Varian Building on Best Season as The Platinum Queen Joins Team

Twelve years have passed since Roger Varian became a licensed trainer as the health of his much-loved former boss and mentor, Michael Jarvis, declined. One softly-spoken but calmly assured man took over from another after Varian had served a decade as Jarvis's assistant. By that stage he had clearly proved himself a worthy successor, and the rise of the Varian stable in the intervening years has only served to underline Jarvis's judgement in this regard.

Last year was Varian's best to date. There haven't been many seasons during his term as a trainer that he hasn't secured a top-ten finish in the championship. In 2022, he was fifth overall, his highest place yet, with a domestic prize-money haul well beyond the £3 million mark for the first time. 

A British Classic winner, Eldar Eldarov (GB), who also won the G2 Queen's Vase at Royal Ascot ahead of the St Leger, was one of the headline acts, along with the smart juvenile Sakheer (Ire) (Zoffany {Ire}), winner of the G2 Mill Reef S. and now a leading Guineas contender. Another exciting two-year-old, Charyn (Ire) (Dark Angel {Ire}), won the G2 Criterium de Maisons-Laffitte and, to cap off a great turf season, Bayside Boy (Ire) landed the G1 Queen Elizabeth S. on QIPCO British Champions Day before joining his sire New Bay (GB) at Ballylinch Stud.

Now, along with a raft of well-bred two-year-olds to have boosted the string for 2023, Varian has taken charge of the G1 Prix de l'Abbaye winner The Platinum Queen (Ire) (Cotai Glory {GB}) following her purchase at the Tattersalls December Sales by Katsumi Yoshida of Northern Farm for 1.2 million gns. The high-class sprinter has also been joined at Varian's Carlburg Stables by last year's G1 Preis der Diana (German Oaks) winner Toskana Belle (Fr) (Shamalgan {Fr}). Again, highlighting the value placed on European race form by Japanese breeders, Toskana Belle was bought by Katsumi's brother Teruya Yoshida of Japan's other major powerhouse operation, Shadai Farm.

“It's great to have the support of both Shadai Farm and Northern Farm,” Varian acknowledges, while also crediting his Japanese wife Hanako, who is a key component in his stable's set-up and has a good relationship with both operations from her time spent working in racing and breeding in her home country.

He is also quick to credit The Platinum Queen's former trainer, Richard Fahey, for whom she won four of eight races, including her big strike on Arc day, and was runner-up in both the G1 Nunthorpe S. and G2 Flying Childers S.

“He was very much a gentleman, as you would expect from Richard,” says Varian. “He was very helpful with telling us all about her. She looks very well and she's obviously a Group 1 winner, so I hope I can add to her CV, but in a way her CV is already there. The programme can be tough for the sprinting fillies at three, but hopefully she trains forward nicely. She looks a real speedball. Five [furlongs] looks her trip; maybe she's good enough to run in a King's Stand. She's quite a spicy character, but she's very talented and it's nice to be training these good animals.”

He continues, “The programme's quite sparse early season, so she might not run before Royal Ascot. She could run in something like a Temple Stakes, but she's not doing anything fast yet.”

One three-year-old who does have an early season target is Sakheer, who has done little wrong in his three runs to date in the colours of KHK Racing, representing Bahrain's Shaikh Khalid bin Hamad Al Khalifa. Whether we see him on the racecourse before the 2,000 Guineas on May 6 remains to be seen, but the Arqana breeze-up graduate is continuing to put a smile on his trainer's face, even after a week of bleak March weather in Newmarket.

Sakheer is very natural…he knows his job and I would have no qualms about going straight into a Guineas without a trial

“We'd be very pleased with his condition, very pleased with his action, and his attitude as well,” says Varian. “He's always looked the part. He was an exceptional workhorse going into his two-year-old races, and sometimes the performance on a racecourse doesn't always match their home life. Some of those really flashy workers can never quite live up to that when they run but, with him, what we saw at home was what we were seeing on the track. He looks like he's training on nicely. He's not a huge horse, but he's big enough and he's very well-made. Touch wood he's in a good place.”

He adds, “I'm not sure if he'll trial or not. I think our trials, the Craven and the Greenham in particular, come so close to a Guineas. This horse is very natural and he didn't have a huge amount of racing last year, but he knows his job and I would have no qualms about going straight into a Guineas without a trial. 

“What's key is the impression and the look he gives us over the next three or four weeks. As we sit here today in a snowstorm, I don't think we're committed one way or the other to a trial. He's training nicely and is on the point of where I think he needs to be, and he still looks the part, as he did last year.”

As members of Bahrain's royal family continue to increase their investment in British racing as well as their domestic programme, Sakheer and his fellow colour-bearer Eldar Eldarov, who, similarly, had been bought by Oliver St Lawrence at the previous year's breeze-up in Deauville, were both significant winners for KHK Racing in 2022, and each has a good chance of enhancing their record.

