A New Look Ringfort Stud? Derek Veitch Announces Mating Plans 

Derek Veitch, famous for producing Group 1-winning sprinter Minzaal (Ire) and high-class runners Threat (Ire), Miss Amulet (Ire), Ubettabelieveit (Ire) and Indigo Lady (Ire), has outlined his intention to dramatically scale back his broodmare band to 15 or less at his Ringfort Stud base in County Offaly this year. 

The move will come as a surprise to many, given the Rhode-based Veitch has just enjoyed his greatest year as a breeder after Minzaal scorched the Haydock turf when landing the G1 Sprint Cup, not least his wife Gay, who is taking a 'believe it when she sees it' approach to the decision. 

“He was one of the nicest foals we've sold for a long time. He could be a Derby or St Leger type of horse. That's what he was bred to be and the vibes that I am getting back on him are really good,” – Derek Veitch.

However, Veitch is concentrating on diversifying the Ringfort Stud brand, and explained how his decision has been made in the knowledge that none of his three kids have any desire to continue the famous breeding operation. 

He explained, “This year is slightly different for us because we've had a transition of assets over the past four years and it finishes this year in December 2023. I was 65 last weekend and the plan has been to cut back a lot. We started this plan five years ago so, what we will be doing this year will be the same as every other, in that we will foal down a good number of mares and get them back in foal. But, in June or July, things will be very different in that we are going to aim a lot of mares at sales and we will have a big reduction in the size of the farm and try to take things a little bit easier.”

He added, “We have three kids and none of them have any interest in the farm. We have to plan for the next 20 to 25 years without the kids coming in as a support structure on the farm. There's no point structuring the place so that it stays the same or possibly gets even bigger. We are trying to restructure and get to a point where we'd probably sell the farm to get to a small acreage. We could retire into that and not be what we are for the past 20 years. That's a big change. We've been here 22 years and have done nothing but expand since we got here.”

Many of the Ringfort mares are owned in partnership, meaning they will be offered at public auction, although no concrete plans have been made as to what sales they will be entered up at. While revealing mating plans to TDN Europe ahead of what promises to be another busy breeding season, Veitch explained how he could turn his hand to pinhooking foals or possibly racing horses in the future. 

He said, “I don't know if you can time a group of mares to be at their best to go to the sales but it's a necessary evil so that we can get to where we want to go and not still be killing myself working when I'm 75. The plan is to make things more manageable. In a way, that affords us to consolidate and concentrate on quality. It's also an opportunity to diversify into racing ownership a little bit more and to foal pinhooking rather than just breeding. We could run a slightly different business model and reinvent the Ringfort image. That's what we're trying to do this year. It will be more of a surprise to people, even Gay, if I actually do it. They don't think it's in my nature.

“They think I need to work to live. The plan is to try and balance the rest and relaxation element of life and emphasise that a lot more than the work end of it, which has been a necessity to get three kids through college and through private school. We had to work hard but we don't have to do that anymore if we reduce our number. Our partnership mares will go to the sales to be sold and there's a bunch who can't be sold because they're too old or if they have veterinary issues. Then there's younger mares who are unexposed and are maybe starting to breed this year. They could stay around for the next few years. That's the plan anyway.”

Asked how he feels stepping off the wheel, Veitch said, “I'd loved to have stepped off it at 21 and lived the high life but you can't do that. The idea of getting up at half six in the morning having been up all night foaling mares and then working all day, it's not appealing anymore, the whole novelty of that has worn off. As I said, we don't need to do it anymore because the kids have got their own jobs.”

The important milestone achieved with Minzaal, who Veitch intends to support with three or four mares during his debut season at Derrinstown Stud, helped fulfil a lifelong ambition for the breeder which Gay believes will help with the decision to scale back on the operation. 

She said, “You have to remember, Derek has to be doing something different otherwise he's bored. He's bred his Group 1 winner and he always said that he would breed until he got a Group 1 winner. Now that he has it, I suppose he can turn his hand to something else. He reinvents himself.”

