Dansili - Tantina (Distant View)
Look out for Bated Breath’s yearlings of 2023, his best-bred crop to date. Leading breeders that supported him in the 2021 covering season include:
Al Shaqab Racing
Al Shira’aa Farms
Ballylinch Stud
Bearstone Stud
Carisbrooke Stud
Chasemore Farm
Clearwater Stud
D J and Mrs Deer
Ecurie des Monceaux
Elite Racing Club
Epona Bloodstock
Fittocks Stud
Forenaghts Stud
Gestut Gorlsdorf
H H Aga Khan
Haras d’Etreham
Haras d’Haspel
John & Tanya Gunther
Juddmonte
Kildaragh Stud
Knocktoran Stud
Manister House Stud
Meon Valley Stud
Merton Place Stud
Mike Ryan
Minster Stud
Mountain View Stud
Moyglare Stud Farm
Newsells Park Stud
Niarchos Family
Oceanic Bloodstock
Owenstown Stud
Rockclife Stud
Skymarc Farm
Stowell Hill Stud
Stratford Place Stud
George Strawbridge
Tinnakill Bloodstock
Wertheimer & Frere
Whatton Manor Stud
Editor: Edward Rosenthal
Bloodstock Editor: Nancy Sexton
Design/production: Thoroughbred Group
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Which horses do you fancy for the big races on QIPCO British Champions Day? Are they certain to turn up or will their connections be seduced by the promise of greater riches elsewhere? In this increasingly competitive global sport, it’s harder than ever to second-guess who will attend UK racing’s end-of-season spectacular.
Its position in the calendar – this year it falls on Saturday, October 21 – means that Champions Day will always suffer to a degree from Longchamp’s Arc weekend having first crack at attracting the elite of European racing. The Breeders’ Cup, this year staged at Santa Anita on November 3-4, continues to prove irresistible to many runners from these shores despite the myriad issues faced by the sport in America.
While headline meetings overseas always seem to stage more races than on a regular raceday, Champions Day bucks the trend by having a shortened card comprised of just six races, albeit four are Group 1 events, plus a Group 2 and handicap. But is it necessary to have such a focus on top-level racing? The nights may be drawing in but surely that can’t explain a truncated meeting on what is a prime opportunity for an extended celebration of all that is good about British racing.
I certainly wouldn’t have an issue with a high-quality middle-distance handicap being introduced – such a race would surely prove popular with domestic punters and international bettors through the World Pool – or a valuable two-year-old contest over a mile, providing an attractive target for slower-maturing juveniles. A British Champions Day with eight races sounds perfect to me and should be easily manageable despite the march of autumn.
Our back page subject, Jack Channon, would love to be targeting Champions Day and could yet be represented in the Fillies & Mares Stakes and Balmoral Handicap. The 30-year-old has taken over the licence at West Ilsley Stables from his father Mick, renowned for his handling of such high-class performers as Youmzain, Tobougg and Queen’s Logic.
While the yard doesn’t house the quality of horses it once did, Channon is determined to address that issue in the coming seasons. He has made a good start in his debut campaign, having sent out 37 winners to date and captured a big handicap at Glorious Goodwood with talented miler Johan.
“We’ve got a five-year plan and the good news is that we are staying here at West Ilsley,” Channon tells Graham Dench (The Finish Line, page 88). “It’s been on the market, as everyone knows, but the only reason we were thinking about selling is that we weren’t sure we could run the business successfully.
“After the season we are having we have had a good look at everything and with some of the new support that’s been coming in we’ve come up with a plan that we can make work.
“We’ll probably stick to 70 or 80 horses for the
next two or three years, but in five years’ time I’d like to have expanded the string up to 120 or more. Among them we want to see some better quality so we can compete regularly at the level dad was at when he was sending out all those Group 1 winners.”
Hong Kong-based owner Marc Chan could well send his prolific gelding Kinross to British Champions Day for the Group 1 Sprint, a race he won last year. Chan only started to invest in British racing three years ago but has enjoyed significant success with trainer Ralph Beckett and in this month’s Big Interview (pages 38-41) he discusses his move into breeding and explains why the UK racing scene holds such appeal.
“A middle-distance handicap would prove popular with World Pool bettors”
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We know racehorses can be unpredictable. Our Third Party Liability Insurance is here to give you peace of mind. Covering horses in training, going into training, thoroughbred broodmares and homebred youngstock as owners are currently vulnerable to claims even when their horse is in someone else’s possession*.
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The ROA Raceday Curtailment Scheme will provide a payment of £100 to any members who own at least 51% of a horse that had been due to run at a meeting that is abandoned after at least the frst race has taken place*.
Owning racehorses provides huge amounts of joy, excitement and disappointment, although rarely in equal measure. We all know that our hopes and expectations are seldom fulfilled, but when they are, that feeling of sheer excitement is what keeps people of all walks of life and backgrounds coming back for more.
Seeing the King and Queen at Doncaster with a Royal runner in the final Classic of the season was quite a contrast to being in the paddock at Kempton for a five-runner 0-65 handicap, but this sport that we all love needs the support of every owner to keep it on the road.
Whether ownership comes from international sovereign wealth, our own royalty, owner-breeders, successful businesspeople or the members of a partnership, syndicate or club, without us there would be no racing industry. Owners need to be looked after at all levels, from the communications with our trainers to the raceday experience, but collectively it is vital that we continue to have a strong voice at the centre of the sport’s leadership.
The ROA is represented on all of the important committees and boards that are responsible for the regulation, leadership and strategy development of British racing and we will continue to promote all issues relating to ownership.
We also participate in the vital ongoing work around levy reform and the responses to the much-discussed Gambling Act review. It came as no surprise that the Betting & Gaming Council (BGC) had to revise the numbers it had submitted to DCMS. To overstate your case by £115 million was at best a significant blunder and at worst an attempt to frame the debate. Claiming that betting operators already pay too much for the racing product via levy payments, media rights payments and sponsorship, and then having to issue a statement confirming that they had got their numbers so wrong, completely undermines their case.
Racing’s own calculations show that since 2017, levy contributions in real terms have fallen far from the original target and a recalibration is needed. Levy reform is so crucial because a significant proportion of those payments from betting operators are distributed via the Horserace Betting Levy Board (HBLB) into prize-money. The HBLB is among the most important contributors to horseracing’s finances, as the original intention of establishing the levy was to compensate racing for the loss of income that was anticipated when off-course betting shops were legalised in 1961.
Today, the HBLB applies levy funds to a wide range of schemes in direct support of horseracing, with a majority of that funding being redistributed into prize-money. Other funding through media rights payments goes directly to the media companies and is distributed to their shareholders, the racecourses, who invest a
proportion of that income into prize-money but also have many other ‘mouths to feed’ in their businesses.
Having cleared up the rounding error, the BGC and the BHA are now in discussions with the government in trying to reach an agreement on recalibrating the way that levy payments are calculated, which if successful would provide a welcome boost to prize-money in the years to come.
Work on the 2024 fixture list is nearing conclusion and by the time you read this should have been made public. What the strategy group now needs to do is to seize the opportunities presented by a new and exciting racing product. We need
additional international investment to kick-start the muchdiscussed strategy and we need to be bold in our approach and in the way we promote this wonderful sport. To that end, I believe we need to learn from other sports that have repackaged their assets in such a successful way. If football, cricket and even volleyball can do it and attract new income streams, then surely British racing can too.
With the yearling sales in full swing, the demand for our bloodstock remains very strong and the BHA’s data packs show most of the key performance indicators trending in the right direction. Ownership numbers and participation remain the key to a healthy future and significant boosts to prize-money would provide further encouragement and engagement. As always, there will be many bumps in the road, but the signs for once are beginning to look positive.
“If football, cricket and even volleyball can attract new income streams, then surely British racing can”
Won a vintage renewal defeating Group 1 winners Circus Maximus, Kameko and Siskin
A Group winner at two, three and four
SHOWCASING’S BEST SON
Offcial rating: 123
Timeform: 129
– Marcus Tregoning, trainer “ ”
The natural speed and turn of foot he possessed was frightening!
Back in the day, when I joined the TBA’s Board of Trustees in 2011, issues such as Brexit and an international pandemic by the name of Covid were nowhere to be seen on the horizon.
External pressure on gambling, and the welfare of horses and people were only just gaining traction, and like so much of the rest of the world thoroughbred breeding was suffering badly from the worldwide financial crash of 2008-9.
In the intervening, eventful years, it has become very clear that the sport of horseracing and its starting point, the breeding of thoroughbreds, have come under much more scrutiny, especially in the all-pervading world of social media. As a consequence, we have to be ever more transparent about our activities and the welfare issues, however misconceived some of the comments that follow.
We should have nothing to hide. Being open and forthright about what we do in looking after our horses should allow us to challenge the minority pressure groups and gain the moral high ground from those whose opinions are rarely based on facts, and whose supposed solutions are impractical.
Looking back even farther than 2011, the world looks and behaves very differently from the agricultural and landbased society that understood the place, use and interaction of animals with humans, and their relationship with human society. So, we have to be far more proactive and positive in making the case for racing the thoroughbred horse, and not shy away from the issues that confront us.
The structure of British racing’s administration has undergone many variations over the years and recent changes to the governance of the BHA have to be positive if they are to work.
Racing needs strong and proactive leadership, with a clear vision of where it is going. It is therefore concerning that I have already seen too many recent compromises and fudges to give me faith that racing can make the substantive changes needed to make a difference in arresting the steady decline in attendances and betting turnover.
The industry as a whole must understand that racecourses and racecourse groups are commercial entities, and even those which are run on more philanthropic lines than others have to operate sound and successful businesses before deciding to return these profits to the industry, either in facility improvements or prize-money.
The Thoroughbred Group is entitled to ask for its fair share of the income generated, by their participation, to be channelled into prize-money, before the racecourses makes those decisions. The BHA Board and the Levy Board
Julian Richmond-Watson Chairman
have a responsibility to see that the governance and levy distributions achieve these aims.
Britain stages some of the world’s best racing and the most iconic events and houses a high number of top-class horses. We must not let compromise and dilution drag these down to a mundane level.
Every one of us has a responsibility to ensure that racing in Britain thrives, which means hard work, innovation and taking risks. Steady decline cannot be allowed to continue. Feather-bedding the least efficient will continue the march to
mediocrity and spread the industry’s finances so thinly that everyone will suffer. There has never been a more apt time for the sport to take bold decisions to ensure its future.
Turning to the TBA, the organisation exists to support British breeders and give them the environment in which to thrive. We should and can try to influence decisions in support of the best racing, but in the end it is up to breeders to produce the horses, and racing authorities and racecourses to provide the environment in which they thrive. Breeding and racing are all about winning, and success and the quality of that success is what we should all support.
I have thoroughly enjoyed most of my 12 years at the TBA, and hope that in some way I have made the lot of British breeders that little bit easier than it might have been. As I step down from the chairmanship, I leave an excellent Board and a great executive team, to whom I give thanks for being so supportive over the years.
I wish them and all you breeders the best for the future.
“We must ensure that racing in Britain thrives, which means hard work, innovation and taking risks”
Multiple Classic-winning jockey Edward Hide, one of the most successful riders in British racing history, was the subject of many heartfelt tributes following his death last month aged 86.
News of his passing was broken by his son, the travel writer and journalist Will Hide, who wrote on X: “You think your folks will go on forever, but we all know that can’t be the case.
“My Dad passed away peacefully in Yorkshire holding the hands of Mum and my sister Lizzie. A life very well lived and well-loved. We’ll miss you, Dad.”
Hide’s first ride was at Birmingham in August 1950 when aged 13, and his first winner arrived as a 14-year-old, Ritornello at Chepstow, the following September.
The last of his 2,593 winners in Britain came on Lexus at Newmarket in May 1993.
Until recently overtaken by Joe Fanning, Hide was the winningmost jockey never to be crowned champion and sits ninth in the British all-time Flat list.
The highlight of six Classic victories came on Morston in the 1973 Derby. The half-brother to 1969 Derby victor Blakeney – both were bred, owned and trained by Arthur Budgett – was a 25-1 outsider at Epsom, having won his only previous start at Lingfield, but Hide delivered the inexperienced son of Ragusa with a
perfectly-timed challenge to see off Cayo Doro and Lester Piggott by half a length.
His other British Classic wins came on Cantelo (1959 St Leger), Pia (1967 Oaks), Waterloo (1972 1,000 Guineas), Mrs McArdy (1977 1,000 Guineas) and Julio Mariner (1978 St Leger).
He was also the regular rider of the Mick Easterby-trained champion sprinter Lochnager, the pair combining to win the Temple Stakes, King’s Stand Stakes, July Cup and Sprint Championship (now the Nunthorpe) in 1976.
Hide also won the 1958 Dansk Derby and Norsk Derby on Flying Friendship, the Norsk Derby again in 1971 aboard Wolfsbane, and the 1974 Henckel-Rennen (German 2,000 Guineas) on Lord Udo.
He also lifted numerous big handicaps, including the Lincoln three times (Babur, 1957; Double Cream, 1971; Sovereign Hill, 1972), Ayr Gold Cup (Precious Heather, 1956), the Cesarewitch (Prelone, 1956) and Cambridgeshire (Henry The Seventh, 1961).
The closest he came to being
Irish racing was rocked last month by a doping scandal which resulted in Luke Comer, the trainer, billionaire businessman and major sponsor, having his licence suspended for three years.
He was also ordered to pay €840,754 in fines and costs after 12 of his horses tested positive for anabolic steroids.
The case was heard in May, but details were released by the Irish Horseracing Regulatory Board (IHRB) only in September. Comer has subsequently lodged an appeal against the findings.
Among those who tested positive was He Knows No Fear, the biggest-priced winner in Ireland or Britain at 300-1 at Leopardstown in 2020.
He had a hair sample taken after the Listed Trigo Stakes at Leopardstown in October 2021, and it was found to contain methandienone (MD) and methyltestosterone (MT).
The other 11 horses who returned positives for anabolic steroids were tested out of competition at Comer’s County Meath yard in November 2021, as was He Knows No Fear.
Comer denies he or any of his staff were involved in doping the horses and he was not charged with a breach of rule 273, which covers anyone who “administers, or attempts to administer, or connives at the administration, to a horse of any prohibited substance”.
champion jockey was when runner-up to Scobie Breasley in 1957, when he was also champion apprentice for the third time.
Hide was ‘Cock of the North’ (winningmost rider in the north) 16 times between 1957 and 1983, and in 1974 set a record of 137 winners for a jockey based in the north of England, which stood until Kevin Darley broke it in 1993.
Darley, speaking to Owner Breeder, said: “He was just winding down as I was getting going, but I remember that he always turned up, whether it was Catterick, Sandown or Newmarket, with a trilby on and a jacket or rain mac, and he always had a briefcase.
“In his briefcase he’d have binoculars, the Racing Calendar – because entries were 21 days before in those days – and his Raceform, and he would study races in between the races he didn’t ride in. He was always a step ahead of everybody else.
“There was probably nobody better than him tactically. There was no access then to what there is now, replays and suchlike, hence the reason he’d have his binoculars in his briefcase. He’d go off to watch a race and learn something.”
Darley added: “There were no 24-hour decs, 48-hour decs; you basically saw a trainer at the races, or that you’d ridden out for, and booked your rides that way.
“Edward was really on the ball; if he saw a trainer at the races and seen he’d got an entry somewhere and thought the race would suit, he’d go and offer his services and more than likely get the ride.”
As well as partnering Lochnager for Easterby, Hide delivered the trainer’s only Classic success on Mrs McArdy, and Easterby wrote on his website: “It is with
In the hearing, Comer argued the traces found were very small and Dr Lynn Hillyer, Chief Veterinary Officer and Head of Anti-Doping, agreed. Comer argued he took all reasonable precautions and claimed hair was not reliable as a standalone matrix.
The trainer told the hearing that environmental contamination was the most plausible reason for the analytical findings and suggested hay consumed by his horses could have been contaminated with MD or MT, or both, through pig slurry.
The IHRB said traces found in the hair samples were unlikely to have been caused by environmental contamination.
According to the report from the IHRB, Comer – who said because he spent only about three months of the year in Ireland it would be very difficult for him to properly supervise the operation – spent an “enormous sum of money” in trying to
great sadness I heard of the passing of my great buddy Eddie Hide.
“He was quite simply one of the best Flat jockeys I have ever seen. He was wonderful. In my career I have been fortunate to put up two of the finest jockeys. Sadly, 2023 has seen the passing of both Eddie and my former stable jockey Terry Lucas.
“In the 1970s I’d put Eddie up whenever I had a runner in any of the big races and he never let me down once. Eddie had it all. He was an intelligent man and he knew the form book inside out.
“You could get rich quite quickly backing Eddie on my horses, because he
establish how his horses came to test positive for anabolic steroids.
The disciplinary committee stated the burden of proof rested on the trainer, who was unable to determine how the horses came to test positive and did not take reasonable precautions to avoid a breach.
The committee said so many horses testing positive in one yard was “unprecedented”. It gave Comer credit for “eventually accepting liability for breach of the rule”.
Comer incurred fines for the positive tests totalling €60,000, at €5,000 for each horse, and was found guilty of the rule that covers bringing racing into disrepute, for which he received a fine of €20,000.
He was also charged with giving misleading evidence, namely claiming that he had an “unblemished record as a trainer”. A fine of €5,000 was dished out for that.
only rode them when he knew they were going to win.”
Easterby added: “I owe a great deal to Eddie. He rode the biggest winners of my career and he helped put the stable on the map in the 1970s.”
After retiring from the saddle, Hide had spells as agent to Walter Swinburn, assistant trainer to John Gosden and racing manager to Lord Matthews. He also bred the winners of around 80 races with wife Sue from their farm near Malton, where they had four broodmares.
He is survived by his wife of more than 60 years, Sue, his son Will and daughter Lizzie.
Comer was also ordered to pay €755,754 in costs. His ban begins on January 1, 2024.
The Comer Group, the property development company he founded and owns with brother Brian, is a major sponsor in Ireland, including of the Irish St Leger, run last month, and in Germany, where their backing is attached to the OleanderRennen at Hoppegarten. The trainer often has runners in the two-mile contest and won it with Raa Atoll in 2019.
That Group 2 success is his biggest, also recording Group 3 wins with Kargali in the 2010 Gladness Stakes and Chimes At Midnight in the 2001 Curragh Cup.
The 65-year-old had his first runners in 1991 and has enjoyed his best seasons in the last few years, with ten winners in 2021 and 11 in 2022. In 2023 he has run more horses than in any previous campaign, with eight winners from 277 runners in Ireland.
Highly successful owner-breeder Lady Chryss O’Reilly passed away in August at the age of 73.
Owner of the famed Normandy nursery Haras de la Louviere, O’Reilly bred numerous good horses under her Skymarc Farm and Petra Bloodstock Agency banners and was also a breeding partner in the leading French operation Ecurie des Monceaux.
She also held a strong presence in Ireland as chair of the Irish National Stud from 1998 to 2012 and owner of Castlemartin Stud with her husband, the former Irish rugby international player and business magnate Sir Anthony O’Reilly. The Kilcullen-based stud was sold to John Malone in late 2014.
Born in America as Chryssanthie Goulandris as one of a family of Greek shipping tycoons, O’Reilly inherited La Louviere from her uncle Constantin Goulandris, with whom she shared her passion for racing.
In possession of a keen understanding of bloodlines, O’Reilly came to develop a number of families
that today can be instantly associated with her black and white colours. Her mark on the breed includes two
prominent sires in Highest Honor, the 1987 Prix d’Ispahan winner who went on to be a three-time French champion sire for Haras du Quesnay, and Lawman, winner of the Prix du Jockey Club.
As Skymarc Farm, O’Reilly also boasted the distinction of breeding an Arc winner in the 1996 victor Helissio, one of the most impressive winners of the race of his era.
Her colours were also carried by a range of high-class horses, notably the Group 1 winners Chinese White, Rebelline and Voleuse De Coeurs, as well as the popular bet365 Mile winner Sovereign Debt.
Lady O’Reilly enjoyed racing right up until her death. She attended Deauville races on Prix de Pomone day, the same afternoon that Witch Hunter, bred under her Petra Bloodstock Agency banner, won the Hungerford Stakes at Newbury and Vespertilio, bred in partnership with Ecurie des Monceaux, captured the Debutante Stakes at the Curragh. The latter has since run second in the Moyglare Stud Stakes.
O’Reilly also lived to see Louviere retain its place as a leading vendor at the Arqana August Sale, where 14 of its yearlings sold for a total just shy of €2 million.
Damien Oliver
Top Australian jockey, 51, reveals he will retire at the end of the year after a career that has to date yielded 3,167 winners and 128 Group 1s.
James Horton
Quits as private trainer to owners John and Jess Dance, whose horses have again been stopped from racing by the BHA, and will move to Newmarket at the end of 2023.
Sean Dylan Bowen
Multiple breaches of the whip rules results in apprentice rider receiving a 35day ban after being referred to the BHA’s Disciplinary Panel.
William Jarvis
Newmarket trainer who hit Group 1 heights with Grand Lodge and Lady Bowthorpe announces he will retire at the end of the Flat season.
Richard Kingscote
Rider’s retainer with owner Kia Joorabchian’s Amo Racing comes to an end following King Of Steel’s fourth place in the Irish Champion Stakes.
Brian Barr
Dual-purpose trainer hands over the reins to assistant Daisy Hitchins but intends to stay in the sport. He has sent out 64 winners since 2012.
Ross Birkett
Three-times champion amateur rider joins Tattersalls as Online Sales and Marketing Coordinator.
Sheikh Mohammed Obaid
Owner decides to move his horses from Newmarket-based father-and-son team Simon and Ed Crisford to Karl Burke in Yorkshire.
Harry Burns
Apprentice jockey, 28, handed entrypoint two-month ban for failing to notify the BHA of a medication he was taking for Crohn’s disease.
Tim McCarthy
Ex-trainer handed maximum fine of £3,000 by Disciplinary Panel after being found to have fallen below acceptable horse welfare standards.
Jonathan Sheppard 82
British-born horseman became the outstanding jumps handler in the US and also trained future multiple champion sire Storm Cat.
Tim Norman 79
Devon-born jump jockey partnered 50-1 shot Anglo to victory in the 1966 Grand National. He became a builder after retiring from the saddle in 1974.
Edward Hide 86
Leading northern jockey won the 1973 Derby on Morston and enjoyed a superb association with Mick Easterby’s top sprinter Lochnager.
Lady Chryss O’Reilly 73
Much-admired owner-breeder enjoyed longstanding success, producing a string of Group 1 winners including Arc victor Helissio.
Sir William Gage 85
Former high court judge, later the chair of racing’s Appeals Board, who presided over the rehearing into the Jim Best non-trier case.
Derby-winning jockey signs up as retained rider to owner Ahmad Al Shaikh but will continue his association with the Sir Michael Stoute yard.
Lawrence Mullaney
Trainer, 53, reveals his 16th season will be his last as he will take up a new role at Ballydoyle in Ireland.
Tom Marquand
Rides his 1,000th winner in Britain on the William Haggas-trained Five Towns at Windsor on September 3.
Olivier Delloye
Appointed President of sales house Arqana after ten years as France Galop’s Director General. He takes up his new role in January 2024.
Dermot Carty 65
Key figure within the Adena Springs group who was instrumental in purchasing future US champion sire El Prado from Ireland.
John O’Hara 63
Respected racing journalist penned a long-running ‘Straight From The Stable’ column in the Racing Post Weekender
Group/Listed
Since
Mayson
Springfield House Stud in Ireland recruits 15-year-old stallion, sire of top sprinters Oxted and Rohaan, from Cheveley Park Stud.
Adrimel
Grade 2 winner for trainer Tom Lacey moves to the Seven Barrows stable of Nicky Henderson.
Hillcrest
High-class hurdler owned by the Hemmings family is ruled out for a second straight season due to a leg injury sustained in March 2022.
David Du Berlais
Son of Saint Des Saints, a Listed winner over hurdles and brother to Grade 1winning chaser Goliath Du Berlais, will stand at Haras de Cercy in 2024.
Son of Oasis Dream, champion juvenile and winner of last year’s Irish 2,000 Guineas, will stand his first season at Kildangan Stud in Ireland.
