‘He’s Put Us On The Map’ – Capital Stud Boss Puts Faith Behind Authorized

Capital Stud boss Ger O'Neill has revealed that Authorized (Ire) will stand for a similar fee to dominant National Hunt stallion Walk In The Park (Ire) and outlined his hopes that the new recruit to the County Kilkenny operation will help raise the relatively new outfit's profile amongst Irish breeders. 

O'Neill's perseverance paid off in securing the 20-year-old Derby winner and sire of Tiger Roll (Ire), one of the most famous jumps horses of the modern era, from the Jockey Club of Turkey for what he described as “a frightening” sum of money earlier this month. 

No insurance could be secured for Authorized, which added to the risks involved in stumping up the cash for the sire who once again made headlines recently when exciting youngster Readin Tommy Wrong (Ire) remained unbeaten for Willie Mullins when landing the Grade 1 Lawlor's Of Naas Novice Hurdle. 

“It's either cracked or clever, I'm not sure which one,” O'Neill joked, brushing off the magnitude of the risk involved in shuttling a 20-year-old stallion back to Ireland. “I asked a lot of industry leaders what their favourite National Hunt Stallion was before getting the deal done and, nine times out of 10, Authorized was pretty high up the list. 

“Ask anyone what their top three stallions are and you are likely to be told Blue Bresil (Fr), Walk In The Park and Authorized. If you look at the sales, he had a €109,000 average for his three-year-olds between France and Ireland in 2023. The market really wanted him here and we were delighted to go and get him.”

O'Neill added, “Like a lot of studs, we had asked about buying him 12 months ago and it was a definite no. It was probably through perseverance that we got there in the end. They put a price on him that was, to be honest, not very realistic, but we got a group of people together and started to do the figures on it. 

“I mean, it's a huge move to buy him, but I think he's going to do really well for the Irish breeders. Not only that, but he's going to be great for our stud and has put us on the map alongside the likes of Coolmore and Rathbarry for being one of the bigger National Hunt studs now. With Triple Threat (Fr) joining the National Hunt side of our roster recently, to go with Mirage Dancer (GB) and Hunting Horn (Ire), who were already here, we believe we have something for every kind of jumps breeder.”

Along with Tiger Roll and more recently Readin Tommy Wrong, Authorized has been represented by Stayers' Hurdle winner Nichols Canyon (GB), Irish Grand National winner I Am Maximus (GB), and fellow high-class jumpers Goshen (Fr) and Echoes In Rain (Fr).

His return to Ireland, 15 years after he stood at Kildangan Stud, will be a major boost for Irish breeders, according to O'Neill, who said the people in the ownership group of the stallion convinced him to plough on and get the deal done. 

“Donnchadh Doyle, Darragh McCarthy, Jerry Horan and a good few others have gotten involved,” he explained. “Jerry, to be fair to him, has been with us from the start and is a great man to have on board. He's a well-liked character in the industry and is very knowledgeable. He's been a great fella to have on our side. Greg Broderick, the Irish International Show Jumper, is also involved. There's a big group of us and it's a big leap of faith, but you can't go around worrying about what might happen if it doesn't work out.”

O'Neill added, “We bought him with no insurance. We tried everywhere to get insurance but it just wasn't possible. But look, things happen in Show Jumping every day. Horses go lame and their value plummets. That's just part and parcel of the sport. It's the same with working with stallions and, if something were to happen to Authorized, it would obviously be a huge blow but that's the risk we were willing to take. Donnchadh Doyle is one of the bravest men I know and his advice was to plough on and get him bought. We know the risk involved and, the upside of the whole thing is, if we can get a few years out of him, it could be very beneficial for the industry.

“Not only that but, after Willie and Jackie Mullins heard that we were after buying Authorized, they booked in a load of their mares to us. Some of the biggest studs in Ireland have four and five mares booked into him. A lot of people are going to breed to him and race the progeny so I don't think you're going to see huge numbers of them ending up in the sales ring. The aim is that he will cover over 100 mares but if he can cover 150, we'll do it. Blue Bresil and Walk In The Park have covered over 200 apiece in the past few years but we don't foresee Authorized reaching those numbers. We're happy that, if he can cover over 100 mares and is happy here, we'll be happy as well.”

It's not just jumps stallions that breeders can avail of at Capital Stud. Alkumait (GB), the G2 Mill Reef Stakes-winning half-brother to the 2,000 Guineas hero Chaldean (GB), had his first foals in 2023 while G3 Marble Hill S. winner Castle Star (Ire) is another recent addition to the ranks. Both horses stand for €5,000.

