day and gala dinner, on Monday, March 12 at the former Ryder Cup venue Celtic Manor. Packages include an overnight stay at the five-star resort hotel, a round of golf on the historic fairways and a preview dinner hosted by a panel of racing celebrities, including David Pipe, Jason Maguire and Mick Fitzgerald, on the eve of the Festival.

Prices start from £224 per person, including the ROA discount. For more information visit the ROA website, call Sam Krume at Fairway To Furlong on 020 7336 5346 or email sam@fairwaytofurlong.com. Quote ROA2012.

The Horsemen’s Group has announced changes to streamline tariff bands for jump races from February 1 onwards. The tariff’s minimum prize-money recommendations are set out in two bands instead of three.

Band 1 will cover races taking place on Monday to Friday and Band 2 will cover races on Saturdays, Sundays and Festival fixtures. The previous Band 3 values have been applied to the newly defined Band 2.

Upcoming race values can be compared against the Horsemen’s Group tariff recommendations on the Daily Update on the ROA website at racehorseowners.net

New owners’ colours The BHA has asked the ROA to inform members that Clerks of the Scales have been tasked to place particular emphasis on checking owners’ colours being used for the first time on the racecourse as per the registered description. The checking by the Clerks of the Scales will also focus on identifying sets of colours which have faded over time. This is to ensure that the actual colours worn are an accurate reflection of the exclusive ownership registration and to avoid any possible confusion for the racing and betting public.

Newbury badge policy ROA members who are Horseracing Privilege Card Holders are entitled to two badges at every meeting at Newbury, except Hennessy Gold Cup Day, providing they show their valid ROA photocard.

Newbury’s generous policy on badge allocation is always well received by owners and is reflected in the course being voted Racecourse of the Year by ROA members in 2011.

ROA sponsorship scheme The next ROA sponsorship scheme starts on March 1. Owner-sponsorship allows owners to register for and reclaim VAT on their costs of ownership. Schemes run for 12 months and owners receive a payment in return for the ROA logo appearing on the chest and collar of their racing colours.

To apply, contact Keely Brewer on kbrewer@roa.co.uk

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ROA FORUM

Diary dates and reminders

Incredible value packages for our Royal Ascot chalet

MARCH 13-16 ROA marquee at the Cheltenham Festival Exclusive ROA marquee for members and their guests at the biggest jump meeting of the year. See previous page for details and how to book badges for the marquee.

APRIL 24 First day of Punchestown festival ROA members attending the first day of the Punchestown festival can take advantage of free admission to the racecourse, on production of their ROA Horseracing Privilege Photocard. Please visit punchestown.com for hotel deals and travel advice.

JUNE 19-23 Exclusive facility at Royal Ascot

MATTHEW WEBB

The ROA has a superb facility for members and guests for the five days of Ascot’s showpiece of the Flat season. See details alongside.

Admission, champagne reception, lunch and afternoon tea are included in the deal

The ROA has teamed up again with Ascot racecourse to offer members a heavily discounted hospitality package in the ROA chalet at Royal Ascot.

Members can take advantage of a bespoke package for the five days of the meeting. The ROA chalet offers members and guests the opportunity to enjoy top-class racing in the comfort of luxurious surroundings.

The exclusive ROA facility is located in the Grandstand admission enclosure, in the Old Paddock Chalets, situated in front of the triple decker marquee on the curve of the track after the winning post, and has a head-on view down the course. The chalet holds 50 people and guests will be seated on shared tables of ten.

The package price includes admission (which can be deducted if members already have Royal Enclosure or Owners’ Badges), a parking label, racecard, a champagne reception, four course sit-down lunch with half a bottle of wine per person, and afternoon tea.

There will be televised viewing, as well as Tote facilities, and a cash bar will operate until 30 minutes after the last race.

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Prices, which include VAT, are as follows: Tuesday, June 19 Wednesday, June 20 Thursday, June 21 Friday, June 22 Saturday, June 23

£340 £330 £390 £360 £315

£280* £270* £319* £289* £244*

*Price excluding admission

Places are available on a first come, first served basis and can be booked online at racehorseowners.net or by calling 020 7152 0200.

JULY 10 Annual General Meeting The ROA Annual General Meeting will be held on Tuesday, July 10 at the Jumeirah Carlton Tower hotel in Knightsbridge, London. The formal business of the AGM will be followed by a lunch for members and guests. Details will be sent to members in the spring.

DECEMBER 6 ROA Horseracing Awards The Awards evening celebrates the year’s top racehorses and their owners, as voted for by ROA members, at the London Hilton.

Photographs from previous ROA social events, including last year’s Awards, appear in a gallery in the Events section of the ROA website.

DID YOU KNOW? As from the start of this year, a rule change made possible by an increased contribution from the Levy Board means there is no longer a reduction in race value for those races which divide at the declaration to run stage.

Previously, for races with a value of £2,500 or above, the advertised prize-money in both divisions was reduced by £500 each, unless the racecourse executive took the decision to increase prize-money for each division.

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ROA MEMBERS IN FOCUS:

SARAH LING

GEORGE SELWYN

The Doncaster option was mentioned by David Pipe in his Racing Post column, which he used to express his disgust at the whip ban incurred by Timmy Murphy at Haydock – an opinion Ling shares.

“At Haydock it was heavy and Timmy gave him a lovely ride,” says Ling. “I was shocked he received a four-day ban. I’d be the first to condemn a rider who is too heavy-handed but I felt sorry for Timmy.”

Ling’s sister and brother are also ROA members and they all have private ownership interests too. Ling had Kerrigand, who won four times in her own silks, and now has Laustra Bad, her brother has Dynaste, and he and sister Anne share Dom D’Orgeval.

The family enjoy their visits to the Pipes’ Pond House stables. “We live in Taunton, 15 minutes from the yard and we like to visit on a Sunday morning armed with a packet of Polos,” says Ling.

“It is lovely seeing the horses in the yard and makes you feel more involved. Sunday mornings at the Pipes are always good.”

Not good, in Ling’s view, are the way racecourses pander to corporate guests while failing to provide good viewing areas for owners and, surprise, surprise, prize-money, which she laments as a “shame”, though she would rather discuss the positives of the sport in the family’s blood.

Thanks to Tamarinbleu, there have been – and hopefully will continue to be – plenty of opportunities to do so.

Sarah Ling (right), with her sister Anne, Martin Pipe, AP McCoy and Tamarinbleu

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his last win. He had 18 months off before this season as he picked up an injury at Sandown in the Bet365 Gold Cup. “We thought about what to do and we knew coming back at his age was a risk but he owes us nothing and we’ll retire him if he can’t do it. But he’s come back with a new lease of life.”

That Haydock win meant a 5lb rise to 150 for Tamarinbleu, which rules out veterans’ chases. At the time of going to press, races at Haydock or Ascot, on January 21, or Doncaster a week later were on the agenda.

Win a Horse Racing Abroad trip to Coolmore and Irish Guineas Following the success of our Arc trip competition last autumn, members are urged to visit the ROA website for a chance to win an exciting trip for two people on a three-night tour to Coolmore Stud and the Irish Guineas. This special short break is operated by Horse Racing Abroad from May 24-27.

See the world-famous stallions at Coolmore, including supersire Galileo, followed by two days of Classic racing action at the Curragh for the Irish 1,000 and 2,000 Guineas. Visit racehorseowners.net for more details on how to enter.

GEORGE SELWYN

March 19, 2000. A date that crops up in racing quizzes and which the cleverest clogs would answer with ‘Kauto Star’.

But while it is indeed the birthdate of the five-time King George VI Chase winner, it is also the day Tamarinbleu popped into the world.

The two 12-year-olds are still going strong and, while Tamarinbleu has not scaled the same heights as his illustrious birthmate, he is every bit as important to his owners as Kauto Star is to Clive Smith.

Tamarinbleu is owned by The Arthur White Partnership – Sarah Ling, her sister Anne Underhill and brother John White, who keep alive the memory of their father through the name of their shared ownership vehicle.

“One of dad’s horses was Beau Ranger (won 1987 Mackeson Gold Cup among other races), and his involvement with horses dated to the mid-1970s – as a family we’ve always had our horses with Martin and David Pipe,” says Ling, who with her siblings has owned horses within their partnership since 1998.

Tamarinbleu has been the best, with eight wins including the December Gold Cup at Cheltenham and Victor Chandler Chase at Ascot when it was a Grade 1.

“Martin bought him in France and he was the fourth horse the partnership had,” says Ling. “We were looking for one at the time, and Martin said he liked him, though he hadn’t run before.

“He is a pleasure to own. I didn’t realise at the time [of his victory at Haydock in December] it had been nearly four years since

Enjoy the unique Curragh atmosphere

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TBA STATISTICAL AWARDS

Juddmonte and Cheveley Park Stud dominate the 2011 TBA Flat Awards

GEORGE SELWYN

Words Alan Yuill Walker

Frankel: by no means Juddmonte’s only star, but the brightest

T

he full list of TBA Awards will be announced at our dinner in June but with the statistical awards for the Flat having been concluded at the end of the calendar year, we can now pay tribute to two British farms for whom consistency and excellence go hand-in-hand

THE QUEEN’S SILVER CUP

JUDDMONTE FARMS Not surprisingly Frankel has earned his owner/breeder just about every accolade going. Inevitably this unbeaten colt is the major contributor to Prince Khalid Abdullah’s Juddmonte Farms landing this award, for the leading British-based breeder in the British Isles, for the eighth time in the first 12 years of the 21st century.

Nothing emphasises the strength in depth of Juddmonte’s contribution more than the result of the Group 1 International Stakes. Never previously successful in Juddmonte’s own sponsored event, this looked an ideal opportunity for Frankel himself, yet in his absence Khalid Abdullah’s breeding operation promptly provided the first, second and third, Twice Over, Midday (both homebreds) and Await The Dawn.

BBA SILVER CIGAR BOX

TREVOR JONES

OASIS DREAM

Oasis Dream takes the prize from his stablemate Dansili

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For the second time in the last three years Oasis Dream is the leading British-based sire by earnings in Great Britain and Ireland – the previous season he had to play second fiddle to his Banstead Manor Stud companion Dansili, another Juddmonte homebred.

Oasis Dream was a champion sprinter, but as his first three dams are by Dancing Brave, Mill Reef and Busted, there was always the expectation his stock would stay infinitely better and such has proved to be the case. His Group 1 winners in the British Isles during 2011 were the Juddmontebred pair Midday (Nassau Stakes) and Prohibit (King’s Stand Stakes), and Power (National Stakes) won a Group 1 for him in Ireland.

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BARLEYTHORPE STUD SILVER CUP

PIVOTAL Since his first crop of runners appeared in 2000, Pivotal has won this award for the most number of individual winners in Great Britain and Ireland for the last seven consecutive years and eight years altogether, thus surpassing the seven-time winner Green Desert.

In 2011 the Cheveley Park Stud resident recorded 80 individual winners. Next on the scoreboard was Oasis Dream (75), followed by Pivotal’s son and stud companion Kyllachy (73). Outstanding amongst Pivotal’s representatives was Immortal Verse, who supplemented her Coronation Stakes victory with success in the Prix Jacques Le Marois.

This is a great Cheveley Park success story and not only was Pivotal bred and conceived there, but so too was his Group 1-winning son Virtual, yet another on the Cheveley Park stallion roster.

TATTERSALLS’ SILVER SALVER

Dutch Art: the leading first-season sire of 2011

Flat awards are for the calendar year 2011, National Hunt awards relate to the 2011/12 season

TREVOR JONES

In their time Green Desert, Royal Applause, Kyllachy, Oasis Dream and Dubawi have all won this award for the leading British-based firstseason sire (GB and Ireland), so expectations must be high that Dutch Art can achieve comparable success in the future.

It’s a fact of life that chesnut is a far less prevalent colour than bay or brown amongst thoroughbreds, so it is extraordinary that Cheveley Park should have such successful homebred chesnut stallions as Pivotal and Medicean, and Dutch Art is another of the same hue.

His initial crop of winners is headed by the dual Group 2 scorer Caspar Netscher (Gimcrack Stakes, Mill Reef Stakes), one of the best juveniles ever produced by Meon Valley Stud.

TREVOR JONES

DUTCH ART

Another great Cheveley Park homebred success story: Pivotal wins the Barleythorpe Stud Silver Cup for the eighth time

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TBA FORUM The special section for TBA members

Stud farming course goes from strength to strength Thirty-eight delegates attended the most recent three-day Annual Stud Farming Course, held at the British Racing School in Newmarket in December.

The course was well supported by a cast of expert speakers from Rossdale & Partners, Newmarket Equine Hospital, the Royal Veterinary College and the Animal Health Trust, as well as a selection of industry experts willing to share their extensive knowledge with the audience.

Starting with conception, moving through to foaling and developmental aspects and taking in disease management, sales preparation and stallion management, the programme was packed full of lectures, and there were plenty of opportunities for delegates to exchange views, including at the dinner held at the Bedford Lodge Hotel on the first evening.

Instructive external visits took place each day, in a more familiar ‘out of doors’ environment, providing a chance to learn from those working at the coal face. Thus, at Rossdales Equine Hospital, partner Tim Greet explained how the state-of-the-art facilities and cutting-edge equipment and techniques now used routinely at the hospital had resulted in an increased focus on accurate diagnosis to ensure the best outcome for patients.

At Dalham Hall Stud, delegates saw the exceptional sire Dubawi, his son, the new recruit Poet’s Voice, leading sire of two-year-

Delegates on the stud farm course gather at Dalham Hall Stud to assess weanlings

MacDonald on a tour of the school, the many and varied activities of which proved to be a revelation to the group.

We are extremely grateful to all of our speakers and visit hosts for their contribution to the course, without which it could not take place. The course remains one of the TBA’s flagship events, giving delegates unrivalled access to speakers’ knowledge and expertise, to aid in the daily management of stud operations large and small.

olds Kheleyf, and the well-established Halling. A selection of weanlings were also viewed, with accompanying commentary on conformation from assistant stud managers Ray Eyre and Jim Moss. The tour of the estate finished with a trip to the composting facility, which deals productively with the estate’s environmental waste – a topical issue for all stud owners.

On the final day, early risers accompanied British Racing School Chief Executive Rory

Breeders’ Prizes National Hunt HBLB Breeders’ Prizes worth £1,250 or more Breeder

Prize (£)

Based on date money was paid

Horse

Sire

Dam

Date

Course

Goldford Stud

2,500

Stewarts House

Overbury

Osocool

03/12/2011

Aintree

Mrs A. M. O'Sullivan

2,000

Bunclody

Overbury

Wahiba Reason

17/12/2011

Haydock Park

D. I. Bare

1,750

Kentford Grey Lady

Silver Patriarch

Kentford Grebe

27/12/2011

Kempton Park

J. M. Jefferson

1,500

Mac Aeda

Kayf Tara

Altogether Now

27/12/2011

Wetherby

Exors Of The Late D. E. S. Smith

1,250

No Principles

Overbury

Selective Rose

01/12/2011

Market Rasen

K. Benson & Mrs E. Benson

1,250

Our Mick

Karinga Bay

Dawn's Della

26/12/2011

Kempton Park

*See the table of breeders' prizes effective as from January 1 on the TBA website, www.thetba.co.uk

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Kingsclere’s ‘diamond’ is the first winner of the year The first Stud Staff Award of 2012 goes to Peter Beasant, whose 28 years of employment at Kingsclere Stud commenced on leaving school. He worked initially under Lady Emma Balding’s mother, Priscilla Hastings-Bass.

Now Stud Groom at Kingsclere, Peter turns his hand to everything, from foaling to tractor driving and coping with the daily ups and downs of stud life. He has enjoyed the achievements of homebred horses, such as Side Glance, whose sire Passing Glance he

also looked after from birth.

According to Lady Emma, Peter is a passionate jump racing fan, who is “longing for another Flat-bred from the stud to run at Cheltenham!”

Described as unswervingly loyal, hardworking and a model employee, Peter is, in Lady Emma’s opinion, “the diamond of the whole operation without whom we could not achieve anything”.

Peter is clearly a very deserving winner for the start of the 2012 stud season.

Peter Beasant, pictured with a yearling filly by Mount Nelson out of Victoria Montoya

Dealing with wind farm applications Over recent years the TBA has been able to support members when appealing against a wind farm application by providing letters of support and some factors to consider when writing to the planning authorities.

Several of our members have dealt firsthand with applications and no doubt many more are currently ongoing. We felt it would be helpful to offer guidance on how to deal with this situation and for collective notes on the best points to raise.

We would like to expand on this information, so if you have appealed, or are currently appealing, against a wind farm near to your stud then we would be interested to hear the details. Please email Samantha Knight (Samantha@thetba.co.uk).

General advice for appeals against a wind farm is to be pro-active and insist that the wind THOROUGHBRED OWNER & BREEDER INC PACEMAKER

farm applicant carries out a physical study, depending on the stud’s situation, which reports on the following, as relevant: 1. The effects and results of at least one stallion’s fertility record in a full covering season being at a maximum of 1km from the turbines.

2. The effect on visiting mares seeing and hearing the turbines for the first time when turned out into the paddock again within 1km of the turbines.

3. The effect on mares carrying their foals after covering, for the full gestation period without absorbing or aborting, with a minimum of half the mares being exposed to the turbines for the whole of the gestation period.

4. The effect on foals turned out with their dams for the first time.

Diary dates THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 2 TBA Stallion Parade at Tattersalls, Newmarket Preceding the start of the February Sale the TBA, in conjunction with Tattersalls, will hold its popular Stallion Parade, providing a unique opportunity for mare owners to view a number of stallions from around the country in one place.

Following the parade the stallions will be available for individual viewings. For further details contact Pauline Stoddart at the TBA on Pauline@thetba.co.uk or 01638 661321.

TBA NEW MEMBERS UNITED KINGDOM Mr & Mrs J Aisbitt, Sussex. Mrs Alicia Aldis, Buckinghamshire. R Allcock Esq, Shropshire. J Barton Esq, Suffolk. Mrs A J Boswell, Northumberland. The Blakeney Breezes, Suffolk. M Chandler Esq, Kent. R Davies Esq, Suffolk. A Driver Esq, Suffolk.

Mr & Mrs S Fleetham, Carmarthen.

Pamela Forbes, Suffolk. Mr & Mrs R Lewis, Carmarthen. Mr & Mrs C Mullin, Staffordshire.

18-35 Charlotte Blakey, Suffolk. Lara Hellyer, Rutland. Laura Hurley, Warwickshire. B Logan Esq, Surrey. Sorcha Moneley, London.

5. The effect on foals when weaned from their dams and turned out in the paddock with a group of foals of similar age when they all collectively experience the turbines for the first time, the turbines to be within 1km.

