Agent Mike Ryan Gives Lowdown On Chad Brown’s Juveniles And More

Bloodstock agent Mike Ryan has given the lowdown on the top Chad Brown-trained juvenile prospects that were selected at last year's Book 1 session at the Tattersalls October Yearling Sale.

Ryan, who has sourced well over 50 Group/Grade 1 winners in his long and distinguished career, including Book 1 graduates Newspaperofrecord (Ire) (Lope De Vega {Ire}), Digital Age (Ire) (Invincible Spirit {Ire}) and Domestic Spending (GB) (Kingman {GB}), admitted to finding trade “a little easier” in 2023 compared to previous visits to Park Paddocks. 

Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf heroine Newspaperofrecord featured in Ryan's debut haul at Book 1 back in 2017. She was knocked down to the agent, signing on behalf of Seth Klarman's Klaravich Stables and Brown, for 200,000gns. 

Ryan has returned to Tattersalls every year since and signed for a whopping 16 yearlings in 2022 and the same number last year, the majority of which were purchased on behalf of the hugely successful owner and trainer. 

Recapping last year's activity, where Ryan spent 3,860,000gns, the agent said, “We got blown out of the water several times, for sure. But we did feel that we got a lot of quality for the money that we spent. Seth Klarman is an amazing owner. He is incredibly patient and loves the game. It's great he has enjoyed the amount of success that he has because he is a huge supporter and is an incredible investor. He loves buying these European grass horses and he's done incredibly well with them. It might have been a little easier to buy them last year. I sense that the market was probably a little bit patchy, as it is here in America, because we have more inventory than we have buyers. That's a problem here as well.”

It may only be February but Ryan has seen enough from this year's bunch of juveniles to suggest the team are in good shape for the year ahead.

He commented, “It's early days but we've been around enough good horses down through the years to know when you do see that cream rising to the top. You can base your observations on previous horses that you have had through the programme and you know pretty quickly with young horses whether you've got a decent group or an average group. We're quite pleased with the bunch of two-year-olds we have for this year. We usually buy two or three Lope De Vegas every year and we have a colt by him out of Sea of Faith (Ire) (Sea The Stars {Ire}) who we like quite a bit. He's been impressing us.”

Ryan added, “We've got a Blue Point (Ire) colt out of a mare called Blind Faith (Ire) (Zoffany {Ire}) who we bought from the McCartans of Ballyphilip Stud and he's a lovely horse. He'll go two turns as well because he's got plenty of scope and stretch. He's got a lot of class and has a great mind. He does things very easily. 

“We got a very strong Kingman (GB) out of Queen's Code (Ire) (Shamardal) and he's impressive. There's a magnificent turf track at Stonestreet and a bunch of them worked on it the other day. He was one of the colts who showed up nicely. The Wootton Bassett (GB) colt out of The Fugue (GB) (Dansili {GB}) could be pretty special. He's a big horse and we won't be rushing him but he moves beautifully and covers a lot of ground. He'll be a nice mile-and-a-quarter horse and gives us a lot of confidence. 

“I haven't seen the Study Of Man (Ire) colt out of Almiranta (GB) (Galileo {Ire}) training but the reports are good. We really liked him as a yearling; he'd a great frame with great angles. I'm very curious to see what he looks like on the racetrack. I'd expect him to make a two-year-old and, you know what, it wouldn't shock me if he ran on the dirt.”

All told, Ryan signed for nine fillies and seven colts at Book 1 last year. The distribution between fillies and colts was the same for a similar spend of 3,745,000gns in 2022. 

On what he looks for when searching for European-bred grass horses to run in America, Ryan explained, “We typically try to buy horses who will get a mile and beyond. We don't focus on sprinters because we don't have the opportunities on grass that you do in Europe for sprinters.

“We like horses who give us the feeling that they have a turn of foot. Horses who look like they can accelerate quickly. Our turns are tight and usually the serious running starts at the top of the stretch to the wire so you need well-balanced horses who can corner exceptionally well as well.”