“The team behind KHK have been big supporters over the last couple of years,” Varian notes. “Shaikh Khalid is relatively new to the international scene of racing, so it's great that he had some nice horses to have enjoyed last year and hopefully to look forward to this year. [The Bahrainis] are very good sportsmen in their own right and have really got behind their own racing scene in Bahrain, but they are also spreading that interest into Europe and America, and I think that can only be good for the sport.”

Eldar Eldarov, whose dam All At Sea (GB) (Sea The Stars {Ire}) is a half-sister to Alwilda (GB) (Hernando {Fr}), dam of the celebrated Alpinista (GB) (Frankel {GB}), owns a pedigree which gives those around him every right to dream of him progressing with age and, potentially, a step up in trip. The four-year-old, who last year became Varian's second St Leger winner after Kingston Hill (GB), is described by Varian as “a bit of a street fighter” and he is clearly a horse held in much fondness within the stable.

“He's not a big robust horse and I think he'll always look a bit like a long-distance runner,” the trainer says. “Last year he took an age to come to himself out of the winter. In fact, we had aspirations of Derby trials having seen him win his maiden as a two-year-old so impressively, but he just didn't really come to hand. I'm not quite sure why, but the earliest we could have run him was when we did run him, which in the end was in a novice at Newcastle, which was probably about three weeks before Royal Ascot. He won there and suddenly started to blossom, just in time for Ascot. I don't think that he's ready to do anything too early this season. I don't know if that's just his make-up, but I wouldn't think we'll be racing him before May.”

 The 'street fighter' Eldar Eldarov

He continues, “We'd dearly love to see him back at Royal Ascot, hopefully in the Gold Cup, I would think, over the Hardwicke. Royal Ascot for us as a training establishment, and for the owners as well, is very important. If we can set up a first half of the season target at Ascot and work back from there, I think it'll only be one run before, so it could be a Yorkshire Cup or a Sagaro.

“We're hopeful that he's of a calibre to establish himself as a Cup horse, though of course Kyprios looks the standout in that division at the moment. But Eldar Eldarov had to dig deep to win the Queen's Vase. He came from a long way back that day and he's got this lovely head carriage. He pins his ears back and he really seems to relish the fights, and I think that's very important in all horses, but particularly in staying horses because they have to dig deep. You do need that attitude.”

Varian also highlights Charyn among the colts he is looking forward to seeing back on the track this season. Nurlan Bizakov's homebred was third to Sakheer in the Mill Reef before claiming his own Group 2 triumph across the Channel. 

“I thought his run in the Mill Reef was good because he was still learning, and was probably on the wrong side of the track, and I actually felt he was second best to Sakheer that day,” he says. “He's a horse with a very laidback demeanour, which I like, and he's another one who hasn't raced beyond six [furlongs], but looks like he's crying out for a little bit further. He might be a horse to look at the Greenham with. He's got a Guineas entry at Newmarket and in Ireland. He's not flashy but he's really a very professional horse who should improve as the year goes on.”

Sheikh Mohammed Obaid's Resolute Man (GB) (Dubawi {Ire}), won a Yarmouth novice last October, and Dragon Icon (Ire) (Lope De Vega {Ire}), the Yoshiro Kubota-owned full-brother to Breeders' Cup wunner Aunt Pearl (Ire) are also singled out as three-year-olds to note for the coming campaign.

“We had some nice horses win novices last year and they need testing in deeper water, but they look quite nice horses,” Varian notes.

As the trainer sits in his office still drying out from a morning of squally snow showers in subzero temperatures, it is easy to imagine that, for him, spring can't come soon enough, but he says, “I actually love January, February and March, because you start counting back from the season. Of course we run horses all year round now, we have winter runners, but the majority of our horses are on that spring programme. You've got targets starting to be set and plans starting to formalise and you really see a change in the horses on a week-to-week basis at this time of year.

“As the better weather starts to come, you can really see them change and develop in a positive way in front of your eyes, and spot the ones that are really starting to shine through early and the ones which have not come to themselves. It's an enjoyable time to be able to start recognising the difference without all the helter-skelter of the season being upon you. I think it's a lovely time of year to be a racehorse trainer because you really can be with the horses every day and see them develop from their winter programme into where they need to be for the start of the season.”

There have been plenty of changes in the 12 years since Varian joined the training ranks. In 2017, he migrated from the Jarvis family's Kremlin House Stables to purchase Carlburg Stables from Clive Brittain, who still lives alongside the yard. Sir Michael Stoute is his next-door neighbour in Freemason Lodge, and from last year the Varian string started occupying Beech Hurst just across the Bury Road, which had been Stoute's original base and had for many years acted as his second yard. The additions of senior staff such as Kate Grimwade as general manager overseeing all aspects of the business speaks to the demands of running a modern-day international racing stable, backed up by the appointments of form expert David Baxter as racing manager and Eleanor Rance as communications manager. 

