Blue Bresil | Horse Racing Free Tips

New British Record At Doncaster Spring Store Sale Opener

A new British record was established during the first of two sessions of the Doncaster Spring Store Sale when Goldford Stud's filly by Blue Bresil (Fr) was hammered down for £210,000. The daughter of Petticoat Tails surpassed the previous mark of £200,000 set at this same event 12 months ago. The Astons' Goldford Stud have accounted for the top seller at the Spring Store Sale no fewer than 10 times, including five years consecutively from 1997-2001. It was an especially poignant transaction for the Astons in light of the passing of Richard Aston late last month and the celebration of life in his honour held at Goldford Stud last week.

A total of 99 horses changed hands for turnover of £2,905,300. The average price of £29,346 represented a 6% decline from 2022, while the median of £25,000 dropped by 4%.

The second and final session of the sale commences Tuesday at 11am.

The post New British Record At Doncaster Spring Store Sale Opener appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

Sean Doyle: ‘You’re Better Off Thinking Of The Rewards Rather Than The Risks’

Sean Doyle pulls Monbeg Park (Ire) (Walk In The Park {Ire}) out of his stable and says proudly, “That's the type of horse the likes of Willie Mullins and Eddie O'Leary want to buy.”

It begs the question, why is Monbeg Park lining out for Doyle and not any of the powerhouse stables in Sunday's G1 Lawlor's Of Naas Novice Hurdle?

After all, Doyle has earned a reputation for selling future stars rather than racing them and can count a Cheltenham Festival-winning graduate to his roll of honour almost every year since Holywell (Ire) broke that particular duck in 2013.

Horses like The Last Samuri (Ire), Invitation Only (Ire) and American Mike (Ire) have also passed through this renowned County Wexford production line.

Meanwhile, a couple of hundred yards across the field, his brother Donnchadh has blooded Paul Nicholls' latest King George winner Bravemansgame (Fr) and stablemate Tahmuras (Fr), winner of the G1 Tolworth Novices Hurdle on Saturday.

The Doyles have mastered the craft of buying National Hunt stores and turning them into red-hot commodities. However, Monbeg Park was never going to be a selling prospect due to the fact he picked up a minor injury earlier on in his career.

Doyle explained, “The big day for us is not the day these horses win their point or even the day we get paid for them. It's the day they win for the next man. You can't grind them out to win their point. They need to train on.

“We're running a business here and repeat business is important. Even Monbeg Park there, he's grand now and we're getting a great run out of him, but you could never sell a horse like him. We could have sold him but you are risking losing the sale of a different horse a year or two down the line if you did.”

The 38-year-old added, “He had a small suspensory problem. Willie Mullins actually came to look at him twice and he was close to chancing him. When you are talking about a horse to go chasing, he's exactly what you'd want. To be fair to him, he's won his bumper and maiden hurdle and has placed twice. In six runs he's been very consistent. We're dreaming that he'll win a big chase for us some day. He's a big quality-looking horse but you just couldn't sell him for fear of him not standing up to training for the next man.”

Any hopes of a six-figure sale with Monbeg Park may have been dashed when he damaged his suspensory but a new dream stares back at Doyle, who is quietly excited about his first runner in Grade 1 company.

“We were actually a little disappointed with him at Cork but it was our own fault. We got caught with the frost and didn't do a lot with him. He was way too fresh and we rode him upsides in front and Bryan [Cooper] rode him like a slow horse. We might have been better off riding a waiting race with him and, while I don't think we'd have won, he would have run a nicer race if we rode him differently. We made too much use of him.

“He's in great form now and, as long as we can keep him sound, there should be a lot of fun to be had with him. He's the classiest horse I've ever run on the track anyway.”

Sean Doyle (left) with Colin Bowe | Tattersalls

This place has been a soundtrack to classy horses for over a decade now. What was once a busy dairy farm has developed into a multi-million euro point-to-point operation with even Doyle admitting his surprise as to how quickly things have taken off.

“We started in 2008 which was the time of the recession so you could buy horses fairly cheap back then. One of the first horses we sold was Rudemeister (Ire). He cost €6,500 and we sold him for £75,000 after he won his point. Then we bought a horse called Padge (Ire) for €16,000, which was a lot of money back then, but for luck he went on and made £160,000. We've been very lucky and are blessed that the father had the land here for us. If we didn't have that, we wouldn't be doing it to the level that we are.”

He added, “We are able to run a fairly tight ship. Everything is on site and we don't have to go away an awful lot and we have all our own haylage so it's very doable. I spent a summer with Willie Mullins as a young lad but we all love point-to-pointing and learned as we went along. You learn from your mistakes.

