Thoroughbred Owner Breeder

£6.95 JUNE 2023 ISSUE 226

A love supreme

Can Mick Mariscotti land the Gold Cup with ‘very special’ Coltrane?

PLUS

Hazelwood Bloodstock

All set for another big season

Royal Ascot raiders

US and Australian runners primed

Ramiro Restrepo

Agent on a Classic ride with Mage

Juddmonte are proud to support the BHA programme of high-value restricted 2YO

developmental races in 2023

Editor: Edward Rosenthal

Bloodstock Editor: Nancy Sexton

Design/production: Thoroughbred Group

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Racing world ready for five fantastic days at Royal Ascot

Horseracing is truly a global business –for evidence look no further than Royal Ascot later this month, when participants, equine and human, will travel from all over the world to play their part during five days of top-class racing in Berkshire.

We’ve become accustomed to Antipodean runners ruling the roost in the Group 1 sprints at the Royal Meeting and with Australian horses heading the betting for both the King’s Stand Stakes and the renamed Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee Stakes, it’s already looking ominous for Europe’s finest speedsters.

The owners behind leading lights Coolangatta and Artorius, the favourites for the all-aged Royal Ascot sprints, share their thoughts on their chances and explain their reasons for heading to the UK this year ( pages 20-24 ).

Many of the Australian owners hoping to plunder prizes are also on the lookout for potential Melbourne Cup horses to take home with them. With quality stamina horses in such short supply in a nation obsessed with speed, Europe and Britain will continue to feature on shopping trips for buyers hoping to find staying stars of the future.

Mick Mariscotti is exactly the type of British-based owner who could benefit from this huge Aussie interest in European middledistance runners; indeed, the former Finance Director at Coral knows more than most the value of his bloodstock and has sold the likes of Le Don De Vie to Australian interests.

One horse unlikely to be put through the ring by Mariscotti is Coltrane, a high-class gelding who is set to face his biggest task in the Gold Cup over two and a half miles. The six-year-old already has a Royal Ascot win to his credit, taking the Ascot Stakes over the Gold Cup trip last year, and showed himself to be in rude health with a decisive victory back at Ascot in the Sagaro Stakes last month.

“It was always the aim this year to head for the Gold Cup and, touch wood, we’re on track,” Mariscotti tells James Thomas in this month’s Big Interview ( pages 26-29 ). “It’s important for us and I know it’s important for Andrew [Balding] as he tells me it’s one Group 1 race that he hasn’t won and is very keen to win.

“There’ll be a lot of pressure on us, but we always enjoy going racing, particularly the big days, so we’ll enjoy it whatever the result.

“It’s a very expensive hobby,” Mariscotti continues. “Our view has always been that if we have a good horse and we feel that someone offers us the right price, then we will sell. We don’t run it as a business and we don’t make money out of it, but we try to keep the money rolling in so we can play for another year.

“Australian

“One of [wife] Janice’s regular comments is ‘Why do we have to sell all the good horses?’ Unfortunately that’s just the financial reality. It’s difficult because we love all of them, but if we want to carry on there has to be an in-flow as well and sadly prize-money is not going to keep us buying racehorses.”

Also in this issue, Nancy Sexton talks to the husband-and-wife team of Adrian and Philippa O’Brien, riding the crest of a wave with their Newmarket-based Hazelwood Bloodstock operation (pages 30-33), while Ramiro Restrepo talks about his amazing journey from the nightclub and beverage industries to Kentucky Derby glory with Mage (34-37).

Cover: Oisin Murphy steers Coltrane, owned by Mick and Janice Mariscotti and trained by Andrew Balding, to a decisive success in the Sagaro Stakes at Ascot on May 3

Photo: Bill Selwyn

horses head the betting for the all-aged Group 1 sprints”

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THE ROA 2023 BOARD ELECTIONS PROCESS IS NOW OPEN

The ROA application process to appoint new Board Members is now open. Members are invited to express their interest for one of the available positions.

Application closing date 9th June 2023

Anyone wishing to apply must meet the following criteria:

• A registered owner and have at least one horse in training in the UK (or have done so during the previous 12 months) or

• Have part-ownership that amounts to at least one horse. Horses owned under the names of spouses will qualify for this purpose

LOVE RACING

Candidates should be passionate about improving the racehorse ownership experience, be able to attend monthly meetings and be willing to draw on their experience and knowledge to help shape the future of horse racing.

KEY SKILLS

As members will be aware, the ROA recently implemented a corporate governance review and one of the recommendations was the transition to a skill-set based Board. In order to ensure that we have the correct skill and expertise to help progress the ROA’s strategy, and wider industry initiatives, we would like to strongly encourage applicants with experience or knowledge in the following areas:

• Finance

• Communication

• Legal

• Betting

• Technology

It is critical that applicants have experience working at board or director level as all three roles will be providing strategic insights, governance, subject matter expertise and leadership to the ROA. Once the application is received, it is then put forward to the ROA Nominations Committee.

For more information and to apply scan the QR code or visit: roa.co.uk/election23

Seismic shift in attitudes a sign of real progress

The end of May saw the first of the outputs from the strategy group work be presented to the BHA Board. The work was focused on the fixture list and race planning for 2024. Whilst this represented a relatively small piece of the overall work, i.e. it did not include marketing, sponsorship or funding, it was in its own right a significant advance. Past experiences over fixture changes, race reductions and new time slots have been bruising to say the least.

On this occasion, the Commercial Committee was able to reach a broad consensus over a number of key changes and present those initiatives to the BHA Board. It is fair to say that there has really been a seismic shift in attitudes by all sides involved and a real sign that industry participants have grasped the seriousness of where we are and where we want the sport to go over the next few years.

A two-year test and trial period, with real-time data to inform where things have worked and where further advances can be made, is a massive step forward, and a real change from the normal infighting and stagnation that the industry has suffered from over many years. The key now is for the funding package to be enhanced to power these changes through and to make British racing the world leader that it should be.

Many in the industry will look at the progress made by the Commercial Committee and the BHA strategy work and perhaps wonder what all the fuss is about. Having been involved in this work over the last three years, I can assure everyone that this first step is indeed most significant, and when we reflect on the last few years, quite remarkable when we consider where we have come from.

Encouraging noises around the proposed levy reforms, especially regarding overseas betting, have also brightened the mood music somewhat, albeit set against this are the white paper components that have the potential to knock a serious hole in the sport’s finances. Added to this data showing a reduction in betting turnover, albeit offset by improved margins and less promotional offers, is a significant cloud on the horizon. Again, racing needs to work together with the betting industry to put proposals to government that can be made into new legislation in the next 12 months and certainly before the next election.

At the time of writing, it was worrying to read that activists appeared to be targeting the Derby festival,

having previously disrupted the Grand National meeting at Aintree. Thankfully the Jockey Club was granted a High Court injunction to help prevent possible protests at Epsom.

I was encouraged that the Jockey Club and the BHA met with one group of activists, but it seems that their agenda is far-reaching, covering not just sports animals but also all livestock and use of fossil fuels. Whilst engagement is applauded, I am not sure where we as a sport and a society go with these views.

The latest data pack published by the BHA shows a much more encouraging picture with regard to some of

the key metrics, such as horses in training and field sizes. If one looks closely at the results of the various breezeup sales that have taken place in Britain, France and Ireland, trade seems to be holding up and, in some cases, powering ahead. It is remarkable how resilient the industry has been through the pandemic, Ukraine war and cost of living crisis.

The Derby, fingers crossed, and Royal Ascot will showcase British racing over the coming month. International runners at the Berkshire track will add colour and draw the world’s attention to our great sport, and obviously we will have a King in attendance for the first time in most people’s living memory. Let’s hope that the weather is set fair and British racing can really show the world what we have to offer.

Charlie Parker President

“Participants have grasped the seriousness of where we are and where we want the sport to go”

TBA Leader

Elite care and competition on show at Royal Ascot

Each professional sport features defining events or climaxes that elevate interest and exposure to a wider audience, over and above normal fan and participant engagement. Think Wimbledon for tennis, the Lord’s Test match – especially against Australia – for cricket, the FA Cup Final – whichever the two teams – for football, and the Six Nations tournament for rugby union. They are all used to promote the top end of the sport.

British horseracing is no exception, creating several points of contact with large numbers of the general public who would not ordinarily follow the sport.

In National Hunt racing, the Cheltenham Festival’s success is so great nowadays that it becomes the focus of interest among participants and fans for many months before the four days of competition actually take place. Yet the Grand National remains the racing event that garners most attention in the year, while the ever-growing popularity of the other days of the Aintree meeting have helped to achieve significant attention from a wider audience.

Flat racing festivals come thick and fast once the turf season has settled into its accepted routine. The traditional campaign is but two months old but already major fixtures at the Guineas, Chester, York and Epsom have been settled, culminating, of course, in the Derby, which, for all the critical comments it has attracted in recent years, remains a pinnacle of achievement in the first half of the season.

And so to this month’s feast of entertainment and excellence, the five days of Royal Ascot, which will achieve more sustained media coverage and public interest outside the narrow confines of our sport than any other Flat racing event. We must use that extra involvement to promote all aspects and attributes of racing.

Royal Ascot reflects every aspect of the sport, whether it be welfare and the care of our horses or the sheer pleasure and excitement of seeing thoroughbreds performing to the best of their ability in an activity for which they have been bred.

Opponents of the sport seem unwilling, or unable, to appreciate that without racing these animals simply would not exist. It is a point that those of us directly involved must continue to articulate, as well as to explain how top-quality sport, with the best taking on the best, informs virtually all breeding decisions and helps to produce the next generation of fit and sound horses.

We constantly hear of injuries and ailments among human athletes, and in very few sports do players survive a season without such mishaps, using all kinds of medication

Julian Richmond-Watson Chairman

to enhance recovery. Horseracing has very strict medication rules and so all Royal Ascot runners, wherever they are trained, will be subject to a full testing programme for illegal medicines or treatment. We can be confident that those who perform well will do so as sound, high-quality racehorses.

With that background in mind, we need to get on the front foot and showcase what is good about British racing, not just for humans but also for the horses and their welfare. We need to point out that the racecourse is the testing ground that helps us assess not only merit but physical ability, wellbeing and soundness, attributes which guide us in breeding from healthy, fit horses, so that the next generation has the benefit of an appropriate healthy gene pool.

Flat breeders are extremely fortunate to have the benefit of a Pattern-race system that guides selection of the best horses from which to breed. From start to finish, April to October, there are proper tests of the thoroughbred.

The thoroughbred is produced, reared and exists to race, so we should celebrate the beauty and magnificence of these horses and use the major racing events, which transcend the daily nature of the sport, to explain and promote horseracing to as wide an audience as possible.

We are so lucky to have these opportunities at the highest level and we need to step forward and encourage others to enjoy them with us. This is the sport of Kings (and Queens), where we can be proud of the horses we breed, proud of the way we look after them and proud of the events that showcase the sport.

“The five days will achieve more media coverage and public interest than any other Flat racing event”

White paper welcomed by BHA but questions remain

The publication in late April of the long-awaited Gambling Act Review White Paper was welcomed by the British Horseracing Authority (BHA), although the sport’s regulator highlighted the importance of the government’s review of the levy system being swiftly enacted.

The government announced in the new legislation that gamblers could face financial checks before being allowed to part with their money, with the Gambling Commission intending to consult on two forms of financial risk checks for lower and higher levels of betting.

The lower level looks for signs of financial vulnerability, like County Court Judgements, and the white paper proposes that the threshold for these checks is £125 net loss within a month or £500 within a year.

The higher level check has a proposed threshold of £1,000 net loss within 24 hours or £2,000 within 90 days and would warrant “a more detailed consideration of a customer’s financial position”.

The white paper – which had been expected to be published by Christmas 2021 but was repeatedly postponed – also proposes these thresholds are halved for customers aged 18-24 “given

evidence of increased risk”.

Aside from a review of the levy system – currently based on bookmakers’ gross profits, rather than turnover, and which doesn’t capture bets placed on overseas racing – other primary proposals included a statutory levy on gambling operators to pay for research, education and treatment of problem gambling, a new industry ombudsman to deal with disputes and rule on redress, and extra powers for the Gambling Commission to tackle the black market.

Culture Secretary Lucy Frazer said: “We live in an age where people have a virtual mobile casino in their pockets. It has made gambling easier, quicker and often more fun, but when things go wrong it can see people lose thousands of pounds in a few swipes of the screen.

“We are stepping in to update the law for those most at risk of harm with a new levy on gambling operators to pay for treatment and education, player protection checks and new online slots stake limits.

“This will strengthen the safety net and help deliver our long-term plan to help build stronger communities while allowing millions of people to continue to play safely.”

BHA Chair Joe Saumarez Smith said:

“Publication of the white paper is an important moment for the industry on a significant issue for its future prosperity.

“It’s crucial that any regulatory framework for gambling recognises that millions of people safely enjoy betting on horseracing, while taking action where needed to protect people experiencing gambling-related harm.

“While there are a range of measures included within the white paper, there will be a series of further important consultation processes – including on the critical area of affordability checks

Levy yield increases

There was some good news for the British racing industry last month in the form of a higher than projected levy yield – but it came with sobering reports of a continuing decline in betting turnover.

BILL SELWYN

The Levy Board anticipated income for the year ended March 31 to be around £99 million after provisional submissions from the majority of levy-paying bookmakers.

Gross profit increased significantly on projections in the last two months of the levy year, with such a figure

Joe Saumarez Smith: ‘Blanket checks on affordability are not appropriate’

Bookmakers’ gross profits were up on forecast in February and March

– in the months ahead.

“We will continue to make our case that sweeping blanket checks on affordability aren’t appropriate, with any measures needing to be proportionate and targeted at individuals and their specific circumstances.

“We will now undertake further consideration of these measures, assessing their impacts on British racing, and will provide a comprehensive, evidence-based, response to the various processes which [the] white paper has commenced.”

On the key issue of the sport’s funding, BHA Chief Executive Julie Harrington said: “We very much welcome the launch of the review of the Horserace Betting Levy.

“This important review provides an opportunity for the government to ensure British racing receives a fair return from betting activity, protects the sport against inflationary pressures, and maintains our position as the world-leader in thoroughbred racing and breeding.

“We call on the government to now complete and implement this levy review as soon as possible in order to support a great British sporting and cultural asset.”

Other proposals in the white paper included new stake limits for online slots games of between £2 and £15 per spin, rules to prevent bonus offers such as free bets harming the vulnerable, and closing loopholes to make sure under-18s cannot gamble.

Death of Richard Aston

Racing is mourning the death of Richard Aston, co-owner of the highly successful nursery Goldford Stud, who passed away last month aged 68 following a brief battle with cancer.

In partnership with his wife Sally, Aston developed the Cheshire-based Goldford Stud into one of the leading lights of the British jumps scene. His numerous successes as a breeder included Riverside Theatre, a King’s Theatre gelding sold by the stud as a Doncaster Spring Sale store, who went on to win the 2011 Ascot Chase and 2021 Ryanair Chase for Nicky Henderson.

Aston was also closely associated with the top staying hurdler Inglis Drever, who was raised at Goldford on behalf of Bobby McAlpine, as well as the likes of Cue Card and Shishkin, two household names who passed through the powerful Goldford sales arm.

On the Flat, Aston played an important role in the success of stock belonging to Allan Belshaw, which hit Grade 1 heights in 2018 when Newspaperofrecord won the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf. The Lope De Vega filly had been raised at and sold by Goldford, who went on to sell her dam Sunday

Times on behalf of Belshaw for 1,800,000gns to MV Magnier at the 2021 Tattersalls December Sale.

A former amateur rider over jumps, Aston was also Chairman of Bangor-On-Dee racecourse and previously a Director of Chester racecourse. He was also a former member of the TBA’s National Hunt Committee.

David Minton of Highflyer Bloodstock, one of his closest friends, paid tribute to Aston. “He was very studious,” said Minton. “He read without fail every publication every morning from cover to cover, so he knew everything that was going on. He understood the business so well and also took great pride in his roles at Bangor and Chester.”

comparing favourably to the yield of £97m for 2021-22. The Board had estimated the range to be £90-95m, with only a small likelihood of a higher figure.

Over the year as a whole the Board noted reports of a continuing decline in turnover, which was being partially mitigated by bookmaker margins. Actual margins were markedly above average in February and March 2023, when turnover fell notably against the same months in 2022.

Levy Board Chairman Paul Darling said: “The Board will be making decisions on prize-money for the September to December period at its meeting next month and this likely out-turn provides additional clarity in coming to those decisions.

“Although overall yield looks to be similar to, or slightly up, on last year, total turnover and race-by-race turnover are down overall, and were consistently down from July to the end of the levy year.

“The Board will need to consider carefully what assumptions to make about future yield given this trend. Bookmakers’ collective initial estimates for 2023-24 are for a materially lower yield than in 202223.”

Darling added: “We are grateful to those bookmakers who have made timely end-of-year declarations and to the largest bookmakers whose invaluable information has assisted us throughout the year.”

The government announced it had

started a review of the levy system when it published its gambling white paper in April.

The sport has been lobbying for the levy to be changed from gross profits to a turnover-based approach and extending it to betting on overseas racing by British punters.

Yields since reform of levy system in 2017

2022-23 £99m*

2021-22 £97m

2020-21 £83m

(no racing took place in first two months of levy year)

2019-20 £98m

2018-19 £84m

2017-18 £94m

*indicative figure

Richard Aston: popular figure

Koukash removed as a registered owner

If there has been one set of silks synonymous with the Chester May meeting in recent years it is the grey, beige star, grey sleeves and beige stars of Dr Marwan Koukash.

However, he was noticeable by his absence from the Roodee last month after being removed as a registered owner by the British Horseracing Authority due to being declared bankrupt.

Koukash has won the Chester Cup four times, with Bulwark (2008), Address Unknown (2013), Suegioo (2014) and Magic Circle (2018), and enjoyed nearly 100 winners at the course from more than 1,000 runners. The flamboyant owner vowed to lift the Cup in 2018 wearing nothing but his tie, but ultimately maintained his decorum.

The 64-year-old businessman, born in Palestine, has a PhD in electrical engineering and was a lecturer at Liverpool John Moores University for five years before being appointed

Director of International Business.

He owned the Salford City Reds rugby league team, rescuing them from potential collapse in 2013 before a consortium of fans completed a takeover early in 2018. His various interests also extended to hotels.

The bankruptcy petition was filed last June and granted in September. The bankruptcy process typically lasts for a year and means Koukash’s assets will be used to pay outstanding debts. He has not had a runner since November.

Aside from the Chester Cup, Koukash has won other big handicaps including back-to-back Ayr Gold Cups in 2010 and 2011 with Redford and Our Jonathan, the 2011 Cesarewitch with Never Can Tell, the Lincoln in 2012 with Brae Hill and in 2015 with Gabrial, and the 2014 Northumberland Plate with Angel Gabrial - the Gabrial horses were named after his son.

The owner also stuck regularly at

World Pool achieves new high at Newmarket

Chaldean and Frankie Dettori’s success in the 2,000 Guineas helped World Pool turnover reach a new high

at Newmarket, with turnover hitting £27.1 million, £1m more than in 2022.

The colts’ Classic produced the

Pattern level, including at his beloved Chester in the Huxley Stakes of 2012 with Marcret and the following year’s Ormonde Stakes via Mount Athos, while he also landed the Group 2 King George Stakes with Masamah in 2011, the 2012 Geoffrey Freer with Mount Athos and 2018 Henry II Stakes courtesy of Magic Circle, both Group 3s.

Among the many trainers he employed were Kevin Ryan, David Nicholls, Mark Johnston, Ian Williams and Richard Fahey.

highest turnover on the eight-race card, with £4.7m bet into the pool across 28 countries.

Chetan Singh, Chaldean’s groom, collected £4,000 after the son of Frankel’s victory was named World Pool Moment of the Day.

June is a busy month for World Pool in Britain, with the Epsom Derby festival and Royal Ascot providing opportunities for punters around the globe to bet into a single pool, producing enhanced liquidity for tote bettors.

Alex Frost, Chief Executive of the UK Tote Group, said: “It was great to see our World Pool season get off to such a strong start at Newmarket with high-class racing and some fantastic results, notably World Pool ambassador Frankie Dettori winning his final 2,000 Guineas.

“The Tote once again offered exceptional value, with Tote+ Win beating the SP in four out of eight races and matching on the remaining races, and operating with an average overround of only 103% versus 122% with the bookmakers.”

GEORGE SELWYN

Marwan Koukash: enjoyed huge success

Chaldean and Frankie Dettori claimed the first UK Classic of 2023

BILL SELWYN

Mental health awareness in focus

Racing Welfare highlighted the issue of anxiety among the training fraternity during Mental Health Awareness Week last month, releasing a short film to show the pressures that trainers can be under and encouraging them to seek help.

The charity hopes to raise awareness of the signs and symptoms of anxiety, normalising conversations and signposting to support services. Racing Welfare is calling for people working in the racing industry to take action for their own mental health or for the mental health of others in the sport.

During ITV’s coverage of York’s Dante meeting, a segment was shown with former trainers David Arbuthnot and Harry Dunlop and licensed handler Jo Foster discussing the pressures of their profession with Ed Chamberlin. Dunlop, who relinquished his licence last year and is the subject of a case study in this month’s ROA Forum, discussed his time working for trainers Sir Henry Cecil and Nicky Henderson.

“In hindsight I wished I had worked for a small trainer who had things tough and didn’t have a lot of staff,” Dunlop explained. “I think I may have learned more.

“When you’ve been in a massive operation that’s highly successful, perhaps when you start training you think it’s such an easy business and easy to be successful.

“I had some bad times training when you didn’t have a winner for two months and you think the world is about to end. It’s not really, but you try and get through it by other passions that you might have in life. I think there’s a lot of simple things out there that can help.

“Ultimately we’re here to highlight that trainers can have a tough time and, more importantly, get some support for them.”

Foster, asked by Chamberlin how she would deal with a lack of childcare (as a single parent) and also having a runner beaten out of sight, commented: “When

that load becomes too heavy, when the apple cart tips too much one way, then you can’t deal with it any more. You have to be very tough, mentally and physically, anyway to be in the racing business.”

Racing Welfare’s short film, created in conjunction with Equine Productions, can be viewed on the charity’s YouTube channel.

For further information and support see racingwelfare.co.uk.

Trainers Russell and Scudamore join forces

Arlary trainer Lucinda Russell, fresh from her best ever season, is to join forces with Michael Scudamore from this summer.

Russell won the Grand National for the second time in April with Corach Rambler, a success which helped the Perthshire stable’s prize-money haul for the campaign top £1.5 million – the previous best had come the year before with just over £750,000. The winners haul of 71 last season was also a career-high total.

Russell’s partner and assistant trainer is Peter Scudamore, whose son Michael trains successfully in Herefordshire, while his other son Tom – the recently-retired top jump jockey – will also be an integral part of a new-look operation that aims to take all those concerned to even greater heights.

Michael Scudamore is to move his operation and most of his horses to Russell’s base, with Tom taking over his brother’s stable, which will become a satellite and pre-training yard for the jumps operation.

“I find it quite awe-inspiring what we’re doing,” said Peter Scudamore. “Lucinda put it so well, that the key to it all is in our attention to the horses and in particular with the time spent seeing them at home and sourcing them at the sales.

“I feel we need to continue to concentrate on what we’re good at and we kind of get dragged away from it sometimes.

“We’ll have Michael and Thomas, and the people already within the yard, like Blair Campbell, who is an ex-jockey, Cameron Wadge and Jamie Duff who are our assistants, who have been quite brilliant.

