The award recognises Irish men and women who have forged successful careers in the bloodstock industry worldwide, and its recipients to date have included those working in Australia and America. Bowe didn't fly too far afield, though he did serve a stint in the States early in his career. For more than a quarter of a century he has been based just across the water in England, with the last 22 years spent as manager of Jeff Smith's Littleton Stud in Hampshire.

“I was humbled, absolutely blown away, the fact that I was chosen, especially when you think about all the previous recipients,” he adds. “I can't understand why, but it's just wonderful to be acknowledged by the ITBA, being an Irishman. Well, it's phenomenal, absolutely, I couldn't ask for better.”

He may not be able to understand why but plenty of people who have worked with Bowe over the years can vouch for the skills and horsemanship that put him in the running for such an award. The video of tributes shown on the night included one from Bill Dwan, who said, “He's an absolute gentleman. I don't know anyone in the business who has a bad word to say about him. It's not ever about David; it's about the horses, it's about Jeff.”

Smith himself said, “Year by year he has improved the stud from what it was.”

Growing up partaking in all the usual pony endeavours during his schooldays, Bowe's real education began in a nursery famed not just for its equine graduates but for plenty of two-legged graduates as well.

“I went to Coolmore from school and didn't come home,” Bowe says. “I think my father hoped I was going to go on to academia but it was never going to happen.

“Coolmore was just the best training academy in the world. If you rose to the occasion, they let you and enabled you to do everything. So they sent me to America, and I came back from America and ended up managing Abbeyleix estate for Lord de Vesci for five years.”

Bowe eventually found himself in England, with his early time there spent working at the National Stud and at Longholes Stud in the days of the Hon. John Lambton when it still stood the stallions Komaite and Wolfhound.

“And then I came to Littleton Stud and met Jeff Smith,” he continues, “and really, I guess, all the graft and work I did previously at Coolmore and Abbeyleix and in America, I was able to put it into practice here. Jeff is a unique man. He's probably going to be the most influential person I've ever met, in that he enabled me to be able to go and do what I've been lucky enough to do. It's been brilliant.”

Smith is of an increasingly rare breed of owner-breeders running a select operation. He is loyal to his trainers, many of whom have had horses for him for decades, and he races his homebreds, which are supplemented from time to time by the odd foal purchase.

On top of his regular stud management duties, Bowe has been key to this element of the Littleton operation in selecting the foals at the sales, and with some notable success, headed by the four-time Group 1 winner Alcohol Free (Ire). The daughter of No Nay Never was bought from her breeder Churchtown House Stud for €40,000 and was resold following her four-year-old season for 5.4 million gns at the Tattersalls December Mares Sale. 

“We had land here, we had staff, and sometimes we came up short on numbers, so Jeff let me go off and buy a few. It's going back a long time ago now, but the first horse we bought as a foal was called Dream Eater. He did very well for us,” says Bowe of the son of Night Shift who was a Listed winner and was placed eight times in Group races, including finishing third in the G1 Queen Anne S. behind Goldikova (Ire) and Paco Boy (Ire).

“We've done that ever since, really. We never buy any more than maybe three or four every year. We've been lucky. We buy them from good nurseries and you know that they're in good shape when you buy them,” he adds.

“I would go out there and spend the money as if it was my own. You're looking for value. But basically, I'm lucky enough that I can go and buy an individual and I don't have to worry about the fact that the sire is not fashionable. I like the horse and I'll buy it, and Jeff and myself are on the same page. It's about the actual individual rather than what it's by or what it's out of. Equally, that's very important for the residual value afterwards if you're going to breed or resell. But primarily, the first thing is the physical specimen.”

Casting his mind back to the halcyon days of Alcohol Free, he says, “Honestly, nobody could tell me or anybody else that she was going to be as good as she was. I liked her and I hoped, like we all do every time you buy one, that she was going to be good, but for her to be as good as she was, was beyond our wildest imagination.”

The old imagination was fired up again last year thanks to another foal purchase, Ghostwriter (Ire) (Invincible Spirit {Ire}), trained by Clive Cox. The colt finished his unbeaten run of three last year with victory in the G2 Royal Lodge S. to leave Smith and Bowe dreaming of the 2,000 Guineas. 

“Again, one of the important things is buying from good nurseries and we bought Alcohol Free from the Gaffneys, and they're just proper horse people. And the same with Ghostwriter. We bought him from Norelands. They always produce brilliant stock. You're ahead of the game already because you're bringing home healthy stock,” he says. 

“The lovely thing about buying foals is we can bring them home here and then we have them for the next 14 months until they go into training. We're at an advantage because we have such good relationships with everybody, and it is about the bigger picture, it is about the team. It is about the girls here on the farm, like our head girl, Kelly Stevens, and the trainers, the pre-trainers. It can't be put down to one person, but it's wonderful to be credited by it anyway.”