“We never went away to any big trainer for any long period of time or anything like that. It's always been drilled into me from a young age to take money when it's being offered. Don't ever be sorry for selling. Then, when we kept selling, the whole thing kept rotating and the money kept coming.

“The thing that would frighten you is that we got into millions of euros very quickly. From a few thousand here and there, our turnover shot into the millions. It's very easy to do it when you've the numbers we have but, as I said, we're lucky we can do a lot of the work ourselves to keep the costs down.”

They say that faith is believing in something when common sense might advise otherwise. Doyle, along with his brothers Donnchadh, Cormac and Gearoid, would invest over €2 million a year in National Hunt stores.

Fellow Countymen Colin Bowe and Denis Murphy could also invest seven figures in a given year which goes some way to illustrating Wexford's status in producing jumps horses. Call it what you like, but this is high stakes poker and there are only so many Monbeg Parks an operation the size of Doyle's can carry. Every horse is important here. Every horse is contributing.

“You don't open the post from June to the following May,” he jokes. “It's only then when you'd start worrying about what's left over! It's a risky game but sometimes you're better off not thinking about the risks involved and you're better off thinking about the rewards. It's gone great for us and you'd never have dreamed we'd be operating at the level that we are. We could end up broke yet but we'll keep going for another few years please God.

“When things are going well for you, there's no better feeling. We've gone through a fair bit since we started in fairness. We started out during a recession and managed to keep going and then there was Brexit, a worldwide pandemic and now there's a war. The average spend this year was up to about 40 grand whereas it dropped to about 25 grand during Covid.”

He added, “The sales companies have been very good to us from the start. At the end of the day, these horses have to be paid for. Between us all [Donnchadh, Gearoid, Sean and Cormac], we're only spending about two and a half million a year. If you get three good horses to any of those boutique sales, that's a million quid back straight away. You have to be thinking forward the whole time. There's plenty of those 20 or 30 grand stores who finish second and go on to make 50, 60 or 70 grand. They still leave a lot of money behind in one season. They only have to leave us about 12 grand per head. But even those 10 and 15 grand horses, it's highly important to get that for them because you need the clearance as well. They all add up.

“Horses are going to let you down every day of the week but you can't be thinking that way. I know plenty of lads who started out at this and they were worrying about money and worrying about this and that. If you're worrying about money, it's not really the job for you. You have to let it unfold in front of you. When you get a run of good luck, you have to be ready to take it. You see some of the lads who have been with us, the likes of my younger brother Cormac with 40 horses and Rob James with 30 horses, they'd have seen what we went through and there's a certain amount of calmness with those lads as well. They'll wait and wait and let it happen rather than trying to force it.”

The National Hunt game is a completely different ballgame to when Doyle set out buying and selling in 2008. In many ways, he and his contemporaries between the flags have had a massive role to play in the revolution of the sport.

Following a similar trajectory to the breeze-up sphere, where the demand for ready-made winners-in-waiting has soared, the point-to-point handlers have experienced a similar shot in the arm of their business.

Not only has there been a clamour for point winners, but the short supply of Flat horses to go jumping has developed into a perfect storm which has resulted in the point-to-point horse with form selling for a premium.

Doyle explained, “The top end National Hunt store is going point-to-pointing now, which is kind of crazy when you think about it, but it suits the next man who wants the big Saturday horse. He doesn't have to go buying 10 stores to find it. He can wait and see them win their point-to-point and just buy one or two. Look at the horses who have come out of here recently–Bravemansgame, Love Envoi (Ire), American Mike–there's loads. I actually think the best is yet to come, too.”

He added, “Those Flat stayers who are making big money to go to Hong Kong and Australia–that has brought us point-to-point men back in at a big level. There was a time those horses would be sold to go jumping but they're gone unaffordable now. If the demand for those Flat horses can be maintained, then we are safe.

“Even our 30 grand horse, if they've got any sort of form at all, they'll slot into the north of England no problem. Whereas, there was a time the trainers up there would head down to Ascot to buy six or seven castoffs from the Flat to go jumping for the same money. They can't do that anymore.

“But the top end is fairly scarce. Even for us to get the three or four hundred grand for one, they have to win their point but they also have to have the pedigree, size and scope and good conformation as well.”

The parallels between buying National Hunt horses who can jump and gallop three miles on heavy ground to sourcing a yearling who can go on and clock a good time at the breeze-ups as a 2-year-old may not be plain to see for everyone.

