G3 Princess Margaret S. winner Sacred Angel (Ire) (Dark Angel {Ire}) was sourced here 12 months ago for £52,000 while similarly smart two-year-old Jasour (GB) (Havana Grey {GB}) cost £85,000. 

Both juveniles have flown the flag for the Donny yearlings with their exploits on the track this season and, judging by the footfall on the sales ground on Sunday, there is a long queue of buyers eager to find the next Sacred Angel and Jasour. 

The two-day sale kicks off on Tuesday at 10am and there are plenty of pointers to take from Arqana that could shape the way things play out at Doncaster and beyond. 

Blue Point Here To Stay

There was huge expectation placed on Blue Point's first runners this season and he has lived up to his billing with a Royal Ascot success and 25 individual winners in Britain and Ireland alone. 

Big Evs (Ire) has been the flagbearer for Blue Point (Ire), with Mick Appleby's colt following up his Windsor Castle victory at Royal Ascot with a Group 3 success in the Molecomb at Goodwood before running down the field in last Friday's Nunthorpe. 

Blue Point has eight horses rated 90 or above in Britain and Ireland and these are the sort of statistics that are willing buyers to reinvest in the Kildangan Stud-based stallion's yearlings. 

An average of €191,364 for 11 yearlings sold at an aggregate of €2,105,000 at the August Sale would suggest that Blue Point has more than justified the belief placed in him by breeders. His yearlings won't be easy to buy this week.

Pinatubo and Earthlight Off To A Strong Start

The strength of the Darley roster was there for everyone to see at Arqana. If it wasn't a son or a daughter of Dubawi (Ire) selling for a couple of million euros, well then it was one of the legendary stallion's sons Night Of Thunder (Ire) or Ghaiyyath (Ire) who were catching the imagination. 

Pinatubo (Ire) was the one of the most popular freshman sires at Arqana while fellow Darley stallion Earthlight (Ire) certainly struck a chord with his first yearlings. 

Of the nine Pinatubos to sell in the August Sale, they averaged €195,000 with buyers including Wesley Ward, Oliver St Lawrence, Robson Aguiar and more. 

There are three Pinatubos and eight Earthlights on offer at Doncaster. One would wager that they will be in high demand. 

Sergei Set To Make a Splash

If the first yearlings by Sergei Prokofiev (Can) are as popular as the foals were, the Whitsbury Manor Stud-based stallion could be in for a good week.

Sergei Prokofiev embarked on his stud career on a fee of £6,500 and rewarded breeders with an average of almost £30,000 for 52 foals sold in Britain and Ireland in 2022. 

Last weekend was a good one for the Scat Daddy line, as pointed out by Coolmore's Mark Byrne on Twitter, with Ten Sovereigns (Ire), Justify, and Sioux Nation responsible for a number of smart winners. 

Good judges Julie Woods, Freddy Tylicki, Larry Stratton, Harry Dutfield and Tom Whelan nominated the progeny of Sergei Prokofiev as being ones to keep the right side of in the TDN last year and plenty can be expected from him this week. 

Hello Youmzain One To Take From France

Fair to say Hello Youmzain (Fr) really captured the imagination at Arqana. Etreham's newbie had 19 sell for an average of €128,789 in the August Sale and 12 sell for €42,458 at V2.

Many are tipping him to scoop champion first-season sire honours in France next year and it's easy to see why given how well his stock was received.

The dual Group 1-winning sprinter is represented by two yearlings this week and the momentum could continue to build behind Hello Youmzain at Donny.

Golden Horde A Dark One?

Golden Horde has just one yearling at Doncaster [219] but he could be an interesting sire judging by how his first yearlings were received at Arqana.

They came in different shapes and sizes last week, with Peter and Ross Doyle signing for a strapping colt from Anna Sundstrom's Coulonces draft for €80,000 in the August Sale catching the eye. Six of the seven yearlings by the G1 Commonwealth Cup winner sold for an average of €35,833 at the V2 Sale and it was notable that Richard Fahey, Jean-Claude Rouget and Sheik Sultan Al Khalifa featured among the list of buyers at V2. 

Standing at Montfort et Preaux for €8,000, Golden Horde won't have many yearlings to represent him in Britain and Ireland this year. Along with lot 219, a filly consigned by Kildaragh Stud, Golden Horde has a couple of yearlings to sell at Book 3 at Tattersalls. 

Nevertheless, judging by his stock at Arqana, Golden Horde remains an interesting young sire at an affordable level.

Breeze-up Handlers Out In Force

Kenny Rogers famously said that one of the gambler's secrets to survival is knowing when to walk away from the table and there was plenty of that in France from the breeze-up fraternity. 

While Mick and Sarah Murphy from Longways Stables picked up five yearlings, Tally-Ho Stud added two and different operators like Matt Eves of Star Bloodstock were dotted around the sales results across both sales, the trip to Deauville didn't yield much for the majority of breeze-up handlers.

This will be the week where many operators buy their first breezers for the upcoming season and that will add to what is expected to be strong trade. 

Other Newbies To Note

We were provided with an early glimpse of the yearlings by Arizona (Ire), Kameko, Mohaather (GB), Threat (Ire), Without Parole (GB) and Shaman (Ire) at Arqana but Doncaster will mark the debut Far Above (Ire), King Of Change (GB), River Boyne (Ire) and Sands Of Mali (Fr).

Of that bunch, Mohaather could be the pick. His sole yearling failed to sell at the August Sale but he has a nice bunch of yearlings to go under the hammer this week and, with a foal average of over £40,000 last year, plenty can be expected from his yearlings.

The post From France To Doncaster: The Key Pointers For The Premier Yearling Sale appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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The catalogue features the progeny of 22 sires based in Ontario, responsible for 168 Ontario-bred/sired yearlings and 58 stallions based south of the border in the U.S., which account for 84 youngsters. Locally based stallions represented include Ami's Holiday, Frac Daddy, the reliable Old Forester, Point of Entry, Reload, Queen's Plate winner Shaman Ghost, Signature Red, Silent Name (Jpn), Society's Chairman and Souper Speedy. Also on offer are the sons and daughters of the American-domiciled Cairo Prince, Cross Traffic, Dialed In, Enticed, Ontario-bred Flameaway, Heart to Heart, Jimmy Creed, Liam's Map, Maclean's Music, Maximus Mischief, Midshipman, Omaha Beach, Oscar Performance, Tapiture and The Factor. Sires represented by their first crop of yearlings in 2023 include American Guru, Caracaro, Carrick, Country House, Echo Town, Higher Power, Instagrand, Instilled Regard, Prime Attraction, Vekoma, Volatile, War of Will and Chiefswood Stables' Yorkton.

Among the possible standouts in the sale are hip 82, a full-brother to2017 Horse of the Year and 2013 sales graduate Pink Lloyd from the consignment of John Carey; and hip 62, a Lookin At Lucky half-brother to Il Malocchio (Souper Speedy), who since the catalogue has added the GIII Trillium S. to her previous graded victory in the GIII Maple Leaf S.

For further information, visit www.cthsont.com.

The post CTHS Ontario Release Premier Sale Catalogue appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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Figures on the up

The team at Goffs UK could hardly have wished for a better start to the Premier Yearling Sale. The day one figures were off the charts. Of the 218 lots offered on Tuesday, 199 were sold, representing a clearance rate of 91%. 

The aggregate was up 28% to £8,954,500, the average rose 15% to £44,997 and the median climbed 27% to £38,000.

There were noticeably less people around the sales complex at Doncaster on day two. While the figures failed to match what took place on Tuesday, there were some impressive numbers recorded on Wednesday, with an 87% clearance rate on a day where the aggregate climbed 11% to £7,003,000. 

The average on Wednesday went up 0.5% while the median fell by 4% to £32,000. That came despite the fact that there was some late drama in the ring with three of the last seven lots making six figures. 

All told, the sale went well. Of the 406 yearlings catalogued, 363 were sold, translating to a clearance rate of 89%. The aggregate was up 20% to £15,987,500 while the average was up 8% and the median rose by 9%.

Big Results From Small Numbers For Fitzgerald

Alice Fitzgerald knows what she is doing. It was at the Premier Yearling Sale in 2021 when Fitzgerald sold her homebred Basil Martini (Ire) (Starspangledbanner {Aus}} out of 10,000gns purchase Under Offer (Bated Breath (GB) to MV Magnier for £160,000.

Fast forward 12 months and Fitzgerald, who never brings more than one or two to the sales, bagged another big pay-day by selling her Kodiac (GB) colt out of Night Queen (Ire) (Rip Van Winkle {Ire}) to Manor House Farm for £160,000. 

What's even more impressive about Fitzgerald? This isn't even her day job. 

John and Jess Dance Stock Up

Given John and Jess Dance bought six-time Group 1 winner Laurens (Fr) (Siyouni {Fr}) at this sale in 2016, it's only natural that the owners would have an affinity towards Doncaster, which was evident in the results. 

Under Manor House Stables, they signed for nine different yearlings at a total of £837,000, which was only bettered by the £1,162,000 that Peter and Ross Doyle spent across the two days on a whopping 17 different horses. 