Ghostwriter is not alone in fuelling the Classic dreams of the Littleton Stud team this year. Of arguably greater importance to a breeding operation is to have a talented homebred filly, and Smith looks to have just that in See The Fire (GB), who won her maiden last August and was then second in the G2 May Hill S. and third in the G1 Fillies' Mile. But then again, she was bred to be good, as the Andrew Balding-trained filly is by Sea The Stars out of Smith's G1 Juddmonte International winner Arabian Queen (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}), making See The Fire a fifth-generation Littleton homebred. 

“We've had a really, really good winter,” Bowe says. “We're dreaming about what we're going to do. See The Fire has done so well and we're hoping to go to the Guineas without a trial because she ran so well in the Fillies' Mile. It was a good test of stamina and she saw it out well.

“So we hope she'll do the fantasy stuff: Guineas and go to the Oaks and maybe the King George, who knows?

“Ghostwriter, he loved that hill [at Newmarket] and he was seriously impressive. So we're chuffed to bits with him also. Clive is delighted. I was speaking to him the other morning actually, and he doesn't think he'll go for a trial with him either.”

Arabian Queen, Alcohol Free, Ghostwriter and See The Fire are just the latest names on a long list of classy animals to have carried Smith's purple and blue colours over the last four decades. From the speedball Lochsong (GB) to the high-class sprinter/miler Chief Singer (Ire) and the people's favourite stayer Persian Punch (Ire), the owner has been rewarded for his investment in the sport with plenty of days in the sun. To hear Bowe describe his boss is to understand that there would be few people more deserving of such success. 

“Jeff  understands the game intrinsically,” Bowe says. “He understands that, one, it's a sport. Yes, there is a lot of money involved, but he takes bad news as well as he takes good news. 

“Jeff said to me a long time ago, 'If you don't trust your trainer, why would you have a horse in training? So why would you interfere with the training regime?

“We discuss things with the trainers but, fundamentally, the trainer makes a decision and it makes life an awful lot easier. Sometimes we might say, 'What do you think about dropping back in trip?' But the upshot is they're the trainers, we're not. So trust your trainer, let them get on with it. Let them train the horse. And then if it doesn't work out, it is not for the want of trying.”

He continues, “Jeff is in it for the sport. There's a huge aspect of enjoyment in it, and it gets you over the dark days when it doesn't go so well. 

“He is a purist and we are looking to win the Derby. We love speed and going back to Lochsong, a lot of the families were speed, speed, speed. And we weren't trying to breed the speed out of them, but daughters and what have you, have gone to proper Classic-type sires that may not fetch you a fortune in the ring if you went there, but they could breed you a Classic winner.

“We have a nice boutique stud with some lovely mares that we can breed to whoever we like. We've had some fun.”

With hopefully plenty more fun in the offing, Bowe concedes that he has enjoyed his decades in England. “Don't, whatever you do, say that I've become anglicised,” he says.

Right, so we won't say that then. But this particular wild goose admits that he may well be called home eventually to Ireland, where he has land of his own. Bowe's advice on Sunday night for younger folk wishing to become involved in the industry was, “Immerse yourself in it, get involved in it, and stick with it.”

They are words to live by, whatever your passion in life, and as he acknowledges, when you find that passion, a job becomes simply a way of life.

“I would imagine I'll retire back to Ireland,” he adds. “By retiring, I mean buying and selling a few, walking around the farm. I would love it, but I also love England so much, and my kids are here, so going back would be difficult, but it's only over the water.

“I'm here for the time being, though, and enjoying every minute of it.”

The post ‘I Went to Coolmore From School and Didn’t Come Home’: David Bowe’s Life in Bloodstock  appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

“He's done really well, he had a super break and he's been back cantering for three or four weeks,” Cox said.

“We're thrilled with the way he's developed over the winter, he's looking even stronger.

“We were delighted with the campaign we enjoyed with him last year and we're all looking forward to this season.”

Ghostwriter made a winning debut over seven furlongs on Newmarket's July Course last August and backed it up with success at Ascot in a novice event over the same trip. He took the extra furlong in his stride when asked to go a mile in his first start in Pattern company in late September.

“I'm very much hoping to go to the Guineas, the first week in May is uppermost in our minds, especially with him winning on the track at Newmarket, on the July course, of course, but crucially the Rowley Mile,” Cox added. 

“We would be very excited about him with those Classic races in mind.”

Smith's colours were most recently carried to Group 1 glory by Alcohol Free (Ire) (No Nay Never) on four occasions. Through the owner is also a renowned breeder through his Littleton Stud, both Alcohol Free and Ghostwriter were bought as foals, selected by stud manager David Bowe. 

Ghostwriter, bred in partnership by Norelands Stud and the Irish National Stud, is out of the Champs Elysees (GB) mare Moorside (GB), and was bought at Tattersalls for 100,000gns. 

The post Unbeaten Ghostwriter has Guineas Aim appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

Bred by Churchtown House Stud, she sold for €40,000 as a Goffs November foal and was originally raced by Jeff Smith of Littleton Stud and trainer Andrew Balding. Successful in the G1 Cheveley Park S. as a juvenile, both the G1 Coronation S. and G1 Sussex S. went her way in 2021.

