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WELCOME to the Tattersalls October Yearling Sale
2019
Welcome to this, our fifth, edition of the annual Tattersalls October Yearling Sale Preview Magazine – devoted, as always, to celebrating all that is good about this magnificent sport of ours around the world. With the uncertainty that can affect our industry both at home and abroad, it is sometimes easy to forget the huge impact British and Irish bloodstock continues to make across the globe. And, of course, as we approach another Tattersalls October Yearling Sale, Tattersalls will again host potential buyers from every corner of the planet, all searching for British and Irish-bred horses they know can win top class races across North America, Australia, Europe, Dubai, Hong Kong and beyond. It’s worth remembering that much of this international success is based upon the solid foundations of our industry here at home, and helping to support those foundations continues to be part of the core beliefs at Tattersalls. In 2019, Tattersalls was again a strong supporter of British and Irish Racing, proudly sponsoring four Classic/Group 1 races and six Group 2/Group 3 races. And then there is the remarkable Tattersalls Book 1 Bonus Scheme, which remains the most successful initiative in British and Irish Racing history and which, at the time of writing, has generated more than £4.5 million in bonus prize money. In turn, we must also acknowledge the support of our advertisers, valued clients old and new, who recognise the value of engaging directly with their audience in this increasingly globalized market. Enjoy the magazine. Robyn Collyer – Publisher (on behalf of Tattersalls)
Contributors
JOHN BERRY
ROBYN COLLYER
MICHAEL COX
CARL EVANS
MICHELE MACDONALD
JULIAN MUSCAT
John Berry has been a trainer in Newmarket since 1995, and is also a breeder. He is a regular contributor to various publications including the TDN (USA), Winning Post (Aus) and Al Adiyat (UAE), and is also a TV presenter on At The Races. He is a Newmarket Town Councillor and a former Mayor of Newmarket.
Robyn is a globetrotting Thoroughbred fanatic and a veteran of racing, stud and sales adventures in the USA, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and Newmarket. When not enjoying a cup of tea, you’ll find her at the racecourse.
Michael Cox is a Hong Kong-based racing reporter with the South China Morning Post, and is known for a diverse portfolio that includes an irreverent weekly blog, investigative features and profiles of leading Asian racing stars.
Freelance journalist Carl Evans covers all aspects of racing and breeding, reporting for European Bloodstock News from Tattersalls sales at Newmarket, Cheltenham and Ascot for more than 20 years.
An award-winning writer and photographer based in Lexington, Michele MacDonald has covered the Thoroughbred world for leading publications including Racing Post, Thoroughbred Racing Commentary, International Racehorse and many others for over two decades.
After six years working on stud farms, Julian Muscat took up journalism in 1987. He spent 17 years at The Times and now contributes to a broad range of publications, principally Racing Post.
BILL OPPENHEIM
TOM PEACOCK
NIGEL REID
LIZZY SAINTY
NANCY SEXTON
Bill is a columnist for Thoroughbred Daily News and a leading analyst of the thoroughbred business. He is based in Scotland.
Tom Peacock is a freelance journalist, author and regular contributor to publications such as Thoroughbred Daily News, Racing UK, the Irish Times and Horse & Hound.
Nigel has been involved in bloodstock and media for more than 35 years. He writes on a variety of subjects and is based in Vancouver, Canada, where he owns too many shares in a grey filly called Cindy.
Lizzy works for the French online racing & bloodstock journal Jour de Galop. Previously assistant trainer to John Hammond, she moved to Chantilly for 6 months over 10 years ago, and never left.
Bloodstock reporter, consultant and European representative for leading American bloodstock agency Schumer Bloodstock.
Editorial Consultant: Nigel Reid Publisher: Robyn Collyer Creative Director: Simon D. Thompson Design: Rob Briggs Subediting: Steve Cheney Printer: Page Bros Pictures by Amy Lanigan, Jason Bax, Pat Healy, Sam Barker, Bronwen Healy, Zuzana Lupa, Les Parisiennes, PA Images, racinfotos.com, Laura Green, Henry Nicholls/ Reuters, Racing Post, Hong Kong Jockey Club, etc. To advertise in future editions please contact Robyn Collyer: robyn@barnesthompson.com
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October 2019
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Breeding Champions
Contents 6
In conversation with Edmond Mahony
10
Maximum sire power
16
Attention to detail
22
A superb incentive
28
Returning to the source
36
Royal Ascot 2019
46
Ever the innovator
50
No shortage of class
54
A grand passion
58
A golden opportunity
64
A matter of taste
70
Sand dunes and salty air
76
¤300,000 Tattersalls Ireland Super Auction Sales Stakes
78
Maintaining tradition
84
Rocking all over the world
88
Tattersalls Sponsorship
94
Old Faithfuls
Time Warp
WORLDWIDE SUCCESS Bred at Lanwades Consigned by Staffordstown In 2019 alone 68 Winners/Stakes-placed in 12 countries including ALOE VERA, SHINE SO BRIGHT, ZAAKI, etc. Recent graduates include Gr.1 winners TIME WARP and GLORIOUS FOREVER. HOME OF
BOBBY’S KITTEN
SEA THE MOON
SIR PERCY
BOBBY’S KITTEN
ONLY 3YO EVER to win Gr.1 Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint, beating NO NAY NEVER FIRST YEARLINGS 2019
SEA THE MOON
A Leading 2nd Crop Sire - his Group/Stakes winners incl. ALPINE STAR (Gr.2) – the highest rated 2yo filly in Ireland (as at 27.8.19), QUEST THE MOON (Gr.3 & Gr.1-placed), NOBLE MOON (Gr.3 - Champion 2yo in Germany in 2018), HAMARIYNA (Gr.3), PRECIOSA (LR), PRIVILEGIADO (LR), etc. His progeny earnings are already over £1.4m.
SIR PERCY
Sire of 45 individual Stakes horses including Gr.1 winners WAKE FOREST and SIR JOHN HAWKWOOD info@lanwades.com • www.lanwades.com • Tel: +44 (0)1638 750222
LANWADES The independent option TM
“As a board, we like to put as much back into the industry as we possibly can” – Edmond Mahony 8
October 2019
In conversation with
EDMOND MAHONY The Tattersalls Chairman talks to Julian Muscat about generating new owners, foal-crop size and the implications of Brexit JULIAN MUSCAT: It was another notable year for Tattersalls after near-record turnover of more than 330 million guineas in 2018. How did you assess it? EDMOND MAHONY: These are good times for players at the top end of the market. I thought Book 1 was an amazing sale. We were very lucky: we had lovely horses to sell to a worldwide audience, which made it relatively straightforward. The Americans came over and made a huge difference to the middle tier. Also, I do think that after a period of bedding in, the Book 1 Bonus has caught the imagination of middle-tier buyers, which was good to see. It was more tricky in the middle-to-bottom end, although it has been that way for a number of years now. JM: What needs to change for that tier to rally? EM: Well, the question arises at every industry meeting I attend. A lot of work went into the Thoroughbred Breeders’ Association’s Economic Impact study. I thought it was very well researched, and the study identified a lot of the areas that need help. JM: Should the British Horseracing Authority lead the drive to recruit new owners? EM: In my view, yes. If you don’t have a race programme that supports the bottom tier of the industry, you can’t expect anything to change. Of course there are some good-news stories like Bettys Hope (the £3,000 Ascot yearling purchase who won the £123,000 Weatherbys Super Sprint), but they are few and far between. The need to stimulate ownership is deemed a problem in the circles I move in, but the nub of the question is whether the BHA sees it as part of their remit. I think it should be.
October 2019
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JM: What additions to the racing programme might make a difference? EM: Unless you have a very broad series of races to support the bottom tier – auction races, median auction races, that kind of thing – it is very difficult to raise the bar. For instance, a series of £25,000 auction races for the progeny of sires with a sales average of less than £20,000 would hit a few targets that aren’t being hit at the moment. I recognise that race-planners might feel it isn’t a particularly exciting way to present the sport, but we can’t afford to lose the small breeder. Stuart Williams raised the auction-race concept at the annual industry meeting we host every January. Tattersalls now has three of them, and Stuart very kindly got involved in working out how to make them attractive to trainers. It demonstrated how we should listen to people at the coalface when it comes to helping small owners. JM: Talking of the BHA, what do you make of the authority’s review of sales ring practices? EM: My reaction is that it’s a great opportunity to put something in place that stands the test of time. It should be more than a code of practice: a proper industry forum where the issues can be properly examined and looked at. Having said that, the BHA need to tread carefully. The whole concept will require sensitive management, especially where bloodstock agents are concerned. The aims are good, and I think they have spoken to all the relevant people. (Marketing director) Jimmy George and I spoke to (BHA chief executive) Nick Rust twice, and they were productive meetings. JM: Is there a need for this kind of regulation? EM: There’s almost a perception out there that something needs to be done, but I suspect the reality is that there are very few transgressions, for want of a better word. This perception has been whipped up by people who I would describe as being on the fringes of the business. On that basis, it can’t do any harm to have a body that oversees this area. It will be good to find out the extent of the problem, if indeed there is a problem. JM: Should the BHA get involved in matters like these? EM: It’s a debate that has some way left to run, but my view is that it’s quite hard to be a regulatory authority and also do all the other things they do; projects like Great British Racing, for instance. The two parallel roles (regulation and marketing/promotion) don’t always complement each other. But the last thing I want to do is criticise the BHA; they get enough of that as it is. What I would say is that an “us-andthem” mentality seems to have developed between the BHA and the industry. I don’t believe that’s the best way.
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October 2019
JM: Next year marks the first drop in the size of the annual foal crop for some years. Is that a welcome development from your perspective? EM: I think the reduction in numbers will help because the supply and demand equation has been unbalanced for a while now. That’s nobody’s fault; it’s just the way it is. It’s clear that the market at the top end is very strong, but it is very different at the bottom. I think we have made that clear in the post-sale statements we issue, and I think transparency in that respect is very important. The worst situation for us is when we don’t have a sale for people who want to sell their horses. That’s one of the reasons we started the yearling sale at Ascot, for consignors that didn’t have a natural home. JM: What did you make of the breeze-up sales earlier this year? EM: I think it helped that there were less horses in the system. I thought the Craven breeze-up was remarkably strong and even the sales at the back-end seemed to hold up quite well. The new sale we had at Goresbridge (May 22-23) was very good. There was a 90 per cent clearance rate despite the fact we had 200 lots. At least it showed that people want to buy racehorses. Goresbridge is really the last chance to do that. JM: What prompted you to relocate the Ascot and Cheltenham sales teams to Newmarket earlier this year? EM: Initially we ran the Cheltenham and Ascot business out of Fairyhouse because of the National Hunt connection with Cheltenham, but we thought it better to base it in Newmarket for practical reasons. Matt Prior is now running it. Cheltenham is going extremely well. We’ve got a very good team headed by Richard Pugh, who sources the horses. The results speak for themselves, but because most of the sales are held after racing, it’s always going to be a boutique sale. I was amazed at Cheltenham’s Festival sale in March how many people hung around after racing just to watch. Who knows what interest that might generate? It gives us the opportunity to connect with people we wouldn’t otherwise be able to reach. As for Ascot, hopefully we can grow the business. We have introduced the yearling sale and Ascot has a great name, a brand of quality that maybe the sales hadn’t enjoyed in the past. The one advantage of Ascot is that the horses are not stuck on the end of 1,700 yearlings ahead of them. They have a home of their own.
JM: What are the implications for Tattersalls in a no-deal Brexit? EM: I suspect it’s going to be a continuation of the uncertainty because nobody knows what’s going to replace it. We will go into a transition period where Britain’s future relationship with the EC will have to be negotiated. I suspect a general election will follow unless a deal is done between now and then. Before the creation of the Single Market in 1993 horses from Ireland came to Britain on a sales docket. That docket is (again) in place with HMRC, which is what counts for us. That bit of it appears to be fairly straightforward, but we still don’t know whether it’s going to make any difference in practical terms. I’ve said it before, but all we can really do is wait and see. The referendum took place more than three years ago and the biggest issue has been the uncertainty. Overall, I feel that businesses survive despite the politicians, not because of them. They seem to live in a different world to the rest of us. Somewhat perversely, however, sterling’s devaluation continues to work in our favour. It is attracting buyers from overseas. JM: What else is new at Tattersalls? EM: Well, we sponsored the Falmouth and July Stakes at Newmarket for the first time this year. As a board, we like to put as much back into the industry as we possibly can, and we have renewed our contract at the Curragh to sponsor the two Guineas races and the Tattersalls Gold Cup. I’m sure in time the Curragh will be a great asset to European racing. We are also upgrading parts of Park Paddocks. Starting in January we’re going to redevelop the bloodstock sales office. We’re putting a new building between the buffet room and the sales office, which will be extended. This will create a new reception area. And we’re redeveloping the whole of Solario Yard. We’re relocating all the hay barns and will build a yard with 80 new boxes. The facilities there haven’t been as good as others at Park Paddocks, and that should be finished for the start of the 2020 yearling sales season. Otherwise, we’re continuing to improve the walking and showing areas right across the site, replacing the gravel with rubber walkways. Work started in January and is an ongoing process that will benefit vendors and buyers alike. JM: Thank you.
