John O'Connor | Horse Racing Free Tips

John O’Connor Q&A: ‘He Could Be A Dominant Horse Next Year’

Rare are the days that John O'Connor of Ballylinch Stud enjoyed at Ascot on Champions Day last Saturday. No sooner had the G1 QEII celebrations died down after Bayside Boy (Ire) (New Bay {GB})'s victory, a horse the stud bred and co-owns with Teme Valley, when another runner that the stud owns jointly, Bay Bridge (GB) (New Bay {GB}), lowered the colours of Baaeed (GB) (Sea The Stars {Ire}) in the G1 Champion S.

It was an afternoon that propelled Ballylinch resident New Bay into the spotlight and continued the excellent momentum that the stud has enjoyed in recent weeks after homebred Place Du Carrousel (Ire) (Lope De Vega {Ire}) bagged the G1 Prix de l'Opera.

From discussing plans for Bayside Boy, Bay Bridge and Place Du Carrousel to describing New Bay as an elite stallion, Ballylinch Stud's John O'Connor makes for an excellent interview in this week's Q&A.

Brian Sheerin: Now that the dust has settled on British Champions Day, have you had the time to think further about the Breeders' Cup for Bayside Boy and Bay Bridge?

John O'Connor: The Breeders' Cup is under consideration for both horses. We'll let the horses tell us if they are ready to go or not. It's a short run in from British Champions Weekend to the Breeders' Cup, so everything needs to go right and the horses will need to have bounced out of Ascot well. We'll play it by ear.

BS: You hinted earlier in the week that one of the two could go to stud next year. Has that conversation moved on at all?

JO'C: Those are ongoing conversations. These are good horses and deserve plenty of thought put into their future plans and that's what we will do.

BS: It could be viewed as an afternoon that propelled New Bay into elite stallion status if he wasn't already considered to be in that bracket already. How proud are you of the stallion?

JO'C: He was already on his way to elite status and Saturday really pushed him over the threshold. That confirmed that he is an elite stallion. He's managed to do it with relatively smaller numbers. He didn't have huge numbers but the really good horses, I have found down through the years, always have high percentages of elite runners. When you have that, you know they are going to make it.

As the numbers increased, he has confirmed that as he went on and he has been one of those horses whose stats have always told us that he is a really high quality stallion. He's confirming that now with his runners reaching a high level. He has bigger and better crops to come–he covered a very good book this year–so there's been an incremental increase in the quality of mares that were sent to him. The really top breeders want to use him so he is in a good position.

BS: Alex Elliott commented at one of the yearling sales recently that he was on a mission to buy up as many New Bays as possible because, sooner rather than later, they were going to be out of his price-range. It must give you huge pleasure to see that so many in the industry have cottoned onto the horse from an early stage.

JO'C: It does, yes. Some very good judges like Alex cottoned onto him early and he actually bought Batemans Bay (Fr) who we race in partnership with one of his clients. He's a pretty good horse as well, and a progressive one, so yes, Alex has been one of those who identified New Bay at an early stage and he will be the beneficiary of that.

BS: Bay Bridge has only run 10 times so, if he was to stay in training next year, you'd imagine there could be a lot more to come from him given he's trained by Sir Michael Stoute.

JO'C: I would hope so. That's obviously a conversation that we will have with his owner-breeder James Wigan who is a very astute man in the business. James has experience with horses at the highest level so we will take on board his views on that. I think he could be quite interesting if he does stay in training. He could be a very dominant horse next year. He had an injury-curtailed season this year and he's a lightly-raced horse who has a very good win to run strike-rate. He has an awful lot that you would like in a top-class horse in the sense that he has an ability to quicken and a fantastic will to win. When you tackle him, he fights really hard and is hard to beat in a finish so he is an admirable racehorse and one I am looking forward to seeing on his next run, wherever that may be.

BS: It wasn't all about the boys last weekend, either. Fact Or Folklore (Ire) (Lope De Vega {Ire}) has had a brilliant time of it with her first two foals, Statement (Ire) (Lawman {Fr}) and Self Belief (Ire) (Make Believe GB}), winning a series of listed races. Perhaps the broodmare band at Ballylinch sometimes doesn't get the recognition it deserves with the stallions flying the flag so well.