There are, however, some familiar faces from the days of Michael Jarvis, notably long-term racing secretary Jim Hiner and Jo Fowles, the accomplished horsewoman who oversees Beech Hurst and is one of three assistant trainers, along with Oliver Rix and George Hill.

“It's a really good team, and the results of last season show that everyone's pulling in the same direction,” says Varian. 

“And we've got a good team of jockeys, headed by David Egan. There's no official order of hierarchy amongst the jockeys, but David's at a point of his career where he's been progressive. He's still a young man and he's ready to build on what he achieved last year. Jack Mitchell is a brilliant team player, of course, and Ray Dawson's been in Dubai but will be coming back. Although Andrea [Atzeni] is not employed by Sheikh Mohammed Obaid any more, he will no doubt still ride at times for us. We also train for owners who have their own jockeys.”

Egan, who set another benchmark with his first British Classic victory last year on Eldar Eldarov, has recently enjoyed a fruitful first spell riding in Japan over the winter. A stint perhaps inspirited by his unofficial guv'nor's close ties to the country, it has done his international profile no harm, especially when considering the high-class horses with Japanese links in Varian's stable. Mind you, there is also now no shortage of horses from that country competing at the major meetings around the world.

[The Japanese] don't really set their sights on just doing something, they set their sights on mastering something

“I don't think they're about to slow down,” says Varian of the competition from Japanese trainers. “I think they've got 25 horses in Dubai for World Cup night. They had 14 or 15 in Saudi. They're all invited, so they're all good enough to be invited. I think they are really becoming a superpower. They haven't quite had the consistency of winners in Europe like they have done in Dubai, America and Australia, and Europe is probably another challenge for them. We actually hosted some of their horses for Royal Ascot here, and of course the holy grail for them is the Arc, isn't it? It's probably only a matter of time before they win it.”

He adds, “I feel a little bit close to them through Hanako and I think once you delve into Japanese culture you understand why they do very well in racing. They don't really set their sights on just doing something, they set their sights on mastering something, and I think that's very much embedded in the culture of Japan in any form of industry. 

“Obviously they've got quite a lengthy history of racing, but it's nowhere near what we can delve into. But they've been buying some amazing bloodlines over the last 20, 25 years, and they've also created their own. They are no doubt breeding exceptionally talented horses, as they are proving on the international stage.”

Varian, whose brother-in-law is the Japanese champion trainer Mitsu Nakauchida, admits to being able to “fool my way through a few pleasantries” when it comes to speaking the language. He adds, “If someone thought, 'Oh he speaks Japanese, we'll carry on and have a conversation', I'd get found out very quickly. But they're great people, it's a lovely culture, and it's nice to be connected to that side of the world.

“I think what's very nice about the racing industry is that it's quite a niche industry, but it is a global industry, and I love it. We live and train horses in Newmarket, but that opens up a world in itself.”

There has perhaps been no more better time in racing's history to grasp the global opportunities available and, with a client base incorporating owners from a diverse group of nations, it would seem that the Varian stable is already a frontrunner in this regard.

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‘Blackbeard The One They Want To See’ – Young Sires Drive Stallion Trail Crowd

Whether it was Bayside Boy (Ire) at Ballylinch, Minzaal (Ire) at Derrinstown or King Of Change (GB) and Dubawi Legend (Ire) at Starfield, one of the main takeaways from this year's Irish Thoroughbred Stallion Trail was that the pedigree buffs and bloodstock fans love nothing more than getting a glimpse at the new stallions this country has to offer. 

“Don't dream of putting a picture of that lad up on Twitter otherwise I'll have Eddie O'Leary tweeting that it's not the only pig down in Ballyhane,” – Joe Foley.

Few young sires generated as much chat as Blackbeard (Ire), who will embark on his stallion career with Coolmore Stud at €25,000 and a lofty reputation to match that fee, being a dual Group 1-winning juvenile by No Nay Never.

If you hadn't been aware of Blackbeard's antics before his races last season, you could be forgiven for thinking he was a model pupil as he stood quietly in his stable while Coolmore's Mark Byrne explained how the majority of the 1,000 visitors to the stud on Friday and Saturday came to see the G1 Prix Morny and G1 Middle Park S. winner.

Byrne said, “Blackbeard is the horse that everyone wants to see. We've been open to the public today and yesterday and, of the 1,000 or so people who have visited us, most of them were particularly keen to see Blackbeard. He almost had a cult following on the track and it's easy to see why-he's a beautiful-looking horse, was an expensive foal, has a great walk and an excellent race record and pedigree. 

“It's a really important thing for every stud in the world to keep new stallions on the roster and thankfully we've got an exciting young sire by No Nay Never who I think is going to prove to be really good value.”

