Thoroughbred Owner Breeder

Veteran jockey targets unique feat BHA U-turn

Backhand whip rule scrapped

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Bloodstock Editor: Nancy Sexton

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Fry’s no flash in the pan with his firm focus on quality

One of the most significant developments in British jump racing over recent seasons has been the improvement of the mares’ race programme. Three mares-only races will feature at the Cheltenham Festival next month including the Grade 1 hurdle over two and a half miles, which is the destination for prolific sevenyear-old Love Envoi.

The winner of eight of her nine starts to date and already a Cheltenham Festival scorer in the 2022 mares’ novices’ hurdle, Love Envoi is owned by a syndicate run by former top jockey Noel Fehily and trained by Harry Fry, a former assistant to 13-time champion Paul Nicholls who struck out on his own in the 2012/13 season.

Fry can reflect on some notable achievements during his first decade with a licence, featuring numerous big-race wins with the likes of Rock On Ruby – who ran under Nicholls’ name but was actually prepared by Fry for his 2012 Champion Hurdle victory – top stayer Unowhatimeanharry and Metier, while also experiencing difficult moments, such as the loss of exciting prospect Neon Wolf.

One of the most noticeable aspects of the Fry operation, based near Dorchester in Dorset – his parents live on the farm next door – is the focus on quality over quantity. The trainer eschews the notion that bigger is better, content with numbers that allow him to give each horse the individual attention it deserves at his Higher Crockermoor stable.

“We have capacity for 80 horses with just under 70 in at present,” Fry tells Marcus Townend (The Big Interview, pages 26-30). “It has never been about having 150 horses and 100-plus winners every year. I take my hat off to the guys that do that, but you are so reliant on the team around you.

“Our emphasis is more on quality and trying to be competitive at the weekends in the bigger races.

“We are very lucky with a good team of staff. The more horses you have, the thinner

you spread yourself, then you don’t do as good a job for those that you have got here.

“I’d much rather keep the numbers a bit tighter and not overstretch the staff, which lets us look after the horses we have to a very high standard.

“We like to think we pay a lot of attention to detail. Having a horse in training is not cheap – we try to make sure we don’t leave any stone unturned.”

No other trainer in the top 20 has had as few runners as Fry this season; another former Nicholls assistant, Dan Skelton, has had around three and a half times more runners. However, a healthy strike-rate, currently running at 22%, and horses of the calibre of Love Envoi, who is set to be joined on the bus to Cheltenham by another high-class mare in Credrojava along with talented novice chaser Boothill, shows the

36-year-old is certainly doing something right.

Another man hoping to hit the high notes at Prestbury Park is jockey Denis O’Regan. Associated with the likes of Inglis Drever and Tidal Bay during his time riding for owner Graham Wylie, O’Regan may be one of the elder statesmen in the Irish weighing room yet he remains ambitious.

In this month’s back-page interview (The Finish Line, page 80), O’Regan tells Graham Dench about his ongoing bid to ride a winner at every British jumps track, how he’d love to capture the Gold Cup and Grand National, and why he wouldn’t rule out training when the curtain comes down on his riding career.

Cover: Love Envoi and Jonathan Burke are well clear jumping the final flight in the

mares’ hurdle at Sandown on January 7

Photo: George Selwyn

“No other trainer in the top 20 has had as few runners this season”

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New order in jeopardy if self-interest prevails

With the Festive period in the rear-view mirror, we now turn our focus to the year ahead. Towards the end of December, the BHA announced changes to the 2023 fixture list in order to accommodate the Racing League and Sunday Series. Both initiatives, now in their third year, were designed to inject innovation and grow audience numbers. Whilst dividing opinion, initiatives to attract a younger audience and increase prize-money must be welcomed. It will be interesting to see how these types of initiatives will be woven into the strategy discussions that are ongoing.

Talking of the strategy discussions, the new structure is now in place and work across the whole spectrum of the industry is well under way. The next few months will be revealing, as the new Commercial Committee makes its first recommendations to the BHA Board. While the content of the initiatives is key, the interaction of the new committees and the BHA Board will throw light on whether the new system can deliver the changes that the sport so desperately needs.

It is pleasing to highlight the initial reaction of the project team to the work carried out by the ROA around ownership. Whilst criticism has been levelled at the pace of delivery, we are now seeing that the core work completed had the right inputs and outputs but no cross-industry implementation support or structure to allow real change and progress. Working as a collaborative Industry project team, British racing will have a much better chance of producing new and effective initiatives to seize what are exciting opportunities.

A recent negative news story from the auction ring has highlighted once again the difficulties in the bloodstock sector and those that operate in it. Breeders and sales houses remain outside of the regulatory net so for once no stones can be thrown at our governing body. The case in point seems to be a single purchaser who has reneged on his bids; this has happened down the years and will no doubt happen again, but perhaps it has never been done on such a scale.

The adoption of the new Code of Practice, now printed in all sales catalogues, has been a step in the right direction. However, it may be time to look again at regulation of the bloodstock industry not only from a best practice perspective but also regarding equine welfare issues.

One aspect of buying and selling that remains an issue is the actual ownership of the animal in question. If the industry could establish a simple and clear method to allow full and frank disclosure of the financial ownership of the horse, it would make for a much more transparent system.

It would be remiss of me not to mention the whip review. The broad spectrum of industry representatives involved in

the technical discussions concluded with what appeared to be a collective and aligned agreement around the proposals following an exhaustive 18-month review process.

The announcement unveiling the 20 recommendations was released on November 22, however on the eve of the bedding in period at the beginning of January, a handful of high-profile jockeys, backed by the PJA, rallied against the backhand only rule, saying this was impractical and unfair. Extensive discussions took place over the Christmas period and a change to the backhand only rule was accepted by the BHA Board. We are now into the soft launch of the new rules.

Commentary around the use of the whip is liable to induce a

strike action”

quick turn of the page, however there is an important issue to look at. In our brave new world, the veto has been jettisoned in favour of fact-based decision making. It is extremely worrying that after the very first decision under the new structure, one small and vocal group of participants forced change whilst threatening strike action. This despite their representative body, the PJA, being deeply embedded in the original consultation and steering group’s work.

One could extrapolate this turn of events and be pessimistic about the chances of getting significant changes through regarding the fixture list, Sunday racing, prize-money agreements, bloodstock regulation and data sharing. Yet the new year brings renewed optimism; the noises coming from the Commercial Committee are positive, so, like waiting for your unraced two-year-old to run, let’s travel in hope.

“It is worrying that one vocal group of participants forced change while threatening

Showcasing - Bird Key (Cadeaux Genereux)

ELECTRIFYING START WITH HIS FIRST 2YOS inc. Royal Ascot Group 2 Coventry Stakes winner BRADSELL

THE FUTURE IS BRIGHT He covered his biggest and most exciting crop last year

SECOND CROP OF YEARLINGS OUTSOLD HIS FIRST Prices included €110,000, £90,000, 78,000gns etc.

IMAGE | BRADSELL powers home in a red-hot Gr.2 Coventry Stakes beating subsequent Group winners Blackbeard, Persian Force and Royal Scotsman

Fee: £6,000 January 1st SLF

Blackbeard Royal Scotsman

Persian Force

TBA Leader

Target levy cash at races that enhance our sport

There is inevitably much talk and hope that the new governance structure for British racing, which gives the BHA Board power to make real and significant changes, is going to deliver substantial reform, although the impact will not be felt until 2024.

The revamped structure, which removes the Members’ Committee and its unhelpful power of veto, was approved in midNovember, but work had already begun in shadow, most notably through the new Commercial Committee. Under the independent chairmanship of David Jones, its 12-strong membership includes a raft of experienced chief executives, including the TBA’s own Claire Sheppard.

Their job is to oversee the work of the previous fixtures and funding group, racing group and gambling strategy group, and the expectation is that the committee’s hard work will start to bear fruit over the next couple of months. Initial proposals will affect the 2024 fixture list and race programme for finalisation in the summer.

The first thing to acknowledge is that expectations around prize-money have to be realistic, especially as it has been widely reported that betting turnover on British racing is being adversely affected by bookmakers’ financial accessibility checks on punters, as well as the general downturn in the economy.

Whatever anyone may wish or hope for, it is unlikely that levy reform or any other measures the government takes under the gambling review will provide a significantly extra amount of money for the sport by 2024. The Levy Board has already warned of “challenging conditions ahead” in 2023, when its budgeted contribution to prize-money will be £66 million, £7m more than the pre-Covid years of 2018 and 2019 but £5m down on 2022.

So, the sport will have to make do with this level of levy, boosted, hopefully, by enhanced media rights income flowing to racecourses through renegotiated deals and the benefit of rearranged, betting-friendly fixture changes.

The debate then comes down to how the available prizemoney might be redistributed to better effect. Inevitably there will be winners and losers, and when prize-money is low in any case, cutting it in any area is very difficult.

This is a seminal moment for British horseracing, and those involved on the Commercial Committee and the BHA Board will either tinker with the existing funding arrangements, notably the Levy Board’s prize-money allocations, or set in train some radical steps to change the sport.

The Levy Board’s contribution to prize-money has already been restructured to introduce a Ratecard-Plus system and using that to support just those races that enhance the sport would be a logical step forward. Racecourses will make their own decisions

Julian Richmond-Watson Chairman

on how they spend their income, but it is up to the industry as a whole to work out where to spend the prize-money that flows through the Levy Board and where that money should be enhanced. It can be used to promote and incentivise racecourses to go in the direction the sport’s administrators choose, but in the end the racecourses will make their own funding decisions.

We live in a very different world from that which appertained when the Levy Board was set up in the early 1960s, and now that racecourses are able to benefit directly from the betting industry for running a race programme and are rewarded by running successful betting friendly races, the Board does not have to be so concerned about supporting every race or racecourse. It can concentrate on two of its core responsibilities – improving racing

and improving the breed.

We can discuss and debate how this should be done, and this is the debate that should be taking place. However, my suggestion is that in order to achieve these two aims, both need targeted support for prize-money in developmental, progressional races and the quality racing that helps to define and reward the better horses in the system.

If prize-money matters, then those racecourses digging deepest into their pockets will reap the rewards through media deals that deliver through competitive field sizes and quality racing.

Owning and breeding thoroughbreds is an aspirational choice, which must be enhanced, rewarded and reflected in the outcome of the BHA’s strategy review process.

“The Levy Board does not have to be so concerned about supporting every racecourse”

Backtrack on backhand rule as jockeys hold whip hand over BHA

Jockeys’ unhappiness over new whip rules in Britain – as reported in last month’s Owner Breeder –has led to further adjustments being made, most notably a U-turn over use in the forehand position.

Set to be outlawed from February 6 over jumps and March 27 on the Flat amid revised rules and penalties initially proposed by a Whip Consultation Steering Group – which included jockeys’ representatives – and approved by the British Horseracing Authority Board last year, use of the whip in the forehand position will now be allowed to continue.

In return to ceding to jockeys’ opinion over the matter, the BHA has now amended the rules regarding the number of times the whip may be used in a race.

Thresholds are to be reduced to a maximum of six times in a Flat race and seven over jumps, down from seven and eight respectively.

In addition, penalties for use above the permitted level, and misuse offences such as using the whip above shoulder height, without giving the horse time to respond, or in the incorrect place, will be harsher – above

and beyond the previous increases published in November.

The change to the most controversial recommendation, that of limiting use of the whip to the backhand position, comes after concerns raised by jockeys in December, and information not aired during the consultation or technical discussion phase. This included the feedback that some jockeys who have suffered shoulder or collarbone injuries may find use of the whip solely in the backhand more challenging.

The new revisions, effective from the original dates listed – the 6th of this month for jumps and 27th of next month for the Flat – are said by the BHA to not reflect a dilution of the package of rule changes, rather a method of achieving the same outcomes through a different approach.

David Jones, Regulatory Independent Non-Executive Director for the BHA, and Chair of the Whip Consultation Steering Group, said: “An extremely thorough consultation was carried out over the course of 2021 and 2022, followed by an extensive technical discussion phase after the publication of the recommendations in

July last year.

“Efforts were taken to listen to the views of jockeys from both codes, over many hours. This consultation has arguably been the most thorough undertaken by the BHA in relation to any specific regulatory reform in the past.

“In order to ensure that this process was suitably rigorous we pushed back the planned autumn implementation date for new rules.

“However, we are committed to listening to our participants, and when further views and information come to light very late in the day, and following the conclusion of that process, we were duty bound to consider it, and make representations to the BHA Board accordingly.”

Joe Saumarez Smith, Chair of the BHA Board, added: “It became clear through the views raised in the last few weeks, and which were presented to the BHA Board, that the backhand-only rule could potentially have caused difficulties for some riders.

“However, in considering making changes it was essential that the BHA Board were not doing anything to dilute the outcome of the whip report.”

GEORGE SELWYN

Jockeys ultimately rejected the proposal to ban the use of the whip in the forehand position

Stories from the racing world

Pattern Committee cuts a further nine black-type races from the programme

A trio of Group 3 races, including two at Goodwood, have been culled after the British Horseracing Authority’s Flat Pattern Committee revealed changes to the Flat Pattern and Listed programme for 2023 last month.

Windsor was also hit hard, losing no fewer than three Listed races from its calendar this year.

Focusing primarily on a reduction in the number of Group 3 and Listed races, these are the first in a series of changes designed to help improve the performance of Britain’s black-type races – further programme adjustments are due to be announced this month.

The aim is to boost field sizes and increase the competitiveness of black-type races in 2023 as a short-term measure, while more comprehensive plans are developed to refine and strengthen the programme for 2024 and beyond.

The longer-term work is focusing on the structure, presentation and promotion of British horseracing, including flagship races, to enhance prize-money, increase competition and support the retention of high-quality horses in Britain in the face of a thriving

export market.

No longer forming part of the Pattern and Listed programme will be the Group 3 Supreme and March Stakes at Goodwood, along with the Group 3 Legacy Cup at Newbury – better known as the Arc Trial – while half a dozen Listed races have been expunged.

The Listed races lost are the Leisure Stakes, Royal Windsor Stakes and Midsummer Stakes at Windsor, the Fairway Stakes at Newmarket, Buckhounds Stakes at Ascot and Denford Stakes at Newbury.

It had already been announced – to a fair degree of regret among racing professionals and fans – that the Listed European Free Handicap at Newmarket, along with the Listed King Richard III Stakes at Leicester, will also not be staged in 2023.

An adjustment to the winter all-weather programme, meanwhile, sees the Listed Winter Derby Trial at Lingfield amended to a mile contest, from ten furlongs, and renamed the Listed Tandridge Stakes. It will continue to be open to four-year-olds and up. The aim is to improve the spread of higher-grade races at this time of year.

Ruth Quinn, BHA Director of International Racing and Racing Development, said: “The quality and competitiveness of our Flat Pattern and Listed programme is fundamental, not just to long-term reputation and sustainability of British racing but also to the strength of the thoroughbred breed.

“Work is already under way, as part of the industry’s long-term strategy, to deliver substantive improvements to the way our racing is structured, presented and promoted.

“This includes continually enhancing the performance of our black-type programme under both codes and ensuring that the best horses continue to be bred, owned, trained and raced in Britain.”

Quinn added: “The changes to the programme for 2023 are the first of a series of measures, which aim to help address some of the immediate challenges in our black-type contests, particularly around field sizes and race competitiveness, ahead of further, more fundamental, improvements – with racecourses involved in the process from the outset – for 2024 and beyond.”

Stay Alert (left) wins the 2022 Legacy Cup, which has been culled

IFHA ranks Flightline equal with Frankel

Flightline was crowned the world’s best racehorse of 2022 and the Breeders’ Cup Classic – which the son of Tapit captured in devastating style in November – was named the year’s top race at the Longines World Racing Awards ceremony in London last month.

The John Sadler-trained Flightline was given a mark of 140 by the International Federation of Horseracing Authorities’ handicapping team, equalling Frankel’s rating and also that of Alleged and Shergar from earlier years of the international classifications system.

Flightline was initially awarded a rating of 139 for the Pacific Classic that he won by a remarkable 19 and a quarter lengths from last year’s Dubai World Cup winner Country Grammer, however subsequent performances – including by the winner and runner-up from the race – fed into the upgrading of that performance by 1lb.

Flightline then won a deep renewal of the Breeders’ Cup Classic – underlined by it being ranked the world’s best race last year – by a record eight and a quarter lengths. His other Grade 1 win in 2022 came in the Metropolitan Handicap. He retired undefeated after six outings and is standing his first season at Lane’s End Farm in Kentucky at $200,000.

Sadler said: “The comparison with other horses is a joy killer as there’s no winner there, horses are hard to compare. He’s certainly the best we’ve seen in America for quite a while. He was so fast

and could carry that over a distance of ground.

“We watched Frankel run and I felt that it was a good comparison to make between the two last year when he was racing. When these horses are running it’s hard to be too aggressive [in your comments] as it’s bad luck, and we always respected everyone we ran against. Now it’s all over, we can truly tell how great he is.”

Baaeed was also celebrated as the second-highest rated horse and the highest rated turf horse in the world for 2022. He gained his rating of 135 in the Juddmonte International Stakes, the best given on turf since Frankel

received his 140.

At that time, then BHA head of handicapping Phil Smith oversaw a recalibration, though making clear in Owner Breeder’s February 2014 issue that it was an off-the-record production.

Asked if it had been necessary to tinker with the ratings, he told Tim Richards: “Well, it was unofficial. I did an exercise, which said this is how these figures would have looked with modern-day methodology. The guys who were handicapping in 1987 were operating in a marginally different way from the way we do it nowadays. We did it out of interest and fun, and Dancing Brave is still officially 141. Only unofficially is he 138. Frankel is 140.”

Official top-rated horses since 1977

Dancing Brave 141; Alleged, Flightline, Frankel, Shergar 140; El Gran Senor 138; Generous, Peintre Celebre, Three Troikas 137; Sea The Stars, Suave Dancer, Troy 136

Flightline’s unbeaten campaign saw him crowned as the world’s highest-rated racehorse of 2022

TBA unveils latest Economic Impact Study

The latest Economic Impact Study of the British thoroughbred breeding industry was unveiled by the TBA in January, outlining the key opportunities and challenges for the sector and providing a blueprint for future progress.

The study, conducted by PwC and co-funded by the Levy Board and Racing Foundation, builds on reports published in 2014 and 2018. It shows that British breeding has an impact of over £375 million of gross value added to the rural economy, as well as being a world-leading producer of top

racehorses and the foundation for a world-class racing programme.

Over 7.5 million data points were analysed in the project, which reveals the progression of some established trends and the emergence of new ones following the impact of Brexit and Covid.

The report noted the positive impact of industry intervention schemes, specifically the Great British Bonus, which has helped narrow the gap in average sales prices between colts and fillies at British sales.

However, ongoing issues with

profitability are shown to be persistently troubling the sector, particularly in the middle and lower tiers of the market.

Recommendations for improving the long-term future of the sector include the consideration of prizemoney levels, new targeted industry incentives, creation of accessible ownership models, and encouragement and support of the domestic stallion market.

TBA Deputy Chairman Philip Newton discusses the study results on pages 68-69.

BILL SELWYN

YOU KNOW WHERE THEY STAND...

MAYSON

The Leading UK-based sire of sprinters in 2022

(by winners in Europe*)

Yearlings have fetched up to 150,000gns

Fee: £6,000

TWILIGHT SON

The Leading UK-based 3rd Crop sire in 2022

(by % BT wnrs/rnrs*)

2022 yearlings fetched up to 110,000gns

Fee: £7,000

1ST 1ST 1ST

ULYSSES

The Leading UK-based 2nd Crop Sire in 2022

(by % BT wnrs/rnrs*)

2022 yearlings fetched 170,000gns, 150,000gns, £150,000, €105,000, etc

Fee: £10,000

All fees October 1st SLF

*Source www.stallionguide.com

Multiple Group winning sprinter ROHAAN. He also finished 3rd in the Gr.1 Sprint Cup.

Leading sprinter TWILIGHT CALLS, runner up in both the Gr.1 King’s Stand Stakes and Gr.2 Temple Stakes.

2yo HOLLOWAY BOY, a Royal Ascot Listed winner and Group placed 4 times, including the Gr.1 Futurity Trophy.

Sales houses tight-lipped over owner’s missing payments

being sold privately.

After being contacted by Owner Breeder, Tattersalls Marketing Director Jimmy George repeated previous comments, saying: “Obviously this is a regrettable situation. We are working with all parties to reach a satisfactory conclusion and in the meantime we have taken steps to reoffer the two-year-olds in question for sale.”

Henry Beeby, Group Chief Executive at Goffs – where the Al Homaizi-Knight team ‘bought’ a €2.6 million daughter of No Nay Never to top the Orby Sale – reiterated the company’s policy never to comment on such matters while pointing out that the conditions of sale ensure that all the vendors are paid for their sale proceeds after 35 days.

It is believed that all vendors have been paid out for the yearlings that Knight signed for last year.

However, the issue of how the global bloodstock market was able to be inflated by a single non-payer, who was also underbidder on a number of other lots, pushing prices up for genuine purchasers and affecting commissions of sales houses and agents, looks far from resolved.

The auction houses at the centre of the non-payment controversy said to involve Saleh Al Homaizi have declined to elaborate on the circumstances around the Derbywinning owner’s apparent failure to settles bills collectively worth over £20 million.

Bloodstock agent Richard Knight secured yearlings at Tattersalls, Goffs,

Arqana and Keeneland on behalf of Al Homaizi last autumn, it was reported, with his spending spree at Park Paddocks hitting almost £11 million for 17 yearlings, including a Frankel colt that made 2 million guineas.

It is understood that none of the yearlings have been paid for and the now two-year-olds, some of which are in pre-training, are in the process of

Kuwait-based Al Homaizi formerly raced in partnership with Imad Al Sagar, the duo supplying Frankie Dettori with his first Derby winner in 2007 through Authorized, later successful in the Juddmonte International.

Other high-class runners for a partnership that was disbanded in 2019 included Araafa, Sayif, Decorated Knight and Aljazzi.

Conor Grant has been appointed Chairman of Racecourse Media Group (RMG), which manages the media rights of 35 British racetracks and is the parent company of Racing TV.

Grant, who is an enthusiastic racehorse owner, will initially join as a Non-Executive Director on April 1 and succeed Roger Lewis as Chairman on October 1.

He has extensive experience in the gambling sector, most recently as CEO of Flutter UK and Ireland, owner of brands including Sky Bet, Paddy Power,

Tombola and Betfair.