6. The effect on yearlings when they are turned out in paddocks within 1km of the turbines for the first time.

7. The effect on unbroken young stock at 18 months of age that have been conditioned and muscled ready to go to the major yearling sales. The turbines being within 1km.

8. The effect on young stock at 18 months and two years old when they are being ‘broken-in’ and ridden for the first time within 1km.

9. The effect on staff and accidents to staff to be monitored, within 1km of the turbines.

10.The effect on staff working outside in all of the above situations and their general health and accident records within 1km.

An environmental statement should address the impact of noise, infrasound, vibration, shadow flicker and light reflection caused by wind turbines on mares, foals and young stock in general, and in particular any threat to the welfare of these animals regarding mare and stallion fertility, abortion/stillbirths in mares.

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TBA FORUM

Breeders’ Prizes maintained at 2011 levels The 2012 HBLB Breeders’ Prizes Scheme was agreed in December and took effect from January 1.

The 2012 scheme has been maintained at its 2011 value of £700,000, a reduction of 55% on the 2010 allocation (£1.539 million). This considerable reduction makes allocating a meaningful incentive to encourage the production of quality racehorses in Great Britain challenging, but with limited funding there is still some scope to incentivise breeders to improve the quality of their stock. Funds will be allocated on an approximate 60/40 ratio for the Flat and National Hunt, reflecting the Levy Board’s prize-money allocation to the two codes.

As a result of pressure from the

Horsemen’s Group, ably supported by the TBA, the Levy Board Quality Support Fund has been greatly enhanced in 2012. There will therefore be an increase in the number of higher quality races programmed and these will carry HBLB Breeders’ Prizes.

The TBA therefore took a prudent view that the allocation of prizes should remain the same as 2011. However, some take-up levels on the Flat were less than predicted and therefore it has been possible to increase prize values at Group 3, Listed and Class 2 levels where take-up rates are customarily higher. The National Hunt scheme remains unchanged with no prizes awarded below £1,000, including in 2012 prizes to secondtier horses. The first year of the TBA Elite

National Hunt Breeders’ Prizes First Tier (100% of Breeders’ Prize)

STEEPLECHASES

Colts/Geldings General (all £) Novice

Fillies/Mares General Novice

Grade 1

10,000

8,000

10,000

10,000

Grade 2

8,000

6,000

10,000

10,000

Grade 3

6,000

-

10,000

-

Listed

4,000

3,000

8,000

6,000

Class 2

2,500

2,000

5,000

4,000

Class 3 Novice/Maiden/ Beginners’ WFA

-

1,500

-

3,000

Class 3 Novice Handicaps

-

1,250

-

2,500

HURDLE RACES

Colts/Geldings General Novice

Fillies/Mares General Novice

Grade 1

8,000

6,000

10,000

10,000

Grade 2

6,000

5,000

10,000

10,000

Grade 3

5,000

4,000

10,000

8,000

Listed

3,000

2,500

6,000

5,000

Class 2

1,750

1,500

3,500

3,000

Class 3 Novice/Maiden/ Juvenile WFA

-

1,000

-

2,000

Class 3 Novice/ Juvenile Handicaps

-

1,000

-

2,000

NH FLAT RACES

Colts/Geldings General Novice

Fillies/Mares General Novice

Louise Kemble: “TBA supports quality”

National Hunt Mares Incentive Scheme has been well received and next month’s issue will include a report on the outcome.

TBA Chief Executive Louise Kemble said: “I would once again like to thank the Levy Board members and executive for their support of the scheme. Throughout 2011 the TBA took every opportunity to underline the importance of supporting quality breeding and in this context we will continue to pay close attention to race planning issues in 2012 for the benefit of our members.”

Flat Breeders’ Prizes Flat 2YOs

Colts/ Geldings (£)

Fillies/ Mares

Group 1

4,500

4,500

Group 2

3,500

4,500

Group 3

1,700

3,400

Listed

1,300

2,600

Class 2

800

1,600

Class 3

750

1,500

Class 4*

700

1,400

Colts/ Geldings

Fillies/ Mares

Group 1

6,000

6,000

Group 2

4,500

6,000

Group 3

3,700

6,000

Listed

1,800

3,600

Heritage Handicaps

1,000

2,000

Flat 3 & 4YOs

Grade 1

5,000

–

10,000

–

Class 2

800

1,600

Grade 2

3,500

–

7,000

–

Class 3

750

1,500

Listed

2,500

–

5,000

–

Class 4*

700

1,400

Second-tier eligible horses receive 40% of the NH prize awarded. All figures are subject to change; please see the TBA website for any updates and eligibility for the scheme

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*Class 4 restricted to Open Maiden and Novice WFA races only

THOROUGHBRED OWNER & BREEDER INC PACEMAKER

Feb_90_TBA_Forum_Layout 1 19/01/2012 12:30 Page 79

NH BREEDER OF THE MONTH

www.thetba.co.uk

Words Alan Yuill Walker

DECEMBER 2011

RACINGFOTOS.COM

PETER NELSON

According To Pete wins Wetherby’s Rowland Meyrick Chase

In the North Yorkshire village of Helperby, Peter Nelson runs the family garage business and the locals also depend on him and his daughters Sandra Windross and Louise Nelson-Lee to receive their daily newspapers.

There was a day off for the family on Boxing Day, when the Nelsons made the journey down the A1 to Wetherby, their local course, to witness According To Pete’s 33-1 triumph in the Grade 3 Rowland Meyrick Handicap Chase. “To have a runner in such a prestigious race was incredible, but to have the winner, well that was just unbelievable,” Sandra Windross enthused.

Windross explained just how the name According To Pete came about, saying: “My dad is always known as Pete and this is a much used expression in the Nelson household! So as a son of Accordion, it all seemed to go together rather well.”

Of course, what makes the whole involvement really meaningful is that the 11-year-old gelding was homebred. “Dad and I share the work between us, although a lot more falls on me now since he injured a knee,” said Windross. “We have a paddock behind my parents’ house and a five-acre field outside the village. Mum is involved too so it’s a real family effort.”

Prior to Wetherby, According To Pete had not won for over three years, albeit he had put up some good performances. This most recent success brought his winning tally to ten, for earnings in excess of £177,000, all achieved in the north for Malcolm Jefferson’s Malton stable.

He also trained According To Pete’s dam Magic Bloom in the same ownership. Successful twice over hurdles and seven times over fences, she had embarked upon her racing career with James Dooler at Goole on North Humberside, from whom the Nelsons originally bought her privately. Windross said: ”We just fell in love with her – she has a beautiful white blaze just like Pete.”

Jefferson, who is invariably consulted on the subject of matings, is familiar with all Magic Bloom’s other progeny of racing age. These include The Magic Bishop, who also scored three times last year. Their dam, now pensioned off at home aged 26, had two further produce, Magic Present (5g, by Presenting), and her final offspring, a three-yearold colt by Revoque.

Meanwhile, her solitary daughter Annie’s Gift’s first two progeny are THOROUGHBRED OWNER & BREEDER INC PACEMAKER

a two-year-old filly by Primo Valentino and a yearling colt by Indian Danehill. “She is due to foal to Revoque in April and will probably go to Malinas, at Yorton Farm,” added Windross. “Our only other broodmare is Youamazeme, but she is from a different family.”

Magic Bloom herself was Yorkshire-bred by Jonathan Dimsdale at High Winsley, near Harrogate. A former senior racecourse judge, he also produced National Hunt horses as well as pedigree sheep on his Grange Farm, which lies on the other side of the A1 from Helperby.

Subsequently she joined Andrew Spalding at Hedgeholme Stud, County Durham.

Dimsdale had procured Magic Bloom’s unraced dam Mantavella from Greenstead Hall Stud as an in-foal mare at Tattersalls’ 1980 Newmarket December Sales for 1,500gns. Greenstead Hall in Essex belonged to Chris Blackwell, who bred such good horses in the 1970s as Jimsun and Major Green.

While his deceased sire was one of the first to advertise the prowess of sons of Sadler’s Wells as jumping stallions, According To Pete is also well related in Flat terms on the distaff side. His third dam Tavel (another unraced mare) was half-sister to English Miss, dam of the 1974 Irish Derby hero English Prince.

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Feb_90_TBA_Forum_Layout 1 19/01/2012 12:38 Page 80

TBA FORUM

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Racehorse industry pollution advisory project The Environment Agency, with the support of the Thoroughbred Breeders’ Association, National Trainers’ Federation and the Lambourn Trainers’ Association has launched a stable waste advice campaign in the Berkshire Downs, which is being run by ADAS on behalf of the Environment Agency, writes Geoff Fairfoull of ADAS. The number of incidents involving the storage, spreading and burning of manure in this area is causing concerns for the Environment Agency, the local authority and the fire service.

To address these concerns, stables and studs in the area have been posted advice that aims to help them do their bit to prevent nutrient pollution from yards and manure heaps.

Further to the postal campaign a workshop was run by ADAS in Lambourn to provide information and advice on pollution prevention, including the issue of sediment run off from gallops and walkways entering local streams.

Delegates at the workshop learnt that the storage of large quantities of manure can have

a serious impact on the environment. If it is not stored correctly, liquid run-off can pollute local streams and groundwater.

Best practice is for run-off from concrete storage areas to be contained, and for field heaps to be sited at least 10m from streams or ditches, and at least 50m from boreholes, wells or springs.

Field heaps should also avoid land where there are field drains, or which is prone to flooding or waterlogging. The sensitivity of groundwater to pollution can vary, so stables in the Berkshire Downs have been advised on how soil type and depth to groundwater on their land can be considered when choosing the best site for field heaps.

Delegates learnt when manure is legally classed as waste. Horse manure is not considered a waste if it is a mixture of faeces and plant tissue based bedding material (e.g. straw, hemp or woodchip/shavings from virgin timber), and is to be used as a soil fertiliser on land, with only the amount required for this

being stored.

However, horse manure is waste and subject to regulatory controls when the bedding material is any non-plant tissue based bedding material. This includes shredded paper and cardboard or shavings and sawdust from nonvirgin trees.

It is also waste if it is going to be actively composted, is being stored pending composting, or is contaminated or infectious due to a disease outbreak. Disposal by burning is an illegal waste activity.

Within the Berkshire Downs, ADAS is available to provide free advice until the end of February 2012. Please get in touch via geoffrey.fairfoull@adas.co.uk.

Studs and stables across the country can find out more about how to protect their local environment and comply with waste regulations by contacting the Environment Agency on 03708 506 506, and looking out for forthcoming guidance on its website www.environment-agency.gov.uk.

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80

Telephone: 02380 233055 info@allenrichings.com www.allenrichings.com THOROUGHBRED OWNER & BREEDER INC PACEMAKER

It’s official.

British-bred, sired or sold horses filled five of the top 10 places in the recent World Thoroughbred Rankings.

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bbm_tob_jan2012.indd 1

18/01/2012 10:11

Feb_90_NGC_Layout 1 19/01/2012 12:32 Page 82

THE NEXT GENERATION

By GINA BRYCE

Be there...

FEBRUARY 17 Darley Flying Start application deadline For more information on Darley’s two-year management training programme visit www.darleyflyingstart.com

FEBRUARY 28 BHA Graduate Scheme deadline With a history of churning out leading industry players for over 20 years, the renowned BHA graduate scheme is an excellent way to gain vital experience in your chosen area of the thoroughbred industry.

Application details are available at www.careersinracing.com

Welcoming a new chairman and committee members

U

nfortunately not all rules at the top can match Sir Alex Ferguson’s tenure and so the Next Generation Club enters a new phase as founding Chairman Jane Hedley passes the baton to Zenia Wright after three years at the helm of one of the UK’s most active organisations for young racing enthusiasts.

With over 15 years of experience in the thoroughbred industry including roles at Racing UK, the Jockey Club, the TBA and New Zealand Bloodstock, Wright is ideally placed to drive forward the excellent foundations laid by the

MARCH 13-16 Cheltenham Festival Try to make it through the famed Guinness Village to witness history being made at the defining four days of the National Hunt season. Any day’s a winner but with Kauto Star hopefully out to reclaim his Gold Cup crown, Friday could be one for the ages.

MARCH 24 NGC Newbury raceday Following on from the success of last year’s event, we kick off with a visit to Jamie Snowden’s Lambourn yard before heading on to enjoy the final jumps meeting of the year at Newbury. To secure a place, register for free at www.the-ngc.co.uk

Alison Rea joins the NGC committee

former Chairman and with the help of DBS Director Tim Kent as Vice-Chairman, the team are looking forward to another successful year.

For Hedley, a recipient of the renowned Alex Scott Memorial scholarship, it is on to warmer climes, leaving her usual base in Middleham where she works as a yard manager for Mark Johnston, to head to Dubai, where she will spend a month as assistant to trainer Doug Watson.

Wright echoed the thoughts of the TBA and the NGC committee in expressing her gratitude to Hedley and Vice-Chairman Daniel Polak, saying: “If anything, Jane and Dan have had the hardest job in getting the club off the ground.

They have worked tirelessly to make the original contacts and establish some really great events which we can now build on, and we are all hugely grateful for what they have achieved.”

Building on initiatives introduced by Hedley will be at the forefront of Wright’s hopes for the NGC in 2012 and she outlines a desire to work more closely with the racecourses and Racing For Change as just two of the objectives at the top of a long list.

She says: “Even though ultimately our goal is to get more young people involved and interested in bloodstock, the foundation of that is getting more of them to go racing.

“I haven’t experienced a buzz like I did on

Talking Point... What would be your wish for racing in 2012?

Rupert Hawksley Racing enthusiast

“In short, all I could possibly hope for is a continuation of the inspiring scenes we witnessed in 2011. Turning a blind eye to the ill-timed introduction of the new whip regulations and the disastrous scenes that followed, it was a vintage year for British racing. The sport thrives on stars and individual brilliance, and I sincerely hope 2012 will see performances from Peddlers Cross and Camelot to match the hype.”

Tallulah Lewis NGC member

“I hope that the racing world continues to support young people

82

moving into the industry as well as providing support for those within the industry. I also hope that future decisions on rules made by the BHA are not rushed and all people involved have the potential of giving an opinion and even the possibility to involve the racing public in these decisions so that bad publicity does not hinder the progress of the sport, as the whip debate had the potential to do.”

create more opportunities for people to interact with and understand racehorses. I believe this would help to ensure that young people do not just attend the races for a drink and a quick flutter but become lifelong racing enthusiasts.”

Sophia Heath

“I would like to see Kauto Star confirm his standing alongside the all-time greats by winning a third Cheltenham Gold Cup, and for Frankel to do likewise when stepped up to ten furlongs next season. Most importantly, I would like to see free entry for students widely adopted by racecourses to encourage young people to come racing.”

Journalist

“I hope that 2012 will be the year that the racing world goes back to basics and starts to focus on the importance of the horse at the heart of the sport. It would be fantastic if people in the racing community

Tom March University of Cambridge Racing Club

THOROUGHBRED OWNER & BREEDER INC PACEMAKER

Feb_90_NGC_Layout 1 19/01/2012 12:32 Page 83

www.the-ngc.co.uk hopes that 2012 will see the club cast its net even further.

She says: “We have been fortunate that through the contacts of the committee members and the generous support of the racing industry, we have been able to provide young people with a ‘money can’t buy’ opportunity to go behind the scenes at some of the country’s leading racing and breeding operations.”

In the future, the club is also keen to open up the experience to other areas of the industry.

Wright says: “I think it would be great to go behind the scenes at a bookmakers, for example. I think the understanding of the New committee member Mike Spence

Champions’ Day since Fantastic Light and Galileo went head to head in the 2001 King George. That was the moment I got hooked and I want to make sure that we give that experience to other people. With horses like Frankel around there couldn’t be a better time to do it.”

As a member of the NGC committee for the last two years, Wright oversaw the appointment of NGC President Sam Waley-Cohen, a move she also hopes to build on in 2012.

“Our goal is to get more young people involved and interested in bloodstock”

“Growing our database is one of our main objectives and we are hugely grateful to Sam for giving up his very limited time to become involved with the Club and help us to do that,” she says.

“He is one of the few people in racing that attracts mainstream media attention and someone that young people not necessarily involved in the sport directly can relate to and be inspired by.

“The NGC drinks party, at which we introduced Sam as President of the club, was a huge success and gave our members a unique opportunity to meet and chat to Sam and it is definitely something we want to work on expanding this year.”

In addition to the draw of Waley-Cohen, several racing personalities gave up their time to attend the party, including Rishi Persad and Nick Luck.

If the NGC drinks party was one of the resounding successes of 2011, Wright THOROUGHBRED OWNER & BREEDER INC PACEMAKER

commercial side of the business is quite weak, even among those working in the industry, and it would be great to try to balance this out and give our members the chance to learn about all the potential angles that may interest them in the future.”

In the spirit of diversification, the committee is also pleased to welcome Student Racing Director Mike Spence and Darley’s Head of European Marketing Alison Rea to the team.

Their fellow members include bloodstock agent Matt Coleman, Hot To Trot Racing syndicate manager Sam Hoskins, Tattersalls’ Hetty Stearn and Whitsbury Manor Stud’s Ed Harper.

Student diary STEPHEN HEATH Darley Flying Start The English phase of the Darley Flying Start has come and gone since the last entry and it truly was a whirlwind of activity. Stable visits, work rotations and practical training, combined with attending a most exciting December Sales, made for a very busy eight weeks in the spiritual home of horseracing.

Throughout all this, and permeating its way into many of our daily encounters and lectures, was discussion, opinion and flat out arguments about the use of the whip in British racing, mirroring the debate that ensued so publically between racing’s regulators and the jockeys. This is undeniably an issue that will persist in shaping public perception of racing and is therefore an issue that the next generation of industry professionals will have to fully and more effectively address in future.

The Darley Flying Start bandwagon has now moved stateside, to Lexington, Kentucky, and as the ever-sparse crowds at Turfway Park in nearby Cincinnati have attested, British racing should be applauded for the crowds it attracts, despite drastically greater admission charges. These crowds are essential for an industry that gains little return from betting input. Therefore its public image is that much more important. A sport in which the participants – who take part without free will – are struck in order to achieve their maximal potential will always alienate a certain percentage of the public.

This issue exemplifies the conflict of the inner purist with the inner realist and, while conscious of racing’s place in the wider world

of society, a sport in which horses are not justly and effectively persuaded to give their maximum would certainly take some getting used to, but is not something any of us ought to close our minds to. Without the whip there will still be a three-year-old who passes the Epsom Derby post first. Would it not be better if that horse needed not to be hit in order to do so?

Next, and already hot on the debate list in our short time in America, is the subject of medication in racehorses. Horses being persuaded to give their absolute all by use of the whip may be hard to defend, but horses requiring medication even to compete has an altogether more difficult resonance.