He added, “It's not only been Irish visitors over the past two days, we've also welcomed a lot of French and English people. It's kudos to everyone involved in the Irish Thoroughbred Stallion Trail as it provided everyone a chance to get out and see these horses over the course of two days. A lot of business will be generated from the Trail, even if it is not carried out over the two days, as we had a lot of breeders here on the Trail. You also have people who are lifelong fans of different horses so they get the chance to meet their heroes as such. It's lovely to be a part of that.”

With one of the leading sires in Europe, a new Group 1-winning stallion prospect to add to the roster for 2023 and one of the best lunches going on the entire trail, it shouldn't have come as a surprise to see parking spaces at a premium at Ballylinch Stud. 

Similarly to what Byrne reported at Coolmore, Ballylinch was abuzz with the majority of the visitors keen to cast their eye over Bayside Boy, who Bloodstock and Nominations manager Eoin Fives revealed to be going down a bomb with breeders. 

He said, “We've been seeing the footfall here ever since we announced Bayside Boy. We've been mad busy showing the stallions here but in particular with Bayside Boy. Everyone is keen to see him. He has been very popular. We set aside a certain amount of shares to be sold and they have all gone. We've already got over 100 mares booked into him so we are delighted with where he is. We envisage him covering a nice big book. He will cover 15 of our best mares this year which will ensure he will get off to the best possible start.”

Fives added, “We've had a good mixture of people here over the past two days. There have been shareholders in stallions who are very tied into the Ballylinch model and we've sold nominations here today and yesterday as well. A lot of people have just come to see the stallions and it's great to have everyone and even better to have people engaging with this part of the industry because I suppose the breeding side of things can be a little bit esoteric for a lot of people.”

If bloodstock poses as a riddle wrapped into a mystery for some people, a trip down to Ballyhane Stud might do more harm than good, as the first beast to hog the limelight is not Dandy Man (Ire) or the up-and-coming Soldier's Call (GB), but a pig the size of a small car. 

“Don't dream of putting a picture of that lad up on Twitter otherwise I'll have Eddie O'Leary tweeting that it's not the only pig down in Ballyhane,” Joe Foley says, only half-joking. Of course, his request falls on deaf ears. 

The pig, who happens to be Dandy Man's best friend, set a high bar in terms of entertainment but the five stallions on the rock-solid Ballyhane roster for 2023 stole the show, in particular Soldier's Call. 

It was on Friday when the TDN Europe team visited Yeomanstown Stud, where Rob O'Callagahan was bullish about Invincible Army (Ire)'s claims for first-season sire honours, but Foley described himself as extremely happy with his own dog in that particular fight. 

He said, “We have the old stalwart Dandy Man, who has been such a friend to us down through the years, and he was the champion sire of sprinters in Europe yet again last year, as he was the year before. He's the pillar of our team here. We've got four younger horses here including Elzaam (Aus), who is doing great, and then the three younger horses–Soldier's Call, Sands Of Mali (Fr) and Space Traveller (GB).”

Foley added, “Soldier's Call has his first crop of 2-year-olds this year and we are very hopeful about them. He was a very fast horse himself and his stock looks to be very fast as well. We've got a bunch of them in pre-training and they are going really well. The first foals by Sands Of Mali were very well-received last autumn and the new recruit, Space Traveller, is the highest-rated Bated Breath (GB) and is out of a Galileo (Ire) mare who is out of a Kingmambo mare and is from a great family. He's a beautiful horse and has been wowing the crowds who have been here today and yesterday.”

Just a few fields away from Foley's Ballyhane base stands Jukebox Jury (Ire), Fascinating Rock (Ire) and Sea Moon (Ire) at Burgage Stud. All three have been making waves with their National Hunt runners, none more so than the Irish St Leger winner Jukebox Jury, who could have a big year ahead of him with his first Irish 4-year-olds set to run between the flags and under rules. 

Ger O'Neill's Castlefield Stud is a further 10 minutes away and offers a trio of accessible stallions for National Hunt and Flat breeders. Australian Group 1 winner Mirage Dancer (GB), who boasts a good Juddmonte pedigree, catches the eye and is joined by fellow National Hunt stallion Hunting Horn (Ire), best known for his Hampton Court success at Royal Ascot for Aidan O'Brien. 

But Alkumait (GB) could be the ace in the Castlefield Stud pack. A son of Showcasing, he confirmed himself a high-class 2-year-old when winning the Mill Reef S. and, being a half-brother to leading 2000 Guineas hope Chaldean (GB) (Frankel {GB}), his pedigree could be in lights later this spring.

Part owner of Alkumait, Jerry Horan, said, “The Stallion Trail was the bee's knees and it was noticeable how many people travelled over from England and even further afield. The Stallion Trail has become a date in people's diary. The team at Castlefield did a great job and the stallions looked fantastic. Alkumait was late coming to Castlefield last year because he wasn't long out of training when we got him but he has let down into a fine stallion now. It's lucky for the Alkumait syndicate that the Chaldean came along and, more recently, the half-sister made 1,000,000gns at the foal sales so the future is bright. It's a proper pedigree and we're very excited by him.”