Kept in training at four, she added the G1 July Cup S. to her resume before bringing 5.4 million gns to top the 2022 Tattersalls December Mares Sale when picked up by Yuesheng Zhang's Yulong. After an Australian campaign with Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott, she has returned to Europe for broodmare duty. Her record stands at 20-6-1-3 and $2,546,735 in earnings.

The post Yulong’s Alcohol Free Booked To Frankel appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

Pushed out by Richard Kingscote from there, the Clive Cox-trained 100,000gns Tatts December Foal purchase had 1 1/4 lengths to spare over the Listed Ascendant S. scorer Al Musmak (Ire) (Night Of Thunder {Ire}) at the line, with half a length back to Capulet who looked every inch a Derby type as he rallied after being swamped entering the dip.

Juddmonte Royal Lodge Stakes (G2)
1.610 m – 125.000 GBP
Newmarket

Ghostwriter (IRE)
(2C Invincible Spirit- Moorside , by Champs Elysees)
J : Richard Kingscote
T :Clive Cox
O :J. C. Smith
B : Norelands Bloodstock/Irish National Studpic.twitter.com/qT9B0ouGMx

— (@WorldRacing1) September 30, 2023

This is a “Win and You're In” to the $1 million GI Prevagen Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf, but Cox was not committing in the immediate aftermath. “He has been improving with every run and that was a big step to take,” he said. “I couldn't be more pleased with the way he has carried it out and he looks full of promise going forward. The dam won over a mile and a half and I think he has a very good middle-distance plan to go forward with. He might get and a half, it is possible.”

“He was very much in his comfort zone and Richard was able to play him exactly as he felt and he quickened nicely when he met the rising ground there and I couldn't be more pleased,” he added. “He has always been a nice horse, but he has always been maturing and having a frame to fill while keeping his strength moving forwards. This cements what we thought so far and the dream is very much alive for next year. We are normally known for our sprinters, but it is such a joy to have a horse like this on our hands as it does set the pulse racing. I'd say the way he is physically developing all the time means I'd probably be thinking about next year.”

Pedigree Notes

Ghostwriter is the second foal out of the aforementioned Listed Cheshire Oaks runner-up Moorside, a granddaughter of Zaizafon (The Minstrel) who produced the brilliant Zafonic and his G3 Prix de Cabourg-winning full-brother and fellow sire Zamindar. This is also the family of the G1 Prix Jean Romanet heroine Announce (GB) (Selkirk), the triple group-winning Zarinsk (GB) (Kodiac {GB}) and the G1 Poule d'Essai des Pouliches place-getters Irish Rookie (Ire) (Azamour {Ire}) and Mexican Gold (Medaglia d'Oro). Moorside, who was a 90,000gns purchase by BBA Ireland at the 2017 Tatts December Mares Sale, also has a yearling colt by New Bay (GB) who sold for 150,000gns to Joe Foley at the Tattersalls December Foal Sale, and a filly foal by Australia (GB).

Saturday, Newmaket, Britain
JUDDMONTE ROYAL LODGE S.-G2, £125,000, Newmarket, 9-30, 2yo, c/g, 8fT, 1:37.06, g/f.
1–GHOSTWRITER (IRE), 128, c, 2, by Invincible Spirit (Ire)
      1st Dam: Moorside (GB) (SP-Eng), by Champs Elysees (GB)
      2nd Dam: Marching West, by Gone West
      3rd Dam: Zaizafon, by The Minstrel
1ST BLACK-TYPE WIN; 1ST GROUP WIN. (100,000gns Wlg '21 TADEWE). O-J C Smith; B-Norelands Bloodstock & Irish National Stud (IRE); T-Clive Cox; J-Richard Kingscote. £70,888. Lifetime Record: 3-3-0-0, $112,176. Werk Nick Rating: A++. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree, or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.
2–Al Musmak (Ire), 128, c, 2, Night Of Thunder (Ire)–Parton (GB), by Kitten's Joy. 1ST GROUP BLACK TYPE. (95,000gns Ylg '22 TATOCT). O-Sheikh Abdullah Almalek Alsabah; B-Rabbah Bloodstock Ltd (IRE); T-Roger Varian. £26,875.
3–Capulet, 128, c, 2, Justify–Wedding Vow (Ire), by Galileo (Ire). O-Mrs J Magnier, M Tabor & D Smith; B-Orpendale, Wynatt & Chelston (KY); T-Aidan O'Brien. £13,450.
Margins: 1 1/4, HF, HD. Odds: 3.33, 7.00, 1.75.
Also Ran: Macduff (GB), Son (GB), Defiance (Ire), At Vimeiro (Ger), Aablan (Ire), Caviar Heights (Ire).

The post Invincible Spirit’s Ghostwriter Shows His Class In The Royal Lodge appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

Four years ago, the weanling daughter of No Nay Never caught the eye of Littleton Stud manager David Bowe at the Goffs November Sale, where she was bought from her breeder Churchtown Stud for €40,000. By the time the four-time Group 1 winner exits from her second turn in the sales ring, this time at the Tattersalls December Sale, it is easy to predict that she will have made many times that figure.

