Thoroughbred Owner Breeder by The Owner Breeder

£5.95 NOVEMBER 2019 ISSUE 183

Perfect partners Jonjo O’Neill jnr making his mark with dad’s backing

PLUS

David Armstrong

Bold vision for UK courses

First foals

Sires set for sales test

Matt Cumani

Loving life in Australia

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www.theownerbreeder.com

25/10/2019 17:21

Bated Breath 2007 b h Dansili - Tantina (Distant View)

The best value sire of blacktype winners in Europe in 2019

Expert Eye 2015 b h Acclamation - Exemplify (Dansili)

The Breeders’ Cup Mile Gr.1 winner with 2YO brilliance

Frankel 2008 b h Galileo - Kind (Danehill)

The fastest sire to 35 Group winners in history with 14% Group winners to runners

Kingman 2011 b h Invincible Spirit - Zenda (Zamindar)

The brilliant miler transferring his talent to his progeny

Oasis Dream 2000 b h Green Desert - Hope (Dancing Brave)

Europe’s most consistent source of Gr.1 speed

Contact Shane Horan, Claire Curry or Henry Bletsoe

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

Pictured - Expert Eye

Welcome

Notable name can bring both opportunity and pressure

Editor: Edward Rosenthal Bloodstock Editor: Nancy Sexton Luxury Editor: Sarah Rodrigues Design/production: Thoroughbred Group Editorial: First Floor, 75 High Holborn, London WC1V 6LS Tel: 020 7152 0209 Fax: 020 7152 0213 editor@ownerbreeder.co.uk www.theownerbreeder.com Twitter: @OwnerBreeder Equine Advertising: Giles Anderson/ Anna Alcock UK: 01380 816777 IRE: 041 971 2000 USA: 1 888 218 4430 advertise@anderson-co.com Luxury/Fashion Advertising: Nick Edgley Tel: 07774703491 nedgley@nemediaworld.com Subscriptions: Keely Brewer Tel: 020 7152 0212 subscriptions@ownerbreeder.co.uk

Thoroughbred Owner Breeder can be purchased by non-members at the following rates: 1 Year 2 Year UK £60 £100 Europe £90 £150 RoW £120 £195 Thoroughbred Owner Breeder 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 Our monthly average readership is 20,000 Racehorse Owners Association Ltd First Floor, 75 High Holborn, London WC1V 6LS Tel: 020 7152 0200 info@roa.co.uk • www.roa.co.uk 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

£5.95 NOVEMBER 2019 ISSUE 183

Perfect partners Jonjo O’Neill jnr making his mark with dad’s backing

PLUS

David Armstrong

Bold vision for UK courses

First foals

Sires set for sales test

Matt Cumani

Loving life in Australia

www.theownerbreeder.com

Nov_183_Cover.indd 1

Cover: Jonjo O’Neill jnr celebrates after winning on JP McManus’s Palmers Hill, trained by his father Jonjo O’Neill, at Cheltenham in November 2018 Photo: George Selwyn

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Edward Rosenthal Editor

25/10/2019 17:21

onjo O’Neill jnr is one of the most promising young talents in the weighing room and will be hoping to land the conditional title this season as he takes the next step in what could be a long and fulfilling career as a National Hunt jockey. As the son of a man regarded as a legend in the sport, who was associated with some of the greatest hurdlers and chasers of all time, there must be a certain degree of pressure to perform at the level expected by both professionals and public alike, who immediately associate his name with topgrade success. Yet if being the younger Jonjo has its drawbacks, there are many advantages, too, especially when your father handles one of the most powerful NH strings in the country. The trainer will supply the jockey with plenty of opportunities this term and with some heavyweights having retired from the saddle in recent years, it’s a good time to be making your own headlines. As Chris Cook discovers (The Big Interview, pages 42-47), Jonjo snr is relaxed about his son’s choice of day job, despite the numerous – and often quite terrible – injuries he sustained during his own riding career. “I was never horrified about it at all,” he states. “I’ve had a great life with racing, riding and training. I wouldn’t put anyone off it. I wouldn’t recommend it to anybody but if you do it, I’ll give you all the help I can. “It is a dangerous game. There aren’t many jobs where you go round with ambulances behind you. But when you’re doing it, you don’t take any notice of that, you don’t even see them. “You’re just focussed on what you’re doing and trying to outwit the other jockey, trying to win it any way you can.” As for the younger man, he is using his name as an incentive to be the best jump jockey he can be. “Obviously you want to be good at it, but I don’t feel pressure,” Jonjo jnr says. “It’s

something to work towards.” Another man working towards his own goals is Matt Cumani, featured in this month’s Around The Globe section (pages 32-35). Like O’Neill jnr, Cumani also has a famous father, in his case a man not long retired from the training ranks. Luca Cumani won the Derby twice and a host of other top international races, which sets the bar very high for his son. Matt has decided to start his training career in Australia, or Ballarat, Victoria to be more precise, which was where Darren Weir was based before his four-year disqualification for cheating. While he is happy in his surroundings, he understands the power of his surname

“Jonjo O’Neill jnr will be given the chance to make his own headlines” in a country where his father twice finished second in the showpiece Melbourne Cup and his sister, Francesca, is regarded as an outstanding broadcaster. “It does bring more pressure on the business, because people expect success. I feel like our stable is looked on in the same regard as stables that have been around ten or 12 years longer than us,” Cumani explains. “I feel like people would be surprised if we don’t have a lot of spring runners [during Melbourne’s key carnival racing] – the reality is we are only three years in and it’s too high an expectation. “It seems that at every level we have to exceed expectations to keep our name up there.”

THOROUGHBRED OWNER BREEDER

25/10/2019 18:46

Contents

November 2019

News & Views

International Scene

ROA Leader

View From Ireland

Maximising media rights

TBA Leader Rewarding the best is vital

7 8 10 22 24

Features At Longchamp and Ascot

Kings Fountain in 1991

With Jonjo O'Neill jnr and snr

Lifestyle and art

14 20

The Big Interview

Racing Life Explore the world of Lalique

Abel Cedillo and Matt Cumani on the up

From The Archives

Howard Wright New stewarding appointment

The Big Picture

Tony Morris Racing run to ruin

Menuisier's masterstroke

Around The Globe

Changes News in a nutshell

Continental Tales

News Anger over Towcester closure

Katy Brown's faith in youth

Talking To... 36

David Armstrong, CEO of the RCA

THOROUGHBRED OWNER BREEDER

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120

Features Foal Market Sires' first test at the sales

Breedersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Digest Bearstone's big day

Sales Circuit Terrific times at Tattersalls

Caulfield Files Inbreeding in the USA

Dr Statz Dansili's sensational sons

The Finish Line With Julian Dollar of Newsells Park Stud

Forum ROA Forum 52

TBA Forum 60

Days out for members

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Kingsley House Stables visit report

Vet Forum 62 84 112 120

Forum The Thoroughbred Club

Gold Standard Award winners revealed

'Kissing spines' in focus

90 100 108

Data Book European Pattern Results and analysis

114

Did you know? Our monthly average readership is

20,000 THOROUGHBRED OWNER BREEDER

25/10/2019 18:33

Join us as we celebrate those who have made racing throughout 2019. Secure your seat: roa.co.uk

THURSDAY 12 DECEMBER 2019 BLACK TIE AWARDS CHAMPAGNE RECEPTION THREE-COURSE DINNER

Royal Lancaster London Lancaster Terrace London W2 2TY

ROA Leader

Nicholas Cooper President

Changing the media rights model is our best bet A

s someone who has always believed the levy should be collected on the basis of turnover rather than gross profits, I was much intrigued by two items of news in recent weeks. One is that the two main racecourse media groups are seeking to change the system by which online betting operators pay for their racing pictures, from a ‘bet and watch’ model to one that is based on a small percentage of turnover on all online bets on British horseracing. The other is that the Levy Board has asked betting operators to clarify how they treat their numerous cash-back concessions to punters to ensure the levy legislation is being applied correctly, the implication being that this marketing spend gives bookmakers a way of avoiding paying some of their levy dues. Both subjects have obvious implications for prize-money. With the levy having fallen by £17 million in the last financial year and media rights income expected to continue to feel the chill wind of betting shop closures, it is crucial for racing that every effort is made to reverse the decline. The move on media rights is being driven by both Racecourse Media Group, which represents 34 racecourses including many of the major ones, and The Racing Partnership, representing the ARC racecourses and a number of small independents. There are important factors at play here. Betting is gradually moving online, irrespective of shop closures, and the margins operators bet to online are about half of those in shops. We must never forget, however, there is always a relationship between margins and turnover, so that if one goes down the other increases. The big online betting companies can give better prices to their punters because their turnover is greater and their costs lower, just as the internet giant Amazon can offer their customers a better deal because of the massive scale of their operation. Both Racecourse Media Group and The Racing Partnership will have to play a very astute game in the coming months, getting the principle of a turnover payment for their live pictures accepted without making horseracing pictures too expensive for the online betting operators. This emerging situation is not unlike how it was when racing established a proper pricing mechanism for live pictures in betting shops 12 years ago. Then it required Turf TV to play hardball with the bookmakers, with some shops even being without pictures, until the bookmakers eventually capitulated and a deal was reached. The Arena courses in particular are under pressure to make the new system work, as they well remember how quickly

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owners and trainers can withdraw their horses as a reaction to declining prize-money. While the media companies’ natural inclination is to maximise the percentage of turnover they receive, they must also acknowledge that if online punters have access to the great majority of racing pictures it would have the dual attraction of stimulating betting on horseracing and acting as a natural marketing tool for our sport. What is certain for racing is that we cannot let this opportunity pass, as turnover is the name of the game with online betting and we are stuck with the gross margin model for the levy for quite some time yet.

“Turnover is the name of the game with online betting; we cannot let this opportunity pass” In the meantime, we should take some cheer from indications that betting shop over-the-counter business on horseracing is picking up as a result of a proportion of FOBTs money now coming racing’s way. We must also recognise that when a betting shop closes, some of its business will gravitate to a nearby shop. This may provide cold comfort for the racecourse media groups, but it is good for the levy. All of this underlines the fact that our sport provides a perfect and socially acceptable betting medium – and if you can watch the race you are betting on, so much the better.

THOROUGHBRED OWNER BREEDER

25/10/2019 16:59

TAMAYUZ

K E Y F A C T S • Clas sic Grou sire of 4 in p1w inner dividual s. • Sire of MU STAS the G HRY ro the G up 1 Locki , winner o roup nge S f 2 ta both in 20 Challenge kes and 19 Stake s, • Oth er 20 1 9 s GAEL ucces IC s PREC CHIEFTAI es include N (Gr IEUSE ou (Grou p 3). p 2), • Car eer av era 8% B lack T ge of ype h orses to run ners.

MUSTASHRY wins the Group 1 Lockinge Stakes in 2019, beating several Group 1 winners, including Laurens, Accidental Agent, Romanised, Billesdon Brook, Lord Glitters, etc.

Derrinstown Stud Tamayuz_FP_Owner_Nov19.indd 1

t: +353 (0)1 6286228 e: info@derrinstown.com w: www.derrinstown.com

25/10/2019 14:15

TBA Leader

Julian Richmond-Watson Chairman

Rewarding those that reach the top is vital N

ot since the TBA published its Economic Impact Study of the thoroughbred breeding industry in September 2018 has there been a more important research initiative than the industry economic analysis being conducted for British racing by the management agency Portas Consulting. The last Economic Impact Study on British racing, carried out by Deloitte, was made public in 2013. Much has changed in the short time since then, and not all for the better. The work being done by Portas Consulting, a sports-based agency, is covering a wide spectrum. Since the purpose is to understand better the impact of changes to the fixture list and race programme, it is intended to allow everyone in the sport to assess the effect any specific decisions may make to behaviour and the finances of racing, using the best information available. I urge all TBA members to respond to the survey that was emailed a couple of weeks ago. It will take less than ten minutes to complete and the findings will be invaluable. Predicting behaviour among participants, present or future, is always difficult, as anyone involved with assessing and implementing breeders’ schemes will testify. It is not an exact science, but by creating the best research and assessments through workshops and forums, the racing industry will have an excellent chance of properly planning ahead for the sport. One of the main topics to be considered is the distribution of prize-money, as mentioned in last month’s edition of the magazine by Nicholas Cooper in his ROA Leader column. The inevitable result of having ‘too small a cake’ is that the issue causes a wide divergence of opinion among horsemen. Whatever the ambitions, there is no choice but to work with what is available. However, we have to be realistic and understand that the general level of prize-money in Britain is unlikely to rise substantially in the near future. So, there has to be agreement on how the money we have is divided between existing participants to best effect in order to produce a set of desired and agreed outcomes. This is where the essence of the sport over purely financial considerations comes into play. Every sport is founded on a strong aspirational element. Teams aim to progress up leagues or compete in knockout competitions that lead to finals, while athletes race for medals in a very structured system where there are no prizes for finishing fourth! British racing should contain the same aspirational element, which rewards each level for achieving more than the one below and ultimately properly remunerates those who reach the top. Thoroughbred racing in Britain is an important part of a

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global sport. The industry can be rightly proud of the very successful breeding and racing arena in which many of the world’s best horses compete. Any adjustment at the top end that threatens to make the sport less internationally competitive risks lowering the general standard of racing, thereby encouraging the best horses trained in Britain to race more often abroad. These are the very horses that generate public interest and create headlines for the sport, and so are vital to the promotion of racing going forward. It is already very noticeable that weekend race cards in Ireland and France are regularly populated at the higher end by British runners. While it is healthy to see these horses

“The aspirational aims of the sport would be at risk if we moved prize-money further down the scale” competing in Europe and around the globe, it would be disappointing if they did not also regularly appear in races at home to maintain the standard of those events in the Pattern. There will always be attractions to moving prize-money from the top to further down the scale. After all, there are many more horses at the bottom of the pyramid than at the top. But this approach risks rewarding mediocrity and setting back the aspirational aims of the sport. Breeders should always support a meritocratic system that rewards the best. That is the way to improve the breed and make sure that the best proven racehorses are tested against the best and are retained as stallions and broodmares. The sport needs to see these horses racing and being put to the test in Britain and being suitably rewarded for doing so.

THOROUGHBRED OWNER BREEDER

25/10/2019 17:28

News

Towcester in Northamptonshire has staged racing since 1876 but its 2020 fixtures have all been sold

End of the line for Towcester

owcester has sold its 2020 fixtures to Arena Racing Company, effectively signalling an end to racing at a venue that has hosted the sport since 1876. The sad news sees Towcester become the first course to cease operating since Folkestone and Hereford in 2012. ARC subsequently reopened Hereford, to widespread delight, but Folkestone, Kent’s only racecourse, remains shut. While point-to-points could take place at the Northamptonshire track and greyhound racing may return, Towcester’s loss from the professional racing ranks will be keenly felt, given

the unique test it provided and the type of horse it catered for. While diversity in the gene pool is a hot topic right now, diversity in turf racing is not exactly in rude health, with fears for business models at other tracks and the percentage of allweather fixtures now standing at 23% of the overall list. Towcester, which offered free admission to most fixtures, went into administration in August 2018 citing “trading difficulties”. It was later sold to Fermor Land LLP, a company linked to owner and racecourse Chairman Lord Hesketh. Racing professionals were quick to

express their dismay at news of the sale of its fixtures, with Sir AP McCoy, who rode his 4,000th winner there on Mountain Tunes in 2013, saying: “It’s sad for racing when something like this happens, and you have to worry about the whole business model of the sport when a track like Towcester is closed. “We must do better to make sure other tracks don’t end up going the same way. “It’s disappointing to see any track close and I’ll always have fond memories of Towcester for a great day on Mountain Tunes. It was a brilliant afternoon – Towcester has a great location, so a lot of people were able

New Katie O’Sullivan exhibition in London London’s Osborne Studio Gallery is hosting an exhibition by renowned equine artist Katie O’Sullivan this month. The solo show will feature 35 new works and includes paintings of outstanding mare Enable, now set to race on in 2020, and Whitsbury Manor Stud’s top stallion Showcasing (left). Among the collectors of O’Sullivan’s work are the Duke of Edinburgh and Lord and Lady Lloyd-Webber. ‘Katie O’Sullivan: Illuminations’ runs between November 6-28 at the Osborne Studio Gallery, Belgravia, London.

THOROUGHBRED OWNER BREEDER

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Stories from the racing world to come to the track, including Toby Balding, among many others, that day.” Trainers Gary Moore and Kim Bailey also expressed their disappointment at the news. Moore said: “It’s disgusting. There’s a shortage of right-handed tracks and the types of races that Towcester staged. It means other racecourses will put on more meetings that they probably can’t take. It was bad enough losing Folkestone, let alone Towcester.” Bailey, likewise quoted by the Racing Post, added: “It’s a monumental shame and a disgrace that it has closed. The business model of providing free entry was extraordinary in terms of trying to make money, and for me that was a turning point as it just could not have been sustainable. “It was a great course – it suited slow horses, but every horse is entitled to its day and Towcester gave an opportunity to many that perhaps may not have had one otherwise. There was always a good, friendly crowd. The locals will really miss it.” BHA Chief Operating Officer Richard Wayman remarked: “We are saddened to see the closure of Towcester, a beautiful racecourse which will undoubtedly have created fond memories for many racing fans and participants. “We had hoped, following the course going into administration in August 2018, that the new owners might find a solution which allowed for racing to resume at Towcester, and it is disappointing that has not proved possible.”

Yorton Farm’s Masterstroke Exciting young jumps sire Masterstroke has been recruited to stand at Yorton Farm Stud in 2020. The ten-year-old son of Monsun, successful at Group 2 level on the track, moves from Darley’s Haras du Logis in France, where he has been based since retiring from racing in 2013. From a wonderful family – dam Melikah is a half-sister to outstanding stallions Galileo and Sea The Stars – Masterstroke’s oldest runners are now four and they include a number of winners over jumps in France. At the inaugural Yorton Sale in September, held in association with Goffs UK, two sons of Masterstroke sold for £28,000 and £22,000. David Futter of Yorton Farm Stud said: “Masterstroke is a stallion we have been trying to secure for some time now and we are grateful to Darley for letting us purchase him. Bloodstock agent Richard Venn provided valuable input. “It is very difficult to acquire a stallion of Masterstroke’s calibre who ticks all the boxes that we like to see in a jump stallion. “He is the most wonderful looking horse with a great temperament, which is so important, and his pedigree could not be any better.”

Masterstroke: sure to prove popular with National Hunt breeders next year

New Tote owners optimistic over the future The UK Tote Group, formerly known as Alizeti, has completed its acquisition of the Tote from Betfred. With complete control of the poolbetting operation, the group is intent on revitalising the Tote, with its plans including a new website, new-look Ten to Follow competition and collaboration with overseas pool betting operators. In addition to paying the levy, the UK Tote Group has an agreement with Britbet, a partnership of 55 British racecourses, which will see the Tote contribute a minimum of £50 million to the sport over the next seven years. The UK Tote Group is backed by 160plus individual investors, the majority of whom are racehorse owners and breeders.

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Nicholas Cooper, President of the Racehorse Owners Association, said: “We are proud to be investors in the Tote. The ROA is here to support the interests of racehorse owners throughout the UK and we are delighted to see the Tote is now owned by people who care passionately about the future of British racing. “We believe a rejuvenated Tote will be of significant long-term benefit to the finances of British racing, which is a positive development for racehorse owners and the 85,000 people who work in the sport. We would encourage everyone in British racing to back the Tote.” Alex Frost, UK Tote Group Chief Executive, said: “This is the start of

an exciting new era for the Tote. Pool betting plays a leading role in racing jurisdictions around the world and we believe the Tote can play a similar role in the UK, while supporting and growing British racing in the years ahead. “The racing world has huge respect for British racing and we are very optimistic about its future. “As the new stewards of this iconic British institution, we are focused on remaining true to the founding principles of the Tote, while modernising the business to secure its future relevance.” He added: “I would like to personally thank Fred Done and his team at Betfred for their invaluable help over the last 18 months.”

THOROUGHBRED OWNER BREEDER

25/10/2019 17:50

Changes

Racing’s news in a nutshell

People and business

Musselburgh

Chester Race Company – which owns Chester and Bangor – will take over the running of the Edinburgh track.

Luca Cumani

Former trainer, who is now focusing on his Fittocks Stud business, joins the BHA board after being nominated by the ROA, among others.

National Gambling Helpline

Now available 24 hours a day, to mirror the round-the-clock availability of gambling.

Matthew Budden

Former Elite Racing man, who also worked for Axom and Biddestone Racing, joins the Highclere Thoroughbred Racing team.

Yorkshire Racing Club

Organisation winds down after three decades due to falling membership numbers.

Andrew Tulloch

Aintree’s Clerk of the Course will step down after 24 years in the role.

William Carson

Peter O’Sullevan House

The Injured Jockeys Fund’s newest facility in Newmarket is officially opened by Sir Anthony McCoy.

Grandson of Willie Carson receives sixmonth ban for failing a drug test, having admitted taking cocaine in March.

John Hammond MustardBet

Online bookmaker ceases trading less than three years after its launch.

Chantilly-based trainer who sent out the brilliant duo Suave Dancer and Montjeu will retire at the end of the season.

William Hill

New Chief Executive Ulrik Bengtsson overhauls senior management team, with Terry Pattinson and Paul Durkan leaving the company.

Betfred

Bookmaker’s owners are fined £322,000 for failing to adequately carry out checks on a customer who deposited stolen money.

Sky Bet

Bookmaker joins forces with Paddy Power Betfair in £10 billion monster merger.

Fergus Sweeney

Jockey who won the Group 1 Sprint Cup on Twilight Son retires from the saddle and will start a new career as a BHA steward.

Tony Williams

Goffs UK Managing Director is appointed Chief Executive of Aquis Stud Farm and will take up his new role on January 1.

Lizzie Kelly

Grade 1-winning rider breaks her arm in a fall at Exeter; she hopes to be back for the BetVictor Gold Cup meeting at Cheltenham.

THOROUGHBRED OWNER BREEDER

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November 2019

An eye for success

visit studlife online: tweenhills.com/studlife

WELL DONE, CHAMP! Big congratulations to Qatar Racing’s retained rider and all-round good guy Oisin Murphy whose talent and dedication saw him crowned 2019 Champion Jockey on another fantastic QIPCO British Champions Day. What a legend!

IT’S SIMPLE FOR FOAL The first foal out of St Leger and QIPCO British Champions Fillies & Mares Stakes winner Simple Verse will be offered by Tweenhills at the Tattersalls December Foal Sale. He is by Frankel and was born on January 31 – he’s a bit bigger now than in that photo!

NEW TO THE TEAM! Alice Thurtle Nominations and Marketing Tell us about yourself… I grew up in Norfolk surrounded by horses – as I’ve got older I’ve had more of an interest in Flat racing and bloodstock. I studied Equine Science and Thoroughbred Management at Oxford Brookes University and worked abroad including a year in Australia. Over the last two years I have been at the TBA in Newmarket in the role of Communications Executive.

Hobbies and interests… I’ve just spent a lot of time assembling flat-pack furniture in my new house! But aside from that the majority of my time is spent with horses – I’ve pinhooked a few Flatbred foals in recent years and we have a couple of National Hunt mares at home. I also have my own horse for hunting and show jumping.

A new challenge… I’ve just started at Tweenhills and am looking forward to being part of the team as well as working with some top-class thoroughbreds from around the globe such as Zoustar. I’m really looking forward to meeting all our breeders and being part of hospitality events such as the The Lion’s Den at the December Mares Sale, which will be fascinating.

Favourite racehorse… I feel like it’s too obvious but Enable! She is a phenomenal racemare and has an amazing public following. I watched her win her first King George at Ascot and it gave me goosebumps; the way she powered clear of a topclass field in the rain. It will be great to see her race again next year and then following her progeny.

ad rags? rful in their gl ames’s de on w ok lo g in at St. J ar R ac Don’t Team Qat eir way to Champions Dinner at A scot. T hey were on th e of QIPCO Champions Day Palace on the ev

45 children and pa Bloodstock of fice rents from T he Elms School in they went in! – we hope they wiped their feet vade the before

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

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23/10/2019 10:34

Changes

Racehorse and stallion

Movements and retirements

Inns Of Court

Fast son of Invincible Spirit, winner of this year’s Group 2 Prix du Gros-Chene, will join the Tally-Ho Stud roster for 2020.

Soldier’s Call

Group 2-winning three-year-old sprinter is retired and will join the stallion roster at Ballyhane Stud for the 2020 season.

Le Brivido

The Jersey Stakes winner is to commence stallion duties at Overbury Stud next year; his fee is set at £7,000.

Enable

Dual Arc winner set to return next year aged six after owner-breeder Khalid Abdullah decides not to retire his superstar mare.

Land Force

My Risk

Maxios

Night Of Thunder

Becomes the first son of high-flying sire No Nay Never to join the stallion ranks, with Highclere Stud standing him from 2020.

Blue-blooded son of Monsun is purchased by Coolmore and will stand under their National Hunt banner at Castlehyde Stud.

Laurens

Six-time Group 1 winner for owner John Dance and trainer Karl Burke is retired aged four with career earnings of £1,765,488.

People obituaries John Honeyball 85

Popular trainer renowned for his talent in managing difficult horses – one of his projects was none other than The Dikler.

Mary Bromiley 88

Hugely respected equine therapist who was a key part of Martin Pipe’s immense success, including with Carvill’s Hill.

Sire of five-time Grade 1 winner Sire De Grugy, and stallion No Risk At All, will relocate from Haras de Victot to Haras du Lion.

Breakthrough freshman sire will return to Kildangan Stud next year, having spent the past two seasons at Dalham Hall Stud.

First Eleven

Frankel half-brother to Kingman has been acquired from Juddmonte by Yeguada Torreduero in Spain for its stallion roster.

Eqtidaar

Last year’s Commonwealth Cup winner is retired and will start stallion duties for Shadwell at Nunnery Stud next year.

Animal Kingdom

Kentucky Derby winner and champion is sold to Japan Bloodhorse Breeders’ Association and will continue his stud career in Japan.

Gold Mount

Talented stayer for the Ian Williams stable is retired aged six after sustaining a leg injury in the Caulfield Cup.

Horse obituaries Wicklow Brave 10

Supremely versatile gelding whose 17 career wins included a Punchestown Champion Hurdle and an Irish St Leger.

Kutub 22

Globe-trotting multiple Group 1 winner for Godolphin who served at stud in Britain, Ireland and France.

THOROUGHBRED OWNER BREEDER

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25/10/2019 18:38

ULYSSES OF NOBLE DESCENT Both his sire, GALILEO, and his dam, LIGHT SHIFT, were Classic winners.

WITH HEROIC DEEDS Dual Group 1 winner of the Juddmonte International and Coral Eclipse Stakes. Defeated 21 individual Group 1 winners and was Timeform rated 130. 2

STUNNING FOALS FROM HIS FIRST CROP IN 2019

A LEGEND IN THE MAKING...

Colt ex Echelon, half brother to Gr.1 winner INTEGRAL

Filly ex Furbelow, half sister to Gr.1 winner ADVERTISE

Colt ex Mirror City, from the immediate family of KINGMAMBO

Filly ex Osipova, half sister to Gr.3 winner POSITIVE

Colt ex Fools In Love, half brother to Gr.2 winner SEAHENGE

Filly ex Heaven Sent, dam a Group winning full sister to triple Gr.1 winner MEGAHERTZ

D O N ’ T M I S S T H E M AT T H E U P C O M I N G F OA L S A L E S

Cheveley Park Stud Tel: +44 (0)1638 730316 • www.cheveleypark.co.uk • L@CPStudOfficial

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25/10/2019 14:18

The Big Picture

Waldgeist in wonderland She put up a brave fight in her bid to rewrite the history books and become the first horse to win the Arc three times, but after hitting the front with Frankie Dettori two furlongs out, Enable was unable to withstand the withering late thrust of Waldgeist, who under the irrepressible Pierre-Charles Boudot swamped her in the final 50 yards to break many hearts. For trainer Andre Fabre it was an incredible eighth Arc success, while Enable could yet win a third as she stays in training. Photo George Selwyn

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Qatar Prix de lâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Arc de Triomphe

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The Big Picture

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QIPCO British Champions Day

Magical’s moment She is one of the most consistent horses in training and Magical produced a typically gutsy performance to record her fourth win at the top level in the QIPCO Champion Stakes at Ascot. Trained by Aidan O’Brien and partnered by his son Donnacha, Magical saw off the challenge of mud-lover Addeybb to score by three-quarters of a length. The daughter of Galileo will be a fine addition to Coolmore’s broodmare band when she is retired from the racetrack. Photos George Selwyn

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The Big Picture

Kew Gardens and Donnacha Oâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Brien (left) deny Stradivarius and Frankie Dettori in the Long Distance Cup

The Queen presents Sean Levey with his prize after victory on King Of Change in the Queen Elizabeth II Stakes

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QIPCO British Champions Day

Catch this Star next year Anthony Oppenheimer’s homebred filly Star Catcher will stay in training next year – and why wouldn’t he want to enjoy this brilliant performer for another season? The daughter of Sea The Stars made it three Group 1 wins in 2019 with a thrilling victory over Delphinia in the Fillies & Mares Stakes, scoring by a short-head under Frankie Dettori. Photos George Selwyn

Donjuan Triumphant wins his ﬁrst Group 1 at the age of six in the Sprint Stakes under Silvestre de Sousa

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From The Archives

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Kings Fountain on November 16, 1991

Kings crowned as Bailey saddles one-two The 1991 edition of the H & T Walker Gold Cup, now run as the 1965 Chase, will always hold special memories for trainer Kim Bailey, for he was responsible for the first two home at Ascot that day, led by 7-2 shot Kings Fountain (second left), ridden by Anthony Tory. Kings Fountain took up the running five out and, while he clattered the third-last, he was clear turning in and went on to score by 15 lengths from stablemate Far Senior (fourth left). Tipping Tim (third left) came home third of the eight who set out. Bradbury Star unseated his rider at the first. Photo George Selwyn

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Tony Morris

Racing’s rulers would do well to heed Klarion call A recent article written by a former colleague in trainer Mark Johnston’s in-house publication criticised the decision-making by the sport’s governing body – and I agreed with every word

GEORGE SELWYN

egular readers of the Kingsley Klarion, the monthly in-house magazine from Mark Johnston’s stable, are used to reading Straight Talking, the aptly named column provided by the boss. In the latest issue they can find a second helping of strongly worded opinionated material, provided by guest columnist Martin Trew, who, 30-plus years ago, was a colleague of mine at the newly inaugurated Racing Post. What he has been doing since the end of the last millennium I have no idea, but his re-emergence as a commentator on the racing scene is welcome. His article appears under a comment that ‘his views are not necessarily those of Johnston Racing or the Kingsley Klarion.’ Well, that’s as maybe, but I have no qualms about saying that Trew’s views correspond with mine, just about 100 per cent. I can’t pretend to be able to verify some of the statistics he provides, but I suspect they are not far wide of the mark. I have no problem in agreeing with the essence of his article, which argues that the BHA has been a disaster for racing.

Magical wins the Champion Stakes at Ascot, which offers a different test to Newmarket’s straight course

I became passionate about racing as a 12-year-old kid, and at 18 I was working in Fleet Street, practising my passion as a journalist, attending the races from time to time. Can you imagine how thrilled I was to be in that position? I loved what was the world’s longest-established sport, was inspired by its traditions, and felt so privileged to be involved, even at my insignificant level as a Press Association employee who had to write anonymously. The sport was run by the Jockey Club, and it didn’t take me long to realise that they weren’t perfect. But around 1930 the highest courts in the land had said they didn’t want to adjudicate on the petty affairs that arose in racing, so they were content that the Jockey Club accepted responsibilty for settling issues in racing. Before I became professionally involved in the game I was aware of the fact that a small-time trainer had been warned off when a runner from his stable, complete outsider and last finisher in a selling race, had supposedly been doped. The allegation was, of course, absurd, but the rule had apparently been transgressed and the trainer held responsible. But the rule had been interpreted differently when one of Lord Rosebery’s horses was found to have been doped. The Earl offered a reward for identification of the miscreant, and there was never a chance that the trainer, old school establishment figure Jack Jarvis, would be held to account for the event. The Jockey Club looked after their own, and used their power indiscriminately. I came to learn quite quickly that meritocracy played no part in the acquisition of their positions in the ruling body. I had experiences with one Senior Steward that showed that for all his supposed military expertise, he was an idiot. We crossed swords twice, and for all my youth and inexperience, on both occasions I exposed his ignorance. I saw an example of Jockey Club justice at first hand. When a licensed individual was referred to Portman Square, the time and date of the occasion was revealed only to the Press Association, who would reveal the outcome to the rest of the news media. I was there on duty when a trainer, a good friend of mine, came up before the disciplinary panel, and the memory of how the ‘trial’ was conducted remains vivid. My PA colleague and I spent hours in a lobby along with the man whose livelihood was at stake, and who was compelled to plead his own case. Every once in a while the trainer was called in, then sent out again. Early in the proceedings he had a confident air, and joked that we pressmen were wasting our time, because at the end of it all, he would just provide a two-word comment, the second being ‘off.’ They had him in so many times, and he had been reduced to a nervous wreck by the time of the final grilling. When

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eventually dismissed, he did have to supply a word that went with ‘off’. It was ‘warned.’ Was the fellow guilty as charged? I truly have no idea, but the circumstances of the inquiry suggested that he had a case to answer, and the poor fellow was ill-prepared for a hearing at which he was denied legal representation. Of course, in time the Jockey Club’s justice system became much fairer, and its image was greatly enhanced through the election to the membership of individuals with relevant talents and roles to fill with passion and commitment. It had become a thoroughly admirable institution, replete with members who respected the traditions that had served the sport so well for two and a half centuries, by the time it made the shock decision to relinquish its control of racing and let some other body have a shot at it. Unfortunately, the Jockey Club made a catastrophic error of judgement after its purchase of Epsom Downs racecourse in 1994, moving the Derby, the sport’s precious prime asset, from Wednesday to Saturday. There was apparent logic in the switch to a weekend date, when – in theory, at least – more people might be able to attend, but the decision ignored the fact that other sports, some more popular than racing, were already major Saturday attractions.

“The scheme for racing on inner-city streets has the potential to damage racing irreparably” A mid-week Derby made the event special, as it had for a century and a half, virtually monopolising the coverage in newspaper sports pages, and ensuring that nobody could remain unaware of what was taking place at Epsom that day. On a Wednesday afternoon there was never competition from football, whereas every form of sport claimed attention on Saturday. If messing with the Derby was fair game, why not other targets? English racing had a unique event in the Champion Stakes, the only top-level race in the world contested over a straight mile and a quarter, and it had always been the stand-out feature of the autumn at Newmarket’s quickdraining course. What a clever idea to switch it to Ascot and run it over a turning track likely to resemble a bog! Martin Trew asserts that ‘since Frankie Dettori started riding in 1986, the number of race meetings held annually in Britain has soared from 900 to 1,500.’ If that is true, it confirms what I have long believed – there is an overwhelming preponderance of bad racing. No wonder we hear so much about poor prize-money; spread over 600 fewer meetings, it wouldn’t seem so bad, but I’m well aware that there is more to the issue than that might imply. But in the crazy environment that is 21st century British racing should we wonder that the title of champion jockey has been awarded on five occasions to a rider who has not partnered the highest number of winners in the season? And what about that scheme for racing on inner-city streets that has the potential to damage racing’s image irreparably? Let’s restore horsemen and horsewomen to positions of power and stop the recruitment of those who have little respect for the traditions that the true racing fan holds dear.

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25/10/2019 17:38

The Howard Wright Column

New Head of Stewarding arrives for the wacky races

reetings, Shaun Parker – welcome to the wacky world of racecourse stewarding, British style. Enticed from the National Horseracing Authority in his native South Africa to become the BHA’s Head of Stewarding from the middle of this month, he will find the environment entirely different from his previous experience in Britain, where some insiders will remember his brief spell as a stipendiary steward with the Horseracing Regulatory Authority. How times have changed, and not simply because he is joining the payroll of a different regulatory body. The whole stewarding system has been turned on its head, almost. Since Parker was last in Britain, Jamie Stier has been and gone as Chief Regulatory Officer, heading back to his roots in Australia, to be succeeded by his deputy Brant Dunshea, another Aussie. Spot the theme, which followed the ins and outs of Greg Nichols at the BHB and Paul Bittar at the BHA, and more recently the arrival of David Sykes. Perhaps the biggest certainty behind the appointment of a new Head of Stewarding, after the incumbent Paul Barton had handed in his notice in the summer of 2017, was that it would not come with an Australian accent, although that would never have been admitted publicly, maybe for fear of alerting the BHA’s own Diversity Group. Even so, Parker’s identification and acceptance suffered several bumps along a tortuous road. The job had to be readvertised, after a preferred candidate had apparently been identified, with Dunshea admitting the earlier attempt had “hit a hurdle”. Not so much fell at the first but refused, perhaps. The intervening period was also notable for controversy over fundamental changes to the stewarding system itself, which began on Stier’s drawing board and were then dropped into Dunshea’s lap with the impact of a hot potato. The plan seemed to be to adopt the concept of professional stewards, as practised in, where else, Australia, ditching the timehonoured British model of honorary amateur stewards being backed up by salaried stipendiaries. That went down like the proverbial with the unpaid masses, not least because when the wheeze was first announced in August 2018, two months after Stier’s exit, many claimed to have been unaware of what the BHA described as “an extensive consultation”. A new consultation forum, which did include volunteer stewards, was put together four months later. In the recently published BHA annual report for 2018, Chief Executive Nick Rust had the good grace to admit: “I know we could have communicated the changes better at the outset,” before adding, “people from across the sport are now working with us to make this a success.” Maybe so, but many extremely experienced and capable amateurs have been jettisoned along the way. The repercussions are still being felt, with one such unpaid, exasperated official having stood down only recently and another describing the amateur stewards’ panel chair, who now sits alongside the newly elevated, BHA-employed Chief Steward, as “a retirement job.” Perhaps, with Parker on his way and Rust also remarking in the annual report, “if we want to be seen as a leading sport,

we need refereeing and integrity processes and standards that match,” the time has come to grasp this particular nettle even more firmly by asking the plethora of professionals who now frequent the stewards’ room to work just a little harder for their living. The BHA could start by removing the futile obligation on trainers and jockeys to make, in the words of the rule, “post-race reports of matters materially affecting a horse’s performance”.

“Shaun Parker’s identification and acceptance suffered several bumps along a tortuous road” Fine if it involves facts that are not obvious to any competent race-reader, such as those employed by Raceform to provide comments for the Official Form Book as authorised by the BHA, but worthless if it means coming up with woolly, subjective or potentially misleading observations such as “ran too free,” “never travelling,” “ran greenly” or “unsuited by the going”. Better still, let’s make the professional stewards responsible for compiling detailed reports on the events of each race, as they do in Hong Kong. Come to think of it, that’s what happens in Australia. So, if it’s good enough for the Aussies…

The stewards’ box has a very different look to it these days

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By Jessica Lamb

Go-ahead Brown content for young riders to share the fizz

CAROLINE NORRIS

ookie trainer Katy Brown has spoken about the importance of helping the next generation as she reflected on a landmark season in her young career. The 29-year-old, originally from Yorkshire, has unearthed a stable star this summer in three-time hurdles winner Effernock Fizz and intends to test the three-year-old at the highest level this winter. Helping her do that is partner Danny Dunne plus a network of emerging riders Brown is happy to provide with opportunities, despite their inexperience. “If the jockeys come down and are willing to put the time in, then we will give them rides, and they will keep them if they do well on those horses,” she explained. “Siobhan Rutledge is one, she’s a great rider and great asset, giving great value for her 10lb claim. She tries hard and is getting on well with our Epaulette two-year-old On Tick. We gave David Simmonson, who claims 7lb, winners too, though he’s actually given up now, which is a shame.” She added: “We’re trying to get going and they are trying to get going, so along the way I hope we’re giving them a hand as they help us. “If Siobhan wins on a horse, I don’t care who wants to ride it next time, she will keep the ride – and I’m hoping we can give more young riders winners.” Even her best horse, Effernock Fizz, is ridden over hurdles by a 5lb claimer in Adam Short and she won on the Flat at Redcar in July under Simmonson. Brown is not afraid to go out in search of opportunities. By being so proactive, she recently landed a new owner whose breeding operation is based in Australia. “The colt On Tick, he’s been second twice and unlucky not to have won yet,” she said. “I emailed a couple of bloodstock agents and got in touch with Shayne Heffernan at Knightsbridge Bloodstock to see if he had any interest in buying him. Everyone seems to slate his sire Epaulette, and he said no, but asked what else we had.

Katy Brown with Secret Memories and jockey Killian Hennessy at Leopardstown “They have bought a filly by Ivawood from me. She has a nice pedigree, and looks like she’ll stay in time. Shayne was telling me that they don’t tend to breed a lot of stayers in Australia, as it’s mostly sprinting.” She added: “They have a few stallions and breed a lot of their own stock to race in Australia and the US. Now they are wanting to break into Europe and I’m lucky enough that they are going to give me an opportunity to get a few winners on the board for them. “It’s a great contact to have. When you’re a small fish in a big pond, you need to put yourself out there and find those kinds of opportunities. They don’t come to you otherwise.” This column previously featured Irish trainer Eddie O’Rourke, who said that

had he not relocated to Australia he would not have been able to get the breaks necessary to become a trainer. He highlighted the lack of opportunities available to those not as well off in cash and/or family connections, and the lower prize-money. In the same way that Heffernan, a successful breeder standing stallions at Larneuk Stud, was willing to give one of Ireland’s smallest and youngest training operations investment, so too was O’Rourke given a leg up by a big name in Australia. It bodes well for a young trainer trying to get going in one of the world’s most competitive racing scenes. “I always thought Ireland was known as the best racing centre in Europe,” said Brown. “It’s more competitive but the money is a lot better than in Britain.

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It’s hard when you have average horses, but everyone likes a challenge. “I’ve been here 11 years now and the thoughts of moving back to England would be scary, uprooting and starting again. We have a great team here, from friends and family, to farriers and dentist.” The main gripe Brown has about training in Ireland is the ground, which has seen her travel to Britain in search of suitable races more than once. “In Ireland it’s hard to get proper good ground,” she explained. “They like watering the tracks here and nine out of ten times, they water then it rains.” Brown does not hail from rich stock but has grown up ingrained in racing. Her father Joey rode on the Flat for Ian Balding and for Sheikh Mohammed in Dubai, while mother Rachel worked as a racing secretary for trainer Sue Smith. She moved to Ireland for “a change of scenery” and began training two and a half years ago in Carlow, moving to Allen Grange Stables on the Curragh last summer. Effernock Fizz joined the team soon afterwards, but was not an immediate success. “She came to us last August, and the first day she ran, she hung violently to the left,” recalled Brown. “We ran her at Dundalk next time, and she was fourth, but that was the highlight. “We always thought a lot of this filly, she was able to work over anything we had, but we couldn’t seem to get anything out of her on the racetrack. We tried everything; we checked her teeth, her feet, got the chiropractor in, and then as a last resort we got the vet in.” The vet discovered Effernock Fizz suffered from sinus problems, which would have been affecting her

breathing. She was treated and by the following spring her days of finishing last were over. Switched to front-running tactics and over hurdles, she won a maiden at Tipperary by 15 lengths, then a Wexford novice by more than three. Her third win came over nine furlongs at Redcar, and the fourth was back over hurdles at Bellewstown – by four lengths – but Brown believes her best run came in August, when she finished second to subsequent Group 3 winner Kastasa. That rival won again next time out in a valuable handicap on Irish Champions Weekend, which did not go to plan for Effernock Fizz.