He added, “We've been very lucky at Book 1 and, the first year we went over there, we bought Newspaperofrecord. She was by Lope De Vega and we've been very lucky with that stallion as well. Program Trading (GB), who won two Grade Is last year, is another example of that. We've been very lucky with Kingman (GB)–Domestic Spending and Technical Analysis (Ire)–and we've been very lucky with Dubawi (Ire)–who wouldn't be?–but we're always looking for the new horse.

“We've only bought a couple by Frankel (GB), one of which is McKulick (GB), and he is just an incredible stallion but we have found that they might not be as speedy and sharp as what we require for turf races over here. Whereas the Kingmans, they do have that natural speed and are naturally forward horses.

“We like Night Of Thunder (Ire) and Too Darn Hot (GB) is a horse we like a lot as well. We have a Too Darn Hot filly called Oversubscribed, who actually dead-heated last time at Tampa and was unlucky not to win, and she is very, very good. We thought she was Breeders' Cup class last year but she came up with a small setback and just needed some time off. We think she could be anything.”

While Ryan loves nothing more than to return to a tried and trusted source of success, he is also open-minded enough to snap up the progeny of some of the lesser-exposed stallions. Along with bagging that Study Of Man colt from Staffordstown Stud for 220,000gns, Ryan added two fillies by first-season sire Pinatubo (Ire) for a combined sum of 480,000gns and said both recruits are really impressing in their work. 

“We've a very nice Pinatubo (Ire) filly out of Sparkle Roll (Fr) (Kingman {GB}),” he said. “We bought her off Highclere Stud. We actually bought two Pinatubos. The other is out of a mare called Dreamlike (GB) (Oasis Dream {GB}) and we got her from Fittocks Stud for 260,000gns. “She is a three-quarters sister to Program Trading. We were very impressed by the Pinatubos and we underbid a couple of others. I actually bred to him myself and I have two yearlings by him, I've got a mare in foal to him and I'm sending two mares back to him. He's a beautifully-bred horse; a son of Shamardal and was just a superior racehorse. They just have a lot of quality and are easy to like.”

He added, “I've always been a huge fan of Shamardal. He reminds me of Into Mischief. His progeny are so determined, courageous and have a great desire to compete. They are just tough, good and dependable racehorses. Shamardal was that way himself and he seems to have passed it on. He's a great, great influence in my mind.”

As well as pedigrees and sires, there are basic fundamentals that Ryan hones in on when trying to find the next Newspaperofrecord. Given speed and, more importantly, a change of gear plays a massive role in the winning and losing of many big races on grass in America, a well-balanced, lighter and somewhat sleeker type of thoroughbred is what Ryan tends to go searching for. 

He explained, “Grass horses are different to American dirt horses. The American dirt horse is very powerfully made. They have very strong quarters and are very powerful over their backs with a deep girth and chest. I don't like heavy horses. I prefer horses with a clean neck and shoulder. We look for horses with good mechanics. Horses who move well and do it within themselves. Obviously you look for a horse with a good temperament as well. But, we're quite flexible. We will forgive some conformational flaws and I put a lot of emphasis on a horse's demeanour; the feel or the vibe you get from a horse. That's very important to me.”

He added, “We're lucky in Tattersalls that we get plenty of time to look at horses, which we do. The sale is spread out nicely and it gives trainers in particular time to look at the horses. It's such a high concentration of good horses at Book 1 and we do work it thoroughly and have really enjoyed going over there. Thankfully we have come out of there with a lot of good horses. But if you don't find them at Book 1, where else are you going to find them? Seriously. You've got 40 Kingmans, Frankels, Wootton Bassetts, Night Of Thunders, No Nay Nevers and about 25 Dubawis. You know, it's just an incredibly strong bunch of sires to choose from.”

The common denominator in this success story is Brown. The agent says that a strong mutual respect underpins their relationship and points to Brown's apprenticeship with legendary trainer Bobby Frankel as being the cornerstone to him becoming one of the most successful trainers in America. 