However, of the top 10 spenders at the Premier Yearling Sale, nobody boasted a better average than John and Jess Dance. 

The couple spent an average of £93,000 on their nine lots, illustrating that they are seeking quality over quantity more so than ever before. 

High Praise From Doyle

Ross Doyle is renowned for being one of the best judges in the game. Along with his father Peter, he has sourced Mehmas, Barney Roy, Limato, Japan, Fairyland, Magna Grecia, Olympic Glory and much more. 

Therefore, when he praised Goffs for attracting the best bunch of yearlings that he has seen for some time, it reflected well on the quality of the sale.

Doyle signed for two of the top lots in the sale, a colt by New Bay (GB) [211] for £200,000 on day one, and a lovely Dark Angel (Ire) colt [251] the following day for the same figure. 

Grangemore signed for the Dark Angel colt at last year's Tattersalls December Foal Sales for 40,000gns and the sale to the Doyles, who didn't reveal where the horse would be trained, secured a tidy pinhooking profit. The New Bay colt will be trained by Richard Hannon. 

Two Top-Notch Pinhooks

There were a number of good pinhooks over the course of the sale but two stood out. The first was that of lot 21, a gorgeous Ten Sovereigns (Ire) filly that Jamie Railton bought for €26,000 off Ballybin Stud at the November Foal Sales at Goffs last year before selling to Richard Hughes for a cool £110,000 on Tuesday.

The second was an even greater piece of inspiration as Violet Hesketh and Mimi Wadham, who run WH Bloodstock, and transformed lot 171 from a €38,000 purchase back in February to a £120,000 yearling just six months later. 

A colt by Kuroshio (Aus), lot 171 was tipped to do well after a number of shrewd judges got him vetted and, in the end, he was knocked down to Mark McStay and it's understood the colt will be sent to Fozzy Stack to be trained. 

Kuroshio Holding His Own

Kuroshio has been around the world and back but this year represented the classy Australian's first crop of runners since he took up residency at Starfield Stud in 2020. After a slow start to the season, Dontspoilasale (Ire) has come along and won for the stallion in Ireland, and looks potentially progressive, while Jessica Harrington's Panic Alarm (Ire) should be winning races for the stallion when he gets softer ground conditions. 

All told, anyone who has backed Kuroshio will be a lot happier now than ever before as last week's figures were respectable. Away from the headline-maker, lot 171, the Baroda Stud-drafted filly [lot 258] also secured a solid sale for the stallion, and changed hands to join John and Jess Dance for £48,000. All four yearlings by the stallion were sold. 

Force Behind Highclere Stallion

Some will argue that Land Force (Ire) is riding the crest of a No Nay Never wave, and that may have been an entirely plausible summation of the situation had his yearlings not been so impressive in the flesh. 

Top judges Clive Cox-who went to £85,000 to secure lot 71-and Oliver St Lawrence bought progeny by the stallion. Some of the best in the breeze-up business, Katie Walsh, Longways Stables and Con Marnane, also rowed in behind Land Force this week. 

Jake Warren even tipped the Highclere-based stallion for first-season sire honours and, while there is a lot of water to pass under that particular bridge, the early signs are promising for anyone with a Land Force in their stable. 

Of the 17 offered this week, 14 were sold at an aggregate of £510,000, which averaged out at £36,429.

Noteworthy Buyers

A number of top agents, trainers and breeze-up buyers relayed how footfall had increased at the sale and, as a result, it was going to be even harder to smoke out a bargain. 

Well, buyers also had to contend with major competition from afar as Wesley Ward also got in on the action, signing for lot 200, a Lynn Lodge-consigned £82,000 daughter of US Navy Flag. 

Ward is clearly a fan of the stallion and why wouldn't he be? The Patrick Grogan-bred Love Reigns (Ire), whose only defeat in three starts for the American-based trainer, came when she finished fourth in the G2 Queen Mary S. at Royal Ascot. Time will tell if Ward has bagged himself another Royal Ascot filly. 

It should be said that, for all that Eddie O'Leary has a host of international clients, he still made time for his neighbour at Goffs. At one point in the afternoon on Wednesday, Nick Nugent on the rostrum announced, 'from one corner of Mullingar to the other,' when Roger O'Callaghan of Tall-Ho purchased a Mehmas colt [lot 349] for £45,000 off his fellow Westmeath native. 

O'Leary's Lynn Lodge Stud ended proceedings with 11 yearlings sold for £677,000 at an average of £61,545, making the operation the fifth most successful across the two days. 

Tally-Ho Dominate

It was an excellent sale for Tally-Ho. Not only was the stud responsible for the top lot, the Blandford Bloodstock-bought Night Of Thunder (Ire) filly [lot 278] out of five-time winner and listed-placed Thiswaycadeaux (Thewayyouare), but they also ended proceedings as the leading consignors with 24 yearlings making £1,544,000 in total.

That was needed, according to Roger O'Callaghan, who revealed that there were 60 more yearlings standing in the field at home in Westmeath, with 40 needing to be broken in and prepared for the breeze-ups.

Away from the excellent results posted by their own stock, Tally-Ho will have been delighted by how all the progeny of their resident stallions were received with yearlings by Kodiac, Cotai Glory, Kessaar, Galileo Gold, Mehmas and young sire Inns Of Court doing well. 

Night Of Thunder Stars

But the star of the show, without question, was Darley's Night Of Thunder. Along with Tally-Ho's sales-topping filly, the Mountarmstrong Stud-drafted Night Of Thunder [170] colt out of Pious Alexander, which ended day one on top at £230,000, ensured it was a memorable sale for the sire.

Mark McStay landed the day one leader, after which, the leading agent labelled Night Of Thunder, the sire of last week's spellbinding G1 Nunthorpe S. winner Highfield Princess (Fr), as a solid source of top-class talent. 

Classy Siblings On Show

Some pedigrees leapt off the page. The Galileo Gold half-brother [280] to Nunthorpe runner-up The Platinum Queen (Ire) (Cotai Glory {GB}) made £170,000 to join Richard Spencer, the Ulysses (Ire)  half-brother [213] to Coventry S. winner Bradsell (GB) (Tasleet {GB}) was knocked down to Dance Thoroughbreds for £150,000 and Whitsbury Manor's Havana Grey (GB) half-sister to Sandy Lane S. scorer El Caballo (GB) (Havana Gold {Ire}) was all the rage at £230,000 with Jack Warren of Highclere doing the buying. 

Havana Grey Shines

Of the 22 horses offered by Havana Grey, all bar one were sold for a total of £1,089,000, averaging at £51,857. Whitsbury's Ed Harper revealed that his performance is exceeding the wildest dreams but, with nine individual black-type horses in his first crop, perhaps buyers were cottoning on to the fact that they have been witnessing something special.

Soldier's Answers The Call

This game is all about looking towards the future and the early signs are that Joe Foley has another real one at Ballyhane Stud in Soldier's Call (GB). 

The man knows how to launch a stallion and must have taken great credit about how Soldier's Call cleared £563,000 from 13 yearlings sold at an average of £43,308. 

What's more, Foley was prepared to put his money where his mouth is, and bought the top lot [212] by the sire for £105,000 off Tinnakill House Stud for Steve Parkin. 

The post The Major Talking Points From The Premier Yearling Sale At Doncaster appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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   From making the Classic breakthrough with Cachet in the 1,000 Guineas, to recruiting Missed The Cut and Inver Park for relatively small money to win at Royal Ascot, Boughey and Haggas provide a fascinating insight to what goes on behind the scenes at one of the most impressive outfits in Britain and Ireland. 

Brian Sheerin: I saw this week that you are expanding–you have come a long way in a short space of time. 

George Boughey: We're still in the same place but just rented some more boxes out the back and built a hole through the fence between the two yards so we've just over 100 boxes now with that new yard. What we're doing is still the same but having those extra boxes is great. There have been possible chances to move to bigger yards but we're very happy doing what we're doing and it seems to be working. 

BS: Would a move to a big yard be on the horizon? It's no secret that you are one of the most ambitious people in the game.

GB: I've never been one to make quick decisions. I don't really like to jump at things and prefer to apply a pretty measured consideration to what I do. There's not many yards in Newmarket that have the capacity for us to move on to. I'm pretty intent on staying in Newmarket for the moment as it seems to be working for us. I've been very lucky to have assembled a great team of staff. To up sticks and move is a big thing, especially when you are growing. When you are stable, it's a different matter, but our business is changing as we go as we are buying and selling at every sale. If the right yard became available, it would be something to think about but that opportunity hasn't presented itself as of yet. 

BS: There have been plenty of examples of trainers experiencing massive growth spurts but they are unable to sustain it. There is definitely an element of getting too big too quickly for some people in this game. How have you managed to sustain your massive growth in such a short period yet maintain, and actually improve, results?

GB: The biggest thing for us is that we have employed the right people. We've just taken on a new person to run the new yard and my head lad, Adi Rogers, worked for Sir Michael Stoute and Sir Henry Cecil for years. We worked together in Hugo's [Palmer] and he came and worked for me when I decided to set up on my own. In the past few weeks, I've been to Arqana, York and now Doncaster, but the place keeps rolling on. We can do so much over the phone these days and the training charts are all online for me as well. I have good people; good farriers, vets, riders, feed people and general staff. That's what has enabled us to grow.