“But they need to continue their roles. So we have thought about it and Michael will join us in Scotland. We’ll use Arlary and Kilduff as the main yards, while adding the facility of a satellite yard at Eccleswall Court, near Ross-on-Wye, as a pre-training yard.”

He added: “Michael can go racing and do a lot of the travelling, and I find the advantage of racing in the north is that the ground is softer in the early season and we can get our horses out and running. Then we can take some things down south after that. That’s what we intend to do.

“Therefore, Thomas can look after the satellite. It needs upgrading. The gallops and stuff are very good, but some of the boxes need upgrading and we need some investment into the yard. We’ll get that sorted out.

“I’m pleased for the boys. I’m not getting any younger and they’ll have to buck themselves up.”

Tom Scudamore said: “We’re all really looking forward to it. We’ve all done our own thing and we’ve all had our own success, and I’m excited about doing it all together.

“I think it just shows you the desire and the ambition of us all that we want to build on what we’ve achieved and become even more successful.

“We’ll still have room for local owners and people who don’t want to send their horses to Scotland. It just acts as a base for it, but the hub of the operation will be in Kinross and it just means we can take on the world.”

BILL SELWYN

Lucinda Russell: flying high in 2023

Harry Dunlop: speaking out BILL SELWYN

Changes People and business

Kindred Group

Parent company of Unibet sees Chief Executive Henrik Tjarnstrom resign just days after Chief Financial Officer Johan Wilsby revealed he was stepping down.

William Kennedy

Jump jockey who partnered more than 450 winners during his 25-year career retires from the saddle aged 41.

John Dance

Financial Conduct Authority allows horses previously owned by the businessman to run under the banners of Coverdale Stud and Titanium Racing.

Anglo-Irish Jumps Classifications

Brian Hughes

Ulsterman, 37, is crowned champion jump jockey for the third time having partnered 165 winners in 2022-23.

Paul Nicholls

Trainer takes 14th title as he breaks his own 15-year record for prize-money accumulated in a jumps season in Britain by £74.

Martin Smith

46-year-old ends training career after a decade as rising costs force him to relinquish his licence. He sent out 61 winners under both codes.

Tom O’Brien

Retires from the saddle aged 36 having enjoyed over 1,000 winners including two Grade 1s on Thyme Hill for long-time supporter Philip Hobbs.

Cheltenham Gold Cup hero Galopin Des Champs is crowned the leading jumper for the 2022-23 season on a rating of 179.

Betfred

Bookmaker extends Classic portfolio by sponsoring the St Leger festival having already put its name to the Derby and Oaks at Epsom.

July Cup

Jockey Club Racecourses seeks new backer for Newmarket’s Group 1 sprint as Darley ceases sponsorship after 26 years.

Michael Prosser

Newmarket’s Clerk of the Course will step down at the end of the current Flat season after 22 years in the role.

Silvestre de Sousa

Brazilian jockey set to appeal against tenmonth suspension handed to him by the Hong Kong Jockey Club for breaching rules on betting.

Professional Jockeys Association

Chairman Jon Holmes and External Director Simon Cox both resign after unrest among the organisation’s membership.

Max McNeill

Leading jumps owner splits with retained rider Adrian Heskin and racing manager Iain Turner in a “rationalisation” of his operation.

BHA Board

Regulator appoints two new independent non-executive directors in Krysten Halley, who took up her role on May 1, and Tara Warren.

People obituaries

Michael Hunt 92

Veterinary surgeon was a founding partner of Rossdales equine practice in Newmarket with Peter Rossdale. He was renowned as a mentor and tutor of immense patience and kindness to generations of his younger associates.

Richard Aston 68

Owned Goldford Stud with wife Sally, producing and raising a host of future stars such as Inglis Drever and Newspaperofrecord.

Racehorse and stallion Movements and retirements

Kalashnikov

Grade 1-winning chaser for owner Paul Murphy and his trainer-daughter Amy Murphy is retired aged ten due to a tendon injury.

Isaac Shelby

Talented three-year-old son of Night Of Thunder is sold to Qatar operation Wathnan Racing before his narrow second place behind Marhaba Ya Sanafi in the French 2,000 Guineas.

Princess Zoe

High-class staying mare, winner of the Group 1 Prix du Cadran, is removed from Tony Mullins’ County Kilkenny stable by owner Paddy Kehoe.

Horse obituaries

Celeric 31

Enigmatic stayer won the 1997 Gold Cup at Royal Ascot for owner Christopher Spence, trainer David Morley and jockey Pat Eddery.

Creative Force 5

Dubawi gelding was a top-notch sprinter for Godolphin, enjoying his biggest win in the 2021 British Champions Sprint Stakes at Ascot.

Eqtidaar 8

Shadwell sire whose first runners hit the track this year. He was a top-class sprinter, winning the 2018 Group 1 Commonwealth Cup.

Fusaichi Pegasus 26

Kentucky Derby winner who cost $4 million as a yearling, later siring top-level winners including Haradasun and Roman Ruler.

Havre De Grace 16

US Horse of the Year in 2011 following a trio of Grade 1 wins dies two days after foaling an Into Mischief colt at her Kentucky base.

Dream Alliance 22

Welsh Grand National winner for the Philip Hobbs stable whose rags-to-riches story was turned into a film starring Damian Lewis.

The Big Picture

Guineas glory for Dettori

Frankie Dettori’s long goodbye is going better than in his wildest dreams as a first victory in the Italian 2,000 Guineas was followed by a fourth win in the Newmarket Classic on Chaldean. The son of Frankel, trained by Andrew Balding for Juddmonte, had unseated Dettori in the Greenham the previous month, but that proved no bar to Guineas glory as he kept on well on the Rowley Mile to beat 125-1 shot Hi Royal (blue silks) by a length and three-quarters.

Photos Bill Selwyn

The Big Picture

Mawj the merrier

Classic success already ran in the family, with Mawj’s half-brother Modern Games having landed last year’s Poule d’Essai des Poulains, and there was more to celebrate for Godolphin as their filly, ridden by Oisin Murphy and trained by Saeed bin Suroor, dug deep in the 1,000 Guineas to repel favourite Tahiyra by half a length, with the pair seven and a half lengths clear of the chasing pack.

Photos Bill Selwyn

The Howard Wright Column

Grass not always greener for UK horses overseas

As the British football season takes another blink-and-youmiss-it summer break, it’s an appropriate time to summon up an acceptable stadium chant to highlight the deficiencies of one of racing’s face-value observations. ‘You only sing when you’re winning’ rings out when a goal silences opposition fans. It could well apply to those who delight in making instant judgement about British-trained success overseas.

Full marks to William Haggas and connections for campaigning Dubai Honour in Australia and Hong Kong over the spring, picking up the thick end of £2.4 million from two wins and a third within six weeks. But who noticed that Michael Owen and associates sent Flaming Rib to the same Hong Kong meeting and won precisely nothing for his finishing seventh on the back of a £20,000 declaration fee?

Then there was the publicity that trainers George Boughey and Ian Williams received around the time of the Dubai World Cup. Quite right too, since Boughey won three races and £205,000 with Al Dasim at the Dubai Carnival, whose opening race, worth £50,000, was won by Williams with Enemy, whom he then sent to Saudi Arabia to finish second in a handicap, earning a £416,666 prize out of all proportion to his ability.

However, it should be remembered that Boughey and Williams were responsible for the full complement of British-trained winners at this year’s Dubai Carnival, leaving aside the Godolphin and Crisford teams.

Delving more deeply into the results unearths a situation that is not so rosy as the one that might be gained from cherry-picked examples and makes one wonder how closely some owners examine outcomes that suggest the grass really isn’t always greener on the other side.

Of the Dubai Carnival’s 716 runners, spread among 61 races,

British trainers supplied 85, or 11.9 per cent, to Godolphin’s 122 (17 per cent) and local trainers’ 325 (45.4 per cent), and the four winners represented a strike-rate of 4.7 per cent. By comparison, Godolphin’s 22 winners came out at 18 per cent and local trainers’ 25 winners at 7.7 per cent, their combined 47 winners representing 77 per cent of the total but coming from 62.4 per cent of all runners.

For further context, Fawzi Nass returned four winners for Bahrain at a 22.2 per cent strike-rate and Doug O’Neill scooped two winners for the US for 20 per cent, though both had fewer than 20 runners.

Betting boys from Brazil show lack of judgement

Viewed from outside the inner circle, some events have just one explanation: there is no logical explanation. Such seemed to be the case behind the lengthy bans handed out to Britain’s threetime champion jockey Silvestre de Sousa and fellow Brazilian rider Vagner Borges by the Hong Kong Jockey Club.

Borges owned up to having bet on his mount Young Brilliant, trained by Dennis Yip, at Happy Valley and de Sousa admitted to facilitating the transaction, in transgression of a rule that the HKJC holds most dearly in upholding the integrity of its racing against threats to punters’ interests.

One slip and two jockeys have had their careers in Hong Kong ended. Whatever the future holds for Borges, a four-time champion in his homeland, it will not be as a tipster. The maths prior to Young Brilliant’s seventh placing in a Class 3 handicap, as outlined by Michael Cox in the incisive newsletter Asian Racing Report, are illuminating.

“Why did [Borges] feel compelled to bet on a Dennis Yip horse at Happy Valley?” Cox asked. “Yip’s record at Happy Valley since the start of the 2021-22 season was nine wins from 337 starts, for an appalling strike rate of 2.7 per cent. It isn’t a record to fill a

punter, or down-at-luck jockey for that matter, with confidence.”

No logical explanation: that has to be the explanation, especially given the HKJC’s attitude towards jockeys found closely associated with betting. Recent history runs from John Egan’s rapid return to Britain after an arrest warrant was issued in July 2002, through an original 30-month jail sentence imposed in March 2007 on Aussie Chris Munce, to most recently Nash Rawiller’s 15-month ban in April 2018.

All were eventually allowed to ride in their native jurisdictions – although Munce’s return to action in New South Wales in 2008, following his transfer and subsequent early release in Australia, continued to rankle with HKJC officials for years – but the door back into Hong Kong was firmly shut, and that will apply to De Sousa and Borges when they complete their suspensions.

With just 13 meetings left in the current season, the HKJC will probably not be in a hurry to replace the pair on a roster that normally extends to no more than 26 permanent riders, but that situation will not last. The need to replenish the pool had been evident even as stringent Covid measures put extra strain on those who kept the show going through 2020-21, but taking on

The George Boughey-trained Al Dasim was one of the British-based runners to thrive in the Dubai sunshine

Since winning is not everything, place-getters must be borne in mind. Here, there were 303 runners who picked up prize-money from second to sixth; 164 (or 46.3 per cent of their total runners) were trained locally, 74 (52 per cent) carried Godolphin colours, and 41 (45.6 per cent) came from Britain.

At face value this seems a reasonable return for British interests but consider the deeper implications. More than half of all British-trained runners earned not one dollar of Carnival prizemoney, and of those that did collect a prize, almost 37 per cent finished fifth or sixth, where the hand-out often amounted to no more than US$3,000 and US$2,000.

Even along the hand-picked horizons of Bahrain and Saudi Arabia, results are skewed by exceptions. For instance, Saudi’s six international races in February resulted in one British-trained winner from 13 runners, six others who won prize-money

averaging almost £140,000 but the other six taking home nothing but memories.

One of the most recent Bahrain Turf series bonuses of £25,000 went to Inigo Jones, trained by Jamie Osborne, on the back of the disqualification of two locally-based horses for doping offences, while the other was won by Nomadic Empire, trained by David O’Meara for Bahraini connections.

These advances by Bahrain and Saudi, and renewed efforts from Qatar, have seen the Dubai Racing Club plan major changes to the next Carnival programme in an effort to remain competitive.

British connections without strong Middle East associations might wonder whether Robert Browning really did have it worked out in 1845 when he wrote his poem Home Thoughts, from Abroad

extra numbers has become even more urgent, which is where British and Irish interest could be aroused.

The days when Philip Robinson claimed two jockeys’ titles there are 40 years distant, and with Neil Callan’s family-driven return to Britain two years ago, Harry Bentley is the sole Brit plying his trade on a permanent basis. Six times champion jockey in Qatar, Bentley had his Gulf experience badly interrupted by Covid restrictions and is in his third season in Hong Kong, where his diligence has guaranteed him a living, even if he still awaits the appearance of another Limato.

Given that the strictures of the last three years are being lifted, the portents for making a riding career in Hong Kong are looking more favourable. Increased prize-money is on the way; the HKJC is offering perks previously denied to jockeys, such as living off site and being able to slip away for big-race rides in nearby jurisdictions, while regular racing at Conghua on the Chinese mainland is looming.

Such attractive extras might just be the magnet for someone, or some two, from Britain. Maybe even a husband-and-wife pairing could be interested.

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“Saudi’s six international races in February resulted in one British-trained winner from 13 runners”

International runners at Royal Ascot Royal RUMBLE

The appeal of Royal Ascot stretches far and wide and this year a number of overseas runners will be heading to Berkshire with their owners and trainers hoping to create their own piece of history

Interviews: Edward Rosenthal

It’s 20 years since the mighty Choisir showed the world what Australian horses could achieve on the international stage when he took out the King’s Stand Stakes and Jubilee Stakes in the space of five days at Royal Ascot.

Since then, a steady stream of Australian-trained runners have followed in Choisir’s hoofprints, including greats such as Miss Andretti and Black Caviar, while last year witnessed a sensational performance by Nature Strip in the King’s Stand Stakes.

Artorius couldn’t add his name to the roll of honour in 2022, finishing third, beaten three-quarters of a length, in the Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee Stakes, but the now four-year-old, winner of the Canterbury Stakes in March before a close fourth behind superstar Anamoe in the George Ryder Stakes, is back for what will be his swansong before he embarks on a stallion career.

“The whole plan from coming home last year was to return to Royal Ascot for this one race,” says Henry Field, Managing Director of Newgate Stud, which owns the sprinter with China Horse Club and partners, including New Zealand businessman Sir Owen Glenn.

“We avoided the races during the Spring Carnival in October/November. At this stage he’s right on song. So long as he travels well and is healthy and happy, we’re very confident. If the field is of the same quality as last year from a European perspective, he is the horse to beat.

“The Jubilee will be his last run. We feel he has all the ingredients to be effective

on a straight track. He has an electrifying turn of foot and can run a strong seven furlongs, which are two attributes Australian horses must have to win the Jubilee. It takes a very, very good horse to fly from Australia and win that race. Many have tried and only the good ones have done it. Our horse is the real deal. He can reel off sectionals like no other horse in Australia.”

Field continues: “There’s no agreement yet with a European stud. We would like him to win the Jubilee and go to stud as a European Group 1 winner so that the market can get behind him. We want Artorius to show himself off like we think he can and then we will find a northern hemisphere partner to shuttle the horse.

“It’s difficult to get the best mares to any first-season stallion. We want a level of mare that will give him a realistic opportunity to succeed as a stallion. If he can win the Jubilee – and win it well – I know we’ll be able to work out a joint venture with a farm.”

Field hopes Artorius’s biggest weapon, his potent turn of foot, will carry him to victory in the six-furlong contest, when he will be partnered by New Zealand ace James McDonald.

“Artorius’s trademark in Australia is his last 50 metres when he puts on the afterburners. That’s the most powerful part of his race,” Field explains. “According to [trainers] Anthony and Sam Freedman he’s never looked better or gone better. We’ve booked James McDonald, who is a worldclass rider and has ridden a lot of work on him and knows the horse very well.

“His racing pattern is he gets back and finishes hard – obviously those horses tend to get beaten more than they win. In the

Henry Field, Managing Director of Newgate Stud, and jockey Zac Purton are all smiles after Artorius (inset, centre) powers home to take the Canterbury Stakes in March

BRONWEN HEALY

last two years he’s been racing, he’s won or placed in many of the most prestigious Australian sprint races.

“He’s definitely made physical improvement and significant improvement on the ratings since last year so we’re going into this race in very confident mood. He has such an incredible turn of foot and will be a terrific outcross for the European broodmare band. We’d love to give him the chance in Europe.”

Field continues: “We learnt last year that we brought the right horse and Artorius will be better for having had experience of the track. The Freedmans are very good operators and I’m sure they will have refined the process since last year.

“This will be the last run of his career. The intention is to leave no stone unturned – we’ll throw the kitchen sink at it.”

Field has already tasted Royal Ascot success with 2022 Prince Of Wales’s Stakes victor State Of Rest, now ensconced on the Newgate Stud roster and a shuttler to Rathbarry Stud in Ireland.

He adds: “For our ownership group, although we bought into State Of Rest when he was trained by Joseph O’Brien, the joy that gave our partners and families was one of the highlights of any day’s racing we’ve ever had.

“From a racing standpoint, we feel it’s very important to showcase our best horses and from a bloodstock perspective

show how far we’ve come in the last 20 years, and how high the quality of our horses is, especially our sprinters.”

Classy Coolangatta

John O’Neill might easily be described as one of the luckiest racehorse owners in Australia. To date the Melbourne-based CEO of QMS Media, a digital billboard company, has enjoyed 45 Group 1 winners, all owned in a variety of partnerships, including Melbourne Cup heroine Verry Elleegant.

His latest star is three-year-old filly Coolangatta, a dual Group 1 winner in her homeland with victories in the Moir Stakes and Black Caviar Lightning, both over five ››

BRONWEN HEALY

International runners at Royal Ascot

furlongs against older horses.

O’Neill says: “It’s always been a dream of mine, and for the ownership group, to have a horse that would be good enough to go to Royal Ascot.

“I used to have a lot of horses trained by Lee Freedman and came over with him when Miss Andretti won the King’s Stand Stakes in 2007. I’ve experienced the wonder that is Royal Ascot, spending time in the car parks and being in the Royal Enclosure. I also travelled over to Coolmore in Ireland with Lee, which was unbelievable.

“This will be the first time I’m coming over as an owner. I also have a share in Light Infantry, who could run on the same day [entered in the Queen Anne and Prince Of Wales’s Stakes] with the same people involved in Coolangatta.

“Over 1,000 metres she’s a quick filly so we’ll give her the opportunity to go to Royal Ascot and compete against the world’s best. There’s two [all-aged] Group 1s over that trip in Australia and she’s won them both.”

He continues: “All my horses are owned in partnerships. Ozzie Kheir and I probably own about 60-70 horses together. In the last 18 months or so Verry Elleegant won the Melbourne Cup and we also enjoyed big wins with Incentivise, Sierra Sue and Coolangatta.

smart, and has a beautiful action. She’s not overly big but she has matured a lot in the last six months. She won’t lead, she’ll sit off the pace, although the draw might be a factor.

“We’re humbled just to be included in the race but we’re not coming to make the numbers up. We want to be competitive and enjoy the ride. As long as she comes back safely, we’ll be satisfied.”

Is it written in the stars for The Astrologist?

Another Australian sprinter hoping to grab a slice of the action at Royal Ascot is gelding The Astrologist in the silks of Bennett Racing, entered in the Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee Stakes.

another race at Haydock on June 10 over seven furlongs and he should be rockhard fit for Royal Ascot. He’s a big strong gelding and he needs work and racing to keep fit.”

Around 70 syndicate members are involved in The Astrologist, with around 60 set to come over for Royal Ascot, where Bennett Racing, set up six years ago, could also field runners in the Hardwicke Stakes and Chesham Stakes.

Bennett says: “It’s exciting to be in a Group 1 with The Astrologist. It’s an honour to be in a race named after Her Majesty. If we can run top three that would be amazing, which I think he can.

“Verry Elleegant was a once-in-alifetime mare. Winning the Melbourne Cup is something you always want to achieve. Obviously by the time she ran in the UK and France she had things on her mind other than racing. She’s now in foal to Sea The Stars.

“Our group have such a big love for the horses. We tend to all jump in as many as we can, depending on funds and what’s available. It’s about the group getting together and enjoying the ride.”

At the time of writing, Coolangatta was a clear favourite for the King’s Stand Stakes and O’Neill has confidence that the daughter of Written Tycoon out of Piping Hot – recently sold for A$3 million at Magic Millions – has the right profile to get the job done under James McDonald.

He says: “She is a very sensible filly, very

The Astrologist, a dual Group 3 winner in Australia and beaten just a head by Danyah in the Al Quoz Sprint at Meydan in March, has already run in Britain this season, finishing seventh in the Duke Of York Stakes, and was due to take in the John Of Gaunt Stakes at Haydock this month.

Although that York performance didn’t suggest The Astrologist would be one of the leading contenders for Royal Ascot, Nathan Bennett feels his charge will improve plenty from his first UK start.

“We were happy enough with his York run,” he explains. “We knew he would need it with seven weeks between Dubai and York. There’s such a different way of training at Newmarket compared to Flemington. He has struggled a bit with the undulations, and he really needed the run.

“Ryan Moore said he started to feel the pinch in the last 100 metres, but he would benefit big time from the run. He’ll head to

“If we can get three runners to Royal Ascot that would also be very exciting in itself and a huge effort by everyone involved.

“We have Ardakan with Marco Botti, entered in the Hardwicke. With Ardakan we’re trying to get him on a Caulfield Cup/ Melbourne Cup campaign, looking towards Australia in the spring. We also purchased a Highland Reel colt from the breeze-ups, now with Joseph O’Brien, that we’re trying to get to the Chesham Stakes on Saturday.

“It would be the two-year-old’s first start, but he breezed well and showed he’s a horse that will run 1,400 metres. It’s always exciting to see a younger horse come out of the blocks.”

Bennett adds: “It’s good for racing to see everyone coming over and having a crack. All the owners are pumped about it – we’re all getting our top hats and tails ordered. The heritage and history behind Royal Ascot – it’s so exciting for everyone. Getting our name on the roll of honour? That would be a dream.”

John O’Neill leads in Coolangatta and Jamie Kah following their victory in the Black Caviar Lightning Stakes in February

“We’re humbled to be included but we’re not making up the numbers”

BRONWEN HEALY

International runners at Royal Ascot

Lady returns with a Rascal Lady Aurelia already has her place secured in Royal Ascot history, having scorched a trail in the 2016 Queen Mary Stakes and returning a year later to take the King’s Stand Stakes in brilliant style.

Now Lady Aurelia supplies a runner in the form of her two-year-old son American Rascal, by two-time US Horse of the Year Curlin, who blitzed his rivals by over ten lengths on his sole start at Keeneland and looks set for the Norfolk Stakes, a race his trainer Wesley Ward has won twice before.

Barbara Banke, whose Stonestreet Stables raced Lady Aurelia and Curlin, knows what it’s like to lead in a Royal Ascot winner – Campanelle was also a dual winner for the owner at Royal Ascot – and she cannot wait to test her exciting colt against Europe’s finest.

“We’re very excited about American Rascal,” says Banke, who owns around 120 broodmares in Lexington, Kentucky and is Chairman of Jackson Family Wines in the US. “There’s a rumour that he was named for the trainer, Wesley Ward – I am neither confirming nor denying that statement!

“Lady Aurelia had super speed, which she showed at Royal Ascot two years in a row. Curlin was Horse of the Year in the USA in 2007 and 2008. American Rascal is very well bred and seems to have the speed factor. He’s heading to the Norfolk Stakes.

“Curlin can get a two-turn type of horse that takes time to develop but this horse was always very precocious, like his dam, and showed his speed early – even as a weanling he was running all over the place. He looks like his mother.

“I’ll be proud to show him off and I’m looking forward to seeing him run. It’s

going to be a fun Royal Ascot. We’ve trained him on both dirt and turf – he likes the grass and trains very well on it.”