Derek added, “Winning the race was a big thing but, being there on that particular day was unique because, nine times out of ten, it happens to be when we're sitting at home watching it on the television. It was lovely to be there on the day.”

And they have their daughter to thank for being there. With no intention of making the trip to Haydock for the race, a last-minute plan was hatched to support their superstar graduate, and boy was it worth it. 

Gay explained, “We were just lucky because our daughter lives in Manchester and she phoned to ask us what we were doing at the weekend. Derek was going to Newmarket for the Somerville Sale anyway, and my daughter asked did we know that Manchester was only half an hour away. She told us to get on a flight and come racing. It was pure fluke and was literally organised at the last minute.”

Derek added, “It was a nice fluke. It's a wee memory that is important about the whole thing and justifies getting up at night, rearing and bringing a foal to auction. It's an interesting journey and the story continues 50 minutes away from here at Derrinstown Stud. He seems to be popular and he's going to get plenty of mares so, if he is fertile, he could be a successful sire. He's had over 300 mare applications but they are limiting him to 175. We have three mares that will visit him.

“Rocana (GB) (Fastnet Rock {Aus}), the dam of Youth Spirit (Ire) (Camelot {GB}), who won the Chester Vase will visit Minzaal. She is the dam of a nice Australia (GB) colt who is in training with James Ferguson as well. I'd say that Australia horse is a dark one for this year and we're looking forward to seeing him run. I'd say he's a Group horse. He was one of the nicest foals we've sold for a long time. He could be a Derby or St Leger type of horse. That's what he was bred to be and the vibes that I am getting back on him are really good.”

He continued, “The other mares booked in to Minzaal are Shenoya (Fr) (Zoffany {Ire}) and Aunt Bee (Ire) (Australia {GB}). Shenoya is a young mare and her first foal was by Gleneagles (Ire) and we sold her to Cathy Grassick and she is gone into training with Joseph O'Brien. The second foal was by Ghaiyyath (Ire) and we sold her to Tally-Ho Stud for €130,000. We liked her a lot. She could be an Oaks filly. Aunt Bee is a stakes-placed mare and in foal to Bated Breath (GB). That will be her first foal. We've a mare in partnership with Corduff Stud, Boo Boo Bear (Ire) (Almutawakel I {GB}), and she will go to him as well.”

Along with Minzaal, Ringfort will support a nice blend of up-and-coming and proven stallions, with Baaeed, Sea The Stars, Ghaiyyath and Mehmas featuring on the list. 

Veitch said, “Coolminx (Ire) (One Cool Cat) will go to Baaeed (GB). She has a very nice Cracksman (GB) called Madly Truly (Ire), who I sold to Brendan Holland of Grove Stud for 95,000gns, but she subsequently sold to Joseph O'Brien and Justin Casse at Book 1 for 410,000gns. She's won her maiden at Naas and is well-regarded. She's a big filly and is very much a three-year-old. David Redvers bought the two-year-old by Profitable (Ire) for 65,000gns and she's one who could rock and roll in early June. She was bought to be a fast, precocious two-year-old and that's what she is. Coolminx is the dam of Fearby (Ire) (Havana Gold {Ire}), a nice horse we bred.

We haven't made any plan for the dam of Minzaal, Pardoven (Ire) (Clodovil {Ire}), who is in foal to Mehmas {Ire}). She is not due until April so we are going to see how she foals down. If everything is okay, we'll consider something for her rather than resting her for the year. There's a very nice mare called Daring Diva (GB) (Dansili {GB}), who has a big page. We sold the Violence filly out of her for €190,000 to Niall Brennan, who is a very good breeze-up man, so she could be a lovely breeze-up filly. He will do well with her. Daring Diva is the dam of Brooch (Empire Maker), who is the dam of Mandaloun (Into Mischief), the new Juddmonte stallion. It's a classy pedigree and Violence is an exciting stallion in America. We haven't organised who she will visit yet.” 