BS: When you burst onto the scene, you won a lot of 2-year-old races and clearly had them fit and ready. A lot of people were quick to pigeon-hole you as a trainer of early 2-year-olds. For that reason, did it give you extra satisfaction when Cachet (Ire) (Aclaim {Ire}) trained on and won the 1,000 Guineas as it proved your doubters wrong?

GB: One hundred per cent. And also, one of the Dixon brothers picked up on it the other day on Racing TV and I said it in an interview with him. If I wanted to bang out a load of 2-year-old winners, I'd be buying 20 yearlings here at Donny this week. The horse that I want to train is the nicer type of horse, not just early 2-year-olds, but one who can get you to the Classics. When I started, I realised we needed to buy some sharp, short-runners to go and win with, because otherwise, you get forgotten. If you just buy the slow-maturing horse, which is ultimately the one I want to train, nobody knows about you. You end up training for three years before you get going. We had a nice filly win on debut the other day by chance. They are not asked to win on debut and we've only had two first-time out juvenile winners this year. They win on their second and third starts and, because we have a strong pool of horses running for us now, we have been able to apply a different approach. 

@the_doyler does the 2000-1000 Guineas double

Nell Gwyn heroine Cachet makes virtually all to win the first Fillies' Classic of the season to provide @gbougheyracing with a first Classic success@NewmarketRace | @HighclereRacing pic.twitter.com/6rdRhdcrKN

— Racing TV (@RacingTV) May 1, 2022

BS: So it's interesting to hear that you were quite conscious of all of that when you were starting out. You were aware that people were labelling you as a trainer of early 2-year-olds. 

GB: I bought more older horses than 2-year-old starting out and Sam was a huge part of that. You could say we got lucky at the start because we bought four horses and three of them won. A few of them racked up sequences as well and we continue to do that. It's a conscious effort. For example, we'll be buying at the August Sale next week. We've had 75 winners this year and a lot of them have been sourced at the tried sales. We've bought some decent unraced horses from those sales as well and we will continue to do that. That's just as big of a part of our operation. I don't just want to be a trainer of early whizz bang 2-year-olds. I'd have gone a different way if I wanted to do that. If I wanted to do that, I don't think I'd have set up in Newmarket. 

BS: On Sam's involvement in the operation. I found it fascinating to watch the two of you in action at the July Sale at Newmarket. I saw Sam walking around with a folder full of speed figures. Can you provide us with some insight on that?

Sam Haggas: I look for quite a few things. I like looking at different stats, metrics and I just try not to miss anything. I believe that, the more information you have at your disposal, the better informed your decision will be when it comes to buying one. I just try not to miss anything and put a lot of things together about each horse in the catalogue. 

GB: But the one that's changed in the past three years, and granted it's a small sample size, but I used to have an opinion at the horses-in-training sales. Now, I don't even look at the catalogue. Sam does all of that and he will then give me a list of a sixth of the sale, or whatever it happens to be, and then I will go and look at them. We used to buy horses that I didn't like as a physical just because they came up well on Sam's stats and speed figures. Invariably, what we worked out was, the ones who did not have good physicals were anomalies, in that they put up a freak figure somewhere. They were never the successful ones that we bought so, now, what we do is, I have to like the physical before we buy them. You know, I have to look at them every day at home in training and what we've found is, the poor physicals, even on Sam's numbers, have been the ones who rarely work out. I like to have a sound and sturdy horse. We have won over £1.5 million in prize-money this season, including in France, and that is probably because I like to run my horses a lot. Oscula (Ire) (Galileo Gold {GB}) has won something like £300,000 in prize-money this year alone so they need to be able to take their racing. I don't do a huge amount at home with them but, matching the physicals with Sam's data, that has been a huge turn for us. 

BS: Whose decision has it been to run Oscula 20 times this season? Yourself or Nick Bradley's [owner]?

GB: Probably Nick for the 20th! I was pretty keen for most of them. I was very keen to back up quickly at Goodwood when she won the Group 3 there. My girlfriend Laura, who rides Oscula at home, was pretty keen as well. Oscula is actually the heaviest she's ever been right now. I thought she was cooked when I picked her up off the sand in Saudi Arabia but she responded incredibly well. She went for a good break after that-she never really had one before-and she developed. She's not an overly big horse but she's just looked better and better all summer. She literally spends most of her time in the paddock and goes for a trot-she only had the saddle on her back about four times in between three runs. 

BS: There are some excellent trainer-agent combinations, for example Archie Watson has Tom Biggs. What sets you two apart?

Sam Haggas: There's also Jason Kelly and David O'Meara, Joseph O'Brien and Kevin Blake, Ado McGuinness and Stephen Thorne. Personally, I have been lucky to work with a few very diligent people who have helped me get the list to where it needs to be for George. Equally, George is very disciplined and he has a very good team around him. When a horse goes through the ring at a H-I-T sale, we have a value on every one of them. We bid to their value and, if we miss, it's a case of them making too much and us walking away. There's a bit of that involved and discipline as well. We have good people on our side in every facet of the operation and I don't think that there's one secret.

GB: I think the valuing of the horses is a big thing. It would be great to go out and buy every horse that we want but we've never spent a lot of money–I don't think we've ever bought anything for more than £50,000. I think discipline is important. We could go and buy these 103-rated horses but they're just too obvious and anyone can buy those.

BS: Have you found yourselves re-evaluating budgets at the yearling sales yet because Arqana was extremely competitive and there doesn't appear to be anything slipping through the net here at the Premier Yearling Sale.

SH: The thing with H-I-T Sales is, the range of what sort of value a horse has is much more narrow compared to yearlings. You have a fair idea about what you are going to be paying for a horse in training.

GB: Yea, at those sales you don't have a horse that you think will make £25,000 go on to make £125,000, but that can happen here. If that happens at the H-I-T Sale, you're doing things wrong. 

SH: There's a bit more rationale to the H-I-T sales.

GB: What we buy now has changed to what we bought when we started out. Before, we were just trying to buy a horse to win a race. The first order I ever gave Sam was to go out and find me a horse to win a 0-50 handicap. He found every single horse rated 47-50 who could run between seven furlongs and a mile-and-a-quarter. I still have the What's App messages between myself and Sam on this, when he came back to me and said, 'I think the one you want is Three C'S (Ire) (Kodiac {GB}). He's won six or seven races for us and we paid next to nothing for him privately. He was the type of horse we were trying to buy back then. Now, we're trying to buy a horse to win the Buckingham Palace at Royal Ascot, which is what Sam did. He bought Inver Park (GB) (Pivotal {GB}) without seeing him but he came out so well on his figures that he just had to have him. I can remember sitting in my kitchen when we bought him. We had to give about 10 grand more than we wanted to but Sam wouldn't let me not buy him. It's very rare that Sam pushes me to buy a horse and, when we bought him, he said Inver Park would go on and win the Buckingham Palace. We gelded him and then worked backwards from the race. Amazingly, he had to go all the way up to Hamilton to win at 8-11 to win under a penalty to guarantee that he'd get in at Ascot. William Buick flew up there to ride that horse especially for us and it won us the race at Ascot because we snuck in. For that to work out as Sam said it would, it was just amazing.

BS: Missed The Cut (Quality Road) was also an inspired buy.

SH: If George is going to give me the credit for Inver Park, I'm going to have to give him the credit for Missed The Cut. He was unraced. A completely blank canvass so, how much data can you gather on an unraced horse? He came out of his box and, straight away, George declared him the NAP of the sale. That was that. The horse walked into the ring and I don't think George was going to be beaten.

GB: He was so big and backward. He was a much different physical back then to what he is now. In actual fact, he was a big, raw slop of a thing, really. It was the middle of February and I can remember, he took three strides out of his box and I told them to pop him back in. Sam was saying, 'you can't do that,' but he was such a lovely horse that you could see it straight away. He was a $400,000 [Shadwell-bought] foal at Keeneland in November 2019 and I would have been happy to give more than we did [40,000 gns]. We bought Diamond Ranger (Ire) (Kodiac {GB}) a couple of lots before that and he's won two and is rated 91. There was a big gap in the market and I can remember saying to Sam on the Shadwell horses, 'we need to buy as many of these as we can.' They had twice the pedigrees of any of these horses here at Donny today, yet they cost half the price. Diamond Ranger cost us 26,000gns. He was a 110,000gns yearling at Book 1 at Tattersalls in 2020. 

BS: Those results at Ascot must be up there with the best days you both have had in racing. I know Sam has had good touches in the past, including with a filly he sourced from Ireland, Miss O Connor (Ire) (Roderic O'Connor {Ire}), but those Ascot triumphs must have been something different.

SH: It was right up there with my best days in racing, for sure. To be there on the day, and to have the owners there as well, it was amazing. These were inexpensive horses winning at the biggest meeting in the world. 