Grant said: “I am delighted to be joining RMG at such an exciting time for the business and the broader racing industry. RMG has delivered outstanding results for its shareholders in recent years, and I would like to pay tribute to Roger who has done a fantastic job, along with CEO Martin Stevenson, in growing and developing the business.

“I look forward to working with the RMG team and continuing to deliver for all of our racecourses.”

The hammer came down at 2 million guineas for this son of Frankel –he will now be sold privately

Racecourse Media Group appoints new Chairman

Conor Grant: gambling sector expert

TATTERSALLS

Changes People and business

Jack Kennedy

Irish jockey suffers more injury heartbreak, breaking his leg for a fifth time in a fall at Naas on January 8.

Vlad Kaltenieks

Racing’s news in a nutshell

Succeeds Mark Kemp as Chief Executive of BoyleSports having previously had executive roles with William Hill and Betsson.

Frankie Dettori

Italian rider announces that he will retire at the end of the 2023 season with his final mounts set to be at the Breeders’ Cup at Santa Anita.

Adam McNamara

Davy Russell

Jump jockey, 43, announces retirement on December 18 but soon returns to the saddle to provide cover for the injured Jack Kennedy.

Freddy Head

Former top jockey retires from training aged 75 – he masterminded the career of brilliant mare Goldikova, winner of 14 races at the top level.

Joe Saumarez Smith

His term as Chair of the BHA is extended until May 2025 after the governing body amends its rules to allow him to remain in the role.

Ebor-winning rider calls time on career in the saddle aged 25 to start a new role with the Professional Jockeys Association.

Emily Scot

Appointed Director of Racing at Highclere Thoroughbred Racing, returning to the syndicate after roles with Roger Varian and Amo Racing.

Mattie Batchelor

Confirms riding career is over aged 46; he won the 2011 Hennessy on Carruthers and enjoyed Cheltenham Festival success with King Harald.

Mick Quinn

Quits training ranks after his string was reduced to just two horses over Christmas. He sent out nearly 200 winners since 1997.

Luke Morris

Jockey who hit the heights with Alpinista in 2022 records his 2,000th Flat winner in Britain on Colors Of Freedom at Southwell on January 17.

Mark Johnston

Britain’s winningmost handler relinquishes his licence having latterly shared training duties with son Charlie, who takes over the yard aged 32.

Paul Hensey

Leaves role as Chief Operating Officer at Al Shaqab Racing to become CEO of the Association of Irish Racecourses, succeeding Paddy Walsh.

Horse obituaries

Cue Card 16

Popular jumper for Jean Bishop and the Tizzards, winner of nine Grade 1s including three Betfair Chases and the King George.

Cloudings 29

Jumps stallion latterly based at The Old Road Stud in County Waterford produced Grand National hero Many Clouds.

Top Bandit 7

Promising novice chaser for the Gordon Elliott stable suffers a fatal fall at Naas.

Royal Applause 29

Sprint star went on to become a prolific stallion at The Royal Studs, siring the likes of Ticker Tape, Acclamation and Finjaan.

Exotic Wood 30

Daughter of Rahy was a US Grade 1 winner and later produced five successful offspring.

FEE: €6,500

Racehorse and stallion Movements and retirements

Dubawi Legend

Dewhurst Stakes second starts his stallion career at Starfield Stud in County Westmeath under the Compas Stallions banner. His fee is €6,500.

King Of Koji

East Stud in Hokkaido is the new home of the dual Grade 2-winning son of Lord Kanaloa, who hails from the family of Irish 1,000 Guineas winner Nightime.

People obituaries

Gavin Hunter 81

Former trainer enjoyed plenty of success from his base at East Ilsley, sending out Shangamuzo to win the 1977 Doncaster Cup.

Shaun Keightley 62

Cheltenham Festival-winning jockey had two spells as a trainer, sending out 65 winners on the Flat between 2002 and 2021.

Sir Patrick Hogan 83

Titan of the New Zealand bloodstock industry who founded Cambridge Stud and imported the stallion Sir Tristram, sire of Zabeel.

Virginia Kraft Payson 92

Adventurer, author and journalist who owned and bred St Jovite, brilliant winner of both the Irish Derby and King George in 1992.

Avery Whisman 23

American jockey originally from Kentucky rode 90 winners in his brief career, latterly based at Presque Isle Downs in Pennsylvania.

Duke Of Firenze

Veteran sprinter, winner of 12 of his 134 races between the ages of two and 12, including the 2013 Epsom Dash, is retired aged 14.

Mekhtaal

Knockmullen House Stud in County

Wexford recruits Group 1-winning son of Sea The Stars for the 2023 breeding season.

The Big Picture

Kempton

Game as a pebble

Bravemansgame produced a superb round of fencing at Kempton on Boxing Day to hand trainer Paul Nicholls a remarkable 13th victory in the King George VI Chase. L’Homme Presse proved a tough rival but he looked to have given best when unshipping Charlie Deutsch at the final fence, leaving Bravemansgame and Harry Cobden to romp home 14 lengths clear of Royale Pagaille. The winner, owned by John Dance and Bryan Drew, won’t run again before the Cheltenham Gold Cup on March 17.

Photo Bill Selwyn

The Big Picture

Strong Constitution

Few jumpers make it look as easy as Constitution Hill and the now six-year-old sauntered to his latest success in the Christmas Hurdle under regular rider Nico de Boinville, extending his unbeaten record to five races under Rules. Owner Michael Buckley, seen inset (left) with his winner and trainer Nicky Henderson, will unleash his star next in the Champion Hurdle at Cheltenham on March 14.

Photos Bill Selwyn

The Big Picture Chepstow

Bold Amigos

The Two Amigos, trained by Nicky Martin for the Bradley Partnership, produced a gutsy performance to record his biggest win in the Welsh Grand National at Chepstow. On his favoured testing ground and aided by a low weight and jockey David Prichard’s 5lb claim, The Two Amigos made almost every yard of the running to defeat The Big Breakaway by a length and a quarter.

Photo Bill Selwyn

EUROPEANCHAMPION2YOBYLOPEDEVEGA

● WontheGr.1Dewhurstat2andtheGr.1Lockingeat4

● Sireofthreefirst-cropGroupwinners includingaGr.2winner

● 2022successes includedGr.2winnersBellabelandGoldPhoenix

● His2018and2019cropshaveproducedabetterstrikerateofGroupwinnerstorunners than Camelot,Siyouni,Kodiac,Acclamation,Churchill,DarkAngel,NightOfThunder,Australia,NewApproach, NoNayNeverandShowcasing.Infact,theonlyBritishstallionsdoingbetterareDubawi,Frankeland Kingman.

NEWtoBritishBreedersfor2023

215maresbredin2021&2022

Fee:£6,500Oct1stSLF

Timeformrated126-“TowinGroup1racesattwoandfouristestamenttothedurabilityofBelardo”

Owner motivations make mass opinion meaningless

First an admission: I don’t mind whether Honeysuckle runs in the Champion Hurdle or the Mares’ Hurdle. Question: does that make me a bad person? Answer: probably, at least in the minds of keyboard warriors who rail against those whose view runs counter to the social media opinion that anything other than unqualified support for outright competition is akin to blasphemy.

However, I do care that Honeysuckle – or any other horse come to that – only ever runs where owner Kenny Alexander believes will result in his having the best experience possible, whether that’s based on prize-money, excitement and pleasure, the day out, social standing with family and friends, or any of the other individual aspects associated with publicly participating in a personal hobby.

The building blocks that motivate racehorse ownership, and how they fit together, have been debated over the ages, no more or less than nowadays, when costs are rising but not necessarily in line with total prize-money, despite a record level of the latter having been declared for Britain in 2022. Ironically, and perhaps unexpectedly, the ratio of rewards to expenses in Britain may be as high as it ever has been.

From just before the turn of the century, the International Federation of Horseracing Authorities (IFHA) published an annual table headed ‘Prize-money versus training expenses’, compiled by members per horse based in its jurisdiction. From a figure of 28 per cent in 2004, Britain’s return fell quickly to

an average of 21 per cent – against 24 per cent for Ireland – until a gradual upturn to 25 per cent, six points below Ireland, for 2014, the last year the IFHA published the table.

Asking the BHA to provide more recent information elicited this useful response from Chief Operating Officer Richard Wayman: “In 2022, total prize-money was around £182m, with

Magnificent Moreira deserves Ascot farewell

Having remarked that “to lose one parent may be regarded as misfortune, to lose both looks like carelessness,” quite what Oscar Wilde would have made of the jockeys’ merry-go-round at the turn of the year is anybody’s guess. Not one, not two, not three, but four world-class riders decided it was time to stop the carnival.

Ireland’s Davy Russell departed on a winner without warning, for a short time at least, while Belgium-born but France-based Gregory Benoist gave a couple of days’ notice before his New Year’s Eve exit.

The other pair are doing things differently by way of a world tour apiece.

Frankie Dettori’s surprise Zoom announcement on ITV Racing’s Saturday morning programme, revealing that his long goodbye would begin at Santa Anita on Boxing Day, had all the hallmarks of an astute piece of timing created by longtime business manager Peter Burrell, as inclement weather threatened otherwise to leave the show threadbare of news. Three winners on day one of his immediate future was probably no more, or less, than might have been expected.

However, Dettori had already been beaten to the punch by Joao Moreira, who, although he does not have the same high profile as Dettori beyond South America and the Far East, can boast one greater achievement on his CV. While Dettori has been champion jockey three times in Britain, Moreira has claimed multiple riding championships in three different countries – his native Brazil, Singapore and Hong Kong.

Moreira rode more than 1,000 winners in South America before he hit the road in 2009, after which, during a period when racing in Singapore was at its height, he was a dominant title holder in each of his four resident seasons, and since moving to Hong Kong in October 2013, he has been champion four times.

A hip injury that plagued Moreira for a year forced him to stand down from his 2022-23 Hong Kong contract after only two meetings of the new season, and having returned to Brazil for complicated treatment and less pressured time with his family, he announced he was calling it quits over the course of 2023.

Moreira remains at the top of his game, as Graded-race successes in Brazil and two narrow defeats on Hong Kong’s international meeting under-card before the turn of year testified. He will probably take up engagements for Japanese connections at the Dubai World Cup meeting, but highlighting opportunities for British racegoers to appreciate his undoubted talent, Ascot seems to be the likeliest destination for one last hurrah.

His three previous visits to Britain have been to the Berkshire track – twice for the Shergar Cup, resulting in a win for Godolphin in 2013 and a double for Andrew Balding and John Gallagher in 2018, on either side of two rides at the 2015 royal meeting, including a short-head defeat on 50-1 shot Medicean Man in the King’s Stand Stakes. A formal invitation to either event from Ascot would be nothing more than he deserves.

BILL SELWYN

Honeysuckle should run in whichever race owner Kenny Alexander (right) feels is the right option, regardless of popular opinion

£145.6m (80%) going to owners. Around 18,500 different horses ran at least once; assuming it costs £25,000 a year to have a horse in training equates to £462.5m in fees, so, ignoring capital costs, the recovery rate for owners is around 31 per cent.”

Wayman does offer the caveat “this is very imprecise”, but the methodology was good enough for the IFHA all those years ago and the computation was at one time used by the governing body to back up its medium-term aspirations.

Still, prize-money is just one of the persuasive factors associated with owning a racehorse, and ROA studies regularly suggest it might not be the prime motivator. My own, admittedly very limited experience may help to explain the Honeysuckle theory expounded above.

Having had a pledge to own a whole horse falter on a fateful combination of Racing Post wages, a young family and a hefty Surrey-based mortgage, I felt obliged as president of the fan-based Bedfordshire Racing Club to support the offer of a free lease from the friendly owner of a jumping mare that a member obtained on the club’s behalf.

Urged on by the organiser’s diligent research, the trainer was persuaded, almost certainly against his better judgement, to run the mare in a Friday novices’ chase at Sandown, which had been shown to raise fewer than six runners in the past and offered a more valuable prize than taking on a bigger field at what might have been regarded as a more suitable venue for the mare’s ability.

Ridden by Richard Dunwoody as if she was a non-trier, she

crept through the field to finish a creditable third, and the euphoria created by those syndicate members allowed into a far corner of the winner’s enclosure would have done credit to someone winning the Derby and Grand National on the same afternoon.

Buoyed by the experience, the club took another free lease the following season, but on a Flat racer who just happened to run into trouble almost every time he set foot on a racecourse. His handicap mark slipped, and the next term – surprise, surprise – he won three races on the bounce, but back in his original owner’s colours.

Undeterred, a number of the club’s members have gone on to join various syndicates and a couple have even ventured into sole ownership. Like anyone else I have encountered who balances their experience against the cost of pursuing other hobbies or leisure activities, they do so for the various shades of involvement.

What they should not be expected to do, singlehandedly at least, is to follow their passion “for the good of racing”, or “the improvement of the breed.” Both sentiments can be heard when the philosophy of racing, as expounded by pious keyboard bashers, is discussed, but those are for the administrators and powerbrokers to worry about.

Those appointed, elected or plain railroaded on to the boards or into executive roles of the several bodies involved with actually running the sport must take these overarching responsibilities. Fee-paying owners can then be left to get on with having the best time they can, for all our benefits.

The Big Interview

Harry Fry, in his third season at Higher Crockermoor in Dorset, will take around half a dozen horses to the Cheltenham Festival next month

Principled HARRY

Harry Fry can reflect on some fantastic highs and crushing lows during his first decade as a trainer –with his competitive zeal and focus on quality, the next chapter promises to be equally enthralling

Words: Marcus Townend

Brace yourself for a surprise. What you think you know about Harry Fry is likely far from the reality. A towering physique and bass voice bestow an aura of calm authority on the bespectacled 36-year-old trainer.

They seem to support the notion that he is the archetypal Mr Sensible, a head-boy type never remotely threatened with detention who is thoroughly measured in his response to everything life throws at him.

Harry Fry

The Big Interview

›› Yet, according to Fry, that is not an image his wife Ciara would recognise. Quite the opposite, in fact.

While he appears stoic when one of his horses is beaten in a close finish, stiff upper lip never perceptibly trembling, it is only because he can maintain the countenance of the perfect poker player. Inside he is churning with frustration.

“It may look like it on the surface but underneath I am not as measured as some may think – Ciara will tell you that,” Fry explains. “I am not a good loser and for me second is the worst place you can be. You are close but no cigar.”

Fry also possesses a fiercely competitive streak that would give the one that has driven his old boss Paul Nicholls to 13 trainer championships a run for its money. That plays out on two wheels as well as on four legs.

Take the time in September when after cycling to his old stable at Seaborough and meeting up with Ciara and their two children Ruby, 8, and Eiréann, 5, an invitation for a race home – bike versus car – to their new West Dorset

base at Higher Crockermoor was impossible to resist.

“That was all I needed,” Fry says. “I was off on the bike and soon going downhill on this lane at 50 kilometres an hour. Then I came to two cars which were passing each other and there was no room for me. I skidded for about 20 yards and ended up over the front of the handlebars and in the hedge.

infants ensured Fry steered clear of the daredevil red runs he once relished on a turn-of-the-year skiing trip to Norway – a dislocated shoulder was an injury once sustained on the piste – and he admits that “it was probably to my benefit that I didn’t build up too much speed” as the family group stuck to the crosscountry routes and gentler gradients.

One steep slope Fry will continue to ascend is the one propelling his career, which is now in its 11th season, as he builds on the exciting opportunities afforded by a new purpose-built stable in Dorset.

Seaborough, only 20 minutes away, was the perfect starting point for Fry, first working under the wing of the late Cheltenham Festival-winning trainer Richard Barber and then as assistant to Nicholls. It was there that Fry, managing Nicholls’ satellite yard, was credited with preparing the trainer’s 2012 Champion Hurdle victor Rock On Ruby.

“I had to ring Ciara and ask her to pick me up. I haven’t been allowed back on the bike since!”

The responsibility of looking after two

Twelve months later, having taken out his own trainer’s licence at the age of 25, Fry trained Rock On Ruby to finish second to Hurricane Fly in the 2013 Champion

“It’s never been about having 150 horses and 100-plus winners every year”

Hurdle. The majority of over 450 career winners were trained there, including six Grade 1 wins.

But moving to 100-acre Higher Crockermoor in the summer of 2020 was coming home. It was where he was brought up. Fry’s parents live next door and the plan to flatten a cattle farm to build a dream stable has become reality.

That made his first top-level win from the yard – Metier in the 2021 Tolworth Hurdle – plus Love Envoi’s success in the Mares’ Novices’ Hurdle at last season’s Cheltenham Festival all the sweeter.

Fry had to endure a period of adjustment when the stable strike-rate, generally lodged well above 20 per cent, briefly dipped as he worked out the nuances of his new base with its three airy barns, four-and-a-half-furlong allweather gallop, which rises 200 feet, and 400-metre round canter, made with sand from the River Severn.

Fry says: “It took the best part of 18 months to understand how to best use the gallops to get the horses to peak. Things started to click in the second half

of last year and we felt confident we had worked out how to best use what we have here to get the best out of the horses.

“We have taken that into this season and hopefully carried that on. Obviously, there were days when you think ‘Christ, what are we doing wrong, why isn’t this working?’ But I am not the sort to sit around and worry about things; I like to do something about it.

“Initially when we came here, we felt that we had to hit the ground running, but looking back it was always going to take time to settle in.

“We went into this season feeling calm but not arrogant, just confident in what we are and what we are doing.

“Hopefully we can build and use that as a springboard to increase the quality and be competitive at the big meetings on the big days. We have a way to go yet but we are lucky to have some good horses which can hopefully help get us there.”

That progress is demonstrated by the numbers Fry hopes he will take to the Cheltenham Festival.

Last season Love Envoi was one of only two runners for the stable at the biggest meeting of the jumps season.

Next month, when Love Envoi will head to Prestbury Park as a leading contender for the Mares’ Hurdle, she could spearhead a squad of around half a dozen, including Boothill, winner of Kempton’s Wayward Lad Novices’ Chase, in the Arkle Trophy Chase, and the unbeaten Credrojava in the

Harry Fry

Mares’ Novices’ Hurdle.

Having a family alters perspectives and changes work/life demands, but reflecting on his first decade as a trainer, Fry hopes that while his stable’s location has changed, the operation has retained the identity for successfully focusing on quality rather than quantity.

Fry explains: “We have capacity for 80 horses with just under 70 in at present. It has never been about having 150 horses and 100-plus winners every year. I take my hat off to the guys that do that, but you are so reliant on the team around you.

“Our emphasis is more on quality and trying to be competitive at the weekends in the bigger races.

“We are very lucky with a good team of staff. The more horses you have, the thinner you spread yourself, then you don’t do as good a job for those that you have got here.

“I’d much rather keep the numbers a bit tighter and not overstretch the staff, which lets us look after the horses we have to a very high standard.

“We like to think we pay a lot of attention to detail. Having a horse in training is not cheap – we try to make sure we don’t leave any stone unturned.”

One of the biggest blows Fry suffered in his first decade with a licence came when the hugely talented Neon Wolf suffered a fatal injury on the gallops, five months after he had finished a head runner-up in the Neptune Investment

Second lot in action on the all-weather gallop – Fry (right) is content to keep stable numbers tighter for the benefit of his horses, owners and staff MATTHEW

The Big Interview Harry Fry

Thriving Love Envoi ready for Festival battle

Love Envoi’s 2022 Cheltenham Festival win was the perfect way to show that the Fry team has settled into its new base, yet there was additional pleasure from the fact the mare races for a syndicate run by Noel Fehily, the man who rode Rock On Ruby and was a valued ally when Fry launch his training career.

An impressive win at Sandown last month means Love Envoi is one of the main contenders for the Mares’ Hurdle at this season’s Festival.

Fry says: “To still have that working relationship with Noel and be good friends as well is great. He was instrumental to our success when we started out with his feedback and knowledge. He has transferred that into his syndicate business.

“We are lucky to train for some brilliant individual owners but moving forward the more we can open up the sport to everyone through syndicate ownership the better.

“Noel is showing what can be achieved by a syndicate with a success at last season’s Cheltenham Festival for ten individuals. It is not out of reach, it is possible.

“Love Envoi thrives on her racing and she will go to Warwick before going back to the Festival. I take the view [that we should] win what we can when

Management Novices’ Hurdle at the 2017 Cheltenham Festival.

“That took me a long time to get over, losing a horse of that calibre,” Fry concedes. “It really flattened me. We thought that was the horse to take us to the next level and we lost him.

“It took a while to start to look forward again but that is what we are trying to find – horses of that calibre.”

Helping Fry to do exactly that is respected bloodstock agent Kevin Ross and his wife Anna. The trainer realised that equine recruitment was the biggest challenge, having reached a point when his older horses outnumbered the emerging younger talent.

“There are lots of people out there looking for good horses and people with some big budgets,” Fry says. “Initially Ciara and I were trying to do it all

we can. If we are then lucky enough to warrant going to those big spring festivals then great, but I’d rather earn the right to do that during the course of the season and prove we are able to go there and be competitive rather than wrapping them up in cotton wool.

“I think there is too much focus on the Cheltenham Festival and we are all probably guilty of being too blinkered about it. There are a lot of good races to be won throughout the season. We are shooting ourselves in the foot if we keep overlooking perfectly suitable races and good prize-money.”

Fry feels Love Envoi has a fighting chance against the likes of 2022 winner Marie’s Rock and 2020 Champion Hurdle heroine Epatante in the Mares’ Hurdle.

ourselves, but you can’t train horses and be at all the sales looking at every horse.

“We brought in Kevin and Anna to do that. They are always on the lookout, be it at point-to-points, store sales or horsesin-training sales.

“Kevin knows the sort of horses we are looking for and often the first time I see the horse is when it arrives at the yard.

“There are lots of good agents, but it’s trying to work with someone when you know you are top of their pecking order, as opposed to agents when you are left wondering how many other people they have offered the horses to.

“We felt working with Kevin and Anna we were going to get a fair shot at it. They know what we are about – and we trust them.”

Fry’s clients put the same faith in him. It is a source of pride that a Fry-trained

He says: “There could be multiple Grade 1 winners in this year’s Mares’ Hurdle. For all Love Envoi has won eight of her nine starts, we were runner-up in her only top-level race last spring, although that was in Ireland at the backend of a busy season.

“We have to go out and prove it but at Sandown we beat a good yardstick in Martello Sky by 13 lengths in receipt of 1lb. Martello Sky was beaten just under ten lengths by Marie’s Rock in the Mares’ Hurdle last year.