JO'C: That's the nature of the business, that the stallions get the most publicity because that's the way the industry is set up. But I have always taken the view that broodmares are extremely important to any stud farm and we have invested and had good support from owners with funding the purchase of some really nice mares.

We've been lucky to have raced some very nice mares as well and Fact Or Folklore is one example. We raced her in partnership with David Hyland and we were happy to buy her to continue her stud career here. She's made an exceptional start to her new career as a broodmare. Statement is her first foal and Self Belief is her second foal. Her third foal, a colt by New Bay, sold extremely well at Tattersalls Book 2 last week for 425,000gns to Stroud Coleman. She looks like she's an elite broodmare and it shows you that they don't have to start off being outstanding to turn out to be really good. She's one of those who is going to work her way up through the ranks, I think. It would appear that Lope De Vega passes on some very good traits and he's a very promising broodmare sire.

BS: We should probably credit Place Du Carrousel (Ire) (Lope De Vega) for kick-starting this golden run.

JO'C: That's absolutely true. Place Du Carrousel is a filly we bred and we retained half of her as a yearling. She's out of a mare [Traffic Jam (Ire) (Duke Of Marmalade {Ire})] that we bought with a good race record. Her racing owner Alexis Adamian owns her in partnership with us and she boards at Ballylinch. This is her first foal, it's an extraordinary start for a broodmare to breed a Group 1 winner with their first foal. Place Du Carrousel will probably stay in training next season, so we could see her in the top fillies' races next year, for sure.

BS: And it turned out to be a timely win for Place Du Carrousel in the Prix de l'Opera as her half-sister by Kingman (GB) sold for 1,050,000gns at Book 1 to Shadwell.

JO'C: It's lovely to see that Shadwell are back buying top-class stock and a pleasure to see Sheikha Hissa so involved. She takes a personal interest in looking at the horses and that's wonderful to see. It's a great legacy that her father left her that interest and knowledge of the business. We would look forward to Sheikha Hissa having great success in the future. She has two very nice horses to go to stud next year in Baeed (GB) and Minzaal (Ire), so that could set Shadwell up for the next number of years in their stallion operation. If it is self-sustaining, that would be wonderful.

BS: And on the market at Tattersalls and beyond, I suppose we are running out of superlatives to sum up the demand for yearlings.

JO'C: You could say that it defies gravity when you think about what's happening in the world. The bloodstock market has always had its own internal mechanism and sometimes it is affected by greater world events but quite often it is not. It seems to have its own momentum. There aren't many horses at the top level and there are enough players at that level who want to participate. It can defy what's happening in the international monetary markets. Sometimes the top end of the bloodstock market is a bit of a special commodity in its own right.

BS: It could be another exciting weekend for Ballylinch with Lone Eagle (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) and promising juvenile Lord Of Biscay (Ire) (Lope De Vega {Ire}) running at Newbury.

JO'C: Lord Of Biscay is an interesting horse who won his maiden very well on good ground. It remains to be seen if he will be equally as effective on soft ground. He seems to have plenty of speed and he's a half-brother to Bayside Boy, so Alava (Ire) (Anabaa) is a mare who has been doing very well. Roger [Varian] likes him a lot and he's a horse who didn't go into training early in the year and we took our time with him. Roger has always said he's a real natural runner and he showed that first time out. It's a big step up and a change in surface conditions so it will be a big learning curve for him and us on Saturday. There's another horse we bred and part-own running in the race called Oviedo (Ire) (Lope De Vega {Ire}) and he has legitimate aspirations of running well in that race as well. Lone Eagle had a little setback earlier in the year so we are looking forward to getting him back on the track.

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Ballylinch And Fabre’s Fab Four

On a crisp, bright morning at Ballylinch Stud last week, there was just cause for enthusiasm from managing director John O'Connor, and not just for the tea and cake on the table in front of us.

Not much more than a hop, skip and a jump from the office, via a path right past the headstone of The Tetrarch, the stallion yard is about to crank into top gear as the mares start rolling in for the season. There may only be four stallions, but there will be plenty of visitors for them, right through from one of the established elite sires of Europe, Lope De Vega (Ire), to the young buck Waldgeist (GB).