Three stallions who caught the eye on the Irish Thoroughbred Stallion Trail in 2023

First things first, like every good Irish wedding, let's acknowledge those who couldn't be with us, or in this case, those we didn't get to see. Of the 35 studs who opened their doors to the public, the TDN Europe team got to visit 11, and here are a few observations from those studs. 

Ghaiyyath (Ire). A beast. One look at Ghaiyyath and it's easy to see why his foals sold so well last autumn. A top-class racehorse, he has all the right attributes to make it as a stallion and one would venture that the team at Kildangan Stud are quietly optimistic about the future with this fellow. Although we didn't get the ruler out, Ghaiyyath could conceivably be 17hh, which is funny given he is a son of Dubawi (Ire) and his dam was the diminutive Nightime (Ire). Fellow Kildangan-based sire Earthlight (Ire) also catches the eye. A flashy chestnut, he boasts pure unadulterated power and adds to what is a strong roster at Kildangan Stud. 

Space Traveller. A horse who wasn't on the radar prior to visiting Ballyhane Stud, Space Traveller deserves consideration for his walk alone. The G3 Jersey S. and G2 Boomerang S. winner walks for fun and should be a big hit with breeders if passing that on to his stock. Fellow Ballyhane resident Soldier's Call does exactly what he says on the tin and should get fast horses which would stand him in good stead with a view towards the first-season sire championship. 

Jukebox Jury. If he's good enough for Colin Tizzard and John Nallen, who are understood to be big fans of the stallion, then Burgage Stud's Jukebox Jury is likely to make waves this year with his first crop of Irish 4-year-olds. To his credit, he has already made a splash with his runners thus far but the best should be yet to come from the Irish St Leger-winning stallion. Mirage Dancer is another interesting National Hunt sire and ticks a lot of boxes standing for just €3,500 at Castlefield Stud.

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John O’Connor Q&A: ‘He Could Be A Dominant Horse Next Year’

 

Rare are the days that John O'Connor of Ballylinch Stud enjoyed at Ascot on Champions Day last Saturday. No sooner had the G1 QEII celebrations died down after Bayside Boy (Ire) (New Bay {GB})'s victory, a horse the stud bred and co-owns with Teme Valley, when another runner that the stud owns jointly, Bay Bridge (GB) (New Bay {GB}), lowered the colours of Baaeed (GB) (Sea The Stars {Ire}) in the G1 Champion S.

   It was an afternoon that propelled Ballylinch resident New Bay into the spotlight and continued the excellent momentum that the stud has enjoyed in recent weeks after homebred Place Du Carrousel (Ire) (Lope De Vega {Ire}) bagged the G1 Prix de l'Opera.

   From discussing plans for Bayside Boy, Bay Bridge and Place Du Carrousel to describing New Bay as an elite stallion, Ballylinch Stud's John O'Connor makes for an excellent interview in this week's Q&A.

 

Brian Sheerin: Now that the dust has settled on British Champions Day, have you had the time to think further about the Breeders' Cup for Bayside Boy and Bay Bridge?

 

John O'Connor: The Breeders' Cup is under consideration for both horses. We'll let the horses tell us if they are ready to go or not. It's a short run in from British Champions Weekend to the Breeders' Cup, so everything needs to go right and the horses will need to have bounced out of Ascot well. We'll play it by ear.

 

BS: You hinted earlier in the week that one of the two could go to stud next year. Has that conversation moved on at all?

 

JO'C: Those are ongoing conversations. These are good horses and deserve plenty of thought put into their future plans and that's what we will do.

 

BS: It could be viewed as an afternoon that propelled New Bay into elite stallion status if he wasn't already considered to be in that bracket already. How proud are you of the stallion?

 

JO'C: He was already on his way to elite status and Saturday really pushed him over the threshold. That confirmed that he is an elite stallion. He's managed to do it with relatively smaller numbers. He didn't have huge numbers but the really good horses, I have found down through the years, always have high percentages of elite runners. When you have that, you know they are going to make it.

As the numbers increased, he has confirmed that as he went on and he has been one of those horses whose stats have always told us that he is a really high quality stallion. He's confirming that now with his runners reaching a high level. He has bigger and better crops to come–he covered a very good book this year–so there's been an incremental increase in the quality of mares that were sent to him. The really top breeders want to use him so he is in a good position.

 

BS: Alex Elliott commented at one of the yearling sales recently that he was on a mission to buy up as many New Bays as possible because, sooner rather than later, they were going to be out of his price-range. It must give you huge pleasure to see that so many in the industry have cottoned onto the horse from an early stage.

 

JO'C: It does, yes. Some very good judges like Alex cottoned onto him early and he actually bought Batemans Bay (Fr) who we race in partnership with one of his clients. He's a pretty good horse as well, and a progressive one, so yes, Alex has been one of those who identified New Bay at an early stage and he will be the beneficiary of that.

