Charlie Gordon-Watson | Horse Racing Free Tips

Godolphin Draft Dominates Opening Day Of Tattersalls July Sale

The Tattersalls July Sale got off to a strong start on the opening day with a strong Godolphin draft dominating proceedings with four of the top five prices on a day that saw 15 lots selling for 100,000 guineas or more. The clearance for the day was a remarkable 93 percent and the turnover of 5,952,100 guineas has been bettered only twice on the opening day of this fixture.

The Godolphin draft is always a highlight of the Tattersalls July Sale and this year's renewal was no exception with the well-bred Aureum topping the session at 220,000 guineas. Tom Goff of Blandford Bloodstock made the winning bid and revealed:

“She has been bought for an established owner-breeder client of ours. She has a fantastic page, and she made a lot of money as a yearling. She is a lovely, lovely mare, the sister was top top class over here and she is in-foal to a great stallion.

“We knew she wasn't going to be given away here, the entire draft has some stand-out mares. She is quality, and fingers crossed she carries a good foal and is a successful broodmare, which she has been bought to be.”

The daughter of Medaglia d'Oro was sold in foal to Invincible Spirit and is a half-sister to the Group 3 City of York Stakes winner Nemoralia, placed in the Group 1 Coronation Stakes, the Grade 1 Frizette Stakes and the Grade 1 Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf.

The second lot to realize 200,000 guineas or more on the opening day was the Shamardal mare Excellent View who was knocked down to Charlie Gordon-Watson for 200,000 guineas. The Barton Sales consigned mare was sold in foal to exciting young sire Mehmas and with a filly foal by the record-breaking stallion at foot.

Barton Stud's managing director Tom Blain commented:

“She is a smashing mare, she had a lovely Mehmas foal at foot who is a good example of what she is carrying, and in this sale she stood out a bit. The foal is good and she has got a blacktype runner this year. She was sold for a good Irish client and I am delighted for them.”

Excellent View's first foal is the high-class Acclamation gelding Mutaraffa, runner up in the listed Dubai Dash and fourth in the Group 3 Nad Al Sheba Turf Sprint this year. She is out of the listed Empress Stakes winner Pearl Grey and her sale crowned a successful few minutes for Barton Sales, who had sold Tianadargent for 100,000 guineas two lots previously. The full-sister to the Group 2 winner and Group 1 placed Restiadargent was also offered in foal to Mehmas and was knocked down to Alex Elliott.

Howson & Houldsworth Bloodstock's Matt Houldsworth was another to secure one of the top priced Godolphin mares when he went to 160,000 guineas to land Birdwatcher. The 4-year-old daughter of Uncle Mo is out of the U.S. Grade 3 winner Bizzy Caroline, a half-sister to the five-time Grade 1 winner Lady Eli, and was offered in foal to the four-time Group 1 winning sprinter Blue Point.

Houldsworth commented: “I thought she was a very good physical and obviously she cost a lot of money as a yearling. She's got a good covering too, I'm a big fan of Blue Point, and it's a lovely, deep family as well. Hopefully she can be a nice mare going forward. She's heading to America.”

The 30-lot strong Godolphin draft realied a total of 1,522,700 guineas at an average of 50,757 guineas.

The Tattersalls July Sale continues on Thursday, July 8, with the morning session starting at 9:30 a.m. and the evening session commencing at 5:15pm.

The post Godolphin Draft Dominates Opening Day Of Tattersalls July Sale appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post

First Black-Type Winner For Galileo Gold As Ebro River Strikes

Coming off a five-furlong Doncaster novice win May 15, Al Shaqab Racing's Ebro River (Ire) gave his first-season sire Galileo Gold (GB) (Paco Boy {Ire}) a first black-type success with an impressive display in Thursday's Listed National S. at Sandown. Missing the break as he had done on his first two starts, the Hugo Palmer-trained chestnut who was one of his sire's more expensive yearlings when selling for 75,000gns at the Tattersalls October Yearling Sale Book 2 quickly recovered to track the pace against the rail. In front approaching the furlong pole, the 4-1 shot veered left across the track soon after but was firmly in command and after being straightened registered a 3 1/4-length success from the positively-ridden Little Earl (Ire) (Havana Gold {Ire}). “It was a little bit messy, but he's super-talented,” jockey James Doyle said. “He is tricky, there's no getting away from that, as he does have that trademark of just running around a bit when he gets there. He's got a good turn of foot and he can put himself in front quite quickly. I don't think six will be a problem.”

