Tag: Ciaran Dunne

‘Grammer’ Lessons–Part I

DUBAI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES — Brooke Hubbard remembers the 2018 Keeneland September Sale almost as if it happened yesterday.

A little past the midway point of the sixth day of bidding in Lexington, hip 1683–a colt from the first crop of Tonalist and offered by Dermot and Emma Quinn's Garrencasey Sales–walked into the back ring and immediately caught Hubbard's attention. A few minutes and $60,000 later, the May 11 foal was hers.

“I bid twice and I was looking around thinking, 'Oh, my gosh, I must have missed something that someone else saw or noticed,'” Hubbard recollected. “But overall, he was just a really nice-shaped horse. His legs, he had good angles and he had a little pot-belly, but you could see the raw shape underneath it all.”

The immature, young and unrefined racehorse she'd plucked out of the sale on behalf of Sayjay Racing's Steve Young, now named Country Grammer, can become North America's first $20-million racehorse should he successfully defend his title at Meydan Racecourse this Saturday.

Making the Short 'List'

To call any son or daughter of Tapit a surprise package would be a bit of a stretch, but Tonalist proved to be one of the more versatile gallopers in recent memory. Winner of the GII Peter Pan S. at a mile and an eighth in May 2014, the Shel Evans homebred successfully stretched out to 12 furlongs to annex the GI Belmont S. and closed the campaign victoriously in the GI Jockey Club Gold Cup over a mile and two furlongs.

A razor-sharp winner of the one-mile GIII Westchester H. on his 4-year-old debut, he was third to his fellow future Lane's End stallion barnmates Honor Code and Liam's Map in the GI Whitney S. before joining the likes of Slew o'Gold, Creme Fraiche, Skip Away and Curlin as back-to-back winners of the Gold Cup. Following a fifth behind American Pharoah in the 2015 GI Breeders' Cup Classic, Tonalist earned an all-important Grade I at eight panels in the Cigar Mile H.

Hubbard was more than willing to roll the dice on the son of the Forestry mare Arabian Song, whose female family includes Juddmonte luminaries such as Group 1 winner Etoile Montante (Miswaki), her MGSW daughter Starformer (Dynaformer), GISW Obligatory (Curlin) and MGSW/MGISP Bonny South (Munnings).

“I liked the idea of Tonalist as a first-crop sire, and I looked at a couple,” Hubbard said. “I don't generally just try to cherry-pick stallions. I just look at everything and what looks athletic and has a shape to it. When I saw him, I had followed up another Tonalist the day before, got outbid, went back to [the Arabian Song colt] and I thought he was a nicer physical than the one the day before.”

Neither was she put off by the colt's foaling date.

“I generally like to find a little bit later horses, just because we don't care about waiting on him and starting them a little bit later,” Hubbard said. “I remember talking to the consignor after I got him and she was asking about our plans.”

Seller's Remorse?

Though she had previously bought horses to race for Sayjay–including three-time Grade III winner Blended Citizen (Proud Citizen) in whom she was a partner–the Tonalist colt was bought as a potential horse for the 2-year-old sales and was turned over to Wavertree Stables' Ciaran Dunne.

“Right from the get-go, [Dunne] liked him,” she said. “I remember in December, he called me and he told me, 'The belly's gone. He's starting to shoot up and he's growing all the right ways. It was truthfully about December or January that he just looked like he was already maturing, which was surprising for a May foal, but yeah, he never missed a beat. We waited until April to sell him only to give him a little bit more time, but when I went there in March, I remember I was there with Neil Drysdale and there was a couple of other guys. We all pulled him out and everyone said the same thing, 'Wow, that's a nice two-turn horse.' At that time, I was pretty excited to continue with selling him in April.

She continued, “I looked at [the colt] in March when I went out [to Ocala], and Ciaran was raving about him,” she recollected. “I'm like, 'Well, we're going to continue with the sale. When I got back, [Steve Young] looked at me and he said, “This isn't a Grade I winner, is it?” I looked at him. I'm like, 'You never know.' When he went back up for sale, I tried to get him back interested and he said, 'Well, we already made money. Let's just watch him with his career.'”

The colt advertised himself at the breeze show for the OBS April Sale, covering a quarter-mile in :21 flat, even if the clocking was not entirely his selling point.

“The way he moved was all at the one pace and effortless,” Hubbard said. “It obviously showed that he was going to be a horse that could cover distance.”

