“The dream is to produce a champion,” Farrell Set for Breeze-Up Season

Making headlines at a sale with big-figure results is all well and good, but any breeze-up consignor with their eye on the future understands that a more significant indicator of sustainable success is how those graduates go on to perform on the racetrack.

Cormac Farrell, a trainer and a trader of both breeze-up and point-to-point horses, is a firm believer in the concept. After launching CF Bloodstock in 2023, the horseman has ambitious goals in mind for his fledgling operation's future.

“I want to produce horses that go on and become good racehorses,” Farrell said. “The dream is to produce a champion. You see these guys like Willie Browne, Con Marnane, Norman Williamson and Eddie O'Leary. I can't name them all, but they've produced Group 1 winners. You want to see your horses go on and fulfill their potential at whatever level, but if we could produce a couple of champions along the way, that would be the dream.”

Farrell's new operation could hardly have gotten off to a better start last year when CF Bloodstock co-topped the Tattersalls Guineas Breeze-Up Sale with a €55,000 Tattersalls Ireland September Yearling Sale pinhook. The Zoffany (Ire) colt sold for 200,000gns to Richard Hughes and Ted Durcan. Now named Bracken's Laugh (Ire) and campaigned by Bernadine and Sean Mulryan, he was an auspicious debut maiden winner last September for Hughes and in his 3-year-old debut last week, claimed the Cardinal Conditions Stakes by 2 3/4 lengths.

Farrell said that he was always a believer in the colt and admitted that he had been a bit relieved when the horse got the job done in his first start last year.

“I had sort of built him up enough that if he wasn't any good, I was going to look a bit silly really because I was pretty bullish about him from the word go,” he said. “He was a big, raw horse and we did very little with him the whole way through because we were allowing him just to fill into his frame. We were rewarded with our patience because he came to hand in time to do a lovely breeze. Hopefully Richard has an unbelievable year with him and it'll be great for everybody.”

But Farrell is no rookie to consigning big-ticket horses. He previously formed half of Leamore Horses, which he ran in partnership with his ex-wife Anna Calder. Dancing City (Fr) (Feel Like Dancing {GB}) is the latest high-profile graduate from that consignment, having  just won a second Grade 1 novice hurdle at Aintree on Friday.

Since last year's breeze-ups, Farrell has been active not only in buying his next crop of pinhooks, but he also acquired a yard for his operation. Partnering up with his longtime associate, owner and breeder Douglas Taylor, Farrell took over the prolific Copper Beech Stables from trainer Michael Halford. The property located just a few minutes from the heart of the Curragh grounds has provided an optimal setup for Farrell to get the business off and running.

“I pinch myself every day with the excitement,” said Farrell. “I never thought I'd be in a place like this. Never. So for Douglas to be as supportive as he's been throughout it all and for the success we've had and everything, to be here right now is so exciting. Hopefully it's just going to keep going in the right direction. It's a lot of pressure. This place wasn't cheap and it all has to be paid for, but I think we've got an incredible bunch of horses this year.”

Farrell was represented by just over a dozen breeze-up horses last year and that number has grown to 30 for 2024. In addition to a handful of horses pointing for the racetrack, point-to-point trainees round out the roster. But Farrell said that the breeze-ups sales are where he hopes to concentrate his focus.

“I won't completely get away from the point-to-pointers because Douglas stands a couple of very nice National Hunt stallions and there is a lot of nice young stock coming through the ranks here,” he explained. “I'd be happy to train them because he's gone out and bought some fantastic mares and he's got some very good jumps stallions, but I prefer the global market of the breeze-ups. It's such a vast market and it seems to be very strong at the moment. Hopefully that relays into the breeze-up sales.”

CF Bloodstock will be sending seven juveniles through the ring at next week's Tattersalls Craven Breeze-Up Sale. Among the group, Farrell pointed out a Kameko colt (lot 121) out of stakes winner Miss Sugars (GB) (Harbour Watch {Ire}) as well as a Sioux Nation colt (lot 123) out of the Street Cry (Ire) mare Mo Chara.