October 2019
11
Galileo
Maximum
SIRE POWER
The Tattersalls October Yearling sale is the one buyers, consignors, and the whole breeding industry looks forward to. By Bill Oppenheim
October 2019
13
I
n the world’s nearly $1-billion auction yearling market, two sales stand out as the top yearling sales on the planet: in North America, Keeneland September Book 1 (2018 average: $363,780), and in Europe, Tattersalls’ October Book 1 (2018 average: 271,691 guineas, which was then $373,575).
Dubawi
The last two editions of Tattersalls’ flagship October 1 yearling sale have seen records smashed. In 2017 the sale scaled the 100-million guinea mark for the first time, when 349 yearlings grossed 102,290,000 gns, an average of 293,095 gns. With 392 yearlings sold in last year’s edition, a new record gross – for the seventh consecutive year - of 106,503,000 gns was achieved. The 2018 average of 271,691 gns was a seven per cent drop from the 2017 record but still well above all previous years. Sire power is the key to any yearling sale, and the 2019 edition of Tattersalls’ October Book 1 possesses maximum sire power. There are 23 yearlings catalogued by the world’s number one sire, Galileo, and 29 by the world’s number two sire, Dubawi; those two alone account for almost ten per cent of the catalogue of 552 yearlings. But there are plenty more top prospects, too. Juddmonte Farms stands probably the two top young sires in Europe; there are 40 yearlings in the book by the mighty Frankel, the best young stallion in the world, and 41 by Kingman, who has made a sensational start at stud himself. Then there are 31 yearlings by Sea The Stars, which adds up to 164 yearlings – 30 per cent of the catalogue - by Europe’s top five sires. That is sire power in spades.
Frankel
American Pharoah
Then there are another 151 yearlings by other top proven sires like Dark Angel (30), Lope De Vega (25), the venerable Invincible Spirit (17), top French sire Siyouni (14) and Fastnet Rock (13), as well as eight each by Shamardal and Juddmonte’s Dansili, plus the young Coolmore trio of
Golden Horn Camelot (15), No Nay Never (12), and Australia (9). In total there are 315 yearlings – well over half the catalogue – by 15 top proven European sires. It’s a formidable collection.
“There are 23 yearlings catalogued by the world’s number one sire, Galileo, and 29 by the world’s number two sire, Dubawi” – Bill Oppenheim
On the whole it’s the top proven sires which dominate the market, but invariably the new crop of sires attracts much attention. Last year three European sires with their first yearlings were very prominent in the market, and all are back with strong representation from their second crops: Shadwell’s Muhaarar (15 in October Book 1 this year), Darley’s Golden Horn (11) and Coolmore’s Gleneagles (9). All three went to stud for £30,000 or more, which is higher than the highest first-year yearling sire this year, France’s Haras de Bouquetot’s Shalaa, who was a dual 6-furlong Gr.1 winner as a two-yearold (Prix Morny, Middle Park Stakes) by sire of sires Invincible Spirit. Shalaa, who went to stud for €27,500 and was down to €22,000 in 2019, was the highest-priced retirement to stud in Europe in 2017, and has six catalogued in October Book 1.
October 2019
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There are 42 yearlings in the sale by seven sires with their first two-year-olds, including two by the 2015 American Triple Crown winner American Pharoah, besides the 35 by last year’s ‘big three’, as well as three by Night of Thunder, who is himself off to a hot start at stud. There are 53 yearlings by 17 different first-year sires, which averages out to just three each. The highest representation is 11 by Derrinstown Stud’s Awtaad, the 2016 Gr.1 Irish 2000 Guineas winner by Cape Cross, also sire of Sea The Stars and Golden Horn. Besides Shalaa, there are also six by Kildangan Stud’s Belardo, the 2014 Gr.1 Dewhurst Stakes winner from Lope De Vega’s first crop, and five by Territories, another Kildangan sire and another by Invincible Spirit; he won the Gr.1 Prix Jean Prat and was second in three other Group 1 races, including to Gleneagles in the 2015 English 2000 Guineas. There are also yearlings by two first-year yearling sires standing in America: two by Air Force Blue, triple Gr.1 winner and European Champion two-year-old of 2015; and three by Flintshire, who won five Gr.1s, placed in ten more, and earned over $9.5-million racing for Juddmonte. Of course, it’s not all about the sires – though we start with sires as the organizing principle, both because they have so many foals to talk about compared to mares, and also because the sire is the beginning point when assessing a pedigree’s value. But it’s hardly irrelevant that the Tattersalls October Yearling Sale Book 1 includes full- or half-siblings to no fewer than 59 Classic/Gr.1 winners and a massive 243 Black-Type winners produced by the dams of the 522 yearlings. It’s the bellwether European yearling sale, the one buyers, consignors, and in fact the whole breeding industry looks forward to, as Tattersalls’ October Book 1 defines the top of the European breeding market.
Shalaa
Gleneagles
“Of course, it’s not all about the sires – though we start with sires as the organizing principle” – Bill Oppenheim
At Tattersalls last year, you could have bought
a future G3 winner by Night Of Thunder or a Royal Ascot two-year-old by Brazen Beau. This year, our new stallions with first-crop yearlings are Belardo, Bow Creek Buratino, Charming Thought, Territories and The Last Lion. All have top-notch two-year-old form. And the looks. And the pedigree. Which do you love the most? Take your pick. And bid on...
Darley
ATTENTION
to detail
Trainer Mark Johnston has enjoyed huge success buying at Tattersalls for thirty years but, as he explains to Tom Peacock, there is no secret recipe
J
ust as a top Chief Executive should be familiar with every level of their business from the factory floor to the boardroom, thoroughness is the abiding quality in the regime of Mark Johnston.
Not content with managing the exercise and racing fortunes of several hundred Thoroughbreds based around his stable in Middleham, Johnston also selects the vast majority of the next generation himself. And if that was not enough, he is also a qualified vet. Attention to detail explains just why the Scotsman has worked his way from ramshackle premises in Lincolnshire in the late 1980s to last year becoming the all-time record-holding British trainer with his 4,194th winner. Just 58 at the time, it is hard to envisage quite how far he will stand clear once he is finished. Although he has landed the Tattersalls Book 1 Bonuses with regularity, you will see Johnston at every tier of events at Park Paddocks, iPad in hand, bidding from six figures down to even four.
Bijou D'Inde
“...no matter how big we get, we must keep buying these five-grand horses, just to test ourselves. I still love doing it.” – Mark Johnston
Charlie Johnston, Mick Easterby, Mark Johnston
“It’s probably the best part of the job,” he says without hesitation. “It’s the whole process. I remember discussing it with (wife) Deirdre maybe 20 years ago, saying that no matter how big we get, we must keep buying these five-grand horses, just to test ourselves. I still love doing it.” Johnston believes the first time he went scouting at Tattersalls was at the end of 1986 with Paul Venner, the owner of Baileys Horse Feeds. Six years later Venner would entrust him with another October Yearling Sale graduate in Mister Baileys, supplier of the trainer’s first Classic winner in the 2,000 Guineas.
“I think Paul bought a Sharpo filly which he was going to send to me,” he recalls. “But I was the new kid on the block and he sent him to Gerry Blum instead and sent me a different one.” Even though he was operating with considerably more meagre resources, and has another 30 years of experience under his belt, what is most unusual is that he has retained almost exactly the same buying regimen. “I think I’ve always had similar criteria,” he says. “I was already very into the idea that you should buy on pedigree, and that pedigree means performance by the dam, and not those from the time of Henry VIII! It moved very quickly into exactly the same system that we use today, although I’m now looking for dams of progeny rated over 90, whereas in those days it was probably 10lbs lower.” “If I’m more critical, I probably looked a little bit more at second dams then than I do now. The dam’s got to have done it, it doesn’t matter if she’s a half-sister to Australia, if she’s not done it herself, that’s not good enough for me.” A man who ploughs his own furrow in terms of training, and indeed his views on the sport itself, he is similarly phlegmatic on looking at the physical specimen at a sale. “I’m forgiving, but I’m just logical,” he says. “Which way they turn their toes hasn’t got a great bearing on either their soundness or their ability, and I knew that from a very early stage. I think I’ve probably got more confident in my theories than I was then, but they are the same theories.”
Charlie Johnston
“I was already very into the idea that you should buy on pedigree, and that pedigree means performance by the dam, and not those from the time of Henry VIII” – Mark Johnston
October 2019
Main Edition
21
“The Newmarket Equine Hospital sent out something a couple of years ago saying that if these common conformational faults as we call them, if they had a bearing on soundness or ability we would have bred it out of the Thoroughbred. We haven’t done that, which quite clearly shows they don’t. That was fairly obvious to me - the old Tesio theory of that the Thoroughbred was bred on a piece of wood.” Johnston has assistance from his team for a primary dissection of each catalogue and compares notes with his son Charlie. However, ever since the days of picking up the likes of St James’s Palace winner Bijou D’Inde for 20,000 gns, it is ultimately his call.
Xcelente
“It’s a case of scoring out the absolute no-hopers you couldn’t touch on conformation, and they’re few and far between because they have been weeded out by the Tattersalls selection process.” – Mark Johnston
“I’m spending my own money, I’d say way, way over 90 per cent of the horses I buy are bought on spec,” he explains. “It’s very rare for me to have a firm order or for the horse to be allocated, it’s always been my own risk. That’s a good thing and a bad thing - obviously it greatly limits what you can afford to spend, but at the same time it focuses you on getting value for money, and also means that I’m not restricted to having to justify why I bought it to the same extent.” Some of Kingsley House’s best recent alumni have been Book 1 Bonus winners, although they tend not to have been as costly as Elarqam, the 1,600,000 gns son of Frankel and Johnston’s 1,000 Guineas heroine Attraction, who was sent to him by Sheikh Hamdan Al Maktoum. Main Edition, his Royal Ascot and German Guineas scorer, cost 62,000 gns, while Nyaleti, who took the Dusseldorf Classic 12 months earlier, was just 40,000 gns. “I love buying in Book 1 because 75-80 per cent of them will fit my pedigree criteria,” he says. “It’s a case of scoring out the absolute no-hopers you couldn’t touch on conformation, and they’re few and far between because they have been weeded out by the Tattersalls selection process. You could be looking for soundness issues, but beyond that it’s just a case of standing in the ring and buying the cheapest.” “Sometimes it’s a bit frustrating because the ones you really want you can’t afford, but it’s expected because everything has got a good pedigree. The Book 1 Bonus has made a big difference and we got a great kick out of Xcelente this year. We paid 62 for him and almost got two-thirds of it back on his first run. Misty Grey was another, he cost 72 and got to Royal Ascot. It works very well because of the end of the market we’re operating at.” Johnston chuckles when it is suggested that his end of the market is still different to what it was in 1986. “A little bit. But considering I bought one last year for 1,000 gns, things haven’t changed too much.”
Misty Grey
£4.5 MILLION and counting Tom Peacock looks at the latest beneficiaries of the extraordinarily successful £25,000 Tattersalls October Book 1 Bonus scheme
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October 2019
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t the time of going to press, Tattersalls has paid out some 182 Book 1 Bonuses – that’s a total of more than £4.5 million invested back into the industry since the scheme was launched by Tattersalls during its 250th anniversary three years ago. For a one-off payment of £1,500, it allows any yearling catalogued in Book 1, including those which are bought in, unsold, or withdrawn and re-offered at the December Yearling Sale, to scoop the dividend from more than 300 maiden and novice races in Britain and Ireland between the end of March and early November.
It is not purely the domain of the six- or seven-figure purchases; indeed around a third of those successful up to the end of 2018 had cost 100,000 guineas or less. They have been a regular reward for trainer Mark Johnston, who got the ball rolling again at the start of this season with 62,000 gns buy Xcelente. The theme has continued this year. Johnston’s Ascot novice winner, Kingbrook (pictured), was snapped up for just 22,000 gns at last year’s sale, and there are plenty of examples this season of Book 1 Bonus winners who graduated through the sale for 100,000 gns, or less.
October 2019
25
Kia Joorabchian
Alex Elliott
Maxi Boy
“To see so many syndicates and smaller owners winning Book 1 Bonuses has been almost as rewarding for us, as it has been for them” – Tattersalls Marketing Director, Jimmy George
The Bonuses can also make a significant difference to the successful running of syndicates and racing clubs – two areas of ownership growth in Britain and Ireland. “To see so many syndicates and smaller owners winning Book 1 Bonuses has been almost as rewarding for us, as it has been for them,” says Tattersalls Marketing Director, Jimmy George. Highclere Thoroughbreds has won two Tattersalls Book 1 Bonuses this season with Ascension and Byline (following on from Elation in 2017), while the likes of Nick Bradley Racing (Frankel’s Storm), Kennet Valley Thoroughbreds (Persian Moon in 2018) and Middleham Park Racing (Ventura Royal in 2017) have all enjoyed Bonus success for their shareholders and members. The Tattersalls October Yearling Sale is always a melting pot of international investment and a fascinating buyer last year was Iranian-born Kia Joorabchian, one of the most influential football agents in the world. He owns horses under the banner of Amo Racing and bloodstock agent Alex Elliott, acting on his behalf, acquired the Oasis Dream colt Maxi Boy and sent him into training with Michael Bell. The 380,000 gns purchase got off the mark at the first attempt to lift a Tattersalls Book 1 Bonus at Yarmouth in May and went on to be beaten only three and three-quarter lengths in the Coventry Stakes at Royal Ascot.