But, in an effort to maintain cash flow and more crucially in a bid to retain staff throughout the summer, Doyle has revealed an audacious plan to branch out into breezers and this particular wheel has already been set to motion.

“We've put in a three-and-a-half furlong uphill carpet gallop to run alongside our sand gallop on the hill. The reason for that is that we'd like to start training 2-year-olds. Donnchadh and myself will do the 2-year-olds and they'll run in my name but there'll be a few other lads involved with us I'd say. We'll probably do a few breezers as well. The carpet gallop would be great for breezers.”

He added, “The whole thinking behind it all is that we're carrying a lot of staff all year round and it would be something to keep everyone ticking over from May until the autumn because we can't afford to lose staff anymore. I bought a couple of 2-year-olds last year but they were no good. We've four this year–two colts and two fillies. We'll probably run the colts. The Invincible Army (Ire) came out of the Orby. He cost €80,000. The other fella is by Churchill (Ire) and he cost €45,000 at the Sportsman's. It's something we'd like to develop.”

A tapestry of Grade 1 horses have emerged from these Monbeg stables down through the years. Until now, Doyle has never had a chance to secure a top-level triumph in his own name. Step forward Monbeg Park.

Sean Doyle | Tattersalls

Doyle on . . . the National Hunt sires

There's a big opening for a sire over jumps. Anything could come through because there are not enough No Risk At All (Fr)s, Walk In The Parks or any of those horses by the good French sires coming through to go around. Affinisea (Ire) is the one who's popular now. It's probably a great time for him because there's not enough of them running for anyone to say he's going bad. I'd only two by him and I got them sold easy. They just wanted Affinisea. I'll tell you what now, the Sea The Stars (Ire) element probably has a lot to do with it. He's a new influence on the National Hunt scene and people are getting a little bit excited about him. He's just an easier sell than any of the stallion sons of Galileo (Ire) over jumps. I was a fan of Nathaniel (Ire) but he seems to have gone back more on the Flat now and I couldn't get near anything by Blue Bresil (Fr) at the sales this season. I bought Arctic Bresil (GB) (Blue Bresil {Fr}) for €62,000 and sold him for £305,000 to Henry de Bromhead after he won his point. I know he wasn't cheap as a store but I can remember coming home from the Derby Sale and thinking that he wasn't dear either. I reckon that if Eddie O'Leary had been flat out buying for Gigginstown that year, he'd have been a one hundred grand store. I've done okay with Getaway (Ger). You'd have a filly by him all day long and, at the back of it all, the fillies probably get a better chance given the programme that's there for them.

Doyle on . . . private sales

Private sales will become more popular. When they are talking on the telly about a horse costing this or that after winning his point-to-point, and say he only finishes fifth in a maiden hurdle, the real big owner doesn't want that. We're after getting three or four real good orders for between three and four hundred thousand if we can find the right horse. It's there in black in white so, when a race is about to start and the television presenters are stuck for something to say, you can't really blame them for mentioning what a horse costs. There's not a lot more to talk about at that stage. I reckon the private sales will get bigger and bigger.

Doyle on . . . producing 4-year-olds to win their point-to-point

We leave them in a routine as long as we can and it's probably only in the second or third week in January where we start pairing them up. But usually everything is just build them up, build them up, build them up and try not to think if they are good, bad or middling. If you start going looking for them earlier than you should, you won't get to run them. A lot of lads want to run them in February but the season goes on a long time so, if you start lighting them all up for February before they are ready, you might not get to run anything. At one time, you'd have been kicking yourself if you didn't have them out but you can always wait until October and you saw what some of the 4-year-olds who won their points in the autumn made at some of the sales recently. There's no hurry on us whatsoever. The only thing that might happen is that, say you had 35 4-year-olds and were left with 25 in the autumn, you probably wouldn't get to buy as many three-year-olds at the store sales that year. But that sort of thing levels itself out every three years. It just depends on the run that you're on. But before we'd run anything, they'd nearly want to go down over the fences with no wings on them. That's how ready they'd want to be. They need to know their job so well. They don't even have to go that fast, it's once they go straight. I don't believe in giving horses leads either. They have to go in front and do it themselves. If we came out to school a week before a race and they didn't go down over 12 fences straight as a die we'd leave them and wouldn't run them.