In between these two are the up-and-comers, Make Believe (GB) and New Bay (GB), both in the early stages of forging their reputations, the former especially via the mighty Mishriff (Ire), the highest earner in Europe last year thanks largely to his exploits in the $20 million Saudi Cup, for which he is returning a week on Saturday. Let's not forget, however, that Mishriff was also a Classic winner in France, continuing some important first-crop baton-passing down his sireline from Dubai Millennium (GB) to Dubawi (Ire) to Makfi (GB) and Make Believe. Following his success in Riyadh, Mishriff then added the G1 Juddmonte International S. to his tally back on the grass last season. He's as versatile and likeable as they come, and will certainly have brought untold joy to his owner/breeder Prince Faisal, who also raced Make Believe, having bought him as a foal.

“Prince Faisal has been really successful with Make Believe,” says O'Connor. “And he doesn't have a very big broodmare band but whatever he is doing, he is doing really well. He hasn't just had Mishriff, he's also had [Listed winner] Tammani (GB), [Group 3 winner] Noticeable Grace (Ire), and a recent Group 2 winner in Saudi Arabia, Third Kingdom (GB). He is continuing to support him and it does show you that when good shareholders stay in a stallion it is a huge advantage for a young horse.”

We hear plenty about syndicates in racing, but less publicly syndication has long been key to establishing stallions, and there are few studs around the world better versed in the art of this side of the business than Ballylinch. The stud and its partners are not afraid to put their shoulder to the wheel, as it were, in launching a new recruit, and recent successes speak to the value of this collaborative approach. Lope De Vega's first Group 1 winner Belardo (Ire) was a Ballylinch homebred, while another of his recent recruits to the National Stud in England, Lope Y Fernandez (Ire), was bred by shareholder SF Bloodstock. Similarly, China Horse Club provided the first Group 1 winner for New Bay in the Jane Chapple-Hyam-trained filly Saffron Beach (Ire), who has the G1 Dubai Turf pencilled in for next month.

There's plenty of buzz about sons of Dubawi at stud at present–witness the clamour for nominations and breeding rights to Zarak (Fr) and Time Test (GB) following their first-crop runners in 2021–and New Bay is one of the most significant vessels caught on this rising tide. He was the first of the Ballylinch quartet to be full for 2022, even after a fee rise from €20,000 to €37,500, and there are plenty of his offspring to look forward to this season. These include Classic prospects Bayside Boy (Ire) and Sea Bay (Ger), the latter having been Germany's champion 2-year-old last season. Another of note is the typical Sir Michael Stoute improver Bay Bridge (GB), winner of all four of his starts last year, including the Listed James Seymour S., for owner/breeder James Wigan, who also owns Saffron Beach with Lucy and Ollie Sangster.

We will have a while to wait for Waldgeist's runners as his first crop are just yearlings, but perhaps the wait won't be too long once the 2023 season is upon us. A son of Galileo (Ire) and the celebrated Monsun (Ger) mare Waldlerche (GB), Waldgeist wasn't slow in making an impression as a juvenile. He won on debut at Chantilly in September before finishing third (behind the Ballylinch-bred winner Frankuus) in the G3 Prix de Conde and then being produced with perfect timing by the maestro Andre Fabre to win the G1 Criterium de Saint-Cloud, a race which, in hindsight, had both strength and depth. Behind Waldgeist that day in Paris were future winners of the Derby, St Leger and Melbourne Cup in Wings Of Eagles (Fr), Capri (Ire) and Rekindling (GB), as well as treble Group 1 winner Best Solution (Ire).

O'Connor says, “We're delighted with the response from the industry to Waldgeist. I think one of the things that maybe caught one or two people by surprise is the quality and consistency of his stock. They mostly have quite fluent movement to them, and some of them look quite precocious actually, which was a bit of a surprise. But they have beautiful attitudes. Even watching his foals at the sales, they will always walk straight back in the box–they have that willing attitude and I hope that will transfer to their racing days.”

