Manfred and Edith Hellwig of German-based Gestut Hony-Hof bring 11 mares and nine foals to market though the Castlebridge Consignment, many of whom offer access to one of the best German families of recent decades.

In 2000, the Hellwigs bought from Gestut Karlshof a yearling filly by Monsun (Ger), a full-sister to that year's G1 Deutsches Derby winner Samum (Ger), who would later be named Salve Regina (Ger) and go on to claim her own Classic laurels in the G1 Preis der Diana. The family's place in German bloodstock history has been even more deeply carved since then. In 2006, another full-brother, Schiaparelli (Ger), brought a second Deutsches Derby home, and while their sister Sanwa (Ger) didn't make it to the track herself, she atoned for that by producing yet another Derby winner, Sea The Moon (Ger) (Sea The Stars {Ire}).

Salve Regina herself has established a dynasty at Hony-Hof, the central German farm “close to nowhere”, which includes the GII Ballston Spa H. winner Salve Germania (Ger) (Peintre Celebre), whose full-sister Salve Haya (Ire) is catalogued as Lot 1148. Six of the 11 mares to be offered at Goffs are Salve Regina's descendants, as are four of the foals.

“That whole family has been so good to us, and also to Karlshof,” says Simon Minch, the longstanding manager of Gestut Hony-Hof. “The number of group runners they've brought out of it and black-type horses, it's like a gift that keeps on giving. It's a family that just doesn't seem to go out of fashion.”

He adds, “The one thing you have to say about that family is that it gets good, honest, tough horses. They don't wilt easily, they normally go on and have good, long careers to them. You know, the rarely-see-a-vet type.”

Leading the draft of mares on the Friday of the sale is Sea The Sunrise (Ger) (Lot 1139), a Sea The Stars granddaughter of Salve Regina offered in foal to Gleneagles (Ire), and her weanling filly by Arizona (Ire) will be sold as Lot 525 on the Tuesday.

Minch continues, “A lot of that family aren't that big are very, very good. Like Salve Regina herself. She was the height of the average coffee table. Same with the dam of Sea The Moon, she was even smaller. Salve Del Rio was a two-year-old winner for us, and he was fourth in the German Derby, and third in a Group 2. He was barely 15 hands, but he was as tough as nails. 

They don't wilt easily, they normally go on and have good, long careers to them. You know, the rarely-see-a-vet type.

“And Sea the Sunrise, she's also an interesting outcross as well. She's a lovely mare and she's got a lot of potential to her. You're buying a lot of good stallion stuff in there.”

It's not all about the Salve Regina clan in the Hony-Hof draft though. For a start, the horse that has brought the farm the most acclaim in recent years is the G1 Prix du Cadran winner Princess Zoe (Ger) (Jukebox Jury {Ire}). She too isn't that big and is as tough as they come, but she's from a different family altogether.

Her half-sister Palace Girl (GB) (Areion {Ger}) sells as Lot 1142 and is in foal to Churchill (Ire) with a yearling by Adlerflug (Ger) on the ground. Her filly foal by Isfahan (Ger) is Lot 524.

Then there's the German champion two-year-old, Ocean Fantasy (Fr) (Make Believe {GB}), a rare foal purchase by the stud who went on to win the G3 Preis der Winterkonigin and finish placed in the G2 Diana Trial. Selling as Lot 1141, she is in foal to Lope De Vega (Ire) while her filly foal from the first crop of St Marks's Basilica (Fr) could bring some interest late in the day on Tuesday as the final lot in the ring (532). Her dam's half-sister La Mehana (Fr) (Al Wukair {Ire}) is a treble Listed winner who was placed in the G1 Prix de Royallieu since the catalogue was printed. 

“There's another very interesting family we have though, that shouldn't be overlooked,” says Minch. “It's been my pet project, and that's Wish You Well and Westfalica family.”

Those two named mares (Lots 1140 and 1149), by Soldier Hollow (GB) and Areion (Ger) respectively, are both great-granddaughters of the Oaks winner Jet Ski Lady (Vaguely Noble).

He continues, “We decided to go a different direction with that family. To go back to 1,600, 1,400-metre horses, with One Cool Cat and Areion and things like that. And the bit of speed back on it has paid dividends, and it has started giving black type for us again. Westfalica's two-year-old [Wikinger] won the big €200,000 sales race in Baden-Baden. So that was pleasing, and also from that family is Words Of Peace, who was fourth in the Winterkonigin, the top two-year-old race for fillies in Germany.

“So that's coming alive again, and then Wish You Well is a listed winner herself and her first foal by Caravaggio had one start and ran a grand race to be second. But interestingly the winner came out from that and won the sales race down in Munich recently. So the form of that race is looking pretty solid. They're both very young mares with plenty going for them. Westfalica has a foal by Sioux Nation and Wish You Well has a Starspangledbanner filly.”

