international thoroughbred march 2010

MARCH 2010 www.internationalthoroughbred.net

FLAT RACES FROM 1

MARCH 2010

I S S U E 1 2

2009

2007

Will we spot a di� erence this year?NH Edition including stallion and market appraisals, as well as interviews with the Kinsellas of Knockhouse Stud, British trainer Nick Williams, and Monsieur and Madame Gabeur, the breeders of Long Run and Master Minded

Leading European Sires 2007 - 2009IN ORDER OF PRIZE MONEY WORLDWIDE*

RK SIRE TOTAL £ SW

1 GALILEO 15,340,259 45

2 DANEHILL DANCER 14,558,354 48

3 MONTJEU 13,378,940 42

4 Singspiel 12,856,629 28

5 DANEHILL 12,042,699 24

6 Cape Cross 11,668,812 26

7 ROCK OF GIBRALTAR 10,784,478 24

8 Pivotal 10,238,093 37

9 SADLER'S WELLS 10,151,643 33

10 Dansili 8,204,123 27* NORTHERN HEMISPHERE CROPS ONLY.

Varenar won 2009 Prix de la Foret (Gr.1)

Diamondrella won 2009 First Lady S. (Gr.1) & Just A Game S. (Gr.1)

Eagle Mountain won 2008 Hong Kong Cup

(Gr.1) & 2nd BC Turf (Gr.1)

Mount Nelson won 2008 Eclipse S. (Gr.1) &Criterium International (Gr.1) at 2 yrs; sire.

individual 2YO winners in 2009including classic prospects for Elie Lellouche, Henry Cecil, Sir Michael Stoute etc.25

2010 FEE �22,500

Contact: Coolmore Stud, Fethard, Co. Tipperary, Ireland. Tel: 353-52-6131298. Fax: 353-52-6131382. Christy Grassick, David O’Loughlin, Eddie Fitzpatrick, Tim Corballis, Maurice Moloney, Gerry Aherne or Mathieu Alex. Tom Gaffney, David Magnier, Joe Hernon or Cathal Murphy. Tel: 353-25-31966/31689. Kevin Buckley (UK Rep.) 44-7827-795156. E-mail: [email protected] Web site: www.coolmore.com All stallions nominated to EBF.

STALLIONS FOR 2010 • AD VALOREM • AUSSIE RULES • DANEHILL DANCER • DUKE OF MARMALADE • DYLAN THOMAS • EXCELLENT ART • FASTNET ROCK • FOOTSTEPSINTHESAND • GALILEO • • HIGH CHAPARRAL • HOLY ROMAN EMPEROR • HURRICANE RUN • IVAN DENISOVICH • MASTERCRAFTSMAN • MONTJEU • ORATORIO • PEINTRE CELEBRE • ROCK OF GIBRALTAR • STRATEGIC PRINCE • YEATS •

23691_Rock_InterT/bred_Pg_Feb10:23691_Rock_InterT/bred_Pg_Feb10 22/02/2010 17:31

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Theoretical curve of elimination of cellular waste induced by effort or trauma after supplementation with pineapple extract.

Courbe théorique d'élimination des déchets cellulaires produits par l'effort ou un trauma

après supplementation en bromelain

0

10

20

30

40

50

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70

80

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100

temps

Bromelainplacebo

Time

Pineapple extractControl group

%

Theoretical curve of elimination of cellular waste induced by effort or trauma after supplementation with pineapple extract.


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• Declared content guaranteed until expiry date.

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6 ForewordDick Francis: 1920-2010

9 The First Word For Paul Haigh there are horses,

there are freaks of nature and there was Arkle

10 NewsTattersalls Ireland’s €100,000 bumper, Square Eddie retires and Ted Voute enjoys a trip to South Africa

15 Breeze-Up Diary Stage 4: the final stages ahead of the

Kempton breeze-up for “our” filly

16 Are we looking into the future? Dr Emmerline Hill’s ground-breaking work on the “speed gene”

18 A Henderson / Nicholls benefit?The two trainers look to be holding all the aces at The Festival, say the boys from Timeform

20 Month in picturesThrills and spills on the racecourse, stud open days in Ireland and the stallion parade at Tattersalls

24 US fillies are getting it togetherAt last a race might be staged for the Rachel Alexendra and Zenyatta to meet, writes Frank Mitchell

34 Triple Crown action in South AmericaMichael Burns reviews the latest action in Brazil, Chile and Argentina

28 Gone but not forgotten Amy Bennett sees the Group race action

Down Under dominated by either dead stallions or ones that no longer shuttle

33 A passage to India Sue Huntingdon enjoys a trip to India

and sees the record-breaking filly Jacqueline win the Mumbai Derby

36 Investing in the Festival Our Irish correspondent selects her

fancies for Cheltenham

38 The definition of Genius? Simon Nott reckons it might be trainer

Nick Williams, who is known locally as the Genius of George Nympton

45 Keeping it in the family Elaine Clarke visits Knockhouse Stud,

home of leading NH stallion, Beneficial

50 Options for the NH breeder? Sally Duckett takes a look at the

performance of NH sires in Britain, Ireland and France

58 Double-handed Sally-Ann Grassick meets Monsieur

and Madame Gabeur, breeders of Long Run and Master Minded

62 The AP of Irish point-to-points Richard Pugh reviews jockey Derek

O’Connor’s remarkable record, while Sally Duckett talks to the man behind

the statistics

68 The NH market Are NH breeze-up sales working?

Part of a wider look at the current NH bloodstock market by Sally Duckett

77 He’s got the Power Michael Clower talks to leading South African trainer Mike Bass

82 Want to buy affordable horses?Patience Wootton recommends investing in South America

86 Mare of the Month Stormsvlei, dam of leading South

African performers Pocket Power and River Jetez

88 The database

a victim of the economy or a failed concept?

nh breeze-up sales

68

contents march

MARCH 2010

www.internationalthoroughbred.net

FLAT RACES FROM 1

MARCH 2010

I S S U E 1 2

2009

2007

Will we spot a di�erence this year?National Hunt Edition including stallion and market appraisals, as well as interviews with Knockhouse Stud,

British trainer Nick Williams, and the Gabeurs, the French-based breeders of Long Run and Master Minded

33

the coverKauto Star’s two Gold Cup wins by Trevor Jones

www.internationalthoroughbred.net4

ITB_March_section1 cont copy_1.indd 4 2/3/10 11:46:57

contents march

www.internationalthoroughbred.net 5

20 38

4562

the teameditor sally duckett

publisher declan rickatson

photography trevor jones

design thoroughbred publishing

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This publication may not be reproduced or transmitted in whole or part without permission of the publisher. The views expressed in International Thoroughbred are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publishers. While every care is taken in the preparation of this magazine, the publishers cannot be held responsible for the accuracy of the content herein, or any consequences arising from them.

the foreword


Dick Francis: 1920-2010DICK FRANCIS’S death

last month saw the passing of one from the “other” generation of racing folk, one who was identified by black

and white film, wooden railings and catching the train to the races.

His racing life is chiefly remembered (as well he knew) for failing to win the Grand National on Devon Loch when victory in the race for the Queen Mother looked assured. But the rest of his life is memorable for writing sizzling crime novels taking him to the dizzying heights as a writer of international prowess.

The many obituraries written since his death have covered his life extensively. He has been remembered

around the world, in racing and writing publications, on websites, in blogs and in the major dailies.

For us, a monthly, it seemed there was little that we could add to the extensive editorial and tributes that have been dutifully recorded by Francis’s many admirers and friends.

So we turned to Francis and his family. It seemed silly to write something ourselves when the man himself was far more eloquent and experienced in the art of wielding a pen. We decided to let him speak for himself through his own work.

Initially, we thought we might take something from his autobiography Sport of Queens, but then felt it might be appropriate for his family to chose a piece that meant most to them. His

son Felix wished to select from the opening of Under Orders.

We have taken some extracts from the opening chapter of Francis’s 39th book – we hope you enjoy. It is classic Francis, with some possible biographical racing references.

Finally, Penguin (Francis’s publishers) interviewed the author after finishing Under Orders asking him to outline his reasons for writing the book.

In his own words, Francis gives voice to perhaps why Felix and his family selected this piece of writing as a legacy to the great jockey, author and man.

From Under Orders by Dick Francis with research by his son Felix

Sadly, death at the races is not uncommon.However, three in a single afternoon was sufficiently unusual to raise more than an eyebrow. That one of the deaths was of a

horse was more than enough to bring the local constabulary hotfoot to the track.

Cheltenham Gold Cup day had dawned bright and sunny with a fine dusting of a March frost showing white between the grass. The forecast for the day was dreadful, with heavy rain due to drive in from the west, but as I stood in my ex-father-in-law’s kitchen looking through the window at the westerly sky, there was no sign yet of the warm front that was promised.

“There you are, Sid,” said Charles, coming into the kitchen in his dressing gown over striped pyjamas, with soft velvet slippers on his feet. Rear admiral Charles Rowland, Royal Navy (retired), my ex-father-in-law, my confidant, my mentor and, without doubt, my best friend.

We went to the races in his Mercedes, with raincoats and umbrellas stacked on the back seat. as we drove west from his home in the Oxfordshire village of Aynsford across the Cotswold Hills towards Cheltenham, the sun

International Thoroughbred wishes to thank Penguin for allowing the excerpts below to be reprinted.

A donation has been sent to the Injured Jockeys’ Fund

So many memories: Dick Francis with the late Queen Mother in 1998

began to hide behind high cirrus clouds. It had disappeared altogether by the time

we dropped down from Cleeve Hill to the racecourse and there were spots of rain on the windscreen as we parked but the racing festival at Cheltenham is one of the world’s greatest sporting occasions and a little rain couldn’t dampen our spirits.

I had ridden so often around this course that I felt I knew each blade of grass as an old friend. In my dreams I still rode here, surging down the hill towards the home straight, kicking hard into the downhill fence when others would take a hold to steady themselves at this notorious obstacle. Here, many a partnership would come crashing to the turf if not foot perfect, but winning was the important thing and, while taking a hold might have been safer, kicking your horse could gain you lengths over the fence, lengths the opposition may not have been able to regain up the hill to the finish line.

IT HAd beeN a racing fall that had ended my riding career. It should have been easy. It was just unfortunate that a following horse, having nowhere else to

go, had landed with all of its weight on the outstretched palm of my left hand.

but I shouldn’t complain. I had been Champion Jockey for four consecutive years having won more jump races than anyone else, and would probably, by now, have had to retire anyway. At 38, I was well past the age at which even I thought it would be considered sensible to inflict the continuous battering on a human body.

I watched the first race from the Owners’ and Trainers’ Stand. The Triumph Hurdle is the blue riband event for four-year-old novice hurdlers over a distance of 2m1f. The start was impressive as the 25 runners spread right across the course, resembling a cavalry charge to the first flight of hurdles. I found that I was paying particular attention to Huw Walker on Candlestick. The runners were still bunched together as they galloped fast past the grandstand for the first time. The climb to the highest point of the course began to sort them out and there were only half a dozen or so in with a chance as they swung left-handed and down the hill. Candlestick was third going to the second last where the leader got too close to the hurdle, hit the top and fell in a flurry of legs. Huw Walker pulled left to avoid the carnage and kicked Candlestick hard in the ribs.

It was one of those finishes that gives racing a good name. Four horses jumped the final flight abreast and the jockeys almost

disappeared in a whirl of arms and whips as they strove to get the final effort from their mounts. There was no question that, this time, Candlestick was trying his best with Huw Walker driving hard for the line. His labours were well rewarded as they flashed past the post to win by a head.

Pleased, I walked back to the paddock to see the horse come back in, only to find that the trainer bill burton was looking like thunder. It seemed that a win was not in his game plan. If he’s not careful, I thought, he will confirm to all those watching that the rumours are true.

I leaned on the rail watching Bill Burton and Huw Walker unsaddle the sweating horse. The steam rose in great clouds from the animal’s hindquarters but even this did not hide the animosity between the two men. They seemed oblivious of the thousands around them as they stood toe to toe beside the horse, shouting insults at each other. From where I was standing I couldn’t hear the complete exchange but I clearly caught a few ‘bastards’ as well as some other, less flattering, adjectives. The confrontation appeared to be heading towards violence when an official stepped between them and pulled bill burton away.

Huw looked in my direction, saw me, shrugged his shoulders, winked and then smiled broadly as he went to be weighed.

MANy OF the crowd had already departed and I, too, decided I’d had enough. I opted to wait for Charles at his car in the hope that

he would also want to leave before the last race. I was making my way past the rows of outside broadcast TV vans when a wide-eyed young woman came stumbling towards me. She was unable to speak but she pointed down the gap between two of the vans.

She had found Huw Walker.He sat leaned up against the wheel of one

of the vans looking at me with an expression of surprise. except that his staring eyes were not seeing and never would again.

He was still wearing his riding clothes, breeches, lightweight riding boots and a thin white roll-neck top worn under a blue anorak to keep out the rain and the March chill. His anorak hung open so that I could clearly see the three closely grouped bullet wounds in the middle of his chest showing red against the white cotton. I knew what one bullet could do to a man’s guts as I had myself once carelessly been on the receiving end, but these three were closer to the heart and there seemed little doubt as to the cause of death.

In August 2000, as I approached my 80th birthday, Mary, my wife, and I decided that after 38 novels, a collection of short stories and two biographies, it was time to call it a day and retire from writing.

Mary and I had always worked on the books together. she was brilliant at the research and had the uncanny knack of asking the right questions to get the information we needed. she learnt all sorts of new skills in the pursuit of knowledge for the stories; she became a pilot for Flying Finish and Rat Race; she took up photography for Reflex and painting for In The Frame. We would discuss the plot every night and she would read through the pages and polish the prose. And so it had been for nearly 40 years with a new book every autumn. now it was time for a rest. But sadly, just a month after we took the decision, Mary suddenly died. Our rest in retirement together was non-existent and I was left alone.

Felix, my younger son, had tried often to get me to agree to write another book. He said that he would do the research and act for me in the way that his mother had done. Finally, with my life now more complete again, I agreed, and the result is Under Orders, the first Dick Francis novel for six years and one that many people, including me, thought would never be.

Felix and I have greatly enjoyed producing Under Orders. In this story I return to the racecourse and the current steeplechasing scene. My character sid Halley returns after an 11-year absence (but he’s not much older than he was when he first appeared in Odds Against in 1965). this is the fourth Dick Francis novel in which sid Halley, the one handed ex-jockey turned private detective, is the main character.

someone once asked me why I always write books about horses. I replied that I don’t; I write books about people. Horses may always be in there somewhere but it is the people who act out the story on the page; it is the people who provide the characterisation; and it is the people who are the goodies and the baddies. the horses and the racing world merely act as the canvas upon which the story is drawn.

Why I wrote Under Ordersby Dick Francis (from Penguin)

the foreword


the first word

Above them all there is ArklePaul Haigh will never forget that extraordinary performance at Sandown

MyTHICAl beASTS get pretty short shrift in our supposedly ultra-rational age. No-one actually believes there might ever have been such a thing as a gryphon or

a phoenix or a minotaur; little green men from outer space probably have more true believers than either the dragon or the unicorn.

One such animal though that we are pretty sure about, and it is not just because some old timers claim to have seen him, but because we have fi lmed evidence too. The reality of Arkle is unquestioned. There really was such a horse. He really was the greatest steeplechaser that ever lived, and yes, they really did have to change the rules of the sport to prevent him from overwhelming the opposition with his quite outrageous supremacy.

It’s four decades since “Himself” last walked the earth. All myths have a shelf life, and it’s part of human nature for each generation to dispute the unquestioning beliefs of their ancestors. What’s more a new pretender to Arkle’s demi-god-like status has arisen.

We’ve been here before of course. Since Arkle’s untimely passing we’ve seen the cults of Pendil, dawn Run, desert Orchid and best Mate, all of whom had their temporary adherents before they went away muttering defeat. but Kauto Star is now offi cially better than any of those, rated by Timeform on the same mark (191) they once gave Arkle’s sometime rival Mill House. So the time has come, it seems, for a reappraisal of the paragon. and such was the splendour of kauto Star’s most recent King George that there is a groundswell of disapproval at the thought that any horse could ever have been rated their new hero’s superior, never mind his superior by a full 21lb.

Surely, think the upstarts, he can’t have been that good. Can he? It’s just a case of the oldies looking back misty-eyed at the heroes of their youth.

So up, at a press conference at the end of last year, jumped a journalist with a reputation for aggressive, though not necessarily intelligent, questioning to ask senior bHA handicapper Phil Smith a question that for once was one in everybody’s minds. Could Smith, with all

the modern computer technology now at his disposal assess the greatest steeplechaser of all time in relation to the greatest of the modern era? Smith, unwisely perhaps, promised to give it a go.

To those of us who are not professional handicappers the process of comparison might have seemed simple: feed into the computer all the information about the horses Kauto Star has beaten and by how far and then run the programme back until at last you come to the paragon of equine virtue.

Not so fast though. Handicapping doesn’t work quite like that. It is necessary, apart from anything else, to work out in each case whether each horse produced his optimum performance on the day he met the one that would lead eventually to the legendary son of Archive and bright Cherry. If it were just a matter of feeding fi gures into a box, handicappers themselves wouldn’t be necessary.

And there was an even less surmountable problem. The system of handicapping now is entirely different from the system then. In those days each course had what was effectively its private handicapper. Smith, looking back at their work done without the aid of computers, pronounces himself “in awe” of the accuracy with which they were able to make their assessments, but recognises the change of the system makes his task much more diffi cult.

The crucial point about handicapping is that you judge horses by the best of which they are capable, and in the season of 1965/6 Arkle was simply immense.

Unbeaten through the season, he won the

Hennessy under 12st7lb at 1/6, the King George at 1/7, the leopardstown Chase at 1/5, and the Cheltenham Gold Cup at 1/10. but it was at Sandown on November 6, 1965 in the Gallagher Gold Cup that he delivered what was and remains the most extraordinary performance ever by a jumps horse.

Some of us saw that race and still can’t believe it. Mill House, still reckoned a possible rival to the Irish champion, carried 11st5lb, Arkle, as usual, was allotted 12st7lb.

Mill House was still on the bridle going down the far side and jumped the railway fences majestically. We all waited for the moment he was asked to challenge Arkle, who led him by two or three lengths.

It never came. As though at Arkle’s will, not jockey Pat Taaffe’s, the gap between the two began to open, and went on opening. Arkle eventually won by 20l from Rondetto to whom he was conceding 35lb. Mill House, all but broken, was 4l away in third. It was the time though that defi ed belief – the course record was broken by 17 seconds, and it is a record that still stands.

Smith has all but given up on his quest to compare the two by maths, but denies he ever intended to “debunk” Arkle, as some suggested he might be persuaded to do so that the current champ could be better sold to the public.

“That was never my intention,” he says, “and I’d never want to do that because I’m one of his greatest fans. There are huge differences now. There is much more strength in depth now than there ever was in Arkle’s day. There are far more jumping horses in training, perhaps six times as many. but, however I look at it, I keep coming back to that race.”

He doesn’t quite bring himself to utter the words, but the implication is clear. No horse before or since has ever done anything remotely resembling what Arkle did that day. There are great champions, as Kauto Star is and may prove himself to be again. And there are freaks of nature. Above them all there is Arkle.

Kauto Star has never been asked to emulate his weight-carrying feats.

The ridiculous thing is that if a mathematical reassessment were ever possible it’s quite likely that Arkle’s Timeform rating of 212 would have to be raised, not lowered.

“It was the time though that defi ed belief – the course record was broken by 17 seconds, and it is a record that still stands ”

www.internationalthoroughbred.net8 Contact Michael Hernon859-293-2676 www.gainesway.comPower. Passion. Performance.

TAPIT was the Leading Freshman AND Juvenile Sire in 2008. Graded SW’s on all surfaces...Synthetic, Dirt and Turf.

TAPIT – Sire of 4 G1 WinnersSTARDOM BOUND…Champion, won 2008 G1 Breeders’ Cup Fillies, etc.CARELESS JEWEL…11 L. winner of the 2009 G1 Alabama S.LARAGH…TURF Winner of 2008 G1 Hollywood Starlet S.TESTA MATTA…Tapit COLT takes Japan DIRT Derby (JPN-G1),

TEMPTED TO TAPIT…100 Beyer Speed Figure in 11 ½ L. maiden victory at Aqueduct; 2nd in Risen Star S. G2 – On Derby Trail!

BOOKED FULL FOR 2010 TAPITSFLY wins the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies TURF becoming TAPIT’S 2nd Breeders’ Cup Winner

Contact Michael Hernon859-293-2676 www.gainesway.comPower. Passion. Performance.

TAPIT was the Leading Freshman AND Juvenile Sire in 2008. Graded SW’s on all surfaces...Synthetic, Dirt and Turf.

TAPIT – Sire of 4 G1 WinnersSTARDOM BOUND…Champion, won 2008 G1 Breeders’ Cup Fillies, etc.CARELESS JEWEL…11 L. winner of the 2009 G1 Alabama S.LARAGH…TURF Winner of 2008 G1 Hollywood Starlet S.TESTA MATTA…Tapit COLT takes Japan DIRT Derby (JPN-G1),

TEMPTED TO TAPIT…100 Beyer Speed Figure in 11 ½ L. maiden victory at Aqueduct; 2nd in Risen Star S. G2 – On Derby Trail!

BOOKED FULL FOR 2010 TAPITSFLY wins the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies TURF becoming TAPIT’S 2nd Breeders’ Cup Winner

the news


THE suCCEss of the Magic Millions sale was repeated at the Classic sale in sydney (average up 21 per cent), Perth (up 7.8

per cent) and in new Zealand at the national Yearling sales where the average increased by a decent 25 per cent.

the Classic sale was very strong. gai Waterhouse was partly responsible as she made her debut at the Perth sales alongside greg nash, her vet, and Denise Martin, who runs the Waterhouse-based sydicate star thoroughbreds.

though Waterhouse bought just one lot, a Fastnet rock colt, she was also underbidder on the sale-topping More than ready filly.

she managed (as often) to get herself and the sales on the front page of the Perth daily paper.

the Australian autumn racing

carnivals have just got under way and the group 1 winners have included typhoon tracy, a filly by red ransom, and nicconi, who is by Bianconi and out of the scenic mare nicola Lass. she is a mare who could probably produce a group horse by any stallion – she is already dam of the three-time group 1 winner niconero, a son of Danzero.

Cape Cross and galileo also had two good winners in Capecover and Linton, while street Cry is still leading sire by virtue of his Melbourne Cup winner, shocking. However, Encosta de Lago and redoute’s Choice are in hot pursuit and he has no two- year-olds to represent him in the southern hemisphere this season.

the top-rated two-year olds are by redoute’s Choice, Choisir, stratum, general nediym, Lonhro and starcraft, along with the sales

darling, Fastnet rock, who is doing a shift in the northern hemisphere at Coolmore,.

the leading first-season sires are led numerically by Flying spur’s son Jet spur, and redoute’s Choice’s son, snitzel.

the next two months will see some great racing in Australia and will identify the leading horses and stallions. Hopefully, the other racing stories, which include Warwick Park racecourse being shut down because ten times the recommended amount of weedkiller was applied whic wrecked the turf; Moonee Valley having to turn their night meeting into a daylight one because cockatoos had damaged the power cables and a south Australian race caller being charged with attempted murder, will not be replicated.

My absence from new Zealand

sales was due to selling a half-share in a strategic yearling in Perth out of a red ransom mare bred by george strawbridge and trained by Jonathan Pease.

I also had a load of impedimentia being stored in Fremantle (Perth) by a friend. My belongings in Perth included a couple of cases of Vasse Felix that I bought eight years ago and were in serious danger of not finding me.

Also my ute needed reshoeing and the aircon regassing before undertaking the mammoth 2,500 mile journey from sydney to Perth.

Hugo Palmer had cared for the ute during his pupilage with gai Waterhouse. His long hours and hard work at tulloch Lodge, coupled with some personal fitness training and soccer in the park where he is outclassed by Kate grimwade, has trimmed 17

Falls again at OBS two-year-old sale

Bloodstock agent William Huntingdontakes a look at the varied world of racing and bloodstock

Australian out-back tour

THe Ocala breeders’ Sales February Select sale of two-year-olds in training suffered downturns across the board for a second year in succession.

The average fell by 8.4 per cent, which compared with the 33.7 per cent fall in 2009

gave the sales company some respite, however, the aggregate still dropped by 35 per cent (it fell by 29 per cent in 2009) to $6,414,000 the lowest it has been since 1994. Some of the fall can be excused by a 20 per cent smaller catalogue than in 2009 and the fact that the subsequent number of horses sold, 66, was down 29 per cent from last year’s total of 93.

In total, 22 lots made $100,000 or more and four fetched over $200,000 – this represented further falls from

2009 when 43 lots made over $100,000 and 12 lots attained prices greater than $200,000. However, four lots made $400,000 and more, an improvement on last year when no lot made over $350,000. It was though was a steep fall to the fourth-best price of $200,000.

The biggest pinhooking return was achieved by the sales’ topping Tiznow colt. Sold for $475,000 by bo Hunt to Chuck and Maribeth Sandford, the colt had cost Carl bowling’s Straightaway Farm $55,000

at the Keeneland September yearling Sale. It was a similar scenario for the second-best priced lot – a yes It’s True colt which made $425,000 for W.d. North. He purchased the colt for $53,000 at Keeneland.

The Sandfords are new to racing having only become involved last June. “We’re trying to put together a nice stable, and he was the colt we came to buy,” said Chuck Sandford to thebloodhorse.com. “We’re trying to do the right thing like a lot of other people. To get into it at this

the news


TATTeRSAllS IRelANd has announced that it is to stage a €100,000 NH Flat race at the Fairyhouse easter Festival in 2011 for graduates of this year’s Tattersalls Ireland derby and August Sales.

All three and four-year-olds catalogued in the two sales this year will be eligible to run in the 2m Tattersalls Ireland Sales bumper.

The derby Sale has been reduced to just two days this year, the sales company deciding not to hold the third non-select day as in 2009.

Tattersalls Ireland new €100,000 bumper

kilos off his frame. His previous life with Hughie Morrison was

obviously too easy.My usual

travelling companion, co-driver and equine partner, Liam norris (alias

stig), could not be spared this winter

and so I enlisted an Irish geography graduate from

trinity to replace him, April Kent.

she is a good driver, a great cook and could get up in the morning; an ideal, though

temporary, replacement. she was excellent at keeping the ute

tidy, but sometimes needed to hold the map the right way.

starting early one morning from sydney Fish Market with a kilo of prawns and a good coffee, we made it to Mildura for the first

night, Adelaide for night two, streaky Bay (birthplace of Kerrin McEvoy) for the third night. We then made it to Kalgoorlie for the final night after a 17-hour non-stop drive across the nullarbor Plain.

the success of Kalgoorlie as a mining town is partly due to gold and partly to Charles Yelverton O’Connor, the visionary engineer who was responsible for the construction of Fremantle Harbour and the 330m pipeline from Mundaring dam to Kalgoorlie.

He was born in Castletown, County Meath and these engineering achievements were achieved in the 1890s.

Fremantle was the scene of Alan Bond’s unsuccessful defence of the America’s Cup in 1987. It has great character as a town and an artistic and cultural streak seldom matched in Australia.

My return journey was solo and my only company talking books.

I spent a night in Elliston and Whyalla as an alternative to the dubious delights of Iron Knob.

the latter is a very basic mining town and the one-time proposed name for a yearling by town And Country out of Australia Fair, who was Australia’s Jubilee gift to the Queen. Fortunately, he was called Bushranger (not to be mixed with 2006 colt and now stallion by Danetime) instead and was a fbrother to Double Blue, who was one of Mark Johnston’s early success stories as a trainer.

tanunda, in the Barossa Valley and close to Lindsay Park, and the Victorian racing town of Warrnambool were the final two stopping places before Blue Diamond day at Caulfield en route for a ferry night crossing to tasmania yearling sale.

the Melbourne Premier sale will come along quickly, but there should still be enough time ahead of sydney’s Easter sale to inspect many of the yearlings at home on their farms.

Hunting around

Cockatoos wrecked the power cables at Moonee Valley racecourse

level is just like a dream come true. It’s a terrific industry, and I’ve met some nice people, but I was not going without this colt.”

Tom Ventura, ObS manager, said: “ Certainly, there was strength at the top; there was money for the right horses. The results show that the market is a little bit polarized right now. The higher-priced horses helped boost the average, but the

median dropped and that is a revealing statistic.

“but I wouldn’t read too much into results of this sale. Only 108 horses went through the ring. I think the fact that there are people with money out there willing to buy horses at almost a half-million dollars is promising, but we hope there is a little more depth to the market as we start to offer more horses.”

Year Offered Sold Aggregate Average

2010 108 66 6,414,000 97,1822009 154 93 9,868,700 106,1152008 124 89 14,030,000 157,640

OBS Two-Year-Old Sale ($)

Extra day added to Inglis Easter BroodmareWHIle MOST sales in the northern hemisphere seems to losing an odd day here or there as sales companies continue a rationalisation in response to the recession, the 2010 Inglis Australian easter broodmare Sale has been extended to four days, possibly a reflection of the continuing bouyancy of the southern hemisphere market.

“The catalogue assembled boasts an outstanding array of breeding stock with something for everyone,” said bloodstock director Jonathan d’Arcy. big names on offer include the champion Sun Classique, who will sell in foal to Oasis dream.


the news

Stallion NewsDaylami at Coolagown Stud for the springdaylaMI, sire of Champion Hurdle hope Zaynar and a developing NH sire in britain and Ireland, is to stand this spring at Coolagown Stud. His fee will be ¤3,000.

A Cartier Horse of the year and winner of the 1999 breeders’ Cup Turf (G1), the 16-year-old daylami began his stallion career at the Aga Khan’s Gilltown Stud in Ireland. He transferred to Riethuiskraal Stud in South Africa in 2007.

daylami has sired 18 stakes winners, including three-time Irish champion Grey Swallow, winner of the Irish derby (G1).

However, it is as a jumps sire that he is really making his mark as in addition to the Triumph Hurdle and dual Grade 2 winner Zaynar, he is also sire of the 2007 Supreme Novices’ Hurdle winner ebaziyan, as well as ebadiyan, a Grade 3 winner over hurdles.

Square Eddie retired after injuryTHe four-year-old Grade 1-winning Smart Strike colt Square eddie has been retired from racing and will stand at Vessels Station Farm in California.

In February, he was found to have injured his suspensory ligament just two days before he was due to run in the Strub Stakes.

Square eddie began his racing career in britain where he ran four times for david Gorton and trainer John Best, who had purchased the colt at the Keeneland September Sale for $200,000.

Reddam purchased Square eddie privately after the colt finished second to elnawin in the Sirena Stakes (G3).

The colt went on to become one of North America’s leading two-year-olds of 2008. After winning the lane’s end breeders’ Futurity (G1) at Keeneland, he finished second in the breeders’ Cup Juvenile (G1) behind subsequent champion Midshipman.

At three, after a second in the San Rafael Stakes (G3) and a third in the Coolmore lexington Stakes (G2), he was withdrawn from the Kentucky derby after he was discovered to have heat in a shin. He was unplaced in four subsequent starts in the autumn.

King’s Apostle to retire to South Africa KING’S APOSTle, winner of the 2009 Prix Maurice de Gheest and the 2008 diadem Stakes, is to retire to Klawervlei Stud in South Africa.

The son of King’s best will stand alongside the farm’s eight stallions, including dubai duty Free winner Jay Peg and leading South African stallions Captain Al and National Anthem

King’s Apostle, who is owned by bernard Kantor, is out of Politesse, a darley-bred daughter of barathea and a daughter of the Group 1 Cheveley Park Stakes winner embassy, also the dam of Pretty Polly Stakes winner Tarfshi.