Repartee
Nope
“We were looking for Royal Ascot horses and he was a standout for us,” says Elliott.
Kevin Ryan and Stephen Hillen
Frankel’s Storm
Ascension
“The Book 1 Bonus is a superb incentive for any buyer and is something that is greatly appreciated by all connected to the horse. The dividend goes a long way towards paying for the year’s training fees, which always leaves a super taste in the mouth too! Maxi Boy has already provided us with some noteworthy days out and we are looking forward to many more.”
“It’s hugely appreciated by everyone in racing,” says Hillen. “I have spoken to Sheikh Obaid and I know that he’s appreciative of it too.”
Even more prominent at Tattersalls October Yearling Sale Book 1 has been Dubai’s Sheikh Mohammed Obaid Al Maktoum, and his patronage was rewarded by a string of smart-looking prospects, each recouping £25,000 of their initial outlay. The owner bought perhaps his best-known horse to date, the globe-trotting King George and Juddmonte International star Postponed, from the event in 2012 and he has regularly been back in force.
“We were able to buy quite a few for him at Book 1, and it was great to see a few of them win their Bonus so quickly and look like nice prospects. You are winning a lot back from a maiden, and hopefully there will be plenty more to come.”
The Sheikh’s purchases to come up trumps this year included Ballyphilip Stud’s Pierre Lapin, a half-brother to top-level sprinter Harry Angel, who impressed at Haydock having been knocked down to trainer Roger Varian. His rewards for teaming up with Yorkshire-based trainer Kevin Ryan and bloodstock agent Stephen Hillen have been even more remarkable. Repartee, a close relative to outstanding racehorse and stallion Kingman, struck a notable blow for the combination at the York Dante meeting while Siyouni filly Rhea netted another £25,000 on the same afternoon at Haydock where Pierre Lapin had appeared so exciting. The Lancashire track continued to prove fertile ground a fortnight later as Frankel newcomer Juan Elcano shed his maiden tag in the same yellow and black livery.
“You can find a horse for 60,000 gns there but to have the backing of someone like Sheikh Obaid is huge for us, especially as there are so many horses that you’d like to buy.”
Claiming one of these prizes is only the start for some on the road to Gr.1 glory, which was managed by dual Group 1 winner Japan, who won both the Juddmonte Grand Prix de Paris and Juddmonte International Stakes, earlier this year. Those making the annual pilgrimage to Tattersalls this October will dream of unearthing another one as good as him, as well as winning a £25,000 Book 1 Bonus on the way.
Fred
October 2019
Japan
27
BOOK 1 BONUS WINNERS PURCHASED FOR 100,000 GNS OR LESS PRICE (GNS)
PRIZE
C Gordon-Watson Bloodstock
78,000
£31,469
Mark Johnston Racing
32,000
£37,028
J M Brown
Mark Johnston Racing
28,000
£29,528
Hughie Morrison
Paul Brocklehurst
Sac kvilleDonald/Hughie Morrison
34,000
£29,852
Star Of Rory (IRE)
Tom Dascombe
Derek Passant and Hefin Williams
SackvilleDonald
80,000
£29,269
Velveteen (GB)
Ger Lyons
Qatar Racing
David Redvers Bloodstock
50,000
€49,375
Shozita (GB)
Ralph Beckett
Thurloe Thoroughbreds
Will Edmeades Bloodstock
85,000
£29,528
Drochaid (GB)
Andrew Balding
Mick and Janice Mariscotti
Andrew Balding
40,000
£36,446
Our Boy (IRE)
David Evans
Walters Plant Hire, Spiers and Hartwell
Highflyer Bloodstock
50,000
£29,528
Peak Princess (IRE)
Richard Hannon
Rockcliffe Stud
SackvilleDonald
90,000
£30,041
Cristal Fizz (IRE)
William Haggas
Roberts Green Whittall-Williams Savidge
Jill Lamb Bloodstock
45,000
£38,969
Glencadam Glory (GB)
John Gosden
Angus Dundee Distillers plc
Blandford Bloodstock
90,000
£42,203
Warrior's Spirit (IRE)
Richard Hannon
Pineapple Stud, Amanda Turner & Partner
Peter & Ross Doyle Bloodstock
Raven's Lady (GB)
Marco Botti
Heart of the South Racing and Partner
Contrapposto (IRE)
David Menusieur
Gulliver (GB)
Hugo Palmer
Eldritch (IRE)
HORSE
TRAINER
OWNER
PURCHASER
Global Applause (GB)
Ed Dunlop
Dr Johnny Hon
Kilmah (GB)
Mark Johnston
Abdulla Al Mansoori
Mistime (IRE)
Mark Johnston
Poet's Princess (GB)
100,000
£37,675
Jamie Lloyd
38,000
£36,770
Clive Washbourn
C Washbourn
44,000
£38,969
Saleh Al Homaizi and Imad Al Sagar
Tony Nerses
50,000
£34,703
John Gosden
George Strawb ridge
Blandford Bloodstock
75,000
£29,269
Omeros (GB)
Hugo Palmer
Chris Humber
Cheveley Park Stud
50,000
£36,446
Cuttin' Edge (IRE)
William Muir
Purple & Lilac Racing
William R Muir
50,000
£38,969
Zap (GB)
R Fahey
Peter Timmins
R O'Ryan / R Fahey
70,000
£44,950
Klosters (IRE)
Roger Charlton
Nick Bradley Racing & Partner
Bradley/Kelly Bloodstock
45,000
£29,852
Lynn's Memory (GB)
Joseph O'Brien
Nick Bradley Racing Club
Fiona Marner Bloodstock
40,000
£37,093
Nyaleti (IRE)
Mark Johnston
3 Batterhams and A Reay
Mark Johnston Racing
40,000
£35,350
Invincible Army (IRE)
James Tate
Saeed Manana
Dermot Farrington
95,000
£37,028
Billy Dylan (IRE)
Richard Hannon
Sullivan Bloodstock
Peter & Ross Doyle Bloodstock
62,000
£31,469
Haddaf (IRE)
James Tate
Saif Ali
Armando Duarte
85,000
£40,061
Poet's Prince (GB)
Mark Johnston
J David Abell
Mark Johnston Racing
28,000
£29,269
Rhosneigr (IRE) Crossing The Line (GB)
Charlie Hills Andrew Balding
Julie Martin & David R Martin & Partner Sheikh Juma Dalmook Al Maktoum
BBA Ireland Rabbah Bloodstock
100,000 75,000
£30,175 £37,028
Elation (IRE)
Roger Varian
Highclere Thoroughbred Racing - Hallowed Park MC Bloodstock
75,000
£29,852
White Mocha (USA)
Hugo Palmer
Dr Ali Ridha
Rabbah Bloodstock
90,000
£29,528
Shepherd Market (IRE)
Clive Cox
Windmill Racing
Fiona Marner Bloodstock
22,000
£37,028
Orange Suit (IRE)
Richard Hannon
Martin Hughes & Michael Kerr-Dineen
Peter & Ross Doyle BS (P.S.)
90,000
£38,969
Ventura Royal (IRE)
David O'Meara
Middleham Park Racing
Barberini Bloodstock
52,000
£38,969
House Edge (IRE)
Michael Bell
Edward Ware
Richard Frisby Bloodstock
85,000
£37,028
Ace Ventura (GB)
Roger Varian
Sheikh Mohammed Obaid
Roger Varian
88,000
£36,543
Kodiac Express (IRE)
Mike Murphy
Mike Murphy Racing LLP
50,000
£30,175
Istanbul Sultan (IRE)
William Haggas
Simon Munir and Isaac Souede
Highflyer Bloodstock
100,000
£29,197
Lady Of Shalott (GB)
David Simcock
Khalifa Dasmal
Mark Crossman
80,000
£37,028
Main Edition (IRE)
Mark Johnston
Saif Ali
Mark Johnston Racing
62,000
£39,228
Hesslewood (IRE)
James Bethall
Clarendon Thoroughbred Racing
JDW Bethell/SackvilleDonald
35,000
£34,703
Persian Moon (IRE)
Mark Johnston
Kennett Valley Thoroughbreds
Lillingston Bloodstock
40,000
£29,787
Dutch Treat (GB)
Andrew Balding
Mildmay Racing & D H Caslon
Hillen & Hughes
40,000
£39,228
Dashing Willoughby (GB) Andrew Balding
Mick and Janice Mariscotti
Andrew Balding
70,000
£39,528
Swift And Sure (IRE)
Clive Cox
Mildmay Racing & D H Caslon
Boyce Bloodstock
70,000
£37,287
Name The Wind (GB)
James Tate
Sheikh Rashid Dalmook Al Maktoum
Rabbah Bloodstock
62,000
£30,822
Ya Hala (IRE)
Charlie Appleby
Sultan Ali
Vendor
70,000
£38,063
Senza Limiti (IRE)
William Haggas
Simon Munir & Isaac Souede
Highflyer Bloodstock
100,000
£37,611
Red October (IRE)
Hugo Palmer
Clodagh McStay and Partner
Hugo Palmer
50,000
£39,228
Xcelente (GB)
Mark Johnston
Jane Newett And Dougie Livingston
Mark Johnston Racing
62,000
£37,351
Misty Grey (IRE)
Mark Johnston
Barbara & Alick Richmond
Mark Johnston Racing
72,000
£37,675
Kingbrook (GB)
Mark Johnston
RS Brookhouse
RS Brookhouse/JD Moore
22,000
£31,469
Hector Loza (GB)
Simon Dow
Robert Moss
Robert Moss
55,000
£38,322
Bodyline (IRE)
Sir Mark Prescott
Tim Bunting - Osborne House IV
Barry Lynch
92,000
£37,287
Final Option (GB)
William Muir
Foresome Thoroughbreds
Vendor
40,000
£37,675
With Promise (GB)
David Lanigan
Abdullah Al Mansoori
Ed Vaughan
100,000
£41,557
Camorra (IRE)
Ger Lyons
Merchants & Missionaries Partnership
Gaelic Bloodstock
50,000
€45,594
Powerful Breeze (GB)
Hugo Palmer
Dr Ali Ridha
Hugo Palmer
50,000
£37,675
Star In The Making (GB)
Clive Cox
Alan Spence
Clive Cox Racing
78,000
£37,352
28
October 2019
Digging for TREASURE Mick and Janice Mariscotti are continuing to prove that stars can be found without spending astronomical sums at Book 1 of the Tattersalls October Yearling Sale, writes Tom Peacock. The Mariscottis are perennial visitors to Park Paddocks in October and their commitment paid dividends again this year following a flagship Royal Ascot success with the Andrew Balding-trained Dashing Willoughby, their 70,000 guineas Book 1 purchase who plundered the Gr.2 Queen’s Vase.
“The Bonus is a real incentive, particularly if you’re buying at our sort of level” – Mick Mariscotti
“We’ve been going about ten years I’d say,” says Mick Mariscotti, a former Finance Director at Coral bookmakers. “Dashing Willoughby is our latest and, actually in terms of his rating, is our highest ever rated horse. Havana Beat was briefly rated 112, so he was quite close, and we’ve had the likes of Zanetto and Goldoni as well.” Mariscotti explains that the buying process involves a few voices. “We certainly look at the catalogues, but frankly the real hard work is done by Emma Balding and her team for Andrew, who go round and look at the ones that they think should be on our shortlist,” he says. “By the time we’ve got up there, they’ve got a long list for us which we all go round and look at, while Janice has been pretty good at adding things to the list that are worth seeing. I’m prepared to just look at what I’m asked to, and we make a call from there.” They tend to have a specific type in mind. “There’s generally more chance of some resale value in a middle-distance horse, and also I don’t quite know why, but Janice and I like the look of middle-distance horses more than
Mick and Janice Mariscotti with Dashing Willoughby
we like the look of classic sprinters and two-year-old types. Something that takes time to develop but should improve for its three-year-old and four-year-old career as well.” The Mariscottis have also made a giant profit of more than £400,000 on Tattersalls October Yearling Sale Book 2 purchase, and Derby Day winner, Le Don De Vie. “It’s an expensive business, so you need to sell here and there to try to at least balance the books,” says Mick. “Janice reminds me that you can’t sell all the good ones as then you’re left with the not so good ones! Luckily we knew we had Dashing Willoughby waiting in the wings, and we’re keen to explore how far he can go.” Another encouragement to bring the couple back to Book 1 is the Tattersalls £25,000 bonus scheme, of which Mick Mariscotti is a great advocate. “We’ve been lucky enough to win two since they were introduced, and it effectively pays for your first year’s training fees and a bit more. It’s a real incentive, particularly if you’re buying at our sort of level. We’re not spending hundreds of thousands or millions on horses and it does make a difference.”
30
October 2019
Returning to the
SOURCE Long known as a master of turf runners in the United States, Chad Brown will be back at Tattersalls this year trying to unearth another superstar. Michele MacDonald reports
T
he plan was simple and the purpose clear.