While other yearlings were meeting their own sales engagements, the young Alcohol Free had only to appear in the Littleton Stud yearling parade, where one of Smith's trainers was quick to put his hand up in hope of training her. Recalling the day he first set eyes on his subsequent stable star, Andrew Balding says, “You don't know quite what you're going to get [sent], but you get an opportunity to have a whisper in David Bowe's ear and say, look, I really like the No Nay Never filly. And thankfully I did and she ended up coming our way. She was actually one of the later ones of Jeff's yearlings, but as soon as she came in, it took about two pieces of work and she was ready to run.”

By August, Alcohol Free was off to Balding's local course, Newbury, to make her debut.

He continues, “She was hugely impressive, having shown some good ability at home. But we'd only really scratched the surface with her homework.”

Stepping straight into group company, Alcohol Free ran a close second to Happy Romance (Ire) in the G3 Dick Poole Fillies' S. on her next start, before delivering what her trainer describes as “a perfect end to her two-year-old career” by winning the G1 Cheveley Park S.

That transpired to be just the first of Alcohol Free's four Group 1 victories, with a further two coming her way as a three-year-old, in the Coronation S. and later in a particularly strong renewal of the Sussex S. at Goodwood, where she beat 2,000 Guineas winner Poetic Flare (Ire) and G1 Falmouth S. victrix Snow Lantern (GB).

Many owners might well have taken the view that a treble Group 1 winner at two and three was more than enough for a filly to have shown her merits to be a coveted addition to any broodmare band but, sportingly, Smith decided to roll the dice and keep Alcohol Free in training at four. It was an inspired decision, because not only did she win again at the top level, but in so doing, she displayed great versatility and a killer turn of foot when dropping back from a mile to win the July Cup. In behind her were Godolphin's Naval Crown (GB) and Creative Force (Ire), and Australian raider Artorius (Aus), who had filled the first three places in the G1 Platinum Jubilee S. a month earlier, giving the form a rock-solid feel.

“I think for Alcohol Free to have won Group 1s at two, three and four is unusual, but to have won four majorly significant ones, and not just obviously the Cheveley Park and the Coronation Stakes for fillies only, but then add to that a Sussex Stakes and a July Cup–I mean, that's a rare group of races,” says Balding. “And I don't think there's another horse who has achieved the four of those. It's an extraordinary achievement.”

Looking ahead to the next stage of her career, he adds, “I think what makes Alcohol Free a particularly attractive broodmare proposition is the fact that she's obviously been incredibly sound throughout her training career. Her race record shows that. She's just the most beautifully athletic horse, with that deep girth and wonderful shoulder to her, and a great walker. And she's she's got real presence, so with all those things combined, I think you couldn't wish for a more exciting prospect as a as a broodmare.”

He continues, “She's the daughter of probably one of the most exciting young sires in in the world, whose progeny statistics just get better and better each year, as well as being out of a Hard Spun mare. She's a half-sister to a very good group-class horse in France, and it's a good family going back. All of those things make it a very attractive page to look at in the catalogue.”

There will no doubt be plenty of potential buyers who agree with Balding's sentiment when going through the catalogue, and her appearance in the ring as lot 1904 during the Sceptre Sessions of the Tattersalls December Mares' Sale, provides one last opportunity for Alcohol Free to shine for Balding, as she is consigned by his Park House Stables on behalf of Littleton Stud. 

“It's been just a pleasure to have anything to do with her,” he says. “And she's just a brilliant workhorse. I mean, seeing her work in the morning was demoralising for whoever had to work with her. But it is always so rewarding to watch really good horses work well, and she very rarely put in a bad piece of work. She was always showing her natural ability in her work and doing it so easily. So we'll miss that, and we'll have a job to replace her.”

The post Cheers To Alcohol Free As Tattersalls Beckons appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

“We thought from day one that he could be very useful and with each run he has been getting there and getting there,” the owner-breeder commented of the Andrew Balding-trained colt. “I thought we bumped into one at Salisbury and was pretty hopeful today. He's in the [G1] Futurity at Doncaster and if he runs again this year, that will be the race. I see him as a mile-and-a-quarter horse next year, but if he wins the Futurity he could go for the Guineas.”

Barshiba was a classy performer for Smith, winning the G2 Lancashire Oaks twice and four listed contests as well as placing in the G2 Summer Mile and G2 Hardwicke S. Her first foal was Dubawi's Arabian Queen (Ire), who caused one of the biggest upsets of recent times when denying Golden Horn (GB) (Cape Cross {Ire}) in the 2015 G1 Juddmonte International, while the other of her trio of Dubawis, Cosmopolitan Queen (GB), is now the dam of the stable's highly-regarded winning juvenile filly Frankness (GB) (Frankel {GB}). Barshiba's yearling filly is by Too Darn Hot (GB).

5th-Newbury, £20,000, Cond, 9-16, 2yo, c/g, 8fT, 1:40.67, gd.
STORMBUSTER (GB) (c, 2, Dubawi {Ire}–Barshiba {Ire} {MGSW-Eng, $588,780}, by Barathea {Ire}) Lifetime Record: 4-1-1-2, $24,029. O-Mr J C Smith; B-Littleton Stud (GB); T-Andrew Balding.