“Love Envoi needs to keep progressing but from what we have seen she is heading in the right direction. I am going there with full respect for the opposition but if she can run her race we might come out on top.”

horse tends to last.

Rock On Ruby raced until he was ten, bowing out with a win in the Grade 2 Coral Hurdle at Ascot. He is still at the stable aged 18, living alongside 15-year-old stablemate and four-time Grade 1 winner Unowhatimeanharry, who was 13 when he ran his last race.

“When you find them, you have to look after them,” Fry says. “Fundamentally the job is to keep the horses healthy and run them in the right races.

“It is hugely important to place them where they can be competitive rather than just running for the sake of running – if we are doing that job right, hopefully the results will follow.”

Harry and Ciara have built the foundations of their careers. Phase one has been good but they are hoping that phase two could be even better.

Love Envoi: bidding for further glory at the Cheltenham Festival

GEORGE SELWYN

Fee: £6,000

BOBBY’S KITTEN

SIRE OF TRIPLE GROUP WINNER SANDRINE

Winner of the Gr.1 Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint

Sire of: SANDRINE (Winner of 3 Group races in 2021/22, including Gr.2 Lennox Stakes, 2022, Gr.2 Duchess of Cambridge Stakes and Gr.3 Albany Stakes. Also Gr.1 placed in 2021/22),

MONAASIB (Gr.2 placed),

KITTY KITANA (Gr.3 placed x2 in 2022),

FIGHTING KING (Listed-placed), etc

SEA THE MOON

Sire of 44 Black-type horses including Gr.1 winnners ALPINE STAR and DURSTON (in 2022)

Sire of 16 individual 2yo winners in 2022 including 3 Black-type winners – Gr.3 winner FANTASTIC MOON and Listed winners DE LA SOUL and SEA THE LADY

Fee: £25,000

Yearlings sold in 2022 made 410,000gns, €350,000, €240,000, €200,000, etc.

SIR PERCY

Sire of 53 Black-type horses including 2 Gr.1 winners

Recent Black-Type horses include:

BELLSTREET BRIDIE (Gr.3 winner in 2022),

FLIGHTY LADY (Gr.1 placed), KAWIDA (Listed winner, Gr.3 placed), PERCY SHELLEY (Listed-placed), etc.

Fee: Private Fee: £12,500

Sire of 89 individual 2yo winners Consistently 60% winners to runners

STUDY OF MAN

Winner of 3 races at 2 & 3, including the ‘Stallion Making’ Gr.1 French Derby, and £1,033,142

The only son of DEEP IMPACT (Champion sire 10 times in Japan) at stud in England, sire of AUGUSTE RODIN – impressive winner of the Gr.1 Vertem Futurity Trophy Stakes in 2022

A POTENT MIX OF SPEED & STAMINA

FIRST 2YO RUNNERS IN 2023

A LEADING EUROPEAN DUAL GROUP 1 SIRE

His outstanding First Crop yearlings sold in 2022 made €185,000, 140,000gns, $140,000, etc.

Choices on A BUDGET

Words: James Thomas

The bloodstock industry is facing its own cost of living crisis in 2023, with soaring prices for essentials such as feed, keep and transport putting breeders under fresh financial pressure. As such, getting value for money on nominations has arguably never been more important.

The good news for those on a budget is that there is plenty of choice – and value – out there, with a broad cross-section of stallions standing for £10,000/€10,000 or under across the British and Irish Flat roster, from those proven at the highest level to a fresh intake of bright new things.

The Gold Standard among established sires

A proven Group 1 producer with 27 stakes performers on his record, a leading two-year-old sire title to his name and even a burgeoning reputation as a sire of sires doesn’t sound like the kind of horse who should be standing for just £10,000. However, that is precisely where Tweenhills’ Havana Gold has been pitched for 2023, which offers breeders a lot of bang for their buck.

The Group 1-winning son of Teofilo is the sire of Flying Five Stakes hero Havana

Grey, who topped last year’s first-season sire rankings with some sensational results. Although Havana Gold hails from the Galileo line, plenty of his best progeny show more speed than would be typically associated with that lineage, with Sandy Lane Stakes scorer El Caballo and the Group 3-winning sprinters Tabdeed and Treasuring also on his record.

Moreover, he has a 51 per cent winnersto-runners strike-rate and his yearlings have sold for up to 250,000gns.

At £7,500, Bearstone Stud’s Dream Ahead also packs plenty of punch with a strike-rate of 52 per cent and 61 stakes performers headed by four Group 1 winners, while Cheveley Park Stud resident Mayson rates a rock-solid option at just

Rising prices are squeezing breeders ahead of the covering season, making the right choice of stallion especially important – thankfully there are a number of value options available

BILL SELWYN

BILL SELWYN

Twilight Son: the sire of Group 1 sprinter Twilight Calls, he stands for £7,000

Sands Of Mali: top-class sprinter has an outcross pedigree to go with his talent

£6,000 with a record of 27 black-type horses topped by dual Group 1 hero Oxted.

Other proven options in Britain with a track record of Group 1 success include Lanwades Stud stalwart Sir Percy and Oakgrove Stud’s Al Kazeem, both of whom stand on a private basis, and Norman Court Stud’s Sixties Icon at £3,000. Those looking for something liable to bring a bit more speed and precocity to the mix also have Due Diligence (Whitsbury Manor Stud: £5,000), who has a sizeable crop of juveniles on the ground this year, and prolific winner producer Swiss Spirit (Batsford Stud: £2,000) to consider, Chapel Stud is also home to the seasoned source of speed Hellvelyn (£2,500).

Irish breeders are practically spoilt

for choice given the variety on offer but at just €6,500, Rathasker Stud’s Bungle Inthejungle makes obvious appeal. He is best known as the sire of Nunthorpe heroine Winter Power, who heads a roll call that also includes Lowther Stakes scorer Living In The Past and Molecomb winner Rumble Inthejungle. He has covered six-figure books in recent years, giving him plenty of opportunity to enhance his record further in the seasons to come, and as a reliable source of speedy, forwardgoing types he looks set to develop into a real friend to the commercial breeder.

Rathasker is also home to the everreliable Gregorian, whose fee of €4,500 looks a snip when you consider his yearlings fetched up to €130,000 in 2022.

Another who should make the shortlist of every breeder looking to secure a bargain is Ballyhane Stud’s Elzaam

The secret may well be out about this son of Redoute’s Choice as he covered over 150 mares in 2022, but at a fee of €4,000 it looks well worth jumping on the bandwagon.

He has a winners-to-runners strike-rate of 48 per cent while his best performer is the Matron Stakes heroine Champers Elysees. However, his British and Irish stats don’t tell the whole story as he also has a bit of a knack of coming up with runners who are sourced inexpensively before being traded for a tidy profit once they’ve proved their prowess – think the likes of Playa Del Puente, Vincy and Win

Value stallions

Win Fighter. All in all this proven upgrader offers plenty of upside for such a humble fee.

An eye-catching pair of €10,000 stallions stand under the Coolmore banner in Footstepsinthesand and Holy Roman Emperor. The duo have been around a while but have shown that they come up with the goods time and time again, with the former responsible for a punchy 144 stakes performers, including seven Group/Grade 1 winners and last year’s Group 2-winning sprinter Brostaigh, while the latter has an even more impressive 181 black-type runners on his record, which is headed by 14 top-flight scorers and features last year’s Group 2 winner Jadoomi.

There is a distinctly international look to the Coolmore duo’s respective records, and the same is true for Darley’s Kildangan Stud stalwart Raven’s Pass, who has 63 stakes performers on his CV, which in turn gives him an impressive 13.5 per cent black-type performers to runners ratio. His four Group 1 winners are headed by Romantic Proposal.

Other sires with a proven track record of producing top-flight winners are Ballylinch Stud’s Make Believe (€10,000), who is best known as the source of Classic and three-time Group 1 hero Mishriff and also had yearlings fetch up to 220,000gns last year; Dawn Approach (Redmondstown Stud: €5,000), sire of 2,000 Guineas and St James’s Palace Stakes victor Poetic Flare and Godolphin’s southern hemisphere-bred star Paulele; and Kuroshio (Starfield Stud: €5,000), whose dual-hemisphere record features Australian Group 1 scorer Savatoxl and the Group 3-winning Kurious.

Another Group 1 sire is the Irish National

Stud’s Equiano, who stands at just €2,000 and is joined by Free Eagle (€5,000) and Dragon Pulse (€2,000). Meelin Stud is now the home of two established names in Dark Angel’s son Alhebayeb (€1,000) and Irish 2,000 Guineas hero Magician (€3,000).

A vintage crop

It may just prove that 2017 saw a vintage crop of new retirees to stud, with the class headed by rising stars Mehmas and New Bay. However, while that pair now stand for €60,000 and €75,000 respectively in 2023, there are other names who retired in the same year whose achievements are not to be sniffed at.

The popularity of Mehmas and New Bay is not only reflected in their covering fees, but also the fact their daughters have fetched huge prices at the sales, with the former supplying the €3.2 million Malavath, while the latter was represented by the 3,600,000gns Saffron Beach.

Right in their slipstream on this front is Dalham Hall Stud’s Territories (£10,000), whose best daughter Rougir sold to Peter Brant and Michael Tabor for €3 million at Arqana in 2021. Underpinning that price was the filly’s Prix de l’Opera success, and she added a second top-flight victory by winning the E.P. Taylor Stakes for her new connections.

Rougir is not Territories’ only sevenfigure offspring, as Hoo Ya Mal, runnerup in the Derby and subsequent winner of the March Stakes, sold to Australian connections through McKeever Bloodstock for £1.2 million at the Goffs London Sale. That pair head a list of 18 stakes performers who have gained black type over a diverse range of distances.

Another from this group with a top-level

winner to their name is Rathasker Stud’s Coulsty, whose seven stakes performers feature Grade 1 Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup scorer Shantisara. Breeding to the son of Kodiac in 2023 looks a savvy commercial move at just €4,500 as he has big crops in the pipeline having served sixfigure books in 2021 and 2022.

Another sire whose progeny have struck up a good record in the US is Bearstone Stud’s new recruit Belardo (£6,500), with his three Group/Grade 2 winners including Bellabel and Gold Phoenix, as well as Rockfel Stakes scorer Isabella Giles.

Both Awtaad (Derrinstown Stud: €5,000) and Twilight Son (Cheveley Park Stud: £7,000) have supplied a dozen stakes horses apiece, with the former’s record headed by the French Group 2 winners Anmaat and Al Qareem while the latter is responsible for King’s Stand Stakes runner-up Twilight Calls. Bobby’s Kitten (Lanwades Stud: £6,000) has five stakes performers to his name, headed by Royal Ascot-winning two-year-old and dual Group 2 scorer Sandrine.

Breeders looking for a source of proven speed at a chickenfeed fee also have Buratino (Hedgeholme Stud: £3,000), Charming Thought (March Hare Stud: £3,000), Estidhkaar (Tara Stud: €3,000); Mattmu (Bearstone: £2,000) and Pearl Secret (Norton Grove Stud: £2,000) as options, while those with more classical aims have Roveagh Lodge Stud’s The Gurkha (€3,500).

Stallions with first four-year-olds

While there are plenty of noteworthy accomplishments among the stallions included in this feature, very few can boast Classic success. However, one that can

Belardo: a top miler and proven stakes sire, he is new to Bearstone Stud

is Aclaim, who has relocated from the National Stud to Manton Park and earned a deserved increase to £10,000, up from £6,000, after his debut crop produced 1,000 Guineas heroine Cachet.

The George Boughey-trained filly was no flash in the pan either as her sire has six other black-type performers to his name, including the Listed-winning sprinter Royal Aclaim. The market has already reacted accordingly as his 2022 yearlings sold for up to 200,000gns.

Cheveley Park Stud’s Ulysses (£10,000) may not have a Classic winner on his record yet but he has sired an Irish Derby runner-up in Piz Badile. As a son of Galileo and the Oaks winner Light Shift, Ulysses always seemed likely to prove a source of Classic three-year-olds, which makes it all the more noteworthy that his six blacktype performers also include a Royal Ascot two-year-old winner in Holloway Boy, who made a winning debut in the Chesham Stakes no less.

Also boasting Royal Ascot two-yearold success is Kildangan Stud resident Profitable (€9,000), whose record includes Queen Mary Stakes scorer Quick Suzy. The son of Invincible Spirit has sired

ten black-type performers, with Wed another Group 2 winner in the Prix du Calvados.

This cohort also includes the multiple Group 1-winning racehorses Decorated Knight and Postponed, who are standing at the Irish National Stud and Dalham Hall Stud at €5,000 and £5,000 respectively.

Stallions with first three-year-olds

There is no better way for a young stallion to catch breeders’ attention than with winners, and none among those standing for £10,000/€10,000 or less who had their first runners last year can boast more successes than Harry Angel had with his first two-year-olds.

The Dalham Hall Stud-based son of Dark Angel notched 21 juvenile winners in Britain and Ireland at a clip of 47 per cent. The dual Group 1-winning sprinter enjoyed black-type successes further afield, with Proverb and Arkansaw Kid landing Listed contests in France and Australia respectively, while his son Marshman ran to a lofty rating of 113 when second in the Gimcrack. Harry Angel is standing at £10,000 in 2023, half his introductory fee, but if he can build on his early foundations

it is not hard to envisage that price heading back in the opposite direction.

His stats bear a striking similarity to Tally-Ho Stud’s Kessaar, who registered a strike-rate of 48 per cent with 20 winners from 42 starters. Although he is yet to sire a stakes winner, he has supplied a handful of smart types and that omission is more than factored into his fee of €5,000.

Although Rajasinghe couldn’t lay up with those two in terms of winners, he couldn’t have been expected to be given just ten runners. However, it is noteworthy that eight of those passed the post in front for an unrivalled strike-rate of 80 per cent. He has covered only small books to date, but this National Stud resident looks a sleeper well worth some enhanced support at a mere £3,000.

Tweenhills’ Lightning Spear (£5,000) also posted a punchy strike-rate with four of his eight runners (50 per cent) hitting the mark, as did Oak Lodge Stud’s Unfortunately (€3,500) with seven successes from 17 starters (41 per cent).

The only thing better than winners are stakes winners, and on that score Shadwell’s Nunnery Stud sire Tasleet has plenty to shout about as his 13 sons and

L AND FORCE

No Nay Never

“Alastair and I bought three yearlings by Land Force this year for up to 60,000gns, he is getting very strong and precocious looking stock and his pedigree has so much class. I tried to buy a foal by him in December because I feel he has such a great chance.”

Ed Sackville, SackvilleDonald

“I was very impressed with the yearlings I saw by Land Force, I bought a lovely filly for 120,000gns who looked a real no nonsense, tough filly with a great attitude. If he continues to breed such good-looking stock I’m sure he will make a successful stallion, particularly with his outstanding pedigree.”

Angus Gold, Shadwell

“Having broken a number of Land Force yearlings over the last few months, I’ve been seriously impressed . As such, I’m going to send a mare this year as I believe Land Force has a serious chance. I picked Havana Grey last year, so let’s hope I’m right again.”

Jane Allison, Pre-trainer

ALL THE CREDENTIALS FOR A LEADING SIRE IN THE MAKING

Value stallions

daughters who struck in Britain and Ireland are led by Coventry Stakes hero Bradsell, the highest-rated runner by a first-season sire in 2022. Despite having such a notable talent on his record, Tasleet is available at just £6,000 this year. Rathbarry Stud’s James Garfield (€4,000) was another who got on the black-type scoresheet thanks to Maria Branwell’s Listed National Stakes success.

Juddmonte’s Expert Eye (£7,500) wasn’t far behind the likes of Harry Angel

yearlings averaged £44,008 from a fee of just €10,000, with his five six-figure youngsters headed by a 140,000gns colt bought by SackvilleDonald at Book 1. Despite having so many ticks in all the right boxes, he is available at just €7,500 in 2023, which could look good value in the not too distant future.

Tally-Ho Stud has developed a serious reputation for launching talented sires onto the market, and they also have a son of Invincible Spirit fielding his first runners in 2023 in the classy Inns Of Court (€5,000). The Group 2 Prix du GrosChene winner covered his first mares at €7,500 and has a hefty crop of 169 ready to go into bat for him. No fewer than 136 of those pitched up at the sales last year, and 122 sold for an average of £29,886. Seven of those made a six-figure price, led by the 175,000gns colt signed for by JS Bloodstock at Book 1.

notably the Coventry Stakes on just his second outing. His yearlings averaged £48,977 for 63 sold, while he has 103 twoyear-olds to represent him this year.

No Nay Never could hardly have had a bigger 2022 and this year will see his first stallion sons field their first runners. Among those is Highclere Stud’s Land Force, a well-related sort who won the Richmond Stakes at two. His debut crop was conceived at a fee of £6,500 and sold for up to 180,000gns as yearlings, which in turn contributed to an average of £32,779 across the 75 sold from a group of 115 firstcrop foals.

Another son of No Nay Never is Sweep Lane Stud’s The Irish Rover (€2,500), who was third in the Phoenix Stakes during his own juvenile season.

and Kessaar with 18 winners and achieved his biggest racecourse success, victory in the Breeders’ Cup Mile, at the end of his three-year-old season, so it may be fair to assume his stock will follow suit. Similar comments apply to Coolmore’s US Navy Flag (€10,000), winner of the July Cup at three after Middle Park and Dewhurst Stakes glory at two, and Mickley Stud’s 2,000 Guineas runner-up Massaat (£4,000), who had eight and six winners respectively in Britain and Ireland in 2022.

Also on the mark with multiple winners was Bearstone Stud’s Washington DC (£3,000), while Smooth Daddy (Starfield Stud: €4,000) and Master Carpenter (March Hare Stud: £1,000) were also on the board.

Stallions with first two-year-olds

Breeding to a stallion in the year he has his first runners is not without its risks, as the acid test of the racecourse will quickly expose those whose progeny fail to come up to scratch. Thankfully breeders aren’t going into battle completely blind as the market has already dropped some big hints as to who’s hot – and who’s not – at the latest round of yearling sales.

Yeomanstown Stud’s Invincible Army appears to have solid claims in this year’s first-season sire race as he has a sizeable debut crop, was a precocious and talented sprinter, winning the Group 3 Sirenia Stakes at two and the Group 2 Duke Of York Stakes at four, and is by a thoroughly proven sire of sires in Invincible Spirit.

And, moreover, buyers liked what they saw of his stock at the sales as his first

A third son of Invincible Spirit from this cohort is Shadwell’s Eqtidaar (£5,000), who actually boasts a better race record than the other pair having won the Commonwealth Cup at Royal Ascot at three. The half-brother to Massaat and Mujbar has 54 foals in his debut crop and saw his first yearlings average £16,281 for 30 sold.

Coolmore’s Calyx (€10,000), who wouldn’t have even appeared in this feature in previous years having started out at a fee of €22,500, also descends from Invincible Spirit as a son of Kingman. He raced only four times but flashed his brilliance to win three of those starts, most

Another interesting commercial option for breeders to conjure with is Ballyhane Stud’s Soldier’s Call (€7,500). The son of Showcasing was an out-and-out sprinter with his four victories all coming over five furlongs at two, when he was also beaten just a neck by Mabs Cross in the Prix de l’Abbaye. Those wins included an impressive all-the-way success in the Flying Childers Stakes, while he also reached the frame in three top-flight contests at three.

His debut crop contains 121 foals, meaning he has the ammunition required to make a similarly big impact in his second career. He had three six-figure yearlings, the most expensive of which went the way of Katsumi Yoshida at 100,000gns at Book 1, while the group averaged £29,100 from a fee of €10,000.

The first yearlings by Inns Of Court, himself effective from five furlongs to a mile, were popular last year

“Rajasinghe looks a sleeper well worth enhanced support”

SWISS SPIRIT

Invincible Spirit x Swiss Lake (Indian Ridge)

4th leading European sire of sprinters (3yo+, 1000m-1300m) in 2022 by % black type winners to runners (Hyperion Promotions)

Sire of TWO 5f Stakes winners in 2022

72% Runners to Foals

47% Winners to Runners in 2022

Already Sire of OVER 48 Two-Year-Old Winners, rated up to 102

Five-year yearling average of over £15,000

Fee: £2,000 1st Oct. Terms (SLF)

Batsford Stud, Batsford, Moreton-in-Marsh, Gloucestershire GL56 9QF

01608 651890 • M: 07899 957355 • E: alanvarey@batsfordstud.co.uk www.batsfordstud.co.uk

GROUP 1 SIRES

€4,500 1st October

€6,500 1st October

USED BY ALL THE TOP BREEDERS Over 250 mares covered in the last 2 seasons

GREGORIAN

€4,500 1st October

PROLIFIC SOURCE OF BLACK TYPE

YEARLINGS MADE UP TO €130,000 IN 2022

Con Marnane, Bansha House Stud “We are always on the look out for stallions whose stock are internationally tradeable and Coulsty fits that bill.”

Value stallions

Stallions with first yearlings

Whitsbury Manor Stud can do little wrong at present with the likes of Havana Grey and Showcasing, and the Harper family appear to have another upwardly mobile young prospect on their hands in the shape of Sergei Prokofiev (£6,000).

The strapping son of Scat Daddy won the Cornwallis Stakes at two and has proved popular with breeders since he retired to Whitsbury Manor having covered a shade over 300 mares in his first two books. His first foals received a similarly warm reception when they arrived at the sales last winter as 52 of his sons and daughters sold for an average of £27,840, having been bred at a fee of just £6,500.

The group was topped by the colt out of Avengers Queen who was bought by Chasemore Farm at Tattersalls for 95,000gns, while other judges such as Tally-Ho Stud, Glenvale Stud and Camas Park Stud were among those to sign for his offspring.

Without Parole (Newsells Park Stud: £7,000) also made an impression on buyers at the foal sales, where 19 of his sons and daughters fetched an average of £28,270, headed by a €70,000 filly bought by WH Bloodstock. The well-bred son of Frankel, whose sire’s fee has risen to £275,000 for 2023, is best remembered for his victory in the St James’s Palace Stakes. He covered 158 mares during his first two seasons at Newsells Park Stud, 13 per cent of which possessed black-type.

Coolmore have two names with their first yearlings this year in Arizona (€5,000) and Circus Maximus. The former, who stands at Castlehyde Stud, was a Royal Ascot-winning juvenile just like his sire, the red-hot No Nay Never. The Coventry Stakes scorer’s first foals sold for up to €60,000 from a covering fee of €7,000.