Forefathers retires to Red River FarmsFOReFATHeRS, a half-brother to the Kentucky derby runner-up Pioneerof the Nile, is to stand at Red River Farms in louisiana in a deal brokered by brett St. Amand bloodstock. He will stand at $2,000.

Forefathers ran once in britain for Michael bell before transferring to the US where he twice finished second in Grade 2 races. He retires as the winner of $200,252 in earnings.

by Gone West, Forefathers is out of the stakes-winning lord At War mare Star of Goshen, a half-sister to Grade 2 winner Powis Castle.

Belmont Stakes runner-up to Vinery deNIS OF CORK, a graded stakes winner and twice Grade 1 placed, is to stand at Vinery in Florida.

The five-year-old son of Harlan’s Holiday finished third to big brown in the Kentucky derby before going on to achieve a second place finish in the belmont Stakes behind da’ Tara. He hit the sidelines after his run in the belmont, but was due to return to training this year until a soft tissue injury emerged in January.

denis Of Cork, who is from the same female family as da’ Tara, is out of the Unbridled mare Unbridled Girl. He will stand at $2,500.

Racing career over for Desert CodedeSeRT COde, winner of the 2008 breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint at Oak Tree at Santa Anita, has been retired from racing. A decision has not yet been reached as to where he will take up his stallion duties.

A stakes winner in three of his four years of racing, desert Code won or placed in 13 of 24 starts, including winning or being placed in 10 stakes races.

by e dubai, the six-year-old desert Code is a half-brother to stakes winners Forest Code and Soul Onarazorsedge and is out of the stakes-winning lost Code mare Chatta Code.

Fee reduction for dual Horse of the Year CurlinTHe 2010 stud fee for two-time Horse of the year Curlin, who stands at lane’s end Farm in Kentucky, has been reduced to $40,000.

After standing his first season in 2009 for $75,000, his fee for 2010 was originally $60,000 when lane’s end announced its fees on November 5.

“We are delighted with the three Curlin foals that we’ve seen so far,” said owner Jess Jackson in a statement. “We also know that times are tough in the breeding business. To continue to attract the best book of mares for Curlin and further help our breeders, we have decided to lower Curlin’s fee for the 2010 breeding season to $40,000.”

a Classic winner of seven Grade 1 or Group 1 races, Curlin is the all-time leading North American-raced career earner with $10,501,800 in purse earnings. by lane’s end’s two-time leading sire Smart Strike, Curlin is out of the deputy Minister mare Sherriff’s deputy.

Desert Sun retired from stallion dutiesdeSeRT SUN, sire of New Zealand champion racemare Sunline, has been retired from stud duties.

The 22-year-old son of Green desert began his stud career in New Zealand in 1994 and became eliza Park’s foundation stallion when

Dubai World Cup

winner Curlin

has been given a fee

reduction for this spring


the news

’

Blown away by a trip to South Africa

No doubts......for leading sales consignor Ted Voute, who voices his opinion on all thingsbloodstock and sales-related

moving there in 1999 at the peak of Sunline’s 13 Group 1 race-winning career.

desert Sun also reverse shuttled to Oak lodge Stud in Ireland and to the National Stud in Newmarket. His best european-bred runner was the Group 3 Greenham Stakes winner and derby fifth Salford City.

eliza Park manager lee Fleming said: “desert Sun has been a remarkable sire and has gone a long way to putting the stud on the map.”

Turtle Island moves to SicilyTURTle ISlANd will stand this season at Allevamento Torre di Canicarao in Sicily, alongside Imperial ballet. The Irish 2,000 Guineas-winning son of Fairy King has stood in recent seasons at Coolmore’s beeches Stud in County Waterford.

His best runner on the Flat is the 2,000 Guineas winner Island Sands, but he is better known as a producer of NH runners. His leading performers including Scolardy, liskennet, bensalem and this year’s leading horse An Cathaoir Mor. He will stand at €5,000 in Sicily.

Son of Montjeu to stand in New ZealandAUSTRAlIAN derby winner Nom du Jeu will become one of the first sons of Montjeu at stud in New Zealand when he begins his stallion career this year at Fairdale Stud, near Palmerston North.

Nom du Jeu is out of the Prized mare Prized Gem, winner of the Group 1 brisbane Cup and Kelt Capital Stakes. Winner of the Australian derby in 2008, he was placed in Group 1 company four times.

Fairdale Stud manager Gerald Fell said: “Montjeu is the most expensive stallion in the northern hemisphere right now and he’ll never return to New Zealand for stud duties. Nom du Jeu the perfect stallion type for New Zealand.”

Milk It Mick moves to HedgeholmeMIlk IT MICk has been transferred to stand at Andrew Spalding’s Hedgeholme Stud in County durham. The nine-year-old son of Millkom retired to stud the winner of six races, including the Group 1 dewhurst Stakes and Frank e. Kilroe Mile (G1). His first crop are now yearlings.

A 12-HOur journey to Cape town is the only downside to a trip to this wonderful city and its surroundings in

south Africa.Our visit started with supper at La

Perla in sea Point with William and Maurine Haggas, as well as Des and Jackie scott for whom we sell the odd yearling.

Bernard Kantor popped in from Clifton Bay on his moped dressed in a white t-shirt, quite a different outfit to his regular attire as head of Investec Bank.

We had hardly been in the country a few hours and we were invited to go for a visit to one of the best stud’s in the country. In nearby stelllenbosh, the magnificent Klawervlei stud belongs to Markus Jooste, who once part-owned part of Best Mate.

the stud is in the most remarkable spot nestled into the base of incredible mountains around a freshwater stream which meanders through the property. the generous hosts entertained multiple

tables of us, including tom goff (hair intact then), Jack and Lynda ramsden, Patrick and Juliet Cooper as well as Diane nagle.

the Voutes managed to stay from lunch through until 9pm and were driven back courtesy of Bernard!

the next day, after a slow start, the fresher-looking Haggas picked us up to go to the Met Mile. sensibly, Mrs Haggas choose to make the most of her last day in the sun and choose the beach rather than from the racetrack.

Again we were guests of Bernard in the Peninsula room at the Kenilworth racetrack. I sat next to Veronica Foulkes, who is a small but renowned breeder in Cape town, and is the part-owner and breeder of Derby runner Bravura.

Having sold the colt to Jooste at public auction, she liked the son of silvano so much that she asked if she could take back a share. It proved to be a shrewd move as the Joey ramsden-trained three-year-old won from an impossible draw. Bravura has now earned himself a trip to Durban.

From there on, the day was all

about the stallion Jet Master. not only did he sire the two horses who dead-heated in the Majorca stakes, he also produced the first and third in the J & B Met, the full-siblings river Jetez and Pocket Power. What a sire he must be!

the atmosphere on the Cape’s best day’s racing was similar to royal Ascot with many racegoers dressing up for the occasion. Everyone left their boxes to inspect the horses in the pre-parade paddock.

In addition to the attendees at lunch the previous day was David Allen from Allen Bloodlines and Anthony Oppenheimer – the day fast became newmarket in the sun!

A visit the next day to Franschhoek concluded our the trip. It is village surrounded by mountains and vineyards, and is the most tranquil of settings.

First port of call was La Brassiere for a jazz evening with Peter and Pam Deal.

We sat near the famed table

under the tree where the likes of sir Michael stoute, Paul Webber and Angus gold all head for a long lunch on their visits to the area.

It was our last night to enjoy the amazing views. I am sure one day we will be back.

No wonder Ted enjoyed his trip to the J & B Met with sights like this to catch his eye

B A H A M I A NB O U N T YBorn 1994 Chesnut 16.0 H.H.

by Cadeaux Genereux - Clarentiantia

2010 Fee: £10,000 1st Oct

• NOW FULL FOR 2010

C O C K N E YR E B E LBorn 2004 Bay 16.1 H.H.

by Val Royal - Factice

2010 Fee: £4,500 1st Oct (NFFR)

• A dual classic winning miler

producing precocious and

athletic foals

PA S T O R A LP U R S U I T SBorn 2001 Bay 16.0 H.H.

by Bahamian Bounty - Star

2010 Fee: £5,000 1st Oct

• 2009 foals realised up to

33,000gns – more than 7

times his fee

P H O E N I XR E A C HBorn 2000 Bay 16

1/2 H.H.

by Alhaarth - Carroll’s Canyon

2010 Fee: £2,500 1st Oct (NFFR)

• Two year olds in training with

Andrew Balding, William Haggas,

Gay Kelleway etc...”

Contact: Brian O’Rourke Mob: 07789 508157Tel: +44 (0)1638 675 929 Email: [email protected]: www.nationalstud.co.ukNational Stud Ltd., Newmarket, Suffolk CB8 0XE

Group 1 StallionsBAHAMIAN BOUNTY

COCKNEY REBELMYBOYCHARLIE

PASTORAL PURSUITS PHOENIX REACH

M Y B OYC H A R L I EBorn 2005 Bay 16.1 H.H.

by Danetime - Dulceata

2010 Fee: £5,500 1st Oct

• A Champion & a Group 1

winning 2yo

• AVAILABLE TO VIEW NOW

athletic foals

M Y B OYC H A R L I EC H A R L I E

NEW FOR

2010

athletic foals

*Remember to call

national stud to

arrange viewing of

Myboycharlie.

call:

01638 675929

Left, Page 3 Girl

(nearside) is breezing on the Bansha

House gallops, and

below enjoys a dip in the

pool

the news


We are noW only a few days away from the first breeze-up sale of 2010, the Goffs ready to run Sale at Kempton and I am wondering where the time has gone.

It seems like only yesterday that we were searching for yearlings to purchase in Fairyhouse at the September Yearling sales. It has been an eventful six months: we had the worst rain and floods ever seen in Ireland before Christmas and then came the ice and snow with temperatures getting down to -12 degrees some nights. We had no water in the stables for over two weeks and the gallops were frozen over every morning.

I have to thank all the team here at Bansha House Stables for persevering through it all and never missing an hour. It never ceases to amaze me how loyal our team of people are; most of them have been with us for many years.

“Page 3 Girl” (named by Christy Kinane, who is never short of a word) has been a wonderful filly to work with from the day we bought her in Fairyhouse from John and Mirium Grogan of Millstream Stud.

She is so easy and honest and a pleasure to do anything with. nothing bothers her and she has a wonderful temperament.

She has been cantering every day on our all-weather and has now breezed three times, once a week on a Saturday over the last three

weeks. She has shown herself well at home and I am very happy with her progress. She has been swimming two or three times so she has had experience of the water – swimming also really helps to bring on their coats.

She will continue to canter every day leading up to the sale and will leave for Kempton on Sunday, March 7.

Pat Barry will take care of her on the journey and Catherine Barry will have the big responsibility of looking after her at the sale, aided by Stevie o’rourke and Colin Bargary. accommodation and flights are booked and we are ready to roll!! We aim to be back in Ireland on the Saturday morning after the Kempton sale to see the Doncaster and Craven horses exercise.

We have had a fantastic start to 2010 on the racecourse – our first threee runners have all been winners and include Global City at Meydan. I can’t wait for the european Flat season to get underway once more!

There is an open invitation to anyone who would like to come and see our ready to run two-year-olds and we would be only too delighted to show the horses.

Most of our horses sell with the benefit of two bonuses, the racing Post Breeze-Up Bonus and the racing Post Yearling Bonus so a horse has the potential to win up to £20,000 in bonuses before prize-money.

Some of the horses even qualify for French and Italian racing premiums.

a big thank you to International Thoroughbred for following the progress of the filly through these articles. It has been a new and exciting experience for us and one we have thoroughly enjoyed. Those late nights in the bars around Fairyhouse really do pay off! [Ed: Well thank you for your help Con, but stop it now, we are getting quite emotional here!]

To whoever purchases the filly, we wish them all the best with her and hopefully she will give her new owners a lot of pleasure and many exciting days racing. It would be a huge thrill if this filly were to pull it off! We will be closely watching her progress in the coming months…

Con Marnane

The final part of our diary following “Page 3 Girl” (Majestic Missile - Bucaramanga) sees her catalogued as lot 10 for the Kempton Ready To Run Sale. She has stepped up her work at home and it is all systems go for March 12.

Breeze-Up Diary stage 4: the home run

B A H A M I A NB O U N T YBorn 1994 Chesnut 16.0 H.H.

by Cadeaux Genereux - Clarentiantia

2010 Fee: £10,000 1st Oct

• NOW FULL FOR 2010

C O C K N E YR E B E LBorn 2004 Bay 16.1 H.H.

by Val Royal - Factice

2010 Fee: £4,500 1st Oct (NFFR)

• A dual classic winning miler

producing precocious and

athletic foals

PA S T O R A LP U R S U I T SBorn 2001 Bay 16.0 H.H.

by Bahamian Bounty - Star

2010 Fee: £5,000 1st Oct

• 2009 foals realised up to

33,000gns – more than 7

times his fee

P H O E N I XR E A C HBorn 2000 Bay 16

1/2 H.H.

by Alhaarth - Carroll’s Canyon

2010 Fee: £2,500 1st Oct (NFFR)

• Two year olds in training with

Andrew Balding, William Haggas,

Gay Kelleway etc...”

Contact: Brian O’Rourke Mob: 07789 508157Tel: +44 (0)1638 675 929 Email: [email protected]: www.nationalstud.co.ukNational Stud Ltd., Newmarket, Suffolk CB8 0XE

Group 1 StallionsBAHAMIAN BOUNTY

COCKNEY REBELMYBOYCHARLIE

PASTORAL PURSUITS PHOENIX REACH

M Y B OYC H A R L I EBorn 2005 Bay 16.1 H.H.

by Danetime - Dulceata

2010 Fee: £5,500 1st Oct

• A Champion & a Group 1

winning 2yo

• AVAILABLE TO VIEW NOW

athletic foals

M Y B OYC H A R L I EC H A R L I E

NEW FOR

2010

athletic foals

*Remember to call

national stud to

arrange viewing of

Myboycharlie.

call:

01638 675929

ITB_march_section2.indd 15 2/3/10 11:54:15

the speed gene


Has the future arrived?The ground-breaking discovery by Dr Emmeline Hill and her team at the University College Dublin of the “speed gene” means genetic predictions of best race distance can now be made for every horse, before it is even born

WHIle IT onCe seemed that the desire to fi nd the enigmatic “speed gene” was a product of legend, perhaps worthy of a Dan Brown novel, science has

now come up with the goods. Dr emmeline Hill of University College

Dublin published her ground-breaking research fi ndings in January and spoke in public for the fi rst time at the Goffs Expo, where she revealed that she and her research team had became the fi rst to crack the “speed gene” code. With its obvious implications for breeders and trainers, her research could herald the future and way forward for the thoroughbred industry.

The background Horse genome sequencing was discovered in 2007 by the Horse Genome Project, a international collaborative effort by over 100 scientists in 20 countries.

Since many efforts by research groups have concentrated on producing treatments to genetically inherited disease, Dr Hill, who herself had contributed to the genome project, set about aiming to discover the genetic infl uences for performance.

She began her work with the assumption that fast and precocious horses have greater muscle mass, which infl uences their abiity for pace and early performance.

Furthermore, the phenotype (observed

physical characteristic) for sprinting type thoroughbreds tends to be compact and muscular opposed to staying horses, which tend to be more lengthy.

Hill and her team set out to discover if this was indeed these differences were infl uenced genetically. Muscle mass is produced by mysotatin, through the MSTn gene, so differences in the genetic infl uences for the production of myostatin were examined.

The experimentHill and her team found that in the chromosone sequence at a specifi c point a horse will inherit either a C component or a T component from its dam and its sire.

It can only possibly inherit one of these two variables at this specifi c location therefore, with its paired chromosone, a horse could have three combinations of the letters and be either a CC, a CT, a TC or a TT.

Hill set out to discover whether indeed these different genotypes were responsible for the development of horses into sprinters or stayers, and whether it was a highly signifi cant statistical factor for the different phenotypes.

a sample of elite race-winning horses (with known genotypes) was assigned a best race winning distance (BrD) being the most valuable or highest grade over which it won.

From this it was discovered that each genetic combination had an optimum racing distance and that there is a highly signifi cant statistical association between BrD and

genetic type.It was found that the C component was

found twice as frequently in those horses which had won over less than 8f than in longer distance horses. as the distance of the race increased, the frequency of the CC genotype decreased and was practically absent at over 8f, while from approximately the 8f marker the frequency of TT genotypes started to increase and eventually made up the highest proportion.

Hill therefore proved within her sample that the genotype of a sprinter is CC, a middle-distance horse is CT and for a stayer it is a TT.

She was also found that the average best distance for a CC horse was 6.5f, a CT around 9.1f, while a TT’s best average distance being 11.1f. Quite obviously the most versatile horse in the group being the middle-distance type or CT .

The data also examined 38 nH horses fi nding that the large majority of the group were TTs . While there were a number of CT horses in the sample, there was a complete absence of CC horses.

The throughbred population is made up of 50 per cent CTs – it is a “balanced population” and has been bred and selected for both speed and stamina. In such a balanced population you would expect to see 50 per cent heterozygotes (mixed allele) as compared to the homozygotes with the same gene – of which you would expect 25 per cent of each, as indeed the thoroughbred population exhibts.

Data was also obtained from two groups of non-thoroughbred horses: US quarter horses and egyptain arabian endurance horses. The quarter horses, as expected, showed mainly CC genotypes, while the arabs mainly TT.

Two-year-olds Horses from many different environments were used in the above sample group. The next stage for the team was to limit environmental factors involved in the training of racehorses in order to isolate genetic infl uence.

furlongs

Average Best Race Distance

Average best race distance

T:T

C:T

C:C

0 2 4 6 8 10 12

types

furlongs

the speed gene


CC 40 21 17 52.4 81 4.1 511,114 20,440CT 67 32 26 56.3 81.3 3.6 1,801,103 36,968TT 35 13 6 46.2 46.2 3.1 87,461 5,175

Type samples runners races % wnrs-rnrs % ws-rs Mean races earnings Mean won per runner earnings

Statistics for 142 two-year-olds with same trainerHill focused on a study of 142 juvenile performers through 2007 and 2008. all were trained by Jim Bolger. Within the group there was a mix of abilities ranging from Group horses to those which did not make it to a racecourse as juveniles.

as can be seen in the tables right, for each parameter of success, it was found that CC and CT genotypes were the most successful racehorses as two-year-olds. These two groups had greater total earnings and each horse earned on average 5.5 times more than TT horses as juveniles. even when those horses which had won more than £100,000 were excluded, still the CC individuals earned 1.6 times more than TT horses.

Furthermore, 41 two-year-olds by the same sire were investigated of which 22 were CTs and 19 TTs. It was found again that there was a signifi cant genotype association with racing performance – fi ve of the progeny were Group winners and all were CTs.

Measurements of height and weight for the two-year-olds were taken throughout their juvenile careers and again a signifi cant statistical relationship was found – on average CC colts had 6.7 per cent greater muscle mass than TT colts.

ConclusionQuite obviously this research,which means that horse people will have facts at their fi ngertips, will have far-reaching implications.First, breeders will be empowered to make more informed decisions for their mares

according to their goals: do they want to get a mare off the ground early, or are they hoping for a middle-distance Group performer.

long term, the subjective study of pedigrees could become obselete and, indeed, this research could begin to spell the end for dubious pedigree theories – no longer will subjective conclusions need to be made regarding horse performance according to pedigree. Hard and undisputable scientifi c facts are available now there for breeders to use.

While there is a fear that breeders and the industry could end up concentrating even further on using those CC stallions likely to produce fast early speed in order to get quick return – and indeed those studs standing fi rst-season stallions could ensure its stallion gets a higher concentration of CC or CT mares

if it wants its stallion to get going early – the research should give greater opportunities to the unfashionable TT stallion. not only can the mare owner know exactly what they are getting now, but the stallion farm again can ensure that the stallion benefi ts by putting together a book of mares for the stallion with a greater potential for speed or early performance.

With information at hand once a foal is born, a breeder should be in a better position to plan an early career, while trainers (as Bolgert is doing) should be able to judge with greater accuracy as to which two-year-olds to train early and which to leave to mature. This should result in lower injury rates and possibly lower training fees for owners.

What now?Hill, alongside Bolger, has established an commercial arm named equinome, which allows owners to test their horses for their genotype. at £1,000 a time, it is not cheap, but Hill reports that the company has had plenty of enquiries.

The fi rst stallion has been advertised according to his genotype. The new Ballylinch stallion Intense Focus, who was owned and trained by Bolger, is currently being advertised by his genotype. He is a CC. Maybe this will herald a new way for stallion advertising?

Hill also reports that her investigation into the speed gene is just one aspect of a whole suite of research that she is undertaking to understand the biology behind performance – results of which could be published in the not so distant future.

Perhaps then other genetic factors infl uencing performance and ability, aspects of biology that by necessity need to work in tandem with the “speed gene”, can be understood. Genes such as those which may infl uence an ability to gallop anaerobically or those that infl uence the production of strong bones.

The speed gene is an indicator of performance not ability, but maybe strides are now being made in this regard. It has to be felt though that it has to be unlikely that we will ever be able to discover just what it is inside a horse’s head that makes it want to be competitive or not. or will we?

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Mare Sire Progeny PossibilitiesCC CC 100% CCCT CC 50% CC, 50% CTTT CC 100% CTCT CT 25% CC, 50% CT, 25% TTCT TT 50% CT, 50% TTTT TT 100% TT

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PolITICS IS noT the only walk of life in which a week is a long time. nicky Henderson, for example, entered the third week of February looking to hold all the aces amongst

the home-trained contingent for this year’s Champion Hurdle, with three live contenders in Binocular, Zaynar and Punjabi. Fast forward seven days and things didn’t look anything like so rosy.

By then Binocular was ruled out for the season with a muscular problem, the hitherto unbeaten Zaynar had become the joint shortest-priced loser in jump racing history when going down at Kelso at 14/1-on, and plans for title-holder Punjabi were dealt a blow when another of his intended preparatory runs fell foul of the weather. To compound matters, the trainer was said to be midway through his habitual alcohol-free February. Few would have begrudged him ending his self-imposed spell “on the wagon” early!

all of which goes to illustrate the pitfalls involved in preparing horses for the Cheltenham Festival. Tellingly, no one is better placed to cope with such setbacks than Henderson, whose tally of 34 wins makes him the most successful current trainer at the meeting ─ he also stands joint-second behind Fulke Walwyn in the all-time list. Seven Barrows looks sure to add further to its Cheltenham tally at the 2010 Festival as the stable is enjoying its best-ever campaign and is assembling arguably its strongest Cheltenham team yet, with an embarrassment of riches in the novice division, in particular.

Punchestowns and Long Run head the ante-post betting for the rSa Chase (a race Henderson won with Trabolgan in 2005) and both look top-notch young chasers, so much so that their unbeaten stable-companion Burton Port is reportedly sidestepping the race to wait for aintree.

Riverside Theatre is amongst the market leaders for the arkle Chase, whilst Henderson certainly isn’t short on ammunition for the top novice hurdles, either, thanks to the likes of Oscar Whiskey, Bellvano, Finian’s Rainbow and Quantitativeeasing. another Seven Barrows inmate, the ryanair Chase hopeful Barber’s Shop, holds good prospects of becoming the first royal-owned winner at the meeting since 1965, whilst French Opera (third in 2009) will presumably head another strong team for the Johnny

Henderson Grand annual Chase, a race which has been named in honour of the trainer’s late father since 2005 and has been a key target for the stable since.

The Champion Hurdle has been Henderson’s most successful race at the meeting down the years. In addition to his four wins – he has also won the Triumph Hurdle and Festival Plate four times – he has had several horses which have finished in the places, including afsoun in 2007, Punjabi in 2008 and Binocular in 2009.

Zaynar and Punjabi still warrant plenty of respect for hurdling’s “blue riband” event, particularly as the run-up to Cheltenham has provided countless examples of surprise defeats in small-field trials, only for the form to be turned around come the big day.

If Zaynar and Punjabi claim a one-two for the stable on March 16, Henderson will equal the feat which aidan o’Brien achieved twice with Istabraq and Theatreworld in the late-90s.

HavInG Several Gold Cup contenders in a stable is a luxury every trainer would wish for, but Michael Dickinson said after his 1983 feat

when he saddled the first five home that just getting them to Cheltenham fit enough to run well was an achievement in itself. Captain John, Wayward lad and Silver Buck had all had setbacks of one sort or another before the Gold Cup.

The build-up to Cheltenham took its toll on the trainer too (he reportedly lost a stone in weight) and his nerves weren’t helped by having four beaten favourites at the Festival on the Tuesday. Dickinson’s perfectionist nature meant he was anything but relaxed, even after the Festival winners began to flow saying: “on race day I was just laden with guilt, because I knew Silver Buck and Wayward lad were not at their best.”

Paul nicholls has been threatening to emulate Dickinson’s remarkable feat in recent years and it must be on the cards that the champion trainer has had similarly sleepless nights over his latest Gold Cup team, particularly after 2008 winner Denman fluffed his lines in spectacular fashion in the aon Chase at newbury.

nicholls might draw comfort from the fact that several Gold Cup winners have flopped during their Festival-winning campaigns, including the aforementioned Silver Buck, who was tailed off when falling four out at A H

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The two leading trainers look to have the major Festival races between them reckon theboys fromTimeform

view from timeform


Who will be sleeping the best through to March16?

view from timeform

Alaivan (Ire) 143pCarlito Brigante (Ire) 142pSway (Fr) 141Royal Mix (Fr) 137pMe Voici (Fr) 136pNotus de La Tour (Fr) 135pPistolet Noir (Fr) 135pBarizan (Ire) 134Sang Bleu (Fr) 133pGood Lord (Fr) 133Westlin’ Winds (Ire) 133Olofi (Fr) 131pUltimate 130

LeAdiNg juveNiLe HurdLers


LeAdiNg cHAsersKauto Star (Fr) 191+Denman (Ire) 183Master Minded (Fr) 179Imperial Commander (Ire) 175Madison du Berlais (Fr) 170Twist Magic (Fr) 168The Listener (Ire) 164+Big Zeb (Ire) 164Tidal Bay (Ire) 163§Kalahari King (Fr) 162+Golden Silver (Fr) 162Joncol (Ire) 162Nacarat (Fr) 162Cooldine (Ire) 161Monet’s Garden (Ire) 161Tranquil Sea (Ire) 161Carruthers 160Herecomesthetruth (Ire) 160Noland 160Schindlers Hunt (Ire) 160Voy Por Ustedes (Fr) 160

LeAdiNg HurdLersBig Buck’s (Fr) 174+Solwhit (Fr) 165Zaynar (Fr) 165Binocular (Fr) 164Celestial Halo (Ire) 164Fiveforthree (Ire) 163Punjabi 163Khyber Kim 162Go Native (Ire) 161+Karabak (Fr) 161Crack Away Jack 160Sublimity (Fr) 160Mikael d’Haguenet (Fr) 159pDiamond Harry 159Donnas Palm (Ire) 159Lough Derg (Fr) 159Sentry Duty (Fr) 158+Medermit (Fr) 157Pettifour (Ire) 157Walkon (Fr) 157

Dunguib (Ire) 152pLuska Lad (ire) 151Get Me Out of Here (Ire) 147pMenorah (Ire) 147pRite of Passage 147pNajaf (Fr) 147Tell Massini (Ire) 145pFionnegas (Ire) 145Bobby Ewing (Ire) 144pEnterprise Park (Ire) 144pReve de Sivola (Fr) 144xPeddlers Cross (Ire) 143p

LeAdiNg Novice HurdLersLeAdiNg Novice cHAsersLong Run (Fr) 156pCaptain Cee Bee (Ire) 155Sizing Europe (Ire) 154Burton Port (Ire) 150pTazbar (Ire) 150pFrench Opera 150Inchidaly Rock (Ire) 150Hey Big Spender (Ire) 149pOsana (Fr) 149Punchestowns (Fr) 148PDiamond Harry 147pPandorama (Ire) 147Toby Jug 146

Chepstow three months before winning the 1982 Gold Cup, in which he was chased home by Bregawn in a one-two for his stable.

nicholls already has four Gold Cup wins on his name and odds of 33/1 offered about his matching Dickinson by saddling the first five home in the latest renewal aren’t as cramped as first impressions might seem.

Denman led home a one-two-three for the stable in 2008 and, when Kauto Star regained his crown in 2009, stable companions filled three of the next four places with Denman in second, neptune Collonges in fourth and My Will in fifth. Kauto Star, Denman and My Will head the the stable’s entries again, and are joined

by the recent big-race winners Taranis, Tricky Trickster and What A Friend.

The other outstanding performance for the Dickinson stable at the 1983 Festival came in the Queen Mother Champion Chase in which outstanding 2m chaser Badsworth Boy routed the opposition to win by a distance. nicholls also has had four wins so far in this event and, as in the Gold Cup, is well placed to make it five this year – Master Minded is odds-on to join Badsworth Boy in the record books as a triple Champion Chase winner, whilst stable-companion Twist Magic is the shortest-priced in most ante-post lists to take advantage of any slip up by the hot favourite.

only a neck prevented nicholls’ string from completing a clean sweep of the Festival’s four major championship races in 2009, Celestial Halo going down by that narrow margin to Punjabi. Celestial Halo will be bidding to go one better this time around and could be the forgotten horse, appealing as good each-way value in the Champion Hurdle.

Forgotten isn’t a word which can be used about Big Buck’s, who is odds on to defend his crown in the World Hurdle having extended his unbeaten record over hurdles on British soil to six with two imperious wins this season, most notably his defeat of Karabak at newbury in late-December.

nicholls’ five winners in 2009 helped him land the leading trainers’ prize at the meeting for the fifth time in six years. He looks set for yet another.

ruby Walsh, who is adept at juggling his commitments to nicholls and Irish champion trainer Willie Mullins, has also enjoyed plenty of success during this period – he has been leading rider for four of the last six years. Walsh needs just one more winner to match Pat Taaffe’s long-standing record as the most successful jockey in Festival history.

“Walsh needs just one more winner to match Pat Taaffe’s long-standing record as the most successful jockey in Festival history

“

month in pictures


GOLD CUP preparation for Denman initially looked to be going very smoothly in the Aon Chase on Newbury’s “Super Saturday” under first-time rider AP McCoy, but it went catastrophically wrong when the pair turned for home. After a mistake at the first in the straight, Denman launched himself at the next only to land before he even met the fence. Although somehow the horse managed to stay upright, as you can see on the opposite page, McCoy had no chance.

The pair came out of it fine, with Paul Nicholls confirming that McCoy will keep the ride at Cheltenham, and that Denman has a month of hard graft ahead of him.

Things improved for Nicholls with Master Minded’s runaway success in the Game Spirit Chase.

After a faultless round of jumping, he was lucky to survive a mistake at the last – as Trevor’s pictures below reveal.

McCoy’s day picked up too – he rode Get Me Out Of Here to win the Totesport Trophy Hurdle. With Binocular having gone wrong and been ruled out of the Festival, the son of Accordion may now be the Irish owner’s best chance of a winner at Cheltenham.

Month in picturesThrills and spills

month in pictures

www.racingfotos.com


month in pictures


Open days at Gilltown and Ballylinch and a stallion parade at TattsGILLTOWN STUD gave visitors a first chance to see Sea The Stars (above) at stud in a open day held in conjunction with the Expo at Goffs.

Stud manager Pat Downes confirmed that the horse has settled to his new career in much the same manner that he undertook his racing career – in a mainly laid-back fashion.

Nick Nugent of Goffs was in charge of proceedings on the tannoy. Reading out some of the names of mares booked in to visit the son of Cape Crosss sounded like a roll-call of the best Group 1 race fillies and Group 1-producing mares of the last ten years. Those planning a visit include Lush Lashes, Zarkava,

Alexander Goldrun, Song, Finsceal Beo and Spirit Of Tara.