Good Guess
Impressive winner of the Group 1 Prix Jean Prat will stand alongside his sire Kodiac at Tally-Ho Stud in 2024.
Epatante
Champion Hurdle heroine for owner JP McManus and trainer NIcky Henderson is retired aged nine and put in foal to Walk In The Park.
Recorder
Stallion son of Galileo, bred by the late Queen, moves from Haras de Montfort in France to Longford House Stud in County Tipperary.
Pyledriver
Coronation Cup and King George winner for owners the La Pyle Partnership and trainers William Muir and Chris Grassick is retired aged six.
Country Grammer
Dubai World Cup winner in 2022 is retired and will stand the 2024 breeding season at WinStar Farm. His opening fee is $10,000.
Taiba
Son of Gun Runner, winner of three Grade 1s in the US, is retired from racing and will stand at Kentucky’s Spendthrift Farm at a fee of $35,000.
Cyrname 11
Top-class chaser won seven races for Mrs Johnny De La Hey, inflicting a first chase defeat on Altior in the 2019 1965 Chase at Ascot.
The Big Dog 10 Stable star for Peter Fahey, his five wins included the Punchestown Grand National Trial, Munster National and Troytown Chase.
Sire De Grugy 17
Five-time Grade 1 winner for owner Steve Preston and the Gary Moore stable who romped home in the 2014 Champion Chase.
Point Given 25
US Horse of the Year in 2001 after his five Grade 1 victories that included the Preakness, Belmont Stakes and Haskell Invitational.
Every young trainer dreams of saddling a Group 1 winner and for Ed Bethell (above) that ambition became a reality as Regional recorded a neck success over Shouldvebeenaring in the Betfair Sprint Cup at Haydock under Callum Rodriguez. Regional was picked up by owner Future Champions Racing for just 3,500 guineas and could be set some ambitious international targets in 2024.
Photos Bill Selwyn
Continuous exhibited stamina in abundance to record a decisive victory in the Betfred St Leger, providing trainer Aidan O’Brien (above, right) with his seventh strike in the world’s oldest Classic, all achieved for Coolmore partners. Ryan Moore was enjoying his third Leger success on the son of Heart’s Cry, who saw off Arrest by two and three-quarter lengths, with Desert Hero, owned by the King and Queen, half a length away in third.
Photos Bill Selwyn
It wasn’t looking promising for Trueshan during the early stages of the Betfred Doncaster Cup. The Alan King-trained gelding was pulling fiercely at the back of the five-runner field and continued to race keenly until Hollie Doyle decided enough was enough and sent the seven-year-old to the front with over half a mile to run. Racing on his own in the centre of the course, Trueshan showed all his battling qualities to keep on in determined fashion and score by a length and a quarter from Sweet William (right).
Former top sprinter Blue Point is now passing on his talent to his progeny and one of his best first-crop representatives is rapid colt Big Evs. After a below-par run against older horses in the Nunthorpe, Big Evs, trained by Mick Appleby (above, right) for RP Racing Ltd, produced a sparkling performance in the Group 2 Carlsberg Danish Pilsner Flying Childers Stakes, blitzing his rivals to score by two and three-quarter lengths from Flora Of Bermuda. His next start could be in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint at Santa Anita on November 3.
Just for the record, Julie Camacho did not become the first female trainer to earn over £1 million in prize-money when Shaquille stormed away with the July Cup, as was stated after the race and repeated in the run-up to his next outing in the Sprint Cup. The fact is that Lady Cecil’s full-year prize-money earnings broke the barrier in 2014 and totalled £1,076,350.
That’s not to denigrate Camacho’s efforts in any way. After all, she can still claim to be the first northern-based female trainer to hit the million-pound mark, surpassing Cecil’s haul courtesy of Significantly’s win in the Ayr Gold Cup. That’s in a season when Star Cottage stables in Norton, on the outskirts of Malton, became an overnight sensation to some but not those who have followed the yard’s fortunes since Julie’s father Maurice moved in after a seven-year spell in Barwick-in-Elmet 41 years earlier.
Does it matter that a repeated public error has been made? Yes, it does. It matters to the individuals concerned, who can point to a certain level of achievement as a mark of their professionalism. It matters to others who aspire to make their mark in a fashion that distinguishes them from their peers. And it matters to the sport, which benefits from having credible benchmarks that can be assessed and used by the general public.
The trouble is that keeping and publicising British racing records has fallen almost into disrepute. Short of sending an email or making a phone call to John Randall, the Racing Post’s irrepressible, irreplaceable and initially self-motivated historian,
there are few remaining sources of accurate detail.
The Bloodstock Breeders’ Review went long ago, and Ruff’s Guide folded after the 1995 edition. Timeform’s Annuals were ditched at the Betfair altar of commercialism a couple of years ago, and the organisation’s statistics are now available only for ‘Race Passes customers’, presumably at a price.
The Racing Post presses on, finding room to run statistics in the print edition when it can and making more extensive, year-long figures available on the website. But getting hold of published
“Forever a star; very sad news that former Champion Chaser Sire De Grugy has passed away at the age of 17; he and rider Jamie Moore shared such a special bond.”
So read the Twitter (now known as X) post from Great British Racing, the promotional arm of British racing that is largely funded by the BHA. But where were the similar sentiments from the same central organisation following the also-recent deaths of Rachel Tonks and Edward Hide? Did a racehorse merit a mention but not a human personality?
I can understand, to a point, why two other recent deaths did not merit more general attention. Despite James Underwood’s radical writing, a darker episode tarnished his reputation. Ken Richardson had no reputation to tarnish.
Underwood, who died in August aged 94, was rightly described in last month’s magazine as a “well-travelled journalist and pedigree expert whose Digest publication was essential reading for many in the bloodstock industry.”
As such, his passing ought to have been recorded in the trade press at the very least, but maybe the Google search for his name, which highlighted tabloid coverage of comments in 2017 that the BHA said were “patently racist and homophobic,” swayed editorial decisions.
This magazine also noted the death of Richardson, aged 84: “Controversial owner was warned off for 25 years following the victory of Flockton Grey, who was actually Good Hand, at Leicester in 1982.” The Racing Post told the story on its website, and that was just about that.
In truth, there was more to Richardson’s shady past than the
Flockton Grey incident. Those who need reminding or telling for the first time should get hold of a copy of David Ashforth’s Ringers & Rascals, which also mentions how Richardson bought Doncaster Rovers football club, deliberately ran it down, and was sentenced to four years in prison for paying £10,000 to Alan Kristiansen, an ex-SAS man, to burn down the main stand at Belle Vue.
If the Flockton Grey coup was originally too clever by half, the Doncaster affair was too daft by half, for Kristiansen, who went on to become the main prosecution witness, left his mobile phone containing a message to Richardson’s answering machine saying “The job’s been done” in the badly burned stand.
Worthy of a mention by GBR or the BHA? Probably not. But where were the tributes to Tonks, British racing’s first female stewards’ secretary, who died in August aged 76, and Hide, the best British jockey of the post-war era who never became champion, who died last month aged 86?
Tonks, a stewards’ secretary under the Jockey Club and BHA for 28 years, gave evidence in the Ballinger Ridge case of 2004, in which Kieren Fallon was banned for 21 days for “failing to obtain the best possible placing” on a horse whose form-book comment read: “led, soon 10 lengths clear, shaken up briefly over 1f out, jockey looked round and stopped riding, ridden final 100yds, caught on line.”
Hide was “a genius,” said Mick Easterby, 92. Correct, but maybe both came along too late for those thrusting media types who think British racing was invented in 2000.
BILL SELWYN
annual details depends on catching the relevant once-a-year supplement, because the Post’s annexation of Raceform and the official Form Book has for the last two seasons produced the publication in PDF form only, while the same company’s Horses In Training has a list of champions that is useful but covers names only, except for jockeys, whose winning totals are credited.
If this situation was not already unsatisfactory enough, the waters have been muddied since the British Champions Series came along in 2011, and a purely arbitrary method of deciding owners’ and jockeys’ championships was introduced.
The sport’s statisticians coped with the introduction of all-
weather racing in 1989, extending the traditional March-toNovember Flat-race season into a full-year compilation, although the trainers did not catch up immediately, preferring to go November to November, until Mark Johnston, in either his website Bletherings or in-print Kingsley Klarion, produced one of his better ideas and successfully pressed for a calendar year calculation.
The trainers continue to denote the champion in their midst by prize-money earned between New Year’s Day and New Year’s Eve
– except for winnings in the Racing League, which is another story for another day. On the other hand, BCS has the Flat-race owners’ and jockeys’ championships by the throat, designating their qualifying periods between the series’ starts on 2,000 Guineas day and its end on British Champions Day. Or does it?
The Racing Post print compilation of this year’s Flat owners’ championship has a qualifying period from May 6 (2,000 Guineas day) to October 21 (British Champions Day). Yet the BHA’s website statistics contain the confusing, introduction: “The Owners Championship is awarded to the owner who has won the most prize-money on Britain’s turf and all-weather tracks throughout the season. The Flat Owners Championship begins at the QIPCO Guineas Festival and finishes on October 16…”
Whatever the right dates, it’s a case of “We are the champions” and blow the rest of the year and its achievements. It matters not that Rossa Ryan may win more races in 2023 than QIPCO-backed champion William Buick, and Billy Loughnane will walk off with the QIPCO apprentice title with a score that is likely to be at least 50 winners shy of his full-year tally. All-weather, what’s all-weather?
As if that’s not confusing enough, the British Champions Series, which has added very little but random publicity and a private investment company sponsor to the narrative that has been in existence since the Pattern was invented in 1971, ends with British Champions Day, which celebrates the five so-called championship categories with individual races and then concludes on another arbitrary note with a mile handicap.
A seventh race, maybe for apprentices, would add to the appeal of what organisers describe as “the finest day of racing anywhere in Britain.” It couldn’t confuse the issue any more than it is already.
“The trouble is that keeping and publicising British racing records has fallen almost into disrepute”
Words: Nancy Sexton
Pinhookers are undoubtedly a breed of their own. It takes unwavering self belief and an element of bravery to make any kind of investment in youngstock. At times, the stakes are unbelievably high. But when it works out, there is probably nothing quite like it, as Philipp Stauffenberg would confirm.
Based at Schlossgut Itlingen in the North Rhine-Westphalia region of Germany, Stauffenberg and his wife Marion have enjoyed plenty of high points as breeders, the latest of which arrived this summer when Fantastic Moon won the Deutsches Derby at Hamburg.
At the same time, Stauffenberg has forged a formidable reputation as a pinhooker, rarely afraid to invest sizeable sums in order to secure top-level stock, and quite often with excellent results. Never Ending, a dual winner this summer for Cheveley Park Stud and John and Thady Gosden, is one such example. Purchased for €260,000 as a Goffs November foal, the No Nay Never filly went on to top the opening session of the Tattersalls October Book 1 Sale in 2021 at 825,000gns.
Last year’s Book 1 draft was similarly high profile, with a daughter of Night Of Thunder blossoming from a €240,000 foal into a 550,000gns yearling. Sold to Godolphin and named Romantic
Style, she recently made her second start a winning one in impressive style at Yarmouth. Another graduate, a Lope De Vega colt, sold for 525,000gns after having been bought for 200,000gns while Majestic One, by Teofilo, increased in value from 80,000gns to 260,000gns.
Various other graduates have also done their bit to promote the farm. Flora Of Bermuda, who ran a recent second in the Flying Childers Stakes, and the Group 3-placed Kumite were both sold at last year’s Arqana August Sale. Soprano, who has been stakes-placed on multiple occasions since breaking her maiden for George Boughey in the spring, was also part of last year’s Tattersalls October Book 2 draft while the hardy Group 1-performing mare Rosscarbery was sold at Tattersalls in 2019 on behalf of breeder Gestut Wittekindshof.
Such results make the whole process appear easy but that would be to disregard the time and effort put into each horse during their time in Germany –and the pressure that goes with it.
“Obviously there is pressure,” Stauffenberg says. “You want the horses to go to the next step and be successful. And the next step for us is the sales and for them to be profitable for the people involved. Then after that, it is to go on and hopefully do well on the track.
“The pinhooking side to our business
Well established as a successful breeder, German horseman Philipp Stauffenberg continues to build on his reputation as a formidable pinhooker
“It’s nerveracking in one way but very enjoyable in another”Philipp Stauffenberg, pictured with daughter Alexandra, brings another high-profile draft to the Tattersalls October Sale this year TATTERSALLS
›› really happened by accident. Andreas Putsch asked me in the beginning if I would pinhook for him, prep the yearlings and then sell them. That went quite well and so then some other people came in. Andreas later stepped out of it but more partners have since come in.
“It’s very enjoyable when it works out but painful when it doesn’t! I buy everything myself, it’s all my own risk. After the foals have been bought, I split them up. My accountant asks me how can I sleep at night when I spend money on foals without knowing if they’ll be sold at the end of it. What I do is produce a small brochure at the end of it, send it out to people who have registered an interest and then split them between all of us.”
He adds: “It’s nerve-racking in one way but very enjoyable in another, especially seeing how the horses can thrive and develop during prep. And then when you have a filly like Never Ending that attracts the interest of leading ownerbreeders, who then battle it out in the ring [Cheveley Park Stud outbid Juddmonte Farms for the filly], then that is very rewarding.”
Buying and selling in England and Ireland for a German-based operation is undoubtedly more of an undertaking than for the average pinhooker. Hence there is that emphasis on quality. The 120-hectare Schlossgut Itlingen hosts stabling for 39 horses, which in turn reduces the temptation to expand. This year’s yearling draft consists of 20 and the broodmare band, some of whom belong to Stauffenberg’s noted Fraulein Tobin family, is complemented by a handful of boarders.
Stauffenberg originally tried his hand as a professional show jumper and with success before turning his attention to
bloodstock. It was as manager of Gestut Karlshof that he struck a major coup in 1994 when purchasing Sacarina, a daughter of Old Vic, for the equivalent of just €4,000. Then an unraced two-yearold, she went on to become something of a blue hen for Karlshof as the dam of the Deutsches Derby winners Samum and Schiaparelli as well as another German champion in Salve Regina.
Her grandson Sea The Moon, bred by Gestut Gorlsdorf out of her Monsun daughter Sanwa, also captured the Deutsches Derby and is now a successful stallion at Lanwades Stud. With all that in mind, it’s very fitting that he is the sire of Stauffenberg’s current star Fantastic Moon.
“I set up the bloodstock agency in 1994,” recalls Stauffenberg. “At that time, there were more German breeders buying in England and Ireland. When we founded the farm in 1999, it all became hands on so I reduced the agency quite a bit. Itlingen has been a horse farm since 1954 [then as Gestut Quenhorn] and it’s on very good land, so when the chance arose to lease it, we took it. It was pretty run down when we came here and we’ve completely refurbished it.”
Indeed, some smart horses have come off that land in the years since then. The 2008 Prix de l’Opera heroine Lady Marian, a €49,000 BBAG yearling who later sold for 1.8 million guineas to Godolphin, was bred by Philipp and Marion out of
La Felicita. Fellow Stauffenberg-bred Four Sins, meanwhile, was a rare yearling purchase by the Aga Khan Studs and went on to reward that investment by winning the Blandford Stakes and running fourth in the Oaks for John Oxx. Like Fantastic Moon, she is a member of the Fraulein Tobin family, which has served the farm so well. By J O Tobin, the mare was a half-sister to Philip Mitchell’s Group 1 globe-trotter Running Stag and left behind ten winners, led by the Rockfel Stakes heroine Germane and Firedance, the granddam of Fantastic Moon.
Fantastic Moon’s dam, Frangipani, is out of Fraulein Tobin’s final foal, the Lomitas mare Firedance. Frangipani was sired by Jukebox Jury during his time in Germany and won in France for her breeder before heading to the paddocks. Fantastic Moon is only her second foal and is followed by a Starspangledbanner two-year-old filly named Fang Mich and a yearling filly by Masar, who was due to sell at the Goffs Orby Sale.
As for Fantastic Moon, he recently supplemented his German Derby win with a clear-cut victory over Feed The Flame in the Prix Niel at Longchamp. Despite the ease of that win, his connectionsowner Liberty Racing and trainer Sarah Steinberg – have decided to bypass the Arc with an eye on the Breeders’ Cup and Japan Cup later in the year.
“Marion bought Fraulein Tobin for very reasonable money,” says Stauffenberg. “She was looking for a farm to board her mares. I was recommended. She came to the farm, we fell in love and that’s how it all started.
“Fraulein Tobin became a foundation mare for us. It’s our signature family. The only shame is that after Four Sins, we struggled to get a filly out of her dam Four Roses, which was frustrating. And it was a little bit the same with another sister that we had – they kept producing colts. So we’ve tried to buy into different branches of the family. One of them is a daughter of Germane called Relevant who we bought off Clipper Logistics. We sent her to Stuart Williams and she won for us. Now she’s in the broodmare band.”
“Fantastic Moon has indeed been fantastic,” says Stauffenberg. “He belongs to such an important family for us that we’re more emotional than happy to have produced a Derby winner. And now to have that international Group 2 on his record is very important. It is very important for his future and that of our Derby.”
The German thoroughbred is widely respected for its durability and regularly punches above its weight, especially in light of the fact that its foal crop sits at around an annual figure of 850. The flip side is that number falls far behind that produced by Britain and Ireland while the stallion ranks are still to fill the void left by Monsun and more recently Adlerflug.
“The overall mood in Germany is not very positive,” he says. “People are a little bit frustrated. A lot of the big German owner-breeders are getting old. We’re running out of stallions – Adlerflug is dead and Soldier Hollow is coming to the end of his career. It’s a big shame. Torquator Tasso, of course, is new. He was a very
“Fantastic Moon belongs to such an important family for us”
FantasticMoon: belongs to the signature Stauffenberg family of Fraulein Tobin Lady Marian: an early Group 1 winner bred by Philipp and Marion Stauffenberg DPA PICTURE ALLIANCE/ALAMY
good horse with an interesting pedigree but he is unproven, as is Japan.”
Still, German pedigrees remain highly respected and in keeping with Stauffenberg’s place as a leading consignor outside Germany, his draft at the upcoming Tattersalls October Sale offers several chances to buy into such a family.
Stauffenberg sends a select group of five to Book 1, including a Lope De Vega half-sister to Group 1 winner Lucky Lion. She is the beneficiary of an important update thanks to her three-year-old half-brother Lips Freedom, the winner of a Listed race since the publication of the catalogue.
The Book 1 draft also includes an Earthlight half-sister to the brilliant Hong Kong runner Pakistan Star offered on behalf of Gestut Wittekindshof.
However, it is pinhook power that again forms a fundamental part of the draft. A Night Of Thunder colt out of Listed winner Persona Grata purchased for €280,000 as a foal is followed by a Havana Grey half-brother to the high-class sprinter Dragon Symbol. At 250,000gns, the latter was by far the most expensive foal to sell by Havana Grey last winter but with his sire going from strength to strength, such a decision would appear to have been vindicated, on paper at least.
“Havana Grey is outperforming the mares he covered,” says Stauffenberg. “They seem very sound, honest horses. This colt was a very good foal and is an absolute stunner now, he’s very strong and a good mover. His half-brother Dragon Symbol won a Group 1 [the Commonwealth Cup] and was unlucky to be disqualified. Ed Harper said to me this colt is the best bred of all the Havana Greys in that crop – it was his third season, which tends to be one of a stallion’s weakest.
“The stallion obviously continues to have great results on the track. And when you work with this colt at home, he’s very straightforward and uncomplicated. He’ll do everything you ask. It’s easy to see how the trainers like the Havana Greys so much.
“And the Night Of Thunder colt is a very fluent, good mover. You can see the influence of his damsire Sir Percy coming through a little bit as he’s an elegant horse.”
A French flavour is offered by the final pinhook destined for Book 1 in a first-crop daughter of Hello Youmzain, who was added to the fold for €150,000 at the Arqana December Sale. Her sire is a Group 1-winning sprint son of Kodiac whose first crop attracted positive reviews
at the Arqana August Sale and this filly, a half-sister to a Classic winner no less in the Poule d’Essai des Pouliches heroine Coeursamba, is among a select group of three by him in Book 1.
“The Hello Youmzain is a really gorgeous filly,” says Stauffenberg. “What attracted me initially is that the mare, Marechale, has produced good horses by lesser stallions. Hello Youmzain was such a good racehorse in England. With her physical, she was also going to go to an elite sale.”
He adds: “Our Book 2 draft is a mix of good physicals. I have a lovely filly by Advertise and another by Galiway, a stallion who is doing very well. There are two Dandy Mans that look precocious and colts by Sottsass and Lope De Vega.”
In the meantime, Stauffenberg Bloodstock will have been represented by a first draft under its own banner at the Goffs Orby Sale. It’s a trip that obviously requires extensive time and planning from his base in Germany, but Stauffenberg is no stranger to selling with the company and was keen to support the sale with a selection of well-bred horses.
Chief among them is a Kingman halfbrother to Moyglare Stud Stakes winner
Skitter Scatter, who topped last year’s Goffs November Sale when bought from his breeder Airlie Stud at €550,000. His full-sister, Skellet, recently added further to the family when the taking winner of her maiden at Salisbury for Ralph Beckett. The Stauffenbergs are also selling their Masar half-sister to Fantastic Moon as well as a Sottsass filly from a deep German family.
“We were keen to split the horses and send a few to both Goffs and Tattersalls,” says Stauffenberg. “We’ve sold through Eimear Mulhern [of Abbeville Stud] before – we sold Four Sins through her – but this is the first time we’ve actually sold under our own banner at Goffs. We finally decided to go there and we’re taking some very nice horses.
“Normally we would not sell a filly out of Fantastic Moon’s family. But she is, after all, a half-sister to a Derby winner and at least there is the prospect of getting some ‘pain money’.”
Nerve-racking it might be but such a deep draft of horses also surely presents the case for some enjoyment as well. And like any pinhooker, you get the impression Stauffenberg wouldn’t have it any other way.
Recent GRADUATES include:
ACQUITTED
· 2nd Winter Stakes LR
BAYSIDE BOY
· Queen Elizabeth II Stakes Gr.1
· Champagne Stakes Gr.2
BE YOUR GUEST
· P. G. Johnson Stakes LR
· 2nd Del Mar Oaks Gr.1
BURGARITA
· Prix Casimir Delamarre LR
· Prix de la Seine LR
· 2nd Prix Corrida Gr.2
· 3rd Prix de Diane Gr.1
CARL SPACKLER
· Hall Of Fame Stakes Gr.2
· Saranac Stakes Gr.3
EL DRAMA
· Dee Stakes LR
· 2nd Jebel Hatta Stakes Gr.1
· 2nd Rose Of Lancaster Stakes Gr.3
· 2nd Strensall Stakes Gr.3
FRANCESCO GUARDI
· Moonee Valley Gold Cup Gr.2
GARRUS
· Prix de Ris-Orangis Gr.3
· Abernant Stakes Gr.3
· 3rd Prix Maurice de Gheest Gr.1
HAQEEQY
· HH The President Cup LR
· Lincoln (Heritage Handicap)
IBERIAN
· Champagne Stakes Gr.2
· 2nd Vintage Stakes Gr.2
IMPACT WARRIOR
· 3rd Del Mar Oaks Gr.1
JIMI HENDRIX
· Royal Hunt Cup, Royal Ascot
· 3rd Summer Mile Gr.2
JUMBY
· Hungerford Stakes Gr.2
· John of Gaunt Stakes Gr.3
KING’S GAMBLE
· 3rd Gimcrack Stakes Gr.2
LONE EAGLE
· Zetland Stakes Gr.3
· 2nd Irish Derby Gr.1
· 2nd Ormonde Stakes Gr.3
LUCKIN BREW
· 2nd Silver Tankard Stakes LR
MAMAHEART
· 3rd Premio Nogara LR
MARISTELLA
· 3rd Garnet Stakes LR
NEW ENERGY
· 2nd Irish 2,000 Guineas Gr.1
OVIEDO
· Zetland Gold Cup
· 3rd Acomb Stakes Gr.3
· 3rd The Steventon Stakes LR
PLACE DU CARROUSEL
· Prix de l’Opéra Gr.1
· Prix Foy Gr.2
· Prix Cléopâtre Gr.3
· Prix Gontaut-Biron Gr.3
ROSE BLOOM
· €200,000 Arqana Series de Pouliches
SAFFRON BEACH
· Prix Rothschild Gr.1
· Sun Chariot Stakes Gr.1
· Duke of Cambridge Stakes Gr.2
· 2nd Matron Stakes Gr.1
· 2nd 1,000 Guineas Gr.1
SAVVY VICTORY
· Gala Stakes LR
· 3rd Chester Vase Gr.3
SELF BELIEF
· Meld Stakes Gr.3
· Trigo Stakes LR
SHUWARI
· Star Stakes LR
SOLDIER RISING
· 2nd Man o’ War Stakes Gr.1
· 2nd Manhattan Stakes Gr.1
· 2nd Saratoga Derby Gr.1
· 2nd Sword Dancer Stakes Gr.1
STATEMENT
· Concorde Stakes Gr.3
· Navigation Stakes LR
STREETS OF GOLD
· €300,000 Tattersalls Ire Sales Stakes
· £100,000 2YO Series Final
· £100,000 York Nursery
· 3rd Jersey Stakes Gr.3
· 3rd Surrey Stakes LR
SWEET BELIEVER
· 2nd Fortune Stakes LR
· 3rd Gillies Stakes LR
· 3rd John Musker Stakes LR
VIOLET GIBSON
· 3rd Honey Ryder Stakes LR
WONDERFUL TIMES
· Prix Urban Sea LR
BAYSIDE BOY Gr.1 Winner SAFFRON BEACH Gr.1 WinnerWhat do modern day Turf celebrities Alpinista, Dubawi, Frankel, Ouija Board and Sea
The Stars have in common? Answer: they all kickstarted their respective run towards greatness in a race sponsored by the European Breeders’ Fund (EBF).