GB: Missed The Cut and Inver Park are amazingly owned by great friends of ours. Ed Babington owns a share of Missed The Cut and he also has a share in Inver Park. Charlie Rosier and Allison Jackson are also big supporters of the yard. They've cobbled together for horses a few times and, yes they've had winners which has been great, but to put their top hats on and win races at Royal Ascot, that's their dream. It's also our dream so it's great that we could live it. We're lucky to have lots of horses to have a chance to do it but, to actually go and do it was great. 

BS: There has been a lot of doom and gloom in the media about trainers being forced to retire due to an inability to make the game pay. The flipside of that is, there are people like yourself coming through showing that, yes, while this is an extremely difficult profession to make a living at, it can be done.

GB: We had 87 winners across Europe last year and, at the start of this season, I looked at the pool of horses we had and thought, 'how the hell are we going to get anywhere near that.' But, with Sam's help, I mean every single sale, we're active. We keep buying and selling horses. If I started and finished the year with the same pool of horses, I wouldn't do anything like the numbers that we do. You have to keep the wheel turning and, yes, there are times when it's tricky for us. The old-fashioned thing to do is, you buy a yearling around this time of year and you see everyone again at the next yearling sale the following autumn. That's a long way away from what we do. A lot of trainers see H-I-T sales as clearouts but we use them to re-stock. It's an opportunity to elevate the quality in your yard.

BS: But it's also an opportunity for you to let go of horses you feel have reached their ceiling?

GB: We've actually sold a lot of winners there over the past few years. That's a big thing for us. I want people to feel like they can buy winners from us. In the August Sale next week, there's absolute winners waiting to happen for the next person. Paddy Brunty (Ire) (Dandy Man {Ire}) and Rock Girl (Ire) (Profitable {Ire}) for example, there's a bundle of them. They'll be winning races in three weeks' time but we need to be turning them over and putting money back in our owners' pockets rather than running the horses into the ground. 

BS: There's not many trainers who would be so commercially driven at your level.

GB: I wouldn't say so. You see it all of the time, a lot of the horses at these H-I-T sales are taken out at the last minute. That's what makes it so frustrating for Sam. You see a horse two weeks out from the sales and you want to buy it. Then, two days before the sale, it's scratched because trainers want to keep a hold of them. We have a different view.

BS: Sam, you may have cut your teeth with the form horses, but you've become equally as busy at the yearling sales. Do you enjoy that?

SH: I'd love to do more on the yearling sales. First and foremost, horses with form is the priority and I want to keep it that way. I can't let that slip. But I'd love to do more on the yearling side of things. Equally, it's a different sphere but I'm interested in both arenas. I don't see why a data and form approach can't be applied to a certain degree to these yearling sales. They may just provide us with something of an edge or just something extra to what we are seeing with just our eyes. 

BS: We all know the Mark Johnston approach to buying yearlings at these sales. Is yours different or what is your approach?

SH: There may not be something printed in the catalogue page and it will be my job to know about that. There could be many underappreciated things there and I will bring it all to the table for George to consider. 

GB: There's been a number of times when Sam has flagged up something. He'd say to me, 'you better go and see that,' and I wouldn't have had it on the list. He might see a horse run well at Carlisle or some place, and it could look like a potentially nice horse or a future winner, and it may be an update that not many people will have spotted. It's another tool. I certainly would miss that if I was going looking by myself. 

BS: Speaking about the horses in your yard, where can we expect to see Missed The Cut next? Were you disappointed with him in the G2 Prix Guillaume d'Ornano at Deauville?

GB: He's still very raw and, I said it before the race, it's very rare that a horse goes from winning a maiden to running in the top group races, which is what he did in France. He did come up a little bit short but he was possibly racing on the worst part of the track that day and finished off his race a little flat. We won the following race with Oscula and, after telling Ryan Moore to come down the middle the previous race on Missed The Cut, I told him to hug the rail on Oscula, and it worked. Anything that came off the rail seemed to be treading water so I don't think that helped us. But the winner, Al Hakeem (GB) (Siyouni {Fr}), is a very good horse and we retain a lot of faith in Missed The Cut. He's come a long way already and is owned by some very patient people so we'll do the right thing by him. 

BS: And is there a plan for Cachet?

GB: The Breeders' Cup is the plan and she's training away. She's a Classic winner and you can't take that away from her. We'll have a meeting with Highclere soon and make a plan but things are up in the air a little bit at the moment. 

BS: I find it quite interesting that Sam must look at things through a different prism than most given his background working with Paddy Power. 

SH: I definitely learned a lot at Paddy Power and I apply a lot of what I learned there to bloodstock. It was a very good education. There were some talented people in that building in Dublin and I learned a lot during my two years over there. There's an ex-colleague of mine at Paddy Power's, a guy called Feidhlim Cunningham, and he's done very well with Gavin Cromwell. They've had a lot of success together. There's a skillset that you gained at Paddy Power that was definitely applicable to bloodstock.

BS: And what about backing them? Everyone knows the Boughey yard is to be feared when the money arrives. That must provide you both with a lot of fun when it goes well?

GB: It is a bit of fun but, the more horses you have, the more it distorts your view. I used to punt, I mean it makes the world go around but now I have over 100 horses in training so we don't do it as much. Yes, if we fancy one, we might support it but a lot of the time, I think the gambles on our horses comes more from the general public. When they snowball, they snowball.

The post Haggas and Boughey: The Deadly Duo on Buying, Selling and Winning appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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Mark McStay went to £230,000 to secure a colt by the stallion [170] on Tuesday but it was Tally-Ho's first foal out of the five-time winner and listed-placed Thiswaycadeaux (Ire) (Theywayyouare) that topped proceedings. 

Finishing the sale as the leading consignors, the Mullingar-based stud played a significant role in the excellent figures posted over the two days at Doncaster. 

Of the 406 horses offered at the sale, 363 were sold, representing a clearance rate of 89%. The aggregate was up by a whopping 20% to £15,987,500 while the average was up 8% at £44,043 and the median rose 9% to £35,000.

Another day @GoffsUK another Night of Thunder @DarleyEurope rolling, well, like thunder! Lot 278, a filly consigned by @HoStud, sells to @BlandfordBldstk for £240,000 making her the current top lot at the Premier Sale. pic.twitter.com/CxIjoBOti5

— TDN (@theTDN) August 24, 2022

Goffs UK Managing Director Tim Kent said, “The last few days have been absolutely outstanding and, on behalf of the team, we must thank everyone that has made this sale such an incredible success. We were confident we had a good catalogue coming into this week but you can only hope that others agree and whilst one noted industry professional said that we 'were not missing anyone', another noted that there were 'better horses here this year'. 

“These comments are great to hear in the build up to any sale, but the level of the market can only really be measured in the sales ring and those comments certainly came to fruition with an outstanding trade from start to finish and a wonderful atmosphere throughout the sales complex. “This helped to deliver 23 horses that sold for a six-figure sum whilst seven made £200,000 or more. This was matched by an impressive 89% clearance rate and a top price of £240,000.”

He added, “Our focus for this sale was quality, precocity and athleticism and the feedback from buyers is that we achieved exactly that. We had a complex full of the traditional 'Donny rockets' which is very much true to the mantra on which this sale was founded and has thrived. To our vendors, we want to extend a huge thanks for their support. They got the brief, delivered the goods and we are delighted to have been able to produce a strong sale which has generated some sizable gains in the key figures.

“To our buyers, it was a huge turnout from everyone involved, it made for a brilliant atmosphere. We have had countless positive comments on the quality of the catalogue and the type of horse here, and that the sale is back where it belongs, praise that means a lot to the Goffs team. We extend our sincere thanks and we look forward to seeing our athletes tearing up the tracks as 2-year-olds next year.”

Tally-Ho Steal The Show

The top lot was bought by Blandford Bloodstock on behalf of Jurgen Sartori and that sale ensured Tally-Ho finished up as the leading consignor. 

Sartori is perhaps best known for owning horses in Germany, including Penja (Fr) (Camelot {GB}), who he bought out of Jean-Claude Rouget's yard at the Arqana Arc Sale last October for €1.2 million.

Roger O'Callaghan is not in the business of counting chickens but he knows what a good horse looks like and, perhaps the most pleasing aspect of the stud's performance over the two days was the fact that a wide range of their own stallions produced the goods. 

Notably, the newest of them all, Inns Of Court (Ire), whose yearlings were purchased by a host of top breeze-up consignors-Star Bloodstock, Longways Stables and Kilminfoyle House Stud–with the most expensive of them all going to Robson Aguiar. 

“A lot of the breeze-up people have bought yearlings by him, and rightly so. Hopefully it's a sign of things to come,” O'Callaghan said.

Aguiar went to £125,000 to secure lot 77 by Inns Of Court on behalf of Amo Racing on day one. However, O'Callaghan predicted the best was yet to come for the stallion. 

“He's not the only nice horse by him. The lads who look after him in the yard every day bought one, Gary Halpin and Sean Davis bought another off our farrier Matty Smith, so hopefully they get rewarded.”

Halpin and Davis are not exactly new faces on the breeze-up circuit, given the jockeys have ridden breezers at the sales for many of the top consignors in recent years, but the pair are hoping to grow their own operation this year. 

