Tag: Ollie Sangster

First Stakes Winner For Ollie Sangster At Sandown

Ollie Sangster trainee Shuwari (Ire) (New Bay {GB}–Lady Pimpernel {GB}, by Sir Percy {GB}) recovered from a slow getaway to snag her June 27 debut at Newbury and stepped forward to register a first black-type success for the freshman conditioner in Friday's Listed European Bloodstock News Star S. at Sandown. The 9-4 second favourite was less than perfect at the break once more and occupied a midfield fifth for the most part here. Making eyecatching headway on the bridle in the straight to join the front rank passing the quarter-mile marker, she came under pressure approaching the final furlong and was driven out in the closing stages to deny Fallen Angel (GB) (Too Darn Hot {GB}) by a half-length for a career high.

“Oisin [Murphy] gave her a lovely ride and I'm delighted,” said Sangster. “I was on the fence this morning having seen the [weather] report from last night, but I spoke to [Ballylinch Stud's] John O'Connor and he was fairly confident New Bays go on the [soft] ground, so we thought we would take our chance. It was probably not ideal ground, but she dug deep. She is a tenacious and courageous filly and, hopefully, we might have some nice targets later in the year. I've some nice juveniles, but she is at the top at the pile at the moment.” Looking forward to possible future targets, he added, “The [G3] Prestige at Goodwood might be for her and then I suppose something like the [G2] Rockfel and maybe the [G1] Fillies' Mile. That is ambitious and we will see how we progress between now and then. I'd like to think she will stay the mile next year and she strikes me as a filly that will stay as she relaxes well and she finishes out well too. I'm lucky to have a horse like this in the yard and it is nice to have good support and nice horses to work with.”

Shuwari is the fourth of five foals and one of three scorers produced by GIII Rober J Frankel S. victrix Lady Pimpernel (GB) (Sir Percy {GB}), herself a granddaughter of G3 Deutscher Stutenpreis winner and G2 Preis der Diana (German Oaks) third Anno Luce (GB) (Old Vic {GB}). Her second dam Angeleno (Ire) (Belong To Me) is a half-sister to Listed Prix de l'Avre winner Air Trooper (GB) (Monsun {Ger}). Shuwari's fourth dam is G2 Preis der Diana-winning dual German champion Anna Paola (Ger) (Prince Ippi {Ger}). The March-foaled chestnut is kin to a yearling filly by Nathaniel (Ire).

Friday, Sandown, Britain
EUROPEAN BLOODSTOCK NEWS EBF STAR S.-Listed, £40,000, Sandown, 7-27, 2yo, f, 7fT, 1:32.83, sf.
1–SHUWARI (IRE), 128, f, 2, by New Bay (GB)
1st Dam: Lady Pimpernel (GB) (GSW-US & SW-Eng, $193,557), by Sir Percy (GB)
2nd Dam: Angeleno (Ire), by Belong To Me
3rd Dam: Anno Luce (GB), by Old Vic (GB)
1ST BLACK-TYPE WIN. (80,000gns Ylg '22 TATOCT). O-Mrs B V Sangster & Ballylinch Partnership; B-Ballylinch Stud (IRE); T-Ollie Sangster; J-Oisin Murphy. £22,684. Lifetime Record: 2-2-0-0, $36,222.
2–Fallen Angel (GB), 128, f, 2, Too Darn Hot (GB)–Agnes Stewart (Ire), by Lawman (Fr). 1ST BLACK TYPE. O-Clipper Logistics; B-Branton Court Stud LLP (GB); T-Karl Burke. £8,600.
3–Soprano (Ire), 128, f, 2, Starspangledbanner (Aus)–Lealas Daughter (Ire), by Excelebration (Ire). (€45,000 Wlg '21 GOFNO1; 100,000gns Ylg '22 TATOCT). O-Highclere Thoroughbred Racing (Da Vinci); B-Empire Bloodstock Ltd (IRE); T-George Boughey. £4,304.
Margins: HF, 1, 2 1/4. Odds: 2.25, 4.00, 1.38.
Also Ran: Gray's Inn (Ire), Expensive Queen (Ire), Eminny (Ire), Romanova (GB), Lava Stream (Ire), The African Queen (GB). Scratched: Catena (Ire).