“It’s very hard for a small trainer like me to get recognition” Brown said: “She met trouble twice not long after jumping out of the stalls. She likes everything to be right and enjoys making the running, but we went and tried. She’s a better hurdler than a Flat horse, but somewhere down the line she’ll win a big Flat race.” She added: “She’s not the easiest filly to train, she’s a one-person horse. Daniel, my partner, does absolutely everything and you can’t change anything with her.” Brown saw improvement in the filly following a break since that run at

Leopardstown and began looking ahead to next spring, where the Cheltenham Festival could beckon. The Mares Hurdle, or even the Champion Hurdle, could be a target. “The four-year-old novice hurdle at Leopardstown at Christmas is the first aim,” she said. “They have a great drainage system, and it normally ends up yielding at worse. If she handles Cheltenham in October, then we might pick out a race at the Festival to go for. “I’m tempted to make an entry in the Champion Hurdle, because it looks like it’s going to be won by a novice with Espoir D’Allen out, and Faugheen retired. It should be a smaller field and might suit better.” Brown’s view of Effernock Fizz’s ability has not matched that of the racing press, and she feels that this is a reflection of her own inexperience in the training ranks, rather than her horse’s potential. “She’s probably one of the smartest juvenile fillies around, and I’m lucky at this stage in my career to be training her,” she said. “Every race she seems to go for they are criticising and calling it a modest race. “The filly won a maiden hurdle by 15 lengths, she backed it up in a novice hurdle, and at Bellewstown. She was fifth at Bellewstown, too, but the ground was tacky and therefore it didn’t suit.” She added: “It’s very hard for a small trainer like me to get recognition, because it’s as if my horses don’t deserve to be winning races. “The way I look at it is if she never did another thing, she’s done enough. Every time she runs she’s a force to be reckoned with.”

More moves to give chances to lesser lights Ireland’s auction hurdle series is to be complemented by a new set of auction bumpers, aimed at lowerpriced horses bought at auction as unraced three- or four-year-olds. The first of three races came at Fairyhouse last month, open to horses costing €30,000 or less, while the next comes at Thurles this month for the same price, and the third will be at Punchestown on November 26 for horses costing €45,000 or less. In addition to this, the Irish EBF

has boosted the Flat median sire series for 2020, with three levels of entry available across 24 races that will be worth a minimum €25,000 each. John O’Connor, Irish EBF Chairman, said: “These races will give fantastic opportunities to horses bought at auction but also give the homebred horse an equal opportunity to compete next year for significant prize-money.” The majority of the races will be

confined to two-year-olds by a sire with an established median sales price of €60,000 or less, and the rest will be divided between a median price of €75,000 or less and €30,000 or less. It’s important to stress that the horses entering do not need to have been sold at auction themselves. There will also be allowances of 2lb and 4lb for sires with lesser values in all three levels, to benefit two-yearolds by sires with a lower median price.

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Continental Tales

Into Faith zips clear to win the valuable sales race at Longchamp on Arc weekend for David Menuisier and All For One Racing

Keeping the Faith to pull off fantastic result FRANCE

avid Menuisier, the up-andcoming Sussex trainer who has achieved impressive results over the last year or so with the likes of Thundering Blue and Danceteria, pulled off quite a coup at Longchamp on Arc Saturday in the Haras de Bouquetotsponsored Arqana sales race. Won 12 months earlier by Michael Bell’s Master Brewer, this one-mile contest is restricted to horses bought at the Deauville-based company’s October yearling sales and carries a first prize of £123,874. Having bought only two horses at the relevant auction, Menuisier ran them both and almost got the perfect result. Into Faith benefitted from a dream run up the inside to score by a length and a half under an inspired Pierre-Charles Boudot, while Luigi Vampa was buffeted about up the home straight before failing by a neck in the battle for second, still pocketing a not inconsiderable £34,685 for third place. Bought outside the ring for £17,699, Into Faith had modest credentials going into the race having failed to place in his only two starts, both in maiden company. Hence both his starting price, of 23-1, and the fact that of the ten members of his All For One Racing ownership syndicate,

only Ivan Goldsmith and his wife Christina had made the trip across the Channel to cheer him on. The Goldsmiths, from Bexhill in East Sussex, 50 miles from Menuisier’s base in Pulborough, have been involved in various syndicates for more than ten years under both codes, often organised by Henry Ponsonby, with whom they kicked things off with the Grade 2-winning hurdler General Miller. While enjoying stable visits, they became weary of the long distance travel involved (on occasion up to Cheshire to drop in on Tom Dascombe or to Newmarket to Hugo Palmer’s yard), hence Ivan sought out a more local trainer online and came up with Menuisier. “Into Faith provided us with the best day of our racing lives, we couldn’t believe it” said Ivan, who retired from his job in the City some years ago. “We’ve had some bad luck with illness and injury with our horses of late – you have to kiss a lot of frogs in racehorse ownership and then, all of a sudden, a prince comes along! “Christina and I had a 22-hour day, as the only reasonably priced flights we could find meant leaving home at four in the morning to get to Gatwick and then coming back via Luton, but it didn’t matter, we won and it was beyond our wildest dreams!

“David has always come across as very genuine, that’s what really sold him to us. From day one he has quietly been saying that Into Faith is a good horse.” Ivan continued: “The raceday experience was completely different in France, it’s crazy over there, and the thing that really struck us was that security was virtually non-existent. We wandered around in the weighing room and had unrestricted access to the stables – we were feeding our horse polos two hours before the race!” Born in the Lorraine region of north-east France but based in England for much of the last decade, initially as assistant to John Dunlop before setting up on his own in 2014, Menuisier was a particularly proud man in the winners’ enclosure. For he was there alongside his mentor, Criquette Head, with whom he had spent the first two and a half years of his working life as assistant trainer. Now retired from training, Head was not just there to support her former pupil but also Into Faith’s sire Intello, who stands at the Head family’s Haras du Quesnay. The hard-working Menuisier had no time to celebrate, sharing the horsebox ride home before jumping on a plane to Australia first thing the next morning to oversee Danceteria’s Cox Plate preparations. He did hang around long enough to supply one of the best quotes of Arc weekend to the local press. Asked how he was assimilating to British life, he answered positively before concluding with the killer line “…but I’d rather die than support the English rugby team!”

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By James Crispe, IRB

Misadventure at Merano’s big weekend There was high drama in the two big international steeplechases at the Gran Premio di Merano meeting staged on the final weekend in September at one of the world’s most strikingly beautiful courses, Merano, nestled among the Italian Alps not far from the German and Swiss borders. The showpiece event, the £225,225 Gran Premio Alto Adige, is run over three miles and one furlong and was expected to be dominated by its 2018 hero, Le Costaud, one of the best staying chasers in France. Owned by Oxfordshire-based Terry Amos, Le Costaud was the red hot 4-6 favourite as he lined up against 13 rivals having won on both his previous visits to the Mecca of Italian jumping. Crucially, this time he could not be ridden by his usual partner, James Reveley, as the Yorkshire-born pilot had suffered a broken arm and dislocated elbow when failing to negotiate a bank while carrying Amos’s colours in a cross-country race at Waregem in Belgium a month earlier. Reveley, champion jockey in France in 2016, is not expected to return to the saddle until 2020. His replacement was the three-time French champion, Bertrand Lestrade. But Lestrade’s inexperience around this idiosyncratic course, which includes numerous sharp bends, often

APRH

ITALY

Bertrand Lestrade: costly error completely lacking directional markers or plastic running rail as it switches this way and that over 24 obstacles, was to prove costly. Le Costaud made use of his course knowledge, flying over the wide variety of obstacles. By the halfway stage he had built up a ten-length lead, only for disaster to strike. Lestrade made a drastic left turn on to one of the many interlocking sections of the chase course, but unfortunately not the right one. Realising his error, the other jockeys sped past and there was no way that Le Costaud could be turned around in time to catch the field before they made a similar turn, in the right place, a couple of furlongs later. Amos was in attendance and could have been forgiven for bubbling up with fury as Lestrade walked Le Costaud back across the course, reaching the winning post just in time to admire a tight finish as L’Estran, one of five runners for the Czech trainer Josef Vana jnr, held off the French pair of Amour Du Puy Noir and Viking de Balme. To his eternal credit, Amos was

supremely compassionate as Lestrade reached the unsaddling section of the paddock, putting his arms around him in a warm embrace before guiding him back to the weighing room. The stewards were not so merciful and handed the rider a 20-day ban. The previous day’s feature, the Premio delle Nazioni, a three and three-quarter mile event which was the eighth of 11 legs in the annual Crystal Cup series of cross-country races, provided an even more bizarre spectacle. Seven went to post here, and four were still going when they reached the fearsome treble of giant hedges, with just two strides between the three elements, a mile from the finish. All four got rid of their partners in a mixture of unseats and refusals and galloped away riderless, which in Britain would have meant the race being declared void. Not so in Italy, where remounting is still allowed, and after a few moments of feverish chasing, Dominik Pastuszka got the leg back up aboard the locallytrained Silver Tango before popping over the 12 remaining obstacles all alone to secure the prize. There was then a long wait before five more horses completed the course. Two of them had not even been involved in the triple-hedge carnage having already called it a day, but their jockeys decided to get them back going once they saw every horse had been parted from its rider. The 2018 winning time was clocked at 9m 02.6s, a full two minutes quicker than was managed this year. Indeed, the 2019 time was five seconds slower than Red Marauder registered in the infamous two-finisher Grand National of 2001.

Soumillon wins on first visit CZECH REPUBLIC Christophe Soumillon lived up to his star billing when landing the fifth staging of the European Jockeys Cup on his first visit to Velka Chuchle in Prague on September 28. Representing Belgium, the 38-yearold won two of the competition’s six races to beat Adrie de Vries, of Holland, into second, with Eddie Pedroza, from

Panama, taking third. Fergus Sweeney flew the flag for Britain, while Colm O’Donoghue was the Irish invitee. Soumillon said afterwards: “In my opinion this is one of the top three international jockeys’ competitions in the world – the track is of very high quality and the crowd was fantastic. Given how popular they are all over the globe, I can’t understand why we don’t put one on in France.”

Christophe Soumillon: impressed

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Around The Globe

The Worldwide Racing Scene

Cedillo breaks into the big time NORTH AMERICA By Steve Andersen

BENOIT PHOTO

bel Cedillo needed a little more than 24 hours at Santa Anita in late September to double his career total for graded stakes wins. The jockey began the weekend of September 28-29 with three career graded stakes strikes, including one in August and another in early September. By the end of the September 29 programme, Cedillo had enjoyed a milestone weekend and added to his book of rides for his first-ever participation in Breeders’ Cup races at Santa Anita on November 1-2. “It feels so awesome,” Cedillo said at the end of the weekend. “I never dreamed of this.” Cedillo was not just winning the big races. Up until October 6, after seven days of the 23-day Santa Anita autumn meeting, Cedillo was tied for the lead in the jockey standings with Drayden Van Dyke at seven wins. Maintaining that advantage until the final day on November 3 may be difficult, but he had the early momentum to stay in contention. Considering where the rider was in early spring, the success has been far and above expectations. Cedillo had developed a reputation as a leading rider at Golden Gate Fields, near San Francisco, a track that runs nearly year-round but seldom stages important races. He made the move to southern California in June, banking on support from trainer Bob Hess Jnr and later Doug O’Neill, who has won two Kentucky Derbys. Cedillo thought he would stay for the summer in southern California before returning to Golden Gate Fields. By mid-August, halfway through the Del Mar summer meeting, those plans changed. At the time, Cedillo ranked among the five leading riders at Del Mar. “Things were going good,” he recalled thinking at the time. “So I decided to stay here.” Cedillo would finish the seven-week season in third-place with 25 wins, behind established riders Flavien Prat (42) and Van Dyke (32). He was not reliant on one individual stable for success, either. At Del Mar, Cedillo won at least one race for 14 different trainers, and four for O’Neill. “I was so happy,” he said. “It was a tough meet with tough jockeys.”

Abel Cedillo: career jumped up a level at Santa Anita highlighted by Mongolian Groom’s win

“Considering where the rider was in spring, his success has far exceeded expectations” A native of Guatemala, Cedillo began riding in 2010, at Calder in Florida. Up to October 6 he had won 1,174 races. Cedillo has primarily been based on the west coast, riding throughout California. He won three riding titles at Golden Gate Fields’ main meeting from late December to early June annually from 2016-17 until earlier this year. He left Golden Gate Fields on top and did not take long to gain leading mounts in southern California. Cedillo left Del Mar on a Sunday to ride at Emerald Downs in Washington state, where he won that track’s signature

race, the Grade 3 Longacres Mile, on Law Abidin Citizen. In September, after Del Mar ended, Cedillo rode occasionally at Los Alamitos in Southern California, but travelled across the country to ride in major stakes races, including a win on Lazy Daisy for O’Neill in the Grade 2 Pocahontas Stakes for twoyear-old fillies at Churchill Downs. “He looks like a baby Rosario,” O’Neill said of Cedillo, in reference to the nationally prominent jockey Joel Rosario. “He’s a good finisher.” Lazy Daisy is a candidate for the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies on November 1. A day later, Paradise Woods is scheduled to start in the Breeders’ Cup Distaff, having won the Grade 2 Zenyatta Stakes with Cedillo on September 29. Cedillo enjoyed his best ever day’s racing on September 28, taking the Grade 1 Awesome Again Stakes with Mongolian Groom – his first win at the highest level – and the Grade 2 John Henry Turf Championship with Cleopatra’s Strike. Those horses may not run at the Breeders’ Cup, but other opportunities could arise. “Right now, I’m going for that,” he said. “The Breeders’ Cup, the Kentucky Derby – now that’s a dream.”

››

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Around The Globe

Matt Cumani making his own headlines

Cumani, 38, has settled into life in Ballarat with his wife Sarah and son Massimo

AUSTRALIA By Danny Power

or a while, in Australia at least, Matt Cumani was the Jose Carreras of racing’s Cumani family – ‘the other guy’ of the famous Three Tenors. Everyone seems to be able to remember Luciano Pavarotti and Placido Domingo, just as for a while there with the Cumanis, it was the patriarch Luca and daughter Francesca who dominated the headlines (with apologies to mum, Sara). Luca Cumani was well entrenched as a worldwide racing legend, who as a master trainer became so passionate about Australia’s great race, the Melbourne Cup, that he once declared: “I won’t rest until I win it.” He didn’t win it, though came mightily close with Purple Moon and Bauer, but he has rested, retiring last year and selling his historic Bedford House Stables in Newmarket. The vivacious Francesca burst on the Australian racing scene on the coattails of her father’s foray south and forged an incredible career in the media in Australia and more recently at home in Britain, as a main host on ITV Racing. Since their first visit with horses to Australia in 2006, the Cumani family – in particular Luca, Sara and Francesca – endeared themselves to the Australian racing public, but Matt, who at the time was pursuing other business interests outside racing, was nothing more than a bit-part player, rarely mentioned and occasionally seen. However, things have changed for the youngest Cumani, and in a big way. Since taking out his trainer’s licence in 2016, he has forged a career from his base at Ballarat, which has an exceptional training centre and is a little more than an hour’s drive north-west of Melbourne. Cumani started with only six horses – mostly old has-beens – when he decided to move to Australia to train. Now he has nearly 80 in work. The trainer enjoys living and training out of the old gold rush city of Ballarat, rather than in Melbourne. “I love Ballarat, particularly this time

of the year; it’s green and you still get a few rain showers that come through and keep down the dust,” Cumani said in early October. “It’s the right sort of temperature, cool in the mornings and warm in the afternoons, to train horses. I think it’s the best place to be in Australia at this time of year. “I don’t mind the winters, I’m perfectly used to them and they are relatively short in Australia. The summers, however, I do find challenging. For an Englishman, I find them a bit warm and dusty.” Cumani said it was a calculated decision to move to a provincial training centre. “It’s not too dissimilar to where I grew up [in Newmarket]; it’s also a town about an hour and a half away from a capital. “Ballarat is booming, with development going on all over the place and, importantly for me, it’s close to a lot of country tracks, which, from a training perspective, makes it easy. “It’s a perfect spot for what I am trying to do.” Cumani, 38, currently operates from stables that he leases from the Ballarat Turf Club. His house is a short stroll across a paddock (used as a car park on racedays) to the barn, but he’s planning to build a 40-box barn at his home. Ballarat made its impact as a training hub when the now disqualified Darren

Weir was the ‘mayor’, with so much inﬂuence that the club committee improved the facilities to cater for his 150 or so horses training on the track, including adding a seven-furlong uphill straight track that has been a revelation for the trainers using it. Development continues, including the recent addition of a circular all-weather Polytrack, which Cumani says has taken 50% off the pressure on the hill track. “The Polytrack is important because we don’t gallop the juveniles on the hill,” he said. “There are different exits on the hill track. It’s a six-degree incline, but the majority of that incline is in the last furlong and a half, and there are exits at the four-furlong and five-furlong points before the severe incline starts for those who don’t want to go that far. “The incline is good but, importantly for the horses, the true benefit of the track is the fact it is in a straight line.” Though he enjoys his present surroundings, Cumani admits he wouldn’t ever have envisaged training in a provincial location like Ballarat. “Ten years ago I hadn’t even heard of Ballarat!” he said. “However, I have always been open to doing anything. I had careers in all sorts of industries and jobs before coming back to racing. “My father moved from Italy and settled in England. We are not a family

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PA IMAGES

that has been in the one spot for a long time. For me it was part of my growing up to change and adapt. “I was always going to go where the opportunity took me, and I saw the opportunity here. So far it is working out, but it is such a difficult industry you never know what’s going to happen next.” After training his first winner, the OTI Racing-owned Our Covenant at Bendigo in May 2016, Cumani had a massive boost when OTI sent him Grey Lion to be trained for the 2016 Melbourne Cup. The headstrong grey ran second in the Group 2 Geelong Cup before finishing 14th behind Almandin in the Cup. At the time of writing Cumani has sent out 118 winners, including two stakes scorers. “It couldn’t have gone better, to be honest,” he said. “Three years ago we had six horses stabled next to the old piggery. Now we have 75 or 80 horses in work. “OTI helped us a lot in the early days, although their numbers haven’t grown with us – they started with four and have five with us now. I hope for their continued support and a better quality of horse, and we have seen that with Future Score, who won nicely for us at the end of his prep in the winter and is an exciting horse for the future. “They have also bought a really nice Frankel yearling with me this year.” The romance of taking over from his father at the famed Bedford House

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Stables didn’t appeal to the adventurous son. He knows that he could easily have inherited a readymade stable of thoroughbreds of the highest quality. “My parents have always been about us standing on our own two feet, and I have always wanted to do it myself,” he explained. “If I had wanted to take the easy route, I would have stayed at home and waited for the old man to retire and taken over a barn of 100 horses. “That didn’t appeal to me. I wanted

“Three years ago we had six horses stabled next to the old piggery” to do it for myself, and what’s more challenging than doing it halfway across the world?” Cumani said that although racing in Australia is completely different to Britain, he has adapted and uses his Britlsh techniques in how he trains. Despite his independence, he also takes advice from his parents.

“He’s very clever my old man; he understands that racing is different in Australia,” said Cumani jnr. “My parents are quite different characters. My mother is quite vocal and will say exactly what she thinks. She comes down and she will say, ‘Why don’t you do this and that, this is what we would do in the UK.’ “Whereas dad would just calm everything down. He checks we have the right targets and the right overall understanding. “What I miss about back home is the evening stables, in that all the staff would come back to the stables, groom their three horses, make them look spotless and then stand them up for you to inspect. You’d walk around the stables and look at all 100 horses. “In Australia, I’m not sure if it’s the pressure on time or wages, but you just can’t do that. Most of the time my guys are off to the races and you can’t fit it in.” He continued: “I mix the training styles. My model is based more on the UK, in the way we build up the week to our gallops on a Wednesday, have an easy Thursday and build back up again to a gallop on a Saturday. “That’s more the traditional English model rather than the Australian way, which might be to gallop Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday.” Despite being a rising star in Australia, Cumani is grateful of the impact his parents and sister have made on his career. “I cannot deny that I didn’t have an advantage over anyone else just starting out,” he accepted. “I have a father that has almost won a Melbourne Cup a couple of times and a sister that is on TV, so am I sure that certainly helped. “It does bring more pressure on the business, because people expect success. I feel like our stable is looked on in the same regard as stables that have been around ten or 12 years longer than us. “I feel like people would be surprised if we don’t have a lot of spring runners [during Melbourne’s key carnival racing] – the reality is we are only three years in and it’s too high an expectation. It seems that at every level we have to exceed expectations to keep our name up there.” As difficult a business as training racehorses (and owners) can be, the youngest Cumani has finally found his racing voice. In these parts, he’s no longer referred to as Luca’s son, nor, especially, Francesca’s brother.

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Racing Life

edited by Sarah Rodrigues

LALIQUE

A lesson in Savoir-Faire

alique can look back with pride on a wonderful tradition. One hundred and thirty years of savoir-faire and creative excellence in the French ‘Art of Living’ producing timeless creations: art objects, light fixtures, furniture, jewellery, fragrance and more – all ‘made in France.’ The name Lalique is associated with glass and crystal, a tradition passed down with passion by generations of its artists and outstanding French craftsmen. Rene Lalique was one of the great creative forces of French decorative art in the 19th and 20th centuries. Gaining recognition as one of the leading jewellery designers of the late 19th century, he went on to develop his talents in the service of great jewellers such as Cartier and Boucheron. In 1897, Emile Galle hailed him as ‘the inventor of modern jewellery.’ His encounter with Francois Coty in 1907 heralded his entry into the world of perfume bottles which led in 1912 to his devoting himself to working exclusively in glass. He experimented with the effects of transparency, opacity and opalescence inherent in glass. Prompted by his success, Rene Lalique ordered the building of the Verrerie d’Alsace at Wingen-sur-Moder in 1921 which still produces all the Lalique crystal for the global luxury market today. The Art Deco style ushered in a creative period for the artist, with the geometric representation of shapes refined to the highest degree in work in presented at the International Exhibition of Modern Decorative and Industrial Arts held in Paris in 1925, comprising tableware, decorative objects and architectural projects. Recognised today as an Enterprise du Patrimoine Vivant (a living heritage enterprise), the Lalique luxury brand is constantly reinventing itself to express its artistic individuality under the guidance of Silvio Denz, CEO and Chairman. Silvio Denz acquired Lalique on Valentines Day in 2008, a lover of art and already a passionate collector of the work of Rene Lalique. Since the arrival of Mr Denz at Lalique, many

important pieces of eclectic design have been created in the style of Rene Lalique – brought up to date. Masterpieces of sculpture, such as those by Rembrandt Bugatti, Arik Levy and Yves Klein are produced in crystal. Many contemporary architects and artists, such as Damien Hirst, Anish Kapoor, Mario Botta and Zaha Hadid,

are participating in these creations. These avant-garde works, of magnificent luxury and often extravagant, will become part of the great collections of tomorrow. Today its areas of expertise cover six key pillars; hospitality, decorative items, interior design, jewellery, fragrances and art.

LALIQUE HOSPITALITY – where the worlds of wine, crystal, gastronomy and hospitality meet A natural progression for Lalique has been its entry into the world of hospitality – first with Villa Rene Lalique in 2015, the former family home of Rene Lalique situated close to the Alsace factory which still makes all Lalique product today. Villa Rene Lalique is a 5 star hotel with a 2 Michelin star restaurant Lalique – situated in the dramatic Alsatian countryside just 40 minutes from Strasbourg. Then with chateau Hochberg, situated in a chateau which was home to a local glasswork owner and opposite the state-owned Musee Lalique with a hotel and

restaurant and bar area. Last year, on its 130th anniversary, Lalique opened a new, third hotel and restaurant – Chateau Lafaurie-Peyraguey in Sauternes, the greatest terroir of the Premier Crus Classes. The property, whose neighbour is the legendary Chateau d’Yquem has been transformed into a sumptuous hotel with ten rooms and three suites, along with a gourmet restaurant awarded 1 Michelin star shortly after opening. Sauternes is the order of the day – celebrating the crystal of Northern France with the golden nectar of the South.

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ADVERTORIAL

LATEST COLLECTIONS Aquatique

Nature was always the most important inspiration for Rene Lalique whose favourite themes were Flora, Fauna and the Female Form. He was also passionate about the Far East. Japan was a huge fascination and he famously worked on the residence of Prince Asaka in Tokyo in the 1930s. The latest collection for 2019, Aquatique, takes us on a deep plunge into an aquatic universe. Thanks to the talents of Lalique’s artists and the exceptional expertise of its glass masters, Lalique captures the graphic power of fighting fish and the powerful and symbolic expressions of ornamental sea creatures like the koi and carp.

Lighting

Lalique’s lighting range is one of the most sought after amongst the world’s leading interior designers. Through various shapes, motifs and sizes, its pieces present the contrast between the satin and polished crystal, the play of light, reflections and transparency and the richness of detail that characterise its recognizable style. Classic designs include the Champs-Elysées chandelier in clear and gold lustre crystal, the Poséidon lamp as well as collaborations with Olivia Putman, Windfall and Delisle. Lalique has worked with the French interior decorator and designer Pierre-Yves Rochon since 2017 on ‘Signature’ – a capsule collection of furniture and lighting by the decorator who is widely celebrated for the palace interiors he has created across the world from the Shangri-La in Paris, Four Seasons in London to the Waldorf Astoria in Beverly Hills. For 2019, Pierre-Yves Rochon has added the Perles chandelier to the “Signature” collection. After creating the Two Perruches wall sconces and the Coutard lanterns as part of the range, the Perles chandelier is inspired by original Art Deco lighting designs created by René Lalique in the 1930s and by the graphic and symbolic power of the candle. In all cultures and religions, the candle is synonymous with knowledge and the quest for truth. These chandeliers with neoclassical accents are highlighted by LED technology. Carved with stripes and cabochons with the satin finish emblematic of Lalique, the crowns of light are adorned with slender crystal candles, arranged in a rhythmic rigor. Metal sublimates the purity and brilliance of crystal. Highlighted by LED technology, the Perles chandelier with neoclassical accents resonates with a Grand Siècle flair and brings a touch of French elegance to the interior.

Wingen

Another collection of note this year is Wingen 2019, a new barware service that is named after the village in Alsace where the Lalique Manufacture has been perpetuating its exceptional know-how. Rene Lalique had already designed a stemware service with the same name in 1920 with a similar pattern. Displayed in rhythmic rigor, the graphic lines in satin-finished crystal – emblematic of Lalique – exhibit a timeless elegance.

The world of Lalique continues to evolve and inspire – a source of inspiration providing places and pieces that are timeless and elegant to be shared. www.lalique.com

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Racing Life

ALEXANDRA LLEWELLYN

ondon-based British designer Alexandra Llewellyn launched her collection of beautifully handcrafted luxury games in 2010. Her love of backgammon dates back to time spent in Cairo as a child, when the rattle and throw of dice formed part of the background soundtrack to her explorations. She’s now known for her creation of exquisite bespoke versions of poker, chess and mah-jong, as well as unique marquetry boxes used to house jewellery and other precious items. Three new travel sets now join the collection, each of which has been handcrafted in Spain from quality leather, using wonderfully tactile natural stones. Based on some of Alexandra’s best-known hand painted designs, these include Palm Travel Set, with rose quartz and dark green agate

playing pieces against a tropical design. There is also the Deco Travel Set, which features a scarab beetle design and playing pieces crafted from rock crystal and dark marble and, completing the collection, the Black and White Feather Travel set, accompanied by Tiger Eye pieces. Taking gaming to the ultimate luxurious level, the Zodiac backgammon

alexandrallewellyn.com

Turnbull & Asser

hen your archive books contain a handwritten request from Mick Jagger, you can quite fairly lay claim to be a brand with a history. Yet Jagger was not the only iconic figure to walk through the doors of Turnbull & Asser – throughout London’s Swinging Sixties and beyond, its Jermyn Street store was a magnet for Hollywood actors, rock stars and artists alike. As from October, a new collection recalls those heady days, with five silk shirts complemented by a decadently louche campaign that was inspired by performers and those moments of calm and reflection backstage before the show begins. Each photo highlights the craftsmanship of the shirts and the elegant drape of the fabric. Four of the new shirts in the collection have been crafted from a new sand-washed version known as ‘peace silk ‘– no, not a tribute to the ‘free love’ sixties, but a reference to the ethical process of allowing the silkworm to leave its cocoon naturally. With a rich weight and sumptuous softness, ‘peace silk’ enters Turnbull & Asser’s cloth range at an even higher level than its Sea Island cotton qualities, which is one of the most exclusive to date. Shirts in the collection range from a regular fit silk shirt in burgundy and cream, with signature Turnbull & Asser collar and double cuffs, a tailored fit pleated front silk dress shirt in cream and navy, with the signature collar and double

board has been designed for use at home, rather than on the road, and reimagines the traditional rectangular board as a circular design, referencing astronomical orbits and the ancient astrological year. Handcrafted in the UK from sustainable wood, the board employs traditional woodworking techniques, such as marquetry inlay and dovetail drawers, and comes with inlaid zodiac arrangements of Mother of Pearl. In keeping with the zodiac theme of the piece, the stones can also be personalised by exchanging these for a birthstone of choice and adding bespoke engraving within the board. Priced from £1,400 for a travel set and from £18,000 for the Zodiac backgammon board.

cuffs, to a Jagger-inspired paisley shirt with Kent collar and double cuffs. All of the silks have been added to Turnbull’s Made to Measure and Bespoke books, so clients can vary collars, cuffs and patterns to create their own unique piece. Shirts in the Silk Shirt collection are priced from £395 and stocked by Turnbull & Asser in-store or exclusively with MR PORTER. turnbullandasser.co.uk

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Lifestyle

KING GEORGE IV

rom the end of November, Palace House in Newmarket will host a new exhibition, dedicated to King George IV’s passion for horseracing. Although cast in various roles throughout the passage of history, it cannot be denied that King George IV had exceptional influence on his era, not only with works of such architectural significance as the Brighton Pavilion, but also as a patron and collector of art. Forty-two artworks will feature in the exhibition, all but one of which are on loan from Her Majesty The Queen from the Royal Collection. As a setting, Palace House, where the exhibition will run until April next year, is an ideal choice: it was originally founded by King Charles II (the only monarch to have ever ridden a winner in a horserace) as a royal base for his horseracing activities. Although his fascination for horseracing led him to seek out and enjoy the company of stable hands and jockeys as much as the upper classes, George IV’s reputation, when it came to racing, was rather more complicated. When his horse, Escape, performed poorly in a race the day before a very convincing victory, he found himself caught up in a race-fixing scandal, which has been immortalised in ‘How to Escape Winning’, a hand-coloured work by artist Thomas Rowlandson and an exercise in satire, to boot. Palace House Chief Executive, Professor Steven Parissien, says “I am absolutely delighted to be working with Royal

Collection Trust on this fascinating and prestigious exhibition. In displaying these works from the Royal Collection, we are able to emphasise the strong and enduring royal connections with our museum and indeed with the town of Newmarket, which the royal family helped to make the world’s horseracing capital.” King George IV: Royalty, Racing and Reputation runs from November 28 - April 19, 2020 at Palace House in Newmarket (see palacehousenewmarket.co.uk for more details) and coincides with the exhibition George IV: Art & Spectacle on display at The Queen’s Gallery at Buckingham Palace from November 15 - May 3, 2020.

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Racing Life

Lifestyle

VOYAGER CLUB

reaming of escaping the cold this winter? Or of guaranteeing yourself some sunshine next summer? Whatever your travel intention, Voyager Club offers a global and highly-curated selection of unique luxury hotels and exclusive private residences, combined with a personalised holiday wardrobe, via their dedicated fashion concierge service. New to the Voyager offering is The Jet-Set Voyager, which grants membership-only access to unlimited travel services and some of the world’s most off the radar properties. Members will also benefit from additional styling and location services, with two specially selected vacation wardrobes delivered to your destination, plus unlimited insider itineraries and exclusive access, thanks to the Club’s little black book of insider knowledge and hidden gems. All styling choices, recommendations and reservations are tailored to the individual’s budget, style and destination, and other VIP benefits

include room upgrades, spa credits and complimentary breakfasts. Members also receive seasonal gifts, ranging from travel essentials to experiences and events.

Annual membership is priced at £1,500, which includes a 10% credit towards the cost of travel within the year. voyagerclub.co

NOBLE ISLE

he celebration of all that’s Great and British is one of the core components of the Noble Isle bath, body and fragrance range, with authentic ingredients sourced from all over United Kingdom to create scents that blend deep reassurance with excitement, and familiarity with exoticism. Inspired by the landscape and wildness of Great Britain, Noble Isle’s founder Katy Simpson scoured the country to seek out its purest ingredients and most ethical producers. The result is a collection drawing on such distinctive flavours as Sea Oak from Ireland, Rhubarb from Yorkshire and Malted Barely from Scotland. Each formula is free from

sodium lauryl sulfate and parabens and has been certified by Leaping Bunny and the Vegan Association, which means that animals are involved in neither the development nor production of anything in the range. New Christmas gift sets for 2019 include a Heavenly Hamper, which contains five travel-sized (75ml) Bath and Shower Gels, including Willow Song, Tea Rose, Whisky & Water, Rhubarb Rhubarb! and Fireside, each of which evokes uniquely British experiences and memories through scent. The Wrapped Roses gift set adds a luxury candle to its 250 ml bubble bath and shower gel; each is infused with the scent of black tea leaves and English rose petals, enlivened with jasmine and clary sage. In further celebration of the natural world from which it draws its inspiration, Noble Isle has partnered with charity Clean Conscience to ensure that Noble Isle products, which have been stocked but only partially used in hotels including The Savoy and The Wellesley in London, The Crazy Bear and Burford House in Oxford and Fingal in Edinburgh - are repurposed and redistributed, benefiting those in need of toiletries. Noble Isle products are already presented in 100% recyclable packaging, including bottles and caps, and this initiative deepens that commitment by diverting packaging and product alike from waste. nobleisle.com

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The Big Interview

New

DAWN

The two Jonjos at Cheltenham, where senior enjoyed some of his best moments in the saddle

Nobody knows better the trials that lie ahead for Jonjo O’Neill jnr than his father, who scaled the heights during his own riding career and is now helping his son in the toughest of all sports Words: Chris Cook Photos: George Selwyn

“A

horse ran out in front of me, causing Night Affair to crash through the wooden wing of the hurdle. He wrapped my right leg round the wooden pole at the end of the wing and as I slid down to the ground, I could see the bone below the knee sticking out through my riding boot. It was like an enormous nail protruding from my boot and, after staring at it for a second, I leaned forward, grabbed the bone and straightened the leg...” Only the most robust can read such words without wincing. This description of an especially grim mid-race injury was written by Jonjo O’Neill in his autobiography. The book was published three decades ago, this fall occurred in the mid-70s at a racecourse that no longer exists and Jonjo, now 67, is separated from his time in the saddle by a training career that has lasted twice as long. But there is no danger of him forgetting how much it hurts when things go wrong for a jump jockey. “Probably my worst day was when I thought I was going to lose my leg,” he reflects as we sit, nursing mugs of coffee in the owners’ room at Jackdaws Castle. A large screen shows action from Leicester but the sound is down because it’s only Flat racing this afternoon. “I broke it on the 18th of October in Bangor and it was a bad smash. My leg went in between the front legs of the horse passing me by and he scissored it completely. It was a fair mess.” Sitting next to Jonjo is his 21-year-

old son, Jonjo jnr. Over the last couple of seasons, he has steadily built a reputation as one of the brightest young talents in the weighing room. But no one knows the risks he runs better than his father, who had previously guided three children to adulthood without any of them showing an inclination to follow in his footsteps. Jonjo was brave enough to pull the shattered pieces of himself back into position as he lay on the Teesside turf, yet another kind of courage is needed to contemplate your boy taking similar chances. Can he bear to watch?

“I could see the bone sticking out through my riding boot” “I was never horrified about it at all,” he says, with that familiar, easy smile. “Listen, I’ve had a great life with racing, riding and training. I wouldn’t put anyone off it. I wouldn’t recommend it to anybody but if you do it, I’ll give you all the help I can give you. “It is a dangerous game. There aren’t many jobs where you go around with ambulances behind. But when you’re doing it, you don’t take any notice of that, you don’t even see them. You’re

just focused on what you’re doing and trying to outwit the other jockey, trying to win it any way you can.” So Jonjo snr gave Jonjo jnr the time and space to make his own decision about riding. Perhaps a significant early injury would prove off-putting? The chance to find out came four years ago, on what had been a good day for the family. AJ, Jonjo’s youngest child, won the pony race final at Aintree and, within the hour, Optimistic Bias scored for the yard. Young Jonjo, 17 at the time, was in Ireland, taking part in the famously fearsome charity ride at Athlacca, County Limerick, “like hunting without

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The two Jonjos

the hounds,” as he now describes it. He had a safe conveyance, a hunter provided by Michael Hourigan, but the animal scrabbled to keep his feet on the muddy top of a bank and the pair slithered together over the edge and into a ditch, one of the rider’s legs being broken in the melee. At Aintree, Jonjo snr had had about five minutes to celebrate his winner when the phone call came. Such is life when you’re related to a jump jockey. But he immediately points out the injury’s upside, that it happened in McManus country. “If there was a place to get it broken or get anything done, it was the place

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to be, because he knew everyone.” “JP was good,” young Jonjo chips in, “got me into hospital and operated on straight away. I did my tib and fib and it got pinned and screwed and I was back riding out in three months.” Since then, Jonjo jnr has bounced back from breaking his jaw at Southwell and mangling his hand in a fall while riding Terrefort for Guillaume Macaire on a working visit to France. Slightly more troubling was the broken vertebra, discovered in early 2018, that did not seem to be caused by a specific incident. “They did lots of different tests,” he says. “I was very deficient in loads of

vitamins and bone density in my spine. I had to be off for eight months, to let it heal and get my diet and everything right. That was a big reason for it; I wasn’t giving myself the right nutrition, because you’re wasting and stuff and not doing it correctly. So I had to get on loads of pills and supplements.” That sensible decision to take time to sort out the problem was, at least in part, a response to fatherly advice. “When he did his back, I said to him, look, don’t go back half-cocked, it’ll haunt you for the rest of your life,” says Jonjo snr. This, in fairness, is an example of ‘do as I say, not as I did’ because, back in early 1981 his determination

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The Big Interview ›› to be fit for the Cheltenham Festival

nearly cost him his leg as he rushed his recovery from that Bangor scissoring. He recalls: “I started riding out in the January and it was all going grand until one morning the horse slipped a little bit and so did the plate in my leg. Then I got gangrene in it.” An operation to save the leg went well but Jonjo didn’t make it back until December, by which time he had long missed winning the Champion Hurdle on Sea Pigeon. Jonjo jnr shows every sign of willingness to learn lessons from this and other memories. On the other hand, he is a jump jockey and therefore hell-bent on seizing any winning opportunity that presents itself. Having weighed 12 stone in his days as a teenage rugby prospect, he once boiled

The two Jonjos

himself down to 9st 7lb for an outside ride in a big Saturday race. “Stupid stuff, really, just sweating a whole lot,” he explains. “But you only have to do it once to realise; I fell off at the first, just nothing in my head, completely weak. “Some lads still do it. You think you’ve got to. You think, I won’t get another chance like this, [I] must do it. So you do it and then realise it was the wrong thing to do.” Jonjo snr made sure this particular lesson was not missed. He relays: “I said, if you do that again, that’ll be the end of it. You’re wasting your time at this game if you do that, because the last few pounds come out of your head, not out of your body. And you can’t think straight.”

Jonjo O’Neill jnr enjoyed his first Cheltenham Festival success on Early Doors in March this year

All the accumulated insights and hard lessons showed their value last winter, when Jonjo jnr really began to make his mark. Widely praised for a perfect hold-up ride on Big Time Dancer in the Lanzarote, he then guided Early Doors through the madness of the Martin Pipe to secure a first success at the Cheltenham Festival. His ambition for this season is to be champion conditional and he leads the table at the time of writing, though Connor Brace seems sure to be a formidable opponent. In fact, the two are good friends, having bumped into each other again and again during their pony racing days. The English version of pony racing is not long established but young Jonjo stresses what an impact it is now having on the weighing room. He says: “There was Harry Cobden, Sean Bowen, James Bowen, Charlie Hammond, Stan Sheppard, Tom Marquand. There’s loads I’m missing out that were doing it then. “We started when we were ten and got more competitive when 13 to 16. If you’re not doing pony racing to start with, you’re well behind these days.” His father adds: “These kids, they’re going into the weighing room at Cheltenham. I’ll never forget the first time I went into the weighing room at Cheltenham, you’d be crapping yourself. It would overcome you. Of course, they take it all in their stride now, weigh out properly, do everything that jockeys do.” Was there ever a moment when father produced some old videos of his glory days, as a way of showing son how the job should be done? “I wouldn’t, no,” he says. “Everybody has their own style of riding, their own way of thinking. If you interfere with that… you’ve got to have a lot of things natural, when you’re riding. He’s heavier than me. His thighs are like rugby thighs, so it’s a different thing.” Even so, young Jonjo has watched footage of his dad’s biggest moments on YouTube. He can’t recall the first time he heard the stories of Dawn Run’s Gold Cup “because she’s always been around, everywhere”. Any time he leaves the paddock at Cheltenham, he rides past a statue of his dad. Is it intimidating to be following such a high achiever in the same line of work? “Obviously you want to be good at it but I don’t feel pressure,” he replies. “It’s something to work towards.” These days, the two Jonjos work together a lot of the time. Jackdaws

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The Big Interview

The two Jonjos

›› Castle has a new sponsor and as broad

an ownership base as it has ever had. The trainer plans to be competitive in lots of good races and his son hopes to take as many of the rides as he can. On the face of it, they make an excellent team. “We’re pretty much on the same wavelength,” says the younger man, addressing his father. “If I say something, you finish the sentence. Which makes it very easy.” There must be moments of tension? “Not yet, to be honest,” replies Jonjo snr. “I understand what happens in races, really. I’m sure all the jockeys are going out there to want to win a race. If you’ve cocked it up, come in and say, ‘I made a mess, I’m sorry, I got that all wrong’.