Waldgeist himself made 14 racecourse appearances, nine of them ending in victory, including his last triumphant hurrah in the Arc. But he was also highly effective over the shorter 2,100-metre trip of the G1 Prix Ganay, a performance which remains vivid in O'Connor's memory for the turn of foot he displayed in dispensing with Study Of Man (Ire) and Ghaiyyath (Ire) to win by more than four lengths.

“It's probably fair to say that Andre Fabre tends not to run horses in Group 1 races as 2-year-olds unless he feels they are up to it and he was proved right in this particular case,” O'Connor says. “I think this horse could surprise people in several ways. If we only think of him as an Arc winner then we can forget that he was a talented racehorse right from the start.”

He adds of the current preoccupation for standing precocious sprint-orientated stallions, “It's a phase that we are going through in terms of what's fashionable and it's probably related to people wanting to have a shorter time span in having to wait for a horse to reach his peak. But one of the things that we shouldn't forget with this particular horse is that he is a Group 1-winning 2-year-old.”

Waldgeist is another to benefit potentially from some notable backers, not least from those studs involved in his breeding, Newsells Park Stud, Gestut Ammerland and Gestut Fahrhof.

“He has a very strong syndicate and it's one that has a bit of history of doing well with launching a stallion so that is an advantage,” O'Connor notes. “Ammerland have been outstanding breeders for a number of decades. They certainly helped us to launch Lope De Vega, and now Newsells Park are involved, who are also outstanding breeders, combined with our usual shareholders, many of whom have been here since I started. I think that is influential in getting a young horse going.”

Now 15, Lope De Vega is all swagger in the Kilkenny sunshine, an attribute he has passed on to some of his sons at stud. There are four now in Ireland and Britain: Belardo, Phoenix Of Spain (Ire), and the latest additions Lucky Vega (Ire) and Lope Y Fernandez. With 11 full covering seasons under his belt, Lope De Vega's fee has increased from his opening €15,000, with a dip to €12,500 in years three and four, before his runners steadily emboldened the team to increase his price year by year to his current high of €125,000.

“Hopefully his sons will do well,” says O'Connor. “They were generated from his initial crops when he was €15,000 or a little margin above or below that. Obviously he's now a proven sire at the top level he's covering some really high-quality mares so it will be exciting to see the next generation of sons that come through from some of the top mares. It could give Lope De Vega a real opportunity to create a dynasty.”

Certainly, his recent books have had a stellar feel to them, with this year's foal crop alone set to include the offspring of Group 1 winners Arabian Queen (GB), Cursory Glance (GB), Dank (GB), Dar Re Mi (GB), Ervedya (Fr), Fallen For You (GB), Miss France (Ire), Moonlight Cloud (GB), Qualify (Ire), Taghrooda (GB), and Zarkava (Fr), as well as siblings to Pinatubo (Ire), Earthlight (Ire), Newspaperofrecord (Ire), Alcohol Free (Ire), and Legatissimo (Ire) among others.

He continues, “All the stallions will cover good books this year and the horse who was first to be full this time was New Bay, who was full from the end of last year really. We put his price up by a significant amount but he could have gone up more and it would have made no difference. Our policy is to go step by step to try to let the horses respond to how they are doing on the racetrack and in the sales ring. We did that with Lope De Vega and we try to do it with any of the younger horses that are succeeding. I try to think about how I would feel about it if I was on the other side of the fence, and we factor that into our plans.”

The Ballylinch quartet may be standing deep in famed Irish breeding territory at the former home of The Tetrarch but all four have a notably strong link to Chantilly, having graduated from the stable of one celebrated trainer, Andre Fabre. O'Connor has long had a fondness for France and admits to keeping a very close eye on the racing scene there, outlining his belief that the French form can be a little under-rated.

“Obviously we have had a lot of success with horses that have been trained by Andre,” he says. “He is a wonderful trainer and I think, certainly in our view, he trains horses in a way that it is very simple to understand how good the horse was.

He is fascinating to listen to in terms of his insight into a particular horse and we are delighted that he is happy to recommend us as a home for some of his top horses.”

O'Connor adds, “The first horse that we stood that he trained was Soviet Star, through he didn't come directly to us. But we have had a number of stallions that he has trained and a lot of them have done well, so if it ain't broke…”

Some sentences do not require an ending, for it is plain to see that the French connection has served this corner of Ireland very well indeed.