Stormbuster finally breaks his maiden with a runaway success under @davidprobert9 in the @hhandc Conditions Stakes @NewburyRacing @AndrewBalding2's consistent colt (Dubawi) holds entries in the Royal Lodge @NewmarketRace and the Vertem Futurity Trophy @DoncasterRaces pic.twitter.com/zawOehL5Fn

— Racing TV (@RacingTV) September 16, 2022

The post Son Of Dubawi Steals The Show At Newbury appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

An INCREDIBLE 24 hours for @rob_hornby18!

Fresh from success aboard Prosperous Voyage in the Falmouth Stakes yesterday, the in-form rider guides Alcohol Free to victory in the Darley July Cup at @NewmarketRace @AndrewBalding2 pic.twitter.com/jQTpVkv4yO

— Racing TV (@RacingTV) July 9, 2022

Since the failed attempt by connections to stretch her to an extended 10 furlongs in the G1 Juddmonte International last August, Alcohol Free's record of one placing in four subsequent starts seemed to tell a story but closer analysis afforded her leeway heading into the most extreme speed test she had yet to face. Apart from the re-entry to the sprinting world in the Platinum Jubilee, she had probably needed her seasonal return when third in the Apr. 22 G2 Sandown Mile and it was only her fourth in the May 14 G1 Lockinge S. at Newbury and eighth in the G1 Queen Elizabeth II S. that cast any doubt as to her retained ability. This represented a return to the pomp of her defeat of Poetic Flare (Ire) (Dawn Approach {Ire}) in the Goodwood feature last term, with her deadly acceleration the key in a deep contest full of sprinting talent proven in the international sphere.

As it turned out, the 2022 July Cup was a case of being in the right place with Naval Crown and James Doyle the one to target and Alcohol Free able to sit over two lengths off him with Artorius in her wake. Despite pace pressure from Emaraaty Ana (GB) (Shamardal), Naval Crown was able to fend off all bar the filly heading to two out and the rest never stood a chance with the front three following that straight path towards the far rail. As on Friday, it was Rob Hornby who was judging things to a tee and it is fitting that he was becoming the first to ride the winners of the Falmouth and this at the same meeting since Johnny Murtagh in 2004.

“It just goes to show her guts and bravery, because she has form on every bit of ground now,” her rider commented. “Coming back to six furlongs, we were unsure if the ground was a bit quick and she was a bit disorganised in the first half of the race which she can sometimes be. From half way I felt her really kick in and she had a real fire in her belly today. It is a hell of a training performance from Andrew and everyone back at Park House. She is a fiery character and she has got a lot of personality. She has always shown lots of natural speed, but stamina as well.”

Balding is intent on heading back to the Sussex now to add to a star-studded line-up. “We needed to run somewhere between Ascot and Goodwood really–the Sussex Stakes has always been her main target, having won the race last year and we were just trying to find the best plan to get her there,” her trainer added. “She's obviously a speed miler rather than an attritional miler, so Goodwood should suit her really well and we look forward to it.”

Charlie Appleby was delighted with the performance of the runner-up and said, “Naval Crown has run a rock-solid race. The plan with him was to go and be forward. He set a good clip there and it was only the filly that has come and dived on us late. It was another solid performance at that level as well, and at sprinting more importantly. I think going forward we will probably head towards Haydock [for the Sprint Cup] with him, as the ground doesn't worry him at all.”

Sam Freedman said of Artorius, “Frustrating is the wrong word, because he always runs very well and a frustrating horse is probably one who mixes his form. He's very honest and reliable in the sense he's always finishing his races off and the 1300 metres for his next target would suit him nicely. He needs them to come back to him a little bit and today it's probably not been the easiest thing to do to make up ground.”

Christophe Soumillon reported that the seventh-placed 9-4 favourite Perfect Power (Ire) (Ardad {Ire}) was unlucky. “Unfortunately, when I asked him to come through horses I never had a clear run and we shifted from the left to the right. He finished well and it wasn't a bad run,” he said.

Alcohol Free, who becomes her sire's second July Cup winner after Ten Sovereigns (Ire), is out of Plying (Hard Spun) who also produced the Listed Prix Le Fabuleux winner Alexander James (Ire) (Camelot {GB}). The second dam is the Listed National S.-placed Nasaieb (Ire) (Fairy King), who was responsible for the G2 Flying Childers S. and G3 Princess Margaret S.-placed Kissing Lights (Ire) (Machiavellian) and is a half to the G3 Solario S. scorer Raise A Grand (Ire) (Grand Lodge). From the family of the champion juvenile filly Numbered Account (Buckpasser), Plying's unraced 2-year-old colt by Dandy Man (Ire) is named Hidden Ambush (Ire) while she also has a yearling filly by Gleneagles (Ire).