Doyle on . . . the Wexford handlers

There's been lads before us and there'll be lads after us. Padge Berry was a great name in Wexford when we were growing up. Denis Murphy is another. He's a great man to watch when he's selling a horse. You don't have to ask him too many questions, just watch him, as he's a great way of explaining things. Colin Bowe is brilliant as well. For a man who has a massive yard, he runs a very simple operation and we tried to do what those lads have been doing. We don't try to complicate it.

The post Sean Doyle: ‘You’re Better Off Thinking Of The Rewards Rather Than The Risks’ appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

‘Honeysuckle More Likely To Be Retired Than Run In Mares’ Hurdle At Cheltenham’

Peter Molony is best known for being the man who bought the reigning Champion Hurdler Honeysuckle (GB) (Sulamani {Ire}) on behalf of his client Kenny Alexander. He also works for Sheikh Fahad's Qatar Racing operation, is an agent for Goffs and has had a multitude of top horses through his hands at Rathmore Stud. That may be why the Limerick native signs off on his Twitter bio with the word 'busy'!

Son of the legendary Martin Molony, widely regarded as the best dual-purpose jockey of all time, Peter is one of the most respected judges in the game.

He opened the gates of Rathmore Stud to TDN Europe this week and revealed why Leopardstown is D-Day for dual Champion Hurdle winner Honeysuckle and explained that retirement would be the preferred option to running in the Mares' Hurdle at Cheltenham for Henry de Bromhead's star.

Molony also shares that, for when Honeysuckle is retired to the paddocks, she will visit Walk In The Park (Ire). He also discussed in great detail his role at Goffs, concerns for the industry, Oisin Murphy's eagerly-anticipated return and much more in this week's Starfield Stud-sponsored Q&A.

Brian Sheerin: With your Rathmore Stud hat on, how do you reflect on 2022?

Peter Molony: It was a great year for us. The first big sale was the Land Rover and our horses sold really well there. We'd a good Milan (GB) filly of our own who sold well. We gave 50 grand for her as a foal and we got 150 grand for her at the Land Rover, so that was lovely. The yearlings sold well as well and, considering what's happening in the world, the market held up really well–especially for the quality horses. We were lucky enough to breed a nice winner last year, Wren's Breath (Ire) (Elzaam {Aus}), who Henry [de Bromhead] trained for us. We'd a half-sister to her at the Orby by Zoustar (Aus) and she made 300 grand, which was phenomenal. She is a beautiful filly. Our pinhooks went quite well this year so we got stuck in again in November. But, as I said, the market was quite strong so it was hard to buy the ones you wanted.

BS: Any air of trepidation about getting stuck in again? This was a phenomenal year but some people are worried that we might feel a bite in 2023.

PM: We've had a few very good years with the pinhooking on the Flat. We decided that we'd step off the beaten track a little bit because, when we went in for the big, fancy, obvious foals, we had to give too much for them and we just haven't been lucky with them recently. We bought later foals, a few end of April and even May foals, which pinhookers seem to step away from, but they've done very well for us so we did the same again. We didn't just plough on regardless. We thought about what we were going to do and went for that type of foal again. Hopefully it will work out. On the National Hunt foals, we decided to concentrate a little bit more on quality. John Bleahan is a great friend of mine and we were chatting away recently about what the market is going to look like in the next couple of years and his summarisation was good. He said, 'it's either this or sheep,' in that we don't know anything different, so we may as well keep going at what we know best.

BS: The National Hunt market is going through a strange period at the moment. You need to be by Walk In The Park, Blue Bresil (Fr) or one of the good French sires to get well paid. When you were concentrating on the top end, what stallions were you honing in on?

PM: It's very tight. There are only a small number of top-end stallions that people seem to want. We bought a couple of Walk In The Parks (Ire), we could only get our hands on one Blue Bresil (Fr), we got a No Risk At All (Fr) and took a chance on a couple of foals by Order Of St George (Ire)–I really like them, they're really good-looking horses and they seem to have lovely temperaments. But it's a risky time for him as he has a couple of crops ahead and, if they don't work out, it's not ideal. I bought a Soldier Of Fortune (Ire) but didn't give huge money for it and we bought a Maxios (GB) and a Vadamos (Fr), so we have a bit of a spread.

BS: I suppose the best horse you ever bought was outside the box in that she was by Sulamani (Ire).

PM: The difference with her was that she was bought to race. All of those foals are bought to be sold on. There's a big difference between buying a racehorse and a sales horse which shouldn't make sense but it does. You have to buy what the market is going to want in the future.

BS: And speaking about Honeysuckle (GB), there has been a lot said and written since she lost her unbeaten record but what's your own feeling on the whole thing.

