Owners Of Big Evs Reinvest In 190k Lope De Vega Filly At Tatts Ireland

Less than a week on from that scintillating display in the G2 Flying Childers S. at Doncaster, the connections of Big Evs (Ire) (Blue Point {Ire}) were reinvesting at the Tattersalls Ireland September Yearling Sale on a Lope De Vega (Ire) filly for €190,000. 

Fitting that it was a Blue Point half-sister, the Jessica Harrington-trained Bluedrum (Ire), who provided the page with a timely update when running out an ultra-impressive winner of a maiden at Naas last week. 

She looks destined for black-type races and Conor Quirke, who purchased the Lope De Vega filly from The Castlebridge Consignment to be trained by Mick Appleby, has similar aspirations for his acquisition. 

He said, “She was a standout for me and ultimately the half-sister got her over the line. This filly is lovely and was well-placed here–the breeders are good at their job. Today was not her cup final, she is going to keep improving, which I appreciate. She is a lovely filly and hard to fault. We like the sire, too, and it all made sense.”

The day one top lot is out of Drumfad Bay (Ire) (Acclamation {GB}), herself a dual winner who finished second in a Group 3 and won a Listed contest.

Quirke added, “She has residual value and is a half to a good Blue Point filly and she will be a broodmare in time. She will go to Mick Appleby. I have bought for RP for the last five years or so. We have danced all the big dances this year with Big Evs and we want to get back to it again next year.”

It was breeze-up consignor Mickey Cleere who found Big Evs initially. He paid 50,000gns for the colt at the Tattersalls October Book 2 Sale before selling him through Quirke to his current connections who are enjoying the thrill of a lifetime. 

Providing an update on the Breeders' Cup bound speedster, Quirke concluded, “He bounced out as usual and I have booked my flights to America. Mick is great fun, the owners are good people and it has been a great journey so long may it continue.”

  • Mickey Cleere raised a few eyebrows by revealing in these pages over the weekend that he had not started buying for the upcoming breeze-up season despite the fact that there has been a number of major sales prior to Fairyhouse. Well, Cleere, who found Ballymount Boy (Ire) (Camacho {GB}) here last year, didn't waste any time on getting in on the action. The first lot into the ring. Bang. An Arizona (Ire) colt consigned by Alice Fitzgerald goes the way of MC Thoroughbreds. Cleere may have his own approach to the sales but few can argue that it is not an effective one. He went on to land an Ardad (Ire) filly later in the day for €38,000.
  • It didn't take long for the day to produce a good pinhook. Lot 20 into the ring, a Teofilo (Ire) colt consigned by Castletown Quarry, was snapped up by Hubie de Burgh for €70,000. Not a bad result for connections who bought the colt out of the unraced Dubawi (Ire) mare Amazing Grace (Ire) for just 21,000gns at the Tattersalls December Foal Sale. 
  • The first horse to rock into six figures was lot 12, a Ten Sovereigns (Ire) filly from Glenvale Stud, snapped up by Anthony Bromley of Highflyer Bloodstock for €100,000. A half-sister to Lakota Seven (Ire) (Sioux Nation), a smart colt for Joseph O'Brien, the Ten Sovereigns filly was bought on behalf of Polly Pott's owner Andrew Megson to be trained by Ed Dunlop. Speaking alongside Dunlop's brother Harry, Bromley commented, “She has been bought for Andrew Megson, who is perhaps known more for his jumping string. Harry is helping the Megsons and this filly is going to his brother Ed Dunlop, who has a few for the couple to run on the Flat for some fun.”
  • It was yet another productive yearling sale for Bromley but he kept everyone guessing as to who he signed the €100,000 Mehmas colt on behalf of. Bred by Yeomanstown Stud, lot 141 was bought by Rochestown Lodge Stud for €40,000 at the Goffs November Foal Sale before selling to Bromley on behalf of “an Irish breeze-up client”. Bromely said, “It is punchy, but I love the sire and this colt has a little more scope than some by Mehmas. He is very athletic. I believe this horse is a racehorse and so does my client. Let's hope he is a weapon!”
  • The only Wootton Bassett (GB) to go under the hammer on the day was always going to capture the imagination and it was BBA Ireland's Mick Donohoe who bought the Norelands-drafted filly on behalf of a Middle Eastern client. Donohoe went to €82,000 to secure the filly, out of a winning Dalakhani (Ire) mare, who has also produced a winner. The top agent said, “She has been bought for a Middle Eastern-based client, who has been a lucky client of mine. She will stay in Ireland to be broken and will go on to be trained in Ireland, England or France. It is very busy here, there are lots of buyers and Tattersalls and Irish Thoroughbred Marketing have worked hard to get buyers here across all levels. There should be a good clearance rate today.”
  • The clearance rate stood at 86%, down 5% on last year, but the aggregate, average and median was on the up for what was admittedly a bigger book [13 extra yearlings compared to in 2022]. The aggregate was up 3% to €6,729,500, the median up 13% to €30,000 and the average up 5% to €32,827.