 

BS: Bay Bridge has only run 10 times so, if he was to stay in training next year, you'd imagine there could be a lot more to come from him given he's trained by Sir Michael Stoute.

 

JO'C: I would hope so. That's obviously a conversation that we will have with his owner-breeder James Wigan who is a very astute man in the business. James has experience with horses at the highest level so we will take on board his views on that. I think he could be quite interesting if he does stay in training. He could be a very dominant horse next year. He had an injury-curtailed season this year and he's a lightly-raced horse who has a very good win to run strike-rate. He has an awful lot that you would like in a top-class horse in the sense that he has an ability to quicken and a fantastic will to win. When you tackle him, he fights really hard and is hard to beat in a finish so he is an admirable racehorse and one I am looking forward to seeing on his next run, wherever that may be.

 

BS: It wasn't all about the boys last weekend, either. Fact Or Folklore (Ire) (Lope De Vega {Ire}) has had a brilliant time of it with her first two foals, Statement (Ire) (Lawman {Fr}) and Self Belief (Ire) (Make Believe GB}), winning a series of listed races. Perhaps the broodmare band at Ballylinch sometimes doesn't get the recognition it deserves with the stallions flying the flag so well.

 

JO'C: That's the nature of the business, that the stallions get the most publicity because that's the way the industry is set up. But I have always taken the view that broodmares are extremely important to any stud farm and we have invested and had good support from owners with funding the purchase of some really nice mares.

We've been lucky to have raced some very nice mares as well and Fact Or Folklore is one example. We raced her in partnership with David Hyland and we were happy to buy her to continue her stud career here. She's made an exceptional start to her new career as a broodmare. Statement is her first foal and Self Belief is her second foal. Her third foal, a colt by New Bay, sold extremely well at Tattersalls Book 2 last week for 425,000gns to Stroud Coleman. She looks like she's an elite broodmare and it shows you that they don't have to start off being outstanding to turn out to be really good. She's one of those who is going to work her way up through the ranks, I think. It would appear that Lope De Vega passes on some very good traits and he's a very promising broodmare sire.

 

BS: We should probably credit Place Du Carrousel (Ire) (Lope De Vega) for kick-starting this golden run.

 

JO'C: That's absolutely true. Place Du Carrousel is a filly we bred and we retained half of her as a yearling. She's out of a mare [Traffic Jam (Ire) (Duke Of Marmalade {Ire})] that we bought with a good race record. Her racing owner Alexis Adamian owns her in partnership with us and she boards at Ballylinch. This is her first foal, it's an extraordinary start for a broodmare to breed a Group 1 winner with their first foal. Place Du Carrousel will probably stay in training next season, so we could see her in the top fillies' races next year, for sure.

 

BS: And it turned out to be a timely win for Place Du Carrousel in the Prix de l'Opera as her half-sister by Kingman (GB) sold for 1,050,000gns at Book 1 to Shadwell.

 

JO'C: It's lovely to see that Shadwell are back buying top-class stock and a pleasure to see Sheikha Hissa so involved. She takes a personal interest in looking at the horses and that's wonderful to see. It's a great legacy that her father left her that interest and knowledge of the business. We would look forward to Sheikha Hissa having great success in the future. She has two very nice horses to go to stud next year in Baeed (GB) and Minzaal (Ire), so that could set Shadwell up for the next number of years in their stallion operation. If it is self-sustaining, that would be wonderful.

 

BS: And on the market at Tattersalls and beyond, I suppose we are running out of superlatives to sum up the demand for yearlings.

 

JO'C: You could say that it defies gravity when you think about what's happening in the world. The bloodstock market has always had its own internal mechanism and sometimes it is affected by greater world events but quite often it is not. It seems to have its own momentum. There aren't many horses at the top level and there are enough players at that level who want to participate. It can defy what's happening in the international monetary markets. Sometimes the top end of the bloodstock market is a bit of a special commodity in its own right.

 

BS: It could be another exciting weekend for Ballylinch with Lone Eagle (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) and promising juvenile Lord Of Biscay (Ire) (Lope De Vega {Ire}) running at Newbury.

 

JO'C: Lord Of Biscay is an interesting horse who won his maiden very well on good ground. It remains to be seen if he will be equally as effective on soft ground. He seems to have plenty of speed and he's a half-brother to Bayside Boy, so Alava (Ire) (Anabaa) is a mare who has been doing very well. Roger [Varian] likes him a lot and he's a horse who didn't go into training early in the year and we took our time with him. Roger has always said he's a real natural runner and he showed that first time out. It's a big step up and a change in surface conditions so it will be a big learning curve for him and us on Saturday. There's another horse we bred and part-own running in the race called Oviedo (Ire) (Lope De Vega {Ire}) and he has legitimate aspirations of running well in that race as well. Lone Eagle had a little setback earlier in the year so we are looking forward to getting him back on the track.