And that he certainly has.

Pete Bradley would go on to give $450,000 for the colt–that part of the story will appear in this space in Thursday's TDN.

Hubbard will be thirty-some thousand feet over the country, destination Ocala, when the World Cup jumps around 12:35 Saturday afternoon.

“He looks good in there. That's for sure,” she said. “We're excited to watch him. I'll be on a plane back to Florida, but I'll definitely still be keeping in touch with that.”

If her fellow passengers experience any clear-air turbulence, they might not want to point a finger at the pilot.

 

 

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Dew Sweepers On Track For July Sale

When Jack Goldthorpe and Ciaran Dunne came up with the Dew Sweepers partnership, the plan was always to buy yearlings, try and get them to Royal Ascot, and then sell them all in the Fasig-Tipton July Horses of All Ages Sale. On Monday, the final step of their plan will go into action when seven juveniles go through the ring in a complete dispersal through the Grovendale Sales consignment.

“Ciaran went to Royal Ascot last year and said, 'Goldie, this was some sort of fun. We've got to do it.' I said, 'Sounds good. How are we gonna do it,” Goldthorpe said. “The plan was to buy yearlings and try our damnedest to get one to Royal Ascot and, at the end of Royal Ascot, take these horses to the sale. It was a different style pinhook. We were going to race them as opposed to blowing them down the lane [in a 2-year-old sale]. We were going to race them, show what we have and give them to a trainer that doesn't beat them up, Rusty Arnold. That way, there's a lot of meat left on the bones when somebody else wants to come by them.”

Dew Sweepers not only got one horse to Royal Ascot, they got two, Late September (Munnings) (Hip 550) and Grand Oak (Ire) (Speightstown) (Hip 521). A well-beaten fourth after hopping at the start of his main track debut at Keeneland Apr. 20, Late September earned his diploma next out on dirt at Churchill exactly one month later. Sent across the pond, the $60,000 KEESEP buy failed to fire when trying the grass at Royal Ascot, finishing 17th in the G2 Coventry S. June 14.

Grand Oak checked in second when unveiled on the dirt at Keeneland Apr. 21 and wired the field for a 4 1/4-length graduation when switched to the lawn at Churchill May 20, the same day Late September broke his maiden. Unfortunately, the $105,000 KEESEP purchase did not fair much better than her stablemate at the Royal meeting, checking in 18th in the G2 Queen Mary S. June 15.

Despite those poor finishes, the Dew Sweepers thoroughly enjoyed their Royal Ascot experience, according to Goldthorpe.

“It was awesome, even though the horses ran like shit,” the founder of Lexington Equine Insurance said. “We had a blast and we checked the box. The partners were like, 'Wow, what an experience.' We have to give a lot of credit to Royal Ascot. They treated us like we brought Secretariat over there. They rolled out to red carpet. They are so happy to have the Americans come over there and participate in their greatest show on Earth. It made us feel great.”

The Dew Sweepers is comprised of six partners and they made a total investment of around $700,000. They acquired seven yearlings, four fillies and three colts, shopping at both Keeneland and Tattersalls.

In addition to Late September and Grand Oak, their dispersal includes:

  • Tituba (Good Magic) (Hip 437), filly, $125,000 KEESEP yrl, unraced
  • Alcazaba (Ire) (Tamayuz {GB}) (Hip 455), colt, 40,000 gns TATOCT yrl, a maiden of two starts
  • Buttons (Twirling Candy) (Hip 474), filly, $110,000 KEESEP yrl, won on debut on grass at Indiana June 28
  • Castle Rising (GB) (Showcasing {GB}) (Hip 480), colt, 58,000 gns TATOCT yrl, unraced
  • Just a Care (Ire) (Australia {GB}) (Hip 542), filly, 105,000 gns TATOCT yrl, fifth in lone start on turf at Belmont June 30

“These horse can take the new owner to Royal Ascot next year; to Kentucky Downs and run for all that money; or they can take them to the Breeders Cup,” Goldthorpe said. “That gives them an opportunity and I think they will bring a pretty good bunch of money because of that.”

As a complete dispersal, all seven juveniles will be there to sell, as per the partnership's contract.

“This was in a contract, that they will all disperse in July,” Goldthrope said. “This was the first time trying it. Some are regretting that we have the July end date and some are happy that we do and we completed the task as the contract set. Now will we adjust it for next year? We will probably tweak it a little bit. The success was giving us second thought. There are more races left in these horses and we knew there would be. I didn't know what kind of quality we would have, but we've got a quality bunch of horses going over there.”