Chad Brown, a disciple of the late Bobby Frankel and America’s Eclipse Award winner as outstanding trainer for the last three seasons, made a decision to attend the Tattersalls October Yearling Sale for the elite Book 1 sessions for the first time in 2017. Long known as a master of turf runners in the United States, Brown was looking for some well-bred youngsters with sterling pedigrees for grass racing, and he knew there was no better place to find what he was searching for on behalf of leading clients Klaravich Stables and White Birch Farm. The results from that initial foray, and from his follow-up mission to the Tattersalls October Yearling Sale in 2018, could not be much more extraordinary. Among the six yearlings Brown helped select for Klaravich in 2017 was a bay Lope De Vega filly out of Gr.3 winner Sunday Times, by Holy Roman Emperor. Klaravich paid 200,00 guineas, well under the Book 1 average price of 293,095 gns that year, for the filly, who would become better known as the brilliant 2018 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf heroine, Newspaperofrecord. Brown’s five other selections for Klaravich included Digital Age, a son of Invincible Spirit who has more than repaid his 325,000 gns purchase price by winning the Gr.2 American Turf Stakes on this year’s Kentucky Derby programme at Churchill Downs and finishing second in the $1 million Saratoga Derby Invitational Stakes at Saratoga Race Course on August 4. To date, Digital Age has banked over $534,000.
Newspaperofrecord
Two other promising runners were in that initial draft of six for Klaravich: Good Governance, a Kingman colt who won his debut at Saratoga on August 4 and Value Proposition, a son of Dansili who has won two of three outings through mid-August. Those results have more than convinced Brown that a foray to the Tattersalls October Sale for Book 1 yearlings is a must to include on his annual schedule. “It’s a sale we are relying on every year to add some prospects to our stable,” Brown reflected. “It’s been a good experience when I’ve gone over there the last two years and bought some really nice horses,” he said. “I think Tattersalls does a great job of putting some really high-quality horses in Book 1, and I enjoy going over there.”
“It’s a great sale and I’m looking forward to going back” – Chad Brown
White Birch Farm also has benefited from the strategic missions, with Brown helping to select the superbly bred colt Demarchelier. The colt’s name apparently is a nod to French fashion photographer Patrick Demarchelier, who has worked with former Victoria’s Secret model Stephanie Seymour, wife of White Birch owner, Peter Brant.
Digital Age By Dubawi and produced by Loveisallyouneed, a Sadler’s Wells full-sister to Gr.1 winners Yesterday and Quarter Moon, Demarchelier won his first three starts for Brant and Brown, including the Gr.3 Pennine Ridge Stakes at Belmont Park on June 1.
Demarchelier Brown’s initial plan in going to Tattersalls involved more than just seeking well-bred yearlings with turf pedigrees. More specifically, he said he wanted to find individuals who seemed to be candidates to run their best on the firm turf that is often encountered in America and who also could handle a distance of ground.
“He’s a really top-quality colt,” Brown praised. Unfortunately, Demarchelier took a bad step and was pulled up while exhibiting some lameness in the Gr.1 Belmont Derby Invitational Stakes in July. Bred by Newsells Park Stud, Demarchelier was the highestpriced of the 12 yearlings Brown helped White Birch and Klaravich acquire at Tattersalls in 2017, selling for 425,000 gns. With his pedigree and obvious racing talent, Demarchelier certainly can be considered an eventual stallion prospect. White Birch also races a winning graduate from Brown’s visit to the 2018 Tattersalls October Sale in Sketches Of Spain, a 400,000 gns purchase. By Lope De Vega and out of a halfsister to Fillies’ Mile and Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf winner Chriselliam, the bay filly won her debut on August 4 at Saratoga via a disqualification.
With the exception of juvenile events, most of America’s most prestigious and valuable turf races are at middle distances, with purses increasing over the last several years with the addition of events such as the $5.25 million Turf Triple Series for three-year-old fillies and colts offered by the New York Racing Association. Brown gave credit to Irish-born bloodstock agent Mike Ryan—who co-bred 2017 Kentucky Derby winner Always Dreaming and who bought that year’s Brown-trained Preakness Stakes winner, Cloud Computing, for $200,000 on behalf of Klaravich and William H. Lawrence—for helping him select the Tattersalls purchases. Under their working arrangement, Ryan has arrived at Tattersalls first and scouted through the yearlings on offer, and then Brown has flown in, gone over Ryan’s short list and made final recommendations.
October 2019
33
“We work well together and he’s a big reason why we have been able to strike at a high rate at Tattersalls,” Brown said of Ryan. “And I just think overall that there are high-quality horses in Book 1 there.” Both Klaravich, which is operated by billionaire investor and hedge fund manager Seth Klarman, and White Birch, the stable of art collector and businessman Brant, went to Tattersalls with a set plan. Each bought six yearlings in 2017, with Klaravich spending 1.315 million gns and White Birth spending 1.865 million gns.
“We’ve never had somebody that emerged so quickly in her career, showed so much promise, and fulfilled it,” Klarman elaborated. So far this year, Newspaperofrecord has placed twice in Graded Stakes but has shown a tendency to be rank, which has hindered her ability to finish strongly. Yet altogether she has been able to earn a career total of $795,750 for Klaravich through mid-August.
As Brown recalled after Newspaperofrecord’s wire-to-wire Breeders’ Cup tour de force, he suggested to the owners that they try to tap the Tattersalls market and they agreed.
While it is too early to assess the yearlings purchased at Tattersalls in 2018, it is notable that Klaravich opted to increase spending after the first successful season. In 2018, Klaravich purchased ten yearlings for a total of 2.135 million gns, including colts by Golden Horn, Kingman and Lope De Vega and fillies by Sea The Stars, Gleneagles, Lope De Vega and Invincible Spirit.
“The prospects we’ve gotten out of Tattersalls have really been a nice addition to our stable”
The most expensive of Klaravich’s 2018 purchases at Tattersalls is an Australia filly out of a half-sister to Gr.1 winner Sarah Lynx that cost 325,000 gns. That filly has been named Counterparty Risk and was training with Brown in Saratoga this summer.
– Chad Brown “Some of these European-bred horses I feel, on average, just have better blood for running on turf and at a high level all over the world,” Brown said at the time, adding that he told Klarman: ’We’re going to have to go in and buy some. He said, ’Sure, we’ll go over there and try it.’ “Seth has given me an unbelievable amount of trust to really make the final call when we acquire horses or sell horses,” Brown added. Klarman exclaimed after the Breeders’ Cup victory that “I think (Newspaperofrecord) is our most spectacular horse,” even surpassing Cloud Computing.
Chad Brown & Mike Ryan
For his part, Brant kept his White Birch purchases at about the same level at Tattersalls in 2018, acquiring six yearlings for 1.87 million gns topped by a Kingman colt out of the winning Montjeu mare Smart Step for 500,000 gns. Bred by Lofts Hall Stud and Ben Sangster, that colt was named St Joe Louis and was working at the Stonestreet Training Center in Florida prior to joining Brown. Meanwhile, in looking to the future, Brown is anticipating additional racing dividends from the Tattersalls purchases as well as more trips to Newmarket to find young stars for the coming seasons. “The prospects we’ve gotten out of Tattersalls have really been a nice addition to our stable,” Brown said. “It’s a great sale and I’m looking forward to going back.”
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38
October 2019
October 2019
39
BLUE POINT KING’S STAND STAKES, Group 1 & DIAMOND JUBILEE STAKES, Group 1 sold Tattersalls October Yearling Sale, Book 1 by West Moor Stud to John Ferguson Bloodstock for 200,000 gns
40
October 2019
ARIZONA COVENTRY STAKES, Group 2 sold Tattersalls December Foal Sale by Houghton Bloodstock to Fairway Partners for 65,000 gns
DASHING WILLOUGHBY QUEEN’S VASE, Group 2 sold Tattersalls October Yearling Sale, Book 1 by Meon Valley Stud to Andrew Balding for 70,000 gns
MOVE SWIFTLY DUKE OF CAMBRIDGE STAKES, Group 2 sold Tattersalls October Yearling Sale, Book 2 by Cooneen Stud to Rabbah Bloodstock for 70,000 gns
STAR CATCHER RIBBLESDALE STAKES, Group 2 sold Tattersalls December Foal Sale by Hascombe & Valiant Stud Ltd to Blandford Bloodstock for 240,000 gns
THE 2020 CAPE PREMIER YEARLING SALE.
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The 2020 CTS Cape Premier Yearling Sale; CTICC Cape Town 16 January 2020 For more information visit www.capethoroughbredsales.com or contact: WEHANN SMITH - CEO | wehann@cthbs.com | 082 337 4555 KERRY JACK - BLOODSTOCK MANAGER | kerry@cthbs.com | 082 782 7297 KIRSTY COERTZE - SALES MANAGER | kirsty@cthbs.com | 064 628 0443
JAPAN KING EDWARD VII STAKES, Group 2 sold Tattersalls October Yearling Sale, Book 1 by Newsells Park Stud Ltd to MV Magnier/Mayfair/P&R Doyle for 1,300,000 gns
SPACE TRAVELLER JERSEY STAKES, Group 3 sold Tattersalls October Yearling Sale, Book 3 by The Castlebridge Consignment to Joe Foley for 85,000 gns
STRADIVARIUS ASCOT GOLD CUP, Group 1 Tattersalls October Yearling Sale, Book 1 offered by Watership Down Stud
ADDEYBB WOLFERTON STAKES, Listed sold Tattersalls October Yearling Sale, Book 2 by Genesis Green Stud to Shadwell Estate Company for 200,000 gns
October 2019
45
THE GRAND VISIR ASCOT STAKES sold Tattersalls Autumn HIT Sale by The Castlebridge Consignment to A C Elliott for 170,000 gns
THANKS BE SANDRINGHAM STAKES sold Tattersalls Guineas Breeze-Up Sale by Grove Stud to C Gordon-Watson Bloodstock for 65,000 gns
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Ever the
INNOVATOR Dual-hemisphere expertise sets John Foote apart but, as Michael Cox discovers, he remains a modest man at heart
A
s a rule, John Foote doesn’t do self-promotion, but given the bloodstock agent’s incredible record buying out of Tattersalls, he doesn’t need to: his incredible success speaks for itself.
“It’s the horses that make you look good,” the laid back Australian is fond of saying, although it is clear that he is a man with a rare, well-trained and refined eye for equine talent. What makes Foote a rarity in the bloodstock industry, isn’t just that reluctance to talk up his success stories, it is his expertise in both hemispheres. The astute agent is equally at home on sales grounds in Australia and England, and his record buying from Tattersalls is staggering. It isn’t hyperbole to say that Foote’s purchases have changed the course of racing history in Australia and Asia – and a rich source of his success has been Tattersalls. Foote had already made his name in the Australian sales rings as part of the team that bought Hong Kong’s greatest ever horse (the mighty sprinter Silent Witness), but it was at Tattersalls where his greatest influence was found. In 1999, having already forged a reputation as a pedigree expert, Foote bid 60,000 guineas for a Juddmonte Farm-bred mare at the Tattersalls December Sale called Tugela, in foal to Desert King. That foal, fortuitously for Foote and owner Tony Santic, later failed to make reserve at the Tattersalls December Foal Sale. A year later Tugela and the foal were flown to Australia. There, with her first trainer David Hall and named Makybe Diva, the foal would develop into arguably the country’s greatest ever staying horse, capping her career with a record third Melbourne Cup in 2005, a feat that has not been matched since, and wining A$14 million in prize money. It is typical of Foote’s understated style that when asked about his crowning glory as an agent, he doesn’t recall anything remarkable about the day he bought Tugela, and instead jumps straight into pedigree analysis. “I was a great fan of Riverman as a broodmare sire,” he said of Tugela’s breeding. “I don’t know if he was the best broodmare sire in the world but he was close to it, they were beautiful and had great natures.” That’s Foote; he would prefer a deep dive into a pedigree page and discuss nicks and crosses than take a golden opportunity to self-promote any day.
48
October 2019
“It’s the horses that make you look good” – John Foote
October 2019
49
To understand the depth of Foote’s knowledge, one has to reflect on a unique and hard-fought path to becoming one of the most respected figures in the bloodstock world.
Australia and England aren’t just on opposite sides of the world geographically, but in a racing sense, are polar opposites ideologically, stylistically and culturally.
Foote set out as a young man from the tough country town of Ipswich in southeast Queensland with no real background in racing, but a thirst for learning and a blue-collar work ethic typical of the region.
Australian auctions are all about speed - fast horses and an even faster turnaround. They are bought at one and back on a racetrack less than a year later, racing in multimillion-dollar two-year-old features.
Ipswich is a tough town – the working class area of a working class state – and if you are going to make it in any field, it’s going to be a result of hard work, not privilege.
The emphasis is on type, and commercial trends dictate the market more than proven pedigrees. Yet Foote has proven adept at finding precocious speed machines in Australia as he has uncovering gems like Tugela.