Many point to an uncertain future for the horses providing the bread-and-butter fare of American racing, but to suggest that these low-level animals have a rosier future with the administration of raceday drugs is delusional; their future is just as uncertain with the administration of medication on racedays. It is therefore heartening to note that from this season all two-year-old graded stakes races in America will be free of the anti-bleeding medication furosemide (lasix).

Hopefully this will pave a path to a more generally drug-free programme of racing in America, so that its horses may compete more freely on the worldwide stage without connections having the worry of running without anti-bleeding medication as a built-in excuse for not leaving their backyard. The increasingly global nature of horseracing can only be further enhanced by such measures.

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Feb_90_Vet_Forum_Owner Breeder 19/01/2012 12:33 Page 84

VET FORUM: THE EXPERT VIEW

By JAMES TATE BVMS MRCVS

Equine Genetics – watch this space Many believe Equinome’s work will prove a passing fad; others that they are merely among the first genetic tests and that in ten years time such analysis will be common

D

espite the poor economic climate, we are currently in a research golden age thanks to the sequencing of the equine genome in 2007. Research is being carried out all over the world into equine genetics and Equinome’s ‘Speed Gene’ and ‘Elite Performance’ tests could be the first of many.

Thoroughbred breeders have an intuitive understanding of genetics from seeing the results of generations of matings which have produced today’s elite athlete. The fact that all living organisms inherit traits from their parents has been used since prehistoric times to selectively breed animals for desirable characteristics. These inherited traits result from genes which correspond to regions within DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid), a double-stranded molecule composed of four different types of nucleotides. The sequence of these nucleotides is known as the ‘genetic code’ and this is why many refer to DNA as ‘the blueprint for life’.

Equinome

Co-founder and Chairman of Equinome Ltd, Dr Emmeline Hill

‘tying-up’. However, none of these genetic tests were directly relevant for the thoroughbred – that is, until Equinome Ltd opened for business.

On January 20, 2010, ‘Equinome’ Ltd, led by Dr Emmeline Hill, introduced the first equine genetic test that was relevant to an athletic or performance trait – the ‘Speed Gene Test’, which was designed to identify a horse’s optimum racing distance by looking at a genetic marker in the myostatin gene. For a fee of €1,000, a blood sample could be tested to find out whether a horse has the sprinter (‘CC’), middle-distance (‘C-T’) or stayer gene (‘T-T’). This was a ground-breaking discovery as it had the potential to fundamentally change the way in which breeders plan matings, as well as providing trainers with a guide as to a horse’s optimum racing distance.

However, the speed gene test had its doubters; they wondered if it could simply be a passing fad. For example, the number of tests which had been performed when the speed gene test was launched was in the hundreds rather than thousands and there was a popular

Sequencing of the Equine Genome Following a ten-year programme to create an equine genetic map involving scientists from around the world, sequencing of the equine genome was completed and made publically available in 2007. The ultimate aim of this work was not to manipulate the genetic composition of horses but to provide us with the knowledge to take genetic information into account and therefore hopefully improve health and performance.

However, during this research it soon became apparent that the horse is a complex animal. Given that approximately 4,000 human disorders have been identified as being caused by a single gene defect and that it is already possible to test for an extensive list of canine single gene disorders, it was hoped that several single gene tests might be found in the horse, but as yet things appear to be more complex.

After the equine genome sequence became available, a few single gene diseases and traits were found, for example, the gene responsible for a horse being grey and the gene that causes polysaccharide storage myopathy, which is a condition of heavy breeds that is similar to

84

It is not always possible to tell a horse’s optimum racing distance from its pedigree, as illustrated by Frankel, who has won over £1 million and nine races at seven and eight furlongs, whilst his half-brother Bullet Train performed best over 11 to 12 furlongs

THOROUGHBRED OWNER & BREEDER INC PACEMAKER

Feb_90_Vet_Forum_Owner Breeder 19/01/2012 12:33 Page 85

Through funding provided initially by the BHA and more recently by the Levy Board and TBA, associations have been found between genes and three specific musculoskeletal conditions: fracture, ‘tying up’ and osteochondrosis dissecans (‘OCD’). It is hoped that one day soon it may be possible to test horses for a predisposition to these conditions.

Conclusion

Charts showing all the possible speed gene mating outcomes illustrating how full siblings can have wildly different optimum racing distances

belief that only Jim Bolger’s horses had been tested (he is a co-founder and director of Equinome). Given the trainer can make a huge difference to the distance a horse races over (for example, David Nicholls could reduce a Flat horse’s optimum trip when compared to someone who trains predominantly jump horses), this seemed like a reasonable concern.

Unsurprisingly, Equinome are quick to dismiss this and at the time of writing the progeny of nearly 300 different sires have been tested all over the world. They are currently working with trainers, breeders and owners in the UK, Australia, USA, Ireland, France, Hong Kong, Turkey, New Zealand, Singapore, Russia and China.

Some argue this test is unnecessary and that they know what distance a horse will race over from its pedigree. But it is not always easy to tell, as illustrated by Frankel, a son of Galileo who has won over £1 million and nine races at seven and eight furlongs, whilst his Sadler’s Wells half-brother Bullet Train, also trained by Sir Henry Cecil, is best over 11 to 12 furlongs.

Equinome argue “pedigree is often not the appropriate indicator of what an individual’s optimum racing distance is likely to be. For instance, when a C:T mare is bred to a C:T stallion, each horse passes on either a ‘C’ or a ‘T’ allele (as each foal inherits two copies of every gene, one from each parent). Therefore, a C:T / C:T mating produces a C:C foal 25% of the time, a T:T foal 25% of the time and a C:T foal 50% of the time. This explains why full siblings that are completely different types can occur, and why pedigree alone cannot determine this.”

Some are still not convinced and highlight horses like 1996 Melbourne Cup winner Saintly, who also won a Group 1 over seven furlongs. If the connections of this horse had used the speed gene test before its racing career it is not unreasonable to assume it may have THOROUGHBRED OWNER & BREEDER INC PACEMAKER

tested as a middle-distance horse, which could have resulted in it not running in either of those Group 1s.

Equinome are not standing still and on July 18, 2011 it launched the ‘Elite Performance Test’, designed to identify individuals with the greatest genetic potential for racecourse success. Different sets of genes are used to put horses into four classes of ability within the sprinter (‘C-C’), middle-distance (‘C-T’) or stayer groups (‘T-T’). Dr Hill claims that by “using the Elite Performance Test in combination with the Speed Gene Test, we can now definitively identify the optimum racing distance for an individual racehorse and evaluate their potential for elite performance at that trip.

“It is well-established that there are different metabolic and physiological requirements for short-duration, high-intensity sprint type exercise and longer-duration, more moderate intensity exercise. We have determined that, similarly, the genetic requirements differ for contrasting types of exercise and therefore different sets of genes will contribute to elite performance in each type of thoroughbred.”

In summary, we are living in hugely exciting times as a result of the current genetic research.

Doubters of Equinome’s speed gene and elite performance tests believe they are a passing fad but it is also possible they are the first of many genetic tests for the thoroughbred and that in ten years time genetic testing for performance and health traits will become widespread – something that could have a huge impact on racing. Equinome expects to report a number of new developments in 2012 and research continues on a global scale at world renowned laboratories such as the Gluck Equine Research Center in Kentucky and Japanese Laboratory of Racing Chemistry. Watch this space.

Ongoing research Equinome are not the only equine genetic researchers and work is being carried out around the globe into this subject. As a result, concerns have been voiced that information arising from discoveries in equine genetics may not become widely available to the equine industry if all of the work is carried out by private commercial companies like Equinome.

It was for this reason that the Animal Health Trust joined with the BHA in a joint venture under the name of Equine Genetics Research (EGR) Ltd. The aim of EGR was to determine the areas of research that are most likely to prove beneficial and to ensure that access to the new technology is available to all.

As a result of research carried out at the Animal Health Trust, it is hoped that one day in the not too distant future it may be possible to test horses for a predisposition to musculoskeletal conditions such as catastrophic fractures

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Feb_90_Caulfield_Owner Breeder 19/01/2012 09:29 Page 86

CAULFIELD FILES ANDREW CAULFIELD REPORTS ON THE BLOODSTOCK WORLD

Japanese runners to be feared in Dubai Horse of the Year Orfevre an unlikely runner but Smart Falcon could add to country’s haul

L

ook through the results of the main events on the Dubai World Cup card and it is impossible not to be impressed with the achievements of the Japanese raiders.

Thanks to Victoire Pisa they recorded their first victory in the World Cup in 2011, when the runner-up Transcend also represented Japan. The Japanese mare To The Victory had also finished second in the World Cup ten years earlier.

It hadn’t taken Japan nearly as long to make its mark on the Dubai Sheema Classic, with Stay Gold defeating Fantastic Light to win in 2001. A second victory came Japan’s way when Heart’s Cry won easily in 2006 and that excellent mare Buena Vista failed by only three-parts of a length to beat Dar Re Mi in the 2010 edition. Then the Dubai Duty Free saw Japanese colts take first and third places in 2007, thanks to Admire Moon and Daiwa Major, and Utopia triumphed in the 2006 Godolphin Mile.

Bearing this in mind, it is well worth taking note of potential Japanese challengers for the 2012 World Cup meeting, even though Orfevre, who has recently been named

Japan’s Horse of the Year for 2011, is not likely to have Dubai on his itinerary. His main international target is said to be the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe later in 2012.

Appropriately, Orfevre is a son of the previously mentioned Stay Gold, who not only won the Dubai Sheema Classic as a seven-yearold in 2001 but also the Hong Kong Vase.

Timeform rated his efforts 127. Stay Gold also had the unusual record of having contested the Japan Cup at the ages of four, five, six and seven, without showing the level of form he displayed in Dubai and Hong Kong.

Stay Gold had the pedigree to make a stallion. In addition to having the peerless Sunday Silence as his sire, he is out of a sister to the smart miler Soccer Boy, who sired winners of such races as the Tenno Sho (Spring), Japanese St Leger and Shuka Sho. Stay Gold’s first foals were born in 2003.

Although there were a couple of Japanese Grade 3 winners in that initial crop, it was his second which put him on the map. Despite the presence in this crop of El Dorado, a threetime winner of the Singapore Gold Cup, its star member was undoubtedly Orfevre’s brother Dream Journey.

Having won Japan’s top juvenile prize, the Asahi Hai Futurity, Dream Journey confirmed his talent by winning the Japanese 2,000 Guineas over ten furlongs. Although his career then stagnated for quite a while, Dream Journey flourished again as a five-year-old in 2009, notably defeating Buena Vista to take the end-of-year Arima Kinen.

Remarkably Orfevre emulated his older brother in the 2011 Arima Kinen, which he won by three-quarters of a length from the 2010 Japanese Derby winner Eishin Flash, with Buena Vista finishing only seventh on her swansong.

This performance capped a tremendous year for Orfevre, as he had won the Japanese 2,000 Guineas in April, the Derby in May and the St Leger in October. He did so despite having a May 14 birthday, so it would be no surprise if he still has improvement in him.

Triple Crown requires stamina With Japan’s three Classics being contested from a mile and a quarter to 15 furlongs, the Japanese Triple Crown doesn’t demand the same blend of speed and stamina as the British version. Even so, it still takes a very talented

Look to German mares to provide outcrosses With the British and Irish industries becoming increasingly dependent on the blood of Sadler’s Wells, Danehill and Green Desert, the quest for outcrosses is likely to become more urgent over the next decade.

Fortunately the likes of Dubawi, Shamardal, Dalakhani and Acclamation all have pedigrees which should make them invaluable, and there are others, such as Nayef, Raven’s Pass, Sir Percy and Canford Cliffs, which could also ride to the rescue.

Alternatively, breeders could consider buying German-bred broodmares, safe in the knowledge that mares by German stallions have produced winners of the Japanese Derby and Kentucky Derby over the last two seasons.

Acatenango, who died in 2005, was Germany’s champion broodmare sire in 2011, just as he had been in 2009. This suggests that

86

this three-time German Horse of the Year could well replicate the enormous success that his sire Surumu enjoyed in this role (11 broodmare championships between 1991 and 2008).

Daughters of Acatenango pulled off the striking feat of producing the winners of both the Kentucky Derby and Deutsches Derby in 2011, thanks to Animal Kingdom and Waldpark. Daughters of Acatenango have already produced Group winners to sons of Sadler’s Wells (Montjeu, Galileo and his brother Black Sam Bellamy), Green Desert (Oasis Dream, sire of the Group 1 winner Querari) and Danehill, so they appear to have plenty to offer British and Irish breeders.

Monsun is another champion German sire and broodmare sire who has followed in the footsteps of his sire, Konigsstuhl. It is worth remembering that Monsun was used

comparatively sparingly for much of his career, so he hasn’t a huge number of broodmare daughters. One has already produced a Group 1 winner to a son of Sadler’s Wells (Sholokhov), while another has produced a very promising 2011 German two-year-old to a grandson (the German Horse of the Year Soldier Hollow, sire of the Group 3 winner Pastorius in his first crop).

Monsun mares also have Group winners by Danehill’s sons Rock Of Gibraltar and Tiger Hill, so once again they have obvious potential.

Shuffle makes big impact Big Shuffle became Germany’s champion sire in 2011. As this was his fifth championship in nine years, the Irish six- and seven-furlong specialist has proved a tremendous asset to the German industry since he commenced

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11-year period between 1982 and 1992.

Northern Taste also had the distinction of being inbred 3 x 2 to Nearctic’s dam Lady Angela. This Hyperion mare could hardly have been better bred, as her dam was Sister Sarah (ancestress also of St Paddy, Great Nephew, Flying Water, Balidaress, Workforce, etc), her third dam was Molly Desmond (ancestress of Brigadier Gerard) and her fourth dam was the immortal Pretty Polly.

GEORGE SELWYN

Falcon poised to swoop

Orfevre’s sire Stay Gold edges out Fantastic Light in the 2001 Sheema Classic

and tough performer to win all three legs.

The last colt to achieve this feat was Deep Impact in 2006 and then you have to go back to 1994 to find the previous Triple Crown winner, Narita Brian. The only others to complete the series were Symboli Rudolf (1984), Mr. C.B. (1983), Shinzan (1964) and St Lite (1941).

Dream Journey has now retired after racing at the age of seven in 2011, but it is unlikely that Orfevre will stay in training that long. It would be fascinating to see whether he can fare better than Deep Impact in the Arc, a race which nearly fell to another of Stay Gold’s sons, Nakayama Festa, in 2010.

Orfevre’s dam Oriental Art is by Mejiro

Lomitas: broodmare sire of Zazou

stallion duties in 1990. His son Areion was champion sire in 2010, so Big Shuffle has exerted a pretty strong grip on the title.

Although Big Shuffle was bred in America

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McQueen, an unfamiliar name to most Europeans. However, this stamina-packed horse won the Japanese St Leger and two editions of the Tenno Sho over two miles.

Perhaps the most striking aspect of Orfevre’s pedigree is that he is inbred 4 x 3 to Northern Taste, a horse who was himself closely inbred. Northern Taste was a smart two-year-old who later won the Prix de la Foret over seven furlongs as long ago as 1974.

The flashy son of Northern Dancer had a broad blaze which extended past his left eye, but that proved no hindrance to him.

He could justifiably be described as the Sunday Silence of his era, as he took the champion sire title ten times in an

and not Germany, he also has an outcross pedigree, with no Northern Dancer blood.

The first four generations of his pedigree contains several British Classic winners, including the Oaks winner Homeward Bound, Derby winner Owen Tudor and 2,000 Guineas winners Tudor Minstrel, My Babu and Court Martial. These bloodlines, blended with German mares, mean that many of his broodmare daughters will have plenty of opportunities. Big Shuffle finished third behind Acatenango and Dashing Blade among Germany’s broodmare sires in 2011, with one of his daughters being responsible for Tai Chi, High Chaparral’s promising winner of the Group 3 Preis des Winterfavoriten.

Dashing Blade, another of Germany’s champion sires, has the considerable attraction of having Shirley Heights and Sharpen Up as his grandsires. Over the last three years he has progressed from fourth, to third and now second on the broodmare sires’ table. His potential as a broodmare sire could

Another leading Japanese horse who is more likely to head for Dubai is Smart Falcon, who will be attempting to follow in Victoire Pisa’s footsteps after his all-the-way win in the Tokyo Daishoten on December 29.

Like Orfevre, Smart Falcon is a grandson of Sunday Silence. Unlike many of this clan, though, he is a dirt specialist and now has the proud record of having 22 victories from 32 starts.

Sunday Silence, of course, won the Kentucky Derby, Preakness Stakes and Breeders’ Cup Classic on dirt. Smart Falcon’s sire Gold Allure was a leading dirt performer in Japan, where his victories included the Tokyo Daishoten, a race won by Smart Falcon in 2010 and 2011. His 2010 win helped him earn second place behind Espoir City – another son of Gold Allure – on the official ratings for Japan’s older dirt performers.

Smart Falcon has a 2011 victory over Transcend, runner-up in last year’s Dubai World Cup, so don’t underestimate him.

hardly have been better demonstrated than by Stacelita, a four-time Group 1 winner in France who collected two of America’s top turf prizes for fillies and mares in 2011. Two other Dashing Blade mares made their mark in 2011 with their progeny by sons of Sadler’s Wells. First, Earl Of Tinsdal became a Group 1 winner for Black Sam Bellamy and then Sholokhov’s daughter Monami established herself as a Classic prospect with her victory in the Group 3 Preis des Winterkonigin.

In previous years Dashing Blade mares have produced Group 2 winners to In The Wings and Barathea, plus another Group winner by Black Sam Bellamy, so they have a fruitful partnership with Sadler’s Wells.

Lomitas, Germany’s champion sire of 2001, was mainly in the news in 2011 as the sire of the stunning Arc winner Danedream, but he also cropped up as the broodmare sire of good Group winners in the US (the smart turf filly Malibu Pier) and Italy (the Group 1 Premio Roma winner Zazou).

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DATA BOOK STAKES RESULTS

National Hunt Grade Ones 58 HENRY VIII NOVICES’ CHASE G1 SANDOWN PARK. Dec 3. 16f. Good to Soft.

1. AL FEROF (FR) 6 gr g Dom Alco - Maralta (Altayan) O-J Hales B-J Rauch, M G Chenu TR-P Nicholls 2. For Non Stop (IRE) 6 b g Alderbrook - Lost Link (Shernazar) 3. Lancetto (FR) 6 b g Dubai Destination - Lanciana (Acatenango) Age Starts Wins Places Earned 4-6 13 8 3 £134,031 See race 161 in the May 2011 issue for analysis

Seven Is My Number, Parsons Pistol, Copper Bleu, I’msingingtheblues, Dover’s Hill, Cappa Bleu and Snap Tie. Sizing Europe’s dam Jennie Dun is an unraced daughter of Mandalus, sire also of those good staying chasers Sir Rembrandt, Macgeorge and Henry Mann.