Just because this first class of purchases is set to sell, does not mean the Dew Sweepers are done. They plan to be active at the yearling sales again this fall.

“We will be buying horses, absolutely,” said Goldthorpe. “Whether we buy them and point towards Ascot or something else. Maybe a few bottles of wine and a dinner will decide that. We're going to be invested in the game. The partners had so much fun. This not their last venture. There were some veterans in there that had to share, but for the most part, these were new people in an effort to get them excited about the game. And let me tell you, they are excited! We're not going to let them go. We're going to buy horses. We're going to sell horses. We're going to race horses, even may venture into a mare or two for the guys whose wives want to see babies being born. So it's just a very close-knit group of guys that are financially stable enough to play the game. We got lucky to put them all together and have success the first year. You won't see the end of the Dew Sweepers!”

The Fasig-Tipton Horses of All Ages Sale kicks off Monday at 3 p.m. and will include both racehorses and broodmares. It will be followed by the Fasig-Tipton July Yearling Sale Tuesday.

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Coolmore Lands $1.1M Justify Colt at Gulfstream

Agent Jamie McCalmont, bidding on behalf of Coolmore's MV Magnier, went to $1.1 million to land a regally bred son of Triple Crown winner Justify Wednesday afternoon at the Fasig-Tipton Gulfstream Sale. Out of GISW juvenile Appealing Zophie (Successful Appeal), hip 84 is half to three stakes horses (and two more producers), including fellow GI Belmont S. winner and freshman sire Tapwrit (Tapit). The Apr. 20 foal was a $290,000 Fasig Saratoga buyback bred by Barronstown Stud. He was consigned by Ciaran Dunne's Wavertree Stables and breezed in :10 flat. McCalmont signed on Magnier's behalf for the $2.6-million Nyquist topper at last year's Gulfstream sale.

 

 

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Uncle Mo Colt Sets Furlong Mark at Gulfstream Breeze Show

HALLANDALE BEACH, FL – The under-tack show for the Fasig-Tipton Gulfstream Sale of Selected 2-Year-Olds in Training was held under picture-perfect blue skies and temperatures in the 70s Monday in South Florida.

“I thought the under-tack show went exceptionally well,” Fasig-Tipton President Boyd Browning said at the conclusion of Monday's fourth and final set of works. “The conditions were very consistent for all the horses, from start to finish. There were some very impressive works, both visually and time-wise. It looked like the horses were moving very well over the racetrack.”

A colt by Uncle Mo (hip 96) turned in the day's fastest furlong work–and fastest ever in the seven-year history of the Gulfstream auction–when covering the distance in :9 3/5. The juvenile is out of Brusquer (Elusive Quality), who is a half-sister to Tapit, and is consigned by Ciaran Dunne's Wavertree Stables.

“We knew the horse was going to go really well,” Dunne said of the work. “All of the stars had to align for him to go really good and hit the wire just right. But if ever a horse had a chance to do it, it was probably going to be him. He is a big, beautiful horse and he's advertised himself as a pretty special horse all year.”

Hip 96 was bred by Barouche Stud and was purchased privately by Dunne after he RNA'd for $385,000 at last year's Keeneland September sale.

“We liked everything about him,” Dunne said of the yearling's appeal. “He is a stunning horse physically. He is not the most effusive of walkers, which is why we own him. With his pedigree and the way he stands up, if he was a big, long-walking horse, we wouldn't have gotten near him. When people buy in September, they have 30 seconds to make their minds up and they are looking for reasons for no. Whereas, in Book 1, we look for reasons for yes. We make an excuse here or there and he had enough pluses to outweigh the one negative, which was his walk. He still can't walk. But luckily enough, today they didn't time him walking up there.”

Wavertree had a powerful showing at last year's Gulfstream sale, selling two of the three million-dollar offerings, including the $2.6-million topper.

“We had a really good sale last year,” Dunne said with a smile. “I think it's a really good group this year. When you have a really large number like we have, there are always going to be disappointments on breeze day. But overall, we were happy. There were one or two we thought might have gone a jump quicker than they did, but they are big, two-turn horses who are bred to go long. That's what people are coming here for. They want big, two-turn horses. The Uncle Mo is that kind of horse and he still went that fast, but for the most part, two-turn horses don't have that kind of speed. I think here they see through that a little bit. So for me, that's the beauty of being here.”