O'Neill said, “We're trying to add to the roster all the time. We started out with Hunting Horn. Darragh McCarthy is one of the founders of Capital Stud and he probably had more of a desire to stand stallions than I did initially. When Hunting Horn came on the radar, we took the decision to go and buy him. Things have really snowballed from there. 

“Mirage Dancer was another brilliant horse to be able to get at the time. He won his Group 1 down in Australia. He has a huge pedigree and, when we saw a video of him walking, we were all blown away by him. Then Triple Threat has gone down very well as well. There are 100 mares booked into Triple Threat already and Harold Kirk, for example, is one person who really believes in him.”

He added, “But the Flat side of the operation is really growing, too. We got an amazing update with Alkumait when Chaldean came out and won the 2,000 Guineas and, not long after that, his sister [Get Ahead (GB) (Showcasing {GB})] made 2.5m gns at the Tattersalls December Mares Sale. His foals sold very well last year. Castle Star is another good addition and the ownership group in him are going to throw everything behind him. That's another thing about our business model, we will try and support the breeders that use our stallions from the bottom to the top, and hopefully that will be mutually beneficial for the two of us going forward.”

The arrival of Authorized comes at a time when the National Hunt Sales in Britain and Ireland have been dominated by two stallions; Walk In The Park and Blue Bresil. O'Neill says he is confident that Authorized can shake up things at the upper end of the market and, in doing so, entice further footfall to the stud. 

He said, “We're going to have an open day for Authorized in February and would encourage people to come and see him. He wasn't here on time for the Irish Stallion Trail but a lot of people came to visit and see the place off the back of the announcement that he was coming.

“The other thing I would say about Authorized is, he could do his bit to attract breeders to the place. The breeder who rings up to use him, they might have another mare for Triple Threat, or even Mirage Dancer and Hunting Horn. He's helped us lift our game.”

Capital Stud has come a long way since Hunting Horn and Mirage Dancer joined the roster only four years ago. O'Neill, who is best known as an Irish International Show Jumper, has been able to fast-track its emergence as a pretty serious outfit through his exploits in that sphere but the hope is that Capital Stud can maintain its progression and rival the big boys. It is thought that the addition of Authorized will aid that process. 

“My background is in Show Jumping. I am an Irish International Show Jumper and am lucky enough to have won a few Nations Cups. I've always had an interest in breeding and rode in a few point-to-points when I was younger. From that, I rode out for Mags Mullins and really enjoyed that and have kept my eye in on the racing after I returned to the Show Jumping. I said I'd dip my toe in the breeding game and four years later we're really getting stuck in.”

O'Neill added, “We'd like to get as big as we can. We are very motivated to make Capital Stud better and are excited to see how far we can go in this industry. It's a very hard business but it's an enjoyable one and I'd love nothing more than to be standing one of the big-name Flat stallions. That's the goal. If we don't hit that goal, fine, but it won't be for a lack of trying. We're always on the lookout to find the next big stallion and the foundations are in place for us to kick on and make Capital Stud one of the major destinations for National Hunt and Flat breeders alike.”

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Half-Brother to Stage Star Tops Day 1 of Goffs December NH Sale

The Goffs December National Hunt sale saw a leading €110,000 price for the top lot (157A, a wildcard entry) as the highest for a NH foal anywhere in 2023.

The session-topping lot by Walk In The Park (Ire) is a half-brother to multiple Grade I-scorer Stage Star (Ire) (Fame And Glory {GB}). Out of the graded-stakes winning jump mare Sparky May (GB) (Midnight Legend {GB}), the foal went to Richard Frisby, who also struck earlier for lot 101, a Blue Bresil colt, secured for €45,000.

David Cox of Baroda Stud, who consigned the colt on behalf of breeder Ruxley Holdings Ltd, said, “The late entry was made in order to strike while the iron is hot. Walk In The Park is leading the National Hunt sire table and Stage Star looked even better than last year when he won the Paddy Power Gold Cup last month impressively despite making a mistake.”

In total, 119 horses sold for a turnover of €1,957,000, up 27% from last season, with an average of €16,446, an increase of 8%. The selective market ruled the day, however, as the clearance rate came in at 61%.

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Blue Bresil Yearling Heads Final Day of Tattersalls November NH Sale

A yearling by Blue Bresil (Fr) led the final session of the Tattersalls Ireland November NH Sale NH Sale Thursday. Out of the Shantou mare Thanks For Tea (Ire) (lot 992), the colt was purchased for €58,000 by Kevin Ross Bloodtsock. Sold by Ballyhampshire Stud, the yearling was the 18th foal or yearling by Blue Bresil to sell for €50,000 or more over the five days' sale, and was the week's third session topper for the Rathbarry Stud stallion.