Other good recent winners out of Mandalus mares include Powerstation, Get Me Out Of Here, Roberto Goldback, Made In Taipan and Mount Oscar.

Vin, who made his mark in Britain with his top-class sons Rolling Ball and Val d’Alene. Quart de Vin also sired some major winners over fences in France, including Ucello, twice a winner of the Grand Steeple-Chase de Paris.

Stamina was one of Quart de Vin’s strong suits as he won over two and a quarter miles on the Flat and also took the Grande Course de Haies d’Auteuil.

Sous les Cieux is his dam’s third foal and third winner, and the mare has young daughters by Lavirco (two) and Network.

daughter produced Askanna, winner in 2011 of a Gr2 hurdle race over three miles, to another son of Sadler’s Wells.

Stamina was one of the hallmarks of Roselier’s progeny, which featured winners of the Grand Nationals in Britain, Scotland, Wales and Ireland.

Steel Grey Lady, the dam of Voler La Vedette, is also dam of Hennessy, who stayed well enough to win the Bet365 Gold Cup Chase. Steel Grey Lady was also a half-sister to Bolino Star, a Gr2 winner over hurdles.

60 ROYAL BOND NOVICE HURDLE G1

61 HATTON’S GRACE HURDLE G1

62 DRINMORE NOVICE CHASE G1

AL FEROF gr g 2005 Rheffic Dom Pasquini

Boursonne

DOM ALCO gr 87 Nonoalco Alconaca Vela Altayan MARALTA b 94 Marowa

Posse Aleema Rex Magna La Romantique

Traffic Rhenane La Varende Arctic Star Nearctic Seximee Sheshoon Cenerentola Forli In Hot Pursuit Red God Alannya Right Royal V Chambre d’Amour Carmarthen Vamira

59 TINGLE CREEK CHASE G1 SANDOWN PARK. Dec 3. 16f. Good to Soft.

1. SIZING EUROPE (IRE) 9 b g Pistolet Bleu - Jennie Dun (Mandalus) O-Ann & Alan Potts Partnership B-Mrs A Bracken TR-Henry de Bromhead 2. Kauto Stone (FR) 5 ch g With The Flow - Kauto Relka (Port Etienne) 3. Cornas (NZ) 9 b g Prized - Duvessa (Sound Reason) Age 4-9

Starts 28

Wins 13

Places 10

Earned £735,212

SIZING EUROPE b g 2002 High Top Top Ville

Sega Ville

PISTOLET BLEU b 88 Armos Pampa Bella Kendie Mandalus JENNIE DUN b 94 Lakelands Girl

Mandamus Laminate Deep Run Charlie Girl

Derring-Do Camenae Charlottesville La Sega Mossborough Ardelle Klairon Amagalla Petition Great Fun Abernant Lamri Pampered King Trial By Fire Vic Day Polperro

Sizing Europe, conqueror of Big Zeb in the 2011 Queen Mother Champion Chase, confirmed that he is no back number when he dominated the Tingle Creek Chase on his first visit to Sandown. The son of Pistolet Bleu has now won 13 times, the longest distance he has won over being two and a half miles, but he has twice finished a respectable second, beaten

by Kauto Star and Quito de la Roque, in the three-mile Champion Chase at Down Royal.

Sizing Europe’s sire Pistolet Bleu died at the age of 13 after only one season under Coolmore’s National Hunt banner. This winner of the Criterium de Saint-Cloud and Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud had established his credentials in France by siring such as Katarino and Geos, and more good winners flowed from his Irish crop. Its leading performers included Your Sum Man (Grand National Hurdle in the USA), Merigo (Scottish Grand National), Tullamore Dew, Coscorrig,

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FAIRYHOUSE. December 4. 16f. Soft to Heavy.

FAIRYHOUSE. December 4. 20f. Soft to Heavy.

FAIRYHOUSE. December 4. 20f. Soft to Heavy.

1. SOUS LES CIEUX (FR) 5 ch g Robin des Champs - Joie de La Vie (Quart de Vin) O-Mrs S Ricci B-Mme Karine Colson, Nicolas De Lageneste TR-WP Mullins 2. Galileo’s Choice (IRE) 5 b g Galileo - Sevi’s Choice (Sir Ivor) 3. Miss Nomer (IRE) 4 b f Overbury - Miss Information (Commanche Run)

1. VOLER LA VEDETTE (IRE) 7 b m King’s Theatre - Steel Grey Lady (Roselier) O-Mrs M Brophy B-Mrs M Brophy TR-Colm A Murphy 2. Mourad (IRE) 6 ch g Sinndar - Mouramara (Kahyasi) 3. The Real Article (IRE) 6 b g Definite Article - Soul Mate (Phardante)

1. BOG WARRIOR (IRE) 7 b g Strategic Choice - Kilmac Princess (King’s Ride) O-Gigginstown House Stud B-J Furlong TR-AJ Martin 2. Shinrock Paddy (IRE) 7 b g Deploy - Arts Theater (King’s Theatre) 3. Rivage d’Or (FR) 6 b g Visionary - Deesse d’Allier (Pure Hasard)

Age 3-5

Age 4-7

Age 7

Starts 8

Wins 3

Places 5

Earned £71,892

SOUS LES CIEUX ch g 2006 Mill Reef Garde Royale

Royal Way

ROBIN DES CHAMPS b 97 Iron Duke Relayeuse Reliorneuse Quart de Vin JOIE DE LA VIE gr 97 Una Rosa

Devon Quartelette Perouges Graminee

Starts 20

Wins 12

Places 6

Earned £301,457

A winner of one of his four starts for non-thoroughbreds on the Flat in his native France, Sous Les Cieux headed for Ireland after finishing third on his hurdling debut at Auteuil in March 2010. Showing the benefit of being given plenty of time, the gelding wasn’t extended to win a maiden hurdle at Fairyhouse in November and then stepped up to beat the useful Flat performer Galileo’s Choice in the Gr1 Royal Bond Novice Hurdle.

Sous les Cieux’s exploits will help his sire Robin des Champs, who left France for the Cashmans’ Glenview Stud in 2008. Robin des Champs covered 144 mares in his first year, 82 in his second and 81 in his third. His 2012 fee of €5,000 reflects the fact that he has also been represented by that excellent mare Quevega, Quinz, Escort’men and Original. His best winner in France is Oeil du Maitre, winner of the French Champion Hurdle in 2008 – the year Robin des Champs finished second among France’s leading jumping sires. He has since finished fifth in 2009, ninth in 2010 and 11th in 2011.

Robin des Champs raced as a three-year-old, winning the first four of his five starts over hurdles by a total of nearly 20 lengths. He is by Mill Reef’s son Garde Royale, whose Irish representatives included Nicanor and Garde Champetre, and Garde Royale also sired the dam of Master Minded.

Sous les Cieux’s dam Joi de la Vie is an unraced daughter of Quart de

Northern Dancer Sadler’s Wells

Fairy Bridge

KING’S THEATRE b 91 Princely Native Regal Beauty Dennis Belle Roselier STEEL GREY LADY gr 94 Gobolino

Misti IV Peace Rose Don Broccoli

Wins 4

Places 0

Earned £62,547

BOG WARRIOR b g 2004

VOLER LA VEDETTE b m 2004 Never Bend Milan Mill Sicambre Right Away Sicambre Insulaire El Relicario Ordonneuse Worden Sees Tantieme Quaker Girl Tiffauges Petula II Faristan Oseille

Starts 5

Nearctic Natalma Bold Reason Special Raise A Native Charlo Crafty Admiral Evasion Medium Mist Fastnet Rock La Paix Yellow God Dogana Welsh Saint Gift Rose

The female of the species shone in Ireland’s end-of-year Gr1 races over hurdles, with Voler La Vedette taking the Hatton’s Grace Hurdle and Unaccompanied the Festival Hurdle.

Voler La Vedette then rounded off 2011 with a decisive victory in the Gr2 Christmas Hurdle, to improve her record to five wins from her last six starts. Her overall record now stands at an impressive 13 wins from 21 starts.

Voler La Vedette’s Christmas Hurdle win proved that she stays three miles. With King’s Theatre as her sire and a daughter of Roselier as her dam, she is bred to the same pattern as The Minack, a smart and progressive staying chaser. She must be considered the best jumping daughter of King’s Theatre, ahead of the smart staying chaser Miss Mitch.

King’s Theatre, who died in June 2011, made his name as a winner of the Racing Post Trophy and King George. He ranked third behind Presenting and Oscar among the leading sires of jumpers in 2010/11, with an impressive 39 per cent winners to runners. In addition to Voler La Vedette he has shone with Captain Chris, Riverside Theatre, Menorah, Cue Card, Wichita Lineman and Fingal Bay. Voler La Vedette’s broodmare sire Roselier died in 1998, so the French Champion Hurdle winner nowadays relies on his broodmare daughters to keep his name to the fore. Another

Tom Rolfe Wavy Navy Prince John Princess Pout Determined Lady STRATEGIC CHOICE b 91 Northern Dancer Danzig Pas de Nom Danlu Tom Rolfe Lulu Mon Amour Sister Shu Hethersett Rarity Who Can Tell King’s Ride Sovereign Path Ride Turf KILMAC PRINCESS b 95 Pampered King Deep Run Trial By Fire Vixen Run Tiepolo II Elands Kop Sapphire Spray Hoist The Flag

Alleged

In a career which extended to seven years on the track, Strategic Choice showed very smart form in several countries. In Ireland he won the St Leger in 1995; in England he finished third in Lammtarra’s King George; in Italy he won the Gran Premio di Milano; in France he won the Grand Prix de Deauville; and in Japan he finished third to Singspiel in the Japan Cup. His total earnings fell not far short of £900,000, so it was surprising that he wasn’t snapped up for stud duties before the age of ten. He is, after all, a son of Alleged, a stallion who found considerable favour in the jumping sector, thanks to the success of several of his stallion sons. Among them are Montelimar (sire of the Grand National winners Hedgehunter and Monty’s Pass), Flemensfirth (sire of Cheltenham Gold Cup winner Imperial Commander, plus such as Tidal Bay, Pandorama and Time For Rupert), Alesso (sire of Baracouda), Husyan (sire of Liss A Paoraigh), Jurado (sire of Hello Bud) and Religiously (sire of Macs Joy).

Now Strategic Choice has also come up with a potentially high-class winner in Bog Warrior. The gelding was winning for the fourth time in four completed starts when he benefited from the blunders of favourite First Lieutenant to win the Drinmore Novice Chase at Fairyhouse by more than 30 lengths.

Bog Warrior’s dam Kilmac Princess

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Caulfield on Boston Bob: “He is the latest in a long line of high-class jumping sons of Bob Back; he never won over further than a mile and a quarter but plenty of his best winners stay well”

showed little promise in point-topoints and over hurdles but she is by that good National Hunt stallion King’s Ride. Other daughters of King’s Ride have produced the likes of Cue Card, Mackeys Forge, Cool Quest, Barker, It Takes Time, Celestial Gold, Fiveforthree, Candy Girl, Premier Victory, Valley Ride, Tarablaze and Bohemian Lass in recent seasons.

Bog Warrior’s second dam Vixen Run was a winning half-sister to the smart hurdler/chaser Allten Glazed.

in France by the Blushing Groom stallion Crystal Glitters and from a good family. The next dam, the middledistance winner Tenacity, was by Prove it Baby, a smart Group winner at up to 15 furlongs in France.

There is plenty of stamina here, although Rubi Light has been campaigned largely at around two and a half miles since his arrival in Ireland in 2009. He had won only one of his six starts in France, a steeplechase at Fontainebleau.

Buckskin, but Buckleby’s half-brother Pas de Seul showed plenty of speed for a son of Mill Reef, as evidenced in winning the Prix de la Foret.

Cadoudal, a son of the Nijinsky stallion Green Dancer, died in 2007 at the ripe old age of 28 but this manytimes champion sire continues to make his presence felt, his 2011 winners also featuring the likes of Long Run (Gr1 Cheltenham Gold Cup) and Le Beau Bai (Gr3 Welsh National).

Boston Bob has a traditional jumps pedigree, his first three dams being daughters of Le Bavard, Arctic Slave and Vulgan. Le Bavard won the Prix du Cadran before siring the likes of Kildimo, Perris Valley, Bankers Benefit and Barney Burnett.

Boston Bob’s dam, the unraced Bavaway, is a half-sister to the smart hurdler/chaser Danny Harrold and the next dam, Chillaway, was a half-sister to the very useful chaser Golden Freeze.

63 JOHN DURKAN MEMORIAL PUNCHESTOWN CHASE G1

64 LONG WALK HURDLE G1

65 NAVAN NOVICE HURDLE G1

66 RACING POST NOVICE CHASE G1

PUNCHESTOWN. December 11. 20f. Heavy.

ASCOT. December 17. 25f. Soft.

NAVAN. December 18. 20f. Soft to Heavy.

1. RUBI LIGHT (FR) 6 b g Network - Genny Lights (Lights Out) O-W Hennessy B-P Vagne, V Vagne TR-Robert Hennessy 2. Joncol (IRE) 8 b g Bob’s Return - Finemar Lady (Montelimar) 3. Cooldine (IRE) 9 b g Beneficial - Shean Alainn (Le Moss)

1. BIG BUCK’S (FR) 8 b/br g Cadoudal - Buck’s (Le Glorieux) O-The Stewart Family B-H Poulat TR-Paul Nicholls 2. Five Dream (FR) 7 b g Take Risks - Jenny Pous (Kaid Pous) 3. Restless Harry (GB) 7 b g Sir Harry Lewis - Restless Native (Be My Native)

1. BOSTON BOB (IRE) 6 b g Bob Back - Bavaway (Le Bavard) O-Graham Wylie B-Burgage Stud TR-WP Mullins 2. Mount Benbulben (IRE) 6 b g Beneficial - Dramatic Dame (Buckskin) 3. Ipsos du Berlais (FR) 5 gr g Poliglote - Isis Du Berlais (Cadoudal)

Age 4-6

Age 3-8

Age 5-6

Starts 20

Wins 6

Places 9

Earned £166,309

RUBI LIGHT b g 2005 Konigsstuhl Monsun

Mosella

NETWORK br 97 Reliance II Note Nicotiana Lights Out GENNY LIGHTS b 94 Tenacity

Crystal Glitters Light A Star Prove It Baby Manie

Starts 34

Wins 19

Places Earned 9 £1,042,051

Monsun’s son Network finished as high as eighth among France’s leading sires of jumpers in 2011, thanks largely to the efforts of Rubi Ball. In addition to finishing second in the Grande Steeple-Chase de Paris, this excellent young jumper has won the Gr1 Prix La Haye Jousselin (for a second time) and the Gr3 Prix Toytown. Other good 2011 French winners by Network included Net Lovely (a Gr3 winner over hurdles and Listed winner over fences) and Quart Monde (a Gr3 winner over fences).

Network’s progeny have also left no doubts about their potential in Britain and Ireland. Sprinter Sacre won the Gr2 Wayward Lad Novices’ Chase, having finished third in the Supreme Novices’ Hurdle, and Saint Are won the Gr1 Sefton Novices’ Hurdle. He owes his first Irish Gr1 success to the very smart Rubi Light, winner in 2011 of the Gr2 Red Mills Chase and the Gr1 John Durkan Memorial Punchestown Chase.

Network won the Gr2 UnionRennen over 11 furlongs in his native Germany. We are likely to hear plenty more of the Haras National de Cercy La Tour stallion as he has plenty of young stock in France, including a 2010 crop which is large by French standards.

Rubi Light comes from an AQPS family. His dam Genny Lights, who failed to win in eight attempts on the Flat, is by Lights Out, a smart performer at around a mile and a half

Nijinsky Green Dancer

Green Valley

CADOUDAL br 79 Sea Hawk II Come To Sea Camarilla Le Glorieux BUCK’S b 93 Buckleby

Cure The Blues La Mirande Buckskin Thereby

Northern Dancer Flaming Page Val de Loir Sly Pola Herbager Sea Nymph Sayajirao Camilla Stop The Music Quick Cure Le Fabuleux La Magnanarelle Yelapa Bete A Bon Dieu Star Moss Besides

The blunder Big Buck’s made at the last fence in the 2008 Hennessy Gold Cup has proved a huge blessing in disguise. Although good enough to win three of his previous six starts over fences, he has subsequently proved much more at home over the smaller obstacles, to the extent that he has compiled an extraordinary sequence of 14 victories, including eight at Gr1 level. Although his three wins in the World Hurdle must be considered his finest achievement, he now also has three victories to his name in the Long Walk Hurdle, plus three in the Liverpool Hurdle (the first when it was a Gr2) and another three in Newbury’s Gr2 Long Distance Hurdle.

The dam of Big Buck’s, Buck’s, is a daughter of Le Glorieux, a French colt who landed the Washington DC International and the Japan Cup in the same season. Buck’s raced 42 times but won only twice, in a steeplechase at Cagnes-sur-Mer and a claiming hurdle at Auteuil. She now has six winners to her credit, including Big Buck’s’ Gr1-placed brother Buck’s Boum. Her youngest foals are Buck’s Bandit, a 2010 filly by the Arc winner Trempolino, and Bingo Buck’s, a 2011 colt by Nickname, a Gr1 winner over hurdles in France and over fences in Ireland.

The second dam Buckleby could be the source of some of Big Buck’s’ stamina, as she was by the outstanding long-distance horse

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Wins 4

Places 1

Earned £49,435

BOSTON BOB b g 2005

BIG BUCK’S b/br g 2003 Dschingis Khan Konigskronung Surumu Monasia Tantieme Relance III Naras Nina Blushing Groom Tales To Tell Wollow Lighted Glory Prove Out Mail Rush Francois Saubaber Glanie

Starts 5

Hail To Reason Roberto

Bramalea

BOB BACK br 81 Carry Back Toter Back Romantic Miss Le Bavard BAVAWAY b 87 Chillaway

Devon Lueur Doree Arctic Slave Freezeaway

LEOPARDSTOWN. December 26. 17f. Soft.