In 1976, with that grounding in the Australian industry, Foote travelled to England to work for the British Bloodstock Agency. Makybe Diva
“I started in the pedigree department and that year was the first time I attended Tattersalls” – John Foote
50
October 2019
“I started in the pedigree department and that year was the first time I attended Tattersalls,” he recalled. “I was there doing catalogues for about six or eight months. I got to know the pedigrees pretty well. And then I got to know them even more going back year after year and talking to the breeders about which are the good families.” It didn’t take long for Foote to strike out on his own and in 1982 he started making that annual pilgrimage back to Newmarket, spending that long flight with his head buried in his beloved catalogue.
“Over there it is about pedigrees and what is happening in a family, so you have to do research on that,” he said. “And they are very, very good families over there (at Tattersalls), unlike us, they’ve been going for hundreds of years and they have got rid of the also-rans. Also, they don’t add Group races to the schedule, like in Australia.” “The English Gr.1s are Gr.1s, and they stay Gr.1s, and we have a few too many to be honest. So when you see a pedigree in England with a lot of Group winners, they are proper horses and if they came out here and raced, they would clean up – and the second raters do!”
Fifty Stars “There is a huge depth to the families, they are fabulous, some of those pedigrees really stand out and that’s what I go chasing when I go there, those families. And if they hit in Australia, you can get something that is really special.” One of the great anomalies in Australian racing is the fact that despite some of the richest races being staying events, breeders have long focused on producing those precocious speed machines. The speed-laden sire lines have created a void beyond middle distance and the A$5 million Caulfield Cup and A$8 million Melbourne Cup have become the domain of foreign-trained horses or European imports bought as horses in training by Australian interests. A Melbourne Cup-qualified stayer from Europe can cost owners close to a million pounds and there is no guarantee these horses will adapt to the harsher antipodean climes, let alone the firmer tracks and stop-start style of tactical racing favoured there. “We have big staying races in Australia but our breeders in Australia just don’t breed stayers,” Foote said. Ever the innovator, Foote has thought outside the square and put his British bloodstock knowledge to good use by successfully sourcing yearlings from the Tattersalls October Yearling Sale.
It started as an experiment based on a relatively simple premise: a yearling costs a fraction of a Melbourne Cupcalibre tried horse. Yes, there is risk – the yearling is an unknown quantity – but that gamble is offset by the advantage of being able to have a horse start its racing life in Australia. Less than two months after being purchased at Tattersalls, Foote has encouraged owners to have the yearlings flown to Australia for breaking in, before a two-year-old preparation that isn’t as “pushy” as the more precocious Australian-breds are subjected to. “People ask, ’why don’t you leave them in England,’ but we want to race them in Australia and it is easier to put them on the plane and bring them out. They acclimatise much faster,” Foote said. “They don’t have to adapt as much because they are yearlings; when you are bringing horses out at three or four, and they are generally stallions, and they see the sunshine and start thinking about other things, then you are in trouble. This way they are raised under the Australian system.”
Seems Foote’s experiment has been a success and as usual, he is letting his horses speak for him. Since Signoff, Foote has returned for the same ownership group to buy Fifty Stars, a 110,000 gns purchase who is already a winner of eight from 13, including two Gr.2s and 60,000 gns buy Furrion, a recent winner of the Warrnambool Cup. Between them, for 170,000 gns, Fifty have trebled that earned with more (£500,000).
a total outlay of Stars and Furrion in prize money than A$1 million
Foote will be at Tattersalls again this year, armed with a well-thumbed catalogue full of families he knows all too well and a record that makes it easy to say: “it’s the horses that make you look good.”
That first experiment was named Signoff – a 75,000 gns yearling who developed into a dual Group Three winner and was an unlucky fourth in the 2014 Melbourne Cup.
Furrion
Awtaad
No shortage
OF CLASS
As Nancy Sexton reports, this year’s collection of first-crop yearling sires looks particularly strong
T
here is no shortage of Classic talent among this year’s class of first-crop yearling stallions.
breeders in his first season and it is hoped their support will be rewarded if the resulting produce head to auction.
The group naturally includes several expensive names but out of all of them, it was arguably the 2016 Irish 2,000 Guineas winner Awtaad, priced at €15,000 by Derrinstown Stud, who emerged from last year’s foal sales with particular credit. A series of well-conformed individuals attracted the attention of pinhookers, allowing this well-related son of Cape Cross to record a foal average of 62,655 guineas.
“Harzand was such a tough, sound, genuine racehorse with a wonderful temperament and mental strength,” says Pat Downes, Manager of Gilltown Stud where Harzand stands. “Breeders report they are very nice individuals to work with, quick learners and very willing to please.”
Another miler of real quality during the same season was The Gurkha, the latest son of Galileo to come under scrutiny from Coolmore. He packed a lot into his three-year-old season, making the leap from maiden winner to dual Gr.1 hero – namely the Poule d’Essai des Poulains and Sussex Stakes – in less than four months and was one of the most popular new recruits of 2017 with 175 mares. Meanwhile, Harzand, the Aga Khan’s Epsom and Irish Derby winner, deservedly attracted the attention of several notable
“We also have some nice stock by him on both the Irish and French farms, the standout being a half-brother to Zarkava, as well as a particularly nice filly from the immediate family of Blandford Stakes winner Katiyra and a very nice halfbrother to Siyouni.” As for Prix du Jockey Club winner New Bay, he has the backing of a powerful collection of owners led by Ballylinch Stud. He is also very well-connected, as a Dubawi relation to Kingman and Oasis Dream. October 2019
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Harzand While New Bay’s first foals were well-received last winter, Ballylinch must have also taken real satisfaction in the sales performance of their other young inmate Fascinating Rock, whose first crop sold for up to €185,000. Maurice Regan’s Tattersalls Gold Cup and QIPCO Champion Stakes winner was a tough and sound performer, assets that will surely stand him in good stead at stud. Various pinhookers also had good words to say for the progeny of Gr.2 winners Adaay and Estidhkaar, whose progeny realised up to 180,000 gns and €100,000 respectively. Both are armed with commercial profiles - Adaay is a son of Kodiac while Estidhkaar is by Dark Angel - and will be well-represented across the October Sale as a result. “After Adaay’s first crop shone so brightly at last year’s foals sales he really had a boost coming into 2019,” says Ed Harper, Stud Director of Whitsbury Manor Stud where Sandy Lane and Hungerford Stakes winner Adaay stands. “This helped him cover another fantastic book of mares, just shy of three figures, which will really give him every chance commercially.” “Having travelled to inspect a good number of his yearlings this summer, it’s clear that they have the typical Kodiac stamp to them. However, I would say he seems to generally be throwing a bit more size than himself as I have seen only a couple of small ‘butty’ ones.” “Two of his yearlings which I am most looking forward to seeing at Book 2 both sold well as foals. Harry Dutfield purchased a filly out of Pelican Key, who I thought was exceptional, for 35,000 gns. I am also very much looking forward to seeing a colt we sold last year out of Dolly Colman that Glenvale Stud purchased off ourselves for 67,000 gns. He was a rare foal who showed himself off better every day of the inspections and strode round the ring like he owned it.” Kodiac’s army of young sire sons also includes Celebration Mile winner Kodi Bear and Norfolk Stakes winner Prince Of Lir, while anyone with an interest in Dark Angel’s sire line also has the option of Markaz. Each were pacey horses on the track and reflective of what today’s market so heavily craves - speed.
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Overall, speed is the prevailing theme within this group. Look no further than either Lanwades Stud’s Bobby’s Kitten, winner of the Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint and the first son of Kitten’s Joy to stud in Europe, or Cheveley Park Stud’s Twilight Son, a tip top sprinter for Henry Candy who fired in a foal average close to 30,000 gns last winter. Also exciting is Haras de Bouquetot’s Shalaa, a brilliant two-year-old who won the Middle Park Stakes and Prix Morny. A son of noted sire of sires Invincible Spirit, his foals really caught the imagination of buyers last winter, returning an average of 83,632 gns and a top price of 240,000 gns. Invincible Spirit is also represented as the sire of Territories, a relation to Shamardal who won the Prix Jean Prat. He is one of a battalion of young sires under the Darley umbrella alongside Belardo, Charming Thought, The Last Lion and Buratino. “Obviously Territories is an Invincible Spirit, whose sons Kingman and I Am Invincible are flying, and hails from the stallion family of Shamardal and Street Cry,” says David Walsh, a member of the nominations team at Darley. “He
“Overall, speed is the prevailing theme” – Nancy Sexton
was a fantastic racehorse himself and has been very well-supported. “Like him, his progeny tend to be athletic, good-bodied, attractive horses with good outlooks. I think you can see Invincible Spirit in them. “His first foals were purchased by a number of good buyers, including TallyHo Stud, who bought his top-priced foal [a 70,000 gns colt out of Balance].” There is also a good word for the first crop of champion two-year-old Belardo, winner of the Dewhurst and Lockinge Stakes and the first son of Lope De Vega to stud. “He’s getting good-moving sorts,” says Walsh. “They’re athletic types with decent scope to them. “He had a strong foal sales season and again, they went to some good buyers - the likes of Glenvale Stud, Jamie Railton and Amanda Skiffington each bought foals.” The Last Lion, meanwhile, recorded a top price of 60,000 gns courtesy of a colt knocked down to Jeremy Brummitt. An exceptionally tough character, his ten starts at two took in victories in the Brocklesby and Middle Park Stakes, a race also won in his year by fellow Darley stallion Charming Thought.
Bobby’s Kitten aspect with him is the number of breeders who used him again in his second season on the strength of his first foals.” Juvenile talent is also a key element to the profile of Coventry Stakes winner Buratino, another precocious type who has the additional allure of being related to champion sire Danehill Dancer. “He’s an Exceed And Excel and as can be typical of that line, he seems to be siring sharp, precocious types,” says Walsh. “They’re well-balanced types with good bone. He was very talented himself and of course he’s related to Danehill Dancer, so has the family to go with it.” A classy female family is also one of the selling points behind former Coolmore shuttler Pride Of Dubai, a Gr.1-winning juvenile in his native Australia who is closely related to Invincible Spirit and Kodiac. The sizeable first crop belonging to Richmond and July Stakes winner Mehmas, meanwhile, included a colt foal sold for 85,000 gns. His studmate, Prix du Moulin winner Vadamos, will also have plenty of auction ammunition given his first book comprised 187 mares. In addition, there will be Book 2 representation from Temple Stakes winner Pearl Secret, a tough sprinter and welcome member of the Ahonoora sire line. As ever, the October Sale will also offer buyers the choice of a select group of accomplished American-based stallions. Several should be well known to European eyes, notably champion two-year-old Air Force Blue, who stands at Coolmore’s Kentucky arm, and the Dansili horse Flintshire, a $9 million earner for Juddmonte Farms. Book 1 will also contain representation from Shadwell’s Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile hero Tamarkuz, as well as Golden Slipper Stakes winner Vancouver, a former shuttler to Coolmore’s Ashford Stud.
“The Last Lion was a good-bodied horse himself who was a sharp twoyear-old,” says Walsh, “and he seems to be getting sharp types like himself. They tend to move well too.” Of Charming Thought, Walsh adds: “He was a 625,000 gns yearling and he’s throwing strong-bodied horses with good tops and quarters like himself - I think you can see his sire Oasis Dream in them. The encouraging
Pride of Dubai
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October 2019
A Grand
PASSION Billionaire owner Zhang Yuesheng is a coming force in the world of global racing and breeding. Michael Cox finds out more
Y
ulong Investments is a rising force in the racing world, and the group’s billionaire owner Zhang Yuesheng has an undeniable passion for the sport as well as a keen eye for horseflesh.
Yulong’s relatively rapid growth, part of the new wave of Mainland Chinese interest in racing, may give the impression that the investment is all about money, and a perusal of sales results over the last few years confirms Zhang’s operation as serious players. Yet, along with the headline-grabbing sales purchases, there has also been highlevel development of farms and infrastructure in Australia that displays a long-term commitment. Not to mention what is clearly careful consideration when it comes to broodmare acquisition. Underscoring it all is Zhang’s wealth and business acumen – he has made his money in areas as diverse as coal mines, wind farms and hotels – but also driving Yulong is Zhang’s passion for racing and an incredible knowledge of the horse itself. “He is very passionate about it, he really does love it and his knowledge of pedigrees and racing worldwide is quite amazing,” Yulong’s Chief Operating Officer Sam Fairgray said. “He keeps a close watch on the big racing around the world and can tell you which stallions have been successful. He is unique that he does have so much knowledge. He also knows a lot about general horse welfare and health. Whenever he is in Australia or Ireland, whether it is at a stud or racing stable, he travels around to look at the horses himself.” “Mr Zhang loves having a look at the horses in person and checking their progress. When he is at the farm he looks at every horse and when he looks at them he knows their breeding just by looking at them, he has a great photographic memory. He is a good judge of a horse, he knows a nice type, so although we do a lot of the groundwork when it comes to choosing horses, he is still instrumental in the selection process.” Those regular trips from Mainland China to his three farms in Australia, and to check on his small but select band of broodmares in Ireland, have become more serious undertakings as the group’s footprint has grown.