Banke could have up to four runners at Royal Ascot, with fillies Twilight Gleaming, runner-up in the 2021 Queen Mary Stakes, and Love Reigns, fourth in last year’s Queen Mary, contenders for the Group 1 sprints. Two-year-old colt Fandom, a son of Showcasing bred by Andrew Black’s Chasemore Farm who cruised home on debut at Keeneland, is set to be on the plane too.

Banke says: “Love Reigns and Twilight Gleaming are training extremely well. Twilight Gleaming looks wonderful and is very much a sprinter. Love Reigns may go in a different race as I don’t want them to run against each other.

“Fandom also made a spectacular debut at Keeneland. He’s a beautiful looking horse and we’ll be bringing him over, but he won’t run against the Rascal.”

Banke adds: “I believe international competition is very important. In the case of American Rascal, he is Kentucky bred. It’s important to showcase what Kentucky can do. Everyone is familiar with the dirt runners, but we produce some great turf horses too.

“As for Wesley, he loves the meeting. It’s like his Triple Crown. He’s geared towards the meeting, starts the young horses off early and teaches them how to break well. We wouldn’t send him a horse that isn’t precocious. He’s a master at getting them ready for Royal Ascot.”

Weaver tries again

Trainer George Weaver has only made the trip to Royal Ascot once before, sending Cyclogenisis to contest the 2015

Commonwealth Cup. The horse didn’t see which way Muhaarar went that day, but his handler vowed to return.

True to his word, Weaver, who sent out Vekoma to score twice at the top level in the States, is back with two-year-olds No Nay Mets and Crimson Advocate, both victorious in ‘win and you’re in’ stakes races at Gulfstream in May. He expects much better this time.

“The races at Gulfstream were prep races and there’s no reason not to come over,” Weaver explains. “There’s limited opportunities for winners here in the US, especially on the turf at this time of the year. Both these horses are sharp and precocious and deserve their chance.”

He continues: “We came over in 2015 and got our ass kicked pretty good!

“I learned a little bit and got the lay of the land, with the training set-up in Newmarket and understanding the logistics. We enjoyed the trip and have fond memories. I thought it would be really cool to come back with a horse that had a chance to win over here. These two horses I have this year are crackerjack horses and we’re looking forward to coming over.

“The reality is that these are young horses and in their training in the morning I never saw the bottom of them. It’s different later in the summer when you work your two-year-olds against older horses, and you have a little more of a feel for what you have under the hood.

“I like both these horses, they’ve done everything I’ve asked them to do, they give me a really good feel and they’ve got some experience under their belts now. They both act like they have quality to them. They’ve got bigger and better things in front of them.”

GEORGE SELWYN

Barbara Banke (left) welcomes back Lady Aurelia after her victory in the 2017 King’s Stand Stakes under John Velazquez

The Big Interview Golden BOY

When Mick Mariscotti retired from his position as Coral’s Finance Director in 2005, he and his wife Janice decided it was time for a new hobby. Working for a major bookmaker meant the couple had spent many an enjoyable day at the races, so something that could take them back there seemed eminently sensible.

Owning racehorses rapidly developed from a pastime to a passion, and now the couple could be about to see their colours carried to Gold Cup glory by the progressive stayer Coltrane.

Having been born and raised in Epsom, Mariscotti was exposed to racing’s allure from a young age. However, despite some early success, too early perhaps, as a punter, he concedes he wasn’t immediately hooked.

Words: James Thomas

“I was born and brought up in Epsom, so the Derby was always a big part of life in that area,” he explains. “I was at school in the days when it used to be run on a Wednesday. We used to get the afternoon

Mick and Janice Mariscotti prefer stayers to sprinters and in tough and talented six-year-old Coltrane they might just have the right horse to deliver Gold Cup glory at Royal Ascot this month

Mick Mariscotti (far right) with wife Janice, jockey Oisin Murphy and groom Ryan Gradwell after Coltrane’s Sagaro Stakes success in May

off, so we’d go to watch the race. I actually backed Snow Knight when he won in 1974 at 50-1, despite being too young to bet!

“My dad was interested and took us to the races, although he didn’t own horses and I wasn’t exactly immersed in it. I suppose latterly it was working for Coral that got me really interested. I used to do a fair amount of hospitality at big meetings and Janice used to enjoy that, so buying our own racehorse seemed like a good idea when we decided we needed something to do when I retired.”

Mariscotti turned to two of his Coral colleagues for advice as to who he should approach to train his horses.

“When I retired, I asked David Stevens and Simon Clare which trainer we should look at having a horse with,” he states. “They gave us a list of three names. I don’t know who number two and number three were because I only got as far as Andrew and Anna Lisa Balding. We went into owning racehorses thinking we’d have one or two, but it’s grown from there. I was

adding it up recently and we’ve actually had over 100 horses since we started in 2007.”

Their time as racehorse owners did not get off to the most auspicious start, however. The couple’s first runner, Arrewig Lissome, was beaten an aggregate of 60 lengths from just three starts and just when it seemed their fortunes had turned, with Celtic Spur scoring at Great Leighs, fate took a cruel twist.

“Celtic Spur was a lovely little horse, but he only ran twice at two and then

Mick Mariscotti

Scottish actor Robbie, heads to the Gold Cup on a sustained upward curve, with the latest of his six wins gained in impressive style in the Group 3 Sagaro Stakes.

The six-year-old’s resume also includes last season’s Group 2 Doncaster Cup and the Listed Esher Stakes, although Mariscotti admits that the 50,000gns purchase hasn’t always been regarded as a viable Flat performer, never mind a potential Group 1 talent.

“He was very backward and it would be fair to say that he didn’t shine on the gallops to start with,” says Mick. “Andrew wasn’t convinced he was going to be a Flat horse at all. It was actually Andrew’s son, Jonno, who was riding Coltrane at that time and he said to his dad, ‘You need to get this horse to the racecourse because he’s better than you think.’

“He came out and ran really well to finish second on debut, which was a surprise to the trainer and the owners. Andrew had rung me before his debut and said, ‘Look, I’m going to apologise in advance because, honestly, anything could happen. He’s really slow on the gallops.’”

sadly broke down on the gallops so never got to fulfil his potential,” says Mariscotti. “I certainly believe, and Andrew certainly believed, he would’ve been a little superstar. Anyway, that win was enough to get us hooked. It was a unique experience for us as that was only our fifth ever race.”

Although no thoroughbred pursuit is without its challenging moments, the couple have had more highs than lows since, with notable successes coming courtesy of the stakes winners Goldoni, Dashing Willoughby, Havana Beat, Masekela and Zanetto. Mariscotti wastes no time in nominating Dashing Willoughby’s Royal Ascot victory, which came in the Queen’s Vase in 2019, as the highlight so far, particularly as the Group 2 triumph so nearly never happened.

“The horse actually had an infection in his hoof the week before the race and the stable staff at Kingsclere nursed him through over the weekend,” recalls Mariscotti. “By Tuesday he was ready to run, but it was touch and go. That was an incredible rollercoaster because we’d targeted the Queen’s Vase with him from when he was a two-year-old so it would’ve been a massive disappointment if he couldn’t have run. That was very special and is definitely the highlight, although I’ll be very happy to surpass that this year!”

Surpassing the highs of that Group 2 victory seems a distinct possibility given Coltrane’s rate of improvement. The son of Mastercraftsman, named after the jazz saxophonist John, rather than the late

Coltrane certainly showed more once he reached the racecourse though as he followed that debut effort up by breaking his maiden at Chepstow, finishing first past the post at Newmarket (he was later disqualified for traces of a banned substance in his post-race sample) and then winning the competitive Melrose Handicap at York’s Ebor meeting. Just when his progress was gathering momentum, there was a significant bump in the road.

“Sadly, he got injured so he missed all of the Flat season in 2021,” says Mariscotti. “He came back at the end of that year and ran rather unimpressively on the allweather. I looked back on my pre-season notes with Andrew and we had thought that he might be a Group horse when he won the Melrose, but we agreed that he probably wasn’t a Group horse anymore.”

However, when Coltrane got back on turf, he quickly regained the progressive thread. He finished a neck second to Cleveland in the Chester Cup before a thoroughly game effort to win the Ascot Stakes, a ten-length romp in the Esher Stakes and a gutsy neck defeat of Trueshan in the Doncaster Cup.

Coltrane’s character, as well as his latent talent, has made him a firm favourite with the team at Kingsclere. Mariscotti credits groom Ryan Gradwell and regular work rider Chris Hannaford for helping the horse to fulfil his potential.

“He’s a lovely horse, he’s the gentlest horse we’ve ever owned,” he says.

“Everyone in the yard loves Coltrane to bits – he’s very special to us”

The Big Interview

“Everyone in the yard loves him to bits and because he was injured and there was a chance that he’d never come back, he’s very special to us.”

Unearthing such a regular supply of above-average talents is no mean feat, especially for owners who don’t buy a significant number of yearlings each year, nor spend a fortune doing so. Their growing roll of honour speaks to the shrewd moves they pull, and the hard yards they put in, at the yearling sales.

“We love the sales,” says Mariscotti. “We only go to the Tattersalls yearling sales and we only do Book 1 and Book 2, but we’re there for as long as it takes, so we’re definitely hands on. The Andrew Balding

buying team is Andrew, his mother Emma and Tessa Hetherington, and we trail around and look at lots and lots of horses. They’re the experts but Janice and I think we know what we like, so we do play our part.

“One of the things Emma Balding in particular has taught us is that, at the price we’re buying, bearing in mind we’re not paying hundreds of thousands of pounds, you can’t be too dogmatic on pedigree, so we buy the individual rather than the page.”

Expanding on the kind of animal that makes the Mariscotti shortlist, Mick continues: “A typical horse for us is a distance horse. We prefer to have a horse that takes a little while to show its best. It just feels more rewarding. We’ve probably bought fairly unfashionable horses from time to time, and we’ve had success with horses by unproven sires, so we’re not afraid of that.

“I know a lot of people want to buy something that’ll come out as a two-yearold and show its stuff, but we’re quite happy to wait and see the horse develop during its three- and even four-year-old career.

“We’ve had sprinters and early twoyear-olds but the disappointment can be that after they’ve run three times you’ve fully explored what the horse is likely to be able to do. That isn’t the case, I feel, with horses who get a longer trip.”

The Mariscotti methodology also involves knowing when to sell, as well as when to buy. Plenty of their more lucrative transfers have occurred on the private market, but one notable exception was Le Don De Vie, who was sold to Howson & Houldsworth, Group Bloodstock and Aziz Kheir for £460,000 at the Goffs London Sale in 2019.

The son of Leroidesanimaux was last seen finishing second, beaten just a nose, in the Group 1 Metropolitan at Randwick having subsequently moved to the leading Australian stable of Ciaron Maher and David Eustace.

“We still enjoy watching them race afterwards even when they’re not owned

by us,” says Mariscotti. “We follow ‘Le Don’ and we’ve got a horse who was sold to Hong Kong last year [Swilcan Bridge, now named Young Brilliant] that we still track, so we enjoy them from afar.”

The Mariscottis certainly aren’t expecting to profit from racehorse ownership, but their willingness to sell when the price is right reveals a certain pragmatism towards the financial pressure of having horses in training.

“It’s a very expensive hobby and our view has always been that if we have a good horse and we feel that someone offers us the right price, then we will sell,” says Mick. “We don’t run it as a business and we don’t make money out of it, but we

“We prefer to have a horse that takes a little while to show its best”

Coltrane’s Sagaro Stakes victory was his second win at Ascot having captured the Ascot Stakes at last year’s Royal Meeting

try to keep the money rolling in so we can play for another year.

“One of Janice’s regular comments is ‘Why do we have to sell all the good horses?’ Unfortunately that’s just the financial reality. It’s always difficult because we love all of them, but if we want to carry on there has to be an in-flow as well and sadly prize-money is not going to keep us buying racehorses.”

To that extent, maximising a horse’s resale value is vital.

“To a degree we choose the races we run in with an eye to getting the horses noticed,” he continues. “We’ve had relatively few Group winners, Coltrane and Dashing Willoughby aside, but most of

the ones we’ve sold have been improving three-year-olds.

“We’ve won the three-year-old handicap that’s usually the first race at Epsom on Derby day three times now. It means a huge amount to us, especially me having been born and brought up in Epsom, and that race has a track record of throwing up good horses. There are people looking at that race, amongst others, with a view to buying horses.”

Devising a sustainable strategy is one thing but collaborating with those capable of delivering on the vision is equally important. Andrew Balding trains eight of the owners’ 11-strong string, with Eve Johnson Houghton, who joined the fold in

2018, entrusted with the other three.

“Andrew was the first trainer we ever approached about owning horses and he and Anna Lisa run a superb operation at Kingsclere,” says Mariscotti. “He’s approachable, knowledgeable and a really good trainer. We’re delighted that he’s now having the kind of success he deserves. He was always successful but he’s now getting better horses and more owners.

“We’re relatively small owners for him now, and we certainly don’t spend the big money that some of the others do, but he still devotes time to us and he’s a superb professional.”

He continues: “We’ve known Eve for a while, she’s a lovely person and we always had a good rapport even when we didn’t have any horses with her. She shares a lot of the things that we found with Andrew. She’s very hands on, she loves her horses and is approachable and knowledgeable. She was the first trainer other than Andrew to have a winner for us, which puts her in a special place.”

As an Epsom native it is of little surprise that the Derby figures prominently in Mariscotti’s racing ambitions. However, just as he is pragmatic when it comes to buying and selling, he is aware the type of horse they own lends itself to slightly longer-distance targets.

“I’d love to win the Derby but we’re realistic enough to know that’s unlikely to happen,” he says. “Masekela was the only time we’ve had a Derby runner, but it was fantastic when he finished fourth [to Desert Crown]. With my Coral connection, if I could pick a race that Coral sponsors, it would definitely be the Eclipse, but, again, we don’t tend to buy horses that get that sort of trip. Realistically the longer distance races are for us.”

As far as distance races go, they don’t come any bigger than the Gold Cup. Mariscotti says he hasn’t allowed himself to imagine victory in Royal Ascot’s flagship race but acknowledges that Coltrane possesses exactly the right sort of profile for the race.

“He obviously likes Ascot and he’s won over the Gold Cup trip before,” he says. “It was always the aim this year to head for the Gold Cup and, touch wood, we’re on track. It’s important for us and I know it’s important for Andrew as he tells me it’s one Group 1 race that he hasn’t won and is very keen to win.

“There’ll be a lot of pressure on us, but we always enjoy going racing, particularly the big days, so we’ll enjoy it whatever the result.”

Win, lose or draw, anyone who sets out looking for a hobby and ends up at the Gold Cup is plainly doing plenty right.

Mick Mariscotti

BILL SELWYN

Hazelwood Bloodstock High STAKES

Hazelwood

Words: Nancy Sexton

Consigning was far from the end goal when Adrian and Philippa O’Brien opened the doors to Hazelwood Bloodstock at Red House Stud near Newmarket on February 1, 2016. From the outside looking in, their rich backgrounds within the industry across both hemispheres made the launch of a new enterprise the logical step forward. Yet greatly aiding the venture was the fact they were able to offer a service with the backing of a small yet high-powered group of clients, several of them southern hemisphere breeders looking for a base to place their European interests.

Thus, the idea of a boutique boarding operation swiftly came to fruition. And as it turned out, the launch of a sales arm wasn’t far behind.

“Really, selling horses was about completing a range of services for our clients,” says Adrian O’Brien. “Our first consignment was at [Tattersalls October] Book 2 in 2017. We had three colts, one of which was a pinhook of my own. And it’s grown since then.”

Grown it has. Since that debut consignment, Hazelwood Bloodstock has gone on to top Book 1 of the Tattersalls October Sale in addition to two renewals of both Book 2 and the Tattersalls December Yearling Sale. Not only was the Book 1 sale-topper, a 3,600,000gns Dubawi halfbrother to Barney Roy, the most expensive yearling to sell worldwide in 2019 but he was also one of two seven-figure yearlings within that particular Hazelwood draft, which averaged a whopping 1,958,333gns.

The ultimate aim, however, is the production of high-class racehorses and in that Hazelwood continues to compile an enviable record, one that is currently

highlighted by the top-class American pair In Italian and McKulick, both sourced by agent Mike Ryan with trainer Chad Brown.

Closer to home, there are also various classy three-year-olds to look forward to in Hans Andersen, winner of the 2,000 Guineas Trial at Leopardstown, and Sounds Of Heaven, who made a winning return to action in the Michael Seely Memorial Stakes at York.

The quartet remain true to the ethos of Hazelwood as a boutique operation,

Bloodstock has swiftly become a leader of its field – and with an array of smart prospects in action, this could be its best year yet

Adrian and Philippa O’Brien have developed Hazelwood Bloodstock into a top nursery

BILL SELWYN

Adrian O’Brien: ‘Red House Stud is absolutely steeped in history’

BILL SELWYN

with each being the well-bred products of highly successful breeders.

“We started with a terrific small group of clients who essentially all remain,” says O’Brien. “We are lucky in that they own some exceptional bloodstock, which makes it possible for us to do what we do.

“We foaled ten mares in our first year. We didn’t consign back then – there was too much else going on, we were trying to find our feet and establish a good base of staff. Then we prepared one Book 1 horse the following year, which was consigned through somebody else.

“It was never actually our intention to consign – it was never a driving force. But in 2017 we had those Book 2 colts, and then later that year [subsequent Group 1 winner] Barney Roy appeared on the racecourse and we happened to have –and still do – his dam Alina on the stud. She had a Kodiac yearling filly with us at the time. It was decided that she would

go to the December Yearling Sale and she duly topped it at 400,000gns to David Redvers.”

Those early results provided swift justification for the O’Brien family’s return to Newmarket, a decision that had required

the veterinary team at the renowned Woodlands Stud at the time it was under the ownership of Bob Ingham. O’Brien also spent three years as stud manager of Plantation Stud in Newmarket.

“The Hunter Valley was home for a long time,” he says. “I was lucky to work with some exceptional horses. I did a lot of flying with the stallions. I was with Galileo when he flew down there for the first time and I flew with Danehill many times. There’s too many to mention but Royal Academy would be one of my favourites.

“There were some magnificent mares too. Hveger [dam of Highland Reel and Idaho] springs to mind. What a phenomenon she’s been and now we have her daughter Via Condotti here, which is nice. She’s an exciting mare, a beauty.

a cross-hemisphere move from Australia. For 20 years, Adrian O’Brien was part of the Coolmore Australia team, latterly as stud manager, while Philippa was on

“There are nice overlaps like that. We also board Reem, who has produced two Book 2 sale-toppers [the 750,000gns colt King Leonidas and 525,000gns

“We are lucky in that our clients own some exceptional bloodstock”

Hazelwood Bloodstock

colt Ziryab]. I remember her as a foal at Coolmore Australia. And I knew Florentina from down there too, and she’s now the dam of In Italian.”

Contacts made in Australia have helped Hazelwood carve a niche as a base for those mares owned by southern hemisphere interests. While a number remain in Newmarket to drop northern hemisphere-bred stock for their owners, the southern hemisphere covering season also assumes a sizeable element of the 120-acre operation. One such mare ended up being Florentina, who was covered by Kingman to southern hemisphere time in 2018 after foaling In Italian. The resulting colt was foaled and raised at Hazelwood and later shipped to Australia, where he sold at the 2021 Magic Millions Gold Coast Sale for A$1.8 million.

“Red House Stud is absolutely steeped in history,” says O’Brien. “I didn’t ever want to trade as Red House as I felt that was somebody else’s work – it was Tom Warner, managed by Alma Taylor and advised by Robert Percival. And they had great success, especially with that good mare Star, who bred Pastoral Pursuits and Goodricke. Mansingh and Petong also stood here with success.

“I wanted a mobile name for ourselves, so that’s how Hazelwood Bloodstock came about. We are lucky to have some great facilities on our doorstep – [veterinary

been working on improving the farm facilities and the mares ever since.”

hospital] Rossdales is only down the road. And of course Philippa is also a vet. It’s a stud business model that works really, really well. It means you have a first opinion within seconds. And she knows the mares so well, she knows every quirk and trait, and that knowledge is layered further over time.”

He adds: “It’s really good-draining land here as well. Let’s remember that we’re less than a mile away from where last year’s Derby winner [Desert Crown, bred by Strawberry Fields Stud] was bred and raised. It all just proves you can breed and raise a good horse in Newmarket.

“So we knew the farm could produce a good horse, we knew it was on good land and so we really had no excuses. We’ve

The farm has indeed continued to churn out good horses. Its high-profile resident mares include Astrelle, a Group 3-placed daughter of Makfi whose stud record for Sheikh Mohammed bin Khalifa Al Maktoum’s Essafinaat UK Ltd consists of three black-type winners from her first three foals. Fearless King, her 2017 colt by Kingman, set the ball rolling as winner of the German 2,000 Guineas prior to taking up stud duty in Germany. He was followed by the Pride Of Dubai filly Just Beautiful, winner of the Sceptre Stakes, and then McKulick, whose wins for Klaravich Stables and trainer Chad Brown include last year’s Grade 1 Belmont Oaks Invitational. Now the earner of close to $1.2 million, the Frankel filly remains in training this season.

“Astrelle is an extraordinary mare who has her quirks – for instance, she always foals standing up,” says O’Brien. “She’s not over big and nor are her stock, but they can all run.

“McKulick was very well bought by Mike Ryan [for 180,000gns at Book 1 of the Tattersalls October Sale]. She wasn’t the biggest and if we’re completely honest, she didn’t walk as well as the market demands. Mike bought her very well. He puts in the

work and he’s a phenomenal judge. I think he looks at horses differently from some others at the sales – he’s about tempo and rhythm. And the results speak for themselves.”

Remarkably, McKulick was one of two Grade 1 winners purchased off Hazelwood in the Tattersalls ring by the powerful Ryan - Brown partnership in as many years after In Italian. Bought on behalf of Peter Brant, the Dubawi filly shook off a bad case of pneumonia as a three-year-old to rise through the ranks, ultimately developing into a consistent Grade 1 performer. She is particularly effective at Keeneland, where she has turned in front-running Grade 1 victories in the First Lady and Jenny Wiley Stakes and also ran second to Tuesday in last year’s Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Turf. Bred by John Camilleri’s Fairway Thoroughbreds, she was a 475,000gns Book 1 purchase by Ryan.

“In Italian came in the amazing year when we topped the sale at 3.6 million guineas and got 1.8 million guineas for the Kingman colt out of One Last Dance,” says O’Brien. “Obviously, 475,000gns isn’t an insignificant amount of money but she turned out to be the best of them all.

“I pulled up her foaling report the other day and while it’s easy to say

“Philippa knows the mares so well, she knows every quirk and trait”

with hindsight, we did like her from the beginning. She wasn’t a rich chestnut, she was a washy chestnut, which isn’t always appealing in the commercial marketplace. But she was very well-made with a beautiful temperament just like her mother.

“She never had a sick day and everything went well with her. She just grew along in the background and turned out to be a very nice yearling.”

Another bred by Camilleri, Sounds Of Heaven, looked destined for better things when winning a competitive Leopardstown maiden at the back end of 2022, an idea she duly justified when making a successful reappearance in Listed company at York’s Dante meeting. Group 1 targets surely now beckon.

As befits a filly who commanded 650,000gns from Craig Bernick’s Glen Hill Farm as a yearling, she is bred in the purple as a daughter of Ring The Bell, a Galileo full-sister to the Newmarket and Irish 1,000 Guineas heroine Hermosa and her multiple Group 1-winning sibling Hydrangea. Ring The Bell’s first foal, Voice Of Angels, was Listed-placed in Ireland last year while her third foal, a colt by Dubawi, was sold by Hazelwood for 1,500,000gns to Godolphin at Tattersalls last October.