“I understand what happens in races; all the jockeys go out there to win” “People get it wrong in an office, they get it wrong on a building site, they get it wrong everywhere, but if you don’t come in and tell the truth and you haven’t got the foundations right, the house is going to fall down, isn’t it?” Having made that point about frankness, he says how rewarding it is to have his boy for a jockey: “I enjoy the camaraderie about it. It’s good, planning it out and the feedback is good. You think, ‘Jeez, I didn’t think of that, maybe that’s an idea, why don’t we try that with him?’ It’s fun. It’s a great game when it’s going well.” Jonjo jnr was born in January 1998 and was just three when his family left Ivy House Stables in Cumbria in favour of this more impressive facility in Gloucestershire. He has “tiny little flashbacks” of their northern base but his first real racing memory is of jumping tyres in the indoor school aboard Keen Leader, a tall, classy, rawboned type who ran in Best Mate’s final Gold Cup. Young Jonjo estimates he was four or five at the time. He muses: “You know sometimes you see Shetland ponies with a mascot attached? I was like that, seat-belted to him!” Naturally, Jonjo snr’s reminiscences

Jonjo snr is hoisted high in triumph after winning the 1986 Gold Cup on Dawn Run

Three to cheer on this season… Arrivederci

He won his bumper last year and we gave him another run at Exeter. He was fourth, looking like a big, weak baby, but the race has worked out really well. He’s a nice horse for novice hurdles. We’ll take our time with him. He was third at Warwick the other day, when they went no pace.

Cloth Cap

He was third in the Scottish National, so we’re talking about the Grand National. It’s a long way off but he’s going the right way and he likes the nice ground. Touch wood, he’s a grand jumper. He’ll need to win a couple of good races first to get up there. I was happy with his first run back at Chepstow, he probably just needed it. He might go to Ascot next.

Papa Tango Charly

A gorgeous horse, who won his point at Liscarroll in March. He was bought at the Aintree sale and sent to us by Martin Tedham, who sponsors the yard through his company, the Wasdell Group. Finished in midfield on his first start in a bumper, but I imagine he’ll go straight over hurdles now. He looks like he should make up into a real nice chaser.

go quite a bit further back. “Night Nurse, he was a great horse,” he says. “Paddy Broderick had the best of him, probably. I had him over fences towards the end. Oh my God, he was brilliant. I won around Newbury, was it the Mandarin? I went around there, making all. It was like riding Concorde! He’d shoot you back in the saddle, with the power of him. It was the kind of a memory that stays with you; he was a magical horse.” Jonjo’s career was not short of magical horses. He talks of how you couldn’t hit the front too soon on Sea Pigeon, or he’d pull up. He marvels at Peter Easterby swearing that Little Owl had never been schooled over fences before lining up for the Dipper, which

he nevertheless won “hard held”. And then there was the characterful Little Bay, whose motivation was dwarfed by his talent but who was more or less fooled into victory one Grand National day. “I was following Badsworth Boy down to the last,” says his rider. “Badsworth Boy fell and I galloped straight over him. He got such a bloody shock, he took off and won.” We have finally arrived at the point of it all, the reason why one Jonjo risks his neck and the other is content to let him. Twenty years from now, the young man can hope to match his father, story for story, and if he’s very, very lucky perhaps there will be a Night Nurse somewhere down the line, waiting for a rider with jump racing in his blood.

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Talking To...

David Armstrong

Creating a

BUZZ

David Armstrong helped to turn Wasps into one of the world’s most successful rugby clubs and now has his sights set on improving the racing experience in Britain as CEO of the Racecourse Association Interview: Tim Richards

ou moved to the Racecourse Association in March after three years as Chief Executive of Wasps Rugby Club. How do you adapt from being a one-club man to having responsibility for 59 racecourses? Within rugby there is the playing side, the performance and results, which are a key part of the success of the business. Within horseracing we don’t quite have that same results aspect, but the common link is the fact it’s about putting on great sports events and entertainment for customers. For me, it’s very similar, a common denominator that makes me feel comfortable. The structure of racing, with so many moving parts, makes the job more challenging. It’s more complicated, but that makes it more fascinating. What has been your previous involvement with racing? I used to be an owner with William Muir about 20 years ago and enjoyed a few wins, our most successful horse being Countless Times. That allowed me to experience the owner’s perspective which has been quite helpful coming into this job. I was involved with the sponsorship of the Met, one of South Africa’s biggest races, through my involvement with J&B Whisky, which was part of my brand portfolio when I was Commercial Director of the African division of Diageo. You are also Chairman of Pentathlon GB (swimming, fencing, running,

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David Armstrong combines commercial nous with a passion for competitive sport

riding & shooting), as well as a board member of the BHA and the Levy Board. What makes the sport of racing such a big attraction to you? I love the competitive aspect of any sport that inspires people who participate or watch. The inspirational facet is very exciting. I experienced that with the Wasps job. Racing’s complex structure and the way we do things makes it very hard to unlock that value. Professionally, it is demanding, interesting and that’s why I’m doing the job. For me, any new appointment must not be business as usual; it has to be a challenging opportunity. Racing certainly ticks that box.

Do you see similarities between racing and rugby through those tough-asteak participants, the players and the jockeys? Not similarities, but a difference in the way rugby players and jockeys are looked after from a conditioning and nutrition point of view. Rugby players are pampered beasts; every meal is prepared for them seven days a week, the same with their training regime. I think jockeys have a tougher time. They are all effectively self-employed and don’t have the same supporting structure. They are busy every day, riding out in the morning, driving to race meetings, watching their weight, not to mention the race riding. They have less time to prepare as athletes. The three facilities jockeys have at Oaksey House, Jack Berry House and Peter O’Sullevan House are leading edge and better than anything they have in rugby. During your time with Wasps the club moved from Wycombe to Coventry and became one of the world’s largest rugby union clubs in terms of revenue. What have you learnt from rugby that might benefit racing? The importance of the raceday experience. The way in which we built new foundations when we moved to the Midlands was not only to get people along to games but to make sure they had a fantastic day, providing food and drink options. We also introduced an indoor covered fan village for 9,000

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Talking To...

Threat scores at the St Leger Festival at Doncaster, which could do more to help promote its sponsors according to RCA CEO David Armstrong

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people and opened our own station so people could arrive by train into the site itself. We wanted people to have the best day possible at a sports event. If they do, they’ll come again. That’s extremely relevant to racing. You introduced a retail bond scheme at Wasps that generated £35 million. What plans do you have to improve the finances of racecourses, some of which are struggling? I want to help racecourses to be more profitable whether that’s in reducing costs or growing revenues. The ability to refinance, creating schemes like bonds or financing of stands is an individual course-by-course exercise; I am hopeful my experience can generate some ideas. We need to find ways to be the most profitable industry

David Armstrong factfile Born: Belfast, 1964 Education: Campbell College Belfast and University of Kent Career: Arthur Andersen, Pepsi, Compass Group, Diageo, Lonrho, Wasps and RCA Family: Wife Sinead, daughter Sara Jane, 24 and son Jamie, 22 Ambition: To win the Mille Miglia Italian car race, which I compete in every year

possible, but we are under extreme pressure with betting shops closing as a result of the reduction in FOBTs; we have to look at new ways to create revenue, new ways to save costs. And try to do it in a way that helps all 59 courses, not just one at a time. Then we ought to have the benefit of making sure as many courses as possible stay profitable. The large racecourse groups like ARC and the Jockey Club have their own people in those finance roles, while the larger independents are in good shape. It is some of the smaller independents, which make up the backbone of the sport, that may need help. I have to come up with a plan of ideas to help all the courses. One of the problems is that we are too fragmented and I am keen to see ways we can collaborate more on purchasing and marketing initiatives and do it all together, which is much better than trying to do it 59 times. What is your view on the closure of Towcester and the takeover by the Chester Race Company at Musselburgh? Before I joined the RCA, Towcester had already sold about half of its fixtures to ARC and the writing was on the wall. At least ARC’s purchase of the remaining Towcester days means those fixtures will be maintained. I sincerely hope we will not see more closures and I think the Musselburgh outcome is a

good one, with Chester Race Company taking over. The next two years are going to be very tough for the industry with the FOBTs impact and racecourse closures could happen again, but I hope not. The amount of racing is putting more and more pressure on the workforce, but fixtures generate profit. You have said there was “frustration and disappointment” after the BHA decision to axe 20 fixtures. So, what is the answer? The answer is to take a much more evidence-based approach to how we work out the size and shape of the fixture list. A lot of my frustration was the lack of analytical decisionmaking that was taking place. We have a project under way, an economic analysis, intended to help us design the fixture list. Take on board all the analytical and financial evidence, which is being handled by Portas, the sports consultancy. We would then be able to look back and see why there was a reduction or increase in fixtures; there would be more transparency and understanding of the fixture process. Talking of transparency, should racecourses be more open about how much they make from media rights? We must be careful about the commercial sensitivity of some of these arrangements and the media rights companies would be very

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David Armstrong keen to assert their prerogative to confidentiality and how the deals work. We used to have prize-money agreements in the sport until a couple of years ago that required racecourses to spend a certain proportion of their media rights income on prize-money. One way to get that back on track is to have the prize-money agreements back in place so the horsemen can be comfortable with the minimum levels. I think we need to do a better job of explaining the economics of racecourses, some of which don’t have buckets of cash. All the time we must be aware of the possible reduction in media rights due to the falling number of betting shops and the effect it will have on prize-money. The fixed costs of running a racecourse are pretty high; racecourses do not have a lot of wriggle room. You have been a racehorse owner in Britain. How can we attract more owners when the return is so paltry? First, owners’ raceday experience is very important, making sure they have

“Our tracks must collaborate more on purchasing and marketing initiatives” a great time out with their family and friends. We are getting better at that. Second, is to look at all the different models regarding syndicates, fractional ownerships and other ways to get involved with racing. To bring the man in the street into the circle as a racehorse owner, even if it only costs £50 or £100, so the number of people owning a hair in a horse increases as well as those that can spend a bit more and possibly buy a horse. Syndicates have to be really simple to join and we have to push the message out there. How can individual racecourses improve their customer data and understand the target audience? We have improved in the last few years thanks to a joint initiative with a sports data marketing specialist, Two Circles, which allows us to look at advanced sales data, patterns and trends. We

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are beginning to make progress in how we use customer data, but don’t do it as well as some sports. We need to capture details of the non-booking racegoer so we can encourage them to come back. There is an amazing statistic: 34 million people in the UK are aware of horseracing – that’s huge and more than in the case of football. We have to convert them from being aware to considering purchasing a ticket by telling them how exciting a day at the races is. We have to help them on the journey to our sport, then retain them by providing top entertainment. Racecourse facilities for owners are a constant source of discussion together with badges for syndicate members and complimentary food. How does the RCA plan to improve the situation? As an owner myself I went to a couple of racecourses where the experience was awful. It certainly had an impact on the enjoyment of my day’s racing, but then I went to a couple where it was very good. A number of racecourses have made improvements to owners’ and trainers’ facilities and there are plans to upgrade facilities on other courses in the next 12 months. Some courses just don’t have big enough facilities, but the message is that the RCA and racecourses really do value the importance of the owners’ experience. We ran a trial at Kempton recently for large syndicates that went very well. We are looking at that as a new model for syndicate members. There is a lot of sponsorship of individual races. Is there an opportunity for bigger all-round sponsorship packages as in other sports? Yes, but we have to continue to make the sponsorship package exciting and interesting for the sponsor by delivering the value they are expecting. We have to get better at selling sponsorship of a stand or even a racecourse, telling the sponsor what the benefits are going to be. There are good examples of success at courses like Ascot and Cheltenham. We have tremendous TV coverage; ITV is outstanding and thanks to Racing TV and Sky every race is screened. We must improve how we use TV for sponsors. Doncaster has a sponsor of its main grandstand – Lazarus, a construction company – but during the entire coverage of the St Leger meeting ITV didn’t have a camera in position that showed the Lazarus stand. It was a missed opportunity.

CLOSE UP AND… PERSONAL

I relax by… watching, attending and playing sport. I still play golf, tennis and compete in motor racing My pet hate is… lateness Favourite song/artist… U2 Ideal holiday destination… off the beaten track where no-one else goes; I enjoyed my three weeks in Iran Four dinner party guests… Winston Churchill, Michael Jordan, Hillary Clinton and David Cameron (to ask him what he was playing at with Brexit!)

CLOSE UP AND… PROFESSIONAL

Favourite sportsman/woman… Michael Jordan, the greatest sportsman ever Best horse I have seen is… Altior Three words describe my job… complex, challenging, diverse Best advice I’ve had… always make sure you know what you don’t know Alternative career… astronaut

Bad behaviour on racecourses hits the headlines every year. How is the RCA tackling this problem? In the last 12 to 18 months we have seen a reduction in the negative headlines, which is encouraging. There is a problem with irresponsible drinking and Drink Aware, a campaign partner of the racecourses, is available to help. There is also an increased number of sniffer dogs on racecourses to combat the use of drugs. It’s not about having hundreds of security staff all over the racecourse because that ruins the atmosphere of the day. It’s about encouraging responsible behaviour, and even being gamble aware. Will we ever do it, 100 per cent? I’m afraid I don’t think so. Where do you see British racing in five years’ time? I think we will have far more people involved in racehorse ownership; we will have recovered from the impact of betting shop closures and hopefully have 59 thriving racecourses; more horses in training, more jockeys and maybe more fixtures. More people going racing and an improvement in the way the sport presents itself in terms of marketing and animal welfare.

THOROUGHBRED OWNER BREEDER

25/10/2019 17:19

Foal Market

Moment of

TRUTH

The upcoming winter breeding stock sales provide the first opportunity for the market to assess the progeny on offer by this year’s first-crop sires Words: Amy Lynam

ARDAD

(Kodiac - Good Clodora {Red Clubs}) Overbury Stud, £6,500

A £170,000 breeze-up buy, Ardad went on to win the Windsor Castle Stakes at Royal Ascot and Flying Childers Stakes at Doncaster, a race which has also been won by stallions such as Gutaifan, Sir Prancealot and Zebedee in recent years. Therefore, he boasts plenty of commercial appeal, something which saw the son of Kodiac cover over 130 mares in his first season at stud. COOLMOPRE

here is no sure thing in racing or breeding. Be that the result of a well-considered mating, the fortune of an odds-on favourite or the predictability of the bloodstock market. Increased foal numbers and no apparent increase in investment has maintained the selective nature of the marketplace, with many buyers also tentative in the face of Brexit. The foal sales will, no doubt, be affected by Brexit, with vendors uncertain of the freedom of movement at the time of catalogues going to print. In spite of this, the Tattersalls December Foal Sale, set for November 27 - 30, has just 50 less catalogued entries this year at 1,125, with the largest consignment once again offered by Trickledown Stud. Vendors’ confidence will be high based on the 2018 renewal, which returned a record turnover of 34,924,757gns, record average of 51,285gns and record-equalling median of 25,000gns. Goffs, meanwhile, has catalogued 120 less foals for its November Foal Sale, which is once again split into two parts; Part 1 takes place on November 18 - 20 and is followed by Part 2 on November 22 immediately after the Mares’ Sale. The smaller number is perhaps a reflection on the 20% drop in turnover at Part 1 of last year’s edition but another influence could be the reduction in the Irish foal crop, with 2018 having returned the first decrease since 2012. Britain, meanwhile, experienced its highest number of foals since 2009 in 2018. These turns in events may also have influenced the number of stallions retiring to stud, with 21 taking up

stallion duties in Ireland in 2018 – quite a significant drop from 33 in 2017. Britain welcomed 18 new additions in 2018, a marginal increase on 17 the previous year. Listed below are Flat and/or dualpurpose stallions who commanded over £4,000/€4,000 in their first season. Fees and studs listed were those advertised in 2018.

BRITAIN & IRELAND ACLAIM

(Acclamation - Aris {Danroad}) National Stud, £12,500

For many breeders, Aclaim ticked all the boxes, with 160 mares sent to the son of Acclamation in his first year at stud. From the family of Montjeu, the €130,000 yearling proved he had the ability to match his looks by notching seven career wins from two to four years including the Prix de la Foret.

CARAVAGGIO

(Scat Daddy - Mekko Hokte {Holy Bull}) Coolmore Stud, €35,000

Top sprinter Caravaggio, winner of the Phoenix Stakes and Commonwealth Cup, was the busiest of all new sires in 2018, covering a bumper book of 217 mares as Scat Daddy fever grew. A total of 34 black-type winners were among his first book, including the likes of Airwave, Immortal Verse, Peeping Fawn and Yesterday.

CHURCHILL

(Galileo - Meow {Storm Cat}) Coolmore Stud, €35,000

Churchill came a close second to Caravaggio as the busiest new sire in 2018, although his 211 mares included more black-type winners at an impressive 42. By Galileo and out of a Queen Mary Stakes second, this European champion juvenile won seven straight races, including the Dewhurst and National Stakes at two and Newmarket and Irish 2,000 Guineas at three.

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GEORGE SELWYN

The first foals by Ulysses (noseband) come under scrutiny as do those by champion Churchill (facing page), another regally-bred son of Galileo

COTAI GLORY

EL KABEIR

JACK HOBBS

European sons of Exceed And Excel have made a promising start at stud, notably Bungle Inthejungle, and one that has every chance of maintaining that momentum is Tally-Ho Stud’s Cotai Glory. A three-time stakes winner and narrowly beaten by Profitable in the King’s Stand Stakes, he covered 180 mares in his first season.

Yeomanstown Stud tapped into another popular stallion line with its recruitment of El Kabeir, a multiple Graded Stakes winner by Scat Daddy. Racing on dirt, his wins came over seven to eight and a half furlongs and included the Grade 2 Kentucky Jockey Club Stakes at two. He attracted 146 mares in his first season.

Jack Hobbs was the easy winner of the Irish Derby having previously run second in the Derby. He later returned at five to win the Dubai Sheema Classic. A welcome member of the Sharpen Up sire line, he covered 168 mares in 2018.

DECORATED KNIGHT

GALILEO GOLD

(Paco Boy - Galicuix {Galileo}) - Tally-Ho Stud, €15,000

(Galileo - Occupandiste {Kaldoun}) - Elwick Stud, £6,000

(Exceed And Excel - Continua {Elusive Quality}) - Tally-Ho Stud, €6,000

(Galileo - Pearling {Storm Cat}) - Irish National Stud, €15,000

As a son of Galileo out of a sister to Giant’s Causeway, Decorated Knight boasts a stallion’s pedigree, while his three Group 1 victories included the Tattersalls Gold Cup and Irish Champion Stakes, regarded as a stallion-making race. Of the 66 mares he covered in 2018, five were black-type winners.

DIVINE PROPHET

(Choisir - Prophet Jewel {Encosta De Lago}) - Tara Stud, €7,500

Divine Prophet shuttled from Aquis Farm to Tara Stud, where the Caulfield Guineas victor appealed as an ideal candidate to capitalise on the popularity of Choisir. Having covered 59 mares, two of them black-type winners, he did not return to County Meath in 2019.

Nov_183_FoalMarket.indd 53

(Scat Daddy - Great Venue {Unbridled’s Song}) - Yeomanstown Stud, €8,000

Given his base of Tally-Ho Stud, 2,000 Guineas hero Galileo Gold was expected to be busy and did not disappoint with 140 mares. A Group 2 winner at two, he won twice at the highest level, at which he was also placed on three occasions.

HIGHLAND REEL

(Galileo - Hveger {Danehill}) - Coolmore Stud, €17,500

An impressive 23 of Highland Reel’s 184 first mares were black-type winners. Such support is hardly surprising since Highland Reel, the highest-earning colt in European history and the winner of seven Group 1 races, also has the pedigree to match his race record, being bred on the Galileo/ Danehill cross and from the family of Starspangledbanner.

(Halling - Swain’s Gold {Swain}) - Overbury Stud, £4,000

MONDIALISTE

A Grade 1 winner at Arlington and Woodbine, Mondialiste retired to stud at his owners Geoff and Sandra Turnbull’s Elwick Stud in County Durham. The son of Galileo, who is out of a dual Group 1 winner, was well supported by the Turnbulls, who sent him 35 of their own mares including a €270,000 half-sister to Beauty Parlour.

MY DREAM BOAT

(Lord Shanakill - Betty Burke {Choisir}) Bridge House Stud, €4,000

My Dream Boat initially retired to Bridge House Stud where he covered 60 mares in his first season, two of them black-type winners, before switching to Clongiffen Stud for 2019. His finest hour on the track came at Royal Ascot when defeating Found to win the Prince of Wales’s Stakes.

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Foal Market ›› NATIONAL DEFENSE

(Invincible Spirit - Angel Falls {Kingmambo}) - Irish National Stud, €12,000

An injury during his first season saw National Defense cover a reduced book of 64, 11 of them black-type winners. A €280,000 yearling, he was crowned champion two-year-old colt in France following his impressive success in the Prix Jean-Luc Lagardere.

POSTPONED

(Dubawi - Ever Rigg {Dubai Destination}) Dalham Hall Stud, £20,000

GEORGE SELWYN

Standing alongside his super sire Dubawi at Dalham Hall Stud, Postponed covered 112 mares in 2018. Postponed’s nine victories included the King George and Juddmonte International, so it was unsurprising to see him receive a quality first book, 21 of them black-type winners.

PROFITABLE

(Invincible Spirit - Dani Ridge {Indian Ridge}) - Kildangan Stud, €12,000

Irish Champion Stakes winner Decorated Knight (green) is closely related to Giant’s Causeway

Profitable proved popular with breeders in his first season at stud, with Darley capping his first book at 185 mares. A juvenile winner, he trained on to win the King’s Stand and Temple Stakes as a fouryear-old and claimed runner-up honours in the King’s Stand the following year.

ULYSSES

ATTENDU

The dam of Ulysses’ first foal, $525,000 mare purchase My Hope, is a prime example of the quality that he covered in his first season at stud. By Galileo and out of Epsom Oaks heroine Light Shift, the Eclipse Stakes and Juddmonte International hero covered 115 mares in total, eight of them Group 1 winners.

Attendu became the first son of Acclamation to stand at stud in France. A Group winner at two, three and four, the Wertheimer homebred is one of four black-type winners out of his stakeswinning dam.

RIBCHESTER

(Iffraaj - Mujarah {Marju}) - Kildangan Stud, €30,000

Ribchester was purchased privately by Godolphin after finishing second in the Gimcrack Stakes, and went on to reward them with four Group 1 wins, including the Lockinge and Queen Anne Stakes. The son of Iffraaj attracted 154 mares in his first season at Kildangan Stud.

SPILL THE BEANS

(Snitzel - Miss Dodwell {Falbrav}) - National Stud, £6,000

Three-time Group winner Spill The Beans became the first son of Snitzel to stand in Britain when reverse shuttling to the National Stud. Having covered a large first book in Australia, he covered 33 mares and did not return in 2019.

TIME TEST

(Dubawi - Passage Of Time {Dansili}) National Stud, £8,500

A four-time Group winner and three times Group/Grade 1-placed, Time Test only finished out of the first four on one of his 14 starts. By Dubawi and out of a Group 1-winning two-year-old, he certainly appealed to breeders, who sent him 111 mares in his first season.

(Galileo - Light Shift {Kingmambo}) Cheveley Park Stud, £30,000

EUROPEAN AL WUKAIR

(Dream Ahead - Macheera {Machiavellian}) Haras de Bouquetot, €8,000

Unbeaten as a juvenile, Al Wukair finished third in the 2,000 Guineas at three before securing Group 1 honours in the Prix Jacques Le Marois. A member of the Warning sire line, he covered 117 mares in 2018, which rose to 122 in 2019.

ALMANZOR

(Wootton Bassett - Darkova {Maria’s Mon}) Haras d’Etreham, €35,000

When retired to stud, connections announced that Almanzor would be restricted to 140 mares for each of his first four seasons and after just two weeks, he was full. Crowned the champion three-year-old colt of Europe in 2016 following victories in the Prix du Jockey Club, Irish Champion Stakes and QIPCO Champion Stakes, his popularity transferred to the Southern Hemisphere, where he covered another full book at Cambridge Stud.

(Acclamation - Gwenseb {Green Tune}) Haras du Quesnay, €5,000

BIRCHWOOD

(Dark Angel - Layla Jamil {Exceed And Excel}) - Haras de la Huderie, €5,000

Dark Angel gained a first representative within the French ranks with the retirement of Birchwood, winner of the Superlative Stakes. Also twice placed at Group 1 level as a juvenile, he covered 93 mares in his debut season, aided by the stud successfully syndicating 50% of its new recruit.

BRAMETOT

(Rajsaman - Morning Light {Law Society}) Haras de Bouquetot, €10,000

Both of Brametot’s Classic victories demonstrated the bay’s battling qualities, with his Prix du Jockey Club success now all the more impressive following the subsequent exploits of narrow runner-up Waldgeist. A grandson of Linamix and from the family of Monsun, Brametot offers an outcross and covered 61 mares in his first season.

ECTOT

(Hurricane Run - Tonnara {Linamix}) Haras de Bouquetot, €5,000

Ectot stamped his class from his juvenile

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MONDIALISTE GALILEO - OCCUPANDISTE (KALDOUN)

STEL LA R F OA LS from his exceptional first crop are selling this winter STANDING AT ELWICK STUD Elwick Stud, Sheraton Farm, Co. Durham TS27 4RB t: +44 (0) 1429 856 530 e: info@elwickstud.co.uk w: www.elwickstud.co.uk

Foal Market ››

RECORDER

days, his four wins that season led by a victory in the Criterium International. He also trained on to land another top level success at five in the Joe Hirsch Turf Classic Stakes. A half-brother to Most Improved, he covered 68 mares in his first season and breeders must have been pleased with the results given the increased support of 78 mares in 2019.

(Galileo - Memory {Danehill Dancer}) Montfort et Preaux, €6,000

The Queen’s Recorder received a first book of 158 mares, the most of any new French stallion in 2018. By Galileo and out of Group 2 winner Memory, he won two of his three starts and was last seen winning the Acomb Stakes at York before being retired due to injury.

IVANHOWE

(Soldier Hollow - Indigo Girl {Sternkoenig}) - Haras du Thenney, €4,500

STORM THE STARS

By leading German sire Soldier Hollow, Ivanhowe was a multiple Group 1 winner in both hemispheres. The syndicate who campaigned him in Australia retained a majority interest and have supported him strongly. Ivanhowe transferred to Haras d’Annebault in 2019.

A dual stakes winner, several of Storm The Stars’ best performances came in defeat, notably when placed in the Epsom and Irish Derbys. Standing in association with Sheikh Juma Dalmook Al Maktoum, he boasts major appeal on pedigree, being out of a half-sister to Giant’s Causeway.

COOLMORE

(Sea The Stars - Love Me Only {Sadler’s Wells}) - Haras du Lion, €4,000

Caravaggio: first foals should be popular

››

Brilliant Arrogate leads stellar Kentucky cast and Cairo Prince. He forms part of a strong young group of Coolmore’s Kentucky arm alongside Practical Joke ($30,000), a Grade 1 winner at two and three by Into Mischief, and Cupid ($12,500), a Grade 1winning son of Tapit. Speaking of Tapit, Shadwell Farm offers its own son of the Gainesway stalwart in Mohaymen (Shadwell Farm; $7,500). This $2.2 million yearling purchase was an early Kentucky Derby favourite following successes in the Fountain Of Youth and Holy Bull Stakes and is also a half-brother to New Year’s Day, who rose to notoriety this year as the sire of Kentucky Derby

‘winner’ Maximum Security. The Pulpit sire line is also to the fore via Lord Nelson (Spendthrift Farm: $25,000). A brilliant Californian sprinter, Lord Nelson almost lost his life to laminitis in 2017, which makes the arrival of his first foals this year all the more appreciable. Buyers this winter also have the choice of two top-class sons of Curlin in Connect (Lane’s End Farm: $20,000) and Keen Ice (Calumet Farm: $20,000). Connect landed his Grade 1 in the Cigar Mile Handicap, while Keen Ice’s finest moment came when overpowering American Pharoah to win the Travers Stakes.

GEORGE SELWYN

Immense anticipation surrounds the first crop of Juddmonte’s brilliant champion Arrogate (Juddmonte Farms: 2018 fee $75,000), writes Nancy Sexton. The son of Unbridled’s Song has been heavily supported by both his owner and outside breeders – his first book included champion Songbird – and understandably so, as befits a horse whose four Grade 1 victories included the Dubai World Cup and Travers Stakes, the latter by close to 14 lengths. Also brilliant on his day was Gun Runner (Three Chimneys Farm: $70,000); the winner of six Grade 1 races including the Breeders’ Cup Classic, the 2017 Horse of the Year is also out of a half-sister to champion and Grade 1 sire Saint Liam. Gun Runner is one of two highprofile sons of Candy Ride within this bracket alongside undefeated Grade 1-winning juvenile Mastery (Claiborne Farm: $25,000). He looked to have the world at his feet when the easy winner of his final start, the San Felipe Stakes, but came out of that race with a career-ending injury. Classic Empire (Ashford Stud; $35,000) is another to boast champion credentials as the top two-year-old of his generation. It also doesn’t hurt that he shares his sire Pioneerof The Nile with emerging sires American Pharoah

Arrogate was superb on the track and his first foals are sure to create a buzz in the ring

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EL KABEIR Scat Daddy x Great Venue

Scat Daddyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s best ever 2YO son trained in America

OALS F P O R C T S R FI AT GOFFS

FOALS FIRST CROP RKET AT NEWMA

Grade 2 winner at 2 Multiple Graded Stakes winner Grade 1 placed at 3 Yeomanstown Stud, Naas, Co. Kildare, Ireland Tel: +353 (0)45 897314, Fax: +353 (0)45 897708 Email: yeomanstownstud@eircom.net, www.yeomanstown.ie full page TOB EK foals.indd 1

21/10/2019 14:24

GEORGE SELWYN

Foal Market

The Grey Gatsby: plenty of fans in France

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THE GREY GATSBY

(Mastercraftsman - Marie Vison {Entrepeneur}) Haras du Petit Tellier, €7,000

An impressive winner of the Prix du Jockey Club, The Grey Gatsby will

perhaps be best remembered for his dramatic defeat of Australia in the Irish Champion Stakes. From the first crop of Mastercraftsman, he was a popular new French recruit, covering 110 mares in his first season at stud.

ULTRA

(Manduro - Epitome {Nashwan}) - Haras du Logis, €7,000

Like his sire Manduro, Ultra was unbeaten as a two-year-old, his three successes topped by the Prix Jean-Luc Lagardere at Longchamp in record time. Crowned champion French two-year-old as a result, he comes from the Niarchosassociated family of Hector Protector and Bosra Sham.

ZARAK

(Dubawi - Zarkava {Zamindar}) - Haras de Bonneval, €12,000

Zarak is of obvious appeal on pedigree alone as a Dubawi son of Arc heroine Zarkava. However, he confirmed his own class when taking the Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud and lost little in defeat when second in the Prix du Jockey Club.

ZELZAL

(Sea The Stars - Olga Prekrasa {Kingmambo}) - Haras du Bouquetot, €8,000

Zelzal was one of three sires retired to Haras du Bouquetot for the 2018 season, in which he covered 77 mares. He was top-class at three, notably when winning the Prix Jean Prat in record time.

One consignor who has enjoyed recent success with seemingly risky stallions is Sophie Buckley of Culworth Grounds Farm, who sold a colt from the second crop of Cable Bay for 160,000gns, having cost just €4,000 as a foal. Looking ahead to the foal sales, Buckley is keen to view the stock by first-crop sires. Sophie Buckley: “I have a “Churchill jumps out as an good foal by Time Test – obvious choice and I’ve seen I’ve heard good reports” some nice foals by him,” she says. “I also like the idea of Postponed - as well as being a top-class racehorse, he is by Dubawi, as is Night Of Thunder, who has made a terrific start at stud.” Buckley is also a breeder, so has an insight into some of the stallions’ first foals. “I have a foal by Time Test, who is very athletic and a good walker,” she says. “I’ve heard good reports from others of his foals, too. I would have loved to have used Profitable, he is a very good-looking horse, but he stands in Ireland.” Aughamore Stud achieved fantastic results this year with pinhooks by first-crop sires, selling the highest price yearling by New Bay, and will be following the same method at the upcoming foal sales. “We’re going to try and focus on stallions who won Group 1s,” Aughamore’s Laurence Gleeson says. “We found their progeny were easier to sell this year. Ulysses is one whose foals we’d be keen to buy. He’s more our type – he may be slightly under the radar with other pinhookers; a little less obvious and hopefully some of his foals might be more affordable.” Not that Aughamore will shy away from the more precocious types, says brother Michael Gleeson. “Cotai Glory should be popular as a commercial speed option and given what Exceed And Excel achieved with Kuroshio and Bungle Inthejungle, he should have every chance,” he says.

TATTERSALLS

“Ardad offers plenty of speed and precocity to commercial breeders” “We bred a foal ourselves by Cotai Glory and he’s very nice, as were another few we foaled down for clients on the farm.” Bloodstock agent Bobby O’Ryan has seen many a stallion fail and succeed and has a few first crop sires on his radar. “I’m looking forward to seeing the first foals by Ribchester,” he says. “He’s a lovely looking horse himself and was a top-class racehorse. Kildangan Stud’s other new sire, Profitable, should be another nice commercial type.” Pedigree-wise, there are others that O’Ryan will be seeking out at the foal sales. “Decorated Knight is very well-bred; he has a stallion’s pedigree,” he says. “And Caravaggio is an obvious choice given the recent success of Scat Daddy.” Fellow agent Ross Doyle is also looking forward to seeing the first offerings by a number of sires. “Aclaim is very interesting,” he says. “We’re huge fans of Acclamation; he produces very good, sound racehorses. Aclaim is also out of a Montjeu mare and comes from a very good family but Acclamation Ross Doyle: “Aclaim is very would be a huge selling point. interesting – he comes “Ardad also appeals as from a good family” a very fast son of Kodiac. He offers plenty of speed and precocity to commercial breeders. Caravaggio also comes from a very current and prominent sire line in Scat Daddy and he was a top-class racehorse himself. Invincible Spirit, meanwhile, has proven himself time and time again as a sire of sires, so I would be keen on Profitable, too.” He adds: “I think Churchill will add an awful lot of quality to his mares – he’s a big, robust, good-looking son of Galileo. I also like Ribchester; he was a top racehorse, has a nice bit of size and gives breeders plenty of options as a son of Iffraaj.”

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T I M E T E S T X R O YA L R A S C A L ( L U C K Y S T O R Y ) 5 MONTHS OLD

T I M E T E S T X M AT R O N O F H O N O U R ( T E O F I LO ) 9 WEEKS OLD

TIME TEST X PURE JOY (ZAMINDAR) 5 MONTHS OLD

TIME TEST X DAWN OF EMPIRE (EMPIRE MAKER) 5 MONTHS OLD

TIME TEST X COMIC (BE MY CHIEF) 6 WEEKS OLD

TIME TEST X CASTER SUGAR (COZZENE) 7 WEEKS OLD

NOMINATION ENQUIRIES TIM LANE 07738 496141

JOE CALLAN 07872 058295

EMILY HUGHES 07500 154760

Breeders’ Digest

Nancy Sexton Bloodstock Editor

Our bloodstock coverage this month includes Sales Circuit: Seven-figure yearlings underline demand for top offerings – pages 62-83 Caulfield Files: Number of inbred US Grade 1 winners on the rise – pages 84-85 Dr Statz: Dansili’s sire line starting to thrive – page 112

Bearstone Stud’s Glass Slippers encapsulates the best of British

is undoubtedly worth the while.

American money a welcome element at Tatts GEORGE SELWYN

ongchamp’s Arc card encapsulated the best of British breeding, whether through the gallant Arc performances of Waldgeist and Enable, both of whom boast ties to Newsells Park Stud, or the burgeoning talent of Godolphin’s British-bred colt Victor Ludorum, who maintained his unbeaten record in the Prix Jean-Luc Lagardere. The Prix de l’Abbaye heroine Glass Slippers, meanwhile, struck a welcome blow for the smaller British breeder. Glass Slippers was bred in Shropshire by Terry and Margaret Holdcroft’s Bearstone Stud. Although by Dream Ahead, who swapped Ballylinch Stud for Haras de Grandcamp in Normandy in 2017, she represents true Bearstone breeding as a daughter of Night Gypsy, a homebred daughter of the stud’s former stallion Mind Games. Granddam Ocean Grove also bred seven winners for the stud including Listed scorer On The Brink. Night Gypsy was 18 when she foaled Glass Slippers and had already done Bearstone proud as the dam of Radley Stakes winner Electic Feel, herself a daughter of pensioned Bearstone stallion Firebreak. Glass Slippers, however, has taken matters to another level. “It has been particularly rewarding,” says Terry Holdcroft. “Night Gypsy was an older mare at the time so Glass Slippers was always going to be kept. “We thought she was decent last year - Kevin Ryan always thought a lot of her. There was an idea that she didn’t like soft ground when she ran badly at Newbury earlier in the year but she lost both her front shoes at the start that day. She’s done nothing but improve since. “Because of the ground, we did wonder whether to run in the Abbaye, especially as we thought we didn’t have a great draw in three. But we were already booked to go and we decided to take our chance. And she ended up being very impressive.” Glass Slippers arrived at the Abbaye on a steep upward curve having won the

Glass Slippers: rewarding for Bearstone

Prix Moonlight Cloud and Prix du Petit Couvert, and didn’t disappoint, storming clear under Tom Eaves to win by three lengths from So Perfect. “We’ve bred our share of good horses like Hearts Of Fire, another Group 1 winner, but what makes this one so exciting is that we still own her,” said Holdcroft. “We’ve had the family since we bought her granddam Ocean Grove. It’s a very fast family. They’re not massive, big balls of horses but they’re all quite athletic.” Like any self respecting stallion farm, Bearstone makes a point of supporting its roster with the stud’s band of broodmares. To that end, various names past and present feature heavily in their pedigrees, including Mind Games, the leading British-based first crop sire of his year who has become quite the weapon for Bearstone as a broodmare sire. “Mind Games was very good to us,” says Holdcroft of the son of fellow former Bearstone resident Puissance. “Obviously he sired Romantic Myth for us [winner of the Queen Mary Stakes] and then Night Gypsy and Alexander Ballet, who is the dam of Hearts Of Fire.” Much has changed in the industry in the 40 years that the stud has been under Holdcroft ownership, not least a major contraction in the number of British stallion farms. Bearstone continues to buck that worrying trend, however, as the base for Fountain Of Youth and Washington DC. As Holdcroft says, “it is getting harder”, but when you have a filly like Glass Slippers to look forward to next season, it

The high regard in which the European thoroughbred is held internationally was very much on show last month at the Tattersalls October Sale. The early success enjoyed by agent Mike Ryan and trainer Chad Brown out of the sale has been well documented - think Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies winner Newspaperofrecord alongside graded stakes winners Digital Age and Demarchelier. Nor had that gone unnoticed in American circles, with the result being that Park Paddocks had a distinct Keeneland feel to it in the days leading up to Book 1. When all was done and dusted, approximately 58 yearlings out of Book 1 had been sold to race in America. They included pricey individuals such as the Dubawi half-brother to Legatissimo and Galileo daughter of Group 3 winner Wannabe Better, who were both bought by Ryan for 500,000gns. For the first time this year, however, Ryan and his clients faced major competition from some of their compatriots, notably Ben McElroy, BSW Bloodstock, Maverick Racing, Deuce Greathouse and Justin Casse. At least 10.7 million guineas worth of stock fell to American interests, while there were also obviously the times when they came off second best; indeed, there was a period during the first day when Chad Brown was seemingly bidding on every other lot. At a sale when it wasn’t always plain sailing for vendors, the importance of American money to Books 1 and 2 cannot be underestimated. Thus, the efforts of Tattersalls in attracting such a deep buying bench deserve to be appreciated. And, with any luck, some of those purchases will go on to take advantage of America’s enhanced turf programme and propel further interest next year.

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Sales Circuit • By Carl Evans

Superpowers propel top end of Book 1 market Consecutive years of record turnover at this event (seven in a row to 2018) had to end sometime, yet it was still a phenomenal sale. More than 102 million guineas changed hands in three sessions, and while all the key indicators took a dip and consignors could never be sure about the reception their yearling would receive in the ring the figures were impressive. Buyers hoping to gain a horse were facing an average price of 258,008gns (down five per cent) and a median of 150,000gns (a fall of ten per cent). If they wanted to find their name on the top-ten board they needed at least 1,000,000gns. Sheikh Mohammed’s Godolphin and MV Magnier of Coolmore were key players buying eight of the top ten lots – it is good for the game that old grievances have been put aside and the two goliaths are willing to bid against

TATTERSALLS

Tattersalls October Sale Book 1

Sheikh Mohammed’s Godolphin was a major buying force, accounting for the top three lots

Tattersalls October Sale Book 1 Top lots Sex/breeding

Vendor

Price (gns)

Buyer

C Dubawi – Alina

Hazelwood Bloodstock

3,600,000

Godolphin

C Frankel - Fleche d'Or

Norelands Stud

3,100,000

Godolphin

C Kingman - Grace And Favour

Coln Valley Stud

2,300,000

Godolphin

F Galileo - Quiet Oasis

Barronstown Stud

2,100,000

M V Magnier/Westerberg

C Kingman - One Last Dance

Hazelwood Bloodstock

1,800,000

MV Magnier

C Siyouni – Cabaret

Norelands Stud

1,300,000

MV Magnier

C Galileo - Jacqueline Quest

New England Stud

1,100,000

Godolphin

C Dubawi - Miss Marjurie

Longview Stud

1,100,000

Godolphin

C Dubawi - The Fugue

Watership Down Stud

1,000,000

David Redvers B/S

C Dubawi - Without You Babe

Newsells Park Stud

1,000,000

Kevin Ryan

Five-year tale Year

Sold

Agg (gns)

Average (gns)

Median (gns)

Top price (gns)

2019

397

102,429,000

258,008

150,000

3,600,000

2018

392

106,503,000

271,691

167,500

3,500,000

2017

349

102,290,000

293,095

165,000

4,000,000

2016

386

88,038,000

228,078

130,000

2,600,000

2015

372

82,744,500

222,431

150,000

2,100,000

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Overview and analysis of the latest events in the ring

“US visitors accounted for over 50 yearlings at Book 1”

TATTERSALLS

each other once again – while Shadwell, Qatar Racing and King Power Racing were all in buying mood. So too were American visitors. Keen to source European bloodlines for turf racing and aided in that quest by a favourable exchange rate, they accounted for over 50 yearlings at prices up to 500,000gns. Expatriate Irishman Mike Ryan, who spent much of his time at the ring in company with US trainer Chad Brown and racehorse owner Peter Brant, was the most industrious of these transatlantic buyers. Australian influences had a role, too, with a handful of purchases and a couple of seven-figure sales which made Book 1 such a memorable occasion for Adrian and Philippa O’Brien of Hazelwood Bloodstock, which is based at Exning near Newmarket. The contacts he made while working with bloodstock down under gave the O’Briens’ fledgling stud and consigning operation a significant starting point when they opened for business in 2016, but few could have expected them to sell a Book 1 top lot within three years. However, their Dubawi colt, a halfbrother to top miler Barney Roy out of the Galileo mare Alina, wowed the right people, and it took a bid of

TATTERSALLS

Alastair Pim brings the gavel down on the sale’s top lot, the half-brother to Barney Roy

Chad Brown (dark cap) and Mike Ryan (right) upped their spend at Tattersalls

Nov_183_SaleCircuit.indd 63

3,600,000gns before the Godolphin team fought off interest from Coolmore. The O’Briens offered the colt on behalf of Sun Stud, the Victoria-based farm owned by the Hong Kong-based Sun International Chairman Ting Kong Cheng. At the final session the O’Briens struck again when Godolphin paid 1,800,000gns for a son of Kingman bred by Sydney-based John Camilleri of Fairway Thoroughbreds. Camilleri is best known as the breeder of Winx.