Saturday, Newmarket, Britain
DARLEY JULY CUP-G1, £628,500, Newmarket, 7-9, 3yo/up, 6fT, 1:09.47, g/f.
1–ALCOHOL FREE (IRE), 131, f, 4, by No Nay Never
     1st Dam: Plying, by Hard Spun
     2nd Dam: Nasaieb (Ire), by Fairy King
     3rd Dam: Atyaaf, by Irish River (Fr)
(€40,000 Wlg '18 GOFNOV). O-Mr J C Smith; B-Churchtown House Stud (IRE); T-Andrew Balding; J-Rob Hornby. £356,422. Lifetime Record: 14-6-1-2, $1,864,597. *1/2 to Alexander James (Ire) (Camelot {GB}), SW-Fr, $108,819. Werk Nick Rating: A. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.
2–Naval Crown (GB), 134, c, 4, Dubawi (Ire)–Come Alive (GB), by Dansili (GB). O/B-Godolphin (GB); T-Charlie Appleby. £135,128.
3–Artorius (Aus), 134, c, 4, Flying Artie (Aus)–Gracie's Lass (Aus), by Redoute's Choice (Aus). (120,000 Ylg '20 MMGYRL). O-Newgate, China Horse Club & Partners; B-Mr G J Perry (AUS); T-Anthony & Sam Freedman. £67,627.
Margins: 1HF, HF, 1HF. Odds: 14.00, 4.00, 8.00.
Also Ran: Creative Force (Ire), Double Or Bubble (Ire), Emaraaty Ana (GB), Perfect Power (Ire), Happy Romance (Ire), Flaming Rib (Ire), Romantic Proposal (Ire), King Hermes (Jpn), Cadamosto (Ire), Twilight Jet (Ire). Scratched: Blackrod (GB). Click for the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.

The post No Nay Never’s Alcohol Free Prevails In The July Cup appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

“Going up to a mile and a quarter was always going to be a punt,” said trainer Andrew Balding. “She looked like she had come there and was only going to be beaten a couple of lengths into second. Having looked like she was going to get placed, she didn't quite get home over the last 100 yards, but we have learned something from it. She was fine this morning. She will have a little holiday now as she has been busy enough. She is entered in the [G1] Sun Chariot, but the plan is to come back and have a go at the Queen Elizabeth II S. at Ascot on Champions Day.”

The post Back To A Mile For Alcohol Free appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

“We are absolutely thrilled with what she has done. We are very proud of her and very pleased for her owner Jeff Smith,” says Gaffney. “It's a huge thing for us to have bred a filly like her–we are not a big farm.”

With her defeat of 2000 Guineas and St James's Palace S. winner Poetic Flare (Ire) (Dawn Approach {Ire}) in last week's G1 Qatar Sussex S., the star of Andrew Balding's high-flying stable augmented a CV which already had an extremely classy look to it following her win in last year's G1 Cheveley Park S. and conquering of Snow Lantern (GB) (Frankel {GB}) in the G1 Coronation S. at Royal Ascot. Alcohol Free is a rare non-homebred to race in the famous colours of Littleton Stud, which is owned by one of the stalwarts of British Thoroughbred breeding in Jeff Smith, whose previous win in Goodwood's prestigious mile contest had come with Chief Singer (GB) (Ballad Rock {GB}) back in 1984.

The Co Cork farm where she was born and raised is run by Gaffney with his wife Anne on a principally commercial footing. It is home to around 12 mares, with nine foals on the ground this year.

“In everything we have ever sold–foals, yearlings or mares–we have always wished the very best for the next person, because over the years every time we have sold a good horse to someone they have always come back and looked at our horses,” says Gaffney. “For us it's about building up a rapport with people and hoping for repeat business. And when it's a family that you know and can talk about that has always worked very well for us.”

Alcohol Free's family is just that and has come full circle. For though her dam Plying (Hard Spun) was bred by Rabbah Bloodstock and raced in Sheikh Mohammed's colours, her grandam, the listed-placed winner Nasaieb (Ire) (Fairy King), had in turn been bred by Churchtown House Stud.

“It was a family that we had before that was very good to us, and we bought back into it when we bought Plying,” Gaffney explains. “We bred Nasaieb and we had her dam here, Atyaaf. So we lost the family, we tried to get back into it and that's how we ended up with Plying. I suppose we are a farm that loves families, and we try to build out from them knowing what works and what doesn't for them. With Plying, she just didn't work out for us and at some stage you just have to face up to that and that's what we did.”

Plying had been bought from Darley by the Gaffneys in 2013 for €12,000 and she was sold five years later at the Goffs November Sale for €21,000, two days after her then-unnamed No Nay Never foal had caught the eye of Littleton Stud manager David Bowe, who bought her for €40,000. The mare's only other winner to date is Alexander James (Ire) (Camelot {GB}), who, Like Alcohol Free, demonstrated a love of soft ground when landing the listed Prix le Fabuleux at Chantilly for Anne-Sophie Crombez.

Gaffney, whose brother Tom manages Coolmore's Castlehyde Stud, continues, “As well as foals and yearlings we sell the odd mare from time to time as you're always trying to replenish your stock. We have pivoted a little bit in the last number of years and kept a share in the offspring of some of our better mares and raced a few of them. That has worked out very well for us and this year seems to be one of those absolute purple years for us.”