Kameko Colt Heading To Norway At 115k

The progeny of Kameko have been in high demand at the yearling sales so far this year and a colt by the Tweenhills sire piqued interests at Fairyhouse when selling to Edgar Byrne for €115,000.

Byrne, who has had a lot of success buying horses to go abroad, notably 3,000gns horses-in-training purchase Kitty Marion (GB) (Iffraaj {GB}), who went on to win a group 3 in Germany, was acting on behalf of Norway-based trainer Niels Petersen.

The trainer commented, “For Scandinavia, you tend to look for a well-balanced horse as our tracks are a little sharper and we don't have any straight courses. We have dirt and turf tracks and he might be one that could suit either surface. He fits what we are after.”

Petersen added, “I have bought a lot here before, but not for some time. We chatted about coming here to see what we could find. We think this bracket suits our requirements–our prize-money is good and it is easier to win than in Ireland!”

The trainer may be a familiar face at Fairyhouse but for the JC Organisation, for whom the colt will race for, this represented the first time shopping this sale. Byrne hopes it won't be the last. 

The agent said, “They are a big client of Niels and he has trained a Derby winner for the syndicate. This horse was our top pick for JC, we have other clients to buy for, but he suited this order. We did have to push to buy him, but you do for the right horse and for the good ones.”

The result represented a standout pinhook for Clenagh Castle Stud. Bought for just 11,000gns at the Tattersalls December Sale, the Kameko colt brought home nearly six figures in profit before costs, and the outfit's Adrian Costello said that sourcing one by the stallion was high up on his agenda for pinhooking. How right he was. 

Costello said, “He was a gorgeous foal and has done well all the way through and this year Zoulu Chief (GB) (Zoustar {Aus}) has come out and done well. I loved the idea of Kameko last year but it was hard to buy one!” 

Poste Delivers With Three Yearlings For New Breeze-Up Project

Charlie Poste, the popular ex National Hunt jockey, made his first trip to this sale count by teaming up with top bloodstock agent Tom Biggs to secure three colts for a new breeze-up venture. 

Retired from the saddle four years now, Poste has done well trading point-to-point horses in Britain, but the international appeal of the bloodstock market on the Flat convinced him to gather up a syndicate of 10 people to branch out into the breeze-up game. 

Poste signed for a Calyx (GB) filly for €30,000, a Kodiac (GB) filly for €36,000 and a Churchill (Ire) colt for €25,000 on the opening day of the sale under the banner of Blandford Bloodstock and his own Station Yard. 

He said, “This is a new venture for us and Tom Biggs of Blandford Bloodstock has been a huge help. We've put together a syndicate of 10 people and the plan is to buy five yearlings to breeze for next year. We went to Doncaster and to the Somerville and underbid plenty so it has been a bit of a frustrating start. But today has been great. We were guided by Tom to come here and we're delighted to have bought three.”

Poste went on to explain that the fact much more credence is paid to point-to-point form in Ireland compared to Britain, where he is based, was another deciding factor in getting involved in training horses for the breeze-ups.

He said, “The breeze-ups is something we have been interested in and building towards for a while now. We started off with all of our own money and didn't have a big backer or anything like that. We needed to create a bit of cash flow with the National Hunt side of the business and, thankfully, there is a bit of that there now. 

“We were just trying to look into something where there is a bit more of a global market because there is always going to be somewhat of a ceiling in selling British point-to-pointers rather than Irish point-to-pointers. There is no such bias in the breeze-ups if you turn up and do a good time and look the part so that was another reason for getting involved in this side of things. We have our own ideas about how we do things and are looking forward to seeing how things develop in year one.”

Meet The Italian Buyer Who Spent Almost 200k On Day One

I'll be the first to put my hand up and admit that I knew next to nothing about Razza Latina, who popped up for five yearlings to the tune of almost €200,000 on the day.

That propelled Razza Latina, which is the bloodstock arm of Italian trainer Cristiana Brivio's business, the fourth busiest buyer on the day.

Brivio trains alongside her husband Endo Botti in Tuscany and her colours are said to be quite recognisable in her home country. She has developed a strong list of clients back home and described herself as happy with the quality that she was able to secure at Tattersalls Ireland. 

“I am a trainer with my husband but I buy as an agent as well,” she explained. “We train together and they run in my colours. The trade has been very strong here but I think the quality of the horses has also improved in recent years. Yes, it is a strong market, but there is value here.”

Brivio has reason to be happy about shopping in Ireland. It was her €23,000 Goffs Autumn yearling purchase Goldenas (Ire) (Golden Horn {GB}), picked up from Blackberry Road Stud, who landed this year's Italian Derby in Rome.