Harry McCalmont’s Norelands Stud was another consignor of two millionaire yearlings, gaining 3,100,000gns for a Godolphin-bought Frankel half-brother to Derby winner Golden Horn, and 1,300,000gns for a son of Siyouni to Coolmore. The Siyouni, a half-brother to Coolmore’s 2,000 Guineas winner Magna Grecia, was another yearling with a connection on the other side of the globe, for he was bred by Australian Bob Scarborough.

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Sales Circuit ››

Qatar Racing joined the million-guinea buying club when picking up a Dubawi colt for 1,000,000gns, and Kevin Ryan’s importance to Sheikh Mohammed Obaid’s operation was underlined with several purchases by the Yorkshire trainer, including another Dubawi colt who made a round seven figures. Newsells Park Stud knew it could not hope to match the sale it enjoyed in 2018 – when selling four seven-figure lots and turning over just over 11m gns from 18 horses – but it still became leading consignor after selling 16 yearlings for 6,590,000gns, while Godolphin was the biggest buyer, taking 19 lots for a spend of 17,575,000gns, or 17% of entire turnover. Dubawi was responsible for 23 horses who sold for an average of 574,565gns, more than twice his advertised fee. Galileo’s fee is private, but his 15 yearlings sold for an average of 646,677gns. The importance of these two sires, plus that of the Juddmonte duo Frankel and Kingman, to European bloodstock could be seen from their combined sales worth 44,312,000gns, or 43% of the turnover.

TALKING POINTS • “Prize-money is the key lever in horseracing with which to influence the behaviour of those managing the supply of horses into the sport,” wrote ROA President Nicholas Cooper in his Thoroughbred Owner Breeder column for October. Taking that comment a step further, could prize-money be shaping the shape of the racehorse? It is now commonly said the only way to make money out of a racehorse is by selling it, which is part of the reason that sprinter/milers are popular. They are invariably precocious, and have good resale value both at home and abroad. One seasoned observer who attended Book 1 said they noticed that yearlings were becoming more powerful, with big, sprinting backsides. Thanks to man’s great ally the horse and the wonderful world of horseracing, bloodstock vendors, buyers and agents should all be able to make a living through an honest day’s work. • There is little point hoping to make a mark at Book 1 unless you own several homes, yachts and racehorses – or is there? Consider the case of Alina (a daughter of Galileo, no less) who was retired from racing in 2012, covered by Excelebration and sold at the December Sale for 62,000gns. It is not fanciful to suggest half a dozen friends with reasonable incomes could have clubbed together to buy her, and if she produced a correct foal some of the outlay could be recouped. It soon was, for the colt inside made 30,000gns as a foal – and £70,000 as a yearling – adding to the likelihood that Alina could turn a profit for her owners in time, but when the said colt became a Group 1 winner her career was heading for another stratosphere. Admittedly a cover by Dubawi would have been beyond the means of our theoretical six friends, but had they remortgaged their homes and sent her to the Darley stallion in 2017 the resulting colt would have topped Book 1 and returned them 3,600,000gns, less expenses, and the journey would have been a lot more fun than playing the National Lottery.

A much-loved event in the sales calendar, and regarded as a key barometer of the yearling market – and therefore of breeders’ positions – Book 2 gained its first seven-figure horse at the latest staging. This headline act, a 1,050,000gns daughter of Dark Angel, was not a typical Book 2 yearling on price, but she was typical of those who could go into Book 1 yet are thought better placed to shine in the Championship rather than the Premier League. Shine she did, her valuation being higher than any Dark Angel yearling sold the previous week at Book 1, where the sire’s top price was 800,000gns. Shadwell’s Sheikh Hamdan bought that one and the Book 2 beauty. Her valuation came down to two elements, the first being a ring battle between two wealthy men, namely Sheikh Hamdan and his cousin, Sheikh Mohammed Obaid, represented by Yorkshire trainer Kevin Ryan. The second element was an opportunity to buy a filly/broodmare prospect from the family of Cassandra Go, Trevor Stewart’s outstanding racemare whose portfolio gained another gold star a few days after this sale when Magical won the

TATTERSALLS

Tattersalls October Sale Book 2

A new record was set in the sale of this Dark Angel filly for 1,050,000gns to Shadwell

Champion Stakes at Ascot. That will have reinforced Sheikh Hamdan in his decision to buy the yearling, who was foaled by the Pivotal mare Allez Alaia, whose full-sister, Halfway To Heaven, is Magical’s dam. Away from this stellar peak of trade the figures for Book 2 also broke new

ground for turnover (48,499,000gns) and median (55,500gns), while the average price (78,224gns) rose two per cent. The clearance rate weakened a fraction, down one per cent at 85% but demand for the best was strong, with 171 horses changing hands for 100,000gns or more, an increase of 27.

››

64 THOROUGHBRED OWNER BREEDER

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Al Kazeem TOB-November 2019:Oakgrove Stud

17/10/19

13:56

Page 1

Al Kazeem

bay 2008, 16.1hh by Dubawi - Kazeem (Darshaan) N Four-time Gr.1 winner by DUBAWI Won Gr.1 Tattersalls Gold Cup, 2015 Won Gr.1 Coral-Eclipse, 2013 2020 FEE PRIVATE Won Gr.1 Prince Of Wales's Stakes, 2013 Call David Hilton 07595 951248 Won Gr.1 Tattersalls Gold Cup, 2013 N Joint Champion Older Horse in Europe in 2013 (9.5f-10.5f ) N Timeform rated 128 in three consecutive seasons N From a first crop of just 23 foals, sire of ASPETAR (below), Gr.1 Preis von Europa and Gr.2 Grand Prix de Chantilly (new race record) and black type sprinter GOLDEN SPELL (RPR 103) N 56% winners to runners from his first two crops N 9% black type horses to foals from his first crop

Group 1 Sire!

STANDING AT OAKGROVE STUD Oakgrove Estate, St Arvans, Chepstow, Monmouthshire, NP16 6EH For Nominations Contact: David Hilton: 07595 951248 G Email: david@oakgrovestud.com

Sales Circuit ›› Among them was a New Approach colt, the final lot of 730 offered, whose sale for 130,000gns nudged turnover to a new high mark. Demand for the best was emphasised by a 900,000gns No Nay Never colt from Croom House Stud. Bought by MV Magnier of Coolmore Stud he became Book 2’s record-priced horse for a few hours, while another high focussed on a 600,000gns Siyouni colt bred by Tim and Gill Bostwick, who wrapped up their Wiltshire-based Biddestone Stud two years ago, but retain the name for breeding purposes. Their broodmares now foal at the Tom Blain-managed Barton Stud, which also consigns the progeny. Angus Gold of Shadwell signed for the Bostwicks’ yearling, as his boss marched unerringly towards leading buyer status, increasing his spend and number of horses bought. Forty yearlings in 2018 became 51 this time for an aggregate of 8,505,000gns. Add in Rabbah Bloodstock’s 42 yearlings for 3,216,000gns and those two Dubaibased breeding and racing operations

TALKING POINTS • Archipenko was a tip-top racehorse who earned £1,254,000 on the track, gaining two Group 2 victories in Europe and success at the top level in Hong Kong where he won the QEII Cup. He was a good-looking son of Kingmambo and from the family of Nureyev and Sadler’s Wells, so he had appeal to breeders, yet his profile meant he was never going to be regarded as an early commercial type, whose first foals and yearlings would be snapped up by pinhookers and trainers. He would have to work for success and he got it, to a level, in his first crop, which included Time Warp, a Kirsten Rausing-bred fourtime winner as a two-year-old for Sir Mark Prescott. Sadly, Archipenko died at Rausing’s Lanwades Stud in 2017, too young at the age of 13. At Book 2 his final crop of yearlings proved popular, with all six sold for an average of 113,667gns, a figure helped by a 425,000gns colt. The leastvalued of the sextet made 18,000gns, this from a covering fee of £10,000. The 425,000gns Archipenko high was rich reward for breeder Gary Robinson of Strawberry Fields Stud, which has farms near Cambridge and Newmarket and offered just one horse at Book 2. Robinson’s philosophy is to eschew commercial fashions and breed to produce Classic winners, hence the yearling’s dam, Desert Berry, made several visits to Archipenko.

accounted for 24% of Book 2 sales. Tally-Ho Stud’s 30 lots, which sold for 1,964,000gns, enabled it to take leading consignor honours, while its top stallion, Kodiac, headed the sires’ list by aggregate, with 39 horses turning over 3,500,000gns at an

average of 89,744gns. Gaining a place among established sires was Night Of Thunder, whose first two-year-olds proved fast and able this year. He crept onto the top-ten board with nine sold for 1,299,000gns at an average of 144,333gns – his 2017 fee was €25,000.

››

Tattersalls October Sale Book 2 Top lots Sex/breeding

Vendor

Price (gns)

F Dark Angel - Allez Alaia

Ballyhimikin Stud

C No Nay Never - Winning Sequence

Croom House Stud

900,000

M V Magnier

C Siyouni - Moonlit Garden

Barton Stud

600,000

Shadwell Estate Company

F Night Of Thunder - Blanche Neige

Longview Stud

425,000

C Gordon-Watson B/S

C Archipenko - Desert Berry

Strawberry Fields Stud

425,000

Hong Kong Jockey Club

C No Nay Never - Lady Soldier

Ballyvolane Stud

325,000

Rabbah B/S

C Kodiac – Honeymead

Ballyhimikin Stud

310,000

Grove Stud

C Australia - Sophie Germain

John Hayes/Galbertstown Stud

300,000

Philippa Mains

C Camelot - Beach Frolic

Highclere Stud

300,000

SackvilleDonald

C Acclamation - Folk Melody

Corduff Stud

300,000

Hong Kong Jockey Club

C New Bay – Glorification

Aughamore Stud

300,000

Amanda Skiffington

1,050,000

Buyer Shadwell Estate Company

Five-year tale Year

Sold

Agg (gns)

Average (gns)

Median (gns)

Top price (gns)

2019

620

48,499,000

78,224

55,500

1,050,000

2018

631

48,458,500

76,796

55,000

750,000

2017

613

48,022,000

78,339

55,000

850,000

2016

593

38,758,500

65,360

50,000

380,000

2015

681

42,414,000

62,282

47,000

725,000

66 THOROUGHBRED OWNER BREEDER

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Sales Circuit ››

Tattersalls October Sale Book 3

In a sale of two halves the stronger day one performed very well, the second session not so well, and the overall figures came out more or less on a par with last year. Turnover was down eight per cent at just over 7,000,000gns (although 42 fewer horses was a factor in that decline), but the average, median and clearance rate were all unchanged. The first session was particularly perky, and saw a two-point gain in the clearance rate to 86% and a two per cent rise in the average price to 21,805gns, figures which make it clear many breeders moved yearlings on, and stood a chance of a profit given the covering fees at this lower end of the scale. Of course, some will have lost money, as will some pinhookers whose foal purchases failed to grow into swans, but that was not the case for small UKbased breeders Fred Ellis and Thorsten Feddern, who after a 20-year racing and breeding partnership cracked their best result in the ring when selling a daughter of Territories for 145,000gns, a great return on the sire’s fee of £12,000. Her

TALKING POINT • Should trainers be redefined as traders? Gay Kelleway was happy to describe herself as “a trader” while shopping at Book 3 on a day when a horse she bought for €4,000 won that sum back for finishing second at MaisonsLaffitte and was then claimed for €25,000. Losing a horse in that way was often anathema for trainers in past decades, but Kelleway was “delighted, because we’ve made a profit.” Similarly, Cork trainer John Joseph Murphy talked of training and then selling a yearling he had bought, saying it was impossible to “make money”, i.e. make a living, from training fees. of James Fanshawe’s Fred Archer Syndicate, and a Lope De Vega filly who made 100,000gns, although she had been a €115,000 foal pinhook. Day two, a weaker session, was headed by a lovely Night Of Thunder colt, a pinhook by County Antrim’s Armstrong family of Beechvale Stud, whose €15,000 purchase was transformed into one of 75,000gns, sold to Johnny Hassett for breezing. Book 4 followed the next day, hours after the world’s richest turf race, the Everest, took place in Australia, and ahead of Ascot’s QIPCO British Champions Day. Champagne and lemonade spring to mind.

valuation was a Book 3 record for a filly, one that was created by buyer Anthony Stroud, who declined to name his client. The result continued the happy ride that Ellis Stud and Feddern’s Bellow Hill Stud are enjoying with the stock of second dam Play Around (by Niniski). From her they bred their first stakes earner, Love Your Looks, whose first foal, Breathtaking Look, won Doncaster’s Sceptre Stakes one month before her yearling half-sister entered the ring. She came from the first crop of the sire, who stands at Dalham Hall Stud. Other six-figure sales included a 125,000gns yearling colt by Free Eagle, who was bought by Stroud on behalf

››

Considering Ireland? 1 ST First 50 2YO Maidens 2019

WON BY 35 OWNERS

IRISH RACE PROGRAMME IS BLACK TYPE

€1,700 Average Irish Monthly Training & Racing Costs

RATIO OF THOROUGHBREDS TO POPULATION

2YO FORAN EQUINE IRISH EBF AUCTION SERIES 2020

24 qualifiers worth minimum

€20,000

10,000

IRELAND

GREAT BRITAIN

IRISH EBF MEDIAN SIRE SERIES

24 races with min prize fund

€25,000

FRANCE

USA

FOR INFORMATION ON OWNERSHIP IN IRELAND: E: owners@hri.ie I T: +353 45 455 455 I www.racehorseownership.ie

68 THOROUGHBRED OWNER BREEDER

Nov_183_SaleCircuit.indd 68

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CABLE BAY INVINCIBLE SPIRIT

Leading 1st Crop Sires in GB and IRE 2019 SIRE

GRANDSIRE

BTH

GRW

GPH

TOTAL £

Cable Bay

Invincible Spirit

WNRS WINS

570,687

2 3 4 5 6

Night of Thunder Gleneagles Due Diligence Gutaifan Anjaal

Dubawi Galileo War Front Dark Angel Bahamian Bounty

20 15 14 22 9

27 20 25 29 15

5 5 3 1 0

1 2 2 0 0

1 3 2 1 0

451,820 427,211 321,795 311,597 249,428

To date 21st October 2019.

IMPRESSIVE SALES PRICES:

£320,000, £200,000, £175,000, £160,000, £150,000, £140,000, €130,000, £110,000, £105,000, £90,000 Also sire of high class 2yo’s, KING’S LYNN, Winner of Weatherbys £150,000 2yo Stakes, Multiple group placed ROPEY GUEST, ISABEAU, second to Cheveley Park winner Millisle in the Listed Curragh Stakes etc

NEW FOR 2020

LAND FORCE NO NAY NEVER

LAND FORCE (IRE) (2016) A Bay Colt

No Nay Never (USA)

Theann (GB) (2004)

Scat Daddy (USA) Cat's Eye Witness (USA) Rock of Gibraltar (IRE) Cassandra Go (IRE)

Johannesburg (USA) Love Style (USA) Elusive Quality (USA) Comical Cat (USA) Danehill (USA) Off f shore Boom ff Indian Ridge Rahaam (USA)

LAND FORCE (IRE): won 3 races at 2 years, 2018 and £192,225 viz Qatar Richmond Stakes, Goodwood, Gr.2,Coolmore Pride of Dubai Tipperary Stakes, Tipperary r , L. and Irish Stallion Farms EBF Maiden, Curragh, ry placed 4 times including third in Norfo r lk Stakes, Ascot, Gr.2, Cold Move EBF Marble Hill Stakes, Curragh, L. rfo and fourth in Darley Prix Morny, Deauville, Gr.1. 1st Dam THEANN (GB), won 2 races at 2 and 3 years and £74,644 including Cuisine de France Summer Stakes, York, Gr.3, second in Flame of Tara Stakes, Curragh, L., third in Greenlands Stakes, Curragh, Gr.3 and Dimitrova 1000 Guineas Trial, Leopardstown, Gr.3; dam of ffour winners from 5 runners and 8 foa f ls off racing age includingPHOTO CALL (IRE) (2011 f. by Galileo (IRE)), won 6 races at 3 to 5 years at home and in U.S.A. and £544,932 including Rodeo Drive Stakes, Santa Anita, Gr.1, First Lady Stakes, Keeneland, Gr.1, Violet Stakes, Monmouth Park, Gr.3 and Orchid Stakes, Gulfstream Park, Gr.3, placed 7 times including second in Beaugay Stakes, Belmont Park, Gr.3, Robert G Dick k Memorial Stakes, Delaware Park, Gr.3, third in La Prevoyante Handicap, Gulfstream Park, Gr.3 and Perfect Sting Stakes, Belmont Park. LAND FORCE (IRE) (2016 c. by No Nay Never (USA)), see above. 2nd Dam CASSANDRA DRA GO (IRE), won 6 races at 3 to 5 years and £243,262 including King's Stand Stakes, Royal Ascot, DRA Gr.2, Tripleprint Temple Stakes, Sandown Park, Gr.2, King George Stakes, Goodwood, Gr.3 and EBF Lansdown Stakes, Bath, L., placed 7 times including second in Darley July Cup, Newmarket, Gr.1, Ballyogan Stakes, Leopardstown, Gr.3, Palace House Stakes, Newmarket, Gr.3, Stanley Racing Summer Stakes, York, L. and third in EBF Insulpak Swinley Stakes, Ascot, L.; Own sisterr to Grey Eminence (FR); dam of eight winners nner from 10 runners and 12 foals off racing age includingnners HALFWA WAY WA AY TO HEAV A EN (IRE) (f. by Pivotal (GB)), won 4 races at 2 and 3 years and £470,905 including AV Boylesport r s Irish 1000 Guineas, Curragh, Gr.1, Blue Square Nassau Stakes, Goodwood, Gr.1 and rt Kingdom of Bahrain Sun Chariot Stakes, Newmarket, Gr.1, placed 4 times including second in Leopardstown 1000 Guineas Trial Stakes, Leopardstown, Gr.3, third in Coolmore Fusaichi Pegasus Matron Stakes, Leopardstown, Gr.1, Poule d'Essai des Pouliches, Longchamp, Gr.1; dam of winners. MAGICAL (IRE), Jt Champion 3yr old in Europe in 2018 (11-13f.), 8 races at 2 to 4 years, 2019 and £2,466,935 including Tattersalls Gold Cup, Curragh, Gr.1, Irish Champion Stakes, Leopardstown, Gr.1 and Brit. Champions Fillies/Mare Stakes, Ascot, Gr.1, placed 10 times including second in Coral Eclipse, Sandown Park, Gr.1, Moyglare Stud Stakes, Curragh, Gr.1, Prince of Wales's Stakes, Ascot, Gr.1, Darley Yorkshire Oaks, York, Gr.1 and Breeders' Cup Turf r , Churchill Downs, Gr.1. rf RHODODENDRON (IRE), Champion older er mare in Ireland in 2018, Jt top rated 2yrr old filly in Ireland in 2016, 5 races at 2 to 4 y years, 2018 at home and in France and £1,363,928 including ing Dubai Fillies' Mile, Newmarket, Gr.1, Locki kinge Stakes, Newbury, r Gr.1 and Prix de l'Opera, Chantilly, Gr.1, second in ry, Investec Oaks Stakes, Epsom Downs, Gr.1, 1000 Guineas Stakes, Newmarket, Gr.1, Breeders' Cup Filly and Mare Turf r , Del Mar, Gr.1 and third in Moyglare Stud Stakes, Curragh, Gr.1. FLYING THE rf FLAG (IRE), 3 races at 2, 3 and 5 years at home and in U.A.E. and £125,188 including eFlow ow 'You First' International Stakes, Curragh, Gr.3, placed 6 times including second in Galileo EBF Futurity Stakes, Curragh, Gr.2. TICKLED PINK (IRE) (f. by Invincible Spirit (IRE)), won 3 races at 3 and 4 years and £77,734 including Connaught Flooring Abernant Stakes, Newmarket, Gr.3 and The Coral Charge Sprint Stakes, Sandown Park, Gr.3, p placed 3 times; dam of winners. THEANN (GB)) (f. by Rock of Gibraltarr (IRE)), see above. Fantasy (IRE) (f. by Invincible Spirit (IRE)), won 1 race at 2 years, 2018 and £24,413 and placed 4 times including g third in John Siskk & Son Round Tower er Stakes, Curragh, g Gr.3 and Curragh gh Stakes, Curragh, L. NEVERLETM ETM ETM ME E GO (IRE) E , won 2 races at 3 and £16,954 and placed E) d 3 times; dam of wiinners. BEST REGARDS (IRE), Champion 3yrr old Sprinter er in Germany in 2013, 3 races at 2 and 3 years in France and in Germany and £43,335 including Hoppegartener Fliegerpreis, Berlin-Hoppegart ar en, L., art placed twice including third in P.Af A rika Linen J Essberger Flieger Preis, Hamburg, Gr.3. Af Tilthe End of Time (IRE), unraced; dam of Snazzy (IRE), 1 race at 2 years, 2018 and £26,636, third in Langleys Solicitors EBF Marygate Stakes, York, L. 3rd Dam RAHAA RAH AHAAM (USA) S , won 1 race at 3 years and placed twice, from only 4 start r s; rt dam of nine winners ner from 9 runners and 10 foals of racing age includingners VERGLAS (IRE), won 3 races at 2 and 3 years at home and in U.S.A. including Coventry Stakes, Royal Ascot, Gr.3, second in Lexus Irish 2000 Guineas, Curragh, Gr.1, San Marino Handicap, Santa Anita, L.R. and third in Heinz 57 Phoenix Stakes, Gr.1; sire. PERSIAN SECRET (FR), won 3 races at 2 and 3 years at home and in France including Prix La Sorellina, La Teste Buch, L., placed second in Ewar Stud Empress Stakes, Newmarket, L. and third in Bonusprint Champion 2yo Trophy, Ripon, L.; dam of winners.

Contact: Jake Warren

+44 (0)1635 253 212

“A brilliantly fast 2yo which he proved when winning the Richmond. He was very unlucky not to win the Norfolk, we were drawn on the wrong side.” - RYAN MOORE

Gr.2 Richmond Stakes

EXCELLENT LOOKS & Conformation (like his Sire) €350,000 Goffs yearling BRILLIANTLY FAST winner of the prestigious 6f, Gr.2 Richmond Stakes VERY FAST winner of the 5f, Tipperary Stakes, Listed PEDIGREE full of champions inc Cassandra Go, Magical, Rhododendron and Verglas

+44 (0)7730 272 895

jake@highclerestud.co.uk

www.highclerestud.co.uk

0 2 0

2 r o

STUDY OF MAN Bay 2015 by Deep Impact – Second Happiness (by Storm Cat)

Derby winning son and grandson of legends Won 3 races, £1,033,142, 1600m - 2100m At 2 Won Prix As d’Atout, Saint-Cloud

HALO SUNDAY SILENCE WISHING WELL

DEEP IMPACT

ALZAO WIND IN HER HAIR

At 3 Won Gr.1 French Derby, Chantilly Won Gr.2 Prix Greffulhe, Saint-Cloud 3rd Gr.2 Prix Guillaume d’Ornano, Deauville At 4 2nd Gr.1 Prix Ganay, Longchamp 2nd Gr.1 Prix d’Ispahan, Longchamp

BURGHCLERE STORM BIRD STORM CAT TERLINGUA

SECOND HAPPINESS

NUREYEV MIESQUE PASADOBLE

OUTSTANDING INTERNATIONAL OUTCROSS PEDIGREE

Only son of DEEP IMPACT at stud in England Also standing:

BOBBY’S KITTEN Gr.1 Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint winner; First Yearlings in 2019 SEA THE MOON A Leading European 2nd season sire in 2019 and a multiple Group producing sire SIR PERCY Unbeaten Champion 2yo and Derby Winner; A potent mix of Speed and Stamina

info@lanwades.com

•

LANWADES StudyOfMan_Owner_Full_Nov19.indd 2

w w w. l a n w a d e s . c o m •

Te l : + 4 4 ( 0 ) 1 6 3 8 7 5 0 2 2 2

The independent option TM 25/10/2019 14:19

Sales Circuit ››

A top price of 17,000gns for a Cable Bay colt, bought by John Bourke with a breeze-up sale plan, says much, as does a 54% clearance rate (51 sold from 95 offered). On the plus side the average gained 37% at 4,308gns and the median picked up ten per cent to reach 2,200gns, but it was an exercise in attempting to shift stock, and only half successful judging by the number of horses sold.

When Book 4’s 219,700gns aggregate was added to that achieved at Books 1 to 3 the October Sales turnover of 158,155,600gns came in three per cent down on last year’s record figure, but was the third-highest in the event’s history. Tattersalls’ Chairman Edmond Mahony’s summary of trade made no reference to the day’s events in the British parliament, which involved a rare

Saturday sitting to discuss yet another potential Brexit deal with the European Union, but it contained an oblique reference. He said: “There are so many outside political and economic forces at play which could be expected to undermine our bloodstock market, but the past two weeks at Tattersalls have given everyone involved cause to be proud of what this industry has to offer.” Here, here.

Tattersalls October Sale Book 3 Top lots Sex/breeding

Vendor

Price (gns)

Buyer

F Territories - Love Your Looks

Mickley Stud

145,000

Stroud Coleman Bloodstock

C Free Eagle - Badr Al Badoor

Mountain View Stud

125,000

Stroud Coleman/Fred Archer Racing

F Lope De Vega - Horse Sense

Jamie Railton Sales

100,000

BBA Ireland

F Siyouni – Enraptured

Voute Sales

80,000

MC Bloodstock

C Intello - New Romantic

The National Stud

75,000

Highflyer Bloodstock

C Night Of Thunder – Bahriya

Beechvale Stud

75,000

John Hassett

Three-year tale Year

Sold

Agg (gns)

Average (gns)

Median (gns)

Top Price (gns)

2019

434

7,007,900

16,147

10,000

145,000

2018

472

7,590,800

16,082

10,000

135,000

2017

473

7,839,450

16,574

11,000

110,000

Ireland’s highest-grossing yearling sale delivered the goods again, serving up a quartet of million Euro horses, but there were falls in the figures. Their decline has to be set against a record sale in 2018, one that Goffs’ Managing Director Henry Beeby said had led to demand for additional places. He conceded that the bigger catalogue involving 59 more lots was no help to the clearance rate, which was clipped four points to 85%, although that was still a figure “that reads well”. The average price matched the 2017 figure, albeit down 11% on last year, while the median fell 19%. A small decline was also felt at the head of the market where a daughter of Galileo out of the 17-year-old Theatrical mare Green Room headed trade in an uncanny repeat of events at the sale in 2018. On that occasion Green Room’s Galileo filly was sold to MV Magnier for €3.2 million, this time it was the same buyer but at €3m, and in partnership with a relatively new face in the bloodstock market, Georg Von Opel, who trades in the name of Westerberg.

Nov_183_SaleCircuit.indd 71

GOFFS/SARAH FARNSWORTH

Goffs Orby Sale

The Galileo filly out of Green Room emulated her sister by topping the Goffs Orby Sale

The two-year-old remains unraced, but that did not prevent the younger sibling proving top draw, completing a memorable double for Vimal and Gillian Khosla’s Ballylinch Stud which offered both fillies.

Ballylinch Stud Managing Director John O’Connor referred to Green Room as “one of the most consistent mares ever”, adding, “She’s thrown top racehorses and sale horses with great consistency”. The racehorses include

THOROUGHBRED OWNER BREEDER

››

25/10/2019 16:53

GOFFS/SARAH FARNSWORTH

Sales Circuit

Vimal and Gillian Khosla bred the sale topper out of their Classic-producing mare Green Room

›› Oaks heroine Forever Together and

her Group 1-winning sister Together Forever, and their half-brother Lord Shankill, a sire who also won at the top level. Von Opel also took pole position in the purchase of a €2.2m Galileo

sister to multiple Group 1 winner Alice Springs, a transaction which ensured Ciaran Conroy’s Glenvale Stud headed the list of consignors, narrowly from Ballylinch. Omnipotent Galileo was also the sire of a Barronstown Stud-offered filly

who was sold for €1.1m to a partnership involving Phoenix Thoroughbreds and Australia’s Aquis Farm, while Godolphin became the fourth buyer of a sevenfigure yearling when taking a Dark Angel sister to Harry Angel for €1m from Dave Cox’s Baroda Stud draft.

››

Goffs Orby Sale Top lots Sex/breeding

Vendor

Price (€)

F Galileo - Green Room

Ballylinch Stud

3,000,000

M V Magnier/Westerberg

F Galileo – Aleagueoftheirown

Glenvale Stud

2,200,000

Westerberg

F Galileo - Devoted To You

Barronstown Stud

1,100,000 1,000,000

Buyer

Phoenix T’breds/Aquis Farm

F Dark Angel - Beatrix Potter

Baroda Stud

C Sea The Stars – Ownwan

Jockey Hall Stud/Gormanstown Stud

Godolphin

550,000

Aquis Farm

C Australia – Gems

Glenvale Stud

525,000

M V Magnier

F Frankel – Sweepstake

Croom House Stud

500,000

Shadwell Estate Company

C Sea The Stars - My Spirit

Kilcarn Stud/Castlebridge Consignment

500,000

Godolphin

C Invincible Spirit - Aimhirgin Lass

Irish National Stud

460,000

Godolphin

F Dark Angel - The Hermitage

Yeomanstown Stud

440,000

SackvilleDonald

Five-year tale Year

Sold

Agg (€)

Average (€)

Median (€)

Top price (€)

2019

364

42,927,500

117,933

65,000

3,000,000

2018

328

43,497,000

132,613

80,000

3,200,000

2017

373

40,702,500

109,122

65,000

1,600,000

2016

363

39,925,000

109,986

67,000

1,400,000

2015

371

38,901,500

104,856

65,000

2,000,000

72 THOROUGHBRED OWNER BREEDER

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Sales Circuit

GOFFS/SARAH FARNSWORTH

TALKING POINTS

Baron Georg von Opel (right), assisted by Jamie McCalmont, will race the top two lots

››

Fillies with regal pedigrees invariably dominate the top-ten board at bespoke yearling sales, and nine of the ten best at the Orby in 2018 were distaffers. At the latest edition they filled six of the top-ten places, the most highly-valued colt being a son of Sea The Stars who was knocked down to Aquis Farms for €550,000.

Nov_183_SaleCircuit.indd 75

• Galileo’s value to the bloodstock market in northern Europe cannot be underestimated, both in terms of racecourse performance and pulling power to global investors. Once again the Coolmore stallion dominated matters at the Orby Sale, but he will be 22 when the next covering season opens. Europe has other younger stallions who could take his place as champion sire and international golden boy, but some of the most obvious candidates are standing in Britain and France, rather than at Ireland’s Coolmore Stud, which has been mopping up the sire’s championship in an unbroken run since 1990. Sadler’s Wells led the charge and his son Galileo has been similarly potent, while Caerleon, Danehill and Danehill Dancer all chipped in with a title or three. Coolmore’s search for the next champ continues, and while No Nay Never may grab the mantle another contender could emerge, but on the other side of the Atlantic. Air Force Blue, a son of War Front, stood the 2017 season at Ashford Stud, Coolmore’s US arm, at a fee of $25,000. A brilliant two-yearold who won two Group 1 races at that age while racing in Europe, he stands in the States where he offers options for turf and dirt breeders. It will be interesting to see if his first crop contains a stakes winner or two in Europe, and if it did whether he would be redrafted to Ireland – Coolmore is adept at placing sires for best effect. Air Force Blue certainly made a mark at the Orby Sale where he was the leading first-crop stallion by average, his three representatives changing hands for an average of €141,667 and a high of €250,000.

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THOROUGHBRED OWNER BREEDER 75

25/10/2019 16:54

Sales Circuit Goffs Sportsman’s Sale

Under pressure from vendors, Goffs felt obliged to return this auction of yearlings to one of two days, knowing it was a risky strategy in an area of the market which is not short of stock. The outcome would suggest that both the sales company and their selling clients got away with it, although as Goffs’ chief Henry Beeby put it: “Opinion will be split as to whether we made the right decision,” before adding, “We feel the results

vindicate the move”. Beeby could point to “a perfectly acceptable” 79% clearance rate, which was a drop of seven points on the oneday sale held in 2018, when 92 fewer lots were offered. Falls of 10% in the average price and 13% in the median were not too disheartening, and they were above the equivalent indicators from 2016 when the sale was held over two days. Add in a positive atmosphere throughout the two sessions, and, in line with the bigger catalogue, a

turnover gain of 12%, and it had been a productive event. The headline act was a €135,000 son of Exceed And Excel, offered from Sheikh Hamdan’s Derrinstown Stud on behalf of breeder Hadi Al-Tajir, and knocked down to Joe Foley on behalf of Steve Parkin’s Clipper Logistics. The colt topped day two, while a filly by Camelot headed trade at the opening foray when selling for €100,000. Agent Matt Coleman signed for her on behalf of trainer John Joseph Murphy’s son, George.

Goffs Sportsman’s Sale Top lots Sex/breeding

Vendor

Price (€)

Buyer

C Exceed And Excel - Oriental Step

Hadi Al Tajir/Derrinstown Stud

135,000

Joe Foley

F Camelot – Cmonbabylitemyfire

Pine Tree Stud

100,000

Stroud Coleman/G Murphy

F No Nay Never - Dancing On Air

Castlebridge Consignment

70,000

Church Farm Stables

C Fastnet Rock - Desire Moi

Castlebridge Consignment

70,000

Gerry Hogan

C Kodiac - Victoria Montoya

Tally-Ho Stud

65,000

David Redvers

Three-year tale Year

Sold

Agg (€)

Average (€)

Median (€)

Top price (€)

2019

283

4,854,900

17,155

13,000

135,000

2018

228

4,325,500

18,971

15,000

90,000

2017

232

4,834,500

20,838

16,000

130,000

Goffs UK September Sale

Goffs UK tweaked its sales calendar when making this a two-day event, with yearlings on offer at the first session, and horses in training 24 hours later. The yearlings had previously been offered at the company’s Autumn Sale in late October, but it was said vendors requested the earlier date to give them a chance to shift lesser stock in advance of bigger yearling sales. In that respect the event worked up to a point, for the clearance rate of 63% was a significant improvement on the 44% achieved 12 months earlier. However, it was a much smaller catalogue involving 92 lots, 51 fewer than in 2018, and a top price of £20,000 for a Pearl Secret filly underlined the level of talent on offer and lack of competition among potential buyers. The second day of in-training horses

TALKING POINT • Several traders who were in Doncaster lamented the lack of racing opportunities for cheap yearlings once they have gone into training. They claimed such horses struggle in two-year-old novice races against blue-blooded types, and if they run well against such horses they are handicapped accordingly in nurseries. More selling and auction races would help because many small syndicates and owners simply want competitive opportunities. The standard of the race is irrelevant.

saw a return to business as normal, and some good results. Boosted by a consignment of horses that were sent to the ring as part of Paul and Clare Rooney’s plan to reduce the number of horses they keep in training, the average price gained nine per cent and the median rose seven per cent. Turnover was on a par with the previous year while an 88% clearance rate – well up on the 70% of a year earlier – meant

most vendors were happy with their day’s work. A member of the Rooney draft, fiveyear-old Now Look At Me, headed trade when selling for £75,000 to his trainer, Tom George. The Gloucestershirebased trainer had saddled the gelding to win two bumpers and a hurdle, and, believing there was plenty more to come, bought him on spec with a view to finding a new owner.

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76 THOROUGHBRED OWNER BREEDER

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Dynaformer - Matlacha Pass, by Seeking the Gold

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Sales Circuit Goffs UK September Sale Top lots Name/sex/breeding

Vendor

Price (£)

Buyer

Now Look At Me g Shantou – Similan

Paul & Clare Rooney

75,000

Michael Moore/Tom George

A Toi Phil g Day Flight – Lucidrile

Gigginstown House Stud

70,000

Richard Ryan

Who’s My Jockey g Yeats – Scandisk

Paul & Clare Rooney

54,000

Hamish Macauley B/S

I’m A Game Changer g Arcadio – Drinadaly

Paul & Clare Rooney

50,000

Aidan O’Ryan/Gordon Elliott

Ship Of The Fen g Champs Elysees – Ruffled

Dominion Racing Stables (Ian Williams)

48,000

Richard Ryan

Three-year tale Year

Sold

Agg (£)

Average (£)

Median (£)

Top price (£)

2019

233

2,355,000

10,107

7,000

75,000

2018

192

2,094,800

10,910

7,500

65,000

2017

144

1,617,400

11,232

8,000

66,000

Tattersalls Ireland September Yearling Sale

It was a productive sale for the Hong Kong Jockey Club team, led by Mick Kinane

horses for €110,000, which compares to three for €195,000 in 2018, while Kevin Ross secured two six-figure horses in 2018 but none at the latest edition. The clearance rate of 86% was up eight points while the median gained 15%, but the lack of six-figure sales had impact on the average price and it was down five per cent. Turnover dropped below €10m for the first time since 2015, and Tatteralls Ireland CEO Matt Mitchell referred to a market in “pause mode”. Trade at the following day’s singlesession Part II was low-key although an improved clearance rate – which rose

TATTERSALLS IRELAND

This No Nay Never colt led proceedings, selling for €165,000 to the Hong Kong Jockey Club

TATTERSALLS IRELAND

An improved clearance rate was a result that Tattersalls Ireland hoped for when reducing the catalogue, but it did not want to lose the cream off the top of the sale, too. Sadly, the number of six-figure horses dropped from ten to two, the duo being sons of No Nay Never and Holy Roman Emperor, who made €165,000 and €100,000 respectively. Both horses were bought by the Hong Kong Jockey Club, but some other topend buyers were missing. Shadwell’s Angus Gold, who bought the €275,000 top lot in 2018, was noticeably conspicuous by his absence, as were representatives from Godolphin, and while other well-known buyers did invest it was at a lower level. BBA Ireland’s Yulong client bought two

from 66% to 74% – was a positive note. All the other indicators fell, including the average price, which was down 14% at €6,201 – in 2017 it was €10,115. Oakgrove Stud’s Al Kazeem has endured fertility problems, but he gets good-looking stock and those that arrive at market are invariably popular. So it proved at Part II, where one of his sons headed trade when selling to Dubai’s Nasir Askar for €42,000. Mick Halford will train the youngster, whose sire had claimed his first Group 1 success, courtesy of Aspetar’s victory in Cologne’s Preis Von Europa, just a few days before the sale.

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78 THOROUGHBRED OWNER BREEDER

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Sales Circuit Tattersalls Ireland September Yearling Sale Top lots Sex/breeding

Vendor

Price (€)

Buyer

C No Nay Never - Rio’s Pearl

Mount Eaton Stud

165,000

Hong Kong Jockey Club

C Holy Roman Emperor - Ape Attack

The Castlebridge Consignment

100,000

Hong Kong Jockey Club

C Exceed And Excel - Falcon’s Song

The Castlebridge Consignment

95,000

BBA Ireland

C Dark Angel - Duchess Andorra

Al Eile Stud

90,000

SackvilleDonald

F Exceed And Excel - First Party

Portlester Stud

90,000

MC Bloodstock

C Footstepsinthesand – Majraa

Coole House Farm

90,000

Peter & Ross Doyle Bloodstock/MPR

Five-year tale Year

Sold

Agg (€)

Average (€)

Median (€)

Top price (€)

2019

388

9,415,500

24,267

20,000

165,000

2018

411

10,488,000

25,518

20,000

275,000

2017

401

11,451,000

28,556

23,000

230,000

2016

409

10,190,700

24,963

19,000

150,000

2015

410

9,878,000

24,090

18,000

130,000

Colourful US businessman Peter Brant grabbed the top lot at this sale when paying €850,000 for Group 3 winner Flop Shot. The colt’s valuation was some way below the peaks achieved at Arc sales – all held on the eve of Longchamp’s Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe – but almost double the best price achieved at the 2018 edition, and that mirrored improvements in all the key figures. The quality of horses-in-training catalogues vary from year to year, but a 46% turnover improvement (€6,300,000) and gains of 40% in the average price (€252,000) and 22% in the median (€150,000) confirmed the sale had not entered a period of decline last year. Of 39 horses on offer, 25 outran their reserve price for a clearance rate of 64%. Flop Shot will be heading to Brant’s homeland of America to target turf races, said Oceanic Bloodstock’s Michel Zerolo, the man who at the Arc sale 12 months ago bought Lily’s Candle for €390,000. The following day she won the Prix Marcel Boussac and two months later she was resold at Arqana’s December Sale for €1,100,000. In short, fabulous business. Another horse, Alignement, won the 2018 Prix Dollar on Longchamp’s Saturday card, and was sold a few hours

ARQANA/ZUZANNA LUPA

Arqana Arc Sale

Group 3 winner Flop Shot will race for Peter Brant after selling for €850,000

later to race in Qatar for €310,000. Such results are great advertisements for an auction, and no fewer than four horses attempted the sale before running on the Arc day card, but while three scored in the ring, they were less successful on the track. The filly Cartiem was sold to Australian breeder Bob Scarborough for €750,000, but beat just one home in the Prix de l’Opera, while Graignes made €600,000 before finishing fifth

of 12 in the Prix de la Foret. Beaten just five lengths he will be campaigned from George Baker’s Surrey yard next season. Also leaving France was two-yearold Nunzia, who was sold for €420,000 and then finished a very disappointing last of nine in the Prix Marcel Boussac on ground she found too soft – she joins Graham Motion’s US yard. Sestilio Jet, who was unsold at €170,000, finished midway down the field in the Prix de l’Abbaye.