 

The post First Stakes Winner For Ollie Sangster At Sandown appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

American Fingerprints on British-Trained Royal Ascot-Bound Inquisitively

Typically, the names Sangster, Manton, Tattersalls, and British-bred runner at Windsor don't scream `American connections,' but in the case of Inquisitively (GB) (Ten Sovereigns {Ire}), peel back the onion a bit and you'll find more than a few stars and stripes among the connections.

Inquisitively, a barely-beaten second at Windsor in his May 29 debut, is entered in Wednesday's Windsor Castle at Royal Ascot, and will carry his owners' hopes as well as a bit of history on his back.

Inquisitively sold for 40,000gns euros at the 2022 Tattersalls October yearling sale from the Glenvale Stud consignment to trainer Ollie Sangster.

“He was a very nice yearling,” said Sangster. “It's easy to say that now. Flash Conroy had bought him as a foal, and he actually had a setback the week before the yearling sale, and was lame at the sale. But he was a very nice model and I know Flash and I liked the horse, so I bought the horse under the condition that if I wasn't happy, they would take him back. But the issue was something of a nothing, something he had done right before the sale, and in a few weeks would right itself. In that respect, he's a horse I never would have been able to afford working with a limited budget, and I was able to buy a much nicer physical that I would have been able to buy.”

American bloodstock agent Justin Casse was at the sale, and had inspected Inquisitively, and also had liked him, but left before Book 2.

“He looked like a very precocious type, great hind quarter, good balance, a very good mover,” said Casse. “And Flash is a tremendous judge with whom I've had a bit of luck. He's actually who I bought (G1 Fillies Mile winner) Pretty Gorgeous from.

He was a nice horse and I thought there was value there. And I'm trying to align myself with young people in the industry who I know who have spent time with great trainers or who have learned from the right people.”

So Casse called Sangster and offered to buy half of the horse from him.

In Sangster's case, those great trainers and right people included Wesley Ward, the first American trainer to ever saddle a winner at Royal Ascot, and who has dominated there in recent years, winning 12 races. Sangster spent several formative years with Ward, working at Keeneland in the spring, taking his Ascot horses over, and then coming back with Ward to Saratoga. He has helped Ward out at every Ascot since 2018.

The family connection between the Casses and the Sangsters goes back even further. Justin's father Norman Casse was the breeder of Beldale Ball, who won the 1980 Melbourne Cup for Sangster's grandfather Robert, and he considered it one of his greatest breeding achievements, said Justin, who was born the year of the win and keeps the plaque given to his father for the achievement hanging in his office today.

“To me, the whole thing is interesting,” said Casse. “I've traveled all over the world. I've won the richest race in South Africa. I've won a Group 2 in Australia. And all these things have come full circle in my life to this connection between young Ollie Sangster and my father who has passed away, and our families, and is still going on. And here we are. We have American connections through Australian connections to running at Ascot and it really is a dream come true. My first experience at Ascot, literally the first race on the first day of the first time I was at Ascot was Tepin winning.” Tepin, who won the 2017 G1 Queen Anne S., was trained by Justin's brother Mark. “That experience was extremely special and continues to grow in significance,” he said.

But if Inquisitively isn't quite Tepin, at least not yet, Sangster is serious about giving him a chance.

“His first start was particularly pleasing because he had a very difficult draw,” he said. “Windsor has a bend in the track and he had drawn 14 and had to move a good few lengths to get across, and did the hard work at the front that day. If he had had a nicer draw, he would have won the race nicely. It was visually quite impressive, the times were good and and subsequently the third and fourth finishers out of that race have won their next start. That has confirmed what the times were showing us. He deserves to have a chance there, and the winner of the race (Chief Mankato {GB} {Sioux Nation}) is going to Ascot himself.”

Sangster will also be the trainer of record for Bledsoe (Iqbaal), who Wesley Ward trained to win the opening race of the spring meet at Keeneland. Ward is also the horse's owner and breeder, and owns and stands his sire. Sangster said that Bledsoe arrived at his training center, Manton, in April with the intention of getting a prep in, and while that hadn't worked out, he'll now go into the Windsor Castle off the Keeneland maiden win.

Sangster said he realized how special it was to have two starters at the meet in his first year of training.

“I think Inquisitively is about 25-1, but if someone had asked me at the beginning of the year what my chances of getting to Ascot were this year, they would have been significantly longer!” he said. “It means everything. The reason we get up at the crack of dawn is to have the winners, and hopefully–not that I've had it yet–but a winner on a big stage. We're a close-knit team, and everyone works really hard, and we're looking forward to having a runner. I think we have a little bit of an each-way chance and it's exciting. Hopefully a few people will notice us.”