The post Ballylinch And Fabre’s Fab Four appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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New Era For Old Mill At Tattersalls

NEWMARKET, UK-Following on from a year in which many visitors were barred from attending the Tattersalls October Yearling Sale, an international crowd at Park Paddocks on Monday was a welcome sight as inspections continued less than 24 hours removed from the start of the firm's flagship Book 1.

The shoppers, of course, aren't the only international element to the sale; as befits any bloodstock auction of such stature, global themes abound in the pages of the 502 yearlings catalogued for Book 1, which runs from Tuesday through Thursday. There are five yearlings catalogued by Justify, who had no fewer than 19 sell for north of $500,000 at Keeneland November. Should he follow in the footsteps of his sire Scat Daddy–and indeed his fellow Triple Crown winner American Pharoah at Ashford Stud–Justify could yet prove an effective crossover sire.

Rob Speers is certainly of the opinion that Old Mill Stud's Justify filly out of the Group 3-placed Butterscotch (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) (lot 432) is made for the grass. The chestnut filly with the white blaze set to sell on the final day of the sale is one of two that breeder Ibrahim Araci brings to Book 1, and his Old Mill Stud rides the momentum of a productive Book 1 last year when selling under its own name for the first time. The stud brought four homebred yearlings last year, with the top seller being a Galileo (Ire) half-sister to eventual G1 Diamond Jubilee S. winner Dream Of Dreams (Ire) bought by Mike Ryan for 1.4-million gns. Araci also sold a pair of Kingman colts for 500,000gns and 300,000gns.

This year, in addition to the Justify filly, Old Mill offers a Lope De Vega (Ire) filly on Tuesday as lot 53. Both were being carried by their dams when Araci purchased them at Tattersalls December in 2019: the Justify filly's dam, Butterscotch, was bought by Speers on Araci's behalf for 700,000gns. Campaigned by the Coolmore partners, Butterscotch broke her maiden going six furlongs at Naas at two before finishing runner-up to eventual Group 1 winner Clemmie (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) in the G3 Grangecon Stud S. Butterscotch is out of the six furlong G3 Ballyogan S. winner Lessons In Humility (Ire) (Mujadil), also the dam of black-type winners Tiger Moth (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) and Coach House (Ire) (Oasis Dream {GB}).

The Lope De Vega filly is out of the multiple French listed placed Guerriere (Ire) (Invincible Spirit {Ire}), a full-sister to G3 Prix d'Aumale winner Soustraction (Ire) (Lope De Vega {Ire}) from the Wertheimer family of G1 Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe victress Solemia (Ire). Guerriere cost Araci 825,000gns at Tattersalls.

“I'm delighted to have two filly first foals out of two mares that we paid plenty of money for in the December Sales,” said Speers. “Butterscotch is a stakes-placed Galileo filly, and she got her stakes form as a 2-year-old over six and seven furlongs and she's out of a daughter of Mujadil called Lessons In Humility who was a six-furlong Group 1-class sprinter.

“The Justify filly has been a star since she was born. She was used for advertising pictures, and she's been forward and found everything very natural her whole life. She's come up here and looks the part. She's got a big white face and she's chestnut so she looks very much like her daddy. Butterscotch has a wonderful Kingman colt foal and is back in foal to Kingman. I'm very high on her and her future.”

“Scat Daddy and plenty of that line have had success on turf, and she's out of a Galileo mare,” Speers added. “She looks 100% a turf filly to me. She moves like a turf filly, she has a European hind leg and she floats.”

Of the Lope De Vega filly, Speers said, “She is from a wonderful Wertheimer family and she's a three-parts sister to a Group 1 horse [Soustraction]. She's been very natural and very straightforward all the way along. She's incredibly athletic. I've loved her attitude all along and particularly since she's come up to the sales; she's just pricked her ears, got on and done every show. She has global appeal and is a wonderful filly. I'd be very optimistic that she'll get the mare, Guerriere, off to a wonderful start. We adore the mare; she has a lovely Blue Point colt foal and is back in foal to Lope De Vega on the back of this filly. I'm very excited about her future.”