Meanwhile, Circus Maximus offers breeders access to a serious amount of pedigree and performance for a covering fee of just €10,000. The Niarchos family’s son of Galileo won three Group 1s over a mile and also emulated the feat of his dam, the Danehill Dancer mare Duntle, by landing back-to-back Royal Ascot successes. He defeated King Of Comedy and Too Darn Hot to land the St James’s Palace Stakes before returning to annex the following year’s Queen Anne Stakes. His first foals included a colt out of Shuffle who went the way of Camas Park Stud for 50,000gns.

Another Group 1-winning miler welcoming his first yearlings this year is King Of Change (€6,000), who finished runner-up in Magna Grecia’s 2,000 Guineas before rounding out his three-year-old career with victory in the Queen Elizabeth

“Ulysses is my number one value option. He’s extremely well-bred, he’s got a huge pedigree, and he had plenty of pace himself. He had a Chesham winner last year with Holloway Boy too so he can get you a good two-year-old. I bought two by him in Book 1 that have gone to Ralph Beckett, including Dance In The Grass’s half-brother for 170,000gns. Territories is a very solid stallion too; he gets twoyear-olds and he’s had some top-class fillies. I’m breeding to both stallions.

“I’m also a fan of Aclaim and Make Believe, and I think Due Diligence should have a good year too.” Alex Elliott, bloodstock agent

“There’s two types of stallions I tend to focus on, the young pretenders with runners and the proven Group 1 options. Harry Angel and Tasleet have both had good starts and hopefully their records will keep on improving. Then from the Group 1 racehorses who are proven Group 1 producers, I like Planteur, Dream Ahead and Havana Gold. All three of those stallions have nice pedigrees, and if we had a filly

II Stakes. The son of Farhh switches from Derrinstown Stud to Starfield Stud for 2023 having seen his debut crop fetch as much as €50,000, with Peter and Ross Doyle giving that sum for a colt at Goffs.

Another son of Farhh on the Starfield roster is speed machine Far Above, whose truncated racing career was capped by

by Dream Ahead then we’d probably keep her because hopefully he’ll start to emerge as a broodmare sire.

“I absolutely loved Stradivarius when I saw him. He’s so athletic, the right size and very powerful. We’re trying to breed racehorses first and foremost because winners is what keeps our business going.”

David Hodge, Llety Farms

“Bearstone’s Dream Ahead and Ballyhane’s Elzaam have proven track records that punch well above their covering fees. It is not hard to envisage their commercial appeal taking a step forward in the near future too, as both have progeny from six-figure books due to run in the coming seasons.

“Among the younger names, Invincible Army has plenty in his favour for those looking to take a punt on a horse with his first runners this year, while Crystal Ocean’s pedigree, race record and yearling sale results make him a leftfield option with plenty of upside for those prepared to put fashion to one side.”

James Thomas, bloodstock writer

victory in the Palace House Stakes. The youngster has caught the imagination of plenty of breeders having covered backto-back six-figure books, while Blandford Bloodstock went to 52,000gns for his priciest foal at the Tattersalls December Sale. He remains unchanged at a fee of €5,000.

GEORGE SELWYN

Crystal Ocean: marketed as a dual-purpose sire, his first yearlings sold for up to 135,000gns

Three

experts pick their sires to watch...

● MultipleGroup1winner

● Timeformrated133

● Worldwideearningsover£14million

95%Fertility-100maresbredin2022

GROUP 1 PERFORMER BY SEA THE STARS

1st Group 2 Great Voltigeur

2nd Group 1 Irish Derby

3rd Group 1 Epsom Derby

1st 3YO’s in 2022; sole 3YO at Go s sold for €55,000 HIT with Gabriel Leenders, Willie Mullins, Tom George, etc

We’re very happy with them and he’s a stallion very much on our radar.” - Harold Kirk , principle agent for Willie Mullins, who has several by Storm The Stars

“

WAY TO P RIS

GROUP 1 WINNER BY CHAMPS ELYSEES

FIRST FOALS WELL RECEIVED IN 2022 & SOLD TO MORGAN SHEEHAN, GERRY HOGAN, ETC

120+ QUALITY MARES IN FOAL EACH SEASON

A huge addition to the Irish stallion ranks”

HAROLD KIRK

Value stallions

A warm reception towards the first foals by Sergei Prokofiev included the sale of this colt out of Music Lesson for 72,000gns

Another whose forte was speed is Ballyhane Stud’s Sands Of Mali (€5,000), an outcross option as a son of the Miswaki stallion Panis. He won five races, most notably the Gimcrack Stakes at two and the British Champions Sprint Stakes, in which he defeated Harry Angel, at three. His first two seasons have yielded a foundation of 228 mares and a leading foal price of €60,000 given by Joe Foley for the half-brother to Extortionist.

Ballyhane’s biggest success story is Dandy Man, whose sole son standing in Europe is Tara Stud’s River Boyne (€5,000). The

“Shaman offers pedigree as well as performance”

majority of his racing took place in the US, where he won the Grade 1 Frank E. Kilroe Mile Stakes for Jeff Mullins and Red Baron’s Barn and Rancho Temescal.

Yeomanstown Stud’s Shaman (€5,000) did the majority of his racing in France where he won the Prix d’Harcourt and also reached three Group 1 podiums between the ages of three and four. The son of Shamardal offers pedigree and well as performance as he hails from a blue-chip Wertheimer family.

March Hare Stud have a quartet of names at this stage of their careers in Scat Daddy’s son Legends Of War (£4,000), 2,000 Guineas runner-up Tip Two Win (£2,500), Gleneagles’ Windsor Castle Stakes-winning son Southern Hills (£2,000) and multiple winner Mr Scaramanga (£1,000)

Norman Court Stud is home to Molecomb Stakes scorer Rumble Inthejungle (£3,500).

Stallions with first foals

Not only did Supremacy cover the biggest book among the value sires who retired in 2022, but he also covered the best in terms of quality, with his 186 mares including 31 (17 per cent) black-type performers, all of which gives the Middle Park and Richmond Stakes winner a decidedly solid foundation.

Despite getting his second career off to such a promising start, his custodians at Yeomanstown Stud have rather generously

Gr.1 placed from 6.5 furlongs to 1 mile Group winning 2yo over 6 furlongs

Timeform rated 120 at 3 & 4 years

5x€900,000 YEARLING purchase at Arqana

By one of the world’s leading sires

Exceptional first book of 134 mares featured half-sisters to SHOWCASING, KODI BEAR and SUBJECTIVIST, and the dam of Gr.1 winners CRACKERJACK KING, JAKKALBERRY and AWELMARDUK

Nominations: 01638 675929 stallions@nationalstud.co.uk www.nationalstud.co.uk

TATTERSALLS

Bay, 16.0hh, 2017 | Lope De Vega ex Black Dahlia (Dansili) EUROPEAN CHAMPION

THREE-YEAR-OLD SPRINTER

2023 STUD FEE: £8,500 1ST OCT SLF

clipped his fee from €12,500 to €10,000 for 2023. Supremacy is, of course, by Mehmas, whose sire Acclamation is the source of a flourishing line that is responsible for Yeomanstown’s greatest success story Dark Angel, another Middle Park Stakes winner who rose from a humble covering fee of just €7,000 to become the sire of 13 Group/Grade 1 winners and one of the finest stallions in the world.

Alkumait had plenty in his favour when he joined the roster at the up-and-coming Castlefield Stud, being a well-related winner of the Group 2 Mill Reef Stakes. He duly covered 105 mares in his first season, and breeders have every reason to view him in an even more positive light at a fee of just €5,000 in year two with his pedigree having received several notable boosts.

His dam has bred five black-type performers, the most recent of which is the exciting Chaldean, a Classic prospect for 2023 having won the Acomb, Champagne and, most importantly, the Dewhurst Stakes at two. Moreover, Alkumait and Chaldean’s Kingman half-sister sold to Juddmonte for 1,000,000gns during the December Sales.

Lope Y Fernandez also got his stallion career off to a positive start with 134 mares in his debut book at the National Stud in Newmarket, ten per cent of which boast black type. There were also plenty of well-bred types among that number, with siblings to the likes of Kodi Bear, Showcasing and Subjectivist, as well as the dam of Group 1 winners Awelmarduk, Crackerjack King and Jakkalberry. The son of Lope De Vega, who was placed in five Group/Grade 1s having cost MV Magnier €900,000 as a yearling, remains at £8,500.

At the Irish National Stud, Coventry Stakes scorer Nando Parrado served a 130-strong book of mares in his debut season, 15 (12 per cent) of whom achieved black type on the racecourse, including the Oaks runner-up Something Exciting and the Group 3-winning and Irish 1,000 Guineas third Oh Goodness Me. The well-bred son of Kodiac stands at an unchanged €6,000.

British-based breeders have access to three second-season horses each standing for £5,000 in 2023 in A’Ali, Roseman and Ubettabelieveit. Four-time Group 2 winner A’Ali, a son of the much-missed Society Rock, won the Norfolk and Flying Childers Stakes at two, as well as the Prix Robert Papin, and attracted 114 mares to the Newsells Park Stud covering shed.

Mickley Stud has its own Flying Childers winner in Ubettabelieveit, who also ran

third in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint. The son of Kodiac covered 98 mares in his first season.

The Group 1-placed Roseman’s biggest success came in a Newmarket Listed contest over a mile, in which he beat the Group 2-winning and Group 1-placed Century Dream, who stands at Norton Grove Stud at a fee of £3,000.

New for 2023

Few, if any, horses retired to stud in recent times can boast the depth of racecourse achievement that Stradivarius (The National Stud: £10,000) can. The son of Sea The Stars won 20 races, 18 of which came in Group company, meaning he has

with an impressive debut in the Brocklesby Stakes and went on to follow in the footsteps of his sire, the record-breaking Mehmas, by winning the July Stakes. Possessing plenty of speed and a likeable attitude, the Amo Racing-owned colt was also placed in three Group 1s, namely the Phoenix and Middle Park Stakes, as well as the Prix Morny.

Overbury Stud introduces its own son of Mehmas in Caturra (£6,500). The youngster has plenty of similarities with the stud’s breakthrough sire Ardad, as both were bred by Tally-Ho and both won the Flying Childers Stakes during their racing days.

The Dubawi line is also thriving and that puts the spotlight on Starfield Stud’s newest recruit, the well-bred Dubawi Legend (€6,500), winner of a German Group 3 at three and also runner-up to Native Trail in the Dewhurst Stakes at two.

Tosen Stardom (Zenith Stallion Station: €7,000) offers something completely different as a son of Deep Impact who won a brace of Australian Group 1s, namely the United Petroleum Toorak over a mile and the ten-furlong Emirates Stakes. The 12-year-old shuttles from Woodside Park in Australia.

won more Pattern contests than any other horse in European history. His impressive CV not only highlights his soundness and immense appetite for racing, but is capped by seven Group 1s, namely his four Goodwood Cups and hat-trick of Gold Cups.

Persian Force (Tally-Ho Stud: €10,000) may have retired at two but he packed plenty into his solitary season in training, running eight times between March and November. He showcased his precocity

Another new recruit with an international edge to their profile is the good-looking Space Traveller, who will stand at Ballyhane Stud at €6,500. The joint-highest rated son of Bated Breath won five times while in training with Richard Fahey, most notably the Jersey and Boomerang Stakes.

He later switched to the US stable of Brendan Walsh, for whom he reached the frame in four Grade 1 events, including when runner-up in the Woodbine Mile and Frank E. Kilroe Mile Stakes.

“Caturra has plenty of similarities with breakthrough sire Ardad”

ZENITH STALLION STATION/BRONWEN HEALY

Tosen Stardom: an interesting option as a Group 1-winning son of Deep Impact, he is new to Ireland for 2023

THEONLYSONOF ZOFFANYATSTUDINTHEUK

Top-classsprinter withasire’s pedigree. Successfulfirstcropsire including WashingtonHeights(earningsof over£75,000andhd2ndin valuablesalesracetoaListed winnerand3rdinListedRedcar 2yoTrophy).

ByZoffany sireof89blacktype horsesand5Group1winners fromhisEuropeancrops.

Fee: £3,000Oct1stSLF

Timeformrated121: “well-madehorse:smartperformer”

SIGNIFICANTLY UPGRADINGHISMARES

Fee: £2,000Oct1stSLF

TimeformRated113at2years

The market SPEAKS

The bloodstock market is notoriously fickle, falling over itself for one horse one minute and going cold the next.

It is one of the reasons why breeders feel safe in the use of first-year stallions, particularly if producing to sell. But the end result is that some of these horses, especially those in the lower price brackets, will fall in popularity during their second, third and fourth seasons. It might be frustrating to watch with outside eyes but is perfectly understandable given that the first-crop sire hasn’t yet had a chance to offend anybody with market repercussions.

A look at the 2022 covering numbers of stallions recorded in the printed edition of Weatherbys Return of Mares (figures are subject to change as further returns filter in) illustrates yet again the popularity behind first-year sires, with 11 new Flatbased names in Britain and Ireland the recipient of 80 mares or more last season.

Words: Nancy Sexton

Of the 87 older stallions to cover more than 60 mares in 2022, 50 (57 per cent) attracted a larger book than the year before, with several horses, notably Gleneagles, Galileo Gold, Sioux Nation and Golden Horn, the subject of a significant increase in numbers.

In some cases, the identification of stallions on the ascent is at play. For instance, those breeders who supported Night Of Thunder when he stood for £15,000 at Dalham Hall Stud in 2019 and for €25,000 at Kildangan Stud in 2020 were rewarded when a highly receptive market towards the horse went on to yield yearling averages of 99,556gns (in 2021) and 196,758gns (in 2022). In return, Night Of Thunder consistently now covers books north of 150.

The 2022 returns again underline the strength of momentum behind young sons of Dubawi, to which Night Of Thunder and also New Bay have been driving elements. No fewer than five of his sons covered 125 mares or more in 2022 while Dubawi himself had a book of 165. Now 21-yearsold and in the twilight of his stud career, Dubawi has had his fee raised by 40 per cent to £350,000 for 2023.

While Night Of Thunder covered 180 mares last season and is likely to be again extremely popular at his new fee of €100,000, Ballylinch Stud’s New Bay stands at a career high of €75,000 following a season capped by the Group 1 winning double of Bay Bridge and Bayside Boy on Champions day at Ascot in October, all of which is good news for the breeders who sent 193 mares to him at €37,500 last year.

Both Night Of Thunder and New Bay received an uptick in popularity in

Covering numbers for the 2022 season provide a fascinating insight into the behaviour of British and Irish breeders alongside the popularity and appeal of various stallions

COOLMORE

Gleneagles: his book soared to 155 in 2022

2022, as did the other Dubawi horses Ghaiyyath, Time Test and Too Darn Hot. Champion Ghaiyyath bucked the trend of losing support in his second year, with his book increasing by 25 per cent to 161 mares at €25,000. In this instance, such a rise is most likely the result of breeders consistently liking the first foals, something that was borne out at the winter sales where Ghaiyyath’s first crop returned an average of just over 100,000gns.

In Newmarket, Too Darn Hot has held his popularity at Dalham Hall Stud, deservedly so for a multiple Group 1 winner from the family of Darshaan, while Time Test was one of the most sought after British-based stallions of 2022 as the recipient of over 180 mares following a first crop of two-year-olds highlighted by the Group 1-placed Sunset Shiraz and Group 3 winner Romantic Time.

Flat-based stallions who covered 125+ mares in 2022

the printed edition of the 2022 Weatherbys Return Of Mares

Of the 39 Flat-orientated stallions who covered 125 mares or more in 2022, only nine covered a smaller book than in 2021 – and even then in some cases the drop was marginal. Of course, these are the horses who are either well established or perceived to be breaking through, so it stands to reason that their popularity should stabilise.

Results from the 2021 Flat season came into play as far as Gleneagles and Galileo Gold were concerned. 2021 featured six European Pattern winners for Coolmore’s Gleneagles; that combined with a drop in fee to a career low of €15,000 resulted in a

book of 155, up from 31 the previous year.

As for Galileo Gold, he covered only 34 mares in 2021 as breeders awaited his first runners, and when his debut crop came to include Group 1 winner Ebro River and the tough Group 3-winning filly Oscula, he went on to cover 163 mares at Tally-Ho Stud. The 2,000 Guineas winner switches to Haras de Bouquetot in France for 2023.

In a busy season for Tally-Ho Stud, Cotai Glory (another sire at the same stage of

his career as Galileo Gold) covered close to 180 mares, up from 116. The stud’s July Cup winner Starman was also the busiest firstyear sire in Europe as the recipient of 254 mares, although the ever-popular Mehmas wasn’t far behind on 249, despite standing for a career-high of €50,000.

Another horse to break the 200-figure mark was Starspangledbanner. He sired four Group or Grade 1 winners during an excellent season in 2022 so expect to

“Ghaiyyath bucked the trend of losing support in his second year”

Coulsty: the subject of recent support

Stallion popularity

see another large book head his way this season, even at his new fee of €50,000.

At the lower end of the price bracket, Coulsty and Elzaam, both of whom are established friends of the smaller breeder, will have also plenty of ammunition going for them in the future judging on their recent popularity.

Just as the arrival of smart-looking first foals can boost popularity, so can early results on the track. For those looking for an even earlier sign of a sire’s potential, it

is worth remembering that the breeze-up community often have a fair insight; for instance, they were early supporters of Showcasing, Ardad and Night Of Thunder.

Ardad’s swift start with his first runners in the spring of 2021 ultimately played out in a book of north of 145 mares for that season, up from just 26 in 2020. That again rose in 2022 to 205 to make im the busiest British-based Flat stallion of the year. Similarly, last year’s champion first-crop sire Havana Grey covered a career-high of

Flat-based stallions who covered 100-124 mares in 2022

166 mares as early word filtered through on the potential of his first two-year-olds. Sioux Nation – so far the sire of almost 50 first-crop winners – was even busier as his book rose by a whopping 390 per cent to 255.

It was also interesting to note the popularity of U S Navy Flag, whose book increased by 133 per cent to 144 mares. Buyers had liked his first yearlings, three of whom had realised €200,000 or more, while it might be that breeders also felt that a well-bred champion two-year-old priced at €12,500 was too good to miss. Fast forward to the end of 2022 and he had been represented by two Listed first-crop winners with his fee reduced to €10,000.

Predictably, fewer of those to cover between 60 and 124 mares received a boost in popularity. Even so, several of the younger names stand out. Ballylinch Stud’s Waldgeist, for instance, covered a bigger book in his third year than his second, presumably because people liked his first foals, which had sold for up to €180,000 at the 2021 winter breeding stock sales.

There was also a deserved uptick in attention towards Nunnery Stud’s Tasleet. The presence of first-crop breezers who sold for £230,000 and 200,000gns last spring certainly didn’t harm his profile but when that translated into a flurry of early

BILL SELWYN

Starman (left): Europe’s busiest new stallion of 2022

season winners, momentum unsurprisingly began to build. Those early winners included Bradsell, a nine-length debut winner at York who later won the Coventry Stakes at Royal Ascot, meaning that those breeders who sent 99 mares at an inexpensive fee last season would appear to be in a good position.

The presence of 1,000 Guineas heroine Cachet in the first crop of Aclaim is also reflected in a sizeable increase in numbers for that stallion.

It was also good to see a warm welcome towards Dream Ahead, who switched from France to Bearstone Stud for 2022. A proven Group 1 sire, he also represents an outcross as a blend of the Warning and Cadeaux Genereux sire lines.

Flat-based stallions who covered 60-99 mares in 2022

from the printed edition of the 2022 Weatherbys Return Of Mares

On the other side of the coin, there are a number of stallions whose book fell. For some, however, it must be remembered that the numbers are the result of a less than straightforward season of covering – Kodiac was one such horse – and age rather than a drop in popularity.

Of the year’s first-year Flat-orientated horses, the aforementioned Starman certainly wasn’t short of admirers. However, particular mention should go to Coolmore’s champion St Mark’s Basilica, whose first book of 178 included over 30 Group/Grade 1 winners and/or producers, Middle Park Stakes winner Supremacy, who covered close to 190 mares, and the Darley pair of Palace Pier (154) and Space Blues (160).

* stands at Manton Park Stallions in 2023

**stoodatHarasdeGrandcampin2021

New Flat-based stallions of 2022 to cover more than 80 mares

All figures from the printed edition of the 2022 Weatherbys Return Of Mares

Night Of Thunder: understandably popular DARLEY/MARC RUHL

“Waldgeist had a bigger book in his third year than his second”

Cheltenham

Breeders’ Digest

Nancy Sexton Bloodstock Editor

Time of the essence to resolve unwelcome situation

No sooner was the curtain raised on 2023, the sales industry hit the headlines for the wrong reasons when it was revealed that auction houses had yet to receive payment for approximately £20.5 million worth of yearlings bought last year by agent Richard Knight. Although Knight has never publicly confirmed the identity of his client, it is widely believed to be Kuwaiti businessman Saleh Al Homaizi, a returning figure to the game who tasted Classic success as the co-owner of Authorized and Araafa.

This is a fast-moving situation but, at the time of writing, Tattersalls had taken steps to retrieve payment of approximately 11 million guineas by alerting potential buyers via email to the possibility of being able to acquire the 17 yearlings bought out of its October Sale “by private sale with immediate effect or at sale/sales to be confirmed”. The newly-turned twoyear-olds include a Frankel colt out of Bold Lass bought for 2,000,000gns and a Lope De Vega half-sister to Battaash bought for 1,800,000gns. Nor does it end there as plenty was also spent on yearlings at Arqana (€1.98 million), Keeneland ($4.875 million) and Goffs, where Knight outbid Jacob West at €2.6 million for the No Nay Never sister to Blackbeard. This isn’t the first time that a person has defaulted on payment out of an auction, nor will it be the last. However, the volume of horses and money involved appears to be unprecedented, in the racing world at least. As such, the first reaction when the news finally became public was how on earth could this have happened. But in fairness, this is a case of a returning owner, one who campaigned and bred a number of top horses with success for more than two decades before his shift away from the sport in 2018. He was a well known figure on the racecourse and at the sales, where in partnership his previous yearling purchases included the €1.2 million top lot at the 2014 Arqana August Sale.

That provides some explanation as to how events were allowed to unfold. Nevertheless, the repercussions are too far-reaching for the industry to

let it pass. Questions should be asked on how matters were able to progress so far, and measures need to be put in place to prevent something of this magnitude from happening again.