PM: All the ratings people seem to believe it was her best ever run in the Hatton's Grace and normally her first run of the season is always her worst run. I suppose she's getting older and it's going to take a little more to get her ready first time out so, taking everything into account, it was one of her highest-rated runs for her first start of the season so we'd have to be happy. If we weren't protecting an unbeaten run, I think we'd have left Fairyhouse cock-a-hoop with ourselves. We haven't lost faith in her. Leopardstown here we come.

BS: Everyone wants that match between Honeysuckle and Constitution Hill (GB) in the Champion Hurdle. Is that still the dream or has the Mares' Hurdle become a more appealing target than it was previously?

PM: First of all, I think the Mares' Hurdle is getting a bit of a slagging off, which I think is totally unfair. If we didn't have the mares' programme that has been built up over the past 20 years, Honeysuckle probably wouldn't be running right now–she'd be out in a field with a foal at foot somewhere. The amount of top-class mares who have come through the system in the past 10 to 15 years, most of those, if not all of them, would never have hit the track if it wasn't for the mares' programme. I think people are missing the point, to be honest, and I think the mares' programme is hugely important. We got a lot of slagging when we ran Honeysuckle in the Mares' Hurdle first time round but, as it happened, we probably ended up running in the tougher race by taking on Benie Des Dieux (Fr) (Great Pretender {Ire}). People were saying we were ducking the challenge of the Champion Hurdle but we just felt she wasn't quite ready to run over two miles at championship pace and that the two-and-a-half-mile option was better at that stage in her career. Her jumping was a bit slow at that time–she was big and novicey when winning her first Irish Champion Hurdle the time before so we did what was best for her. That will be the same this year.

We will always do what's best for Honeysuckle. That's the number one thing. I suppose I will give you a bit of a scoop here, if we don't think that she is up to running to her best, she probably won't run full stop–she'll be retired. Kenny said that last year, that we were going to give her one more season but, if we don't feel she is up to doing herself justice, she is not going to be risked. She is too important to us. We are not going to risk her. We have to think that she will be up to running to her full ability if she runs again.

BS: Is Leopardstown D-Day in that, if she doesn't run right up to her best, she could be retired?

PM: That is a distinct possibility, yes. It's not about ducking competition. There are three scenarios. Number one is that she runs in the Champion Hurdle, number two is that she is retired and number three is that she goes for the Mares' Hurdle. The least likely scenario is that she would run in the Mares' Hurdle. That's where we are at with her. It's all about Honeysuckle. We are all dreaming and we really want to take on Constitution Hill. Nicky Henderson is a great friend and has been a wonderful supporter of mine. We've been slagging each other all summer and nothing would give me more pleasure than going out and beating Constitution Hill as I think he is a phenomenal horse. That's what we really want to do. But let's see what the next few weeks bring. Both horses have to get there in one piece.

BS: Kenny seems to be a great character. From saying he was extremely confident on Racing TV the evening before Honeysuckle won her first Champion Hurdle to being magnanimous in defeat after the Hatton's Grace, he is quite refreshing.

PM: He is genuinely a lovely guy and very down to earth. After Honeysuckle won the Champion Hurdle last season, he led her in with his shirt hanging out and the Racing Post rolled under his arm. I think some people had thought that some interloper had run into the winner's enclosure to lead Honeysuckle back in. But that's him–no airs or graces about him. I am very lucky to have met him and to be working for him.

BS: How did that relationship come about?

PM: The first time I met Kenny was at this kitchen table 12 or 14 years ago. He rang David Redvers around the same time Sheikh Fahad got involved. David told him that he was concentrating on the Flat but recommended that he come and visit us here at Rathmore Stud. He told me about his dream to breed top-class National Hunt horses and I told him he was nuts. I advised him to buy foals so at least he'd know what he was getting and therefore he could concentrate on the thing a little bit. The first thing we did was buy two National Hunt foals at the Tattersalls February Sale to pinhook together. We bought a Kalanisi (Ire) and a Flemensfirth.

At the time, we had been buying National Hunt foals to pinhook as yearlings but the National Hunt yearling market fell flat on its face. This was about the time when that happened. They cost 17 grand each and, when we brought them back to the November Sale, we couldn't get what we paid for either of them. Kenny must have been thinking, 'oh my God, what idiot am I after getting involved with?' I told him that we had two lovely horses on our hands but the National Hunt yearling market had gone. We kept them on as 3-year-olds and sold the Kalanisi privately. He paid for himself and the Flemensfirth and went on to be named Champagne Express (GB) for Nicky Henderson. He was a good horse. We brought the Flemensfirth to the Land Rover Sale, I think it was the first year I was working as an agent for Goffs, and he made 130 grand. We sold him again to Nicky Henderson and David Minton, funnily enough, and he turned out to be O O Seven (Ire). From thinking I was an eejit, Kenny must have suddenly thought that I was a genius, but maybe the truth was somewhere in the middle.