 

The post John O’Connor Q&A: ‘He Could Be A Dominant Horse Next Year’ appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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‘Her Brother State Of Rest Made Rapid Improvement At Three’: Teme Valley Racing’s Tranquil Lady On Oaks Quest

Richard Ryan knows a thing or two about Epsom, having spent many years there as assistant trainer to the late Terry Mills. He also knows a good deal about buying horses, with his apprenticeship served under the man who is generally considered a maestro in this field, Richard Galpin. These two strands in Ryan's bloodstock armoury have now entwined in the prospect of an Oaks runner for Teme Valley Racing, for which he is both buyer and racing manager. 

Remarkably, Tranquil Lady (Ire) (Australia {GB}) is the second of two group winners in two years from the same immediate family for Teme Valley Racing. Her year-older brother State Of Rest (Ire) (Starspangledbanner {Aus}) carried the claret-and-gold-hooped colours with distinction across the globe last year to win the Saratoga Derby followed by the Cox Plate–quite something for an operation named after a peaceful part of the English countryside in Shropshire. 

No sooner had State Of Rest been sold on for an Irish-Australian partnership which secures his future dual-hemisphere stud career at Newgate Farm and Rathbarry Stud than his sister stepped up to present herself as a genuine Classic contender. 

“She put her best foot forward in the Blue Wind S.,” says Ryan of the filly's four-length win in Group 3 company following a seasonal reappearance in the Listed Salsabil S., in which she was fourth. 

“Her first run was almost a typical first run, where the vagaries of the way that race was run just caught her out on the day. Her asset is looking like stamina, so it was quite a clear decision that we take in Epsom, Ascot or the Irish Oaks. The gap that now exists between Epsom and the Irish Oaks means that you can do the two.”

Bought from her breeder Tinnakill House Stud for £160,000 in the year the Goffs Orby Sale was relocated to England, Tranquil Lady returned to Ireland to take up residence alongside her brother at Joseph O'Brien's yard, running three times as a juvenile for a win and some black type when listed-placed at the Curragh in October.

Ryan continues, “She's a daughter of Australia and her brother State Of Rest made rapid improvement at three. It led us to believe that it was always likely that she was going to change physically and indeed she did. She is developing more of a top line by the week. We just hope that the performances come with that visual impression.”

Having spent 19 years with the Mills stable and a spell with David Elsworth, along with stints at Juddmonte and Whitsbury Manor Stud after cutting his teeth at Harthill Stud with Neville Dent, Ryan is well placed to understand the delicate balancing act which trainers are required to perform at this time of year. Members of the Classic generation are still very much in the development stage, and a button being pressed too soon or too hard can take its toll on the remainder of the season. It was a lesson, if not learned but reinforced, last year with State Of Rest, who raced for Teme Valley at two and three.

“It was a very frustrating 2-year-old year in which the wider public didn't really get a chance to appreciate how useful he was,” Ryan recalls. “He was incredibly unlucky in a number of top stakes races. He got forced wide in the Tyros, and arguably should have been very close there. He got drawn very wide in the Ballyhane and had to pull across the back of the field then run along the rail from an impossible position. Arguably he could have won that. Then he lost a shoe early in the Champagne S. and nearly won that. It was a tale of misfortune really at two, and Joseph never lost faith in the horse.”

He continues, “He was very bold about him going into his 3-year-old season and we were keen on our chances in the Irish 2,000 Guineas, which he was being trained for, and then a small muscle strain in his quarter, which is very insignificant in a horse's wellbeing, prevented us from seeing out the race plan at that time.

“But Joseph was absolutely adamant that this was a very high-class horse and that we should be patient that it would all come right. And indeed how right he was.”

State Of Rest would reward both owner and trainer for their patience with his top-level wins in August and October, and this season, for the State Of Rest Partnership, he travelled to France to win the G1 Prix Ganay before being beaten just half a length when third in a highly competitive running of the G1 Tattersalls Gold Cup.

“He's a unique horse in a couple of respects, let alone his ability,” says Ryan. “He has a constitution almost as rare as hens' teeth. He had a 60-hour non-stop journey returning to Joseph's yard from Australia and he bowled down the ramp like he'd just gone round the corner. He had a roll, shout, buck and a kick and Jospeh had to canter him the next day because he was so fresh.

“As well as being immensely talented he's mentally strong. You have to have the mind if you're going to be great.”

[State Of Rest] has a constitution almost as rare as hens' teeth; he had a 60-hour non-stop journey returning from Australia and he bowled down the ramp like he'd just gone round the corner.

This no doubt helped when State Of Rest had to face the stringent testing regime brought in last year by Racing Victoria for overseas runners at Melbourne's Spring Carnival.