Turkish businessman Araci has been racing horses in the UK for around a decade, and has been involved with Thoroughbreds his native country, where he owns a large stud farm and stands four stallions, for much longer. His top colourbearers have included the G3 Solario S. and G3 Craven S. winner Native Khan (Fr) (Azamour {Ire}), who was third behind Frankel in the G1 2000 Guineas; Aktabantay (GB) (Oasis Dream {GB}), another winner of the Solario; Crimean Tatar (Tur) (Sea The Stars {Ire}), winner of the Listed Wild Flower S. and Group 3-winning sprinter Koropick (Ire) (Kodiac {GB}). Araci's daughter, Pinar, was responsible for his introduction to racing and is heavily involved in the operation. In 2018, Araci purchased the 100-acre Old Mill Stud formerly owned by David Shekells just outside Newmarket in Chippenham. Speers said Araci plans to continue to invest in high-end breeding stock while both racing and selling the progeny.

“Pinar and Mr. Araci are keen to trade horses, buy and sell, and grow the farm and in time become a bigger player in the industry,” he explained. “We have nine horses in training at the moment. Horses in training will always be a part of what we do; there is a big redevelopment still going on at the farm and we've put a lot of money into purchasing mares, so trading horses is definitely something we want to continue to do. I think in time Mr. Araci would like to go down the owner/breeder route, but nothing is fixed in stone and while we are coming to the sales, we're going to bring our best.”

Oneliner No One Hit Wonder

Oneliner Stables made its Book 1 debut in 2019 one to remember, selling a Sea The Stars (Ire) colt it had purchased for 330,000gns the prior December to Godolphin for 725,000gns. Oneliner, the moniker of Gerard Lowry and his family, has continued to invest in high-end foals to pinhook. After selling three last year for a cumulative 665,000gns, Oneliner brings four colts to the sale this year to pinhook.

First up on day one is lot 105, another son of Sea The Stars, this one out of La Mortola (GB) (Dubawi {Ire}), a half-sister to Group 1 winners Jakkalberry (Ire) (Storming Home {GB}), Crackerjack King (Ire) (Shamardal) and Awelmarduk (Ire) (Almutawakel {GB}). The mare's first foal, a Frankel (GB) colt named Fabrizio (GB), was bought by Godolphin for 300,000gns at this sale, while Oneliner paid 170,000gns for the Sea The Stars in December.

“We believe the cross has worked amazingly well and you can see both sides in the yearling,” Lowry said. “There are three Group 1 winners under the second dam and the mother's first foal, a Frankel colt, was placed twice last year and unfortunately met with a setback in training with Charlie Appleby and hasn't run since.”

“He's the type of animal we like to produce,” Lowry added of the Sea The Stars. “He's a good and fluid-moving horse with a lot of power and substance about him.”

Also going through the ring on Tuesday is lot 130, a full-brother to G1 Irish 2000 Guineas winner Phoenix Of Spain (Ire) (Lope De Vega {Ire}) secured for 300,000gns in December.

“He's an exciting animal to have,” Lowry said. “That cross has worked very well because obviously he's a full-brother to a Classic winner, but the mare has produced three black-type horses by lesser stallions and they've been very highly rated. He's a lovely horse, typical of Lope De Vega in a lot of ways and he's going down very well.”

Looking to get Wednesday off to a bright start for Oneliner will be lot 181, a Frankel (GB) half-brother to the Group 3-winning and Group 1-placed Lily's Angel (Ire) (Dark Angel {Ire}) that the Lowrys secured for 360,000gns. Lowry wasn't hiding his admiration for the colt, saying, “He's just special. He's gorgeous. He has it all: looks, substance, movement and pedigree, being a half-brother to a filly that was placed in the G1 Matron S. Their other sister was fourth in the French Guineas, so the mare has produced two Group 1 horses, one rated 109 and one 110.”

Looking to end things on a high note on Thursday will be lot 484, a Camelot (GB) colt purchased for 140,000gns. The family was handed a Group 1 update in April when Juliet Foxtrot won the GI Jenny Wiley S. at Keeneland.

