Classic-winning owner Phil Cunningham has said that linking up with renowned bloodstock agent Anthony Bromley to secure nearly £1 million worth of yearlings in the past week alone can be viewed as a statement of intent ahead of what the 53-year-old hopes will be his best season yet in 2024.
Cunningham, whose Cockney Rebel (Ire) landed a memorable Guineas double in 2007, spent £617,000 on seven colts at the Goffs Premier Yearling Sale last week and added another five to the squad through the Highflyer agent at the Tattersalls Somerville Sale on Tuesday to the tune of 303,000gns.
Never has the owner been so strong at the yearling sales and he opened up about how he hopes his revamped approach to sourcing two-year-old talent for private trainer Richard Spencer can reap rich dividends next season.
He said, “This is the strongest that I have gone personally. I just wanted to give it a good go. All of the yearlings we bought are colts and hopefully they make good two-year-olds. That was the remit with Anthony. We're looking to get them running early.
“All seven of the colts we bought at Doncaster are already up in Adam Kirby's being broken in so hopefully we'll get them going early. We used to do all of the pre-training ourselves previously but Adam has proved that he is doing a fantastic job and I am a little more focussed now on putting things in the right places and not cutting corners.
“I'm really excited about next season. We will be moving on some of our older horses in October and are trying to put together a strong team for next year.”
Asked how the link up with Bromley came about and if getting the ace agent on board could be viewed as a statement of intent, he added, “Very much so. Anthony lives fairly local to us and his son Ben sometimes comes in and rides work. It's amazing the amount of compliments we have received about the partnership with Anthony.
“The groundwork he puts in is phenomenal and he is a pleasure to work with. Obviously he is renowned for his achievements in National Hunt racing but he has enjoyed some amazing success from probably a more limited budget on the Flat. It's exciting to give him the opportunity to put together a team for us.”
That's not to say that Bromley expected to be shelling out close to £1 million on 12 yearlings on behalf of Cunningham after the pair first met over a drink at Cheltenham earlier this year.
“I told him to have a look and try and buy us a few of those 'cheap ones' at the sales,” Cunningham recalled.
“As we got closer to the sales, I told him the budget I had in mind, which I think he was quite surprised about. He cracked on and it was always the intention to spend in the region of what we spent.”
Top of Cunningham's shopping list was a Mehmas (Ire) colt purchased from Tally-Ho Stud at Doncaster for £145,000. Indeed, that was not the first time Cunningham has been wooed by one of the renowned stud farm's draft at Doncaster.
Just last year, Cunningham broke his own record for the most expensive yearling he has ever bought when snapping up Fool's Gold (Ire) (Galileo Gold {GB}) from Tally-Ho at Doncaster for £170,000.
That colt put in an impressive performance to win a Windor maiden on Monday evening and bigger things are expected given he holds Group 1 entries later in the season.
But the operation has changed dramatically in just a short space of time. Whereas 12 months ago, Spencer was in charge of the buying, the breaking in and the training of the horses, Cunningham has made a decision to delegate some of those important roles to masters of their own craft. That's where Bromley and Kirby have come into play.
“It's just too much for one man to do,” Cunningham explained. “Anthony very much wanted Richard involved in the buying as he is going to be the person training the horses but they very much did it as a partnership.
“When people move into ownership, it's amazing how many want to cut corners and I've possibly been guilty of it in the past. I don't have 200 boxes, I've 50, and if I could have them all rated in the 90s, that would be a dream.
“It doesn't obviously happen like that, but, to give ourselves the best chance, we've got to have the right people doing all of the important jobs [buying, breaking in and training].”
Cunningham's passion for racehorse ownership burns just as bright as it did when he bought Cockney Rebel at Doncaster back in 2005 for just £30,000. The CEO of a major insurance company, DCL, Cunningham has also enjoyed notable success with Rumble Inthejungle (Ire) and Rajasinghe (Ire), but describes himself as bewildered over the lack of support the latter has received from breeders.
He said, “It's been hard work. Richard has done most of it [by sending out the lion's share of the winners by Rajasinghe]. There is a new team at The National Stud and, off the back of that, he covered his largest book of 45 this year. I tried to stand Cockney Rebel and that was very limited with regards to success. I said that I wouldn't do it again after that but I definitely won't do it again after Rajasinghe.”
He added, “If Rajasinghe had been with one of the Tally-Ho Studs of this world, he would have covered 150 mares and, who knows, he could have been leading first-season sire. The level of improvement that he has put into my own mares is phenomenal.
“Hopefully it continues. He needs a big horse but he needs a bit more support as well. The amazing thing is, I thought people wanted fast horses. I'll never understand the breeding game. He stands at three thousand pounds and people aren't using him. It's a head-scratcher for me why he hasn't been more popular.”
Cockney Rebel sparked what Cunningham has no problem admitting is a hobby that got out of hand but he's relishing the position he finds himself in and looks forward to the future with a galaxy of young stars to dream about at Sefton Lodge.
He said, “Poor Cockney died last year. I have his ashes in the house. When I bought Cockney Rebel for 30,000gns, I didn't even have the money to pay for him. In fact, I don't think I paid for him until after Christmas, which is crazy. That gives you an insight as to where I was back then. I've been very, very lucky in business since then and started from scratch. We now turn over over one hundred and sixty million a year and are one of the largest fleet insurers in the UK.”
He added, “The business has helped me fund my lifetime passion but I have seen many, many people come into this game, get heavily involved and then withdraw from it.
“I have always lived within my means and have been lucky enough to have invested in the right things at the right time. I'm 53 now and am at a stage in my life where I can enjoy it with my family-my son loves racing and my Dad loves racing. Apart from Tottenham Hotspur, it's the one common passion that I have with my Dad, and I'm in a privileged position to organise a few days out for us, hopefully.”
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