Clipper Logistics to Hold National Hunt Dispersal at Doncaster

The Goffs Spring HIT/PTP Sale, set to be held May 22-23 at Doncaster, will feature a dispersal of five National Hunt horses owned by Steve Parkin's Clipper Logistics, the operation that has enjoyed Grade 1 success over jumps with the likes of Morning Assembly (Ire) (Shantou) and Draconien (Fr) (Linda's Lad {GB}).

The five horses include the Henry de Bromhead-trained Mossy Fen Park (Ire) (Walk In The Park {Ire}), who was last seen filling the runner-up spot in a Grade 2 novice hurdle at Fairyhouse, finishing three places ahead of Pat Fahy's Champane Admiral (Ire) (Mount Nelson {GB}) who is also set to be sold.

The dispersal is completed by Western Diego (Ire) (Westerner {GB}) and Sporting Glory (Ire) (Fame And Glory {GB}), who finished third and fourth, respectively, in another Grade 2 novice hurdle at Fairyhouse's Easter Festival last time, plus Special Cadeau (GB) (Nathaniel {Ire}), runner-up in a Naas maiden hurdle on his most recent outing for Willie Mullins.

The annual Million In Mind dispersal also promises to be a highlight of the Spring Sale, which typically features a bumper offering of National Hunt horses-in-training and point-to-point graduates.

Entries are being taken until Friday, April 26, with the catalogue available online from Friday, May 3.

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Bidding Open For Fasig-Tipton Digital February Sale

Edited Press Release

Fasig-Tipton has catalogued 139 entries for its February Digital Sale, including phase one of the Ruis Racing LLC Dispersal. Entries may be viewed here and bidding is open now through Tuesday, Feb. 20, beginning at 2 PM ET.

“Fasig-Tipton Digital continues to gather momentum and traction with buyers and sellers, evidenced by the size and quality of this February Digital Sale catalogue,” said Leif Aaron, Fasig-Tipton Director of Digital Sales.

The catalogue includes horses of racing, breeding stock, a 2-year-old, and 22 yearlings.

Offerings include several recent winning and stakes-winning horses of racing age, a group of graded-stakes performing broodmare prospects and a current graded stakes producer in the dam of GIII Sam F. Davis winner No More Time (Not This Time).

Covering sires include Army Mule, Epicenter, Essential Quality, Flameaway, Golden Pal, Mitole, and Not This Time.

Also featured in the catalogue are breeding stock and yearlings from Phase One of the Dispersal of Ruis Racing LLC, which are consigned by Taylor Made Sales Agency. The Ruis Racing LLC entries consist of breeding stock and yearlings and all are selling without reserve.

The dispersal features several mares in foal to Bolt d'Oro, as well as Hard Spun, Lexitonian, and Mystic Guide. Sires of broodmares and broodmare prospects include Bolt d'Oro, Elusive Quality, Harlan's Holiday, Into Mischief, and Kingman (GB).

“Phase One of the Ruis Racing LLC Dispersal adds significant interest to this catalogue,” added Aaron.  “His program is truly unique in that it is a family operation that bred and trained their own horses and has had tremendous results doing so. Horses were raised and developed with one goal–to win the sport's biggest races.”

Phase Two of Ruis Racing LLC's Dispersal will be conducted in Fasig-Tipton's April Digital Sale, and includes horses of racing age, two-year-olds, and additional yearlings.

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After Lothenbach Dispersal, Pessin Looks To Regroup

For nearly 20 years, trainer Neil Pessin didn't have to worry about filling up his barn. His principal owner, Bob Lothenbach, kept sending horses his way. That included a Grade I winner in Bell's the One (Majesticperfection) and several useful allowance horses. Pessin was training a 22-horse stable and 19 of them were owned by Lothenbach.

“Bob was an excellent owner,” Pessin said. “He knew our field of expertise was training horses and his was the paper business. Anytime I asked for anything that involved the welfare of the horse he was on board for it.”