“It is the Dancing Brave champions' pedigree; a great Juddmonte page,” Lowry said. “But we think the Camelot/Oasis Dream cross is incredible when you consider Sir Dragonet, the winner of the Cox Plate last year, was bred on the same cross.”

Gerard's father Jimmy Lowry, who was busy showing the Oneliner colts at Park Paddocks on Monday, has some 45 years experience with horses, most of his involvement coming on the National Hunt side before a health scare for the elder Lowry led to his family switching gears and focusing on a few top-end flat horses just a few years ago.

“Dad was 60 years of age and he had come into bad health; he got a condition called Lupus and had to pull back on his workload, so we went for lesser numbers and better quality,” Lowry explained. “We had confidence in our own ability; we've been involved in the National Hunt side of the game, buying and pinhooking, and we felt it was the time to make the step up. My father wasn't getting any younger and he likes to be very hands-on with his animals. He's the horseman with 45 years experience in the industry; I'm just in the lucky position that I'm passionate about pedigrees and sales. I didn't work in the industry, I came into it from outside and made my money elsewhere. We sold a Grade 1 winner over jumps and that gave us confidence. We've built up a lot of relationships with agents across Europe. A lot of them cross over [from National Hunt to flat], and it's the same type of athlete and same type of animal; it's all about movement and the athlete.

“The business model is to try to have a couple horses for Book 1 every year and for the other good sales, like Arqana and Goffs Orby, but as it fell this year we have them here in Book 1. We've been very lucky here.”

“The plan is to sell black-type horses and the dream would be to sell a Group 1 winner and hopefully a Classic winner, but they're so hard to come by,” Lowry added. “There's such a global market for stallions, we're hoping to produce a future stallion.”

Beach Of An Update

When the Book 1 catalogue was released in early August, it was able to boast the siblings to 47 Group 1 and Classic winners. A few more have since been added to those ranks, with the latest update being for lot 15, Ballylinch Stud's half-sister to Saffron Beach (Ire) (New Bay {GB}), who continued her progression with a victory in Saturday's G1 Sun Chariot S.

Like lot 15, who is by Australia (GB), Saffron Beach was bred by China Horse Club and raised at Ballylinch's sister farm Castlemartin Stud.

“Saffron Beach is obviously a very high-class filly,” said Ballylinch Managing Director John O'Connor. “She deserved to win a Group 1 and could win a few more. She's a very progressive, high-quality filly.

“Her sister by Australia is a very attractive filly, very athletic. In some ways she is a little bit similar to Saffron Beach. She's a great walker and she's been very popular. I'd expect her to go really well.”

Ballylinch won't have long to take in the result of Saffron Beach's sister before it sends the brother to another Group 1 winner, a Lope De Vega (Ire) half-brother to G1 Irish 1000 Guineas winner Just The Judge (Ire) (Lawman {Fr}), through the ring as lot 16. The dam Faraday Light (Ire) (Rainbow Quest)

has also produced the stakes-placed Obliterator (Ire) (Oratorio {Ire}), and her current 2-year-old Allayaali (Ire) (Dark Angel {Ire}) sold to Shadwell for €575,000 at Goffs November in 2019.

“He's a big, powerful colt,” O'Connor said of lot 16. “He's athletic with a big, big walk on him. He's a high-class colt.”

Ballylinch will look to end Tuesday's trade on another high with another beautifully bred son of its star resident Lope De Vega, lot 142, a full-brother to Aunt Pearl (Ire) who Ballylinch sold here for 280,000gns to agents Liz Crow and Brad Weisbord before she went on to win the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies' Turf at Keeneland in 2020. The dam, Matauri Pearl (Ire) (Hurricane Run {Ire}), had a Sea The Stars (Ire) filly sell for €450,000 at Arqana's October Yearling Sale last year.

“He's an exciting colt,” O'Connor said. “He's a really attractive horse. Like Matauri Pearl, he's a medium-sized horse as opposed to a real big one, but he has a lot of power and strength to him. He's a very athletic horse, a great mover.”

O'Connor said the strong start to the sales season has been welcome after the volatility of the pandemic.

