Month: November 2022

‘When You’re Dealing With Top Quality, You’ve Got To Pay’: Share In Flightline Sells For $4.6 Million At Keeneland November

With his stock as high it could possibly be following a historic victory in the Breeders' Cup Classic two days earlier, a 2.5 percent share in the stallion career of the indomitable Flightline sold for $4.6 million on Monday at the Keeneland November Breeding Stock Sale.

The stake in the 4-year-old son of Tapit was signed for by Freddie Seitz of Brookdale Farm on behalf of a client he said chose to remain anonymous.

“It's a family from out west, some good clients of ours for a few years now,” Seitz said. “He was really excited about this horse, and just wanted to make a big splash, and get more involved in the business. He's dealt with some nice horses in the past, but nothing like this one.”

Seitz said the buyer has a small broodmare band of about seven mares, and he expected him to be shopping at the Keeneland November sale to find more mares to support his purchase.

The share in Flightline was offered from West Point Thoroughbreds' stake in the newly-retired stallion, who will enter stud at Lane's End in Versailles, Ky., for the 2023 breeding season.

More than 20 bidders were registered to vie for the share in Flightline prior to the auction on Monday afternoon. Potential buyers had to be screened and pre-approved by both Keeneland Sales and syndicate manager Lane's End before the start of bidding to establish their credit, and review the syndicate agreement and other documentation.

The horse himself was tucked in at his new home at Lane's End, but the Keeneland Sales pavilion was near capacity when auctioneer Ryan Mahan began his chant, all circled around Flightline's blanket of flowers and Breeders' Cup Classic trophy in the ring, earned less than 48 hours earlier when he capped off an unbeaten six-race campaign with an 8 1/4-length instant classic.

Seitz said he was on the phone with the buyer as the bid continued to climb. Much like the way Flightline won the Classic, Seitz said the buyer got more determined as the pace got hotter.

“He did not give me that kind of figure going in, but I could kind of tell once we started going that maybe we were going to keep going,” Seitz said. “I think I was a little more nervous than he was. It didn't seem to bother him much, but maybe it did. He was kind of laughing the entire time over the phone. He and his family were watching, and I think they were having a really good time.

“I wish we could have gotten him a better deal, but when you're dealing with top quality, you've got to pay,” Seitz continued.

Flightline raced for the partnership of West Point, Hronis Racing, Siena Farm, Summer Wind Farm, and Woodford Racing. Woodford Racing was founded by Bill Farish of Lane's End, making for a smooth transition from the racetrack from the stud barn.

In the simplest terms, if a 2.5 percent share in Flightline sold for $4.6 million, that would presumably put the stallion's valuation at $184 million. For comparison, the Coolmore partnership reportedly secured the stud rights for undefeated Triple Crown winner Justify for around $75 million in 2018; considered to be the record for a stallion acquisition.

However, Farish said Flightline's ownership group – a broad roster including a representative of a stallion operation – means the stallion's actual value might not be quite so black-and-white, because Monday's transaction was an unusual entry point for an unusual stallion prospect.

“We don't really have a valuation,” Farish said. “It's a unique situation because the syndicate's already in place. The syndicate is a racing ownership group. Luckily, I don't have to go out – not that it would hard with Flightline – but I don't have to determine what a share value would be if I had to sell 40 shares. One share is completely different than having to sell 40. We had no clue where this would go for that reason.”

A stud fee has not yet been announced for Flightline, but Farish said Monday's result might have a slight influence on that figure. Either way, Farish said he already had a number in his head.

“I do, but I'm not at liberty to say,” he said.

The post ‘When You’re Dealing With Top Quality, You’ve Got To Pay’: Share In Flightline Sells For $4.6 Million At Keeneland November appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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Cheers To Alcohol Free As Tattersalls Beckons

It's a rare Jeff Smith colour-bearer that has not been bred at his successful Hampshire nursery of Littleton Stud, but shopping around for new blood can pay dividends for breeders, and in the case of Alcohol Free (Ire), there have been handsome dividends indeed. 

Four years ago, the weanling daughter of No Nay Never caught the eye of Littleton Stud manager David Bowe at the Goffs November Sale, where she was bought from her breeder Churchtown Stud for €40,000. By the time the four-time Group 1 winner exits from her second turn in the sales ring, this time at the Tattersalls December Sale, it is easy to predict that she will have made many times that figure.

While other yearlings were meeting their own sales engagements, the young Alcohol Free had only to appear in the Littleton Stud yearling parade, where one of Smith's trainers was quick to put his hand up in hope of training her. Recalling the day he first set eyes on his subsequent stable star, Andrew Balding says, “You don't know quite what you're going to get [sent], but you get an opportunity to have a whisper in David Bowe's ear and say, look, I really like the No Nay Never filly. And thankfully I did and she ended up coming our way. She was actually one of the later ones of Jeff's yearlings, but as soon as she came in, it took about two pieces of work and she was ready to run.”

 

 

By August, Alcohol Free was off to Balding's local course, Newbury, to make her debut.

He continues, “She was hugely impressive, having shown some good ability at home. But we'd only really scratched the surface with her homework.”