“Ring The Bell is a very exciting mare,”

says O’Brien. “Sounds Of Heaven looks very smart. She’s the most beautiful looking filly. The mare gets good-looking stock – there’s another good one on the ground this year – and of course it’s such a brilliant family.”

Sounds Of Heaven was part of the same three-year-old crop as Hans Andersen, who opened his season with a win in the Leopardstown 2,000 Guineas Trial. The Frankel colt was a 450,000gns Tattersalls October Book 1 purchase by MV Magnier and immediately showed a smart level of form for Aidan O’Brien last

and best-moving of them all,” says O’Brien. “He’s a beautiful animal. I suppose there might have been a little bit of a question mark about his dam [Listed winner Shadow Hunter] at the time of his sale but he’s clearly a good horse. We also had his brother here and he was retained and has gone to Joseph O’Brien.”

He adds: “The consigning side has grown. We had four Dubawis in Book 1 last year. That’s not the be all and end all but I remember Ed Dunlop coming down to look at them and it was just one after the other. He turned to me and said, ‘Adrian, how do you sleep at night?’ I said, ‘Ed, I don’t!’”

Of course, no stud, large or small, can cope without a trusted network of staff and O’Brien is effusive in the praise of his team, which is led by stud manager Tom Hughes.

“Everyone says their team are the best and I truly believe mine are,” he says. “I knew Tom when I was in the Hunter Valley and he was the yearling manager at Segenhoe Stud. His family bred that good sprinter Mind Games.

“Tom moved back to England around the same time as we did. He did a spell at Newsells Park Stud before coming here, and he’s been with us now for about six and a half years. He’s exceptional at preparing horses for sale.

“We have a cracking bunch of people here. That is the hardest part in this business – getting and retaining staff. But then you have to pay them well and you have to provide good conditions.”

In very little time, the Hazelwood brand has come to run hand in hand with the idea of quality. Once again there will be a high-powered draft of yearlings on offer this year, and who knows, perhaps another In Italian or McKulick is among them.

“We don’t consign too many for outsiders,” says O’Brien. “They’re almost all homegrown products, bar the odd pinhook which I enjoy, and it’s a great

In Italian: flying the Grade 1 flag

Via Condotti (left) and Ring The Bell are among the residents at Hazelwood Bloodstock

BILL

SELWYN

Ramiro Restrepo

The Kentucky Derby win of Mage (centre) will live long in the memory of Ramiro Restrepo (inset)

Classic RIDE

The victory of Mage in last month’s Kentucky Derby provided a landmark moment for his co-owner and purchaser Ramiro Restrepo, also an emerging player on the European sales circuit

Words: Nancy Sexton

There is a wonderful image out of this year’s Kentucky Derby that deserves to serve the sport well for years to come. As the eventual winner Mage came with his run under Javier Castellano to collar long-time leader Two Phil’s, cameras followed the reaction of his connections

stretched all the way back to Apollo in 1882.

Restrepo chuckles at the memory of cheering on Mage that Saturday afternoon in Louisville. “You know, I remember seeing Charles O’Brien cheer on his dad’s horse, [the Vincent O’Brien-trained] Royal Academy, at Belmont Park when he won the Breeders’ Cup Mile,” he recalls. “I’ve always identified with that video. Horses bring out such emotion. Passion is what it’s about.

“Between them, my grandfather and uncle were in the industry for over 70 years and their dream was to lead one over for the Kentucky Derby. So for myself, I had already won by having Mage in there. I did my grandfather’s wish. My uncles were able to be there and they came down with me when we led him over. So for him to be able to win, that was surreal.”

At $290,000, Mage may not fall into the bargain category but the figure pales in comparison with some of the sums shelled out by people in search of a potential Kentucky Derby candidate.

Bred by Grandview Equine, a partnership headed by Robert Clay, he is from the first crop of champion American two-year-old Good Magic, who ran second to Justify in the 2018 Kentucky Derby, and out of Puca, a Grade 2-placed daughter of the 2008 Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes winner Big Brown. They’re quality connections but even so, when it comes to first-season sires, there is often a market ceiling in value. Following the progeny of unproven stallions isn’t for everyone but for Restrepo and his connections, it’s an

Ramiro Restrepo

opportunity – and on occasions, a golden one at that.

“When you’re shopping at my level –generally between $75,000 to $200,000 –you’re shopping for value,” he says. “You’re looking for angles. And for me, going after the progeny of freshman stallions has probably given me my top six purchases. I’d rather fall on my sword over a talented freshman sire than take what’s left by the high-profile sires.

“Gustavo and I work the sale in tandem, and we both agreed on Mage. He had a phenomenal breeze. His time was spectacular, the way he did it was great and if you look at his gallop out, he looks like he could do it all again. For such a young horse, it was a phenomenal thing to do.

“And then back at the barn, he was the clone of his sire – the markings, his colour, his action, just everything about him was like Good Magic.”

As it has turned out, Good Magic has gone on to become one of North America’s most exciting young sires. The son of Curlin, another success story for Hill ’n’ Dale Farm, gained an early top-flight representative in Blazing Sevens, winner of last year’s Grade 1 Champagne Stakes, and

currently has nine first-crop stakes winners to his credit.

“We stretched a little more than we intended to get Mage and no sooner had the hammer come down, then I was immediately on the phone trying to put together a partnership,” says Restrepo.

With the Venezuelan father-son training team of Gustavo Delgado and Gustavo Delgado Jr. also staying in, the end result is a real melting pot of owners, particularly so given that CMNWLTH represents the interests of over 300 micro-shareholders. The brainchild of Chase Chamberlin and Brian Doxtator, the fledgling syndicate is also a shareholder in $14.9 million earner Country Grammer, winner of last year’s Dubai World Cup.

“We give all our horses four to six weeks off after the two-year-old sales,” says Restrepo. “Mage was actually ready to go at Keeneland in October but the weather wasn’t great and we said we were better bringing him home to Miami and starting him there. Gustavo circled the maiden at Gulfstream Park on Pegasus World Cup day, so we targeted that and he won.”

“One call was to Sam Herzberg of Sterling Racing. Sam had a Derby colt ten years ago called Black Onyx who had to be scratched the day before the race. So he’s been Derby dreaming ever since. He saw the marketing video I put together on the colt and jumped in. And my second call was to CMNWLTH and they took a share as well.”

That debut came only on January 28 and from there Mage went to the Grade 2 Fountain Of Youth Stakes, where he emerged with credit to run fourth to champion two-year-old Forte. Although that colt again had his measure in the Grade 1 Florida Derby next time out, it wasn’t nearly so authoritative, with Mage narrowing the deficit to a length. So while there’s no doubt that Forte deserved his

Structor: Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf winner was also sourced by Restrepo

“Horses bring out such emotionpassion is what it’s about”

place as the popular Kentucky Derby favourite prior to his withdrawal at the eleventh hour, Mage was also improving rapidly, a notion that was confirmed by his victory at Churchill Downs.

“He’s a push button horse, he listens to cues and he takes care of himself,” says Restrepo. “He’s very intelligent. All the good ones have a smartness about them.”

Restrepo launched Marquee Bloodstock in early 2014 following time in the nightclub and beverage industries, latterly with the Boston Beer Company.

Horseracing had always been in the background, however, making a sidestep into the industry a natural move. Restrepo took the jump and not long after was named Fasig-Tipton’s South Florida representative.

“My family was in racing for a long time,” he says “We had racehorses up until around 2000 and I picked it up again in 2008. I worked summers at Saratoga in the barn and never stopped attending the races. It was just that professionally racing wasn’t what I was doing.

“I started by sourcing my own claimers, just really to learn a lot more about the ownership experience and what constitutes a winner. And from that, I was able to start buying a better type of horse and some of those did well. When that happens, it gives you the confidence to say, ‘I can do this’ and keep going.”

One of those early horses was Structor, a $160,000 yearling purchase who resold for $850,000 as a two-year-old, a price tag he later justified when successful

to buy now out of Europe when they break their maiden. So there’s an argument to say that you’re better off buying them there as yearlings. The US dollar, with it being stronger recently, has helped.

“Turf racing is undoubtedly gaining more appeal over here now. The races are run a little more evenly, the horses run more frequently and they last a little longer. And the racetracks are starting to put on more series for turf horses – New York has their series [the Caesars Turf Triple Series] and Kentucky Downs also has a very good programme. There’s been a steady climb in popularity.”

Restrepo has built on that increasing popularity himself by regularly attending European sales with an eye on sourcing horses for his own interests alongside others.

“One of the first European purchases I was involved with was a No Nay Never filly bought at the Arqana December Sale [for €130,000],” he recalls. “She went on to sell at the two-year-old sales in Florida for $430,000.

“Right now I have an Expert Eye filly named Isabel Alexandra with Gustavo. We bought her at the Goffs Orby Sale [for €70,000], she won a maiden last October at Indiana and then ran second in an allowance at Keeneland. She has talent and we’re looking forward to the summer with her.

in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf. In keeping with Mage, he was the son of a then unproven stallion, in his case Three Chimneys Farm’s Palace Malice. More recently, the agent reconnected with Structor when given the opportunity to broker the deal to sell him as a stallion prospect to Japanese interests.

At the same time, Restrepo has also done what he can to develop his European reach.

“I was probably in seventh grade, so around 12-years-old, when I was given a book called A Jockey’s Life by Dick Francis on Lester Piggott,” he says. “Chapter by chapter it goes through some of Lester’s greats – horses like Crepello, Nijinsky, Roberto and The Minstrel – and some of the relationships that he had with trainers. All that stuck with me and gave me a huge respect for European racing. I love going over there.”

He adds: “The horses are so expensive

“Have A Good Day was a Group 3 winner for Con Marnane in France. We bought her to race last year. She’s also with Gustavo. We also have a lovely Too Darn Hot filly currently training at WinStar Farm. She was bought at Goffs last year as well. And we also have a Hello Youmzain yearling colt in France that we have in partnership with Haras d’Etreham.

“I really do love going to Europe. I started going in 2018 and apart from when Covid stopped us, I’ve tried to visit every year since. The sale companies treat us like gold. Jimmy George, Henry Beeby, Tom Taaffe, Freddy Powell and all their teams are so helpful when we visit, they are all so welcoming.”

You can be certain that Restrepo will be back hunting in Europe this year, but in the meantime there is Mage to enjoy. A slow pace didn’t play to his strengths in the Preakness Stakes, where he wound up third behind National Treasure and Blazing Sevens. But there will be other top races to be won with this likeable colt.

“We’re just going to live in the here and now and enjoy it,” says Restrepo. “That’s what it’s all about. To be able to win the Kentucky Derby was amazing. We know we have a top colt, there will be other days and we’re just going to enjoy the ride.”

GEORGE SELWYN

RAMIRO RESTREPO

Ramiro Restrepo shares a moment with Mage

Breeders’ Digest

Nancy Sexton Bloodstock Editor

‘One of the good guys’farewell to Richard Aston

The death of Richard Aston last month at the age of 68 not only left British jumps breeding bereft of one of its most prolific participants but also of a hugely respected figure who was as popular as he was successful.

With his wife Sally, Aston developed the Cheshire-based Goldford Stud into one of the country’s tops jumps nurseries, winning many friends along the way. Numerous good horses have come off the land over the years, its roll of honour topped by such luminaries as Rule The World, Inglis Drever and Riverside Theatre. At the same time, the Goldford sales arm became a byword for quality, both in terms of sale ring results and on the track, where the stud has been represented to excellent effect in recent years by Shishkin and Cue Card.

Aston’s insight into the jumps bloodstock industry was put to good use during his time as member of the TBA’s National Hunt Committee but let’s not forget that the stud also hit heady heights on the Flat, notably through Allan Belshaw’s thriving Simply Times family from which the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf heroine Newspaperofrecord emerged in recent years. In 2021, Goldford sold her dam Sunday Times for 1,800,000gns at the Tattersalls December Mares Sale.

“His ambition was to always sell something for a million and it was wonderful that he achieved that with one of Allan Belshaw’s mares, Sunday Times,” says David Minton of Highflyer Bloodstock, a close friend. “He was a very good horseman, he hunted and rode a lot of winners in point-to-points. He was very clever, very driven, very studious. He just understood the business so well. And his partnership with Sally was an integral part of it all. They were together for so long and were a wonderful pair.”

Today, a Goldford Stud pedigree is easily recognisable and Aston would have undoubtedly taken great pride in the reception given to the stud’s homebred Blue Bresil daughter of Petticoat Tails at the recent Goffs UK Doncaster Spring Store Sale, where she set a record for a British store at £210,000. Goldford’s association with the family stretches back three

generations, taking in such classy performers as Diamond Sal, Ring The Boss, Theatre Girl and Tweed Skirt along the way.

The Martaline mare Tweed Skirt, bred by Goldford out of Theatre Girl, wasn’t out of the first four in five starts last season for Nicky Henderson and her ownership group, Just Four Men With Rose Tinted Glasses.

“Tweed Skirt has kept us all going this year, a group of us lease her but that’s Richard’s mare, and she’s been wonderful,” says Minton. “Richard was excellent at identifying stallions. He was quick to send mares to France to use horses like Martaline and No Risk At All, and that has worked out well. He was very good at working out matings.”

Among the top sellers of stores for many years, last month’s sale record at Goffs was far from being the stud’s first.

“You could not ask to deal with a more professional pair than Richard and Sally,” says Goffs UK Chairman Henry Beeby. “They helped develop the Spring Store Sale into a leading sale. Prior to this year, they sold the sale-topper ten times, every year from 1997 to 2001 and then in 2003, 2009, 2010, 2011 and 2015. They sold the sale’s first ever six-figure lot in 1999, a horse called Inca, and set a sale record for a filly in 2001 [86,000gns for Amberina]. The Goldford horses are

always a quality draft, immaculately presented and Richard was always a pleasure to deal with.

“From a personal point of view, Richard was very close to my father and mother, and also to Vanessa and myself. We had many happy times together at the sales and various race meetings.”

The record books paint Aston as a major influence on British jumps breeding but speak to anyone who knew him and the memories are of a popular man with a charm and humour to him.

“He was a great raconteur, he would recite some wonderful ditties,” says Minton. “He was also a wonderful imitator.

“We had some fantastic holidays together. Last year, we treated ourselves to a lunch at La Gavroche in London. It was a special treat and gave us some wonderful memories.”

Beeby adds: “Richard was one of those people who never had a bad word to say. But if there was a point to be made, he would make it. He was charming, kind, debonair and always very well turned out.

“He and Sally were just a remarkable duo. They worked very hard to build it all up. He was genuinely one of the good guys. If the good die young, then he is the epitome of that. He was a very special man.”

Richard Aston: ‘One of those people who never had a bad word to say’

Records fall as strong breeze-up season continues

Goffs UK Doncaster Breeze-Up

A spirit of uplifting optimism resulting from record trade and some superb pinhooks at this one-day sale of breezers was tempered within two days.

By then word was filtering out that the record-priced top lot, a £500,000 son of Harry Angel consigned by Tally-Ho Stud and bought by Curragh trainer Michael O’Callaghan, had died on a transporter after he had arrived in Ireland. The vehicle was parked when the colt inexplicably reared, hitting his head and dislocating a vertebra which killed him instantly.

Safety features in all forms of horse transport are regularly assessed and updated, but the one-in-a-million moment is hard to guard against.

It was a galling incident for everyone involved in breezing, not least O’Callaghan and his partners, the team at Tally-Ho, the transport company and Goffs UK, for the colt could well have become a banner horse, one to march through the season and bring good vibes to racing.

That sad note apart, the sale was a success and another example of buyers’ faith in breeze-up horses, one that was to be endorsed at subsequent sales of

TALKING POINT

the type. An additional 26 horses walked the ring, yet the clearance rate rose two points to 86 per cent and turnover soared 54 per cent to £10,011,500, a figure which with inflation would have been achieved at some point, but which came sooner than expected. The average price gained 29 per cent at just under £63,000 while the median was up 11 per cent at £40,000.

“What an incredible day at Europe’s oldest breeze-up sale,” said Goffs UK Managing Director Tim Kent, his thoughts backed up by positive comments from a number of leading buyers. Anthony Stroud, whose Stroud Coleman agency bought three lots for £710,000, said: “These guys work so hard to get horses to a breeze-up. It’s important they are rewarded.”

Thoughts immediately turned to those who ride out in Baltic conditions on wet days through the winter and have responsibility for looking after

• The British government’s well-intentioned Emergency Alerts test – a distinct sound and vibration sent to mobile phones – was advertised to take place at 3pm on a sleepy Sunday afternoon. Perfect timing, you would have thought, for trying out the service and causing the least amount of disruption.

But no-one had told the horses stabled at Goffs UK’s Doncaster complex ahead of the following day’s breeze.

six-figure equine assets who are young and can be rather playful. It is not a task to be underestimated.

The route to the breeze-up ring commonly starts at yearling sales, where the raw material is sourced and where Shane Power of Tradewinds Stud bought a Twilight Son filly for 40,000gns, a shrewd investment for she

At 3pm, with a number out of their boxes and being walked up and down for inspection, phones began emitting the alert with inevitable consequences. No horses or humans were reported hurt, but some grooms were hanging on to the end of lead reins.

Within a few moments calm was restored, but teething problems meant a number of phones received the alert several minutes later, adding to the equine jitters.

This £360,000 Twilight Son filly was a highlight of a memorable Goffs UK Breeze-Up Sale

It was a busy day for Richard Brown of Blandford Bloodstock

Roger O’Callaghan of Tally-Ho Stud, which turned over £1,340,000 on 12 lots

FARNSWORTH/GOFFS

changed hands in Doncaster for £360,000 when selling to Richard Brown of Blandford Bloodstock. He was acting for Sheikh Rashid Dalmook Al Maktoum, who at the Tattersalls Ireland Goresbridge Sale last year had bought an El Kabeir filly from Tradewinds. Named Bright Diamond, she later finished third in the Fillies’ Mile.

Brendan Holland of Grove Stud was a couple of weeks away from landing a

Tattersalls Guineas Breeze-Up and HIT Sale

Another breeze-up sale and more record business as Tattersalls staged a one-day auction in Newmarket and offered a tranche of horses in training, too.

With a pair of 200,000gns colts to lead the parade, the sales company turned over nearly 6m gns through sales of 141 breezers – an 84 per cent clearance rate – while just over 1.5m gns was generated by 99 horses in training. From that total, 85 changed hands for a worthy clearance rate of 86 per cent. Overall, turnover for both sections of the sale was a record, as was the number of breezers, 13, who sold for a six-figure sum.

The 150,000gns leading horse in the horses in training section would have been eligible for the breeze-up catalogue, being a two-year-old by Sea

monster result in France, but he left Doncaster with a good result to his name after trading a homebred Starspangledbanner filly for £350,000 to Stroud. The buyer was acting for a Bahraini client, while Jake Warren’s £340,000 purchase of a Dark Angel filly was on behalf of Simon Scupham’s Bermuda Racing. Mick Murphy and Sarah O’Connell’s Longways Stables consigned the filly having bought her

Goffs UK Doncaster Breeze-Up Sale

for €52,500 at Arqana in August. Little more than three weeks later, having been named Flora Of Bermuda, she was beaten just half a length when fourth in a novices’ race at Sandown.

In 2022, this sale saw a record 17 horses change hands for a six-figure sum. At the latest edition that number rose to 33, raising expectations of further Royal Ascot winners emerging from Doncaster.

Michael O’Callaghan came away with this Time Test colt at 200,000gns

Sales Circuit

TALKING POINT

The Stars and from the desirable Puce family. However, her career had been stalled after she was sold for 600,000gns at the October Sale for she was among a group of high-value horses knocked down to agent Richard Knight acting for Saleh Al Homaizi, whose ability or willingness to honour the transactions came to nought.

Returned to the ring she was snapped up by John Deer’s well-regarded and long-established Oakgrove Stud in Wales. Given her pedigree, she need never race.

Top among the breezers were colts by Zoffany and Time Test. The Zoffany, who had been bought by consignor Cormac Farrell for €55,000 at the Tattersalls Ireland September Sale, was knocked down to trainer Richard Hughes, while the Time Test was bought by Michael O’Callaghan, a fearless operator in this

• While most of us practise, practise, practise just to get some desperately needed consistency over our golf drive, tennis serve or snooker potting, others turn out once a year and play with sickening ease. They have a natural ability which the rest of us can only admire, often grudgingly. Fortunately we don’t face competition from horses, so when one can do their job with some X factor or God-given talent we can admire without envy. An example could be found at Tattersalls’

market and keeping focus following the loss of the £500,000 Harry Angel colt he bought at Doncaster’s breeze-up.

Twelve months earlier, O’Callaghan had spent 160,000gns on a Time Test colt who topped this sale and later, named Crypto Force, won a Curragh maiden beating fellow newcomer Auguste Rodin (no less). O’Callaghan then traded his winner at the Goffs London Sale for £900,000 to Amo Racing, in whose colours he later won the Beresford Stakes. O’Callaghan’s latest Time Test purchase had been bought as a foal for 67,000gns by Ger and Brendan Morrin and prepped for the breeze by the master that is Willie Browne of Mocklershill.

New partnerships are being formed

Guineas breeze-up in the shape of a Zoffany colt from a typically stout German family who headed trade. Vendor Cormac Farrell said: “He can do sections like a six-furlong horse, not a horse wanting a mile and a half. He was raw, and it was only a month ago that we started to ask him to show us what he could do. It was so natural to him he just did a couple of gallops before coming here.”

That sounds like the sort of horse you don’t want to meet on the golf course or tennis court, but it will be interesting to see what he can do on the racecourse.

every week among well-heeled racehorse owners who see the virtue in shared risk. A Profitable colt, bought for 32,000gns at the Tattersalls Somerville Sale and resold by Malcolm Bastard for 150,000gns, will start racing from Clive Cox’s yard for a partnership involving Teme Valley Racing and Opulence Thoroughbreds.

Other transactions for breezers valued at 150,000gns saw a daughter of US sire Congrats sell to Oliver St Lawrence and Fawzi Nass – consigned by Katie Walsh, she had been bought for just $20,000 as a yearling – while a Tally-Ho Stud-offered son of Farhh was knocked down to trainer James Tate, acting for Rabbah Bloodstock.

Tattersalls Guineas Breeze-Up and Horses In Training Sale

Richard Hughes: trainer will take charge of the 200,000gns Zoffany colt

Arqana May Breeze-Up Sale

The popularity of Arqana’s Deauville venue for buying and selling horses was emphasised once again when it staged its annual one-day auction of breezers.

A €1.2m top lot was the sort of icing which any cake manufacturer would welcome, but the substance could be seen in the key figures. Turnover pushed through €21m, up 58 per cent, while the average and median prices were both in

six figures. The average gained 15 per cent at €150,789 while the median was up five per cent at €105,000.

Such trade was attainable because vendors sent Arqana some lovely horses with pedigrees to match. Almost half the catalogue contained horses out of black-type mares or mares who had produced winners at that level, while 38 of the 194 entrants were by Groupwinning or producing broodmares.

Bahrain’s rise in international racing circles is gaining traction at home and abroad, and will continue to do so while Bahrainis invest in some of the best bloodstock to come on the market. They were in action at this sale, accounting for the aforementioned €1.2m top lot, a choicely-bred son of Siyouni who reaped a remarkable €1m paper profit for Grove Stud’s Brendan Holland. He had bought the colt for €200,000 from

Arqana May Breeze-Up Sale

Grove Stud’s Siyouni colt became the first seven-figure breezer of the year, selling for €1,200,000 to Oliver St Lawrence ARQANA

Sales Circuit

Mount Coote Stud at the Goffs Orby Sale.