This year sees the 40th anniversary of
the scheme, which was launched in 1983 with the singular aim of boosting the value of two-year-old maiden races. The initiative has become a copybook case of racing self help, as money is contributed by stallion farms in return for the progeny of their sires being eligible for EBF races. In turn, those races receive the financial benefits of
increased, EBF-backed purses.
The landscape may have changed plenty in the four decades that have followed, but the strength of the concept has not only seen the EBF develop a near ubiquitous presence in European racing, it is also closing in on a colossal prize-money contribution of €150,000,000.
But if the development of the EBF is now considered an unmitigated success, its origins trace back to a near crisis. Discussions began in 1982 as a result of the Levy Board proposing cuts to prize-money that would have left juvenile maidens being run for nothing.
By sheer coincidence, it was around the same time that John Gaines first went public with the notion of the Breeders’ Cup being horseracing’s answer to the Super Bowl.
The seven-race end-of-season finale would cater for a complete cross-section of the thoroughbred population on both dirt and turf. Each race would be worth $1 million, with the exception of the day’s headline event, the $3m Breeders’ Cup Classic. These lucrative pots would be generated from stallion owners, with contributions paid on a sliding scale relative to each sire’s nomination fee and the number of mares covered per breeding season.
The same funding mechanism inspired the EBF’s founding committee of Peter Willett, who also played a pivotal role in establishing the European Pattern, Bob McCreery, and Sam Sheppard. But whereas the Breeders’ Cup focused on one end-ofseason championship, the EBF’s plan was to spread its dividend across the sport’s grassroots to plug the gap created by the Levy Board’s funding cuts.
With a prize-money contribution of €150,000,000, the European Breeders’ Fund has become one of the most successful self-help initiatives of all time
40 years on from its inception, its importance remains as strong as everWords: James Thomas TATTERSALLS Simon Sweeting: ‘The British EBF has put £40 million into prize-money, £2m this year alone’
“It was introduced very much because the Levy Board was interested in funding races that appealed to the betting public,” says Philip Freedman, British EBF Chair from 2008 to 2016 and Chairman from
2017 to 2022. “It was perceived that two-year-old maidens in particular were not attractive races from a betting point of view, so there wasn’t going to be any central funding of those races. Or if there was it was going to be absolutely minimal. I’m sure those races would have still been run, but it would’ve been very unattractive to have horses in training in Britain.”
While the EBF’s 40th anniversary highlights how the scheme has stood the test of time, its introduction was not welcomed by all. One prominent and vocal opponent was John Hislop, owner-breeder of the brilliant Brigadier Gerard.
The EBF intended to shore up support for the scheme by confining 70 per cent of two-year-old races to the progeny of EBFregistered stallions, but when an approach was made to the Jockey Club it transpired that Hislop had already taken legal advice on the matter. The EBF was told that the
move was ‘ultra vires’, meaning it was beyond the Jockey Club’s powers to enact such a change.
The ruling authority may not have sanctioned the proposal at the first opportunity, but once the racecourses and RCA got behind the scheme the Jockey Club eventually followed suit. Hislop stood by his position and Brigadier Gerard was never registered with the EBF.
“The fact the EBF has carried on in pretty much the same vein from when it was started is a huge tribute to the people who set it up originally,” adds Freedman. “Their vision hasn’t really been altered. And it’s so important for the wider racing industry to see that breeders are actually putting money into it, otherwise it would be easy for racecourses to say that breeders are commercial animals who don’t put anything back into prize-money.”
Britain and Ireland were the first ››
member countries, followed soon after by France and then Germany in 1986. The scheme also has stallions registered in the Czech Republic, Hungary, Italy, Spain, Switzerland and Turkey.
The EBF acronym has become part of the furniture of European racing in the four decades since its inception. Indeed, it is Britain’s most active sponsor by number of races, while 90 per cent of two-yearold maidens run in France are restricted to EBF-eligible horses. What is easier to overlook, however, is the sheer scale of its contribution, which now exceeds €140m.
“The fact that the EBF has not only survived but prospered for 40 years is probably proof of its importance,” says John O’Connor, Managing Director of Ballylinch Stud and Chairman of the EBF Coordinating Committee. “It’s one of those institutions whose longevity brings stability and a sense of cohesion, and I think that’s very important.
“Prize-money in virtually every country could do with being better because costs are rising all the time. The amount of money that’s being contributed by the EBF at this stage is quite staggering really. It’s
heading towards the €150 million mark, which is a quite extraordinary figure.”
More than 650 stallions are currently registered to the EBF, and the list is not merely confined to those standing in Europe.
Breeders’ Cup, although that came to an amicable end in 2011.
O’Connor says that the scheme’s success relies less on the presence of some headline thoroughbred names, but the collective contribution from right across the spectrum of stallion operations. Each registered stallion must pay a fee equal to the average value of that year’s nominations, with a graduated payment scheme in place to ensure those who cover the biggest books of mares contribute more to the fund.
“One of the things that makes the EBF so strong is that both the big stallion operations and the smaller farms all contribute their fair share,” he says. “I think that cohesion is a wonderful thing and I’m very keen to make sure that continues into the future.
Station has been a long-standing international supporter, including with the epoch-defining Deep Impact, while the US operations involved include Lane’s End Farm, which has registered the world’s joint-second highest rated racehorse, Flightline. There had previously been a cross-registration agreement with the
“I’ve always felt that it needs to be recognised that stallion farms both large and small contribute a significant proportion of their income to the EBF, and that’s all for the greater good. I’m sure there are times when stallion farms look at the sums and think they could do without paying it, but I’m also sure the same farms
“The amount of money contributed by the EBF is quite staggering”AMY LANIGAN
• Sire in 2023 of 6 Group Winners of 10 Group races
FANTASTIC MOON – Gr.1 German Derby, Gr.2 Prix Niel, Gr.3 Derby Trial and Gr.3 Preis des Winterfavoriten at 2
MUSKOKA – Gr.1 German Oaks (his other runners KASSADA and SEA THE LADY were 2nd and 3rd), Gr.3 Brümmerhofer Stuten-Meile and Listed Henkel Stutenpreis
ASSISTENT – Gr.2 Grosser Hansa Preis, Gr.2 Carl Jaspers Preis and Listed Grand Prix Aufgalopp
TERM OF ENDEARMENT –Gr.3 Give Thanks Stakes and 3rd Gr.3 Lanwades Stud Fillies Stakes
KASSADA – Gr.3 Diana Trial and 2nd Gr.1 German Oaks
SELENAIA – Gr.3 Honeymoon Stakes
• A SUCCESSFUL FIRST CROP GROUP SIRE IN 2023 WITH AN IMPRESSIVE 36% WINNERS TO RUNNERS
• Already sire of:
DEEPONE (winner of the Gr.2 Beresford Stakes), GHORGAN (debut winner of BBAG Sales race), FRANCOPHONE (debut winner), JUBILEE WALK (novice winner) and LINGUA FRANCA (novice winner)
• Winner of 3 races at 2 & 3, including the ‘Stallion Making’ Gr.1 French Derby and £1,033,142
• The only son of legendary DEEP IMPACT at stud in England, sire of AUGUSTE RODIN – winner of the Gr.1 English Derby, Gr.1 Irish Derby and Gr.1 Irish Champion Stakes in 2023
Sire of:
SANDRINE (Winner of 4 Group races, including Gr.2 Park Stakes (in 2023), Gr.2 Lennox Stakes, Gr.2 Duchess of Cambridge Stakes and Gr.3 Albany Stakes (also Gr.1-placed x2). Now a Group winner at 2, 3 and 4);
MONAASIB (Gr.2 placed), KITTY KITANA (Gr.3 placed x2), FIGHTING KING (Listed-placed), etc.
realise the importance of the EBF to their clients.”
Moreover, it is not only a matter of where the money comes from that makes the EBF such a significant contributor, but where the prize-money is allocated.
The organisation’s aims have broadened beyond the early days, with the key goals now being to implement and support races that are of benefit to the development of the breed; strategically support races that maintain and enhance the diversity of the racing programme; support equine research beneficial to the thoroughbred breed; and to oversee an emergency fund for use in the event of an equine disease outbreak.
“The British EBF has put £40 million into prize-money, and £2m this year alone,” says Simon Sweeting, Manager of Overbury Stud and British EBF Chair since 2020. “We’re very fortunate that at the moment we have Dubawi, Frankel and Kingman, who put in the lion’s share, and while we have contributors like that we’re able to maintain high amounts of money.
“But the important thing is that it’s focused. We’re not just spreading it out, we’re thinking hard about where it’s going and we’re trying to push it in directions where it’s going to be of use to the breed. It’s really important not to just go with the flow, and instead try to gently assist and nudge the breed in what a lot of people think is the right direction.”
Sweeting highlights the Future Stayers’ Series as one focused initiative that the British branch of the EBF has supported since 2015. Initially the initiative saw a series of maiden or novice races open to the progeny of stallions who had won over ten furlongs or further. In 2017, at the BHA’s request, this was broadened to allow the offspring of mares who had won over ten furlongs or more. A nursery handicap was also added to the schedule in 2018.
These races have been a springboard for over 70 black-type performers and eight Group 1 winners, including household racing names like Cracksman, Hukum, Hurricane Lane and Stradivarius.
Other recent initiatives include the British EBF £100,000 two-year-old series, which gives a high-value end-of-season target for the progeny of commercially priced stallions. Since 2017 the British EBF has also contributed towards a select number of lucrative juvenile maiden and novice races at flagship meetings. These include Europe’s richest contest from this category, the £100,000 Convivial Maiden held at York during Ebor week.
While this ability to adapt to the prevailing trends ensures the EBF’s funds remain as beneficial as possible, it is the
clarity of the overall concept that has underpinned the scheme’s longevity.
“The EBF hasn’t been swayed by shortterm issues and has a very clear objective of continuing to raise money to put back into various parts of the prize-money structure,” says Sweeting. “We don’t allow it to chop and change as short-term problems arise. In the last 40 years there have been goodness knows how many recessions and dips and financial disasters, but so long as the EBF carries on with the same objective, that objective is always going to be useful to racing and breeding. That’s why it has carried on for so long, and hopefully will continue for a lot longer.”
Those sentiments were echoed by O’Connor, who says: “I would put the longevity down to the wish of stallion farms to contribute positively to racing. The stallion farms have held together really well and have been very determined in their efforts to make sure racing prizemoney is as good as it can possibly be. I think it’s particularly important in light of rising costs for everybody at this point. The EBF contributions are more important than ever in many ways.”
The funding structure of the EBF has seen a rising tide lift all ships, as the upward trajectory of the Anglo-Irish stallion roster has resulted in record levels
of prize-money contributions.
“They’ve risen as the stallion roster in Europe has strengthened over the last number of years vis a vis international competition,” continues O’Connor. “The stallion contributions have risen to the point where both the Irish and British EBF are making record contributions to prize-money. The most successful horses obviously contribute the greatest amount, but that gets spread across all sorts of targeted races to help make sure that it is shared democratically across the various standards of racehorses.”
Another cornerstone of the EBF’s enduring success is the calibre and diversity of those who have contributed to its running. There have only ever been two Chief Executives of the EBF, with cofounder Sam Sheppard spending 30 years in the role before being succeeded by Kerry Murphy at the beginning of 2013.
The small but dedicated full-time team have worked alongside some distinguished names who have sat on the coordinating committee. This has included stallion masters, breeders and journalists, and currently features Julian RichmondWatson, Nicolas de Chambure and Joe Foley.
“Some very successful and innovative people have contributed so much for free down the years,” says O’Connor. “These are mostly very busy people, and often people who compete strongly with each other in the market. But, down the years at the EBF, I’ve found that everybody has cooperated really well for the greater good of the industry, and I think that’s been an important part of the success.”
Plenty has changed since Willett, McCreery and Sheppard first discussed the idea of the EBF back in 1982, from the stallions registered, the people involved and the nuances of how the fund is spent. But at the same time so much remains the same, not least the need for sustainable levels of funding for the kind of races that make the greatest difference to breeders. As such, the EBF continues to play a vital role in the sport.
“I hope it will be here for another 40 years – and more,” says O’Connor. “The concept was started by some very wise people 40 years ago, and they really were on the right track.
“I think it will evolve, I’m sure, as the racing industry evolves. But the guiding principles will still be the same whereby stallion farms contribute strongly to prizemoney and to the rest of the industry. I hope that will continue for many years to come. A lot of other things have changed in the meantime, but the EBF goes on as strongly as ever.”
“The stallion farms have held together well and been very determined”
JohnO’Connor: major presence in the EBF
In just three years owner Marc Chan has established a serious UK racing operation and enjoyed a string of big-race victories – yet it all started with the speculative purchase of a single horse during the Covid pandemic
Words: Edward Rosenthal
Saturday, August 26, 2023 is a date that will live long in the memory of Marc Chan. The Hong Kong-based owner had three runners that day, all at different UK meetings, and thought a win for his prolific gelding Kinross in the Group 2 City of York Stakes would represent a good afternoon’s work.
Not only did old favourite Kinross do the business on the Knavesmire but Angel Bleu also triumphed in his Group 2 assignment, taking the Celebration Mile at Goodwood, while the filly Lezoo, owned in partnership with Andrew Rosen, captured the Listed Hopeful Stakes at Newmarket.
To make a minor adjustment to the age-old proverb, good things come in threes, it seems.
“Unbelievable –we never expected that to happen,” says Chan, speaking via Zoom from his Hong Kong apartment. He bought his first horse in Britain as recently as 2020 but has rapidly made a significant impact on the European racing scene.
“You’re lucky to have one winner on any day so to score a hat-trick within 75 minutes – bang, bang, bang – it was quite surreal.
“Frankie [Dettori, rider of Kinross and that day’s Ebor winner Absurde] phoned
me from his car after racing to say well done. I celebrated with some friends and a few bottles of red. To have three stakes winners in one afternoon is quite extraordinary.”
The common denominator in all three winning horses is trainer Ralph Beckett, who is enjoying his best ever season in terms of both winners (106) and prizemoney (£3.42 million), and at the time of writing was operating at a career-high 22% strike-rate.
A lifelong horseracing fan, having been taken to the races as a boy in Malaysia and Singapore by his father and uncle, both keen racegoers and punters, Chan’s route to Kimpton Down Stables was anything but strategic. Having been introduced to Dettori by a mutual friend, the Italian then put Chan in contact with bloodstock agent Jamie McCalmont, who was tasked with sourcing a suitable horse from Europe to race in Hong Kong.
McCalmont had heard that a twoyear-old in training with Beckett might be available and duly put the wheels in motion to buy the gelded son of New Bay. The well-named New Mandate, who had won nothing more than a nursery at the time of his purchase in August 2020, became a
“To have three stakes winners in one afternoon is quite extraordinary”
›› Group 2 winner a month later in the Royal Lodge Stakes at Newmarket and helped set his new owner on his current path in the sport.
Chan explains: “I’d owned horses in Hong Kong for a few years. I’d bought horses from Australia before, but I was looking for something with a bit more stamina to bring to Hong Kong. This was right in the middle of Covid, so it was very hard to source a horse with all the restrictions in place.
“It was quite boring for me just racing in Hong Kong, as I enjoy experiencing the sport in different countries and immersing myself in the culture. Europe has a very strong tradition in racing, so I told Jamie I wanted to dip my toes in the water and try it out.
“So, I bought my first UK horse from Ralph’s stable – and opened Pandora’s box! The advice from Frankie and Jamie was to focus on horses in training to start with and identify two-year-olds that have shown potential. I would race them in the UK first and bring them over to Hong Kong if they were suitable types.
“New Mandate was the first runner we tried to buy – and the owners were willing to sell. Frankie said that Ralph was a very genuine trainer whose horses improve with age. He’s certainly a more conservative trainer who would rather underrate than overrate a horse’s ability. He never exaggerates a horse’s talent.
“I then bought two more horses from the stable – Kinross, from his breeder Julian Richmond-Watson, and Prosperous Voyage, who I co-own with Andrew Rosen, the famous fashion mogul from New York.”
Kinross has proved to be an inspirational purchase for Chan, a tech
entrepreneur and investor in the biotech sector, who studied Electrical and Electronic Engineering at the University of Western Ontario, having moved to Canada for his high-school education.
A one-time Classic hope for RichmondWatson, Kinross, who was due to defend his crown in the Prix de la Foret at Longchamp on Arc weekend, has won eight races in Chan’s silks, including two Group 1s, and earned over £1.58 million in prize-money.
Prosperous Voyage was bought after finishing runner-up in the 2021 May Hill Stakes. She came agonisingly close to providing her owners with Classic glory when failing by a neck to reel in Cachet in last year’s 1,000 Guineas. However, the daughter of Zoffany did hit the Group 1 bullseye two months later when shocking the Dettori-ridden Inspiral – sent off at 1-7 –in the Falmouth Stakes.
“We never expected Kinross to perform so consistently at the top level – it’s been quite unexpected really,” Chan relates. “His earnings are incredible for a horse running in Europe – in Hong Kong he’d have banked around £6 million!
“Prosperous Voyage would have won the Guineas with a little more luck, but she got her Group 1 win and is now a very valuable filly.”
Chan will discover exactly what value
the market puts on Prosperous Voyage in a couple of months’ time when she will be offered at Tattersalls’ December Mares Sale. Park Paddocks is also the destination for Lezoo, a €110,000 breeze-up purchase at Arqana last year who went on to take the Cheveley Park Stakes.
Yet don’t let the proposed sale of these two Group 1 heroines fool you into thinking that Chan is disinterested in the breeding side of the sport. On the contrary, he currently owns three broodmares, two in Ireland and one in Australia, and is looking forward to his first homebred runner, a son of Wootton Bassett out of the Galileo mare Emerald Green, based at Norelands Stud in County Kilkenny.
Chan says: “I’m starting off small in breeding and will look for broodmares with the right pedigrees. I have a yearling and a foal on the ground, but I know that a lot of things will have to go right for these horses to enjoy successful careers.
“I’ve got the bug with owning and racing horses – I started off buying horses in training and have moved on to two-yearolds, yearlings and foals – and now it’s the same with breeding. I’ll breed for quality
but not on a commercial basis.”
He continues: “I’m a novice in this sport so I listen to advice from professionals. I’ve been told that owning horses is a numbers game yet even if you pay top money for a horse, that is no guarantee of performance, especially with a yearling.
“With horses in training, you can see the form in the book and their willingness to race and compete. Buying a yearling is like looking into a crystal ball!
“I don’t think it makes sense to go after the top-priced yearlings – I prefer to look at a certain range in the middle market that I feel is an interesting level to play at. After all, horses don’t know how much they cost.
“It’s like buying a lottery ticket but this sport is not just about the financial return. There’s a lot of satisfaction in the journey – although it’s never a straight line with thoroughbreds.”
Chan has owned horses all over the world, including France, the US and Australia, complementing those in Hong Kong, Britain and Ireland, where Jessica Harrington trains his Listed scorer Bold Discovery. Yet it is the UK that holds a particular place in his heart.
“British racing is deep in tradition and history,” Chan explains. “It’s more of a cultural heritage than just purely about punting, which is the case in some other countries.
“Royal Ascot and Glorious Goodwood are real social events at beautiful racetracks that are organic and unique with a superb atmosphere. There’s also very little construction on the courses themselves. I don’t think you see that in the rest of the world.
“It’s also possible to travel over to race in Ireland and France, which makes the sport highly competitive.”
The downside to being an owner in the UK is the poor prize-money, says Chan. He hopes that the current levy negotiations provide a better outcome for all participants. He has followed the industry’s plans for ‘premierisation’ and supports the concept, acknowledging that there are too many races and not enough runners, while stating that those lower down the pyramid must not be forgotten.
On the controversial matter of affordability checks being imposed on punters, Chan is more forthright, saying: “It looks like a fiasco to me. I’m worried it could cause lasting damage to British racing. There’s a huge heritage to protect and I hope they don’t screw it up because there’s no turning back.”
While UK racing continues to wrangle with those issues, Chan is hoping for a strong end to the year, with British Champions Day and the Breeders’ Cup meeting around the corner.
He has plenty to look forward to with his team of established performers, unraced youngsters and a fledgling breeding operation, which also provides plenty of excitement for wife Lily and children Phyllis and Julien, all big horseracing fans.
“Aim high but keep expectations low,” Chan responds when asked about his philosophy on racing and ownership. “We all want to win the big races like the British Classics and the Arc. But any Group 1 anywhere in the world is good enough for me.”
Marc Chan
“Kinross’s earnings are incredible for a horse running in Europe”
BILL SELWYN
returns to ARC All-Weather Racecourses this winter!
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It was only several months ago that there was a very real possibility of the Wildenstein family’s 100th year in racing being sealed by a Classic success. As it turned out, Pensee Du Jour, the filly upon whom the weight of expectation rested, failed to run up to form in the Prix de Diane, finishing down the field behind Blue Rose Cen in a strong renewal. And when she returned to the track two months later in the Prix Alec Head at Deauville, it was in a different shade of blue.
Just days before that run, it was confirmed that the Dayton Investments Ltd horses belonging to Diane Wildenstein had changed hands in a lock, stock and barrel transaction to brothers Alain and Gerard Wertheimer, otherwise known as Wertheimer et Frere. Wildenstein numbers had been much diminished since a major dispersal of stock at Goffs in late 2016, which turned over close to €14 million. A number were snapped up by Peter Brant, then returning to the game, and with just reward when such purchases went on to gift him with Grade 1 performers such as Raging Bull, Blowout and Stone Age.
All the while, Diane Wildenstein’s colours remained a steady and welcome presence on racetracks. Pensee Du Jour, who captured the imagination during the spring when rattling off victories in the Prix Rose de Mai and Prix Penelope, will go down as the last major horse to carry the Wildenstein two-tone blue but it mustn’t be forgotten that she also belongs to the same generation as Irish 2,000 Guineas, Eclipse and Sussex Stakes winner Paddington, another bred by Dayton Investments Ltd. His dam Modern Eagle joined Pensee Du Jour as well as Pretty Please, the dam of top miler Persian King, among the horses to pass into Wertheimer hands.
There aren’t many racing operations that can boast 100 years of history.
Georges Wildenstein dipped his toe into racehorse ownership with the purchase of several yearlings at Deauville in 1922. His first winner arrived a year later on October 14 when trainer Roch Filippi sent out
Baal to win the Prix des Reservoirs at Deauville.
Thus began a fruitful association with the turf. Wildenstein became a regular investor in yearlings and within ten years had celebrated a first Classic success with Kant in the 1932 Poule d’Essai des Poulains.