“It mustn't be underestimated how much he had to handle in what was asked in getting down to Australia and being able to compete on even remotely level terms,” Ryan notes. “The veterinary checks and tests were verging on the ridiculous, but we stuck to our task. He virtually had to give up three or four days of exercise completely to be boxed to two different venues because of the high-tech equipment that was required for full-body scans. He had to maintain a decent level of fitness and then travel and train completely on his own for a month. To then show Group 1 top-class form off the back of it was a testament to the horse and to Joseph's staff that they were able to achieve it. It was a unique year when the goalposts were moved so far, and Newgate were aware of what he had achieved.”

He adds, “We have retained some breeding rights and we enjoy cheering him on. I hope he continues to do well for his new owners. I am sure he is a long way from finished for this season. That uniqueness in terms of his ability, toughness and soundness must surely stand him in great stead as a stallion.”

It is not just these two siblings to have represented Teme Valley Racing in stakes company in recent seasons. Gear Up (Ire) (Teofilo {Ire}) won the G1 Criterium de Saint-Cloud in 2020 after landing the G3 Acomb S. Last year Bayside Boy (Ire) (New Bay {GB}), owned in partnership with his breeder Ballylinch Stud, beat the Queen's Reach For The Moon (GB) (Sea The Moon {Ger}) to win the G2 Champagne S. and then finished placed in the Dewhurst and the Vertem Futurity. Another with Classic pretensions this season is French Claim (Fr) (French Fifteen {Fr}), the dual winner who was recently placed in the Leopardstown Derby Trial. By a relatively unheralded French-based sire, French Claim was recruited by Ryan at the Goresbridge Breeze-up Sale for £36,000.

“I had the benefit of a career path that was mapped partly by Joss Collins from an early meeting as a teenager, and I stuck virtually religiously to that with the aim of getting along in the racing industry,” says Ryan, whose judgement has been regularly vindicated by the select number of horses he purchases. 

“I was trained by one of the best as a young lad in Richard Galpin. The bigger thing now is that you have to have an eye with the global markets in your mind, and as we have a strong eye on commerciality at Teme Valley we are not afraid to trade at the right time. So you have to have a global eye, and that being for strong, well-made horses that have good attitudes and that you think will remain sound over a long period.”

I was trained by one of the best as a young lad in Richard Galpin.

He adds, “That takes away some of the luxury of going with your gut sometimes on a slightly lesser individual that you believe may well have the attitude to overcome those vagaries of its physique. The idea is to try to combine a strong physical with the attitude that gets the job done. Pedigree is secondary almost. Once I like the individual I've then got to like the pedigree and feel that it is capable of producing a stakes-level horse.

“Budget ties your hands and can make you more imaginative with your decisions but if you stay loyal to the parameters that you have in your mind then you put all your years' experience at the coal face, and with the various people you've been around over the years, and try to make credible decisions.”

That he has clearly been doing well for Teme Valley Racing which, contrary to popular belief, is not a syndicate but a private individual.

“Teme Valley is the brainchild of a man who had a long-held ambition to be involved in the higher echelons of Flat racing after many years as an owner in National Hunt racing,” Ryan explains. “We hatched a plan and the last few years have been the culmination of that plan.”

And both owner and agent appear to have much still to look forward to this season. Lively ground and a wide draw scuppered Bayside Boy's chances in the Poule d'Essai des Poulains, but Ryan says of his thirteenth-place finish, “That's one to completely draw a line through. He'll probably go to Ascot for the St James's Palace but we have half a thought for the Jersey. We have some reputation rebuilding to do with him but I feel confident that will happen as the season goes on.”

The Paddy Twomey-trained French Claim has later-season big-race targets. 

 “He is a very impressive individual and he breezed well with good manners in a style that I like to see,” Ryan notes. “He has exceeded expectations and has given the trainer great cause for enthusiasm. We feel the best is yet to come. The ground was a little quicker [at Leopardstown] than we would have liked for his trial. We wanted more of a test of stamina. The Derby was under consideration at one point but his action may not lend itself to Epsom. He's not ruled out of the Irish Derby yet, as that can often be wet and a proper test of stamina. But we are thinking something like the Grand Prix de Paris on the way to the St Leger. That's our loose theory at the moment.”

Then, with a range of trainers that includes O'Brien, Twomey, Varian, Clive Cox and William Haggas, Ryan points to a group of juveniles starting out on the path to becoming full-fledged racehorses. The first to come to hand among that group is Hellsing (Ire) (Dandy Man {Ire}), the winner on debut of a maiden on Irish Guineas weekend for Ger Lyons.

“Ger was very pleased with the horse for a long period,” he says. “As a big horse his future lies over seven [furlongs] and possibly a touch more. He has always shown a fair bit of talent and we had half an idea when the hammer came down that he would be a type for the Goffs Million, as he was bought at the Orby Sale. That's still a strong consideration but it won't be the be-all and end-all in terms of stifling any considerations at stakes level.”

Ryan warns, “We've got an awfully nice bunch of 2-year-olds for this year.”

The post ‘Her Brother State Of Rest Made Rapid Improvement At Three’: Teme Valley Racing’s Tranquil Lady On Oaks Quest appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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