The purple patch has included the smart Fozzy Stack-trained Castle Star (Ire) (Starspangledbanner {Aus}), the winner of the G3 Marble Hill S. and runner-up in the G2 Railway S. who is likely to be seen next in the G1 Keeneland Phoenix S. on Sunday. The juvenile was bred and initially raced in a partnership by the farm before being sold privately to Craig Bernick and Antony Beck in June.

The stud's credentials have also been enhanced in America by Higher Truth (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}), a 500,000gns Book 1 yearling sold to Mike Ryan two years ago. Recently third in the GI Belmont Oaks for Chad Brown, Higher Truth is a daughter of Churchtown House's G3 Ballycorus S. winner Wannabe Better (Ire) (Duke Of Marmalade {Ire}) whose first foal, Lady Wannabe (Ire) (Camelot {GB}), also trained by Stack, was retained to race in partnership with Clem and Barbara Murphy and won last season's G3 Darley S.

“We have another filly we bred called Sure Break (Ire) with Neil Drysdale in America and she is two from three, so we are having a glorious year,” says Gaffney. “Three of our other horses are rated 90 or over, so I suppose it's like what they say about buses, but every farm needs a year like this every now and then. The absolute brilliant thing about horses is that you never know, and every now and then something comes along and surprises you.”

The prowess of Alcohol Free, who is the highest-earning filly in Britain and Ireland this year, and behind only Derby and King George winner Adayar (Ire) (Frankel {GB}) overall, did perhaps not come as a total surprise to her breeder, however.

“She was an exceptionally good-looking filly, possibly didn't have the best action, and as you know going to the sales everybody wants this big-walking horse and she possibly didn't have that. But as an individual she was the eye-catcher in the field,” Gaffney recalls.

“David Bowe saw her at the sales and fair dues to him, he could see what a beauty she was, and in David's favour was not having to resell her. For us, we're so proud of Alcohol Free because it just proves we've got back after a long time to breeding a Group 1 horse again. We had Wannabe Grand (Ire) on the farm a good number of years ago and that family has really flourished for us, and that's the most important thing.”

He adds, “What has made it even more special with Alcohol Free is that Oisin Murphy used to live in Churchtown with his uncle Jim Culloty and we would have known him when he was really small, so it's a most fantastic tie-up. Everybody in Churchtown has been very proud of Oisin and we were very proud of what Jim did for an area like Churchtown when he was training here. I know they are Kerrymen and we are here in Cork over the border, but we are very proud of them.”

It is possible that the Gaffney family won't have too long to wait for their next Group 1 winner. Castle Star has various targets pencilled in, including the G1 Darley Prix Morny, and his dam Awohaam (Ire) (Iffraaj {GB}) is back in foal to his sire Starspangledbanner with a U S Navy Flag foal this year.

“The day she foaled the filly, Fozzy rang me and asked what she was going back to and he said for his money she should be going back to Starspangledbanner,” Gaffney notes. “I thought to myself obviously something good happened on the gallops this morning. Usually when a trainer rings they are dream-ending conversations rather than dream-beginning conversations.”

By May 3, Castle Star was a listed winner, and he has continued to improve on that in his next two starts.

“Hopefully he's going to the Phoenix Stakes next and Fozzy is very bullish about him. We will ride on his coat-tails as he keeps going forward,” says Gaffney.

In a terrific season, the Gaffneys have plenty of coat-tails to grab as the dream remains very much alive. 

The post Alcohol Free Heads Banner Year For Gaffneys appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

In a quirk of fate, Alcohol Free received the widest stall on her first two starts at two and while it was not a major problem on her winning debut at Newbury in August it probably cost her when 3/4-of-a-length second to the battle-hardened Happy Romance (Ire) (Dandy Man {Ire}) in Salisbury's G3 Dick Poole Fillies' S. in early September. Late that month, the bay got it together to deny Miss Amulet (Ire) (Sir Prancealot {Ire}) in the Cheveley Park at Newmarket showing the kind of pace that suggested a mile would be a stretch. Coming back in the seven-furlong G3 Fred Darling S. at Newbury Apr. 18, she was stuck out on the wing again but had enough to deny Statement (Ire) (Lawman {Fr}) by a short head. While that performance entitled her to a crack at the May 2 Newmarket Classic, it didn't scream Guineas winner and in the event itself she was again wide without cover and not seen to best effect. Although she was only two lengths off Mother Earth there, connections were convinced that she had not given her true running and it was full steam ahead to this test.

Primo Bacio (Ire) (Awtaad {Ire}) was a significant non-runner due to the drastic change in going brought about by the almost apocalyptic weather, and her absence was to leave some important questions unanswered with Snow Lantern having trailed her at York last time. Alcohol Free was due to be drawn wide before the stalls were moved to the far rail and that slice of fortune meant that she received early cover as David Egan took the bull by the horns on the German raider Novemba. Dragging his rivals into action in early straight as he kicked again on the runaway German Guineas winner, Egan drew the sting from TDN Rising Star Pretty Gorgeous (Fr) (Lawman {Fr}) but Murphy was still happy in behind and even had time to remove his goggles as he angled his mount for her challenge. As the winner settled the outcome passing the furlong pole, Snow Lantern who had run freely throughout the early stages as she had at York was forced to change course slightly before storming home.