When son Daniel Wildenstein inherited the operation upon Georges’ death in 1963, he set about developing it into a more ambitious enterprise. Broodmares were invested in and families cultivated, notably those descending from the influential mares Albertine, Louve and Petroleuse, all of which have remained the backbone to its success in the decades since.
Lasting class has been the presiding theme within those lines, although on the track the Wildenstein family itself were never far from the headlines, whether be it in their hiring and firing of trainers or behaviour in defeat; Alec Wildenstein’s remark that “the dope-testing machine must be broken” in the wake of Westerner’s second to Papineau in the 2004 Gold Cup is unlikely to be forgotten soon.
However, the family’s legion of racecourse champions are also testament to the class and efficiency of the stable. Daniel Wildenstein was France’s leading owner on nine occasions, starting from 1969 and once posthumously in 2001. During
Nancy Sexton Bloodstock Editor
that time he campaigned Allez France, his first winner of the Arc and Horse of the Year in France in 1974. The annus mirabilis of 1976, in which Flying Water, Pawneese and Crow raided the 1,000 Guineas, Oaks, King George and St Leger, was followed not long after by the exploits of the top-class but fragile stayer Buckskin, while the 1980s yielded the outstanding globe-trotter All Along and another Arc winner in Sagace.
Never afraid to think outside the box, Wildenstein and Andre Fabre later took a chance by pitting Sagace’s son Arcangues against the best dirt horses in the 1993 Breeders’ Cup Classic. Sent off at 133-1, the horse went on to pull off the biggest shock in Breeders’ Cup history.
Perhaps the best runner, however, was Peintre Celebre. Gifted with a devastating turn of foot, he lit up 1997 by winning the Prix du Jockey Club, Grand Prix de Paris and Arc, in which he came from an unpromising position to win by five lengths.
Daniel’s son Alec, for his part, raced Group 1 winners Bright Sky, Aquarelliste, Westerner and Vallée Enchantée. In the years leading up to its Goffs dispersal, the family also tasted Classic success with Poule d’Essai des Pouliches heroine Beauty Parlour, a worthy reward for utilising Deep Impact in Japan while he was still an unproven stallion.
Controversy has engulfed the family in the outside world in recent years and there wasn’t much surprise in racing circles when matters were wound down with the sale of those 108 horses at Goffs in 2016. However, it was nice to see Diane Wildenstein retain a select number of horses, among them her 2014 1,000 Guineas winner Miss France.
Now that chapter is closed for good. Surely coveted by sales houses, the stock would have been a fine addition to any catalogue this winter. But there is something appropriate about them having passed as one to another similarly major influential force within French racing. It will be fascinating to see how they now fare in Wertheimer hands.
Breeders and traders hoping for a solid start to Britain’s yearling sales season had their wish granted at the Goffs Premier Sale in Doncaster.
Turnover, which 12 months ago had gained 20 per cent, was up another two per cent at just over £16.2 million, while the average price, which had risen eight per cent last year, added another four per cent when reaching £45,854. The median was unchanged while the clearance rate dipped three points to 86 per cent.
Shooting stars such as the Gleneagles colt who made £380,000 in 2018 or the son of Kingman who sold for £440,000 in 2019 – regretfully they achieved just a few minor wins and one Listed placing between them – were conspicuously absent. A single horse reached the mark of £200,000, yet no fewer than 28 yearlings sold for £100,000-plus, up from 23 last year.
The catalogue was neatly summarised by bloodstock agent Oliver St Lawrence, who said: “There hasn’t been one horse which you’ve looked at and thought ‘he’s going to make three or four hundred thousand’ as has happened occasionally, but there have been lots of nice horses in the £150,000 to £200,000 bracket.” St Lawrence bought two horses in that price range,
namely a £170,000 Yeomanstown Stud-bred-and-sold Dark Angel colt and a £150,000 son of Havana Grey offered from Hillwood Stud having been bought as a foal for €52,000.
That proved to be the pick of the pinhooks, although others who tried their hand at trading on a yearling they had bought last year did not always
find their task easy. For buyers there was the hope of landing on a horse that could take them to Royal Ascot, while the York sales race associated with the Premier Sale had been boosted to £500,000. Renamed ‘Harry’s Half Million’ in tribute to the late DBS and Goffs UK Chairman Harry Beeby, it was clearly in the minds of some buyers.
The headline act proved to be a son of Wootton Bassett, bred by the Keswick family’s Cotswolds-based Rockcliffe Stud and foaled by the Listed-placed mare Marsh Hawk who has produced three black-type horses. Consigned by Highclere Stud, the colt was knocked down at £200,000 to an online bidder who proved to be Robson Aguiar, a pinhooker, breeze-up consignor and with a role or two inside the Amo Racing organisation.
At Arqana’s August Yearling Sale last year, Aguiar bought a key member of Amo’s 2023 squad of racehorses, Bucanero Fuerte, another son of Wootton Bassett and the winner this season of the Phoenix Stakes.
Eugene Daly’s Longview Stud enjoyed two excellent results with colts by Blue Point and Pinatubo who each sold for £180,000. Ed Sackville of SackvilleDonald bought the Blue Point
on behalf of an undisclosed racehorse owner who plans on sending the colt to trainer David Loughnane, while Godolphin gained the Pinatubo.
Middleham trainer Charlie Johnston acquired a £175,0000 Dark Angel full-sister to his Princess Margaret Stakes winner Sacred Angel and like that two-year-old the yearling will carry the colours of Nurlan Bizakov’s Sumbe, while Alastair Donald’s purchase of a £160,000 filly was another positive note for Darley’s freshman sire Earthlight. Donald was acting for Hong Kongbased P K Siu who will send his purchase to Ed Walker.
Jamie Railton had purchased the Earthlight filly for 62,000gns as a foal, so he pulled off one of the better pinhooks of the sale, while another £160,000 transaction revolved around a Twilight Son colt who had cost the O’Callaghan family’s Tally-Ho Stud 68,000gns. Newmarket trainer James Tate was in Doncaster to buy the colt on the latest occasion.
An early good result for Pinatubo arrived in the form of this £180,000 first-crop son
• Has the bloodstock sales calendar ever seen so many key changes in such a short period of time? Examples would be the closure of its Ascot venue by Tattersalls, the opening of Auctav’s sales complex in France and the announcement by Goffs of a new sale on QIPCO
British Champions Day. The Goffs Champions Sale did not take place in Ireland, while its Dubai Breeze-Up in March has been suspended. Arqana’s experiment with a September Yearling Sale in Deauville lasted one attempt before the company reverted to a v.2 auction which came immediately after the August Sale.
F Earthlight – Nozhar
C Sea The Stars – Tiger Eye
C Twilight Son – Ice Gala
C Havana Grey – Ski Slope
C New Bay – Sweet Promise
Railton Sales Agency
170,000 Oliver St Lawrence
160,000 SackvilleDonald
160,000 Richard Hughes
160,000 James Tate Racing
150,000 Oliver St Lawrence
150,000 Richard Ryan
Germany picked up the yearling sale baton at this single-session event, which just failed to solidify some excellent gains last year.
BBAG had attracted international buyers, but a bigger catalogue involving 218 lots, 33 more than last year, did not result in higher turnover and it was pegged back nearly five per cent at just over €8m. The average price was down seven per cent at €49,518 while the median figure of €48,879 was a fall of nine per cent. A quarter of the 218 offered lots failed to change homes, although many German yearling vendors cheerfully retain stock which miss their reserves.
A Newmarket-based stud which has recently expanded its operation with the purchase of a farm in Kentucky secured the top lot, a €300,000 daughter of the late sire Adlerflug.
Consigned by Gestut Rottgen, the filly was knocked down to Hugo Merry who was acting for Imad Alsagar’s Blue Diamond Stud. Its new recruit was foaled by the winning Oasis Dream mare Kizingo, a daughter of Preis Der Diana victress Enora.
Breeders hoping to sell a six-figure horse at this event can narrow the odds by choosing Sea The Stars as a cover for their mares. Yearlings by the Gilltown Stud resident have topped the sale four times in the past eight years, but while he came up just shy this time two of his daughters appeared near the head of the top-ten board and he took the leading sire award through sales of five lots for a total of €745,000.
The pick proved to be a €260,000 Gestut Auenquelle-consigned filly who will race in Italy for Scuderia Cocktail having been bought by Grizzetti Galoppo’s Bruno Grizzetti and Micol Borgato. Another Sea The Stars filly, this one a half-sister to German champion juvenile Best Of Lips, was knocked down to that colt’s trainer, Andreas Suborics, following his bid of €220,000.
A son of Teofilo from Gestut Karlshof will join trainer Sarah Steinberg after selling to Hans-Gerd Wernicke’s Stall Salzburg for €260,000, while LarsWilhelm Baumgarten’s Liberty Racing, which manages a number of syndicated
horses, became the leading buyer with ten purchases and a spend of just over €1m. The most valued, another from Gestut Rottgen’s draft, was a €180,000 colt by Camelot.
Bloodstock agent Alex Elliott was among the overseas visitors to fly in from the Goffs Premier Sale in Doncaster and he paid for his German pilgrimage by purchasing four horses for a total of €460,000. Yorkshireman Roger Marley, who had also taken in both sales, secured five lots for €224,000.
The Faust family’s Gestut Karlshof took leading vendor honours by selling 12 of 16 lots for nearly €1.2m.
From a three-day high, having launched in the lockdown year of 2020 after the July Sale had been called off, this auction contracted to two days and then a single session last year.
At the latest renewal the reduction in horse numbers had been halted, but the key indicators took a tumble. It seems the July Sale, which at one point appeared to be under threat from its August counterpart, remains the summer clearance point of choice. This year it expanded to 635 horses and required a fourth session.
Some buyers, particularly those in search of horses for growing racing jurisdictions in the Middle East, are suited by the timing of the August Sale – albeit the latest edition was held on September
1. The Autumn Horses-in-Training Sale in October leaves little time for horses to acclimatise before racing gets underway, while Anthony Bromley, who buys horses for both codes of racing, said an August sale allows more time for colts to recover from gelding before going jumping.
However, such buyers are looking for horses of suitable ability, and in that respect the latest catalogue was weaker than at previous editions.
That much could be seen in the figures for turnover, which fell 39 per cent to 3,235,700gns, and average, which took a 29 per cent hit at 17,120gns. The median mark of 8,000gns was a fall of 43 per cent. Of 237 offered lots, one more than in 2022, 189 found buyers at a clearance rate of 80 per cent, a very fair figure, albeit down 12 percentage points.
Tattersalls Chairman Edmond Mahony acknowledged the sale had “been a little short of obvious stars”, but he could point to the input of international buyers as a reason to be positive.
Australian trainer John O’Shea was a case in point, for while he did not journey to Britain for the auction his representative, Sam Haggas of Hurworth Bloodstock, secured the 200,000gns top lot Maximum Dividend. Trained by Richard Hannon for a Coolmore/Westerberg partnership, the two-year-old son of American Pharoah remained a maiden after being placed in races at Sandown and Newbury, but the form had been stacking up.
Staying in Britain, but transferring from
Charlie Appleby’s Suffolk yard to David O’Meara’s base in North Yorkshire, was the four-year-old gelding Noble Truth, a choicely-bred son of Kingman bred and owned to that point by Godolphin. A Listed winner and Group 1-placed at two before landing Royal Ascot’s Jersey Stakes the following year, Noble Truth had not run since trailing home in a Group 2 contest at Meydan in January, but O’Meara’s talents with other owners’ cast-offs are well documented. He invested 130,000gns to secure Noble Truth, who could be one to note next year.
Among horses bound for the Middle East was the winning three-year-old gelding Bleak, who was knocked down for 105,000gns to Oliver St Lawrence. He was acting for his long-standing Bahraini client Fawzi Nass, while Saudi Arabia’s Prince Saud bin Salman picked up two of the top five lots.
Bidding through agent Marco Bozzi, the Prince purchased last year’s Irish Derby third French Claim for 115,000gns and the three-year-old maiden winner Pivotal Revive for 100,000gns.
Some excellent racecourse results by graduates of the first two editions of this sale can only have helped the latest renewal, which returned record figures.
Turnover rose 12 per cent to 8.6m gns, the average was up five per cent at nearly 32,000gns while the median gained four per cent at 27,000gns. Of 305 offered lots, 271 found buyers, a clearance rate of 89 per cent.
Tattersalls Chairman Edmond Mahony, whose company in 2021 moved the event from Ascot and renamed it, highlighted in his close of sale summary “the likes of Bradsell, Indian Run and Relief Rally showcasing the sale to great effect on the home front and Grade 1 Del Mar Oaks winner Anisette providing the best possible advertisement across the Atlantic”.
While reflecting on the latest staging
he also referred to “a clearance rate approaching 90 per cent and the number of yearlings selling for more than 50,000gns and more than 100,000gns increasing significantly on last year’s impressive numbers.”
Meanwhile, Tattersalls Ireland’s September Yearling Sale, which took place from September 19 to 21, catalogued 762 lots, 152 more than last year, so it does not appear to be feeling any ill effects from the Somerville’s introduction.
Whitsbury Manor Stud’s fortunes leapt forward when Showcasing began firing in winners and that momentum has been carried upward again with the arrival of Havana Grey on the stud’s
stallion roster. It should also be said that some canny purchases of mares, whose stock have become crowd pleasers in the ring, has been another fillip for the Hampshire stud.
A speedily-bred Havana Grey filly, suitably offered for sale by Whitsbury Manor, took top-lot honours at the Somerville when knocked down to bloodstock agent Matt Coleman for 155,000gns. Coleman, who described the sire as “a freak stallion”, said he was acting for racehorse owner Charles Rosier, who planned to send the filly to George Scott. The last-named trains Kodiac two-year-old Seven Questions, a three-time winner this year and Listed placed, and whose half-brother by
Mehmas was sold to Oliver St Lawrence for 110,000gns.
Another rising trainer named George, this one of the Boughey variety, gained a second gem from the Havana Grey treasure chest in the form of a filly bred and consigned by Sophie Buckley of Culworth Grounds in Northamptonshire. Buckley had bought the dam Last Echo – a dual winner on the Flat but unplaced in nine races over hurdles – for 10,000gns in 2016 and it proved a fortuitous choice. Last Echo has since bred a winner plus the classy juvenile Oddyssey, and had probably covered her cost, keep and covering fees before her latest yearling was knocked down for 140,000gns. The buyer was agent Hamish Macauley, who was acting for the busy Amo Racing team headed by Kia Joorabchian.
Drumhill Stud’s Gary Dowling and partners pulled off a centre-stage pinhook when trading a son of Haras de Colleville’s Galiway for 145,000gns, a steep rise on his foal valuation of €27,000. Ross Doyle, acting for trainer Richard Hannon, brought the hammer down on this one, while Richard Brown gave 115,000gns for a Showcasing colt whose half-sister by Zoustar headed last year’s Somerville Sale at 160,000gns. Karl Burke will handle the
Anyone seeking a quiet introduction to bloodstock auctions could have done worse than pop into Doncaster for this single-session mixed sale.
The ring was relatively cool compared to the sultry heat outside, and with just 89 lots on offer trade ambled steadily along but with none of the tension which arises when a well-touted horse enters the ring to a packed auditorium. The top lot was secured for a relatively humble £33,000 by familiar Donny buyer Kevin Jardine and little more than four hours after kick-off visitors were basking in the pleasures of switching on airconditioning for the drive home. Some were heading to Leighton in North Wales, where the following day Goffs auctioneered Yorton Stud’s selection of young stores.
The aforementioned Jardine, a native of Gretna Green in Scotland, bought the £90,000 top lot Royal Creek at the September Sale last year, but he didn’t need to find such a sum to buy Champ De Gane who headed the latest edition. A rangy son of Kapgarde, the six-yearold had been placed over hurdles and
colt’s career on behalf of Sheikh Juma Dalmook Al Maktoum, said Brown. The cash machine who foaled the yearling and his older sibling is nineyear-old Fast Lily, a member of Michael O’Leary’s broodmare band at his Newmarket-based Plantation Stud. Robson Aguiar, the Ireland-based Brazilian who bought the £200,000 Wootton Bassett colt top lot at the Goffs Premier Sale in Doncaster, was back in six-figure spending mode when giving £130,000 for a daughter of Prince Of Lir, offered by siblings Maebh, Orla and Richie Hassett of Monksland Stables, in partnership with Diego Dias.
• Havana Grey’s appearance on the stallion stage has become a windfall for many breeders and racehorse owners, let alone his masters the Harper family of Whitsbury Manor Stud. They dropped his fee to £6,000 in 2021 before his first crop hit the racecourse, but breeders who sent mares to him at that price can have had few regrets. This sale, which took place the day after he had been responsible for another double with winners at Brighton and Windsor, illustrated the point.
All 16 of his offered lots, of which six had been bought as foals, found a buyer at an average of 58,188gns. Seven made in excess of 50,000gns, while the sextet who had been pinhooked all made a profit, including a grey colt offered by the Watson family of Manor Farm Stud in Rutland. At the December Sale they presented him to the market as a foal but took him home when bidding halted at 20,000gns. At the Somerville he was knocked down for 80,000gns to trainer Noel Wilson.
fences for Northern Ireland trainer Stuart Crawford yet remained a maiden, which was part of the appeal to his buyer.
Jardine, who pointed out that the horse had been 12 lengths clear when falling at the last in a race at Ayr, said he was acting for Aberdeenshire-based
who will send Champ De
to Scottish Borders trainer Stuart Coltherd.
Brecon trainer Sheila Lewis prefers a quiet sale, and even then she likes to tuck herself into a corner. She thought she had found the perfect spot when
bracing herself and attempting to calm her nerves ahead of bidding on grey mare Happy D’Ex, only to find consignor Gordon Elliott and his ally Mouse O’Ryan had joined her but a few paces away.
Perhaps awed, but undeterred by their presence, she posted a bid of £26,000 and consigned Newmarket trainer James Owen to the role of underbidder. Still bubbling post-sale, Lewis said she was acting for racehorse owner Graham Wilson, who owns her yard’s star performer, Straw Fan Jack.
Annual stock reductions by Gigginstown House Stud invariably give this sale a boost, but the latest draft contained just three offered horses of which the pick, the Elliott-trained Fury Road, was knocked down for just £26,000. The buyers were Elliott and O’Ryan who were acting for a new partnership.
• Goffs’ UK division reviews all its sales, but it will surely take a close look at the September Sale in Doncaster, which proved to be a quiet affair with just 89 lots at the latest edition.
As recently as 2019 it was a two-day sale with 372 horses, and a similar tale relates to the company’s August Sale. It offered 254 horses in 2019, but just 125 at this year’s renewal. Could an amalgamation be on the cards?
Nailing down reasons for such reductions is never easy, but the rise in online sales has to be a factor to consider, because . . .
• Online sales are clearly on the up. Ask Tattersalls, which for its September Online Sale in 2021 and 2022 catalogued 32 and then 31
horses respectively. At the most recent version it drew no fewer than 91 lots and offered 81. ThoroughBid catalogued 25 lots for its September Sale and offered 22.
This year alone Tattersalls has catalogued 462 horses at its online sales and sold 229 lots – it still has sales in October, November and December to come.
ThoroughBid has catalogued 150 horses and sold 76, with a new online yearling sale to come, while Arqana also has November and December auctions scheduled to its online programme.
Could Brexit, and the increase in cross-border checks and paperwork, be a factor in the growth of online sales, or is it simply that vendors and buyers are becoming accustomed to the method?
This novel sale, put together by the Futter family of Yorton Stud and involving yearling and two-year-old stores, produced the goods once again at the fifth staging of the event.
The peak came early in the 50-lot catalogue when a two-year-old son of No Risk At All climbed into six figures as trainer Ben Pauling and bloodstock agent Ian Ferguson traded bids. At £165,000, a record for the sale, the hammer fell and Ferguson had won the battle.
He revealed he was acting for Welsh businessman Dai Walters, the well-known racehorse owner who created Ffos Las racecourse and the yard and gallops occupied by trainer Sam Thomas.
Irish-bred Lots will be eligible to run for €10,000 Irish sales bonuses as part of the IRE Incentive scheme. Bonus-holders can spend their vouchers on Irish-breds.
Among the horses trained by Thomas for Walters is Al Dancer, who won last year’s Sefton Chase at Aintree and is a half-brother to the record-setting store. Another half-brother, Gold Dancer, joined Willie Mullins in May with a €250,000 price tag after winning at Compiegne for Arnaud Chaille-Chaille.
Walters suffered serious injuries in a helicopter crash at the end of last year and while his recovery has been slow, it was cheering to hear Ferguson report he was much improved and was absent from the sale only because he was attending his own charity golf day.
The previous best at this sale also involved a No Risk At All gelded two-yearold who was knocked down to Walters for £105,000 at the inaugural sale held in 2019. Since then a few changes have taken place, but after overcoming the challenges of
also a one per cent fall, while the median dipped seven per cent to £28,000.
When asked for their opinion of the stock on offer, buyers, a number of whom were visiting James and Jean Potter’s Victorian brick-built farm for the first time, generally gave a thumbs-up, while the presence of some canny pinhookers was an endorsement in itself. They included several French buyers for whom the trading of younger stores is nothing new.
However, the number of horses who made £50,000 or more dropped from six to three.
Reflecting on trade post-sale, David Futter said he accepted it was taking time to convince people of the merits of buying stores aged younger than three. He thanked Goffs, who have been involved in the ride from the outset and once again handled the auctioneering process.
racing debut next year – and Bertrand Le Metayer, who teamed up with Harry Fowler to secure a Born To Sea gelding for £55,000. Le Metayer, who could have stayed at home and secured a similar horse, said “curiosity” was part of the reason for travelling to Yorton. Hopefully his purchase, whom the Futters had pinhooked for €22,000 at Arqana in November, will turn out to be a belter and encourage his return.
Peter Molony of Rathmore Stud, a regular visitor to this sale, has worked out the pinhooking opportunity it presents for those who choose to resell at store auctions next year. With that plan in mind he purchased a £45,000 gelding by Bathyrhon and a £44,000 filly by Lord Of England.
Yearlings were omitted from the catalogue last year but reintroduced for
Spreading the word about the services and assistance available to those working in the stud and breeding community is the goal behind Racing Welfare’s creation of a new position at the charity.
Hetta Harris, whose experience within the sport means she is a familiar face to many in the industry, has taken on the role of Outreach and Engagement Officer, a post supported by the Gerald Leigh Charity Foundation, which has provided funding for three years.
While Racing Welfare’s multitude of services may be well-known within training yards and among racecourse staff, stud sector workers have traditionally been harder to reach. Harris is hoping to challenge that notion by visiting locations all over the UK as well as attending the yearling and foal sales where she can have direct contact with both employees and employers.
Harris says: “Racing Welfare has struggled historically to get into the studs and be visible within the breeding community and pre-training yards, as well as rest and rehabilitation centres. We want to become more visible in this area – the charity saw the need for a specific role, and I’m delighted to have come on board and hope to make a real difference.
Racing Welfare is here to support everyone working in the British horseracing industry. To fully understand how we can better support the Stud and Breeding community we are asking for 5 minutes of your time to complete this simple survey about your awareness of our services.
“Stud staff are not licensed within the industry so it can be quite easy for them to fall through the cracks. There’s no centralised database for stud staff and that’s one of the things I’ll be addressing in my role.
“I’ve recently spent two weeks in Yorkshire, getting to know the Racing Welfare team in that part of the country, and visited a number of studs. I believe that face-to-face engagement is the best way of putting the word out there about the services available.”
Harris, who previously trained for Qatar Racing at Robins Farm in Surrey and has also worked in pre-training and at the breeze-ups, is aiming to discover what type of assistance would be most welcomed by the stud community.
“I was up at the Doncaster sales recently where I was rolling out an anonymous questionnaire,” Harris explains. “We want to know what support people would like to see from Racing Welfare – it’s something that hasn’t been asked before.
“Asking these questions will provide feedback that can help us develop and tailor our services to the stud and breeding world.
“We can support people with their mental health, offer careers advice, assist occupational health, and provide guidance around finances, relationships and addiction counselling.”
Harris herself utilised Racing Welfare’s careers advice and training service (CATS) when thinking about moving on from her pre-training business, which was based near Barbury Castle in Wiltshire.
Harris says: “Racing Welfare helped me with things like writing a CV when I was contemplating changing tack and rethinking my life choices.