“He's super, super smart,” said Ryan of the trainer. “Chad is just incredibly intelligent and extremely organised. He has an incredible recall. I think he was incredibly fortunate, and I keep telling him this, to have worked for one of the greatest American trainers in Bobby Frankel. That would be the equivalent to working for Aidan O'Brien, Vincent O'Brien or Andre Fabre. That was the best university that he could have gone to and he'd often say to me, 'this is what Bobby would have done,' when it comes to a horse. 

“He's incredibly patient and he gives his horses time. That's why his horses have real longevity. He's more focussed on developing a horse to have a career and not just a season. We've a great mutual respect. I have learned a lot from him and he has learned a lot from me. We trust each other. That goes a long way.”

With that in mind, it's not just the youngsters that Ryan suggested would be worth following throughout 2024 and said that big things were expected of previous Book 1 purchases Equitize (GB) (Kingman {GB}) and Dynamic Pricing (Ire) along with Oversubscribed. 

He concluded, “There's a four-year-old called Equitize and he is very, very good. I think people are going to be reading a lot about him this summer and he could go for races like the Man O'War and the Manhattan. Dynamic Pricing is a lovely three-year-old filly by Night Of Thunder. We bought her at Book 1 a couple of years ago from Croom House Stud. She was third in the Sweetest Chant Stakes at Gulfstream on her last start but got in a lot of trouble. I'd put those two older horses forward with Oversubscribed as being our horses to follow on the grass this year.”

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2023 Mating Plans, Presented by Spendthrift: Peter Brant-Mares in Europe

With the doors to the breeding sheds set to open any day, the TDN has been talking to owners and breeders about what matings they have planned for their top mares in 2023. Up today: Peter Brant, whose mares in America are profiled in today's TDN American edition, and his European mares below. Click here to read about his American mares.

ROSA BONHEUR (15, Mr. Greeley-Rolly Polly {Ire}, by Mukaddamah) to be bred to Churchill (Ire)

Rosa Bonheur is the dam of Raging Bull and the dam of a nice horse we have in Europe called Kubrick (Ire). I bred her to Churchill. I like the distance that Churchill is getting and I wanted to breed a grass horse that could really go the distance. I thought the Galileo through Churchill with the speed of Rosa Bonheur would be a good cross.

JUSTLOOKDONTTOUCH (IRE) (15, Galileo {Ire}-Hellenic {Ire}, by Darshaan {GB}) will be bred to Dubawi

She is going back to Dubawi because she has a Dubawi colt called Francesco Clemente in Europe with John Gosden who is three-for-three and looks to be a really nice horse.

BLOWOUT (GB) (7, Dansili-Beauty Parlour {GB}, by Deep Impact) will be bred to Kingman

She won the GI First Lady and a number of stakes (GII Longines Distaff Turf Mile, Pebbles S., Wild Applause S.) Again, I'm breeding miler to miler, both good speed horses, but who rated well.

BEAUTY PARLOUR (GB) (14, Deep Impact {Jpn}-Bastet (Ire), by Giant's Causeway) to be bred to Sottsass

She's the dam of Blowout and some other very nice horses. She's been throwing mile to mile-and-a-sixteenth horses. Sottsass was good to a mile and a half, with a lot of range, very scopey, I thought it would be a good cross.

BONANZA CREEK (Ire) (13, Anabaa-Bright Moon, by Alysheba) to be bred to Frankel

Bonanza Creek is the dam of (G1-placed) Stone Age (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}), and I'm going to breed her to Frankel. I like the Galileo influence here; Stone Age is by Frankel, Frankel is also Galileo, and she is a beautiful mare. I just thought Frankel would be great there.

MY SISTER NAT (FR) (8, Acclamation {GB}-Starlet's Sister {Ire} by Galileo (Ire}) to be bred to Dubawi

SISTERCHARLIE (FR) (9, Myboycharlie {Ire}-Starlet's Sister {Ire}, by Galileo {Ire}) to be bred to Dubawi.