1. BLACKSTAIRMOUNTAIN (IRE) 6 b g Imperial Ballet - Sixhills (Sabrehill) O-Mrs S Ricci B-Mrs JM Mullins TR-WP Mullins 2. Notus de La Tour (FR) 5 b g Kutub - Ridiyla (Akarad) 3. Foildubh (IRE) 7 b g Woods of Windsor - Bushey Glen (Roselier) Age 4-6

Starts 19

Wins 8

Places 5

Earned £146,809

BLACKSTAIRMOUNTAIN b g 2005 Turn-To Nothirdchance Nashua Rarelea Saggy Joppy Beauchef Roman Zephyr Worden Sees Le Haar Lueur d’Espoir Arctic Star Roman Galley Vulgan Skateaway

When Boston Bob came under the hammer at Doncaster Bloodstock’s Newbury sale in March 2011, his racing career consisted solely of a win in a point-to-point at Tallow and a close third in a bumper at Punchestown. Owner Graham Wylie therefore took quite a gamble when he splashed out £150,000 for him, but the gamble is paying off in fine style.

The gelded son of Bob Back quickly won a bumper at Hexham, after which he was sent back to Ireland, to be trained by Willie Mullins.

After making a winning debut over hurdles at Navan in November, Boston Bob was immediately thrust into Gr1 company, to win the Navan Novice Hurdle.

Boston Bob is the latest in a long line of high-class jumping sons of Bob Back. Bob Back never won over further than a mile and a quarter, the distance of his victories in the Prince of Wales’s Stakes and Premio Presidente della Repubbica, but plenty of his best winners stay well. Other good recent representatives by him include Bobs Worth, Rare Bob, Burton Port, Roberto Goldback, Minella Four Star, Back In Focus, Saludos and Rigour Back Bob. Previous flag-bearers for the stallion, who was euthanized because of the infirmities of old age at the age of 30 in 2011, included Cousin Vinny, Back In Front, Thisthatandtother, Bachannal, Putty Road, Treble Bob, Farmer Brown and Calling Brave.

Northern Dancer Sadler’s Wells

Fairy Bridge

IMPERIAL BALLET b 89 Bold Lad Amaranda Favoletta Sabrehill SIXHILLS b 99 Moidart

Diesis Gypsy Talk Electric Marypark

Nearctic Natalma Bold Reason Special Bold Ruler Barn Pride Baldric II Violetta III Sharpen Up Doubly Sure Alleged Mazaca Blakeney Christiana Charlottown Margaret Ann

With the hot favourite Bog Warrior falling at the fourth in the Racing Post Novice Chase, Blackstairmountain was able to record the second Gr1 victory of his career on only his second appearance over fences. His previous major success came in 2010, when he won Punchestown’s Champion Novice Hurdle, and he also has victories to his name on the Flat, in bumpers and over hurdles.

His wins over jumps have all come at around two miles, which reflects the fact that his sire, the Royal Hunt Cup winner Imperial Ballet, was one of Sadler’s Wells’s faster sons. Imperial Ballet inherited some speed from his dam Amaranda, an impressive winner of the Queen Mary Stakes, and this speed also emerged in Imperial Ballet’s daughter Imperial Beauty, winner of the 2001 Prix de l’Abbaye de Longchamp.

Blackstairmountain’s dam Sixhills, who gained her only success over a mile and three quarters, has also produced the useful bumper horse Allure Of Illusion. This female line has endless stamina, as Blackstairmountain’s second dam Moidart won at up to two miles, in addition to finishing second in the Chester Cup. Moidart’s useful daughter Eilean Shona also stayed well, as did Moidart’s dam Marypark, who won at up to two and a quarter miles. This family has also produced winners of the Park Hill Stakes and Prix du Cadran (Invermark).

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DATA BOOK STAKES RESULTS

National Hunt Grade Ones 67 KING GEORGE VI CHASE G1 KEMPTON PARK. Dec 26. 24f. Good to Soft.

1. KAUTO STAR (FR) 11 b g Village Star - Kauto Relka (Port Etienne) O-CD Smith B-Mme H Aubert TR-Paul Nicholls 2. Long Run (FR) 6 b/br g Cadoudal - Libertina (Balsamo) 3. Captain Chris (IRE) 7 b g King’s Theatre - Function Dream (Strong Gale) Age 3-11

Starts 40

Wins 23

Places Earned 11 £2,375,883

See race 2 in the January issue for analysis

KAUTO STAR b g 2000 Mill Reef Moulin

High Fidelyty

VILLAGE STAR ch 83 Reliance II Glitter Glistening Mill Reef Port Etienne KAUTO RELKA b 93 Kautorette

Sierra Morena Kautokeino Verdurette

Never Bend Milan Mill Hautain Paladrina Tantieme Relance III Aureole Causerie Never Bend Milan Mill Canisbay Saigon Relko Cranberry Lionel Tyrolina

as three miles only once but clearly stayed well and he has passed on plenty of stamina to the likes of Grands Crus, Neptune Collonges and Al Ferof. Remarkably, Dom Alco failed to win in 14 attempts on the Flat, including in claiming races.

Grands Crus’s dam Fee Magic is an unraced half-sister to Al Tip, a Listed winner over hurdles at Auteuil by Dom Alco. The gelding’s third dam Miss Jefferson was also a Listed winner at Auteuil, as was Miss Jefferson’s son Le Cheyenne. Fee Magic’s sire Phantom Breeze, a son of Caerleon’s full-brother Vision, was fourth in the 1989 Irish Derby before being switched to run in the USA. He did well enough there to be invited to participate in the 1990 Japan Cup but was too stoutly-bred to become a fashionable stallion. He retired at a modest fee in France, where his best winners include Le Coudray, a topclass hurdler and chaser, and Bilboa, a mare who did very well over hurdles.

69 CHRISTMAS HURDLE G1

68 FELTHAM NOVICES’ CHASE G1 KEMPTON PARK. Dec 26. 24f. Good to Soft.

KEMPTON PARK. Dec 26. 16f. Good to Soft.

1. GRANDS CRUS (FR) 6 gr g Dom Alco - Fee Magic (Phantom Breeze) O-Roger Stanley, Yvonne Reynolds III B-Mr JM Prost Alamartine TR-David Pipe 2. Silviniaco Conti (FR) 5 ch g Dom Alco - Gazelle Lulu (Altayan) 3. Bobs Worth (IRE) 6 b g Bob Back - Fashionista (King’s Theatre)

1. BINOCULAR (FR) 7 b g Enrique - Bleu Ciel Et Blanc (Pistolet Bleu) O-John P McManus B-E Lellouche TR-Nicky Henderson 2. Rock On Ruby (IRE) 6 b g Oscar - Stony View (Tirol) 3. Overturn (IRE) 7 b g Barathea - Kristal Bridge (Kris)

Age 4-6

Age 2-7

Starts 14

Wins 7

Places 4

Earned £219,507

GRANDS CRUS gr g 2005 Rheffic Dom Pasquini

Boursonne

DOM ALCO gr 87 Nonoalco Alconaca Vela Phantom Breeze FEE MAGIC b 00 Carama

Vision Ask The Wind Tip Moss Miss Jefferson

Wins 12

Places 11

Earned £724,990

BINOCULAR b g 2004 Traffic Rhenane La Varende Arctic Star Nearctic Seximee Sheshoon Cenerentola Nijinsky Foreseer Run The Gantlet Arburie Luthier Top Twig Jefferson Miss Cuyp

The continued presence of Big Buck’s in the top staying hurdles severely limited Grands Crus’s chances of becoming a Gr1 winner over hurdles.

Having twice finished second to him in 2011, Grands Crus has taken evasive action by switching to the bigger obstacles, with instant success. He was winning for the third time in as many starts when he jumped too well for Silviniaco Conti and Bobs Worth in the Feltham Novices’ Chase.

Grands Crus and Silviniaco Conti are reminders of the talents of their sire Dom Alco, who died in 2010 at the age of 23. This French stallion is also responsible for the 2011 Cheltenham Festival Graded winners Neptune Collonges and Al Ferof and his other current representatives include the progressive chaser Roalco de Farges and the smart French hurdler Rhialco.

Dom Alco won six races over hurdles, including two Listed events at Auteuil. He tackled a distance as long

90

Starts 25

Sadler’s Wells Barathea

Brocade

ENRIQUE b 96 Raise A Cup Gwydion Papamiento Pistolet Bleu BLEU CIEL ET BLANC b 95 Bouge De La

Top Ville Pampa Bella Trempolino Syndaar

Northern Dancer Fairy Bridge Habitat Canton Silk Raise A Native Spring Sunshine Blade Commemoration High Top Sega Ville Armos Kendie Sharpen Up Trephine Lyphard Sweet And Lovely II

In winning the Christmas Hurdle, Binocular accomplished the unusual feat of winning the same race twice in less than a year. Having decisively defeated Overturn in the 2010 Christmas Hurdle, delayed until January 15, 2011 because of bad weather, he had to work much harder to get the better of Rock On Ruby in the official 2011 edition. This was the fourth Gr1 win of Binocular’s career, the highlight being his victory in the 2010 Champion Hurdle.

Binocular didn’t perform up to his best on his only attempt at a distance as long as two and a half miles. His sire Enrique was noted for speed rather than stamina, winning the Greenham Stakes prior to finishing a neck second to Island Sands in the 2,000 Guineas. However, Enrique’s best Flat performers, the American Gr2 winner Obrigado and the French Gr3 winner On Est Bien, have both displayed more stamina. Enrique is also responsible for Slim Pearl and

Avenue Marceau, two Gr3-winning hurdlers in France, plus other good French hurdlers.

Binocular’s dam Bleu Ciel et Blanc, a winner over 13 furlongs who was placed over hurdles, has three winners from six foals, including Assassino, a successful dual-purpose performer.

The next dam, Bouge De La, won on the Flat and over hurdles. Binocular’s fourth dam is Sweet And Lovely, whose numerous smart descendants include the Derby winner Kris Kin.

two winners among the first 13 foals out of Our Siveen. This daughter of the phenomenal National Hunt stallion Deep Run won at up to two and a half miles over hurdles.

Big Zeb’s second dam Clontinty Queen produced four winners from 15 foals. She was an unraced daughter of Laurence O, an excellent longdistance performer who numbered the Queen Alexandra Stakes over two and three-quarter miles among his victories.

70 PADDY POWER DIAL-A-BET CHASE G1

71 FUTURE CHAMPIONS NOVICE HURDLE G1

LEOPARDSTOWN. Dec 27. 17f. Good to Yielding.

LEOPARDSTOWN. Dec 27. 16f. Good to Yielding.

1. BIG ZEB (IRE) 10 b g Oscar - Our Siveen (Deep Run) O-Patrick Joseph Redmond B-L Buttimer TR-Colm A Murphy 2. Noble Prince (GER) 7 b g Montjeu - Noble Pearl (Dashing Blade) 3. Forpadydeplasterer (IRE) 9 b g Moscow Society - Run Artiste (Deep Run)

1. CASH AND GO (IRE) 4 b g Sulamani - Calcida (Konigsstuhl) O-David Monaghan B-Gestut Erlenhof TR-EJ O’Grady 2. Dylan Ross (IRE) 5 b g Shantou - Quit The Noise (Un Desperado) 3. Sous Les Cieux (FR) 5 ch g Robin des Champs - Joie de La Vie (Quart de Vin)

Age 5-10

Age 4

Starts 28

Wins 13

Places 11

Earned £754,286

BIG ZEB b g 2001

Fairy Bridge

OSCAR b 94 Reliance II Snow Day Vindaria Deep Run OUR SIVEEN ch 83 Clontinty Queen

Wins 4

Places 2

Earned £62,648

CASH AND GO b g 2007 Northern Dancer

Sadler’s Wells

Starts 6

Pampered King Trial By Fire Laurence O Si Si

Nearctic Natalma Bold Reason Special Tantieme Relance III Roi Dagobert Heavenly Body Prince Chevalier Netherton Maid Court Martial Mitrailleuse Saint Crespin III Feevagh Sica Boy Rififi

For the third time in four years Big Zeb landed the Gr1 Paddy Power Dial-ABet Chase and the former winner of the Queen Mother Champion Chase now has a record of 11 wins and five seconds from 17 completed starts over fences (he has also fallen four times).

Big Zeb won at up to 21 furlongs early in his chasing career but nowadays he is kept to around two miles, even though there is no shortage of stamina in his pedigree.

His sire Oscar was bred to stay quite well, with Sadler’s Wells as his sire and a Reliance mare as his dam.

Oscar’s brother Blue Stag was second in the Derby and Oscar also relished a mile and a half, as he showed when second in the Prix du Jockey-Club on his final appearance.

Oscar is also responsible for such accomplished stayers as Refinement, Black Jack Ketchum, Oscar Time, Offshore Account, Razor Royale, Tricky Trickster, Oscar Looby and Casey Jones. That said, by no means all of his best progeny relish a thorough test of stamina, as Oscar Whisky, Peddlers Cross, Silent Oscar and Rock On Ruby have shown. Despite siring so many notable performers, Oscar has never quite managed to take the title of champion sire. He was runner-up in 2010/11, third in 2006/07 and 2009/10, fourth in 2008/09 and fifth in 2007/08.

Big Zeb was bought for €34,000 as a three-year-old. He is one of only

Niniski Hernando

Whakilyric

SULAMANI b 99 Alleged Soul Dream Normia Konigsstuhl CALCIDA b 96 Casella

Dschingis Khan Konigskronung Frontal Casadei

Nijinsky Virginia Hills Miswaki Lyrism Hoist The Flag Princess Pout Northfields Mia Pola Tamerlane Donna Diana Tiepoletto Kronung Le Haar Favreale Windwurf Czenia

History is repeating itself for Irish trainer Edward O’Grady. He enjoyed considerable success a few years ago with the German import Catch Me, whose total of five Graded victories included a defeat of Brave Inca and Hardy Eustace in the 2008 Hatton’s Grace Hurdle.

Now O’Grady is doing well with Catch Me’s half-brother Cash And Go. This bumper winner remained unbeaten in three starts over hurdles when he showed plenty of determination to take the Future Champions Novice Hurdle. Cash And Go has raced only over two miles but there is every reason to expect him to cope well with longer distances, as Catch Me was a Gr2 winner over three miles. Whereas Catch Me was by a winner of the Irish Derby in Law Society, Cash And Go is a member of the second crop by Sulamani, a winner of the French Derby and three other Gr1 races over a mile and a half.

Sulamani’s first crop produced Mastery, winner of the St Leger and Hong Kong Vase.

Sulamani is now resident at Yorton Farm in Shropshire, where he stood his first season as a National Hunt stallion in 2011. He is well qualified to succeed in this role, as his sire Hernando is responsible for such notable jumpers as State Of Play and Sacundai. Sulamani’s broodmare sire Alleged also exerted a powerful influence on jump racing.

Cash And Go comes from a good

THOROUGHBRED OWNER & BREEDER INC PACEMAKER

Feb_90_databook_Leader 19/01/2012 09:32 Page 91

Caulfield on Last Instalment: “He is well suited by three miles, even though his sire Anshan was fast enough to win the Free Handicap and Supreme Stakes over seven furlongs”

German family. His third dam, Casadei, was second in the 1983 German Oaks and was a sister to the very useful Czardas. Casadei was also a half-sister to the 1992 German Derby third Carlton and the 1985 German Derby fourth Cassis.

Cash And Go’s dam Calcida gained the majority of her five victories at around a mile. Her three-parts-brother Come And Win was runner-up in the Gr1 Gran Corsa di Siepi di Milano Hurdle.

1. HOLLOW TREE (GB) 3 b g Beat Hollow - Hesperia (Slip Anchor) O-Brannon Dennis Dick Holden B-Mount Coote Stud TR-Donald McCain 2. Countrywide Flame (GB) 3 b g Haafhd - Third Party (Terimon) 3. Secret Edge (GB) 3 b g Tobougg - Burton Ash (Diktat) Wins 5

Places 3

Sadler’s Wells

Fairy Bridge

BEAT HOLLOW b 97 Dancing Brave Wemyss Bight Bahamian Slip Anchor HESPERIA b 92 Throw Away Line

Shirley Heights Sayonara Assert Obeah

Places 1

Persian Bold

Relkarunner

ANSHAN ch 87 Lady Zi Exbury Grace Insan FINAL INSTALMENT b 95

HOLLOW TREE b g 2008 Northern Dancer

Age 5-8

Wins 7

Manado

Earned £38,005

Nearctic Natalma Bold Reason Special Lyphard Navajo Princess Mill Reef Sorbus Mill Reef Hardiemma Birkhahn Suleika Be My Guest Irish Bird Cyane Book of Verse

There was a time when 44 mares constituted a full book but nowadays a book of that sort of size places a stallion at a considerable disadvantage. Beat Hollow’s first four crops numbered 38, 42, 54 and 51 foals, but a pair of first-crop two-yearold stakes winners led to his being much more strongly supported in 2007. His 118-strong 2008 crop has given him a chance to demonstrate what he can do. Among his total of more than 40 individual winners are the high-class Sea Moon and the potentially high-class St Simon Stakes winner Beaten Up. Another of the winners, the dual 14-furlong scorer Hollow Tree, is demonstrating Beat Hollow’s potential as a sire of jumpers, as he was gaining his third win from four starts over hurdles when he took the Finale Juvenile Hurdle. Beat Hollow’s other hurdlers include the Gr3 winner Battle Group and the promising Cinders And Ashes. Beat Hollow’s unraced brother Court Cave has sired the very useful young chasers Champion Court and Whodoyouthink.

Hollow Tree is a half-brother to the useful Halling filly Lucky Date. Their dam Hesperia was a useful middledistance winner in France and Italy but the next few dams were bred in America, where Hollow Tree’s third dam, the very smart Obeah, produced a string of smart performers headed by the outstanding American filly Go For Wand.

LEOPARDSTOWN. December 28. 24f. Good.

Age 4-6

Starts 10

Earned £120,097

Augustaeliza

Our Native Artania Callernish Miss Madam

Wins 8

Places 4

Earned £226,025

SYNCHRONISED b g 2003 Bold Ruler Barn Pride Relko Running Blue Captain’s Gig Slipstream Exbury Your Grace II Exclusive Native Our Jackie Ruritania Arctic Actress Lord Gayle Azurine Black Tarquin Miss Busybody

Last Instalment’s career is following the path established by so many smart Irish performers. Successful in a pointto-point and a bumper before showing plenty of promise over hurdles, the son of Anshan has now graduated to steeplechasing with excellent results.

His three starts over fences have yielded three victories worth around £75,000 and the boldness of his jumping suggests he will continue to be hard to beat.

Last Instalment has already shown that he is well suited by three miles, even though Anshan was fast enough to win the Free Handicap and Gr3 Supreme Stakes over seven furlongs.