For the next few years after that, I was only doing bits and pieces for Kenny and I bought him a mare called Asturienne (GB) (Sleeping Car {Fr}) off Alan King. She was his first broodmare and ended up breeding his first black-type horse, Carrie Des Champs (Ire) (Robin Des Champs {Fr}), and she's also bred Doddiethegreat {Ire}) (Fame And Glory {GB}). Typical of Kenny, he named that horse after Doddie Weir and all of his prize money will go towards the Doddie Weir foundation for motor neurone disease.

It was five years ago when I went up to Kenny's box at Cheltenham. I'd noticed he'd started to spend a few quid through different agents, which was all fine, but he wasn't having any success. He'd given a lot of money for a few horses with no results. There was another bloodstock agent there that day chatting him up. He's actually a friend of mine and I've told him this story since and he laughs about it. But I kind of saw red a bit that day. I just felt that the whole thing was disorganised and that Kenny was going to get cheesed off with the whole thing because he'd things coming at him from every direction. It was just too disorganised.

When that bloodstock agent left the box, I pulled Kenny aside and told him that he needed to get somebody to pull it all together and organise it for him. I can tell you, I was not looking for the job myself because I had Rathmore, Qatar and Goffs to concentrate on. He asked me to do it and, after saying no a good few times, I rang my wife Sarah to see if she thought we could take it on or not, and we decided to give it a go. The following day, I was walking through the Cheltenham enclosure and met Henry and Heather de Bromhead. I invited them up to meet Kenny and they got on like a house on fire. We bought Sinoria (Ire) (Oscar {Ire}) at the Cheltenham sale that week and then we bought Honeysuckle the following month at the Goffs Punchestown Sale.

BS: It has snowballed, hasn't it?

PM: Yes, and the idea is to concentrate on well-bred National Hunt mares, which is why I had no interest in Honeysuckle initially because I didn't think her pedigree was good enough. The idea is that they go back to Kenny's stud as broodmares. With those mares, you might have to give a lot of money for them after they win their point-to-point but, if they stand on a nail in the morning, they still have a residual value whereas the geldings don't. There's a certain safety net.

BS: Halka Du Tabert (Fr) (Balko {Fr}) was impressive at Naas on Tuesday and looks another smart recruit for Kenny. What other running plans are there for over Christmas?

PM: She was very good and she'll go to Fairyhouse for the Solerina Mares Novice Hurdle next. We've a nice juvenile hurdler, Gala Marceau (Fr) (Galiway {GB}), who won a listed juvenile hurdle for fillies impressively at Auteuil. She's smart. Gauloise (Fr) (Samum {Ger}) is also back from injury and will hopefully run over the Christmas as well.

BS: And you must be sick of re-telling the story of how you came to buy Honeysuckle at this stage.

PM: Our scouts told us about how impressive she was in winning her point-to-point and, I'll have to be honest, I didn't even look at her race. I took one look at her pedigree and didn't think it was good enough. As a Goffs agent, I wanted to show support to the sale so I went down to look at her and she was a big, raw and narrow thing–she was like two boards slapped together. I thought, 'if she could win as impressively as they are all telling me that she won, she must be good.' I went and watched the race and she was unbelievable. I rang Henry and Kenny and told them that maybe we should reconsider her.

BS: Being by Sulamani she could go to any stallion, couldn't she? Have you thought that far ahead or do you want to get her racing career over and done with first?

PM: I have already talked to a stallion master. All you need to do is look at the National Hunt sales to figure out who she will be going to see. She's booked in to Walk In The Park, all going well. That's the plan.

BS: And what about Henry's role in the whole thing? I know that you are very close with him.

PM: I can remember the first time I met Henry and it's probably not far off 40 years ago when we were in school. I was in fifth year and I think he was in first year. I can remember that he had a pudding bowl haircut! I remember him because he was a de Bromhead and we all knew his father Harry as being a successful trainer. Henry was a cheeky little pup! We've always been friendly and, I've said before, great horses bring people together and between Honeysuckle, Sinoria, Minella Melody (Ire) (Flemensfirth), we've had huge success with the de Bromheads and have become closer and closer with them and the kids down through the years. They are such a lovely family. They are phenomenally strong people. I am full of admiration for them.