A pair of juveniles shared Monday's second-fastest furlong time of :9 4/5. First to hit that mark was a colt by City of Light (hip 100) consigned by Top Line Sales (video) and the time was matched just minutes later by a colt by Nyquist (hip 62) from the Classic Bloodstock consignment (video).

Eight juveniles worked a quarter-mile Monday, with all but one of them coming from Tom McCrocklin's consignment. A filly from the first crop of Bolt d'Oro (hip 48) was just the second to work Monday and earned the day's bullet when working in :20 2/5. The juvenile, out of Rich Love (Not For Love), is consigned by McCrocklin on behalf of Solana Beach Sales.

McCrocklin purchased the filly on behalf of Solana Beach for $85,000 at last year's Keeneland September sale, but she was a horse that the operation was well aware of beforehand. The pinhooking division of Little Red Feather purchased Rich Love, with the Bolt d'Oro filly in utero, for $70,000 at the 2020 Keeneland January sale and, as part of a foal share agreement, sold her as a weanling for $80,000 at that year's Keeneland November sale.

“We did a broodmare pinhooking partnership,” explained Solana Beach's Billy Koch. “And [Rich Love] was part of that group. It was funny because I remember being at the yearling sale and Tom said, 'I really like this filly.' I said, 'I think that's the filly we sold.' And he said, 'Yeah. And we're going to buy her back.'”

Koch continued, “Tom really gets all the credit and he's been high on her right from the start.”

Of the filly's bullet breeze, which was another fastest-ever time for the Gulfstream sale, Koch added, “Truthfully, Tom has been so high on her that we had such high expectations and she even exceeded those. He has been saying that she is a very special filly. Every time she breezes, we get a text, 'This is real serious.' So expectations were high, so it was not a surprise, but it was a surprise just how awesome it was.”

Bolt d'Oro got off to a huge start at the 2-year-old sales with the OBS March sale two weeks ago where his offerings were led by a $900,000 colt.

“Bolt d'Oro was really popular and sold well,” Koch said. “His horses are good–he's stamping them and they are fast and athletic and strong. They have all the attributes you want in a good racehorse. This filly, you can look at her now and it doesn't even look like she did anything. And she has a great mind.”

Hip 48 will be the only Gulfstream offering from Solana Beach, but Koch may be active on the other side of the leger.

“We came down here to sell and maybe do a little buying,” he said. “We are going to enjoy the next couple of days and hopefully the right people will be around and she'll get it done. It's all her and Tom. We're just along for the ride.”

The juvenile sales season opened with a competitive market at the OBS March sale and expectations are for those results to continue at Gulfstream Wednesday.

“I think it will be a very strong market,” Browning said. “But every 2-year-old sale that I've ever attended has been selective where you have to get through several of the hurdles. They have to have a solid enough work in terms of time, they have to have the video and they have to get through the X-ray process. Overall, I think there is a lot of interest and a lot of enthusiasm for quality horses. There was very good attendance here today amongst the buying bench. So I think it will be a very, very solid and competitive sale, particularly for what are perceived to be the quality offerings. For those horses that miss, it will be tough for them to bring the prices that the consignors are going to be happy with to let them go at this point because they still have options.”

Dunne agreed demand would be high for the right offerings.

“I think that on a dirt surface that they have some history on, I think the buyers can sort out the wheat from the chaff,” Dunne said. “And I think if you have a good horse here, you're going to  be rewarded. And if you just miss, it will be no different than any other year. You'll miss by a lot.”

From a catalogue of just 103 juveniles, 32 horses were already withdrawn from the auction Monday evening. Several high-profile consignors are missing from the slimmed down catalogue, leading Dunne to quip, “I guess they just didn't have anything good enough to come here with.”

Asked about the long-term viability of the Gulfstream sale, Browning said, “Right now our focus is to do the very best job we can for the men and women who are here with horses in the sale. Our goal is to have the best 2-year-old sale we've ever had on Wednesday. And we are going to do everything in our power to make that happen. That's our focus. You adjust and evaluate your sales plans every year, but right now our focus is on the exceptional horses that we have on the sales grounds here.”

After a day of showing Tuesday, the Fasig-Tipton Gulfstream sale will be held Wednesday in the track's paddock with bidding scheduled to begin at 2 p.m.

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