Fellow Gilltown stallions Dalakhani and Azamour were also paraded to a select crowd of admirers.

Ballylinch took the chance over two days in February to show off its stallions and in particular its new stallion, Intense Focus. Stud manager John O’connor reported that interest has been very high for the son of Giant’s Causeway.

“ We are delighted with the turnout for our open days – we have had a very large number of breeders both new and old through the farm. Response to the stallions has been very pleasing. Intense Focus who

is new to stud this season has made a big impact with breeders despite arriving late.”

If anyone booked a nomination to the value of €10,000 during the two days, they received a €5,000 voucher against the purchase price of a new Toyota Landcruiser. Also everyone attending was automatically entered in a draw for a free weekend at Mount Juliet. A couple of days worth attending!

In England, the stallion parade held at Tattersalls ahead of the February Sale was very well attended with most stallion farms reporting plenty of interest from potential clients. The sale itself was perhaps not quite so well patronised.

month in pictures

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Left, Sea The Stars parades at Gilltown. Above (top) Dalakhani strides out for the crowd, while below Virtual and Winker Watson show themselves o� at Tattersalls.

Right, John O’Connor of Ballylinch at the head of the table hosts a prospective clients (from left to right) Cathy Grassick, George and Diana Vasicek of Kenliworth Stud, and Monica and John Clarke.

Right, Intense Focus looks good for the camera and his viewers


racing usa


The girls are getting it togetherZenyatta and Rachel Alexandra might at last meet at Oaklawn in April, while Quality Road is posting brilliant Beyer Speed figures, writes Frank Mitchell

AS USUal through February, the Classic colts did their best to push the older horses out of the headlines and take their usual place at center stage.

With less than 10 weeks to go to the Kentucky Derby on the first Saturday in May, last year’s champion juvenile was only just beginning work for his Classic campaign, while one challenger, the Unbridled’s Song colt Winslow Homer leapt onstage with a dramatic victory in the Holy Bull before departing just as quickly with an injury that will keep him sidelined until summer.

other contenders are showing some command, however, and adding fire to the performance. It is needed.

This winter season of cold and bluster is typically a time for fantasising about the prospects of the Classic colts and evaluating how the two-year-olds have trained on in prospect of their new challenges.

But this year, however, the older horses have held court, and if any horse thinks it

is capable of matching them for drama, he better be a class act.

The most exciting and least productive subject to date has been whether last year’s champion older mare Zenyatta will get to meet champion filly Rachel Alexandra. Both have remained in training, and reams of editorial has been written as to whether, when and where they might meet to settle the debate left unsettled by voting for 2009 Horse of the Year.

although the eclipse award went to rachel alexandra, the decision was hardly greeted with enthusiasm. Many voters wanted to vote the pair co-Horses of the Year. There is the advantage of truth to that choice because neither conclusively proved better than the other with a victory on the track.

after numerous attempts to bring them together, oaklawn Park owner Charles Cella appears to have accomplished the feat by staging a race on the neutral track in Hot Springs, arkansas. The racetrack is located in a spa town in the lower midwest, about an hour from the state capital of little rock.

one might think of Hot Springs as something like Bath without the gorgeous Georgian architecture. The champions are supposed to meet in the apple Blossom Handicap at oaklawn in april. We’ll see.

Both are training well, appear to be sharpening up to produce their best form of last year, and if the race comes off, it will be worth the trip.

The “other” older horseAside from the filly and the mare, the older horse division is currently dominated by Quality Road, an elusive Quality colt now four, who was last seen prominently when declining to play nice at the start of the Breeders’ Cup Classic last year.

a big colt with his share of temperament, Quality road did not like the cramped quarters of the starting gate, threw a tantrum, scraped himself a bit and was was scratched, all in full view of international television.

after a long van ride back to the east Coast and weeks of patient handling to get his mind in a co-operative groove, Quality road has made a good start to his 2010 campaign with a smooth victory in the mile Grade 3 Hal’s Hope Handicap at Gulfstream on January 3 before stepping to the head of the class with a mighty impressive victory in the Grade 1 Donn Handicap on February 6.

In the Donn, he raced behind the leader for three-quarters of a mile, then took command and lengthened nicely to draw away and win by over 12l. The big bay’s time was 1:47.49, and although that is a good time, it paled in comparison to the Beyer Speed Figure for the race, which was a superstar number of 121.

That is a speed figure that Quality Road’s sire elusive Quality managed to post a couple of times and that only a handful of racehorses in the past decade or so have matched or exceeded.

He is going to be a serious contender this

Rachel was given the Horse of the Year accolades, a decision that the ardent Zenyatta fans questioned. A head-to-head in April may decide which one is best once and for all

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year and one for either rachel alexandra or Zenyatta to reckon with.

The Donn was Quality road’s second victory at Grade 1 level, the big colt having sprung onto the stage last year when first winning the Fountain of Youth and then the Florida Derby at Gulfstream.

Quality road’s manner of winning and his quick times made him one of the leading fancies for the Triple Crown a year ago, but a quarter crack put him on the sidelines until the glory events were past.

When he returned at Saratoga, Quality road also had been transferred from trainer Jimmy Jerkens, who developed the colt for breeder edward P. evans, to the colt’s current trainer Todd Pletcher.

In his first start for Pletcher, Quality Road set a new track record at Saratoga in the Grade 2 amsterdam Stakes. Then the colt ran third and second to eventual three-year-old champion colt Summer Bird in the Travers and Jockey Club Gold Cup.

Those races were good enough to earn Quality road a spot in the Breeders’ Cup Classic, which then fizzled amidst the colt’s fireworks at the starting gate.

To his immense credit, Pletcher never lost sight of the colt’s primary objectives, allowed the colt to regain his mental balance, and is set for a major year with a fresh racehorse.

The next Classic cropJust as Quality road leapt to prominence a year ago in south Florida, several colts have furthered their claims as Classic prospects in recent weeks.

Chief among these is Eskendereya, a son of Giant’s Causeway, who made a winning debut to the season with a victory over a mile on January 7. In his next start, the chestnut colt won the Grade 1 Fountain of Youth at Gulfstream Park on February 20 in the most promising performance of the new year.

already the subject of a multi-million dollar offer (that was declined), eskendereya has the potential to give his sire a win in a Triple Crown race, which would take the popularity of Giant’s Causeway to a level rivaling his sire, the now-pensioned legend Storm Cat.

Trained by Pletcher for Zayat Stables, eskendereya is out of the winning Seattle Slew mare aldebaran light. That means that he is a half-brother to Balmont (Stravinsky), winner of the Group 1 Middle Park and Group 2 Gimcrack Stakes in england in 2003.

The colt’s fourth dam is the ribot mare Queen Sucree, a daughter of Cosmah who produced 1974 Kentucky Derby winner Cannonade, as well as the stakes winners Circle Home, Del Sarto and Wassl Touch.

Bred in Kentucky by Sanford robertson, eskendereya sold for $250,000 at the 2008 Keeneland September Yearling Sale.

In new orleans at Fair Grounds, Discreetly Mine proved that he is a staying colt with prospects. He was given an enterprising ride for a victory in the risen Star Stakes and was much the better for the tactics used. a sizable, good-striding colt by Horse of the Year Mineshaft, Discreetly Mine will need the proper sort of ride to show to best advantage.

Unlike eskendereya, Discreetly Mine did not show any noticeable change of pace in his race and will need a test of stamina to put his best opponents off their marks. But it is worth noting that the Kentucky Derby frequently has an insane early pace and that horses with excellent stamina are likewise benefited from the circumstances.

one horse who is likely to push or set a fast pace, if he makes the start of the Kentucky Derby, is the Indian Charlie colt Conveyance (the result of a Jack Werk recommended mating), winner of the Southwest Stakes at oaklawn on February 20.

The powerfully made and well-balanced grey is built like a top miler and has bags of pace. He set fast fractions at oaklawn and held on to win narrowly from the Afleet Alex colt Dublin, who is trained by Wayne lukas and won the Hopeful Stakes at Saratoga last year. This massive chestnut will improve from his race in the south-west and appears to be one of a half-dozen colts at this level who are likely to be better over 1m2f.

Conveyance is not certain to make that improvement, but trainer Bob Baffert also has the Kentucky Derby favourite in last year’s champion juvenile colt, Lookin At Lucky (another Werk mating).

Beaten only once, when second to vale of York in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile, lookin at lucky is expected to make his 2010 debut on March 13 in the San Felipe at Santa anita. From there, Baffert is planning a start on dirt to give the bay son of Smart Strike some experience on a surface similar to Churchill Downs.

In that regard, lookin at lucky still has something to prove. all of these colts do, but mostly, the rest of them have to prove that they are faster than lookin at lucky.

THE BREEDing world lost an icon with the death of bloodstock innovator and consultant Jack Werk on February 14.

Truly a promotional genius, Werk possessed an uncanny ability to grasp the most effective way of impressing information on people.

Most people’s eyes glaze over when pedigree junkies speak of nicks, dosage or the subtleties of bloodlines. This response is incomprehensible to most pedigree fanatics, but Werk understood the disjunction between what most breeders wanted to know and what they have the patience to figure out in detail. So he created the nick rating, an intuitively simple tool for buyers and breeders to assess whether a cross had worked successfully or not.

Werk and business associate Roger Lyons used mounds of statistics as a baseline in creating the nick ratings and found breeders interested in other applications for this information. As part of his research and interest in breeding and racing thoroughbreds, Werk founded the bloodstock journal Owner-Breeder, which he later sold to Alan Porter.

Likewise, as Werk used emerging technology as an aid to advising people about their matings for horses, he saw the potential in putting nicks online with his groundbreaking venture Enicks. This provided the same data as the nicks that breeders bought through his office, but allowed them to access the reports anytime, anywhere in the world.

Using the nick rating and his own personal trustworthiness, Werk built a thriving business in Werk Thoroughbred Consultants. Werk was rewarded for his efforts in 1998 when WTC client Eduardo gaviria’s Real Quiet won the Kentucky Derby.

When his health began to fail, Werk turned to his close associate Sid Fernando and brought him into WTC to shepherd the enterprise and the livelihoods of staff.

Jack Werk: 1944-2010

Triple Crown action in South AmericaIt’s all systems go for Interaction’s Arc de Triomphe campaign writes Michael Burns, while bids for the Triple Crown take shape in Brazil and a filly beats the colts in the Chilean Derby

racing south america


An international career with the Prix de l’arc de triomphe as the long-term target remains on the agenda for Group 1 carlos Pellegrini hero Interaction after he beat

South america’s best in that continent’s most prestigious race at San isidro to close out the 2009 season.

international breeder-owner Jose cerrillo, a native of Mexico, who holds operations in argentina and Mexico under the name of Haras Pozo de luna, has purchased the majority interest in the horse and plans to ship the three-time Grade 1 winner to France in april with the arc as a seasonal target.

cerrillo joins South american bloodstock agent Fernando Fantini in the ownership of the three-year-old colt.

Haras Pozo de luna also recently acquired from argentina the roy mare originaria, dam of the multiple argentine Group 1-placed winner Mestre, by easing along. Mestre was runner-up in the 2009 Gran Premio republica argentina (G1), argentin’s top race for older horses on dirt, and Gran Premio estrellas classic (G1), argentina’s equivalent of the Breeders’ cup classic.

Meanwhile in Brazil Dolly Max and Sal Grosso both shone in the opening legs of the Jockey club Brasileiro’s triple crown.

the Brazilian Group 3 winner Dolly Max posted a decisive victory in the Group 1 Grande Premio Henrique Possolo, the first leg of rio de Janeiro’s triple crown for sophomore fillies held at Hipodromo La Gavea on February 20.

Under leading jockey Dalto Duarte, she kicked home late to score over Deart nati to lead home a one-two for the Sadler’s Wells stallion crimson tide, who stands at Haras Bage do Sul in acegua, rio Grande do Sul.

Dolly Max is campaigned by coudelaria alvarenga and was bred in Brazil by Haras Di cellius. She is out of the unraced coax Me clyde mare Shanay and is a half-sister to Brazilian Group stakes-placed winner Bia Ghenou.

Dolly Max is expected to make her next start in the Group 1 Grande Premio Diana (the Brazilian oaks) on March 21.

“i had a perfect trip, despite lacking room when straightening for home as i had a few rivals bumping one another in front of me, but once clear i took her to the outside and she came running,” said Duarte. “She is a very nice filly and I think the added distance should not be a problem for her as she is easy to handle and has great acceleration.”

a day later, tnt Stud’s colour-bearer Sal Grosso rocketed to the front in deep stretch to take the Group 1 Grande Premio estado do Rio de Janeiro, the first leg of Rio de Janeiro’s triple crown for three-year-old males.

Under a magnificent ride from Marcos Manzini, the Our Emblem colt flew home from a strong field that included three more former Group 1 winners to prevail by a half-length in a driving finish.

“this is a top-class racehorse and we had a lot of confidence in him,” said jockey Manzini.

Trainer Nahid confirmed that he will aim Sal Grosso at the second leg of the triple

crown. “He should improve further with the added distance. at the moment i don’t have another horse that can keep up with him, he has much potential,” admits nahid.

the series continues with the Group 1 Grande Premio Francisco eduardo de Paula Machado on March 21.

the Gonzalo torrealba homebred is out of Grade 3 winner Ken de Saron (Kenmare) and is a half-brother to French Group 2-placed winner Jipapibaquigrafo and French stakes-placed winner theatriken.

on a marathon 26-race card, more than 100,000 race fans saw the chilean oaks winner Casablanca Smile defeat the colts in the 125th running of the clasico el Derby (Chilean Derby), the final leg of the Chilean national triple crown held at Valparaiso Sporting Club on the shores of the Pacific ocean in Vina del Mar on January 31.

Sent off as the favourite under jockey Hector Berrios for chile’s most important race of the calendar, and race 21 on the card, the Ocean Terrace filly roared home in the stretch en route to a commanding 6l score over the Dushyantor fillies Mauca and Costa norteña to give trainer Juan Pablo Baeza a clean sweep of the top three spots in chile’s premier classic.

campaigned by Pablo Gomez in partnership with Jaime charles’s Stud Carillanca, it was a second victory for the filly at the highest level and fifth win overall in 12 career starts.

“We thought she could win, but not as easily as she did,” admitted trainer Baeza.

Interaction: wins the Group 1 Pellegrini so setting up a trip to France

Photo: Marcelo Sarachi


racing south america

“We are very pleased that our fillies finished in the top three spots, we couldn’t have asked for anything better.”

South america’s prestigious Gran Premio latinoamericano in Santiago on March 7 is her next target.

“i am extremely happy and proud of her effort today,” said winning owner Pablo Gomez. “The filly has demonstrated her class and i hope she can run in the latinoamericano to leave the name of chile at the top.”

Bred in chile by Maria luisa Solari Falabella’s and Marcel Zarour’s Haras el Sheik, casablanca Smile is out the stakes-placed winning Sadler’s congress mare Periza and is a half-sister to Group 1 winner Patakuza and Group 2 earner Pretty cat.

two days earlier, chile’s champion grass horse and last season’s Horse of the Year, Last Impact, posted a 2l victory in the Group 2 clasico Verano-arturo cousiño lyon for an unprecedented fourth straight year over chile’s top stayers at club Hipico

de Santiago racecourse. it was a 24th stakes victory for the horse, chile’s all-time leading money earner, and took his career record to 28 wins from 40 starts for owner Stud agricola rapallo.

Unfortuantely, it was also his last as he fractured a fetlock in a routine morning gallop on February 13 and he has been retired.

Last Impact will bid a final farewell to race fans when he is paraded in front of the grandstands during the latinoamericano card on March 7. Stud plans have yet been announced.

Third Grade 1 win for City Bankerargentine multiple Group 1 winner City Banker cruised to another superb victory in the Group 1 Gran Premio Miguel a. Martinez de Hoz, the first Group 1 race of the 2010 argentine racing season at Hipodromo San isidro in Buenos aires on February 6.

Under regular pilot adrian Gianetti, the lode colt toyed with pacesetters Fuego e Hierro and Brave Halo before putting those

two away approaching the final furlong to pull away late and prevail by a length.

it was a third Group 1 triumph for the highly talented chestnut who has now won five races from 11 career starts for owner Juan Garat and Santiago Martinez de Hoz Stud el Gusy.

Winner of the 2008 argentine classic Group 1 Gran Premio Jockey club, the second leg of argentina’s triple crown, city Banker entered the race off a runner-up effort in the listed clasico Botafogo over the same trip on January 9.

Bred in argentina by Julio Bozano’s Haras Santa Maria de araras, city Banker is out of the winning ibero mare cirandinha.

the victory earned city Banker a trip to next month’s latinoamericano, but his connections have instead opted to bypass the race so allowing the fourth and fifth-placed finishers Fuego e Hierro and Aldeano Nov the opportunity to represent the argentine Jockey club in the XXVi running of South america’s latinoamericano.

Redattore sold to Haras Old Friends, Storm Cat son retires to ArgentinatHe SHUttle Stallion Redattore, who won the trofeu Mossoro award as Brazil’s top national sire for the 2008-09 season, has been purchased by Haras old Friends from owner luis alfredo taunay and John Harris’s Harris Farms.

a multiple Grade/Group 1 winner and millionaire, redattore has been syndicated and will stand in Bage, rio Grande do Sul State when the southern hemisphere season begins in august.

He is the sire of nine stakes winners, and eight Graded or Group stakes winners through February 10. From four crops of racing age, redattore has sired 83 winners from 161 starters that have amassed $1,895,130 in purse earnings.

His first Brazilian crop consisted of 67 registered foals and six of them have been successful at Group level, including Brazilian export al arab, winner of the Dubai international casthouse trophy at Meydan.

From his first two Brazilian crops on the track, redattore is the sire of Group 1 winners estrela Do oriente, tango Uno, Meydan-based real Secret and champion

miler Kapo di Tutti, who recently finished third in the 8f Gran Premio internacional Joaquin S. De anchorena (G1) in Buenos aires.

Kapo di tutti has since transferred to US-based trainer richard Mandella, who trained redattore for owner luis alfredo taunay.

redattore’s best runners in the US include compari, winner of the 2009 Snow chief Stakes on Hollywood Park’s cushion track last april.

redattore will continue to be managed by eduardo Guimaraes’ Belair Stallions, the agents also responsible for the stud careers of Brazilian stallions romarin and Hard Buck. in recent years, Belair Stallions has been involved in shuttling stallions such as trempolino, Sulamani and Sinndar to Brazil.

HaraS alFa in argentina has added Electricity (Storm cat-Heavenly Prize (Seeking the Gold), a brother to two-time Grade 1 winner Good reward and Grade 2 winner Pure Prize, to its stallion roster for the 2010 southern hemisphere season.

Bred by the Phipps Stable, the six-year-old son of the 1993 champion two-year-old filly

won four races at ages three and five from 23 starts and earned $130,981. electricity is also a half-brother to cosmic, winner of the King cotton Stakes at oaklawn Park on February 5.

His dam’s Grade 1 wins included the apple Blossom at oaklawn in 1995.

BlocKeD SHot (Storm cat-Brulay (rubiano)), a half-brother to neko Bay (Giant’s causeway), the recent winner of the Grade 2 San Pasqual Handicap at Santa anita Park, has been retired to argentina.

Purchased by a group of argentine breeders, including Haras Divisadero, Haras la teresita and los Durmientes, Blocked Shot won twice at two in north america before suffering a career-ending injury in his third and final career start.

the four-year-old horse is out of the Grade 2 winner Brulay, a rubiano half-sister to 2000 champion older male lemon Drop Kid (Kingmambo) and to Grade 3 winner Statue of liberty (Storm cat). His second dam charming lassie (Seattle Slew) is a half-sister to four stakes winners, including english champion Wolfhound.


racing southern hemisphere

Stallions, who have either been left off the shuttle roster for a couple of years or who are no longer with us, claimed most of the glory through January and early February, writes Amy Bennett

Gone, but not forgotten

It iS so often one of the many ironies within the bloodstock industry that the moment a stallion dies, retires or is sold abroad, a slew of significant winners

emerges in his wake. Such is the case with General

nediym. He was put down in January 2009 after suffering complications from colic, and has now sired the winners of both australasian sales races to date.

In January, the filly Military rose took the a$2m Magic Millions 2Yo classic on australia’s Gold coast, while in February it was the turn of another General Nediym filly, Sister Havana, to net a lucrative prize, this time in the Karaka Million (l) run at ellerslie.

trained in Brisbane by liam Birchley, who trained Sarge in Charge to finish second in last year’s renewal, Sister Havana had debuted in stakes company in December before breaking her maiden in early January. a close-

up fourth on her start prior to the Million made Birchley decide to make the long trek across the tasman, and that decision paid handsome dividends for connections.

Purchased for nZ$40,000 at the new Zealand Bloodstock Select Yearling Sale in January 2009, Sister Havana showed a brilliant turn of foot to run down icepins by almost 2l, with Katie lee’s talented sister Banchee taking third.

General nediym, by the Shareef Dancer stallion nediym, was crowned champion australian sprinter at three in 1997 and retired with earnings of over a$2m. Having started his career at stud in Queensland, he then moved on to Victoria for three seasons, and having earned plaudits as leading first-season sire in 2002-03, was moved again, this time to Widden Stud in new South Wales, where his fee rose to a$60,000 from an initial a$6,000. General Nediym at Widden Stud Photo courtesy of Widden


racing southern hemisphere

“At my time of life, and I’ve been breeding and racing for a long time, it’s the honour I go for, not the money. The trophies are what I like and that’s what I got today, I got the chocolates

“

Montjeu adds to Group 1 haulMontjeu is still very much alive and producing, but he is now equally inaccessible to southern hemisphere breeders, having been an absentee from the annual shuttle bus since Motivator won the 2005 Derby. However, he has left a potent legacy from the four years he journeyed to new Zealand’s Windsor Park Stud.

He has been represented by six Group 1 winners in australia and new Zealand, with two of that number coming during the current season, and both added to that tally again in the last month.

Wall Street, a five-year-old gelding, has marched relentlessly up the ladder, scoring in seven of his 11 starts. Victory in the couplands Mile (G2) in november marked his arrival as a horse to watch, and he confirmed that promise when scoring in the thorndon Mile (G1) at trentham at the end of January.

out of the British-bred Grand lodge mare Villa Wanda, who was unplaced in two starts for William Jarvis, the gelding will now target the cox Plate (G1).

Mudgway Stakes (G1) victor Tavistock provided Montjeu with the quinella in the thorndon and went one better himself a fortnight later in the Waikato Draught Sprint (G1).

the four-year-old has turned in some good performances since he took the first Group 1 of the new Zealand season, and will now travel to australia in a bid to garner further black-type. it is rare for a horse of his age in new Zealand to have been left an entire and he should prove a smart addition to the stallion ranks in a year’s time to help plug the gap left by his sire.

Vonusti gets first Group 1 winThe final January Group 1 contest in New Zealand, the nZ$1m telegraph Handicap over 6f, went the way of the five-year-old Vonusti, who was making his 18th start but his first in top-level company.

the gelding, trained by tim and Margaret carter, is by the Seeking the Gold stallion Ustinov. a Group 2 winner at 1m2f, Ustinov was Group 1 placed at two, three and four, and was retired to stand initially in at Brighthill Farm in New Zealand. After five years he moved across the tasman to Victoria, but now stands privately in new Zealand.

Vonusti’s previous biggest victory had come in listed company. His Group 1 victory provided a very timely boost to his brother, who was consigned by Brighthill Farm at the Select Yearling Sale a fortnight after the telegraph, making nZ$210,000.

Red Ransom’s filly keeps his name in lightsAlso fitting the gone-but-not-forgotten theme is red ransom, who died at Vinery australia in november, and gained posthumous Group 1 glory with Typhoon Tracy in the c F Orr Stakes at Caulfield on February 6.

The four-year-old filly had already become red ransom’s 12th individual Group/Grade 1 winner in october when scoring a runaway success in the empire rose Stakes (G1) at Flemington’s spring carnival just a fortnight before her sire’s death.

typhoon tracy is out of the last tycoon mare tracy’s element, a sister to the smart new Zealand sire towkay, who is in turn out of the ahonoora mare Princess tracy. She was a dual Group 3 winner in the early 1980s in ireland.

Will Johannesburg return?Johannesburg, who was represented by the Group 1 winner Turffontein in the William reid Stakes (G1) over 6f at Moonee Valley on February 13, is another absentee from australasia who made a big impression in the last month.

the Breeders’ cup Juvenile (G1) hero was a regular on coolmore’s shuttle roster until being diverted to argentina for the southern hemisphere season following the death of his own sire Hennessy there in 2007. He was sold to stand in Japan at the JBBa’s Shizunai

Stallion Station on Hokkaido last october, and it is unclear if he will return to australia.

Trained by Bart Cummings, the five-year-old turffontein has carved out a niche as a talented out-and-out slugger, and has won every season from two onwards competing with honour in top level sprints before landing two this season.

More success for DenmanFrom a sireline still ragingly active in australia, last month heralded the successful return to the races of Denman, winner of the Golden rose Stakes (G1) in august, and absent from the races since finishing seventh in the Caulfield Guineas (G1) in October.

the son of Darley australia’s lonhro made his successful return in the Zeditave Stakes (l) at the end of January, winning easily over 6f at Caulfield, before following up in the Manfred Stakes (l) over 7f at the same venue by over three lengths. the colt now aims for the australian Guineas (G1) at Flemington on March 6, continuing in his bid to follow in the champion footsteps of both his sire and grandsire octagonal.

Katie Lee proves to be unbeatableit would hardly do to let a month pass without mention of the flying filly Katie Lee, who was once again in gritty action.

Following her historic victories in the new Zealand 1,000 and 2,000 Guineas in november, her owner Sir Patrick Hogan was asked to name a target for his superstar filly. While a possible tilt at the Derby was named, the cambridge Stud supremo nominated winning the new Zealand Bloodstock Filly of the Year series as a main target.

Victory in the cambridge Stud-sponsored Sir tristram Stakes (G2) at te rapa on February 13 saw Katie lee sew up that title with two races still to run, as well as boosting her earnings to over nZ$1m.

the grey daughter of Pins, bought on spec by Hogan for nZ$340,000 in 2008, has now accrued 38 points and is well clear of the second-placed Keep the Peace on 13. Victory or a place in either the new Zealand oaks (G1) or lowland Stakes (G3) would take her past the 39 points achieved by Princess coup in 2006-07.

“at my time of life, and i’ve been breeding and racing for a long time, it’s the honour i go for, not the money. the trophies are what i like and that’s what i got today, i got the chocolates,” Sir Patrick commented after his filly’s latest victory.

IF SUcceSS does indeed breed success then the results at new Zealand Bloodstock’s 84th national Yearling Sales Series at Karaka can have come as very little surprise, given the dominance of new Zealand-bred horses in

australasia at present. and in the same vein, it can hardly come

as a shock that it was overseas buyers who accounted for the largest proportion of horses sold during the two days of the nZB Premier Sale. new Zealand-breds have already netted eight Group 1 contests through the 2009-10 season, in addition to a whole slew of other black-type successes, surely reason enough for buyers to return to origins of the success.

Sydney-based bloodstock agent James Bester accounted for the top lot of the seven-day sale paying nZ$2m for a son of Zabeel from the outstanding Kiwi family of eight carat that has produced the champions octagonal, Kaapstad, tristalove, Don eduardo, Viking ruler and De Beers.

the colt was consigned by Sir Patrick Hogan’s cambridge Stud, the sale’s leading vendor for a 28th successive year.

“What attracted me to this colt was his quality. Physically he’s the best yearling i have seen in the southern hemisphere,” said Bester. “this colt was exceptional, but to also present with the best page in the sale is extraordinary; Zabeel on Danehill is outstanding, and with a very fast mare more to the point to counter Zabeel’s staying influence.”

The colt was the first seven-figure yearling of the australasian sales season, and was evidence of a marked resurgence from last year when this sale saw no million dollar lots, with the highest-price being nZ$800,000 which was given for an encosta de lago colt and who was hammered down to lance noble.

Of the three lots who broke the seven figure barrier during this year’s renewal, it was the second most costly who will remain in new Zealand. David ellis went to nZ$1.3m to secure lot 431, a bay son of redoute’s choice, offered by Pencarrow Stud. the three-parts brother to champion sprinter Darci Brahma, himself a nZ$1.1m yearling purchase at

NZB sale waves goodbye to recession

Year Cat Offered Sold % sold Aggregate Average Median2010 1,621 1,476 1,129 76 93,567,400 82,876 42,0002009 1,710 1,576 1,199 77 74,867,700 62,442 30,000

NZB YeArliNG SAle: COMPArATive fiGureSfiGureS (NZ$)

NZB YeArliNG SAle 2010TOP lOTS (NZ$)

lot Horse Pedigree vendor Purchaser Price373 b,c. Zabeel-Diamond Like (Danehill) Cambridge Stud James Bester B’stock 2,000,000431 b,c. Redoute’s Choice-Grand Echezeaux (Zabeel) Pencarrow Stud David Ellis 1,300,000102 b,c. Fastnet Rock-Popsy (Sir Tristram) Esker Lodge Stud Jayven See 1,000,000111 b,f. Pins-Procure (Centaine) Whakanui Stud Ltd Gai Waterhouse 650,000

leAdiNG BuYerS BY AGGreGATefiGureS (NZ$)

Purchaser Nos bought AggregateRogerson Bloodstock 28 5,018,000New Zealand Bloodstock Ltd 82 4,893,100David Ellis 29 4,167,500O’Brien Thoroughbreds 15 2,640,000Moody Racing Pty Ltd 15 2,250,000

leAdiNG Sire BY AverAGefiGureS (NZ$)

Sire Nos sold AverageRedoute’s Choice 7 454,286Zabeel 41 315,732Encosta de Lago 13 306,923Fastnet Rock 11 294,545Flying Spur 4 270,000

leAdiNG firST-SeASON Sire BY AverAGefiGureS (NZ$)

Sire Nos sold AverageDarci Brahma 49 118,439Nadeem 7 85,000Holy Roman Emperor 6 82,833

sales southern hemisphere

Karaka, is out of the SaJc australian oaks (G1) heroine Grand echezeaux.

The 2010 Premier Sale figures comfortably eclipsed those of 2009. the aggregate of nZ$65,373,500 for 357 lots sold was a 22 per cent increase on the 2009 mark of nZ$53,330,000, while the average climbed 26 per cent to nZ$183,119, and the median gained 35 per cent at nZ$135,000. Most pleasing was the clearance rate of 79 per cent.

Graeme rogerson and David ellis headed the list of leading buyers, with rogerson leading the way with his 19 yearlings purchased for nZ$4,350,000.

the next ten leading buyers all hailed from outside of new Zealand and in fact, over 60 per cent of the 357 lots sold during the two-day Premier Sale went to overseas buyers, with australia alone accounting for 51.8 per cent of the purchases.

northern hemisphere faces to make it to the buyers’ list included Amanda Skiffington, who spent nZ$240,000 on two lots, and adrian nichol, who made a sole purchase at nZ$310,000.

the strength of the Premier Sale ran right on into the three-day Select Sale through which 438 yearlings changed hands for a total of nZ$22,927,500, a massive hike of 35 per cent on last year’s mark for 456 lots sold. the average also swelled by an astonishing 40 per cent, while the median climbed by 33 per cent to $40,000. the clearance rate also radiated health ending at 78 per cent. excitingly, seven yearlings sold for nZ$200,000 or more compared to just one last year.

a colt by elusive city out of the Generous

mare Della Mimosa led the way. consigned by Haunui Farm, elusive city’s southern hemisphere base, the colt was snapped up for nZ$250,000 by trainer Danny o’Brien.

it was no surprise that the total sale results comfortably surpassed those of 12 months ago. the total sale aggregate of nZ$93,567,400 for 1,129 yearlings sold was 25 per cent higher than in 2009 with 70 fewer lots sold. the average of nZ$82,876 – the second highest in nZB history – soared by 33 per cent.