My Sister Nat (Fr) and Sistercharlie (Fr) are both being bred to Dubawi. It's a great, great cross. Dubawi is a great stallion. They are mares that loved to go a distance of ground. Dubawi is a super middle-distance sire. This is a triple A-plus cross. Sistercharlie is current in foal to Dubawi, and My Sister Nat is in foal to Kingman.

QUIDURA (GB) (10, Dubawi-Quetana (Ger), by Acatenango {Ger}) to be bred to Sea the Stars

She is a multiple Group winner in the US. She's by Dubawi, and we're breeding her Sea the Stars. She's a beautiful mare. She's a middle-distance mare. Sea The Stars gets nice long-distance horses as well as milers, and we wanted to breed to Sea The Stars because he's a great stallion, and she was the best mare we thought suited him. She's an exceptional-looking mare, a very choice mare. I bought her after she retired.

PRECIEUSE (IRE) (9, Tamayuz {GB}-Zut Alors {Ire}, by Pivotal {GB}), to be bred to Frankel

We have a really beautiful two-year-old that is by Frankel who is at Ballydoyle, and who is a wonderful example of the horse, so she'll go back to Frankel.

NEWSPAPEROFRECORD (IRE) (7, Lope De Vega {Ire}-Sunday Times {GB}, by Holy Roman Emperor) to be bred to Frankel

UNI (GB) (9, More Than Ready-Unaided by Dansili), to be bred to Frankel

These are two different-style mares. Both had tremendous speed ratings and both were great middle-distance horses. Frankel gets you great middle-distance horses and great classic horses. I'm trying to breed Classic horses. If they turn out to be sprinters, great, but I try to raise a great mile-and-a-quarter horse. The greatest horse races in the world are the Kentucky Derby and the Breeders' Cup Classic and they're both at a mile and a quarter.

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Mating Plans, Presented by Spendthrift: Peter Brant

Peter Brant owns some of the best mares in the world, some of which he keeps in Europe–at Coolmore in Ireland and Haras des Capucines in France–and some in America, at Claiborne Farm. We spent a fascinating half-hour on the phone with Brant going through his 2022 matings for some of his best mares. “I spend a lot of time doing this,” he said. It shows.

UNI (GB) (m, 8, More Than Ready–Unaided {GB}), by Dansili {GB}), to be bred to Frankel (GB)

Uni is in foal to Kingman (GB), and she's going back to Frankel. She was a great mile, mile-and-a-sixteenth horse. Frankel gets very classic horses. Their conformation is very complementary to one another. They're both really good-looking horses.

BEAUTY PARLOUR (GB) (m, 13, Deep Impact {Jpn}–Bastet {Ire}, by Giant's Causeway), to be bred to Frankel (GB)

Beauty Parlour won the French Guineas and she's the dam of Blowout (GB). She's going to Frankel. She was second in the Prix de Diane, but she's really a mile to a mile-and-sixteenth horse and Frankel will give her more distance. I like the cross on Beauty Parlour with Galileo (Ire).

DUNBAR ROAD (m, 6, Quality Road–Gift List, by Bernardini), to be bred to Into Mischief

Dunbar Road was just second, beaten a nose in the Breeders' Cup Distaff. She's by Quality Road, and as a maiden mare, she's going to Into Mischief. She's a classic mile-and-an-eighth to mile-and-a-quarter horse. I like to breed Into Mischief to middle-distance to classic-distance horses, to a mare that would stay, so we thought that would be a very good match.

CAFE AMERICANO (m, 6, Medaglia d'Oro–Roxy Gap, by Indian Charlie), to be bred to Tapit

Cafe Americano just had an Into Mischief filly on Tuesday. She will be bred back to Tapit. Tapit crosses really well with Medaglia d'Oro. She is a rangy kind of mare who is tall, and Tapit fit her in the cross and on the conformation. I wanted to have a chance of either a grass or dirt horse from her.