“What worried me was the clerk of the course decided to put the stalls on the far rail. That was fine, but then everyone wants to get to that rail and I was worried it was going to get congested,” Murphy added. “Alcohol Free relaxed, I stayed on the bit for as long as I could and given her pedigree, she was always going to handle the ground.” Balding admitted to a feeling of deflation after the Guineas and said, “Alcohol Free is very classy. We had heavy hearts after Newmarket, because it isn't often you go into a Classic expecting to win it. For whatever reason, it didn't pan out that day and she was below-par, but she was back to her best today and she looked pretty good. We were a bit concerned when all the rain came, because her stamina wasn't guaranteed, but full credit to Oisin–it's the measure of the man to have the disappointment he had five minutes before they go in the stalls. To give her such a good ride takes some doing.”

“We have worked her at home plenty of times on soft ground, it doesn't inconvenience her and she travels very strongly–it was just whether she would see out the final furlong and I was very grateful that she really powered home,” the Kingsclere handler said. “Today was the first time ever she has got some cover and it's been through ill-luck rather than design that she hasn't before. The slightly awkward draw turned into a really good draw when they started to race down under the trees and she got some cover and switched off beautifully. She did win a group 1 last year, so there's never been any doubt about her ability but she needed a bit of luck and everything to drop right. She's in the [G1] July Cup [at Newmarket July 10] and the [G1] Sussex Stakes [at Goodwood July 28]–whether she does both or one I don't know, but I think we'll stick to Britain this year.”

Richard Hannon said of Snow Lantern, “Her day will come and she's run a super race. We had a point to prove after York. She is an aeroplane. In terms of what I came here wanting, she's done–she was so much less keen.”

Alcohol Free is out of Plying (Hard Spun), a dual winner in the Sheikh Mohammed silks for the Henri-Alex Pantall stable who was initially a $200,000 Fasig-Tipton Saratoga August Yearling purchase before selling out of a Darley draft for €12,000 to BBA Ireland at the 2013 Arqana December Sale. Five years later, she was bought by Jossestown Farm for €21,000 at the Goffs November auction and the rest is history. Also responsible for the Listed Prix le Fabuleux winner Alexander James (Ire) (Camelot {GB}), she is out of the Listed National S.-placed Nasaieb (Ire) (Fairy King) who produced the G2 Flying Childers S. and G3 Princess Margaret S. third Kissing Lights (Ire) Machiavellian). Nasaieb is a half-sister to the G3 Solario S. scorer Raise a Grand (Ire) (Grand Lodge) from the family of the champion Numbered Account (Buckpasser). Plying's unraced 2-year-old filly Hooked On You (Ire) (Starspangledbanner {Aus}) was a 130,000gns purchase by Creighton Schwartz Bloodstock at the Tattersalls December Yearling Sale and is in training with Karl Burke. Her yearling colt by Dandy Man (Ire) was bought by Ballyhane for €80,000 at the Goffs November Foal Sale.

Friday, Royal Ascot, Britain
CORONATION S.-G1, £426,875, Ascot, 6-18, 3yo, f, 7f 213yT, 1:43.13, hy.
1–ALCOHOL FREE (IRE), 126, f, 3, by No Nay Never
1st Dam: Plying, by Hard Spun
2nd Dam: Nasaieb (Ire), by Fairy King
3rd Dam: Atyaaf, by Irish River (Fr)
(€40,000 Wlg '18 GOFNOV). O-J C Smith; B-Churchtown House Stud (IRE); T-Andrew Balding; J-Oisin Murphy. £242,081. Lifetime Record: 6-4-1-0, $558,968. *1/2 to Alexander James (Ire) (Camelot {GB}), SW-Fr. Werk Nick Rating: A. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.
2–Snow Lantern (GB), 126, f, 3, Frankel (GB)–Sky Lantern (Ire), Red Clubs (Ire). O/B-Rockcliffe Stud (GB); T-Richard Hannon. £91,778.
3–Mother Earth (Ire), 126, f, 3, Zoffany (Ire)–Many Colours (GB), by Green Desert. (€150,000 Ylg '19 GOFOR). O-Derrick Smith, Susan Magnier & Michael Tabor; B-Grenane House Stud (IRE); T-Aidan O'Brien. £45,932.
Margins: 1HF, NK, HF. Odds: 5.50, 14.00, 4.50.
Also Ran: Novemba (Ger), Pretty Gorgeous (Fr), Fev Rover (Ire), Flirting Bridge (Ire), Empress Josephine (Ire), Potapova (GB), Shale (Ire), Lullaby Moon (GB). Scratched: Oodnadatta (Ire), Primo Bacio (Ire). Click for the Racing Post result or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree. Video, sponsored by TVG.

The post No Nay Never’s Alcohol Free Takes The Coronation appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post