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Yulong already has more than 180 mares worldwide and bought its first stallion – the G1-winning colt Grunt – who will stand at a brand new Australian farm next breeding season. Yulong attracted more headlines this year with the purchase of 20 mares from Coolmore, but the northern hemisphere buying has emphasised quality over quantity, epitomised by a couple of canny purchases from the 2018 Tattersalls December Sales. Yulong created waves by paying 600,000 guineas for Vintage Folly, in foal to Frankel, and paid 240,000 gns for You Only You, a buy that soon proved to be a boon. Six months after those purchases, You Only You’s full-brother Sovereign won the Irish Derby by six lengths, providing an incredible pedigree update and huge boost for Zhang. “It’s great for Mr Zhang to get results like that,” Fairgray said. “It gives him some more confidence in the industry and his willingness to go back in and reinvest is enhanced by getting results like that so quickly.” Even though Yulong’s growth has been rapid, it remains on an upward trajectory, with Zhang searching for more stallion prospects and carefully selected pedigrees for the already strong broodmare band.
Sam Fairgray
“But for Mr Zhang, as well as being a business, it is a passion. He loves it” – Sam Fairgray
“Mr Zhang wants to build a Thoroughbred breeding group that is worldly recognised,” Fairgray said. “We have our first stallion this year, hopefully we will grow our stallion numbers over the next couple of years. We have around 185 mares worldwide. We have got to this point very quickly, but he is all about developing stallions and to do that he will be supplying them with some nice mares.” “To support the stud side, there will be the racing business, and we will buy some nice colts – with the chance they could become stud prospects – and fillies that we hope can add black type and join our broodmare band. Three of our fillies have already won Stakes races so we are headed in the right direction.” Yulong’s growth comes at an exciting time for the sport in mainland China, with a number of interesting developments in recent years. The Hong Kong Jockey Club’s mainland training centre at Conghua hosted its first official race meeting – sans betting – in March this year, while a new racetrack has opened in Hohhot in Inner Mongolia. Of course betting is banned on horse racing on the mainland, but a glimmer of hope could be found in last year’s announcement that the possibility of a racing industry – with betting – on the southern resort of Hainan Island would be explored. Wheels move slowly within China though, where officials think in terms of centuries and millennia, not decades or years. But for those like Zhang, riding high on his country’s newfound prosperity, and with passions and a vision outside his homeland, the time is now. “He has been very successful in his other businesses and he is determined to make his Thoroughbred breeding business as successful as his other pursuits,” Fairgray said. “But for Mr Zhang, as well as being a business, it is a passion. He loves it.”
Zhang Yuesheng
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October 2019
A GOLDEN
opportunity Saudi Arabia’s lavish plans for the world’s richest race are just part of a wider initiative to improve racing in the region, as Michele MacDonald finds out
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O
wners and trainers worldwide have cause to rejoice as never before after officials from the Jockey Club of Saudi Arabia unveiled plans to launch the Saudi Cup with a staggering purse of $20 million.
HRH Prince Bandar bin Khalid Al Faisal, Britney Eurton and Nick Luck at the launch of the Saudi Cup at Fasig-Tipton in Saratoga Springs
Set for February 29, 2020, the inaugural Saudi Cup will make history as the richest race ever conducted, with the winner to earn a record $10 million and prize money extending all the way back to tenth, which will be worth $200,000. In addition, the Jockey Club will pay expenses for all invited participants. But there apparently will be far more on offer from the Saudis, who, with the backing of King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, also plan an entire programme of rich races for the day, including some to be run on a turf course now under construction. Further details were to be announced in the months leading up to the Saudi Cup.
Britney Eurton and HRH Prince Abdullah bin Khalid al Saud
“This is an event that we plan on having for decades, well beyond your or my time. What we hope is for this event to be on the international calendar, to be one of the main races sought after,� declared His Royal Highness Prince Bandar bin Khalid al Faisal, Jockey Club Chairman, in announcing the Saudi Cup during a special launch event held in Saratoga Springs, New York, in early August.
“There are going to be about seven major races that day but this is the main event,” Prince Bandar elaborated in discussing the Saudi Cup, which will be run at nine furlongs over the dirt track at King Abdulaziz Racetrack in Riyadh. The driving forces behind the creation of the Saudi Cup are the desires to elevate the quality of the racing and breeding industry in Saudi Arabia, as well as to welcome people from other parts of the world to the kingdom so they can learn first-hand about the nation and its people. Currently, Saudi Arabia is classified as a Part III country by the International Federation of Horseracing Authorities as guided by the International Grading and Race Planning Advisory Committee. That puts racing in the kingdom on a par with neighbouring countries Bahrain and Qatar as well as other nations such as Morocco, Mauritius, Austria, Spain, Poland and Switzerland. The world’s best Thoroughbred racing is acknowledged to be conducted in 17 nations that have achieved Part I status, including Great Britain, the United States, Japan, France, Ireland, South Africa, Australia and the United Arab Emirates. “Our main mission is to improve the horse racing environment within the kingdom of Saudi Arabia and to bring it to international standards and be able to produce horses that compete on a global level,” Prince Bandar said. “Part of how we do that is to create world-class racing and to invite the best of the best from around the world to come and compete in Saudi Arabia. “We feel we have the right infrastructure,” he added. “We certainly have an amazing track; we have the right stabling and quarantine area, so there really was nothing missing in all of the elements except to come up with the concept with the right, if you will, incentive for people to come there.”
HRH Prince Bandar bin Khalid Al Faisal with trainer Bob Baffert, Saratoga
“We chose the timing very carefully. It is close enough to the Dubai Cup that people who do come to that part of the world can stay” – Prince Bandar
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Prince Bandar and HRH Prince Abdullah bin Khalid al Saud, who also was present at the launch event attended by a number of high-profile figures in American racing, including trainers Chad Brown, Bill Mott, Steve Asmussen and Todd Pletcher, said that the UAE’s Dubai World Cup programme has been an inspiration. First run in 1996, well before Dubai became an international destination, the Dubai World Cup programme has grown to be the world’s richest day of racing with nine events, including one for purebred Arabians, worth a total of $35 million. “Dubai did a lot of the heavy lifting for the (Middle East) region as a whole to introduce that part of the world to horse racing, and Sheikh Mohammed single-handedly did that,” Prince Bandar said. “So, he made things a lot easier for us because a lot of the owners and trainers have been to that part of the world and they understand what is involved in going. “We would like (the Saudi Cup) to be an opportunity for people to come and visit (Saudi Arabia), see the culture, see the people, and understand it. This is among many other events that the kingdom is embarking on,” added Prince Bandar, who is an advisor to the Royal Court as well as Chairman of the company that publishes the Saudi daily newspaper Al Watan. “We’d like it to be a memorable experience, we’d like for it to be a special experience, and we’d like it to be an opportunity for us to showcase horse racing in the kingdom of Saudi Arabia,” he said. “(Racing) is very much part of our culture, our heritage, our literature. But we are very keen to transform it into an industry that can grow, to be at a level on par with the best out there. That is our main focus now at the Jockey Club.” The late February date for the Saudi Cup was chosen as it fits nicely between the world’s other richest races: the Pegasus World Cup Invitational Stakes at Gulfstream Park in late January, which has been run with purses ranging from $9 million, in 2019, to $16 million, in 2018, and the $12 million Dubai World Cup in late March. An additional factor is that Saudi weather is mild and ideal for racing at that time of the year. “We chose the timing very carefully,” Prince Bandar said. “It is close enough to the Dubai Cup that people who do come to that part of the world can stay. It is a wonderful area. I think we were very lucky that we had that opening between those two races and we’re going to own it now.
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“This race symbolizes what our goals are for the horse racing industry in Saudi Arabia and what level we want to reach,” declared Prince Abdullah. “This is a proud moment for all Saudis and it really is a gift to all the horse racing industry around the world.” Prince Bandar and Prince Abdullah, joined by the Saudi Cup’s designated global ambassador, Harry Herbert, emphasized that facilities at King Abdulaziz Racetrack are outstanding and include quarantine stabling just a short walk from the track and a state-of-the-art veterinary hospital. Rossdales Veterinary Surgeons of Newmarket will provide veterinary services, Prince Abdullah added. In promotional materials presented during the launch party, a number of international jockeys stated that the dirt track delivers minimal kickback and is fair to both front-runners and closers. Generally patterned after the sprawling, one and a half-mile oval of Belmont Park in New York, the King Abdulaziz track will allow the Saudi Cup to be conducted around only one turn. “It’ s a beautiful track to ride and very fair,” stated jockey James Doyle, who has ridden in Riyadh and Dubai, as well as his home base in Britain where his mounts have included the likes of Godolphin’s 2019 King’s Stand and Diamond Jubilee Stakes winner Blue Point. “For a dirt surface, there is very little kickback and most horses go through it.” Even before the official launch of the Saudi Cup, officials with the Jockey Club of Saudi Arabia began working to promote the event to horsemen from around the world. They have retained the Newmarket-based International Racing Bureau to help in these efforts along with media and public relations specialists. “We want to welcome as many of you as we can get to Saudi Arabia,” Prince Bandar told guests at the launch party. He envisions that the Saudi Cup will grow over time to become similar to British Champions Day, Breeders’ Cup and the Dubai World Cup programme. “That is our hope,” he said. “We’re not doing a one-off event. We’re very meticulous about this, we’re not overreaching. We want to make sure we can deliver on everything for this race. And our goal, right from the first, is whoever comes says, ’Count me in for next year.’ That’s our goal.”
The
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A matter of
TASTE Tattersalls’ Spanish representative Dominick Mahony talks to Carl Evans about racing in Spain and an interesting side-line in Iberian ham
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Dominick and son Marcus Mahony
D
ominick Mahony, Tattersalls’ representative in Spain, has been considering statistics that underline an important role the country plays in Britain and Ireland’s racing and breeding industries.
He says: “Last year we took some 40 clients to the Autumn Horses-in-Training Sale, and bought 56 horses, yet, at a conservative estimate, we bid on some 300. That is about a quarter of the catalogue.” Spanish buyers are rarely seen operating at the top end, and nor are the clients Mahony looks after from Portugal, Morocco and the Canary Islands, but if the lower rungs are active, and racehorse owners are moving stock on, trade benefits higher up the ladder.
“The animals forage in a lovely, unspoilt forest of oak and cork wood where they do very well on the acorns. They are completely free-range” – Dominick Mahony
As Mahony says: “There are plenty of horses looking for homes in the lower reaches, and we are buying them or helping to get them on the market. You don’t need to be a mathematician to work out that every 1,000 gns increase in a horse’s value is £50 for Tattersalls, and that contributes to the sales cycle.” Mahony, who is the brother of Tattersalls’ Chairman Edmond, moved to Spain “about 30 years ago, [initially] to work in property development.” He says: “My grandmother was Spanish and my father was born in Spain, and it felt like home from home. I’ve never felt a foreigner here, as a lot of expats do, but I don’t consider myself an expat. I’m an Irishman who lives in Spain.”
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At Osarus Yearling Sale with Peter Doyle
Those of us who reside in the north of Europe may endure a sense of envy when Mahony describes “the lifestyle, the weather, the food and the friendly people” of Spain, and it gets no better when he refers to his hometown of Seville as “a beautiful city, where temperatures are about 18 degrees in winter.” All very nice, but do Spain’s virtues include racing or breeding operations worth noting? He says: “There are about three principal breeders, with some 30 to 50 mares, including boarders, and a number of small breeders with one or two mares. Felipe Hinojosa (of Dehesa De Milagro) stands Kool Company (Jeremy), who he bought (for 110,000 gns) at Tattersalls, and Caradak (Desert Style), while Jose Hormaeche of Yeguada Torreduero stands Lightning Moon (Shamardal), Noozhoh Canarias (Caradak) and Abdel (Dyhim Diamond). “The climate clearly has an impact, although it’s not difficult to grow grass in the north of Spain, and the warm weather can help to bring young horses on, but it would be fair to say the stock is not what you would find on a stud farm in Ireland. It’s a chicken and egg situation, but, for example, Dehesa De Milagro is a very good farm with very good grass. “Racing takes place all year round, with the main course being in Madrid. They race there from the beginning of March to the end of June, before the action moves on to San Sebastian, and then returns to Madrid in September. At the end of November it moves to Seville, but there are other small meetings around the country, some taking place on the beach.
Collecting Cork
“The prize money is excellent in the bottom-to-middle level, with €4,000 to the winner of the worst races, but (only) €40,000 to €45,000 for top races such as the Gran Premio de Madrid.” Mahony says runners from stables in France are not uncommon at San Sebastian, and there are occasional forays by British stables. Genetics, trained by Andrew Balding, finished fourth in this year’s running of Madrid’s feature race. He adds: “You are not going to see top British and Irish horses here, but for horses at a certain level there are races to be won – and in winter it’s more fun than going to Wolverhampton.” Mahony will be in Newmarket for the Tattersalls October Yearling Sale Book 1, although few of his clients have aspirations to buy yearlings at that level. The aforementioned Autumn Horses-in-Training Sale is their auction of choice, and the February Sale is popular because the timing suits Spain’s racing season. The Guineas Breeze-Up is gaining traction, although principally for the in-training section, while at this year’s July Sale his clients bought “seven or eight horses, although the timing is not as convenient.” His journey from Seville to Suffolk for Book 1 provides an opportunity to meet up with his bloodstock agent son Alex, who lives in the town and runs EAM Bloodstock – Alex’s brother, Marcus, also takes a keen interest when his university studies allow – but there is a culinary reason, too.