“I saw the role advertised and went for it. The contacts I’ve made in the industry, not just on the training side but also on the stud side through being at the sales over the years, really stands me in good stead.
“I’m also a Trustee of the British Racing School and that really instigated this whole change in my career as it helped me to see things from a different perspective.
“I’ve been an employer and employee and thought that with my experience that maybe I could try and make a bit of a difference within the industry.”
The questionnaire can be accessed online at https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/6RD877Z.
All is not rosy within the world of American racing at the moment, with a spate of fatal breakdowns, most notably Maple Leaf Mel and New York Thunder just as they were on the cusp of securing Grade 1 victories at Saratoga, attracting uncomfortable outside attention towards the sport, writes Nancy Sexton. Yet its troubles has done little to dampen the yearling market, especially if the opening sessions of the Keeneland September Sale were anything to go by.
Last year’s renewal wound up as the highest-grossing auction in Keeneland’s history, yielding a turnover of $405,495,700 that opened with a
dynamic two-day Book 1 which produced close to $114 million in sales. The Book 1 of 2023, however, surpassed that figure and expectations, with 221 yearlings selling for a total of $116,925,000 and average of $529,072. Among them were 23 million-dollar yearlings, a figure that had grown to 30 by the close of Book 2.
No fewer than 15 youngsters hit the magic million-dollar mark during the second session, headed by the overall
sale-topper, an Into Mischief halfbrother to Grade 1 winner and successful sire Outwork who sold for $3 million to Chuck Sonson, Woodford, West Point and LEB. Leading owner Mike Repole, himself the purchaser of $3.945 million worth of stock during Book 1, bred the colt out of his Grade 1-placed Empire Maker mare Nonna Mia. Partnerships, particularly those focusing on colts, have become a driving force at the top end of the
American market and the sale-topper was one of four purchases made by Sonson, Woodford, West Point and LEB during the first two days; another, an Uncle Mo half-brother to champion Midnight Bisou, was snapped up for $1.35 million. Woodford Racing and West Point Thoroughbreds were among the partners in champion Flightline but new to the mix is Chuck Sonson, who owns an aviation company and was making his first trip to Lexington.
Indeed, it was extremely encouraging to see the ambition of new investors, particularly those playing at the top. In addition to Sonson, they included Lexington local John Stewart, who came away with $6.75 million worth of Book 1 yearlings through Gavin O’Connor. The founder and managing partner at MiddleGround Capital, Stuart only made his first purchase last September. Twelve months on and he has the makings of a powerful stable given his purchases included the sale’s highest-priced filly, an Uncle Mo half-sister to Kentucky Oaks heroine Shedaresthedevil bought for $2.5 million, as well as colts by Constitution and Into Mischief that cost $850,000 and $800,000.
Sheikha Hissa was also a welcome new presence and like her father Sheikh Hamdan before her, made her visit worthwhile, in her case with the
The Canadian Premier Yearling Sale in Ontario, Canada, took another step forward from 2022, writes Nancy
SextonSeven yearlings – four more than last year – hit six figures to contribute to gross sales of $4,017,790, an increase of 4.6% from 2022. Leading the way was a
purchase of four fillies worth $4.85 million. They included the most expensive yearling sold during the opening day, a $2.3 million Into Mischief filly out of Grade 3 winner Delightful Joy.
As ever, Spendthrift Farm’s perennial champion sire Into Mischief was never far from the action. In all, he supplied 12 seven-figure yearlings including five of the top ten lots. The son of Harlan’s Holiday stood for $225,000 in 2021 and deservedly remains one of the most expensive stallions in Kentucky at $250,000 – yet even off those high fees, a number of breeders are clearing sizeable profits.
His million-dollar dozen included MV Magnier’s most high-profile purchase in
a colt out of the stakes-winning and Grade 1-placed Princess Haya. The colt had been a bold $550,000 pinhook by a partnership consisting of Archie St George and Tally-Ho Stud’s Tony and Roger O’Callaghan but rewarded that risk by reselling for $1.8 million. The same partnership also hit a home run later in the sale when selling a Not This Time colt – a $375,000 foal purchase – for $1.05 million to West Point Thoroughbreds.
Leading Coolmore sire Uncle Mo was also in demand, with five million-dollar yearlings headed by the aforementioned $2.5 million filly and a half-brother to Grade 1 winner Collected bought by agent Donato Lanni on behalf of Amr Zedan. The latter was one of three million-dollar yearlings sold in a select draft by his co-breeder Runnymede Farm. Another, a McKinzie half-brother to Kentucky Derby winner Mage, topped the opening day of Book 2 at $1.05 million to Dottie Ingordo.
Andrew Black’s Chasemore Farm also enjoyed a memorable result as the breeder of an Uncle Mo colt who sold for $1 million from the Hunter Valley Farm draft to Pin Oak Stud. Out of the Elusive Quality mare Flighty Almighty, the colt belongs to Black’s Veiled Beauty family also responsible for his Prestige Stakes winner Boomer.
colt by veteran Ontario sire Old Forester who boasted the distinction of being a full-brother to Canadian Horse of the Year and fan favourite Pink Lloyd. The gelding secured 29 wins in 38 starts, including three renewals of the Grade 2 Kennedy Road Stakes, during his lengthy innings on the track and his younger brother was duly in demand,
selling for C$150,000 to Nancy Guest.
A first-crop daughter of War Of Will, himself a breeze-up graduate of Norman Williamson’s Oak Tree Farm who went on to win the Preakness Stakes, was the most expensive filly at C$130,000. Goldmart Farms signed the ticket on the filly, who is the first foal out of Canadian stakes winner Avie’s Mineshaft.
The victory by Auguste Rodin in the Irish Champion Stakes was an appropriate salute to his wonderful sire Deep Impact, from whose very last crop Auguste Rodin hails. As this crop contains just over a dozen foals, it is safe to say that Auguste Rodin is the last of the very good Deep Impacts. And what a superb athlete the son of Rhododendron is.
It was plain to see from the clear-cut no nonsense tactics employed by the Ballydoyle team at Leopardstown that the chips were down, and that Auguste Rodin was on a mission not just to erase the memory of his previous outing at Ascot but to re-establish himself as a major potential stallion.
In the event, the brown colt didn’t disappoint and ran the race of his life to
see off last year’s winner Luxembourg, with the very talented Nashwa and King Of Steel close behind.
Did the race establish Auguste Rodin as the best three-year-old in Europe? Probably not. But he did improve his Timeform rating by 3lb up to 128, which now has him equal on merit with stable companion Paddington, but still marginally behind the 129p of Prix du
Jockey Club winner Ace Impact. Nevertheless, as a Group 1-winning two-year-old who trained on to win a Derby and a hotly contested Irish Champion Stakes, he ticks all the boxes for his second career.
So, where does Auguste Rodin sit on Deep Impact’s roll of honour as a sire? If we use Timeform as a guide, he is right up among the very best. His rating of 128 places him on level terms with Group 1 Tokyo Yushun winner Kizuna (one of seven winners of Japan’s Derby for Deep Impact) and Fierement, twice winner of the Group 1 Tenno Sho (Spring) at Kyoto.
All three are one pound shy of the 129-rated A Shin Hikari, who achieved his two lifetime best performances outside Japan, taking the Group 1 Hong Kong Cup and Group 1 Prix d’Ispahan. On official ratings, his mark of 123 is the same as Fierement and behind A Shin Hikari (127), Contrail (126) and Glory Vase (125). Whichever way you look at it, Auguste Rodin is one of the very best Deep Impacts and should be afforded a decent opportunity to carry on his sire’s legacy.
Speaking of legacy, the Japan Cup and Triple Crown winner Deep Impact could really do with a worthy heir. So far, only five sons have sired a Group 1 winner and only Kizuna among the five has sired as many as two. This is one area where he lags behind his own sire Sunday Silence, who has 27 sires of Group 1 winners, among them Hat Trick (14), St Leger winner Continuous’s sire Heart’s Cry (now on 12), Stay Gold (10), Fuji Kiseki (8), Daiwa Major (7), Gold Allure (6) and Manhattan Café (5) among many other successful sire sons.
Sire sons of Deep Impact, who died at the age of 17, have a lot to live up to, in that Deep Impact’s own numbers seem to be unassailable. He has sired 197 stakes winners, 156 of them at Group level, and a remarkable total of 59 Group 1 winners.
Moreover, given that black-type opportunities in Japan are meagre to say the least, his 11.5% stakes winners is very impressive and his 9.2% Group winners even more so. Just to put this in context, only the very best in Europe, where black-type opportunities proliferate compared to Japan, get beyond 10% Group winners to runners, Frankel with 12%, Dubawi on 11.7% and Galileo on 11%.
A strong feature of Deep Impact’s legacy has been his success in Europe, where he has sired 22 stakes winners from just 74 runners, a remarkable
strike-rate of 30%, while his Group winners to runners rate comes in at an equally impressive 22% from 16 Group winners.
Auguste Rodin is clearly the best of the group and they also feature Classic winners Saxon Warrior, winner of the 2,000 Guineas, Oaks scorer Snowfall, French Oaks and Nassau Stakes heroine Fancy Blue, Prix du Jockey Club victor Study Of Man and Poule d’Essai des Pouliches winner Beauty Parlour.
Stakes on day two of Irish Champions Weekend.
Saxon Warrior may not have set the breeding world alight this year, but he has a strike-rate of almost 10% stakes winners to runners.
It would be foolish to draw any conclusions from Saxon Warrior’s quieter season. For one thing, rated 124 and best over a mile, he is a different proposition to Auguste Rodin, whose dam and family are of a higher order. His dam Rhododendron won the Fillies’ Mile as a two-year-old before finishing runner-up in both the 1,000 Guineas (to Winter) and Oaks (to Enable). It wasn’t until the back end of the season that she returned to the winner’s circle in the Prix de l’Opera.
Remarkably, three of Deep Impact’s six European Classic winners – Auguste Rodin, Snowfall and Saxon Warrior – are out of mares by Galileo, while another, Fancy Blue, is out of a mare by Galileo’s sire Sadler’s Wells.
Of course, one of Deep Impact’s sons to have sired a Group 1 winner is the Coolmore-based Saxon Warrior, who got his stud career off to a good start when his son Victoria Road (from Auguste Rodin’s family) won the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf at Keeneland last year. Saxon Warrior’s six first-crop stakes winners also feature Lumiere Rock, who won the Blandford
Then as a four-year-old, she stepped back to a mile to land the Lockinge Stakes. Rated as high as 120 by Timeform, Rhododendron was still nowhere near as good as her magnificent Galileo full sister, the 128-rated Magical, whose seven Group 1 victories featured two runnings of the Irish Champion Stakes.
They are both out of the Aidan O’Brien-trained Pivotal mare Halfway To Heaven, who scored three times at the highest level between a mile and ten furlongs, and she in turn is a daughter of an excellent sprinter in Cassandra Go (by Indian Ridge), a King’s Stand winner (when run as a Group 2) who also finished second in the July Cup.
So, with a 120-rated dam, a 118-rated granddam and 119-rated third dam from a top-class family built on speed, it is easy to get excited about Auguste Rodin’s prospects as a stallion.
“Auguste Rodin is right up among the very best sired by Deep Impact”
Speak to anyone ahead of this season and the perception of those young sires with first runners was generally the same; that it was the deepest group of first-crop stallions seen for several years, some perhaps even with the potential to become important sires of the future.
As with any generation, there are those right now whose results need to improve if they are not to be left behind by the commercial market, which rightly or wrongly has become so influential in dictating a sire’s future. Yet as anticipated there are also a handful who have the industry excited, in particular Blue Point and Too Darn Hot.
In fact, judging by their early results, it could well be that another major era is on the cusp of opening at Darley, perhaps not too dissimilar to that of their sires Shamardal and Dubawi before them.
It goes without saying that the Dubawi - Shamardal era was an extremely important one for Darley. Dubawi has commanded six figures since 2014 and aged 21, covered 137 mares this season at a career high of £350,000, making him the most expensive stallion in the world. A sire of immense versatility whose stock are renowned for their durability, he is now in the twilight of his stud career but on the track he remains as potent as ever, with the runaway National Stakes hero Henry Longfellow one of the most recent of his 56 Group or Grade 1 winners.
Henry Longfellow, who was bred by Coolmore out of its multiple Group 1 winner Minding, landed the National Stakes on the same card that another son of Dubawi, Eldar Eldarov, won his second Group 1 in the Irish St Leger. Thereby is a brief snapshot of the versatility of Dubawi, with Henry Longfellow one of seven two-year-old Group 1 scorers by the stallion and Eldar Eldarov, last year’s St Leger winner, confirming his place as one of Europe’s leading stayers. Currently in between is a miler of the ilk of Modern Games, who won the Lockinge Stakes on his penultimate start before retirement, Nassau Stakes heroine Al Husn and the top American mare In Italian.
Darley have naturally maintained a heavy investment in his sons to the extent that its roster today encompasses Night Of Thunder, Too Darn Hot, Ghaiyyath, Space Blues, Naval Crown and Postponed.
Modern Games will also join the group next season.
Night Of Thunder is among those to have done plenty to ensure that Dubawi’s legacy, and thus that of his short-lived sire Dubai Millennium, is already assured for some years to come. Other sons New Bay and Zarak, both of whom are out of Zamindar mares, also sit among Europe’s most popular stallions. And now it looks as if Too Darn Hot, the latest high-profile son with runners, is following suit.
Prior to Dubawi’s Group 1 Curragh sweep courtesy of Henry Longfellow and Eldar Eldarov, the day had already showcased a bit of Dubawi magic in the Moyglare Stud Stakes, which was fought out by two granddaughters in Fallen Angel, by Too Darn Hot, and Vespertilio, a member of Night Of Thunder’s final €25,000 crop before he jumped to €75,000 and beyond.
The Karl Burke-trained Fallen Angel had already entered the record books as Too Darn Hot’s first winner back in late May when successful at Haydock and then as his first stakes winner in the Sweet Solera Stakes at Newmarket in mid-August. She took another step forward at the Curragh, quickening off a prominent position to burst clear of the pack alongside Vespertilio before outbattling that rival to win. Another Night Of Thunder filly, Ornellaia (one of five black-type performers by the sire inbred to Urban Sea), dead-heated for third.
Now the 8-1 favourite for next year’s
1,000 Guineas, Fallen Angel is the type of first-crop flag-bearer that every stallion master dreams about. But it doesn’t end there for Too Darn Hot. Less than a week later at Doncaster’s St Leger meeting, another Karl Burke-trained filly, Darnation, ran away with the May Hill Stakes having previously taken the Prestige Stakes at Goodwood.
Then there is Carolina Reaper, winner of the Baden-Baden Zukunfts Rennen in Germany and Son, who ran third in the Stonehenge Stakes at Salisbury. The two-time winner Zenjabeel, who was a late withdrawal from the May Hill Stakes, Alyanaabi, who ran fourth in the Pat Eddery Stakes at Ascot after winning at Salisbury, and the Godolphin maiden winners Bauhinia and Race The Wind, also look potentially smart prospects.
Of course, hindsight is a wonderful thing and it’s easy to say now that Too Darn Hot possesses all the attributes to succeed. For starters, he was an excellent racehorse who was a three-time Group 1 winner and champion two-year-old for his owner Watership Down Stud, who bred him out of its champion mare Dar Re Mi and therefore from their lynchpin Darara family. In turn, Darara was a half-sister to leading sire Darshaan. The presence of Singspiel as his damsire also adds another line of Sunbittern, also the fourth dam of Dubawi.
It was a package that supported an opening fee of £50,000 with the end result that Too Darn Hot boasts a first crop of 121
foals, many of them extremely well-bred youngsters in the hands of leading connections.
Fallen Angel, the first homebred Group 1 winner for her owner Steve Parkin’s Clipper Logistics, is one such animal. Bred at Parkin’s Branton Court Stud in Yorkshire, she is the fourth and sadly final foal out of his May Hill Stakes heroine Agnes Stewart, a daughter of Lawman from the family of Definite Article. Given that Agnes Stewart was out of a Dalakhani mare, Fallen Angel is inbred 4x5 to Darshaan’s dam Delsy, a pattern she shares with other Group 1 performers such as Best Of Days, Western Hymn and Shankardeh.
As for Darnation and Zenjabeel, they represent a variation of the increasingly prominent Dubawi - Galileo cross that has been showcased to such good effect by Night Of Thunder, Ghaiyyath, Modern Games and now Henry Longfellow. Too Darn Hot’s pedigree contains just one strain of Sadler’s Wells in the fourth generation, so his background was always going to lend itself to the attraction of Sadler’s Wells-line mares, including those by Galileo. With that in mind, Darnation may well mark the start of a fruitful relationship between the pair.
Shamardal sadly didn’t make very old bones, succumbing to a range of health issues at the age of 18 at Kildangan Stud in early 2020. The son of Giant’s Causeway is today credited with close to 170 stakes winners worldwide and 27 Group or Grade 1 winners, among them champions such as Pinatubo, Able Friend, Tarnawa and Blue Point.
Crucially, he was quick to sire a stallion son of note in Lope De Vega, himself a first-crop son of Shamardal who defied bad draws to sweep the Poule d’Essai des Poulains and Prix du Jockey Club for Andre Fabre.
A flashy resolute galloper with plenty of pace, Lope De Vega has developed into a stalwart of the Ballylinch Stud roster thanks to a regular supply of top-class horses, starting with the Dewhurst Stakes winner Belardo and later encompassing an Irish 2,000 Guineas winner in Phoenix Of Spain, Group 1-winning sprinters such as The Right Man and Santa Ana Lane, last year’s Prix du Moulin heroine Dreamloper and top American performers Newspaperofrecord, Aunt Pearl and recent Saratoga Derby Invitational winner Program Trading.
At the same time, Lope De Vega’s early sons to stud are holding their own; Belardo threw five stakes winner in his first crop, including the current North American Grade 1 winner Gold Phoenix, while
Phoenix Of Spain’s first runners are headed by the Vintage Stakes scorer Haatem and highly regarded dual winner Spanish Phoenix in a start that bodes well for a horse who tends to throw scopey stock in his sizeable mould.
Doncaster’s St Leger meeting also provided further evidence of Lope De Vega’s growing status as a broodmare sire in the Park Hill Stakes winner Sumo Sam, a genuine and progressive daughter of the Newsells Park Stud stalwart Nathaniel. There are nine stakes winners in total out of mares by Lope De Vega, whose oldest daughters are 11 years old. Others include the recent Group 3 winners Self Belief and Statement, both of whom are out of Ballylinch Stud’s productive mare Fact Or Folklore.
Newbury while Shady Lady is a Listed winner in France and Godolphin’s Dazzling Star is Grade 1-placed in Canada.
At the time of writing, his 159-strong first crop had thrown 37 winners in Europe and eight stakes performers overall. There were also a number of promising novice winners waiting in the wings, including the Shadwell-owned pair Elmonjed, who is unbeaten in two starts, and Raqiya, an impressive winner at Salisbury and Haydock.
Again, hindsight is a wonderful thing. Blue Point was not only an exceptional sprinter but he was extremely tough, as illustrated by his wins in the King’s Stand and Diamond Jubilee Stakes five days apart at Royal Ascot in 2019. He’s a strong, good-looking horse and tends to throw that strength in abundance.
His first yearlings, bred off a €45,000 fee, were popular at the sales last autumn and come the spring, the word was good from the breeze-up community, something which was further supported when he threw two early winners, Action Point and Valour And Swagger, before Tattersalls had hosted its Craven Breeze-Up Sale in mid-April.
The sire of the moment, however, is Shamardal’s son Blue Point. Barely did a day go by in August and September when he wasn’t represented by a winner or top three finisher, and at Doncaster he was back in the news again, this time thanks to the highly impressive Flying Childers Stakes scorer Big Evs.
The Mick Appleby-trained colt burst on to the scene when breaking his maiden in the Windsor Castle Stakes at Royal Ascot to become his sire’s first stakes winner. From there, he went to Goodwood, where he won the Molecomb Stakes in bad ground. While an assault against older horses in the Nunthorpe Stakes subsequently backfired, he was certainly back on song in the Flying Childers, where a flying start gifted him an early widemargin lead that never looked like being pegged back.
Were Big Evs his only high-profile runner, then Blue Point would still be popular. However, that is far from being the case.
Rosallion looked a potential top-notcher when running away with the Pat Eddery Stakes at Ascot. The Richard Hannontrained colt later ran a slightly underwhelming third in the Champagne Stakes at Doncaster but remains exciting nevertheless. Another son, Action Point, also landed the Rose Bowl Stakes at
At this stage, it is unlikely that Blue Point will be denied champion first-crop sire honours. He leads in every metric in Europe bar winners to runners, in which his highly creditable figure of 41 per cent falls only narrowly behind Phoenix Of Spain on 43 per cent (at the time of writing for stallions with more than five runners).
Blue Point was a Group 2-winning two-year-old who progressed with age and it will be surprising if a number of his progeny don’t do the same, for all that several were plying their trade early on.
We may look back in several years and regard 2023 as the turning point in the Shamardal legacy at Darley. The operation is in the enviable position of having three young sons with first runners next year, all with serious Group 1 credentials. The Dalham Hall-based Pinatubo was a champion two-year-old and with several of the early yearling sales in the bag, already boasts an average close to 160,000gns. Kildangan Stud is home to French champion two-year-old Earthlight, while Haras du Logis offers the Prix Jean-Luc Lagardere and Poule d’Essai des Poulains winner Victor Ludorum, whose interesting pedigree offers two lines of the influential mare Helen Street.
No one can dispute the effort made by Darley to cultivate sons of Dubawi and Shamardal, and it is something for which they are now being well rewarded. The future of each sire line looks to be in safe keeping.
“Group 1 winner Fallen Angel is inbred 4x5 to Darshaan’s dam Delsy”
Corrective orthopaedic surgeries are performed on foals and yearlings as elective procedures to improve their odds of reaching their full athletic potential, increase their sporting longevity and ultimately increase sales value. These surgeries can be broadly categorised into osteochondrosis removal, angular limb deformity correction, flexural limb deformity and management of subchondral bone cystic lesions.
This is variable, and the time window to correct some orthopaedic problems is short, therefore it goes without saying that we need to be aware of the optimal time to operate during their development.
For angular limb deformities it is important to note that growth plates close and after this has occurred, the growth potentional and angulation cannot be influenced. When operating to prevent fetlock varus (toeing in), the distal cannon bone closes at approximately six months with decreased growth after three months; this will affect fetlock angulation. However, the distal radius and distal tibia growth plate closes at two years so knee and hock varus angular deformities are operated on as yearlings.
Osteochondrosis fragments can improve/resolve up to 18 months of age, therefore removal of these lesions should be delayed until their yearling year. When a foal becomes contracted (flexural limb deformity), medical management can be initiated but if the foal fails to respond at that point surgery is often indicated to prevent secondary complications.
When evaluating foals and yearlings, another consideration should be whether there are any time constraints in relation to sales and sales prep. This needs to be incorporated into our planning matrix to determine when lesions are best operated on.
The drive to achieve a desired limb conformation is to maximise their athletic ability, limit injury and
manage the stresses of training to increase sales value by creating a protective conformation. An angular limb deformity is diagnosed when the limb deviates from the frontal plane. The most commonly affected joints are fetlocks followed by the knee and hocks. There is a heritability for conformational traits, as well as acquired causes such as physitis, a heavy weight and nutrition. A varus deviation is seen as the lateral aspect of the limbs grows faster compared to the medial side of the limb.
To diagnose an angular limb deviation, a dynamic evaluation is very important, ensuring the patient is assessed walking on a flat surface away and towards the assessor as well as standing square. If deemed necessary the growth plate can be assessed for closure with radiographs and if the deformity is severe radiographs can highlight congenital abnormalities.
To treat a fetlock varus, the foal is ideally operated on at approximately 8 weeks and no later than 12 weeks. For a carpal deviation, placement of a transphyseal screw between 12-16 months is the aim, however if there is a severe carpal valgus it may be necessary to treat as a foal.
Treatment options include conservative management as well as surgical. The foal should be evaluated at six weeks of age. Farriery includes trimming and placement of lateral extensions to increase the force going through the outside of the foot and decrease growth on that side. Care needs to be taken not to distort the hoof capsule at this age. However, as the foal is closely monitored over the next 2-4 weeks, care does need to be taken with nutrition, so their weight gain is controlled. If improvement is not seen, a quick decision needs to be made about surgery.