Everything changed in November when Lothenbach died suddenly at the age of 64. With the Lothenbach horses headed to a dispersal sale, Pessin was down to three horses and faced with the task of having to rebuild his stable, practically from scratch.

The only thing he knew for certain was that panicking was not the answer.

“I'm not nervous about my future,” Pessin said. “You can't worry about stuff you can't control. You just do what you can and hope for the best. I've learned that worrying doesn't do a whole lot except give me ulcers. Just take it in stride and see what happens. More people are worried about this than I am. We'll just see what happens. If an opportunity arises we'll take it. If it doesn't we'll see what the future holds. I'm not sure at the moment. Hopefully, we can survive. If not, we'll do something else.”

It doesn't look like Pessin will have to “do something else.” Out of the dispersal sale, which was done digitally by Fasig-Tipton, Pessin signed for five horses. They ranged in price from the $340,000 paid for Grade III stakes winner Happy American (Runhappy) to the $18,000 paid for maiden Hogslayers R I P (Union Rags). The horses will be owned by a five-member syndicate that Pessin put together in order to buy some horses out of the dispersal sale.

“Buying Happy American was pretty self explanatory,” he said. “There's a race coming up here at the Fair Grounds, the Mineshaft Stakes. The purse is $250,000 and the winner gets $150,000. He'll be one of the favorites. The $150,000 the winner will get would pay for almost half of him. He's worth it. He can compete in all the stakes around here. He can't beat the top horses, but if you spot him around he can be a very useful horse all year long.”

He also retained the gelding Kiss The Moon (Malibu Moon), who was bought by Anthony Spinazzola, who decided to keep the horse with Pessin.

That has left Pessin with nine horses.

The Lothenbach 2-year-olds will sell at OBS March.

“It's possible that I might buy some of the 2-year-olds,” he said. “If anyone is interested I'll go take a look at them. I bought 14 of them myself at the yearling sales. But if I don't have the money behind me to do it then I'm not going to be able to buy anything.”

He's had some feelers from owners interested in giving him horses and hopes some new horses will come his way from owners looking to compete at the Keeneland spring meet. But he's not going to go begging.

“I've never asked anybody for any horses and I'm not going to start now,” Pessin said. “Right now we have these five horses that we bought and three others in barn. I'll just have to go forward and see what happens. One way or another I'll be fine. You can't worry about what you can't change.”

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‘Start Of A New Legacy’ – Jetara Bids To Do Outstanding Family Proud At DRF

Gerry McGrath, breeder of Champion Hurdler Jezki (Ire) (Milan {GB}) and high-class performers Jett (Ire) (Flemensfirth), Jered (Ire) (Presenting {GB}), Jetson (Ire) (Oscar {Ire}) and Jenari (Ire) (Milan {GB}) all out of the outstanding broodmare La Noire (Ire) (Phardante {Fr}), has outlined hopes that the legacy can continue with leading Dublin Racing Festival contender Jetara (Ire) (Walk In The Park {Ire}).

A granddaughter of La Noire, the mare who was famously gifted to McGrath by his late father in the nineties, Jetara will take on the boys in the G1 Nathaniel Lacy & Partners Solicitors Novice Hurdle on Saturday and will arrive at Leopardstown in the form of her life after posting three wins on the trot. 

It was in 2020 when McGrath, 72, decided to offer the majority of his breeding and racing stock as part of a dispersal at Tattersalls Ireland. All bar the first foals out of each broodmare he owned were offered under the hammer and, once again, lady luck was on the breeder's side with the now Grade 1 aspirant Jetara one of the fillies he decided to retain. 

McGrath joked, “It's hard to get out of this game! It was a couple of years ago when Michael O'Leary said he was getting out but he still has plenty of horses. Basically, Jetara is the start of a new legacy, isn't she? If she stays safe, she is going to continue on the line.”

There is a common theme with McGrath's horses. They all begin with the letter J and, for the most part, they have been trained by Jessica Harrington. 

McGrath may well have felt that the final chapters of his famous association with the La Noire family had been written after the dispersal of less than four years ago which makes Jetara's emergence as a top-notch prospect all the sweeter.