He added, “Woven Lace (GB) (Hard Spun) is in foal to Ghaiyyath and is almost ready to foal. She's going to Camelot. Like A Charm (Fr) (Charm Spirit {Ire}) is in foal to Zarak (Fr) and will go to Mehmas. La Australiana (Australia), the dam of the Kitten's Joy colt we sold to WH Bloodstock for 130,000gns last year, is in foal to Starman (GB) and is going to Kodiac (GB). We've a breeding right in Kodiac. 

African Moonlight is also worth a mention. She is the dam of Anmaat (Ire) (Awtaad {Ire}), a good horse for Owen Burrows last year, and her yearling filly by Kodiac was bought by John Dance for 300,000gns. She's a nice filly and we're looking forward to her. That mare is in foal to Palace Pier and will go to Sea The Stars (Ire). There's another mare in foal to Violence, who we bought in America, and her name is Air Cavalry (Air Force Blue). She's going to see Earthlight (Ire). I think that will be a good covering for her.

Indigo Lady (GB) (Sir Percy {GB}) has been very lucky for us in partnership with our friend Paul Hancock. She produced Indie Angel (Ire) (Dark Angel {Ire}), a winner at Royal Ascot. Indigo Lady is in foal to Dark Angel so she is carrying a full brother or sister to Indie Angel. She's going to Ghaiyyath this year.”

Not only is Ringfort's faith in Ghaiyyath notable, but the fact that the majority of the mares breeding on the farm were sourced for relatively small fees is another trend to emerge. The best example of that is Flare Of Firelight (Birdstone), the dam of Threat, who Veitch picked up for just 9,000gns in 2014 before selling privately to Juddmonte for a great deal more. Veitch may be winding down his operation this year, but he is not afraid to share some of the advice that has helped him grow his empire. 

He explained, “A workable number is ten mares. There's always two or three barren mares and you might only get four or five foals. Of those foals, you'd be lucky to get one or two that would ring a bell at the sales so, to make it pay, year on year, you need that sort of number. If you go below that number, it's never practical. You'd do better out of it by just buying the foals that you want at the sales. 

He added, “For me, it's never about the produce record of the dam at the time, but more about where she is. If she's in a good hotel and has been well-covered, then something will happen. I wouldn't buy a filly unless she has a very good third and fourth dam. It has to have great depth. But I would rather buy the 54-rated or the unraced filly out of a nice mare who was rated 100 plus or had minor black-type. That's the sort of thing that turns me on when I open the page.”

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Ringfort’s Fast Track To Success

DONCASTER, UK—Against a backdrop that would have been neither envisaged nor desired, the 2020 Flat may have had a hesitant start with a drastically reduced number of participants, but the wheels have at least kept turning, which in turn has allowed some sort of momentum to be continued in the sales ring.

We’ve had Royal Ascot at York, so why not the Orby Sale at Doncaster? While the transfer from Ireland to Britain of the Tattersalls Ireland September Sale, and the Goffs Sportsman’s and Orby Sales will have cost Irish vendors dear, it is an extra expense worth bearing considering the other option would have been for those sales not to have taken place at all. 

Breeder and consignor Derek Veitch is likely to look more favourably on Yorkshire than most this year as it is the county which has been the scene for three Group 2 triumphs this season for juvenile graduates of his Ringfort Stud in County Offaly. First came the triumph of Miss Amulet (Ire) (Sir Prancealot {GB}) in the Lowther S., 24 hours before Minzaal (Ire) (Mehmas {Ire}) landed the Gimcrack S. at York’s Ebor meeting. The following month it was the turn of Ubettabelieveit (Ire) (Kodiac {GB}) to strike in the Flying Childers S. on the racecourse directly alongside the Goffs UK sales ground, the temporary host of this week’s Orby Sale.

“It’s a great leveller, the way everything is at the moment,” says Veitch at the sales ground on Monday. 