ENCHANTED ROCK (m, 18, Giant's Causeway–Chic Shirine, by Mr. Prospector), to be bred to Gun Runner

Enchanted Rock is the dam of Verrazano (More Than Ready). She was bred to Curlin in 2021, and she's going to Gun Runner. This is the first time I have used him. She's a very big mare and we thought Gun Runner would suit her for a dirt horse. She has been the dam of some good dirt horses, and she has an old King Ranch pedigree. She is a very, very good mare.

NAPLES PARADE (m, 8, Street Cry {Ire}–Treasure Trail, by Pulpit), to be bred to Into Mischief

Naples Parade was one of Ed Cox's mares. She was the sister to Long Island Sound (War Front) and she is out of a half-sister to Zenyatta (Street Cry {Ire}). She's got a lot of dirt in her family, she's by Street Cry, and Long Island Sound was a turf horse, but that's a good cross with Into Mischief. They suit each other conformation-wise, and Into Mischief gets more stocky-looking horses.

WOW CAT (CHI) (m, 8, Lookin At Lucky–Winter Cat {Chi}), by Cat Thief), to be bred to Into Mischief

We are also breeding her to Into Mischief. She was second in the Breeders' Cup Distaff, she won the Beldame, came from Chile (where she was Horse of the Year in 2018), won a number of Group 1s in Chile and she is one of the best-looking mares we've had. She's a distance horse, a mile-and-a-quarter horse and we want to breed the best mile-and-a-quarter horses to Into Mischief.

Champion Sistercharlie won the 2018 Breeders' Cup F/M Turf | Breeders' Cup/Eclipse Sportswire

PAID UP SUBSCRIBER (m, 10, Candy Ride {Arg}–Shriek, by Street Cry {Ire}), to be bred to Tapit

Paid Up Subscriber is going to Tapit. She is in foal to Into Mischief, and she hasn't foaled yet. Tapit has a tendency to get a distance horse. Plus, she's really a mile-and-a-sixteenth mare with a big girth and Tapit sometimes gets horses who are a little bit smaller. I thought the cross was great in terms of Candy Ride and Tapit.

FIFTY FIVE (m, 8, Get Stormy–Soave, by Brahms), to be bred to Sottsass (Fr)

Fifty Five had a Dubawi (Ire) filly this year. She is going to Sottsass. She was a brilliant miler and it's a little bit of inbreeding to Northern Dancer, which I like far back in the pedigree. There are some good female families in there. I like to cross horses that have great females in their history–super mares that were great racemares and great producers.

BLOWOUT (GB) (m, 6, Dansili {GB}–Beauty Parlour {GB}, by Deep Impact {Jpn}), to be bred to Frankel (GB)

Blowout goes to Frankel. She just won the [GI] First Lady at Keeneland this fall. She was a very, very good seven-furlong to a mile-and-a-sixteenth horse. I like Frankel with the Galileo (Ire) cross with Dansili. It's good Wildenstein blood and it's a classic cross. On conformation, they both suit each other.

HOMERIQUE (m, 7, Exchange Rate–Chiquita Picosa, by Congaree), to be bred to Dubawi (Ire)

She won graded stakes in the U.S. and Europe. She is ready to foal a Kingman (GB) foal and she is going back to Dubawi.

NEWSPAPEROFRECORD (IRE) (m, 6, Lope de Vega {Ire}–Sunday Times {GB}, by Holy Roman Emperor {Ire}), to be bred to Kingman (GB)

Newspaperofrecord is going to be bred to Kingman. I like the idea of a miler to a miler, and Kingmans in the U.S. have been running longer. We thought that's a horse we'd like to run in the U.S. That's why we chose him. Last year, she was bred to Frankel (GB).

PRECIEUSE (IRE) (m, 8, Tamayuz {GB}–Zut Alors {Ire}, by Pivotal {GB}), to be bred to Wootton Bassett (GB)

Precieuse, who won the French 1,000 Guineas, is in foal to Kingman (GB) and she's going back to Wootton Bassett. She's a quick horse. Wootton Bassett gets a mile to a mile-and-a-quarter horse. We thought the conformation suited the cross very well.