“The gelding has been bought on spec,” said Anna Ross. “We have the 4-year-old half-brother by Mount Nelson (GB), he goes pointing next spring and we like him. The two are quite different types of horses. The sire speaks for himself and we have been very lucky with the broodmare sire Shantou.”

Consignor Edmond Kent added, “We had a lot of fun with Thanks For Tea, she won some bonuses for us, picked up black-type and was a hardy mare. She is back in-foal to Blue Bresil and is due on Jan. 12–she looks very big at the minute, I won't be taking any holidays in January!”

Of this yearling, he said, “This was always a nice foal, he was born a bit late and I said I'd keep him until he was a yearling.”

It was a two-way split for leading honours in the NH broodmares session with the Grade 3 winner and Grade 1-placed Bonny Kate (Ire) (Beneficial {GB}) from Clonbonny Stud, and The Twelve Pins (Ire) (Beat Hollow {GB}) out of Sixhills (Fr) (Sabrehill) from the Closutton Stables draft, both bringing €40,000.

The Twelve Pins was purchased by Temple Bloodstock.

Aubrey McMahon said, “She has been bought to stay in Willie's. She is a sound racemare, she will race on and has been bought as a broodmare prospect, hopefully, she will do the two jobs.”

At the conclusion of the November NH Sale, Simon Kerins, CEO of Tattersalls Ireland commented, “It was always going to be a tough ask to follow two years of record-breaking trade at the November NH Sale, so for the foal section to return an average just off €18,000 and a commercially-bred yearling to fetch €58,000, the best price given for a yearling at the sale since 2021, is a satisfying result.

“The mares' session lacked the stars from previous years reflecting the desire for owners to retain good racemares as breeding prospects. We recognise that the yearling format on the last day did not prove effective, and we are committed to a thorough reflection on improving this particular section for 2024.”

A total of 641 head sold this season, down 17% from 772 sold in 2022, while gross also dipped to €11,395,200 from €13,883,050 last term. This year's average was €17,777, down slightly from €17,983 in 2022 while media fell 14% from €14,000 to €12,000. Lots listed as unsold stood at 371–a 12% decrease–after this season's five-day run.

“Foals sold at that top level were a feature of all four days' trade, but whilst that top bracket of foals sold this week over €50,000 was a joint record and more foals were sold in excess of €80,000 than ever before, undoubtedly there are trade gaps further down the level and there is no denying the current market is selective.”

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Blue Bresil Colts Shine Day 1 of November NH Sale

The first session of the Tattersalls Ireland November NH Sale kicked off on Sunday with progeny by Blue Bresil (Fr)–sire of the six-time Grade 1 winner and November NH Sale graduate Constitution Hill (GB)–in high demand as two of his colts took the top two spots, as well five of the day's top ten prices overall.

Lot 89, a bay colt out of the Shirocco (Ger) mare Bee Yanka (GB), brought €68,000 online from Timmy Hillman to be the day's highest price. The March foal was consigned by Clonmult on behalf of breeders Richard and Mai Nolan of Old Court Stud.

“We were advised by Donal [White] to send Bee Yanka to Blue Bresil and she has visited the sire three times now,” the couple said jointly. “The stock that has come from her has been so magnificent, and we just kept going back to the stallion–she is an amazing breeder.”

Kieran Shields and his daughter Kate went to €67,000 for Lot 20, the Blue Bresil colt out of the Listed-placed Rolanna (Ire) (Strategic Prince {Ire}), from the Thistletown Stud consignment.

“He is a good walker, by the right sire, is a good size and he has been bought as a pinhooking prospect,” Kate said.
Coolamurry Stud consigned Lot 80, a colt by Walk In The Park (Ire) out of the Aura About You (Ire) (Supreme Leader), who was bought by pinhook purchaser Michael Fitzpatrick, signing as J C Bloodstock, for €60,000.

Overall of the 233 lots catalogued, 139 were listed as sold, a 19 percent dip from the 233 reported sold during the opening session a year ago. The gross receipts of €1,625,500, a 31 percent drop over the figure of €2,355,100 the corresponding session from 2022. The average price of €11,694 dipped 15 percent from €13,773 in 2022 with the median of €9,000 tumbling 22 percent €11,500.

The November NH Sale continues Tuesday at 10 a.m. with the second session.

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