Of course, it could be that the problem will shortly be resolved. Until that either happens or the horses are re-offered, the immediate headache is that these are living and breathing animals on a programme – one that currently comprises pre-training –aimed at maximising their potential. Regardless of their one-time value in the ring, the horses are now likely to be at different stages of their education with some coping better than others. In other words, time is of the essence.

FAREWELL SIR PATRICK HOGAN

New Zealand racing said farewell to one of its largest characters last month with the death of Sir Patrick Hogan at the age of 83. From 1976 until 2017, Hogan and his wife Justine bred numerous Group 1 winners

at their Cambridge Stud, with his foresight and understanding of stock and the business key in developing the Cambridge name into a dominant southern hemisphere presence.

One of the turning points came in 1976 with the arrival of Sir Tristram as a foundation stallion. The son of Sir Ivor boasted just two wins in 17 starts while even Hogan’s agent advised against his purchase. However, Hogan was determined to secure him, a decision for which he was vindicated many times over when the horse became a six-time champion sire in Australia and nine-time champion sire in New Zealand. At one time available for just NZ$1,500, Sir Tristram commanded NZ$250,000 at the peak of a career highlighted by 45 Group 1 winners.

Similarly, Hogan crafted Sir Tristram’s son Zabeel into a multiple champion sire on both sides of the Tasman Sea; today, Zabeel’s legacy continues to run deep within Australasia through his son Savabeel, who has been New Zealand’s leading sire every season since 2014-15.

The popularity of Sir Tristram and Zabeel were driving forces behind Cambridge Stud’s uninterrupted 31year reign as leading vendor at the New Zealand Bloodstock National Yearling Sale. However, so too was Hogan’s attention to detail when it came to preparing and presenting sales stock. Someone who was ahead of his time, he brought a gamechanging approach to the marketing and selling of horses, at one stage going so far as to fly Australian-based buyers over to the sales.

The number of respected stud masters and horsemen to have worked under him at Cambridge also provides testament to his skills as a mentor.

Cambridge was sold to Brendan and Jo Lindsay in 2017 and remains an important part of the New Zealand bloodstock landscape, notably as the southern hemisphere home to French shuttle stallions Almanzor and Hello Youmzain. However, it will always be inextricably linked to Hogan, the man who helped draw unprecedented international attention to the New Zealand bloodstock industry.

TATTERSALLS

Payment remains outstanding on this filly

Memorable Magic Millions kickstarts 2023 season

Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale (Book 1)

More great yearling trade down under, where this sale on the Queensland coast produced some big-money transactions.

They included four horses who sold for Aus$2 million (£1.34 million) or more, including a trio whose valuation surpassed the previous record of A$2.2m set way back in 2008. It was rather unfortunate for the vendors of a A$2.6m Zoustar filly, who on day two smashed a figure that had stood for 14 years but had her record whipped away 24 hours later by an I Am Invincible colt who made A$2.7m.

That colt gave a boost to trade on day three when nearly A$60m was spent and a record session average was created of A$338,785.

Overall, the figures more or less matched last year’s record trade. Turnover in excess of A$229m and an average price of A$292,079 were more or less on a par with 2021, although the median lost eight per cent and the clearance rate was pegged back four points to a still-worthy 89 per cent.

Barry Bowditch, Managing Director of

Magic Millions, said: “When you have a catalogue of 979 horses [at Book 1] and you’re clearing almost 89 per cent it’s a big effort, considering the volume of horses you’ve got and going into the unknown from an economic perspective.

“The colt market had so much depth, be it at A$300,000 all the way through to the big numbers – there’s so many stallion funds and people trying to buy those colts to live the dream.”

Not that Bowditch had an easy ride

Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale (Book 1)

Tom Magnier went to A$2.7 million for this I Am Invincible colt at Magic Millions

all the way through for his company had battled with a software glitch which meant one session had to be postponed for an hour because online bidding could not be guaranteed, and there was an unusually muted Saturday evening session devoid of the racegoers who normally flock to the sale after a long and often hot afternoon at the Gold Coast racecourse. Racing there was abandoned after two races due to false ground caused by a rogue sprinkler system dowsing a patch of ground on going that was already heavy.

Coolmore Stud’s Tom Magnier bought the sale’s headline colt, who was consigned by the Peter O’Brienmanaged Segenhoe Stud on behalf of Sheikh Mohammed bin Khalifa Al Maktoum, a cousin of Godolphin chief Sheikh Mohammed. Magnier is no stranger to top lots at this sale, and the colt he bought scored heavily on looks despite being a first foal. The mare in question, Anaheed, was a dual Group 2 winner for the sheikh, while the fact that I Am Invincible (by Invincible Spirit) had recently become Australian champion sire was another plus for the colt.

His paternal siblings, conceived at I Am Invincible’s base of Yarraman Park Stud in New South Wales, were to prove highly sought after throughout the sale.

The aforementioned Zoustar filly, a sister to triple Group 1 winner Sunlight out of the superb broodmare Solar Charged, was sold by Widden Stud to Zhang Yuesheng, who was in similarly punchy form when buying at European yearling sales in the autumn under his Yulong Investments banner.

The third horse to break the 2008 record price was another I Am Invincible colt. He was offered by Coolmore Stud and sold for A$2.5m. Victoria trainer Ciaron Maher landed the decisive bid, his purchase being a first

Keeneland January Sale

As any auction house will tell you, the flexibility to add supplementary entries to a sale right up until the last moment is becoming an ever-important tool, writes Nancy Sexton.

It allows those with horses in possession of interesting updates to be exposed to a wider buying audience at an optimum time, and usually with the desired results. That was again evident at the Keeneland January Sale in Kentucky, where two of the top five lots were late additions including the

TALKING POINTS

• After selling the sale-topping I Am Invincible colt for Aus$2.7m, Segenhoe Stud manager Peter O’Brien said: “He was unbelievably popular and all the big buyers were on him. We thought we’d let the market decide, so we put a very low reserve on him, which always helps.”

If a low reserve generates an increase in the number of buyers

who show interest, leading to a feeding frenzy, it worked on this occasion, although it might prove less advantageous to vendors at many sales.

• After revealing that his A$2.5m purchase of an I Am Invincible colt was the most he had spent on a yearling, trainer Ciaron Maher said: “They’re only expensive if they’re slow – and hopefully he’s not that!”

foal of the Group 1-winning mare Booker, who had been bought by Tom Magnier in 2020 for A$1.6m.

Tammy and Richard Rigney, racehorse owners visiting from the US, secured the sale’s other featured lot, an I Am Invincible filly from Yarraman Park Stud and knocked down for A$2m.

China Horse Club and partners

sale-topping Ancient Peace.

A daughter of War Front out of Canadian Grade 2 winner Deceptive Vision, an A.P. Indy member of an exceptional Sam-Son Farm family, she was bought as a yearling by agent Mike Ryan for $180,000 – a relatively inexpensive amount given her pedigree. Sent to Graham Motion, she ran second in Ryan’s colours on her debut at Del Mar before going one better when the wide-margin winner at Santa Anita in the days leading up to the sale. With that dominant performance fresh in the

became the sale’s leading buyers through their purchase of 18 lots for A$10.1m at an average of A$561,000.

One of those partners, Newgate Farm in New South Wales, was the leading consignor with sales grossing just over A$17.2m from transactions involving a draft of 54 yearlings who all found a buyer.

mind, she went on to sell for $650,000 to Travis Boersma’s Boardshorts Stable.

Boersma, the co-founder of the Oregon-based coffee chain Dutch Bros, was recently revealed as purchaser of the $4.6 million fractional share in Flightline when it sold in November.

The other supplemental entry to hit the top five was Ack Naughty, whose first foal Practical Move had laid down his Classic claims by winning the Grade 2 Los Alamitos Futurity in late December. She was sold to New

There was a good result for Darley’s Too Darn Hot in the sale of this filly for A$1 million

Sales Circuit

York-based breeders Chester and Mary Broman for $500,000 in foal to Upstart.

Three-time winner England’s Rose came into the sale having run a recent second in the Grade 1 Matriarch Stakes and duly sold for $600,000 to James Schenck, acting on behalf of new owner Gigi Lazenby, while Kerri Radcliffe signed at $550,000 for Evocative, a very well-related young mare in foal to Quality Road. Evocative’s filly, also by Quality Road, was the most expensive short yearling of the sale, selling for $450,000 to Jacob West on behalf of Robert and Lawana Low.

Top lots Name/age/sex/breeding

Taylor Made Sales Agency retained its annual place as leading vendor thanks to the sale of 108 horses for a total of $6,775,100. However, special mention must go to Godolphin, which offered all 27 of its entries during the first day of Book 2. The farm’s mares dominated that particular session, accounting for five of the top six lots while turning over almost $1.8 million.

As ever, the sale attracted wide international interest, including buyers from the Middle East and Japan. It was

Keeneland January Sale

also interesting to see Juddmonte Farms support its Listed-winning homebred Honest Mischief, a son of Into Mischief who stands for $6,500 in New York, by going to $60,000 for a filly from his first crop.

A handful of European buyers also made the trip, notably agents Billy Jackson-Stops, who signed at $240,000 for Chaberton, a Kantharos half-sister to 1,000 Guineas heroine Special Duty, and Hubert Guy, who paid $65,000 for an Invincible Spirit weanling filly.

Ack Naughty 11 m Afleet Alex - Dash For Money ELiTE, agent

Kerri Radcliffe: agent signed at $550,000 for the young, well-bred mare Evocative

KEENELAND

KEENELAND

Supplementary entry Ancient Peace, a recent maiden winner, topped proceedings

Sireofthewinnersofover£1.5 millioninc.4stakeswinnersand 3otherstakesperformers

ASPETAR

WonGr.1 PreisVonEuropa,12f, Gr.2 York S,10.5f, Gr.2 GrandPrixdeChantilly,12f, inrecordtime, LR CockedHatS,11f, 2nd Gr.3 JohnPorterS,12f, LR GalaS,10f, 3rd LR DoonsideCup,10f

HARPER

WonLR GrandCriteriumdeBordeaux,8f, at2, LR PrixduRanelagh,8f, 2022

SAINTLAWRENCE

WonLR DenfordS,7f, at2, 2ndGr.3 PavilionS,6f, 3rdGr.3 PalaceHouseS,5f, 2022, Gr.3 HorrisHillS,7f, at2

USAK

WonLR PrixFBAAymerideMauleon,8f

GoldenSpell

2ndLR LegacyS,6f at2, LR PoloniaS,5.5f, 3rdLR BlenheimS,6f at2, LR

YeomanstownStudS,6f

Precisely

2ndLR GilliesFillies’S,10f, 2022

PersianRoyal

3rdLR QatarDerby,10f, 2022 (sold 450,000gns HITSales)

◆ JointChampionOlderHorseinEuropein2013 (9.5f-10.5f)

WonGr.1 EclipseS,2013,10f

WonGr.1 PrinceofWales’sS,2013,10f

WonGr.1 TattersallsGoldCup,2013,10.5f

WonGr.1 TattersallsGoldCup,2015,10.5f, WonGr.2 Prixd’Harcourt,2015,10f, Gr.2 JockeyClubCup,2012,12f

WonGr.3 GordonRichardsS,2013,10f, Gr.3 WinterHillS,2014,10f, 2ndGr.1 ChampionS,2014,10f, Gr.1 PrixGanay,2015,10f, Gr.1 IrishChampionS,2013,10f

3rdGr.1 JuddmonteInternationalS,2013,10f

◆ Timeformrated128 inthreeconsecutiveseasons

bay2008,16.1hhbyDubawi-Kazeem(Darshaan)

Group1winnerASPETAR

John Boyce cracks the code

Single champion sires’ title fails to do Dubawi justice

Since 1970 there have been 53 Britain and Ireland champion sire titles bestowed on 20 individual stallions, the latest being Darley’s Dubawi, who had to wait until he was 20-years-old to receive the accolade, such was the dominance of Coolmore’s great 12-time champion Galileo. And when Galileo did eventually vacate his throne, his son Frankel nipped in for his first title in 2021, thus prolonging Dubawi’s wait by another year.

It just goes to show that all statistics need some sort of qualification or other. Dubawi is clearly a once-in-a-lifetime sire and a single champion title hardly seems to do him justice. This point is underlined even more when we look back at the champion sires since 1970. The first thing to note is that gone are the days when a stallion could steal a title by siring just one, or maybe two, dominant runners. Queen’s Hussar’s

success in 1972 was all because of the great Brigadier Gerard, one of only five stakes winners accredited to Queen’s Hussar from a total of 290 career runners, although he was later also responsible for the 1,000 Guineas and French Oaks heroine Highclere, who has done much more to preserve her sire’s name in top-flight pedigrees than the Brigadier.

Another sire who relied on one or two good ones was Pitcairn, the champion sire of 1980. That year, the son of the previous year’s champion Petingo was responsible for Ela-ManaMou, who flourished after joining the Major Dick Hern stable as a four-yearold to land the Eclipse Stakes and King George. He was ably assisted by the very high-class Irish-trained Cairn Rouge, who took that year’s Irish 1,000 Guineas, Coronation Stakes and Champion Stakes.

Remarkably, the 132-rated Ela-ManaMou and Cairn Rouge (127) were two of Pitcairn’s sum total of three career Group winners. What are the odds of finding two standout runners from such a small pool and both in the same year, too?

Wolver Hollow, the Eclipse Stakes winner who got Sir Henry Cecil’s training career off to a fine start in 1969, is another who relied almost entirely on a single runner to win his title in 1976. That horse was Wollow, who annexed the 2,000 Guineas, Eclipse Stakes, Sussex Stakes and Benson & Hedges Gold Cup (now known as the Juddmonte International), having also won the previous season’s Dewhurst Stakes. Wolver Hollow sired a total of just nine career Group winners and only two others, the Irish 2,000 Guineas winner Furry Glen, who later plied his trade as a National Hunt sire, and

Dubawi: the Darley stalwart was recently crowned the champion stallion of 2022

GEORGE SELWYN

Dr Statz

Galaxy Libra, a dual Grade 1 winner on turf in America, won at the highest level.

Other than Queen’s Hussar, Pitcairn and Wolver Hollow, the remaining 17 champions bear closer scrutiny. The master of all has to be Northern Dancer, who won four titles, commencing in 1970 when Nijinsky swept all before him in his Triple Crown year. While it is true that he is far short of his son Sadler’s Wells’s tally of 14 titles and his grandson Galileo’s 12, for sheer quality there has never been a sire in these parts to match him.

His influence on the champion sires that came after him has been profound to say the least. Of the 53 titles since 1970, Northern Dancer has either won or been responsible for the winner through his male line on no fewer than 39 occasions. And 40, if you give him a little bit of credit for turning up twice in the pedigree of Dubawi, albeit in the fourth and fifth generations.

More importantly, for all their far superior numerical advantages, neither Sadler’s Wells nor Galileo have sired a better top ten racehorses than their forebearer, at least according to Timeform. Northern Dancer’s top ten are Nijinsky (138), El Gran Senor (136), The Minstrel (135), Shareef Dancer (135), Storm Bird (134), Lyphard (132), Sadler’s Wells (132), Nureyev (131), Unfuwain (131), Try My Best (130) and Ajdal (130). His ratio of stakes winners to runners at 28.8% – at the top of our list – also suggests as much.

A word of caution here – small elite books of mares will always contain a higher percentage of stakes winners

CHAMPION SIRES IN GB-IRE 1970-2022 RANKED BY % BTW-RNRS

than the books with the same number of elite mares but with a hundred or so more extra mares with poorer credentials. Hence, the modern-day standard of about 16% serves to identify a top-class stallion like a Galileo, a Frankel or a Dubawi.

Interestingly, the first four stallions on our list were all based in America.

That’s unlikely ever to happen again, due to the number of high-class runners required these days to win a title. Perhaps the best champion sire in these islands before the Northern Dancer clan was Mill Reef, who sired 324 runners from just 13 crops and was the last champion sire based in Britain before Frankel and Dubawi came along. His 19.8% stakes winners is exceptional, but to provide some context here, it is worth knowing that Galileo scores 20.4% from the 1,174 runners from his elite mares and could do even better if we scaled his numbers back to the best-bred 350 or so. Still, runners like Reference Point, Shirley Heights, Milligram and Acamas serve to illustrate what a fine stallion Mill Reef was.

Great Nephew was champion sire on two occasions, the first in 1975 thanks to the brilliant Grundy, winner of the Derby, King George, Irish Derby and Irish 2,000 Guineas, and the second in 1981 due to the even more brilliant Shergar, another dual Derby and King George winner. Meanwhile, Kris won his sole title after a battle with Shirley Heights in 1985. That year, Shirley Heights provided the Derby winner in Slip Anchor, but his earnings were eclipsed by those of Oh So Sharp, successful in the 1,000 Guineas, Oaks and St Leger.

Petingo, a top-class winner of the Sussex Stakes, had the impressive Derby winner Troy to thank for his 1979 title of champion sire. Troy’s other victories in the Irish Derby, King George and Benson & Hedges Gold Cup ensured his sire was well clear of the opposition. Petingo succumbed to a heart attack during the 1976 covering season and left only seven full crops that also featured the dual Oaks heroine Fair Salinia and Irish Derby winner English Prince.

In 1982, the first of Coolmore’s titles came with Be My Guest, the Northern Dancer sire who provided two of the best racehorses that year from his first crop in the shape of Assert and On The House.

Six years on, Coolmore’s Caerleon was champion and repeated the feat in 1991, owing to Derby and King George winner Generous. Following Sadler’s Wells’ first crown in 1990, you would have got long odds about Coolmore stallions reigning supreme for the next 30 years. But that is precisely what happened, with Danehill and his son Danehill Dancer essentially bridging the gap between the Sadler’s Wells and Galileo dynasties. For the record, only Highflyer with his 13 titles between 1785 and 1798 has come close to the two Coolmore giants.

“There has never been a sire to match Northern Dancer”

Caulfield Files

Kingmambo line finding its place to rule in Japan

Back in the autumn of 1993 there was considerable speculation about the destination of Kingmambo, the magnificently-bred colt who had landed the Poule d’Essai des Poulains, St James’s Palace Stakes and Prix du Moulin. As a son of a recognised sire of sires in Mr Prospector, Kingmambo was bound to kindle international interest, and this interest was also fanned by the fact that he was the first foal of that great miler Miesque, a ten-time Group/Grade 1 winner.

For a while it looked as though Japan would secure the prize, but in the end it was Will Farish’s Lane’s End Farm in Kentucky which came out on top. Kingmambo was to give his syndicate owners absolutely no cause to regret their purchase, exerting a considerable impact on Europe’s Classics. As might be expected of a Classic-winning miler out of Miesque, Kingmambo proved very adept at siring Guineas winners. Thanks to King’s Best, Henrythenavigator, Russian Rhythm and Virginia Waters, he was responsible for two winners apiece of the 2,000 Guineas and 1,000 Guineas. Henrythenavigator also took the Irish 2,000 Guineas, while Bluemamba and Divine Proportions landed the Poule d’Essai des Pouliches.

However, that was far from the sum total of Kingmambo’s worldwide Classic influence. Divine Proportions also won the Prix de Diane, while Light Shift showed she stayed even better with her victory in the Oaks. Other mile-and-a-half Classic successes came via King Kamehameha in the Tokyo Yushun (Japanese Derby) and Lemon Drop Kid, who landed the Belmont Stakes. Even a mile and three-quarters proved to be within the compass of some of Kingmambo’s sons, with Rule Of Law and Encke both winning the St Leger. The only British Classic to evade Kingmambo was the Derby, but he gained partial compensation through Workforce, a son of King’s Best.

For good measure, Kingmambo was also responsible for the Queen Anne winner Dubai Destination, the distinguished international performer Archipenko and multiple Group 1 winner El Condor Pasa (winner of the Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud and Japan Cup, and second in the Arc). Among the others to shine at Group 1 level were Campanologist (with the Preis von Europa among his four Group 1 successes

in Germany and Italy), Thewayyouare (Criterium International), Okawango (Grand Criterium), Malhub (Golden Jubilee Stakes), Alkaaased (Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud), Master Of Hounds (Jebel Hatta), Student Council (Pacific Classic and Pimlico Special), Boboman (Hollywood Turf Cup), Tawqeet (Caulfield Cup) and Voodoo Dancer (Diana Handicap).

With so extensive a legacy, it seemed likely that Kingmambo’s male line was going to flourish for several generations. However, that hasn’t happened in Europe or the US. It might have been a somewhat different story had Archipenko not died at the age of 13 in 2017 after just eight seasons at Lanwades Stud, none of which yielded many more than 50 foals. Despite the sparsity of his support, Archipenko enjoyed Group 1 success with Madame Chiang in Britain, as well as with the brothers Glorious Forever and Time Warp in Hong Kong and Huetor in Australia. Archipenko also made his mark with the crops he sired in Argentina. Campanologist – another who died comparatively young – also sired a top performer in Argentina.

The fact that Henrythenavigator ended up in Russia tells its own story, but he did sire Phoenix Stakes winner Pedro The Great, who showed promise as a sire in France before dying at the age of nine.

Dubai Destination proved disappointing for a stallion who began his career at a fee of £25,000 – so disappointing that he was

switched to the jumps sector before heading to Saudi Arabia. The surprising aspect of this story was that Dubai Destination flourished as a broodmare sire, with his daughters producing the likes of Golden Horn, Postponed, Gold Trip, Thunder Snow and God Given. Needless to say, Kingmambo has also excelled in the role of broodmare sire, with his daughters’ many Group/Grade 1 winners featuring the likes of Baaeed, Camelot, Midday, Duke Of Marmalade, Ulysses, Ruler Of The World, Cloth Of Stars, Zelzal and Addeybb.

Kingmambo’s male line has practically died out in North America, despite Lemon Drop Kid’s best efforts. Based alongside Kingmambo at Lane’s End, he enjoyed a productive stallion career before being retired at the age of 25 at the start of 2021. He Is responsible for more than 100 black-type winners from a total of 1,631 foals, with nine of them scoring at the top level. The problem here, from the viewpoint of Kingmambo’s male line, was that six of the nine Grade 1 winners were fillies and none of the three males – Beach Patrol, Richard’s Kid and the British-trained Cannock Chase – won on dirt, the favoured surface of most American breeders.