Trainer Hugo Palmer said, “He's looked very smart from the first day he came in. He's obviously still a bit babyish and has a few crinkles to iron out–how we do that, I'm not sure. I'm not sure which race at [Royal] Ascot yet, he wouldn't be able to give away four lengths in the Norfolk like he did tonight. He'll be fine on any ground and it isn't a surprise he's so precocious–Galileo Gold would have won at two in April if he had an owner, but I still had him. This horse will get a mile in time, but we'll gradually step him up as the season progresses. He's got some growing up to do.”

The dam, whose yearling filly is by Mehmas (Ire) and who also has a filly foal by Inns of Court (Ire), is a half to the Listed Flame of Tara S. third Key Rose (Ire) (Key of Luck) and to the dam of the G1 Diamond Jubilee S., G1 July Cup and G2 QIPCO British Champions Sprint S.-winning sire Slade Power (Ire) (Dutch Art {GB}).

Thursday, Sandown, Britain
CORAL 'BEATEN BY A LENGTH' NATIONAL S.-Listed, £25,500, Sandown, 5-27, 2yo, 5f 10yT, 1:05.24, sf.
1–EBRO RIVER (IRE), 129, c, 2, by Galileo Gold (GB)
1st Dam: Soft Power (Ire), by Balmont
2nd Dam: Rumuz (Ire), by Marju (Ire)
3rd Dam: Balqis, by Advocator
1ST BLACK-TYPE WIN. (75,000gns Ylg '20 TATOCT). O-Al Shaqab Racing; B-Tally-Ho Stud (IRE); T-Hugo Palmer; J-James Doyle. £14,461. Lifetime Record: 3-2-0-0, $25,673.
2–Little Earl (Ire), 129, c, 2, Havana Gold (Ire)–Majestic Alexander (Ire), by Bushranger (Ire). (£115,000 Ylg '20 GOFFUK). O-Mrs Fitri Hay; B-Mount Armstrong Stud (IRE); T-Robert Cowell. £5,483.
3–Navello (GB), 129, c, 2, Ivawood (Ire)–Caprella (GB), by Kheleyf. O-Ms Fiona Carmichael & Mrs Evelyn Yates; B-Mrs Evelyn Yates & Westward Bloodstock Ltd (GB); T-George Boughey. £2,744.
Margins: 3 1/4, 3/4, NK. Odds: 4.00, 18.00, 2.00.
Also Ran: Fabiosa (GB), Bond Chairman (GB), Chipotle (GB), Hotline Bling (Ire). Scratched: Choux (Ire). Click for the Racing Post result.

The post First Black-Type Winner For Galileo Gold As Ebro River Strikes appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

TDN Q&A With Will Douglass

With the yearling sales now in full swing, TDN quizzes industry figures on past purchases, life during lockdown and their perspective on the sales over the next few weeks. Today, Will Douglass answers our questions.

TDN: What was your best yearling purchase over the last few years? And your favourite?

WD: I bought two fillies with Al Wasmiyah Stud called Traisha (Ire) (Invincible Spirit {Ire}) and Dhabyah (GB) (Australia {GB}). Traisha has been listed and Group 3-placed and holds an entry in the G1 British Champions Fillies and Mares S. on Champions Day. Dhabyah won her first start and then was just beaten on her second start, but William Haggas had been encouraging about her so I hope she can take another step forward. Al Wasmiyah is owned by two brothers from Qatar, Ali and Mohamed Bin Hamad, and they are developing a strong broodmare band.

My favourite yearling purchase would be Wet Sail (Henrythenavigator) who I bought with Charlie Fellowes in 2013. He was the first horse we bought together in his first year of training. He was pretty good and after winning his maiden was sold to stay in the yard for a new owner and went to the GI Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf. He was a flag bearer early on which got both of our names out there.