Surgical approaches include:
• growth acceleration i.e. periosteal strip
• growth retardation i.e. transphyseal screw, transphyseal bridging with screw and wire or staple
• osteotomy/ostectomy – reserved for adults with severe deformities
Data sets in small groups of foals indicate that periosteal strips have no effect on growth, so this is less commonly performed currently. However, there may be a place for this in foal carpal valgus. The procedure is performed under a quick general anaesthesia, via a small incision on the outside of the limb for a carpal valgus and the periosteum is elevated to speed up growth on this side.
Recovery is fast from this procedure.
Transphyseal screws are more commonly performed and favoured out of the corrective surgical options to treat fetlock and carpal varus.
Baker et al. showed yearlings treated for carpal varus with this procedure compete as well as their siblings that were not diagnosed with this angular limb deviation. The surgical procedure is performed under a brief anaesthetic with a small incision, on the outside of the limb for a knee or fetlock varus, and a screw is inserted across the growth plate to retard growth on that side.
Serial evaluation is essential both preand post-operatively to ensure surgery is the correct option and that we reach the correct angulation once the screw is placed; if the screw is left in place longer than is needed, overcorrection can occur. Post- operative bandaging and stall rest for between two and three weeks is desired. The screw is removed typically standing with sedation and local anaesthetic. Screws can snap as the implant is removed; this has no long-term effect but in the short term will require an anaesthetic and special equipment for removal.
These deformities occur in the sagittal plane where a joint is held in an abnormal flexed or extended position. This is typically seen in growing horses. Common regions where these
flexural deformities occur are the coffin joint region or fetlock region. Less commonly these are seen in the pastern or knee. It is thought to occur in rapidly growing foals where the bone growth is greater than the musculotendinous units, which can be hereditary or related to nutrition. Pain has also been blamed for flexural deformities; when growth rate in the soft tissue and bones are not matched, this is painful, leading to the development of a contracture.
Diagnosis typically occurs between one and six months of age and is made via thorough routine assessments on solid ground where angulation of the foot can be seen. Conservative management consists of correcting the nutritional plane, ensuring appropriate calorie intake and assessing balance of minerals. If still on the mare, weaning early or decreasing the mare’s concentrates may be required. Pain relief and exercise to control any painful stimuli can be helpful. Farriery is important, especially in flexural deformities in the coffin joint region where rasping the heels over time can help treat contracture.
performed at the same time. The outcome is favourable if a mild to moderate contracture is corrected.
A definition of osteochondritis dissecans (OCD) is the failure of endochondral ossification with the formation of fragmentation. It is thought to be related to impaired or damaged vascular supply to the immature cartilage that is ossifying and occurs at specific predilection sites. These include sites in the hock, stifle and fetlock. OC lesions can form and heal back with no intervention, hence these should ideally not be removed until that time frame to repair has passed which varies between joints. At 12 months of age most lesions are considered to be permanent though some can improve up to 18 months in the stifle and new lesions can form in the fetlock up to 18 months old.
OCD is caused by several factors culminating in loose cartilage and fragmentation of the subchondral bone. These factors consist of nutrition with trace mineral imbalances being important, rapid growth/large size, hormonal imbalances and genetic links. Trauma or exercise can then loosen OCD fragment
For contracture in the coffin joint region: desmotomy of the inferior check ligament, or rarely a tenotomy of the DDFT. The inferior check ligament desmotomy is made through an incision on the side of the limb and the accessory ligament of the DDFT is isolated and transected under a general anaesthesia.
For contracture in the fetlock joint region: desmotomy of the inferior or superior check ligament. The latter is performed typically tenoscopically, the accessory ligament of the SDFT is transected in the carpal sheath
Post-operatively, the convalescent period is short and farriery will need to be
Clinical signs can be variable. When the horse isn’t working, they are often clinically silent with no overt lameness or joint effusion and are detected on screening radiographs. Once in work they can cause joint effusions and lameness at high speed, hence the need for treatment. Treatment consists typically of arthroscopic fragment removal. This is keyhole surgery, under a general anaesthesia. The yearling would typically be admitted the day prior to surgery and discharged the day after surgery all being well. Rehab is often between 4-8 weeks of restricted exercise.
It is important to note that opinion is varied as data is lacking in this field, though it is probably reasonable to suggest that the veterinary profession would agree some fragments are more likely to cause an issue than others. The international veterinarians and market are less forgiving, believing more fragments are likely to cause lameness, joint effusions and/or hinder a foal or yearling’s athletic career. Sometimes this may actually only be seen in that horse’s second career and decrease the risk for osteoarthritis.
Exact examples of where there are varying views on degree of impact of osteochondrosis lesions in a horse’s career are seen below:
• This accessory carpal bone fragment is rare and many would not link this to lameness but on the rare occasion you can get joint effusion.
Yearlings are screened and decisions are made as to whether to remove the fragments with the stud manager, farm veterinarian and surgeon. Recently a surgery has been developed to pin cartilage flaps back down on the lateral trochlear ridge of the stifle. This surgery works before the cartilage ossifies. This is an arthroscopic procedure where absorbable darts/pins are placed through the cartilage flap securing it to the subchondral bed with the aim of resolving or decreasing the size of the lesion as the weanling grows. This would require earlier radiographic screening to assess whether that weanling would benefit from this surgery.
in animals treated under three years old; however, size, location, pre-existing joint pathology and clinical signs will also play a role in success.
• However, hock DIRT lesions and stifle lateral trochlear ridge OCD lesions are more concerning and often cause effusion even as a yearling.
• Then proximal P1 fragments in the fetlock are variable; whether they are dorsal or palmar/plantar (front of the joint vs back of the joint) could affect the possibility of lameness and the jury is still out on these.
Outcomes are favourable: 75% of hock OCD removals will race with a decreased risk of osteoarthritis. The outcome is good in the fetlock especially if no wear lines and with stifle lesions the outcomes are better the smaller the lesion.
The pathogenesis of SCB cysts is debated; it is often considered part of the osteochondrosis disease and a failure of the endochondral ossification process, however other research groups put these down to trauma. Common predilection sites are the medial femoral condyle, distal cannon bone and distal P1. Clinical signs are variable, they may be silent and found on screening radiographs or they can be associated with lameness and joint effusion typically at the start of training. Diagnosis is typically made by radiography.
There are many treatment options, and when this is the case it typically indicates nothing has been found to be successful routinely. The size of the lesion, location of the subchondral bone cyst, age as well as the intended use will all play a role in the selected treatment for that specific animal. Overall success is better typically
As a yearling or two-year-old,, the favoured treatment options are currently a transcondylar screw which alters the biomechanics and loading of the condyle to promote bone formation; or insertion of an interference (absorbable) screw after curettage. The first is performed by radiographic and often arthroscopic guidance; a cortical screw is placed in lag fashion across the cyst. The 7mm inference screw is inserted via a drill tract under radiographic guidance, with curettage and flushing of the cyst prior to insertion. This screw can’t be visualised on radiographs, which is seen as one of the main advantages to this technique. Typically, there is a 4-8 week period of rest.
Other treatment options include intra-lesional corticosteroid injection under general anaesthesia, cyst curettage (debridement via arthroscopy or through the bone) and also grafting techniques performed via arthroscopy to fill the cyst and promote bone formation.
In summary the aim of these corrective surgeries is to help that foal or yearling reach its full potential. Improving conformation with transphyseal screws; removing osteochondral fragments via arthroscopy; and trying to help heal subchondral bone cysts with a screw placement are thought to help achieve this aim. These surgeries are minimally invasive with typically short post-operative lay-up periods, and the outcome to race
good.
Gut health and how to maintain or restore it in thoroughbreds has been a hot topic for many years now. Horses have evolved as grazing animals and they possess a unique digestive system which is anatomically tailored to this lifestyle. Obviously, the majority of thoroughbreds will have restricted access to grazing throughout most points of their life, albeit at varying degrees, and this can lead to suboptimal health and therefore reduced performance.
Louise Jones, Nutritionist at Connolly’s RED MILLS, says: “We know that the microbiome is very sensitive and can easily become upset by factors such as stress, medication, changes in diet or routine. Therefore, supporting a healthy microbiome should be something every horse owner needs to consider.
“All bodily systems rely on the absorption of nutrients – if this is hindered in any way, there will be a knock-on effect. The better we can understand the way in which our horses’ digestive system works and how it sustains the body, the more chance we have of implementing appropriate management and feeding practices.”
In an adult horse, the whole gastrointestinal tract represents around 12% of the total bodyweight (around 60kg in a 500kg horse), it is around 30m in length and around 60% of the digestive tract is taken up by the large intestine. The GI tract can be split into two main parts: the foregut and hindgut. The foregut consists of the mouth, oesophagus, stomach and small intestine, which is very similar to that of our own. The hindgut consists of the caecum and large intestine (colon) and is similar to that of a cow.
Digestion begins in the horse’s mouth where ingestion triggers the production of saliva, consisting of mainly mucus to provide lubrication whilst the food is ground down via the premolars and molars. Saliva is also alkaline, which acts as a buffer for the stomach acid. A horse’s lips and incisors are key to selecting and gathering forage and regular dental checks are crucial to ensure forage can be ground down sufficiently in preparation for further digestion.
Once the feed has been thoroughly
chewed, approximately 3,000-3,500 times for long stem hay, it will travel down the oesophagus to the stomach where extensive breakdown of the feed will occur. The one-way valve into the stomach is called the cardiac sphincter –this is very strong and muscular, and it is what prevents a horse from being able to regurgitate. The stomach is actually much smaller than you would imagine, around the size of a rugby ball!
Horses possess the smallest stomach in relation to body size of all domestic animals, with a capacity of around two to four gallons. Due to this, the bulk of digesta will spend very little time in the stomach, around 45 minutes, which links into the common understanding that horses are trickle feeders. The lower area of the stomach (squamous) is unprotected from the hydrochloric gastric acid, as nature intended for the stomach to always have a small amount of digesta in it, therefore creating a barrier between the acid and the sensitive mucosa. The equine stomach produces gastric acid continuously, at differing rates, whether the horse is eating or not.
Once in the small intestine, proteins, fats, simple carbohydrates (sugars), vitamins and minerals will be further digested and absorbed through the intestinal wall into the circulatory system and used for bodily function. The small intestine is around 20-25m long and digesta moves through the intestine at approximately 30cm per minute. Bile, from the liver, will also be secreted through a duct following activation
via acid within the feed matter – bile is thought to be heavily involved with the breakdown of fats. It is essential that all simple carbohydrates are broken down and absorbed in the small intestine, as the hindgut is incapable of their absorption, and lactic acid will be produced instead. This can be detrimental to the hindgut’s microbiome/PH level and can have far reaching effects on a horse’s health.
In under three hours from ingestion the digesta will move into the hindgut where it will undergo fermentation and absorption via the billions of bacteria and micro-organisms that make up the gut microbiome. The digesta will remain in the hindgut (caecum and colon) for two to three days. The natural diet of herbivores consists of grasses and vegetation which contain large amounts of complex carbohydrates e.g. hemicellulose, cellulose, pectins and lignin. These carbohydrates can only be broken down via the gut’s microbiome and the relationship between the two is symbiotic, meaning one cannot be present without the other.
Via fermentation, the primary energy source – volatile fatty acids (VFAs) –are produced and absorbed, alongside water, electrolytes and amino acids. VFAs account for as much as 70% of a horse’s daily calories and therefore energy. Lastly, the digesta will move through the small colon where any remaining water is absorbed and faecal matter is produced in readiness for exit via the rectum.
Armed with an understanding of how horses digest food, it is easy to
comprehend how any upset within this specialised system can have a catastrophic effect on their overall health and performance. The most common gastric disturbances seen within our industry are gastric ulcers, changes within the hindgut microbiome and colic. All of these can be interconnected depending on a horse’s individual situation and can cause serious implications if not diagnosed and treated accordingly.
Thoroughbreds in training will require an increased number of calories in their diet in order to sustain the heavy workload asked of them. The majority of energy for muscular work will be obtained via absorption of glucose, VFAs, fats and amino acids. Excess glucose will be stored in the horse’s liver, tissues and muscles as glycogen; this is particularly important for horses in-training who will call on these glycogen stores regularly and need them to be restored efficiently.
There are many innovative feeds available these days which will provide our horses with exactly what they need, right down to the micro minerals and vitamins. These feeds will have guidance on the quantity to feed, often advising splitting feeds as much as possible and never
horses in-training are likely to be a 4 or 5. The body condition of a horse is a direct correlation between energy input and output. for example, if you are feeding a highly nutritious and calorific diet, coupled with high quality forage to an in-foal mare and they are not looking well, it is a strong indication that there is something inhibiting their nutrient absorption.
Fertility is a subject that will be at the forefront of many breeders’ and stud managers’ minds all year round. There are different ways in which we can try and improve fertility in both mares and stallions, and providing the correct nutrition is a vital component. As an industry, we put an enormous demand on our breeding stock, particularly our stallions, many of which will cover a vast number of mares per season. It is thought that a stallion’s energy requirement will increase by up to 25% during the covering season.
until around the four to six-month mark, following a rapid period of maturation from two months of age. Almost from birth a foal will gradually ingest and ‘build’ a microbiome full of good bacteria from their mother’s milk, udder, the outside environment, and older horses’ droppings.
If a foal is, for any reason, under increased stress/on limited turnout, this can be detrimental to the gut microbiome and extra support may be required. At the time of weaning, careful consideration should be taken to minimise stress and provide good quality forage. Although grain will often be fed, this should be in very small amounts and careful monitoring of growth undertaken.
feeding more than the recommended amount in one portion. However, no matter how well thought out the feed is, or how rigidly we follow the feeding recommendations, if a horse’s gut is not in optimum health, whether this is due to gastric ulceration or an unbalanced hindgut microbiome, absorption will be inhibited and essential nutrients will be lost.
Without the correct nutrients, racehorses and breeding stock alike cannot perform to the best of their ability, and, if not corrected, they will inevitably become ill or develop longstanding issues. It sounds obvious but a healthy horse will have optimum body condition – they will look well, not undernourished and not over-nourished. Using the nine-point Henneke system, a score of 5 to 7 would be optimum for stallions and broodmares;
Studies have indicated that this demand on stallions can predispose these individuals to digestive issues which will inhibit nutrient absorption. It is possible that we can supply breeding stock with all the high-quality nutrients they require, but if their digestive system is compromised it could all be in vain. Supplementation with omega-3 fatty acids can help support stallions with fertility issues via improving sperm motility and concentration.
In addition, studies have shown that providing extra Vitamin E in a stallion’s diet will help protect their sperm from degeneration via free radicals, which are seen in higher levels during the covering season due to stress.
A healthy gut microbiome is also incredibly important in the early stages of a thoroughbred’s life. Post birth, the foal will receive colostrum from their mother. This contains an abundance of antibodies that will quickly be absorbed via the small intestine within 24 hours of life. The foal’s hindgut will not be able to digest and sufficiently utilise large amounts of forage
There is also mounting evidence that the health of the microbiome has a direct link, called the microbiome-gut-brain axis, to the horse’s nervous system via the vagus nerve. Research is ongoing, but there is much support from researchers to suggest that an imbalance in the gut microbiome can affect a horse’s behaviour in ways such as lethargy, fatigue, anxiety, being highly strung or showing uncharacteristically hormonal behaviour, all of which can be detrimental to wellbeing and performance.
The horse’s immune system is closely linked to around 80% of the gastrointestinal system. The reason for this is to allow careful monitoring of potential harmful microbes which may have been ingested. However, if the microbiome becomes unbalanced, monitoring will become difficult, therefore leaving the horse’s immunity response compromised.
Hoof health is also largely dependent on correct nutrition, so much so that changes in the horse’s diet can be seen in the hoof growth. To ensure strong and healthy hooves, the body needs a supply of sufficient energy, protein, minerals and vitamins. If the digestive tract is inhibited and these nutrients cannot be adsorbed and utilised correctly, it may well have an effect on hoof growth and health.
“Innovative feeds will provide horses with exactly what they need”Providing constant access to good quality forage is important GEORGE SELWYN
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The single most important thing we can do to keep our thoroughbreds’ guts healthy is to mimic their natural way of feeding as much as realistically possible. This means providing constant access to good quality forage and allowing turnout at every opportunity. Jones adds: “Feeding to support a healthy microbiome in the hindgut includes providing optimal amounts of forage, which act as a food source for the good bacteria, while avoiding excessively large cereal-based feeds as this can result in undigested starch entering the large intestine.”
Where possible, try and pre-empt any management changes or events which are likely to cause stress and counteract this with additional dietary support in the form of a pre or prob-biotic supplement or paste. Limit the amount of grain (starch based) feed; if additional calories are needed, fat is a much better choice due to the large quantity that horses are able to digest and absorb. Always make any feed changes gradually, allowing the microbiome to adjust accordingly.
Finally, every thoroughbred is an individual and they should be treated
as such – what works for one may not work for another. The key is to monitor horses’ behaviour, performance and condition and make changes accordingly, always thinking about the demands they are under at any given time. Jones says: “There is an old adage ‘no hoof, no horse’ but with our advancing knowledge of the role and importance of the gut
microbiome, perhaps we should be saying ‘no healthy microbiome, no healthy horse’.”
If we can use all of the information available to us to facilitate feeding a diet which will support and enhance thoroughbreds’ GI tract health, we can help to minimise the unavoidable risks associated with racing and breeding.
Not every racehorse can expect to achieve ROR status!
Perhaps you have a horse that needs a break or some rehab after an injury. At the Racehorse Retirement Centre, horses lead a relaxed retired life, while receiving daily care to ensure health and happiness.
If you or your syndicate have a horse no longer fit for the track, get in touch. Our undulating pastures mean a basic level of fitness is kept up as well as offering good shelter. After a life of working hard and giving pleasure to their owners, it’s what they deserve. Owners will receive a 6 monthly report with photos of their horse to keep you informed and in touch with your horse. Visits are welcome by appointment.
Daniel and Claire Kübler train together with a team of horsemen and women at stunning Sarsen Farm. A purpose built yard in the heart of Upper Lambourn. Key to the team’s success is skilful horsemanship. This is augmented by the couple’s analytical mindset. Keeping up to date with the latest research and collecting data give horses trained at Sarsen Farm a winning edge. “For us training is about watching, feeling and listening to each horse. Communicating within the team is critical, so that we can get the best from every horse’, explains Claire, who holds a degree in Natural Sciences from Cambridge “Science enhances our understanding of each horse”.
netted his owners over £100,000 in prize money since being bought last October. Identified by Daniel & Claire as a five year old, the talented horse’s career seemed to have stalled, yet careful analysis of his form pointed to a way forward. The scientifically driven thinking that is prevalent at Sarsen Farm identified an optimal diet and training routine to help him express his ability, winning a heritage handicap at the Ebor Meeting.
“Whilst the numbers don’t lie, you need the horsemanship,” Claire points out. “Feedback from work riders and grooms can provide as much insight into a horse’s state of mental and physical state as numbers. Winning both Lycetts Team Champions and Leadership Awards recognised we’ve worked hard to build up a great team of horsemen and women to care for the horses here at Sarsen Farm. They can pick up on the subtle cues of a horse, such as if it’s still maturing physically or doesn’t quite mentally understand what it’s doing. Then you can come up with ideas together as a team. You’re always trying to find ways to help get an edge on the track—to get more winners” says Claire.
Utilising science allows the Küblers to develop happy, healthy horses — “I’d like to say our horses are very sound and durable,” notes Claire. Something that the results seem to back up, their string contains many multiple winners, often continuing to improve with age. Helm Rock is a prime example, bought as a yearling by Daniel & Claire, the 100 rated gelding has won 7 times from 29 starts. The couple’s clients benefit in other ways too “Owners enjoy the insights and gain a better understanding of how their horse is developing and where their potential is” she says. Daniel adds “It’s very much a team game at Sarsen Farm, we all win together.”
British racing expands initiatives.
Daniel is keen to emphasise the team’s approach to training with a scientific perspective: “Lots of things are done the way they’ve always been done, and you can normally work backwards and find that the reason they work is because, scientifically, it stacks up. The exciting times are where you look at the science and you identify a better way.” Daniel loves reading about sports science, studying scientific papers and listening to podcasts to get ideas. “It’s about looking for winning edges and ways to deliver better care. You only have to look at other sports to see the massive changes the use of data is making. From the way athletes are identified, how they are developed, and ultimately the way games or races are won.”
From simple measurements like weights through to heart rates and stride patterns, if you can measure it on a horse; it is safe to say the team at Sarsen Farm are probably doing it. It can be analysing changes to the feeding regime, or calculating the airflow in the barns to ensure optimal respiratory health. “The thing about data is that the more you collect and study the more you can learn from it, every day we can improve on the past because we’ve got more insight” offers Daniel.
A good example of the importance of this analytical mindset in action is the progression of Astro King under the couple’s care. The 36,000 Guineas purchase has already
You want to do the best for each horse so you’re developing a sound horse that can achieve its optimum. At Sarsen Farm an analytical approach together with excellent horsemanship gives your horse a winning edge. Please get in touch to talk to us about how we can help your horse to win or join one of the new partnerships being launched this autumn n
In 2021, the Horse Welfare Funding Review and the management and aftercare segment.
Contact Daniel on 07984 287 254 or Claire on 07714 294 172 Sarsen Farm, Upper Lambourn, Berkshire www.kublerracing.com
The report found that provision has grown organically provide a blend of promotional opportunities for thoroughbreds career. While retraining offered by a mixture of charitable bodies, there assessment, methodology health and welfare provision to forecast and budget
The review’s recommendations areas to improve the sector welfare commitments: traceability and data; accreditation; education; communication. improvements on behalf Retraining of Racehorses to be provided by the
#ThoroughbredCensus2023
Since going live at the end of June, details of 4,000 former racehorses have been submitted as part of Britain’s first ever Thoroughbred Census. Led by British Racing’s Horse Welfare Board, in partnership with research experts at Hartpury University, the ambitious six-month project aims to enhance the sport’s data bank and improve traceability of thoroughbreds after they have been retired from racing, a key commitment from the sport’s welfare strategy, ‘A Life Well Lived’.
With improved data, British Racing and its aftercare charity, Retraining of Racehorses (RoR), can better support owners with access to educational resources and routes to compete if desired, as well as continue to build informed and helpful communities. Improved data at this stage of a thoroughbred’s life can also help the Horse Welfare Board and RoR improve and adapt welfare initiatives and will, most importantly, enable fast and effective contact in the event of an equine disease outbreak.
The primary source of traceability for all horses in Great
Britain is the equine identification document (passport), which new owners of any horse are required to update within 30 days of new ownership. Data for former racehorses reduces significantly after their first step out of racing, when they go into private ownership, with general ownership change compliance at an average of 20% across the equestrian world. The reasons for this are presumed to be a lack of understanding of the importance of this step, confusion on costs, the desire to hold on to the document after a horse has died and general apathy to engage in the process.
As a result, an additional objective of the census has been to communicate to private owners and encourage them to take action, to check their horse’s passport and if needed, to get it updated. At the same time, owners of horses who were registered with a licenced British trainer in their past are being encouraged to register their horse for free with RoR to help with ongoing traceability via RoR’s annual status checks on all members’ horses.
The census will run until 31st December and will
collect data including equine identification document (passport) numbers, microchip numbers, age, current residence, and second career choices. This wealth of information will enable British Racing to build a comprehensive understanding of the retired racehorse population for the first time.
Over the final 3 months significant efforts will be focused on communicating to all corners of the British equestrian community to encourage participation - from racing yards to riding schools. With the ambition to achieve over 12,000 completed surveys, the support of the racing community will be essential.
“We have made a really positive start, but we need the trainer and owner community to get behind this initiative to achieve success. Please get involved, complete the census for former racehorses still with you at home, promote the census to those who have purchased one of your former racehorses, and encourage any friends who have taken on a thoroughbred from the sport to participate. Together, we can make a significant shift to close the traceability gap in our sport”.