BS: What will the next few months entail with a view towards the Land Rover? A lot of work has gone into that sale in the last number of years and it's amazing how much the quality has risen as a result.

PM: There is a great team at Goffs and everyone is really enthusiastic. The first thing we did was target the horses. The year we sold O O Seven, we also had Tombstone (Ire) (Robin Des Champs {Fr}) in our draft and a lot of people at the time were asking me why I didn't have them in the Derby Sale. My attitude was, Eddie O'Leary, David Minton and Nicky Henderson were all at Goffs, so why would I need to go anywhere else. John Bleahan and I had a horse four or five years prior to that, Virginia Preuil (Fr) (Saint Preuil {Fr}), and we got €120,000 for him at the Land Rover. I think he was the first ever National Hunt store to make €100,000 or more at Goffs. So I had confidence that, if you had the right horse at Goffs, you were going to get well-paid for it. It took seven or eight years but slowly the confidence in the sale began to grow and people started to send better horses. The marketing team does a great job at getting the trainers and the agents in and the momentum has really grown.

BS: And obviously a huge amount of work went on behind the scenes to attract the American buyers to Goffs for the Orby and it told with the record-breaking trade. Could you see that sale developing further?

PM: A couple of years have passed since the Orby debacle at Doncaster and it was a debacle, it was an absolute disaster and nobody is denying that, so there was a lot of soul searching after it. A lot of Irish vendors were really good to us the following year and brought some lovely horses to the Orby to help revitalise it and it worked. It worked really well. This year was a step up again. The one thing people will say to you, and they said it when we were trying to build the Land Rover, is that traditionally, all the best horses have been sold at the Derby Sale or that, throughout history, all the best yearlings have been sold at Newmarket. My question is why? If the horses are in the Orby well then the buyers will come. It's an awful shame that millions of euros worth of yearlings pass the door at Goffs on their way up to the ferry every year. I believe there's no need for that. Since I have joined Goffs, I've sold everything there–at the Orby, Sportsman's and the Land Rover.

BS: The Goffs Million was reintroduced this year and I think people recognised that. Is there anything else in the pipeline or do you think they are gimmicks?

PM: I think gimmick would be an unfair word and those incentives are needed. Thinking outside the box is needed. Henry Beeby is such an enthusiast and such a hard worker. He's passionate about the whole game and is desperate to get the Orby where it should be. I've no doubt that there's going to be a lot thrown at the sale over the next five years.

BS: If you were to think big, look at how well a race like The Everest has been received in Australia. I'm not saying something like that would work here but I do think there's a bit of a disconnect between racing and bloodstock and the more we can fill in those blanks, it has to have a huge upside for the industry.

PM: Absolutely. When you mention Australia, I think that is where we need to look towards. I know they have a different funding model but one man I hugely admire, and what he did for Magic Millions and how they caught up on Inglis, is Gerry Harvey. He's done something that should be admired hugely and maybe even mimicked.

BS: And how do you view the future of Irish racing?

PM: With the way society is going and with the demonisation of gambling from certain sections, I think we need to be looking at different ways of funding the industry. I'm not sure if I am bright enough to figure it out but I think racecourses–with notable exceptions–are relying a little too much on media rights and not working hard enough on getting people through the turnstiles. There were suggestions that there might be racing behind closed doors in Britain not too long ago because it would be easier on the racecourse in question not to employ staff etc for punters on the track. I asked the question recently about what the GAA's main revenue stream was. It's people through the turnstiles. That's something we need to work on big time. If you look at Australia and the crowds that go racing and the atmosphere they can generate on course, I think it's something we need to try and emulate. The racetracks really need to work on this. I've a very good friend who doesn't have anything to do with racing and he asked me recently if our industry was totally reliant on gambling. When I told him it was, he made an interesting face, and that's the way society is going so we need to be aware of that. We really need to be actively thinking about different ways of funding the industry.

BS: And speaking about international jurisdictions, Sheikh Fahad has had heightened success in America this year.

PM: Fergus Galvin and Adrian Regan in Hunter Valley Farm have done a wonderful job. Sheikh Fahad has done a good bit of trading there recently as well. The likes of Ocean Road (Ire) (Australia {GB}), who was a high-class filly in England but goes over there and wins a Grade I. The prize-money over there is phenomenal and, when you win your Grade I over there, you can see what they are worth. She made $1.6 million at the sales. It's hard to argue with that model.

BS: And closer to home, can you tell me a bit more about Rathmore Stud? There is great history to this place.