››

80 THOROUGHBRED OWNER BREEDER

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Colt ex Kibara bred by Quarry Hall Stud, from the family of Milan and Kahyasi

Filly ex Propaganda bred by Irish National Stud, Black Type Producer from the family of Pearly Shells

Colt ex Thames Pageant bred by Pier House Stud, from the family of Golden Stream & Fabricate

Colt ex Lisabella bred by Highpark Bloodstock Ltd. From the family of Polished Gem and Free Eagle

Contact: Cathal Beale, Sinéad Hyland, Gary Swift, Patrick Diamond or Helen Boyce Tel: +353 (0)45 521251 www.irishnationalstud.ie

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23/10/2019 16:30

Sales Circuit Arqana Arc Sale Top lots Sex/breeding

Vendor

Price (€)

Buyer

Flop Shot c New Approach – Dancequest

Wertheimer & Frere

850,000

Oceanic B/S

Cartiem f Cape Cross – Mintaka

Jean-Claude Rouget

750,000

Belmont B/S for Robert Scarborough

Chares c Ivawood – Coco Demure

Christophe Ferland

710,000

Lohan Equine/Narvick International

Graignes c Zoffany - Grey Anatomy

Yann Barberot

600,000

ITS B/S for FTP Equine Holdings

Nunzia f Epaulette – Netsuke

Fabrice Vermeulen

420,000

Mandore International Agency

Three-year tale Year

Sold

Agg (€)

Average (€)

Median (€)

Top price (€)

2019

6,300,000

252,000

150,000

850,000

2018

4,318,000

179,917

122,500

650,000

2017

5,978,500

239,140

180,000

900,000

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THOROUGHBRED OWNER BREEDER 83

25/10/2019 16:55

Caulﬁeld Files

Inbreeding in US on the rise American Jockey Club proposes controversial plan to limit stallions’ books to 140

s someone who entered the racing industry in the early 1970s, I accepted that a full book of mares was 44, and didn’t think twice when the great Brigadier Gerard was restricted to 32 mares in his first season. After all, Northern Dancer, whose stallion career spanned 23 years, is credited with siring only 646 foals, for an average of 28 foals per crop. Some of the other all-time greats with extraordinary percentages of stakes winners, such as Danzig, Blushing Groom, Mr Prospector and Nureyev, rarely sired as many as 60 foals in a crop. But times and attitudes have changed enormously since then, following the advent of the scanner, and the Return of Mares credited the first-season stallion Caravaggio with covering 217 mares in 2018. In the US the busiest new stallions of 2018 were Cupid and Klimt, with 223 and 222 mares respectively, but even they lagged some way behind the most in-demand stallion, Into Mischief, at 245 mares. The American Jockey Club believes the changes have now gone too far. Citing concerns about the narrowing of the diversity of the thoroughbred gene pool, the Jockey Club stewards announced in September that it is considering introducing a rule to limit how many mares a stallion will be allowed to cover, starting with the 2021 breeding season. In its announcement, it pointed out that the size of the North American foal crop has diminished significantly, from 37,499 in 2007 to an estimated 20,500 for 2020. In fact the crop size has fallen from 44,143 foals in 1990, with the decline accelerating since 2007, including falls of 8.2% between 2008/9, 12.2% between 2009/10 and 12.2% again between 2010/11. The statement also explained that in 2007 some 37 of America’s 3,865 stallions were bred to 140 mares or more. Although that number had declined to 24 by 2010, the number has since nearly doubled to 43 stallions, even though the number of stallions now stands at less than half that of 2007. One very significant figure quoted in the statement concerned the percentage of mares visiting the

busiest stallions. In 2007, 5,894 mares (9.5% of the total) were bred to stallions that covered more than 140 mares. By 2019, 7,415 mares (27% of the total) were covered by stallions with books of more than 140, a threefold increase. “The combination of these changes,” the Jockey Club concluded, “has resulted in a substantial increase in the percentage of foals produced by a discrete segment of stallions — signalling a worrisome concentration of the gene pool. “The board of stewards of the Jockey Club is considering a cap of 140 mares bred per individual stallion per calendar year in North America, phased-in, as follows: “Stallions entering stud service for the first time in 2020 would be exempt from the 140 limit through the 2023 season. “Stallions that entered stud service in 2019 would be exempt through the 2022 season. “Stallions that entered stud service in 2018 would be exempt through the 2021 season . “Stallions that entered service in 2017 or prior would be subject to the 140 cap as of January 1, 2021. “The stewards will continue to study the decreasing diversity of the

thoroughbred gene pool and its cause and potential effects over the course of time. As more data and analyses become available, the stewards may revise the Jockey Club’s approach to protecting the breed’s health and welfare.” Feedback from breeders was requested, and there was no shortage of people willing to give their opinion. While not quite as divisive as Brexit, the response has been very mixed, with many welcoming the Jockey Club’s proposal, while others considered it a restraint on trade and therefore un-American. As someone who used to do mating proposals for some American breeding operations, I always found it easier to avoid inbreeding there, because the American industry was more diverse. I used to analyse how many American Grade 1 winners had duplications within four generations, and this often supported the view that no inbreeding works best. For example, there were 75 individual Grade 1 winners in the US during 2001, with as many as 54 of them –a compelling 72% – having no inbreeding

Enable: inbred to Sadler’s Wells

THOROUGHBRED OWNER BREEDER

Nov_183_Caulfield_v2.indd 84

25/10/2019 15:35

Bloodstock world views

“If such a policy were to be imposed, it would need to be worldwide” significant fall in the percentage of those without inbreeding. No-one will be too surprised that the name which crops up most often – in 13 of the 36 inbred horses – was that of Mr Prospector, who had so many successful American stallion sons. With the British and Irish industry being smaller than its American counterpart, inbreeding wasn’t nearly as easy to avoid, especially in an industry which has been so heavily reliant on the Northern Dancer male line, especially the Danzig branch. Breeders long ago stopped agonising over whether to inbreed to Northern Dancer in the first four generations, and it is now quite common to find multiple lines to the great Canadian-bred stallion in the first five generations. To give a comparison with what is happening in North America, I looked at the Group 1 races contested in Europe over the same 12-month period. Leaving out a couple of American-breds and one from Japan, there were 61 individual Group 1 winners. Of these, 32 had no duplications within four generations, which equates to 52.46%. Another 25 had parents which produced duplications and the remaining four – Phoenix Of Spain, Romanised, Sottsass and Zabeel Prince – have a parent which is inbred 3 x

Nov_183_Caulfield_v2.indd 85

3, and therefore produce duplications within their progeny’s first four generations. These 29 represent 47.5%. In other words, there is now very little difference between the figures on either side of the Atlantic. Predictably the main source of the European inbreeding is Northern Dancer, and there were three Classic winners – Enable, Anapurna and Channel – with inbreeding to Sadler’s Wells. I was rather surprised to find only four inbred to Danzig but these were Cracksman, Laurens, Persian King and Veracious. Only one of the 61 Grade 1 winners – Wonderment – had two lines of Danehill, whereas there were three inbred to Shirley Heights. There were also a couple inbred to those notable mares Height Of Fashion and Laurea. I was also pleased to note that the horses with no duplications included several destined for stallion careers, which may prove helpful to breeders in years to come. Among them are Advertise, Blue Point, Circus Maximus, Crystal Ocean, Earthlight, Ghaiyyath, Pinatubo, Stradivarius, Sovereign, Ten Sovereigns, Too Darn Hot and Waldgeist. So what should happen next? There is an enormous difference between deciding that a course of action might be beneficial and actually enforcing it. If such a policy were to be imposed, it would need to be worldwide, and that isn’t likely to happen. In the past we have seen the balance of power shift in proportion to the strength, or weakness, of the various currencies. For example, there was a time when America’s stallion farms were able to buy virtually whatever they wanted in Europe, and another when the Japanese Yen became hard to resist. It is hard to imagine Japan committing to a cap of 140 mares, in view of the very large books which have become the norm there over the last decade or so. The late Deep Impact covered books of 262, 255 and 261 in consecutive years, while the much sought-after Lord Kanaloa was asked to cover 276 mares in 2015 and 294 in 2018. Then there’s Rulership, another promising stallion who has never covered fewer than 208 mares, with a peak of 280 in 2016. If a top stallion’s earning potential is going to be substantially reduced by a cap on the number of mares he is allowed to cover, the only way to compensate for any shortfall in income is to raise his fee substantially. As Headley Bell, of Mill Ridge Farm, commented in the TDN: “I remind those who were not around in the ’80s, when seasons to

Northern Dancer were trading for $1 million and Mr Prospector for $1 million and Nijinsky for $1 million and Seattle Slew for $1 million… all NO GUARANTEE! You could only obtain no guarantee seasons at Matchmaker or Stallion Access, auction houses for seasons and shares or on the street.” And, as Bell pointed out, the market then crashed in spectacular style. I well remember driving around the stud farms in Kentucky and being shocked to see farm after farm displaying ‘For Sale’ signs, partly because inflated stallion fees had created an unsustainable climate of boom and bust. Since then, with breeders having greater access to the top stallions, no American stallion has been publicly priced at more than $300,000 since Storm Cat stood for $500,000 in 2007. Mike Kline, another who gave his views, was one of the few to take into account the effect on the human side of the equation, pointing out that large books and overbreeding produce a far-reaching toll. “It affects mare handlers, stallion handlers, booking personnel, breeders and farms,” he said. “Trying to get a spot on a certain day to a popular but oversubscribed stallion is frustrating. It often forces a mare to miss a heat cycle, thus pushing her foaling date back by three weeks.” All that is true, but is it going to be possible to get the genie back in the bottle? I rather doubt it.

GEORGE SELWYN

whatsoever in the first four generations of their pedigree. It was a similar story in 2004, when 57 of that year’s 81 individual Grade 1 winners – 70% – were also free of inbreeding in four generations. Moving on to 2006, 23 of that year’s 79 individual Grade 1 winners were inbred, which means that 71% were not. I was therefore intrigued to see whether the situation has changed. Looking at the Grade 1 winners from October 2018 to the end of September 2019, there were 78 locally-bred Grade 1 winners in North America. These divided into 42 with no inbreeding and 36 with inbreeding within four generations. That’s 53.8% without any duplications and 46.2% with. These figures represent a

Caravaggio: covered 217 mares in 2018

THOROUGHBRED OWNER BREEDER 85

25/10/2019 15:35

ADVERTORIAL FEATURE

Bloodstock breeding — a commercial trade When looking at available tax reliefs for bloodstock breeders, here’s why your first question should be is the business being operated commercially? Bloodstock businesses can often be a case of feast or famine; sometimes there is a massive sale generating profits followed by years of disappointment with foals having parrot mouths or yearlings galloping into fences. When any business generates an income tax loss for a particular period, the owners will usually seek to claim loss relief in the most beneficial way. In order to be eligible to claim the loss against other income, the business must be trading and the trade must be carried on throughout the period on a commercial basis with a view to the realisation of profit. Commerciality also affects other tax reliefs for both Capital Gains Tax and Inheritance Tax. ‘On a commercial basis’ has been the subject of many tax tribunal cases over the years, concluding that the business should be conducted in the same way that would be expected of a similar

Smith & Williamson OB Nov 2019 dps.indd 2

business type. In broad terms, business owners must be seen to be displaying commercial acumen and to be operating the business in a similar way to its competition. ’With a view to the realisation of proﬁt’ is slightly easier to address as business plans and ﬁnancial forecasts can be of real importance here. If it can be easily demonstrated that income will eventually outweigh expenditure (within a reasonable amount of time), then this test could be met. However, bloodstock breeding can be unpredictable; the breeder has to produce horses wanted by the market and that is not always known when choosing the stallion a full three years before the yearling is eventually sold. To that end, the business plan needs to make appropriate provisions for disasters as well as successes Issues to consider are whether bloodstock breeding is a numbers game or perhaps

whether a small breeder buying well-made mares from good families can make a profit. Evidence shows that both can prove to be profitable. On a larger stud, it can be easier to supplement income by having boarding mares and foals. This second test identifies some difficulties when looking at bloodstock breeding – what is a reasonable amount of time and what happens when a foal is sold at a loss, for example. Should the mare be sold? For sentiment plays little part in a successful operation. The question of ‘reasonable amount of time’ for breeders was addressed in part by HMRC and the Thoroughbred Breeders Association in 1982 when it was agreed that bloodstock breeding is deemed a long-term venture and loss relief (for commercial trades) would be available up to 11 years after commencement of the business (compared to the standard five years for other

23/10/2019 11:23

ADVERTORIAL FEATURE

farming businesses). HMRC takes the view that to fall within the 11-year rule, the business has to be potentially profitable to ensure HMRC isn’t simply supplementing the expenses of an expensive hobby by making repayments. For example, breeding from unsound mares with poor confirmation and unsuccessful racing careers is unlikely to ever be profitable if prices for the offspring continually languish at the bottom end of Book 4.

In summary, HMRC treats the breeding of racehorses as any other business. The business, therefore, must have the potential to be proﬁtable and it must be managed actively to realise that potential. Each mare has to be considered in isolation — will her foals ever cover the costs of producing them to the point of sale? If not, why is she kept? There is always bad luck but that must be built into the business model. The others must be good enough to overcome the bad luck.

Breeding can be a difficult business but many wise and experienced professionals regularly make profits. HMRC has won several recent cases at the Tax Tribunal where the breeder was found to be carrying out an unsuccessful breeding operation. To succeed, there must be real justification for the losses and a genuine expectation of making a tangible profit.

Penelope Lang Partner, Smith & Williamson LLP t: 01722 431 064 e: penelope.lang@smithandwilliamson.com

smithandwilliamson.com Oﬃces: London, Belfast, Birmingham, Bristol, Cheltenham, Dublin (City and Sandyford), Glasgow, Guildford, Jersey, Salisbury and Southampton. By necessity, this brieﬁng can only provide a short overview and it is essential to seek professional advice before applying the contents of this article. No responsibility can be taken for any loss arising from action taken or refrained from on the basis of this publication. Details correct at time of writing. The tax treatment depends on the individual circumstances of each client and may be subject to change in future. Smith & Williamson LLP Regulated by the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales for a range of investment business activities. A member of Nexia International. The word partner is used to refer to a member of Smith & Williamson LLP.

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www.thethoroughbredclub.co.uk •

@TTC_GB

Ascot, Cheltenham and Newbury offers

he Thoroughbred Club is delighted to announce a number of exciting tickets offers for its members this autumn. Fireworks Spectacular Family Raceday Ascot racecourse Saturday, November 2 Members of The Thoroughbred Club have the opportunity to attend the Fireworks Spectacular Family Raceday at Ascot for half price. The day will feature the £100,000 Sodexo Gold Cup, while off the track there will be fairground rides and a fireworks display after racing. Half-priced tickets can be purchased on the day from Ticket Office East following presentation of a valid TTC membership card. Countryside Day Cheltenham racecourse Friday, November 15 Cheltenham racecourse has kindly offered TTC members free admission to Countryside Day on Friday, November 15. Members can obtain up to two tickets per membership, following presentation of a valid membership card at the owners and trainers desks, at either the Hall of Fame or North Entrance. Discover Racehorse Ownership Weekend Raceday Ascot racecourse Saturday and Sunday, November 22-23 TTC members have the opportunity to attend Ascot’s Discover Racehorse

High-class jumping fare can be yours for free or half price at top tracks in coming weeks

Ownership Race Weekend for half price. The weekend will feature high-class racing, including the Grade 2 Coral Hurdle, previously won by Champion Hurdle heroes Hardy Eustace, Rock On Ruby, Faugheen and Annie Power. Halfpriced tickets can be purchased on the day from Ticket Office East by showing a valid TTC membership card. Newbury racecourse December 18 Newbury has kindly offered members free entry to the December Afternoon Raceday on Wednesday, December 18 upon presentation of a valid TBA membership card. The day features the TBA-sponsored Listed Mares’ Novices’ Chase, which has been previously won by

Ms Parfois and Magic Of Light, who was runner up in the Randox Health Grand National. The offer entitles members to one badge only; to purchase additional badges please contact the ticket office at the racecourse.

Diary Dates and Reminders Tuesday, December 10-12 TBA Stud Farming Course The British Racing School Further information on all TTC events can be found on the TTC website

Limited places still available on TBA Stud Farming Course There are still a limited number of places available to members on the TBA Stud Farming Course, which will take place on December 10-12 at the British Racing School in Newmarket. The course provides an ideal opportunity for those wishing to further their career in the industry, and to update and refresh their knowledge of stud management ahead of the busy breeding season. The course covers a variety of topics to provide a comprehensive overview of general stud management, with a selection of talks from industry experts and also features a course dinner on the first evening, which provides an open networking opportunity for delegates and industry experts. This year the course will also include a visit to one of the world’s leading breeders and stallion studs at Juddmonte’s Banstead Manor Stud, which is home to leadings sires Frankel and Kingman. This will be followed by a tour of the world-class

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facilities at the Rossdales veterinary centre in Newmarket. For more information and to book a place, please email info@thethoroughbredclub.co.uk or call Melissa on 01638 661321.

You can see Frankel at Banstead Manor Stud

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ROA Forum

The special section for ROA members

Twenty-one tracks awarded the ROA Gold Standard

Newmarket’s July Course has been awarded the coveted Gold Standard

he Gold Standard Awards winners for 2019 have been selected through a new combination of the ROA Raceday Committee reports and ROA member feedback, plus the AA Quality Mark assessments, prize-money levels and reports from the National Association of Racing Staff (NARS). We are delighted to reveal that this year’s winners are: Large courses: Aintree, Ascot, Ayr, Cheltenham, Chester, Haydock, Newmarket July, Newmarket Rowley Mile, Sandown and York. Small courses: Bangor, Carlisle, Fakenham, Hamilton, Market Rasen, Musselburgh, Newton Abbot, Nottingham, Perth, Thirsk and Wetherby. The ROA Gold Standard Award has evolved far beyond its original concept, having been introduced in 2006. This year, for the very first time, it will sit alongside the ROA Racecourse Quality Mark. Whilst the Quality Mark will reward racecourses who have met a minimum standard in their provision to owners with a runner on the day, the Gold Standard will continue to highlight those few racecourses that have gone far beyond

this standard, and should continue to serve as a benchmark for all other courses. The Quality Marks have been decided upon following inspections by the AA, who have been working alongside the ROA Raceday Committee to achieve a better understanding of the expectations of owners on a raceday. We are delighted to reveal that all of Britain’s 60 racecourses have reached the minimum standard and will receive a Quality Mark for 2019. The courses that truly exceeded expectations in these assessments were (in alphabetical order) Chester, Hamilton, Musselburgh, Newmarket Rowley Mile and York. The Quality Mark will continue to evolve, and we look forward to seeing those racecourses not on the list improving their raceday experience further in future.

Quality Mark

The Gold Standard Awards and Quality Marks have been a key focus for the Industry Ownership Strategy. As well as this, the provision for syndicate members has continued to have the attention of the project team. The

pilot raceday syndicate facility scheme has been in operation at Kempton Park and is expected to be extended to other fixtures. This provides an alternative facility on raceday for syndicates, which allows additional syndicate members to come racing and watch their horse(s). Our thanks go to Kempton Park for supporting this important initiative. In addition, the process to develop the syndicate manager accreditation initiative is well underway. This will provide comfort to syndicate members that syndicate managers have passed ‘fit and proper’ tests. The raceday ownership liaison officer presence will continue at selected fixtures at Newmarket racecourse throughout its Gold Season. This role provides an added welcome to owners and supports the racecourse’s own team. A raceday ownership liaison officer will also be present at Hereford’s fixtures to support the owners’ and trainers’ team. The Industry Ownership Racedays continue to be well received, attracting interest from existing and potential owners. The final two dates in 2019 are at Hereford on Tuesday, November 12 and Wetherby on Wednesday, November 27.

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Equine Influenza update Following a decrease in the number of reported outbreaks of Equine Influenza in the UK and Europe, the BHA Veterinary Committee has relaxed the requirements for all horses on racecourse property. This includes runners from non-licensed yards, non-GB runners and other horses on racecourses. From September 17, 2019 the requirements are as follows:

The ROA Awards is on December 12

New venue for ROA Awards The 38th ROA Horseracing Awards will be held at a new venue, the Royal Lancaster Hotel in Bayswater, London on Thursday, December 12. The black-tie evening celebrates the outstanding equine performers of the year and their owners, trainers and all connections. Tickets are on sale for this lavish evening, which will be compered by the inimitable duo of Nick Luck and Oli Bell. Tickets are priced at £195 per person with tables of ten priced at

£1,800. Guests are welcomed with a champagne reception at 7pm before enjoying a three-course dinner with wine. Dinner is followed by the awards ceremony, after which guests can dance into the night with a live band. Enquiries and bookings can be made to Ruth Diver at ruth@roa.co.uk. Owners are invited to showcase their racing colours in the awards evening brochure for a minimum donation of £100 per set, with proceeds benefiting Racing Welfare.

• Compliant EI vaccination within nine calendar months (eight months plus a onemonth grace period) of the day of the race; • There is no requirement to submit information in advance – where necessary, passports will be checked by BHA staff upon entry to the racecourse; • There is no requirement to submit a Health Declaration Form or for a nasopharyngeal swab (PCR) to be completed. The BHA is continuing to consult with European racing jurisdictions in an effort to harmonise the intervals for EI vaccinations.

ROR SHOWCASE DAY Following the success of the inaugural Retraining of Racehorses (RoR) Showcase at Aintree Equestrian Centre last year, this year’s Showcase will be held on Saturday, November 23 at Hartpury University and College in Gloucestershire. Once again, the day will be an inspirational training and educational event designed by RoR to highlight the talent and transition of thoroughbred racehorses to their second careers. Visitors to the RoR Showcase, which is supported by the Racing Foundation, will have the chance to enjoy live clinics and a wide range of up-close demos, in and around two arenas. Showing, dressage, eventing, endurance, natural horsemanship and western riding will all be showcased, along with the RoR Dressage Display Team. A line-up of top trainers and experts is currently being finalised and to date

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includes show producers Katie and Chris Jerram-Hunnable, flat-work with Cara Hayward and pole-work with Daniele Bizzaro, western rider Emma Lonie, and a painted horse demo by Nicole Rossa and Kirsty Davis. Other racing industry and equine experts will share their knowledge, discussing the racehorse as an athlete and its transition to a new career, using real racehorses. In addition, there will be an ‘Ask The Experts Lounge’, where visitors will have the opportunity to ask one-to-one questions and gather more tips and advice from all the experts. Di Arbuthnot, RoR Chief Executive, explained: “Last year’s event received fantastic feedback and we are delighted that the 2019 RoR Showcase will be held at Hartpury in Gloucestershire to offer more riders in and around the midlands and southern regions the chance to come together

and learn about owning and retraining former racehorses. “The day will be a showcase for the work of the charity all under one roof with a host of experts and industry professionals from the racing and equine worlds.” For more information and to book tickets visit www.ror-events.org.uk. Advance tickets booked online cost £15 per person (£18 per person on the day).

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ROA Forum

Bisphosphonates: a guide for purchasers By Charlie Pinkham, ROA veterinary advisor

he BHA issued an update to owners and other industry stakeholders on September 23 regarding the potential administration of bisphosphonates to horses under the age of three years and six months in international racing jurisdictions. Bisphosphonates are a class of drugs licensed for use in navicular disease and hock joint arthritis. They are also used by some veterinarians for other bone-related conditions. The drug binds to bone and acts to reduce bone remodelling and has an added potential benefit as a painkiller. An effect of the drug binding to the bone is that it may be detected at variable levels in blood and urine samples for many months, or even years, after the drug has been administered. There is some evidence that this may be related to exercise levels due to an increase in the natural turnover of bone with high intensity exercise. Given the mode of action of the drug, and using information from studies in other species, there are Tattersalls offers BHA-approved testing

concerns that there may be inhibition of the natural conditioning process of bone remodelling that occurs in young horses and that this may lead to increased injury rates. This, along with the drug’s potential benefit as a painkiller for bone-related issues, has led to the use of this class of drug being banned, or restricted, in young horses in many racing jurisdictions. Though there is currently a lack of data substantiating the link between the drug’s use in young horses and injury rates, it should be noted that their use as a painkiller means that they should not be administered in the context of any sale or in any proximity to racing. More research is required to help our understanding of the longterm effects of the drug’s use in horses. Current bisphosphonates regulations: 7.2 A horse must not have been administered any bisphosphonates: 7.2.1 before the horse is aged three years and six months, or 7.2.2 on raceday or any of the 30 clear days before.

Charlie Pinkham: updating owners

Any horse which is administered bisphosphonates under the age of three years and six months is permanently ineligible to race in Great Britain. Due to a lack of alignment between different racing jurisdictions, and the drug’s long and potentially variable excretion, the current regulations for bisphosphonates mean that owners purchasing yearlings and other youngstock may be at risk of breaching BHA anti-doping rules. In the UK, bisphosphonates have been a prohibited substance in young horses since 2017. As such, horses bred and reared in the UK are unlikely to have received the drug. However, where no such regulations are in place, there is an increased chance of a purchase having received the drug prior to a sale. If this horse then runs and tests positive for bisphosphonates in the UK, it will receive a lifetime ban. This is obviously of significant concern for owners purchasing a horse overseas and we have brought together some relevant information below to help owners reduce the risk of having a positive test.

Sales

A number of sales companies have recently amended their conditions of sales to allow a horse to be returned to the vendor if it tests positive for bisphosphonates. It should be noted that because of the unusual characteristics of the drug, there is a possibility that a horse could potentially test negative on a blood test and then subsequently test positive on a blood or urine test. However, this is hypothetical and there is currently no evidence that this has occurred to date. Sales companies that have returns policies for bisphosphonates include:

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• Keeneland Sales – BHA Badge (approved) testing • Fasig-Tipton • Ocala Breeders’ Sales • Tattersalls – BHA Badge (approved) testing • Goffs UK • Baden-Baden (expected) • Magic Millions • Inglis • Arqana The costs of testing are paid for by the purchaser. These can be significant. In America the cost is around $500. Costs revert to the vendor if a positive is detected.

Global regulation

Following the UK’s rule change, many countries now have regulations in place against the use of bisphosphonates in racing. In the majority of countries (as per the UK rules above) this is age related, advancing significant penalties for their use in young horses. Although horses may still test positive if purchased in countries where agerelated regulations are in place, it should be less likely given the increased awareness of the penalties and issues surrounding this drug class. In countries where there are not agerelated regulations in place, there is not the same strong disincentive against their use and there is the potential for increased use in youngstock being prepared for sales. As more racing authorities put age-related restrictions in place, the risk of purchasing a horse that will subsequently test positive for bisphosphonates abroad should reduce. Countries whose racing authorities have age-related regulations in place for the use of bisphosphonates are: Argentina, Australia, Austria, Brazil, Chile, Cyprus, Germany, Hong Kong, Iran, Ireland, Korea, Lebanon, Macau, Malaysia, Mauritius, Morocco, Norway, Oman, Qatar, Romania, Saudi Arabia, Serbia, Singapore, Slovakia, South Africa, Spain, Turkey and USA. Countries whose racing authorities have regulations in place but are not currently age-related are: France and Sweden.

Permanent import testing

Another factor to consider is the permanent import testing rules for importing racehorses into the UK. They state that “any horse that is permanently imported into Great Britain must have a sample collected, and have that sample reported as

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negative, before it is eligible to race in Britain.” The following countries are currently exempt from these rules: France, Ireland, Germany, Hong Kong, Sweden and Norway. To assist overseas buyers, BHA Badge testing (approved testing) is available from Keeneland (USA) and Arqana (France). This allows horses to be tested at the point of sale prior to import into the UK. This regulation means that any horse imported from non-exempt countries must have had a blood sample taken prior to racing in the UK and so, to get results as soon as possible and potentially tie in with sales companies’ returns policies, BHA badge testing at the sales should be utilised where possible. Despite there being no requirement, purchasers of horses in exempt countries should also strongly consider testing horses, particularly in those countries (listed above) that do not currently have age-related regulations in place for the use of bisphosphonates in racing.

Elective testing

Owners and trainers are also able to perform elective testing for bisphosphonates by contacting equine@britishhorseracing.com. More information about the procedure is available on the BHA website.

In summary:

• When buying horses overseas, until there is improved regulatory alignment across racing jurisdictions, testing should be carefully considered for any horse destined for racing in the UK. • A negative test taken at the time of purchase will significantly reduce the likelihood of a future positive test that may lead to a ban. • Be familiar with the conditions of sales at each sale you attend. Are the horses returnable with a positive test? What are the notification periods to allow a return to take place? • Caution should be taken purchasing bloodstock where there is disparity in the regulations with the UK. Where this occurs, assurances should be sought that the lots have not received treatment with bisphosphonates prior to the sale. • Further research is needed to inform the debate about their safety and welfare implications for British racing.

Cumani’s new BHA role The BHA has confirmed the appointment of Luca Cumani, who retired following a hugely distinguished training career in 2018, as a member-nominated director of its board for a threeyear term last month, replacing NTF Chief Executive Rupert Arnold. Cumani, who has tasted success at the top level of Flat racing the world over, was nominated by the Racehorse Owners Association (ROA), Thoroughbred Breeders Association (TBA) and licensed personnel, comprised of the Professional Jockeys Association (PJA), National Trainers Federation (NTF) and National Association of Racing Staff (NARS). He said: “I am very flattered and excited to have been asked to join the BHA board as a membernominated director. I am very much looking forward to working with [BHA Chair] Annamarie [Phelps] and all the board members on the many and varied challenges that our great industry is facing. “I will endeavour to put my 40plus years of practical experience gained both in the UK and on many racing jurisdictions around the world to good use. Rupert has done a great job over the past four years and I am sure he will continue to be an invaluable source of advice and support to me.”

Luca Cumani: fresh challenge

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ROA Forum

MY DAY AT THE RACES With John and Susan Milner at Beverley on September 24

Did you receive any welcome information as an owner in advance of the raceday? We received only the RCA PASS email inviting us to apply for badges. I used the course’s email address given to book direct, as I find the process with the online concierge is not straightforward and have had problems in the past. How was the experience of arrival at the racecourse and collecting your owners’ badges? This is where we feel that Beverley excels. The owners’ and trainers’ reception area and the efficient registration process, together with a complimentary glass of champagne, is comparable to the welcome given at a first-class hotel. Did you use the owners’ & trainers’ facility on the day? Due to the inclement weather we spent most of the afternoon enjoying the facilities and, although others were doing likewise, there were sufficient table and chairs. What were your thoughts on the

HANNAH ALI

usan and John Milner’s introduction to racehorse ownership started with a modest toe in the water over 20 years ago. During this period their involvement has gone from owning legs to whole horses. However, following John’s retirement in 2007, they downsized to become members of small syndicates along with likeminded friends, who appreciated the increased enjoyment of going racing in a small group. Go Alfresco Racing Partners was established two years ago with longterm friends Ian and Pam Firth and Geoff and Liz Wilson, with the main purpose of being able to attend all the meetings where they have a runner. This invariably means Yorkshire courses, which gives the couples the opportunity to meet socially with a runner, on this occasion with their four-year-old filly Elysee Star at Beverley. The Milners, Firths and Wilsons at Beverley to watch Elysee Star

location, comfort and provision in the facility? Although the O&T lounge is a little detached from the parade ring and winning post, it is spacious and comfortable. How was the pre-parade ring/paddock experience? Due to its close proximity to the preparade ring, horses could be viewed in safety and during their walk to the paddock. How did you find the facilities for owners’ viewing? We used the raised walkway directly in front of the winning post, which enables you to see the horses coming up the course and also on the large TV screen on the opposite side of the track. Were you able to review a replay of your race easily on course? Replays can be viewed on the large ‘help yourself’ screen as many times as you like; unfortunately for us, the result in our race remained the same!

How were you treated as an owner on the day? Our horse finished third, which meant that we missed out on this occasion. However, the previous week he finished second and we received a bottle of champagne, which made our day much more enjoyable. What was your overall lasting feeling of the day, based on your racecourse experience? We would not hesitate to have runners at Beverley in future as our experience in our two recent visits puts the course into our top three Yorkshire tracks.

HOW IT RATED Entry Viewing Atmosphere Owners’ facilities Food Overall score

★★★★★ ★★★★★ ★★★★★ ★★★★★ ★★★★★ 23

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Industry Ownership Day at Nottingham The ROA’s seventh Industry Ownership Day was held at Nottingham on October 2. There was some doubt about whether racing would go ahead, as significant rainfall had prompted an early-morning inspection, but there was nothing to fear and the action was played out under blue skies and autumn sunshine. The day also featured a regional meeting attended by over 60 members. This was the tenth regional meeting of this year, following events at Fakenham, Sedgefield, Chepstow, Pontefract, Newton Abbot, Haydock, Musselburgh, Ripon and Perth. ROA Chief Executive Charlie Liverton was not able to lead the meeting as he was required to attend a BHA committee meeting. In his place, Ross Hamilton, Head of Public Affairs at the British Horseracing Authority, gave members an update fresh from the Conservative party conference at Manchester. He underlined the contribution made by owners and the importance of racing within rural communities in terms of the economy and employment. He noted this was recognised and the industry had made efforts to establish links in Westminster. This had been demonstrated through two ‘Thrill of

Ownership’ dinners held in Liverpool and Westminster earlier in the year. The ROA team updated members on membership matters, including enhancements to the website, the Gold Standard Award selection process, upcoming events and free admission schemes. Questions were raised around future funding mechanisms, race planning opportunities for lower-rated horses and availability of European veterinary expertise in the wake of Brexit. Mick Fitzgerald hosted the event and both established owners and members who were new to ownership were able to participate in choosing best turned out awards and making presentations to winning connections of all the seven races. The day featured an Owners Jackpot race, won by the Bryan Smart-trained Wrenthorpe, to the delight of Dan Maltby Bloodstock Ltd, netting his owners the £2,000 bonus. As usual, all qualified runners received travel expenses of £250. This month the ROA will head to Hereford on November 12 and Wetherby on November 27 for our last two regional meetings of this year. Details of the bonuses attached to the ROA Owners Jackpot and future races can be found at roa.co.uk

Members enjoyed the visit

Exclusive tour at Weatherbys Members were given the opportunity to find out more about the workings of Weatherbys in September during an informative members’ visit to its Wellingborough office. As well as seeing the old Stud Books dating back centuries, members were given a look into the future with the new apps and websites coming online shortly, including tools enabling vets to log foal markings more easily and digital passports. Members were treated to interesting presentations on how the Stud Book operates, the role of racing operations in the day-to-day mechanics of the racing world, and the breadth of the records kept by the racing services department. A wealth of information is handled by Weatherbys, with over 200,000 entries processed, 4,800 foals registered, compilations of over 24,000 pedigree pages for sales catalogues, 3.7 million racecards produced and 13,000 horses named during the year. Its commercial arm is still expanding and exploring new ideas, including their new event-branding line and Global Stallions App. Weatherbys celebrates its 250th anniversary next year, but is continuing to grow and develop to change with the times. Members were surprised by the multitude of areas Weatherbys is involved in; as one member said: “They are not just a line on my bank statement any more!”

ROA members helped with the presentations to winning connections at Nottingham

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ROA Forum

MAGICAL MOMENTS with ROA member Terry Pryke

he first horse Terry Pryke was involved with as an owner was swapped for a Ford Capri. The horse was, unfortunately, much slower than the Capri, but the bug had bitten and the sport had acquired an owner still going strong not far off 40 years on, and 90-odd winners later. Pryke currently has three horses in training, Case Key, Saint Mac and Best Haaf all with Mick Appleby, the lastnamed winner of this year’s unique Grey Horse Handicap at Newmarket and in doing so keeping up his owner’s proud record of having at least one winner every year. In addition, Pryke has two broodmares, Beyeh, dam of Best Haaf who won four times for the owner as well as being placed on numerous occasions after being a shrewd buy out of Clive Brittain’s yard for 800gns, and Favorite Girl, who won eight times in Pryke’s silks and posted lots of other podium finishes, and likewise was a deft purchase, for 2,000gns, out of Sir Henry Cecil’s yard. The pair were bought on the same day – October 24, 2011 – at Tattersalls’ horses-in-training sale, 73 lots apart, and are currently both in foal to Mukhadram. Beyeh actually returned to the track after foaling Best Haaf and became one of those rare mares to win a race after having a foal, at Fakenham last year. Favorite Girl so nearly won a decent handicap hurdle at Ascot three years ago this month, going down by a neck but contributing to a memorable afternoon for her owner along with the course’s “marvellous” hospitality Nothing gives Pryke greater pleasure than his own judgement being vindicated when it comes to picking a race, or buying horses at the sales, or out of sellers or claimers on the racecourse. One of the first horses to give the owner, who lives just three miles away from Appleby’s yard in Oakham, Rutland, some magical moments was Isabeau, who was trained by Kevin Morgan.

Six-year-old gelding Case Key has won four times for Terry Pryke

“She was a filly who had a reputation for playing up but I had three-quarters of her and she was an absolute treasure,” Pryke says of a filly who cost £3,000 and came from James Fanshawe’s yard. “She won five times for me and was in the first four on 14 other occasions. “When Isabeau was retired she went to a friend, John Cleeve, with a small stud. I later bought one of Isabeau’s foals from him, Honest Endeavour. He won six races and finished with three wins on the trot. My partner back then wanted to sell him. He was bought by Mrs [Angela]

Rucker and she won many point-topoints with him.” He continues: “I love picking my own horses, it gives me a thrill when one I have chosen myself goes on to win a few races. I’ve made a few mistakes, like we all do, and have lost the odd one through injury. Gallant Gesture, who I had with Jim Short, won three novice hurdles on the trot but unfortunately had to be put down after striking into himself.” As well as Morgan and Appleby, Pryke has had horses with Mary Reveley, Malcolm Jefferson and Pam Sly - “all of them very good people” –

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including one, Cayman Calypso, who went from one trainer to the other with quick-as-lightning success. “Malcolm didn’t really like Flat racing, so I decided to move him to Pam, and before the week was out he’d won a handicap at Lingfield,” recalls Pryke. “Pam credited Malcolm of course.” Pryke also once had cause to utilise the services of the rather formidable Norma Macauley, explaining: “I like to keep an eye on sellers and claimers and think it’s quite a good medium to find a horse who could win a race or two or three. In May 1995 Sir Mark Prescott, who doesn’t run many in claimers, had one at Southwell, Mezzoramio, who finished fourth.

“I like to keep an eye on sellers and claimers; it’s a good medium to find a horse” “I was watching in a betting shop and liked the stamp of him but had never claimed one before. I called Norma Macauley, who trained near Kevin Morgan, and she told me the horse had been dope-tested, was lame and was dishing. Let’s just say it didn’t sound like she thought buying him was a good idea. “However, it did turn out pretty well as he won six races for me and was placed in a further 18. I was in a lift with Sir Mark once after that but didn’t get to tell him the story.” That tale had a happy ending, as did, eventually, another involving a 1993 Christmastime visit to Market Rasen. “We had two runners, Isabeau and Wamdha, both trained by Kevin,” relays Pryke. “We got to Newark from Oakham and I filled up the car with diesel, well, that was the intention, but then I started to smell petrol. “I pulled the car over, the recovery people came to drain it, and we had to get in a taxi to the course. I was with my wife Pam, daughter and son-in-

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law, and let’s just say the atmosphere in the taxi wasn’t good. “We got there just in time to see Adie Smith – who rode 23 winners for me and is now a stipe in Scotland – getting the leg up on Isabeau, and then the utter depression of the day lifted when he got her home by a neck. Wamdha then won the last to bring up a double!” Wamdha won eight races for Pryke in all, while another prolific winner was Marigliano, with nine. Pryke’s latest magical moment came courtesy of Case Key, about whom the owner says: “He’s a sweet horse but a bit of a rogue and could easily headbutt you as he swings his head about a bit. We bought him for 8,000gns. You never quite know how he’s going to run, but my wife and I are very fond of him.” Pryke is less fond of what he feels can sometimes be a lack of common sense within race planning circles, for example when it comes to dividing races, and also with handicapping, particularly in relation to all-weather maidens which these days contain more runners from bigger yards. On the whole, however, the owner feels racing scrubs up as well as his contract cleaning and janitorial supplies company, Pryke Hygiene “I love the sport and love horses, though really you could do with an oil well at the bottom of the garden!” he says. “I’ve never made a profit in almost 40 years of being an owner and don’t think I ever will. “But I have managed at least one winner every year, and just over 90 in total, at least 50 per cent in my own name, and the rest in partnerships, including the Sidney Banks Hurdle with Another Chance, and all of my horses have been found a good home. “I’ve always believed horses shouldn’t be run into the ground – and that informs my purchasing policy as well – and while I haven’t got the land, mine are all taken care of. The broodmares are nearby at Toby Watson’s Manor Farm Stud, while I have sent some to Hayley Turner’s mum for retraining.” Hopefully his trio of geldings, sixyear-old Case Key, four-year-old Saint Mac and three-year-old Best Haaf, will not be needing any racing aftercare for some time, but it is certainly comforting to know it is there when they do.

Third-party liability scheme Members are reminded that earlier this year the ROA’s thirdparty liability insurance scheme was extended to include owners who are amateur breeders. The scheme provides peace of mind cover for members who are amateur breeders with thoroughbred broodmares and youngstock, at no additional cost. Cover applies to foals, weanlings, yearlings and stores being kept solely for the purposes of rearing within the insurance definition under the scheme’s terms. A Q&A document can be found at www.roa.co.uk/TPLI covering frequently asked questions around the scheme and the cover it provides to owners and amateur breeders.

Haydock raceday curtailment Heavy rain triggered the abandonment of racing midway through the card at Haydock on Friday, September 27, with racing also abandoned the following day. Waterlogging on the course led to the cessation of racing after the third race, which activated the ROA’s raceday curtailment scheme. The scheme is intended to partially offset owners’ costs on the day. When the scheme is triggered, declared runners who qualify in terms of being owned by ROA members receive an automatic payment of £100. There were 24 qualifiers on the day whose owners received a payment. This is the fifth occasion the scheme has been triggered this year, with £9,300 paid out to members. Since the scheme was introduced in 2013, almost £65,000 has been paid to owners cumulatively. We are very grateful to Weatherbys Hamilton who provide this scheme as part of the ROA’s insurance arrangements and provide speedy payments to owners of qualifying horses.

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ROA Forum

News in brief Awards evening at Epsom

The Epsom Owners’ and Trainers’ Awards Dinner sees the Epsom racing community – trainers, owners, jockeys and stable staff, as well as other professionals from the racing industry – come together to celebrate Epsom’s racing year. The black-tie evening will be held at Epsom Downs racecourse on Saturday, November 23 and features an awards ceremony, a champagne reception and four-course meal. The awards are followed by dancing. For information about taking a table or tickets, sponsoring an award or other elements of the event, or donating an auction or raffle item, contact Hannah Walker at hwalker@ racingwelfare.co.uk

Celebrate racing in Wales

The second Welsh Racing Awards, sponsored this year by the ROA, will take place at Chepstow racecourse on Thursday, November 28. The evening recognises excellence in the Welsh racing industry. There will be ten award categories, ranging from leading owner, trainer and jockey of the year to horse, breeder and stable staff awards. The event supports Racing Welfare. Tickets are on sale for £55 plus VAT per person. The ticket price includes a welcome drink, three-course dinner with coffee and event programme. The evening will begin with reception drinks at 7pm and ends at 11pm. Members can book places by contacting the events team on 01291 622 260 or emailing events@ chepstow-racecourse.co.uk

Musselburgh’s new operator

The future of Musselburgh racecourse became clearer on October 1 when

Epsom’s racing community will be out in force on November 23

East Lothian Council announced that Chester Race Company will take over the operation of the racecourse. The BHA prompted the change after demanding an independent governance review of the track. The review resulted in the council deciding to bring in a third-party operator to run the course on its behalf. A start date for the new ten-year contract is to be confirmed. The BHA had previously given Musselburgh a temporary licence until December 31.

Owners Guide to Racecourses

The popular guide has been revised and is back on the ROA website. Easier to read, it contains sections on badge allocations, raceday contacts and owners’ facilities, as well as the option for members to provide feedback after having a runner at the races. In addition, the guide includes a section on the latest news from the course, located in the ‘Track Talk’ tab. We hope it will be a useful bookmark on desktops and mobiles to keep details to hand when needed. See roa. co.uk/G2R

PASS at Plumpton

Plumpton racecourse joined the RCA’s PASS system in September. Members are reminded that they will need their PASS cards for Plumpton racecourse and can log into the PASS system in advance to organise guest badges.

Raceday feedback

Awards season is upon us and therefore your racecourse feedback is more important than ever. Want to let us know where the most helpful car park attendants are, or the best post-race entertainment? How about those areas that could do with a little improvement? Let us know at roa. co.uk/feedback, and not only will you shape this awards season, you could also help racecourses change for the better in the future. As a thank you, you will also be entered into a free prize draw to win a £50 Marks & Spencer voucher. Our last two winners are Tony Melville, owner of two horses in training with Richard Whitaker, and David Williams, who has four horses in training with Evan Williams.