I purchased Peniaphobia (Ire) (Dandy Man {Ire}) as a horse in training early in my career and he went on to a win a Group 1, multiple group races, be champion sprinter and win over £3.3 million in prize money in Hong Kong. He really helped my business grow over there and put my name on the map.

TDN: Are there any positive you have taken from how the sales have been conducted this year?

WD: I think the market correcting itself is overdue, particularly in the UK. I hope that with the market being down it might encourage people that have otherwise been scared off by the sums of money that yearlings cost to reconsider; perhaps we will get a few new people coming in over the next year or two. We are very lucky to have one of the best resale markets in the world and everyone wants our product, which is a very positive selling point to give to new people. Regardless of the Covid-19 situation that we are faced with people seem to have so much passion for racing and the market has been fairly resilient so far to a level. I think the top level will always hold up, much like it does in the art or property market.

TDN: How has your business adapted?

WD: We have kept in touch with clients as much as possible and already use WhatsApp and Zoom, etc. As we have not been travelling so much we have had more time to look into finding new clients and potential opportunities in the market. It is hard not being able to travel to places and meet people face-to-face which we do a lot of but everyone is in the same boat and it is a situation we all have to make the best of. The online bidding process is something that has to be done in the current climate, but a lot of owners come to the sales for the theatre of it and I fear that will be lost if online takes over and it will be to the detriment of the sales in the long term.

TDN: In general what are your thoughts on the 2020 yearling catalogues? And what new stallions’ progeny are you most looking forward to?

WD: The catalogues this year are as strong as ever and it is probably a fantastic opportunity for someone new into racing and breeding to buy top-level bloodstock. I think the Great British Bonus is a good incentive to buy British-bred fillies and I hope that will help the British breeding industry in the long term.

Postponed (Ire) was a horse Charlie bought as a yearling and I am looking forward to seeing his first yearlings. He was a brilliant horse, who was a very good-looking yearling with substance and power.

I was really impressed with the yearlings by Almanzor (Fr) at Arqana; I thought they were good-looking horses with quality. Profitable (Ire) is another whose yearlings I have liked and being a son of Invincible Spirit (Ire), who is proving to be a sire of sires, he would be quite high on my list.

TDN: Did you develop any new interests or hobbies during lockdown?

WD: I very much enjoyed gardening and cooking. I was also lucky enough to be able to play a lot of tennis and have endless walks with my wife, Katie. She works very hard in London normally, so it was very special for us to both be in the same place for more than a few days at a time.

TDN: Who is the most interesting person you know?

WD: Jassim Al Ghazali has been a pretty fascinating person to work for. He was a professional footballer, then has started one of the biggest car dealerships in Qatar whilst taking the racing scene there by storm. He has been champion trainer a number of times. He works so incredibly hard, when he comes over to buy horses to take back to Qatar the work he has done on the sale beforehand is quite staggering. He writes every horse’s form out on their pedigree page in Arabic so he can process it quickly at the sale. It shows how dedicated you have to be to get to the top. On top of this he has a son who rides at Olympic showjumping level in Qatar and presents on their racing channel and a son who is rivaling him in the trainer’s championship. He is Qatar’s version of Aidan O’Brien. He has also been a great client and support to me over the years.

TDN: What’s one mistake (if any) you made in your career, and what did you learn from it?

WD: I have probably made more than one mistake. I did bid on the wrong horse once at the Tattersalls Autumn Horses in Training Sale. It was late in the day and I was bidding on two horses very close together; there were withdrawals between the two lots and having bought the first one and signing the ticket I slightly lost track. Without looking I panicked thinking I was going to miss my next one and started bidding. Luckily I realised my error before it was too late. Lesson learned and I now always double and triple check my catalogue to the board before I bid.

I think the key for someone young is to have a client that puts confidence and trust in you and listens to your judgement and gives you some free rein. Working that way I feel is one of the best ways to have success and it teaches you a lot in a short space of time.

The post TDN Q&A With Will Douglass appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post