Coronavirus has not been the only upsetting element to this year for Veitch and his wife Gay, who lost their great friend and neighbour Pat Smullen a fortnight ago.

He continues, “On the racing front it has been fantastic for us and internally we are quite excited about some of those horses. We don’t think they are just this year’s horses—hopefully they are going to go forward a wee bit and that’s exciting. There are some nice, unexposed horses out there, too, from that same crop, and I think they are interesting. We’re very happy with that side of things, but life is a great leveller.”

With a reasonable number of potential buyers already in situ in Doncaster ahead of the start of what would normally be Ireland’s premier yearling sale on Wednesday, Veitch sounds a note of cautious optimism ahead of a key few weeks for the European sector. 

He says, “Everybody has been resolved to the idea that the sales have had to happen here [in the UK] and I have actually been pleasantly surprised as to how well the Ascot and Fairyhouse sales went. The [Goffs UK] Premier Sale here was okay but if you think back it was the first yearling sale and everyone was a bit sceptical about how it would go, but I think at the end of the day a drop of 30% was acceptable. It certainly has not got any worse for the last few sales.”

He adds, “There are some lovely horses here so I think it is going to be a really good test of the top end of the market and the higher tier of the commercial market.”

Veitch will know his fate relatively early at Doncaster as his three Orby yearlings all feature on the first day. He then has another nine to offer at the Tattersalls October Sale. The season started well for Ringfort Stud, which topped the relocated Tattersalls Ascot Yearling Sale with a daughter of Darley’s first-season sire Profitable (Ire) and was also among the top lots with Miss Amulet’s half-sister from the first crop of Yeomanstown Stud’s young son of Scat Daddy, El Kabeir. 

Profitable features again in the Ringfort drafts for Goffs and Tattersalls. At the Orby, his daughter out of the nine-time winner Emperors Pearl (Ire) (Holy Roman Emperor {Ire}) is catalogued as lot 134.

On the subject of her sire Profitable, Veitch says, “We’ve had a few of them and they are very workmanlike, practical horses with good minds. When they go into a trainer’s yard they will come out and do their work and then go in and go back to bed. I don’t know whether they’ve any ability—we’ll only find out when they come out on the track—but they’ve all the criteria you need in a horse starting out at this stage. He has enough soldiers, enough quality in terms of the individuals, they’ve great minds and they are muscularly mature horses, which is a good thing, so I think they are practical 2-year-olds, not necessarily all 3-year-olds. He could be the Mehmas of next year. There’s nothing about the horse that puts me off.”

Ringfort Stud, as the breeder of Minzaal, has of course played its part in the success story of Tally-Ho Stud resident Mehmas, who is odds-on to be this season’s champion freshman sire. Minzaal, now owned by Sheikh Hamdan, followed his Gimcrack victory with a third-place finish in Saturday’s G1 Juddmonte Middle Park S. behind another son of Mehmas, the winner Supremacy (Ire). Minzaal’s relaxed demeanour at a blustery Rowley Mile certainly gave him the appearance of a horse who is as mentally equipped as he is physically to have a successful racing career beyond this season, and this is one of the traits which particularly endears Veitch to youngsters that come through his hands.

“There are certain parameters that I don’t like in horses but you never really know what their heads and their hearts are like until you put them under pressure in the last two furlongs at 40mph,” he says. “Reticence is the only thing I really don’t like in a horse. Give me a hardy, tough horse who wants to do his work. I think reticence gets you nowhere, either in life or as a racehorse.”

He casts his mind back to the younger days of this season’s Flying Childers winner, whom he sold to Roger Marley and John Cullinan of Church Farm & Horse Park Stud at Book 1 last year for 50,000gns.