Diary dates and reminders NOVEMBER 12 Industry Ownership Day and regional meeting at Hereford NOVEMBER 27 Industry Ownership Day and regional meeting at Wetherby

DECEMBER 12 ROA Horseracing Awards at the Royal Lancaster Hotel in London For more details or to book see roa.co.uk/events

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Figures for period October 1, 2018 to September 30, 2019

Flat Racecourse League Table Ptn Racecourse

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36

Ascot York Goodwood Epsom Downs Newmarket Newbury Chester Sandown Park Doncaster Haydock Park Ayr Pontefract Chelmsford City Musselburgh Kempton Park Salisbury Ripon Hamilton Park Thirsk Wetherby Beverley Carlisle Newcastle Lingfield Park Redcar Nottingham Windsor Leicester Catterick Bridge Bath Yarmouth Wolverhampton Ffos Las Southwell Brighton Chepstow Total

Ownership

Avg racecourse spend per fixture (£)

Avg HBLB spend per fixture (£)

Avg owner spend per fixture (£)

Avg prizemoney per fixture (£)

Total no. of fixtures 2018-19

Total prize-money 2018-19 (£)

Avg racecourse spend per fixture 2017-18 (£)

I I I JCR JCR I I JCR ARC JCR I I I I JCR I I I I I I JCR ARC ARC I JCR ARC I I ARC ARC ARC ARC ARC ARC ARC

483,518 281,551 216,592 179,919 136,420 85,682 84,906 84,834 81,941 76,508 51,771 45,318 44,603 43,577 42,293 42,168 41,410 41,292 39,767 39,741 39,000 38,361 36,568 36,027 35,342 34,920 33,117 32,064 31,141 29,451 26,424 25,178 23,392 21,832 21,497 20,510 63,684

123,105 93,686 83,457 70,754 70,171 55,467 45,863 52,732 45,289 42,260 34,124 28,793 21,339 21,621 19,878 27,433 21,822 22,473 20,146 13,743 20,652 20,068 20,445 24,461 21,417 23,226 20,629 21,636 18,993 18,352 18,939 17,188 12,993 17,329 16,080 14,214 31,075

274,419 117,256 78,051 108,762 75,366 36,472 14,776 40,631 36,212 18,863 13,513 3,529 5,793 5,941 6,172 6,329 5,119 4,601 7,169 5,520 4,386 6,454 5,363 4,586 15,131 7,425 5,879 5,531 3,118 4,598 4,875 3,723 3,614 2,678 3,046 3,381 21,240

885,319 496,382 383,172 359,435 284,393 182,622 146,745 180,331 163,912 142,300 99,408 79,765 73,190 71,764 68,772 76,695 68,351 68,366 67,253 59,003 64,038 64,883 62,709 65,074 72,224 66,006 59,625 60,065 53,253 52,456 50,999 46,108 39,998 41,839 40,623 38,106 116,927

18 18 19 11 39 18 15 15 24 22 15 16 65 16 66 16 17 16 16 3 19 13 52 72 18 23 26 18 16 23 23 80 6 36 21 15 906

15,935,744 8,934,874 7,280,268 3,953,785 11,091,335 3,287,191 2,201,175 2,704,958 3,933,880 3,059,451 1,491,120 1,276,240 4,757,350 1,148,226 4,538,922 1,227,124 1,161,972 1,093,860 1,076,049 177,010 1,216,716 843,480 3,260,858 4,685,353 1,300,037 1,518,133 1,550,243 1,081,163 852,046 1,206,484 1,172,984 3,688,646 239,990 1,506,198 853,085 571,587 105,877,535

472,612 246,465 213,373 189,899 133,186 86,228 83,457 91,898 82,529 75,553 52,254 47,043 52,684 46,352 37,653 46,138 42,657 43,731 37,037 46,662 36,671 39,809 39,760 38,201 37,770 34,872 34,722 36,000 34,557 28,562 31,663 26,009 28,703 22,412 24,261 23,675 64,263

Ownership

Avg racecourse spend per fixture (£)

Avg HBLB spend per fixture (£)

Avg owner spend per fixture (£)

Avg prizemoney per fixture (£)

Total no. of fixtures 2018-19

Total prize-money 2018-19 (£)

Avg racecourse spend per fixture 2017-18 (£)

Up/ down

JCR JCR I JCR JCR JCR I I ARC I JCR I ARC I JCR I I I JCR ARC I I JCR JCR JCR ARC I I ARC I I I ARC I ARC I ARC ARC ARC ARC I

289,395 270,179 172,193 112,571 103,797 66,977 60,684 47,158 41,470 41,046 39,434 37,130 36,702 36,455 35,501 35,049 34,872 34,136 33,773 33,247 32,809 32,677 32,214 29,169 28,962 27,649 26,743 26,300 25,693 25,448 25,392 24,001 23,619 23,454 22,810 22,035 21,656 19,572 18,451 18,395 0 46,151

147,203 122,532 92,522 95,888 89,152 65,279 70,708 38,782 44,224 34,526 35,070 32,903 34,640 22,125 31,177 30,387 33,058 21,279 35,496 31,041 29,460 31,230 29,191 25,839 29,895 25,515 22,153 23,394 28,580 24,643 23,818 29,306 24,759 24,878 21,485 20,801 19,969 20,917 22,946 19,524 0 36,712

79,125 70,669 19,766 19,776 19,050 10,500 16,696 12,082 6,522 5,731 6,417 4,170 9,687 0 7,418 5,468 0 5,920 7,318 5,757 4,742 6,295 5,722 5,547 6,647 5,975 2,741 4,246 6,720 3,404 2,819 4,206 5,212 4,654 4,839 3,992 3,334 3,236 3,732 3,545 0 8,997

515,723 464,005 288,856 234,347 223,881 143,173 149,566 101,867 94,852 83,690 81,454 74,520 81,030 58,580 74,097 70,904 67,931 61,336 84,482 70,461 67,304 70,559 67,343 61,871 65,623 59,140 51,637 53,941 60,992 53,951 52,030 57,513 53,590 52,985 49,135 46,977 44,960 43,724 45,129 41,464 0 92,751

8 16 8 9 9 12 11 13 11 15 15 15 15 12 15 9 17 13 12 12 17 14 22 19 19 9 16 17 23 11 8 9 15 16 6 15 24 19 15 20 0 561

4,125,784 7,424,083 2,310,850 2,109,122 1,902,993 1,718,072 1,645,224 1,324,277 1,043,375 1,255,347 1,221,813 1,117,800 1,215,449 702,957 1,111,453 638,133 1,154,819 797,364 1,013,781 845,528 1,144,175 987,833 1,481,540 1,175,542 1,246,833 532,256 826,195 916,993 1,402,819 593,460 416,237 517,617 803,851 847,763 294,810 704,657 1,079,032 830,757 676,934 829,284 0 51,986,808

285,889 267,292 156,372 112,263 101,536 55,259 31,636 44,263 38,891 42,309 33,049 85,960 31,415 33,455 32,259 34,420 27,636 29,173 33,770 30,609 55,259 30,264 28,060 26,637 33,129 31,772 26,103 33,851 28,051 22,074 24,089 26,637 26,095 21,795 42,309 22,457 22,421 19,274 25,420 18,598 23,909 46,244

s s s s s s s s s t s t s s s s s s s s t s s s t t s t t s s t t s t t t s t t t s

Up/ down

s s s t s t s t t s t t t t s t t t s t s t t t t s t t t s t t t t t t s

Jumps Racecourse League Table Ptn Racecourse

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41

Aintree Cheltenham Ascot Sandown Park Haydock Park Kempton Park Newbury Ayr Doncaster Kelso Wincanton Perth Chepstow Fakenham Exeter Cartmel Newton Abbot Taunton Carlisle Newcastle Ludlow Wetherby Market Rasen Huntingdon Warwick Hereford Hexham Stratford-On-Avon Uttoxeter Musselburgh Catterick Bridge Leicester Ffos Las Plumpton Lingfield Park Bangor-On-Dee Fontwell Park Sedgefield Worcester Southwell Towcester Total

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EXPLANATION The tables set out the average prize-money at each fixture staged by a racecourse over the last 12 months. They show how this is made up of the three sources of prize-money: 1. Racecourses’ contribution 2. Levy Board (HBLB) 3. Owners The tables also confirm the number of fixtures staged and the total amount of prize-money paid out by each racecourse throughout this period. The racecourses are ordered by the average amount of their own contribution to prizemoney at each fixture. This contribution originates from various sources including media rights, admission revenues and racecourse sponsors. If a racecourse has increased its average contribution at each fixture compared with the previous 12 months, it receives a green ‘up’ arrow. If its average contribution has fallen, however, it receives a red ‘down’ arrow. As these tables are based on the prizemoney paid out by each racecourse, the abandonment of a major fixture could distort a racecourse’s performance.

OWNERSHIP KEY JCR Jockey Club Racecourses ARC Arena Racing Company I

Independently owned racecourse

Gold Standard Award

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TBA Forum

The special section for TBA members

Top trip to Kingsley House Stables

t was an early start for the TBA member visit to Mark Johnston’s stable, as his first lot of horses appears in the small market town of Middleham at the crack of dawn. Middleham is a hive of activity, with several hundred horses in and around the area, most of whom, it must be said, carry the now famous Mark Johnston logo. Blustery conditions soon blew away the rain clouds and members were blessed with clear skies along with panoramic views over the gallops to the hills in the background. Partnership Manager Claire Short started the morning by handing out the multicoloured spreadsheets showing what exercise each horse was doing, who was riding and where it would gallop. The group then walked up to one of the all-weather gallops to meet Mark and his son Charlie. An informative talk followed on how Kingsley House started, along with the trials and tribulations of ensuring the gallops were perfect for two-year olds. As third lot approached, Mark then talked through each horse as they flashed passed, explaining about their

Mark Johnston’s string makes its way through Middleham

future racecourse plans and about how he keeps in touch with each string leader by way of ear pieces and walkietalkies. There were plenty of questions for Mark before the group made their way to the yard, where the members were split into groups. Claire introduced one of two in-house vets, who described

the day-to-day routine of keeping the horses sound, fit and well, before the group moved onto the tack room to see the now famous work board that Claire explained took up to four hours each day to produce. It was interesting to learn about the incentives that are in place for staff – points for turning up on time ensure

East regional forum on the Rowley Mile On Thursday, September 26 TBA members gathered at Newmarket’s famous Rowley Mile racecourse to attend the TBA’s east regional forum, held in partnership with Weatherbys. Members arrived at the racecourse in the morning and were directed to the Limekilns Suite, which overlooks the parade ring. Attendees were greeted by members of the TBA team whilst refreshments were served. Chief Executive Claire Sheppard opened the session with a presentation which updated members on the TBA’s ongoing plans. Claire spoke about the focus on demand for recruitment within the industry. The group then heard about the partnership with the Racing Foundation in order to help recruit and retain employees, with the TBA’s Stud Farming Course being a great tool to help, coming up in December. Members were taken through the

TBA’s future plans for a digital E-learning platform and the aim to educate and encourage new entrants into the industry. A summary of the National Stud and the TBA’s dual regional training opportunities was also discussed. TBA board member and veterinary advisor James Crowhurst updated the group by summarising the ongoing veterinary research projects which the TBA supports. James then informed TBA members of the ongoing work of the veterinary advisors and the TBA’s veterinary committee in ensuring members are informed of the latest updates in veterinary-related matters, particularly disease outbreaks. The veterinary research projects discussed included research into parasite interactions, early pregnancy loss and EHV. An overview of the work being carried out in preparation for Brexit

was provided by Simon Waterfield from Defra, who delivered a detailed breakdown of what to do in a no deal scenario, when transporting horses for breeding and racing. TBA members had numerous questions regarding these rules and regulations; Claire explained that regular updates will be sent to members, and provided a specific email address for Brexit-related questions. Simon Cooper of Weatherbys updated members on the development of Weatherbys GSB Digital Focus. He discussed the movement of working towards paperless digital registrations by 2020. The development and the design of the E-passport was proposed to members and Simon discussed the digital benefits the E-passport provides with regards to disease prevention and horse traceability. Simon informed members of the Movement App,

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that changes to the work board are kept to a minimum. In the early days, the late Rory MacDonald from the British Racing School had been asked to advise Mark and Deirdre on how to manage their staff and keep the team motivated, with lessons learned that are still in place today. The groups then swapped places and coffee was served under the wing of Mark’s plane while he talked about what it takes to produce so many winners, while a question and answer session looked like it was going to run into the afternoon. Luckily, Mark joined the groups for lunch, which allowed the members to learn more about how Kingsley House runs before he finished off with stories of racing in St Moritz. Rob Hezel from the Racing Foundation then gave a very informative talk on how the organisation started and explained the strategy in place to ensure the funds available are used to benefit the industry. Further details are available on their website www.racingfoundation. co.uk. The TBA would like to thank Mark Johnston and Claire Short for ensuring our members had a trip to remember, Rob Hezel for his interesting presentation and to the TBA Regional Representative Philip Bamford for all his hard work in making this a memorable event.

which was designed alongside the BHA and the TBA for the post-Brexit environment. The presentations were followed by an opportunity for members to raise concerns, whereby TBA board members Anita Wigan and James Crowhurst were assisted by the TBA, Defra and Weatherbys in answering any questions. Shortly after, the group sat down to a lovely lunch in the Champions Gallery, overlooking the racetrack, provided by the hospitality team at the racecourse, before enjoying a sunny afternoon of racing, including the Weatherbys TBA Handicap, which was won by the Chris Wall-trained Dramatic Device, owned by The Clodhoppers. The TBA would like to thank Weatherbys, Defra and the team at Newmarket racecourse for providing members with an informative and interesting day.

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TBA Stud Farming Course to visit Banstead Manor and Rossdales Frankel will be on show at Banstead Manor

The popular TBA Stud Farming Course will be held on December 10-12 at the British Racing School in Newmarket. The course is run over a three-day period and aims to provide breeders and stud staff with a comprehensive overview of general stud management, with a selection of talks from leading industry experts and a number of visits to studs and veterinary practices. This year’s visits include Juddmonte’s Banstead Manor Stud, which is home to five stallions, including leading duo Frankel and Kingman. In addition, attendees will also receive a tour of Rossdales Veterinary Practice, plus a course

dinner held on the first night. The course fee, which includes the dinner on the first night and lunch and refreshments for the duration of the course, is £395 for TBA members and £495 for non-members, with discounts available for studs sending three or more delegates. Places are limited and will be allocated on a first come, first served basis. Bookings can be made on the website through the event page or via the booking form that was included in the recent newsletter mailing. Please contact Melissa Parris at Stanstead House on 01638 661321 or email melissa.parris@thetba.co.uk with any queries.

Diary Dates & Reminders Tuesday, December 10 to Thursday, December 12 TBA Stud Farming Course British Racing School Tuesday, January 21 NH Stallion Showcase Goffs UK sales complex

Wednesday, January 30 TBA Flat Stallion Parade Tattersalls, Newmarket Further information on all TBA events can be found on the TBA website

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TBA Forum

British-bred success home and abroad Positive (right) captured the Group 3 Solario Stakes at Sandown

The Group 3 Solario Stakes saw a thrilling victory for the Clive Coxtrained Positive. The two-year-old, owned by Alan Spence, was bred by Cheveley Park Stud, who also stand his sire, Dutch Art. On the same day at Chantilly, Al Raya was a winner of the Group 3 Prix d’Areberg. The daughter of Siyouni was bred Ed’s Stud Ltd and is out of Listedwinning two-year-old Fig Roll. Back on home soil, Dark Lady was the winner of the Group 3 Dick Poole Fillies’ Stakes, defeating subsequent Group 1 winner Millisle. The daughter of Dark Angel, bred and owned by Cheveley Park Stud, is out of Listed winner Ladyship, who was also bred by the stud. At Kempton there was a Britishbred double in the Group 3 September Stakes and the Group 3 Sirenia Stakes. Royal Line took the former prize for breeder Darley; he is out of Melikah, who is a half-sister to Galileo, Sea The Stars and Born To Sea. The Sirenia Stakes was won by Streamline, who provided his sire Due Diligence with his second black-type success. Bred by Whitsbury Manor Stud, the twoyear-old colt was bought as a foal for 40,000gns and is now owned by Mainline Racing. On the same day at Haydock there was further success for British breeders when Great Scot was an impressive winner of the Group 3 Superior Mile Stakes. The son of Requinto was bred by Clyne, Mound, Thompson and was also a winner of the Listed Ascendant

Stakes as a two-year old. This year’s renewal of that race was won by a fellow British-bred in Pyledriver. The son of Harbour Watch is owned and bred by Knox & Wells Limited & R Devlin. At Haydock, Dakota Gold was an impressive winner of the Listed Garrowby Stakes. The son of Equiano was bred by Redgate Bloodstock & Peter Bottowley Bloodstock and went on to land the Listed Rous Stakes at Ascot. The St Leger meeting at Doncaster provided five British-bred successes at stakes level, headlined by Logician’s triumph in the Group 1 St Leger. The Juddmonte homebred scored easily to provide his sire Frankel with his second Classic success this season. The unbeaten three-year-old is out of the Daylami mare Scuffle, who is a half-sister to sires Bated Breath and Cityscape. Trainer John Gosden said after the race: “It’s amazing what Logician has done. I was diligent with him, not rushing him when he hadn’t done a lot at two, but he’s done nothing but please us since. He’s come on a long journey to win a Leger in track record time.” At the same meeting a close relation of Logician enjoyed success when Equilateral won the Listed Scarbrough Stakes. The Juddmonte homebred son of Equiano is out of Tarentaise, who is a half-sister to Logician’s dam Scuffle as well as Cityscape and Bated Breath. Bated Breath’s daughter Breathtaking Look was the winner of

the Group 3 Sceptre Stakes the same day. Bred by Ellis Stud and Bellow Hill Stud, she was sold at Book 3 of the Tattersalls October Yearling Sale to Stuart Williams for 42,000gns. Bated Breath’s three-year-old son Space Traveller was the winner of the Group 2 Clipper Logistics Boomerang Stakes. He was bred by the El Catorce Partnership and bought for 85,000gns at Book 3. Finche was another impressive winner for Juddmonte when taking the Group 3 Kingston Town Stakes at Randwick. The impressive win now makes the homebred son of Frankel one of the leading contenders for the Group 1 Melbourne Cup in November. Juddmonte rounded off a successful month for them when Alocasia was the winner of the Listed Prix Saraca Stakes. The daughter of leading sire Kingman is out of the Kingmambo mare Portodora, who is out of a half-sister to dual Group 1 winner Elmaamul. Powerful Breeze captured the Group 2 May Hill Stakes for trainer Hugo Palmer. The daughter of Iffraaj was bred in Britain by Rabbah Bloodstock and sold at Book 1 of the Tattersalls October Yearling Sale for 50,000gns. Molatham rounded off a successful St Leger meeting for British breeders, winning the Listed Flying Scotsman Stakes. The son of Night Of Thunder, bred by Cheveley Park Stud, is a halfbrother to Listed winner Perfection. HM The Queen’s Sextant won the Listed Stand Cup Stakes at Chester. The four-year old son of Sea The

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Stars is out of the Sadler’s Wells mare Hypoteneuse, a half-sister to Oaks runner-up Flight Of Fancy. Godolphin had a successful month with Group success on three continents. Avilius was the winner of the Group 1 Colgate Optic White Stakes at Randwick. The son of Pivotal, who was previously trained by Andre Fabre, has now won nine stakes races for connections including three Group 1s. Old Persian was another impressive winner for Godolphin in the Group 1 Northern Dancer Turf Stakes at Woodbine. His sire, Dubawi, struck again when Ispolini, bred by Newsells Park Stud, won the Group 3 Deutsches St Leger at Dortmund. There was a British-bred double at Longchamp on September 15 when Star Catcher and Glass Slippers both landed Pattern races. Glass Slippers was triumphant in the Group 3 Prix du Petit Couvert. Trained by Kevin Ryan, she is bred and owned by Terry Holdcroft’s Bearstone Stud and is a daughter of five-time Group 1 winner Dream Ahead. The filly improved further to win the Group 1 Prix de l’Abbaye on Arc weekend by an impressive three lengths, which secured her place in the Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint at Santa Anita in November.

Star Catcher doubled her Group 1 tally when she won the Prix Vermeille. The daughter of Sea The Stars, bred by owner Anthony Oppenheimer’s Hascombe and Valiant Studs, is out of Lynnwood Chase, making her a halfsister to fellow Group 1 winner Cannock Chase. She went on to win the Fillies & Mares Stakes on Champions Day. Back on home soil, this year’s 2,000 Guineas runner-up King Of Change was the winner of the Listed Chasemore Farm Fortune Stakes at Sandown. The son of Farhh, later successful in the Queen Elizabeth II Stakes at Ascot, was bred by Rabbah Bloodstock. The Whitsbury Manor Stud-bred Lady In France added further stakes success for her outstanding sire Showcasing when she took the Listed Al Maktoum Cup Arran Scottish Fillies’ Sprint Stakes. The three-year-old filly was sold at Book 1 for 210,000gns and is trained by Karl Burke for Clipper Logistics. Evergreen ten-year-old Air Pilot gave his owner and breeder Lady Cobham Listed success in the British Stallion Studs EBF Foundation Stakes at Goodwood. The son of Zamindar has finished out of the top four only six times in his 29-race career and his wins include seven at stakes level.

GB-bred black type winners (August/September 2019) Bearstone Stud

Glass Slippers

Prix Du Petit Couvert (Group 3)

Cheveley Park Stud

Positive

Solario Stakes (Group 3)

Cheveley Park Stud

Dark Lady

Dick Poole Fillies’ Stakes (Group 3)

Cheveley Park Stud

Molatham

Flying Scotsman Stakes (Listed)

Clyne, Mound, Thompson

Great Scot

Superior Mile Stakes (Group 3)

Ed’s Stud

Al Raya

Prix D’arenberg (Group 3)

El Carorce Partnership

Space Traveller

Boomerang Stakes (Group 2)

Ellis Stud And Bellow Hill Stud Breathtaking Look Sceptre Stakes (Group 3) Godolphin

Royal Line

September Stakes (Group 3)

Godolphin

Old Persian

Northern Dancer Turf Stakes (Group 1)

Godolphin

Avilius

Colgate Optic White Stakes (Group 1)

Hascombe And Valiant Studs

Star Catcher

Prix Vermeille (Group 1)

Juddmonte

Equilateral

Scarbrough Stakes (Listed)

Juddmonte

Logician

St Leger (Group 1)

Juddmonte

Finche

Kingston Town Stakes (Group 3)

Juddmonte

Alocasia

Prix Saraca (Listed)

Knox And Wells & R Devlin

Pyledriver

Ascent Stakes (Listed)

Lady Cobham

Air Pilot

Foundation Stakes (Listed)

Newsells Park Stud

Ispolini

135th Deutsches St Leger (Group 3)

Rabbah Bloodstock

Powerful Breeze

May Hill Stakes (Group 2)

Rabbah Bloodstock

King Of Change

Chasemore Farm Fortune Stakes (Listed)

Redgate And Peter Bottowley

Dakota Gold

Garrowby Stakes (Listed)

The Queen

Sextant

Stand Cup Stakes (Listed)

Whitsbury Manor Stud

Streamline

Sirenia Stakes (Group 3)

Whitsbury Manor Stud Lady In France Arran Scottish Fillies’ Sprint Stakes (Listed)

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In Brief 3-2-1 point-to-point bonus The TBA is delighted to announce that it will be continuing its 3-2-1 point-to-point bonus for the 2019/2020 season. The scheme is part of the TBA’s mandate to improve race opportunities for mares. It aims to encourage more owners to test their mares on the point-to-point circuit and provide those proven horses with the opportunity to progress to the National Hunt racing programme. The bonus is held on three end-ofseason point-to-point bumpers, run under rules on licensed racecourses, and operates on a sliding scale with the highest placed mare (in the top three finishers) receiving a £1,000 bonus, a further £1,000 (£2,000 prize) if she is British-bred and another £1,000 (£3,000 prize) if she is owned by a TBA member. Since the scheme started in 2017 the TBA has seen some promising results with the number of mares running in the bonus races doubling and the average number of mares who finished in the top four increasing from 29% in 2017 to 55% in 2019. For further information on the bonus please visit the TBA website or email info@thetba.co.uk Free tickets to Cheltenham and Newbury Cheltenham racecourse has kindly offered members free admission to the Countryside Day on Friday, November 15. Members can obtain up to two tickets per membership, following presentation of a valid TBA membership card at the owners’ and trainers’ desks, at either the Hall of Fame or North Entrance of the racecourse. Newbury racecourse have kindly offered TBA members free entry to the December Afternoon Raceday on Wednesday, December 18 upon presentation of a valid TBA membership card. The day features the TBAsponsored Listed mares’ novices’ chase, which has been previously won by Ms Parfois and Magic Of Light. The offer entitles members to one badge only – to purchase additional badges please contact the ticket office at the racecourse.

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TBA Forum

Members enjoyed a terriﬁc tour of Nick Alexander’s Kinneston Stables

Scottish regional day and forum The final regional day of 2019 was held in Scotland at Nick Alexander’s Kinneston Stables on September 25. Members were given a warm welcome by Nick and his team on arrival at the yard, with coffee and homemade cake served. Kinneston was originally a working farm that Nick has turned into a very successful training establishment, with an original set-up tailored to each individual horse. With over 40 horses already in training at Kinneston, and more due, a new American barn is being built, along with a second walker. Another new addition is a spring-fed cold water walkway, which the horses pass through daily. Several horses were paraded in front of the group including stable star Lake

View Lad and the well-bred Travail D’Orfevre, with members entertained by Nick’s training stories. The members were very interested to hear how Nick adapts an individual training regime for each horse on one of the three gallops that he uses. Nick revealed that he is lucky to have a very high staff retention rate. He believes in involving the whole team in the training of the horses and keeps all informed by way of a weekly update on the yard’s social media group. With the yard winning the inaugural Lycetts Team Champion Award and his assistant trainer Catch winning the Stud and Stable Staff Award for Leadership as well as the overall Employee of the Year Award, it is clear to see why Kinneston is a very successful team. A trip up to the gallops, by way of

a novel mode of transport, gave the group the opportunity to see third lot. It was also a full house for the regional forum at Perth racecourse, which followed the morning at Kinneston. A talk from the TBA’s CEO, Claire Sheppard, updated the members on the TBA’s vision for British breeding and racing. Included in the presentation was an update on the schemes that the TBA promotes, such as NHMOPS and the Elite Mares Scheme, as well as information on veterinary research and training opportunities that are available to each member. Nick Craven from Weatherbys GSB gave an informative talk that included an update on the E-Passport and Smart Card along with the challenges caused by Brexit.

Monica Sheriﬀ romps home at Goodwood The second of three TBA-sponsored races for staying fillies was held at Goodwood racecourse on Wednesday, September 25. The 14-furlong contest was won by Monica Sheriff, who relished the testing ground to cross the line 20 lengths in front of I’ll Have Another, winner of the TBA-sponsored staying fillies’ race at Newmarket in August. Monica Sheriff, trained by William Haggas, races for her breeder, the Duke of Devonshire. She is a daughter of Lawman out of Require, who is closely related to Group 1 winner and sire Ask.

Splendid isolation: Monica Sheriﬀ wins by 20 lengths at Goodwood

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INVESTING IN BREEDING & RACING – HBLB Codes of Practice The Levy Board’s Codes of Practice, as presented every year free to all members of the TBA as part of their subscription, come in a rare, if not unique, form that smacks of practicality. With a new edition due this month, the wipe-clean pages are instantly recognisable as a working document for practitioners, whether stud owners and managers or veterinarians. Refined and expanded over the last 42 years, the Codes of Practice are “one of the best examples of effective veterinary preventive medicine of our time,” says Professor Sidney Ricketts, a member of the TBA Veterinary Committee that in turn advises a Levy Board Veterinary Advisory SubCommittee, chaired by Arundel Equine Hospital vet Rob van Pelt on changes and updates. The Codes began in the singular, when in 1977 a new equine venereal infection occurred at the National Stud at Newmarket, for which the cause could not be determined using conventional veterinary laboratory techniques. The disease was given the name Contagious Equine Metritis (CEM). Ricketts recalls: “Veterinary surgeons in Newmarket sought collaboration with the Public Health Laboratory at Addenbrooke’s Hospital, Cambridge, which used techniques required to grow the human venereal bacteria, and they were able to grow the newly discovered organism and make accurate diagnoses for CEM for the first time. “The Levy Board, which was responsible for the National Stud at that time, set up a scientific committee, which included experts in infectious diseases and equine reproduction, local specifically experienced vets and representatives of the Animal Health Trust and TBA, to look into CEM’s cause and control. “It was agreed that a voluntary Code of Practice was needed to recommend measures relating to routine prevention of infection, specific diagnostic techniques (clinical and laboratory), improved hygiene and biosecurity, management of outbreaks, treatment and clearance of infection. “The first Code, published in 1977, was quickly adopted by UK thoroughbred breeders and was immediately helpful in clearing the infection in the Newmarket area and helping others in the UK and abroad, some of whom believed that they had

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The Codes of Practice have helped to safeguard bloodstock in Britain

seen the infection previously without knowing what had caused it.” CEM, the last UK outbreak of which was confirmed by the government in 2012, involving an imported nonthoroughbred stallion, remains the opening subject matter in the Codes of Practice. However, it no longer stands alone. Ricketts explains: “The Code of Practice soon became the Codes of Practice, and now include Klebsiella and Pseudomonas venereal infections, Equine Viral Arteritis (EVA), Equine Herpesvirus-1 (EHV-1) and EHV-3, Equine Infectious Anaemia (EIA) and Dourine infections, as well as guidelines on the control of strangles and recommendations for the management of artificial insemination (AI) in nonthoroughbreds. From 2020 they will also include Equine Influenza (EI) infections. “The Codes are very effective, when used properly, in eliminating or ameliorating the effects of the specific infectious diseases they cover, and in giving the equine breeding industry a respected and now tried and tested management process for dealing with incursions. “They carry enormous weight in terms of best practice. Fundamentally, the CEM outbreak and development of the Code of Practice in 1977 encouraged stud managers, grooms and owners to talk to each other about veterinary problems, such as infections, in order to obtain help to resolve them and to prevent further spread on and off the stud farm. Prior to this, secrecy was considered the best policy.”

In summary, Ricketts says: “The Codes of Practice, which are adopted and used by the vast majority of, if not all, thoroughbred stud farms in the UK, France, Germany, Ireland and Italy, have been immensely helpful for horse health and welfare and the functioning of the bloodstock industry in demonstrating the need for honesty and co-operation.” With the help of the TBA and the British Equine Veterinary Association, the Levy Board organises a Codes of Practice sub-committee meeting in June each year to discuss updates. The results can be downloaded in PDF format from the Levy Board website at https://codes.hblb.org.uk, while since 2016 new technology has been brought into use with a free digital app EquiBioSafe, details of which can be found online at https://www.hblb.org.uk/release/638. Levy Board Grants Manager Annie Dodd explains: “The app, which also incorporates the National Trainers Federation Codes of Practice, is the modern way of doing things, and the great benefits are that it’s portable, user-friendly, interactive and can be updated instantly. “The Codes have become an internationally recognised standard for best practice, and many other countries, not just Ireland, France and Italy but also Portugal, Greece and the US for example, have taken it for their own purposes. “There’s no copyright issue and the Levy Board is not making money out of it. It’s an invaluable industry service that we are happy to provide for free.”

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Joel Stakes winner Benbatl epitomises the global ambition of Sheikh Mohammed’s racing and breeding empire. The five-year-old son of Dubawi spent much of 2018 travelling between continents to contest races in Dubai, Britain, Germany and Australia. Group 1 victories in the Dubai Turf, Grosser Dallmayr Preis and Ladbrokes Stakes provided connections with rich reward for their enterprise. The Newmarket Group 2 was, in fact, Benbatl’s first success on home soil in two years and his first appearance on a racecourse since chasing home Australian superstar Winx in the Cox Plate last October. It also took his worldwide earnings to over £4 million. Benbatl is out of the multiple Group 1 winning Selkirk mare Nahrain, herself a daughter of Oaks runner-up Bahr. Two other Godolphin flagbearers were also in overseas Group 1 action during September. The now Australian domiciled Avilius, who began his career in France, completed a 2019 Group 1 hat-trick when successful in the Optic White Stakes at Randwick. The five-year-old son of Pivotal and the Sunday Silence mare Alessandria opened his account at the top-level with a quickfire double at Rosehill last March in the Ranvet Stakes and just a week later the Tancred Stakes. On the same day, Old Persian was adding his name to Godolphin’s Group 1 roster in the Dubai Sheema Classic. Six months later, the four-year-

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Benbatl: epitomises his breeder’s ambition

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D J & MRS DEER In 1999, John Deer, co-founder of the precision engineering company Renishaw, bought Oakgrove, a 500-acre estate close to Chepstow racecourse where the triple champion hurdler Persian War was trained, and began to breed racehorses. Twenty years on and Oakgrove Stud is home to a high-class broodmare band of around 40 mares and a homebred stallion, Al Kazeem. September was a momentous month for both parts of the operation. It started with Al Kazeem siring his first Group 1 winner when Aspetar, who races for his breeder Sheikh Mohammed Bin Khalifa Al Thani, won the Preis von Europa at Cologne. The achievement of his sire is even more remarkable coming from a first

crop of just 23 foals sired during a single season at the Royal Studs, where he was found to be subfertile. Repurchased by his breeder and put back into training with Roger Charlton, the son of Dubawi won a second Tattersalls Gold Cup at the Curragh in 2015, his fourth Group 1 victory. Al Kazeem, described by stud manager David Hilton as “a very special horse to the boss”, returned to Oakgrove later that year and has been carefully managed to cover around 50 mares in each of his first few seasons at his birthplace. Five days after he became a Group 1 sire, another Oakgrove-bred horse, Daahyeh, enhanced her reputation with victory in the Rockfel. The daughter of Bated Breath had already won the Albany Stakes and narrowly missed Group 1 honours when second in the Moyglare Stud Stakes 12 days before her Newmarket triumph. Deer purchased the Oasis Dream mare Affluent with Daahyeh in utero for 35,000gns from the Juddmonte draft at the 2016 Tattersalls December Sale, with Daahyeh selling to Oliver St Lawrence for £75,000 at the Goffs UK Premier Sale at Doncaster in 2018. She is the latest name on an impressive list of high-class horses bred at Oakgrove that also includes the halfbrothers Patavellian and Avonbridge, both winners of the Abbaye, as well as Avonbridge’s sire Averti, who finished second in the Longchamp sprint. “John’s an incredibly passionate breeder and a huge supporter of British racing,” said Hilton. “What’s great as well is that John’s son Philip shares his passion for the stud and breeding.”

106 THOROUGHBRED OWNER BREEDER

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25/10/2019 14:21

Vet Forum: The Expert View

‘Kissing spines’ in the thoroughbred racehorse

Anatomy of the equine back

Horses usually have 54 vertebrae (back bones), which extend from the poll to the tip of the dock. They are categorised into the following regions: • the neck contains 7 ‘cervical’ vertebrae (called C1-C7) • the thoracic region (the ‘upper’ back where there are ribs attached to the spine) has 18 vertebrae (T1-T18) • the lumbar region (‘lower back’/loin) has 6 vertebrae (L1-L6)

WWW.RODNIKKEL.COM

‘K

issing spines’ is the commonly used term for a painful back condition called ‘impinging dorsal spinous processes’. The dorsal spinous processes (DSPs or ‘spines’), are the tall blades of bones which point upwards from each vertebra of the back. The DSPs are part of the skeleton which forms the horse’s withers, back and loins and are therefore fundamental in supporting the weight and position of the rider and saddle. Important muscles and ligaments surround the DSPs and provide the strength and mobility required for the horse to carry the rider and use its back effectively during exercise. When we x-ray a normal horse we expect to see a healthy space, or gap, between each DSP which allows the back to move freely during exercise. However, it is not uncommon to find little or sometimes even no space between the DSPs, causing them to touch and sometimes eventually fuse together over time. What causes this change is still widely debated, but it is not seen in foals and therefore is assumed to develop with age and/or ridden exercise. We have learnt over time that determining whether a horse has pain arising from ‘kissing spines’ is not as simple as x-raying the back to give a black or white answer. Some horses display signs of back pain but have a very normal appearance on x-ray, and conversely some horses with evidence of kissing spines on x-ray can seemingly show no evidence of back pain or poor performance at all. Clearly the condition is more complicated than it would first seem, so here is a summary of our current understanding at this time.

A skeleton of the thoroughbred back with vertebrae labelled

• the sacrum, which forms the rump of the horse, consists of 5 vertebrae which are usually fused together (S1S5) • the tail consists of 18 ‘coccygeal’ vertebrae (Co1-Co18) It should be noted that breed variation can result in additional or missing vertebrae! The DSPs sit at the top and in the middle of each vertebra and point upwards. They vary in size depending on location along the spine, with the tallest DSPs forming the withers and the shortest located in the mid-thoracic region (where the saddle sits).

So why do some horses get kissing spines?

Some horses may be predisposed to suffering from kissing spines due to conformation and other genetics, while others seem to develop it whilst in training. It has been suggested that poor riding, a rider who is too heavy for the horse and saddle fit, may all play a part in development of the condition. It is not uncommon for horses with lameness or poor performance issues to be found to have back pain when examined clinically. Of these, only around two-thirds have x-rays showing kissing spines. And even more confusing, of the horses that do not show any signs of back pain, over a third of them have evidence

of kissing spines on x-ray. So what do we make of this? Clearly we cannot rely on either of these findings in isolation to definitively diagnose kissing spines as the cause of back pain or poor performance in a horse. The most common sites to see kissing spines on x-ray are the lower thoracic vertebrae. This is the area where the saddle transfers a majority of the rider’s weight to the horse’s back in walk and trot. The DSPs in this area are also the most vertical, whereas those in front of this area are naturally angled back, and those behind are angled slightly forward.

Diagnosing kissing spines

Back pain can be quite difficult to diagnose reliably, as mentioned above. The horse’s response to palpation can vary from hour to hour and day to day. It is also difficult to localise the exact point of pain because the back is such a large, complex structure in the horse. It is fairly common for a trainer or rider to complain that the horse’s behaviour has changed or is affecting its performance, sometimes noting the horse to be ‘coldbacked’, bucking, rearing or reluctant to go forward at times (e.g. ‘jibbing’ at the bottom of the canter). Affected horses sometimes carry their head in an awkward fashion, they may feel ‘wooden’ or tense and unresponsive to the rider’s attempts to alter these things. These horses often

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By Deidre Carson MRCVS

By Lucy Grieve MA VETMB MRCVS have poor musculature along the back due to the pain and abnormal use of the muscles preventing normal building up of the musculature. This can eventually lead to poor muscling elsewhere in the body and therefore, unsurprisingly, poor performance overall. These symptoms are sometimes recognised early on by trainers, riders, staff, vets or physiotherapists, however it is not uncommon for these horses to be branded as difficult rides, tricky characters, lazy or nappy, without consideration of a painful cause for these behaviours. Where kissing spines may be suspected after a thorough consideration of the history and a clinical examination, it is common to then take x-rays of the back to assess the position of the DSPs in relation to each other. X-rays alone are not sufficient to diagnose kissing spines however, as studies have shown there is a poor correlation between pain and what we see on x-rays. It has been shown that anything in the region of two-thirds of thoroughbreds may have changes on x-ray yet not all of those will be in pain or suffering poor performance as a result. This realisation led to the Federation of European Equine Veterinary Associations (FEEVA) to release the following position statement in 2018, which advises against using x-rays as part of a ‘vetting’ examination in order to assess a horse’s risk of developing back pain due to kissing spines: FEEVA considers that there is no evidence of a correlation between radiographic appearance of the dorsal spinous processes of the back and future risk of disease in asymptomatic horses; FEEVA does not recommend that such radiography is included in a standard prepurchase radiographic protocol. X-rays can be useful if there are changes observed which correspond to an area deemed painful on clinical examination, but further information is still often required to build evidence for a diagnosis. Carrying out diagnostic analgesia, or ‘nerve blocking’, of the area where kissing spines have been seen on x-ray, is a further step in trying to confirm whether the site is responsible for any pain. If the horse responds to having the region ‘blocked’ then this may indicate a need for yet further imaging or perhaps trial medication. Ultrasound can be used to assess the soft tissues surrounding the kissing spines, whereas nuclear scintigraphy (‘bone scan’) can assess how much the condition is affecting the bone of the DSPs themselves. Treatment can

Anatomy and what the different imaging modalities show

then be tailored to that individual in order to try to achieve the best outcome.

Treatment and management of kissing spines

The success of treatment relies on a holistic approach that may involve addressing any lameness (even very low-grade lameness), the horse’s tack, the rider and way it is ridden, the way it is trained, involvement of a qualified physiotherapist, etc. Treating only one of what may be multiple contributing issues is likely to result in a poor response and is therefore potentially a waste of time and money. There are different treatment options available for this condition and each case will require a tailored approach: Conservative management: rest, followed by a progressive rehabilitation

programme, usually requiring a change in tack/rider/training. This usually requires significant time and therefore is often used in conjunction with other treatment options below. • Oral medications: anti-inflammatories and pain-relieving medications, such as phenylbutazone (‘bute’), can help in some cases. Sometimes muscle relaxants are also prescribed. • Injectable medications: injecting the painful region with anti-inflammatories, such as corticosteroids, often yields a successful but short-lived response. If the appropriate changes to management, riding and training are not implemented effectively the pain frequently recurs. Medication such as this should be viewed not as a treatment in isolation, but more as creating a window of opportunity whereby the horse is in less (or no)

››

Severe ‘kissing spines’ on x-ray and ‘hot spots’ on bone scan

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Vet Forum: The Expert View â&#x20AC;şâ&#x20AC;ş

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pain, which then allows the other management, ridden and training changes to be implemented. Treatment may need to be repeated in order to see the rehabilitation/ retraining programme through, but persistently repeated medications should not be relied upon in isolation, otherwise the condition will progress regardless and may reach a point of no return. It must be noted that some corticosteroid medications have a prolonged detection time for racing and competition. Extracorporeal shockwave therapy: this therapy seems to offer temporary pain relief in some cases but, again, will not provide treatment in isolation. Mesotherapy, acupuncture, chiropractic and other musculoskeletal therapies: these are anecdotally reported to have variable success. Surgical resection (removal) of the affected DSPs: while this can be a successful treatment option it requires a significant time out of training. This can often be performed in the standing, sedated horse which removes the need for general anaesthetic but does not reduce the rehabilitation time required. Surgical cutting of the ligaments between the DSPs (interspinous ligament desmotomy): this increases the space between the DSPs and is believed to relieve the pressure, tension and so hopefully the pain associated with kissing spines. This option requires less time out of training than a full resection but still a significant period.