After selling a Galileo Gold (GB) filly last season, Halpin and Davis now plan on putting together a string of breezers to go with the Inns Of Court colt [127] bought from Baroda Stud for £55,000.

Halpin explained, “We underbid a few and the Inns Of Court was the only one we got in the end. He's a nice colt with a good page so he should get into any of those classy sales next year. Myself and Sean have been riding breezers for a few years now and we sold a Galileo Gold filly last year for a few quid. Hopefully we can grow the operation.”

Of the 17 yearlings offered by Inns Of Court, all of them found new homes for a total spend of £623,000. That averages out at a respectable £36,647 per yearling sold.

It was not just the first-season sire Inns Of Court who punched in respectable results for Tally-Ho. Their resident stallions Kessaar (Ire), Cotai Glory (GB), Kodiac (GB) and Galileo Gold (GB) did well in the ring, launching what O'Callaghan revealed would be a busy couple of months. 

“Kessaar is going well because he's short on numbers, they want a bit further than most people expected, but yea, he's holding his own. They're taking a bit of time but sure that's nearly a good thing. They're more valuable if they go further unless they're very good.”

He added, “The sale has been very good. I can't imagine anyone will be complaining. Everything we brought, we sold-but that's nearly always the case. But hey, we've about 60 yearlings out in the field at home. We've 40 to breeze and then there's about 15 more for the next yearling sales.”

Tally-Ho sold 24 horses at Doncaster over the two days. They cleared £1,544,000 and averaged £64,333. 

Only Baroda Stud, who sold 14 yearlings at the sale, came close to those figures with David Cox's operation netting £793,000 at an average of £56,643, highlighted by the New Bay (GB) colt [lot 211] that was knocked down to Peter and Ross Doyle for £200,000 on day one. 

Havana Grey Lights Up Sale

The sun hasn't stopped shining down on Whitsbury Manor Stud ever since the progeny of their first-season sire sensation Havana Grey (GB) hit the track this season. 

The knock-on effect of the brilliant season that the young stallion is enjoying with his first runners was felt in the sales ring, not more so than when the stud sold lot 234, a Havana Grey filly to Jake Warren for £230,000. 

A daughter of the Showcasing (GB) mare Showstoppa (GB), who has already produced four winners, including Group 2 Sandy Lane S. Winner El Caballo (GB), is set to join Clive Cox.

Happy vendor & happy purchaser @JakeJWarren secures Ed Harper's (@WhitsburyManor) well-bred Havana Grey filly (Lot 234) for £230,000 pic.twitter.com/sNqPLTui9M

— Goffs UK (@GoffsUK) August 24, 2022

However, Whitsbury's Ed Harper revealed that, away from lot 234, he derived a huge sense of satisfaction at seeing all of the yearlings by the stallion netting respectable sales for their owners and breeders. 

That included lot 295, a Havana Grey colt who is also heading to Cox, after selling from Jenny Norris for £85,000.

Harper said, “The satisfaction we have experienced extends beyond the headline filly. We have got a huge amount of pleasure out of seeing loyal breeders who have supported our stallions down through the years doing well out of Havana Grey. 

“For example, Jenny Norris has been a big supporter of ours, and she got £85,000 today for lot 295, a lovely colt by Havana Grey. Jenny is based just down the road from us so that was fantastic to see. When our stallions are doing well, our breeders are, too.”

He added, “Havana Grey got off to an excellent start at stud but, if we are being honest, we didn't expect the good results to be so consistent. It's been every week with him. Be it winning stakes races or big sales races, it's been great. He has had nine individual black-type horses which really is exceptional. That compares well with not only the first-season sires but some of the best stallions around.”

When Nick Bradley opened the bidding at £100,000 for lot 234, the secret was out that something special was walking around the ring, and Harper says any sadness in parting with the filly dissipated in seeing her join one of the best trainers in the country. 

He said, “It was very tempting to keep her but we try and offer as much of our good stock as is possible in order to give everyone a chance. 

“Any slight sadness experienced in letting her go is heavily mitigated in seeing her join Clive Cox. He's an excellent trainer and has done very well with the family before so we're really excited to see how she gets on with him. I'm sure she will do very well.”

He added, “The dam has a Sergei Prokofiev (Can) filly foal at foot. It's a bit of a cliché to say that the foal is very nice but she is so nice that we decided to send the mare back to Sergei Prokofiev.”

Of the 22 horses offered by Havana Grey, all bar one were sold for a total of £1,089,000, averaging at £51,857.

Hughes Sticks His Neck Out 

One of the most fascinating subplots that developed over the two days was Richard Hughes strengthening his string with the addition of a broad selection of yearlings. 

From a £200,000 Frankel (GB) colt consigned by Highclere Stud [lot 269] to a more affordable filly like the one by Kodiac that he picked up from Tally-Ho [lot 216], Hughes landed something for every type of an owner at Doncaster. 

Frankel fever! @RHughesracing spends £200,000 on Highclere Stud's Frankel colt (Lot 269) at the Doncaster Premier Yearling Sale pic.twitter.com/Upx5cM0FDC

— Goffs UK (@GoffsUK) August 24, 2022

The trainer bought 11 yearlings for a total of £744,000, which averaged out at £62,000, all without the help of an agent. 

Hughes said, “I find that myself and Fanny [Hannon, sister in law] are buying the right type of horses that suits me. It's working really well.”

Hughes is operating at a 25% strike-rate with his 2-year-old this term but the former top-class jockey admitted that it took time to get a feel for training juveniles at his Lambourn base.

He explained, “When I was working in Richard Hannon's, they had their own gallops, then you go to a totally different training centre and it takes a bit of time to get used to it. I have a great team at home but I do think myself and Fanny are scouring these sales and buying the ones that we really like.”

Hughes added, “In other years, I'd come here and underbid a few of the ones I really liked and then go and buy something else. This time I have been putting my neck on the line a bit more and buying the ones that I love. When you are buying on spec and bringing the ones home you like, you will sell them a lot easier, because you believe in them. But if you buy a horse because you couldn't buy the one you really wanted, it's very hard to have the heart to go and sell that to a client, you know?”

Nobody bought more horses on spec than his old boss Richard Hannon Senior did when he was in his pomp. The yearlings would all have been sold by Christmas and the Hannons would have an army of 2-year-olds to go to war with every spring. Hughes is not exactly adopting the same modus operandi but he is definitely being braver with his approach. 

“Most of the sales that I go to, I buy a lot of horses on spec. I bought 10 horses here two years ago and got them all sold by Christmas. We bought a horse here last year for £125,000 on spec. I got him sold in November. They are sleepless nights, I can guarantee you that. “Owner-breeders aren't sending me 10 or 12 horses every season. Other people have that luxury. Now, maybe I will some day, but I don't at the moment. Every horse I have in my yard, I have to go and get them myself and, if I didn't, I'd have nothing to train.”

By that token, Hughes is different to most trainers. He doesn't employ an agent and is therefore willing to die on his own sword. 

He said, “They [agents] are there when the horses are winning but it's a lonely old place when they are no good. Normally, when I bring them home, it's me who has to sell them to these owners anyway. We've done really well in the past couple of years with the horses I've bought myself so we're sticking to that. 

“I was up here on Sunday and Monday, which isn't great because you miss out on being in the yard, but it's all about building towards the future and my owners understand that.”

Hughes added, “I bring the yearlings home and we have an owners' day in November. We have a bit of a party and people get together and come in on horses together. A lot of my owners know each other so it's a good way of doing things.”

The priciest yearling Hughes picked up was lot 269, a Frankel colt for £200,000, that was consigned by Highclere Stud. He also picked up some well-bred fillies, including the highly-sought after Ten Sovereigns [lot 21] filly consigned by Jamie Railton on day one. 

He said, “I thought that she [21] was a very good buy for her ovaries alone. Like, her pedigree was super. She was a gorgeous filly. The Cotai Glory [lot 253 for £40,000] was a gorgeous horse. He'll be more of a 3-year-old. I think I have someone for him. Jaber Abdullah came in for some of the very well-bred fillies. Two of the fillies are out of a Shamardal mare so, if they win a race, they can go breeding.”

The post Lightning Strikes Twice For Night Of Thunder At Doncaster appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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The sire of last Friday's breathtakingly-good G1 Nunthorpe S. winner Highfield Princess (Fr), Night Of Thunder was labelled a rock solid stallion by McStay, who felt lot 170-for all that he looked like a son of Dubawi-was the standout colt on day one.

So much so, the leading agent, who would not disclose who the Mountarmstrong-consigned colt was bought for, went to £230,000 to secure him.

“Lovely colt by a proven sire at this stage in his career, Night Of Thunder,” McStay said. “He actually looked like a Dubawi (Ire) to me. He was well-produced and comes from a very good nursery in Mountarmstrong. Noel O'Callaghan breeds and sells good horses and I thought he was the standout colt on offer here today.”

He added, “We had to stretch to buy him. I thought we'd get him for quite a bit less but my client is brave and encouraged me to keep going and to secure him.

“Look, we're seeing what Night Of Thunders are doing on the track and I don't think that they are going to get any cheaper. I can't say who he has been bought for but he's been bought for an existing client. He'll be broken in Ireland and plans are fluid.”