He says, “You take Ubettabelieveit: when he gets up in the morning he has his sleeves rolled up and he wants to get out of his box. He knows he’s there for a reason, and that’s to eat, but once he’s eaten and he’s had a sleep, everything else is about being outside. That’s pretty typical of Kodiacs. You can see it in their eyes, all they want to do is get out there and work and that’s why they’re good racehorses. They have a great mental attitude to their work and that’s why they’re so practical for so many trainers. You couldn’t see that when this horse [Kodiac] retired: fourth in a Group 1, won a Group 3, good page, but he was ordinary looking when he was retiring, though now everybody sees him as premier division for what he’s done, and for upgrading his mares. And I think that’s what I’d like everybody to understand: every first-season sire has to start off somewhere but I’d like them start off with 85 mares and see them prove themselves. I don’t like to see them start off with 170 mares.”

For the Veitch family, the trio of group winners this summer followed victory in last season’s Gimcrack S. with Threat (Ire) (Footstepsinthesand {GB}), whose dam Flare Of Firelight is represented in Tattersalls October Book 1 by her Galileo Gold (GB) yearling filly.

Veitch says, “We breed a lot of winners, but they are not all headlines horses, and that’s the difference this year, we’ve had three Group 2 horses within five or six weeks. People notice that, but they don’t necessarily notice that you breed 60 winners every year—that small winner in America or Spain—but if you breed a group winner at Doncaster or York, that’s what’s noticed, and long may it last.”

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That’s More Like It, as Tattersalls Ascot Posts Gains

NEWMARKET, UK-Every cloud has a silver lining, even one as black and pervasive as this accursed pandemic. And the transfer of the Tattersalls Ascot Yearling Sale from its eponymous base to the headquarters of its parent brand, as part of an emergency revamping of the yearling sales calendar, worked so well on Monday that conceivably it might prove tempting to make the relocation permanent.

On the other hand, prospectors will go anywhere for the right animal. Mouse O’Ryan put it well. “You can sell a good horse at a crossroads,” the agent said. “You tell us where it is, we’ll make it our business to get there.”

Certainly there were other valid factors in play, besides the congenial setting.

Though only in its fourth year, this auction had momentum of its own through the racetrack endeavours of its graduates, notably group winners at Glorious Goodwood and the Ebor Meeting this summer acquired for a combined £22,500.

Nor was it too demanding to build on that success from such a low base, with both the character and cost of the stock holding appeal even to trainers who may find themselves shorter of orders than usual.
All that said, it felt like no mean feat–especially after those bruising opening skirmishes at Doncaster last week–even to tread water in terms of the average, never mind actually to advance it.

Conversion was required to compare this sale with 2019, one having traded in guineas and the other in sterling. But the indices were very positive: the average up 13%, from £10,684 to the equivalent of £12,110; and the median up five% to an effective £8,400 from £8,000. A much-expanded catalogue, however, was the principal driver to turnover soaring all the way up to £2,458,418 from £1,356,850.
Last year, three lots made £40,000 or more; this time round, selling with “the extra shilling”, there were eight that realized 40,000gns and above. Even allowing for the extra 90 lots into the ring, that ratio suggests the quality has more than kept step.

In a week when so many professionals are prospecting bigger sales at Deauville and Lexington, just the sheer bustle about the place was heartening. Remember that yearling vendors had embarked on the sales season in a spirit of grim pragmatism, an 84% clearance rate at Doncaster indicating a willingness to cut losses and start over. A similar outlook here appeared to be reflected in just seven scratchings from 257 catalogued, quite apart from another healthy ratio of 81% finding new homes.

The thrust of business can be judged from the fact that a son of Ribchester (Ire), winner of four Group 1 prizes over a mile, was announced from the rostrum as being by “a Mill Reef winner.” It remains to be seen whether demand can keep up with so much supply across that commercial, sharp ‘n’ early sector. For now, however, there will be plenty of people out there willing to welcome any sign of resilience at any level of the market.

“We have witnessed robust trade throughout the day, and it is hugely pleasing to see gains made across the board,” said Matt Prior, Head of Tattersalls Ascot. “Vendors have noticeably increased the quality on offer and have been rewarded with both strong domestic and international participation.