Iberian Pigs
Dominick says: “Some ten or 12 years ago I was offered the chance to buy 200 acres of land to the west of Seville, and went into business with a local man to produce Iberian ham. He breeds and looks after our purebred Iberian pigs, and I do the marketing.
That’s a taste of Spain in Newmarket, and too good to miss.
“The animals forage in a lovely, unspoilt forest of oak and cork wood where they do very well on the acorns. They are completely free-range.” Guests who join Tattersalls for the company’s annual eve-ofBook 1 gathering at the Jockey Club Rooms in Newmarket may have made themselves familiar with the end result of this Iberian idyll. Once tasted, never forgotten, for the flavour is piggy unique and marvellously delicate. Mahony says: “That is down to several reasons, including the life the pigs lead. The curing, which takes four years, is crucial, although anything good takes time. Initially the hams are placed in vats of salt for a month, and then hung in cold air. The carving is also crucial, and requires professional skill – each piece is the size of a large postage stamp, and sliced very thinly. It should never be eaten in a hurry.” The perfect accompaniment comes in a glass. “Red or rose wine is good, but freezing cold sherry, served in a glass so tiny you drink it before it becomes warm, is hard to beat,” says Mahony.
Dominick at the races at Sanlucar
Dominick at Dos Hermanas-Seville with trainer Óscar Anaya and the owners of the Tinerfe Stud
ABEL TASMAN, 1st G1 Personal Ensign Stakes 2018 G1 Ogden Phipps 2018 G1 Kentucky Oaks 2017 G1 Acorn Stakes 2017 G1 Coaching Club Oaks 2017 Crowned Eclipse Champion 3 yo filly 2017 Horse In Training Purchase
AN EYE FOR TALENT In the world of bloodstock, reputation is everything. Just ask Mick Flanagan… As owner and director of Townley Hall Bloodstock, his passion, personal touch and outstanding international track record finds him held in the highest renown across bloodstock circuits the world over. Mick has purchased several recent Group 1 winners across global racing’s main jurisdictions, including the USA (Abel Tasman), the UK (Marcel) and Australia (Grand Marshal and Vanbrugh). To see what he can add to your bloodstock portfolio, talk to him today. +353 (0)86 609 8119
or
MARCEL 1st, 2015 Racing Post Trophy Gr 1 Foal purchase
GRAND MARSHAL 1st, 2015 Sydney Cup Gr 1 Horse in Training purchase
VANBRUGH 1st, 2015 Spring Champion Stakes Gr 1 Yearling purchase
mick@townleyhallbloodstock.com
WWW.TOWNLEYHALLBLOODSTOCK.COM
Sand dunes and
SALTY AIR Go for the yearlings, but stay for the food, the wine and the spectacular views. Lizzy Sainty marks your Osarus card
October 2019
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La Co(o)rniche
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sarus Sales celebrated its tenth anniversary in 2018 and, since its inauguration, the September Yearling Sale has become a firm fixture on the calendar. It takes place at the picturesque racecourse of La Teste-de-Buch, which is situated a couple of kilometers outside the town. Surrounded by pine trees, La Teste-de-Buch is the largest of the towns on the south side of one of France’s hidden pearls – the Bassin d’Arcachon, one of France’s most famous oystercatching bays. Less than an hour’s drive from Bordeaux, La Teste is the largest of the towns on the bay, with the beautiful coastal villages of Arcachon and Pyla-sur-Mer next door. A few minutes’ drive past Pyla, or for the more energetic, a cycle down the pine-scented tracks, leads to one of France’s great natural wonders; the Pilat dune. A steep climb up the wooden steps set into the side of the dune is rewarded by a spectacular view of the Banc d’Arguin, a constantly shifting sand bank, the Ilê aux Oiseaux and across the bay to Cap Ferret, with small and colourful boats of the oyster farmers tending to their stock on the still waters. Once back down (take the steps again – the dune is protected, and coming down the sand is frowned upon), you can take a boat trip across the bay to see the oyster farms up close, and spot wildlife on the Ilê aux Oiseaux – although there is no possibility of landing on this protected nature reserve. A number of chic bars and restaurants cater to the year-round visits from the French gourmands, with the day’s oyster catch highly sought after. Great food, views and weather make this an idyllic escape.
La Co(o)rniche
OYSTERS ON THE BEACH La Cabane de l’Aiguillon, a tiny wooden beach hut on the sea front, specializes in the local seafood. Try the catch of the day sitting at one of the tables, with your feet in the sand. They specialize, of course, in the local oysters, paired with a glass of white wine. Beware – they shut early, but it is an ideal stop for lunch.
APÉRO La Co(o)rniche, with its spectacular views of the bay and sunsets, is the ideal spot for cocktails before dinner, and the chicest apéro spot in the area. This luxurious hotel is in the heights of Pyla-sur-Mer next to the Pilat dune, which rises majestically behind you as you relax on the terrace overlooking the bay. It boasts a sumptuous cocktail bar, and the views are nothing short of breathtaking, especially at sundown. There is an excellent tapas menu served at the bar, or should the views prove too difficult to leave, there is also a sublime restaurant next door, with local produce the focus of the menu.
DINNER Head to Arcachon seafront for dinner at Chez Pierre; expect local gastronomic delights as well as excellent sushi. The delicious fish is freshly caught, and oysters are once again the stars of the show. The restaurant is a local institution, and the charming deco makes for an unforgettable evening. Le Skiff Club and the Café Ha(a)ïtza are part of the Ha(a)ïtza hotel in Pyla-sur-Mer. Le Skiff Club, with its Michelin-starred chef, has only 30 place settings, so booking early is a must! Across the road, the Café Ha(a)ïtza is French bistro dining at its best. Sit on a gently lit terrace, with mosaic floors and fishing trophies, and enjoy the local cuisine.
La Cabane de l’Aiguillon
“Great food, views and weather make this an idyllic escape” – Lizzy Sainty
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For a more relaxed evening, Club Plage Pereire has an excellent menu and an idyllic location. Set on the beach, with unimpeded views across the Bassin, the tables are placed out on the sand in order for diners to enjoy a perfect sunset alongside their cocktail. A small and simple menu with beautifully prepared food pairs with the relaxed beach vibe perfectly.
DANCING For those with the staying power, Le Balap, with its 80’s vibe, stays open to the early morning. Relaxed, friendly and fun, finish up your evening on the dance floor to the 80’s classics. It opens early for cocktails and is situated slightly further down the coast in Pyla-sur-Mer.
STAY AND SLEEP When booking a room at the La Co(o)rniche, the hardest choice is which view to pick. Choose from rooms overlooking the Bassin, the dune, or the ocean. Set up in the sky, the heights of Pyla, you will never feel far from the sea. The rooms are light, airy, and beautifully decorated with clean white wooden walls. Every care and attention has been given to the Neo-Basque design of the hotel, creating a small paradise that thoroughly deserves its name of ’the most beautiful place in the world’. Down at sea level in Pyla-sur-Mer, enjoy the spa down at La Co(o)rniche’s sister hotel, the Ha(a)ïtza, again in the clean, light, Neo-Basque style. This stylish hotel also boasts inhouse hairdressing and treatments, as well as its own bakery. The Hôtel Ville d’Hiver, a refurbished 17th century hotel in Arcachon, features a spa, pool and in-house restaurant. Only a ten-minute walk from the seafront and town centre, this romantic hotel feels nonetheless secluded from the hustle of the bay.
Le Skiff Club
Café Ha(a)ïtza
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¤300,000 TATTERSALLS IRELAND
Super Auction Sales Stakes The 30th Edition of the Oldest Sales Race in Europe
Stone Circle Trainer: Michael Bell Owner: The Fitzrovian 3 Jockey: Andrea Atzeni 2018 September Yearling Sale Graduate, Stone Circle, was the winner of the 2019 €300,000 Tattersalls Ireland Super Auction Sales Stakes. Sold by local Co Meath consignor Brian O’Neill of Rockton Stud to Bloodstock agent Alex Elliott, for €50,000. It was money well spent as Stone Circle has now won in excess of €160,000, well over three times his purchase price. The owners, The Fitzrovians 3 are made up of David Fish and his son and daughter Tom and Clementine they are from the Pennines in the UK.
“We are absolutely thrilled with Stone Circle’s professionalism, giving weight to each of his 25 rivals. He stuck to the task resolutely and showed great courage to go through the narrow gap of two horses half a furlong out from the line and win the race. He is clearly very good. We were particularly struck by the warm reception and hospitality Tattersalls Ireland showed to us during the day.” – David Fish
October 2019
79
Maintaining
TRADITION Tattersalls remains ever mindful of its heritage, while standing at the forefront of progress. By John Berry
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October 2019
October 2019
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n the 253 years since Richard Tattersall began selling horses at Hyde Park Corner in 1766, the firm that he established has embedded itself deeply in the rich history of the turf. Tattersalls remains ever mindful of its heritage, maintaining its best traditions while standing at the forefront of progress. Its sponsorship programme exemplifies this policy, with the races that it supports including some timehonoured events whose backgrounds tie in perfectly with Tattersalls’ traditions. While Richard Tattersall (1724 – 1795) will always be the towering figure in the firm’s history, his great-great-grandson Edmund Somerville Tattersall (1863 – 1942) also holds a very special place. Always known by his middle name, Somerville Tattersall was a key figure within the firm for 57 years. He was only 22 when he first sold horses from the rostrum at the July Sale in 1885, stepping suddenly but successfully into the breach when his father Edmund was taken ill. He became a partner in the firm later that year before taking over as senior partner on his father’s death in 1898, ultimately holding that position for 34 years until he passed away in 1942. Although Tattersalls still had its offices in London until the late 1940s, it was holding the majority of its sales in Newmarket by that time. Somerville Tattersall had become a key figure not just in the history of his own firm but also in Newmarket’s history, and it was only natural that Newmarket Racecourse would choose to name a race in his honour. Tattersalls is proud to sponsor this prestigious two-year-old contest, run every autumn at the Cambridgeshire Meeting.
Edmund Somerville Tattersall
Ballymoss winning the St Leger Stakes 1957
Formerly a Listed race, the Somerville Tattersall Stakes (currently run as the Tattersalls Stakes) was promoted to Gr.3 level in 2000 off the back of the achievements of its
The Fugue winning the Tattersalls Musidora Stakes 2012 recent winners, with three of the past seven winners (Grand Lodge, Even Top and Enrique – all trained, incidentally, in Newmarket, by William Jarvis, Mark Tompkins and Henry Cecil respectively) having gone on to finish second in the 2,000 Guineas. It promptly justified its promotion with good winners including King Charlemagne, Where Or When, Milk It Mick and Aussie Rules, subsequently Gr.1 winners respectively of the Prix Maurice de Gheest, the Queen Elizabeth II Stakes, the Dewhurst Stakes and the Poule d’Essai des Poulains. Recent winners of the Somerville Tattersall Stakes are headed by Elarqam who is notable not merely for his pedigree (he is by the 2011 2,000 Guineas hero Frankel out of the 2004 1,000 Guineas heroine Attraction) and his many good performances on the racecourse over the past three years, but also for having fetched 1.6 million guineas in Book 1 of the Tattersalls October Yearling Sale in 2016 when bought by Shadwell Estate Company from his breeder Floors Stud.
“Although Tattersalls still had its offices in London until the late 1940s, it was holding the majority of its sales in Newmarket by that time” – John Berry
Robert Needham, who had become a partner in 1936, succeeded Somerville Tattersall as Tattersalls’ Chairman. A new era in Tattersalls’ history began when Terry Watt and then his cousin Kenneth Watt joined the firm, the latter becoming a partner in 1947 before becoming a legendary Chairman. By this time, the market for bloodstock was starting to boom after the end of the war. A sign of the times was the worldrecord price fetched by subsequent St Leger winner Sayajirao at Tattersalls’ principal yearling sale in 1945 (then held at Doncaster during St Leger week). The 28,000 gns, which the Maharajah of Baroda paid for the young Sayajirao (a fullbrother to 1945 Derby winner Dante), held the record for 21 years. Less exalted was the 4,700 gns paid for a yearling filly by Nasrullah out of the Gainsborough mare Painted Vale at
Edmond Mahony presenting the Tattersalls Gold Cup 2019
the same sale in 1947. However, she too became a Classic winner: named Musidora, she took both the 1,000 Guineas and the Oaks in 1949, trained for Norman Donaldson in Highfields Stables, Malton, by Captain Charles Elsey. Musidora thus became a heroine to Yorkshire racegoers. A few years later York Racecourse named a race in her honour, a valuable Oaks lead-up race at its May Meeting. This has been won by some outstanding fillies including the Oaks winners Noblesse, Bireme, Diminuendo, Snow Bride and Reams Of Verse as well as stars such as Condessa, Give Thanks, Indian Skimmer, In The Groove, All At Sea, Magnificient Style, Bahr, Islington, Passage Of Time, Lush Lashes, Sariska, The Fugue and Star Of Seville. Tattersalls has been proud to sponsor this prestigious race for more than 30 years, run at one of the world’s great racecourses and named after one of the many Tattersalls graduates to have written their name in the Classic record books. Another great racehorse to have been sold as a yearling by Tattersalls was Ballymoss, a son of Mossborough who was knocked down to Vincent O’Brien at the St Leger Sale in 1955 for 4,500 gns, bought on behalf of American businessman John McShain. As a three-year-old, Ballymoss finished second to Crepello in the Derby before taking the Irish Derby and the St Leger, ridden by O’Brien’s dual-purpose jockey T. P. Burns. The following spring Burns, having ridden two winners for O’Brien at the Cheltenham Festival in March, guided Ballymoss into second place behind the Queen’s Doutelle in the Ormonde Stakes at the Chester May Meeting. The following Sunday he rode Ballymoss’ stablemate Gladness (a daughter of Sayajirao) into second place in the Prix du Cadran at Longchamp.