Stepping straight into group company, Alcohol Free ran a close second to Happy Romance (Ire) in the G3 Dick Poole Fillies' S. on her next start, before delivering what her trainer describes as “a perfect end to her two-year-old career” by winning the G1 Cheveley Park S.

That transpired to be just the first of Alcohol Free's four Group 1 victories, with a further two coming her way as a three-year-old, in the Coronation S. and later in a particularly strong renewal of the Sussex S. at Goodwood, where she beat 2,000 Guineas winner Poetic Flare (Ire) and G1 Falmouth S. victrix Snow Lantern (GB).

Many owners might well have taken the view that a treble Group 1 winner at two and three was more than enough for a filly to have shown her merits to be a coveted addition to any broodmare band but, sportingly, Smith decided to roll the dice and keep Alcohol Free in training at four. It was an inspired decision, because not only did she win again at the top level, but in so doing, she displayed great versatility and a killer turn of foot when dropping back from a mile to win the July Cup. In behind her were Godolphin's Naval Crown (GB) and Creative Force (Ire), and Australian raider Artorius (Aus), who had filled the first three places in the G1 Platinum Jubilee S. a month earlier, giving the form a rock-solid feel.

“I think for Alcohol Free to have won Group 1s at two, three and four is unusual, but to have won four majorly significant ones, and not just obviously the Cheveley Park and the Coronation Stakes for fillies only, but then add to that a Sussex Stakes and a July Cup–I mean, that's a rare group of races,” says Balding. “And I don't think there's another horse who has achieved the four of those. It's an extraordinary achievement.”

Looking ahead to the next stage of her career, he adds, “I think what makes Alcohol Free a particularly attractive broodmare proposition is the fact that she's obviously been incredibly sound throughout her training career. Her race record shows that. She's just the most beautifully athletic horse, with that deep girth and wonderful shoulder to her, and a great walker. And she's she's got real presence, so with all those things combined, I think you couldn't wish for a more exciting prospect as a as a broodmare.”

He continues, “She's the daughter of probably one of the most exciting young sires in in the world, whose progeny statistics just get better and better each year, as well as being out of a Hard Spun mare. She's a half-sister to a very good group-class horse in France, and it's a good family going back. All of those things make it a very attractive page to look at in the catalogue.”

There will no doubt be plenty of potential buyers who agree with Balding's sentiment when going through the catalogue, and her appearance in the ring as lot 1904 during the Sceptre Sessions of the Tattersalls December Mares' Sale, provides one last opportunity for Alcohol Free to shine for Balding, as she is consigned by his Park House Stables on behalf of Littleton Stud. 

“It's been just a pleasure to have anything to do with her,” he says. “And she's just a brilliant workhorse. I mean, seeing her work in the morning was demoralising for whoever had to work with her. But it is always so rewarding to watch really good horses work well, and she very rarely put in a bad piece of work. She was always showing her natural ability in her work and doing it so easily. So we'll miss that, and we'll have a job to replace her.”

The post Cheers To Alcohol Free As Tattersalls Beckons appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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The History Of Pai Gow

Tracing its roots to ancient Chinese gaming, Pai Gow is literally translated as “make nine”. Pai Gow is a Chinese game, believed to be thousands of years old, and played with Chinese domino tile sets. The beauty of Pai Gow has attracted the curiosity of gaming audiences in cities such as Nevada and California.

In ancient Chinese, the translation of p’ai is a term designated both for cards and dominoes. The reason for the use on both objects is that there is no main difference between dominoes and cards in China. During the early Chinese dynasties, dominoes are precisely used as cards. Dominoes are packed and treated the same way as cards.

Prior to the birth of Pai Gow, there were already two old Chinese gambling games that may have been the reason for the development of Pai Gow. They are yu-p’u and yeh-tza. Some players consider the two games as card games. There are others, however, who consider that the game of yu-p’u to be similar to a modern poker dice or something similar to it. Only the game of yeh-tza might be considered as a card game since it literally means leaves. Many authors believe that the possibility of using leaves as cards is very apparent.

The movement of time and the availability of new materials paved the way for the formation Ku P’ai, which curiously resembles a game using dominoes. It is further believed that yu-p’u, the ancient form of gambling considered as poker dice game, is the root of Chinese domino games. A domino, after all, is nothing but a pair of dice placed side by side. Chinese dominoes, which could be traced from the writings during Song Dynasty (1120 AD), have developed since then. They are used in several tile-based games, namely, Pai Gow, Tien Gow, Gwat Pai, Che Deng, Tiu U, Kap Tai Shap.

Pai Gow today is played very similar to many existing card games. The only main difference is that domino tiles are used instead of cards. The similarities to card games such as poker could make Pai Gow something to be enjoyed as a recreational card game. There is no doubt about it; those who begin to learn Pai Gow often end up becoming more than enthusiastic about the game. After all, it only takes a very short time to realize the beauty and ease in playing this popular Chinese game.

The popularity of Pai Gow has ushered into the development of Pai Gow Poker, an American version of the popular Chinese Pai Gow. It is a game played using cards, instead of the traditional dominoes, and is growing in popularity in various casinos as a source of amusement and fun.

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