“Our thanks go to Tattersalls for accommodating the sale at its headquarters in Park Paddocks, along with Great British Racing International, who have assisted in the promotion and airport transfers for those travelling from farther afield. We look forward to charting the progress of this year’s graduates, from a sale that goes from strength to strength.”

Congratulations to Prior not only on a sale that gave fresh confidence to a nervous market, but also on the birth of his first child, James, safely delivered by wife Amanda only at the weekend. A time of new hope all round.

Ringfort Continues Profitable Run

The poster girl for last year’s sale was Miss Amulet, winner of the G2 Sky Bet Lowther S. at York after being picked up for just £7,500, and her half-sister by El Kabeir duly featured in the top echelon here when sold as lot 143 for 45,000gns. But she was only the second leg of a productive quarter-hour for her breeder Derek Veitch of Ringfort Stud, who had just realized the top price of the day of 58,000gns for a Profitable (Ire) filly presented as lot 135.

Veitch was self-deprecating enough to remind the press that he had written off both Miss Amulet herself (a €1,000 Goffs November pinhook as a foal) and her dam Sheena’s Dream (Ire) (Oasis Dream {GB}) for virtually nothing last year. But to make six figures from two lots here is consistent with the rare skills that produced a second Group 2 winner within 24 hours at the Ebor meeting, through Minzaal (Ire) (Mehmas {Ire}) in the Al Basti Equiworld Gimcrack S.; never mind that Veitch had bred the winner of that race last year as well, in Threat (Ire) (Footstepsinthesand {GB}).

The Profitable filly actually shares a second dam with Minzaal, and it is a productive family overall. Her mother is sibling to four black-type operators, while the third dam produced two elite-placed foals in Polar Bear (GB) (Polar Falcon) and Dance To The Top (GB) (Sadler’s Wells).

“The pick of what we’ve seen,” said Kevin Ross, who signed the docket on behalf of Paul and Clare Rooney. “I thought she was a lovely filly. The sire’s stamping his stock, we bought one at Doncaster as well, and this was a lovely walker. We like a nice athlete, and she has a lovely temperament too.”

Though a May foal, Veitch expects her to be the more forward of the pair. “I felt the Profitable was going down best, she was getting the better interviews and comments,” he said. “And she did look a queen up here: it wouldn’t have mattered what sale she was at, she’d have stood out. She looks a May, June sort, whereas the other one will need a bit more time. But she’ll have residual value for sure, and if Miss Amulet wins the Cheveley Park she’ll be worth a lot more than that.”

Potentially, indeed, the El Kabeir filly could prove well bought even if she were never to race, and Michael Bell was duly gratified to secure her–through son Nick–on behalf of Chris Wright. After all, despite her cheap export to Italy here last December, Sheena’s Dream is out of a half-sister to GI Arlington Million winner Mill Native (Exclusive Native) and French Classic runner-up French Stress (Sham).

“Chris is a longstanding owner, and he’s got a stud farm, so we’re delighted,” Bell said. “Annoyingly, we did look at Miss Amulet last year but didn’t buy her. I must admit I have precious little recollection of doing so, but I know we looked at all the grey fillies. And I do know this is a bigger individual. I bought an El Kabeir at Doncaster as well, so I’m putting a few eggs in his basket.”

Wright’s “grey filly” formula has worked at this sale in the past, notably through listed winner Flippa The Strippa (Ire) (Outstrip {GB}), a £10,000 graduate of the 2018 edition.

“It’s great for Tattersalls, the way this sale has expanded,” Veitch remarked. “I thought it might go backwards, with those numbers, by diluting it. But actually I think the horses have stepped up. Big vendors who are at all the other sales are supporting it, and I think that’s a sign the sale’s going the right way.”

As for Ringfort’s own remarkable month, he said with a grin: “Somebody might think I know what I’m doing soon! This here was a great few minutes–a magic few minutes, in the current climate.”