Improved figures across the board for yearlings

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Thomastown, Co. KilkennyTel: +353 (0) 56-7724217 Fax: +353 (0) 56-7724624Email: [email protected] www.ballylinchstud.com

INTENSE FOCUSGr.1 winning 2yo with a superb pedigree

FASTEST DEWHURST WINNER FOR 41 YEARSWinner of the Gr.1 Dewhurst Stakes; also placed Gr.1 Grand Criterium,

Gr.2 Coventry Stakes and Gr.2 Railway Stakes. By Giant’s Causeway from the family of Gr.1 winners Soldier of Fortune and Eva Luna.

Fee: 6,500 (1st October)

WHIPPERTriple Gr.1 winner and Dual Champion

A LEADING EUROPEAN FIRST CROP SIRE IN 200923 fi rst crop winners to date including Dolled Up (Gr.3 Prix du Bois;

also placed Gr.2 Prix Robert Papin, Gr.2 Criterium de Maisons-Laffi tte), and Atasari (2 wins and 2nd Gr.2 Rockfel Stakes), etc.


KING’S THEATREAn exceptional sales sire and a

proven Gr.1 Sire under both rulesTHE LEADING NH SIRE OF 2009/10*

by % winners to runners (38% to 22/2/10), including Riverside Theatre (Gr.1), Noble Alan (Gr.2), Voler La Vedette

(Gr.3 x 2 & LR x 2), Sesenta, etc. * 100+ runners


LAWMANGr.1 winning Miler and Classic Winner

THE BEST SON OF INVINCIBLE SPIRIT Half brother to Gr.1 Prix de Diane winner Latice.

First foals made up to 130,000.First crop are yearlings of 2010


Ballylinch Stud sires for 2010

BALLYLINCH STUD

SOVIET STARDual Champion son of Nureyev

SIRE OF 8 INDIVIDUAL GROUP 1 WINNERS2009 Group winners included Pressing (Gr.1 and Gr.2 x 2); Eva’s Request

(Gr.1, Gr.3 and LR x 2) and Buccellati (Gr.3 winner and Gr.1 placed).


NEWfor 2010

Ballylinch Int TBred Mar 2010a.indd 1 25/2/10 09:26:22

racing india

A passage to IndiaAnything her ex-husband can do, Sue Huntingdon can do better. With William travelling in Australia, Sue headed to India and witnessed the record-breaking exploits of Jacqueline, winner of the Indian Derby and the first filly to win the first four Indian Classics

WHen i WaS WorKinG at last year’s royal ascot in the authority box i met Vivek Jain, who is now the chairman of the royal West indian turf club,

and Sanjay Shah, who helps out with some of the club’s marketing.

We had a wonderful day in June highlighted by the memorable victory of Yeats in the Gold cup. the two men mentioned what a special day the Mumbai Derby is and i found myself saying that i would love to go.

these things don’t usually get followed up but, last month, i found myself on a Jet airways plane heading for Mumbai. the stewards on the flight were charming and attentive, and if i were bored there were plenty of Bollywood films on offer to get you in the mood, interspersed with servings of excellent indian cuisine.

Within 48 hours of arrival, i found myself at a press conference for the Mcdowell Signature Derby – and with that, Derby fever really started to take hold.

i began to learn all about the amazing record of the mare Jacqueline (King charlemagne-talita (Kumi)). She had already won the indian 1,000 and 2,000 Guineas as well as the oaks and was obviously the hot favourite. But her rivals were no back

numbers either and as the week went on i learned about the exploits of Becket, onassis Bruckner, native Knight and astral Flash. an exciting picture was forming.

that night i had dinner with James Underwood, a regular winter visitor to india and he helped me get to grips with all the indian names and the backgrounds of the people i kept meeting.

after a couple of days i headed to Pune to stay on the course at the turf club, a wonderful place and in the distance i could

see yearlings being led round for the sale due to be held the week after the Derby.

they are in fact two-years-olds when sold – two-year-old racing never starts before november of that year, while it is acutally four-year-olds that run in the Derby.

on my way back to Mumbai i visited two studs. First up, we called in at the Poonawalla Stud, which is owned by Dr. cyrus and Mr. Zavary Poonawalla who between them have bred numerous champions. they showed me two great Horses of the Year – Mystical,

Track work scenes from around the Mumbai racecourse ahead of the Derby

Thomastown, Co. KilkennyTel: +353 (0) 56-7724217 Fax: +353 (0) 56-7724624Email: [email protected] www.ballylinchstud.com

INTENSE FOCUSGr.1 winning 2yo with a superb pedigree

FASTEST DEWHURST WINNER FOR 41 YEARSWinner of the Gr.1 Dewhurst Stakes; also placed Gr.1 Grand Criterium,

Gr.2 Coventry Stakes and Gr.2 Railway Stakes. By Giant’s Causeway from the family of Gr.1 winners Soldier of Fortune and Eva Luna.


WHIPPERTriple Gr.1 winner and Dual Champion

A LEADING EUROPEAN FIRST CROP SIRE IN 200923 fi rst crop winners to date including Dolled Up (Gr.3 Prix du Bois;

also placed Gr.2 Prix Robert Papin, Gr.2 Criterium de Maisons-Laffi tte), and Atasari (2 wins and 2nd Gr.2 Rockfel Stakes), etc.


KING’S THEATREAn exceptional sales sire and a

proven Gr.1 Sire under both rulesTHE LEADING NH SIRE OF 2009/10*

by % winners to runners (38% to 22/2/10), including Riverside Theatre (Gr.1), Noble Alan (Gr.2), Voler La Vedette

(Gr.3 x 2 & LR x 2), Sesenta, etc. * 100+ runners


LAWMANGr.1 winning Miler and Classic Winner

THE BEST SON OF INVINCIBLE SPIRIT Half brother to Gr.1 Prix de Diane winner Latice.

First foals made up to 130,000.First crop are yearlings of 2010


Ballylinch Stud sires for 2010

BALLYLINCH STUD

SOVIET STARDual Champion son of Nureyev

SIRE OF 8 INDIVIDUAL GROUP 1 WINNERS2009 Group winners included Pressing (Gr.1 and Gr.2 x 2); Eva’s Request

(Gr.1, Gr.3 and LR x 2) and Buccellati (Gr.3 winner and Gr.1 placed).


NEWfor 2010

Ballylinch Int TBred Mar 2010a.indd 1 25/2/10 09:26:22



racing india

a beautiful gelding and a back-to-back winner in 2007 in Dubai, and astonish, a winner in Hong Kong. Both had also been hugely successful racehorses in india.

Salim Malbari and Dr Gandhe showed me round a small part of this magnificent stud and it really was so impressive. i was particularly interested to see large piles of straw in the fields for horses to rest in and roll. With the ground somewhat hard, it offers them a pleasant resting place and indeed many were making use of the straw nests.

then we came to nanoli Stud, which is owned by Mr Dhunjibhoy, who is also part-owner of Jacqueline.

it is a 250-acre property set up as a stud in 1994 and now stands the hugely successful Glory of Dancer, as well as young Flying Spur import from australia called Kingda Ka found by Gaurav rampal, an ex-assistant to anthony Stroud.

Dr ravindeer reddy showed me round. He spent time in newmarket in the 1980s and is involved in the international veterinary conferences. as we went around the farm, it was interesting to see the lady workers on the stud had their babies slung in hammocks under the open barn.

We got back to Mumbai at break-neck pace through the Ghats for my last night at the national Sporting club of india which overlooks the racecourse.

next morning i got up early and met up with nazi chenoy, who holds a licence in her right. She and her father also train together and he was away supervising his two runners in Dubai.

it was great to see the horses-in-training going through their daily routines. all of chenoy’s horses had black woven strings round their necks to ward off evil spirits and every stable i went into had a shrine for the safe-keeping of the horses.

amazingly, walkers and joggers were working out on the inside of the track with the horses exercising on the outside with lads sitting on their backs before their exercise in flip flops.

the Breakfast With the Stars was a great event with lots of press high on the stanchions to see the stars work out with the big screen in operation too.

all the horses wear numbers it is easy to spot which one is which and Becket really stood out – he is a very handsome horse by Hawk Wing.

three days before the Derby an evening press conference was held in the paddock. the draw was held along with a fashion parade in which some very sporting jockeys took part. British jockey Martin Dywer sat next to me and gave his support, but i think he was glad that he had declined the invitation to take part on the catwalk.

The big dayDerby Day arrived and en-route to the course i went to visit Gautam Kotwal, a friend and colleague of Hugo Merry, rolf Johnson, who had been working hard promoting Highclere thoroubred racing, and Jacqueline’s breeder Mr Gajayinder Singh,who was sporting a most elegant yellow turban

the Derby is not until 5.15pm so the build-up goes on and on with Michael Jackson and tina turner look-a-likes pounding round the paddock between races singing their hearts out!

there is something so utterly gripping hoping for history to be

made. it was easy to panic among 25,000 spectators and you worry like mad that you are not going to be able to get in the right spot to see the action.

i knew where Sanjay was, but getting to him was not going to be so easy. i got into the paddock to take pictures and then met anil Mukhi of Galaxy Bloodstock, who was also looking after arthur inglis from Sydney. Mukhi knew all the best routes around the racecourse so we missed nothing.

it was a fabulous race and for the first time in this Mumbai

season Jacqueline came off the bridle, but she slipped through a tiny gap and wore down the brave Becket to win in record time.

it was a fantastic culmination to a most magical day and seeing the imported jockey richard Hughes salute the stands following the great triumph was a real highlight.

it was a brilliant training performance by Pesi Shroff, her trainer, while the filly’s three owners, Mr and Mrs Vijay Shirke, Mr. Kushroo Dhunjibhoy and Mr Beris Desai were so proud.

notably, native night came in third, whom i had met at his trainer narandra lagand’s stable. He is still a maiden, but has been placed in numerous Group races.

i had a fantastic educational and enjoyable trip. i might just have to go to the invitation race in March where some of the participants are going now – invitation or not

Right, the Royal Western India Turf Club.Below, Richard Hughes is aboard the race

winner Jacqueline, a daughter of King Charlemagne,

diary irish stud farmer’s wife


investing at the festivalWith the promise of some great sport ahead of us this March, it is time to put on the betting boots and take the fight to the bookies

THe rUn up to cheltenham has begun. last year everyone ahead of the meeting was very downbeat due to the state of the economy and the future prognosis for the breeding and racing industries.

Many Festival regulars opted out and stayed at home to watch on tV.

in previous years, there had been large scale competition for the big boys to outdo each other in their travel arrangements, accommodation and plans for the Festival.

this year the focus is back on the horses, the racing and the luck of the irish. Plans now revolve around just where to watch, who to meet up with to share the highs and lows – i feel i have stepped back in time.

cheltenham is the only festival i ever make money on. i had a royal clean-up in 2008 as I had two massive winners; the first on day one, which set me up for the week, with the second on the last day leaving me in profit.

i didn’t do so well last year, but as we are back to even years in 2010, maybe my luck

will be in again. i don’t mind sharing my fancies, but don’t come back if it all goes belly up as, despite previous successes at the Festival, in general i am not the world’s most successful tipster.

the Supreme novices’ Hurdle set me up in 2008 so i will have a good punt again this year and the obvious choice is Dunguib, despite his very likely short price. His race record reads like a Flat horse at the top of his game as bar a disqualification last April after a banned substance was found in his sample.

Go Native is chasing a million pound bonus in the Champion Hurdle. Trainer Noel Meade will doing his best to ensure that he takes that home

diary irish stud farmer’s wife

He fi nished second on his fi rst-ever career start, but since then he has not been beaten giving him a total of seven race victories. it is hard to see any nose getting ahead of him.

i will have to go with Captain Cee Bee in the arkle as it was him that served me so well in 2008. i think he has great class and the best is yet to come from him – if he jumps well he will leave them for dead. i am not an each way bettor, but if i was, i would probably have a back-up plan in Sizing europe to keep the pot healthy.

PreDictinG the champion Hurdle this year, for me at least, is diffi cult. My money will be on Go Native, but i think it may go to a horse outside of the top of the betting, though i am not

sure which one. However, we can’t forget the million that is at stake if Go native wraps up the triple crown bonus and nor can we ignore the fact that the noel Meade yard will pull out all the stops for the bonus.

in the champion chase i like Master Minded, same as everyone else, but as my heart lies with Big Zeb i don’t know where my money will end up. it is hard to know where he would have fi nished last year, but I thought he was in with a chance of running fi fth until falling four out. I would love to see him win it this year, but whether the heart or the wallet will triumph will probably depend on just how fat or thin the purse is come 3pm on St Paddy’s day.

Much like the champion Hurdle i think the World Hurdle will go to an outsider and Karabak will have my money as always fi nishes there or thereabouts.

and so to the race that has the country in a long-standing argument – the Gold cup. Kauto Star v Denman. champion v champion.

By all accounts, even despite the

disaster that befell the Presenting horse at newbury, i still think that it will be a two-horse race, even though Kauto now looks the favoured. a dead-heat would be my favoured outcome as i love both horses! i think though i will go for Denman as i have emotional attachments to the Polly Puttens page and i can’t seem to get away from that. in reality, i would be happy to see either win as they are both stand-out horses.

We all look forward to cheltenham week so we get ready as if for christmas – all jobs that can be sorted out in the lead-up to the meeting are done in plenty of time and we hop out of bed at the crack of dawn each racing day to get all out, all fed, all covered and all happy so that we can lock up shop from 12pm onwards and stick on the tV for the afternoon.

the one interruption allowable is the booking of mares. the

irish are obsessed with cheltenham and all the lads

that decided not to cover this year will, we know,

begin to change their minds as they get sucked in to the atmosphere of the Festival. Without doubt we take more

calls enquiring about stallions than in any

other week. if the irish are doing

well, this phenonmena multiplies. the only

problem is the timing so hold the call to book

a stallion until racing fi nishes – you will probably get a better deal if allowing the farm uninterrupted viewing!

the lovely cold weather has held out and the horses are thriving with the bit

of weak sun they get everyday. the barren mares are all in, double rugged, under lights and gleaming, with many covered and awaiting scans. if the weather holds out it will be an easy start to the covering year.

The fi rst foals have arrived so sleep is at a premium, but the enjoyment of seeing the early foals keeps you going. i had a few “non-nights” this week where the days and nights rolled in to each other, but i have a trusted foaling dog who keeps me going through the night.

She has had 11 seasons with us now – she knows the routine so well that when the foaling alarm goes off she knows as well as i do which stable to head for. i do believe that she would know exactly what to do as well.

We are waiting with baited breath to see how the national asset Management agency (naMa), which has been set up by the Government to manage the bad debts of irish banks, pans out. The fi rst list of transfers is publicly available, but the paperwork and legal wrangling seems to be delaying the process – who would ever have guessed!

My money goes on the country pulling itself out of the recession long before naMa legally owns anything.

our President launched a great initiative during the week to get the country going again by identifying innovative business ideas to help us to get out off the recession.

two project ideas will get €100,000 prize-money and an investment of €500,000 in the project, together with free professional and consultation assistance to get up and running.

Fair play i say because although there will only be two winners, 1000s of businesses with new ideas will compete.

they may not win, but at least they will kick-start some activity. let’s hope some budding equine entrepreneurs will consider entering.

i wish you all a prosperous cheltenham – enjoy and prosper. Please, though remember to wait until the end of each day’s racing before ringing a nH stud to book in your mares!

“Hold that call to book a stallion until racing fi nishes – you will probably get a better deal if allowing the farm uninterrupted viewing!

“www.internationalthoroughbred.net 37

The Irish President Mary McAleese has announced a rejuvenation competition with a prize fund of over ¤500,000

nh feature nick williams


The definition of Genius?Some think it is trainer Nick Williams, who seems to have mastered the art of

buying and successfully training Grade 1 winners, despite having a string of less than 25 horses. Simon Nott finds out more about the Genius of George Nympton

Photos: Trevor Jones and Steve Cargill





The Genius of GeorGe nympton is how trainer nick Williams is affectionately known in Devonshire racing circles, and perhaps understandably so.

his yard, situated in the aforementioned hamlet just outside of south molton, has been quietly growing over the last few years. from earning a total prize-money of just £3,968 in the 1999-00 season to £374,064 so far this season, expansion is well underway.

Although this season has seen the most runners yet from the yard, his horses have achieved a level-stake punting profit for five of the last seven seasons, which has made nick Williams a revered name with punters.

this, combined with the yard’s double-figure strike-rate, has been enough to raise a few eyebrows. if you add in the fact that a number of the horses have been successful at Grade 1 level and hold strong chances at the festival, then factor in just how cheaply those horses have been bought for, then those eyebrows just might go orbital.

the two stable stars, reve De sivola and Diamond harry, were both purchased by their handler for less than £12,ooo apiece.

so surely with such superior training skills, with such an ability at placing horses

of varying ability to their maximum winning potential, as well as possessing such a good eye for a decent, yet affordable, young horse, Williams must have come from a youth and background steeped in all things equine? the answer is no.

“i have no racing or riding background, but worked as a lad for Willie musson near Guildford for a year when i was 19 before embarking on accountancy,” remembers Williams.

“At the time mark tompkins was the assistant trainer. i did ride out, but was

more of a liability than an asset, and i still am! Before getting a permit in about 1998 i was assistant trainer to my first wife Sarah Williams for about eight years.”

That first season yielded no winners from four runners for Williams and you would have needed the foresight of mystic meg to have predicted the success that the yard is now enjoying 11 years later. But from those four runners, two finished in the places, proving then that the man knew what he was doing.

the steady climb in just a shade over a decade to be snapping at the heels of the top yards hasn’t been achieved by luck or a magic wand, but by an attention to detail and sheer hard work

“first, my wife Jane gives me invaluable help and support. she does all the administration and a lot of the training programme. she is also very good at breaking in and schooling,” says Williams.

“second, i spend a lot of time on race planning and try to ensure that the horses are running in the right races to suit their ability level, which, generally, i can assess fairly accurately.

“third, most of the horses (more than half) i have selected myself so i have horses which i like in terms of pedigree, attitude and conformation. this is a big help.

“Most of the horses I have selected myself so I end up with horses which I like in terms of pedigree, attitude and conformation. This is a big help

“

Left, Diamond Harry wins his first race over fences at Haydock and above enjoys some time out with his mates




“finally, the quality of the staff has improved markedly since we have become more successful. my assistant trainer Jenny Congdon and pupil assistant Joe tickle are both very good at their jobs.”

the Culverhill farm set-up and facilities have been steadily built upon as the yard’s success has grown, but is still manageable enough for the modest-sized team to give each individual the attention they deserve. the whole operation could be described as compact but perfectly formed.

“We have about 25 horses in training but this includes two and three-year-olds which we are bringing on,” explains Williams. “We have large, well-ventilated stables, a 5f uphill wood-chip gallop and a large field which we use for steady canter work, which is half a mile round.

“for jumping, we have a large outdoor arena with poles and show-jumps and jumps in the fields, including fixed brush hurdles, ordinary hurdles and fences.

“We have a number of unbroken horses waiting in the wings, include a two-year-old presenting gelding out of Countess Camilla, who is dam of George nympton.

“We will also have at least four yearlings and two-year-olds coming over from france this summer.”

Despite nick’s seemingly relentless progress through the nh training ranks, somehow he has continued with his career in accountancy at sully & Co, based in south molton. the layman may think that the two careers would hardly dovetail, but Williams’s determined attitude means that where there’s

a will, a way will be found.“yes it works but with considerable

difficulty, although as we don’t do summer racing anymore, it is a bit easier,” he admits. “We try to get ahead with the accountancy work in the summer months. January is the busiest month though for accountancy due to the January 31 deadline. it is always a nightmare month and that was compounded this year by the diabolically cold weather, which rendered our gallops unusable most days.”

the yard came heartbreakingly close to a Cheltenham festival winner last season when maljimar was denied in the shadow of the post after a super-human effort by none other than tony mcCoy aboard Wichita Lineman. the Williams team is sending what could well be the yard’s strongest team yet – a Maganificent Seven – to assault this year’s festival, but the trainer is realistic about their chances.

“reve De sivola goes for the 2m4f novice hurdle. he is already a Grade 1 winner and he is my favourite horse. he has huge ability as well as perfect manners in and out of the stable. in my eyes, he is faultless!

“Diamond harry’s target is the rsA Chase, but he has no chance if he jumps as badly as he did at newbury.

“he is much stronger than last year and i thought his two haydock wins this season have been amongst the 10 most exciting performances put in by a jump horse so far this season.

“James De Vassy heads to the Coral Cup. unfortunately, he has risen a lot in the

THaT is just what professional punter, journalist, author, form book guru and owner andrew Mount is hoping for on his 40th birthday courtesy of Reve di Sivola.“I first noticed Nick with his handling of Sullys Hope. The horse was a Stratford expert and he paid my Cheltenham expenses when winning at 12-1 with Ruby Walsh on the Monday before The Festival in 2002.

“Over the next few years every time I saw Nick at the races, usually at Worcester where I used to work for a racecourse bookmaker, he always seemed to have a winner and I vowed to have a horse in training with him, if I could ever afford it.

“I dipped my toe in the water with a small share in The Risky Viking, a real plodder who managed to win a 4m handicap chase in desperate conditions at Exeter.

“I then increased my interest after winning the Scoop6 for the first time. I've now got shares in four horses with Nick – Reve De Sivola, Diamond Brook, Quasar D'Oudairies and the unraced Diamond Eclipse.

“Reve is around 12-1 for the Neptune Investment Management Novices' Hurdle on day two of the Festival – the same day as my 40th birthday! He has been freshened up by an 11-week break since winning the Grade 1 Challow Hurdle. He’ll need to jump better then but, if he does, he could go close.”

Dreams sometimes do come true, here’s hoping...

Reve Di Sivola

The Williams string winds its way up the gallops

What would be the best birthday present ever?Perhaps a Festival winner...?


weights during the season and his exeter form is not working out that well. he will need to be a better horse at 2m4f than 2m if he is to win the race. in his favour though he does have a high cruising speed.

“Cornas is entered in the Champion Chase, but that race looks unbelievably tough especially after seeing master minded’s return performance at newbury. i may get cold feet and divert him instead for the Grand Annual.

“George nympton and singapore reef are both possibilities for the fred Winter but both may miss the cut as they not rated that highly.

“the last is me Voici, who was very impressive when winning the Grade 1 hurdle at Chepstow, but he must have soft ground which he is unlikely to encounter in the triumph so he must be considered a doubtful runner at this stage. i believe he could be a probable future Cheltenham Gold Cup winner, if he avoids injury.”

One of the facts that makes the success of the nick Williams team so astonishing is that it has been achieved without the help of big-money backers or high-profile owners.

Williams endeavours to buy as many of his charges as possible himself, and is a little embarrassed that some people think that he has stumbled upon some sort of magic formula for buying what turn out to be top-notch horses quite cheaply.

he puts his uncanny ability mainly down to instinct, but there is a loose criterion to meet too.“i look for good quality horses – perhaps with flashy heads,” he explains. “I like to see a strong dam line and preferably the horse should be out of a mare who was tough enough to stand racing and win.

“i will forgive certain conformation faults if i like the horse and its pedigree enough. As a general rule i avoid the fashionable stallions as they are more expensive. the dam line is more important to me although i do like the

stallion to have won a Group 1 at between 1m4f and 2m if possible.”

some people have been surprised at how so successful he has been buying horses considered very young in nh circles, but he is quick to point out that this train of thought is possibly just a regional point of view.

many of his star purchases have come from raids in france, which has proved a happy hunting ground for him. And as well as buying french bloodstock, Williams has

been more than happy to learn from training methods from the other side of the Channel.

“our style here of training is similar to that of many french trainers – our horses are only young if comparing them with most english trainers. the main reason for doing so much with young horses is that vets have proved that working a horse with immature bones can improve a horse’s bone density, which in itself makes the horse more durable.

“for a number of reasons we buy horses that bit ‘younger’ from france: most french horses are sold as yearlings, there are no sales in france for three and four-year-old stores and young horses are generally cheaper than ‘made horses’, so it is often makes financial sense to buy them younger.

“Also, generally, there is more choice in france as the french breed more middle-distance horses than we do in england where the concentration at the sales seems to be on short-distance horses.”

When arriving in the rolling hills of Devon, the youngsters get to enjoy their surroundings and the best of everything until they are broken, generally as two-year-olds, although there are exceptions.

“prior to breaking them, we manage them in the same way as a stud. they get lots of handling, good food and are turned out with our cattle on good quality pasture.”

some of nick’s bargain purchases have become very lucrative prospects indeed with some having attracted rumoured large offers after their big race wins.

the latest to fall into that bracket was the maille pistol gelding pistolet noir, who did indeed change hands after Grade 2 juvenile novices’ hurdle win at Cheltenham in november.

have all the yard’s horses got a price on their heads or would Cheltenham glory be more important than the money?

“our horses are not always for sale at any price – it depends entirely upon the owner. not very many have been sold on to go to other yards, it has been about one a year on average,” says Williams

the Williams team has already been assured of its best-ever season, but despite everything going well for the yard are there any bug bears in racing or breeding that he would like to voice?

“racing is such a disjointed industry with so many pressure groups fighting tooth and nail to protect their own interests without giving a damm about the implications of their selfishness on the industry as a whole. The examples are too numerous to name. the consequence? We have an industry which is financially unsound”

perhaps racing for Change ought to take time to listen to a highly successful racehorse-training accountant?

“I like to see a strong dam line and preferably the horse should be out of a mare who was tough enough to stand racing and win

“

The rolling hills of the Devon countryside provide Williams with a perfect environment in which to train and prepare young racehorses

Project4:Layout 1 23/02/2010 17:24 Page 1

Project4:Layout 1 23/02/2010 17:24 Page 1

...choose a range with proven results

When winning counts...

D&H|TB.IT.FP.AD180110.indd 1 18/1/10 12:17:11

It’s a real family affairElaine Clarke visits the Kinsellas at Knockhouse Stud, once the base of former leading sire Roselier and now home to Beneficial, who got his first Festival Grade 1 winner last season with the success of Cooldine in the RSA Chase

nh feature knockhouse stud

GAme, Genuine AnD Consistent. these were the words used by Timeform to sum up the Geoff Wragg-trained Benefi cial at the end of his three-year old career

in 1993. That offi cial synopsis was to prove fi tting

and long lasting as the son of top Ville is now passing on those three attributes to his progeny, many of whom seem to have inherited his fortitude.

however, for a stallion to make a success of his second career, he needs nurturing and managing, and in sean Kinsella of Knockhouse stud he has the right man.

Knockhouse lies in the south of County Kilkenny. once leaving the main Kilkenny/Waterford road at mullinavat, the road rises up and across the hill before making a sharp decent to the gates of Knockhouse, which nestles on a south-facing bank surrounded by mature trees and overlooking Carrick-on-suir, County Waterford.

The Kinsellas: Geraldine, Janet and Sean at Knockhouse Stud in County Kilkenny


...choose a range with proven results

When winning counts...

D&H|TB.IT.FP.AD180110.indd 1 18/1/10 12:17:11



“The 3m chaser still needs to be bred and cannot be sourced at the autumn horses-in-training sales as the high class hurdlers can

“

the late pat Kinsella founded the stud in the early 1970s when it was approved by the irish horse Board to stand stallions for the sport horse industry. in the early 1980s, son sean developed the stud further with the acquisition of stallions such at Cataldi, Castle Keep and noalto giving them a footing in the nh sector.

it was in the mid-80s, while on a visit to france to view a prospective stallion, that he came across roselier. Kinsella was immediately taken by the horse’s appearance, and says that he was “a good mover with a lot of quality and presence and with a wonderful pedigree”.

Kinsella’s instinct to purchase the horse was to prove well founded. Despite poor support in the early years, which even involved a two-year stint in northern ireland in an effort to attract more mares, roselier went on to become the flagship stallion not just for Knockhouse, but also for ireland.

All this was achieved the “hard way” from modest mares and small books, but once he

proved himself, he found good support from top breeders which enabled him to achieve success in siring the winners of the Coral Welsh Grand national (Carvill’s hill in 1991), irish Grand national (ebony Jane in 1993) and the Grand national with royal Athlete in 1995.

the success of roselier now continues

through his daughters, many of whom revisited Knockhouse to be successfully crossed with the now departed taipan, who looked a real future stallion star until his death in 2002 after only four seasons at stud.

Now Beneficial has taken over the mantle. After originally getting noticed through the exploits of the philip hobbs-trained and graded chase winner Gungadu, he has stepped up another level through his headline act the Willie mullins-trained Cooldine, who became the stallion’s first Festival winner last march when successful in the Grade 1 rsA Chase.

Beneficial’s fillies are equally talented with sweet Kiln a graded winner of ten races. the consistent performances of his stock sees him maintain a high rank on the nh stallion lists – he has had a top ten spot for the last two seasons, a feat which looks likely to be repeated this season too. And already his daughters look as though they will make an impact at stud so paving the way for a Knockhouse stallion to engrave his place in the stud book for yet another generation.

the Kinsellas are avid followers of the point-to-point scene where the progeny of many of their stallions make their first appearance. this attendance has an almost devout enthusiasm. the often harsh spring weather does not stop the family heading to the point-to-points. As Kinsellas says,“on cold days you dress up well, put on a good coat or even a second one if required – and

The mission statement

Hands on: the whole family is

involved in the running of

the farm



on the very bad days the proverbial oilskin can always be added to the layers. But it is important, whatever the weather, to attend.”

Kinsella finds it a useful place to catch up with friends and clients, to discuss any impressive victories by young horse as well as finding out from clients if “the mare has foaled yet?”

Kinsella is philosophical about the current nh market. he feels that the traditional nh breeders will “weather it out” as their objective to breed good 3m chasers has not changed, and demand is still there for the promising young animals with form that could develop into Gold Cup horses.

“the 3m chaser still needs to be bred and cannot be sourced at the autumn horses-in-training sales as the high-class hurdlers can,” he explains. “And more often than not the best nh broodmares are those who raced very little, if at all. many unraced half-sisters to good horses carry on a family through their own maternal powers if they are cultivated purposefully and properly.

“While culling may refine production in the initial stages, there is always a danger that some nice mares could be discarded before given opportunities.”

From first-hand knowledge, Kinsella would say that it can be quite extraordinary for a good racemare to produce a good horse.

Appearances can be deceiving and good families have a way of skipping a generation and then re-emerging stronger than ever. he feels that no matter how many mares are culled, there will always be a percentage of moderate mares in the breeding system – select and sensible breeders need to identify just what the market wants and which of their mares will serve that best.

Stallion selectionAs you would expect from such a successful stallion man, Kinsella has very definite criteria when sourcing stallions for the farm.

“i would have a preference, if not a pre-requisite, to get a horse out of training and to stand him from the very beginning of his stud career,” he explains. “i would be cautious of horses which are sold on following short stints on other studs, not to mention those who are switching from the flat ranks to jumping.

“pedigree is paramount and good solid european pedigrees are vital. it’s nice to be able to follow the career of an exciting stayer.

“millenary would be an example. A st. Leger winner, he is a son of rainbow Quest

and from the brilliant Ballymacoll family of Classic winners Conduit, spectrum and petrushka.

“While it is not always possible to buy into this calibre of pedigree, racecourse performance has to be credible, and if possible, in the higher ranks,” he says.

for Kinsella a horse has to have ability,

endurance, toughness and, above all, soundness. Although he likes a horse to have proven himself on the european racecourses – the longer distance races are naturally not disadvantageous to him – above all a horse has to have performed soundly.