Oliver St Lawrence – who 12 months earlier had bought the top two lots at this auction, one being the subsequent Mill Reef Stakes winner Sakheer – was back in France hoping to secure the Siyouni, and it was he who headed interest from fellow bloodstock agent Nicolas de Watrigant. St Lawrence said he was acting for a Bahraini client who would send the colt to Roger Varian.

The same agent played a part in another enviable pinhook success when signing for a daughter of Sioux Nation for €450,000 from Johnny Hassett’s Bloodstock Connection. This was a profitable outcome for Hassett’s ‘Get In The Game’ syndicate for the filly had been sourced for €90,000 at the Orby. St Lawrence was acting for Bahrain’s Fawzi Nass and associates.

When a foal, yearling or breezer by Dubawi walks into a ring there is likely to be interest from Godolphin, and Sheikh Mohammed’s operation was not to be denied on the two lots who represented his sire in the catalogue. Anthony Stroud, acting for Godolphin, played an

Goffs Punchestown Sale

Switching from two-year-old breezers to embryonic hurdler/chasers, the Goffs Group staged this sale after racing on the third day of the Punchestown Festival.

Once again ascendant levels of business was the theme as 20 of 22 offered lots found buyers and turnover roared ahead of last year with a 37 per cent increase to €3,940,000. The median rose 26 per cent to €170,000 while the average gain of 23 per cent to a mark of €197,000 was helped in part by two horses whose valuation waltzed past the auction’s previous best of €370,000.

Few racing projects have been as successful as the image boost for jump-bred fillies and racemares, one that was piloted by breeders and

€800,000 bid that secured a colt from Norman Williamson’s Oak Tree Farm, and another one of €400,000 that gained Yeomanstown Stud’s Dubawi colt.

Stroud considered buying Williamson’s colt at Arqana in August from top consignor Ecurie Des Monceaux, but kept his powder dry and the colt went to Oak Tree Farm for €150,000. Nine months later, and with the benefit of pre-training and a breeze to advertise the colt’s ability, Stroud was not so reticent. Charlie Appleby will train the colt, and also the Dubawi from Yeomanstown – he had been bought by the O’Callaghan family for 180,000gns at Tattersalls December Yearling Sale.

Tom Whitehead’s annual yearlingbuying trip to the USA resulted in another windfall when his Uncle Mo colt leapt in value from $165,000 to €600,000 following his sale to Jamie McCalmont. He was acting for Coolmore and said the colt would head back to the

US and join Todd Pletcher, while Brendan Holland’s memorable sale of the top lot was complemented by a daughter of Blue Point he traded for €500,000. Nicky Bertran de Balanda brought the hammer down for the filly, a 135,000gns foal purchase, and said she would also be crossing the Atlantic where she will race for Lael Stables from the yard run by Arnaud Delacour.

The Kavanagh family, aka Peter, Antoinette and Roderic, will have been disappointed not to sell a Kodiac filly at Tattersalls October Sale Book 1 last year. She was bought in for 100,000gns, but every cloud . . .

What she could not show in October were her paces at faster gaits, but after preparation for breezing under the family’s Glending Stables banner she did the business on Deauville racecourse and was subsequently sold for €500,000. That man Stroud was once again in pole position.

Powerstown Stud turned a fine profit on this Uncle Mo colt, sold for €600,000

Fairyhouse point-to-point winner Qualimita joined Gordon Elliott on a bid of €500,000

ARQANA

GOFFS

ARQANA

Oliver St Lawrence struck for the top lot as well as a €450,000 Sioux Nation filly

helped by racecourses and other industry bodies. The brilliant Honeysuckle and fellow members of the sisterhood went on to illustrate female equine virtues, with the result that a filly of size and substance with an impressive win to her name can prove more valuable than many geldings.

Step forward Qualimita, a four-yearold whose looks were backed up by an outstanding performance when trouncing 12 rivals in a four-year-old mares’ maiden point-to-point at Fairyhouse six days before the sale. Bought as a foal in her native France by Walter Connors, she arrived at Punchestown via Colin Bowe’s highlyrespected Wexford yard and had pedigree, too, being out of a half-sister to the high-class hurdler Colonel Mustard and from the immediate family of Grade 1-winning sires Waldpark and Masked Marvel.

Colonel Mustard had won the Scottish Champion Hurdle just ahead of the sale, and while he added another Grade 1 placing at Punchestown, it came the day after Qualimita changed

hands. She hardly needed that update, for her price headed north after a battle between Mags O’Toole and the Honeysuckle team of Peter Molony and Henry de Bromhead. O’Toole made the decisive bid on behalf of an owner based with Gordon Elliott.

Moments later the previous record price was bettered again, this time by four-year-old gelding Histrionic, who exited Denis Murphy’s yard following Tom Malone’s €450,000 bid.

Malone was acting for Paul Nicholls, who trained talented jumper Alfie Sherrin, a half-brother to the dam of Histrionic. The last-named confirmed his appeal when scoring in style at Tralee point-to-point the week before Punchestown.

Elliott also took charge of five-year-

Goffs Punchestown Sale

old gelding Lough Owel following Mouse O’Ryan’s bid of €255,000, although he knew the horse well having trained him to win a Fairyhouse point-to-point for another group of owners.

Proceedings had opened in style with the €240,000 sale of eight-yearold Dolcita, who became the latest in a list of quality jumping mares consigned from Willie Mullins’ yard when their racing days are at or near a conclusion. Gilded by a page of black type and with seven wins over jumps for owner Jared Sullivan on her CV, the daughter of Saint Des Saints was knocked down to breeder Cyril Crowe. He was acting for racehorse owners Anne-Marie and Jamie Shepperd who are setting up a stud farm in Oxfordshire.

Tom Malone and Paul Nicholls came out on top for Tralee winner Histrionic

Mags O’Toole: outbid Peter Molony and Henry de Bromhead for Qualimita

Sales Circuit

Tattersalls Cheltenham April Sale

A sale at the home of jump racing which turns over nearly £3m and trades seven six-figure lots can hardly be called run-of-the-mill.

Yet the strength of trade generated by Tattersalls Cheltenham at its eponymous home and the number of quality horses who have passed that way means anything less than monumental trade settles into the pack and soon drifts from the memory. It’s a nice problem to have.

Not that Fergal O’Brien or his client Chris Giles will forget this auction if sale-topper Oak Grove, who they bought for £250,000, proves to be a Saturday horse with Festival abilities. A four-year-old son of Soldier Of Fortune, Oak Grove came from the immediate family of Voler Le Vedette, Hennessy and the dam of Shishkin, so he was bred to be good and he had broken his duck when landing a maiden point-topoint restricted to his age group at

Oldcastle. Rob James, who trained, but could not ride the horse due to injury, had pinhooked him for €75,000 at last year’s Land Rover Sale.

Another Oldcastle winner, Grand Albert, was offered by trainer Virginia Considine who prepped Shishkin to win his sole point-to-point. Anthony Bromley of Highflyer Bloodstock signed for the son of Jet Away following a bid of £120,000, while Lucinda Russell’s £115,000 offer secured Whistle Stop Tour, who won a point-to-point at Loughrea ahead of his ring appearance. The son of Saddex had been bought by trainer Tom Keating for just €14,000 as a store, but that pinhook was soon outshone by one which saw a €7,000 filly change hands for £120,000.

Tattersalls Cheltenham April Sale

With the name of Florencethemachine, she deserves to be good and it is one which jointvendor Danielle Deveney says she expects to hear being boomed out by the commentator as the runners climb the home straight at a future Cheltenham Festival. Deveney and partner Alan Donoghue, who are based near Naas, trained the daughter of Malinas to win a point-to-point at Monksgrange.

Turnover of £29,69,000 was down 15 per cent – three fewer horses walked the ring – while the average was down ten per cent (£60,592) and the median dipped seven per cent (£50,000). With 49 sales from 58 lots the clearance rate was 84 per cent.

Oldcastle point-to-point scorer Oak Grove headed proceedings at £250,000

TATTERSALLS CHELTENHAM

Fergal O’Brien: sale-topper joined the trainer on behalf of Chris Giles

Tattersalls Ireland May Store Sale

The Irish store sale season opened with this one-day affair, at which 168 lots of those 245 offered changed hands for a clearance rate of 69 per cent, writes

Nancy Sexton

That figure, which was down on last year’s level of 80 per cent, provided a snapshot into a selective market. Three stores surpassed the €45,000 mark, the same as last year, but the aggregate of €2,396,300 represented a drop of 11 per cent while the average fell by 13 per cent to €14,264.

Agent Tom Malone ensured his trip to Fairyhouse was a productive one, coming away with three lots worth a total of €151,000 to make him the day’s leading buyer. They included the top lot, a French-bred son of Cokoriko, for whom he got the better of Ian

Ferguson at €65,000. Already named Kalao Coko, the gelding is out of the placed Martaline mare Opaline Song, a relation to the Classic-placed sire Berine’s Son.

His sale capped a good few minutes for vendor Niall Bleahan of Liss House, which only five lots later sold another French-bred, a son of the Lost World stallion Nom De d’LA, for €50,000 to Virginia Considine Racing.

Malone’s haul, meanwhile, also included the third most expensive lot, a son of Derby winner Harzand

Tattersalls Ireland May Store Sale

purchased for €46,000 on behalf of an undisclosed owner, as well as a €40,000 Getaway filly.

Consigned by Clonsast Stud on behalf of breeder Pat McCarthy, the Harzand gelding is out of a Fast Company relation to top sprinter Equiano but with Harzand already making a name for himself as a sire of jumpers – something that prompted his switch to Kilbarry Lodge Stud for this season – Malone expressed confidence that he would possess enough stamina for the job.

A good day for Liss House included the sale of this Cokoriko gelding for €65,000

Tom Malone: wound up as the sale’s leading buyer with €151,000 worth of stock

Elite mares a driving force to successful damsires

The European turf season is almost two months old but we can already see familiar patterns beginning to emerge from among Europe’s leading broodmare sires. Galileo, Dubawi and Pivotal are all off to a fast start with their tallies of stakes winners and it is fairly certain that all three will still be around at the top of the table come the end of the year.

That said, it is well worth taking a look at this year’s leading broodmare sires through a different lens and see what they have achieved when they were given the best of opportunities. In other words, how have their daughters with stronger pedigrees fared? Quite often we can discover a very effective broodmare sire that might otherwise have been overlooked.

The broodmare sire by which all others must be judged is Darshaan. This Aga

Khan homebred, who defeated Sadler’s Wells to win the Prix du Jockey Club in the days it was a 12-furlong race, and

His daughters’ stakes winners were produced at a ridiculously good rate of 9.2% from runners, which wasn’t far off his 13.3% strike-rate as a sire. More importantly, it is much higher than any modern-day broodmare sire, which is to some extent due to increased book sizes. Still, it serves as a very useful benchmark as does Darshaan’s score from his elite mares, which stands at an incredible 15.5% stakes winners.

whose daughters teamed up with the Coolmore colossus and his son Galileo to produce 50 of Darshaan’s s 32 stakes winners, has set an exacting standard.

Europe’s current leader in 2023 is Galileo, with his stakes winners headed by the Poule d’Essai des Poulains winner Marhaba Ya Sanafi (by Muhaarar). The Coolmore titan will be around for many a year yet as a broodmare sire and his current career score of 217 stakes winners foaled in the northern hemisphere represents 7.7% of all his daughters’ runners and 11.4% of those runners from his elite mares. There is no doubt that

Adayar: a fine example of the partnership between Frankel and Dubawi mares

“Dubawi has played a part in the rise to greatness of Frankel”

John Boyce cracks the code

LEADING BROODMARE SIRES IN EUROPE 2023 BY STAKES WINNERS

Galileo mares have benefitted many a stallion career and his 2023 cohort are by a wide range of sires, including Dubawi (San Antonio and Final Gesture) and Fastnet Rock (Via Sistina and Buckaroo) alongside Dark Angel (Angel Bleu) and his son Harry Angel (Marshman).

Dubawi is a broodmare sire that has taken full advantage and indeed played a part in the rise to greatness of Galileo’s son Frankel. There are no better examples of their successful union than the two Frankels out of the Dubawi mare Anna Salai in Adayar and Military Order, two of the seven stakes winners for the Darley stallion as a broodmare sire so far this term.

The combination of Frankel with Dubawi mares has now produced 28 runners of which seven (25%) are stakes winners and five (17.9%) are Group winners, well above the norm for either sire in their own right. Of course, Dubawi mares completed the Lingfield Oaks and Derby Trial double, thanks to Eternal Hope, a daughter of Teofilo, who like Frankel has an identical seven stakes winners from 28 runners (25%) strike-rate from daughters of Dubawi. Interestingly, whereas Galileo (7.7%) has a better overall record than Dubawi (5%), the latter is just as good a broodmare sire judged on elite mares and there is likely to be more better-bred daughters of Dubawi coming on stream in the coming seasons.

Pivotal’s four stakes winners so far this term feature Group winners Simca Mille (Tamayuz), Good Guess (Kodiac) and Goldana (Galileo Gold), while Tenebrism (Caravaggio) has won at Listed level. The

former Cheveley Park Stud sire has a rich heritage with Galileo, who has sired 12 (32.4%) of his stakes winners including a host of lovely fillies like Magical, Love, Hydrangea, Rhododendron and Hermosa.

Pivotal mares have also struck up a very fruitful partnership with Galileo’s son Frankel, the combination numbering six stakes winners (25%), including Frankel’s highest-rated horse in Cracksman, Prix de Diane and Nassau Stakes heroine Nashwa and Falmouth Stakes winner Veracious plus Hungry Heart in Australia. As things stand, it is Pivotal among this group who owns the best record from elite mares, with a score of 11.6% stakes winners to runners.

Although not nearly as numerous, mares by Pivotal’s son Excellent Art have also had their day in the spotlight, his best-ever runner as a broodmare sire, The Revenant (Dubawi), netting a stakes victory again this year as an eight-yearold.

Oasis Dream, meanwhile, has compiled a solid record with his daughters and although he has a good record with Galileo – five stakes winners at a rate of 17.2% – none have scored at the highest level. But it’s a different story with Galileo’s son Teofilo, who has supplied five stakes winners (29.4%) out of Oasis Dream mares, including Group/Grade 1 scorers Nations Pride, Twilight Payment and Tawkeel. Oasis Dream’s long-time stud companion Dansili has also been crossed very successfully with his mares, producing five stakes winners (35.7%), though none made it to the top flight.

Among our cohort of broodmare sires

with two or more stakes winners in Europe to mid-April, a few more are worthy of mention. Shamardal for one, as he is one of only four stallions with significant representation to have scored more than ten per cent stakes winners from his elite mares. His output is significantly better than that of his sire Giant’s Causeway, who is also on our list.

Danehill Dancer, responsible for the dams of Luxembourg, Minding and Circus Maximus, has also scaled the heights and, given his own sire’s record with Galileo, it is no surprise that ten of his 15 northern hemisphere foaled Group 1 winners as a broodmare sire are by Galileo or one of his sons.

With an identical 9.6% stakes winners from his elite mares as Danehill Dancer, Montjeu has done well considering he has never had much access to Sadler’s Wells-line mares, although three of his daughters’ Group/Grade 1 winners –Highland Chieftain (Gleneagles), Anapurna (Frankel) and Parish Hall (Teofilo) – carry 3x2 inbreeding to the great son of Northern Dancer.

Dutch Art too has a very respectable score of 8.5% from his better mares, so horses as good as Chaldean are not a total surprise. Perhaps a little less impressive is New Approach, who would have been sent some of Europe’s best mares early on in his career. Only two of his daughters have so far produced a Group 1 winner, but what’s not to like about Modern Ideals, now dam of two Guineas winners in the Poule d’Essai des Poulains hero Modern Games and 1,000 Guineas heroine Mawj.

Caulfield Files

Completion of Classic set next for Frankel

Thanks largely to Charles W. Engelhard and Ribot’s sons Ribocco and Ribero, British racegoers became accustomed during the late 1960s to the novelty of European Classics falling to American-bred colts. The trend even extended to Canadian-breds when Engelhard’s Nijinsky began his Triple Crown campaign with a majestic victory in the 2,000 Guineas of 1970. But who could have imagined that Nijinsky’s then Maryland-based sire, Northern Dancer, would leave a truly indelible mark on the first colts’ Classic over the next 50-odd years?

The 1980s saw him supply two more winners of the 2,000 Guineas, thanks to Lomond in 1983 and El Gran Senor in 1984, before his stallion sons took over. Nijinsky’s son Shadeed maintained the male line’s dominance in 1985, to be followed a year later by Lyphard’s son Dancing Brave. Next came Secreto, via Mystiko in 1991, and then it was the turn of El Gran Senor’s son Rodrigo De Triano in 1992.

Plenty of other members of the male line also got into the act, including Fairy King’s son Turtle Island (Island Sands in 1999), Unfuwain’s son Alhaarth (Haafhd in 2004), Storm Cat’s son Giant’s Causeway (Footstepsinthesand in 2005) and Nijinsky’s grandson Val Royal (Cockney Rebel in 2007). The Danzig branch played a significant role, too, with Danehill giving us Rock Of Gibraltar (2002) and George Washington (2006), while Cape Cross sired Sea The Stars (2009).

They have all been overshadowed, though, by the Irish 2,000 Guineas winner Sadler’s Wells who has made by far the greatest impact. Despite his progeny having an average winning distance as high as 11.3 furlongs, Sadler’s Wells was sufficiently versatile to sire three winners of the 2,000 Guineas in the shape of Entrepreneur (1997), King Of Kings (1998) and Refuse To Bend (2003). Any theory that these faster sons of Sadler’s Wells were the ones destined for stallion success proved very wide of the mark, but two of his finest mile-and-a-half performers – Galileo and Montjeu – have kept Sadler’s Wells’s name to the fore. Montjeu’s contribution was Camelot, who went so close to becoming the first Triple Crown winner since Nijinsky.

However, as in so many areas, it has been Galileo who has proved the dominant force. Barely a year goes by without one of his sons, daughters or grandsons appearing in the pedigree of the latest winner of the historic Newmarket Classic.

Approach, who in turn sired Poetic Flare, the narrow winner in 2021. And now Frankel’s admirable son Chaldean has triumphed in 2023, which means that 11 of the last 13 winners have Galileo somewhere in their pedigrees.

Although Galileo’s son New Approach failed by a nose to lead throughout in the 2008 edition, Frankel made no such mistake three years later with a breathtaking performance. Since then, Galileo has scored again with Gleneagles (2015) and Churchill (2017).

Galileo’s daughters have also excelled, producing no fewer than four winners in Night Of Thunder, Galileo Gold, Saxon Warrior and Magna Grecia, while the 2022 winner Coroebus was out of Galileo’s granddaughter First Victory. New Approach made amends for his own defeat by siring the 2013 winner Dawn

Thanks to Chaldean, Anapurna, Adayar, Logician and Hurricane Lane, Frankel has now sired winners of four of the five British Classics, the missing piece being the 1,000 Guineas (for which his thenunbeaten daughter Inspiral was the long-time favourite prior to her withdrawal in 2022). Coincidentally, it was also the 1,000 Guineas which Galileo needed to complete his Classic crown. He was 18-years-old by the time he did so, but he achieved the feat in great style, with Minding leading home a 1-2-3 for Galileo’s daughters in 2016. Galileo went on to make up for lost time, with Minding proving to be the first of four winners for the champion sire in a five-year period.

Sadler’s Wells was even older when he completed his clean sweep of the British Classics. In fact he was 20-years-old in 2001, the year that Galileo became his first Derby winner and Milan his first winner of the St Leger.

As Frankel is currently 15-years-old, he still has plenty of time to complete his Classic set (and it mustn’t be forgotten that – having raced as a four-year-old - he was a year older than Galileo and Sadler’s Wells had been when he started his

“11 of the last 13 2,000 Guineas winners have Galileo in their pedigrees”

BILL SELWYN

Chaldean: 2,000 Guineas success was another for the Sadler’s Wells sire line

stallion career). His Classic tally also features wins in the Irish 1,000 Guineas, Irish Derby (two), Prix de Diane, Australian Oaks and Japanese Oaks, as well as two editions of the Grand Prix de Paris, which is arguably a nearer equivalent to the Derby than the Prix du Jockey-Club.

For a May 10 foal, Chaldean has already achieved a great deal, with two Group 1s among his five wins from six completed starts. He was still four days short of his actual third birthday when he became a Classic winner and he is likely to continue to thrive at around a mile.

His dam, the Italian sprinter Suelita, packed 33 starts into her career over three seasons. Suelita’s sire Dutch Art stayed a mile, as he showed with his third in Cockney Rebel’s 2,000 Guineas, but he had excelled over sprint distances at two and reverted to sprint distances at three, when he failed by only half a length to land the July Cup, a race later won by his sons Slade Power and Starman.

Suelita has proved a wonderful broodmare since being purchased by Whitsbury Manor Stud for 21,500gns in 2013. Thanks to Chaldean (Racing Post Rating 120), Alkumait (114), The Broghie Man (106) and Get Ahead (106), she has four representatives among the ten highest-rated runners out of Dutch Art mares. As they are by three different stallions, Suelita is clearly something special.

Chaldean’s success – and that of Frankel’s daughter Jannah Rose in the Group 1 Prix Saint-Alary – will no doubt encourage the theory previously applied to Galileo that the best way to succeed with Frankel is to mate him to speedy mares (Jannah Rose is out of an Indian Ridge mare). In truth, Galileo worked very well with a wide assortment of broodmare sires and the theory applied to him should have been reworded to say that sending him speedy mares was the best way to produce a son which would appeal to the stallion market.

Frankel too is working very well with a wide variety of mares. While it is true that some of his most successful partnerships have been with daughters of the sprinter Pivotal and the milers Dubawi and Selkirk, he has also sired major winners from daughters of Hernando, Shirocco, Montjeu, Sea The Stars, Daylami, Lemon Drop Kid, Darshaan and Monsun.

Oh, and by the way, the 2023 French Guineas races also turned the spotlight on Galileo. The Poulains went to the Muhaarar colt Marhaba Ya Sanafi, out of a Galileo mare, and the Pouliches to Blue Rose Sen, a second-crop daughter of Churchill.

Added dimension to No Nay Never

Did the early days of May provide a glimpse of a future where that excellent stallion No Nay Never is concerned? On May 1, his gelded son Visualisation made all to win the Mooresbridge Stakes and five days later his three-year-old daughter Caroline Street stayed on well to take the Blue Wind Stakes.

Of course, Group winners by No Nay Never are nothing unusual, but these two gained their victories over a mile-and-a-quarter – a distance not normally associated with Coolmore’s highest-priced stallion. After all, No Nay Never’s most notable achievements include the first-crop sires’ championship of 2018, when Ten Sovereigns and Land Force spearheaded an international team of six speedy black-type winners. Then, with his fifth crop, No Nay Never was 2022’s outstanding sire of two-yearolds, with Blackbeard, Little Big Bear, Meditate, Aesop’s Fables, Trillium and Midnight Mile collectively securing the massive total of 14 Group/Graded victories.

The three crops in between also made their mark at two, producing winners of such prized juvenile events as the Cheveley Park, Lowther, Coventry, Superlative, Molecomb and Somerville Tattersall Stakes, plus the Criterium de Maisons-Laffitte.