Helena Flynn, Programme Director Horse Welfare Board- Former racehorses who have been registered with a licensed British trainer
- Horses bred for racing in Britain that will never race
- Horses that have moved abroad and are no longer racing
- Horses actively point-to-pointing
- General broodmares
Excluded from the census:
- All horses that are intended to go into training or are currently in training
- When a horse comes out of training and the racing ownership is terminated, Weatherbys becomes the valid ownership recognised by DEFRA and the Central Equine Database.
- When a horse is retired from racing, the passport reverts back to the Weatherbys owner from the racing owner (usually the breeder) so the passport must be updated at this point.
- It is a legal requirement to register ownership with the Passport Issuing Organisation within 30 days of acquiring a horse. All Thoroughbreds are issued with paper and digital passports (ePassport). If the paper passport is updated the digital passport will also be updated www.weatherbys.co.uk/ epassport
- Weatherbys must be informed at point of death and the passport returned - the passport can be sent back to an owner as a keepsake if requested in a covering letter.
For information go to: www.weatherbys. co.uk/general-stud-book/horse-passports/ passports-gb
- Do you own a former racehorse? Complete the census at www.ror.org.uk/ registration Or use the QR code below to access the census directly
- Have you sold racehorses into private ownership?
- Have you gifted racehorses in their retirement?
- Do you know anyone with a former racehorse? Promote the census and actively encourage people to participate.
If you would like to contact the Horse Welfare Board about any of its ongoing work, please get in touch via info@racehorsewelfare.co.uk
The special section for ROA members
Nominations will be announced this month for the 41st ROA Horseracing Awards. Taking place at the Royal Lancaster Hotel in London, the black-tie event on December 9 will once again celebrate the equine heroes and their owners from the past year.
A total of 16 awards will be presented on the night, each of them decided by the votes of ROA and Racegoers Club members.
Who will take the main honours of Horse and Owner of the Year?
Last year saw an epic battle for top billing between Shadwell’s brilliant colt Baaeed and Kirsten Rausing’s wonderful filly Alpinista. Will unbeaten gelding Constitution Hill add to the outstanding novice hurdler title he won last year?
Members will be sent an email containing all the voting details at the end of October.
Tickets for the black-tie evening cost £235pp (inc VAT) or a table of ten for £2,250 (inc VAT). Head to roa.co.uk/ events to book your tickets.
Regional Awards nights
In addition to hosting the ROA Horseracing Awards, the ROA is also supporting a number of regional award events scheduled across the country. These occasions are a chance for local racing communities to come together to celebrate their successes on the track:
Welsh Racing Awards
Thursday, November 2
Venue: Vale Resort, Cardiff Vale
Price: £75pp
To book: https://www.chepstowracecourse.co.uk/whats-on/the-welshhorse-racing-awards
Northern Racing Awards
Friday, December 1
Venue: Newcastle Racecourse
Prices: £105pp or £50pp for stable staff.
To book: https://racingwelfare.co.uk/ events/
Epsom Awards
Saturday, December 2
Venue: Epsom Racecourse
Prices: £100 pp/£1,000 for a table of ten, or a reduced rate of £60 for stable staff (copy of stable staff pass must be provided upon booking).
To book: https://www.tickettailor.com/ events/racingwelfare/981787
Our contact details:
@racehorseowners
It’s not too late to claim a 15% discount on The Furlong Club package at British Champions Day at Ascot on Saturday, October 21.
Britain’s richest raceday, with over £4 million in prize-money available, always provides fantastic action on the track, whilst a new feature this year will be the sale of 12 elite horses in training in the parade ring before racing. This boutique sale will be staged by British Champions Series in partnership with Goffs.
Members can enjoy this feature day from the exclusive marquee, which is just a short walk from the paddock.
The package includes Winning Post Enclosure badge, a glass of champagne on arrival, four-course
lunch, complimentary bar, afternoon tea, racecard and racing newspaper plus car parking label. Guests will be seated on a reserved shared table for the day, with groups of 8-12 enjoying a private table.
Members can claim a 15% discount on the advertised price, bringing the total for members and their guests to £367 (inclusive of VAT).
Bookings can be made by contacting the sales team on either hospitality@ascot.com or 0344 346 3000.
York hospitality
We have also linked up with York racecourse to offer a hospitality package at York’s final meeting of
the season on Saturday, October 14. Featuring the Coral Sprint Trophy and Rockingham Stakes, the sevenrace card brings the curtain down on another fantastic season of racing on the Knavesmire.
Our special package for Racehorse Owners Association and Racegoers Club members includes:
• Entry ticket (usually £35)
• Use of a private box
• Buffet lunch
• Complimentary drink
• Cash bar
The price is £60 per person (inc VAT). To reserve your place, please email info@roa.co.uk with your name, membership number and the number of tickets you require.
With news outlets reporting that customers are dissatisfied with HMRC’s long call waiting times, it can be tiresome to go through the process to apply for a new VAT number.
Don’t let this deter you as the ROA VAT Solution is on hand to help. Our VAT team are experts at applying
for new VAT registrations and are knowledgeable in all VAT matters governed by the registration scheme for racehorse owners (VAT notice 700/67).
From appeals and VAT submissions to fielding HMRC queries, the ROA VAT Solution will successfully take care of all HMRC communication, so
that you can focus on the sport you love.
If you are considering registering for VAT, or changing your VAT service provider, feel free to get in touch with our dedicated VAT team today on vat@roa.co.uk or call the office on 0118 3385 685 to speak with Davina or Glen.
Nominations are open for the 2024 Thoroughbred Industry Employee Awards, sponsored by Godolphin. This year marks the 20th anniversary of the Awards, which will be presented on Monday, February 26, 2024.
With a massive £128,500 in prizemoney available across six categories, the Thoroughbred Industry Employee Awards are a great opportunity to shine a spotlight on the hard-working and devoted people working in British racing and breeding.
The categories are:
David Nicholson Newcomer Award
Open to employees who have worked in the racing or breeding industry for less than three years as of February 26, 2024 (e.g. racing grooms, stud grooms, yard staff, work riders and administration staff).
Leadership Award
Open to employees working in the racing or breeding industry carrying out a leadership or supervisory role, managing two or more staff (e.g. head groom, travelling head person, stud
manager/groom, office manager).
Rider/Racing Groom Award
Open to all stable and stud staff employees (e.g. work riders, racing and stud grooms).
Stud Staff Award
Open to all stud staff employees (e.g. stud manager, stallion handler, stud groom, foaling specialist, stud secretary).
Dedication Award
Open to employees who have worked in the racing or breeding industry for more than 15 years including those in administrative and office roles.
Community Award (in recognition of the late Rory MacDonald and the work he achieved at The British Racing School)
Any individual connected directly or indirectly to horseracing, including auxiliary and administrative roles who has gone above and beyond the responsibilities of their day-to-day role to make a positive difference to the lives of people or racehorses within the
industry, or to charities and communities within which racing operates, and who demonstrate social responsibility and the values of our sport.
The winners from the Leadership, Rider/Groom, Stud and Dedication categories will also be judged for the overall Employee of the Year Award.
If you know someone who is worthy of recognition, please nominate them today by visiting www. thoroughbredawards.co.uk. This might be the person who looks after your horse, ensures the smooth running of the yard or stud, or makes a positive difference to the lives of our horses, people, and racing’s communities.
Nominations can be made via the online form or by video. You can find examples of previously successful written and video nominations on the FAQs page as a guide to consider when making your nomination. Videos to be a maximum of five minutes.
Nominations are open until Tuesday, November 7.
To nominate or for more information about the Awards go to www. thoroughbredawards.co.uk.
With over 60% of racehorses in Britain in shared ownership, the chance to enjoy the thrill of owning a racehorse and increasing the fun of the experience with other racing enthusiasts is now available at an affordable price.
Shared Ownership Days have become a pivotal way to convey this message to racegoers. Held in conjunction with In the Paddock and Great British Racing, the events showcase the thrill of ownership with plenty of activities going on throughout the day, including interviews with syndicate managers, interaction with the
October
raceday hosts and a chance to meet the racehorse.
There is also the opportunity for syndicates to get involved by hosting a stall at the meetings, and even have one of your racehorses paraded in front of racegoers.
Two Shared Ownership Days have already taken place this year, with Windsor holding the first event of the year in August, in conjunction with a Racing League fixture. The night meeting was a good opportunity to showcase the excitement of ownership to a potential new crowd, and was well attended both by syndicates and racegoers.
Musselburgh’s September meeting also hosted a range of syndicates on show, with Grand National-winning owner Cameron Sword on hand to discuss what it is like to be the youngest Nationalwinning owner with this year’s hero Corach Rambler. He is currently managing Claymore Racing, which is specialising in the new area of micro-share syndicates.
There are Shared Ownership Days coming up at Cheltenham for both days of their Showcase Meeting on October 27 and 28, and at Ascot on November 24 and 25, which is headlined by the Grade 2 1965 Chase and Grade 2 Coral Hurdle.
For further information contact Millie Bampfylde at mbampfylde@greatbritishracing. com.
24 – Horseracing Industry Conference, York racecourse
National Stud visit
27 and 28 – Shared Ownership Days at Cheltenham
November
2 – Welsh Racing Awards
23 – RCA Showcase, Aintree racecourse
24 and 25 – Shared Ownership Days at Ascot
December
1 – Racing Welfare Northern Racing Awards, Newcastle racecourse
2 – Racing Welfare Epsom Racing Award, Epsom racecourse
7 – ROA Horseracing Awards, London
Our countdown to the 100th Cheltenham Gold Cup continues as this month we reach the 1970s, a decade when the redoubtable L’Escargot was an ever-present at both Presbury Park and in the Grand National for Irish Ambassador Raymond Guest.
Raymond Guest (1907-1991)
Having purchased a three-year-old for 3,500 guineas at the Ballsbridge Sales, Raymond Guest had planned on naming his newest acquisition ‘Let’s Go’. When discovering that name was unavailable, his immediate response was to opt for the similar sounding L’Escargot – the French translation of ‘The Snail’.
A second cousin to Winston Churchill, Guest attended Yale University before spending much of his time playing polo with his brother – also named Winston – who were both among the country’s top players. During World War II, he served in the US Navy and had risen to the rank of Commander by the time he left the military in 1946. His immediate attention turned to politics, where he was a member of the Senate of Virginia before being appointed the United States Ambassador to Ireland by Lyndon Johnson.
An introduction to trainer Vincent O’Brien five years earlier prompted Guest to purchase a diminutive chestnut colt by 1954 Derby winner Never Say Die. This was Larkspur, who would go on to repeat the feat of his sire and triumph in the 1962 renewal of the Epsom Derby. After the event, Guest donated a portion of the prizemoney to finance the building of a new facility in Cashel, the town close to O’Brien’s Ballydoyle operation, for the benefit of the local community. The owner-trainer combination enjoyed Derby glory again in 1968 with Sir Ivor being produced close home by Lester Piggott to land the spoils.
In the same year Guest also enjoyed success in the National Hunt sphere. L’Escargot made his first appearance at the Cheltenham Festival and won the second division of the 1968 Gloucestershire Hurdle with his regular jockey Tommy Carberry in the saddle.
A victory in the Irish Champion Hurdle and success in the Meadow Brook Chase at Belmont Park followed, with L’Escargot being crowned the US Champion Steeplechaser of 1969 – a title which took a little less winning than it might sound.
Guest’s sights were now set on a return to Prestbury Park and the Gold Cup of 1970. Running not on his trainer’s advice but at his owner’s insistence, the chestnut was sent off a 33-1 shot for the blue ribband event. Kinloch Brae, wearing the Arkle colours of Anne, Duchess of Westminter and unbeaten in four races leading up to Cheltenham, was sent off favourite for the contest before falling at the third last fence when going ominously well. Holding every chance turning for home, L’Escargot was outjumped over the final two fences but ultimately edged clear of
rival French Tan to take the victory. A year on, he lined up the 7-2 joint favourite in waterlogged conditions and powered clear to score by ten lengths. L’Escargot was only the fifth horse in history to successfully defend their Gold Cup crown. Nobody did so again until Best Mate.
In the bid for the holy grail hat-trick in 1972, he was beset by problems and finished fourth. Guest’s focus had shifted to Aintree, where he declared that he would like to win the Grand National. L’Escargot was third and then second in the 1973 and 1974 renewals – with Red Rum stubbornly standing in his way – but in 1975 he became the only horse, along with Golden Miller, to have scaled the twin peaks of steeplechasing: the Cheltenham Gold Cup and Grand National. This was no snail, this was a racing marvel – merci, L’Escargot.
Has there ever been a better farewell tour than the one currently conducted by Frankie Dettori? He has entertained racegoers for over three decades and been a punter’s pal and a scourge of the bookies in that time too. Dettori has lit up so many meetings in his farewell season. Many will argue that he is riding better than ever and shouldn’t be retiring – in fact it wouldn’t be the biggest surprise if he changed his mind. If he had sat down and scripted his final season himself, he would have printed it out, screwed it up and threw it in the bin, as it would have been too far-fetched.
I was there for his Epsom farewell that contained a Group 1 fillies double with Emily Upjohn in the Coronation Cup, followed by his seventh Oaks on Soul Sister. I can honestly say I have never known an atmosphere like it at Epsom. Frankie was electrifying on the two fillies, hurtling down the outside to land the spoils. The scenes in the winner’s enclosure after the Oaks will live long in the memory, with Frankie lifting Lady Bamford off her feet in celebration.
On he went to the Royal Meeting where he landed his ninth Gold Cup on Courage Mon Ami. He broke royal protocol by kissing Queen Camilla during the presentation. However, Frankie can get away with things like that, can’t he? He is unique and will be irreplaceable. At the course he is most closely associated with, where he rode his ‘Magnificent Seven’ over half his lifetime ago, he excelled again and pushed his number of Royal Ascot victories to 81. Like a fine wine, he has improved with age.
It was disappointing that racegoers at the Eclipse and Newmarket July meetings were prevented from seeing him in action, due to him picking up a lengthy ban at Royal Ascot. But in a strange quirk of fate, a similar ban for Jim Crowley allowed Frankie to pick up the ride on Mostahdaf in the Juddmonte International at York. His front-running ride was masterful, as he judged the fractions spot on to bring the Shadwell five-year-old home in front of a small but select field. He wasn’t finished there though and on
the final day he bagged a double with one of his old favourites, Kinross, and then naturally he had to win the Ebor with a horse called Absurde!
All these recent winners got me thinking back to some personal memories of Frankie. I remember being away for a weekend break in Wiltshire in the autumn of 2008. We awoke on the Sunday morning to thick fog, which provided us with some spectacular images of dew-covered spiders’ webs adorning the wooden fence outside our holiday cottage. The fog lifted by mid-morning and we headed off to Bath for an afternoon’s racing. I had never been to Bath racecourse and I was keen to tick it off my list.
Frankie was at Bath to ride Alexandros in the Godolphin blue. Of course, they won the Listed feature race. My wife and I sprinted to get to the winner’s enclosure and were in pole position as Alexandros and Frankie came towards us. Frankie held
his arms out and cocked one hand behind his ear to play the crowd. He was getting ready and so was I. As he leapt into the air, I pressed the button on the camera, but it was one of those APS cameras and it had a second or two time delay. When I looked down at the picture I’d taken, Alexandros looked magnificent, but where was Frankie? On closer inspection all that I had captured of Frankie was his blue cap at the bottom of the photo. It would have made a great choice for the picture round on A Question of Sport! Many years later, I did manage to grab a photo with Frankie at Epsom, but I was so star struck I forgot to tell him my Alexandros story.
There’s not much time left to see Frankie in action, but if you’re going to Ascot on Champions Day, I’m sure you’ll join me and thousands of others in giving him the send-off he deserves. If Frankie has got the script right, he’ll give us some more memorable moments.
The latest Bid to Give auction lot is a complete Randox Grand National experience that guarantees the winner will be the envy of all their racing friends!
The prize begins with an invitation to the prestigious annual Randox Grand National Weights Lunch in February, which will be held at Liverpool’s landmark venue, St George’s Hall.
The Weights Lunch is an invite only event renowned for attracting the who’s who of racing. Previous guests have included Sir AP McCoy, Willie Mullins, Gordon Elliott, Paul Nicholls, Nicky Henderson and Jonjo O’Neill, as well as sporting stars Michael Owen, Sir Kenny Dalglish, Jamie Carragher and Sam Quek.
The Weights Lunch, which
Britain and Ireland have so far enjoyed 17 of the 18 World Pool days scheduled to take place in 2023. However, there is now not one but two extra opportunities for Tote customers to bet into huge pools with exceptional value.
A new World Pool day will take place at Newmarket with four races on Sun Chariot Raceday on Saturday, October 7 before the season finale in Great Britain on QIPCO British Champions Day at Ascot, which offers over £4 million in prize-money.
The World Pool season continued at York’s Ebor Festival last month with excellent racing and more exceptional value for customers, as illustrated by these points:
• Tote Win price beat the industry Starting Price (SP) in 11 out of 21 races, and matched on the remaining ten races, with the Tote overround at 112% compared to an industry overround of 122%.
is hosted by ITV Racing’s Ed Chamberlin, reveals the weights that
the horses will carry in the world’s greatest steeplechase and includes
• Examples of the Tote beating the Industry SP included Nunthorpe winner Live In The Dream paying £41.75, compared to 28-1 (+44% with the Tote), and Yorkshire Oaks winner Warm Heart paying £12.20 compared to 9-1 with bookmakers (+22% with the Tote).
• The Tote Exacta beat the Forecast in 18 of 21 races.
• The Tote Trifecta beat the Tricast in 13 out of 14 races.
In winning a first Group 1 for his owners, Steve and Jolene De’Lemos, and trainer Adam West, Live In The Dream won World Pool Moment of the
an expert panel discussion, a twocourse lunch with drinks included, plus entertainment throughout the day. Following the event, the BHA’s Head of Steeplechase Handicapping, Martin Greenwood, will host a Zoom call with the prize winner to take them through the fascinating process of how the weights are allocated.
On the day of the race itself, the winning bidder will enjoy exceptional hospitality for two at the exclusive Chairman’s Lunch event. They will be hosted in a luxury setting overlooking the course, before experiencing one of the races on Grand National day from a trackside support vehicle as it follows the runners and riders around the world-famous course.
Don’t miss your opportunity to win this unique money-can’t-buy prize and head to bidtogive.co.uk to lodge your bids between October 1-20. Remember, every penny raised through the Bid to Give auction benefits Racing Welfare and racing’s people.
Day, picking up an extra £4,000 for his groom Shoshana Cooksley-Towner who now goes into the draw for World Pool Moment of the Year. You can read more about their ownership journey on the following pages.
With the De’Lemoses being part of the Tote ROA Owners Sponsorship Scheme, Live In The Dream carried Sean Kirrane to success carrying the World Pool and Tote logos on the silks.
Hot on the heels of a Group 1 triumph for horses sponsored under the Tote banner, the classy Bay Bridge got back to winning ways when taking the Group 3 September Stakes at Kempton. The son of New Bay was stepping up to a mile and a half for the first time for owners James Wigan and Ballylinch Stud, and now has a host of big autumn targets under consideration.
The Tote Sponsorship Scheme is an invaluable benefit of membership for owners, enabling them to register for and reclaim VAT on their ownership expenses, including the purchase price of their horse and many associated fees. This can represent an annual VAT recovery of over £4,700 for each horse, benefiting owners to the tune of £7.5m each year.
Sam had grown up around racing. While at college, he undertook a horticulture course which gave him the opportunity to get some work experience at Plumpton racecourse – a role he enjoyed so much that he frequently worked more than his allocated hours.
At the age of 20, he secured an interview at Goodwood racecourse to be a grounds person. Thirteen seasons later and he’s still there.
The role is demanding – it’s not a 9-5 job and the team work in all conditions, but Sam is immensely proud. He says: “I like having an end goal to work towards, something to prepare for – especially Glorious Goodwood. When you see the track looking pristine and you have trainers, jockeys, stable staff and the public saying it looks amazing – that’s a real buzz.
“People think that when the season is over that’s it, but it’s year-round. You have to strip the course, overseed, rake, water and trim regularly to keep on top of everything and ensure it’s always ready.”
The nature of the role means that while Sam is part of a team of six, he spends a lot of time on his own. “You do a lot of tractor work, which means you tend to have a lot of time by yourself and to think about things,” he explains. “I’m a really happy-go-lucky person and always have a smile on my face, but I got to the point where I was struggling, trying to balance work and life. Turning 30 was a big thing for me and my girlfriend noticed that I wasn’t smiling, wasn’t engaging in the same way that I used to.
“I became curious about mental health support but didn’t really know where to go. I followed Racing Welfare on Facebook, and then saw an interview on ITV Racing one day and so I gave them a call.”
Sam called Racing Welfare’s Support Line at the end of 2020 and, following assessment, was referred for some talking therapy.
He continues: “I’d never really considered it to be honest. I had ten one-on-one sessions and it just helped me to get some perspective. I then had some weekly group sessions
over Zoom, and that helped me to realise that I wasn’t the only one going through something like this. It helped me to find different ways of dealing with my anxiety, different ways of thinking about things and just going back to basics – I could still be Sam.”
Sam is very open about how talking therapy changed his life and outlook and hopes that by sharing his story he might encourage others to seek support when they need it. He adds: “Racing Welfare’s support got the ball rolling for me and really got me thinking about my mental health. Now I’ve opened that door I feel so much more confident in going forward and getting help for myself when the pressure of life starts to take a toll.
“I was seeing a local therapist on a weekly basis, but now I see them less regularly and book a session as and when I feel the need to speak to someone, to get something off my chest.
“I’m really grateful to Racing Welfare for the support they gave me and for helping me take that first step. I hope that by talking about it I can help other people recognise when they might need a little support and feel more comfortable coming forward to ask for help.”
To find out more about how Racing Welfare supports racing’s people go to racingwelfare.co.uk.
When Live In The Dream won the Nunthorpe Stakes at York, the first question some asked was when had Epsom last produced a Group 1 winner.
That answer was Harbour Law in the 2016 St Leger. However, the 28-1 success on the Knavesmire was even more profound than that because it was the first Group victory of any kind for an Epsom trainer since that Town Moor triumph seven years earlier.
When the Nunthorpe winner’s owner, ROA member Steve De’Lemos, spoke to Owner Breeder, he had certainly at least begun the descent from Cloud Nine, without perhaps both feet having reached the ground.
Trainer Adam West had also spoken about the victory still feeling surreal days after, and it taking a while to sink in.
Whether there will be a longer-term uplift for a training centre very much in need of one remains to be seen, but for Live In The Dream’s connections, there will always be the memories from the 2023 Ebor meeting.
Explaining his roots, De’Lemos says:
“I grew up two minutes from Epsom racecourse, I used to walk the dog up there and round the track. In those days there were only about three meetings a year, with the Derby run on
a Wednesday.
“There was just a ‘wow!’ to watching the horses go round, everyone used to call it the Sport of Kings in those days but it’s very accessible now. It was a dream of mine to own a racehorse.
“We had our first soiree in that regard with Josh Gifford 20-odd years ago. He was a fantastic person, great fun to be around and made it very enjoyable, albeit we never experienced a win.
“Then we had a share in a horse called Word Is My Bond with some good friends. He was on for a hat-trick at Goodwood but got beaten by a horse of George Baker’s. I met Candida [Baker] at Goodwood, she introduced me to George, and it wasn’t long before [my wife] Jolene and I had a horse with them. We also had Tap Tap Boom, who did very well.”
The link-up with West came via a chance encounter, but it has ultimately led to living the dream.
“I bumped into Adam at a local cricket club, and got a share in a horse with him,” says De’Lemos. “We said, ‘Go and buy us one’, and so he bought Ginge N Tonic, who won at 25-1 at Lingfield.
“The money we made that day was reinvested in another horse at the sales, Live In The Moment. During lockdown he won five out of five, then Adam said his half-brother was coming up for sale, so the money we made from Live In The Moment was used to buy him.
“Philippa Mains, a lovely lady, was at the sales and did the bidding for us. She came on the phone to congratulate us and say we’d got ourselves a nice little horse. And he is a little horse, he’s not even 15 hands. That was Live In The Dream and the rest is history, we’ve got the Nunthorpe winner. What a journey!”
Live In The Dream, known as Fred at his Epsom yard, was already a five-time winner before his York heroics under Sean Kirrane, but only in novice or handicap company; the Nunthorpe was his first try at the top level. If all goes to plan, it won’t be his last.