With french and German bloodlines continuing to thrive both in the flat and nh

above Subtle Power, a 13-year-old son of Sadler’s Wells who has only had runners since 2008, and below Beneficial, who continues to go from strength to strength



spheres, Kinsella has embraced this trend the inclusion of touch of Land, an 11-time winner, on the Knockhouse stallion roster.

norwich, sire of Queen mother Champion Chase winner newmill, and subtle power, a Group 1-winning son of sadler’s Wells, complete the line-up at Knockhouse.

Kinsella would give a wide berth to a colt who could not meet the all-important criteria of wind soundness.

“for the good of the breed,” he believes, “there should be an independent, regulated assurance of the quality of stallions at stud in relation to soundness issues.

“And for a farm such as ours, there would be no point in obtaining a stallion that had a ‘wind’ issue as not only would could it pass that on to its stock, but the issue would always arise again if there were reason to re-offer the horse for sale.”

finally, a good-walking horse is imperative – athleticism is everything.

“Breeders want to produce a nice, quality, correct individual for the marketplace,” he explains. “And so a stallion should have an ability to upgrade his mares. standards have to be maintained in order to keep pace and strengthen the breed.”

there is no room for the stallion that cannot impart added value to his progeny and breeders and owners alike should be mindful of this when choosing to breed or race.

And despite the recent economic difficulties that Ireland and racing has experienced, Kinsella maintains a positive attitude.

“racing in ireland is still very healthy,” he says. “prize-money is very respectable in comparison to Britain and an owner still has a realistic chance of balancing the books should his animal win.”

one area that he would like to see given greater emphasis would be the development of more fillies and mares-only races under rules. he feels that this gives greater encouragement to owners to have a filly in training than in just having one or two big races held at festival meetings.

A family farmKnockhouse stud is a family-run operation and the man behind the helm is quick to highlight the great support and encouragement that his wife Geraldine has given to him.

“Attentive management is the key to keeping things smooth and successful. i know of every mare who has been here and trust

my own judgement as to her progress as she presents for covering,” he says.

But the manual data is logged by Geraldine, who manages all the paperwork for every mare from arrival to departure. Operations have to be run efficiently and

accurately as the busy months of may, June and July has the stud working flat out. The husband and wife team seem to work together in an almost telepathic manner.

the third and proudly-valued cog in the wheel of operations is their eldest daughter

above, the superbly bred young stallion Millenary whose first crop are three-year-olds this year, and below the 23-year-old Norwich, sire of Newmill and River City



Janet, who now works full-time on the stud. “it was always going to be horses!” smiles

Janet when asked of her career choice. “right from the start, Janet followed,

observed and learned from her father and she was always out in the yard or down the land,” laughs Geraldine. “she was happy to lead the quieter mares when she could and went to school only when she had to!”

After leaving school, Janet spent a year with rachel Bennet and attended all the major sales in ireland and the Britain. After this came a season at Larry Dunne’s veterinary practice in enniskerry, County Wicklow and, armed with practical experience, she undertook a three-year degree in equine Breeding and stud management at Writtle College, essex.

Knockhouse stud is now a 450-acre farm and Kinsella has continued to develop and upgrade the facilities on site. the farm can stable up to 100 horses at any one time, and has isolation units and veterinary facilities in place. Between 600-700 mares pass through the farm each season and the organisation of the farm allows for a constant source of new pasture to be available to arrivals as the season progresses.

“We keep stringent measures to maintain high standards in the care of visiting mares and foals,” says Kinsella. “our veterinary care is provided by the Kilkenny-based italian veterinary surgeon oscar mazzarello. he came on trial for a season and is still

here now, some ten years later!”the farm also grows its own cereals and

the provides its own haylage, meaning that the whole operation is self-sufficient as far as it can be.

To fill the gap in quieter times (if indeed there are any, and perhaps to keep the girls busy!) a herd of 70 sucklers run alongside a small but select broodmare band of their own. so, just when Geraldine thinks she has seen the last of passports for another year, she has then to tackle the blue cards for cattle registrations and Department of Agriculture form filling!

But the fruits of all this hard labour can be seen in the many trophies and presentations which adorn their home in recognition of

the part that Roselier and now Beneficial have played as leading nh sires of their generation. the awards are displayed and discussed with great pride.

having spent an afternoon visiting Knockhouse, no one could be in any doubt as to the game and genuine affection this family has for their business, while their enjoyment comes by their consistent development and progression they make with the farm and its mares and stallions.

With Janet now firmly involved in the business, it seems that the considerable contribution which the Kinsella family has made to the irish nh breeding industry looks set to flow on with vigour and a passionate determination into the future.

“Breeders want to produce a nice, quality, correct individual for the marketplace, and so a stallion should have an ability to upgrade his mares. Standards have to be maintained in order to keep pace and strengthen the breed.

“The German

influence: the Lando horse

Touch Of Land, won six Group

races over 9-11f. His first crop are

now yearlings

nh feature sires


So what are the options for the National Hunt breeder?With the Cheltenham Festival on the horizon, it’s time for breeders to turn their attentions to their NH mares.

While the stallion prize-money tables will be in a state of flux until after The Festival and quite possibly until after Aintree, Sally Duckett has identified a number of trends emerging within the NH stallion ranks.

With such a huge number of Nh stallions standing at stud in Britain, ireland and France and available to breeders at a range of prices varying from

a £1,000 to £10,000 the Nh breeder can become a little fazed by all the options out there. Do you go with sire power, pay a lot and take a punt, or do you pay a little less and put your trust in your mare? if you are selling, do you invest with the hope that the market will have picked up by the time the store horse is sold, or do you keep your powder dry with an aim of sitting it out? Do you look for Flat speed or Nh stamina? it is a conumdrum.

Furthermore, the breeder can chose from a successful established name – probably paying more for the privilege – a complete unknown for a lesser investment or indeed can take a punt on a stallion at a reasonable fee, but who might have a few runners showing signs of potential

And just to add to the mix with a greater number of successful stallions now standing in Britain, the once must-do requirement of travelling a mare to ireland in order to use a decent, winner-producing sire is no longer of such heightened importance – and with that savings can be made on the associated costs of travel, board and lodgings, all matters of upmost importance through these times of reduced sale prices.

so then do you invest those savings in a “better” nomination or do you thank your lucky stars that the bank won’t be bled quite so dry?

And if you are an irish breeder, would you commit heresy and send your mare over the water to England..?

International Thoroughbred would love to give you the answers, but we all know that in the end, the decision is yours!

All we can do is pick out a few names – we can’t even begin to try and be comprehensive – publish some stats and give you the information to help you at least make an informed decision.

The leadersOf course, the way is being led once again by Rathbarry’s Presenting, who has already put a considerable margin between himself and most of the NH stallion field apart from Coolmore’s Oscar who is enjoying a profitable 2009-10.

Presenting has become a stand-out since 2005 when he achieved his first top three spot in the sires’ table. since then he has taken the sires’ title four times. Last season he became the first NH sire to get progeny earnings of over £2 million in a season – a reflection not only of the numbers and quality runners Presenting gets, but also of improved (relatively) prize-money in the Nh arena.

interestingly, despite the current trend to push for precocious stock, Presenting does not really get early sorts with most of his runners proving their worth over fences from the age of six onwards. For instance to the beginning of February from the start of November, despite his numbers on the ground, he had only around 10 runners in bumpers with one winner and a couple of placings.

the former Gold cup winner and hope for this year, Denman, is very much typical of his sire, while the impressive novice Dunguib, who was a rare top-grade bumper runner for Presenting, looks to be carrying all before him on his transition to hurdling. having been able to put in such strong performances as a youngster, it seems that he if he stays sound, things should only get better for Dunguib as he matures. it might be a plan to back him now to win at the Festival 2011.

At the sales in 2009, Presenting did not really set the world on fire – his average of 28,749gns for three-year-olds was fine, but at 12,920gns his four-year-old average was bettered by a number of less successful names. Perhaps the long-term nature of his stock, added to the fact that they indeed look as though they need time, put off buyers or that his numbers, 136 were offered, meant there were more average types and standard pedigrees than market demand could match.

At the Derby sale a gelding offered by castletown Quarry stud fetched over

Quoted sire averages and medians taken from Weatherbys NH Stallion Book

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Location Sire Runners Winners Races Won Places Money Won (£) Wnrs to Rnrs (%) Av. Earn

LEADING NH SIRES 2009-2010 IN GB/IRE by prize-money (to February 26, 2010) * dead Courtesy of Weatherbys

Ire Presenting 323 75 108 272 1,490,610 23.21 4,615Ire Oscar 265 64 89 237 1,143,760 24.15 4,316Ire Flemensfirth 216 47 62 167 860,383 21.75 3,983* Accordion 144 41 63 116 858,023 28.47 5,958Ire Old Vic 175 39 53 151 806,824 22.28 4,610Ire Bob Back 152 38 66 136 732,315 25.00 4,818Ire King’s Theatre 141 50 81 147 678,201 35.46 4,810Ire Beneficial 227 47 65 209 606,151 20.70 2,670* Saddlers’ Hall 231 42 58 178 580,328 18.18 2,512* Supreme Leader 164 30 44 125 560,230 18.29 3,416* Anshan 169 39 57 149 535,662 23.07 3,170GB Kayf Tara 131 37 43 139 468,648 28.24 3,577GB Alflora 171 33 47 125 429,303 19.29 2,511Ire Dr Massini 71 25 40 84 424,157 35.21 5,974Ire Sadler’s Wells 94 30 45 92 414,187 31.91 4,406* Bob’s Return 106 28 36 80 387,758 26.41 3,658* Pistolet Bleu 68 17 28 50 371,632 25.00 5,465GB Overbury 106 28 44 127 363,000 26.41 3,425Ire Montjeu 80 17 28 75 351,733 21.25 4,397Ire Winged Love 50 12 23 41 350,107 24.00 7,002* Zaffaran 56 11 17 52 342,798 19.64 6,121 Daylami 64 18 22 67 309,954 28.12 4,843Ire Lord Americo 105 19 23 90 292,913 18.09 2,790GB Midnight Legend 57 22 33 92 276,879 38.59 4,858Ire Tiraaz 18 8 15 11 273,026 44.44 15,168* Alderbrook 112 18 24 91 269,793 16.07 2,409Ire Turtle Island 113 14 18 104 263,877 12.38 2,335* Sir Harry Lewis 60 18 24 38 263,619 30.00 4,394* Cadoudal 29 11 17 31 263,164 37.93 9,075* Roselier 19 6 7 14 252,340 31.57 13,281 Kahyasi 38 15 19 33 244,522 39.47 6,435* Silver Patriarch 94 18 22 72 239,495 19.14 2,548 Village Star 1 1 2 0 226,680 100.00 226,680* Mansonnien 20 5 8 21 223,098 25.00 11,155Ire Luso 134 17 23 82 219,923 12.68 1,641* Moscow Society 78 7 10 65 219,194 8.97 2,810Ire Definite Article 92 22 26 67 214,238 23.91 2,329Ire Key Of Luck 33 11 14 44 201,681 33.33 6,112Ire Witness Box 61 19 26 67 201,362 31.14 3,301Ire Galileo 38 11 17 35 198,561 28.94 5,225 Bahhare 20 4 9 22 194,697 20.00 9,735 Dushyantor 40 8 15 55 191,841 20.00 4,796Ire Alhaarth 55 14 17 68 187,980 25.45 3,418Ire Rudimentary 77 15 19 47 186,932 19.48 2,428 Mujahid 18 6 9 19 186,599 33.33 10,367Ire Shernazar 73 13 17 77 182,275 17.80 2,497* Glacial Storm 49 8 9 41 167,921 16.32 3,427Ire Classic Cliche 84 21 29 60 167,469 25.00 1,994GB Double Eclipse 10 2 4 2 163,361 20.00 16,336Ire Norwich 57 10 11 57 160,105 17.54 2,809


€100,000, while Rathbarry sold a gelding out of Annies thyne to Mags O’toole for €90,000. At the DBs spring store sale from six offered, his top-priced lot was just £20,000.

however, since last year’s store horse market, his six-year-old point-to-point winner On his Own topped the cheltenham Janaury sale fetching a recession-busting £240,000.

there are no guarantees in this business and if you are happy to pay top whack to use Presenting, you really should be aiming to get a long-distance stayer and, if breeding to sell, using him on a decent mare whose pedigree is good enough to help ensure that a return is made if you get a correct foal. those pedigrees and individuals not up to scratch just won’t make the hoped-for-money at the sales.

At the other end of the Nh racing spectrum King’s Theatre, who is a year older, is the stallion currently getting the best – and most impressive – results with his younger stock.

initially retired as a Flat producer, the Ballylinch stallion is now primarily aimed at the Nh market and very successfully so – he has had over 50 winners this season and at a more-than-healthy strike rate of over 35 per cent.

As has been mentioned before, his novice and bumper performers have been flying this year – success which has been reflected in the table of the leading sires of young hurdlers and leading bumper runners overleaf.

At the time of writing, he has 15 entries in early-closing races at cheltenham and all bar one entry is in a novice hurdle or chase. the

Nicky henderson-trained Riverside theatre, who has been put into the Arkle, is perhaps the most exciting.

At the sales, stock by the stallion has commanded top prices and at the cheltenham January sale the bumper winner Forty Foot tom rewarded vendors with a £220,000 price tag. King’s theatre’s most expensive store horse ever was Lord Ragnar, who fetched €305,000 at the Derby sale in 2007 and is now rated 120. in the markedly different economic climate in 2009, the sire still had two at that year’s Derby sale top €50,000.

Overall, his averages and medians for 2009 were between the 15,000gns and 20,000gns mark and off a fee of €9,000, a price he has stood at since 2008, you probably need to be sending him a mare likely to be in the top ten per cent of his book in order to give yourself enough room for manoeuvre between costs and sale prices.

But, if you have an exciting young mare to get off the ground, the name King’s theatre is certainly worth marking with the highlighter.

The 150 clubOscar, Flemensfirth and Old Vic are the three other living, well-established irish-based Nh stallions which have had over 150 runners this season, with Oscar behind only Presenting by numbers of winners produced and prize-money earned. he also can claim a 25 per cent winners to runners ratio for all his runners and a 30 per cent strike rate for his older chasers.

however, the three are fairly comparable types and are solid Nh sires best known for producing the later-maturing type – perhaps more indicative of the horses that are produced in ireland than anything else – although both Oscar and Flemensfirth are capable of getting a number of early hurdlers and bumper performers as the table opposite and overleaf shows.

Despite Oscar’s current headline act being the two miler Big Zeb, casey Jones wants 3m over fences, Oscar Dan Dan is a staying hurdler and Razor Royale holds a Grand National entry. the coolmore stallion, a son of sadler’s Wells, has had a fee reduction from from a height of €8,000 in 2007 to a reasonable €5,000.

Pandorama, winner of the Grade 1 Knight Frank Novices’ chase from Weapon’s Amnesty, is Flemensfirth’s most exciting novice chaser, while he will be represented in the Gold cup by imperial commander. Over hurdles, tidal Bay has resurfaced and along

“If you have an exciting young mare to get off the ground, the name King’s Theatre is certainly worth marking with the highlighter ”

King’s Theatre: the Ballylinch stallion is enjoying a fantastic year with his

youngsters and has a great chance of Arkle success with Riverside Theatre

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LEADING SIRES OF HURDLERS IN GB/IRE, 3 to 5yos by prize-money (to February 26, 2010) * dead Courtesy of Weatherbys

LEADING SIRES OF HURDLERS IN GB/IRE, 6yos+ by prize-money (to February 26, 2010) * dead Courtesy of Weatherbys

Sire Runners Winners Races Won Places Money Won (£) Wnrs to Rnrs (%) Av. Earn

Ire Presenting 115 21 34 69 464,887 18.26 4,042Ire Oscar 107 16 18 58 248,591 14.95 2,323* Supreme Leader 100 15 23 54 245,537 15.00 2,455* Accordion 67 14 19 37 202,041 20.89 3,016* Anshan 44 13 23 28 199,204 29.54 4,527* Saddlers’ Hall 114 17 21 65 197,662 14.91 1,734 Bahhare 16 4 9 19 193,066 25.00 12,067Ire Flemensfirth 68 12 14 31 189,140 17.64 2,781GB Kayf Tara 57 15 20 64 175,189 26.31 3,073GB Overbury 50 15 22 48 166,786 30.00 3,336GB Double Eclipse 6 2 4 2 163,361 33.33 27,227 Mujahid 5 2 4 5 156,138 40.00 31,228Ire King’s Theatre 36 12 17 39 141,568 33.33 3,932Ire Bob Back 54 10 12 37 138,532 18.51 2,565Ire Old Vic 65 10 12 41 131,443 15.38 2,022Ire Sadler’s Wells 38 10 14 24 129,364 26.31 3,404GB Dr Massini 33 11 15 30 122,034 33.33 3,698Ire Beneficial 72 14 19 37 118,156 19.44 1,641 Kahyasi 18 5 6 13 105,653 27.77 5,870* Cadoudal 9 4 6 6 96,244 44.44 10,694* Zaffaran 28 4 6 20 94,988 14.28 3,392* Alderbrook 36 7 9 21 89,963 19.44 2,499* Sir Harry Lewis 15 4 4 7 89,743 26.66 5,983Ire City Honours 18 3 7 15 85,642 16.66 4,758GB Alflora 50 8 13 45 83,580 16.00 1,672

Ire King’s Theatre 58 20 32 62 290,473 34.48 5,008Ire Bob Back 41 12 21 39 239,746 29.26 5,847 Daylami 35 7 9 35 203,964 20.00 5,828Ire Montjeu 52 13 19 43 200,421 25.00 3,854* Accordion 20 6 11 13 170,218 30.00 8,511Ire Flemensfirth 62 11 15 44 168,791 17.74 2,722Ire Key Of Luck 19 7 8 28 166,847 36.84 8,781Ire Oscar 61 14 22 56 158,670 22.95 2,601Ire Winged Love 32 9 15 13 151,426 28.12 4,732Ire Sadler’s Wells 39 9 15 33 143,738 23.07 3,686Ire Beneficial 77 15 17 63 139,603 19.48 1,813Ire Captain Rio 19 3 6 8 136,410 15.78 7,179Ire Galileo 29 7 10 28 130,598 24.13 4,503 Solon 2 1 3 3 128,132 50.00 64,066Ire Kalanisi 12 7 15 9 117,008 58.33 9,751GB Hernando 24 11 13 27 116,734 45.83 4,864Ire Presenting 73 9 15 44 115,191 12.32 1,578GB Alflora 55 10 15 34 111,497 18.18 2,027Ire Old Vic 38 11 12 40 106,925 28.94 2,814Ire Witness Box 27 8 13 29 105,576 29.62 3,910 Saint Des Saints 8 3 5 11 102,190 37.50 12,774Ire Cape Cross 20 5 8 14 96,351 25.00 4,818* Lavirco 8 5 7 9 95,592 62.50 11,949GB Great Palm 35 3 5 15 92,517 8.57 2,643

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with Time For Rupert, who finished second to the aforementioned howard Johnson-trained runner in the cleeve hurdle (G2), is heading to the World hurdle.

Luska Lad took his winning total to eight - four have come this season – when successful from Jumbo Rio in the Grade 2 Red Mills trial hurdle. he is now a 20 and 25-1 chance for the supreme Novices’ hurdle and Baring Bingham Novices’ hurdle.

Available at €10,000, his highest published fee so far, Flemensfirth had one horse sell for over €150,000 in 2009 – a three-year-old at the Derby sale, which was the sales

topper – while in 2008 he had three make six-figure sums, including the point-to-point and bumper winner and subsequent Albert Bartlett fourth, On Raglan Road, who fetched £265,000 at the DBs spring sale. he unfortunately is one who has not reappeared this season after injury at Aintree.

Buyers like to purchase Flemensfirth’s stock and his average of 24,000gns for his 2009 three-year-olds is amongst the best of those stallions represented by large numbers going through the ring.

Flemensfirth’s better crops are now starting to appear having got stronger books after his talents as a sire were advertised in 2004 when total Enjoyment won the champion Bumper.

Old Vic, the elder statesman of the three, does not have current runners of the quality of some of his past performers, Kicking King being the best, and he is most certainly a producer of chasers, but he has maintained a respectable average at the sales with both his store horses and his horses-in-training.

carribs Leap, an irish point-to-point winner, fetched £100,000 at last April’s cheltenham sale, while sea Of thunder,

bought by Mags O’toole for Gigginstown at cheltenham last January, has won a point-to-point in ireland. Four commanders bought by Bobby O’Ryan at the Derby sale for €90,000 won his first Irish point-to-point in February.

Moving homeDr Massini, who has left coolmore to be based at Dunraven stud in Wales, is going great guns at present and offers a viable alternative for British breeders. his winners-to-runners ratio of 35 per cent is one of the best in the Nh table and although he is another known for his older chasers, he is the only British-based Nh sire to make it on a general table of leading Nh sires of three to six-year-olds.

standing at just £1,500, his sales results were not too great through 2009 and have never been all that strong, reflecting the fact that he runners have taken a few years to get going on the track. however, with the capable thomas Mullins-trained Dr Whizz holding two entries for cheltenham, leading earner Massini’s Maguire, who finished third in the 2009 RsA chase behind cooldine, heading for the Ryanair chase or the World hurdle, as well as this winter’s dual Grade 2 hurdling winner tell Massini an 11/2 chance for the Albert Bartlett, sale vendors of Dr Massini’s stock deserve to fare a little better this year.

Daylami, who is back in ireland at coolagown stud from south Africa for the spring, has proved to be a sire of high-class hurdlers, and while his winners-to-runners per cent is not high, he is third on the list of young hurdlers by prize-money earnings from only five runners. Zaynar accounts for over a half of the total and in a month’s time could have won a whole lot more if successful in the champion hurdle.

some of Daylami’s success must be due

to the Aga Khan’s breeding – most of the sire’s top Nh performers are Aga Khan’s homebreds who have been sold on – and it will be interesting to see how the sire performs once he meets a full book of irish Nh mares.

A British one-two-three-fourFour established stallions in Britain warrant the closest inspection by Britsh breeders and their names will not come as a surprise: Kayf Tara, Alflora, Overbury and Midnight Legend.

The first three have been established for longer and were really on a par with one another with broadly similar number of winners and prize-money earnings through to the middle of February.

Kayf tara enjoyed a particularly fruitful late January to mid-February courtesy of the likes of Mad Max, Carruthers and Alfie sherrin and at the time of writing he is pushing for a top ten spot in the prize-money lists.

On the back of that good racecourse progress, which was really initiated in 2008-09, Kayf tara really is the Nh sales sire. his stock has been a hit with the buyers and he posted an impressive 44,000gns average for his three-year-olds, by far the best average for a Nh sire.

this season the Arkle third Planet of sound and carruthers are proving that Kayf tara’s better novices are up to the task of translating good first and second-season performances into graded class efforts against older horses.

But if the stallion’s stock is to continue to be worth the sort of money that was paid for it last year, then one of them is going to need come through and hit at the highest level – purchasers will only pay for potential for a limited time frame.

Overbury, who gets plenty of winners, has been looking for a new graded horse for sometime and particularly so this season with Ballyfitz having something of an up-and-down year. i’m Delilah, the Lightning Novice chase runner-up, seems to have provided the answer, alongside the Willie Mullins-trained dual bumper winner Paul Kristian.

Life has been cold of late for Alflora at the sales, but he has enjoyed a better year on the racecourse thanks to What A Friend’s Grade 1 efforts in England and ireland. A 33-1 shot for the Gold cup, the Paul Nicholls runner may be capable of running into a place and bring Alflora, who is more than capable

“Dr Massini, who has left Coolmore to be based at Dunraven Stud in Wales, is going great guns at present and offers a really viable alternative for British breeders.

”

Al Ferof (Fr) 118 Dom AlcoAraucaria (Ire) 116 AccordionDare Me (Ire) 116 Bob BackUp Ou That (Ire) 114p AlderbrookDon’t Turn Bach (Ire) 114 BachDrumbaloo (Ire) 114 FlemensfirthForty Foot Tom (Ire) 114 King’s TheatreDay of A Lifetime (Ire) 113p King’s TheatreMade In Time (Ire) 113 ZagrebTornedo Shay (Ire) 113 Dr FongPaul Kristian 112p OverburyMegastar 112 Kayf Tara

Leading bumper performers by Timeform ratingHorse Timeform Sire


LEADING SIRES OF CHASERS IN GB/IRE, 3 to 5yos by prize-money (to February 26, 2010) * dead Courtesy of Weatherbys

Sassanian 5 3 5 7 66,521 60 13,304* Anabaa 2 1 2 2 64,340 50 32,170* Cadoudal 1 1 2 0 51,912 100 51,912Ire King’s Theatre 5 2 3 1 50,012 40 10,002Ire Bob Back 3 1 4 0 47,747 33 15,916Ire Soviet Star 1 1 3 2 42,649 100 42,649Ire Beneficial 8 3 5 8 37,267 37 4,658 Comte Du Bourg 1 1 1 2 33,586 100 33,586 Robin Des Champ 5 3 3 10 28,481 60 5,696 Astarabad 1 1 3 1 27,564 100 27,564 Second Empire 2 1 2 0 25,318 50 12,659 Lost World 4 1 1 7 25,225 25 6,306* Sir Harry Lewis 3 2 4 4 24,306 66 8,102 Aldebaran 1 1 2 3 23,571 100 23,571Ire Presenting 11 3 3 9 22,608 27 2,055Ire Night Shift 2 2 3 4 21,512 100 10,756 River Bay 1 1 1 1 19,335 100 19,335 Nikos 2 1 1 3 18,284 50 9,142 Gold Away 1 1 1 2 16,768 100 16,768 Take Risks 1 1 1 4 16,371 100 16,371 Johannesburg 1 1 1 6 16,314 100 16,314 Ragmar 2 1 1 6 16,240 50 8,120IRE Definite Article 5 1 2 3 16,204 20 3,241Ire Witness Box 5 2 2 4 15,601 40 3,120 Antarctique 2 1 2 0 15,277 50 7,638


Ire Presenting 133 34 44 126 801,725 25.56 6,028Ire Oscar 92 28 38 86 671,298 30.43 7,297Ire Old Vic 59 17 26 48 538,876 28.81 9,133Ire Flemensfirth 66 15 21 58 420,467 22.72 6,371* Accordion 62 14 18 54 369,963 22.58 5,967* Pistolet Bleu 40 12 23 33 325,601 30.00 8,140* Saddlers’ Hall 96 22 30 74 319,457 22.91 3,328* Supreme Leader 85 16 19 69 298,793 18.82 3,515Ire Bob Back 45 11 17 50 265,556 24.44 5,901Ire Beneficial 70 13 15 74 256,220 18.57 3,660* Roselier 16 6 7 13 252,106 37.50 15,757* Zaffaran 37 7 11 32 247,810 18.91 6,698* Bob’s Return 30 9 13 25 238,929 30.00 7,964* Anshan 75 13 18 75 235,940 17.33 3,146Ire Tiraaz 12 6 10 8 229,546 50.00 19,129 Village Star 1 1 2 0 226,680 100.00 226,680GB Dr Massini 37 12 15 38 224,332 32.43 6,063GB Kayf Tara 32 10 11 30 215,712 31.25 6,741* Mansonnien 12 5 6 13 212,760 41.66 17,730GB Alflora 36 8 10 28 208,139 22.22 5,782Ire Lord Americo 50 11 11 43 199,399 22.00 3,988GB Midnight Legend 22 13 22 46 178,604 59.09 8,118GB Overbury 48 11 16 59 161,231 22.91 3,359Ire Winged Love 5 1 2 12 159,883 20.00 31,977* Moscow Society 34 4 5 33 157,535 11.76 4,633

LEADING SIRES OF CHASERS IN GB/IRE, 6yos+ by prize-money (to February 26, 2010) * dead Courtesy of Weatherbys

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“Germany still has very few representatives and youngsters on the ground – he had just one lot go through the ring last year and that was just a foal – but he went from covering 38 mares in 2007 to 92 in 2008 so we will be seeing plenty more of his stock in the future ”

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of getting decent performers – he has still had more quality performers than any other active British stallion – back into favour with purchasers.

Although a 19-year-old, Midnight Legend is only just really establishing himself and his profile is certainly going to change over the coming years having achieved some great results in the last couple of seasons from some small books.

Although he is in need of getting a really good one as well as a few more better ones (he has just one entry in an early closing race at cheltenham) a winners-to-runners percentage of 59 per cent with his older chasers is astonishing. that will certainly start dropping once his large books start coming through, but what he loses on that division he should pick up in quality and the prize-money earnings once the progeny out of his better mares start to run for him.

On the upBeneficial has continued to build on something of a break-through year in 2009 when he got his first Festival Grade 1 winner courtesy of cooldine’s victory in the RsA chase. the Willie Mullins-trained runner, after an unexpected start to this season when pulling up, put in a fine performance to finish second to Joncol in the hennessy Gold cup. He is a fine consistent type of horse: his last six starts have all been in Grade 1s and he has finished out of the frame just once when pulling up first time out this season.

Beneficial gets early sorts and has already this season had eight runners under the age of five run in chases, behind only Presenting on numbers. he is ninth in the list of sires

of young chasers by earnings, the only irish-based sires ahead of him are King’s theatre, soviet star and Bob Back, and he has a 37 per cent ratio of winners-to-runners.

he is also in the top ten sires on the general Nh stallions’ list by earnings, a strong performance considering that his leading performer has had only two outings so far this term, but is possibly due to his huge number of runners. he is also second behind Witness Box (who is also enjoying a very good year under Rules being sire of Wymott, winner of the Grade 2 novices’ hurdle at haydock in February) in the list of leading irish point-to-point sires by winners. it was a table he topped last season with 47 winners, the most by any stallion since 2000.

Beneficial’s mare numbers increased dramatically after Gungadu came to prominence in 2005-2006, and 116 lots by him went through the ring in 2009. it will be interesting to see where he is positioned over the next five years.

Not featuring in these tables but one who has a great chance of getting another Festival winner this spring is Germany (trempolino), who stands at Woodlands

Stud. His first NH runners appeared in 2001, but it took until 2007 for him to get off the mark at stakes level when conna castle was successful in a Grade 3 at Roscommon.

the following year was something of a watershed for the stallion as not only was Captain Cee Bee the sire’s first Group 1 winner when successful in the supreme Novices’ hurdle, but tiger cry joined him as a Festival winner by taking the Group 3 Grand Annual.

captain cee Bee has continued to keep his sire’s name in lights and is a very capable performer over fences. Given a confidence-giving and winning run at Naas after falling when in contention for a Grade 1 at Leopardstown, he is a 4-1 chance for the Arkle.

Germany still has very few representatives and youngsters on the ground – he had just one lot go through the ring last year and that was just a foal – but he went from covering 38 mares in 2007 to 92 in 2008 so we will be seeing plenty more of his stock in the future.

Getting going with youngstersAnother Nh sire hailing from the Aga Khan’s bloodstock empire is Kalanisi, already the


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FiVE OF the top six stallions in the early 2010 French Nh sires’ list by earnings are young sires who all retired to stud in the noughties – Network, who is currently top of the table, Califet, whose first crop are now only four-year-olds, Ungaro, Astrabad and Robin des Pres.

The Monsun stallion Network finished 2009 with 11 winners of 20 races and earnings of €820,000, nearly half of which was earned by Rubi Ball, a multiple graded race performer and one of the rare few to have beaten Long Run when successful in a Grade 1 at Autueil last May. subsequently beaten by the same horse last autumn, he regained winning ways in a November Grade 3 back at Autueil.