By one of the twists of fate which makes the breeding world so fascinating, we have seen Japan, the country which failed to secure Kingmambo’s services, develop his male line’s stronghold. The first son of Kingmambo to shine in Japan was

GEORGE SELWYN

Kingmambo: a brilliant miler and outstanding sire, his male line is now thriving in Japan

El Condor Pasa, who stayed better than Kingmambo thanks to having daughters of Sadler’s Wells and Seattle Slew as his first two dams. Unfortunately, El Condor Pasa only lived long enough to sire three crops but they included the Group 1 winners Vermilion, Song Of Wind and Alondite.

Japan was also the final destination for King’s Best after productive stints in Ireland and France. Although King’s Best failed to match his European results after the switch, he has made his mark in Japan via Eishin Flash, who was imported in utero after his dam, the German-bred Moonlady, was sold at Tattersalls. A contemporary of Workforce, Eishin Flash won the Japanese Derby six days before Workforce won the Derby at Epsom. Workforce started his stallion career in Japan in 2012 but he struggled to sire Graded winners and is now siring promising jumpers at Knockhouse Stud in Ireland.

Eishin Flash ran as an older horse, adding the Group 1 Tenno Sho (Autumn) at five and Group 2 Mainichi Okan at six. The 2022 season proved something of a breakthrough for Eishin Flash, with his son Vela Azul making tremendous progress after being switched from dirt to turf. He won four of his seven starts on turf, including the Group 1 Japan Cup.

Hail the King

However, Kingmambo owes the renaissance of his male line largely to King Kamehameha, Japan’s champion sire in 2010 and 2011 prior to the unstoppable rise of Deep Impact. Conceived in America but foaled in Japan, King Kamehameha was out of the Irish-bred Manfath and came from the same Aga Khan female line as Blushing Groom. With essentially a non-Japanese pedigree – without any Sunday Silence or Hail To Reason blood – King Kamehameha was in an ideal position to thrive in an industry steeped in Hail To Reason blood if he thrived on the racecourse. And thrive he did.

King Kamehameha was to win seven of his eight races, including his two starts late in his juvenile season. Although his first five starts had all been over distances between 1,800 to 2,200 metres, King Kamehameha was very impressive when he tackled 1,600 metres for the first time, taking the Group 1 NHK Mile Cup by five lengths in a fast time. Only three weeks later, he was tried over 2,400 metres in the Tokyo Yushun. Up against a field which included the very successful future stallions Heart’s Cry and Daiwa Major, King Kamehameha won again, establishing that he possessed the versatility to match his talent.

Rested through the summer, he returned to win the Group 2 Kobe Shimbun

Hai over 2,000 metres, but that proved to be his final start.

It’s a measure of King Kamehameha’s ability as a stallion that he managed to finish sixth among Japan’s leading sires of 2022, despite having been on restricted duties for a few years prior to his death at the age of 18 in 2019. More importantly, several of his stallion sons have also taken high rank. It was his fast son Lord Kanaloa who went closest to denying Deep Impact his 11th consecutive championship. In fifth place came another son, Duramente, winner of the Japanese 2,000 Guineas and Japanese Derby. Rulership also took eighth, meaning that the top ten contained not only King Kamehameha but also three of his sons. Three more Kingmambo-line stallions – Eishin Flash, King Kamehameha’s tough dirt horse Hokko Tarumae and Leontes – also finished in the top 25.

The male line also shone on the two-year-old table, headed by Duramente.

winner Rose Kingdom and Japan Cup Dirt winner Belshazzar as one of the numerous high-class performers which King Kamehameha numbered among his 454 foals out of Sunday Silence mares.

Duramente’s second dam Air Groove had also been a major winner and she too succeeded with King Kamehameha, producing the Hong Kong Group 1 winner Rulership, whose own Group 1 winners include Caulfield Cup winner Mer de Grace and the top 2022 two-year-old Dolce Mor, winner of the Asahi Hai Futurity.

Coincidentally, Duramente’s 2022 crop of juveniles completed a family stranglehold on Japan’s three Group 1 races for two-year-olds, with his daughter Liberty Island taking the Hanshin Juvenile Fillies 17 days before his son Dura Erede narrowly landed the Hopeful Stakes at 90-1. Of course, Duramente was also represented in the 2022 Arc by Titleholder, winner of the Group 1 Tenno Sho (Spring) and Group 1 Takarazuka Kinen.

Duramente left only five crops, the last being a 2022 group of 95 foals. There are 118 two-year-olds and 122 three-year-olds by him in 2023. His string of high-class performers in his first three crops were sired at fees of either ¥4,000,000 (£25,600) or ¥6,000,000 (£38,000). By the time of his death, his fee had risen to ¥10,000,000 (£64,000) and it would no doubt have risen higher.

With Rulership third, Lord Kanaloa eighth and Hokko Tarumae 11th, four sons of King Kamehameha made the top 12.

Despite its success, the Kingmambo male line hasn’t always enjoyed much luck, and I have already mentioned several of his descendants which died comparatively young. While Kingmambo lived to be 26, he had to be pensioned at the age of 20 because of an arthritic condition in his neck. Similarly, the latter part of King Kamehameha’s stallion career was restricted by a health issue. Having sired as many as 210 foals in one of his earlier crops, he was credited with only 50 foals in 2014, followed by crops of 112, 72, 96, 72 and 75. Even so, his total output amounted to 1,884 foals, compared to the 913-foal legacy left by Kingmambo.

Sadly, son Duramente is another who has been denied a full innings, as this dual Classic winner succumbed to acute colitis in September 2021 at the age of nine. His loss appears to be a major blow both to the Shadai Stallion Station and the Japanese breeding industry. A son of the champion Japanese mare Admire Groove, Duramente ranked alongside Japan Cup

Lord Kanaloa, another of King Kamehameha’s most successful sons, was priced at ¥20,000,000 (£128,000) in 2020 and ¥15,000,000 (£96,000) in 2021 and 2022. Lord Kanaloa was one of the main beneficiaries of Deep Impact’s forced retirement from stallion duties and it could pay to make a note of the Aidan O’Brientrained Beginnings, his very promising daughter out of the Classic-winning Winter.

A name to watch out for in the future could be Leontes, winner of the Group 1 Asahi Hai Futurity Stakes in 2015. He was bred to be good, his dam being Cesario, an excellent racemare and producer. Narrowly beaten in the Japanese 1,000 Guineas, Cesario went on to take the Oaks and then became the first Japanese filly to win a US Grade 1 when she took the American Oaks. Cesario has three Group 1-winning sons to her credit, the first being Japanese St Leger and Japan Cup winner Epiphaneia (by Symboli Kris S), now Japan’s highestpriced stallion at ¥18,000,000 (£115,000).

Waiting in the wings is champion Saturnalia, a son of Lord Kanaloa who retired to stud in 2021. In the meantime, three-parts brother Leontes has three Group 3 winners from his first two crops as well as Pink Kamehameha, winner of the Saudi Derby on dirt in 2021.

“Kingmambo owes the renaissance of his line to King Kamehameha”

The special section for ROA members

Exclusive offers for members at Cheltenham and Aintree

This year’s Cheltenham Festival will take place from March 14-17. The ROA is delighted to announce that our exclusive marquee is back for 2023 with tickets going on sale on Monday, January 16. This is one of our most popular events so please book early to avoid disappointment.

The ROA marquee is located in prime position in the Club enclosure, just a short walk from the paddock and moments away from the action. The facility provides unreserved seating, TV viewing, a cash bar and Tote betting. Members can enjoy complimentary tea and coffee while hot and cold food will be available to purchase.

ROA and Racegoers Club members can book a maximum of four tickets (member plus up to three guests). We are delighted that this event continues to be extremely popular, however to ensure everyone has an enjoyable day, numbers are limited and only daily badges are available.

Tickets are available to purchase

through roa.co.uk/events.

Please note that marquee badges do not provide racecourse

admission. Racecourse admission can be booked at www.thejockeyclub. co.uk/cheltenham.

Tote Owner Sponsorship Scheme

The ROA is delighted to announce that we have renewed the Tote Owner Sponsorship Scheme for 2023. This is the fourth year that the Tote has sponsored this scheme, which has evolved into one of our most popular and important owner benefits.

The scheme is offered to the ROA’s membership base and enables owners to register as a business for VAT purposes. This means that owners can reclaim VAT on their racing activities, as well as on the purchase price of their horse. The Tote gives members an annual sponsorship payment of £100 to each horse for joining the scheme and wearing the logos.

For 2023 the Tote has launched a new range of logos to be carried on owners’ silks, highlighting the Tote’s most popular bet and its digital platform: Tote, Tote placepot and tote.co.uk. These three logos will be available on a rotational basis as horses join the scheme.

Charlie Liverton, Chief Executive of the ROA, said: “This agreement is fantastic

news for our members. We are delighted to continue working with the team at the Tote to allow owners to benefit from this scheme.

“Owners collectively spend over £30m a month on training fees and with the financial cost of having a horse in training continuing to rise, it is hugely beneficial for owners to have the ability to reclaim VAT on both the purchase of the horse and the associated training and racing costs.”

Alex Frost, Chief Executive of the UK Tote Group, said: “At a crucial time for British racing, we are as committed as ever to ensuring the Tote maximises the positive contribution it can make to the sport. As an owner and breeder, I know how valuable the Owner Sponsorship Scheme is and the Tote is delighted to continue to support it.

“We hope as many owners as possible will choose to benefit from the scheme and everyone at the Tote in incredibly proud to see our logo carried across

BILL SELWYN

Members can enjoy Gold Cup day from the comfort of the ROA marquee at Cheltenham

Eva’s Oskar: struck at Cheltenham in December FRANCESCA ALTOFT

Our contact details:

@racehorseowners

For further information please call a member of the ROA team on 01183 385 680.

Hospitality at Aintree

We are delighted to be hosting a lunch on the first day of Aintree’s Grand National meeting in conjunction with Racing Welfare. The lunch will take place on Thursday, April 13 in the hospitality pavilion with places available for £200pp, which includes a champagne reception, two-course meal with wine, admission to the course, car parking and afternoon tea.

The Thursday of the Grand National meeting uniquely features four Grade 1 races as well as the Randox Health Foxhunters’ Steeple Chase run over the Grand National fences. It promises to be a fantastic day’s racing with many rivals from Cheltenham facing off again.

The afternoon will also see a live and silent auction in order to raise funds for Racing Welfare. As the ROA’s charitable partner, Racing Welfare is the only charity that supports all the people who work in racing, including stud, stable and support staff, from their recruitment right through to retirement.

For more information and to book visit racingwelfare.co.uk.

ARC investing in the ownership pyramid

owners’ silks throughout the year. We wish every owner a safe and successful 2023.”

How to join

If you are looking for sponsorship our scheme with the Tote couldn’t be easier to join. For the horse to be eligible for the scheme they need to be:

• Wholly owned by ROA members, or

• In the case of a racing club or syndicate, then all club/syndicate managers need to be ROA members for the horse to be eligible for the scheme, or

• Where the horse is owned in a partnership, all owners need to be ROA members

Then simply email sponsorship@ roa.co.uk and if the horse is qualified, we can organise your sponsorship straight away. More information on the scheme can be found at www.roa. co.uk/sponsorship.

As the sport’s leaders discuss strategies to attract and retain racehorse owners, Arena Racing Company (ARC) continues to invest in the ownership experience across its portfolio of 16 racecourses.

Key to this has been the appointment of Rebecca Davies to ARC’s newly created position as Head of Racing Industry Partners. Davies successfully managed Hereford racecourse since it reopened in 2016 and before that spent 16 years at Cheltenham under the leadership of Edward Gillespie.

In addition to Davies’s appointment, three regional Owners & Trainers Liaisons have joined ARC’s team since Covid, with the aim of providing racehorse owners with a positive and enjoyable experience on the racecourse.

Davies said: “It is typical for a raceday at Hereford to get in the region of 300 owners – and I hope part of that reason is because the team have put such a focus on giving them a good time!

“There are only ever going to be six or seven owners leaving the track as a winner, therefore the overall experience we give to the other 293 owners is absolutely vital in supporting their enthusiasm and investment in the sport.”

A significant trend in recent years has been the increasing number of syndicates and racing clubs with horses in training. This has been a key area of focus for ARC.

By the beginning of the 2023 turf Flat season, every ARC racecourse will be operating a dedicated complimentary syndicate lounge on all racedays. At present any syndicate with a runner is eligible for a minimum of 20 syndicate badges on any raceday, exceeding the six badges that many other tracks provide to syndicates/racing clubs.

“The roll-out of our syndicate lounges has been extremely well received,” Davies continued. “Developing ‘premiumisation’ of the ownership experience is important to us and this helps deliver it.

“Is it right that an owner who pays a one-off annual fee of £59 to a racing club enjoys the same experience and benefits as a sole owner? I think we are all agreed that the answer is no. However, it is absolutely vital that such people are welcomed, encouraged, rewarded and made to feel very special as, if nurtured well by the industry, they could become the next big owner and investor of the future.”

The introduction of ARC’s syndicate lounges must be applauded, along with its generous badge policy and the focus it is putting on the entire ownership spectrum, recognising and rewarding frequently returning owners.

Davies added: “The overall racecourse experience is so important and that starts from declarations through to the raceday and beyond.”

For further information on ARC tracks contact Rebecca Davies at rdavies@arcowners.co.uk.

Rebecca Davies is ARC’s Head of Racing Industry Partners

MAGICAL MOMENTS

Emma Palmer has Festival ambitions for her latest recruit Samuel Spade

So competitive are the autumn horses in training sales nowadays, with deep-pocketed buyers from around the world ever more involved, that netting yourself the winner of a fair race first time up for £50,000 or so takes some doing.

Samuel Spade came into Tattersalls’ Park Paddocks’ ring in October having won one of his ten races for the David O’Meara yard and running to a Racing Post rating of just 55 at Doncaster four days previously.

However, trainer Ben Pauling and Highflyer Bloodstock saw enough potential in the then three-year-old to fork out 47,000gns, and, in the silks of ROA member Emma Palmer, were

rewarded at Kempton’s Christmas meeting when the son of Myboycharlie made a winning bow over hurdles.

He followed that up by finishing a good second to favourite Perseus Way in the Chatteris Fen Juvenile Hurdle at Huntingdon, keeping alive dreams of a Cheltenham Festival appearance in the Fred Winter.

Palmer has already experienced the exhilarating high of a Festival winner thanks to Samuel Spade’s stablemate Le Breuil in the National Hunt Chase of 2019, and Cheltenham has been something of an ever-present when it comes to her sporting story.

“I was first introduced to horseracing through my grandfather, who had a great

interest in following the races,” she says. “We used to sit together shouting at the TV if his chosen horse was going well!

“Then my love for the sport took off when I first went to Cheltenham races in my late teens. Ben Pauling was in the group I went racing with and when his brother-in-law, Charlie Longsdon, started training I bought a small share with him.

“When Ben set up his own yard in 2013, I bought a share in a horse with him. A couple of years later I mentioned to Ben that I would like to buy my own horse, and this led to the purchase of Le Breuil.”

That obviously turned out pretty well. Le Breuil won a bumper at Warwick on

Emma Palmer with her staying chaser Le Breuil and novice hurdler Silver Atom

his debut in May 2016 and is still going strong, having racked up eight wins and ten placings from 35 races at the time of writing, for prize-money of £166,126.

In addition to that Cheltenham Festival success, he has been something of a regular at Aintree, including finishing third in the Becher and fourth in the Foxhunters’.

Palmer continues: “In the early days of my interest in racing, apart from a couple of small shares with Charlie and Ben, I had a share on the Flat with Highclere – one of the horses was Census, who took us on a journey to the St Leger but unfortunately died at his peak.

“Apart from Le Breuil, my other horses are Silver Atom, a five-year-old who is now hurdling, also with Ben, and the recent acquisition, four-year-old Samuel Spade.

“Recently I have got interested in Flat racing, so have small interests with Hambleton Racing, Pimlico Racing and Nick Bradley Racing, with whom one horse in particular looks quite exciting, Cite D’or, who is with Harry Eustace. She has just gone over to Dubai to contest the UAE Oaks in February.

“Also, recently I have become more interested in the breeding side and have invested in some broodmares with Hannah Wall at Tweenhills and Kevin Blake at Golden Farm, with my first foal due imminently!”

In Pauling, Palmer has an upwardly mobile trainer already enjoying by far his best season, both in terms of winners and prize-money.

She says: “Ben and I have known each other since we were 18, so when he started out ten seasons ago I supported him in syndicates and then in sole ownership. Our friendship guided me through my early days of ownership and enhanced my interest in racing.

“I like the way Ben looks after and trains the horses. He is never hard on the horses, he appreciates their ability and is very good at placing them. Every horse in his yard is treated individually by his excellent team. Le Breuil had his quirks and they have all been recognised and met.

“Seeing Ben’s training career grow, from a few boxes in a barn at Bourton

Farm to the futuristic facility that he and Sophie have created at Naunton Downs, it has been an enormous achievement, and to be part of that journey has been exciting and inspiring – especially now he is having his best season, luckily with the help of Le Breuil and Samuel Spade!

“I work in property, as well as private equity, so life is a bit of a game of chance hoping for reward, so I try to surround myself with people who can give good, sound, knowledgeable advice!”

Reflecting on her magical moments so far, Palmer says: “The Tuesday of the 2019 Cheltenham Festival was a day I will always remember. It took an evening in the local pub, after Le Breuil had come second in a novice chase at Cheltenham in mid-December 2018, to contemplate putting the four-miler at the Festival on the cards – thanks to it being suggested by a great friend Mikey Wilson’s

now 11, so we take one race at a time.

“Silver Atom, who has been very green, now has a handicap mark and can hopefully have a few fun days out at the smaller tracks.

“As for Samuel Spade, maybe the Boodles Fred Winter if we can get one more run in before mid-February. He proved to us he really has taken to hurdling by following up on his win with a good second, conceding 8lb, at Huntingdon. He learnt a lot on the second run so hopefully can improve further.”

Wins aside, asked what else she particularly enjoys about owning horses, Palmer replies: “The best thing is just being part of a sport where anything can happen, so when it does go right it is pure magic.

“Being part of the team that can make that magic happen is thrilling. In terms of my journey, I must mention Hannah Dean, now travelling head girl, who has been with Ben and Le Breuil since the day he arrived at the yard.

“Having people like her who are so dedicated to the horses in their care makes an enormous difference. It’s fullon working with horses and everyone at the yard plays a part in its success.”

She continues: “It does not always go to plan of course, and the unpredictable winter weather has thrown issues into the mix more than ever this season.

knowledge of the form, then a call from Jamie Codd asking to ride Le Breuil in the race the week before the Festival.

“Thank goodness we entered! It was almost heart-stopping seeing Le Breuil battle up the hill and win.

“A second highlight I must mention is having another great friend, Pete Mason, ride Le Breuil at Aintree in the Foxhunters’ last April – if only Le Breuil hadn’t planted after a couple of false starts, who knows what could have happened.

“Samuel Spade also caused my blood to pump at Kempton the other day, when winning first time out over hurdles – faith in Ben paid off!”

Looking ahead, Palmer says: “Le Breuil will hopefully try the Foxhunters’ with Pete again if all goes to plan. He is

“Prize-money in National Hunt racing in the UK is also a tricky one. Not every horse will be a star but they all cost the same to keep, so it would be nice to see the lower levels get slightly better prize funds, as I think it would help encourage people into ownership more long term.

“Another option would be to class jumpers more on their purchase price, like they do on the Flat, to mix it up a bit, even though in both codes the fairytales are often made by the ones who went under the radar at the sales.”

Whether 47,000gns counts as under the radar is debatable, though what is not is that Samuel Spade is looking a shrewd buy, and with Le Breuil, Silver Atom and her exciting new venture into breeding, there is plenty for Palmer to look forward to for the rest of this season and well beyond.

“Anything can happen in this sport – when it does go right it’s pure magic”

ROA Forum

Superb member benefits in 2023

We are delighted that our Racecourse Badge Scheme for Owners benefit is back for qualifying members. Participating fixtures are now available to view online in the ROA members area to those who are activated for the scheme.

The scheme is a direct ROA benefit for all qualifying members who are registered owners with the British Horseracing Authority. The qualifying criteria for the RBSO is as follows:

• You must be a valid ROA member; and

• You must be a registered owner with Weatherbys.

If these two stipulations apply to you then you will qualify for this valuable benefit of membership and you will be automatically activated for the scheme, which allows access to hundreds of participating fixtures throughout the year, with some meetings even offering two badges per fixture. For more information on the scheme go to www.roa.co.uk/rbso.

Third party liability insurance

The ROA is pleased to share that we have successfully renewed our terms with Weatherbys Hamilton for the provision of third party liability insurance for members.

All ROA owners will automatically be enrolled into the scheme, providing you with cover up to £10 million should your racehorse cause damage or injury.

Syndicates should ensure that the third party liability insurance is registered in the name of the syndicate, ensuring that all members benefit from this cover should they be found liable for any damages.

The ROA’s third party liability insurance scheme applies to horses in training, being prepared for training or temporarily out of training.

Partnerships continue to be a key priority for the ROA as we look to identify organisations which share our aims and values and ultimately enhance the ownership experience. The ROA is delighted to enter into a partnership with Weatherbys Hamilton, who are one of the leading brokers in the bloodstock insurance industry.

Anyone wishing to read further information on this benefit should visit www.roa.co.uk/tpli.

Raceday curtailment scheme

swings into action again Freezing fog at Kempton Park on

December 16 meant that our raceday curtailment scheme was brought into action again. 42 horses qualified for a payment of £100 as the evening’s racing was brought to a premature end because of conditions after the second race on the card were deemed too dangerous to continue.

The latest abandonment brings the total recipients of the insurance payout of the course of 2022 to 217. The insurance is provided by Weatherbys Hamilton, and qualifying members do NOT need to apply for this Scheme. As long as the affected owner’s ROA membership is up to date and the horse is owned 51% or more by ROA members, the payment will be made automatically to their racing account.

ROA takes over the Racegoers Club

At the end of 2022 the Racehorse Owners Association assumed management responsibility for the Racegoers Club. The Racegoers Club has formally been dissolved and existing members have transferred to a newly formed membership tier within the ROA.

The Racegoers Club was originally established in 1968 as British horseracing’s official supporters club. The aims of the club, which was previously managed by the RCA, are to drive support for British horseracing at all levels, including encouraging attendance and engagement with horseracing.

The club operates as a not-forprofit organisation with a membership base of approximately 1,700. The club also looks to encourage ownership of thoroughbred racehorses through

shared ownership.