Kildangan Pair in Demand

It was Michael Donohoe of BBA Ireland who found Miss Amulet last year, and he returned to the well for lot 166, a 40,000gns Profitable colt consigned by WH Bloodstock. In the process he added to the laurels of the sale-topper’s young sire, whose first yearlings must work off a fee of €12,000.

“There are a couple of nice Profitables in the sale, and I think he has a chance,” said Donohoe, who was operating for a Middle-Eastern client. “This one was certainly a nice physical, a lovely individual. He has the premiums so he may well end up in France, he looks like he could be an early sort for there.”

Profitable will certainly live up to his name if he can match his Kildangan buddy Night Of Thunder (Ire). The way he is going, Night Of Thunder is threatening to become a rarity at this level, and Joe Foley was duly delighted to pick up his daughter out of a winning Singspiel (Ire) mare for 44,000gns as lot 93.

Foley, acting for Clipper Logistics, reiterated his admiration for Singspiel as a broodmare sire, citing the prolific Suedois (Fr) (Le Havre {Ire}) as well as Lady Kaya (Ire), the Classic runner-up by Ballyhane’s own Dandy Man (Ire).

This was Foley’s first visit to the sale, but he was one who felt he would have been equally likely to attend at the usual venue. “Nice horses have been coming out of it every year,” he said. “So we thought we had better come and take a look.”

Night Of Thunder also stoked up the embers of the session when Mark Grant gave 42,000gns for a colt (lot 254) out of an unraced Pivotal (GB) mare to prep for the breeze-ups. “That’s a great cross: I love a Pivotal mare and the sire’s on fire,” Grant said. “I’ve been waiting all day for this one, he’s a lovely horse. We did well with a Night Of Thunder last year, but I didn’t think I’d be able to get another one.”

Rookie Sires All the Way

Predictably enough, other new sires contributed to the higher yields of the day. One was Ardad (Ire), whose daughter out of a young, unraced Poet’s Voice (GB) mare made 43,000gns from Peter and Ross Doyle as lot 105.

Consigned by Britton House Stud, she brought a strong page: most conspicuous, among other brisk performers, being her granddam’s half-brother, champion sprinter Sakhee’s Secret (GB) (Sakhee).

“Nice, racy filly who fits the bill physically for us,” declared Ross Doyle. “She has a good bit of size to her and a good, tough attitude, and that nice back pedigree too. We like the Ardads. He was a well-bred horse, and fast, and it’s a good sign when you see a first-season sire stamping his stock.”

Pick of the early trade, meanwhile, had been the Cotai Glory (GB) colt sold to Robson Aguiar for 40,000gns as lot 36 through Owenstown Stud. “He’s a very strong colt,” said the breeze-up pinhooker. “We’re here looking for Ascot horses and he looks the right kind.”

This is the first foal of the stakes-placed Island Vision (Ire) (Arcano {Ire}) and John Tuthill was delighted for the client who owns her. Tuthill reports that the farm’s star mare Choose Me (Ire) (Choisir {Aus}), dam of Persuasive (Ire) (Dark Angel {Ire}), has a full-brother to that Group 1 winner heading to Book I here next month. “He’s a strong, good-looking colt,” he said. “My big dream.”

A World of Encouragement

The last word goes to Mouse O’Ryan, who caught the upbeat mood of proceedings after giving 47,000gns late in the day for a January colt by another young sire in Mondialiste (Ire), consigned as lot 225 by Norris Bloodstock. The dam is also just getting started, but her mother is G2 German 1000 Guineas winner Penny’s Gift (GB) (Tobougg {Ire}).

“Lovely horse,” said the agent, who was acting for Richard Fahey. “Really sold himself, and you have to give the sire a chance: he was a very good racehorse, and a very good-looking one too. Trade is good. I think trade at every sale since lockdown has been good. The clearance rate is high, and the breeze-up men are reinvesting, which is great. People are realistic. They want to get business done. This is a great game to defy anything that’s going on in the world. People are very resilient. Long may it continue.”

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