Lot 170 sells for £230,000 @GoffsUK. This colt is by Night of Thunder @DarleyEurope and was consigned by Mountarmstrong Stud. @mcstayagent was the winning bidder. pic.twitter.com/Sk8KFOW058

— TDN (@theTDN) August 23, 2022

The Night Of Thunder colt hails from a cracking family. He is out of Pious Alexander (Ire), a winner by Acclamation (GB), who is out of dual Group 3 winner Lady Alexander (Ire) (Night Shift). She is the dam of 10 winners, including Dandy Man (Ire) and Anthem Alexander (Ire) (Starspangledbanner {Aus}).

McStay also signed for WH Bloodstock's inspired Kuroshio {Aus} pinhook [lot171] for £120,000, Baroda Stud's Zoustar {Aus} colt [lot 19, for £72,000] out of black-type performer Golden Spell (GB) (Al Kazeem {GB}), a US Navy Flag colt consigned by Monksland Stables for £38,000 and the first horse through the ring, Grove Stud's grey filly by Starspangledbanner (Aus) for £35,000.

It proved a bountiful day for consignors, with many buyers-be they agents, trainers and breeze-up operators-relaying that there was stiff competition for the nicest horses, which was evident in the figures.
Of the 218 lots offered, 199 were sold, representing a clearance rate of 91%. The aggregate, average and median were all up as well. An aggregate of £8,954,500 represented a 28% rise on last year while the average was up 15% to £44,997 and a median of £38,000 cemented a 27% rise on 2021.

Renowned bloodstock agent Ross Doyle reflected on an encouraging day's trade after purchasing lot 211, a Baroda Stud-consigned colt by New Bay (GB), late in the day for £200,000. That brought Doyle's total spend on day one to £642,000 across nine yearlings and he was quick to praise Goffs for assembling a fantastic bunch.

Doyle said, “It's been very good, very strong, which is great to see. I've never seen so many people here than over the past few days, which is a testimony to Goffs and all their team. You only have to look around the pictures on the walls, some very good horses have come out of this sale so they deserve people to turn up and get stuck in. We'd a very good shortlist and we're the same tomorrow.”

On lot 211, he added, “I thought he was outstanding. I thought he was the best-moving horse here today. He's obviously by a sire doing extremely well and he seems to upgrade everything. “He's out of a black-type mare [Rubira {Aus} Lope De Vega {Ire})] and comes from a good home. We put him down as the best individual that we've seen, as far as movement goes, for a long time. He covers serious ground and it's all very natural and relaxed, which is a good sign. “He's been bought for an existing client who has plenty of horses with Richard [Hannon] and has been a very good supporter of this sale in particular.”

Hesketh and Wadham in Clover With Cracking Kuroshio

Violet Hesketh and Mimi Wadham, who run WH Bloodstock, have rightly earned a reputation for being one of the shrewdest young operators in the business. The pinhook of lot 171, purchased by the pair as a foal at Goffs for €38,000 before selling on Tuesday to Avenue Bloodstock for £120,000, confirmed that reputation to be bang on the money.

Some of the top buyers were on to the son of Starfield Stud's Kuroshio. In the end, it was Mark McStay, flanked by trainer Fozzy Stack, who secured him.

Hesketh said, “I am delighted. We knew we had a nice colt but you never expect to get that sort of a price. We bought him in the February Sale at Goffs for €38,000 and he has just improved and improved.

“He was an absolute pro and didn't miss a beat in every show. Some of the top judges were on him. We'll be sad to see him go but very happy with the price we got. We'll look forward to seeing him racing.”

Wooo what a result – over the moon to have a small part of this brilliant pinhook with @violethesketh @mimi_wadham! €38,000 buy in February turns into £120,000 @GoffsUK #kuroshio Good luck @fozzystack pic.twitter.com/fgE9wEUKmO

— Jess Stafford (@jess_stafford_) August 23, 2022

A lovely colt, lot 171 was out of the Pivotal (GB) mare Pivotal Era (GB), herself a full-sister to Humouresque (GB), who carried the Cheveley Park silks to Group 3 glory at Saint-Cloud in 2003.

Hesketh added, “He was a gorgeous foal and is out of a good Pivotal mare, which obviously everyone loves. He had such a good attitude. We're very happy.”

Jamie Railton's pinhook with lot 21, a filly by Ten Sovereigns (Ire), was another shrewd piece of business. Bought by Railton for €26,000 at Goffs last November, the filly was knocked down to Richard Hughes for £110,000.

Hughes, who is operating at a 25% strike-rate with his 2-year-olds this season and has nine winners on the board in that sphere, bought four yearlings all told for a combined sum of £224,000.

Kinane on the Hunt for Hong Kong

In his role of sourcing European horses on behalf of the Hong Kong Jockey Club, Mick Kinane has already come up trumps with this year's Hong Kong Derby winner Romantic Warrior (Ire) (Acclamation {GB}), and the legendary jockey revealed that lot 57, a £200,000 colt by the same sire, will chart a similar path.

The Trinity Park Stud-consigned son of Acclamation is from the family of Puncher Clynch (Ire) (Azamour {Ire}), who did well in Hong Kong, and Kinane is hopeful that his latest acquisition can forge out a career for himself in that jurisdiction in time.

Kinane said, “He has a champion in Hong Kong [Puncher Clynch] and is a similar type. He's a nice horse. I was here the past two years but I didn't find them [good horses]. There's nicer horses here this year.

“He'll be broken and will go into pre-training and then we'll see what he can do. Hopefully he'll do well in Hong Kong.”

Lot 57 makes £200,000 @GoffsUK and is heading to @HKJC_Racing. This colt is by Acclamation @RathbarryStud and was consigned by @TrinityParkStud. pic.twitter.com/IRr4XFqepe

— TDN (@theTDN) August 23, 2022

The Acclamation colt was consigned by Trinity Park Stud on behalf of Peter Gleeson, who bought and raced the dam Isole Canarie (Ire) (Rip Van Winkle {Ire}), a dual listed winner in Italy. From the family of Puncher Clynch (Ire), who did well in Hong Kong, lot 57 was fancied by those closest to him to go down well with the buyers, but the £200,000 fetched in the ring exceeded all expectations.

Becky Marsh, of Trinity Park Stud, said, “I thought we had a very nice horse but I wasn't expecting that. I said to Henry Beeby this morning when he came to look at the horse before he auctioned him that I would be delighted if he made £100,000. Obviously I'm overwhelmed.”

She added, “We foaled and raised this yearling-he's been with us since day one and he's always shown a lot of class. Since he came here he's not put a foot wrong. He's walked out perfectly every day and he had the right people on him.

“Isole Canarie was bought by Peter Gleeson, who raced her in Italy and then France, then brought her back here to breed. He's been lucky with Italian mares before and it's worked really well for him. The mare has an Oasis Dream (GB) colt at foot, but was not bred back this year.”

Warren Tips Land Force For First-Season Sire Honours

Jake Warren of Highclere Stud, who stands Land Force (Ire), is confident that the young stallion has what it takes to be champion first-season sire in 2023. A total of 17 yearlings by the son of No Nay Never were catalogued in the sale, eight of which found new homes on day one, averaging at a highly-respectable £34,500 for a stallion who stands for just £5,000 [stood at £6,500 in his first season].

However, what was most notable were the hotels that the Land Force yearlings have joined as multiple Group 1-winning trainer Clive Cox and renowned breeze-up consignors Katie Walsh and Con Marnane featured among the list of buyers.

Warren said, “It's always a nervous time when you bring a new stallion to the market but, the thing with Land Force is, and one of the main reasons why we've had the confidence to keep breeding to him over the past three years, is he throws these powerful, strong, good-shouldered, big physicals that are just what breeders are looking to produce. It's also what 2-year-old buyers are trying to secure. He's just ticking those boxes.”

He added, “There's no first-season sires with more offerings at this sale so he has the numbers to back him up. No Nay Never has had an amazing year with his 2-year-olds and there's no reason why Land Force can't be the champion first-season sire next year. It's exciting.”

It was lot 71 who shot the lights out for Land Force at £85,000. On the eve of the sale, Natalie Folland and her partner Matt Bowen told TDN about how they wanted to make their clients proud with the first yearlings they offered under the Folland-Bowen Bloodstock banner this week.

Well, the couple could hardly have done a better job with their Land Force colt, the first yearling they sent through the ring together, who walked around like a pro en route to commanding that impressive price tag.

Fighting back the tears in Barn J shortly after the sale, Folland said, “I'm going to cry. The owner has just been on the phone, she's bawling crying telling us how delighted she is. He's gone to Clive Cox, who has the half-brother Ascot Adventure (GB) (Mayson {GB}) and Joe Foley was the underbidder. He was vetted four or five times so it's great to have received such support.”

She added, “I knew he was busy but we would have been happy with £50,000 so, to get £80,000, we're over the moon. His owner, Fiona Trenchard, is delighted. She's such a pedigree fanatic and has tried really hard with this mare as she's been very hard to keep in foal. It hasn't been easy so, to have a result like that, I'm more emotional for her really.”