Perhaps the most forgotten aspect of managing (or perhaps even preventing)

EQUESTRIAN PROPERTY

X-ray of a back after having surgery to remove the DSPs which were â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;kissingâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;

a horse with kissing spines is the way the horse works and carries himself. The pure biomechanics of the horseâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s back at rest and exercise should be addressed in order to protect back pain from recurring or indeed occurring in the first place. In order to avoid back pain from the outset, close attention should be paid to rider and tack. Physiotherapy can help manage horses through training and certainly throughout treatment and rehabilitation, but prevention is always better than cure. The more skilled, balanced and sympathetic the rider, contacting the horse through well-fitted tack, the better chance the horse has of avoiding painful back conditions and, where they occur, being rehabilitated to work in a way that goes on to protect it from further injury.

Conclusion

Where back pain is suspected in a horse, it is important to not assume that a definitive diagnosis can be reached easily â&#x20AC;&#x201C; the process is often more complicated than many would prefer to believe, and opinion varies widely, which brings a need for caution when interpreting findings. A single treatment will rarely, if ever, â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;cureâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; or â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;fixâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; the problem. The

RACING EQUIPMENT

issue presenting as â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;back painâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; is often multifactorial and therefore requires a multi-pronged approach, otherwise treatment is likely to be temporary or may simply fail altogether. X-rays alone are not enough to confirm kissing spines as the sole cause of back pain, although they are an important part of the armoury in assessing these horses when the information gained is used appropriately. With these horses there must be a relatively long-term commitment to reaching a successful outcome and shortcuts are unlikely to be beneficial. The effect of a good rider and well-fitting tack should never be underestimated in preventing and treating back pain. It is important to consider these factors and address them early on in order to keep horses comfortable, working correctly and achieving their maximum performance potential. Images courtesy of Sarah Boys Smith, Rossdales Diagnostic Centre, Newmarket

References

Denoix JM, Dyson SJ. Thoracolumbar spine. In: Diagnosis and management of lameness in the horse (2nd edition). Ross MW, Dyson S

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Dr Statz

John Boyce cracks the code

Zoffany and Bated Breath give Dansili male line big shot in arm T his year has been notable for the continued influence of Juddmonte’s Dansili through his sons Zoffany and Bated Breath. Dansili has been one of Europe’s premier sires. The first of a remarkable seven stakes winners for his outstanding dam Hasili, Dansili didn’t quite crack Group 1 company although he finished second or third six times at the highest level. But his Timeform rating of 127 tells us just how good the son of Danehill was at the races, especially as it was combined with a very powerful pedigree. Remarkably, even at 127, Dansili wasn’t the highest rated performer out of his dam. Two years after foaling Dansili, Hasili produced his brilliant own-sister Banks Hill, who won three Group 1s, including the Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Turf. Then, a year later, came the Green Desert filly Heat Haze, a two-time Grade 1 winner, followed by Intercontinental, Cacique and Champs Elysees – all by Danehill and all winners at the highest level. Dansili retired late to stud at just £8,000 and there’s good reason to believe that many breeders had already committed their mares elsewhere when his retirement was announced. We now know that his second book of mares was classier than his first, as his 11 second-crop stakes winners compared to six in his first bear out. Ever since second-crop star Rail Link won the Arc as a three-year-old in 2006, Dansili didn’t look back, siring Group 1 winners in each of his next nine crops. Nor was the 132-rated Rail Link to be his best offspring. That honour goes to the outstanding 140-rated Harbinger, who crowned a glorious four-year-old season in 2010 with a brilliant victory in the King George at Ascot. His career percentage of stakes winners to runners (11.8%) puts him firmly among the elite stallions and only Pivotal (150) and Dubawi (175) among British sires have bettered his 138 stakes winners. It is still unclear if the Dansili male line will survive over the long term as he’s yet to unearth a top-class stallion son. But this year, the two aforementioned sons are doing all they can to be that all-important heir. Just like his sire, Bated Breath is a Juddmonte homebred and also like his sire, he tried hard to earn the coveted

BATED BREATH’S TOP HORSES Form

Horse

Born

Sex

Dam

Broodmare sire

G2w

SPACE TRAVELLER

2016

SKY CRYSTAL W

GALILEO

G2wG1p

BECKFORD

2015

WHIRLY DANCER W

DANEHILL DANCER

G2w

WORTH WAITING

2015

SALUTARE W

SADLER’S WELLS

G2wG1p

DAAHYEH

2017

AFFLUENT W

OASIS DREAM

G3w

MAID IN INDIA

2014

INDIAN MAIDEN G3w

INDIAN RIDGE

G3w

BREATHTAKING LOOK

2015

LOVE YOUR LOOKS WLRp

IFFRAAJ

G3w

SIMPLY BREATHLESS

2015

DARLING GRACE W

NAYEF

LRwG3p

VIADERA

2016

SACRED SHIELD W

BEAT HOLLOW

LRw

VIK THE BILLY

2015

EPIPHANY W

ZAFONIC

LRwG3p

FEEL GLORIOUS

2016

SELF CENTRED WLRp

MEDICEAN

ZOFFANY’S TOP HORSES Form

Horse

Born

Sex

Dam

Broodmare sire

G1w

VENTURA STORM

2013

SARAWATI UP

HAAFHD

G1w

ALBIGNA

2017

FREEDONIA G2wG1p

SELKIRK

G2wG1p

FLEETING

2016

AZAFATA W

MOTIVATOR

G2wG1p

FOUNDATION

2013

ROYSTONEA WLRp

POLISH PRECEDENT

G2wG1p

ILLUMINATE

2013

QUEEN OF STARS UR

GREEN DESERT

G2w

KNIFE EDGE

2013

ATTALEA UR

MONSUN

G2w

WATERLOO BRIDGE

2013

MISS CHILDREY LRwG3p

DR FONG

G2w

MAIN EDITION

2016

MAINE LOBSTER P

WOODMAN

G3wG1p

WASHINGTON DC

2013

HOW’S SHE CUTTIN’ WLRp

SHINKO FOREST

G3wG2p

WHO’S STEPH

2015

LLEW LAW P

VERGLAS

G3wG2p

WILAMINA

2013

TROPICAL LAKE W

LOMOND

Group 1-winner status, being runner-up on four separate occasions in Group 1 sprints. His Timeform rating of 125 tells a more rounded story about the Group 2 winner’s true ability as a racehorse. Again like his dad, Bated Breath retired to stud at a fee of £8,000, earning an increase to £10,000 in year three after his first crop went well at the yearling sales. He did remarkably well to attract consistent quality in his first four years, which is not the case with most stallions. His elite mare counts of 29, 23, 24 and 20 in years one to four have stood him in good stead ever since. As I write, Bated Breath has 11 stakes winners to his name in 2019, which is a remarkable performance, given his fee. The only British sires ranked above him are Dubawi, plus his stud companions Frankel and Kingman. His star performer this year is the Group 2 Rockfel and Group 1 Moyglare Stakes runner-up Daahyeh, augmented by two more Group 2 winners in Space Traveller and Worth Waiting. It will be no surprise to see him attract

another 100-plus book in 2020. Back in 2015, Coolmore’s Dansili stallion Zoffany sired no fewer than five juvenile stakes winners. At the time, only two stallions had ever sired more. Even more impressive was the fact that included among the five were three individual Royal Ascot scorers – Waterloo Bridge, Illuminate and Washington DC. Three Royal Ascot juvenile stakes winners from a single crop had only ever been achieved once before in the history of the Pattern. The upshot was that Zoffany attracted an outstanding book of mares the following spring, covering more elite mares than he did in his first four seasons put together. So far, that crop has produced 19 two-year-old winners, headed by Group 1 Prix Marcel Boussac heroine Albigna, supplemented by a host of progressive types, including Group horses Shekhem, A New Dawn and Soffika. We can expect to see more from Zoffany in the next few years as his current crop of yearlings are also among his best bred.

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Data Book • Analysis by Andrew Caulfield European Pattern 290 BETFAIR SPRINT CUP STAKES G1 HAYDOCK PARK. Sep 7. 3yo+. 6f.

1. HELLO YOUMZAIN (FR) 3 9-1 £170,130 b c by Kodiac - Spasha (Shamardal) O-Mr Jaber Abdullah B-Rabbah Bloodstock Limited TR-Kevin Ryan 2. The Tin Man (GB) 7 9-3 £64,500 b g by Equiano - Persario (Bishop of Cashel) O-Fred Archer Racing - Ormonde B-Mrs E. M. Grundy TR-James Fanshawe 3. Waldpfad (GER) 5 9-3 £32,280 b h by Shamardal - Waldbeere (Mark of Esteem) O-Gestut Brummerhof B-Gestut Brummerhof TR-D. Moser Margins 0.5, 2. Time 1:12.70. Going Soft. Age Starts Wins Places Earned 2-3 7 4 3 £380,692 Sire: KODIAC. Sire of 53 Stakes winners. In 2019 FAIRYLAND Pivotal G1, HELLO YOUMZAIN Shamardal G1, FOX CHAMPION Red Rocks G2, TRUE VALOUR Acclamation G2, SILVA Dutch Art G3, BARYS Mr Greeley LR, JASH Dutch Art LR, SHADES OF BLUE Verglas LR, SPORTING CHANCE Giant’s Causeway LR, TIFOSA Acclamation LR. 1st Dam: Spasha by Shamardal. unraced. Dam of 4 winners:

2012:

2014:

2015:

2016:

2018: 2019:

ZUHOOR BAYNOONA (f Elnadim) 3 wins at 2 and 3, Whitsbury/EBF Stallions Lansdown S LR. Broodmare. SAGLAWY (g Youmzain) 3 wins, 3rd Prix Maurice Caillault LR, BoyleSports Juvenile Hurdle G2, 3rd AES Champion 4yo Hurdle G1, Baroneracing New Stand H. Hurdle G1. ROYAL YOUMZAIN (c Youmzain) Champion 2yr old colt in Italy in 2017. 4 wins at 2 and 3 in Germany, Italy, Premio Gran Criterium G2, 3rd Deutsches Derby G1, Longines Grosser Preis von Berlin G1. HELLO YOUMZAIN (c Kodiac) 4 wins at 2 and 3 at home, France, Betfair Sprint Cup S G1, Armstrong Sandy Lane S G2, Criterium de Maisons-Laffitte G2, 3rd Commonwealth Cup G1. (c Dragon Pulse) (f Dabirsim)

2nd Dam: Spa by Sadler’s Wells. unraced. Dam of PERSIAN MAJESTY (g Grand Lodge: Hampton Court S LR, 3rd Hardwicke S G2) Broodmare Sire: SHAMARDAL. Sire of the dams of 32 Stakes winners. In 2019 - HELLO YOUMZAIN Kodiac G1, ANDA MUCHACHO Helmet G3, LATROBE Camelot G3, WOMAN’S HEART Heart’s Cry G3, DUNEFLOWER Dubawi LR, FAR ABOVE Farhh LR, FURRION Camelot LR, PINK DOGWOOD Camelot LR, TERTIUS Siyouni LR, WALK IN MARRAKESH Siyouni LR, WESTPORT Not A Single Doubt LR. The Kodiac/Shamardal cross has produced: HELLO YOUMZAIN G1, GIFTED MASTER G2.

HELLO YOUMZAIN b c 2016 Danzig

Northern Dancer Pas de Nom

Razyana

His Majesty Spring Adieu

Kris

Sharpen Up Doubly Sure

Eljazzi

Artaius Border Bounty

Danehill KODIAC b 01 Rafha

Shamardal SPASHA b 08

Giant’s Causeway Storm Cat Mariah’s Storm Helsinki

Machiavellian Helen Street

Sadler’s Wells

Northern Dancer Fairy Bridge

Sandy Island

Mill Reef Sayonara

Spa

It was fair to have higher expectations of Kodiac’s 2016 crop, as the Tally-Ho stallion stood the 2015 season at an increased fee of €25,000. The well-connected son of Danehill had never stood for more than €10,000 in eight previous seasons, but the emergence of Tiggy Wiggy as the best two-year-old filly of 2014 changed all that. The increase in Kodiac’s fee has proved to be thoroughly justified, as two members of his 2016 crop lined up

for the Gr1 Betfair Sprint Cup. One, Fairyland, had followed Tiggy Wiggy as Kodiac’s second winner of the Cheveley Park Stakes, and the other, Hello Youmzain, had won the Gr2 Criterium de Maisons-Laffitte at two and had soundly defeated Calyx in the Gr2 Sandy Lane Stakes on a previous visit to Haydock. Although their task was made easier by the withdrawals of Advertise and Ten Sovereigns, they faced a previous winner of the Sprint Cup in The Tin Man. The Tin Man made a bold attempt to repeat his 2018 victory, but he never looked like catching Hello Youmzain, who led throughout. Speed is clearly Hello Youmzain’s prime asset, although there is plenty of stamina on his dam’s side. Though neither of his first two dams ever raced, both of them should have stayed at least a mile and a quarter. However, his dam, the Shamardal mare Spasha, seems to throw to the stallion. Mated to the three-time Arc runner-up Youmzain, she produced Royal Youmzain, a smart performer at up to a mile and a half in Germany. Mated to the July Cup winner Elnadim, the outcome was the five-furlong Listed winner Zuhoor Baynoona. Second dam Spa would surely have stayed well. Bred to the productive Sadler’s Wells/Mill Reef cross, she is out of the Lancashire Oaks winner Sandy Island, who was closely related to the Derby winner Slip Anchor. 291 PRIX DU MOULIN DE LONGCHAMP G1 PARISLONGCHAMP. Sep 8. 3yo+c&f. 1600m.

1. CIRCUS MAXIMUS (IRE) 3 8-13 £231,649 b c by Galileo - Duntle (Danehill Dancer) O-Flaxman Stables/Mrs Magnier/Tabor/Smith B-Flaxman Stables Ireland Ltd TR-Aidan O’Brien 2. Romanised (IRE) 4 9-3 £92,676 b c by Holy Roman Emperor - Romantic Venture (Indian Ridge) O-Mr Robert Ng B-Mrs M. Aherne TR-K. J. Condon 3. Line of Duty (IRE) 3 8-13 £46,338 ch c by Galileo - Jacqueline Quest (Rock of Gibraltar) O-Godolphin B-Triermore Stud TR-Charlie Appleby Margins Nose, 1. Time 1:36.54. Going Good to Soft. Age Starts Wins Places Earned 2-3 10 4 3 £855,664 Sire: GALILEO. Sire of 322 Stakes winners. In 2019 ANTHONY VAN DYCK Exceed And Excel G1, CIRCUS MAXIMUS Danehill Dancer G1, HERMOSA Pivotal G1, JAPAN Danehill G1, LOVE Pivotal G1, MAGICAL Pivotal G1, SEARCH FOR A SONG Danehill G1, SOVEREIGN Danehill Dancer G1, WALDGEIST Monsun G1, ARMORY Danehill Dancer G2, INNISFREE Fastnet Rock G2, MOGUL Danehill G2, PLATINUM WARRIOR Clodovil G2. 1st Dam: DUNTLE by Danehill Dancer. 5 wins at 3 and 4, Duke of Cambridge S G2, 2nd Coolmore Fusaichi Pegasus Matron S G1, Prix Rothschild G1, 3rd Kingdom of Bahrain Sun Chariot S G1. Dam of 1 winner:

2016:

CIRCUS MAXIMUS (c Galileo) 4 wins at 2 and 3 at home, France, St James’s Palace S G1, Prix du Moulin de Longchamp G1, Homeserve Dee S LR, 2nd Qatar Sussex S G1, 3rd Godolphin Autumn S G3.

2nd Dam: LADY ANGOLA by Lord At War. 1 win at 3. Dam of DUNTLE (f Danehill Dancer, see above) Broodmare Sire: DANEHILL DANCER. Sire of the dams of 112 Stakes winners. In 2019 - CIRCUS

MAXIMUS Galileo G1, SOVEREIGN Galileo G1, ARMORY Galileo G2, ROYAL DORNOCH Gleneagles G2, SIR DANCEALOT Sir Prancealot G2. The Galileo/Danehill Dancer cross has produced: ALICE SPRINGS G1, ARMORY G1, BYE BYE BABY G1, CIRCUS MAXIMUS G1, MINDING G1, NAYEF ROAD G1, RAIN GODDESS G1, SOVEREIGN G1, THE GURKHA G1, WEDDING VOW G1, Delphinia G1, BEACON ROCK G2, CALL TO MIND G2, GIUSEPPE GARIBALDI G2, QUEST FOR PEACE G2, Criteria G2, Delano Roosevelt G2, Il Paradiso G2, Lahinch Classics G2, BE MY GAL G3, KISSED BY ANGELS G3, RECORDER G3, Hence G3, Into The Mystic G3, Kingston Jamaica G3, Noble Galileo G3, Queen Nefertiti G3, BOUND LR, INDIAN MAHARAJA LR, KIND OF MAGIC LR, Amedeo Modigliani LR, Crocodile Rock LR, Facade LR, Felix Mendelssohn LR, Seussical LR.

GALILEO b 98

Nearctic Natalma

Fairy Bridge

Bold Reason Special

Miswaki

Mr Prospector Hopespringseternal

Allegretta

Lombard Anatevka

Danehill

Danzig Razyana

Mira Adonde

Sharpen Up Lettre d’Amour

Lord At War

General Luna de Miel

Benguela

Little Current Lady Winborne

Danehill Dancer DUNTLE ch 09 Lady Angola

See race 117 in the August issue 292 WILLIAM HILL ST LEGER STAKES G1 DONCASTER. Sep 14. 3yoc&f. 14f 110yds.

1. LOGICIAN (GB) 9-1 £396,970 gr c by Frankel - Scuffle (Daylami) O-Mr K. Abdullah B-Juddmonte Farms Ltd TR-John Gosden 2. Sir Ron Priestley (GB) 9-1 £150,500 ch c by Australia - Reckoning (Danehill Dancer) O-Mr Paul Dean B-Mascalls Stud TR-Mark Johnston 3. Nayef Road (IRE) 9-1 £75,320 ch c by Galileo - Rose Bonheur (Danehill Dancer) O-Mr Mohamed Obaida B-B. V. Sangster TR-Mark Johnston Margins 2.25, Head. Time 3:00.20. Going Good to Firm. Age Starts Wins Places Earned 3 5 5 0 £514,013 Sire: FRANKEL. Sire of 46 Stakes winners. In 2019 ANAPURNA Montjeu G1, DREAM CASTLE Dubawi G1, LOGICIAN Daylami G1, VERACIOUS Pivotal G1, ELARQAM Efisio G2, MEHDAAYIH Gone West G2, OBLIGATE Oasis Dream G2, DELAWARE Oasis Dream G3, FINCHE Woodman G3, FOUNT Chester House G3, LEARN BY HEART Danehill Dancer G3, MASTER OF REALITY Darshaan G3, SENATOR Selkirk G3, SUN MAIDEN Kingmambo G3, SUPHALA Kingmambo G3. 1st Dam: Scuffle by Daylami. 3 wins at 3, 3rd oddschecker.com Snowdrop S LR. Dam of 5 winners:

2011: 2012:

2013: 2014: 2015: 2016: 2017: 2018: 2019:

The Frankel/Daylami cross has produced: LOGICIAN G1, Juan Elcano G2.

LOGICIAN gr c 2016 Sadler’s Wells

Northern Dancer Fairy Bridge

Urban Sea

Miswaki Allegretta

Danehill

Danzig Razyana

Rainbow Lake

Rainbow Quest Rockfest

Doyoun

Mill Reef Dumka

Daltawa

Miswaki Damana

Distant View

Mr Prospector Seven Springs

Didina

Nashwan Didicoy

Galileo

Kind

Northern Dancer

Urban Sea

Broodmare Sire: DAYLAMI. Sire of the dams of 36 Stakes winners. In 2019 - LOGICIAN Frankel G1, HAZAPOUR Shamardal G3, MOUNTAIN HUNTER Lonhro LR.

FRANKEL b 08

CIRCUS MAXIMUS b c 2016 Sadler’s Wells

Mile S G1), BATED BREATH (c Dansili: betfred.com Temple S G2, 2nd Darley July Cup G1, King’s Stand S G1, Betfred Sprint Cup G1, Nearctic S G1, 3rd Betfred Sprint Cup G1), Scuffle (f Daylami, see above). Grandam of EQUILATERAL.

SLEEP WALK (f Oasis Dream) 3 wins at 3. Broodmare. SUFFUSED (f Champs Elysees) 7 wins at 2 to 5 at home, USA, La Prevoyante H G3, Glens Falls S G3, The Very One S G3, 2nd HPIBET E P Taylor S G1. Broodmare. Battlement (f Dansili) 3 wins at 3, 3rd Totepool EBF Stallions October S LR. Broodmare. Alienate (f Oasis Dream) unraced. Broodmare. COLLIDE (c Frankel) 4 wins at 3 and 4. LOGICIAN (c Frankel) 5 wins at 3, William Hill St Leger S G1, Sky Bet Great Voltigeur S G2. (c Invincible Spirit) (f Kingman) (c Time Test)

2nd Dam: TANTINA by Distant View. 4 wins at 3 Oak Tree S LR, JRA London Office’s Kyoto Sceptre S LR, 3rd Charlton Hunt Supreme S G3. Dam of CITYSCAPE (c Selkirk: Dubai Duty Free S G1, 2nd Qipco Queen Elizabeth II S G1, P. Fresnay le Buffard Jacques Le Marois G1, Premio Vittorio di Capua G1, Cathay Pacific Hong Kong Mile G1, 3rd Queen Anne S G1, Ricoh Woodbine

Daylami SCUFFLE gr 05 Tantina

Bearing in mind that Galileo has sired three winners of the St Leger and five winners of six editions of the Irish St Leger, it was hardly surprising that the 2019 St Leger was dominated by his descendants. Two of the eight runners were by Galileo himself and another two were by his son Australia, while two other sons, Frankel and Nathaniel, were also represented. Between them they were responsible for the first three, with victory going to Frankel’s impressive son Logician, who is now unbeaten in five starts. Logician’s trainer John Gosden intends to campaign him over a mile and a half as a four-year-old, which isn’t surprising in view of the colt’s female line. His fifth dam Monroe won the Gr3 Ballyogan Stakes over five furlongs as a three-year-old before developing into a key member of the Juddmonte broodmare band. She became the dam of the champion two-year-old Xaar, as well as being the third dam of the champion American mare Close Hatches and of the 2019 Phoenix Stakes winner Siskin. Logician is linked to Monroe by a sequence of speedy mares. His dam, the Listed-placed Scuffle, did her winning at around a mile. Second dam Tantina won her first four starts, all over seven furlongs, including two Listed races, and went on to produce the high-class sprinter Bated Breath and the very talented miler Cityscape. Third dam Didina was a Listed winner over seven furlongs at York at three, before doing well in the US, and she is the second dam of the Gr2 Gimcrack Stakes winner Ajaya. Fourth dam Didicoy was a fast and useful Danzig filly who was best over six furlongs. This family is versatile and Scuffle’s previous Group winner, Suffused, inherited stamina from her sire Champs Elysees, sire also of such fine long-distance stayers as Trip To Paris, Withhold and Low Sun.

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CAULFIELD ON LOGICIAN: “The St Leger winner’s trainer, John Gosden, intends to campaign him over a mile and a half as a four-year-old, which isn’t surprising in view of the colt’s female line” 293 COOLMORE MATRON STAKES G1 LEOPARDSTOWN. Sep 14. 3yo+f. 8f.

1. IRIDESSA (IRE) 3 9-0 £186,036 b f by Ruler of The World - Senta’s Dream (Danehill) O-Mrs C. C. Regalado-Gonzalez B-Whisperview Trading Ltd TR-Joseph Patrick O’Brien 2. Hermosa (IRE) 3 9-0 £59,910 b f by Galileo - Beauty Is Truth (Pivotal) O-Mr M. Tabor, D. Smith & Mrs John Magnier B-Beauty Is Truth Syndicate TR-Aidan O’Brien 3. Just Wonderful (USA) 3 9-0 £28,378 b f by Dansili - Wading (Montjeu) O-Mr M. Tabor, D. Smith & Mrs John Magnier B-Orpendale, Chelston & Wynatt TR-Aidan O’Brien Margins 0.75, Head. Time 1:38.81. Going Good. Age Starts Wins Places Earned 2-3 11 4 4 £694,745

Sire: GALILEO. Sire of 322 Stakes winners. In 2019 ANTHONY VAN DYCK Exceed And Excel G1, CIRCUS MAXIMUS Danehill Dancer G1, HERMOSA Pivotal G1, JAPAN Danehill G1, LOVE Pivotal G1, MAGICAL Pivotal G1, SEARCH FOR A SONG Danehill G1, SOVEREIGN Danehill Dancer G1, WALDGEIST Monsun G1, ARMORY Danehill Dancer G2, INNISFREE Fastnet Rock G2, MOGUL Danehill G2, PLATINUM WARRIOR Clodovil G2. 1st Dam: HALFWAY TO HEAVEN by Pivotal. 4 wins at 2 and 3, Boylesports Irish 1000 Guineas G1, Blue Square Nassau S G1, Kingdom of Bahrain Sun Chariot S G1, 3rd Coolmore Fusaichi Pegasus Matron S G1, Poule d’Essai des Pouliches G1. Dam of 5 winners:

2010: 2011: 2012: 2014:

Sire: RULER OF THE WORLD. Sire of 1 Stakes winner. 1st Dam: Senta’s Dream by Danehill. unraced. Dam of 3 winners:

2009: 2010: 2011: 2012: 2014: 2016:

2017: 2018:

CATERINA (f Medicean) Winner at 3. Broodmare. Bannockburn Boy (g Motivator) ran 3 times. DREAM AND HOPE (f Royal Applause) Winner at 3. Mr Bissto (g High Chaparral) Tisa River (f Equiano) IRIDESSA (f Ruler of The World). 4 wins at 2 and 3, bet365 Fillies’ Mile S G1, Juddmonte Pretty Polly S G1, Coolmore Matron S G1, 3rd Ballylinch 1000 Guineas Trial S G3, Ballylinch Irish EBF Ingabelle S LR. Order of Australia (c Australia) unraced to date. (f Camelot)

2nd Dam: STARINE by Mendocino. 10 wins at 2, 4 and 5 in France, USA Matriarch S G1, Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Turf G1, 2nd Gamely Breeders’ Cup H G1, 3rd Flower Bowl Invitational S G1. Broodmare Sire: DANEHILL. Sire of the dams of 403 Stakes winners. In 2019 - IMPERADOR Treasure Beach G1, IRIDESSA Ruler of The World G1, JAPAN Galileo G1, SEARCH FOR A SONG Galileo G1, FAATINAH Nicconi G2, FUNSTAR Adelaide G2, MOGUL Galileo G2, POETIC CHARM Dubawi G2, QUEEN OF DIAMONDS Savabeel G2.

IRIDESSA b f 2016 Sadler’s Wells

Northern Dancer Fairy Bridge

Urban Sea

Miswaki Allegretta

Kingmambo

Mr Prospector Miesque

Lassie’s Lady

Alydar Lassie Dear

Danzig

Northern Dancer Pas de Nom

Razyana

His Majesty Spring Adieu

Mendocino

Theatrical Brorita

Grisonnante

Kaldoun Lady Cherie

Galileo RULER OF THE WORLD ch 10 Love Me True

Danehill SENTA’S DREAM b 04 Starine

See race 123 in the August issue 294 QIPCO IRISH CHAMPION STAKES G1 LEOPARDSTOWN. Sep 14. 3yo+. 10f.

1. MAGICAL (IRE) 4 9-4 £641,892 b f by Galileo - Halfway To Heaven (Pivotal) O-Mr D. Smith, Mrs J. Magnier, Mr M. Tabor B-Orpendale, Chelston & Wynatt TR-Aidan O’Brien 2. Magic Wand (IRE) 4 9-4 £213,964 b f by Galileo - Prudenzia (Dansili) O-Mr M. Tabor, D. Smith & Mrs John Magnier B-Ecurie Des Monceaux & Skymarc Farm Inc TR-Aidan O’Brien 3. Anthony Van Dyck (IRE) 3 9-1 £101,351 b c by Galileo - Believe’n’succeed (Exceed And Excel) O-Mrs John Magnier,Mr M.Tabor & Mr D.Smith B-Orpendale, Chelston & Wynatt TR-Aidan O’Brien Margins 2.25, Head. Time 2:06.49. Going Good. Age Starts Wins Places Earned 2-4 19 8 10 £2,466,935

Nov_183_DataBook.indd 115

2015:

2017: 2019:

FLYING THE FLAG (c Galileo) 3 wins at 2, 3 and 5 at home, UAE, eFlow ‘You First’ International S G3, 2nd Galileo EBF Futurity S G2. JUST GORGEOUS (f Galileo) Winner at 3. Broodmare. HANOVER STREET (g Galileo) Winner over hurdles. RHODODENDRON (f Galileo) Champion older mare in Ireland in 2018. 5 wins at 2 to 4 at home, France, Dubai Fillies’ Mile S G1, Al Shaqab Lockinge S G1, Prix de l’Opera Longines G1, 2nd Investec Oaks S G1, Qipco 1000 Guineas S G1, Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Turf G1, 3rd Moyglare Stud S G1. MAGICAL (f Galileo) Jt Champion 3yr old in Europe in 2018 (11-13f.). 8 wins at 2 to 4, Tattersalls Gold Cup G1, QIPCO Irish Champion S G1, Qipco Brit.Champions Fillies/Mare S G1, Coolmore Irish EBF Mooresbridge S G2, Breast Cancer Research Debutante S G2, Kilboy Estate S G2, Alleged S G3, 2nd Coral Eclipse G1, Moyglare Stud S G1, Prince of Wales’s S G1, Darley Yorkshire Oaks G1, Longines Breeders’ Cup Turf G1. Heaven of Heavens (f Galileo) in training. (c Galileo)

2nd Dam: CASSANDRA GO by Indian Ridge. 6 wins at 3 to 5 King’s Stand S G2, Tripleprint Temple S G2, 2nd Darley July Cup G1. Own sister to Grey Eminence. Dam of HALFWAY TO HEAVEN (f Pivotal, see above), TICKLED PINK (f Invincible Spirit: Connaught Flooring Abernant S G3, The Coral Charge Sprint S G3), THEANN (f Rock of Gibraltar: Cuisine de France Summer S G3), Fantasy (f Invincible Spirit: 3rd John Sisk & Son Round Tower S G3). Grandam of PHOTO CALL, LAND FORCE, BEST REGARDS. Third dam of Snazzy. Broodmare Sire: PIVOTAL. Sire of the dams of 100 Stakes winners. In 2019 - ADVERTISE Showcasing G1, DEFOE Dalakhani G1, FAIRYLAND Kodiac G1, HERMOSA Galileo G1, LOVE Galileo G1, MAGICAL Galileo G1, ONE MASTER Fastnet Rock G1, VERACIOUS Frankel G1. The Galileo/Pivotal cross has produced: HERMOSA G1, HYDRANGEA G1, LOVE G1, MAGICAL G1, RHODODENDRON G1, THE UNITED STATES G1, FLYING THE FLAG G2, GOSPEL CHOIR G2, FLATTERING G3, ORDEROFTHEGARTER G3, PEACH TREE G3, SILVER GALAXY G3, Tamarind Cove G3.

MAGICAL b f 2015 Northern Dancer

Nearctic Natalma

Fairy Bridge

Bold Reason Special

Miswaki

Mr Prospector Hopespringseternal

Allegretta

Lombard Anatevka

Polar Falcon

Nureyev Marie d’Argonne

Sadler’s Wells GALILEO b 98 Urban Sea

Pivotal HALFWAY TO HEAVEN b/br 05

Fearless Revival

Cozzene Stufida

Indian Ridge

Ahonoora Hillbrow

Rahaam

Secreto Fager’s Glory

Cassandra Go

See race 55 in the July issue 295 COMER INT. IRISH ST LEGER G1 CURRAGH. Sep 15. 3yo+. 14f.

1. SEARCH FOR A SONG (IRE) 3 8-11 £308,108 ch f by Galileo - Polished Gem (Danehill) O-Moyglare Stud Farms Ltd B-Moyglare Stud Farm Ltd TR-D. K. Weld 2. Kew Gardens (IRE) 4 9-9 £102,703 b c by Galileo - Chelsea Rose (Desert King) O-Mr D. Smith, Mrs J. Magnier, Mr M. Tabor B-Barronstown Stud TR-Aidan O’Brien

3. Southern France (IRE) 4 9-9 £48,649 b c by Galileo - Alta Anna (Anabaa) O-Mr D. Smith, Mrs J. Magnier, Mr M. Tabor B-Lynch-Bages & Rhinestone Bloodstock TR-Aidan O’Brien Margins 2.25, 1.5. Time 3:03.24. Going Good to Firm. Age Starts Wins Places Earned 3 5 3 2 £381,716 Sire: GALILEO. Sire of 322 Stakes winners. In 2019 ANTHONY VAN DYCK Exceed And Excel G1, CIRCUS MAXIMUS Danehill Dancer G1, HERMOSA Pivotal G1, JAPAN Danehill G1, LOVE Pivotal G1, MAGICAL Pivotal G1, SEARCH FOR A SONG Danehill G1, SOVEREIGN Danehill Dancer G1, WALDGEIST Monsun G1, ARMORY Danehill Dancer G2, INNISFREE Fastnet Rock G2, MOGUL Danehill G2, PLATINUM WARRIOR Clodovil G2. 1st Dam: POLISHED GEM by Danehill. Winner at 2. Own sister to DRESS TO THRILL. Dam of 8 winners:

2008:

2009: 2010:

2011:

2012: 2014: 2015: 2016:

2017: 2018:

SAPPHIRE (f Medicean) 6 wins at 3 and 4, Qipco Brit.Champions Fillies/Mare S G2, 2nd Barclays Bnk Ireland Pretty Polly S G1. Broodmare. CUSTOM CUT (g Notnowcato). 13 wins, bet365 Mile G2, Clipper Logistics Solonaway S G2, Shadwell Joel S G2. AMBER ROMANCE (f Bahamian Bounty) Winner at 4. Broodmare. Dam of Moved (g Iffraaj: 3rd Premio Criterium d’Inverno Hurdle G2) FREE EAGLE (c High Chaparral) Jt Champion older horse in Ireland in 2015, Jt Champion older horse in Europe in 2015 (9.5-10.5f.). 3 wins at 2 to 4, Prince of Wales’s S G1, 3rd Qipco Champion S G1, QIPCO Irish Champion S G1. Sire. VALAC (g Dark Angel) 7 wins at 5 to 7 in Australia, Dominant Port Adelaide Queens Cup G3. RICH HISTORY (c Dubawi) 3 wins at 4 in Qatar. FALCON EIGHT (c Galileo) 3 wins at 3 and 4, Coral Marathon Esher S LR, 3rd Loughbrown S G3. SEARCH FOR A SONG (f Galileo) 3 wins at 3, Comer Int. Irish St Leger G1, EBF & Sir H. Cecil Galtres S LR, 2nd ISF EBF Naas Oaks Trial LR. Amma Grace (f Galileo) (c Galileo)

2nd Dam: TRUSTED PARTNER by Affirmed. 3 wins at 2 and 3 Goffs Irish 1000 Guineas G1. Own sister to LOW KEY AFFAIR, EASY TO COPY, EPICURE’S GARDEN and Magical Cliche. Dam of DRESS TO THRILL (f Danehill: Matriarch S G1, 2nd Moyglare Stud S G1), Act of Defiance (g Caerleon: 3rd Tyros S LR), ARCHIVE FOOTAGE (g Sadler’s Wells: The Ladbroke Limited H. Hurdle G1). Grandam of Aahaykid, Eudokia, INDIAN PACE. Third dam of VERT DE GRECE, LOVE LOCKDOWN, TABLE ROCK, Glory. Broodmare Sire: DANEHILL. Sire of the dams of 403 Stakes winners. In 2019 - IMPERADOR Treasure Beach G1, IRIDESSA Ruler of The World G1, JAPAN Galileo G1, SEARCH FOR A SONG Galileo G1, FAATINAH Nicconi G2, FUNSTAR Adelaide G2, MOGUL Galileo G2, POETIC CHARM Dubawi G2, QUEEN OF DIAMONDS Savabeel G2. The Galileo/Danehill cross has produced: BANC DE FORTUNE G1, BONDI BEACH G1, CIMA DE TRIOMPHE G1, CUIS GHAIRE G1, DEAUVILLE G1, FIELDS OF ATHENRY G1, FRANKEL G1, GOLDEN LILAC G1, GUSTAV KLIMT G1, HIGHLAND REEL G1, IDAHO G1, INTELLO G1, JAPAN G1, MAYBE G1, NOBLE MISSION G1, ORCHESTRA G1, PROMISE TO BE TRUE G1, RODERIC O’CONNOR G1, ROMANTICA G1, SCINTILLULA G1, SEARCH FOR A SONG G1, SECRET GESTURE G1, TAPESTRY G1, TEOFILO G1, VENICE BEACH G1, Galileo’s Destiny G1, Gile Na Greine G1, Mars G1, The Assayer G1, BROADWAY G2, CAPE OF GOOD HOPE G2, CONSTANTINOPLE G2, GRETCHEN G2, GREY LION G2, MOGUL G2, PRETTY PERFECT G2, REEM G2, Barbados G2, Iberia G2, CRYSTAL GAL G3, DAZZLING G3, FALCON EIGHT G3, GALIWAY G3, JOHN F KENNEDY G3, LAGALP G3, MEKONG RIVER G3, SAYANA G3, SIDERA G3, SIR ISAAC NEWTON G3, THE CORSICAN G3, THE MAJOR GENERAL G3, WONDERFULLY G3, Brightest G3, Circling G3, Claiomh Solais G3, Granddukeoftuscany G3, Impulsive Moment G3, Marksmanship G3, Simply Beautiful G3, BIRCH GROVE LR, BLISSFUL LR, CUFF LR, CURLY LR, EASTER LILY LR, ILTEMAS LR, MISS GALILEI LR, Acteur Celebre LR, Amerique LR, Benkei LR, Cosmica Sidera LR, Provenance LR, Via Galilei LR.

SEARCH FOR A SONG ch f 2016 Sadler’s Wells GALILEO b 98

Northern Dancer Nearctic Natalma Fairy Bridge

Bold Reason Special

Miswaki

Mr Prospector Hopespringseternal

Allegretta

Lombard Anatevka

Danzig

Northern Dancer Pas de Nom

Razyana

His Majesty Spring Adieu

Affirmed

Exclusive Native Won’t Tell You

Talking Picture

Speak John Poster Girl

Urban Sea

Danehill POLISHED GEM b 03 Trusted Partner

Named Broodmare of the Year in 2015, on the strength of the Group successes of Sapphire, Custom Cut and Free Eagle, Polished Gem has continued to shine brightly. She has added three more black-type winners to her tally in the form of the Australian-based Valac, Falcon Eight and Search For A Song. Search For A Song followed Free Eagle as Polished Gem’s second Gr1 winner when she landed the Irish St Leger on only her fifth start, less than four months after her winning debut. Polished Gem’s outstanding success as a broodmare, which also includes winners of the British Champions Fillies & Mares Stakes and the Prince of Wales’s Stakes, is a reminder that racing and breeding can be very unpredictable. Polished Gem is one of two winning Danehill fillies produced by the Irish 1,000 Guineas winner Trusted Partner. The other, Dress To Thrill, won half of her 14 starts, enjoying Group/Graded success in Ireland, Britain and the USA (Gr1 Matriarch Stakes), whereas Polished Gem won only a sevenfurlong maiden. It therefore looked a safe bet that it would be Dress To Thrill who was destined for stardom as a broodmare. However, Dress To Thrill’s six foals included just two winners, neither a black-type earner. Search For A Song’s Classicwinning second dam, Trusted Partner, was bred to excel. By the American Triple Crown winner Affirmed out of dual Gr1 winner Talking Picture, Trusted Partner was the third of four stakes-winning sisters, the others being Easy To Copy, Epicure’s Garden and Low Key Affair. This is also the family of the French Gr1 winners Gallante and Vert de Grece, and of the smart stayer Forgotten Rules, whose victories included the Gr2 British Champions Long Distance Cup over two miles. Search For A Song can also be expected to stay two miles, the distance of her brother Falcon Eight’s Listed victory. 296 DERRINSTOWN FLYING FIVE STAKES G1 CURRAGH. Sep 15. 3yo+. 5f.

1. FAIRYLAND (IRE) 3 9-0 £205,405 b f by Kodiac - Queenofthefairies (Pivotal) O-Mrs E M Stockwell/M Tabor/D Smith B-Tally-Ho Stud TR-Aidan O’Brien 2. So Perfect (USA) 3 9-0 £68,468 b/br f by Scat Daddy - Hopeoverexperience (Songandaprayer) O-Mr D. Smith, Mrs J. Magnier, Mr M. Tabor B-Machmer Hall TR-Aidan O’Brien

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Data Book European Pattern 3. Invincible Army (IRE) 4 9-4 £32,432 b c by Invincible Spirit - Rajeem (Diktat) O-Mr Saeed Manana B-Godolphin Management Company Limited (Rabbah) TR-James Tate Margins Short Head, 1.5. Time 0:57.88. Going Good. Age Starts Wins Places Earned 2-3 12 5 2 £647,484 Sire: KODIAC. Sire of 53 Stakes winners. In 2019 FAIRYLAND Pivotal G1, HELLO YOUMZAIN Shamardal G1, FOX CHAMPION Red Rocks G2, TRUE VALOUR Acclamation G2, SILVA Dutch Art G3, BARYS Mr Greeley LR, JASH Dutch Art LR, SHADES OF BLUE Verglas LR, SPORTING CHANCE Giant’s Causeway LR, TIFOSA Acclamation LR. 1st Dam: Queenofthefairies by Pivotal. unraced. Dam of 3 winners:

2012: 2013:

2014: 2016:

2017:

ATLETICO (g Kodiac) 3 wins at 3 and 5. NOW OR NEVER (f Bushranger) 3 wins at 2 to 4 at home, Australia, Blazer Rose of Kingston S G2, 3rd Tattersalls Irish 1000 Guineas G1. Asrafairy (f Zebedee) unraced. Broodmare. FAIRYLAND (f Kodiac) Sold 925,000gns yearling at TAOC1. 5 wins at 2 and 3, Juddmonte Cheveley Park S G1, Derrinstown Flying Five S G1, Sky Bet Lowther S G2, Cold Move EBF Marble Hill S LR, 3rd Darley July Cup S G1, Albany S G3. Manaajim (f Muhaarar) unraced to date.

2nd Dam: LAND OF DREAMS by Cadeaux Genereux. 3 wins at 2 and 3 Polypipe PLC Flying Childers S G2. Dam of DREAM AHEAD (c Diktat: Darley July Cup G1, Shadwell Middle Park S G1, Betfred Sprint Cup G1, Qatar Prix de la Foret G1, Darley Prix Morny G1), INTO THE DARK (g Rainbow Quest: Weatherbys Bank Doonside Cup LR, Pall Mall James Seymour S LR, 2nd Dubai Duty Free Arc Trial G3), Bin Battuta (g Dubawi: 3rd District 1 Nad Al Sheba Trophy G3). Grandam of Thebah. Broodmare Sire: PIVOTAL. Sire of the dams of 100 Stakes winners. In 2019 - ADVERTISE Showcasing G1, DEFOE Dalakhani G1, FAIRYLAND Kodiac G1, HERMOSA Galileo G1, LOVE Galileo G1, MAGICAL Galileo G1, ONE MASTER Fastnet Rock G1, VERACIOUS Frankel G1. The Kodiac/Pivotal cross has produced: FAIRYLAND G1, NEVER BACK DOWN LR, Light Blush LR.