“I think they're a solid bunch,” he reported. “They're all very sound. They all X-ray clean and the scopes are excellent. Until they breeze and we get that out of the way, you don't know where you're going to land. All the homework is done now and I hope they all do themselves justice.”

Farrell's pinhook shopping takes him everywhere from Goffs and Tattersalls to Arqana and Keeneland. No matter where he's buying, Farrell considers conformation to be non-negotiable for his breeze-up prospects.

Bracken's Laugh sells for 200,000gns | Tattersalls

“If I had any amount of money to spend, I'd go for a gorgeous horse that is well put together before anything else,” he explained. “Then I think in terms of the breeze-ups, you need a bit of stallion power and then the pedigree nearly comes last. The Sioux Nation that goes to Craven is huge. I just felt that as a yearling last year he screamed 'racehorse' to me. He was a very mature yearling and now he looks like a 3-year-old. Funnily enough, last year Bracken's Laugh was also a very big horse and people probably didn't think he would be ready.”

“You have to think outside the box a little bit buying breeze-up horses because if everybody wants to buy the same horse, none of us would be able to buy a horse,” he added. “There's a lot of luck involved. We buy a lot of horses and some go right and some go wrong, but I look for a horse that catches my eye, that sort of tells me that he wants to be a racehorse.”

Of course the purchasing of the horse is oftentimes the easy part. The training is where the real work begins. Farrell, who has a background in eventing, cited that this area in particular is where he hopes his business garners a positive reputation.

“The way the horses are produced and their performance at the sale and going forward beyond the sale is a reflection on how we produce them,” he explained. “We do a lot of flatwork with them and they all ride very nicely. If you get them to clock fast and they turn out that they've been drilled to clock fast, that's not good for everybody. There is no point in getting a horse to breeze and then a trainer gets them and says that the horse is so rank that he's unrideable. That would be no good for business.”

Farrell applauded the many consignors he has known over the years who have had a hand in developing the breeze-up sales' track record for producing effective athletes.

“The people producing the breeze-ups horses are doing an incredible job,” he said. “The horses are all coming out and winning within weeks of the sale. It used to be months, but it's weeks after the sale now and they're super sound. They're conditioning them to race and they're standing up to training a lot better. Their longevity is a lot better. The breeze-ups are proven to be an unbelievable source of good horses and let's hope it continues to be that way. I'm excited to be a part of it and I hope I can live up to some of the people that have come before me and do as well as they have.”

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Naming Competition For Trio Of Kameko Juveniles Launched

Social media followers of Qatar Racing will be able to enter a new naming competition for three of Kameko's first juveniles that was launched last Sunday. The competition runs until midnight on Sunday, Mar. 24 and winners will be announced the week beginning Apr. 1.

Horses available for naming that will run in the claret and gold silks of Sheikh Fahad al Thani are:

  • a filly out of Group 1 winner Con Te Partiro (GB) (Time Test {GB}) who is trained by John and Thady Gosden
  • a filly out of listed heroine Ripples Maid (GB) (Dansili {GB}), who is trained by James Ferguson
  • and a colt out of Quads (Ire) (Shamardal) in training with Archie Watson.

The winners will be selected by Sheikh Fahad, chairman of Qatar Racing, and Qatar racing manager David Redvers of Tweenhills Stud, where the G1 2000 Guineas hero stands. The prize will include two tickets for the opening day of the QIPCO Guineas Festival, which begins on Friday, May 3.

To enter, follow Qatar Racing on social media @Qatar_Racing (Twitter/X) or @qatarracingltd (Instagram), reply to any of the social media posts with your suggestions. Names must be clean and a max of 18 characters.

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ARC, Doncaster Racecourse, Qatar Racing Join Forces For Futurity Trophy Sponsorship

Arena Racing Company (ARC), Doncaster Racecourse and Qatar Racing have partnered this year to sponsor the G1 Kameko Futurity Trophy, the organisations announced in a joint statement on Friday.