Marnane went to £30,000 to secure lot 26, a Mickley Stud-consigned filly by Land Force, while Walsh bought a colt by the stallion, lot 63, off Anna Sundstrom's Coulonces for £40,000.

Soldier Answers Foley's Call

Land Force was not the only young sire making waves. Joe Foley expressed his confidence behind the progeny of his own Ballyhane Stallion Soldier's Call in Monday's TDN and, less than 24 hours later, he put his money where his mouth was in securing Tinnakill's chestnut colt by the classy sprinter for £105,000.

Lot 212 is a half-brother to Marygate S. winner Sardinia Sunset (Ire) (Guitafan) and was sold by Tinnakill House Stud on behalf of Kevin Blake's Golden Farm Thoroughbreds.

Don't miss this fella later today at @GoffsUK. Lot 212, from the first crop of Soldier's Call, he's a half-brother to the Marygate Stakes winner Sardinia Sunset. Speed on speed. He is the first yearling produced for Golden Farm Thoroughbreds. @TinnakillHouse @BallyhaneStud pic.twitter.com/8Gx2LdLZk2

— Kevin Blake (@kevinblake2011) August 23, 2022

Seven of the eight yearlings by Soldier's Call were sold on day one with Mick Easterby forking out £65,000 to bag Trickledown Stud's colt by the sire [48] and Oliver St Lawrence going to £50,000 for Manister House Stud's offering [190].

Andrew Balding also picked up two by the sire, Ballyhane's lot 59 for £30,000 and 109 for £22,000. Of the seven yearlings sold by Soldier's Call, they averaged at just under £50,000 apiece.

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“This sale has attracted yearlings from a broad range of proven and upcoming stallions,” commented Peter Berringer, President of the CTHS (Ontario Division). “Ontario Bred/Sired Thoroughbreds continue to have success both here in Ontario and throughout North America. With the pandemic restrictions lifted and the borders now open, we are hoping our buyer base will be enhanced this year.”

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At 366 lots, Goffs UK compiled a catalogue that was 8.5% smaller than last year. Yet in a testament to the quality of horse on offer, not to mention the appetite of buyers on the ground, the sale returned an aggregate of £13,334,000, up 18% from 2020. The average also rose by 20% to £40,907, while particularly impressive was the clearance rate of 89%.

A total of 13 yearlings made six figures headed by a first-crop son of Darley's Harry Angel (Ire) (lot 296), who provided a fine advert for his young sire by selling for £220,000 on Wednesday to agent Alex Elliott.

Goffs UK Managing Director Tim Kent was understandably delighted with the level of trade.

“The Premier Sale is back on track,” he said. “Last year's sale endured its own Covid-related challenges but, with the help of a very loyal band of vendors and purchasers, we've seen a remarkable trade over the two days and proved to everyone that 2020 was a one-year blip due to circumstances beyond anyone's control. The car park has been overflowing since Sunday morning and the footfall of genuine buyers has been incredible. There has been a real buzz around the sales complex over the last few days and it's great that this has resulted in trade which started well yesterday, finished strong last night, and kicked on again today.

“The impressive 89% clearance rate shows the demand for Premier yearlings is as strong as ever. The fact that the 13 six-figure yearlings were purchased by 11 different buyers demonstrates the diversity of the buying bench associated with this sale whilst our policy of going 'back to the future' when selecting the traditional 'Donny yearling' has clearly proved popular with buyers.

“We've said this before but it is never more relevant than today; we simply cannot do this without our clients. Without them, we are nothing and we would like to thank all of our vendors for putting their faith in the Goffs UK team. We are absolutely delighted that this loyalty has been well rewarded, and we wish all purchasers the best of luck with their new racehorses. We are already looking forward to next year, when we will see the next star graduates emerge, and build again on two great days in Doncaster.”

His views were echoed by Richard Brown of Blandford Bloodstock.

“I think it's a fantastic trade,” said the agent, who signed for two six-figure lots. “I've been involved on the selling side with vendors as well and there's been some fantastic sales. Lots of horses are changing hands. It's great to see and good on Doncaster.”

The £220,000 sale-topper will be trained by Clive Cox after Alex Elliott saw off Oliver St Lawrence to sign on behalf of an undisclosed client. Offered by Houghton Bloodstock, the colt was bred by Cheveley Park Stud and descends from one of their most successful families as a son of listed winner Red Box (GB) (Exceed And Excel {Aus}), herself a daughter of the stud's G1 Prix de Diane heroine Confidential Lady (GB) (Singspiel {Ire}).

“I am delighted to buy him, first and foremost because he's an exceptional individual, but also because Mr and Mrs Thompson and Chris Richardson have been extremely supportive of me–I was able to buy A Plus Tard for them,” said Elliott. “So I'm very happy to be able to buy one from Cheveley Park Stud.

“He's by one of the best horses that this sale ring has ever seen and out of a very fast mare. He also vetted perfectly and watching him in the back ring, it was like men against boys.

“You could see all the breeze-up boys on him and they're the best in the business with the fast ones. But when you get into the end-user territory, then it can thin out a bit.

“He's for a new client and with the passing of Sheikh Hamdan, who was such an influential figure within the industry, and especially at this sale, we felt there was a bit of a gap in the market. We were all out at the end but we're pretty excited. Hopefully there will be a photo of him outside on the wall here this time next year.”

Red Box was trained by Sir Mark Prescott to win three races, including the 2016 Listed Valiant S. at Ascot. Her first foal, Secret Box (GB) (Le Havre {Fr}), is also a winner this year and rated 81 for the Newmarket trainer while her 2-year-old by Pivotal (GB) is in training with Martyn Meade.

“I bought his third dam Confidante as a yearling and it's a family that has done us proud,” said the stud's managing director Chris Richardson. “Confidential Lady provided Mr and Mrs Thompson with a great thrill when she won the Prix de Diane. This colt is a bonny horse by a first-season sire that we thought would be a nice one to send to Doncaster. Mentally he's very sound and what I really liked about him was how he thrived from the moment prep started.”

Top sprinter Harry Angel is one of the most celebrated graduates of the Premier Sale, having sold for £44,000 to Clive Cox at the 2015 edition, and with a sale-topping transaction in the books, it was appropriate that he should reign as the auction's leading first-crop stallion thanks to five yearlings who sold for an average of £92,000.

Star for Fitzgerald

From an investment of just 10,000gns in the Bated Breath (GB) mare Under Offer (Ire), Alice Fitzgerald and Michael Doyle were able to reap excellent rewards on Wednesday in the sale of a homebred Starspangledbanner (Aus) filly (lot 381) for £160,000 to M V Magnier.

The filly is the first foal out of the mare, a half-sister to listed winner Bayargal (Bernstein) who was purchased by the pair through SJ Leahy Bloodstock at the 2018 Tattersalls July Sale.

“We'd had our eyes on the mare for a while and we were able to buy her,” said Fitzgerald, whose select draft also included a £55,000 first-crop son of Kessaar (Ire). “We actually tried to sell her later on at Tattersalls but luckily she didn't sell. This filly is a good first foal and it helps that Starspangledbanner is having an excellent season. The mare isn't that big so I think he has put a bit of strength into this filly.”

The filly was the sole purchase made during the two days by Magnier. Speaking on behalf of the Coolmore team, its UK representative Kevin Buckley said, “She was a lovely filly, a very good first foal, and all the team loved her.”

Tally-Ho On Top

The sale of a Kodiac (GB) colt for £210,000 sealed an excellent sale for vendor Tally-Ho Stud, who wound up as leading vendor thanks to 20 yearlings who turned over £1,188,000. The star act was lot 359, a homebred colt out of the Pivotal (GB) mare Stunner (GB) for whom Richard Brown of Blandford Bloodstock outbid Alex Elliott on behalf of Sheikh Juma Dalmook Al Maktoum.

The owner has horses in training with an array of British trainers and this colt is set to join Richard Fahey, who sent out Perfect Power (GB)–a grandson of Kodiac–to win Sunday's G1 Prix Morny in the colours of Sheikh Juma's younger brother Sheikh Rashid Dalmook Al Maktoum.

“Obviously Sheikh Juma's brother, Sheikh Rashid, had a good weekend and so he wanted to find a nice colt to go to Richard,” said Brown. “We ran through them here with Richard and we both fell on this colt–he's a smasher. He comes from a top-class farm, he's an early foal, he looks forward and then you have the Pivotal mare. It was further than we thought we would have to go but he was the one horse we really wanted in the sale and we're delighted to get him.”

Bred on the same Kodiac-Pivotal cross as Group 1 winner Fairyland, the colt is the first foal out of Stunner, who was purchased to join Tally-Ho for 77,000gns as an unnamed 3-year-old at the Tattersalls July Sale in 2018. The mare is out of listed winner Adonesque (Ire) (Sadler's Wells), also granddam of the G2 Coventry S. hero Buratino (Ire) (Exceed And Excel {Aus}), and from the further family of influential sire Danehill Dancer (Ire) (Danehill).

As for Sheikh Rashid, he did not come away empty-handed, acting through Brown to invest £100,000 in a colt by Perfect Power's sire Ardad (Ire) from Whatton Manor Stud. As with the Kodiac colt, he will be trained by Richard Fahey.