Elarqam
Sadly, Burns was badly injured in a fall on the Flat at Clonmel later that month, which meant that he was sidelined when Gladness won the Ascot Gold Cup, Goodwood Cup and Ebor Handicap under Lester Piggott and when Ballymoss (with Scobie Breasley having taken Burns’ place in the saddle) embarked on a sparkling series of victories, taking the Coronation Cup, Eclipse Stakes, King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes and Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe. In time, Gladness had a race named in her honour at the Curragh and Ballymoss was commemorated at Limerick Junction (now Tipperary). In 1964 the Ballymoss Stakes was moved to the Curragh and in time was re-named the Rogers Gold Cup. Tattersalls began to sponsor it in the 1980s, and in 1993 the Tattersalls Rogers Gold Cup became the Tattersalls Gold Cup, Ireland’s most prestigious older horses’ race in the first half of the season. Holding Gr.1 status since 1999, the Tattersalls Gold Cup has been won by numerous champions including Daylami, Montjeu, Fantastic Light, Grey Swallow, Notnowcato, Duke Of Marmalade, Fame And Glory, So You Think (twice), Al Kazeem (twice), Noble Mission, Fascinating Rock, Decorated Knight and Magical. Tattersalls is proud to have such a distinguished contest headlining its support of Irish racing.
Yearlings from a TRIED & TRUSTED NURSERY
2019 Ascot winner
2019 Royal Ascot winner
UNDER THE STARS
ARIZONA
Princess Margaret Keeneland Stakes Gr. 3
Coventry Stakes Gr. 2
This year’s exceptional draft is full of relations of Group/Stakes Winners and Performers by top sires such as GOLDEN HORN, DANSILI, SHAMARDAL, IFFRAJ, KINGMAN, MUHAARAR & OASIS DREAM. COLTS Lot 6 - Golden Horn / Samira Gold Lot 144 - Shamardal / Al Mahmeyah Lot 173 - Oasis Dream / Archive Lot 355- Oasis Dream / Itiqad Lot 440 - Shamardal / Mehronissa Lot 442 - Muhaarar / Melody of Love FILLIES Lot 47 - Dansili / St Francis Wood Lot 331 - Ifraaj / Hana Lina Lot 418 - Kingman / Lustrous
Other Recent Group winners inc RAVEN’S LADY Gr. 2 and Gr. 3 winner QUEEN OF BERMUDA Gr. 3 winner
Six winners inc 2019 winner ESHAASY
Producers of Group 1 winners MAYSON & BELLE ROYALE
ROBIN SHARP Mobile: 07850 661468 MALCOLM BRYSON Mobile: 07711 160856 HOUGHTON BLOODSTOCK UK LTD. FOX FARM, HUNDON, SUFFOLK C010 8EL FARM: 01638 563238 info@houghtonbloodstock.co.uk
Top Class • • •
STAFF FACILITIES SERVICE
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October 2019
ROCKING all over the world Stevenson Brothers has been creating gorgeous bespoke rocking horses for a global clientele since the mid 1980s. Nigel Reid reports
October 2019
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Marc & Tony Stevenson
T
hat little conjunction nestling, snuggly, between “art” and “crafts” can sometimes imply that the two things are somehow separate from one another, the inference being perhaps that “craft” is the blue-collar cousin of the better-bred “art”. But, as everyone looking to buy a yearling at this year’s Tattersalls October Yearling Sale will know, the look of something and how it is put together are often two essential parts of the same thing, especially when it comes to horses. And, just occasionally, “Art” and “Craft” merge so beautifully that it’s obvious, even to the unpracticed eye, that the finished article would be impossible without the skill, dedication and excellence of both artist AND the craftsman. The two certainly come together at Stevenson Brothers, where they have been patiently and successfully producing the most gorgeous bespoke rocking horses to a global clientele since the mid 1980s. The twins’ inspiration came initially from their uncle James Bosworthick who, along with their father, was a naval shipwright in the Chatham Dockyard. Uncle James made toys and rocking horses all his life and, after some persuading when the twins were looking to go into business on their own, he agreed to train one of them to follow in his footsteps – although he doubted the sanity of both nephews as, at the time, the first electronic games had come along to make for an uncertain future for purveyors of something as traditional as a rocking horse. Eventually, however, they borrowed some money, begged their sister for a shed to use as a workshop and went about building a British company that has stood the test of time and changing tastes. In the more than 35 years since they began, Stevenson Brothers, and its small, loyal team of artisans, have been creating not just rocking horses that defy the term “toy”, but also memories of childhoods that cascade down the generations. “Our rocking horses are often passed down through the different generations of the same families,” Marc Stevenson explained. “After all, you can’t leave your son or daughter a laptop!”
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October 2019
Highly sought after, Stevenson Brothers’ rocking horses, of which the company creates only 150 to 250 each year, are owned by families around the world, including royalty and a wide selection of the well-known characters from the various equestrian disciplines. Several high-profile jockeys, including Richard Johnson and Frankie Dettori, own handcrafted Stevenson Brothers’ rocking horses and, as Stevenson explained, the racing and eventing worlds make up a significant slice of the British company’s business. “We’re training the next generations of jockeys, eventers and showjumpers with our rocking horses,” Stevenson said with a smile. “The horse world is definitely a large part of our business.” Initially, upon the sage advice of their Uncle James, Stevenson Brothers created only dapple-grey rocking horses, but have since bowed to wider interests. The company now creates a variety of members of the animal kingdom, as well as meeting a strong demand for replicas of famous horses, such as three-time Cheltenham Gold Cup winner, Best Mate. Dettori, for instance, has a Zebra (“Zebra number seven,” Stevenson revealed), while there is even a camel in the showroom in Kent.
“I shouldn’t tell you this, but we’re currently working on a horse whose name begins with an ‘F’ and ends with an ‘L’” – Marc Stevenson
“Replicas of famous horses are very popular,” Stevenson explained. “And I probably shouldn’t tell you this, but we’re currently working on a horse whose name begins with an “F” and ends with an “L”. Each rocking horse, which has its own unique character, can take between two and three months to produce and the company works closely with each customer to meet their individual needs. This custom approach has helped to create a sustainable and global business for the Stevensons, who have seen many changes to the market place since they began. Stevenson said: “When we started, we had to go out to the world, to New York, to Sydney, LA, London. But now, thanks to the Internet, the world also comes to us.” Indeed, at the time of writing, a forty-foot container of Stevenson rocking horses was hurricane-dodging somewhere in the Atlantic Ocean on the way to Florida, although Marc and his company are also ever present at significant annual events such as the Cheltenham Festival, Burleigh, the Chelsea Flower Show, to mention just three. But to talk of business feels almost tawdry when there is clearly so much “art” and “craft”, not to mention love, which goes into each end every unique Stevenson Brothers’ creation. After all, just try and say the words “rocking horse” without smiling.
October 2019
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1 1 The presentation for The Tattersalls Gold Cup won by Magical, L-R: Ana OBrien, Ryan Moore, Paul Smith, JP Magnier, Taoiseach Leo Varadkar, Aidan OBrien and Edmond Mahony. 2 Jason Singh and RWITC Chairman Khushroo Dhunjibhoy with the winning connections of The Tattersalls Million, Mumbai, India. 3 Tattersalls October Book 1 Graduate, Kick On, wins the Tattersalls Sovereign Stakes, Group 3 at Salisbury. 4 Fiona Mahony presenting the trophy for the Tattersalls Falmouth Stakes, won by Veracious, to Chris Richardson. 5 Fiona and Edmond Mahony presenting the trophies for The Tattersalls Irish 2,000 Guineas won by Phoenix Of Spain to Charlie Hills, Tony Wechsler, Ann Plummer and Jamie Spencer. 6 Melissa Steele presenting the trophy for the Gran Premio D’Italia Tattersalls won by Chestnut Honey, to Mr. Felice Villa of Scuderia Effevi, Milan, Italy. 7 Paul Smith, John Magnier and Michael Tabor accepting the trophy for The Tattersalls Irish 1,000 Guineas won by Hermosa from Fiona and Edmond Mahony.
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8 Bobby Jackson with winning connections of the The Tattersalls Winners Cup at Baden-Baden, won by Ronaldo.
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10 9 Tattersalls Sovereign Stakes at Salisbury. (L-R) Niamh Spiller, Andrew Hickman, Thady Gosden representing the John Gosden trained, Kick On, Bobby Jackson, Melissa Steele and Jason Singh. 10 Matt Mitchell presenting the trophies for The Tattersalls Ireland Spring Juvenile Hurdle won by Sir Erec to Joseph OBrien, Anne Marie and Kieran McManus and Mark Walsh. 11 Major Lennart Jarven and Bobby Jackson presenting the Tattersalls Grand Cup, won by Hongkong Honcho to trainer Bent Olsen and winning connections, Klampenborg, Norway. 12 Dominick Mahony and Shirley Anderson-Jolag with winning trainer/owner Alberto Remoliona, San Sebastián, Spain. 13 Major Lennart Jarven with winning connections of the Tattersalls 1000 Guineas winner Unwanted Beauty, trained by Annike Bye Hansen. Øvrevoll Racetrack, Norway. 14 Melissa Steele presenting the prize for the best turned out in the Tattersalls July Stakes. 15 Melissa Steele with Istvan Pécsi presenting the trophy for the Tattersalls Overdose Stakes to Jaroslav Linek, trainer Frantisek Holcak and son, Kincsem Park, Budapest, Hungary.
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16 Jane George presenting the trophy for the Princess of Wales’s Tattersalls Stakes, won by Communique, to trainer Mark Johnston. 17 Jimmy George presenting the trophy for the Tattersalls July Stakes, won by Royal Lytham, to Kevin Buckley, jockey Wayne Lordan and Maurice Moloney.
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18 18 Harvey Bell at the Hong Kong International Sale. 19 Winner of the Tattersalls Grand Cup, Hongkong Honcho, trained by Bent Olsen. Klampenborg, Norway. 20 Shirley Anderson-Jolag and Sally Knowles presenting the trophy for the Premio Tattersalls won by Royal Dancer, to owner Fernando Martin Barrios, San Sebastián, Spain. 21 Winner of the Tattersalls Winners Cup, Ronaldo, trained by Andreas Suborics. Baden-Baden, Germany. 22 Tammy O’Brien presenting the Tattersalls Juvenile Plate (Fillies), won by Vandah’s Spirit, to winning connections. Kenilworth, Cape Town, South Africa. 23 Tammy O’Brien presenting the Tattersalls Juvenile Plate, won by Emerald Band, to trainer Dean Kannemeyer and jockey Keagan de Melo. Kenilworth, Cape Town, South Africa. 24 Tammy O’Brien with trainer, Candice Bass-Robinson after winning the Tattersalls Juvenile Plate (Fillies), with Vandah’s Spirit. Kenilworth, Cape Town, South Africa. 25 John O'Kelly at the Hong Kong International Sale.
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Charlie and Handler Lol Kelly in May 1966, at the head of horsebox at Newmarket Station
faithfuls
Charlie and Handler Lol Kelly in May 1966, at Newmarket Station
Harness time
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EWMARKET was the last British Railways depot to withdraw horses for shunting. They were retained there until 1967 to move special vehicles used for transporting racehorses, like this horsebox. Horses had been used to haul vehicles from the earliest days of the railways. Although locomotives could move heavier loads, horses were cheaper and more flexible, so for many years were kept to shunt at small depots. Charlie and his his handler Lawrence “Lol” Kelly, were the last shunting pair in the UK and were based in Newmarket until 1967.
Charlie and Lol having a tea break Retired Life with Mollie and Harry Pringle
Photos by Paul Hocquard, from “Steam Portfolio”, Ian Allan, 1968 (collection Giorgio Stagni - www.stagniweb.it), Peter Norman, Tony Pringle
Generations of success |
Bated Breath 2007 b h Dansili - Tantina (Distant View)
The best value sire of blacktype winners in Europe in 2019
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Expert Eye 2015 b h Acclamation - Exemplify (Dansili)
The first British-trained winner of the Breeders’ Cup Mile Gr.1 since 1994
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Frankel 2008 b h Galileo - Kind (Danehill)
The fastest sire to 30 Group winners in history
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Kingman 2011 b h Invincible Spirit - Zenda (Zamindar)
The brilliant miler transferring his talent to his progeny
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Oasis Dream 2000 b h Green Desert - Hope (Dancing Brave)
The leading sire from the Green Desert line
Contact Shane Horan or Claire Curry
+44 (0)1638 731115 nominations@juddmonte.co.uk www.juddmonte.com
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