It is fair enough, then, to consider No Nay Never to be essentially a speed sire, but the likes of Danehill, Pivotal, Oasis Dream, Indian Ridge, Danehill Dancer and Invincible Spirit have demonstrated that speed sires can also occasionally sire high-class performers beyond a mile, especially when breeders see a stallion as a potential means of injecting speed into middledistance mares.

A look at a list of leading winners by No Nay Never confirms that he has indeed been entrusted with the task of injecting speed and he has often succeeded in doing so. The broodmare sires of his Group scorers include Bering and Dalakhani, both winners of the Prix du Jockey-Club in the days when it was over 12 furlongs; High Chaparral, Galileo and Sea The Stars, all winners of the Derby; Born To Sea, runner-up in the Irish Derby; Arch, a Grade 1 winner over a mile and a quarter; and Hard Spun, runner-up in the Kentucky Derby. Also on the list are

Sadler’s Wells, English Channel and Dashing Blade, all of whom stayed a mile and a half, together with So You Think, Chester House and Haafhd, three major winners over a mile and a quarter.

It is hardly surprising that No Nay Never has some of the above stallions to thank for his sporadic winners at a mile and a quarter or more. High Chaparral and Chester House both gave us an early indication that No Nay Never wasn’t entirely one dimensional. Chester House’s daughter Ardea Brave produced Chestnut Honey, a Group 2 winner over 11 furlongs in Italy, while High Chaparral’s daughter Muravka produced Unicorn Lion, a dual Group 3 winner over a mile and a quarter. Unicorn Lion was even tried over longer distances in the Japanese St Leger and the Japan Cup. No Nay Never’s recent ten-furlong Group 3 winners Visualisation and Caroline Street have dams by Sadler’s Wells and So You Think respectively.

No Nay Never already has 72 foals of racing age out of Galileo mares, including numerous two-year-olds of 2023, so we can expect to see more of his progeny showing talent beyond a mile. This No Nay Never/Galileo pairing was ably represented in the autumn of 2022 by Midnight Mile, who took the Oh So Sharp Stakes over seven furlongs. This filly is out of a very well-connected mare who raced at up to two miles, so it isn’t surprising that Midnight Mile holds a Ribblesdale Stakes entry.

Caravaggio, another fast son of Scat Daddy, owes some of his better winners to Galileo mares, including Galleria Borghese, a Listed winner over a mile and a quarter, and The Grey Wizard, a Grade 2-placed winner at up to a mile and a half in the US.

Two of Scat Daddy’s other Groupwinning two-year-olds began their stallion careers in France in 2019 and both have already shown they can sire the occasional middle-distance winner. Seahenge, winner of the Champagne Stakes, was represented by his first black-type winner when Winter Pudding took the Prix de l’Avre over a mile and a half. And the Americanraced Seabhac is the sire of Rue Boissonade, a promising 12-furlong winner at Saint-Cloud who is another with a dam by Galileo.

Vet Forum: The Expert View

Antibiotic resistance in horses

On the surface it may seem that deciding whether a horse’s infection warrants antibiotic treatment is one that is individual and made based on the horse and the underlying condition. Whilst these individual considerations are of course important, evidence has increasingly shown that antibiotic use has much wider implications for our world.

Over the last few decades, there has been an increasing focus on the concept of ‘one health’. This is an understanding that human, animal, and plant health are co-dependent and dependent on the health of the environment in which they live. Understanding and reducing antimicrobial resistance is an essential component of the one health concept and important for treatment of bacterial infections in both horses and people.

The overuse of antibiotics and the subsequent development of antibiotic resistance is considered by the World Health Organisation to be one of the greatest challenges facing the modern health care system in the future. There are already many instances reported where certain bacterial infections in humans do not respond to readily available antibiotics. This, combined with the lack of development of novel antibiotics, means the increasing populations of multidrug resistant (MDR) bacteria or so called ‘superbugs’ have serious implications for both human and animal health.

The concept of zoonotic infections, where diseases are spread between animals and humans, is nothing new. Domesticated horses come into close contact with humans through their use as sports and therapy animals. This close relationship means it is important to identify infections and multi-drug resistant (MDR) bacteria that can affect both humans and horses. A coordinated approach from human and veterinary professionals is therefore essential to oppose the problem of antibiotic resistance.

What is antimicrobial resistance and how does it develop?

Since the discovery of penicillin by Alexander Fleming in 1928, antibiotics have saved the lives of numerous humans and animals. Antibiotics are used to treat bacterial infections. They

work by disrupting vital structures or processes within the bacterium, resulting in the death of the bacterium or slowing of its growth.

Frequent use of antibiotics leads to the development of antimicrobial resistance over time. The more bacteria are exposed to antibiotics, the more likely they are to evolve and become resistant. Bacteria evolve via genetic mutations. Replicating bacteria can

acquire resistance by developing random genetic mutations in their DNA that gives them a survival advantage.

Horizontal gene transfer is another mechanism by which antibiotic resistance is disseminated. This is when an already resistant bacteria can transfer its resistant DNA to other bacteria making it too resistant.

Which multidrug resistant bacteria are currently a concern for horse owners?

Several antibiotic resistant zoonotic pathogens have been reported in horses including Salmonella, methicillinresistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and extended spectrum beta-lactamases (ESBL)-producing Enterobacterales. MRSA can be associated with a range of infections in horses including pneumonia, wound and surgical site infections.

The ESBL-producing Enterobacterales are an order of gramnegative bacteria including Escherichia coli (E.coli). They have been associated with infected wounds, sepsis in foals and uterine infections. Salmonella is more uncommon but can cause severe gastrointestinal disease and sepsis in horses and people.

Figure 1 Antibiotic sensitivity testing at Rossdales Laboratories

Figure 2 Blood sample being collected in a blood culture bottle to test for bacteraemia

ROSSDALES

MDR Rhodoccous equi has been identified in the United States and Europe. R.Equi is a bacteria that survives in the soil and can cause significant pneumonia in foals one to six months of age. Whilst resistant R.Equi bacteria have not been clinically reported to be causing the same level of concern in the UK, recent review of the R.Equi isolates submitted to the Rossdales laboratory does shows evidence of emerging resistance to macrolide antibiotics.

The trend in increasing antibiotic resistance has also been noted in bacteria isolated from foals with sepsis. The increase in prevalence of Enterococcus spp. bacteria reported in one foal sepsis study is concerning as they can act as a donor of antimicrobial resistance genes to other bacteria. Indeed, any bacteria that develops resistance could become a future problem for horses and people.

How does antibiotic resistance affect the treatment of horses?

Treatment of bacterial infections in horses is a balance between judicious use of antimicrobials and effective treatment of the underlying infection. To reduce inappropriate antimicrobial use, your vet may suggest submitting swabs or samples for bacterial culture and sensitivity. This laboratory testing helps to determine which bacteria are present and which antibiotics are likely to be effective against them.

Bacteria that are resistant to three or more classes of antibiotics are known as multidrug resistant (MDR) isolates. Vets are particularly concerned with the use of a subset of antibiotics categorised as critically important antibiotics or CIAs. This group includes antibiotics that are of critical importance to human health such as fluoroquinolones, third and

fourth generation cephalosporins and macrolides.

Vets try to avoid using antibiotics preventatively as this has been shown to increase the population of MDR bacteria. Studies have shown, for example, that prophylactic treatment of foals suspected to be infected with Rhodococcus Equi with a macrolide and rifampicin leads to the development of multi-drug resistance in R.equi as well as other gut bacteria.

The increased prevalence in multidrug resistant bacteria means that it is more challenging for vets to treat bacterial infections essentially resulting in longer treatment courses for horses as well as increased costs of treatment for their owners. In some severe cases the lack of effective antibiotic treatments available may result in a failure of the horse to recover.

What can we do to reduce the development of antimicrobial resistance?

• It is important to trust your veterinarian and their clinical judgement. Do not try to convince them to prescribe antibiotics if they recommend that they are not necessary currently or for this problem. Some infections such as viral infections do not respond to antibiotic treatment and using them unnecessarily in such cases contributes to the development of antimicrobial resistance.

• If you have unused antibiotics, only use them for the horse and problem they have been prescribed for. Antibiotics should only be used with vet guidance.

• If your horse has been prescribed antibiotics, ensure that you administer the full dose each time and for the prescribed length of time. If you are having difficulties administering medication, then contact your vet.

• Your vet may recommend submitting swabs or other samples for bacterial culture and sensitivity. These laboratory tests help determine which antibiotics will be effective for the infection. This increases the likelihood of treatment being a success and will identify bacteria that are resistant.

• General hygiene practices are helpful to reduce the spread of bacteria between horses as well as zoonotic conditions (diseases spread between horses and people). Simple measures such as washing your hands before and after handling a sick horse help to reduce the transfer of any resistant bacteria.

• Improving management and general health care helps prevent infections occurring, thereby reducing the need for antibiotics.

Conclusion

Antimicrobial resistance has been shown to be increasing in both human and veterinary medicine. This is particularly concerning in the face of a lack of development of new antibiotics. The resultant multidrug resistant bacteria are becoming more challenging to treat, leading to prolonged treatment times or failure of infections to respond to antibiotic treatment. Horse owners and breeders can help by supporting their vet’s efforts to reduce the risks of multidrug resistant bacteria developing through judicious and correct use of antibiotics.

Figure 3 Sick foal with sepsis receiving intravenous antibiotics and other treatment

Figure 4 Lung x-rays from a foal with pneumonia and acute respiratory distress syndrome caused by Rhodococcus equi. The x-ray reveals multiple, abnormal, patchy white areas in the lung tissue because of the pneumonia and small abscess formation

Figure 5 Peritoneal fluid being collected from the abdomen of a horse with peritonitis. The sample was submitted for culture to determine the appropriate antibiotics to treat the horse with

+ Equine Health Update

Words: Laura Steley

Electrolytes are salts and minerals that, once dissolved in the body, become positively or negatively charged, thus creating a solution which can conduct electricity. Due to this functionality they are of the utmost importance in providing electrical signals within the body at a cellular level. They are essential to the maintenance and balance of horses’ bodily fluid (the fluid in and around cells). Electrolytes are also responsible for a variety of vital bodily functions, including organ function, muscle contraction and nerve transmission.

The primary electrolytes are sodium, chloride, potassium, calcium and magnesium. Other trace minerals can also be found but in much smaller quantities. An example of how electrolytes are used within the body would be in muscle contraction. In order for movement to occur, muscle fibres need to shorten. It is the electrolytes (sodium, potassium and calcium) shifting across a muscle cell membrane that signals to the muscle to contract and relax.

Electrolytes are lost daily through sweating, respiration and excretion (urine and faeces). The horse relies on sweating to control body temperature, dispersing heat created by working muscles. For a horse performing low intensity exercise in a moderate climate, these losses can normally be replaced adequately by electrolytes naturally present in the forage, concentrate feed and drinking water. This balance is also sustained by the horse storing electrolytes within the large intestine; these can then be drawn on as and when needed.

However, due to horse sweat being hypertonic, unlike humans who have hypotonic sweat, they have the potential to lose enormous amounts of electrolytes, predominantly sodium, chloride and potassium, in a very short space of time. Hypertonic means that the level of electrolytes is higher than that in the circulating blood plasma; hypotonic means that the level of electrolytes is lower than that of the circulating blood plasma; and isotonic is the middle ground of the two, where the electrolyte amounts are equal.

Excessive sweating is mainly caused by high intensity exercise, although there are many other important

causes that require careful monitoring for the potential need of electrolyte supplementation. Hot and humid conditions will exacerbate sweating; therefore, weather and location are important factors to consider. A horse in pain, with a fractious temperament, under stress, or suffering with diarrhoea, can lose considerable amounts of fluid. Once a racehorse begins to sweat routinely due to higher intensity work and/or temperature changes, the storage facility within the intestine will not be able to meet requirements, and supplementation will become a necessity.

Forage is a natural source of electrolytes, and most commercial feeds contain all the required electrolytes, including sodium chloride (salt). However, sodium chloride levels are low in forage and also restricted within racing mixes/cubes, making these the most important electrolyte components to focus on, coupled with the high levels excreted when horses sweat. The electrolytes present in a horse’s sweat are found at approximately the following

levels: 56% chloride, 27% sodium, 15% potassium (see table).

A loss of just 2% body fluid may have negative effects on performance. Generally, dehydrated horses will regain electrolyte and fluid balance via drinking water and adequate supplementation. It should be noted that when dealing with a dehydrated horse, the chosen electrolyte product should be isotonic. It is a mistake to administer a hypertonic electrolyte product to an already dehydrated horse – this will in fact cause more harm, as the blood will be inundated with high levels of sodium and the body will then flood the intestines with water, in order to lower the sodium concentration. This will decrease the amount of circulating fluid, and therefore worsen the dehydration.

On the opposite end of the spectrum, if we were to administer a hypotonic electrolyte solution, the bodily fluid will become too diluted, thus inhibiting the thirst response, which relies on rising sodium levels. Signs of dehydration in the horse range from mild to very serious, and include a dull coat, decline

Composition of sweat (mmol/l) Sodium Potassium Chloride Plasma 140 3.5-4.5 100 Human sweat10-60 4-5 10-60 Horse sweat130-190 20-50 160-190

in performance, pale gums, increased capillary refill time, lethargy, dark or frothy urine, a temperature, increased heart rate and even death in extreme circumstances.

As touched upon previously, the higher the intensity of work, the more the horse will sweat. In humid conditions, studies have shown that a racehorse can lose up to 5% of its body weight over a one-mile race. It is important to monitor not just the horse’s workload but also the environmental factors; a horse can require an adjustment in electrolyte supplementation due to humidity, even when there has not been an increase in workload.

Polly Bonnor, Director of Thoroughbred Nutrition at Saracen Horse Feeds, explains: “Horses lose approximately 10 grams of electrolytes per litre of sweat. Under ambient circumstances – not excessively hot, humid or cold – a horse weighing 500 kg may lose 5-7 litres of sweat (and 50-70 grams of electrolytes) per hour with steady trotting and cantering, but this can increase to 10-12 litres per hour of sweat loss in high heat and humidity.

“If enough electrolytes are lost, performance will begin to suffer. Exercise tolerance will decline, and conditions such as tying-up or thumps are more likely to occur. The electrolyte that Saracen provide is a product formulated by Kentucky Equine Research. Restore® SR contains the latest technology in electrolyte supplements for horses and is different because it incorporates a proprietary slow-release mechanism that allows sodium to be released gradually into the gastrointestinal tract for sustained absorption.”

Supplementation benefits

Travelling thoroughbreds for extended periods of time (by road or air), within both racing and breeding sectors, is a commonality for most, and the majority of horses cope with this very well. However, the awareness for electrolyte supplementation is an important factor, due to the increased probability of sweating and the assumed decrease in appetite and thirst while on route.

Concentrated electrolyte pastes are often administered (at least) the night prior to travel; this will encourage a decline in sodium levels within the blood, thus triggering the horse’s thirst response overnight, hopefully ensuring that the horse departs fully hydrated and better equipped to sustain the correct fluid balance throughout the journey through to arrival.

When considering electrolyte supplementation in broodmares, there are important areas to keep in mind. Some mares will begin to ‘walk’ days before their foal is born, which can lead to increased sweat production. Mashes rich with electrolytes are a brilliant feed choice post foaling, as they are palatable, have a high fluid content and are kind on the mare’s digestive tract.

Andrew McGladdery MRCVS advises: “A foaling mare may be in a situation where impaction colic is more likely, therefore keeping them well hydrated after foaling is sensible as they start to lactate.”

Lactation places an unprecedented demand on mares, and due to the short period between foaling and covering for the following season, many mares will be lactating and gestating simultaneously. Ensuring that the electrolyte needs of mares and foals are met is of obvious importance, and something which the industry has worked hard to achieve and understand through continued research. Most foals will not consume any water during the first 1 - 2 weeks of life and will therefore rely solely on their mother for all fluid requirements via her milk. A mare will be producing up to 3% of her body weight in milk each day in order to sustain her foal. To put that into context, that is 15kg of milk per day!

Each mare and foal are different, and the amount of supplementation required (if any) will depend largely on the grass/ forage content and availability, as well as

the chosen concentrate feed. The foal’s electrolyte requirements should be met solely by the mare’s milk for around the first three months of life. Calcium, which is essential for bone demineralisation, will be at its highest level during the early stages of lactation.

After around the 90-day mark, the mare’s milk quality will gradually decline and the foal will acquire only around 30-50% of their required nutrition through suckling. Creep feeding might be deemed necessary due to the foal not growing at the expected rate and/ or to balance the diet for vitamins and minerals if sufficient quality forage is not available. Without balanced micronutrients, foals are at risk of developing developmental orthopaedic diseases, such as osteochondritis dissecans (OCD). After this period, the foal or weanling should be able to meet electrolyte requirements without any supplementation, however a salt supplement which also contains copper, zinc and selenium can be beneficial.

Foals scouring is a common cause of fluid loss, and can be due to changes within the mare’s milk (foal heat/cycles), and viral infections, such as Rotavirus and management changes, to name a few. McGladdery continues: “Ensuring sufficient supplementation with balanced electrolyte solutions, given frequently orally in milder cases, will aid rapid recovery.

“Some foals with diarrhoea that persists in the recovery phase may remain relatively electrolyte depleted, often potassium, and when this is revealed by blood tests can be resolved quickly with supplementation. If losses are severe, then intravenous fluids may be necessary, and these foals are often best hospitalised so that careful monitoring can ensure the electrolyte and acid base losses are corrected.”

Electrolyte supplementation may also be useful in active stallions, particularly if they are prone to tying-up in relation to inconsistent numbers of mares/covers.

Measurement of milk electrolytes can be a useful tool in helping to predict when a mare will foal. Thoroughbred mares will show a decrease in sodium levels and increase in potassium levels to the point where they cross over, usually within the last week of gestation. The calcium level rising is the final indicator that the mare is close to foaling. It is worth noting that placentitis can affect milk electrolytes and therefore invalidate the readings, and maiden mares may not provide such consistent electrolyte changes.

TATTERSALLS

Polly Bonnor: ‘If enough electrolytes are lost, performance will begin to suffer’

The vast majority of foalings, thankfully, go smoothly, however when considering a caesarean section these indicators can be very useful. McGladdery says: “In my experience, milk electrolyte testing kits are not that widely used but are a valuable adjunct to deciding how close a mare is to foaling and are a real benefit in managing foalings.”

The four forms of electrolyte supplementation are provided via feed, water, syringes and salt licks. Adding electrolytes, or table salt (sodium chloride) to water can be effective, although the horse must always have access to plain water alongside the supplemented water. Many horses will not take to drinking the electrolytes readily, and it can be hard to monitor and control how much the horse is ingesting, particularly when automatic water drinkers are in place.

Syringes (which generally provide a more concentrated form of electrolytes) are a convenient alternative, and are particularly useful at times where feeding may be decreased, such as on long journeys or at race meetings. However, due to the horse receiving a concentrated dose, there must be free access to drinking water, otherwise you may risk dehydrating the horse more.

Adding electrolytes to a horse’s hard feed tends to be the most favourable option, as it is easier to monitor intake and the daily recommended dose can be split over feeds. Most products will have clear guidelines stating how much to feed based on work intensity. Salt licks can be very useful for horses on the lower spectrum of supplementation need, such as youngstock, however, this method relies on the horse’s innate capability to regulate their own salt intake, which isn’t reliable enough when

larger quantities of electrolytes need to be replenished.

When choosing an electrolyte supplement, the product should list sodium, chloride and potassium as the main ingredients. While Glucose may increase palatability, and can be included in low levels, studies conducted at Kentucky Equine Research, by J D Pagan, B M Walbridge and J Lange, suggest that adding sugars to electrolyte mixes does not increase rate of absorption or retention of electrolytes.

If an excess of electrolyte supplementation occurs, healthy kidneys will filter the excess sodium and other electrolytes and excrete them in the urine. In order for the body to flush the excess sodium, large amounts of water would be needed, therefore a problem would usually only arise if the horse is already dehydrated, or doesn’t have sufficient access to drinking water. In this situation, further dehydration would

occur, causing significant fluid-balance problems, including the possibility of salt toxicity. Signs of salt toxicity are irregular heartbeat, muscle tremors, abdominal pain, diarrhoea and central nervous system malfunctions (circling, blindness, seizures and partial paralysis). In addition, the prolonged overuse of electrolytes might cause physical injury, namely gastric and mouth ulcers.

In conclusion, electrolyte supplementation is something which should be regularly assessed by trainers, breeders and all equine professionals alike. A thoroughbred’s needs will change dependent upon many factors, including age, career stage and daily management. Optimal performance, be it on the racecourse or producing our next superstars, can certainly be better supported if our horses’ bodies are sufficiently replenished with the electrolytes they need to maintain maximum health and longevity.

GEORGE SELWYN

A foal’s electrolyte needs should be met solely by the mare’s milk for the first three months

The ultimate package of balanced electrolytes and antioxidants to support muscle function and recovery

ROA Forum

The special section for ROA members

Racecourse Badge Scheme for Owners

Owners are able to go racing on days they don’t have a runner with the ROA scheme

In March the ROA made changes to how the Racecourse Badge Scheme for Owners was operated as we decided to focus on working directly with racecourses. This decision was not taken lightly and was made following an in-depth review of the scheme with the RCA.

We have been in further discussions with the RCA about the Racecourse Badge Scheme for Owners to ensure any future agreement properly reflects the contribution owners make to the sport.

These conversations have given both the RCA and the ROA time to reinforce how the scheme works and we are delighted that we have been able to agree a revised proposal.

The new arrangements ensure that owners’ investment into British racing is recognised, alongside their ROA membership, and that the revised system is engaging and streamlined for both owners and racecourses.

These new arrangements ensure that

all ROA members can access this popular benefit and are able to attend a race meeting when they don’t have a runner.

ROA members – registered owners: please either login into your RCA PASS members area or access the link via the ROA members area, where you will find a full list of qualifying fixtures.

ROA members – non-registered owners: please login into the ROA members area where you will find a full fixture list, then apply for this fixture using the online form. Please note this is a temporary solution whilst we create your direct access to the RCA PASS system.

We strongly recommend that members pre-book their tickets as part of the enhanced approach and download their new digital PASScard for ease of access on the day from your smartphone (Google Play or iTunes). Please be aware that tickets are available to pre-book at entry stage (six days prior to the meeting.)

If you are a registered owner and have

Racing Welfare case study: Harry Dunlop’s new path

In May 2021 Lambourn trainer Harry Dunlop had come to a crossroads in his career. It was a conversation with another trainer that led him to pick up the phone to Racing Welfare, where he was soon referred into the Careers Advice and Training Service (CATS) for careers coaching.

Harry had been considering calling time on his 16-year career as a racehorse trainer for a while, admitting that it was a daunting prospect for several factors, not least for financial reasons.

He says: “I was nervous that I hadn’t worked in the main workplace in a 9-5 job. I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do.

“Zoe [the CATS careers coach] was great. We had three Zoom calls and explored what I really wanted to do. We spoke about lifestyle choices and my portfolio of work to date. We also looked at my CV and did some basic interview preparation, even looking at IT literacy courses that might be useful.”

It was this combination of support that helped Harry to consider his

not pre-booked but wish to attend on the day, please ensure that you have your RCA PASScard and ROA membership details or your new digital PASScard with you to enable seamless entry on course.

If you have already applied for an upcoming fixture, please be assured that we will process this application for you.

This is the start of a wider set of collaborative proposals to enhance the benefits that we give to ROA members. We will be harmonising the use of the PASScard to make the administration easier for everyone, including closer interaction between owners and the racecourses.