Brivio said, “I have been very lucky in Ireland. I bought the Italian Derby winner Goldenas here and Ireland has been very good for me. I have always been very lucky here and have bought many winners. I am thankful to my clients for giving me the opportunity to come back. I will be at Goffs next week as well and we just try to buy a nice horse, nothing in particular–a nice racey horse.”

Buy of the day

It was Edmond Ryan of Weir View Stud who supplied Native American (Ire) (Sioux Nation), winner of the €300,000 Tattersalls Ireland Super Auction, at this sale last year. And who's to say the top consignor hasn't unearthed another gem in lot 114, a Make Believe (GB) colt knocked down to Luke Lillingston for €70,000. 

Bought for just 13,000gns by Ryan at the Tattersalls December Foal Sale, the Make Believe clearly turned into a belter of a yearling and wasn't missed at Fairyhouse, with many of the top buyers turning up for him in the ring. 

Out of a High Chaparral (Ire) mare who won three times and has produced two winners, including the first and only winner for Waldgeist (GB) in Britain to date, the Make Believe is a colt to look forward to in the second half of next year and beyond. He is off to Andrew Balding, who was standing alongside Lillingston when the hammer fell.

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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.

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David Egan ‘Very Excited’ To Reunite With Saudi Cup Winner Mishriff For Dubai Sheema Classic

Fresh from enjoying the biggest success in his still very young career, 2021 Saudi Cup-winning jockey David Egan is now hoping to add the Group 1 $5m Longines Dubai Sheema Classic to his growing record when he reunites with the John Gosden-trained Mishriff on Saturday.

Some racing fans were surprised that the 4-year-old son of Make Believe would line up at the start of the 2400m (1 1/2 miles) showdown, which is run on turf, rather than in the Dubai World Cup itself, but Egan explained: “The dirt in Dubai is not the same as the dirt in Saudi and I think the mile and a half will give him a pre-test run for the upcoming season.

“Whether they are aiming him at the top mile and a half races or whether they are thinking about dropping back for the remainder of the season. I think that he will stay and the Sheema Classic should be an exciting race.”

The 2021 season looks very promising for the 21-year-old jockey, who despite being the retained rider to Prince A A Faisal since 2020 was not on board Mishriff when he lifted the Prix du Jockey Club, also known as the French Derby, at Chantilly last year. Neither was he in Deauville when he won the Prix Guillaume d'Ornano, nor when he ran disappointingly in the Champion Stakes at Ascot.

“I won a Listed race with him at Newmarket and after that he was going for the French Derby, but by the time we knew he was going to France, I couldn't quarantine anymore,” the jockey who spent most of the winter in Bahrain explained. “The following time, I got a four-day suspension, and I couldn't move one of the days so I could definitely not ride him when Frankie rode him in Deauville. And the time after that, in the Champion Stakes, the Prince and Mr. Gosden decided that they wanted Frankie to ride him. He got beat and ran a bit disappointingly and then Prince Faisal requested me not long after that to ride him in the Saudi Cup.”

It couldn't have been easy to see other jockeys win on a horse that means the world to him but despite his young age, Egan is quite philosophical when he adds: “Whatever I was to do wouldn't change the fact that I wasn't going to be riding him. It was obviously fate that I wasn't meant to ride him on the other occasions. I'm not superstitious, but I believe the fact that I didn't ride him in the other races could have been a factor that I did ride him in the Saudi Cup and that we won the race. Maybe, if I had ridden him before and he got beat and ran bad, things might have gone differently for Mishriff and he might not have won the Saudi Cup. Things happen for a reason.”

Mishriff is not the only ride he will have on Dubai World Cup night, as he is also booked to ride the Ed Dunlop-trained Red Verdon in the Dubai Gold Cup Sponsored by Al Tayer Motors, the Simon Crisford-trained Court House in the Dubai Turf Sponsored by DP World, as well as Jane Chapple-Hyam's Ambassadorial in the Godolphin Mile Sponsored by Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum City – District One.

“I'm very excited,” he concluded. “And if I win the Sheema Classic, I won't be complaining about the 10 days I will have to spend in quarantine in a hotel in England, will I?”

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Saudi Cup Winner Mishriff Headed For Dubai; Returns To Turf In Sheema Classic

After his thrilling upset victory over Charlatan in the $20 million Saudi Cup on the dirt, Mishriff will return to the turf for the Dubai Sheema Classic on the Dubai World Cup undercard on Mar. 27, reports the Racing Post. The $4 million race is contested over 1 1/2 miles on the turf at Meydan Racecourse.

Trained by John Gosden, the 4-year-old son of Make Believe won the G1 Prix du Jockey Club and G2 Prix Guillaume d'Ornano on turf last summer.

Trainer John Gosden told the Racing Post: “This morning we've accepted an invitation for Mishriff to run in the Dubai Sheema Classic. He's a versatile horse and we've always wanted to try him over this trip of a mile and a half. This will then give him plenty of time for a break before tackling Royal Ascot in June and the Eclipse S. at Sandown the following month.”

Read more at the Racing Post (behind paywall).

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