SIGNIFICANT FORM (m, 7, Creative Cause–Church by the Sea, by Harlan's Holiday), to be bred to Sottsass (Fr)

She just had a Dubawi (Ire) colt, and she is going back to Sottsass. She won the Miss Grillo and the Ballston Spa. She's a very rangy horse that's very good with that Siyouni (Fr) blood. It's speed. It carried the distance. We like that for Significant Form. She was limited up to a mile-and-a-sixteenth, but she was top class up to that. We wanted to put some distance into her. She's beautiful. Great conformation.

SISTERCHARLIE (IRE) (m, 8, Myboycharlie {Ire}–Starlet's Sister {Ire}, by Galileo {Ire}), to be bred to Dubawi (Ire)

It's a great cross, and Dubawi gets some nice speed milers and she was very fast, but this will put a little more speed into her. Sistercharlie's dam has been bred to Dubawi, with success.

Let us know who you're breeding your mares to in 2022, and why. We will print a selection of your responses in TDN over the coming weeks. Please send details to: garyking@thetdn.com.

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Dam Of Breeders’ Cup Winner Newspaperofrecord To Be Offered At Tattersalls December Sale

Outstanding broodmare Sunday Times, the dam of American superstar filly Newspaperofrecord, is to be offered for sale at the forthcoming Tattersalls December Mares Sale which takes place Nov. 29 – Dec. 2.

The 12-year-old daughter of Holy Roman Emperor is carrying a Lope de Vega own sibling to Newspaperofrecord whose unbeaten 2-year-old career culminated in a breathtaking seven-length romp in the 2018 Grade 1 Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf at Churchill Downs. Purchased at Book 1 of the Tattersalls October Yearling Sale and trained by Chad Brown, Newspaperofrecord raced in the colors of Seth Klarman's Klaravich Stables and added to her Grade 1 tally with another effortless win over a mile in last year's G1 Just A Game Stakes at Belmont Park.

Quoted after Newspaperofrecord's extraordinary Breeders' Cup performance Chad Brown said; “Today she showed how good she really is and for her to win as easy as she did is remarkable,” while Thoroughbred Daily News columnist Bill Finley wrote that “her performance might well be regarded as one of the best in the history of the series.”

Newspaperofrecord is the third foal out of Sunday Times, herself a top-class race filly who won the G3 Sceptre Stakes at Doncaster for her owner Allan Belshaw as well as finishing second in the G1 Cheveley Park Stakes. Her first foal Classical Times, by Lawman, who was also raced by Belshaw, won the Listed Cecil Frail Stakes at Haydock beating the high-class Group 2 and Group 3 winners Raven's Lady and Different League, before being sold to Juddmonte Farms, and her fourth foal, the winning Gleneagles filly Daily Times, in foal to Lope de Vega, will also be amongst the highlights of the forthcoming December Mares Sale.

Sunday Times' Listed placed Shamardal half-sister Question Times is equally illustrious, having produced six winners to date including 2018 G1 Irish Derby winner Latrobe, the G3 Gladness Stakes winner Diamond Fields and the Listed winner Pink Dogwood who was second to Anapurna in the 2019 Oaks and third in the Irish Oaks.

Both Sunday Times and Daily Times will be offered on behalf of Allan Belshaw from Richard and Sally Aston's Goldford Stud. Commenting on the sale of Sunday Times, Richard Aston said

“Sunday Times is a truly outstanding broodmare with a great future. She was a very smart race filly, she has produced a champion 2-year-old, she has a current classic pedigree which will appeal to breeders from all over the world and she is gorgeous. It is a rare combination and Mr. Belshaw will be racing Newspaperofrecord's yearling own sister and this year's Kingman filly foal which is why he has decided to sell both Sunday Times and Daily Times.”

The post Dam Of Breeders’ Cup Winner Newspaperofrecord To Be Offered At Tattersalls December Sale appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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