“I hope that the best may still be to come with Jetara,” he explained. “She was superb in a Grade 3 at Leopardstown the last day and Jessica says that she will be even better on a nicer surface. We will see how Saturday goes but we will probably skip Cheltenham and target Fairyhouse and Punchestown, although that will be Jessica's decision.”

He added on his association with Harrington, “She is fantastic. Jessica is straight-talking and you know exactly where you stand with her. She always does the best she can by you and, what she has gone through last year, she is as strong as an ox. Nothing keeps her down.”

What makes McGrath's achievements even more mind-boggling is the fact that, prior to being gifted the amazing foundation mare La Noire, he had no knowledge about breeding or racing horses. Nobody could accuse him for being asleep at the wheel with Jezki's memorable Champion Hurdle performance in the colours of JP McManus last decade put forward as an obvious highlight.

He said, “Jezki winning the Champion Hurdle was an amazing day. And it's funny, you know, everybody knows the horse but they don't know his name. They call him jet ski. He was named after my daughters Kim and Zoe. So, as usual, we start off with the J, and added in the Z for Zoe and the K for Kim.”

It may be common practice in some jurisdictions for a horse's name to begin with a certain letter depending on when they were born. However, in this case, the naming of the steeds is once again down to nothing but pure superstition. 

McGrath explained, “Well, the mother was La Noire, which translates to black, and I just thought when you think of black, you think jet black. The first one beginning with the letter J was successful and, given we are a very superstitious crowd, we kept it going.”

He added, “I wasn't born into horses. My Dad was big into the breeding but he used to give away the fillies and race the boys. I was out helping him in the yard one day and he told me he was about to give La Noire away but asked me if I wanted her first. It was purely timing, otherwise somebody else would have owned La Noire. I hadn't a clue about breeding but learned as I went along. I knew what I had and I knew what I hoped to produce. One and one doesn't always make two and, even when you think you have the perfect formula, it doesn't work that way with breeding. But luck has been on our side. La Noire was so prolific. I must also say that Coolmore have been a great help to me.”

Having carried McGrath's colours for the early stages of his career, Jezki was sold to JP McManus, for whom he sported the famous green and gold hoops of the legendary owner when out-battling My Tent Or Yours (Ire) (Desert Prince {Ire}) in the 2014 Champion Hurdle. Similarly to Jezki, two more siblings, Jenari and Jered, were sold mid-career to McManus, and McGrath revealed that Jetara will probably change hands at some point in the near future such is the need to keep the wheels turning. 

He said, “Jetara reminds me so much of Jezki. The way she jumps and travels is similar to him and, you know, she's probably a roomier mare to La Noire so she should make a very good broodmare down the line. I don't have an interest in breeding anymore so, if somebody does come in for this filly, there is a likelihood that she will be sold. It has to make some business sense.”

He added, “When we had the dispersal, I decided to keep the first foal out of each of the mares. I kept Jetara in the hope that she'd be good and thank God that luck has been on my side again. We also have Jekiki (Ire) (Soldier Of Fortune {Ire}) in training. She is out of Jeree (Ire) (Flemensfirth), who hasn't produced anything of note yet, but she has a lovely four-year-old by Order Of St George (Ire) who is in Jessica's and is apparently showing the right signs. Do you want to know what he is going to be called? Jerrari. Like Ferrari, only with a J in front of it. Now, he's not red, but hopefully he's as fast as one!”

It's not just the naming of McGrath's horses that have captured the imagination down through the years. His bright orange colours, which can be seen from outer space, are just as synonymous as the names. 

“I am a bit of an artist so I drew up some blank colours and started colouring them in to see what worked. Orange and black works nicely so, when it came to getting the colours made up, I had two types of orange to choose from. I went with the bright fluorescent orange. You can see the colours through the fog. 

“But it's funny, they say racing is the sport of kings. Well what town in Ireland do you associate kings with? Tara. Say no more!”

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