FAIRYLAND b f 2016 Danzig

Northern Dancer Pas de Nom

Razyana

His Majesty Spring Adieu

Kris

Sharpen Up Doubly Sure

Eljazzi

Artaius Border Bounty

Polar Falcon

Nureyev Marie d’Argonne

Fearless Revival

Cozzene Stufida

Danehill KODIAC b 01 Rafha

Pivotal QUEENOFTHEFAIRIES b 07 Land of Dreams

Cadeaux Genereux Young Generation Smarten Up Sahara Star

Green Desert Vaigly Star

The word ‘expensive’ has a variety of meanings, ranging from high-priced to costly, exorbitant and overpriced. Well, there is no doubt that Kodiac’s yearling filly out of Queenofthefairies was high-priced as a yearling in 2017, as she cost 925,000gns, even though Kodiac’s 2015 fee had been only €25,000. However, time has shown that the filly certainly wasn’t overpriced. Named Fairyland, she won four of her five races as a two-year-old, including the Gr2 Lowther Stakes and the Gr1 Cheveley Park Stakes, and she has consolidated her position as one of the fastest fillies of her generation with her victory in the Gr1 Flying Five Stakes. Fairyland ranks alongside Magical, Hermosa, Love, Advertise, Defoe and

Veracious as one of seven 2019 Gr1 winners out of daughters of Pivotal. Fairyland’s unraced dam Queenofthefairies cost Tally-Ho Stud only 32,000gns in July 2010. Queenofthefairies received an immediate boost, with her half-brother Dream Ahead recording a wide-margin debut victory six days after her sale and he quickly followed up with Gr1 victories in the Prix Morny and the Middle Park, taking the latter by nine lengths. Tally-Ho attempted to cash in by returning Queenofthefairies to Tattersalls in December, but ended up buying her back at 80,000gns. The Tally-Ho team must be eternally grateful that the filly didn’t sell. Queenofthefairies’ second foal Now Or Never, by the disappointing Bushranger, became a Group winner in Ireland and Australia and was third in the Irish 1,000 Guineas. Now Or Never’s achievements helped focus attention on Fairyland, Queenofthefairies’ fourth foal. Fairyland’s second dam Land Of Dreams won the Gr2 Flying Childers Stakes at two and the Gr3 King George Stakes at three to prove herself best at five furlongs. She passed on her speed to Dream Ahead, who added three Gr1 wins as a three-year-old in the process of becoming champion sprinter. Fairyland’s fifth dam Dervaig was exported to Trinidad after making a winning debut over five furlongs and Dervaig did so well as a sprinter in the Caribbean that she was repatriated. Mated to Great Nephew (sire of two Derby winners), she produced the high-class sprinter Vaigly Great and a mating with the Arc winner Star Appeal produced another very good sprinter in Vaigly Star. Vaigly Star is Fairyland’s fourth dam, her third dam being Sahara Star, winner of the Gr3 Molecomb Stakes. 297 GOFFS V. O’BRIEN NATIONAL STAKES G1 CURRAGH. Sep 15. 2yoc&f. 7f.

1. PINATUBO (IRE) 9-3 £205,405 b c by Shamardal - Lava Flow (Dalakhani) O-Godolphin B-Godolphin Management Company Ltd TR-Charlie Appleby 2. Armory (IRE) 9-3 £68,468 b c by Galileo - After (Danehill Dancer) O-Mrs John Magnier,Mr M.Tabor & Mr D.Smith B-Coolmore TR-Aidan O’Brien 3. Arizona (IRE) 9-3 £32,432 b c by No Nay Never - Lady Ederle (English Channel) O-Mrs John Magnier,Mr M.Tabor & Mr D.Smith B-Stephen Sullivan TR-Aidan O’Brien Margins 9, Neck. Time 1:21.82. Going Good. Age Starts Wins Places Earned 2 5 5 0 £412,001 Sire: SHAMARDAL. Sire of 140 Stakes winners. In 2019 - BLUE POINT Royal Applause G1, CASTLE LADY Elusive Quality G1, EARTHLIGHT New Approach G1, PINATUBO Dalakhani G1, VICTOR LUDORUM Kaldounevees G1, MORGAN LE FAYE Lomitas G2, TARNAWA Cape Cross G2, CAPE BYRON Mark of Esteem G3, HAZAPOUR Daylami G3, SHAMAN Green Desert G3, SKARDU Iffraaj G3, WALDPFAD Mark of Esteem G3. 1st Dam: LAVA FLOW by Dalakhani. 2 wins at 3 in France, Prix de la Seine LR. Dam of 2 winners:

2015:

ANTISANA (f Dubawi) Winner at 4 in France.

2016: 2017: 2018: 2019:

Al Mureib (g Dubawi) PINATUBO (c Shamardal) 5 wins at 2, Goffs V. O’Brien National S G1, Qatar Vintage S G2, Chesham S LR. (f Sea The Stars) (f Teofilo)

2nd Dam: MOUNT ELBRUS by Barathea. 3 wins at 3 and 4 at home, France Prix Petite Etoile LR. Dam of LAVA FLOW (f Dalakhani, see above), Strobilus (g Mark of Esteem: 2nd Gran Criterium G1), Hunterview (g Reset: 3rd Totescoop6 Swinton H. Hurdle G3) Broodmare Sire: DALAKHANI. Sire of the dams of 28 Stakes winners. In 2019 - PINATUBO Shamardal G1, TOWER OF LONDON Raven’s Pass G1, ABADAN Samum LR, KARIEGA Kingda Ka LR, SHELIR Dark Angel LR, THUNDEROUS Night of Thunder LR. The Shamardal/Dalakhani cross has produced: PINATUBO G1, GLOBAL GIANT G3, TANIYAR G3, Balansiya G3.

PINATUBO b c 2017 Storm Cat

Storm Bird Terlingua

Mariah’s Storm

Rahy Immense

Machiavellian

Mr Prospector Coup de Folie

Helen Street

Troy Waterway

Darshaan

Shirley Heights Delsy

Daltawa

Miswaki Damana

Barathea

Sadler’s Wells Brocade

El Jazirah

Kris Eljazzi

Giant’s Causeway SHAMARDAL b 02 Helsinki

Dalakhani LAVA FLOW ch 10 Mount Elbrus

Turning in a performance which drew comparisons with the mighty Frankel, Pinatubo improved his record to four wins from as many starts when he stormed nine lengths clear in the Gr1 National Stakes. Already a five-length winner of the Gr2 Vintage Stakes, Pinatubo looks destined to follow in the footsteps of his sire Shamardal, the champion two-year-old of 2004 after an undefeated campaign. Pinatubo’s grandsire Giant’s Causeway was another undefeated Gr1 winner as a two-year-old. Pinatubo isn’t the only high-class 2019 two-year-old representing Shamardal, as Earthlight is an unbeaten winner of the Gr1 Prix Morny. It is worth adding that Pinatubo and Earthlight come from a crop numbering no more than 81, following the decision to restrict Shamardal’s book from 2016 onwards. Shamardal temporarily became a private stallion for the Maktoum family and their associates and his 2018 and 2019 crops are also comparatively small, as he covered 65 mares in 2017 and roughly 63 in 2018. Shamardal landed the Prix du Jockey-Club over an extended mile and a quarter, despite being fast enough to revert successfully to a mile in the St James’s Palace Stakes. He led from the start on that occasion, just as he had done in gaining all five of his previous victories. A mile shouldn’t be a problem for Pinatubo and a mile and a quarter should theoretically also be within his compass, though his neat, muscular physique suggests he may possess more speed than stamina. Pinatubo’s dam, Lava Flow, was a Listed winner over 11 furlongs at Longchamp and his second dam, the

Barathea mare Mount Elbrus, scored at up to 13 furlongs. There is a link between Pinatubo and Earthlight, as Pinatubo’s broodmare sire, the Prix du Jockey-Club and Arc winner Dalakhani, was sired by Darshaan, who sired Earthlight’s second dam Summer Legacy. Shamardal has a fine record with Dalakhani’s broodmare daughters, as Pinatubo is this partnership’s third black-type winner from 12 foals. One of his predecessors – Taniyar – strikes a note of caution, as she was fast enough to win the Gr3 Prix du Pin over seven furlongs as a threeyear-old and to finish a creditable fifth in the Gr1 Prix de la Foret. However, the partnership’s other black-type winner, Global Giant, is a Listed winner over an extended mile and a quarter in Ireland. 298 MOYGLARE STUD STAKES G1 CURRAGH. Sep 15. 2yof. 7f.

1. LOVE (IRE) 9-0 £205,405 ch f by Galileo - Pikaboo (Pivotal) O-Mr M. Tabor, D. Smith & Mrs John Magnier B-Coolmore TR-Aidan O’Brien 2. Daahyeh (GB) 9-0 £68,468 ch f by Bated Breath - Affluent (Oasis Dream) O-H.H. SH Nasser Bin Hamad Al Khalifa B-Mr & Mrs D. J. Deer TR-Roger Varian 3. So Wonderful (USA) 9-0 £32,432 b f by War Front - Wonder of Wonders (Kingmambo) O-Mr M. Tabor, D. Smith & Mrs John Magnier B-Orpendale, Chelston & Wynatt TR-Aidan O’Brien Margins 0.75, 0.75. Time 1:24.28. Going Good. Age Starts Wins Places Earned 2 6 3 2 £252,344 Sire: GALILEO. Sire of 322 Stakes winners. In 2019 ANTHONY VAN DYCK Exceed And Excel G1, CIRCUS MAXIMUS Danehill Dancer G1, HERMOSA Pivotal G1, JAPAN Danehill G1, LOVE Pivotal G1, MAGICAL Pivotal G1, SEARCH FOR A SONG Danehill G1, SOVEREIGN Danehill Dancer G1, WALDGEIST Monsun G1, ARMORY Danehill Dancer G2, INNISFREE Fastnet Rock G2, MOGUL Danehill G2, PLATINUM WARRIOR Clodovil G2. 1st Dam: Pikaboo by Pivotal. Dam of 6 winners:

2008: 2009: 2011:

2012: 2014: 2015: 2016: 2017:

MON VISAGE (f Ishiguru) Winner at 2. I SEE YOU (f Sleeping Indian) 2 wins at 2 and 3. Broodmare. LUCKY KRISTALE (f Lucky Story) 5 wins at 2 and 4, Betfred Duchess Of Cambridge S G2, Connolly’s Red Mills Lowther S G2. Broodmare. Mutanaawal (g Intikhab) unraced. Early Addition (f Makfi) unraced. Broodmare. FLATTERING (f Galileo) 2 wins at 3, Munster Oaks S G3. PEACH TREE (f Galileo) 3 wins at 2 and 3, ISF EBF Stanerra S G3. LOVE (f Galileo) 3 wins at 2, Moyglare Stud S G1, JC of Turkey Silver Flash S G3.

2nd Dam: GLEAM OF LIGHT by Danehill. 2 wins at 3. Dam of ARABIAN GLEAM (c Kyllachy: Victor Chandler Challenge S G2, Great North Eastern Railway Park S G2 (twice)), KIMBERELLA (g Kyllachy: Total Fitness Queensferry S LR (twice), 3rd Betfred Chipchase S G3), Bumptious (c Mister Baileys: 3rd Bahrain Trophy LR). Grandam of SKIA, TROPAIOS, Pogo. Third dam of Vin de Garde. Broodmare Sire: PIVOTAL. Sire of the dams of 100 Stakes winners. In 2019 - ADVERTISE Showcasing G1, DEFOE Dalakhani G1, FAIRYLAND Kodiac G1, HERMOSA Galileo G1, LOVE Galileo G1, MAGICAL Galileo G1, ONE MASTER Fastnet Rock G1, VERACIOUS Frankel G1. The Galileo/Pivotal cross has produced: HERMOSA G1, HYDRANGEA G1, LOVE G1, MAGICAL G1, RHODODENDRON G1, THE UNITED STATES G1, FLYING THE FLAG G2, GOSPEL CHOIR G2, FLATTERING G3, ORDEROFTHEGARTER G3, PEACH TREE G3, SILVER GALAXY G3, Tamarind Cove G3.

116 THOROUGHBRED OWNER BREEDER

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CAULFIELD ON ASPETAR: “Al Kazeem can’t take all the credit for the four-year-old’s talent. His dam, the Dansili mare Bella Qatara, has produced black-type performers as her first two foals” LOVE ch f 2017 Northern Dancer

Nearctic Natalma

Fairy Bridge

Bold Reason Special

Miswaki

Mr Prospector Hopespringseternal

Allegretta

Lombard Anatevka

Polar Falcon

Nureyev Marie d’Argonne

Fearless Revival

Cozzene Stufida

Danehill

Danzig Razyana

Gold Runner

Runnett African Doll

Sadler’s Wells GALILEO b 98 Urban Sea

Pivotal PIKABOO ch 03 Gleam of Light

I don’t know how much was paid for Pikaboo after this mare’s Lucky Story filly Lucky Kristale had established herself as one of 2013’s top juvenile fillies, with Gr2 successes in the Duchess of Cambridge and Lowther Stakes. We can be sure, though, that her price was substantially more than the 20,000gns paid for her in 2006 and the 50,000gns she cost in 2012. Whatever her price, she has proved a very shrewd buy. Part of Pikaboo’s appeal was surely that other Pivotal mares were already showing considerable potential with Galileo, producing such as Gospel Choir, Flying The Flag and The United States. Since then the Galileo/Pivotal nick has produced the high-class fillies Magical, Rhododendron, Hydrangea and Hermosa, and Pikaboo has also helped the nick to shine. She produced three consecutive fillies by Galileo and all three have become black-type winners. The first, Flattering, became a Gr3 winner over a mile and a half; the second, Peach Tree, is a Gr3 winner over a mile and threequarters; and now the third, Love, has won the Gr1 Moyglare Stud Stakes. Flattering raced ten times and Peach Tree had raced 15 times at the time of writing, so these fillies were tough, as is Love, who has raced six times between June and September, winning three times. Pikaboo herself finished no closer than fourth in five starts and Timeform rated her only 62. However, she was a half-sister to that smart seven-furlong performer Arabian Gleam, winner of the Gr2 Park Stakes and Gr2 Challenge Stakes, and to the very useful sprinter Kimberella. Love’s third dam, Gold Runner, was a half-sister to Don’t Forget Me, winner of the 2,000 Guineas and Irish 2,000 Guineas. Love’s half-sister Lucky Kristale is now part of the Juddmonte broodmare band and has 2018 and 2019 fillies by Galileo’s son Frankel. 299 QATAR PRIX VERMEILLE G1 PARISLONGCHAMP. Sep 15. 3yo+f. 2400m.

1. STAR CATCHER (GB) 3 8-9 £308,865 b f by Sea The Stars - Lynnwood Chase (Horse Chestnut) O-Mr A. E. Oppenheimer B-Hascombe & Valiant Stud Ltd TR-John Gosden 2. Musis Amica (IRE) 4 9-3 £123,568 b f by Dawn Approach - White Star (Darshaan) O-Godolphin S.N.C. B-Godolphin Management Company Ltd TR-A. Fabre

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3. Ligne d’Or (GB) 4 9-3 £61,784 b f by Dansili - Louve Nationale (Galileo) O-Ballymore Thoroughbred Ltd B-Dayton Investments (Breeding) Limited TR-A. Fabre Margins 0.75, 1. Time 2:27.63. Going Good. Age Starts Wins Places Earned 2-3 6 4 1 £649,260 Sire: SEA THE STARS. Sire of 59 Stakes winners. In 2019 - CRYSTAL OCEAN Mark of Esteem G1, SHRAAOH Monsun G1, STAR CATCHER Horse Chestnut G1, STRADIVARIUS Bering G1, FIFTY STARS Sadler’s Wells G2, RAA ATOLL Sadler’s Wells G2, TEREBELLUM Elusive City G2, LAVENDER’S BLUE Danehill Dancer G3, SOUDANIA Monsun G3, FANNY LOGAN Manduro LR, RAKAN Teofilo LR, SEXTANT Sadler’s Wells LR, STAR TERMS Exceed And Excel LR. 1st Dam: Lynnwood Chase by Horse Chestnut. Dam of 5 winners:

2007: 2008: 2010: 2011: 2013: 2014: 2016:

2017: 2018: 2019:

ULTRAVOX (g Lemon Drop Kid) 5 wins. PISCO SOUR (g Lemon Drop Kid) 4 wins at 2 and 3 at home, France, P.Eugene Adam (G.P.de Maisons-Laffitte) G2. Secret Session (g Mizzen Mast) CANNOCK CHASE (c Lemon Drop Kid) 5 wins at 3 to 5 at home, Canada, Pattison Canadian International S G1. Sire. Los Olivos (c Lemon Drop Kid) ran once. BIZZARRIA (f Lemon Drop Kid) Winner at 2. Broodmare. STAR CATCHER (f Sea The Stars) 4 wins at 3 at home, France, Kerrygold Irish Oaks G1, Qatar Prix Vermeille G1, Ribblesdale S G2, 3rd Haras de Bouquetot Fillies’ Trial S LR. Maurimo (f Kingman) unraced to date. (f Frankel) (c Time Test)

2nd Dam: Lady Ilsley by Trempolino. 2 wins at 2 and 3 in France, 2nd Prix de la Cochere LR. Own sister to Najecam. Dam of LORD ADMIRAL (c El Prado: Haafhd Jebel Hatta G2, 3rd Tattersalls Gold Cup G1), Sharp Sailor (c Henrythenavigator: 3rd Ambant Gala S LR) Broodmare Sire: HORSE CHESTNUT. Sire of the dams of 19 Stakes winners. In 2019 - CAMPHORATUS Byword G1, CHANNEL MAKER English Channel G1, STAR CATCHER Sea The Stars G1.

STAR CATCHER b f 2016 Green Desert

Danzig Foreign Courier

Park Appeal

Ahonoora Balidaress

Miswaki

Mr Prospector Hopespringseternal

Allegretta

Lombard Anatevka

Fort Wood

Sadler’s Wells Fall Aspen

London Wall

Col Pickering Nalatale

Trempolino

Sharpen Up Trephine

Sue Warner

Forli Bitty Girl

Cape Cross SEA THE STARS b 06 Urban Sea

Horse Chestnut LYNNWOOD CHASE b 02 Lady Ilsley

See race 173 in the August issue 300 PREIS VON EUROPA G1 COLOGNE. Sep 22. 3yo+. 2400m.

1. ASPETAR (FR) 4 9-6 £90,090 b g by Al Kazeem - Bella Qatara (Dansili) O-H.H Sheikh Mohammed Bin Khalifa Al Thani B-Sheikh M. B. K. Al Thani TR-Roger Charlton 2. Amorella (IRE) 4 9-3 £27,027 b f by Nathaniel - Anaita (Dubawi) O-TINK Racing B-G. H. Ittlingen TR-Markus Klug 3. Donjah (GER) 3 8-10 £13,514 b f by Teofilo - Dyanamore (Mt Livermore) O-Darius Racing B-Gestut Karlshof TR-Henk Grewe Margins 2.5, 0.5. Time 2:26.00. Going Good. Age Starts Wins Places Earned 3-4 10 4 4 £235,004 Sire: AL KAZEEM. Sire of 1 Stakes winner. 1st Dam: BELLA QATARA by Dansili. Winner at 3 in France. Dam of 2 winners:

2015:

ASPETAR (g Al Kazeem) 4 wins at 3 and 4 at home, France, Germany, Preis von Europa G1, Grand Prix de Chantilly G2, British Stall.Stud EBF Cocked Hat S LR,

2016: 2017:

2nd Dubai Duty Free John Porter S G3, 3rd William Hill Doonside Cup S LR. QARASU (c Le Havre) 2 wins at 3. Jamila (f Footstepsinthesand) unraced to date.

2nd Dam: ALEXANDROVA by Sadler’s Wells. Champion 3yr old filly in England & Ireland in 2006, Jt Champion 3yr old filly in Europe in 2006. 4 wins at 2 and 3 Darley Irish Oaks G1, Vodafone Oaks S G1, Darley Yorkshire Oaks G1, 2nd Meon Valley Stud Fillies’ Mile S G1, 3rd Prix de l’Opera Casino Barriere Enghien G1. Own sister to Masterofthehorse. Dam of SOMEHOW (f Fastnet Rock: Charm Spirit Dahlia S G2, 2nd Tattersalls Gold Cup G1), ALEX MY BOY (c Dalakhani: Darley Prix Kergorlay G2), HAPPEN (f War Front: Coolmore Irish EBF Athasi S G3) Broodmare Sire: DANSILI. Sire of the dams of 54 Stakes winners. In 2019 - ASPETAR Al Kazeem G1, CHANNEL Nathaniel G1, UNI More Than Ready G1, GLORIOUS JOURNEY Dubawi G2, MIKKI CHARM Deep Impact G2, TROPBEAU Showcasing G2.

ASPETAR b g 2015 Dubawi AL KAZEEM b 08

Dubai Millennium Seeking The Gold Colorado Dancer

301 JUDDMONTE CHEVELEY PARK STAKES G1 NEWMARKET. Sep 28. 2yof. 6f.

1. MILLISLE (IRE) 9-0 £165,355 ch f by Starspangledbanner - Green Castle (Indian Ridge) O-Stonethorn Stud Farms Limited B-Stonethorn Stud Farms Ltd TR-Mrs J. Harrington 2. Raffle Prize (IRE) 9-0 £62,690 ch f by Slade Power - Summer Fete (Pivotal) O-Sheikh Hamdan Bin Mohammed Al Maktoum B-Godolphin Management Company Ltd TR-Mark Johnston 3. Tropbeau (GB) 9-0 £31,374 b f by Showcasing - Frangipanni (Dansili) O-Lady Bamford B-Lord Margadale TR-A. Fabre Margins 1.75, 0.5. Time 1:09.30. Going Good. Age Starts Wins Places Earned 2 5 3 2 £210,579

Zomaradah

Deploy Jawaher

Darshaan

Shirley Heights Delsy

Kanz

The Minstrel Treasure Chest

Danehill

Danzig Razyana

Hasili

Kahyasi Kerali

2005:

Sadler’s Wells

Northern Dancer Fairy Bridge

2006:

Shouk

Shirley Heights Souk

Kazeem

Dansili BELLA QATARA b 10

and she is also a half-sister to the Cheveley Park Stakes winner Magical Romance, whose Dansili filly Love Magic is the dam of the 2019 Prix de Diane winner Channel.

Alexandrova

Sire: STARSPANGLEDBANNER. Sire of 10 Stakes winners. 1st Dam: Green Castle by Indian Ridge. Dam of 9 winners:

There were high hopes when Al Kazeem retired to the Royal Studs for the 2014 season, as this champion middle-distance performer had reeled off Gr1 victories in the Tattersalls Gold Cup, Prince of Wales’s Stakes and the Eclipse. Unfortunately, he proved sub-fertile, to the extent that his first crop numbered only 23 foals. By July 2014 the son of Dubawi was back carrying the colours of his breeder John Deer and he gradually regained his best form, notably finishing a neck second in the 2014 Champion Stakes before winning the Gr2 Prix d’Harcourt and the Tattersalls Gold Cup again in 2015. Al Kazeem earned himself a return to stallion duties in 2016, this time at his birthplace at Oakgrove Stud. He has 21 foals in his second crop and around 26 in his third, so he is going to be at a numerical disadvantage, but his cause has been helped by the exploits of his first-crop son Aspetar. A Listed winner on his second start, Aspetar has gone on to better things since being gelded at the end of 2018. He became a Gr2 winner in the Grand Prix de Chantilly and has now gained Gr1 status in the Preis von Europa. Al Kazeem can’t take all the credit for Aspetar’s talent. His dam, the Dansili mare Bella Qatara, has produced black-type performers as her first two foals, the second being her Le Havre colt Qarasu. Although Bella Qatara was only a minor all-weather winner over ten and a half furlongs in France, she is a daughter of Sadler’s Wells’s first-rate daughter Alexandrova, winner of the Oaks, Irish Oaks and Yorkshire Oaks. Alexandrova has produced Group winners to three different stallions

2008: 2009: 2010: 2011: 2012: 2013: 2014: 2015: 2016: 2017:

FLEUR DE NUIT (f Montjeu) 3 wins. Broodmare. Greenisland (f Fasliyev) 2 wins at 2 and 3, 3rd Miles and Morrison October S LR, Transformer/Rectifier EBF Valiant S LR, 3rd RaceBets Dusseldorfer Stutenpreis LR. Dam of SHAMSHON (g Invincible Spirit: 13 wins to 2019 at home, France, Prix de la Vallee d’Auge LR), Boerhan (g Sea The Stars: Winner at 2, 3rd bet365 Feilden S LR) ITHOUGHTITWASOVER (c Hurricane Run) 4 wins at 3 and 4, William Hill Braveheart S LR. Green Chorus (f Oratorio). Broodmare. LOVE MARMALADE (g Duke of Marmalade) 4 wins at 3 and 4. RAVEN RIDGE (g High Chaparral) 5 wins. CHAPLIN BAY (g Fastnet Rock) 6 wins at 4 to 7, 2019. Glenmayne (f Duke of Marmalade) Winner at 3, 3rd I.S.F. EBF Stanerra Challenge S LR. Broodmare. GINO SEVERINI (g Fastnet Rock) 2 wins. Highcastle (g High Chaparral) Khaitan (g Zoffany) unraced to date. MILLISLE (f Starspangledbanner) 3 wins at 2, Juddmonte Cheveley Park S G1, Ryans Curragh S LR, 2nd Shadwell Dick Poole S G3.

2nd Dam: GREEN LUCIA by Green Dancer. 2 wins at 2 and 3 Ballylinch and Norelands Stud S LR, 2nd Yorkshire Oaks G1, 3rd Irish Guinness Oaks G1. Dam of Luchiroverte (c Slip Anchor: 2nd General Accident Jockey Club S G2, Princess of Wales’s S G2), RAVENSWOOD (g Warning: Martell Noblige H. Hurdle LR). Grandam of TADWIGA, BARTOK, King O’ The Mana. Third dam of ROCK LOBSTER, Faswiga. Fourth dam of TELLINA, TIBOUCHINA, SORELLA BELLA, Touching, Time Odyssey. Broodmare Sire: INDIAN RIDGE. Sire of the dams of 107 Stakes winners. In 2019 - MILLISLE Starspangledbanner G1, ROMANISED Holy Roman Emperor G1, MAID IN INDIA Bated Breath G3, BUSHTOPS Archipenko LR, MAGICAL DREAMER Acclamation LR, NEW ENGLAND Arazan LR, PIECE OF PARADISE Holy Roman Emperor LR, SURREY THUNDER Le Havre LR.

MILLISLE ch f 2017 Danehill Dancer

Danehill Mira Adonde

Great Selection

Lunchtime Pensive Mood

Made of Gold

Green Forest Vindaria

National Song

Vain Olympic Aim

Ahonoora

Lorenzaccio Helen Nichols

Hillbrow

Swing Easy Golden City

Green Dancer

Nijinsky Green Valley

Cockade

Derring-Do Camenae

Choisir STARSPANGLEDBANNER ch 06 Gold Anthem

Indian Ridge GREEN CASTLE ch 99 Green Lucia

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Data Book European Pattern One might have thought that the odds were stacked against Millisle developing into a Gr1 two-year-old winner. Foaled as late as May 11, she was produced when her dam, the non-winning Green Castle, was 18 years old and still awaiting her Group-race performer. However, it was in Millisle’s favour that she is a daughter of the major Australian winner Starspangledbanner. Despite having no more than 33 foals in his first Irish crop, this winner of the 2010 Gr1 Golden Jubilee and Gr1 July Cup managed to sire eight black-type winners. More to the point, the eight included The Wow Signal (Gr2 Coventry Stakes and Gr1 Prix Morny) and Anthem Alexander (Gr2 Queen Mary Stakes), so Starspangledbanner’s ability to sire fast-maturing juveniles was well proven. The fertility issues which affected Starspangledbanner in his first two seasons in Ireland were such that he wasn’t returned to Ireland for the 2013, 2014 and 2015 seasons. However, careful management in

Australia led to a significant improvement in his fertility and this was maintained when Starspangledbanner stood his third Irish season in 2016. From a crop of around 67, he was doubly represented in the Cheveley Park Stakes and Millisle sprang a 16-1 surprise, to improve her record to three wins from five starts. Although mares by Millisle’s broodmare sire Indian Ridge are now elderly, they have also enjoyed Group success with Romanised and Maid Of India in 2019. Millisle is the fourth black-type earner out of Green Castle, whose previous black-type winner, Ithoughtitwasover, was a mile-and-a-half Listed winner by Montjeu. Millisle’s second dam, Green Lucia, possessed both pedigree and performance. Second in the Yorkshire Oaks after her third in the Irish Oaks, Green Lucia was a half-sister to the French and Irish Derby winner Old Vic and their dam, Cockade, was a sister to the 2,000 Guineas winner High Top.

302 JUDDMONTE MIDDLE PARK STAKES G1 NEWMARKET. Sep 28. 2yoc. 6f.

1. EARTHLIGHT (IRE) 9-0 £155,953 ch c by Shamardal - Winters Moon (New Approach) O-Godolphin S.N.C. B-Godolphin Management Company Ltd TR-A. Fabre 2. Golden Horde (IRE) 9-0 £59,125 ch c by Lethal Force - Entreat (Pivotal) O-AlMohamediya Racing B-CN Farm Limited TR-Clive Cox 3. Summer Sands (GB) 9-0 £29,590 b c by Coach House - Koharu (Ishiguru) O-The Cool Silk Partnership B-Koharu Partnership TR-Richard Fahey Margins Neck, 1.75. Time 1:09.30. Going Good. Age Starts Wins Places Earned 2 5 5 0 £399,637 Sire: SHAMARDAL. Sire of 140 Stakes winners. In 2019 - BLUE POINT Royal Applause G1, CASTLE LADY Elusive Quality G1, EARTHLIGHT New Approach G1, PINATUBO Dalakhani G1, VICTOR LUDORUM Kaldounevees G1, MORGAN LE FAYE Lomitas G2, TARNAWA Cape Cross G2, CAPE BYRON Mark of Esteem G3, HAZAPOUR Daylami G3, SHAMAN Green Desert G3, SKARDU Iffraaj G3, WALDPFAD Mark of Esteem G3.

2018: 2019:

home, France, Juddmonte Middle Park S G1, Darley Prix Morny G1, Darley Prix de Cabourg G3. (f Dubawi) (f Shamardal)

2nd Dam: SUMMERTIME LEGACY by Darshaan. 2 wins at 2 in France Prix des Reservoirs G3, 3rd Prix Saint-Alary G1. Dam of MANDAEAN (g Manduro: Criterium de Saint-Cloud G1), WAVERING (f Refuse To Bend: Montjeu Coolmore Prix Saint-Alary G1), Winters Moon (f New Approach, see above), Mister Green (g Green Desert: 3rd Betdaq Winter Derby Trial S LR). Grandam of Switching, Flowrider, Maxi Boy, Johara. Broodmare Sire: NEW APPROACH. Sire of the dams of 1 Stakes winner.

EARTHLIGHT ch c 2017

SHAMARDAL b 02

EARTHLIGHT (c Shamardal) 5 wins at 2 at

Storm Bird Terlingua

Mariah’s Storm

Rahy Immense

Machiavellian

Mr Prospector Coup de Folie

Helen Street

Troy Waterway

Galileo

Sadler’s Wells Urban Sea

Park Express

Ahonoora Matcher

Darshaan

Shirley Heights Delsy

Zawaahy

El Gran Senor Exotic Treat

Helsinki

New Approach WINTERS MOON ch 12 Summertime Legacy

1st Dam: Winters Moon by New Approach. Winner at 2, 3rd Dubai Fillies’ Mile S G1. Dam of 1 winner:

2017:

Storm Cat Giant’s Causeway

See race 234 in the October issue

Godolphin’s Earthlight (left) maintains his unbeaten record with victory in the Group 1 Middle Park Stakes at Newmarket

118 THOROUGHBRED OWNER BREEDER

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Data Book Group 2 and 3 Results Date 05/09 07/09 07/09 07/09 08/09 08/09 08/09 12/09 12/09 13/09 13/09 13/09 14/09 14/09 14/09 14/09 14/09 15/09 15/09 15/09 15/09 15/09 15/09 16/09 16/09 21/09 21/09 21/09 21/09 21/09 21/09 22/09 22/09 22/09

Grade G3 G3 G3 G3 G3 G3 G3 G2 G2 G2 G2 G3 G2 G2 G2 G2 G3 G2 G2 G2 G3 G3 G3 G3 G3 G2 G3 G3 G3 G3 G3 G2 G3 G3

Race (course) Shadwell Dick Poole Stakes (Salisbury) Superior Mile Stakes (Haydock Park) Sun Racing September Stakes (Kempton Park) Sun Racing Sirenia Stakes (Kempton Park) Prix Gladiateur (Parislongchamp) Prix d’Aumale (Parislongchamp) Prix des Chenes (Parislongchamp) DFS Park Hill Stakes (Doncaster) William Hill May Hill Stakes (Doncaster) Magners Doncaster Cup Stakes (Doncaster) Wainwrights Flying Childers Stakes (Doncaster) JRA Sceptre Stakes (Doncaster) HIRD Park Stakes (Doncaster) Pommery Champagne Stakes (Doncaster) Clipper Solonaway Stakes (Leopardstown) KPMG Champions Golden Fleece Stakes (Leopardstown) Paddy Power Kilternan Stakes (Leopardstown) Moyglare Blandford Stakes (Curragh) Qatar Prix Foy (Parislongchamp) Qatar Prix Niel (Parislongchamp) Racebets Deutsches St Leger (Dortmund) Qatar Prix du Petit Couvert (Parislongchamp) Qatar Prix du Pin (Parislongchamp) La Coupe de Maisons-Laffitte (Maisons-Laffitte) Prix Eclipse (Maisons-Laffitte) Dubai Mill Reef Stakes (Newbury) William Hill Firth of Clyde Stakes (Ayr) Dubai Duty Free Legacy Cup Stakes (Newbury) Dubai World Trophy Stakes (Newbury) Prix Bertrand de Tarragon (Parislongchamp) Prix du Prince d’Orange (Parislongchamp) Premio Federico Tesio (Milan) Premio Elena e Sergio Cumani (Milan) Premio del Piazzale - Mem.l E Camici (Milan)

The The

Dist 6f 8f 12f 6f 15.5f 8f 8f 14.5f 8f 17.5f 5f 7f 7f 7f 8f 8f 12f 10f 12f 12f 14f 5f 7f 10f 6f 6f 6f 11f 5f 9f 10f 11f 8f 8.5f

Horse Dark Lady (GB) Great Scot (GB) Royal Line (GB) Streamline (GB) Called To The Bar (IRE) Savarin (JPN) Ecrivain (FR) Enbihaar (IRE) Powerful Breeze (GB) Stradivarius (IRE) A’Ali (IRE) Breathtaking Look (GB) Sir Dancealot (IRE) Threat (IRE) Space Traveller (GB) Mogul (GB) Norway (IRE) Tarnawa (IRE) Waldgeist (GB) Sottsass (FR) Ispolini (GB) Glass Slippers (GB) City Light (FR) Villa Rosa (FR) Devil (IRE) Pierre Lapin (IRE) Rose Of Kildare (IRE) Desert Encounter (IRE) Maid In India (IRE) Silva (IRE) Soudania (GB) Chestnut Honey (IRE) Style Presa (FR) Anda Muchacho (IRE)

Racing Diary 2019 Racing Diary 2019

Age 2 3 5 2 5 2 2 4 2 5 2 4 5 2 3 2 3 3 5 3 4 3 5 4 2 2 2 7 5 3 3 3 4 5

Sex F G H C G F C F F H C F G C C C C F H C G F H F C C F G M F F C F H

Sire Dark Angel Requinto Dubawi Due Diligence Henrythenavigator Deep Impact Lope de Vega Redoute’s Choice Iffraaj Sea The Stars Society Rock Bated Breath Sir Prancealot Footstepsinthesand Bated Breath Galileo Galileo Shamardal Galileo Siyouni Dubawi Dream Ahead Siyouni Doctor Dino Siyouni Cappella Sansevero Make Believe Halling Bated Breath Kodiac Sea The Stars No Nay Never Style Vendome Helmet

Dam Ladyship La Rosiere Melikah Ahwahnee Perfect Hedge Sarafina Sapphire Pendant Chanterelle Power Of Light Private Life Motion Lass Love Your Looks Majesty’s Dancer Flare Of Firelight Sky Crystal Shastye Love Me True Tarana Waldlerche Starlet’s Sister Giants Play Night Gypsy Light Saber Villa Joyeuse Burma Sea Beatrix Potter Cruck Realta La Chicana Indian Maiden Sotka Sahel Ardea Brave Sorpresa Montefino

Broodmare Sire Oasis Dream Mr Greeley Lammtarra Compton Place Unfuwain Refuse To Bend Danehill Dancer Trempolino Echo Of Light Bering Motivator Iffraaj Danehill Dancer Birdstone Galileo Danehill Kingmambo Cape Cross Monsun Galileo Giant’s Causeway Mind Games Kendor Kahyasi Lope de Vega Cadeaux Genereux Sixties Icon Invincible Spirit Indian Ridge Dutch Art Monsun Chester House Pleasant Tap Shamardal

Index 303 304 305 306 307 308 309 310 311 312 313 314 315 316 317 318 319 320 321 322 323 324 325 326 327 328 329 330 331 332 333 334 335 336

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The Finish Line with Julian Dollar Newsells Park Stud has long operated among the elite when it comes to the breeding and selling of racehorses. Yet even by its own high standards, October was a month to remember with the Arc victory of Waldgeist, a horse campaigned in partnership with co-breeders Gestut Ammerland, followed by another successful Book 1 of the Tattersalls October Yearling Sale, at which Newsells emerged as leading vendor. Julian Dollar, General Manager of the stud since 2006, looks back on those memorable few days. Interview: Nancy Sexton

I feel the stress and the worry of the sales for months before and then very intensively over sale time. It takes me a couple of months to come down from it all. But on the other hand, when you’re selling ten horses a day, the buzz of going from one to another and trying to get it done, and then getting it done for a client who is happy, is fun. And when there’s not much going on I get bored. I’m supported by an excellent team of people who are passionate about Newsells. Gary Coffey is Racing Manager and also helps sell nominations to our stallions Nathaniel and Equiano. We have a new Chief Financial Officer called Steve Atherton. Our Broodmare Manager is Ben Barclay and my new Yearling Manager is Mark Grace. The October Sale was basically Mark’s first sale, so there’s been some pressure for him, but he’s done a great job. They’re terrific guys – they follow all the homebreds and they love their racing and they love their mares. Nothing will ever take away that Sunday before the sale. First of all, the decision was whether I should go to the Arc, and everyone was in agreement that I should. On the Saturday, we watched the racing and thought this is not good, the ground is not right. So we thought, ‘Let’s just go and have a nice day, Waldgeist hasn’t got a hope on that ground but hopefully it’s

We managed to retain Waldmark’s daughter Waldlerche – more from luck as we put her through the ring at Arqana and no one wanted her! Now she’s the dam of Waldgeist. So that’s special as I think winning the Arc as a German with a homebred from a German bloodline would have been the pinnacle of what Mr Jacobs had dreamt of achieving. He was a classy man, he loved Newsells and it was sad that he didn’t see any of this. So that Sunday was quite emotional.

ok for Enable’. Plus, we also had Japan, who we bred, in the race. I had my wife Georgia and daughter Daisy with me, and before the Arc we went to the stables to see Enable [by Nathaniel]. I’m ashamed to say that I hardly looked at Waldgeist because I was mesmerised by the mare. It was bittersweet as we felt we had ruined everybody’s Arc. Coming into the straight, we saw Enable coming and thought, ‘That’s fantastic, she’s going to win’ and then this red thing went past. My mouth was literally on the floor. Even my mother abused me down the phone. But it was very exciting.

Waldgeist is such a lovely horse; he’s never taken a lame step and he never gives less than 100%. We knew from his birth that the arrangement was that he would be retained with Dietrich von Boetticher of Gestut Ammerland and Coolmore, and he was always going to go to Andre Fabre. After he disappointed in the Irish Derby, Coolmore decided that they had plenty of Galileo sons already and they left the partnership. PierreCharles Boudot knows Waldgeist so well now. The jockey is superb – especially at Longchamp – and he rode the Arc brilliantly. Waldgeist loves Longchamp, the jockey loves Longchamp, and together they know it so well.

The big thing for me is that Newsells was founded by this incredibly passionate man, Klaus Jacobs. His favourite mare was Waldmark – he’d always wanted to buy into the ‘W’ family of Waldrun belonging to Gestut Ravensberg, and he managed to persuade the breeder to sell him a Mark Of Esteem filly out of it. That was Waldmark and she went on to run second in the Falmouth Stakes. She later bred St Leger winner Masked Marvel, who became our first Classic winner sadly not long after Mr Jacobs died.

GEORGE SELWYN

he stud was the leading consignor at Book 1, which was great. It’s a couple of weeks of fairly hard work but we got it done. At the beginning of the year we worked out a target and we hit our numbers, although we did have a few bits of bad luck with horses that went wrong before the sales. Luckily the two main ones were very well-bred fillies and we can race them. We’re very lucky to have some excellent clients with some lovely mares. When you’re looking after that kind of bloodstock it’s pretty exciting and it’s also addictive.

Waldgeist and Pierre-Charles Boudot: an irresistible combination at Longchamp

We could stand Waldgeist at Newsells, he could go to France or Ireland, though he might stay in training. Here is a horse that has won Group 1s at two, four and five. He’s won £4.5 million and a Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe, and people are wondering where he might stand at stud. It’s crazy. But if we bought a horse that had won a sprint at two, he’d probably cost you as much money. I understand it as it’s what the market is saying it wants and you can’t fight it. But you do wonder where it’s ultimately driving us as an industry. We want another stallion but, ironically, the other horse we have, Nathaniel, is another son of Galileo who wanted ten to 12 furlongs. However, it’s a good problem to have as we are lucky to have Waldgeist.

120 THOROUGHBRED OWNER BREEDER

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Gr.1 Sire Leading First Season Sire

HAVANA GREY

TF 118. Sprinter and winner of the Flying Five Stakes, Gr.1

TREASURING

Dual Gr.3 winning sprinter (in Europe and US) and sold for 500,000gns

Sire of 11 Stakes performers to date. Over 160 foals born in 2019.

Contact Hannah Wall or Alice Thurtle at Tweenhills E: hannahwall@tweenhills.com E: alice@tweenhills.com T: +44 (0) 1452 700177

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21/10/2019 16:57

DAR17340 Owner Breeder full page TDH 01NOV19.qxp 21/10/2019 15:23 Page 1

Dubawi’s spectacular European Champion juvenile – and Timeform’s top-rated three-year-old, too. Won the G1 Dewhurst beating winners of the Commonwealth Cup and Derby – earning a higher race rating than Frankel. Unbeaten at two, then won the G1 Sussex and G1 Jean Prat at three. Out of three-time G1 winner Dar Re Mi and the fastest in the stallion-making family of Darshaan.

NEW for 2020 at Dalham Hall Stud.

Darley