We will also be building access to racing for more owners as the ROA evolves its membership tiers, creating options for your ownership needs whether as a direct owner, through shared ownership or a racing enthusiast.

As ever if you have any queries please do not hesitate to contact the ROA team on info@roa.co.uk.

options. He continues: “In all honesty it got me thinking the right way, about where I wanted to go.”

Also, thinking about his considerable experience as a ‘portfolio’ of work, and considering the transferable skills that he’d picked up over the many years training racehorses, was of particular benefit.

He says: “I’ve always wanted to do other things. My biggest concern was what I wanted to do – was I qualified to do something else? I think that is probably the biggest scare, and that’s where a service like CATS helps.

“I realised that I don’t have to do a 9-5 job, which is something I was concerned about. It was a comfort to

BILL SELWYN

Our contact details:

Industry People Board appointments

Chair of British racing’s Industry People Board, Neil Hayward, has confirmed the appointment of eight Board members and a Programme Director to plan and deliver an industry-wide people strategy.

Initiated and funded by the Levy Board and the Racing Foundation, the Industry People Board will lead the development of racing’s long-term plan for its workforce – a key part of the wider strategy work, being led by the British Horseracing Authority. The People Board comprises eight members:

• Rob Hezel, Chief Executive, The Racing Foundation

• Daniel Kübler, Racehorse Trainer,

Kübler Racing

• George McGrath, Chief Executive, National Association of Racing Staff

• Neil Robertson, Chief Executive, National Skills Academy for Rail

• Tom Scudamore, former professional jump jockey

• Helene Sharrock, Chief People Officer, The Jockey Club

• Julia Tyson, former Chief HR Officer, Lloyds of London

• Tallulah Wilson, Head of International Partnerships, UK Tote Group

Board members will be supported in their work by full-time Programme

Director Lucy Attwood, who joins from Godolphin, where she was Head of Human Resources.

The Board will now work on an ambitious and deliverable people strategy, which will bring together new and existing projects under one coordinated approach, underpinned and informed by extensive stakeholder involvement and engagement.

The strategy will focus on the recruitment, retention, development and wellbeing of a high-performing, diverse and inclusive workforce –supporting and driving important initiatives to ensure racing is an attractive, fulfilling and enjoyable industry in which to work.

know from a professional that you can go out there and be entrepreneurial and do your own thing.”

Harry also discusses the confidentiality of the service, and how useful it was to have someone from outside of the day-to-day racing world to help him get some direction: “I’d only spoken to three or four people about what was on my mind,” he says. “People [in racing] are worried about what everyone says. So, it was nice to say things as you wanted to and get advice.

“It was very beneficial, [Zoe] did as much as she could for me and gave me the confidence to go forward.”

Since accessing CATS, Harry relinquished his training licence at the

end of the 2022 Flat racing season. He continues to work in an advisory role in the racing and bloodstock world, working with his brother, Ed Dunlop, and young Lambourn trainer Tom Ward, whilst extending his portfolio of work to include a new gardening business and work at an art gallery in London.

Harry concludes: “My life has completely changed, and I do put a lot of it down to CATS. Just having those three professional sessions – it couldn’t have been more helpful.

“Anybody at a crossroads or thinking about a career change should be using the service. It has been very, very helpful.”

GEORGE SELWYN

Recruiting and retaining staff is a key role of the eight-member body

Harry Dunlop: new chapter

ROA Forum

CHELTENHAM 100

With the Flat season now in full flow it may seem strange to be thinking about the Cheltenham Gold Cup, but some hardy Racing Welfare fundraisers will be doing just that in ‘The Dawn Run Challenge’ at the end of June.

Members of the team will be taking the Gold Cup to the top of the highest peaks in Ireland, Wales and England and then on to the summit of Arkle in Scotland – the mountain that lent its name to the greatest of all Gold Cup winners – from June 26 to June 30.

This is one of a number of special events Cheltenham are organising during the countdown to the 100th running of the Gold Cup in 2024.

Dorothy Paget

To celebrate Cheltenham’s feature-race centenary we will also be looking at some of the owners who have graced the Gold Cup winner’s enclosure during that time. Following on from Jock Whitney, whose Easter Hero took the race twice, we now move on to the 1930s, where his cousin, Dorothy Paget, dominated with her legendary chaser Golden Miller.

Born in 1905 and educated at Heathfield School in Ascot, Paget was known as a supreme eccentric. An early indication of this was when she trained as a singer and chose to give her first public performance in front of an audience of 500 prisoners at Wormwood Scrubs. She also set up a colony for displaced Russian aristocrats in Paris.

Paget inherited a vast sum of money from her mother’s side of the family when she was 21 and invested in motor racing, setting up a team of Bentleys which never managed to win a major race. Dispirited, motor racing’s loss was horseracing’s gain – a passion for which she gained from her father’s side of the family, as her father owned the 1922 2,000 Guineas winner St Louis.

Some historians have suggested that she invested over £3 million into owning horses, and at one time had over 50 horses in training. This was in spite of the onset of chronic shyness, and as one tale suggests if she went racing she would lock herself in the toilets until the crowds had left, and then would summon her trainer for a debrief of the race. She was always accompanied

to the races by a posse of secretaries, protecting her from the crowds when she did surface from hiding.

Another of the legendary eccentricities of ‘DP’ was her sleeping habits – she slept mainly in daylight hours, breakfasting at 8.30pm and eating dinner at 7am. This would drive her trainers to despair, with late-night phone calls demanding running plans and jockey changes. Her odd hours also allowed her carte blanche with the bookmakers, who trusted her not to have found out the result of races and place bets – sometimes as much as £10,000 – hours after the race had been run.

She had a number of bloodstock failures in her early foray into ownership – notably the 15,000gns yearling Colonel Payne who was later sold on for 250gns – but things changed after she met trainer Basil Briscoe in 1931. He told Paget he had both the best chaser and hurdler in the country and he would sell them to her for a combined £6,000.

Paget agreed, with Insurance becoming a Champion Hurdle winner, and the chaser, a gangly unfurnished five-year-old called Golden Miller, going on to win five Cheltenham Gold Cups

and a Grand National.

As was a theme, Golden Miller won his first Gold Cup in 1932 against the advice of both trainer and jockey who feared the going too firm for the gelding. However, Paget had already put her money on the horse and her faith was rewarded when he beat a field including Grakle.

Golden Miller went on to win the race four more times – including in 1935 when he beat his owner’s cousin Jock Whitney’s Thomond II in an epic battle. His bid for a sixth Gold Cup was thwarted by the weather, then the 1937 Festival was cancelled, whilst Morse Code became the only horse to ever beat him at Cheltenham in the 1938 renewal.

Golden Miller was retired in 1939 to his owner’s paddocks in Stanstead, where he lived out his days with Insurance, before passing peacefully as a 30-year-old, whilst Paget went on to own a Derby winner when Straight Deal triumphed in 1943. She died in her sleep at just 54 years of age, her reputation as fearsome and eccentric intact. As Basil Briscoe once remarked: “Training horses is child’s play. It’s a hell of a bloody job trying to train Miss Paget!”

Dorothy Paget with five-time Cheltenham Gold Cup winner Golden Miller

THE RACEGOERS CLUB COLUMN

Tony Wells looks at the racing scene

The problems caused by protesters at this year’s Grand National may have faded from the front of our thoughts over the last few weeks. Yet as racing fans we cannot be complacent. The threat from protest groups is real and they are threatening a summer of disruption. Kevin Blake has stepped up to the challenge in admirable fashion and has formed ‘Stand Up for Racing’. But what can we do as racing fans?

We’re not going to change the minds of those who are protesting on our racecourses, as their views are already fully entrenched, but we can influence the way our friends and family view what’s happening.

Anyone who has visited a stable yard will know how incredibly well racehorses are looked after. The staff dote on them and care for their every need and each day they get to go and practise what they do best. They are called racehorses for a reason. It’s what they do. And if they have an ailment, they get the best treatment and promptly. If only humans had the medical attention thoroughbreds receive. There’s no sitting on trollies in the corridors of a hospital for our equine heroes.

Regarding the economic impact on the country, horseracing is a massive business. It employs tens of thousands and generates millions in tax revenue for the country. I haven’t seen, heard or read anything on how protesters think this massive hole in the employment figures and the economy can be addressed.

This is a real threat to the sport we love. As racing fans, we all need to stand up and be counted in the face of this challenge. So, when your friends and family ask you, is horseracing a cruel sport, give them your views on why you love the sport and point out the folly of the protesters’ ill-thought-out plans.

Backwards move

Why run the Derby at 1.30pm? The scheduling of the FA Cup Final on the same day as the Derby has been known since last summer when the football fixtures were first released. Whilst no one knew the exact kick-off time of the Cup Final until April, whatever time was chosen would have presented a clash of sorts.

I know hindsight is a wonderful thing, but if the Jockey Club and BHA knew the off time for this year’s Derby was going to be 1.30pm, would they have thought longer and deeper on the potential alternatives?

Perhaps the Derby could have been run on a different day. The traditionalists pipe up every year, harping back to the days when the Derby was run on the first Wednesday in June. But the twoday meeting has been well and truly established. So, the obvious alternative would be the Friday, with the Oaks run on the Saturday.

The Gold Cup at Royal Ascot is run on a Thursday, the Cheltenham Gold Cup on a Friday, so why not run the Derby on a Friday? This year was probably the perfect opportunity to try something different.

Moving the greatest race to another day would have amounted to a free hit. It would certainly have garnered more media coverage on a Friday and, as a sporting event, it would have stood alone with no other sports able to compete for exposure.

It would also have caused less

inconvenience for those racegoers attending Epsom, with the rest of the card feeling like an anti-climax after the second race is run.

How much better it would have been for our sport to awake on that day with the newspapers showing pictures of the previous day’s Derby winner on the front pages. The Friday would have allowed racegoers and all those watching on TV to focus their attention on the racing, without any distraction from other events.

I can’t think of a worse scenario than the current one. And if by chance the move to a Friday proved to be a roaring success, the move could be made permanent. It could reverse the current trend of falling attendances and start to move them in the other direction.

FIFA declared the World Cup in Qatar a huge success and suggested another ‘Winter World Cup‘ was a distinct possibility. If that ever happens and the Derby and FA Cup Final are taking place on the same day again, I believe the Jockey Club and BHA should seriously consider moving the Derby to a Friday slot.

The start of this year’s Grand National was delayed after protesters got onto the track

BILL SELWYN

MAGICAL MOMENTS

Hew and Jane Glyn Davies are doing alright with their talented string

The ups and downs of owning racehorses – and, indeed, backing them – were encapsulated at England and Scotland’s biggest National Hunt festivals, with Datsalrightgino being pulled up as favourite at Cheltenham but then winning at Ayr the following month at 8-1.

The seven-year-old, by It’s Gino, is owned by the GD Partnership, formed of husband and wife Hew and Jane Glyn Davies plus son Piers and daughter Anna.

He has proved a shrewd acquisition from the Goffs Land Rover Sale of 2019, with four wins, six seconds and two thirds from 17 starts, topped by that Grade 2 strike on Scottish Grand

National day.

For trainer Jamie Snowden, jockey Gavn Sheehan and the owners, it went a fair way to making up for Cheltenham, where Datsalrightgino was a well-supported favourite for the Plate but was never in the hunt on ground turned unsuitably soft.

Explaining the background, Hew says: “I’ve always been interested in National Hunt racing. I used to go with my father to point-to-points when we lived in Kent.

“After growing up and living in London and all that comes with that, I didn’t do that, but when we moved back from Hong Kong we bought a cottage in north Dorset and when the children were very young we took them

to Larkhill and Badbury Rings, the local point-to-point tracks.

“Then through a friend, William Wallace, he bred a horse called Lemons Ground and we had a leg in him.

“He won his first race, a bumper at Fontwell, so that was very good. That was in May 2013 but after a break he never really went on from there in five more runs, and unfortunately he died of colic. So we lost our first horse.”

It was not, however, a case of once bitten, twice shy, as the interest in Lemons Ground proved just the start.

“Once we’d got used to Lemons Ground, we then thought we’d do the GD Partnership, and in total we’ve owned nine horses and have got three at the moment,” says Hew, a banker.

Jane Glyn Davies, Gavin Sheehan, Alex Walters, Hew Glyn Davies and Jamie Snowden after Datsalrightgino’s Grade 2 triumph at Ayr in April

JOHN GROSSICK

“There’s Datsalrightgino, who won the Grade 2 at Ayr the other day, Colonel Harry, who did very well in the Tolworth and won a maiden hurdle at Sandown and a novice at Newcastle, and was last time second in a Grade 2 at Kelso, and we’ve also got a share in a horse with Charles and Caroline Gregson, Flyawaydream, a four-yearold Flat horse with Sir Mark Prescott.

“I think we’ve had 22 winners to date, a lot of which came from Chapmanshype, who was very much a summer horse. He won nine races from 27 starts; his first win wasn’t in our ownership, that was at Punchestown, and then we bought him.

“He did very well for us. He had a fantastic win under topweight in a Class 2 handicap hurdle at Kelso in September 2020, when Covid was going on, setting a course record.”

Jane adds: “He was probably our best horse to date before Gino and Harry, and we retired him last year. He’s now doing dressage.”

As for why Chapmanshype and others were placed with Snowden, Hew explains: “Lemons Ground went to Jamie as his parents lived near William Wallace, and we were then introduced to Jamie and got on very well with him.

“We like dealing with him, he’s a personable guy, trustworthy, and he and bloodstock agent Tom Malone have chosen most of the horses we’ve had, and they’ve done pretty well.

“Jamie hadn’t long been at Folly House in Lambourn when we were involved with Lemons Ground, and the yard has expanded since then. He’s had Cheltenham Festival winners, including this year with You Wear It Well, and we’re happy to take his advice.”

The trainer’s faith in Datsalrightgino has been vindicated, last season bringing a couple of wins and some what-might-have-beens.

“If he’d have jumped the last two fences better on Trials Day at Cheltenham, he’d have been a lot closer to Stage Star,” reflects Hew. “He was then runner-up again in the Pendil at Kempton, where the field gave Solo a six- or seven-length start. He’d have

won in another 20 yards. That was frustrating but enjoyable too as it was a good run.”

The year-younger Colonel Harry, likewise bought by Snowden and Malone at the sales, in his case after winning a point-to-point at Ballyvodock, also had a fine campaign.

“We were very excited by his win at Sandown in November,” says Hew. “But I suppose the highlight of the recent season was Gino at Ayr.”

All the more so, of course, after what happened the previous month at the Festival.

“He was third favourite on the morning of the race and we went to Cheltenham thinking we were in with a chance,” says Hew. “Stage Star won the first race that day, the Turners, and Gino went from third favourite to

on the line at Ffos Las. After the Festival he went back to Cheltenham the next month and was second to Might Bite. Later, he had a bad fall and never really got over that.”

Jane says: “When we had a runner at that Cheltenham Festival we were quite new to racehorse ownership and didn’t realise the enormity of it. Now we’ve come to realise that even getting a horse to the Festival is a huge plus. It takes a long time to get these ‘Saturday horses’. Fingers crossed but we seem to have a couple at the moment.”

Their Flat horse, Flyawaydream, has pretensions to join that club too – though, in Jane’s words, it is a “privilege” just to be an owner with Prescott, last year’s Arc-winning trainer.

“Flyawaydream has had a first, four seconds and a third in his six races, and has done very well for us,” says Hew. “Sir Mark has a fantastic set-up at Heath House in Newmarket. He’s a great one for stories and they’re well worth listening to.

“We’ve got only a share in this one horse so we’re probably his most insignificant owners, but you’d never know that in the way he is with us. We saw Alpinista in her box on one visit, which was great.

“Gavin, Jamie, Tom Malone, Sir Mark Prescott, all of it works very well for us, it’s a pleasure to be with them.

outright favourite.

“However, after the Turners the rain came down and the ground wasn’t to Gino’s liking. There was a false start and a big field, and he never seemed comfortable. Gavin rightly pulled him up.

“That was a huge disappointment and you felt rather, I’m not sure if the word is guilty, or worried, that people had put money on him and he hadn’t performed. But he got it right at Ayr, that was the main thing.”

Datsalrightgino was not the first horse to carry the GD Partnership silks at the Cheltenham Festival, as Hew says: “We had a runner in 2015 in what was then the Fred Winter, Souriyan, who came 11th. He was a good horse.

“He bolted up at Exeter on his second run for us and was then nabbed

“Gavin has been absolutely fantastic in his riding of Chapmanshype, Gino and Harry, and had a great season. He’s in his prime.”

Jane adds of Sheehan: “He doesn’t get the recognition he deserves –although that does mean we can keep getting him, so that’s fine!”

So too is their all-round experience of owning horses, as Jane says: “Racing seems to be quite a small world really and you can get to know people, including fellow owners. For us, it’s lovely that we can do this as a family. Piers and Anna love it, have got their mates involved, and it’s great fun.”

Hew sums up: “When the sun, the moon and the stars align, it is a very fulfilling experience, and unbelievably great fun. The alternative is you can go home in a bit of a mood!”

“We like dealing with Jamie Snowden – he’s personable and trustworthy”

Owners wanted to celebrate Racing With Pride month

Racing With Pride, British racing’s official network for the LGBT+ community and allies, was launched in 2020 and has been campaigning to ensure racing is a sport where everyone can be their true selves without fear of discrimination. As part of this work, Racing With Pride actively encourages engagement throughout the year, as well as key activation at significant times.

June is Pride month in the UK, when people come together in celebration, protest, unity and solidarity for LGBT+ equality. Sadly, there is still a need to visibly demonstrate support for the

New VAT registrations

On May 17 HMRC announced the closure of its dedicated VAT registrations helpline. The VAT registrations helpline, separate from the main VAT helpline, had been put in place to assist applicants and agents who had queries or concerns around their VAT registration applications.

HMRC has advised that they are working to a service level lead time of 40 working days (excluding weekends and bank holidays). Individual cases can, and do, take longer.

HMRC will only respond to VAT registration application queries that have exceeded the 40 working day lead time and have been followed up via email. They aim to respond to the email request within five working days.

When applying for a new VAT registration number, as a sole owner, partnership, or syndicate, please ensure that you provide the following for all individuals included in the VAT application.

• Date of birth

• National insurance number

• UTR number (if the individual currently or has previously submitted self-assessment tax returns)

These requirements have been phased in under the new VAT application system that went live on August 1, 2022. Providing these details will decrease the likelihood that HMRC will come back to the VAT Agent to request further information from the individuals in the application.

Existing VAT registrations

On May 4 HMRC sent a communication reminding VAT registered businesses that from May 15 VAT returns can no longer be submitted through the government gateway and must be submitted using MTD compliant software. Those businesses that are not submitting digital returns may face being penalised under HMRC’s new penalty point system that came into effect on January 1.

The new penalties replace the default surcharge and now also apply to VAT registered businesses who submit nil or repayment returns.

To avoid penalties, you must:

• Submit your VAT returns on time using MTD Compliant Software

• Pay your VAT on time

The way interest is calculated on late VAT payments and repayments of VAT that HMRC may owe you has also changed for VAT periods starting on or after January 1, 2023.

What will happen if you submit a VAT return late

Penalties for submitting VAT returns late will work on a points-based system. One penalty point will be given for each VAT return submitted late.

If you reach your points threshold, you will have to pay a fixed £200 penalty. You will also have to pay another

LGBT+ community as homophobic attacks are rising across the UK.

In 2021 the Racing With Pride silks were created to provide further visibility of the LGBT+ community. These beautiful silks are a fantastic tool for raising awareness across British racing, and Racing With Pride are looking for owners who may wish to use the silks on lease for any runner they may have during Pride month (subject to availability), in particular for any high-profile fixtures.

If you would like to show your support by using these silks, please contact info@ racingwithpride.co.uk to find out more.

£200 penalty each time you submit your VAT return late while you are at the threshold.

What will happen if you do not pay your VAT on time

If your payment is more than 15 days overdue, you will have to pay a first late payment penalty. If your payment is more than 30 days overdue, you will also have to pay a second late payment penalty.

You will also be charged late payment interest from the day after your VAT payment is due to the day you pay in full. Interest will be calculated at the Bank of England base rate plus 2.5%.

How can we help?

ROA VAT Solution’s dedicated team are up to speed with HMRC’s new VAT application system and lead times. Specialising in the racehorse owners’ scheme, we will only request the information required for the application to be processed as seamlessly as possible, and nothing more. Our VAT Agents will liaise with HMRC on your behalf as soon as HMRC’s lead time has been exceeded.

Once your new VAT registration number has been granted, we will compile and submit your VAT return accurately and on time using our MTD compliant software, Xero.

To find out more about our service visit www.roa.co.uk/vat or call 01183 385685 to speak with our dedicated VAT team today.

The Racing With Pride silks

In brief

Syndicate suites

Both Redcar and Wetherby are trialling syndicate bars at their meetings.

At Wetherby, the facility will include complimentary tea/coffee and biscuits and a cash bar facility, with each syndicate able to increase their badge allocation to 16. The location of the bar will be advised on admission. Access to the parade ring is included in this initiative.

Syndicates with runners at Wetherby are advised to contact the course on declaration to arrange access on 01937 582035 or info@wetherbyracing.co.uk.

Redcar have updated their owners badge policy for the 2023 season. Six complimentary badges will be provided per runner, with the option to purchase six more if required.

If syndicates require more than 12 badges, they will be allocated syndicate owners badges, allowing access to both the parade ring and syndicate owners’ suite rather than the owners’ and trainers’ area in the paddock suite. More information can be found on the Redcar website on redcarracing.co.uk/owners-and-trainers.

Ten to Follow winners

With the 2022/23 National Hunt campaign now complete, we can reveal the final standings of the two Ten to Follow Leagues we were running under the Tote competition.

Winner of the ROA League was Lorraine Southern, who enjoyed a fine Cheltenham with Constitution Hill, Galopin Des Champs and Energumene all scooping points for her. She stretched her lead to over 31 points from the ‘Sylvan Oak’ stable with Jonbon’s fine end to the season at Aintree.

The race for the Racegoers Club title was hotly contested, with member and Owner Breeder contributor Tony Wells coming out in front by just 1.62 points. As well as Lorraine’s top scorers, Tony also unearthed Arkle winner El Fabiolo in his stable.

Both win £100. Congratulations!

Racing account comparison

With the economic situation prompting some owners to re-evaluate their current racing spend and with the increase in Weatherbys Racing Bank charges, we have received an increased number of enquiries from owners who are looking to make savings.

One area that owners may want to look at is the racing bank account options available and how switching to a different account could save money.

The ROA has produced a table which compares the account options currently available to registered owners. Further details and a comparison table can be found at roa.co.uk.

BHA relocates

The BHA, Great British Racing and Racing to School have relocated to a new head office. The address is Holborn Gate, 26 Southampton Buildings, London, WC2A 1AN. The main switchboard number remains 020 7152 0000.

TBA Forum

The special section for TBA members

Constitution Hill adds Aintree Hurdle to CV

In the Prix Noailles, Flight Leader was brought with a well-timed run by Bauyrzhan Murzabayev to take the early season Prix du Jockey Club trial. The son of Frankel is a Juddmonte homebred.

Later in the month and there was Listed success for the Cracksman filly Cracksmania in the Prix Caravelle.

Third in the Poule d’Essai des Poulains, Tribalist got his 2023 campaign off to the best start possible with a win in the Prix Edmond Blanc. The son of Farhh was bred by Car Colston Stud. Fellow French Group 3 winner Marshman (Harry Angel) – victorious in the Prix Sigy – was bred by Highbank Stud LLP.