“It's great to see,” he said. “I think the American interest in European horses is pretty substantial at the moment. There were plenty of Americans both last week at Goffs and here this week, and I think it makes sense because they're having a lot of success on the turf over there, and it's been reflected in increased interest. As a farm we've been very lucky with the horses that have gone to America from the farm; we've had three Breeders' Cup winners so we're pretty happy that when they go there they have a chance of doing well.”

Ballylinch offers 12 across the three days of Book 1.

“Honestly, I think we have a really even, high-quality draft this year,” O'Connor said. “It's probably the best draft we've ever brought to Tattersalls.”

Book 1 of the Tattersalls October Yearling Sale begins at 11 a.m. on Tuesday, with many, many star-quality yearlings with internationally-appealing pedigrees by all of Europe's leading sires, and some from further appeal, set to be offered.

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TDN Rising Star For New Bay’s New Energy at The Curragh

Sunday's William Hill Ireland Play Responsibly Irish EBF Maiden over seven furlongs at The Curragh looked deep on paper and a deeply impressive display it produced, with John Lavery's 2-year-old colt New Energy (Ire) (New Bay {GB}), a £65,000 Goresbridge breeze-up graduate, attaining 'TDN Rising Star' status in exciting fashion. The eventual winner, 'fifth' and 'first' in recent Dundalk barrier trials, was not without support at 11-1 odds and made a slick getaway to hold sway under a firm hold from flagfall. Hard on the steel with all rivals under pressure passing the two pole, he was allowed an inch of rein by Robbie Colgan entering the final furlong and powered clear in style to outpoint Sir Antonino (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) by 2 1/2 lengths. Paris Lights (Ire) (Siyouni {Fr}), a full-brother to five-time Group 1 winner St Mark's Basilica (Fr), shaped with promise and ran on well in the closing stages to finish fifth.

“I really have to thank Gary Halpin, who gave this horse a big recommendation,” said trainer Sheila Lavery. “He didn't put the gun to his head at the Breeze-Ups because he was suffering a little bit from sore shins. I left him in today, but I was praying for rain just to ease the ground a bit. I thought so much of him that he had an entry in the [G2] Beresford, but I didn't want his first run to be at that level and have a hard race. He has a [G1 Irish 2000] Guineas entry and I think he's something very special. He has a very natural high cruising speed and ran twice in barrier trails. He was very green the first time, when I didn't put a cross noseband on him, and he won the second time. I would love to run him in a winners-of-one, but those sort of races are really missing from the programme. He could go for something like the [G3] Killavullan S. at Leopardstown.”

New Energy is the seventh of eight foals and becomes the fifth scorer produced by For Joy (GB) (Singspiel {Ire}), whose leading performer to date is G3 Premio Elena E Sergio Cumani victrix Victoria Regina (Ire) (Mastercraftsman {Ire}). For Joy, who has a yearling colt by Profitable (Ire) to come, is a winning full-sister to G3 Autumn S. victor Abjer (Fr) and G3 Henry II S. victrix Gloomy Sunday (Ire). The winner's second dam, Listed Prix Scaramouche winner Fine and Mellow (Fr) (Lando {Ger}), is one of four black-type winners bred from the Belgian champion and Listed Belgian St Leger heroine Mika Red (Bel) (Red Steps). Descendants of the latter include Listed Belgian 1000 Guineas-winning duo Mika Gallery (Ire) (Tate Gallery) and Baie des Anges (Bel) (Pas de Seul {GB}). For Joy's Profitable yearling is catalogued as Lot 566 in next month's Tattersalls October Book 2.

.2nd-Curragh, €16,500, Mdn, 9-26, 2yo, 7fT, 1:27.51, gd.
NEW ENERGY (IRE), c, 2, by New Bay (GB)
1st Dam: For Joy (GB), by Singspiel (Ire)
2nd Dam: Fine and Mellow (Fr), by Lando (Ger)
3rd Dam: Mika Red (Bel), by Red Steps
1ST-TIME STARTER. (£65,000 2yo '21 TATGOR). Lifetime Record: 1-1-0-0, $11,601. O-John Lavery; B-Anne Hallinan & John O'Connor (IRE); T-Sheila Lavery. Click for the Racing Post result or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree. VIDEO.

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