Anshan was also third in the 2,000 Guineas and later became a dual stakes winner over nine furlongs in the US. He died in 2005, so Last Instalment is a member of his penultimate crop, as is another progressive young chaser, Quantitativeeasing. If Last Instalment continues to improve, he could become Anshan’s highest-rated winner, ahead of the likes of Asian Maze, Powerstation, Il Duce, Shakalakaboomboom, Mr Cracker, Back Of The Pack, Dave’s Dream, Quakers Field, Greenhall Rambler and Pay It Forward.

Last Instalment’s dam Final Instalment is an unraced daughter of Insan. After winning the Gr2 Beresford Stakes at two, Insan didn’t enjoy much luck, once being caught on the line by Kahyasi in the Irish Derby after his rider lost his whip. Insan retired to stud in Yorkshire and then moved to Germany in 1991. His next move was to the famous Garryrichard Stud in Ireland after Be My Native, another high-class son of Our Native, became all the rage in Irish jumps breeding.

Insan went on to sire such as Davenport Milenium, Ballycassidy and Boychuk. Last Instalment’s second dam Augustaeliza was an unraced sister to the useful hurdler/chaser Call Me Later.

THOROUGHBRED OWNER & BREEDER INC PACEMAKER

Starts 18

Nearctic Northern Dancer

Natalma

SADLER’S WELLS b 81 Bold Reason Fairy Bridge Special Bob Back MAYASTA br 90 Sarahcee

Roberto Toter Back Prominer Celestial Gold

Northern Dancer Pas de Nom His Majesty Razyana Spring Adieu DANEHILL DANCER b 93 Atan Sharpen Up Rocchetta Mira Adonde Caro Lettre d’Amour Lianga Nearctic Northern Dancer Natalma Sadler’s Wells Bold Reason Fairy Bridge Special LEGEND HAS IT b 00 Exclusive Native Affirmed Won’t Tell You Magical Cliche Speak John Talking Picture Poster Girl Danzig

1. SYNCHRONISED (IRE) 8 b g Sadler’s Wells - Mayasta (Bob Back) O-John P McManus B-Mrs N McManus TR-Jonjo O’Neill 2. Rubi Light (FR) 6 b g Network - Genny Lights (Lights Out) 3. Quito de La Roque (FR) 7 b g Saint des Saints - Moody Cloud (Cyborg)

Bold Lad

CHEPSTOW. December 27. 16f 110yds. Heavy.

Starts 13

LEOPARDSTOWN. December 28. 24f. Good.

UNACCOMPANIED b m 2007

74 LEXUS CHASE G1

1. LAST INSTALMENT (IRE) 6 ch g Anshan - Final Instalment (Insan) O-Gigginstown House Stud B-J O’Mahony TR-Philip Fenton 2. First Lieutenant (IRE) 6 ch g Presenting - Fourstargale (Fourstars Allstar) 3. Allee Garde (FR) 6 b g Kapgarde - Allee Du Port (Port Etienne)

LAST INSTALMENT ch g 2005

72 FUTURE CHAMPIONS JUVENILE HURDLE G1

Age 2-3

73 FORT LENEY NOVICE CHASE G1

Nearco Lady Angela Native Dancer Almahmoud Hail To Reason Lalun Forli Thong Hail To Reason Bramalea Carry Back Romantic Miss Beau Sabreur Snob Hill Golden Cloud Cellular

The great Sadler’s Wells made a tremendous impact on jump racing, both with his own progeny, such as Istabraq, Pridwell and Zaiyad, and via stallion sons of the calibre of Old Vic, King’s Theatre, Accordion and Oscar.

Even so, it was somewhat surprising that one of his regular visitors in the late 1990s and early 2000s was Mayasta, a Bob Back mare who had enjoyed her finest moments over hurdles. Mayasta gained the best of her five hurdle victories in 1996 and later confirmed her versatility by recording her second and third wins on the Flat and her first over fences. It no doubt helped that Mayasta carried the colours of John Magnier’s close associate JP McManus.

Mayasta’s covering in 2002, when Sadler’s Wells’s fee was in the region of IR£250,000, resulted in Synchronised. After winning the Midlands Grand National on only his fourth start over fences, Synchronised has recorded further victories in the Gr3 Welsh National and Gr1 Lexus Chase, having warmed up with a couple of hurdle races on each occasion.

Synchronised’s broodmare sire Bob Back was responsible for such good jumpers as Back In Front, Bacchanal, Thisthatandtother and Bobs Worth.

His second dam Sarahcee was a winning sister to Grangemore, dam of the successful juvenile hurdler Dail Eireann, and half-sister to Kathy Too, a champion juvenile filly in Ireland.

Danehill

Dermot Weld is no stranger to a bold approach to racing. Weld sent Go And Go to the US to land the 1990 Belmont Stakes for Moyglare Stud and Weld also took the 2002 Melbourne Cup with the Moyglarebred Media Puzzle. Perhaps it isn’t so surprising, then, that Weld and Moyglare are allowing Unaccompanied to continue her hurdling career, even though this expensively-bred filly now boasts a Listed victory among her three wins from six starts on the Flat.

Their boldness continues to reap rich rewards. Unaccompanied was winning for the fourth time in six starts – and her second time at Gr1 level when she took advantage of her 7lb sex allowance and her Flat speed to defeat the hot favourite Thousand Stars in the Festival Hurdle.

Unaccompanied’s dam Legend Has It, who was sold by Moyglare Stud for €42,000 at Goffs in 2009, won three times, including twice over a mile and a half. Unaccompanied’s third dam is Moyglare’s famous mare Talking Picture, America’s champion juvenile filly of 1973.

Talking Picture was a regular visitor to the American Triple Crown winner Affirmed, producing the 1988 Irish 1,000 Guineas winner Trusted Partner and three other stakes winners, plus Unaccompanied’s second dam Magical Cliché. Trusted Partner visited Unaccompanied’s grandsire Danehill to produce the top filly Dress To Thrill.

She also visited Sadler’s Wells to produce Ladbroke Hurdle winner Archive Footage.

Unaccompanied is by 2009’s champion sire Danehill Dancer, a stallion not associated with National Hunt. Among the few exceptions are Lightning Strike, winner of a Gr2 novices’ hurdle. Unaccompanied is one of Danehill Dancer’s 113 foals out of Sadler’s Wells mares, others being the Gr3 winners Chrysanthemum and Danehill Music.

76 CHALLOW NOVICES’ HURDLE G1

75 ISTABRAQ FESTIVAL HURDLE G1 LEOPARDSTOWN. December 29. 16f. Soft.

NEWBURY. December 31. 21f. Soft.

1. UNACCOMPANIED (IRE) 5 b m Danehill Dancer - Legend Has It (Sadler’s Wells) O-Moyglare Stud Farm B-Moyglare Stud Farm Ltd TR-DK Weld 2. Thousand Stars (FR) 8 gr g Grey Risk - Livaniana (Saint Estephe) 3. Oscars Well (IRE) 7 b/br g Oscar - Placid Willow (Convinced)

1. FINGAL BAY (IRE) 6 b g King’s Theatre - Lady Marguerrite (Blakeney) O-Mrs RJ Skan B-J Kinsella TR-Philip Hobbs 2. Ballyrock (IRE) 6 b g Milan - Ardent Love (Ardross) 3. Double Ross (IRE) 6 ch g Double Eclipse - Kinross (Nearly A Hand)

Age 3-4

Age 5

Starts 12

Wins 7

Places 3

Earned £173,215

Starts 5

Wins 5

Places 0

Earned £56,941

91

Feb_90_databook_Leader 19/01/2012 09:32 Page 92

DATA BOOK STAKES RESULTS

National Hunt Grade Ones FINGAL BAY b g 2006 Northern Dancer Sadler’s Wells

Fairy Bridge

KING’S THEATRE b 91 Princely Native Regal Beauty Dennis Belle Hethersett

Blakeney LADY MARGUERRITE b 91

Windmill Girl Busted

Butosky

Patosky

Nearctic Natalma Bold Reason Special Raise A Native Charlo Crafty Admiral Evasion Hugh Lupus Bride Elect Hornbeam Chorus Beauty Crepello Sans Le Sou Skymaster Los Patos

The much-missed King’s Theatre ended 2011 in pole position in the race to become champion sire for 2011/12, with his son Fingal Bay maintaining his unbeaten record in the Gr1 Challow Hurdle on New Year’s Eve. This exciting prospect has now won four Graded races from only four starts over hurdles, having started his career with a win in a National Hunt Flat race.

Fingal Bay should eventually prove suited to three miles. His dam, Lady

Marguerrite, is by Blakeney, a Derby winner who also finished an honourable second in the Ascot Gold Cup. King’s Theatre’s sire Sadler’s Wells had some smart performers out of Blakeney mares, including the Derby second Tamure and the Great Voltigeur Stakes winner Sea Wave.

Other Blakeney mares enjoyed Classic success with User Friendly, Sir Percy and Shemaka.

Fingal Bay’s second dam Butosky, a middle-distance winner by the stamina

influence Busted, was a half-sister to the smart sprinter Crews Hill and to that fine broodmare Pato. Pato found fame as the dam of the Yorkshire Oaks and Prix Vermeille winner My Emma, and the St Leger and Gold Cup winner Classic Cliché.

My Emma was by Marju, who also sired the 2011 Cheveley Park Stakes winner Lightening Pearl from this family. Lady Marguerrite also visited Marju, to produce the useful staying chaser Oodachee.

National Hunt Graded races Date Dec 02 Dec 03 Dec 03 Dec 04 Dec 04 Dec 08 Dec 09 Dec 10 Dec 10 Dec 10 Dec 10 Dec 10 Dec 10 Dec 11 Dec 11 Dec 11 Dec16 Dec 16 Dec 18 Dec 18 Dec 26 Dec 26 Dec 26 Dec 27 Dec 27 Dec 27 Dec 27 Dec 27 Dec 28 Dec 28 Dec 29

Grade G2 GrB GrB G3 GrC G2 G3 G2 G2 G2 G3 G2 GrC G3 G2 G3 G2 G2 G2 G2 G2 G2 G3 G3 G2 G2 GrB GrB G2 G3 G3

Race (course) Winter Novices’ Hurdle (Sandown Park) Ballyhack H Chase (Fairyhouse) Bar One Racing H Hurdle (Fairyhouse) Bar One Racing Juvenile Hurdle (Fairyhouse) Batterstown H Chase (Fairyhouse) Peterborough Chase (Huntingdon) Majordomo Hospitality H Chase (Cheltenham) Bristol Novices’ Hurdle (Cheltenham) International Hurdle (Cheltenham) Relkeel Hurdle (Cheltenham) Spinal Research Atlantic4 Gold Cup Chase (Cheltenham) Summit Juvenile Hurdle (Doncaster) Proudstown H Hurdle (Navan) Cork Stayers Novice Hurdle (Cork) Hilly Way Chase (Cork) Lombardstown Novice Chase (Cork) Kennel Gate Novices’ Hurdle (Ascot) Noel Novices’ Chase (Ascot) Future Champions Pro-Am Flat Race (Navan) Tara Hurdle (Navan) UAE Embassy Juvenile Hurdle (Leopardstown) Greenmount Park Novice Chase (Limerick) Rowland Meyrick H Chase (Wetherby) Welsh National (Chepstow) Desert Orchid Chase (Kempton Park) Wayward Lad Novices’ Chase (Kempton Park) Paddy Power H Chase (Leopardstown) Tim Duggan Memorial H Chase (Limerick) Christmas Hurdle (Leopardstown) Dorans Pride Novice Hurdle (Limerick) ITBA Fillies Scheme Mares Hurdle (Leopardstown)

Dist 20f 17f 16f 16f 29f 20.5f 25.5f 24f 17f 20.5f 21f 16.5f 23f 24f 16.5f 17f 16f 19f 16f 20f 16f 19.5f 25f 29.5f 16f 16f 24f 19.5f 16f 24f 20f

Horse Fingal Bay (IRE) Lastoftheleaders (IRE) Staying Article (IRE) Sam Bass (IRE) Smoking Aces (IRE) Gauvain (GER) Shakalakaboomboom (IRE) Deireadh Re (IRE) Grandouet (FR) Oscar Whisky (IRE) Quantitativeeasing (IRE) Royal Bonsai (GB) Powerstation (IRE) Corbally Ghost (IRE) Golden Silver (FR) Knockfierna (IRE) Molotof (FR) Zaynar (FR) Don Cossack (GER) Zaidpour (FR) His Excellency (IRE) Sir Des Champs (FR) According To Pete (GB) Le Beau Bai (FR) Finian’s Rainbow (IRE) Sprinter Sacre (FR) Cross Appeal (IRE) Seabass (IRE) Voler La Vedette (IRE) My Murphy (IRE) Our Girl Salley (IRE)

Age 5 8 6 3 7 9 7 5 4 6 6 3 11 4 9 6 4 6 4 5 3 5 10 8 8 5 5 8 7 5 6

Sex G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G M G G G G G G G G G G G G M G M

Sire King’s Theatre Supreme Leader Definite Article Alhaarth Old Vic Sternkoenig Anshan Old Vic Al Namix Oscar Anshan Val Royal Anshan Central Park Mansonnien Flemensfirth Smadoun Daylami Sholokhov Red Ransom King’s Best Robin Des Champs Accordion Cadoudal Tiraaz Network Cape Cross Turtle Island King’s Theatre Presenting Carroll House

Leading National Hunt sires 2011/12 by earnings Name

King’s Theatre Oscar Beneficial Flemensfirth Anshan Presenting Accordion Milan Old Vic Kayf Tara Definite Article Sadler’s Wells Bob Back Cadoudal Barathea Alderbrook Saddlers’ Hall Pistolet Bleu Village Star Overbury Norwich Daylami Montjeu Dr Massini Great Palm Galileo Alflora Cape Cross Witness Box Luso Dom Alco Alhaarth Shantou Saint des Saints Karinga Bay Al Namix Bach Winged Love Grand Plaisir Sir Harry Lewis Turtle Island

YOF

1991 1994 1990 1992 1987 1992 1986 1998 1986 1994 1992 1981 1981 1979 1990 1989 1988 1988 1983 1991 1987 1994 1996 1993 1989 1998 1989 1994 1987 1992 1987 1993 1993 1998 1987 1997 1997 1992 1989 1984 1991

Sire

Sadler’s Wells Sadler’s Wells Top Ville Alleged Persian Bold Mtoto Sadler’s Wells Sadler’s Wells Sadler’s Wells Sadler’s Wells Indian Ridge Northern Dancer Roberto Green Dancer Sadler’s Wells Ardross Sadler’s Wells Top Ville Moulin Caerleon Top Ville Doyoun Sadler’s Wells Sadler’s Wells Manila Sadler’s Wells Niniski Green Desert Lyphard Salse Dom Pasquini Unfuwain Alleged Cadoudal Ardross Linamix Caerleon In The Wings Darshaan Alleged Fairy King

Rnrs

146 229 217 209 99 227 79 176 158 101 113 64 85 14 33 73 84 21 1 64 40 35 62 75 49 46 111 21 62 86 17 34 31 10 96 4 53 55 5 49 44

Wnrs

44 43 58 52 25 36 20 43 41 33 22 20 21 3 7 15 20 6 1 17 7 8 19 13 7 11 21 9 15 13 8 13 11 5 21 4 9 15 4 12 5

%WR

30.1 18.8 26.7 24.9 25.3 15.9 25.3 24.4 26.0 32.7 19.5 31.3 24.7 21.4 21.2 20.6 23.8 28.6 100.0 26.6 17.5 22.9 30.7 17.3 14.3 23.9 18.9 42.9 24.2 15.1 47.1 38.2 35.5 50.0 21.9 100.0 17.0 27.3 80.0 24.5 11.4

Races

61 55 72 70 37 48 26 57 56 44 30 25 26 6 10 18 23 8 2 24 9 12 20 16 10 13 25 13 20 16 11 16 17 6 24 6 18 19 4 17 8

AWD

19.8 19.0 19.1 19.7 21.0 20.5 19.6 19.7 19.9 20.7 20.7 19.0 19.8 23.3 17.2 19.8 21.8 21.0 24.0 19.3 17.7 17.2 18.5 18.3 17.6 18.6 19.7 18.9 20.9 22.1 20.0 18.8 18.6 17.8 19.3 18.7 20.2 20.5 24.9 22.6 17.3

Earnings (£)

639,688 591,844 565,264 518,397 517,407 486,566 448,753 430,812 398,338 349,216 312,013 272,913 269,871 257,366 243,217 237,258 229,493 219,489 216,064 206,479 202,250 193,485 192,929 179,987 172,038 169,040 168,159 164,679 162,789 158,397 153,688 150,617 148,063 141,185 135,312 133,288 130,370 121,866 120,332 118,111 111,811

Top horse

Voler La Vedette Big Zeb Mount Benbulben Muirhead Quantitativeeasing First Lieutenant Blazing Tempo Raya Star Royal Reveille Carruthers The Real Article Synchronised Boston Bob Long Run Overturn Groody Hill Giles Cross Sizing Europe Kauto Star Stewarts House Moon Dice Brampour Noble Prince Fosters Cross Great Endeavour Celestial Halo Arthurian Legend Cross Appeal Havingotascoobydo Blazing Beacon Grands Crus Sam Bass De Valira Quito de la Roque Royale’s Charter Grandouet Ongenstown Lad Cannington Brook West End Rocker Restless Harry Seabass

Earned (£)

88,254 77,047 36,940 53,508 89,005 50,909 141,793 90,769 38,797 89,705 83,319 88,197 47,552 81,880 169,018 75,677 27,366 113,124 216,064 57,246 140,330 98,995 37,931 43,103 93,420 71,124 20,178 108,129 17,695 24,651 47,230 32,129 35,323 84,052 11,426 99,059 33,952 22,574 56,437 29,451 35,582

Dam Lady Marguerrite Heather Breeze Sejour Super Trouper Callmartel Gamina Tia Maria Donaghmore Lady Virginia River Ash Baloo Mazuma Bonsai Mariaetta Classic Lin Gold Or Silver Garden Town Memorial Zainta Depeche Toi Zainta Road Harbour Liste En Tete Magic Bloom Dame Blonde Trinity Gale Fatima III Hadeb Muscovy Duck Steel Grey Lady Fine De Claire Lenmore Lisa

Broodmare Sire Blakeney Lord Americo Bob Back Nashwan Montelimar Dominion Supreme Leader Orchestra Indian River Phardante Mazaad Woodman Mandalus Linamix Glint Of Gold Un Desperado Homme De Loi Kahyasi Konigsstuhl Kahyasi Rodrigo De Triano Video Rock Full Of Hope Pampabird Strong Gale Bayolidaan Unfuwain Moscow Society Roselier Teenoso Phardante

Index 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 100 101 102 103 104 105 106 107

A case of ‘as you were’ for NH boys The more things change, the more they stay the same. Exactly a year ago the jump sires’ table was led by King’s Theatre from Flemensfirth, Presenting, Oscar, Beneficial and Anshan.