The one-mile event, worth £200,000, is the final Group 1 of the British Flat season and is set to be contested on Saturday, Oct. 28. A total of 66 entries remain, including Aidan O'Brien's unbeaten G1 National S. winner Henry Longfellow (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}).

“We are delighted to be able to support the 2023 Kameko Futurity Trophy, a race that consistently provides one of the highlights of the Flat season by whetting the appetite for the following year's Classics,” David Redvers, Qatar Racing's bloodstock and racing manager and owner of Tweenhills, said.

Recent Futurity Trophy winners Kameko (Kitten's Joy) and Magna Grecia (Ire) (Invincible Spirit {Ire}) both went on to victories in the G1 QIPCO 2000 Guineas at Newmarket, and this year's G1 Betfred Derby, G1 Irish Derby and G1 Irish Champion winner Auguste Rodin (Ire) (Deep Impact {Jpn}) is the Futurity Trophy's reigning champion.

“Qatar Racing continue to be tremendous supporters of British Racing and we are delighted to secure their support of what is one of the highlights of the season at Doncaster,” David Leyden Dunbar, group director of Commercial Strategy and Partnerships at ARC, said. “Kameko will always have a special connection with the race as 2019's renewal, run at Newcastle Racecourse and won by Kameko, remains the only British Group 1 race to be run on an artificial surface. Our thanks go to them and the entire team at Qatar Racing for their support.”

For tickets to the Kameko Futurity, visit the Doncaster website.

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Balding Keen On Greenham Prep Run With Guineas Livewire Chaldean

Chaldean (GB) (Frankel {GB}), one of the most exciting horses in Britain, is likely to have a prep run for the 2000 Guineas in the Greenham S. at Newbury next month, his trainer Andrew Balding has revealed. 

A general 8-1 chance for Guineas glory, Juddmonte's Chaldean will be bidding to chart the same path to victory as his sire Frankel, who took the Greenham before turning in one of the most memorable performances of all time in the Newmarket Classic. 

Balding is no stranger to Guineas success himself. In 2020, he sent out Kameko to win the race under Oisin Murphy. While Kameko won the 2000 Guineas without having a prep race, Balding is happy to adopt a different approach with Chaldean, given how the colt thrived on his racing last year. 

Balding told TDN Europe, “We are very happy at this moment in time. Chaldean has done very well in his coat and has come forward in his work so, at this moment in time, we are just where we want to be.”

He added, “I think we'd prefer a prep for the Guineas with him and the Greenham would be the obvious one for him. He's not penalised in that and it's eight miles down the road from us. It would be the equivalent of having a good gallop at home to go there and have a race. 

“He's a horse who improved with racing last year–with every race he got better–so we have been planning for a prep with him. That is the intention at the moment, to go to Newbury and then on to Newmarket all being well.”

Chaldean went from strength to strength last season. After suffering defeat on debut, he went on to win his next four starts, culminating with victory in the G2 Champagne S. at Doncaster followed by a battling victory over Royal Scotsman (Ire) (Gleneagles {Ire}) in the G1 Dewhurst S at Newmarket. 

Asked if the fact that Chaldean is a May foal contributed to his stupendous progression last term, Balding said, “It could well be. If I'm honest, he was a little unlucky first time out as he got caught in a pocket and was just a little bit inexperienced but he learned a lot from that and, as I said, with each run he seemed to get better. It was a very rewarding two-year-old career and hopefully he can do as well this year.”

He added, “After he ran a few times last year, he became not particularly flashy at home. He's very relaxed and every time we took him to the track, he put it in. He's just a great horse to have anything to do with.”

Frankie Dettori partnered Chaldean to his Champagne and Dewhurst wins and Balding confirmed that the intention is for the legendary jockey to maintain the partnership. 

He concluded, “That's the intention [for Dettori to keep the ride this season]. We are hoping that is the case.”

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