PM: Apparently the first mention of us here is back in 1682–so we've been here a while! My grandfather William trained a couple himself. He'd a good horse Hill Of Camas and another called Timber Wolf, who I think won a Galway Plate. My grandmother owned Knight's Crest who my father rode to win the Irish Grand National when he was just 16 years' old. That was his first major win as a jockey. So there was Martin, my father, and his brother Tim, who won four Champion Hurdles in a row and I'm pretty certain he's the only person to have done that. He was crowned champion jockey five times in England and was actually left this place but decided to move to England and sold it to my father.

BS: Martin was arguably the greatest dual-purpose jockey of all time.

PM: He had already retired 13 or 14 years by the time I was born. He was only 26 when he retired and we couldn't really appreciate all that he achieved in the saddle but we certainly saw it here at home. He was gifted and was still riding 2-year-olds for me here when he was 75. People used to say to me that I was nuts to put him up but the answer was that he was much less likely to get a fall than anyone else. I think he was a horse whisperer. What he could do was phenomenal. The likes of Paul Carberry and Ruby Walsh, they have something, it's a gift. Horses just relax for them. You'd put my father up, aged 75, on a 2-year-old who'd been bucking and kicking and, as soon as he'd sit up on him, the horse would just relax. It was phenomenal to watch. He used to drive us mad as kids. He'd send us out to get a horse from the field and we'd be running around for an hour trying to catch it. He'd come out and, next thing, the horse would walk over to him. It used to drive us bonkers! He wasn't very generous with his talent–he didn't pass it on!

BS: I suppose we're seeing something similar with Rachael Blackmore in that horses seem to just run for her.

PM: When Rachael rode Honeysuckle to win the Grade 1 novice hurdle at Fairyhouse, Richard Pugh came up to me and told me that, in his reckoning, she was the first lightweight jockey to be as successful over jumps as my father was. Horses are so balanced under her and she's got a phenomenal tactical brain. I can't really compare her to my father because I never saw him ride in a race.

BS: Speaking of jockeys, a certain Oisin Murphy is back next year.

PM: Listen, he's a brilliant rider. He's stayed here a few times this year and we've gone around looking at breeze-up horses together and things like that. Please God he can keep on the straight and narrow and realise his full potential because he's a wonderful rider. He's seriously gifted.

BS: That famous Kieran Fallon anecdote from an interview with David Walsh comes to mind. He described Pat Smullen as being “the person who gives his whole life to the job to the best of his ability,” before adding, “no distractions. Great professionalism. I don't know how they do it. I've had my quirks. Pat has had his tractors.”

PM: Oisin is not alone in that a lot of supremely talented people, be that riders, footballers, musicians, actors, whatever, seem to have a bit of a kink. My father certainly had one. He was incredibly religious. It's about channeling their talent as best they can. Sheikh Fahad, David Redvers and Andrew Balding, they've all been unbelievably patient with him and he's got a great support team. It's up to him now to make the most of it.

The post ‘Honeysuckle More Likely To Be Retired Than Run In Mares’ Hurdle At Cheltenham’ appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

Record Cheltenham November Sale

Sales returned to Cheltenham Racecourse on Friday for the first time since the pandemic, and the Cheltenham November Sale produced record results. Fifty horses were sold for £4,288,500-a record for any select point-to-point sale–at an average of £85,770 and a clearance rate of 93%.

Topping trade was the 4-year-old Arctic Bresil (GB) (Blue Bresil {Fr}) (lot 28), who finished second in a highly regarded maiden point-to-point at Tattersalls Farm. He was bought by Gerry Hogan for £305,000. In total, 14 lots realised £100,000 or more from 12 individual buyers.

“This evening's sale was the first to be held alongside racing at Cheltenham since the onset of COVID-19 and the vibrancy and depth of trade has been remarkable, reaffirming the unique appeal of selling point-to-pointers at the home of British jumps racing,” said Tattersalls Head Of Sales Matthew Prior. “There has been a real sense of anticipation that has built towards the November meeting, and it was a pleasure to once again see many of the National Hunt fraternity out in force at the sale in recent days, which has been borne out in this evening's frenzied activity.

“No doubt the outstanding success of the Tattersalls Cheltenham graduates continues to drive this demand as witnessed by the nine Cheltenham Festival winners in 2021 alone. The Irish and British point-to-point handlers are at the heart of this success story and as ever we are indebted to them for once again supporting the sale with a catalogue of real quality.”

The post Record Cheltenham November Sale appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post