Network is a French National stud stallion and stands in treban in the Allier department in central France for €1,500.

ungaro, another with German origins, is

by Goofalik and is also a French National stud stallion standing at sartilly in Normandy. Objectif special is ungaro’s stand-out graded race performer and he is trained by Guy cherel.

the leading performer for califet (Freedom cry), a Group 2 winner who stands at haras du chene Vert at a fee of €3,000, is the JP McManus-owned temple Lord.

Also trained by cherel and the winner of nearly €200,000 in prize-money, he won four Listed races at Auteuil over hurdles before finishing fifth behind Kauto Stone in the Prix Georges de talhouet-Roy (G2). Through his first season with runners, Califet produced four winners of 11 races in 2009 and already has four winners in 2010 – the most of any Nh sire in France to date.

trainer cherel currently has the best line of form on the French early season four-year-olds as he remarkably scored a 1-2-3-4

in the Prix Emile Lalanne chase, a race for four-year-olds held in February, the winner being Kriss William, a son of califet. he subsequently won a four-year-old’s Listed chase at Pau in late February.

haras de la Rebousiere’s Martaline (Linamix) has been marketed mainly as a Flat sire, but has done well with those which have gone jumping and he sired five winners in 2009, included a graded and a Listed winner.

Other sires with first crop four-year-olds already got off the mark in France include Polish Summer, Al Namix, whose solix won the €60,000 Prix camille Duboscq at the beginning of February, Equerry, Ballingarry and Charming Groom.

Kapgarde finished the 2009 year in 13th place in the general Nh French sires’ list and was the youngest stallion in the top 20. Royal Francois and Futio were his graded runners in 2009.

New French sires’ table for 2010 topped by a range of young up-and-coming names

sire of 2008 champion hurdler Katchit and a convert from the Flat game.

he looks to have smart performer this year in Alaivan, a Listed winner and Group 3-placed three-year-old on the Flat in 2009 and now a Grade 2 winner, Grade 2 runner-up and maiden hurdle winner in his first three starts over jumps.

unsurprisingly, Kalanisi’s three-year-olds were well sought after at the 2009 sales – his three-year-olds averaged over 26,000gns and he had two in the top ten at the Land Rover sale – despite the fact that his purpose-bred Nh stock were only born last year.

the Boardsmill stud sire will have a lot more runners over the next few years, but he enjoys a very high winners-to-runners percentage of 61 per cent, with most of the successes coming in the young hurdling division.

Again many of his performers so far have been bred by the Aga Khan, but he seems to be giving his stock a good mix of speed and stamina for the jumping game.

While many of the sires of the young hurdlers are jumping converts generally by the important established, and expensive, Flat stallions one Flat sire who maybe of interest to Nh breeders is Captain Rio.

standing at only €5,000, yet still in the top ten on the general Flat sires’ table by winners, the Ballyhane stud stallion has had three winners (from 10 runners) over hurdles this

winter. Amazingly, two of those have been successful at Grade 1 level – the Ballymore champion Four-Year-Old winner and Festival hurdle third Jumbo Rio and hollo Ladies, winner of the Future champions Novice hurdle – while the third, Kudu country, picked up Grade 1 form when fourth in the champions Finale Juvenile hurdle (G1). it is quite a Nh record for the son of Pivotal.

the three Grade 1 horses are out of mares likely to get middle-distance performers or jumpers – they are by Darshaan, Old Vic and highest honor – so if Ballyhane stud is interested in letting in a few Nh-bred mares, he might be a way of adding a little more speed to a stoutly bred mare.

captain Rio was better himself on a soft surface and interestingly the three horses above have all won on soft or heavy ground.

One who is now marketed as a dual-purpose stallion is East Burrow stud’s Tobougg, an ex-Darley stud inmate. Now with two graded hurdlers under his belt, it will be interesting to see just which way his career goes now he is open to a wider variety of mares.

trainer Alan King is quoted as saying that his hurdler shalone, the winner of four out of five races through 2008 but who appears to have gone wrong, is one of the best horses he has trained.

Winged Love, who has struggled to find a long-term base but now seems to be settled at

tullyraine house, has got three young graded horses this season, as well as the champion chase hope twist Magic, already the winner of more than £500,000 in prize-money.

Some names to watch forMilan was written off by many after his early irish point-to-pointers did not pummell the competition into the mud, but he is beginning to find his way now and has had 15 winners this season, most of whom have won bumpers.

hurricane Milly, an Alan King-trained filly bred by the late Mrs Ann Jenkins, is particularly admired by her trainer and she proved that his faith in her was not misplaced when winning a bumper on her debut at huntingdon. she may head to Aintree for the one of the bumpers at the National meeting.

the stallion’s “quiet” start meant that his foal, yearling and four-year-old average was only around 7,000gns although his three-year-olds averaged 18,000gns.

Fragant Mix, a son of Linamix who stands at the French National stud at cercy la tour has had four winners out of nine runners in Britain. his headline act is Radium, a French-bred now trained by Nicky henderson with whom he gained a Grade 2 third placing to his name in January.

in his homeland he has had a number of graded performers, including the two six-year-olds Quadrette collonges and Quolibet, both of whom have earned over €100,000.

nh feature monsieur and madame gabeur

Q: Who has bred two favourites for this year’s Festival?A: Monsieur and Madame GabeurSally-Ann Grassick travels to the south-west of France to meet the lucky couple


Master Minded Long Run



MOst OF us would count ourselves lucky to breed a horse capable of getting to the Festival, let alone get to Prestbury Park with a favourite’s chance. But

to have bred two horses with this month’s Festival firmly on the agenda, both be at the top of the betting in their division with one returning to try and make it three out of three in a championship race, it would be the stuff of fantasy.

But for Benoit and Marie-christine Gabeur, a French couple based in the village of chémeré-le-Roi, which is some 150 miles south-west of Paris, this is reality.

The couple, both qualified vets, have just a small band of broodmares and never have more than four mares at any one time on their small farm. Yet from this selective group they have bred horses such as Master Minded, Liberthine and, now, her exciting half-brother Long Run, who have claimed such a lot of success on British turf. if you add in the victories of their homebreds on French soil with horses such as hautclan, Positive thinking and Lucky to Be, all of which are out of haute tension, the dam of Master Minded, you realise that success has not been a fluke for the couple.

Benoit Gabeur found himself with a lot of responsibility on his shoulders at a relatively young age when his father passed away.

“i was still at veterinary college studying for my final exams when my father died,” he explained. “i had to adapt very quickly in order to look after the horses that my father already had at home and in training with Guillaume Macaire.

“My family has had horses in training with Macaire for a long time so it was only natural that i would keep sending all my horses to him. in fact, my father started breeding and racing around the same time that Macaire started training so they learnt together.

“Before the all-weather surfaces existed, my father had come up with a method for us to keep working the horses during the winter when the ground was frozen. he would take the contents of the muck heap and spread it in the ménage. then we would work it and turn it with a tractor so that we could ride the horses on it.

“it created a very deep surface meaning that the horses had to go slowly, but they had to work hard to get through it. Macaire took his idea and was able to continue with his youngsters all winter long. his two-year-olds

were ready at the start of the season before anyone else’s and the following year it was the same case for his young jumpers.

“so much steam used to come off the muck when the temperature dropped that the lads in the yard used to refer to the ring as the gas chamber!”

The flow of information between trainer and owner/breeder worked both ways and as the standard of horses Macaire trained improved, the Gabeurs were obliged to improve their mares and the stallions that covered them in order to keep up with the trainer’s progress.

And improve they did and the results speak for themselves, but their biggest star, Master Minded, who is chasing a third champion chase success this month, may not have even existed were it not for the dedication and

expertise of this couple. In 1995, Benoit purchased a yearling filly

by Garde Royale for owner Jean-claude Audry. she was named haute tension and was sent to be trained by Macaire. But, as things can be with horses, before she even set foot on a racecourse, she suffered a fracture of the fetlock during morning exercise. Macaire’s vet examined her and recommended that she should be put down straight away, but Macaire didn’t wish to act before Gabeur’s opinion could be taken into consideration.

Macaire managed to travel the filly the 250 miles from his yard to Gabeur’s farm for examination. The filly’s owner was in agreement with Macaire’s vet and advised Gabeur to euthanize her immediately. Gabeur felt otherwise.


Marie-Christine Gabeur is looking forward to Cheltenham and hopes to be cheering home a winner



“I was confident that it was possible to save haute tension and that she was worth saving,” said Gabeur. “it really became a family project with my wife and all five of my sons chipping in to look after her. Five months after her accident i went out to feed her in the paddock where i’d put her with some of my mares, she came flying up to the fence and i thought to myself that she was capable of going back into training. then i had the problem of having to ring back her owner and tell him that the filly was still alive!”

haute tension returned for a short period as a racehorse in which she managed to win and finish second before breaking down again.

“When she broke down the second time, her owner asked me would i like to take her

back to breed from her,” continued Gabeur. “i agreed with him that i would give him her first foal in return for the mare.”

It proved to be a good deal as her first produce hautclan was a four-time winner and Listed-placed.

But haute tension’s problems were far from over. On her way to stud accompanied by her second foal, a colt by Nikos, the horsebox in which she was travelling became involved in an accident.

HER FOAL came out of the crash with no injuries but haute tension suffered severe injuries to all four legs and lost a lot of blood. “it was really touch and go for a while,”

explains Marie-christine. “the poor mare had lost most of the skin off her legs. i had to change the bandages on her legs every day and it required a lot of time and effort. We left the foal with the mare while we looked for a foster mare for him, but in the end, we

decided to leave them together. We were afraid that if we took the foal away that it would upset her and that she might give up the fight altogether.

“We were away skiing shortly after the accident and there was an English couple on the mountain. Every time the husband fell over, the wife would look behind her and say ‘Positive thinking!’ that is how we came up with the idea to name the foal Positive thinking!”

Luckily for haute tension her life has been drama-free since and she has gone on to produce Master Minded as well as the Listed-placed Lucky to Be. Master Minded was sent into training with Maccaire by the Gabeur for whom he won three races, fell twice and finished fourth. By the time he ran in the 2007 renewal of the Grade 1 chase for

four-year-olds, the Prix Ferdinand Dufaure, he had been bought by current owner clive Smith. Ruby Walsh took the ride and finished second.

clever Mode, haute tension’s four-year-old filly by Poliglote, is currently in pre-training and will go into training with Macaire. she will run in the colours of the Papot family, as will Mathine, Long Run’s three-year-old half-sister.

the Papot family topped the list of Nh owners in France in 2009.

“i act as adviser to the Papots”, outlines Gabeur. “i give them advice on all aspects of raising, selling and training their horses. i don’t like to keep the horses running in my name because first and foremost I am a vet and i want my clients to know that i am dedicated to working for them. Breeding is my passion and i manage to work in looking after the horses around my practice.”

Long Run was an exception to this rule as he continued to run in the Gabeurs’ colours

“We were there for one of Master Minded’s Champion Chase wins, it really is something special to see the horse you raised as a foal win an important race and receive such a reception from the crowd afterwards ”




until he was sold to Robert Waley-cohen in 2008.

“things happened differently with Long Run,” explains Gabeur. “We had organised a sale when he was a yearling, but he failed the vet. i didn’t want to suggest him to the Papot family if it possibly could have affected him for racing in the future. i decided the only thing to do was to race him in my wife’s name.

“We already knew Robert Waley-cohen from when we sold him Liberthine. We were delighted to be associated with him again. the agreement was always for Long Run to stay in France until the end of his four-year-old career.

“he really is a very talented horse. he would be unbeaten over fences but for his second place in a Group 1 at Auteuil. the ground was very heavy that day and we were obliged to make a huge step-up in class from a Listed race to a Group 1 on only his second start over fences in order to keep him a novice.”

Marie-christine adds: “it was a funny day because the leading horse Rubi Ball is owned by the Papots and he and Long Run were running against each other.

“it was an awkward situation to be in! As it

FactFileBenoît GaBeur enjoyed his first success with the “cri” family descended from Criada. His first auteuil winner in 1991 was Crirlande and the family also produced Critère, winner of 21 races for Guillaume Macaire.

Gabeur also purchased Feuille d’automne, dam of nononito, who produced Fassonwest (Dom Pasquini), dam of Westos, Westonne and nagging.

Marie-Christine and Benoît Gabeur lifted the Group 1 Prix Cambacérès in 2008 with Long run (Cadoudal), a son of Libertina, who was given to nicolas Madamet this spring.

The broodmaresHaute tension (dam of Master Minded), Segré and Kitara, who is from the same maternal line as Königstuhl. Kitara is a Listed winner and was Group-placed on the Flat to comply with Gabeur’ policy of producing jumpers from Flat families.

Best produce since 2000Master Minded, Positive thinking, Hautclan, Good Spirit, Long run, Westonne, Westos, nagging.


Master Minded with jockey Ruby

Walsh win the Tingle Creek

Chase. Opposite, feed

time at the Gabeur’s farm in

France. The bay mare is

Haute Tension and the grey is

Segre.

was Rubi Ball beat Long Run by half a length, but it was still an impressive performance from him.

“having been in the situation, i can’t imagine how Paul Nicholls handles having the two favourites in the Gold cup at cheltenham!”

As for cheltenham this year, will the Gabeurs make it to the Festival to cheer on Long Run and Master Minded?

“if either of them run we will most definitely be there, and hopefully both of them will,”says Marie-christine.

“We were there for one of Master Minded’s champion chase wins, it really is something special to see the horse you raised as a foal win an important race like that and receive such a reception from the crowd afterwards.

“it is just a pity that there is no trophy for the winning breeder!” smiles Gabeur. “it would be nice to have something to put on the mantelpiece, alongside the picture Robert presented us with after Liberthine’s win at Aintree.”

trophy or not, the Gabeurs have a great chance of being able to take home two brilliant, winning memories from this year’s cheltenham Festival.


nh feature derek o’connor

The AP of Irish pointing

FACTUAL RESULTS in some sports can determine who really is the greatest. For instance, nobody can, or has ever, run faster than Usain Bolt and so his record stands as the greatest ever within

his discipline. That is Fact.Horseracing, however, throws up all sorts

of imponderables: we can’t really decide which is the best, is it Kauto or Denman? Even when the result stands after the Gold Cup, there will be excuses and stories for the vanquished! And we certainly can’t decide between those two and Arkle. And, realistically, we will never know.

But, just occasionally, a horse or human does appear who surpasses subjective

Photography by Healy Racing

Six-time Irish champion

point-to-point jockey

Derek O’Connor is now also the sport’s winning-most rider.

Richard Pugh looks at his stats behind the man


opinion. The individual, to use the well-worn phrase, “rewrites the record books”, and you can wonder if their new achievements will ever be eclipsed. We can’t ever imagine that AP McCoy’s run of 14 (and counting) consecutive Champion Jump Jockey titles could ever be bettered.

Another Irish jockey is currently doing things that others have never managed to achieve before, but he is working his magic away from racing’s spotlight. Instead he gallops around muddy fields and racecourses on the Irish point-to-point circuit.

Derek O’Connor, the current champion, a title he has now held for six consecutive years, is achieving heights within the sport that even some of the most talented former riders – names as Enda Bolger, Roger Hurley, John Berry, Tony Martin, Niall Madden, John Thomas McNamara as well as the Costello brothers, Tom, Dermot and Tony – could not have dreamt was possible. As O’Connor is still only a 27-year-old, the sport must surely be witnessing the emergence of a demi-god.

Trainer and TV pundit Ted Walsh described O’Connor last summer as “the finest rider to ever throw his leg over a horse in a point-to-point”. Often the generation which has ridden before will reminisce of

great riders of their day, but Walsh speaks his mind and he is correct in identifying this rider as greater than any he has seen. The facts prove it without any doubt.

In the beginningDerek O’Connor rode his first winner in 2000 aged 17, but he did not find his way back to the winner’s enclosure again until the start of the 2001-02 season. Since then his impact on the sport has been astonishing and his talents far beyond anything the sport has previously witnessed. He rode 16 winners in the 2001-02 season which saw him tie for the Novice Riders’ title with Mark Grant. The following season, still yet to hit 21, he won the Novice title outright with 28 winners.

By the start of the 2003-04 season, O’Connor had made an impression with many trainers but for the first time was riding out of novice company, a situation that has caused many before him to fail to convert promise into reality. However, by the end of the 2003-04 season not only had O’Connor become the outright champion, but he had also broken the record for the number of winners ridden in a season – and this in his first full season as a non-novice.

Furthermore, the previous record was

held by Davy Russell and John Thomas McNamara – two of the finest riders the sport had seen.

It was just the beginning. Every season since winning that first title, O’Connor has ridden more winners than the season before. This, of course, has meant that in riding his six titles he has set six records. The winning totals read 59, 63, 72, 75, 94 and 113. The most notable obviously being the final figure.

There are only approximately 900 races per season which means to ride 113 winners in one season, O’Connor had to win 12.5 per cent of all the races run. The 113 had not only beat the record set by Russell and McNamara – it more than doubled it!

DominanceThere are many unable to quite grasp the extent to which the Galwayman is dominating the sport. Some believe that the “new” extended autumn season is the reason he has ridden so many winners, but history clearly shows that the autumn season was in existence for McNamara and Russell when they set their record of 56 winners winners in 2002.

If taking the view that the “true” point-to-point season runs from Christmas to

Left, O’Connor and, above, riding the leading hunter chaser Dun Doire




June, O’Connor rode 101 winners last season through those months – his autumn season score of 12 was unusually low as he broke his shoulder and missed six weeks of the season.

And he is still breaking records. Earlier this season he bypassed John Thomas McNamara to become the winning-most rider in the history of the sport, and he has now ridden nearer to 600 than 500 winners.

So what makes him different? Why can he achieve so much more than some of the many fine talents who have gone before?

There is no doubt that the information age has played its part. O’Connor can assess on a Tuesday evening (courtesy of entries online) where his best rides are and begin to make calls. Ten years ago the entries for point-to-points were not available until the Saturday morning and it was not as easy to gain rides at such a late stage. However, it is the same for all riders and the reality is information age or not, a computer is not much use to you while sitting on a horse galloping at over 3omph.

There will be sceptics who say that he rides the best horses. The simple answer to this is as follows: as a punter you have the choice of selecting any horse in the race in which to invest your trusty sum in the hope of a return.

O’Connor may well have the choice of many of the better horses, but he rode an astonishing 31 per cent winners to rides last season which would see any punter in profit. Is he good at selecting horses? Possibly. Does he make the difference once he selects to ride one horse over another? Without a doubt.

The statisticsThrough the last two seasons, he has won races at a 30 per cent strike rate. In the 2008-09 season, he attended 54 meetings and rode an average of slightly over two winners per meeting. He missed seven meetings due to injury which resulted in a loss of 14 winners – his score could or should have been 127.

He became the first rider to ride more

winners than there were meetings in Ireland last season – there were with only 108 meetings.

He became only the fourth rider in history to ride six winners in a day when doing so at Dromahane in December 2008 joining Adrian Maguire, John Berry and Mark O’Hare.

Only a few weeks later he nearly did it again with a five-timer and only just beaten for a sixth.

He rode twice as many winners as anyone else last season with the exception of Jamie Codd and won on no less than 88 different horses to win the title, including 77 maidens.

He is estimated to have ridden 974 miles in total and jumped approximately 4,870 fences last season. His completion rate is also significant with 266 of his 354 rides completing the course – 75 per cent.

Over one weekend last Easter he rode over a three-day period in 30 point-to-points, which yielded 11 winners and all bar one horse completed – it ran out at the last.

In this three-day period, O’Connor would have ridden over 90 miles and jumped 450 fences on 30 different horses without falling.

There is only one real test as to what the best-ever record in the sport is. When Enda Bolger rode his record of 42 winners in 1990 there were far less races, so it is a legitimate question to ask who really

achieved the most? The table below shows why O’Connor’s

record surpasses all before. In 2002: J.T. McNamara and D.N. Russell

won 56 of 817 races = 6.8 per cent of all races run in the season

In 1990: Enda Bolger rode 42 winners of 580 races = 7.2 per cent

In 2008: O’Connor rode 94 winners of 907 races = 10.3 per cent

In 2009: O’Connor rode 113 of 923 races = 12.2 per cent.

Perhaps in time someone will surpass his number of winners, which is growing rapidly with a goal of 1,000 winners now looking entirely possible. But, for now, it seems unlikely that anyone could ride to any higher than a strike rate of 30 per cent or ride any more than one in every eight races run.

It is said that it takes good horses to make a rider, O’Connor makes horses look good. His style and confidence over an obstacle is unique and he is the only rider who can find the same position on a horse’s back no matter what the horse has elected to do in the stride before take off.

It is a privilege to be involved in the sport during his peak.

“Is he good at selecting horses? Possibly. Does he make the difference once he selects to ride one horse over another? Without a doubt ”

O’Connor after riding five winners at Belharbour in February 2009. The last

victory was on Tullintan, a possible for the Foxhunters’ at The Festival

Richard Pugh edits and manages www.p2p.ie



“My trainers have to put up with a lot”How did you first get into racing?Racing is in the blood, my Mum was a point-to-point jockey and she rode a lot of winners. I began hunting and then progressed from there.

I started working with racehorses at 16 with Eugene O’Sullivan and then went to work for Pat Lynch. I rode my first winner for him at Killaloe point-to-point 10 years ago. The horse was owned by my brother Sean O’Connor, it was a great day. The foot and mouth came the following year and it then took me three seasons to really get going.

Who has helped you out the most?I really have to thank the Lynch family. They helped to get me going, gave me a lot of opportunities and against professionals too. I got lots of experience from Pat. The whole family have been a huge influence on me and not just with my riding.

Which jockeys did you admire most as youngster?I was always a pointing man and so I looked up at the best jockeys riding in point-to-points, so people such as Davy Russell, JT MacNamara and Enda Bolger.

Did you head out to become champion point-to-point jockey?I wanted to ride and I wanted to ride to the best of my ability. Then, whatever came out of that was a bonus.

Do you have one main trainer who you ride for?I ride for a wide variety of different trainers now. They are all good people, are very loyal and put up with me every weekend!

I try and ride as much as I can for them, but I also try and ride the best horse every weekend so I do jump ship a bit. But we have a good understanding and we don’t fall out.

Are most of your point-to-point rides sales horses? Maybe they were a couple of seasons ago, but, with the economy as it is, it has been a lot quieter. Two years ago, Irish point-to-pointing was flying and most of the horses

were going to the sale ring. The point-to-point scene is a great

preparation ground for racehorses and a lot of track winners are coming out now from the sport.

I will recommend horses to trainers, but I will also say if I don’t think a horse may be up to a job. I will speak my mind. Hopefully, I will be right! It is a difficult business to get involved with and I have not got involved in the buying and selling side of things.

If you feel that a horse is not good enough to win, will you turn it down, even if you have nothing else lined up? I won’t turn down a ride – it is better being sat on a horse than watching from the sidelines!

I will take spares, some of my nicest winners have come from spares. I am always very grateful for anything that I am offered. Mind you if it looks a bit dangerous, I might be a bit cagey about it.

Do you work as well? I ride out Monday to Friday, up and down the country. I try and school as many horses as I can that are going to be running at the weekend. On busy days I can ride 14 or 15 horses in a day.

What are your riding plans / options for the Festival?There is nothing definite fixed up at the

“I will recommend horses to trainers, but I will also say if I don’t think a horse may be up to a job. I will speak my mind. Hopefully, I will be right!

”

Sally Duckett talks to O’Connor about life as the leading point-to-point jockey

O’Connor rides First Lieutenant to victory

at Kilfeacle, another occasion on which he rode

five winners on one card. O’Connor feels that the

Mouse Morris-trained and

Gigginstown Stud-owned Presenting gelding is one

of the nicest horses he has ridden.

moment. The only thing there is a point-to-point on St Patrick’s Day, the day of the Festival four miler; I have to go where my priorities are!

If I have a ride in the Foxhunters’ it might be on Tullinant, who is trained by Robert Tyner. He is a smashing horse and I won a hunter chase on him at Limerick at the beginning of the year. He is a nice horse.

You have so many rides each weekend – it is must be difficult to sort out riding plans ahead of the weekend? It is and it isn’t. I will go where the better rides are. I try and do the northern circuit on Saturdays and it works in well. I try and stick with my trainers and be as loyal as I can be.

I will ring for a ride if I think there is a good spare, but I won’t jock anyone off – I would lose friends very quickly!

Anything you would like to change about Irish pointing?Nothing, I think the sport is run very well now. The tracks are good, and horses are schooled and prepared well. The sport has come on in leaps and bounds and I have nothing to complain about. It is a professional sport run by amateurs

Favourite and least favourite tracks?Nenagh and Dromahane would be my favourites, but I have sleepless nights about riding at Comber. Under Rules, my favourite track is Punchestown.

You must welcome the long autumn season?It is fairly successful. With the volume of horses in Ireland now, it had to be brought in. It is competitive and there are a good number of horses running. With the Cheltenham November and January sales, it also means there is a sale for the horses to head to. It does mean that we enjoy the summer more!

What goes on through the summer?We take a holiday! Myself and my girlfriend Carol head to the sun for three weeks. When back, I might get the odd ride under Rules.

Do you own any horses?I don’t own any point-to-pointers – it is a very quick way to lose money – but have a half-bred coloured horse whom I hunt. I have managed a couple of days this winter and hope to get a couple more before the season is over.

Do you have to do anything to get fit ahead of the season? I will go swimming, but more because I enjoy

it than anything. Through the winter, riding keeps me fit enough.

What is your goal now? 1,000 winners? I never set myself goals, I suppose I am a bit lackadaisical in that regard. But I find if you set yourself up for something you will only be disappointed. Whatever happens, happens.

I would rather get to the end of the season and look back and be happy with what I achieved and how I have ridden the horses rather than try and achieve targets.

Would you consider yourself an ambitious person?No, but I guess I am not work shy. I like to, and enjoy, working hard. You have to be prepared to do that to get any results. If you are a lazy old devil, you are not going to get much done or get much back in the way of reward.

How many miles do you drive over the winter? I think it is close to 75,000k. I change my car around every two years.

How do you best like to relax after a day’s racing?I like to go home and light the fire and sit and relax. I will usually have bought the DVDs of the day’s racing so I will watch those. I find that a must – it really is the best way to see the mistakes you have made.

If I were to give any advice to a young person wanting to ride, it would be to watch yourself on DVD as much as you can. It is the best way to learn and improve your riding.

Other sports you follow?GAA hurdling. I follow Galway – don’t ask me how they are doing.

What music do you have in the car?Mumford and Sons – have you ever heard of them? They are a bit unique and not to everyone’s taste. If I have anyone else in the car, they have to put up with it!

Nicest horse you have ridden in your career and so far this season? Probably in my career it is the Champion Hurdle hope Solway. I rode him in an amateur race on the Flat two summers ago.

This season it has to be First Lieutenant. He won at Kilfeacle on the day that I rode five winners on his first career start. He is a smashing horse by Presenting and is owned by Michael O’Leary. I think (hope) he will turn out to be as nice a horse as I have sat on. [Ed: The horse was bought by bloodstock agent Mags O’Toole for €255,000 at the Derby Sale in 2008 as a three-year-old.

He was easily that year’s sales topper and cost O’Toole (on behalf of O’Leary) €95,000 more than the second-best priced horse of the sale. He was offered by Jimmy Murphy of Repender Stud, who had bought him for €26,000 as a foal.]

Any other horses we should keep an eye out for?Atlanta Falcon (Winged Love) is an interesting horse. He won his first career start at Askeaton in January.

Are you going to ride until you are 40?I doubt it! I don’t look that far ahead, I just look to the next season.

What do you think is the key to your success?That is an easy one to answer and I am most definite on this. It is all due to the people around me – the trainers that help me, my family are brilliant and my girlfriend Carol is a saint.

They put up with a lot as I can be a right pain in the xxx!



Major NH Winners inc.ZAYNAR Gr.1 Triumph Hurdle winner

EBAZIYAN Gr.1 Supreme Novices’ Hurdle winner

ROYAL MOUGINS Gr.1 hurdle wins x 3

ZARINAVA Gr.2 winner in 2010 and twice Gr.1 placed

PIGEON ISLAND Gr.2 Novice Hurdle winner

EBADIYAN Gr.3 winner

FIRST ROW Gr.3 winner

TIMARAWA Gr.3 winner, Gr.1 placed

TETLAMI Listed Bumper winner at Cheltenham in 2010

7 time Group 1 winner

Timeform rated 138

European Champion Older Horse

Half brother to Dalakhani

Won Gr.1s in 4 different countries

By Doyoun ex Daltawa - Miswaki

DaylamiWorth a Second Look

Standing alongsideFleetwoodandHumbelat Coolagown Stud, Fermoy, Co. CorkTel: +353 (0)25 36642 • www.coolagown.ieDave Stack: +353 (0)86 231 4066

COOLAGOWN STUD

HOME OF THE GALLOPERS

‘Daylami was a brilliant racehorse, a multiple Gr.1/Gr.1 hero whomTimeform rated 138 and whose official handicap rating of 135 wasjust 1lb below the 2009 Horse of the Year Sea The Stars.’.... ’Hisresults in the National Hunt sector have been remarkable’....’thefact that both Zarinava and Zaynar are by Daylami and from this[Zarkava’s] family may be an indication that their talent forNational Hunt racing may have a lot to do with their sire’

Sieglinde McGee, The Irish Field, 13.02.10

4 YO AMUSE ME WINS BUMPER FIRST TIME

OUT BY 8 LENGTHS - Muss

elburgh

17.02.

10

Daylami Int TB:Layout 1 25/02/2010 11:44 Page 1

“If I were to give any advice to a young person wanting to ride, it would be to watch yourself on DVD as much as you can. It is by far the best way to learn and improve your riding ”

Major NH Winners inc.ZAYNAR Gr.1 Triumph Hurdle winner

EBAZIYAN Gr.1 Supreme Novices’ Hurdle winner

ROYAL MOUGINS Gr.1 hurdle wins x 3

ZARINAVA Gr.2 winner in 2010 and twice Gr.1 placed

PIGEON ISLAND Gr.2 Novice Hurdle winner

EBADIYAN Gr.3 winner

FIRST ROW Gr.3 winner

TIMARAWA Gr.3 winner, Gr.1 placed

TETLAMI Listed Bumper winner at Cheltenham in 2010

7 time Group 1 winner

Timeform rated 138

European Champion Older Horse

Half brother to Dalakhani

Won Gr.1s in 4 different countries

By Doyoun ex Daltawa - Miswaki

DaylamiWorth a Second Look

Standing alongsideFleetwoodandHumbelat Coolagown Stud, Fermoy, Co. CorkTel: +353 (0)25 36642 • www.coolagown.ieDave Stack: +353 (0)86 231 4066

COOLAGOWN STUD

HOME OF THE GALLOPERS

‘Daylami was a brilliant racehorse, a multiple Gr.1/Gr.1 hero whomTimeform rated 138 and whose official handicap rating of 135 wasjust 1lb below the 2009 Horse of the Year Sea The Stars.’.... ’Hisresults in the National Hunt sector have been remarkable’....’thefact that both Zarinava and Zaynar are by Daylami and from this[Zarkava’s] family may be an indication that their talent forNational Hunt racing may have a lot to do with their sire’

Sieglinde McGee, The Irish Field, 13.02.10

4 YO AMUSE ME WINS BUMPER FIRST TIME

OUT BY 8 LENGTHS - Muss

elburgh

17.02.

10

Daylami Int TB:Layout 1 25/02/2010 11:44 Page 1

nh feature market appraisal


DESPITE THE LONG process of breeding racehorses, trends and fashions have a habit of changing fairly quickly.

Since the turn of the millennium, NH breeders and

producers in Britain and Ireland have been urged to develop their horses, do more at home, break them in, hell, why not consider selling them at a NH breeze-up sale?