Brown is well placed to appreciate Ardad better than most having purchased the horse as a Doncaster breezer back in 2016 in addition to his flag-bearing son Perfect Power as a 2-year-old in the same ring in April.

“Ed [Player of Whatton Manor Stud] rang me a couple of weeks ago to say he'd just had a belter of an Ardad walk into the yard,” said Brown. “My ears pricked up and obviously Ed was right–he's a smashing colt, very athletic and with a great temperament, something that we're seeing coming through a lot with the Ardads. And he comes from very good breeders. So it all added up. He was hard enough to buy though–we had to outbid a very good judge in Clive Cox.”

The colt was bred by Mick and Fiona Denniff–of Beat The Bank (GB) (Paco Boy {Ire}) and Kachy (GB) (Kyllachy {GB}) fame–out of their homebred mare Pigeon Point (GB). He is the second foal out of his unraced dam, who is a half-sister to three minor winners and from the further family of GI Travers S. winner Alpha (Bernardini).

The Denniffs have managed the first two generations of this family but it was only by a quirk of fate that Pigeon Point remained in their ownership, as Fiona Denniff explained.

“I bred the mare and when she was a yearling, something frightened them in a field and she was the first one to get out,” said the Nottinghamshire-based breeder. “She jumped two gates–despite being Flat-bred–and hurt herself so she never raced.”

She added: “We've been very lucky with Ardad. I went to look at him when he came to the sales to parade and thought then that he was a lovely individual, and one who would suit a number of my mares. So I actually bought a breeding right in him. We loved this colt from day one. He's very easy to deal with, very relaxed, and Ed and his team have done a marvellous job with him.”

Returning To The Well

Hopes that lightning would strike twice ran high following the sale of lot 268, a Dandy Man (Ire) filly, to Peter and Ross Doyle. It was at this sale two years ago that the father and son duo plucked a daughter of the same stallion for £25,000 out of the draft belonging to Jimmy Murphy's Redpender Stud. It has since proven to be money exceptionally well spent with the filly in question, Happy Romance (Ire), going on to win the G3 Dick Poole and Hackwood S. in addition to the 2020 Weatherbys Super Sprint and the Goffs UK Premier Yearling S. for Richard Hannon.

Yesterday, the Doyles returned to source for another daughter of the stallion, a filly out of Nuclear Option (Ire) who blossomed from a €29,000 foal into a £135,000 yearling.

“If she's as good as Happy Romance, that will be ok,” said Ross Doyle after outbidding Joe Foley. “She's for a good owner in the yard.

“We've been very lucky buying off Redpender before–we bought [G1 winners] Canford Cliffs and Toormore here off them in the past. We thought she was the pick of the fillies here. She really stands out. She's just a bit different, very mature–she looks right now like a 2-year-old going on three.”

The filly was making her second trip through the ring, having been picked up by Redpender for €29,000 as a Goffs November foal. Bred by John Grogan's Milestream Stud, she is the first foal out of her placed dam, a Frozen Power (Ire) half-sister to the listed-placed Danielsflyer (Ire) (Dandy Man {Ire}) who descends from Daniel Wildenstein's champion mare All Along (Fr) (Targowice {USA}).

“We were very lucky with Happy Romance,” said Murphy. “This was a lovely filly bred by a very good breeder, John Grogan. She was lovely the day we bought her and did everything right for us.”

Overall, it was a very productive sale for the Doyles as the purchasers of 16 yearlings for a total of £1,032,000, enough to place them at the head of the buyer standings.

Successful Day for Ballyhimikin

It was also a good day for James Hanly's Ballyhimikin Stud, which sold three colts for an average of £95,000.

Leading the way was lot 244, a second-crop son of Ribchester (Ire) who caught the imagination of Richard Hughes, so much so that the trainer was happy to stretch to £125,000 to secure the youngster on spec.

By a stallion who has sired ten first-crop winners to date, he was bred by Joseph Stewart Investments out of the placed Miracle Dictu (Ire) (King's Best {USA}), whose four winners include the Listed-placed Tres Belle (Ire) (Holy Roman Emperor {Ire}).

“We've done the rounds for two days and I thought he was the nicest horse here,” said Hughes. “I fell in love with him–he has great movement to him and he's a big, strong horse. He's going to be fine horse. I own him myself at the moment and there'll be a few sleepless nights but I couldn't help myself.”

He added: “I don't have any in training by Ribchester at the moment but I bought another by the sire yesterday, a colt for £28,000. You could see at the breeze-ups that they're big, fine horses, quite like him, and I think he's doing well.”

Breeder Trevor Stewart was watching on from Deauville and was understandably delighted with the result.

“He's the first yearling I've sold this year and I'm delighted,” he said. “I think this was the nicest individual that Mirabile Dictu had produced. He's a cracking, big, long-striding horse. We bred the dam and I bought her out of the partnership and put her in training. She was placed a couple of times and has done ok as a broodmare. Her daughter Tres Belle got black-type and now I have her first foal, Tortuguero, in training in France, and he's won this year too. It's a nice family that gets plenty of winners.”

Hanly and Stewart later combined to sell a Fast Company (Ire) half-brother to the listed-placed Snazzy (Ire) (Kodiac {GB}) for £80,000 to agent Armando Duarte.

Silver Linings

As a successful Premier Sale was consigned to the books at Goffs UK, another 69 yearlings comprising the Silver Sale catalogue were ushered straight into the ring for a final session of trade conducted at a more modest level.

Of that number, 47 horses were sold, with the average and median figures closely aligned at £8,830 and £8,000, respectively. A further £415,000 was added to the day's takings.

The session's leading light, as in the Premier Sale, was a yearling colt by a Darley sire, this one a colt registered as black, by Brazen Beau (Aus), and offered as lot 404.

Sarah Fanning, the wife of leading jockey Joe Fanning, is a relative newcomer to the scene as a consignor but she is an accomplished horsewoman and the £30,000 attained for the half-brother to four winners, including Topmeup (GB) (Mayson {GB}), was a considerable mark up on his foal price of 5,000gns.

Fanning consigned the colt on behalf of his pinhooker Vanessa Thompson. Bred by Whitwell Bloodstock, his dam Ambrix (Ire) (Xaar {GB}) is a half-sister to GII Del Mar Mile H. winner Ferneley (Ire) (Ishiguru) from the family of G1 Irish 1000 Guineas winner Just The Judge (Ire) (Lawman {Fr}).

With last year's Silver Sale having been merged with the Autumn Sale, it is hard to draw direct comparisons, and in 2019 more than double the number of yearlings were offered when 160 came under the hammer. But in that pre-Covid sale, the average, at £8,094, was slightly below that set on Wednesday in Doncaster, and the median was just £5,500. A mixture of relief and satisfaction can be drawn from a distinctly buoyant two days of trade in Yorkshire to get the British yearlings sales off to a decent start.

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The latter’s half-brother by Starspangledbanner (Aus) (lot 313) is among this year’s offerings at the Premier Sale. Other highlights on paper include a colt by Invincible Spirit (Ire) out of G3 Firth of Clyde S. victress Distinctive (GB) (Tobougg {GB}) (lot 173) and a filly by the same sire out of G1 Nassau S. winner Favourable Terms (GB) (Selkirk) (lot 206); a No Nay Never filly out of a half-sister to Equiano (Fr) (lot 195); a Cotai Glory (GB) half-sister to A’Ali (lot 322); and a full-brother to G3 Hackwood S. winner Yafta (GB) (Dark Angel {Ire}) (lot 423). Haras d’Etreham and La Motteraye Consignment offer a Lope De Vega (Ire) colt out of G3 Round Tower S. winner Royal Empress (Ire) (lot 380) as well as colts by Etreham sires Wootton Bassett (GB) (lot 338) and Almanzor (Fr) (lot 31). Barton Stud offers a filly by leading French sire Siyouni (Fr) (lot 361) out of a half-sister to GI Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Turf winner Queen’s Trust (GB) (Dansili {GB}).

“It has been a very strong year for the Premier Sale on the track and once again it has proved its ability to produce horses of the highest calibre with A’Ali and particularly Golden Horde,” said Goffs UK Managing Director Tim Kent. “Both elite 2-year-olds last year, they have progressed in their 3-year-old season to hold strong stallion credentials and look set to follow other top graduates such as Advertise and Harry Angel who have recently secured their place at leading studs in the same way as the likes of Acclamation, Dark Angel, Wootton Bassett etc. Seeing these results is very exciting for the sale and the host of top 2-year-olds we have this year, headlined by the likes of Cairn Gorm, Method, Supremacy, The Lir Jet and Ventura Tormenta certainly puts it in a strong position for the latter half of the season and their Classic season next year.

“We have some outstanding yearlings catalogued this year, including siblings to some of our star performers, and we have plenty to look forward to over the coming weeks with a number of graduates lining up in Group 1 races. We will be busy in the build-up marketing this catalogue to our ever-growing global audience and we look forward to welcoming everyone to Doncaster on Sept. 1 and 2, where we will be strictly following the updated protocols to ensure that we comply with the UK Government’s latest COVID guidelines.”

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