The ROA recognised natural synergies between the two organisations. Both are well-established, prevalent brands with great legacies within racing, focusing on bringing racehorse ownership and racing to life. Bringing the two organisations together not only broadens the remit of the ROA but also secures the future of the RGC.

ROA Chief Executive Charlie Liverton said: “I am delighted that the Racegoers Club voted in favour of the ROA taking over responsibility for managing the club. We are looking forward to supporting, developing and safeguarding a longstanding brand within British racing.”

Racegoers Club benefits

The ROA will be replicating most of

the benefits which Racegoers Club members had previously enjoyed, such as racecourse concessions. Most of these have now been finalised, with 57 out of the 60 courses now offering discounts on admission. More courses are expected to be added to this list shortly, along with other racecourse events.

All members renewing for 2023 will receive their relevant benefits throughout the year including a car park label, ID/Pass card and the host of communication benefits already being shared, including the monthly digital Owner Breeder publication.

Membership costs just £50 for a single membership and £75 for a joint membership. Additionally, the membership now lasts for one year from when you join, rather than on the calendar year that subscriptions were previously based on.

GEORGE SELWYN

The Racecourse Badge Scheme for Owners provides free entry to members

THE RACEGOERS CLUB COLUMN

Tony Wells gives his views on the racing scene

Two of racing’s biggest concerns, small fields and falling attendances, appeared to be addressed over the festive period. The cold snap in December resulted in a loss of National Hunt racing and even the all-weather couldn’t cope as the mercury plummeted. So by the time Boxing Day arrived and with milder weather making the courses raceable again, field sizes were much healthier and this coincided with increased crowds. Kempton had its biggest attendance since pre-Covid times and other courses reported similar increases, with some even reporting a sellout.

So did the increased field sizes encourage more racegoers to venture out? I’m sure Kempton’s crowd was swelled by the appearance of Constitution Hill and the King George had a competitive field of nine, offering three places for each-way betting. Other meetings didn’t have the big stars but they did have competitive doublefigure fields and larger crowds, so it is entirely possible that the two may be linked. It could just be that 2022 saw racing attendances bottom out and 2023 may see them start to rise again. There are reports that advanced sales for Cheltenham’s Trials Day are ahead of last year’s corresponding meeting.

Racing shouldn’t dismiss the possibility that larger fields resulted in increased attendances. The argument that we have too much racing and not enough horses to support it is hard to deny when you look at the field sizes before and after the December freeze. Maybe the BHA will take this into consideration when they look at the fixture list for 2024. Could a mid-season break be a consideration for National Hunt racing? The all-weather could fill in for a period of seven days or longer while the jumpers take a mini break. The British weather is so unpredictable that choosing when to have a break would be very difficult, but if a reduction in the number of jump meetings results in increased field sizes and increased racecourse attendances, then it must be a serious consideration.

I read with interest that 20% of ticket sales for the Dublin Racing Festival have been made by British-based racegoers,

with some suggesting that it is a better value alternative to the Cheltenham Festival. As someone who has been attending the Cheltenham Festival for almost 40 years, it would take a lot for me to not choose it over the DRF. Last year was my first experience of the DRF and I can honestly say I had a fantastic weekend in Dublin. The racing was excellent, the facilities at Leopardstown were hard to fault and Dublin is a great city for a weekend away.

You won’t be surprised to read that I’m returning again this year and our numbers have increased, whereas the group of friends who attended Cheltenham last year will be reduced in March. I don’t know if those not attending Cheltenham this year are doing so because of cost. I know in our group that everyone was keen to be at last year’s Festival having missed out in 2021. But in these uncertain times and with cost-of-living increases, some will be looking for better value alternatives. So how do the two meetings compare?

My ticket for the Club Enclosure at Cheltenham cost £98 for Champion Hurdle day, whereas my DRF ticket was €80. The DRF ticket gives me access to the Circle Lounge in the grandstand, with plenty of comfortable seating, a balcony overlooking the paddock and my ticket price includes a reserved seat in the grandstand overlooking the

winning line. If I want a guaranteed seat at Cheltenham, there will be an additional cost. From my experience last year, the best comparison I can give is that one day at Cheltenham would cost similar to two days at the DRF.

How about hotel costs? Well, our two nights in a Burford hotel (which we love and will continue to stay in) will cost just a shade more than our three nights in a Dublin city centre hotel. And we all know the cost of staying in Cheltenham during festival week is extortionate. Only recently I was talking to someone who had just paid £400 for one night in a twin room, which is not far short of the cost for our three-night stay in Dublin. Yes, there are flight costs associated with getting to Dublin, but there are costs associated with getting to Cheltenham too.

Personally, I wouldn’t choose one over the other, as I enjoy attending both. I will get to see some of the best Irish horses at the DRF, but very few British horses will make the journey. So quality-wise, you can’t compare it with Cheltenham. But it’s the best preCheltenham meeting on either side of the Irish Sea and I can see it becoming an annual trip. We met some lovely people there last year and we’ve already made arrangements to meet up with them again in Leopardstown. I can’t wait!

Conflated took the Paddy Power Irish Gold Cup at last year’s Dublin Racing Festival

CAROLINE NORRIS

All your VAT queries answered

Now that 2023 is well and truly upon us, owners with racehorses that became two-year-olds on January 1 may be eligible to apply for a new VAT registration number or reclaim their racing-related VAT under their existing VAT registration number.

What does this mean for owners who are not already VAT-registered?

All ownership types (sole owners, partnerships, syndicates, racing club and company) can register to recover VAT under the registration scheme for racehorse owners (VAT notice 700/67) by meeting the eligibility criteria set out below.

• Racehorse(s) must be registered in the relevant ownership with the BHA

• Racehorse(s) must be registered under the care and control of a UKbased, licensed trainer

• Third party sponsorship is required for all horses under the registration scheme for racehorse owners

VAT can be reclaimed on the purchase price of your racehorse(s) up to four years prior to the effective date of VAT registration for racehorses owned 100% by the VAT entity. For ownerships between 50%-99% this is reduced to six months.

What is the average VAT reclaim amount?

The average saving per owner, per year in VAT is over £4,700 based on the average racing-related expenses and excluding any VAT incurred on the purchase cost.

Which VAT-able expenses are eligible for recovery?

• Horse purchase VAT

• Livery and training fees

• BHA registration fees

• Racing silks purchases

• Fuel expenses

• Accommodation

• Subsistence

• Phone bill

• Membership subscriptions

• Service invoices

• Other miscellaneous items

Once VAT-registered, owners must also account for their output VAT; this is any VAT on ‘income received.’ This includes but is not limited to:

• Sale of any horses

• Prize-money – VAT is applied once

the BHA is notified of the VAT registration

• Sponsorship income – this must be declared as it is a requirement for qualifying under the scheme

• Appearance money

How can ROA VAT Solution help?

Offering a seamless solution for all your racing VAT, the VAT Solution team will work on your behalf with HMRC to register for VAT and on through to the quarterly VAT compilation and submission. Each quarter we will remind you that your VAT return is due and then ensure that all VAT submissions are submitted accurately and on time in line with HMRC’s deadlines.

The VAT refund is paid directly into your nominated account, and you will then be invoiced for the ROA VAT Solution fee at the point the claim has been submitted to HMRC. All you need to do is instruct us as your VAT agent with HMRC and we will take care of the rest.

We also keep on top of HMRC’s ever-

evolving requirements, including the recent changes:

HMRC penalty points – From January 1, 2023 HMRC will be issuing penalty points if you submit a VAT return late (including nil payment returns).

Making Tax Digital (MTD) – As of December 1, 2022 HMRC automatically signed up all remaining VAT registrations to MTD. VAT returns cannot be submitted using the business government gateway any longer. All new VAT registrations will be signed up to MTD from the point of application.

The ROA VAT Solution submits VAT returns using MTD compliant accounting software Xero. If you are not yet MTD compliant, instructing and authorising ROA VAT Solution to become your Agent with HMRC has never been simpler.

Contact the ROA VAT Solution team on vat@roa.co.uk or call 01183 385685 to speak to Davina or Glen.

Owners whose yearlings turned two on January 1 may be eligible to reclaim racing VAT

A BRAND PASSIONATE ABOUT THE GREAT BRITISH THOROUGHBRED

STALLION PARADES

PLANTEUR, BANGKOK AND WALZERTAKT WILL BE PARADING AT THE CHELTENHAM FESTIVAL TRIALS DAY ON 28TH JANUARY. BANGKOK WILL ALSO BE PARADING AT THE TBA FLAT STALLION PARADE AT TATTERSALLS ON 2ND FEBRUARY.

WELL BRED, TOUGH & CONSISTENT STAKES WINNER

WON/PLACED IN 8 STAKES RACES

OUTSTANDING PEDIGREE

Half-brother to 6 Stakes horses including 2022 Gr.2 winning 2yo

The Foxes, descending from the legendary Fall Aspen.

“He had a heart like a lion, and was a beautiful athlete with a wonderful pedigree, all great qualities for him to be a successful stallion.”

Fee: £3,000 1st October FFR

GR.1 SIRE OF CHAMPION STAYER TRUESHAN

HIGH-CLASS STAYER BY MONTJEU

STAKES PRODUCER ON THE FLAT, OVER HURDLES & JUMPS

Inc. dual Gr.1 winner Trueshan, dual Gr.2 Chase winner Gran Diose & Gr.2 Hurdle winner Edidindo.

56% WINNERS TO RUNNERS

HIGHEST EARNING SON OF DANEHILL DANCER

Gr.1 winner & won/placed in 12 Stakes races.

PATERNAL HALF-BROTHER TO THE LATE JEREMY, A LEADING NH SIRE

Fee: £4,000 1st October FFR

WON/PLACED IN 5 STAKES RACES BY A LEADING NH INFLUENCE IN MONTJEU

Plus a half-brother to 4 Group horses including German Derby winner Wiener Walzer, sire of Grade 1 winner Adagio. Bred on the same cross as Camelot.

FIRST WINNERS PROVING GREAT PROSPECTS

Including Zertakt, 3-time winner in France and realised €195,000 at the Arqana Deauville Summer Mixed Sale.

Fee: £2,500 1st October FFR

Roisin Close 07738 279 071 roisin@ chapelstud.co.uk

Tina Dawson 07776 165854 tina.dawson@ tdbloodstock.com

Shaping the future of breeding

In January the TBA launched its latest Economic Impact Study, which sets out a blueprint for the British breeding industry, as Deputy Chairman Philip Newton explains

Why was a third Economic Impact Study (EIS) in ten years required?

The first EIS was commissioned in 2014, followed by a second in 2018 and this latest study has proven even more informative and important. Not only have we been able to confirm and benchmark breeding industry data, but also with the benefit of the two previous studies are now able to both identify trends, model and draw conclusions from some of the intervention initiatives introduced along the road. It is vital that the industry has reliable and current data; the EIS provides this.

Who was instructed to carry out the report?

PwC, the international consulting firm that conducted the previous two studies, undertook the project this time, analysing over 7.5m data items and every GB-bred foal and yearling sales result from 2017 to 2021, providing a clear picture of the opportunities and challenges the breeding industry faces. The in-depth work on profitability has never been undertaken in such detail and shines a light upon the potential fragility of the supply chain.

Who has contributed and shaped this study?

The study was supported and funded with significant help from the HBLB and Racing Foundation and the TBA is incredibly grateful to both of our partners for recognising the importance of this work. We are also thankful for the assistance provided by Weatherbys in supplying much of the data on which this study is based. Breeders, our members, have shaped the study through their responses to a survey conducted last summer. Response rates to this were much higher than for the previous studies.

What is the main finding for breeders?

If you can’t measure you can’t manage – it is critical that the TBA has accurate and clear data to be able to present the breeding sector’s case to the racing industry with information that supports the racing programme and underlines the importance of achieving a robust and sustainable supply line. We are far from this now, even with last year’s modest growth in the foal crop, but the EIS provides a blueprint for further intervention and incentive to protect and encourage this important industry. However, steps can only be taken when

success is assured and funding is available.

Were there any findings that surprised you?

Two things for me. Firstly, the continued quality and importance of the British broodmare band; it is the gold seam that provides the bedrock of British racing and if managed well can sustain the industry through the difficult future we face. Secondly, the success of interventions since that first study in 2014 that initiated discussions between the BHA and TBA to encourage major changes to the racing programme. We are now providing better opportunities for fillies and mares under both codes, through the Elite NH Mares’ Scheme, NH MOPS, This Filly Can, Plus 10 and finally the Great British Bonus (GBB), which is making such a difference in all parts of breeding and racing.

How does this report impact on small breeders?

The report again confirms the continuing importance of small breeders, those with one or two mares that contribute 30% of the British-bred product to the racing programme, sometimes as a commercial venture but more often as owner-breeders. We must do everything we can to retain that commitment and enthusiasm.

All GB-bred fillies are eligible for the Great British Bonus

Philip Newton: robust supply line essential TBA

TATTERSALLS

What are the recommendations?

Incentive and intervention work – GBB is making a significant difference in the sales ring, with prices for GBB fillies and mares overall 16.3% up since 2020 when the scheme launched, more fillies racing and returning to the broodmare band and encouraging new owners by making breeding, buying and racing GBB fillies a must. Registration continues to increase, with 83% of all 2022 GBbred fillies committed to the scheme, an endorsement for GBB and a vote of confidence for the future.

Additionally, the industry must consider the overall cost base of British breeding and find ways to share the risk and spread returns better. We are all in it together and our success depends on working collaboratively with each other.

How will the findings of the EIS relate to the strategic activities of the organisation?

The Economic Impact Studies provide the TBA with a blueprint; it tells us where we are and where we need to get to. At the risk of repeating myself, intervention via GBB is a game-changer and needs further exploration to see if even more positive differences can be made. At the same time, we must encourage creative thinking at all levels within the industry to ensure that our wonderful legacy can be perpetuated.

Meet The Team –CLARE DANIELS

Position: TB-Ed Operations Executive.

Role: I’m responsible for TB-Ed, the TBA’s education platform. The platform has huge potential in supporting education for the bloodstock industry. My role entails anything and everything TB-Ed, from courses/resource planning and development, liaising with subject matter experts, communication (including social media), the website design and its functionality.

Fascinating fact: I’m a former rugby union Test referee and currently mentor and coach upcoming rugby referees.

Pets: Barney, my pug. Literally gets away with anything!

Three character traits: Sarcastic, calm and considered (I think that comes with being a rugby referee!)

Death of Owen Tebbs

The TBA was saddened to hear of the death of former Newmarket solicitor Owen Tebbs in December. He was 90.

Mr Tebbs worked for Newmarket firm Rustons and Lloyds for more than 40 years, and as a senior partner in the firm he developed a reputation for legal expertise in bloodstock matters. It was in this role that he acted as advisor on bloodstock taxation to the TBA for many years, providing advice to members and participating in taxation forums and working groups on behalf of the TBA and the wider racing industry.

We send our sincere condolences to his family and friends.

Hope for 2023: I think we all would like a bit of stability in our lives… but add to that I definitely need to go racing more this year.

Celebrity I'd most like to meet: Can I have two fictional ones? Patsy and Edina from Absolutely Fabulous.

Christmas or New Year: In my opinion it has to be Christmas – New Year is overrated.

Six Nations prediction: I have no doubt that England women will absolutely smash it… as for the men, that’s anyone’s guess!

Owen Tebbs: advised the TBA membership on bloodstock taxation

Christmas gifts for British breeders

Christmas delivered for British breeders with a pair of Grade 1 contests and two high-profile handicaps snared. The Sally Noott-bred Constitution Hill continued his march towards Cheltenham with a sublime victory in the Christmas Hurdle on Boxing Day. The now six-year-old took the lead from four out and readily went clear to dish out a 17-length beating to stable companion and former Champion Hurdle winner Epatante. His margin of victory was greater than in the Fighting Fifth at Newcastle the previous month.

The contest before was the Kauto Star Novices’ Chase and the three-mile test witnessed a win for the Overbury Studbred Thyme Hill. The now nine-year-old’s jumping held up well compared to his run at Newbury the previous month and, having gone to the front before two out, he stayed on strongly for a 15-length win. This was a third top-level victory for the son of Kayf Tara, whose winnings extended beyond £250,000.

Wetherby’s Boxing Day feature, the Rowland Meyrick Handicap Chase, went to the in-form Into Overdrive. Bred and owned by Michael and Wendy Hamilton, the Mark Walford trainee has been in fine form and was winning for the fifth time in six runs. Always to the fore, he was sent for home three out and was always holding enough in reserve.

The following day and Wales’ biggest race of the year, the Welsh Grand National, went to the Midnight Legend gelding The Two Amigos. Fifth in 2019 and second in the 2020 running, which was postponed until January 2021, the bay was bred by Robert Waley-Cohen’s Upton Viva Stud out of the Epalo mare As Was.

The month had started in perfect style

when Edwardstone put Britain’s best two-milers to the sword in the Grade 1 Tingle Creek Chase. The son of Kayf Tara, who was bred and is owned by the Abrey and Thurtle families, put in his finest performance to date.

Over at Naas just before Christmas, the Grade 2 Navan Novice Hurdle was saved having originally been lost due to weather conditions. In the two-and-a-half mile test, Inthepocket travelled all over his rivals and scored by a neck. The now six-year-old was bred by Tessa Greatrex and David Futter.

As well as being a fruitful day for jump breeders, Boxing Day delivered for Flat breeders too. Over at Santa Anita the Worksop Manor Stud-bred Dicey Mo Chara gained his biggest victory to date in the Grade 2 San Gabirel Stakes. Earlier in the month and the Lael Stables homebred Ready To Venture (Kingman)

Abortion subsidy

The TBA recognises the vital importance of screening for the presence of EHV-1, enabling a rapid response to all positive cases preventing further spread of the disease and providing necessary information and up to date advice.

While EHV-1 is not notifiable by law we encourage breeders to notify Stanstead House of all cases of equine abortion or neonatal foal death. This allows monitoring of any disease outbreaks for which immediate action is paramount.

won the Holiday Inaugural Stakes on the all-weather at Turfway Park.

In Australia, the Highclere Bloodstock and Ors Bloodstock-bred Nugget claimed his maiden stakes success at Sandown Hillside in the Listed Lord Stakes on Boxing Day while the Jane Keir-bred Skyman landed his third stakes win of the year in the Listed Bernborough Plate at Doomben on Christmas Eve.

Back off a break stretching back to late April, the Newsells Park Stud-bred Beholding put in a notable performance to take the Listed Prix Arcangues over 2,500m on the all-weather at Deauville.

At the very beginning of the month, the Dubawi gelding Prince Elji won the Listed Dubai Creek Mile on the dirt at Meydan. The seven-year-old was bred by Meon Valley Stud.

Results up to and including December 31. Produced in association with GBRI.

A £200 subsidy towards the cost of a post-mortem is available to members who meet the criteria.

Full terms can be found on the TBA's website at www.thetba.co.uk/ equine-health/post-mortem-subsidy. html.

David Prichard partners The Two Amigos (right) to victory in the Welsh Grand National

BILL SELWYN

Flat Statistical Award winners 2022 revealed

The Queen’s Silver Cup –Godolphin

Leading British-based Flat breeder (Flat earnings)

Godolphin once again kept its title as Britain’s leading breeder, bringing up a decade of consecutive success.

The Silver Cup was retained from a year in which the boys in blue picked up a couple of Classics. The first, the 2,000 Guineas, was taken by Coroebus, who initiated a Newmarket Guineas double for James Doyle. He would win the St James’s Palace Stakes but was fatally injured in the Prix du Moulin.

Their other Classic winner was Modern Games, winner of the Poule d'Essai des Poulains. He would later taste further top-level success in Canada (Woodbine Mile) and the US (Breeders’ Cup Mile).

At Royal Ascot, Naval Crown scorched down the near rail for success in the Platinum Jubilee Stakes, whilst Rebel’s Romance won a pair of German Group 1s before taking the Breeders’ Cup Turf at Keeneland. In Australia, Cascadian landed another top-level win, this time in the All Aged Stakes.

BBA Silver Cigar Box –Dubawi

Leading British-based stallion (Flat earnings)

Barleythorpe Stud Silver Cup – Dubawi

Leading British-based stallion (individual Flat winners)

Dubawi doubled up in the two stallion categories for which he was eligible, winning the Barleythorpe Stud Silver Cup for the sixth successive year and the BBA Silver Cigar Box for a ninth time – only Frankel last year stopped the son of Dubai Millennium from an unbeaten stretch.

2022 witnessed Dubawi gain a more than deserved first British and Irish sire title and what a year it was. Sire of the winners of the Platinum Jubilee (Naval Crown), 2,000 Guineas (Coroebus) and St Leger (Eldar Eldarov), he also had eight yearlings top a million guineas at Tattersalls.

Amongst the 99 winners and £6,475,274 accumulated in earnings, Dubawi was also represented in Britain and Ireland by the progressive Gordon Stakes winner and St Leger runner-up New London, Park Hill Stakes scorer Mimikyu, and Group 3-winning juvenile Fairy Cross.

Further afield and Dubawi’s progeny shined. Rebel’s Romance was switched to turf last summer and readily and rapidly climbed to the top. He went from Newmarket Listed scorer at the end of June to ending up being the Breeders’ Cup Turf hero, having captured a pair of Group 1s in Germany and a Group 3 at Goodwood along the way.

Staying Stateside and his then fouryear-old daughter In Italian racked up a couple of Grade 1 wins, which came in the Diana Stakes at Saratoga and in Keeneland’s First Lady Stakes, both times dominating from the front.

Modern Games closed out his three-year-old campaign with a win in the Breeders’ Cup Mile. His earlier victories included the Poule d’Essai des Poulains and the Woodbine Mile.

Tattersalls Silver Salver –Havana Grey

Leading British-based first-season sire (Flat earnings)

The Harper family and the Whitsbury team gained a third Tattersalls’ Silver Salver in nine years courtesy of the exploits Havana Grey. His progeny amassed £1,086,602 in prize-money and he supplied 36 winners. He was also emulating his own sire Havana Gold, winner of the award in 2017.

Winner of the Flying Five Stakes at three and a Molecomb winner at two, Havana Grey was represented by his first winner on April 4 at Redcar, Star Of Lady M, who would go on to win thrice more including a taking victory in the Hilary Needler Trophy at Beverley.

Bred off a fee of £8,000, he supplied five stakes winners in his initial crop which included the Cornwallis Stakes scorer Rumstar and the Prix d’Arenberg heroine Lady Hollywood, who subsequently realised $600,000 at the Fasig-Tipton November Sale. Meanwhile, Eddie’s Boy won the Prix Eclipse at Chantilly.