And, after early positives at and since the fi rst British NH breeze-up – the DBS sale held at Cheltenham in 2004 which was conveniently held through the upward burst on the bloodstock market – NH breeze-up sales in the Britain and Ireland grew as reality TV shows – exponentially and without seemingly a need for curtailment.

The split of DBS from Cheltenham in 2008 led to the company developing a sale at Kempton, with Brightwells continuing to run the event at Cheltenham. In Ireland, Goffs set up its own version at Dundalk, while vendors at Tattersalls Ireland in 2008 breezed a number of horses at Fairyhouse racecourse at the company’s November sale.

As can be seen in the tables, initially, and through to 2007, prices continued to increase and were strong, but the move of the DBS sale to Kempton from Cheltenham caused an immediate downward trend, which continued in 2009 – a poor clearance rate of just 40 per cent and results which were 77 per cent down on the sale’s best year in 2007 when held at Cheltenham.

The performance of the Kempton sale led DBS CEO Henry Beeby to say afterwards: “There was little doubt that this was an extremely selective sale but, as ever, there was plenty of spirited bidding for the more popular lots. However, a clearance rate of just 40 per cent would have to be disappointing, especially when you consider the top-class facilities on offer at Kempton. We will speak to vendors and see how other sales perform before we consider the future of the DBS NH Breeze-Up Sales which has, in the past, been an outstanding source of top-class racehorses and the only sale of its kind to have sold subsequent Grade 1 winners.”

And with that the February sale at Dundalk operated by Goffs was not scheduled for this

February– it’s aggregate was almost halved in 2009 – while Fairyhouse just did not have enough interest from anyone in breezing up horses at the November sale of 2009.

At last month’s NH symposium at the ITBA Goffs Expo all of those sat on the panel, as well as those from the audience who sent in anonymous comments and questions, gave their strong support for breeze-up sales and for selling horses broken-in as a way to revitalise the store horse market.

It seems there is some divergence of thought and reality. So why is this? Why is it that despite the desire by many to develop NH breeze-up sales, for horses to be worked and viewed, do they appear to be struggling for survival? Are NH breeze-up sales just a concept not right for the jumping market or are they victims of the economic recession? And on top of all that, in light of last year’s returns there seems to be a line of thought that the store horse market is doomed.

Just too manyDid the breeze-up sales hit saturation point

Where should the NH market be heading now?

Sally Duckett asks whether the NH breeze-up sales are a victim of the recession or a concept unsuited to the NH market, whether store horses will benefit from being sold broken in and how to tackle the “French threat”

Photo: racing fotos.com



Year Off ered Sold % Sold Aggregate % Change Average % Change

2004 437 348 80 12,893,500 37,0502005 417 302 72 11,192,500 (-13) 37,061 (-)2006 426 343 81 15,102,000 (+34) 44,029 (+19)2007 487 365 75 15,754,500 (+0.04) 43,163 (-2)2008 543 366 67 10,423,400 (-34) 28,479 (-34)2009 531 315 59 6,075,750 (-42) 19,288 (-32)

Derby Sale (€)


2009 47 24 51 336,800 - 14,643 -

Tattersalls Ireland November Breeze-Up (€)


2004 267 215 80 4,652,666 21,6402005 266 182 68 3,786,666 (-19) 20,805 (-4)2006 259 194 74 4,175,555 (+10) 21,523 (+3)2007 232 186 80 3,948,111 (-5) 21,226 (-1)2008 286 207 72 3,745,650 (-5) 18,094 (-15)2009 249 171 68 2,469,000 (-34) 14,438 (-20)

DBS Spring Store (£: pre-2008 converted from gns)


2004 62 38 61 966,842 25,443 2005 62 52 84 1,443,473 (+49) 27,758 (+9)2006 72 51 71 1,744,210 (+20) 34,200 (+23)2007 77 62 80 2,452,631 (+40) 43,028 (+26)2008 64 30 47 857,500 (-63) 30,087 (-30)2009 52 21 40 568,500 (-33) 28,495 (-5)

DBS Breeze-Up (£: pre-2008 converted from gns)

2004-2007: held at Cheltenham


2004 569 464 82 7,145,300 15,3992005 684 498 73 7,688,100 (+7) 15,437 (+0.2)2006 716 553 77 10,515,700 (+37) 19,015 (+23)2007 838 578 68 10,097,100 (-4) 17,469 (-8)2008 689 449 65 7,038,700 (-30) 15,676 (-10)2009 460 294 64 3,480,400 (-50) 11,838 (-24)

Goff s Land Rover (€)


2007 72 35 49 895,000 25,5712008 90 58 64 840,000 (-6) 14,482 (-43)2009 60 42 70 459,000 (-45) 10,928 (-24)

Goff s Dundalk (€)

too quickly? A new concept always takes time to develop, both for vendors to trust that saving and producing their nicest horses for such a specifi c sale will give them a return, as well as for the purchasers to believe that they will be rewarded should they keep their powder dry and wait for a certain sale.

The successful initial development by DBS of the Cheltenham sale in association with the still burgeoning bloodstock economy caused all sales companies to jump onto the breeze-up band-wagon. The increased participation of Brightwells into the thoroughbred arena, leading to the two companies both holding sales in December, surely led to a diluting of catalogues with so few horses ever likely to be offered each year as NH breeze-up horses. It was an effect further exacerbated by the Goffs Dundalk sale and the Fairyhouse sale.

As Beeby said at the Goffs symposium that it takes time for a sale to establish itself – when DBS fi rst established its Flat breeze-up in the 1970s, buyers really had to be encouraged to get involved in the sale.

And then the Flat breeze-up concept really took time to develop and it was not until the 1990s that the number of Flat breeze-ups held by other sales companies mushroomed in response to the upwardly mobile bloodstock market.

However, within just four years from an initial inception, the number of NH versions held in Britain and Ireland not only increased from one to four, one of them had to move home and start all over again.

Lack of the very top quality horsesVery few British and Irish breeders will keep their horse until this stage in its career – not only does the last-chance saloon nature of these sales mean that if you don’t sell you may be stuck with your horse with the only other option being to put it in training, but the extra time and costs associated with breaking, pre-training and breezing can be prohibitive.

In the last two years, few NH breeders have seen a return on investment, let alone without paying extra to to keep their horses for longer.

Most breeders in Britain and Ireland, unlike in France, sell a horse before it even has a saddle on. Through the noughties, the strong foal market has meant that many breeders have offered their best pedigrees early – producers fi nding that they could get great money for a weanling without the extra risk and expense of keeping a horse for a further two years. Most of those best foals would have been purchased by racehorse



Year Offered Sold % Sold Aggregate % Change Average % Change

2007 40 27 67 810,900 30,003 2008 39 25 64 810,000 (- 0.1) 32,400 (+8)2009 47 20 53 271,000 (- 66) 13,550 (-58)

Saint-Cloud Breeze-Up (€)

owners feeling that they were needing to get into their stock early.

It has meant that very few of the good pedigrees have made it to breeze-up sales anyway because many of the good ones have found a long-term home before even getting to the store horse market, let alone to the breeze-up.

Those high foal prices were also reflected in the store horse market – the average at the Derby Sale in 2007 was a whopping €47,000, which made it virtually impossible for the commercially-minded pinhooker to buy the

better pedigrees to breeze.And although physique and attitude can

outweigh page – and that being the attraction of a breeze-up – catalogues with lesser credentials and fewer obvious types do not necessarily bring in the buyers. Without form to go on, there is only so much of a case to be made for a breeze-up horse without a page.

It was notable at the last autumn’s Kempton and Cheltenham sale that those buyers, who were still in a position to buy horses in the current selective market, were thin on the ground. This may have been based

Putting form into young NH horsesWhile nearly every bloodstock sale has been affected by the economic downturn, it has to be noted that the form horse market has suffered rather less in Britain, ireland and France.

With private sales of well-performing French horses still rumoured to be excessive, the results from the recent Cheltenham January sale proves that the market for the better horse with proven ability in point-to-points or bumpers, and from a good home, can command premium money. it is certainly a niche that Brightwells has successfully exploited at Cheltenham.

The perceived “French threat” to the store horse market is actually more of a challenge from the form horse (from all regions), and is best met in Britain and ireland by continuing to develop a better structure in which to put form into horses in point-to-points, bumpers and novice races.

This could mean that trainers should make more use of buying out of the point-to-point field in Britian and ireland – falls in prices means that this is once more a more realistic market – or by using yards to produce pointers and well-educated and well produced horses à la Barber and Nicholls, whose successful example should really be observed and imitated.

Britain could follow in a limited way the example of ireland with further discussion regarding the possibility of opening up a few point-to-point races for racehorse trainers. it is a vitally important element to help buyers gauge the level of form of point-to-points, currently the bar to many english point-to-pointers from selling successfully.

The recent success of Restless harry is a typical case of a lack of knowledge of British point-to-pointing. Despite the horse coming from the capable Polly Gundry stable and ridden by her on its first and only start when it won with ease – the form guide saying that Gundry struggled to pull the horse up after crossing the line – the son of Sir harry lewis fetched only £12,000 at the Cheltenham April Sale. The low price was surely a result of the lack of understanding from trainers as to just what point-to-point form amounts to.

Conversely, what would be wrong in letting point-to-point yards run horses against fully-fledged trainers in a number of bumpers?

Furthermore, British racing should make use of educational starts in schooling bumpers, which are a great element toward producing an educated horse which has revealed some potential and is ready for an owner to crack on with. These horses could come from pin-hooking, point-to-point yards or be produced by the trainer themselves.

These various options all go to help to educate a horse at an early age and give it some vital experience and outline its potential without putting it under pressure in a competitive race which it might not be ready for. So if owners are wanting ready to run horses, the educational yard may become of greater importance either as an element to a trainer or breeder’s business plan.

on economic reasons, but possibly also due to the fact that the catalogue consisted of horses which did not ncessarily appeal to “bigger” NH owners.

Economic bluesWith the dramatic economic movement over the last 18 months, NH breeze-up sales, so new to the market, were probably always going to be hit fiercely. The tables on the page before give disappointing returns for both the breeze-up sales and the store horse market, but the breeze-up figures drifted further downwards.

The 2009 NH autumn sales slot hit just at a time when buyers were perhaps feeling the pressure more than at any other and, with those previously purchased foals waiting in the wings as future racehorses for the bigger owners, and businesses not producing the returns for all that they once did, there were few with a desire or need to buy a racehorse, even if a sale could promise purchasers that they could “buy a horse that much closer to the racecourse”, the raison d’etre behind the development of the breeze-up auctions.

And even the well-established July Saint-Cloud sale suffered poor returns caused by the downward economic spiral. With less buyers at the sales anyway, the British and Irish buyers found that they just did not have the reserves of cash to buy horses out of the market with the French sellers able to put high reserves on their horses confident that the animals, if successful racehorses, would pay their way in prize-money earnings.

The abandonment of the second Fairyhouse breeze-up due to a lack of support by vendors was probably also steeped in economic problems. It costs more money to send a horse to the sales prepared to breeze-up rather than just to walk around a ring.

With the Irish economy at such a low last year, most vendors last autumn were just keen to get their horses off the books.

Have the sales performed well enough?The breeze-up sales have yet to become a consistent source of quality stock, which is probably a reflection of the quality of horse offered to date rather than an indictment of a breeze-up sale itself. It is also a reflection of their “youth” and an overly harsh perception of performance from the industry.

The sales do need a number of good performers to emerge – it is the best way to establish any sale – but you need the better types of horse to show up for sale in the first place, which in turn requires the confidence



from vendors that by producing them for a sale they will be rewarded by an active buying bench. It really is a chicken and egg scenario.

Stakes horse have come from the sales – horses such as Weapon’s Amnesty, Noland, Time For Rupert and Battlecry – as well as the Grade 1 horse Karabak, who also won his bumper just four months after purchase.

Although a lot of horses have run since the last Goffs sale – and quite a number turned out in the spring – very few have won. It has been a similiar scenario for the Brightwells 2008 sale – the early runners, apart from a few notable execeptions, have not really gone on – yet.

In fact for such a niche market, the sales performed too badly a few recent graduates have emerged this winter to win their bumpers – Thunderstorm won such a race for Nicky Henderson in the autumn.

As ever, though despite purchasers buying at a breeze-up sale, horses don’t always produce instant results. Perhaps the expectations put on the breeze-up sales to produce early results were just too high and have led to inevitable disappointment.

So where now for the store horse and breeze-up market?The Expo firmly determined that the major sales companies are positively encouraging vendors to sell their three and four-year-olds

at the Derby, Spring and Land Rover Sale already broken in. It felt strongly that this is what the market is demanding – it was expressed that owners no longer have time to wait for a backward store horse requiring two years’ preparation in a trainer’s yard before he gets to a racecourse.

There are obvious dangers that buyers might be wary of buying a “tried” and so an obviously failed horse, but the sales companies are working hard to establish conditions of sale that identify the parameters to establish such a horse.

However, there is some debate as to how much work a horse should be given before being offered for sale with opinion ranging from being able to see a two-year-old jumping under tack to a horse offered by a vendor as “lightly broken”, the terms of sale that Tattersalls Ireland is urging its sellers to achieve with at the Derby Sale.

But is that actually doing anything to help give the buyer what it is thought he wants – a racehorse that much closer to the racecourse?

Personally, I am not sure that it does. If a horse has been properly prepared for a store horse auction, then the actual breaking-in process, i.e. taking a horse to the stage of being “lightly broken in”, should for most horses only take new connections a few weeks to do to get to the same stage. A confident horse, which is used to handling, perhaps also

previously long-reined, generally does not take very long to be backed.

Furthermore, it must be realised that many breeders are not set up with facilities to break in horses which will mean that they might either they try and do the job themselves without the right back-up or staff – not a great idea – or they will need to send the individual away to a pre-training and breaking yard. An added expense which in the current environment may be ill afforded.

It was also mentioned at the Expo that many trainers would be wary of a newly broken-in horse just in case the job had not been done very well.

Start ‘em earlyThe whole process of preparing a horse for the racecourse has to begin at two. Ideally, a NH horse should be lightly backed if money, facilities and staff permit in its two-year-old year. The days of ignoring a horse until he is three or four, hoping to get 2007-style Derby sale returns are long gone. Work strengthens both muscles and mind, while also offering a much easier task for those doing the breaking in – instead of dealing with a large, nearly fully grown three or four-year-old used to doing things his own way, a smaller two-year-old is a much more amenable creature. There are obvious positive implications on stress levels for both horse and human!

If the horse can’t be backed, at least some amount of work should be done meaning that the horse has a chance to strengthen, develop and become used to responding to human influences. This work should not cost the breeder too much, and will give him an easier job when handling the horse anyway.

No point in pushing too early for someAnd then progress, as ever, has to depend on the individual. It would be a great concept to sell to owners that within three or four months of buying a horse at a store horse sale, which has been sold lightly backed, it would get them to the races.

But it must be remembered that despite the desire to imitate the French system and produce early three-year-olds, the inherent slower developing nature of Irish or British-bred horses has to be taken into account. It is no use pushing a horse to get to the races early only to find that the horse’s career has been wrecked before it has got over the age of four.

Denman did not race until he was five, and this January, Howard Johnson was prepared

“Very few of the good pedigrees have made it to breeze-up sales anyway because, generally, the good ones have already found a long-term home before even getting to the store horse market let alone to the breeze-up. ”

A well-prepared and produced store horse should not really take too long to be broken in



to pay over £200,000 for a six-year-old which did not make its racecourse debut until the autumn of his five-year-old career. Some things don’t change and now, as ever, patience with horses is usually rewarded and can be financially beneficial.

Besides in Britain and Ireland, unlike in France, generally ground conditions only really come right to run a youngster in November. There is absolutely no point in buying a horse in June only two or three months off a race, but with nowhere to go.

Over the course of a seasonSo really if an owner wishes to buy an “untried” horse and not a more expensive form horse, he should not be under the misguided notion that process can be any quicker than over the course of a season – whether the horse has been bought broken or not.

His horse can’t run earlier than the early winter anyway, which assuming that a horse is not sold on the gross side and is capable of taking his work, is not an unrealistic target for

a trainer to aim for. Bearing in mind all the other factors that

come into play – injuries, the weather, races available, ground – an aim for a few runs in that first season is realistic and should be a attractive enough to encourage the traditional store horse buyer back to the market.

The economy may have become the soultion for the store horse anyway. With the recent falls in the store horse market once again pushing prices to a much more realistic

level, now generally even the “nicer” sorts are back in a realistic price bracket.

With the pendulum having once again swung, the purchase of a store horse is indeed within the compass for those wishing to get into NH racehorse ownership – even once the various costs of breaking, pre-training and a season’s ownership are included.

So to play his part in ensuring the continued exsistence of the store horse market, the seller of said horse has to produce

KADASTROFCh 1990, 16.2hh by Port Etienne - Kadastra (Stradavinsky)

HIGH CLASS FRENCH-BRED STALLIONSTANDING IN THE HEART OF THE COTSWOLDS

With winning progeny both under Rules and point-to-pointing, including FRED KENNET, JOHN'S GIFT and KHADIJA as well as the 9 time winning point-to-pointer, JAMADIEL

Fee for 2010: £1,250 (Oct 1st terms, filly foal free return)

All enquiries to Alan Varey, Batsford Stud, Moreton-in-Marsh, Gloucestershire GL56 9QFTel/Fax: 01608 651890 Mobile : 07899 957355 Email: [email protected]

“There is some debate as to how much work a horse should be given before being offered for sale with opinion ranging from being able to see a two-year-old jumping under tack to a horse offered by a vendor as “lightly broken” ”



his horse well-prepared and ready to move on.

But also this “seasonal” concept has to be marketed and sold as such to owners, which is the responsibility of the agents, trainers and the sales companies. It has to be said that the store horse market has become a slight victim of bad press instead of positive reports.

If owners are not even prepared to give a horse eightor so months to run, then they should not be buying a store horse, they need to buy a form horse, a vastly different type of animal.

And of the days of owners giving trainers orders to vbuy store horses are indeed over, then the store market will have to become viewed as a middle market one for in which a trainer will need to buy on spec and educate it himself or where the pinhooker, point-to-point trainer or middleman will make up the majority of purchasers.

Where does all this leave the NH breeze-up?If horses are going to be sent to the store horse sales having done a certain amount of work, then it has to be questioned just what place the NH breeze-up sales will have.

While it seems certain that there should be a reduction in the sales in order to concentrate and strengthen catalogues, is a NH breeze-up sale in actuality a mode that does not sit well with the NH market?

Is the breeze-up horse stuck within a rock and hard place – it is neither a completely untried horse, not one that is lightly broken-in or one with some obvious potential revealed by a run in a point-to-point or bumper.

Everyone seems keen that they should continue and with the natural trimming that has taken place this winter, just two surviving dates offer a much more realistic market place at present.

But the perceived quality of the stock from the sales has got to improve to allow the sales to continue to develop more of a niche for themselves. One way might be to do this might be to move sales dates.

What about a summer date?While it is understandable that the late autumn was felt to be the time to sell a breeze-up horse so that the owner is that “much closer to the racecourse”, the natural time to buy and sell NH horses is in the late spring, coinciding with the end of the “old” season.

After moving on stock, trainers are keen

to fill available orders then – telling a client to wait until the autumn and three-quarters of the way through the year for small niche sales may merely mean that the order goes elsewhere.

Furthermore, trying to assimilate a horse into a string part-way through the winter, with the associated issues of possible colds and illness from a visit to the sales, means that fairly often a breeze-up horse will not be pushed immediately into strong work once in a trainer’s yard anyway.

The spring and firm ground may then appear before the trainer has a chance to run meaning that the hapless owner horse is no nearer to the racecourse than if he had bought as a well-prepared store horse in the spring. Buying a breeze-up purchase is no guarantee of immediate racing action.

Besides, bad weather can influence matters at a winter sale – at this year’s Cheltenham December Breeze-Up Sale, the fog was so bad that horses could only be seen on the TV for the last furlong. It rendered the breeze worthless.

I would argue that the summer season is by far the best time to breeze horses with long hours of daylight, better weather, NH trainers and agents with time available and owners with orders ripe for filling.

There are obvious concerns as regards a late-born three or four-year-olds being too immature, but if it has been quietly broken in at two, is not asked to do too much, and if the sale is held more around August than April, then it should not be too much of an issue.

More importantly for the most capable horses, it would give a trainer plenty of time to prepare for the big bumpers at the next spring’s Festival meetings. What better way to market a sale than for a Champion bumper horse to emerge seven months later.

At present, it is nigh on impossible for a horse to go to Cheltenham or Aintree having been bought in December – by the next year’s The Festival said horse may well have gone hurdling instead. While a Festival winner is always a marketing opportunity, the sales pitch is not quite so strong.

For a horse that might need a quieter start, there is also a greater chance of being able to run in point-to-points rather than under Rules.

The losers in this situation are probably the pinhookers who will have to keep their horses for over a year if buying at the store horse sales in June.

However, this scenario does bring in the

KADASTROFCh 1990, 16.2hh by Port Etienne - Kadastra (Stradavinsky)

HIGH CLASS FRENCH-BRED STALLIONSTANDING IN THE HEART OF THE COTSWOLDS

With winning progeny both under Rules and point-to-pointing, including FRED KENNET, JOHN'S GIFT and KHADIJA as well as the 9 time winning point-to-pointer, JAMADIEL

Fee for 2010: £1,250 (Oct 1st terms, filly foal free return)

All enquiries to Alan Varey, Batsford Stud, Moreton-in-Marsh, Gloucestershire GL56 9QFTel/Fax: 01608 651890 Mobile : 07899 957355 Email: [email protected]

“I am very fond of the breeze-up sales, we have bought a few from £7,000 to £20,000 and they have all gone on to be winners. You get to take a view on a young horse, see its action and its attitude.

“Purchasers have still got to be mindful that they are buying a young horse, still a baby, and while some will be able to go out and run in three or four weeks, buyers have to be prepared to wait a month, six months or more. You still should be prepared to give the horse the time that he will need.

“Some have been trained just to go quickly over 3f and I would rather see a horse just do a nice piece of work without going too fast. Then you know the horse has not been pushed to get there and his head won’t be too busy. The fastest breeze is not always the nicest horse so you have to make up your own mind.”

Gerry Hogan, bloodstock agent

“The NH market is very much at a crossroads at present. The NH breeze-up sale is a sound and very good concept, and I think that last year’s sale at Cheltenham mirrored the performance of the DBS sale at Kempton.

“To satisfy the market needs, horses do have to be produced that much closer to the racecourse to get the traditional buyer back to buying a store horse. I think that is really very important.

“There is a lot of debate as to how much a horse should do: should it be lightly backed and ready to move on to the next level or be sold not far off a race? We have to work out where we go from here?

“Some of the breeze-up horses have almost been too well prepared for the sale and their big day was the sales day. There has to be a balance.

“We must remember when looking at the performance of these sales that the numbers are not huge – around 200-300 horses are catalogued at a store horse sale while you are dealing with less than 100 horses at breeze-ups.

“The Dundalk sale did not work and we are to concentrate on quality at the Kempton sale. There just needs to be a >

Thoughts of others



the option of developing the two-year-old November market further – pinhookers could buy in the autumn, break in and sell at three the following summer.

Besides, whoever said that a NH pinhooker should be entitled to turn his money and horses over as quickly as the Flat boys can?

ConclusionThe breeze-up market has become something of a casualty of the recession, but other mitigating factors have influenced performance of the sector in the last two years.

The whole NH market is in a state of flux: the decent form horse has to an extent held its price, but inflated store horse prices have crashed with the breeze-up sector faring just as badly. In theory, though, due to prices

falling to a far more realistic level – the unknown quantity, the store horse, should come back into fashion. Just as long there is a realistic hope that most of the horses sold can get to the racecourse over the course of a season, whether sold broken in or not.

Hopefully, the doomsayers predicting the end of the store horse market will be wrong, and especially if it does become more of a middle market zone for the producers.

Buying a breeze-up horse is no guarantee of an imminent runner – particularly if the sales are held in the deep mid-winter.

Some horses will pop out and do their thing quickly, but just maybe those who are not rushed to be quick runners and are sold as a work-in-progress will have a little more longevity, and possibly better, careers.

Breeze-ups can be marketed to offer a buyer quicker action, but it needs to be done in a realistic fashion.

The sales, possibly due to their timing, rely too heavily on the top bracket of owners who will always be around to buy the handful of “nice” horses or the odd guy who pops needing a late replacement for the season.

The sales need further consolidation (which has happened naturally), a push for better catalogues, while also some thought as to where and when they are held, as well as how they are placed in the market.

They also need time to bed in a little, while perhaps less of an emphasis should be placed on their marketing as “ready to run sales”. That marketing tactic only sets up the sale for a disappointing review if it has taken longer than six months for NH winners to emerge.

Continued strategic planning within racing for the production of the “novice” horse with reasonable form which will be of interest to buyers at all levels is certainly a further way forward to help invigorate the NH market.

The Cheltenham sales and the DBS Spring Sales have revealed that purchasers do like to buy horses with form, while also giving vendors an option if they are not able to selling privately.

But, as ever, it is up to the agents and trainers to match the right owner to the right horse, ensure they are realistic with their goals and work out the best plan for both horse and human.

What’s happening at the sales in 2010?Where are the Nh sales now? In a period of high selectivity as evidenced by the January sales at Doncaster and Cheltenham.

With clearance rates hovering only around 50 per cent, it appears that only the best on offer find favour with buyers. For those wo had some available cash for investment, Doncaster will surely prove to be a happy hunting ground.

Off a decent catalogue the top lot was a filly foal offered by Goldford Stud, proving that future investment was much on the minds of buyers. She fetched £50,000.

Out of Fortune’s Girl, she is by King’s Theatre, is a sister to Listed-placed Theatre Girl, a half-sister to Diamond Sal (a Grade 2 winner) as well as to the Grade 2-placed ring The Boss. She was bought by richard haggas, who also bought and sold ring The Boss.

She was easily the top-priced lot with the second best being a Flemensfirth colt out of Maid For Adventure, who made £36,000. he was sold by Galbertstown Stud and was bought by Ian Ferguson.

The sale did register good improvements on the figures from 2008 – aggregate increased by an impressive 60 per cent, and the average was up 19 per cent to £6,412 – despite there being little interest in the “lower quality” types offered.

At Cheltenham a sale record was broken, which in a period of recession (though according to the media we have made our way out of that), is an impressive feat.

howard Johnson was paid £240,000 on behalf of owner Graham Wylie for the wild card entry On Your Own, a Presenting gelding offered by Cavan Developments Bloodstock and the winner of a point-to-point at Maralin in October and a Leopardstown bumper in December.

In total, three lots fetched six-figure sums with the dual bumper winner Forty Foot Tom (King’s Theatre) making £220,000 in a private sale to Gerry hogan Bloodstock having failed to reach his reserve in the ring, while the son of Witness Box, Monbeg Dude, the winner of one from one, went for £120,000.

Fifteen horses made more than £20,000, while 19 made less than that amount and 22 were not sold. The aggregate increased by 15 per cent, while the average was £33,690 compared to £30,050 in 2008.

The sale proved however that the potential for high earnings from form horses are still there if you do hit the jackpot – but unless you have the one that appears that it has the potential to be very special, then there is little depth to the market.

In a buyer’s market purchasers are unprepared to compromise on performance, pedigree or page in order to buy a horse that might do a job for them.

“At Highflyer we pushed our clients to buy store horses last spring because we felt that they offered such good value – we bought far more than usual. However, come December and the breeze-ups, our trainers weren’t needing anymore unraced horses and were not interested in buying again. ”

bit of patience to let the sales develop as trainers and agents do like the sale.

“I do think there needs to be a concentrated effort and focus on them, I don’t believe that putting a breeze-up into another catalogue works. However, I do feel that the store horse sales and the breeze-up sales can work side by side.

Henry Beeby, CEO of DBS and Goffs

“Last year’s Saint-Cloud sale suffered along with every other sale due to the economy. The Saint-Cloud breeze-up sale very much depends on English buyers and without them buying at such a strong level as before it was bound to suffer.

“Most French breeders will give a horse a run or two with the view to selling after, so sometimes it is difficult to encourage vendors to wait for the sale with their better pedigrees.

“There has been a quieter private market for the unraced two and three-year-olds in France this spring due to the economy, which might mean that some nice types will come forward to Saint-Cloud.

“The Saint-Cloud sale is still the easiest way for a purchaser to find a horse in France. We will aim for about 50-50 of two-year-olds and three-year-olds. The sale has always done well with its two-year-olds, but we concentrated a little more on getting three-year-olds last summer as we were concerned as to how much business the pinhookers, the main two-year-old buyers, would be doing.

“Perhaps the English buyers were a little more wary last year and the very nature of a mixed sale such as the Summer Sale can make things quite variable.” Freddie Powell, Arqana

“I am not against NH breeze-ups and bought Karabak from the Cheltenham sale in 2007.

“I did not go to the Cheltenham breeze-up because I did not have any orders. The Kempton Sale was badly attended, but I think I have bought two lovely horses from it.

“The breeze-ups do serve a purpose, and although two years are never the same, I don’t usually have many orders at the time of year, particuarly so this year.” Alan King, trainer

“The breeze-ups were indeed a victim of the economy last year. At Highflyer we pushed our clients to buy store horses last spring because we felt that they offered such good value – we bought far more than usual. However, come December and the breeze-ups, our trainers weren’t needing anymore unraced horses and were not interested in buying again.

“The two breeeze-ups held practically in one week definitely has flooded the market, particularly with the economy where it is.

“I don’t think the summer is right to have a NH breeze-up, you would be worried that horse might have had a run in, or been prepared for, a point-to-point. Anyway, with the store horse vendors being asked to break all their horses in, it is nearly what we are getting.

“December is definitely as late as you want to be, but with such a crowded sales calendar there is no other time.”

Anthony Bromley, bloodstock agent

Thoughts from others




He’s got the PowerMichael Clower meets leading South African trainer Mike Bass, trainer of the country’s record-breaking gelding Pocket Power

feature mike bass

MIKE BASS may be best known for his record-breaking feats with the legendary Pocket Power but he has been training Group 1 winners for over

30 years and in recent seasons he has been the dominant force in the Cape Town training ranks.

He trains 110 horses on the old Milnerton racecourse, which was turned into a training centre after parts of it were sold for housing. To European eyes, it’s an overcrowded place with strictly limited facilities – for instance, there is nothing even remotely resembling a hill – and there are plans to move it to a purpose-built, much-upgraded location some 30 miles to the north of Cape Town.

Few South African trainers have their own gallops – Michael roberts and Glen Kotzen are notable exceptions – and the majority of those in Cape Town are based in the suburbs of Milnerton and Phillipi.

“Your own farm requires a huge investment, with stables to build as well as the actual training tracks,” points out Bass. “And over the years such places have not been easy to come by.”

He’s got the Power


Mike Bass: a reserved man, he

has trained over 30 Group 1 winners in

South Africa and won the trainers’

championship seven times.

Although Pocket Power missed out

on the J & B Met this year, Bass won

the race with the gelding’s sister

River Jetez

Photography: Gold Circle Racing and

courtesy of Mike Bass

feature mike bass

He employs more grooms than many of his rivals. “Most stables in the Cape have three horses to a groom but I prefer to have two so that the horses get more attention and can be out for longer. I work only two strings a day.”

The South African method of preparing horses for big races is different from Europe

where they run in the likes of Derby trials over the distance of the target race. Here they start the season in sprints and gradually step up in trip, and Bass is a master at producing horses in this manner.

“I don’t think you will find anybody in South Africa as good at prepping horses as he is,” says Bass’s daughter and assistant Candice.

Maybe she is not the person you should ask for an unbiased opinion but she goes on to point out: “It’s a very difficult thing because there is such a fine line between doing too much with a horse and too little, and working that out is one of Dad’s greatest strengths.”