Casse said it was hard to imagine how emotional a win would be for him.

“You can't put a price on these experiences even though we try to regularly through the auction ring or private sales. But that doesn't always mean that you're going to get there. So I'm just going to try to make the most of it. And listen, leading into the race, the horse is training well against winners. He has not really put a foot wrong to this point. And from the videos that Ollie sends us, I really couldn't be happier. And then of course, these other horses winning flatters our form. So although I think we're going to go in there probably 25 or 30-1, I just get the feeling that we're going to run a big race.”

The post American Fingerprints on British-Trained Royal Ascot-Bound Inquisitively appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

Ollie Sangster to Join Training Ranks

The name Sangster has often been seen among the ranks of owners and breeders, and from later this year it will also feature on a training licence, with Ollie Sangster set to train from his family's historic estate of Manton.

The 25-year-old of course has a background steeped in racing: his grandfather was the legendary Robert Sangster, known with his friends and associates MV O'Brien and John Magnier as 'The Brethren', while his father Ben is also a breeder of note, with Luxembourg (Ire) and Changingoftheguard (Ire) being among his notable current performers.

A former champion amateur rider on the Flat before his height made that pursuit a little tricky, Ollie Sangster's skills in the saddle have most recently been seen in public when accompanying Wesley Ward's runners to post aboard Strike The Tiger, who was tragically killed in a barn fire in March this year.

“I'd say that was probably my most formative time,” says Sangster of his two years spent working for Ward, which had followed stints with David Hayes in Australia and Charlie Hills in Lambourn, as well as a season of yearling prep. 

“I think the way the American system works, it's a bit like Australia, you are sometimes thrown in the deep end a bit and get to experience different stables in different states. So I'd say that was the best time for me and I have a great relationship with Wesley. 

“I've looked after his international runners for the last three years since then as well and I would say I learned more in my time there than I thought I could have learned in 10 years about hands-on horsemanship. Wesley is a real horseman.”

Sangster initially considered starting training in America, but visa issues prompted a rethink. He succeeded George Boughey as assistant trainer at Hugo Palmer's Newmarket stable before spending the last two years with Joseph O'Brien in Ireland. 

“I wanted to spread my wings a bit again and that was really great, actually,” he says of his time at Owning Hill. “Joseph is a good man and great guy to work with; he's a very wise head on young shoulders.”

Now Sangster is out on his own, pounding the yearling sales as he completes the BHA modules required for any aspiring trainer in Britain, with the hope of having everything up and running at Manton by the end of the year.

“I'm going to go to every sale I can and will be trying to pick up a few horses,” he says. 

At Manton, he will share the gallops with resident trainers Brian Meehan and Martyn and Freddie Meade, and he already has a good idea of he lie of the land having ridden out there for Meehan since the age of 12.

Sangster continues, “I get on well with Brian, Martyn and Freddie. I've obviously ridden out for Brian and I rode in races for him, and he's been a good family friend. Anything I want to talk about, well you can't beat someone who knows the gallops.

“Martyn has done a lot of work with the gallops. When I was first back not that long ago we'd had all this hot weather and Brian was working a load of horses up the grass, and I thought to myself, 'He's barking mad, it must be like a road'. And lo and behold, I watched them work and it really was beautiful summer ground. It's amazing how good the old turf is.”

One of the other trainers Sangster has been keeping a close eye on of late is Jane Chapple-Hyam as he is a part-owner of her stable star Saffron Beach (Ire) with his mother Lucy and James Wigan. The dual Group 1 winner had originally been bought as a foal for 55,000gns to pinhook until an injured foot meant she missed her subsequent sales engagements. 

“It's the luckiest thing ever,” he says. “That's partially what's going to give me the chance to get going here, having had that great ride with her. Obviously, Jane and her whole team have done a wonderful job. It's been an amazing journey and hopefully it's not quite over yet.”

While Chapple-Hyam's stable is rightly thriving on the back of some impressive results, Sangster has more humble ambitions for the launch of his own training career.

“I'm only going to be starting with a small number of horses and we'll just go from there,” he notes. “But it's a real privilege. I'm very lucky, obviously, to be getting a chance to get going here. It's always been a dream of mine and I will see how it goes. That's all you can do: trust in what you've learned, put a few things in place, and make a go of it.”

The post Ollie Sangster to Join Training Ranks appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

Verified by MonsterInsights