At Listed level, Cuban Mistress snared the St Hugh’s Stakes at Newbury and Shouldvebeenaring captured the British Stallion Studs EBF Champion 2yo Trophy at Ripon.

In addition to a very healthy stakes to runners ratio, Havana Grey was represented by four further Group performers, including Maylandsea, who was runner-up in both the Queen Mary Stakes at Royal Ascot and the Cornwallis.

Demand for stock by the now eight-year-old proved to be fierce last autumn – a colt offered at Book 2 from Kilminfoyle House Stud realised 325,000gns when selling to Karl and Kelly Burke, whilst at the foal sales Philip Stauffenberg went to 250,000gns for a colt offered by Whitsbury Manor.

Having started out at £8,000, Havana Grey's fee was increased to £18,500 for the 2023 covering season.

* The Statistical Awards cover the calendar year 2022 and relate to racing in GB and Ireland only –statistics provided by Weatherbys.

Darley's Dubawi and Whitsbury's Havana Grey took the plaudits last year

TBA Stud Farming Course is a hit

The TBA held its popular annual Stud Farming Course at the British Racing School in December, where 30 delegates attended the three-day course, which covered a wide range of topics from pedigrees to sales preparation, critical care of the newborn foal to reproductive management of the mare, and from stallion management to genetics and parasite control.

Delegates heard from some of the world’s leading vets and stallion managers. All guest presenters gave their time generously, allowing

Bloodstock Conference announced for June

In December the TBA announced details for a new conference for bloodstock industry participants, which will be held in Newmarket on Tuesday, June 27. The one-day event, hosted by racing broadcaster Lydia Hislop, will feature interactive panel sessions, talks and presentations with leading industry experts on a number of topics including:

delegates the opportunity to interact, ask questions and share experiences of the various subject areas. Delegates also enjoyed a tour of Dalham Hall Stud.

Feedback received following the course was overwhelmingly positive and included comments such as “very interesting topics covered with some great speakers” and “good speakers, all very approachable and friendly.”

The TBA Stud Farming Course will take place again in December 2023 and further information will be available later in the year.

• Business operations

• Race programming

• Sales

• Innovation and technology

• Accessible ownership

• Equine health

Tickets to the event will be free of charge for TBA members and TBA Access subscribers – secure your place by visiting the events section of the TBA website. Information on non-member ticket options will be released shortly.

Congratulations Melissa!

The TBA is delighted to share the good news that TBA Education Executive Melissa Rose had a baby boy, Lucas James Rose, at 00.44 on December 25. Lucas weighed in at 6lb 7oz and was the first baby born on Christmas Day at The Rosie Hospital, Cambridge. Congratulations from all at the TBA to Melissa, husband Andy and their first-born Isabelle.

Deadline for 2021born Flat fillies

The deadline for 2021 Flat fillies to register for Stage 3 and become eligible for the Great British Bonus is fast approaching, with registrations closing at midnight on February 28, 2023. This final stage ensures that racing owners receive 65 per cent of any future GBB bonuses the filly wins.

Registrations can be made on the Great British Bonus website or via phone with the Weatherbys Stud Book. Late registrations are not permitted so early completion is advised.

Those with dual-registered fillies are reminded that they must also pay their Stage 3 jumps nominations before the filly races on the Flat or by August 31, 2024, whichever comes soonest.

Delegates heard from some of the world's leading vets over three days at the British Racing School

million and counting...

Be sure to breed, buy and race GBB fllies. Why wouldn’t you?

£11,000 winnings £60,000 of GBB bonuses

#BREEDBUYRACE

Tell your trainer. Tell your agent. Tell yourself. Register your 2021 Flat fllies for stage 3 of GBB by 28th February 2023. No late entries will be accepted.

Breeder of the Month

Words Howard Wright

Sponsored by Distributer of

BREEDER OF THE MONTH (December 2022)

ROBERT ABREY & IAN THURTLE

Never change a winning formula: that seems to be the motto of long-standing bloodstock partners Robert Abrey and Ian Thurtle, whose smart steeplechaser Edwardstone has brought them nomination as the TBA’s Breeders of the Month for December for his exhilarating success in the Betfair Tingle Creek Chase at Sandown.

Edwardstone was responsible for the same award exactly a year previously, when he book-ended the month with Graded novices’ chase wins at Sandown and Kempton. This time he returned to the Esher track to record a career-best win in open company, and might well have repeated his 2021 double at the Boxing Day fixture but for unseating his rider early in the Ladbrokes Desert Orchid Chase.

The similarities do not end there, for the partners’ breeding and racing formula is built on patience, as Ian Thurtle’s wife Jeanette pointed out last year, when she said: “All our horses are brought along quietly. We usually send them into training as four- or five-yearolds to run in bumpers first. We don’t believe in rushing them at all.”

Little in their approach has changed in the 12 months since. If anything, their patience has been stretched even farther.

Edwardstone was four when he went into training with Alan King; his sister Nothingtochance took an extra 12 months before she followed suit, and having graduated from two bumpers to a novices’ hurdle between March and early December last year, she is making

steady headway as a six-year-old.

Jeanette reports: “Alan is very happy with the way Nothingtochance is progressing and her jockey Tom Cannon was pleased with how she went on her debut over hurdles at Lingfield in December, so we are all very much looking forward to seeing her again.”

Next in the slowly-developing production line from the siblings’ dam Nothingtoloose is a three-year-old by Blue Bresil. “We haven’t named him yet,” Jeanette says. “We usually leave that until they are four years old, when they go into training. He was broken at two and is turned out for the winter.”

Now 18-years-old, Nothingtoloose is in her 15th year under the partners’ guardianship, having been bought as a winning point-to-point mare for £22,000 at the Doncaster May sales in 2009. She has not been a regular producer and has had no offspring since her date with Blue Bresil, although Jeanette says: “We hope that she will get in foal this year. We are thinking about stallions but haven’t made a decision yet.”

Friends for “years and years” who live in the Norfolk village of East Beckham, Robert Abrey, a farmer, and Ian Thurtle, whose businesses cover haulage, property and green waste processing, came together through point-to-pointing, for which sphere they bought their first mare, Forget The Ref, from Ireland as a seven-year-old in 2008.

She represents the other stream of their breeding interests, although that too has required a patient approach. Forget The Ref produced three offspring to race before her death in 2021, of whom Midnightreferendum and Forget The Way have carried the partners’ two-tone blue silks, while her four-year-old Getaway filly is waiting unnamed in the wings.

About Forget The Way, Jeanette Thurtle says: “As with Nothingtochance, we are all really pleased with his runs over hurdles so far and look forward to seeing him progress. He continues to improve and is going the right way.”

The consistent Midnightreferendum climaxed her racing career by winning the Challenger Series Mares’ Chase Final at Haydock in April last year and is due to foal to Nathaniel in the middle of April, with a follow-up visit to Walk In The Park already booked in.

So far, then, so good; it’s steady as she goes for the partners’ interests. But have they been tempted to expand on the back of Edwardstone’s success? Jeanette’s caution on their behalf is exemplary: “Right from the start we wanted to breed on a small scale and will continue to do so. We have fillies from the two original mares’ bloodlines and are looking forward to both their racing and breeding careers.”

BILL SELWYN

Edwardstone flies the last en route to victory in the Tingle Creek Chase

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Vet Forum: The Expert View

Nutritional strategies for optimising colostrum quality

As all breeders know, providing optimal nutrition for their broodmare is vital throughout the entire pregnancy to support her wellbeing and the growth and development of the foetus. A mare’s nutritional requirements increase during the third trimester and as she approaches the final weeks of gestation the diet provided will be fundamental in determining the quality of the mare’s colostrum.

Colostrum is the ‘first milk’ produced by the mare immediately post-foaling; this generally tends to be a thick, sticky, yellowish liquid. The quality of colostrum generally refers to the amount of infection fighting immunoglobulins or antibodies present.

Foals are born with a functioning immune system but it is considered naïve, as it is not equipped with a ready-to-go supply of antibodies. The nature of the equine placenta is such that transfer of antibodies in-utero is inhibited, therefore the foal requires an immediate supply from the mare in the form of colostrum post-foaling.

The antibodies received through the colostrum will provide protection until the foal is producing its own antibody supply a few weeks later. It is crucial that the mare’s colostrum is of a high enough quality to provide the foal with adequate protection from invading pathogens. High quality colostrum, assuming it is ingested by the foal ideally within eight hours of birth, is positively correlated with the circulating level of immunoglobulins, in particular Immunoglobulin G (IgG) in the neonatal foal.

It is important for breeders to consider how IgG levels produced in the mare’s colostrum and ingested by the neonatal foal can be manipulated and optimised through nutrient and non-nutrient factors. We will now take a look at a few of the key factors currently proven to benefit colostrum quality.

Yeast probiotic supplementation

Yeasts are a single-celled microorganism, and are part of the Fungi kingdom. There are many

types of yeast, but generally within equine nutrition we are talking about Saccharomyces cerevisiae (SC). To confuse matters further there are various strains of SC and only a few are permitted in the UK and Europe for use in equine feeds.

Yeasts function as a probiotic due to a few key capabilities:

(1) Live yeasts are oxygen scavengers, they therefore promote the growth of desirable anaerobic bacteria (those that do not like oxygen).

(2) They produce metabolites that promote the growth of lactic acid utilising bacteria, leading to a consistent pH, less likely to be acidic.

(3) Yeast competes with the lactic acid producing streptococci bacteria for sugar, therefore limiting its growth.

As a result of these capabilities, when present in the hind gut, live yeast can be very beneficial to the equine microbiome and therefore gastrointestinal health. Specific research looking at live yeast supplementation in mares and how this could potentially improve colostrum quality has provided

Colostrum is the ‘first milk’ produced by the mare post-foaling

some interesting results. The exact mechanism by which feeding live yeast increases colostrum quality, and specifically IgG concentrations, is not yet fully understood. However, its ability to act as an immunostimulant resulting in higher concentrations of immunoglobulins in the mare that cascade down to the foal via colostrum is clearly evident.

Clinical trials and potential benefits for the foal

Several studies have been caried out in farm animals and horses looking into the different effects of live yeast supplementation on both mother and offspring. Microbiome health, immune health, and weight gain are common factors being researched.

One study used a group of 40 pregnant mares (Study 1) that were divided equally into a supplemented group and a non-supplemented group (control). Live yeast in the form of SC was added at a rate of 10g/mare/day to the basal diet from day 300 of gestation to 180 days post-foaling. The results showed mares supplemented with live yeast probiotic had significantly higher colostrum quality, with increased IgG concentrations both in colostrum (pre suckling) and in the foal’s serum 24-48 hours after the first colostrum intake, compared to the control group.

This shows that supplementing the mares provided the foal with an improved level of circulating IgG, giving it a better defence to disease in those

early days of life.

Looking beyond colostrum composition, Study 1 actually followed foals for up to six months post-partum in order to monitor weight gain. It found that foals from supplemented mares had significantly higher body weights at six months compared to foals from non-supplemented mares. Foals were given access to mares’ concentrate feed, and therefore live yeast, from 14 days of age and the improved weight gain was attributed to improved nutrient absorption and optimisation of the foals’ gastrointestinal microflora, compared to the non-supplemented group.

In a smaller study (Study 2) consisting of 11 pregnant mares, five supplemented and six control, there was also a positive effect on colostrum quality from providing live yeast supplementation to mares at a slightly higher intake over a shorter period of time. As with Study 1, the colostrum quality was improved with a higher concentration of IgG. Interestingly, this study found a positive effect after only eight days of supplementation. Although foal serum IgG wasn’t measured in this study, it is a reasonable assumption that the colostrum quality would be positively correlated with circulating IgG in the foal.

Other research has shown that when supplementing mares with live yeast, it can induce significant positive changes to the microbiome of the young foal, including better-shaped droppings during the first 20 days of life. Research

By Erin Campbell

has shown that when foals themselves were supplemented with live yeast in the first 20 days of life, they showed an improved microbiome profile with less harmful bacteria and toxins. Weight gain was also shown to be greater in the supplemented group compared to the control.

These clinical trials show that supplementing mares with a live yeast probiotic during late pregnancy has multiple benefits, including improved colostrum quality, resulting in a foal that is better equipped with infection fighting IgG, improved gastrointestinal health, weight gain, and overall development.

What else can we do to improve colostrum quality?

As we have already discussed, feeding live yeast probiotics have been shown as beneficial for mares and foals.

Now let’s take a look at what other additions to the diet we can make to benefit broodmare and foal health, and specifically colostrum quality.

Similarly to yeast probiotics, prebiotics are also well understood for their gastrointestinal health-boosting capabilities and specifically Mannan Oligosaccharide (MOS), and are often added to feeds. A recent review of hundreds of MOS research papers concluded that when MOS is fed to mares their blood shows increased levels of immunoglobulins, and as a result they produced colostrum with higher levels of immunoglobulins, which in turn are

Live yeast probiotics have been shown as beneficial for mares and foals

Vet Forum: The Expert View

transferred to the foal, bolstering a foal’s ability to fight infection in the postnatal period.

Another important dietary factor is the addition of Vitamin E, as it is a powerful antioxidant (particularly in combination with selenium), which has been shown to improve IgG levels when fed to mares at an appropriate level in late pregnancy. Vitamin E is generally quite low in most conserved forages and therefore owners and breeders should check that their hard feed is providing adequate levels to ensure the mare’s overall dietary intake is meeting the demands of pregnancy and early lactation.

Providing Omega 3 fatty acids in the diet has been shown to improve IgG levels in colostrum, as well as the transfer of IgG and other immune defences through the colostrum to the suckling foal. Good grazing is an excellent source of Omega 3, but as most thoroughbred mares will be predominantly fed conserved forage in the later stages of pregnancy, the most practical way to supplement the diet with Omega 3 is via an oil rich in Omega 3 fatty acids, like flaxseed or linseed oil.

When it comes to maximising broodmare health and colostrum quality there will always be many factors to consider such as the quality of the basal diet, condition of your mare, her age, and any other health complications she may have.

However, emerging research has demonstrated that feeding live yeast, prebiotics and specific nutrients can positively impact colostrum quality and therefore the immune status of the foal. This is of course of critical importance in order to give the foal the best start in life, minimising the risk of disease, and maximising potential future performance.

References

Ayad, M.A., Benallou, B., Saim, M.S., Derrar, S., Benzineb, F.Z., Haddouch, Z. and Abdelhadi, S.A., 2017. Effect of supplementing arabian and barbe pregnant mares with Saccharomyces Cerevisiae on Colostrum IgG1 Concentration in Algerian Breed. J. Appl. Environ. Biol. Sci, 7(4), pp.1-6 (Study 1)

Betsch, J.M., Durand, F.C., Sacy, A., Chevaux, E., Maillard, K. and Treut, Y.L., 2014. Study of the kinetics of the installation of the flora of the foal and effects of live yeast administered to the mare and newborn foal. In 40ème journée de la recherche équine. Actes de colloque, epidémiologie et pathologie, Paris, France, 18 March 2014 (pp. 1625). Institut Français du Cheval et de l’Équitation (Study 2)

Perricone, V., Sandrini, S., Irshad, N., Comi, M., Lecchi, C., Savoini, G. and Agazzi, A., 2022. The Role of

Yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae in Supporting Gut Health in Horses: An Updated Review on Its Effects on Digestibility and Intestinal and Fecal Microbiota. Animals, 12(24), p.3475 (supportive content)

Spring, P. C. Wenk, and A. Kiers. 2015. A review of 733 published trials on BioMos®, a mannan oligosaccharide, and Actigen®, a second generation mannose rich fraction, on farm and companion animals. Journal of Applied Animal Nutrition. 3:e8.

Hoffman, R.M., Morgan, K.L., Lynch, M.P., Zinn, S.A., Faustman, C., & Harris, P.A. 1999. Dietary vitamin E supplemented in the periparturient period influences immunoglobulins in equine colostrums and passive transfer in foals. In: Proc. Equine Nutr. Physiol. Soc. Symp. p. 96.

About the author: Erin Campbell is one of the Connolly’s RED MILLS nutritional team and combines a scientific understanding of nutrition with extensive practical experience. Erin holds a BSc (Hons) Equine Science degree during which she undertook a study into the longitudinal risk factors associated with gastric ulcers in racehorses. She has been involved with horses since a young age and prior to joining the RED MILLS team spent five years working in the thoroughbred industry.

The author with a foal at Oakgrove Stud

The Finish Line with Denis O’Regan

Jump jockey Denis O’Regan, whose Grade 1 roll of honour includes such names as Inglis Drever, Tidal Bay and Beacon Edge, was in the news at the start of January when making a first appearance at Hereford in many years. The 40-year-old, who learnt his craft with Francis Flood and Noel Meade in Ireland before a successful spell in Britain riding for trainer Howard Johnson, was bidding to complete the full set of wins at UK courses that would sit alongside his full set in Ireland, a feat which is believed to be unprecedented. While he was thwarted on that occasion, he’ll try again and in the meantime his visit prompted some reflections upon a remarkable career of highs and lows in the saddle, plus some views on racing’s challenges.

Interview: Graham Dench

When I rode my first Bellewstown winner two seasons ago I thought I’d completed the feat until someone rang my wife Louise to say that Hereford was still outstanding. I didn’t really think it was much of a thing, and I’m still not entirely convinced. There are only a handful of jockeys who have ridden regularly in both countries, and Ruby [Walsh] and Barry [Geraghty] wouldn’t have ridden at all of the small tracks, as I’ve done. I decided I’d better give it a go all the same, but I’d be a quiet sort of man and I didn’t expect all of the publicity. After a second, a third and a fourth I’ll have to try again, but it wouldn’t be every meeting.

I’m not from a racing family – my dad was a farmer and my mum ran a public house –but I loved ponies when I was young and I progressed through gymkhanas and pony racing. When I was 18 I went to Francis Flood, a legendary trainer and a former champion in Ireland. It took me a while to get going, but I rode some fantastic horses as an amateur then turned conditional and joined Noel Meade while I still had one winner left with my 7lb claim. That was quite a ballsy move, as with Paul Carberry and ‘Slippers’ Madden among the five or six of us wanting rides the competition was intense. I worked hard and got lucky with smaller trainers before getting on a roll with Noel and then winning a Galway Plate on Ansar for Dermot Weld.

Paul Carberry was a massive influence on my riding. I didn’t set out to copy him, but every time Paul got injured Noel expected me to ride like him. Paul was the most naturally gifted jockey who ever rode –the Lionel Messi of jockeys – and I had to develop a racing brain like his. I love to ride with confidence, using my head, and that’s what led me to getting the Howard Johnson job.

I’d had a Grade 1 win for Charlie Swan on Offshore Account and was flying along when I got the call from England. I was only 24, and I’d had a couple of other offers at the time, but once I’d flown over and seen all of those wonderful horses of Graham Wylie’s, my mind was made up. I’d been riding Sizing Europe and I knew he was going to be a superstar, but it would have been very hard to turn down the opportunity to ride horses like Tidal Bay and Inglis Drever. I had a magnificent run in England that first season, with a Long Distance Hurdle on Inglis Drever, a Boylesports for David Pipe on Tamarinbleu and then the Festival wins on Inglis Drever and Tidal Bay, who won at Aintree too.

The job with Howard Johnson was one of those where you knew it wouldn’t take much to lose it. I missed a crucial few weeks after breaking a collarbone in a fall at Aintree and then I broke it again in a fall back in Ireland, so couldn’t ride Tidal Bay in the Cleeve Hurdle. I missed quite a lot of the season, and with Inglis Drever retired and no good horses coming through, the pressure was on. I got a phone call on the way back from the Scottish National and that was it.

I could have come back to Ireland then but instead I moved south, probably in a bit of a sulk because I’d never been sacked before. I got lucky with Victor Dartnall, who had a lot of nice horses, and also with Paul Webber and others, and that all led to me

joining John Ferguson and riding an awful lot of winners for him. I also won a Fighting Fifth for John Quinn on Countrywide Flame and a Cotswold Chase for Malcolm Jefferson on Cape Tribulation, but when John Ferguson decided he wanted a change I was back with nothing again. Tony Martin saw a gap for me in Ireland, and I was very lucky for him both there and in the UK. That led to me getting the job with Barry Connell, which yielded another Festival win on Tully East. Returning fulltime after ten years in England is unheard of, and when that finished I rode good winners for Gordon Elliott.

Last season’s Grade 1 win on Gigginstown’s Beacon Edge for Noel took me full circle and confirmed it was a good move for myself, Louise and our two young boys. It’s gone exceptionally well, although an injury in September meant I missed seven weeks of this season. When Davy Russell goes back into retirement after standing in for Jack Kennedy, I’ll be the oldest in the weighing room again at 40, but I just love riding horses and there’s a lot left I’d like to do. I’d love to win a Grand National, either at Aintree where I was second on Black Apalachi, or in Ireland, and I’d love to win a Gold Cup.

I wouldn’t rule out training one day. It’s very hard in Ireland though and a lot of good trainers just can’t make it work. When I started riding it was in an era of what I’d call ‘super jockeys’ – Paul, Ruby, Barry and Davy – but now in Ireland we are in the era of the ‘super trainers’, with three or four of them dominating the big meetings. Those super trainers are so far ahead that unless you are riding for them it’s very difficult to get a look in. There are a lot of jockeys chasing the few decent spare rides, so you just have to hope and pray you get on one now and again. I was lucky enough to do so last season, so let’s hope it happens again soon!

Denis O’Regan and Tully East (noseband) strike at the 2017 Cheltenham Festival

GEORGE SELWYN

VIEWS YOU CAN USE

Horse of the Year as a juvenile now leading the way among the f irst-crop sires at the foal sales with a £140k average.

PI NAT U BO

She was always a star. Correct, a good walker, never a problem and a lovely temperament.

Marina Marinopoulos, Haras de la Louvière, vendor of a €320,000 filly

The foals I’ve seen have been ver y correct and racy, with great colour and depth, ver y clean limbs and good walkers.

Nick Cope, Stanley Lodge, who bought a 150,000gns colt

It’s rare to get the chance to buy a foal like this. He has such presence about him – loads of size and scope and bags of quality.

David Brickley, Ard Erin Stud, on their 150,000gns purchase

I thought she was the most athletic and attractive filly foal at any sale in 2022. I am recommending Pinatubo to my clients and using him again myself in 2023.

Hugo Merry, underbidder on the €320,000 filly