“He’s small but by God is he quick, he’s gone before most of them are coming out of the stalls, and he’s got a great head and heart to go with it, he’s uncomplicated,” says De’Lemos.
“Ruby Walsh’s analysis after the Nunthorpe was excellent, as he described him as more like a Wesley Ward horse at Ascot than an English horse at York.
“It took a few days to sink in, and the hangover took a few days to get over too. I don’t normally suffer from them, but this one was particularly bad!
“The conversations now are around America, and whether we take him to Keeneland first or go straight to the Breeders’ Cup. We’ve pretty much decided we’ll avoid the Prix de l’Abbaye.
“The Keeneland run would be a prep, just to get him ready for the Breeders’ Cup. It would be Sean’s first ride in America and Fred’s first run, and with a bell that goes off when you start.
It would be a learning curve, and we’d be happy to sacrifice a winning chance to just get him ready for the Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint. The race is on October 7.
“He’s going to need his gate speed in America as they go so quick to the first bend; his early speed will be tested to the limit there, but if he gets there he’s probably not without a chance. Adam thinks he’ll be even better going left-handed.
“The question is how to give the horse the best opportunity to win the
part of it, she looks after our Instagram account. Her brother, Rhys, is autistic. He just loves racing and watches it all the time. All his aunties used to call him one handsome dude, and so we named a horse that, after him. He did win a race at Plumpton but unfortunately suffered an injury and we lost him last year.”
On a happier note, Live In The Dream’s exploits seemed to have a ripple effect as the De’Lemoses other horse, Live In The Moment, had gone three years without a win until running at Goodwood the day after the Owner Breeder interview and ended the drought.
At the time of writing, he is also a six-time winner, having undergone a change of scene when moved from West to Alice Haynes in Newmarket before his 2023 campaign.
Turf Sprint. They are nice conversations to have, and he’s come out of the Nunthorpe exceptionally well. I’ve been to Gulfstream a couple of times while on holiday but never had a runner in the States before. You’re talking little ole’ Steve and Jolene here, not Shadwell or Coolmore!
“It’s humbling to be mentioned in the same breath as legends, people you look up to in the sport.”
De’Lemos is a director and shareholder of a Surrey-based insurance broker. He was quick to point out that pleasure does not always come before business, even where his horses are concerned.
“Work takes priority,” he stresses, before adding: “But trust me, I will be at the Breeders’ Cup!
“We are literally, as our daughter Aimee said on ITV, living the dream. The De’Lemoses are going to America. I can’t believe it! We’ll experience everything it’s got to offer. It’s fantastic – how has it happened to us?”
He continues: “Aimee is a massive
Speaking ahead of him putting the record straight, De’Lemos said: “Live In The Moment has been a fabulous horse for us but hasn’t won for three years, which is extraordinary. If someone had said to us three years ago he wouldn’t win for this long, I wouldn’t have believed it. It just goes to show you have got to cherish every win.
“He ran second to Khaadem, who broke the Doncaster track record, in the Scarbrough, ran second at the Ebor meeting, fourth at Meydan – where I had dreamed of having a runner – he’s run some cracking races but just hasn’t got his head in front.
“We moved him to Alice and she’s doing a fabulous job, he seems very happy there. She’s another young upand-coming trainer, and the sport is in good hands. Frankie Dettori’s retiring but look at these young jockeys coming through, and trainers.
“Alice has shown her ability with some of the horses she’s been given by Amo and owners like that, while Adam has done fabulously with Fred.
“This is only the second Group 1 winner from Epsom in 20-something years, so what an achievement for Adam. I hope it’s a sign of things to come for Epsom – nothing would please me more than to see Epsom start to go places.”
“He’ll need his gate speed in America as they go so quick to the first bend”
Over 60 TBA members and ACCESS subscribers representing Flat and National Hunt breeding operations from a broad range of counties across Britain convened at Askham Bryan College in York for the Worm Workshop in August. James Crowhurst (MRCVS) compered the afternoon’s discussions, where delegates were reminded of the need for diagnostic testing to guide wormer administration and the importance of regular removal of dung from paddocks.
Charles Cooke (MRCVS) gave an overview of equine parasite life cycles and made recommendations on how to construct worming and testing programmes for breeding and young stock, whilst parasitologist Kathryn Knock discussed faecal worm egg counting and showed slides of worm eggs and specimen jars of mature parasites.
TBA Trustee and stud owner Kate Sigsworth led agronomist Paul Overton in a discussion on pasture management, to understand how to mitigate the risks of exposure during turn out, especially to more susceptible groups of horses. Avoiding over-grazing of paddocks would prevent horses being forced to graze latrine areas and crossspecies grazing with cattle and sheep was noted to be extremely useful in breaking parasite life cycles, as larvae
and worm eggs would be ingested by non-host species. The value of resting paddocks was also emphasised, with rotation of different aged horses on each individual paddock on an annual basis recommended as best practice.
The afternoon’s activities concluded with Jacqui Matthews (FRCVS) and Laura Peachey discussing findings from the latest research in this area and the challenges of anthelmintic resistance. The increased use of saliva and blood ELISA tests for detecting exposure to
encysted cyathostomin and tapeworm would help preserve the efficacy of the drugs available.
The presentations were all thought provoking and many delegates left thinking about what extra measures could be implemented on their stud farms.
Recordings of some of the presentations from the day are available via TB-Ed (www.tb-ed.co.uk) and are free to access for members and ACCESS subscribers.
There is no doubt that TBA members are finding it increasingly difficult to recruit good staff. As an industry, we are not alone, and we must recognise that the domestic labour market is very competitive.
The problem has been compounded by additional restrictions on recruiting from abroad post-Brexit as well as an an increasing demand from staff to review the traditional working hours and rotas which we have long been accustomed to operating on stud farms.
The TBA is working hard to find solutions in many areas but under three broad headings. The first two are aimed primarily at the domestic workforce – both finding and promoting working practices which provide an attractive career opportunity, as well as providing gateways for potential staff combined with opportunities to develop their careers within the industry. As we all know, most key skills need to be developed in the workplace, but the fast-growing TB-Ed provides a highly accessible opportunity to develop
knowledge at multiple levels.
The third heading for the TBA’s ‘recruitment and retention’ initiatives is to identify gateways to enable recruitment from abroad. The TBA has recently negotiated a discount for members who would like to use Migrate UK to assist them through a tricky pathway.
Migrate UK have established a good track record with the National Trainers Federation and are already supporting some breeding operations. Despite the discount, the solution can be expensive – at its highest, in the region of £5,000 to the employer to recruit a person from abroad for one year – but the overall cost per employee year diminishes considerably either if recruiting multiple people and/or if recruiting for longer periods. Good employment practices are required, and minimum pay levels are specified, but Migrate UK are well equipped to provide guidance and assistance throughout the process if required.
A recorded webinar providing more information will be available on TB-Ed at the end of October. The TBA is also
The TBA’s annual Stud Farming Course takes place from December 12-14 at the British Racing School in Newmarket.
The course will cover a wide range of stud management topics encompassing care of the broodmare and foal from mating plans and conception, through foaling to the yearling stage, and includes bio-security and infectious diseases, nutrition and grassland
management, management of congenital and acquired growth defects and sales preparation and procedures.
Also included are visits to a stud farm and veterinary practice, a course dinner on the first night and a behind the scenes tour of the British Racing School.
The course fee is £438 (incl VAT) for TBA members, or £564 (incl VAT) for non-members, and includes the course
supporting the British Horseracing Authority in their application to the Migratory Advisory Committee for inclusion of specific roles on the Shortage Occupation List, and if successful, this could further reduce the cost of recruiting from abroad.
Further information on Migrate UK can be found on the TBA website.
dinner on the first night, lunches and refreshments. A discount is available for group bookings of four or more delegates sent on the course by employers.
The TBA offers a bursary scheme for individuals who require support for educational courses or CPD activities, and the course is CPD accredited by the BHA.
For further information and to book a place on the course, visit the events page on the TBA website.
Nominations are now open for the 2024 Thoroughbred Industry Employee Awards, sponsored by Godolphin, and will close on Tuesday, November 7.
In total there is £128,000 in prize-money spread across six categories and the awards celebrate the skill and dedication of the exceptional people working across British racing and breeding.
Studs have a strong record of success, with representatives from Dunraven Stud, Watership Down Stud
and Hascombe & Valiant Studs winning the overall Employee of the Year Award in recent years.
If you know someone who deserves to be recognised for their commitment and contribution, no matter what sector of the breeding industry, whether it is horse facing or administrative, nominate them for an award at www.thoroughbredawards. co.uk.
The month kicked off on the downs at Goodwood where Britishbred runners were in fine form. Amongst them was the Maywood Stud-bred Vandeek, a colt from the second crop by Whitsbury’s Havana Grey, who captured the Richmond Stakes. Just over two weeks later and the colt reappeared at Deauville, where he ran down Ramatuelle for Prix Morny success.
Another dual stakes winner in the month was Kinross. The son of Kingman, bred by Lawn Stud, took top honours in both the Lennox Stakes and City of York Stakes.
Setting off from the front and running and sustaining a high tempo is the way Quickthorn runs. He proved not for catching in the valuable Goodwood Cup for owner and breeder Lord and Lady Blyth. He became the latest top-level winner for Nathaniel.
The Newsells Park Stud-bred stallion was also represented by Sumo Sam, who pulverised the opposition in the Lillie Langtry Fillies’ Stakes.
The rain that fell in the early part of the month ensured Hamish’s participation in the Glorious Stakes and the Brian Haggas-bred gelding captured his sixth Group win.
British-foaled Paddington followed up wins in the Irish 2,000 Guineas, St James’s Palace Stakes and Eclipse Stakes with victory in the Sussex Stakes. He was bred by the Wildenstein family’s Dayton Investments.
Having found the going far too soft for her liking in the Sussex, Frankel’s daughter Inspiral bounced back 11 days
later to retain her Prix Jacques le Marois crown – she joined Miesque, Spinning World and Palace Pier as back-to-back winners of the historic contest.
Later in the month and the Pocock Family-bred Melo Melo gained a deserved first stakes success in the Prix de Pomone.
In the US, the Fittocks Stud and Arrow Farm and Stud-bred Program Trading, trained by Chad Brown for Klaravich Stables, made the leap from maiden and allowance winner to top-level scorer in three steps when capturing the Saratoga Derby Invitational Stakes. A couple of days before and the Essafinaat UK Ltdbred McKulick, a daughter of Frankel, captured the Glens Falls Stakes.
In Virigina at Colonial Downs, the Juddmonte-bred Set Piece, a son of Dansili, put in an impressive home straight sprint to overhaul the field and win the Arlington Million.
On the west coast at Del Mar, Anisette, bred by the Morera Partnership, won the Del Mar Oaks, displaying a sharp turn of foot and winning by nearly three lengths.
Dalham Hall resident and freshman sire Too Darn Hot was represented by a pair of first-crop Group winners in the shape of Sweet Solera Stakes scorer Fallen Angel and Zukunfts-Rennen heroine Carolina Reaper
Other winning juveniles included the Gimcrack Stakes victor Lake Forest, bred by John and Tanya Gunther’s Sahara Group Holdings, the An Ghalanta Partnership-bred Miaharris, a daughter of Zoustar and winner of the
St Hugh’s Stakes, the Richard Tuckerbred Graceful Thunder, a daughter of Havana Grey and victorious in the Prix de la Vallee d’Auge, while the Roses Stakes fell to the Glebe Farm Studbred Inquisitvely, and the Champion 2 Yrs Old Trophy was captured by the Juddmonte homebred Task Force, a son of Frankel.
Salisbury staged its usual midAugust two-day meeting, with each day featuring stakes action. On the first day, the Car Colston Hall Stud-bred State Occasion, a daughter of Iffraaj, was an impressive winner of the Upavon Fillies’ Stakes, whilst the following day there was a dead-heat for Sovereign Stakes honours. Embesto (Roaring Lion), bred by Deerfield Farm, and Mighty Ulysses (Ulysses), bred by Hascombe & Valiant Studs, shared the spoils.
Sea The Moon’s daughter Terms Of Endearment, bred by Andrew Whitlock, ploughed through the sloppy conditions to take the Give Thanks Stakes at Cork.
In the Strensall Stakes at York on Ebor day, the Frankel gelding Spirit Dancer, who was bred by Sir Alex Ferguson and Niall McLoughlin, came out best against five rivals.
That day was a benefit to Ralph Beckett runners and in addition to Kinross, Lezoo added to the trainer’s haul. The daughter of Zoustar, bred by Chasemore Farm, returned to form in the Hopeful Stakes.
Earlier in the month, Heredia, a St Albans Bloodstock homebred, won the Dick Hern Stakes at Haydock Park.
Results up to and including August 31. Produced in association with GBRI.
The TBA welcomed Olly Batchelor to the team in August as the newly appointed Marketing & Communications Executive. Olly joins as part of the team tasked with promoting the TBA, membership, events and its initiatives. He will also lead the event team for the Flat Stallion Parade in February and the annual Flat Breeders’ Awards Evening.
Olly has developed his skills and experience across a variety of roles in both racing and thoroughbred
breeding. He has worked across several stud farms, including Meon Valley Stud and Little Avondale Stud in New Zealand. A Leeds University graduate, Olly has a particular interest in pedigrees, form analysis and marketing, which ultimately led to him venturing into broodmare ownership and racing syndication.
Commenting on his appointment, Olly said: “I am delighted to join the TBA and be working in an organisation where the focus is on protecting the long-term future of the thoroughbred and the interests of the British breeder.”
Date Course
October 9 Stratford
October 24 Hereford
November 3 Wetherby
November 15 Bangor-on-Dee
November 21 Fakenham (fillies)
November 27 Kempton Park
December 1 Doncaster
December 11 Ayr
December 14 Taunton
December 20 Ludlow (fillies)
December 21 Exeter
October 6
Annual General Meeting, Jockey Club Rooms, Newmarket
October 19
Regional Day at Paul Nicholls & The Glanvilles Stud
December 12-14
Stud Farming Course, Newmarket
TFL have published their updated guidance with changing ‘direct vision standard requirements’. From October 2024, Heavy Goods Vehicles over 12 tonnes will be required to have a three-star rating or fit a progressive safe system (PSS) of vehicle safety measurements to operate in Greater London.
The changes to the scheme aim to further enhance the safety standards of HGVs operating in the capital, reducing the risks to vulnerable road users such as people walking and cycling.
The final Border Target Operating Model (BTOM) was published on August 29 setting out the timeline for a new border control regime for the import of SPS goods from all third countries into Great Britain (GB).
The BTOM includes a commitment to streamline the format and content of the Export Health Certificates (EHCs) for live animals, and animal products imported into GB. These are available via the gov.uk website.
The new model certificates do not change the
requirements for importing live animals and animal products into GB, and will be operational from April 30, 2024.
Defra will be running a series of training sessions to prepare traders for the new Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) import controls (certification and border checks) within the new BTOM. For more information visit the Defra website.
The TBA recognises the vital importance of screening for the presence of EHV-1, enabling a rapid response to all positive cases, preventing further spread of the disease and providing necessary information and up to date advice.
While EHV-1 is not notifiable by law, we encourage breeders to inform Stanstead House of all cases of equine abortion or neonatal foal death. This allows monitoring of any disease outbreaks for which immediate action is paramount.
A £200 subsidy towards the cost of a post-mortem is available to members who meet the full criteria. Full terms, including an online form, can be found on the veterinary page of the TBA website.
While the smart stayer Quickthorn starts his winter break at Lemington Grange Stud, for which he earned nomination as the TBA’s Breeder of the Month for August after his thrilling Al Shaqab Goodwood Cup win, his owner Lady Blyth is looking forward to an active and potentially rewarding time in October.
As well as being the holiday retreat for Quickthorn, Lemington Grange, in Moreton-in-Marsh, is home to half a dozen mares owned by Lady Pamela Blyth, her husband James and their daughter Abigail.
“We’re very small breeders,” Lady Blyth explains. “We send the mares to various studs, mainly in Newmarket, where Peter Stanley will have them at his New England Stud, and then as soon as we know they are in foal, they come back here.”
Stanley is closely associated with the Blyths’ October excitement, as he is preparing their three entries in the Tattersalls yearling sales, a rarity for Lemington Grange.
Quickthorn’s dam Daffydowndilly was bought as a foal for 72,000gns, after Lady Blyth expressed an interest in having an Oasis Dream filly to breed from, and she won three times for her. She will be represented at the sales by Tardaff, a filly by Bated Breath, while Quickthorn’s half-sister Belated Breath follows on as the dam of Late Star, a filly by Zoustar.
The trio is completed by If Dora Could, an Iffraaj filly out of Camdora, a 120,000gns breeze-up buy in 2014 who was a dual winner for Jamie Osborne and struck with her second foal to race when Ormolulu won over six furlongs in August carrying Abigail Blyth’s colours.
An obvious theme is emerging: all
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would have been a huge mistake to sell.”
Quickthorn was her foal at foot, and at the time of the potential sale she was carrying a Sir Percy filly, who as Lady Percival notched her fourth win from 15 outings at the beginning of September. The year after Lady Percival came the Cityscape colt City Streak, whose third win at Ascot in July took his career earnings over £60,000.
three yearlings are fillies and all three have already been named.
“We don’t usually sell our young horses,” Lady Blyth explains. “We run them on, with Andrew Balding, Hughie Morrison and Jamie Osborne, and see how they go. If they are not going to make the top and just win handicaps, we sell them.
“But for three years we had nothing but fillies, so now we’ve got so many that we had to do something about it, which is why we’re selling at Newmarket. Then, of course, we’ve ended up with more colts this year, such as Daffydowndilly’s foal by Nathaniel, named Scarlet Legend.
“As for naming them, we always do that shortly after they are born. It’s one of my husband’s joys to think up the names.”
Lady Blyth still raises her eyes to the heavens when reminded of one potential dispersal that did not materialise, when Daffydowndilly went to Tattersalls as a ten-year-old in February 2018 and failed to make her reserve.
“Thank goodness we didn’t sell her,” she says. “Peter Stanley had suggested a reserve, and having also spoken to Luke Lillingston, they said we absolutely shouldn’t let her go under 30,000gns. Thankfully, we took their advice because it
“Daffydowndilly is nothing special to look at, and whatever she’s bred to, the foal seems to take after the sire,” Lady Blyth muses. “Some are sprinters, others want a distance. It’s strange, isn’t it, but very interesting.”
The Blyths’ interest in racing and breeding stems from the National Hunt code. Lady Blyth explains: “My mother bred jumpers and my brother, Freddie Campbell-Dixon, was a jockey who sadly lost his life at the age of 28 riding in a novices’ chase at Ludlow in May 1970.
“When my mother died, we inherited the National Hunt mares but after a while my husband said he was fed up not having a lot of success and with a friend he bought a Flat mare and a colt. It’s just gone on from there.”
One of the original mares, bought as a foal for Ir72,000gns, was Papillon De Bronze, who never ran but at the age of 12 produced a Beat Hollow colt, who under the name of Not So Sleepy has compiled a record of five wins over hurdles, including a dead heat with Champion Hurdler Epatante in the Fighting Fifth Hurdle, and five on the Flat, as well as a third and two fourth places in the Cesarewitch Handicap. All being well, he returns for the Newmarket marathon this month, seeking to put the cherry on top of the October cake for Lemington Grange Stud.
For registered Lots view our sales page
Jack Channon had big boots to fill when he took over the trainer’s licence from his father Mick at the historic West Ilsley stables, once home to turf greats Brigadier Gerard, Nashwan and Dayjur. His father, the former Southampton and England striker who scored over 250 goals during his first career, had triple Arc runner-up Youmzain among his 2,500 plus winners after switching sports, many of them at Group 1 level, but the days when the yard regularly sent out more than 100 winners a year, and as many as 144 in 2003, were long gone. Jack, now 30, has been an integral part of the operation for years and is the man charged with restoring the stable’s fortunes, having made a most encouraging start this season.
I’ve been very pleased with how all the horses have run. It’s not the biggest team, but there are real pockets of quality. We’ve also managed to place those of lesser ability well, and I think we’ve succeeded in maximising their abilities. We’ve got 70 horses in, with 50 or so on the go at any one time, and I’ve been pleased with the way they have held their form. I’d have loved to have had a stakes winner and a couple of big Saturday winners, but it will happen. I know there’s lots of improvement to come when we get our hands on some better stock.
Caernarfon has been a terrific flagbearer for us this year – we were all very proud when she finished in the frame in the two Classics. The aim through the winter was always the 1,000 Guineas. For her to turn up on the day and show that she was that level, and then to roll on to Epsom and go so close in the Oaks, was a massive thrill for the whole team. She’s being freshened up for something in the middle of October. We didn’t put her in the Fillies & Mares on Champions Day, simply because I think that trip on soft ground would stretch her stamina. Johan was another highlight when he won the big mile handicap at Glorious Goodwood.
The quality races on QIPCO British Champions Day are very much the level we want to be aiming for. We didn’t make any entries at the initial stage this time,
but there’s a chance we’ll supplement Gather Ye Rosebuds. The Musidora was a step too far after her winning debut at Newbury, but she then put on 35 kilos before she ran at Hamilton, where she beat a very good horse of William Haggas’s. She’s a very talented filly with a great cruising speed and plenty of stamina, and if Hamilton had come before Ascot’s entry stage, we would definitely have put her in. She’s owned by Mrs Pat Shanahan and Mrs MV Magnier, and if she went and won the Princess Royal or something like that, she’d be well worth supplementing.
We’ve got some amazing clients, many of whom have been with us a very long time, and I’m delighted with the stock they send us, but we are always looking to expand and we want to be dealing with genuine Classic prospects again. Historically, West Ilsley Stables has always been a Classic yard, and I’d love to be training for some of those ownerbreeders whose bloodlines stretch back generations. We’ve never had a Frankel or a Sea The Stars here, and we’ve only had one Kingman. We had a Dubawi once, and we won the Firth of Clyde with her, but we’ve never had one since.
There are no shortcuts to getting our hands on those bluebloods. All we can do is prove to people that we can maximise the potential of their prized possessions as well as anyone. If we keep doing that, people will notice. It’s like scoring goals in the reserves. If you score enough of them, eventually they’ll have to pick you for the first team. Our currency is winners – and the better the winners the stronger the currency.
Dad is still very much involved here. He’s got an unbelievable eye for bloodstock and he’s an integral part of the team. It’s a joy for me, and I hope it’s a joy for him. He’s my sounding board and when I run ideas past him he’s there to tell me if I’m
completely stupid or just a little bit stupid. And believe me he does! We are both similar in that respect and neither of us holds back. We don’t pussyfoot around each other and if one of us feels that something is wrong, we say so.
If that’s how we are similar, I suppose the main difference is how we got here. Dad had to fight and claw his way to the top in two very different sports, and in his early days in racing he was never afforded the luxury of patience. If he didn’t get results straight off the bat, he was history, and in lots of circles he never quite felt part of the club. I’m lucky in that his success here has allowed me to be more patient, especially with those more stoutly-bred types.
We’ve got a five-year plan and the good news is that we are staying here at West Ilsley. It’s been on the market, as everyone knows, but the only reason we were thinking about selling is that we weren’t sure we could run the business successfully. After the season we are having we have had a good look at everything and with some of the new support that’s been coming in we’ve come up with a plan that we can make work. We’ll probably stick to 70 or 80 horses for the next two or three years, but in five years’ time I’d like to have expanded the string up to 120 or more. Among them we want to see some better quality so we can compete regularly at the level dad was at when he was sending out all those Group 1 winners.
I’ve never wanted to do anything other than train racehorses. I’ve always been sports mad, but I had two left feet as a footballer – I remember dad coming to watch me when I was seven or eight and telling me I was useless and so had better stick to the horses. I enjoyed playing but there was no point beating around the bush. It might sound harsh, but it was good advice and I’m very glad of it now.
From the team behind Blue Point and Too Darn Hot...
Horse of the Year, a spectacular talent and the best ever by an extraordinary sire of sires.
Shamardal’s undefeated French Champion juvenile who ran the fastest G1 Middle Park.
Incredible Horse of the Year as a two-year-old. By Blue Point’s sire and from Kodiac’s family.
Their in-demand yearlings: they simply must be seen.