A Grade 1 winner at Keeneland last October, In Italian (Dubawi) returned for the track’s April meeting and was in impressive form, taking the Jenny Wiley Stakes field apart. The five-year-old was bred by Fairway Thoroughbreds.

Having cemented himself as the superior two-miler, the Sally Noottbred Constitution Hill went to Aintree and stepped up in trip for the first time in the Aintree Hurdle, but still came out victorious, making all. Whether to stay hurdling or tackle fences in the autumn is still to be decided by connections.

The following day, fellow six-year-old Inthepocket gained a first Grade 1 in the Top Novices’ Hurdle. Bred by Tessa Greatrex and David Futter, the Henry de Bromhead trainee defeated fellow Britishbreds Strong Leader and Luccia.

The third British-bred winner of the meeting was Midnight River in the William Hill Handicap Chase. Bred by Swanbridge Bloodstock Ltd, the son of Midnight Legend was taking a second premier handicap of the season.

The following weekend the jumps action moved to Scotland where the feature event, the Scottish Grand National, went to the Daraiyna Syndicate-bred Kitty’s Light for Christian Williams. The son of Nathaniel, who had won the Eider Chase on his previous start, was turned out a week later and captured the bet365 Gold Cup Handicap Chase.

Malystic defied top weight to take the Scotty Brand Handicap Chase. He was bred by Mrs J A Niven & Mrs D M Ewart.

At Cheltenham, on mares’ day, Ahorsewithnoname broke her jumps maiden in the Listed mares’ novice hurdle over 2m4f. The daughter of Cacique was bred by Dominic Burke’s Whitley Stud.

In America the jumps season was just getting started but there were stakes wins for Caramelised (Dansili) and West Newton. The former, bred by Anita Wigan, captured the Carolina Cup Hurdle Stakes at Camden for Leslie Young, whilst the latter, bred by the late Queen, took the Daniel Van Clief Memorial Stakes Hurdle at Foxfield in Virginia.

As the curtain came down on the British and Irish National Hunt season, the Flat started to take shape, including a number of Classic trials.

At Newbury, the Elaine Chivers-bred Isaac Shelby was an impressive winner of the Greenham Stakes, whilst the fillies' equivalent, the Fred Darling, fell the way of the Lawn Stud-bred Kingman filly Remarquee, who won well despite running green in the closing stages.

Earlier that week the Robert Corneliusbred Mammas Girl, a daughter of Havana Grey, took top honours in the Nell Gwyn Stakes, powering away up the Newmarket hill.

In Ireland, Hans Andersen (Frankel), bred by Sun Bloodstock, put in an assured performance to win the 2,000 Guineas Trial Stakes for Aidan O’Brien. The same day and the Joseph O’Brien-trained White Birch, a son of Ulysses bred by Cheveley Park Stud, won the Ballysax Stakes.

Meanwhile, in France, Good Guess, who was bred by Cheveley Park Stud out of a Pivotal daughter of Russian Rhythm, got up late on for victory in the Prix Djebel at Deauville.

Also Stateside there were a couple of stakes winners in the shape of Behind Enemy Lines and Big Everest. The former, bred by The Brigadier Partnership, captured the Cutler Bay Stakes at Gulfstream Park, whilst the latter, bred by Newsells Park Stud, won the Danger’s Hour Stakes at Aqueduct.

In Australia, Surefire put a number of below-par efforts behind him to take the Chairman’s Quality at Randwick in the hands of Joao Moreira. On home turf, fellow Juddmonte homebred Laurel, second in the Sun Chariot last October with little prior experience, made a triumphant 2023 debut with a smooth win in the Snowdrop Fillies’ Stakes on the all-weather at Kempton Park.

At the very beginning of the month on the opening day of the British turf Flat season there was a Listed double for former shuttle sire Brazen Beau. The Crispin Estates Ltd-bred Vadream relished the soft ground in the Cammidge Trophy, whilst the Pam Sly homebred Astral Beau was a surprise winner of the Doncaster Mile.

The Bartlett, Beever and Cheveley Park Stud-bred Dear My Friend, a son of Pivotal, won the Burradon Stakes at Newcastle.

In Ireland, the Heritage Stakes was won by The Roheryn Partnership-bred Buckaroo and the Salsabil Stakes won by the Malih Al Basti-bred Village Voice

Further afield, the Highgate Stud-bred Breath Away (Bated Breath) won the Sanibel Island Stakes at Gulfstream, and the Jane Keir-bred Skyman (Mukhadram) won his fourth stakes race in the Canadian Club Tails Stakes at Doomben.

Results up to and including April 30. Produced in association with GBRI.

Constitution Hill: Aintree victory made it seven wins from as many races under Rules

BILL SELWYN

NH statistical winners 2022-23 revealed

Sutton and Adam Waugh-bred Santos Blue was a threetime winner, who holds a progressive profile. The John Lightfoot-bred Willmount, from his second British-bred crop, supplemented his four-year-old Irish point-to-point win with two bumper wins from as many starts.

HORSE & HOUND CUP Schiaparelli

Awarded to the leading active British-based stallion by individual chase winners in Britain and Ireland, Schiaparelli captured the Horse & Hound Cup for the third successive year.

Amongst his winners over the larger obstacles was the nine-year-old Brandy Harbour, a winner at both Cork and Thurles.

WHITBREAD SILVER SALVER Blue Bresil

For the first time, Blue Bresil has been awarded the Whitbread Silver Salver, which is given to the leading active stallion by earnings achieved in Britain and Ireland, for progeny sired in Britain. Having arrived from France to Yorton Stud in 2016 with his oldest crop five, the son of Smadoun started out at a fee of £2,750 and rapidly progressed to £6,000 in his final season in 2019.

Whilst he left behind star mare L’Autonomie amongst others from his time at Haras de la Croix Sonnet, his biggest star thus far is Constitution Hill. The Sally Noottbred six-year-old, who hails from that first British-bred crop, has sailed through his seven assignments under Rules, including the quartet of Grade 1s this past NH season – Fighting Fifth, Christmas, Champion and Aintree hurdles.

His second biggest contributor in terms of prize-money amassed last season was Inthepocket. Another from that first British-bred crop, and bred by Tess Greatrex and David Futter, he won the Grade 1 Top Novices’ Hurdle and the Grade 2 Navan Novice Hurdle.

The Caroline George-bred Pembroke was runnerup in a Cheltenham Grade 2 in January, whilst the Nick

In Britain his chase winners were headed by a pair of mares. Lazy Sunday went on a three-win streak with win at Lingfield sandwiched by victories at Exeter and Ffos Las. The bay was bred by the late Allan Munnis.

Having already obtained winning brackets in bumper and hurdling company, Betty Baloo completed her set with a win at Catterick on the final day of February. She went on to double her score with a 15-length win at Market Rasen in April.

Ongoing TBA commitment to veterinary research

The TBA and Horserace Betting Levy Board (HBLB) have confirmed their continued financial support of veterinary research for the benefit of the thoroughbred breeding industry. Professor Mandi de Mestre, who has recently relocated to Cornell University, will oversee both a scholarship looking at musculoskeletal disorders in newborn

foals, in collaboration with Professor Kristien Verheyen (RVC), Dr Liam MacGillivray (NEH) and Orlagh O’Reilly (PhD student), and a large project investigating foetal health in the pregnant mare, in partnership with Professor Madeleine Campbell and Professor Richard Lea, both at Nottingham University.

To learn more about the objectives

of these studies and how it is hoped they may influence future management practices on stud farms, visit the Equine Health section of the TBA website.

Breeders and their attending veterinary surgeons are also encouraged to contribute data and case studies, where appropriate. To find out how, contact Victoria Murrell (Victoria. murrell@thetba.co.uk).

Blue Bresil: sire of the outstanding Constitution Hill

Schiaparelli: Horse & Hound Cup winner for third year running

Spaces available on TBA Board

As one of the key stakeholders in the industry, the TBA is the voice of British breeding and the thoroughbred within the sport, with government and on the international stage. The TBA supports breeders with advice, guidance and training for their bloodstock operations and funds vitally important veterinary research for the long-term future of horse health.

Regional visit to Ben Pauling and Cheltenham a success

The first TBA regional day of 2023 rapidly sold out and 36 members met under blue if chilly skies at Ben Pauling’s impressive Naunton Downs Stables in mid-April.

Ben and his family, along with horses and staff, moved into their new yard in April 2022 and have not looked back with this past season being their most successful so far.

Assistant trainer Tom David and secretary Hannah Vowles gave a brief resume on the horses (and riders) in the trotting ring, before they moved to the two-furlong round gallop, which is mainly aimed at slow steady work. Although many of the horses were getting ready for their summer break, the yard was still busy, and it was great to see horses such as Shakem Up’Arry and Bowtogreatness looking fresh and well after their recent runs at Aintree.

The horses seemed as interested in us as we were of them, and kind inquisitive heads looked out over the doors. Many of the stables opened out into pens allowing the horses to walk outside where they stood relaxed and happy in the sunshine.

Hannah, Tom and media manager Miranda Horton could not have been more enthusiastic and knowledgeable about the horses, and a steady flow of questions, that

carried on into the afternoon, proved how engaged and interested the group were.

After meeting many of the stable stars, the group were shown around the enviable facilities before coffee, and the largest croissants ever seen were served in the owners’ lounge accessed by a glass bridge overlooking the yard.

Fully refreshed, the group then headed over to the main gallop situated beside the golf course, six furlongs in length and made from shredded carpet, which helps reduce injuries and is invaluable in the winter months.

Having run well over time the members then drove, somewhat speedily, to Cheltenham racecourse for an engaging and informative talk by Sophia Dale and Ian Renton on Jockey Club racecourse activities, which included an in-depth look at the financing from an operations angle.

Following a buffet lunch in a private box, the group were able to watch the action on mares’ day from the grandstand at what has to be one of, if not the most, spectacular racecourses in the county.

Huge thanks to the staff at Naunton Downs, especially Hannah and Miranda and to Jockey Club Racecourses for making our first regional day of 2023 such a success.

In 2023, two elected trustee spaces are available.

All TBA members will be receiving a nomination form and explanatory letter in the post by early June; these forms can also be obtained by contacting info@thetba. co.uk or accessing the members area of the website. Members who wish to put themselves forward as a potential candidate for the Board elections must provide six signatures of support from current TBA members – signatories can offer their support to only two candidates in any one year.

Candidates are also required to supply a head and shoulders photograph of themselves, plus a profile, which for those candidates going forward to the election will be published on these pages of the August issue. The election result will be announced at the AGM in October. Ballot forms together with the profiles of all candidates will be sent to TBA members at the beginning of August.

Candidate profiles should not exceed 200 words and be composed under the following headings: Career/Profession, Breeding/Racing interests, Profile. Completed forms, photo and profile must be returned no later than Friday, June 30.

Racecourse Badge Scheme for Breeders

TBA members who are part of the Racecourse Badge Scheme for Breeders (RBSB) can receive alerts by text or email when a horse they have bred is entered and/or declared to run.

The old-style PASScards are no

longer produced and members requiring complimentary race badges are requested to check that the race meeting is in the RBSB scheme by logging onto www.thetba.co.uk > Advice & Inf > Breeder Badges > Fixture List

We recommend you pre-book your

badges using the PASS system no later than 3pm the day before racing at www. rcapass.com. Please take additional identification with you, just to be on the safe side.

If you have any questions email alix. jones@thetba.co.uk or call 01638 661321.

A warm welcome was received at Ben Pauling's Naunton Downs Stables in mid-April

TBA Flat Breeders’ Awards Evening tickets now on sale

Tickets are now on sale for this year’s TBA Flat Breeders’ Awards Evening, which will take place on Wednesday, July 12 at Chippenham Park, near Newmarket.

The event, which takes place during the July Festival and the July Sale, celebrates British-bred successes from the 2022 Flat racing season, and will be hosted by Gina Bryce.

Breeders, owners, trainers and enthusiasts are welcomed to the Jockey Club and National Stud sponsored event, which includes a drinks and canapés reception kindly supported by Newsells Park Stud, followed by a dinner and the awards ceremony.

A total of 14 awards will be presented during the evening, including the prestigious Andrew Devonshire and Dominion Bronze awards.

The TBA would like to thank the Jockey Club, the National Stud, Newsells Park Stud, Chasemore Farm, Tattersalls, EBF and Barton Stud for their support.

Tickets are available on the TBA website's events page and are priced at £80 per person.

Dates for your diary

Members are advised of the following notable dates in 2023. Further events and reminders will be added to the calendar and members are advised to keep an eye on the news section of the TBA website for the most up to date information.

June 27

Bloodstock Conference, Tattersalls, Newmarket

July 12

Flat Awards Evening, Chippenham Park

July 21

Regional day at the Household Cavalry and Osborne Gallery

August 22

Worm Workshop, Askham Bryan College

New regional days announced

The Household Cavalry has invited TBA members to view behind the scenes at its mounted regiment stationed at Hyde Park Barracks in London on July 21. The Household Cavalry, the ceremonial face of the regiment, conducts mounted state and public duties in the capital.

Following the tour and lunch, we will make our way to the Osbourne Studio, a contemporary gallery in Belgravia specialising in sporting and equestrian art. Spaces are limited and will be offered to TBA members in the first instance. Guests will be placed on a waiting list and contacted on a first-come first-served basis.

On October 19 members can enjoy a visit to the stable of Paul Nicholls and also tour the Glanvilles Stud.

Paul Nicholls OBE needs no introduction and the TBA is delighted to announce a visit to his Manor Farm Stables in Ditcheat. The morning visit will start at 11am to view the

August 31

Stage 3 GBB deadline (2020-born NH 3yos)

September 30

Stage 1 GBB deadline (2023-born foals)

October 19

Regional day at Paul Nicholls’ stable and the Glanvilles Stud

horses pulling out on their way to the gallops before taking a tour of the facilities and meeting some of the National Hunt stars.

Following lunch at a local pub we will drive to the Glanvilles Stud where Doug and Lucy Procter have kindly offered to host the afternoon. Here we will have the opportunity to view some of the mares and foals and hear about the early years of Honeysuckle and Sam Spinner.

Spaces are limited and will be offered to TBA members in the first instance. Guests will be placed on a waiting list and contacted on a first-come first-served basis.

Details and costs for both days are currently being finalised and will be announced in the fortnightly e-Bulletin.

All regional days are open to both TBA members and TBA ACCESS subscribers.

Chippenham Park is the venue for this year's ceremony on July 12

ADAM SMYTH

Breeder of the Month

Sponsored by Distributer of Words

Howard Wright

BREEDER OF THE MONTH (April 2023)

Tessa Greatrex & David Futter

Beginner’s luck can sometimes take time to work its magic, which is definitely the case with bloodstock agent Tessa Greatrex and stud manager David Futter, joint winners of the TBA Breeder of the Month award for April for the success of Inthepocket in Aintree’s Grade 1 Top Novices’ Hurdle.

Inthepocket is among the early produce of Egretta Island, the first mare Greatrex, wife of trainer Warren, purchased on her own account. But success has been a number of years in the making.

Greatrex’s day job is as a mainstay of the Highflyer Bloodstock team alongside David Minton and Anthony Bromley, and she recalls: “I bought Egretta Island for €6,000 as a three-year-old in June 2009, not long after Warren had started training on his own account at Uplands. We moved with just 15 horses, so I was conscious of needing more and I wanted to support him.

“Minty said he’d go halves in owning her and we did manage to win a race with her at Towcester, a Class 4 novices’ hurdle, which I remember mostly because I had my middle daughter Nell two days later.

“Egretta Island was very moderate –she was pulled up in four of her last six races – but her pedigree, being a Heron Island half-sister to a useful chaser in The Whisperer, wasn’t too bad and I’d always wanted to do the breeding side. Minty didn’t, so he bailed out, and instead David Futter, of Yorton Farm, whom I’d known for ages, said he’d come in with me.”

Greatrex admits that with her agent’s hat on, she probably would not have advised a client to buy Egretta Island, nor perhaps to have kept her for breeding.

However, she adds: “My problem is that I can get carried away at the sales if I see something I really like and don’t want to leave it behind. Egretta Island wasn’t very expensive, and I figured that if she wasn’t a racehorse, we could turn her into something else.

“I just loved her honest head, and she has the most massive ears you’ve ever seen. She was a great walker and had such a lovely look about her.”

So began the next stage of Egretta Island’s bloodstock career, with Yorton Farm’s emerging stallions at the top of her calling card. “David and I agreed that we would sell the colts,” Greatrex explains. “I’m in it as much to support him with whichever stallions he’s promoting. I very much leave the choice to David. I need his knowledge on that side of things.”

Picking up the Egretta Island story, she says: “Her first foal, Browny Boy, by Librettist, went for £5,000 as a yearling and was eventually sold on to Shark

Hanlon, who raved about him, but sadly he fractured a knee. Then we had a Sulamani colt, To Be Sure, whom we sold for £9,000 as a yearling and he won four races when he was trained by Evan Williams, and then came a Universal, who was crooked and is probably now a riding horse.”

And so to the Blue Bresil gelding Inthepocket, whom Greatrex remembers as “a cracking two-year-old,” which was when he was sold at Yorton Farm’s own Goffs’ sale for £25,000 to Hamish Macaulay Bloodstock.

Submitted to the Tattersalls Cheltenham December Sale a little over two years later as the winner of a maiden point-to-point just a fortnight previously, Inthepocket was knocked down to Michael Hyde for £290,000 and his upwardly mobile career in the JP McManus colours, trained by Henry de Bromhead and ridden by Rachael Blackmore, took him from fourth place in the Supreme Novices’ Hurdle at Cheltenham to the winner’s circle at Aintree, where the day got even better for the Greatrex family when Warren-trained Bill Baxter took the Topham Chase.

Egretta Island’s own career trajectory has not been quite so star-crossed, as Tessa explains: “She does produce a lovely big foal, so she’s quite a good advert for David’s stallions, which is why we’ve used a different one every time. He knows he’s going to get a good-sized foal with her.

“Our biggest problem is that although she foals incredibly well, she doesn’t do herself too much good at the same time. She has these gigantic foals, which really knocks her about. We‘ve tried very hard to get her in foal this year, and after foaling all colts so far, we’ll pray for a filly. Fingers crossed, because it would be great for Warren to train one for us.”

TATTERSALLS

Tessa Greatrex: co-breeder with David Futter of top novice hurdler Inthepocket

The Finish Line with Alastair Warwick

Ascot’s new Chief Executive Alastair Warwick, 51, began his career in the sport at Chester, before moving on to Aintree with Charles Barnett. He was then appointed Chief Executive at Hamilton, following on from Morag Gray, and enjoyed four years there before joining Ascot as Assistant Operations Director in 2008, under Barnett again. He became Chief Executive in March, having occupied the role in an acting capacity for around six months following the departure of Vivien Currie. He was one of the architects of World Pool betting, which is already providing Ascot with a significant revenue stream, and has played a key role in the renewal of the course’s contracts with ITV and Sky Sports Racing.

Interview: Graham Dench

This year will be my 15th Royal Ascot and I’m hugely excited about it. We were delighted that His Majesty The King approved the renaming of the Platinum Jubilee Stakes to the Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee Stakes. Their Majesties have been in conversation with both Sir Francis Brooke, the King’s Representative here, and their Racing Manager, John Warren, with whom the King visited his trainers in Newmarket recently. It’s going to be an exciting week as we begin this new era.

I’m very focused on the visitor experience at the Royal Meeting, whatever your involvement. Whether you are an owner, trainer, breeder, punter, or you’ve just come to the Heath enclosure for a picnic on the Saturday, we must endeavour to deliver the worldclass experience that an occasion like Royal Ascot demands. It’s a stunning event, and we must make sure it’s a stunning experience for all.

One of the joys of travelling to meetings like the Melbourne Cup and the Breeders’ Cup is the opportunities it has provided to attend other major sports events and see how they operate. There are so many things in the leisure sector that people can spend their money on and we are competing with all of them. It’s important to see what good looks like globally. Having been through Royal Ascot during the pandemic, when there were around 140 of us here and no spectators present to see some of the best horses in the world, nothing beats having a crowd shout home a winner at Royal Ascot. The crowd is at the heart of the celebration.

I love the international aspect of racing in the UK, particularly at Royal Ascot, and this year we are gearing up for a really strong team of challengers. On the

back of Nature Strip’s amazing win last year, we’ve got four sprinters heading here from Australia in Coolangatta, The Astrologist, Artorius again and Cannonball. Also the American challenge won’t just be the remarkable Wesley Ward. The Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint winner Caravel is expected along with George Weaver’s two juvenile winners from the first running of the recent automatic qualifier races at Gulfstream, No Nay Mets and Crimson Advocate. We are also hopeful that Wellington, one of the best sprinters in Hong Kong, will come. He would be the first to travel over since 2016 and it would be interesting to see what effect his presence has on World Pool betting.

We were fundamental in World Pool’s creation, and it’s a growing part of Ascot’s business. There are only a certain number of World Pool fixtures, so we are lucky that they include all five days of Royal Ascot, the King George, and Champions Day. It all originated over a cup of coffee on the steppings at Sha Tin with George Irvine, who at the time was director of co-mingling for the HKJC, and that led to conversations with Winfried Engelbrecht-Bresges, the HKJC’s Chief Executive, and the Tote.

World Pool is still in its infancy, but it’s already a global product in just its fifth year and I believe there is plenty of scope for further growth. This year it had its first race meeting from Australia, Lightning Stakes Day. The global market is where the growth is now, and it’s great for us to be so involved, and it’s great for British racing. It’s very complex though, as it requires us to work in partnership with many different countries. That is not only difficult on a technological front, but also in terms of the challenges presented by the varying betting rules which apply in different jurisdictions, such as each-

way terms and the anomalies regarding withdrawn horses, non-runners and so on.

We can never compete with countries like Australia and Hong Kong on prizemoney, as we are not a pool-betting monopoly and we are not a state-run operation. However, the quality of the racing we put on has never been an issue. Six of the top ten horses in the world on IFHA rankings last year ran at Ascot. We deliver some of the best and most competitive racing in the world and we have competitive prize-money by European standards, which will be at a record level once again this year.

We must look after each aspect of the sport, as it’s an ecosystem, and we are delighted to continue to recognise the importance of breeders. Every breeder of a Royal Ascot winner is invited to lunch on the Friday of the King George meeting and receives an engraved silver strawberry dish memento. It’s quite a big deal for many breeders to have a winner at Royal Ascot, and it’s essential that this element of the industry is celebrated. We are heavily involved with the BHA and TBA on the high-value developmental race scheme too, including our flagship £50,000 Crocker Bulteel Maiden.

I believe that the future for jump racing is bright and I’m looking forward to seeing the benefits of the changes to the fixture list following the recent review. We were involved in that review and are pleased to see that the BHA has taken some big steps in order to provide a more coherent programme aimed at increased field sizes. We gave up the Kennel Gate to assist with that. From our point of view, they’ve done what’s right. Jump racing is very important to us and the pre-Christmas meeting at Ascot is one of my annual highlights.

ROA VAT SOLUTION

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From 15th May 2023 you will no longer be able to submit returns via the online VAT fling portal.

If you need assistance to become MTD compliant contact our dedicated VAT team on vat@roa.co.uk or call 01183 385685 to speak to someone today.

The biggest names in the business

HARRY ANGEL

CR ACK SM A N

the spectacular sprinter whose first three-year-olds include more rated over 90 by Timeform than every other stallion but for Dubawi and Kingman. Frankel’s best ever, has sired three three-year-old Stakes winners by mid-May. Only Frankel himself has had more. They’re the future of excellence...

WORLD CHAMPION

WORLD CHAMPION