This time the same horses, in slightly different order, are chasing the same leader, who succumbed to colic last June. All of them except the long-dead Anshan have had more runners, to a degree because of fewer cancellations through the weather.

Three fine successes in a row give Voler La Vedette star status among King’s Theatre’s progeny but there is plenty more ammunition for him.

Presenting’s earnings are lower than usual but that will change, given his offspring’s strength in depth. It is, after all, early days. Milan in eighth is beginning to make his presence felt, and Carruthers has helped Kayf Tara, whose winners to runners ratio is the best of any of the leading group.

Statistics to December 31

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DATA BOOK EXCLUSIVE EUROPEAN STALLION STATISTICS

Leading sires in Europe by earnings Name

YOF

1998 1996 1988 2000 1996 1999 2002 1993 1993 2002 1999 1997 2000 2000 Holy Roman Emperor 2004 Verglas 1994 Cape Cross 1994 Slickly 1996 King’s Best 1997 Sinndar 1997 Oratorio 2002 Selkirk 1988 Hurricane Run 2002 Intikhab 1994 Refuse To Bend 2000 Acclamation 1999 Footstepsinthesand 2002 Diktat 1995 Medicean 1997 Kingsalsa 1996 Dubai Destination 1999 Anabaa 1992 Singspiel 1992 Muhtathir 1995 Anabaa Blue 1998 Big Shuffle 1984 Monsun 1990 Tiger Hill 1995 One Cool Cat 2001 Even Top 1993 Lando 1990 Hawk Wing 1999 Elusive City 2000 Whipper 2001 Shirocco 2001 Kyllachy 1998 Halling 1991 Aussie Rules 2003 Dynaformer 1985 Beat Hollow 1997 Sakhee 1997 Kheleyf 2001 Green Tune 1991 Motivator 2002 Peintre Celebre 1994 Choisir 1999 Gold Away 1995 Galileo Montjeu Lomitas Oasis Dream Dansili High Chaparral Dubawi Danehill Dancer Pivotal Shamardal Rock Of Gibraltar Invincible Spirit Dalakhani Exceed And Excel

Sire

Sadler’s Wells Sadler’s Wells Niniski Green Desert Danehill Sadler’s Wells Dubai Millennium Danehill Polar Falcon Giant’s Causeway Danehill Green Desert Darshaan Danehill Danehill Highest Honor Green Desert Linamix Kingmambo Grand Lodge Danehill Sharpen Up Montjeu Red Ransom Sadler’s Wells Royal Applause Giant’s Causeway Warning Machiavellian Kingmambo Kingmambo Danzig In The Wings Elmaamul Anabaa Super Concorde Konigsstuhl Danehill Storm Cat Topanoora Acatenango Woodman Elusive Quality Miesque’s Son Monsun Pivotal Diesis Danehill Roberto Sadler’s Wells Bahri Green Desert Green Dancer Montjeu Nureyev Danehill Dancer Goldneyev

Rnrs

294 190 81 237 226 194 162 214 203 148 183 277 143 194 161 228 228 111 190 103 216 130 126 118 181 204 141 145 189 123 191 98 145 136 99 151 117 176 186 5 125 190 159 117 122 185 127 102 49 110 97 183 117 130 102 158 94

Wnrs

114 80 43 106 100 65 77 85 107 76 77 116 42 79 71 88 96 45 67 36 93 56 53 49 83 83 57 45 73 51 80 39 49 48 44 58 52 59 73 2 48 67 54 47 38 84 55 42 23 60 43 69 45 54 43 65 34

%WR

38.78 42.11 53.09 44.73 44.25 33.51 47.53 39.72 52.71 51.35 42.08 41.88 29.37 40.72 44.1 38.6 42.11 40.54 35.26 34.95 43.06 43.08 42.06 41.53 45.86 40.69 40.43 31.03 38.62 41.46 41.88 39.8 33.79 35.29 44.44 38.41 44.44 33.52 39.25 40 38.4 35.26 33.96 40.17 31.15 45.41 43.31 41.18 46.94 54.55 44.33 37.7 38.46 41.54 42.16 41.14 36.17

Races

159 130 70 161 146 103 119 135 158 120 115 169 63 134 119 145 130 68 94 60 140 83 81 83 144 125 102 78 120 83 119 59 78 79 70 84 82 83 128 6 71 110 96 82 53 139 82 63 31 105 65 116 64 71 63 109 49

AWD

10.9 11.9 10.7 7.5 9.8 10.4 8.9 9.1 8.0 8.5 9.2 7.5 10.7 6.5 8.0 8.4 9.4 10.1 9.1 12.5 9.0 9.4 10.3 8.4 9.1 7.0 8.1 8.3 9.0 9.3 9.2 9.6 10.2 9.8 10.1 8.1 11.2 10.4 7.9 10.8 9.9 9.8 7.1 8.9 10.5 6.5 11.0 9.2 11.4 10.2 9.3 6.9 10.8 10.5 10.6 7.0 10.3

Earnings (£)

7,330,234 4,058,664 3,140,382 3,111,465 3,002,773 2,760,631 2,565,974 2,554,270 2,435,196 2,204,258 2,192,703 2,183,515 2,092,900 1,989,004 1,980,043 1,732,612 1,731,823 1,665,513 1,657,381 1,614,575 1,594,968 1,554,554 1,498,457 1,470,021 1,452,873 1,441,435 1,435,873 1,414,626 1,385,614 1,258,780 1,230,688 1,226,406 1,223,922 1,217,444 1,188,744 1,168,326 1,164,471 1,155,677 1,144,743 1,144,497 1,139,346 1,137,316 1,119,203 1,109,828 1,093,873 1,064,888 1,050,289 1,040,371 1,031,712 1,028,828 997,139 982,159 976,219 971,746 967,673 958,990 954,544

SH

40 25 8 24 30 12 34 25 19 21 21 21 13 15 14 9 17 9 13 4 12 16 14 5 3 15 8 7 17 6 8 2 8 3 3 11 21 11 6 1 8 5 7 11 8 11 7 8 7 7 8 6 4 13 7 8 3

%

13.6 13.2 9.9 10.1 13.3 6.2 21.0 11.7 9.4 14.2 11.5 7.6 9.1 7.7 8.7 4.0 7.5 8.1 6.8 3.9 5.6 12.3 11.1 4.2 1.7 7.4 5.7 4.8 9.0 4.9 4.2 2.0 5.5 2.2 3.0 7.3 18.0 6.3 3.2 20.0 6.4 2.6 4.4 9.4 6.6 6.0 5.5 7.8 14.3 6.4 8.3 3.3 3.4 10.0 6.9 5.1 3.2

SW

19 18 2 13 18 7 17 11 8 12 13 7 6 10 7 2 5 3 9 2 4 6 10 2 2 9 4 3 6 2 3 1 5 1 1 4 10 6 2 1 2 3 3 3 3 6 2 4 3 5 4 1 1 4 5 4 0

%

6.5 9.5 2.5 5.5 8.0 3.6 10.5 5.1 3.9 8.1 7.1 2.5 4.2 5.2 4.4 0.9 2.2 2.7 4.7 1.9 1.9 4.6 7.9 1.7 1.1 4.4 2.8 2.1 3.2 1.6 1.6 1.0 3.5 0.7 1.0 2.7 8.6 3.4 1.1 20.0 1.6 1.6 1.9 2.6 2.5 3.2 1.6 3.9 6.1 4.6 4.1 0.6 0.9 3.1 4.9 2.5 0.0

Leading sires of two-year-olds 2011 by earnings Name

Holy Roman Emperor Acclamation Rock Of Gibraltar Oasis Dream Galileo *Dutch Art Dansili Clodovil *Dark Angel Exceed And Excel Kheleyf Oratorio *Excellent Art *Teofilo *Red Clubs *Hat Trick Choisir Dubai Destination Bahamian Bounty Street Cry Invincible Spirit Whipper Kyllachy *Lawman Kodiac High Chaparral Zamindar Blu Air Force Intikhab Gold Away

YOF

2004 1999 1999 2000 1998 2004 1996 2000 2005 2000 2001 2002 2004 2004 2003 2001 1999 1999 1994 1998 1997 2001 1998 2004 2001 1999 1994 1997 1994 1995

Sire

Danehill Royal Applause Danehill Green Desert Sadler’s Wells Medicean Danehill Danehill Acclamation Danehill Green Desert Danehill Pivotal Galileo Red Ransom Sunday Silence Danehill Dancer Kingmambo Cadeaux Genereux Machiavellian Green Desert Miesque’s Son Pivotal Invincible Spirit Danehill Sadler’s Wells Gone West Sri Pekan Red Ransom Goldneyev

Rnrs

97 87 70 65 83 58 55 53 69 68 74 76 63 56 75 1 57 55 31 40 64 40 45 45 39 29 48 41 18 39

Wnrs

37 37 23 19 24 32 20 23 30 24 27 25 24 18 32 1 19 21 7 18 23 14 24 18 20 4 17 18 8 9

%WR

38.1 42.5 32.9 29.2 28.9 55.2 36.4 43.4 43.5 35.3 36.5 32.9 38.1 32.1 42.7 100.0 33.3 38.2 22.6 45.0 35.9 35.0 53.3 40.0 51.3 13.8 35.4 43.9 44.4 23.1

Races

49 56 31 26 29 48 26 33 50 36 43 35 33 22 52 5 29 27 10 26 27 20 35 23 25 9 20 35 12 13

AWD

6.5 6.1 7.2 6.2 7.6 6.0 6.7 6.6 6.1 5.7 6.2 7.8 6.6 7.0 6.2 6.2 6.2 7.2 5.8 7.4 6.5 7.2 5.7 7.0 5.8 7.5 7.5 6.4 6.6 7.7

Earnings (£)

898,605 864,082 827,477 725,180 580,810 580,797 529,612 525,013 498,466 475,396 447,479 441,275 433,414 425,414 405,091 396,965 383,364 377,006 366,809 356,251 347,495 334,571 327,698 324,417 310,875 304,249 303,224 301,582 298,986 297,384

Top horse

Mehdi Lilbourne Lad Samitar Power Maybe Caspar Netscher Fire Lily Coupe de Ville Lily’s Angel Best Terms Vladimir Cherry Collect Hazel Lavery Parish Hall Vedelago Dabirsim Strategic Game Family One Bogart Lyric Of Light Pimpernel Topeka Dragon Pulse Loi Seanie Tai Chi Zantenda Blu Air Bally Tell Dad Louve Rouge

Five stallions break the £3m barrier With few pickings available in December the earnings table saw no changes in order among the top 15 sires. Perhaps the most notable achievement was Dansili’s reaching £3 million, which meant five sires had breached that figure.

A few strands can be brought together. With three of the top six sired by him, Sadler’s Wells maintained his status as the outstanding stallion and sire of stallions in the modern era in Europe, but Danehill also proved a point. He had six sons in the leading 21.

The influence of Northern Dancer remains predictably prodigious.

Sixteen of the top 20, including all those referred to above, are descendants of his. Only two – Dubawi and King’s Best – trace to Mr Prospector.

Galileo is unlikely to surrender his crown in a hurry. He covered around 580 mares between 2009 and 2011 and, with resultant huge crops annually, he must be a short price to have 300 runners in a season some time soon. He wasn’t far off last year with 294. This made him a clear leader but inevitably reduced his percentage of stakes winners, to 6.5%.

He was tenth in that division, a remarkable performance given the mountain his number of runners gave him to climb.

Emperor rules Earned (£)

141,222 162,833 264,341 284,539 229,657 143,399 165,057 297,533 84,274 115,417 58,194 101,031 76,431 213,223 106,808 396,966 85,927 196,560 269,492 136,946 54,958 86,293 95,078 52,241 64,849 209,478 74,388 46,946 247,615 71,853

Dutch Art came with a great rattle consisting of four winners to level the score with Red Clubs on 32 among the first-season sires, the pair two clear of Dark Angel.

In stakes winners neither could match Teofilo, who had four, or Excellent Art on three. Encouragingly, the freshmen of 2011 include a fair number who should make the grade in following seasons. The overall champion was Holy Roman Emperor, who took over in front in September.

With Banimpire from his first crop also in his team it is not surprising his fee has risen from €10,000 to €12,500.

Intriguingly, his stakes winners percentage was lower than all the others in the top seven sires of juveniles, with one exception: Galileo.

*first-season sire; statistics to December 31

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DATA BOOK LISTINGS OF EVERY WORLDWIDE GROUP OR GRADED STAKES WINNER

Global Stakes Results Date Grade Argentina 17/12 G1 17/12 G1 17/12 G1 17/12 G1 25/12 G2 18/12 G2 04/12 G2 16/12 G3

Race

Dist

Horse

G. P. Joaquin Anchorena-Int. Antiacido G. P. Carlos Pellegrini - Internacional G.P. Felix de Alzaga Unzue Internacional G.P. Copa de Plata - Int. R. V. Mansilla Clasico Invasor Clasico Uberto F Vignart Clasico Los Criadores Clasico Republica Oriental del Uruguay

8.0f 12.0f 5.0f 10.0f 7.0f 6.0f 10.0f 8.0f

Thunder One (ARG) Expressive Halo (ARG) Dona Ley (ARG) La Laguna Azul (ARG) Dreamer Emperor (ARG) Hauswagen (ARG) Dixie Ready (USA) Come Into (ARG)

Expressive Halo had scored only once in seven outings since his triumph in the GP Nacional (Derby) in November 2010. Furthermore, his only attempt on turf had resulted in a moderate 13th in that year’s Carlos Pellegrini – admittedly run on soft ground. Yet he was the one who found the resources to claim the 2011 edition of the great race. The Brazilian fouryear-old Anakin set a strong pace before steadying it at halfway, at which point he was leading from Val Champ, Inter Milano, Star Runner and Expressive Halo. Val Champ took over early in the straight but was challenged

by Star Runner more than a furlong Australia 03/12 31/12 17/12 17/12 31/12 31/12 26/12 10/12 10/12 03/12

G1 G2 G2 G2 G3 G3 G3 G3 G3 G3

GR Kingston Town Classic Golden River DVL Perth Cup Landscape Development C B Cox Stakes Inglis Villiers Stakes Good Guys B J McLachlan Stakes Channel Seven Vo Rogue Plate Summer Cup Channel 7 George Moore Summer Stakes Sir Ernest Lee Steere Classic A J Scahill Stakes

Trainer Neville Parnham’s decision to attempt to revitalize Playing God with a holiday and visits to the beach proved

from home. Juan Carlos Noriega brought the 20-1 Expressive Halo down the outside to catch them both entering the final furlong. He held the late thrust of recent Derby Paulista winner Veraneio (Signal Tap) by a short head, with the improving Veni Veni, who rallied strongly after being outpaced early in the straight, one length behind. Veni Veni, who was bred by his Argentine owners in Kentucky, is likely to join Expressive Halo in the field for the GP Latinoamericana which will be run over an extended mile and a quarter on dirt at Palermo on March 10.

The Chilean-owned but Argentinetrained La Laguna Azul will probably 9.0f 12.0f 10.5f 8.0f 6.0f 6.5f 12.0f 6.0f 7.0f 7.0f

Playing God (AUS) Western Jewel (AUS) God Has Spoken (AUS) Monton (AUS) Driefontein (AUS) Punch On (AUS) Yulalona (AUS) Adebisi (AUS) Night War (AUS) Grand Nirvana (AUS)

inspired as the five-year-old belied odds of 18-1 to land his second successive Kingston Town Stakes. Playing God ran

Age

Sex

3 4 3 3 4 6 5 3

C C F F C H M F

Sire

Dam

Broodmare Sire

Thunder Gulch (USA) Halo Sunshine (USA) Orpen (USA) Orpen (USA) Emperor Jones (USA) Housebuster (USA) More Than Ready (USA) Honour And Glory (USA)

Palmtin (ARG) Embrace Moi (ARG) Dona Polenta (ARG) La Laguna Verde (ARG) Sonadora Fitz (ARG) Ilusamente (ARG) Dixie Jewel (USA) Come Out (ARG)

Cautin (ARG) Ride The Rails (USA) Candy Stripes (USA) Candy Stripes (USA) Fitzcarraldo (ARG) Interprete (ARG) Dixieland Band (USA) Romanov (IRE)

fill another of the six places reserved for the home country in that peripatetic event after proving far too good for her 13 opponents in the Copa de Plata.

She shot to the front after a furlong, was soon four lengths up and came home an untroubled three lengths in front of Catch The Mad (Catcher In The Rye), who had chased her for most of the way.

La Laguna Azul was completing a double for Orpen, who was already on the scoreboard thanks to the speedy Dona Ley. Racing up the middle of the course in a field of 16, Dona Ley took over with more than a furlong to run and was pushed out to hold the late 4 5 5 5 2 3 4 4 3 6

G M H G F F G C F G

Blackfriars (AUS) Jeune (GB) Blackfriars (AUS) Catbird (AUS) Fastnet Rock (AUS) Tiger Hill (IRE) Dubai Destination (USA) Shovhog (AUS) General Nediym (AUS) Scenic

challenges of In The Shot, Armas e Flores – both of whom had been drawn on the wide outside – and The New Yorker in a four-way photo. Julio Cesar Mendez did not appear to be hard on her but she swished her tail several times in the final 50 yards. Dona Ley was completing a five-timer and winning her second consecutive Group 1.

There’s a chance that she could be among the field for the King’s Stand Stakes in June.

The 33-1 Thunder One produced a strong run from the back to catch the hard-ridden Flowing Rye (Catcher In The Rye) and Key Decision in the final 50 yards.

Dolly Will Do (AUS) Our Millster (AUS) Dolly Will Do (AUS) Dynamic Flyer (AUS) Follow Gold (AUS) School Blue (AUS) Klamath Falls (USA) Hell For Leather (AUS) Samar (AUS) Paradise Park (AUS)

some excellent races in defeat in Melbourne in September and early October, but then lost his form badly

Rubiton (AUS) Marooned Rubiton (AUS) Marauding (NZ) Export Price (FR) Geiger Counter (USA) Storm Cat (USA) Sanction (AUS) Secret Savings (USA) Bletchley Park (IRE)

and beat only two horses home on his return to Western Australia in the Railway Stakes on November 19.