However the trainer regards buying the right horses as key to his success, and he

feature mike bass

to have to pay. If I see that the horse has no pedigree, I’m still happy to buy if I like the individual.

“What I’m looking for is an athlete and to me a good one will stand out. I can spot him walking, or just standing, and more often than not the horse ends up a good one.

“There are faults that I’m prepared to overlook. Often these are to do with their legs, and what I have to decide is whether the faults will enable the horse to cope with the training centre. If he is not going to get to the racecourse too often, he’s not going to win many.”

Bass often runs several in big races, almost Aidan O’Brien-style. In the J & B Met in January only 18 were allowed to run, Bass had five of them and finished up with three of the first four.

“The more I have in the race, the less other trainers can run!” he jokes. “But an owner with a good horse deserves the chance to win a big race. I can’t say to an owner ‘I’ve already got four so your’s can’t run.’ ”

Some of them run quite often. Captain’s Secret, for instance, ran in a Grade 1 sprint in January and a week later lined up for the

Cape Derby. “The problem is that our season is compressed, the big races are on top of each other and sometimes you’ve just got to have a go. But horses can take more racing than people think. In Australia trainers run them in big races twice in a week and when I trained in amateur racing we sometimes ran them twice in a day!”

MICHAEl WIllIAM BASS,65, was born in leicester and he was only three when his parents decided they would have a better life in

South Africa. His father started a butcher’s shop near Kenilworth racecourse and it’s still there today, run by Bass’s brother Stuart.

But the future trainer was more interested in becoming a farmer like his grandfather and, after leaving school, he spent four years studying agriculture. He then changed direction to start a livery yard and met his wife Carol, daughter of soccer international Peter Jaffer.

For seven years he combined livery with training horses for amateur racing including hurdling which, sadly, is no more in South Africa. He was then offered the job as manager of the Broadlands Stud, owned

often has to buy on a strictly limited budget: the top Johannesburg trainers tend to have much more financial fire-power.

“I’m lucky in that I have a reasonably good eye for a horse, and over the years I have been able to buy a lot of good ones as yearlings. I always look at the individual first, the pedigree just tells me how much I’m going

POCKeT POWer has won more money and more of the country’s top races than any other horse in South Africa’s 200 year-plus racing history. he has won the historic Queen’s Plate four times in succession and the J & B Met three times. It is a measure of his achievement, and of his ability, that no other horse has ever won either race more than twice. he has also won the Durban July, dead-heating with British-bred Dancer’s Daughter two years ago.

The son of champion sire Jet Master, he cost the equivalent of £16,000 as a yearling and was bred by wine producer Dan de Wet, who at one time worked at Coolmore. Unfortunately, De Wet then sold the dam, carrying Bass’s 2010 Met winner river Jetez, for a mere £1,000.

The seven-year-old gelding’s fame has spread far beyond South Africa, he has his own page on Facebook and he gets emails from admirers all over the world. Some of them even ask where they can buy one of his foals! (he is a gelding!)

his trademark is his devastating acceleration. he can take an agonisingly long time to get

into top gear but, when he does quicken, he surges forward and simply powers his way past his field. And he can’t be allowed to get there too soon because he eases up as soon as he hits the front.

“he has a huge lung capacity, a big rib cage and a big heart,” says Bass as he tries to explain why the bay is so good. “Also he is a long-striding horse and, although he is a bit on the forehand, he has loads of talent.”

he has not been easy to train. he is thin-soled, particularly on his near-fore which tends to develop corns on the inner heel, and he is an impatient individual. he will only tolerate two hooves being shod in a session and so the farrier invariably has to return the following day.

The horse normally refuses point blank to enter the winner’s enclosure. “he is not interested in standing there having his photograph taken,” says his trainer. “he just wants to get back to his stable and his feed.

“he is a greedy eater and never leaves a grain, no matter how hard he’s raced or how hard I’ve worked him – and that itself is a wonder to me.”

A Pocket that is full of heart

Pocket Power gallops to victory once again


Stromslvei, dam of Pocket Power is mare of the month, page 86


feature mike bass Josr Algarhoud b. Darshaan – Pont Aven (Try My Best)

Multiple Group winner, including the Group 2 Gimcrack Stakes, beating Bertolini

A prolific sire of Flat winners and now making a name for himself as a jumps sire.

Siring winners under both codes Fee 2010: £1,000 (nfnf 1st October)

Misu Bond b. Danehill Dancer – Hawala (Warning)

Exciting son of Danehill Dancer. Smart 6f sprinter – Listed winner at 2 and Group-placed at 3. Winner of Listed Free Handicap at Newmarket. Has produced some stunning high-quality foals.

First yearlings 2010 Fee 2010: £1,750 (1st October)

Rob Roy b/bn. Lear Fan – Camanoe (Gone West)

Winner over 7f and 8f, including the Group 2 Sandown Mile and Group 3 Joel Stakes. Top-class placed form in the Champion Stakes when second, and third in the Sussex Stakes

First foals 2010Fee 2010: £2,000 (1st October)

Milk It Mickb. Millkom – Lunar Music (Komaite)

European Champion 2-y-o. Winner of G1 Dewhurst Stakes at 2, beating Classic winners Haafhd, Bachelor Duke etc.. Also won G1 Frank E. Kilroe Mile from Cacique, Aragorn, etcgorn etc. First yearlings 2010 Fee 2010: On application

Hedgeholme Stud

Andrew Spalding Tel: 01325 730209 Mob: 07990 518751 [email protected] www.hedgeholmestud.co.uk Hedgeholme Stud, Winston, Darlington, Co. Durham DL2 3RS

by the eccentric Pat O’Neill, who famously related her unusual life in her autobiography A lion in the Bedroom.

In 1976, Bass found an empty yard in Milnerton and set up shop with fi ve horses. They began winning straight away, owners took notice and soon the new boy had a string of 20. His fi rst Group 1 winner came with Sweet Chestnut in the 1980 Fillies’ Guineas and a whole succession of top horses have followed including Green Silver, Blazing Inferno, Tobe Or Nottobe, Durban July winners Trademark and Dunford, Sun

Classique and Bunter Barlow, who in 2001 gave Bass the fi rst of his fi ve Met winners.

Daughter Candice is his assistant trainer, while son Mark now combines teaching golf with running the marketing side of the family business.

The white-haired Bass seldom shows much emotion when he wins. There is no cheering or arm-waving and often he doesn’t even smile. “I’m not an emotional person,” he concedes. “Also when I win a big race, I look at it professionally – it’s my job to win big races.

“Sometimes I’m under pressure and I simply feel relieved. Sun Classique’s victory in the 2006 Fillies’ Guineas is a good example. The owners were offered $1 million for her before the race. It was a huge amount of money, but I said she was worth more because she would win a Group 1. If she hadn’t won that race, I felt it would have been partly my fault and that owners with a horse under my care would never be offered $1 million for a horse again!”

Bass is very conscious of his reserved manner and believes that success might have

come earlier had he been more outgoing. “It’s not that I’m modest but just that I’m not a high-profi le guy. I tend to keep myself to myself, and so I haven’t been a great advertisement for my business. Perhaps this is why it has taken such a long time for people to say “this bloke’s quite good!”’

He has seen a lot of changes over the years and regrets the passing of racing at Milnerton, but what strikes him most is the ratio of costs to prize-money. “At one time an owner only needed to win one race a year with an ordinary horse to cover the costs. Now the costs are around r5,000 (£400) a month and you need to win two races.”

South Africa has to take a back seat on racing’s international stage because of the worldwide fear of African Horse Sickness but Bass has no doubts about where his country stands.

“The top horses in Europe are probably a bit better than ours, but I am convinced that our overall standard is higher than people think. Certainly our trainers and jockeys are as good as any in the world, if not better in some cases.”

Mike Bass Awards and Achievements

Champion trainer: 1998, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2007, 2008, 2009 J&B Met/Durban July victoriesVodacom Durban July 2001 Trademark, 2005 Dunford, 2008 Pocket PowerJ&B Met 2001 Bunter Barlow and Trademark (2nd); 2007 Pocket Power, 2008, 2009 Pocket Power; 2010 River Jetez Horse awards won 1981 Champion older Filly of the Year Sweet Chestnut 1997 Champion two-year-old Filly Colne Valley 2001 Older Male Champion of the Year Trademark 2003 Champion two-year-old Filly Easyjadeasy2004 Champion three-year-old Tobe Or Nottobe 2006 Champion two-year-old Filly Sun Classique2006 Winter series triple crown champion Pocket Power 2007 Horse of the Year Pocket Power 2008 Champion older miler/Champion older midddle-distance horse Pocket Power 2008 Horse Of The Year Pocket Power2008 Champion two-year-old Filly Consensual2009 Horse Of The Year Pocket Power

“I tend to keep myself to myself, and so I haven’t been a great advertisement for my business. Perhaps this is why it has taken such a long time for people to say “this bloke’s quite good!”

“

Pocket Power races for the partnership of Marsh Shirtliff and Arthur and Rina Webber, the buyers and underbidder, respectively, when the fi ve-year-old Jet Master gelding was sold as a yearling. Webber acquired a half interest after the sale.

Trained by Mike Bass in Cape Town, Pocket Power was bred at Zandvliet Stud in Robertson. He is the third J&B Met winner bred by Zandvliet Stud, follow-ing Peter Beware (1969) and Wild West (‘86).

Pocket Power’s dam Stormsvlei, by Prince Florimund (SAf), is a half sister to Group 1-winner Harry’s Echoe.

One of South Africa’s greatest-ever racehorses, dual Horse of the Year Pocket Power will be out to add to his imposing record the L’Ormarins Queen’s Plate and the J&B Met for the third consecutive year.

Pocket Power became the fi rst horse in 29 years to score a repeat victory in the (SAf-G1) after he delivered his customary late burst of speed to overhaul the leaders and score comfortably in Cape Town’s prestigious race at Kenilworth.

The Jet Master gelding's rare double follows Politi-cian’s wins in the race in 1978-'79.

Pocket Power is rated in the top 30 horses in the world with the same 121 rating as freak Hong Kong sprinter Sacred Kingdom.Taken from Fan of Pocket PowerMike Bass’s facebook page can be found under Mike Bass - Pocket Power

Profi le

Josr Algarhoud b. Darshaan – Pont Aven (Try My Best)

Multiple Group winner, including the Group 2 Gimcrack Stakes, beating Bertolini

A prolific sire of Flat winners and now making a name for himself as a jumps sire.

Siring winners under both codes Fee 2010: £1,000 (nfnf 1st October)

Misu Bond b. Danehill Dancer – Hawala (Warning)

Exciting son of Danehill Dancer. Smart 6f sprinter – Listed winner at 2 and Group-placed at 3. Winner of Listed Free Handicap at Newmarket. Has produced some stunning high-quality foals.

First yearlings 2010 Fee 2010: £1,750 (1st October)

Rob Roy b/bn. Lear Fan – Camanoe (Gone West)

Winner over 7f and 8f, including the Group 2 Sandown Mile and Group 3 Joel Stakes. Top-class placed form in the Champion Stakes when second, and third in the Sussex Stakes

First foals 2010Fee 2010: £2,000 (1st October)

Milk It Mickb. Millkom – Lunar Music (Komaite)

European Champion 2-y-o. Winner of G1 Dewhurst Stakes at 2, beating Classic winners Haafhd, Bachelor Duke etc.. Also won G1 Frank E. Kilroe Mile from Cacique, Aragorn, etcgorn etc. First yearlings 2010 Fee 2010: On application

Hedgeholme Stud

Andrew Spalding Tel: 01325 730209 Mob: 07990 518751 [email protected] www.hedgeholmestud.co.uk Hedgeholme Stud, Winston, Darlington, Co. Durham DL2 3RS

How do you breed a yearling by a top stallion at an affordable price..? ...Head to South AmericaShuttle stallions are available to breeders at a fraction of their northern hemisphere price. Patience Wootton follows the development and outlines the benefits of the South American shuttle stallion concept

feature south america


THE rECESSION. A jaded topic perhaps, but one that is still blatantly evident worldwide.

According to the Financial Times on January 26, 2010, England “limped out of recession”

with growth of 0.1 per cent in the last quarter of 2009, seemingly tailed off in an economic recovery race led by the US.

Through this period of recession the bloodstock market has suffered considerably and no one can deny the direct impact it has had on bloodstock sales and businesses.

Despite the early 2010 northern hemisphere sales showing a more positive start to the year, buyers are just not spending what they were five or six years ago. You have to doubt whether there will be many bids of $10 or $11 million in the near future. last year’s yearling market suffered with high levels of withdrawals, ever-increasing buy back rates and the sign “no bid” was frequently viewed on the electronic sales board.

And though stallion fees have been decreased over the last couple of years, breeders are still struggling to cover their costs.

So perhaps it is time for our hapless northern hemisphere breeder and investor to look at diversifing into new markets, new countries and new methods to bite the recessional bullet.

This year, the emerging markets in Turkey, India and South America have thrived, while the development of the bloodstock industry in the last-named continent has particularly flourished over the last five years having progressed gradually over the last 40 years. The international concerns, Coolmore and Darley, are both active within this market.

Why is this? South America offers purchasers and investors a horse that can be capable of rivaling any in the world, second that horse can be purchased at a snippet of the price tag. There’s very little reason to complain.

Been there and experienced thatThe three main thoroughbred producing countries in South America, Argentina, Brazil and Uruguay have already ridden the recessional storm that the rest of the world is suffering from now.

In 1999, Argentina, South America’s main thoroughbred producer and the fourth-largest worldwide, headed down a negative spiral faster than a kid eating a Cadburys creme egg – or should that be a Kraft’s creme egg.

Through this period the thoroughbred industry, an industry which currently employs over a million people, suffered tremendously. The industry disintegrated under the weight of wider economic difficulties.

The country’s economy fell by 10.4 per cent, unemployment rose by 30 per cent, while the poverty rate in Gran Buenos Aires was declared at 50 per cent. In racing, prize-money levels froze, training fees increased and track improvements were abandoned.

In 2002, the number of foals produced fell to 5,600, the lowest in over two decades and almost 3,000 less than the 8,391 recorded in 2009. little money was being injected into the industry and it didn’t have the backers that US, England and Ireland had.

Yet Argentina has picked itself up, dusted itself off and recovered. The countrymen have an unfamiliar philosophy in that when you’re losing everything, spend whatever is left. But this attitude meant that some money

The picturesque Palermo racecourse



continued to flow around the economy, that the wheels of business kept turning instead of grinding to a halt. This, as well as an ability within the country to accept change, gives reason as to why Argentina can recover crash after market crash.

Shuttle stallions: a critical factorSo can Argentina provide the northern hemisphere with an escape route from the choking hands of the recession?

Possibly. The horse offered from the Argentine is tough, cheaper and most importantly sound. Soundness is one of few things that money can’t buy, or guarantee and it has been a key reason behind the move by the American racing industry to import the Argentine horse. Success followed quickly as the South American horses showed the American horses a clean pair of heels.

However, with this development of an eager US market, it soon became apparent that the South American bloodstock industry was in dire need of more commercial stallions.

The shuttle stallion concept was born. It is an idea that has proved advantageous to both the northern and southern hemispheres. Not only has shuttling stallions increased the numbers of commercial and better known sires in South America meaning that buyers in the US have a greater handle on pedigrees and form, it has also given new outcrossing opportunities for those stallions, so breaking

the ever-decreasing circle of Northern Dancer and Mr. Prospector inbreeding which is so prevelant in the US.

Twenty years ago, the hawk eye of Coolmore spotted the increasing success that the southern-bred horses were having in the states and the farm began to shuttle to and from South America.

In 1989, only seven stallions shuttled to South America, but their popularity proved that there was definitely a niche in market – the arrival of the shuttle stallions was welcomed, it was like bringing a beer keg to an under 18s party.

Now the Coolmore stallions have been joined on the shuttle bus by sires from Hill ‘n’ Dale and Walmac, and Argentina has become a summer vacation for top quality stallions. The likes of Southern Halo, Giant’s Causeway, Distorted Humor, Thunder Gulch, Grand reward, Footstepsinthesand, Tiznow, Bluegrass Cat and Indygo Shiner are just a few of the names that have made the journey south.

But the advantages haven’t only been for the Argentine breeders. Shuttle stallions have been given access to the best mares in South America, a high percentage of these were black-type or stakes winners. For some sires, the books are better quality than their equivalents in the northern hemipshere.

And with improved books so an upward cycle was begun. With the stallions shuttling being of such a quality, and attracting the best mares in the region, that improved genetic ability has been weaving its thread into the southern hemisphere horses so upping the bloodlines and quality of horses produced.

Now shuttling has become a vital part of the the bloodstock industry in South America. Coolmore has created a great relationship over the last 10 -15 years with la Mission, a Haras based in San Antonio de Areco, which continues to house more and more high-profile shuttled stallions.

In 2009, Giant’s Causeway stood his second successive southern hemisphere breeding season alongside his son Footstepsinthesand.

Covering up to 120 horses with 94-95 per cent covering rates, not only is there more stock available by these top names, but they stand at markedly reduced stud fees compared with fees in the northern hemisphere.

For instance, Giant’s Causeway fee in South America is just $25,000, a snip of his price in the US.

As a footnote for the animal welfare activists out there please refrain from throwing your pots of red paint over the stallion owners. Tests have declared the fertility of shuttled stallions to be unaffected, while the care and facilities at these farms is absolutely top-class. Some stables have polished oak panelled ceilings and cleanliness levels are so high that it makes you question your own somewhat slum-like existence.

The Danehill of South AmericaThe most influential stallion to stand in Argentina has undoubtedly been Southern Halo. Shuttled from Ashford Stud in

“Investors can enter the top of the market with a significantly smaller budget, with the chance of getting their hands on a yearling by the likes of super sire Giant’s Causeway for half the price than if purchasing in the US

“The Argentinian-bred So Shiny (Indygo Shiner) wins at Meydan last month

Photo: Dubai Racing Club


Kentucky, he has provided South America with its very own Danehill. He stood at Haras la Quebrada, Argentina from 1988 and, through a 20-year reign, seven years of which he was champion sire, he sired over 167 stakes winners with 55 Group 1 winners. He went back to America via Japan but South America still provided most of his success.

Of the 55 Group 1 successes, 35 were Argentine Group 1s. He has created a huge legacy with highest earners being the champion Miss linda, a Group 1 winner at Keeneland, while the international Grade 1-winning colt More Than ready has himself gone on to sire 121 stakes winners between the two hemispheres.

Benefits all roundYet, just as it is horses for courses, it is stallions for countries. It quickly became apparent that the South American mare seems to outcross better than most so making nicks and compatibility with stallions a lot less restrictive.

Shuttling has also provided something of a safety net for owners and breeder, a rarity in the bloodstock industry.

A shuttled stallion can earn its owners and syndicates double the amount than previously as he is potentially covering twice as many mares over two breeding seasons annually. Investing in a stallion is not only expensive but also risky so anything that can help quicken the payback has to be of benefit.

South America has also offered secure foundations for what can be perceived as “underachieving” stallions. The expectations placed on a new stallion are exceptionally high and somewhat unachievable for many. Freshman sires are often regarded as “disappointing” if they don’t manage to have a black-type or at least a listed winner in their first year. That early dismissal of stallions by the commercial market has meant that the northern hemisphere’s loss has become South America’s gain.

Honour And Glory is an example. For want of a better word, he was viewed as a “failure” in Australia, yet he has been a revelation in South America providing the 2008 UAE Derby (G2) winner Honour Devil amongst his 116 stakes winner with his progeny earning over $48.3 million.

roy was another sire who found far greater success in South America than he had in his original home. From Darby Dan Farm, he became Chile’s most successful stallion in history, topping that nation’s sire list from

1991 through to 1999. From nine crops, 20 were champions, notably Barrio Chino, the 1992 and 1994 Chilean Horse of the Year, and Gran Ducato, the 1995 and 1996 Horse of the Year. roy was also hugely successful in Argentina and managed to produce 14 stakes winners from a foal crop of 68 in 1997, including Freddy, Horse of the Year and winner of the 2002 Carlos Pelligrini, and Cagney, the US Grade 3-winning champion two-year-old.

Buy down south!So the answer to your money problems is have a racehorse or a broodmare in South America. Investors can enter the top of the market with a significantly smaller budget, with the chance of getting their hands on a yearling by the likes of super sire Giant’s Causeway for half the price than if purchasing in the US, and still have the possibility of buying a horse capable of winning a Dubai World Cup.

Yes, success in a Grade 1 race is a dream, but one that has been realised already.

Invasor (Candy Stripes) caused an upset in the 2006 Breeders’ Cup Classic when beating hot favourite Bernardini before trouncing his rivals in the 2007 Dubai World Cup, while Asiatic Boy (Not For Sale) was an impressive 9l winner of the UAE Derby that same year.

So Shiny (Indygo Shiner) winner of Jorge De Atucha (G1) for fillies at Palermo went on to win the UAE 1,000 Guineas last year. The five-year-old filly also took last month’s Jaguar XF Trophy at Meydan from India’s highly regarded Oasis Star.

What now?The future of the bloodstock industry in Argentina obviously depends on the breeders and the influences of the market. However, it must be ensured that the stallions chosen to stand in the country must continue to be carefully selected to make certain that the country’s horses don’t lose their tough, durable and sound reputation.

This will be a year of change for many northern hemisphere breeders and bloodstock investors and South America could offer a viable change of direction.

After such growth in recent years on ot the international stage, the South American market should cement itself as an integral part of the bloodstock industry, just as long as its breeders don’t become fashion victims.

While needing to be commercial and using those stallions which will appeal to the wider world, breeders and stud managers must maintain their pride of conformation and compatibility of stallions to mares rather than breed for the market. As has been learnt in the northern hemisphere it is no use just breeding for the sales ring and not the racecourse.


“The shuttled stallions are selected on performance, bloodlines compatibility as well as conformation and the quality continues to improve. The breeders and stud owners make calculated decisions in the hope of preserving the sound, tough characteristics of our horses.

“haras el Mallin was lucky enough to have hat Trick, the 2005 champion Japanese Miler, stand here in 2009. he was the first Sunday Silence-line sire to stand in South America. I believe he a will have a huge impact on Argentina and with no Northern Dancer, Mr. Prospector or Seattle Slew through six generations he can help to maintain this balance.

“The success of the South American horse has not been unexpected, but the scale has improved and is increasing at a staggering rate. My family has been involved in the Bullrich Sales for five generations, but I have never seen such positive growth.

“Palermo now stages the richest race series in South America, the Copa Bullrich. The total prize-money has improved five-fold in the last three years thanks to betting and slots to over ArG$1.3 million and I can’t see the progression slowing down over the next few years.”

Antonio Bullrich president of Palermo racetrack, owner of Haras El Mallin and director of bloodstock agency Abullrich S.A

“Early dismissal of stallions by the commercial market has meant that the northern hemisphere’s loss has become South America’s gain

“

Crosspeace b 2002 16.1hh

Sea The Stars at an affordable priceWinner of six races (6f to 12f) and £220,874, including the Listed Glorious Stakes and Selby Stakes

By Cape Cross, sire of champion Sea The Stars, Ouija Board, Seachange and more

First yearlings 2010

Fee: £1,000 October 1st

Contact: Rob or Kin Lundberg-YoungDairy House Stud, Bradley Road, Warminster, BA12 7JY Tel: 01985 211014 / email: [email protected] www.dairyhousestud.co.uk

Victory Note b 1995 16.0hh

A Classic miler Winner of three races at 2-3, and £148,492 in earnings.

At 2: Winner LR Rose Bowl Stakes

At 3: Winner Poule d’Essai des Poulains (G1); Greenham Stakes (G3) in record time

By Fairy King, brother to Sadler’s Wells and sire of the Group 1 winners and sires Oath, Falbrav, Helissio, Turtle Island and Revoque

Consistent producer of quality horses under both codes.

Winners on the Flat, include the Synergy, winner of Group 3 Prix Fille De L’Aire, Group 3 winners Peace Offering and Poltava and the Listed winners Majors Cast, Rockets ‘N Rollers, Victory Grove and Serenote.

NH winners include Victram, a dual Listed hurdle winner, including the Listed NH Flat race winner Swiss Note and City Note.

Two in training with Paul Nicholls.


Fairy King – Three Piece (Jaazeiro)

Cape Cross-Announcing Peace (Danehill)

Dairy House Stud

Crosspeace b 2002 16.1hh

Sea The Stars at an affordable priceWinner of six races (6f to 12f) and £220,874, including the Listed Glorious Stakes and Selby Stakes

By Cape Cross, sire of champion Sea The Stars, Ouija Board, Seachange and more

First yearlings 2010


Contact: Rob or Kin Lundberg-YoungDairy House Stud, Bradley Road, Warminster, BA12 7JY Tel: 01985 211014 / email: [email protected] www.dairyhousestud.co.uk

Victory Note b 1995 16.0hh

A Classic miler Winner of three races at 2-3, and £148,492 in earnings.

At 2: Winner LR Rose Bowl Stakes

At 3: Winner Poule d’Essai des Poulains (G1); Greenham Stakes (G3) in record time

By Fairy King, brother to Sadler’s Wells and sire of the Group 1 winners and sires Oath, Falbrav, Helissio, Turtle Island and Revoque

Consistent producer of quality horses under both codes.

Winners on the Flat, include the Synergy, winner of Group 3 Prix Fille De L’Aire, Group 3 winners Peace Offering and Poltava and the Listed winners Majors Cast, Rockets ‘N Rollers, Victory Grove and Serenote.

NH winners include Victram, a dual Listed hurdle winner, including the Listed NH Flat race winner Swiss Note and City Note.

Two in training with Paul Nicholls.


Fairy King – Three Piece (Jaazeiro)

Cape Cross-Announcing Peace (Danehill)

Dairy House Stud

mare of the month


Mare of the month Stormsvlei (Prince Florimund-Distant Echoes (Prince Sao))

VERY RARELY do two siblings possess enough talent to take both of them to the very top of their game,

whether it be horses or humans. Even rarer, in the case of horses anyway, will they both share similar attributes for distance and going (as we have now all learnt from Dr Emmerline Hill and her Equinome project, a mare can just as easily produce a stayer or a sprinter), while furthermore it is even more unusual for them to be running against each other.

But that is what South African pair Pocket Power and River Jetez are doing. And while the year older Pocket Power holds sway by race wins (18 compared

to River Jerez’s nine) and stakes victories (15 as against five) and beat the filly in the 2009 running of the J & B Met, the younger filly gained her revenge when overcoming her well-fancied and popular brother (he has a bit of a cult following) into third in this year’s Group 1 race held at Kenilworth racecourse.

Pocket Power was bred by Dan De Wets at his historical Zandvliet Stud in the Western Cape, South Africa. He is out of Stormsvlei, a daughter of the South African 1981 Horse of the Year and champion three-year-old Prince Florimund.

Stormsvlei won three races on the track and had produced a number of successful horses in South Africa, including the eight-time winner Stormberg

(Freedom Land), the six-time winner No Option (Elliodor) and maximum break (Western Winter), the winner of four races.

Stormsvlei is out of the Prince Sao mare Distant Echoes, a top race filly who won the Grade 1 Garden Province Stakes, and is a half-sister to the South African champion sprinter Harry’s Echoe (Harry Hotspur), whose wins included the Gilbey's Stakes (G1), the Concord Stakes (G2) and the Chairman's Stakes (G2).

At the 1998 Natal Broodmare Sale held at Summerhill Stud, de Wet purchased the 12-year-old mare for a mere R20,000 in foal to Damascus Gate. Being a keen student of “Tesio Power” theories, the mare ticked all the right boxes for de Wet who was particularly attracted to her

because of her “mateability”. The remarks he made in his catalogue is that she was deep but lacked quarters but he felt she was a perfect genetic match for most of the top sires of the day.

Her first foal for de Wet disappointment – she was a runt of a filly, born with a cleft pallet and had to be put down as a yearling.

In 1998 Stormsvlei visited Western Winter on a R8000 live foal ticket and produced Snow In Summer, who was later renamed Maximum Break (1999). A good-looking yearling, she sold for a handsome 160k, knocked down to Ian Veldman before going on to win four races.

Her 2000 colt Stormberg, who is by Freedom Land is still running for Pietie Giliomee and has notched up eight wins to date.

De Wet’s Tesio theories led him to sending Stormsvlei to the new exciting stallion Jet Master. He had won nine Group 1 races and a host of awards including Champion Older Sprinter Male, Champion Older Middle Distance Male, and the 1999/2000 Horse Of The Year. He was by the Northern Dancer horse Rakeen, who began his racing career in Britain but transferred to South Africa where he was successful at Group 2 level. Rakeen can boast of a stellar pedigree as he was a half-brother to two world-class sires in Rahy and Singspiel

Zandvliet sent three other mares to Jet Master that first year, with the mating to Stromsvlei leading to inbreeding

Whatever my brother can do, I can do better! River Jetez

turned over Pocket Power to win the J&B Met in February

Photo: Gold Circle Racing


mare of the month

5x 5 to Herbager, a tough French stayer and a champion three-year-old.

Pocket Power was born on September 28, 2002. He was a lively chap, a bit gangly and one of those inquisitive foals that normally end up putting their heads in the wrong place. He grew strong and became a good yearling with a deep girth, a sloping shoulder and a good keen stride.

He was picture perfect at the 2004 Cape Summer Yearling Sales. He was a sensible youngster, calm in the box, but he took the eye of all the horsemen when out on show with groom Michael Papiso.

The TBA had an incentive drive that year at the sales and

the breeder of the top lot would be given a free trip to Dubai. Breeder John Koster set the marker with a Kabool colt that fetched 200k – the race was on.

Stromsvlei’s yearling came up late in the sale and bidding was brisk. Everybody had a go. Colin Palm and Piet Steyn both had a go, but Mike Bass stuck to his guns and the hammer was knocked down at 190k. It was a great price, but just not enough for de Wet to get to Dubai.

Stormsvlei had returned to and was in foal to Jet Master, but Zandvliet Stud decided that it was time to move her on feeling that she was too old for the farm’s needs. She was sent to the 2003 July’s Mare and Weanling

Sale along with 16 other mares from the stud. She was bought there by two lads Craig Kitching and Errol Batsalides for their small breeding operation named Out Of Africa Stud. The pregnant mare only cost them R12,000.

Her 2003 filly turned out to be a good sort and was selected for the prestigious National Yearling Sale at Germiston. But, as with horses, disaster struck. Somehow the filly got tangled in a hay net while travelling north. She injured a leg and had to be unloaded at the nearest farm, and was subsequently withdrawn from the sale.

As the filly recovered from the mishap, her older brother started training with Bass and clearly began to show more than the average bear on the gallops.

Bass and his owner Marsh Shirtliff, part-owner of Pocket Power, moved swiftly and swooped for the sister, snapping her up for R230,000. She now runs for a partnership made up of Shirtliff and Mr and Mrs Cedric Amm, in whose colours she competes.

Stormsvlei’s brilliant offspring saw her named South Africa's broodmare of the year in 2008. Now 23, she finished breeding and has been returned to enjoy her retirement at her original home at Zandvliet Stud.

De Wet missed out on breeding River Jetez, but remains philosophical. “We are all in the business of buying and selling thoroughbreds and we have to accept the good and the bad,” he says. “I have been blessed to have bred such a wonderful horse and I have no regrets. Pocket Power has made many friends not only in South Africa but also internationally.

“As for River Jetez? I tell people I feel like a sperm-doner must feel! She is my baby, but not my child!”

Stormsvlei’s last reported foal is now a three-year-old sister to Pocket Power and River Jetez. Will lightning strike for a third time?

“As for River Jetez? I tell people I feel like a sperm-doner must feel! She is my baby, but not my child!

“


international database

international thoroughbred march 2010

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