Brazil 1/12 11/12 03/12 17/12

G2 G2 G2 G3

Grande Premio Consagracao G. P. Almirante Marques de Tamandare C. Pres.Jose Bonifacio Coutinho Nogueira Grande Premio Natal

14.0f 12.0f 12.0f 9.0f

Viewfinder (BRZ) Uno Amore Mio (BRZ) Desejo Infinito (BRZ) Jeca (BRZ)

3 4 3 4

C C F C

Wild Event (USA) Signal Tap (USA) Nedawi (GB) Inexplicable (USA)

Querenca (BRZ) Namoradinha (BRZ) Felicidade-Bela (BRZ) Volition (BRZ)

Spend A Buck (USA) Royal Academy (USA) Notation (USA) Ghadeer (FR)

Canada 04/12

G3

Valedictory Stakes

14.0f

Eagle Poise (USA)

5

H

Empire Maker (USA)

Reams of Verse (USA)

Nureyev (USA)

Chile 17/12 02/12 17/12 15/12 01/12

G1 G1 G2 G3 G3

Premio St Leger-Cristal Premio Las Oaks - Carlos Hirma A Premio Seleccion de Velocistas Premio Alfredo L Jackson Handicap P. General Jose Miguel Carrera Verdugo

11.0f 10.0f 5.0f 9.5f 9.0f

Amani (CHI) La Haina (CHI) Marques de Bradomin (CHI) Contralmirante (CHI) Paso de Jama (CHI)

3 3 5 3 6

F F H G H

Morning Raider (IRE) Milt's Overture (USA) Edgy Diplomat (USA) Camp David (USA) Dushyantor (USA)

Just Fine (CHI) Lady Frontier (CAN) Coqueta (CHI) Orquidea Blanca (CHI) Edina (CHI)

Doneraile Court (USA) Mining (USA) Domineau (USA) Milt's Overture (USA) Golden Voyager (USA)

La Haina, 59-1 when runner-up to Maria Morena in the Polla de Potrancas in September, had progressed sufficiently to start third favourite when gaining a Classic of her own in Las Oaks. She is the fifth foal by Milt’s Overture (Dynaformer) out of Lady Frontier but the others were sprinters. It Hong Kong G1 11/12 G1 11/12 G1 11/12 G1 11/12

Cathay Pacific Hong Kong Vase Cathay Pacific Hong Kong Cup Cathay Pacific Hong Kong Sprint Cathay Pacific Hong Kong Mile

Dunaden showed remarkable toughness and speed in equal measure to land the Hong Kong Vase for trainer Mikel Delzangles and owner Pearl Bloodstock just six weeks after his Melbourne Cup triumph. Ed Dunlop’s Red Cadeaux, who had been inched out by Dunaden in Australia, found the

94

was only her third success in 12 tries and the form of the leading fillies on turf has been patchy. Huaso Celebre (Peintre Celebre), who beat La Haina and Llena de Fuego in the Paddock Stakes, waited for the GP Coronacion at the end of the year. Llena de Fuego went on to run La Haina to one and a 12.0f 10.0f 6.0f 8.0f

Dunaden (FR) California Memory (USA) Lucky Nine (IRE) Able One (NZ)

ground on the fast side but still covered himself in glory to fare best of the three British runners, dead-heating for third.

The result provided some degree of compensation for jockey Craig Williams, who missed the winning Melbourne Cup ride because of suspension.

quarter lengths in Las Oaks but it was that day’s third, Indy Station, who beat them all at the end of December. Huaso Celebre ran third, La Haina fourth and Llena de Fuego only eighth of nine.

Amani was much too good for the colts in the St Leger, scoring by five and three-quarter lengths from the 5 5 4 9

H H G G

Nicobar (GB) Highest Honor (FR) Dubawi (IRE) Cape Cross (IRE)

unfortunate Quick Casablanca. Beaten only once in 11 appearances for Marco Pavez, Amani has now joined Neil Drysdale in California. Will Quick Casablanca ever win again? He has run seven times since his winning debut, all in Group races, and has been second six times, four of them Group 1s.

La Marlia (FR) Kalpita (USA) Birjand (GB) Gardenia (NZ)

Lucky Nine, who was known as Luck Or Design when racing for Andrew Oliver in Ireland as a two-yearold, looks likely to take over from the disappointing Sacred Kingdom as Hong Kong’s top speedster following a narrow success in the Sprint. As has become normal in this event, the

Kaldounevees (FR) Spinning World (USA) Green Desert (USA) Danehill (USA)

Europeans were well beaten, with Bated Breath doing best in eighth.

In the Cup, two more European imports, California Memory (who raced as Portus Blendium in France) and Irian, filled the first two spots, in front of the Waldemar Hickst-trained German raider Zazou. The local

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DATA BOOK

favourite, Ambitious Dragon, was only fourth, one place in front of Champion Stakes hero Cirrus des Aigles.

Japan 25/12 18/12 11/12 04/12 17/12 03/12 24/12 18/12 11/12 10/12 03/12

G1 G1 G1 G1 G2 G2 G3 G3 G3 G3 G3

Arima Kinen Asahi Hai Futurity Hanshin Juvenile Fillies Stakes Japan Cup Dirt Hanshin Cup Sports Nippon Sho Stayer's Stakes Radio Nikkei Hai Nisai Stakes Aichi Hai The Capella Stakes Chunichi Shimbun Hai Naruo Kinen

Orfevre is set to try and improve upon the placed efforts of Nakayama Festa and Deep Impact in next autumn’s Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe after he wrapped up Horse Of The Year honours when completing a six-timer in the Arima Kinen. Orfevre, who had already landed the colts’ Triple Crown, beat the 2010 New Zealand G1 26/12 G1 03/12 G2 26/12 G2 26/12 G2 10/12 G2 10/12 G2 03/12 G3 17/12 G3 17/12 G3 10/12

G2 G3 G3

South Africa G1 17/12 G1 03/12 G2 17/12 G2 10/12 G2 04/12 G2 03/12 G3 17/12 G3 04/12

Orfevre (JPN) Alfredo (JPN) Joie de Vivre (JPN) Transcend (JPN) San Carlo (JPN) Meiner Kitz (JPN) Adam's Peak (JPN) Fumino Imagine (JPN) Keiai Gerbera (JPN) Cosmo Phantom (USA) Red Davis (JPN)

Derby winner Eishin Flash by threequarters of a length, with his Yasutoshi Ikee-trained stablemate, To The Glory, third for the second year running. Many of the 115,000-strong crowd stayed on after racing to watch the retirement ceremony of the Japan Cup winner Buena Vista, who this time could 10.0f 8.0f 8.0f 8.0f 8.0f 12.0f 6.0f 11.5f 7.0f 8.0f

Shez Sinsational (NZ) Mufhasa (NZ) Knight's Tour (AUS) Planet Rock (AUS) Lady Kipling (NZ) Dawn Ghost (NZ) Durham Town (NZ) Cassini (AUS) Justanexcuse (NZ) Zurella (NZ)

McKee hopes to take his top level tally into double figures with February’s Waikato Draught Sprint, which he has already won twice, an obvious target for early 2012.

Victory went to 66-1 veteran Able One, who would have been favourite for the race 12 months earlier but for being 3 2 2 5 5 8 2 5 5 4 3

C C F H H H C M M C G

Stay Gold (JPN) Symboli Kris S (USA) Deep Impact (JPN) Wild Rush (USA) Symboli Kris S (USA) Chief Bearhart (CAN) Deep Impact (JPN) Manhattan Cafe (JPN) Smarty Jones (USA) Stephen Got Even (USA) Agnes Tachyon (JPN)

Oriental Art (JPN) Princess Camellia (JPN) Biwa Heidi (JPN) Cinema Scope (JPN) Diva (JPN) Takara Kanna (JPN) Singhalese (GB) Shinko Imagine (USA) Anna Sterz (USA) Southern House (IRE) Dixie Jazz (JPN)

manage only seventh, one place in front of the Dubai World Cup hero Victoire Pisa.

But Buena Vista’s blood lives on in the shape of her half-sister Joie de Vivre (by Deep Impact), who carried off the nation’s top two-year-old event, the Hanshin Juvenile Fillies, and is a leading 4 7 3 3 4 6 4 6 5 3

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Ekraar (USA) Pentire (GB) Reset (AUS) Fastnet Rock (AUS) Savabeel (AUS) Pyrus (USA) Falkirk (NZ) Reset (AUS) No Excuse Needed (GB) Zabeel (NZ)

withdrawn at the start and is a miracle of veterinary science having recovered from five separate stress fractures.

candidate for the 2012 Classics.

The colts’ equivalent continued the stellar form of Australian Craig Williams, who guided the favourite, Alfredo, to a comfortable two-length triumph.

Transcend, runner-up to Victoire Pisa in the Dubai World Cup, landed the Japan Cup Dirt for a second time.

Original Sin (NZ) Sheila Cheval (NZ) Hestia (GB) Akris (NZ) Akela (NZ) Lucadore (NZ) Durham Walk (NZ) Mathematical (NZ) Aggressive (NZ) Doneze Girl (NZ)

Shez Sinsational is beginning to live up to her name and the daughter of Ekraar has the Melbourne Cup on her long term radar after escaping from a pocket on the inside to beat the front-

Mejiro McQueen (JPN) Sunday Silence (USA) Caerleon (USA) Tony Bin Crafty Prospector (USA) Soccer Boy (JPN) Singspiel (IRE) Dixieland Band (USA) Danzig (USA) Paris House (GB) Tony Bin

Shinko King (IRE) Mi Preferido (USA) Machiavellian (USA) Zabeel (NZ) Al Akbar (AUS) Wild Rampage (AUS) Marju (IRE) Honor Grades (USA) Val Dansant (CAN) Volksraad (GB)

running favourite, Veyron, by a length and a half in the Zabeel Classic. She has already been to Australia, getting placed in both the Derby and Oaks in Queensland last June.

Clasico Hipodromo de Monterrico Clasico Jose Rodriguez Razzeto Clasico Cesar A del Rio Suito

12.0f 8.5f 10.0f

Peyback Manning (USA) Paijan (USA) Signada (USA)

3 4 3

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Repent (USA) Mingun (USA) Borrego (USA)

Claudia's Type (USA) Countus Affair (USA) Up And Above (CAN)

Forest Wildcat (USA) Black Tie Affair Mt Livermore (USA)

Cape Premier Yearling Sales Guineas Avontuur Estate Cape Fillies' Guineas WPOTA Diadem Stakes Calulo Services Premier Trophy Mike de Kock Stables Ipi Tombe Challenge Tony Taberer Southern Cross Stakes Victress Stakes The Racing Association Magnolia Handicap

8.0f 8.0f 6.0f 9.0f 8.0f 5.0f 9.0f 5.5f

Variety Club (SAF) Princess Victoria (SAF) What A Winter (SAF) Chesalon (SAF) Igugu (AUS) Val de Ra (SAF) Super Elegant (SAF) Jackodore (SAF)

3 3 4 4 4 5 3 3

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Var (USA) Victory Moon (SAF) Western Winter (USA) Fort Wood (USA) Galileo (IRE) Var (USA) Daylami (IRE) Toreador (IRE)

La Massine (SAF) Platinum Princess (SAF) Waseela (IRE) Sarabande (SAF) Zarinia (IRE) Minelli (SAF) Pacific Gem (SAF) I'm Alright Jack (SAF)

Secret Prospector (USA) Rakeen (USA) Ahonoora Goldmark (SAF) Intikhab (USA) Elliodor (FR) Model Man (SAF) Shoe Danzig (USA)

Champion juvenile Princess Victoria attempted to become the first filly for 20 years to pull off the Cape Guineas double. But, having beaten Trinity United States G1 31/12 G1 26/12 G1 17/12 G1 10/12 G2 26/12 G2 04/12 G2 26/12 G2 26/12 G2 26/12 G2 26/12 G3 31/12 G3 10/12 G3 03/12 G3 02/12 G3 02/12

12.5f 8.0f 8.0f 9.0f 7.0f 18.0f 10.0f 10.0f 6.0f 10.0f 9.0f

Zabeel Classic Westbury Stud Captain Cook Stakes Northern Guineas Eight Carat Classic Cal Isuzu Lady Norrie Stakes Waikato Times Gold Cup The Aussie Butcher Concorde Handicap Hotel Coachman Manawatu Cup Manawatu Harcourts Challenge Stakes Ezibuy Eulogy Stakes

Seemingly better than ever at the age of seven, Mufhasa took his career tally to eight Group 1 wins with a comfortable length and a quarter Captain Cook Stakes success. Trainer Stephen Peru 18/12 17/12 26/12

British visitors Cityscape and Dubawi Gold both ran extremely well in the Mile, finishing second and fourth.

La Brea Stakes Malibu Stakes Cashcall Futurity Hollywood Starlet Stakes Sir Beaufort Stakes Bayakoa Handicap Kentucky Jockey Club Stakes Remsen Stakes Citation Handicap W L McKnight Handicap Mr Prospector Stakes Sugar Swirl Stakes Native Diver Handicap Tropical Turf Handicap La Prevoyante Handicap

The Factor bounced back from a couple of poor performances, including when eighth in the Breeders’ Cup [BC] Dirt Mile, when making most of the running to give trainer Bob Baffert his first Malibu Stakes triumph in front of a bumper 44,500 Boxing Day crowd at

House (the only horse to have previously beaten her, on her debut) by a length and a quarter in the Fillies Guineas she had to settle for third 7.0f 7.0f 8.5f 8.5f 8.0f 8.5f 8.5f 9.0f 8.5f 12.0f 6.0f 6.0f 9.0f 9.0f 12.0f

Teddy's Promise (USA) The Factor (USA) Liaison (USA) Killer Graces (USA) Mr Commons (USA) Ellafitz (USA) Gemologist (USA) O'Prado Again (USA) Jeranimo (USA) Musketier (GER) Apriority (USA) Pomeroys Pistol (USA) Kettle Corn (USA) Silver Medallion (USA) Casablanca Smile (CHI)

Santa Anita. Other BC runners did not back up so well.

Turbulent Descent, favourite when only fifth in the BC Filly & Mare Sprint, ran flat to be sixth behind 16-1 Teddy’s Promise in the La Brea Stakes.

Weemissfrankie, who posted a solid

THOROUGHBRED OWNER & BREEDER INC PACEMAKER

behind Variety Club in the colts’ equivalent.

Variety Club, who scored by over three lengths, has a couple of British 3 3 2 2 3 4 2 2 5 9 4 3 4 3 5

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Salt Lake (USA) War Front (USA) Indian Charlie (USA) Congaree (USA) Artie Schiller (USA) Tiznow (USA) Tiznow (USA) El Prado (IRE) Congaree (USA) Acatenango (GER) Grand Slam (USA) Pomeroy (USA) Candy Ride (ARG) Badge of Silver (USA) Ocean Terrace (USA)

connections as he is trained by Jack Ramsden’s son, Joey, and is by Clive Brittain’s 2004 Prix de l’Abbaye winner Var.

Braids And Beads (USA) Greyciousness (USA) Galloping Gal (USA) Heatherdoesntbluff (USA) Joustabout (USA) Skat Girl (USA) Crystal Shard (USA) Leh She Run (USA) Jera (USA) Myth And Reality (GB) Midway Squall (USA) Prettyatthetable (USA) Somethingbeautiful (USA) Another Vegetarian (USA) Periza (CHI)

third-placed effort in the BC Juvenile Fillies, blew the Hollywood Starlet Stakes with a stumble at the start. This left Killer Graces to overturn her Sharp Cat Stakes placings with Charm The Maker and prevail by half a length.

The CashCall Futurity is the

Capote (USA) Miswaki (USA) Victory Gallop (CAN) Old Trieste (USA) Apalachee (USA) Dixieland Band (USA) Mr Prospector (USA) Pulpit (USA) Jeblar (USA) Linamix (FR) Storm Bird (CAN) Point Given (USA) Lil E Tee (USA) Stalwart (USA) Sadlers Congress

corresponding juvenile colts’ event to the Starlet and this saw Baffert unearth an early Triple Crown contender in the form of Liaison, who chiseled out a neck victory over Rousing Sermon a week after his sire, Indian Charlie, sadly succumbed to cancer.

95

Feb_90_Flashback_v2_Owner 19/01/2012 09:38 Page 96

FLASHBACK

February 2, 1997 Danoli and Tommy Treacy sail clear of Jodami over the last in the Hennessy Cognac Gold Cup at Leopardstown

CAROLINE NORRIS

D

anoli allied toughness with ability and a never-say-die attitude that made him one of the most popular NH horses to emerge from Ireland in the last 20 years.

Trained by Tom Foley in Bagenalstown, County Carlow, Danoli’s courage was not only shown on the track with 17 victories – including six Grade 1s – but in the operating room, as he fought back from a fractured fetlock to score at the highest level.

First announcing his brilliance in the Sun Alliance Novices’ Hurdle at the

96

1994 Cheltenham Festival, Danoli went on to win two Martell Aintree Hurdles, a Hatton’s Grace Hurdle and a Denny Gold Medal Novice Chase.

His 1997 Hennessy Cognac Gold Cup triumph, achieved under novice status, came against a field that included two previous winners, triple scorer Jodami (1993, 1994 and 1995) and Imperial Call (1996), both with a Cheltenham Gold Cup triumph on their cv.

Danoli, trying three miles for the first time, was always prominent under Tommy Treacy. When favourite Imperial

Call cracked after the second last, it was left to 12-year-old Jodami to throw down the final challenge, but he could get only to within a length and half of the local hero at the line. Imperial Call (also in shot above) was 20 lengths back in third.

Danoli, named after owner Dan O’Neill and his daughter Olivia, won only once more and retired in 2000.

“He is a horse we'll hardly ever see the like of again,” Foley said of Danoli, who was put down in 2006 aged 18 after suffering a severe bout of colic.

THOROUGHBRED OWNER & BREEDER INC PACEMAKER

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Darley OB Feb 2012_Darley OB Feb 2012 18/01/2012 14:28 Page 1

A new wind is blowing...

Three G1 colts and nine Group or Stakes horses in his first crop.

Many more big improvers among his second-crop juveniles.

Among all European sires, only Galileo has more three-year-olds on the World Thoroughbred Rankings.

Shirocco has as many high-ranking performers as Dubawi, Shamardal and Dansili, including G1 St Leger second Brown Panther, rated behind only Masked Marvel and Japanese Triple Crown winner Orfevre among three-year-old stayers; the fiercely brave G1 Preis von Europa second Ibicenco; G2 Prix Noailles winner Grand Vent; and German G2 winner Arrigo who was second in the G1 Gran Premio del Jockey Club.

Great things to come: They could all go on again at four – after all, Shirocco did, retiring as the highest-rated horse in the world.

Plus 2012 three-year-olds include very highly-rated G2 Rockfel fourth Bana Wu, Derby entrants for Luca Cumani and Roger Varian, and impressive Newbury winner Shirocco Star.

+44 (0)1638 730070 +353 (0)45 527600 www.darleystallions.com

SHIROCCO Monsun – So Sedulous (The Minstrel) £7,000 Oct 1, SLF.

Darley