The advancing age of the Hellwigs, who have had broodmares for 35 years, has prompted the dispersal of the operation which has been conducted in the true tradition of owner-breeders.

“Everything was bred for their own racing stable,” Minch explains. “It was only in the last one or two years we started selling a couple because we kind of knew it was coming to the end, but unfortunately it's come a bit quicker than anyone expected or wished for.

“They started off in North Germany and they were having a bit of fun, a hobby really, with a cattle farm and a few broodmares,” says Minch, who has managed Hony-Hof since 2005. “And then Salve Regina who won the Oaks for them. Mr Hellwig wanted to sell her, because of course there were offers, but Mrs Hellwig basically put her foot down and said, 'No, we're going to start breeding properly now.' They bought Gestot Hony-Hof in the late nineties.”

The 11 mares going to sale represents the largest number the farm has ever had at one time. The mares have been in Ireland to foal at Joe Hernon's Castletown Stud and have remained there in anticipation of their sales date.

“I'm very grateful to Joe, who I've known for years since I worked at Castle Hyde Stud, and to everyone at Goffs for their help in arranging everything,” Minch says. “And Theresa Lotz has been working here at Hony-Hof since she was 18. She did her apprenticeship with us and then she stayed on for the last 12 years. She's been absolutely magnificent in the amount of work she's put in. The whole operation just wouldn't run without Theresa.”

There will be poignant days for himself, too, as the sale gets underway.

Minch says, “People have asked me, 'what are you going to do after the last mare goes to the ring?' And I said, 'I'm going to go down to the bar and have a double whiskey.' That's what I'll probably do. It's going to be an emotional moment, but we've known it's been coming for a year now and our job is to get this done and organised for the Hellwigs with the best possible result for them.”

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The decision comes as a bitter blow to Mullins, who famously sourced Princess Zoe from Germany, and transformed her from being a middle-of-the-road-handicapper to being one of the best stayers in Europe.

Her career highlight for Mullins came when taking out the G1 Prix du Cadran at ParisLongchamp in 2020 and she had achieved big-race success as recently as last season when landing the G3 Sagaro S. at Ascot.

However, a winter spent hurdling–where Princess Zoe enjoyed mixed fortunes–is said to be at the root of the disagreement between Mullins and his owner.

He told TDN Europe on Monday, “It's terribly, terribly disappointing–I will never forget the mare anyway. She is gone to another trainer. Paddy bought out the other shareholder who disagreed with the decision. I had a connection with that mare that I don't think I had with any other horse in my life.”

He added, “We'll have to live with it now. It's a tough one to take but I'll never forget her. Paddy was adamant about forging out a hurdling career with her and he thought that Danny [Mullins, jockey and Tony's son] didn't get on with her. I didn't agree with either thing.

“I thought that, if she came around, there might be another Flat race in her. But, for me, persisting at hurdling is not something I could agree with.”

I thought Princess Zoe was going to stud but seemingly not pic.twitter.com/PvzqesjtJG

— Tony Mullins (@tonymullins84) May 8, 2023

Princess Zoe has won £428,676 in career earnings. She was offered at last year's December Mares Sale at Tattersalls but failed to meet her reserve and was bought back by connections for 300,000gns. 

Kehoe, who voiced his criticism about Danny Mullins on Twitter after Cheltenham in March, was contacted for comment by TDN Europe on Monday and confirmed that Princess Zoe had been taken away from her trainer but failed to elaborate further. 

He said, “There are other things involved here which I do not want to comment on. I have no doubt that Tony won't want to comment either.”

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The 7-year-old mare, who won the G1 Prix du Cadran in 2020 and was runner-up in last year's G1 Gold Cup at Ascot, was bought back by her owners Patrick Kehoe and Philomena Crampton at 300,000gns.

“We had a few enquiries [after the sale] and we felt we weren't getting what we stated before we left,” explained Mullins. “We said if we got 300,000gns, we'd take it and we had a few enquiries just under it, but we said we were keeping her if we didn't get it.”

He continued, “Paddy loves jump racing and he has been asking me. I said we'd start riding her out again and we will school her and see. But we have no decision made. If she jumps well and if she takes to it, we'll see.

“That is what she was bought to do in the first place. Then she just turned out she was a better filly than we thought. I will get her riding out now and we will probably have her jumping by Christmas.”

Princess Zoe has won eight of her 34 races on the level, including this season's G3 Sagar S., and she has raced in Ireland, Britain, France and Saudi Arabia, as well as her native Germany. Her trainer was the regular rider of arguably the greatest jumping mare of all time, Dawn Run (Ire), who was trained by his father Paddy Mullins.

Mullins added of his own stable star, “The fun we had with her will never be equalled. If she takes to jumping, I've no worries about trips. We could do with a few more horses who could run as fast as her.”

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From that controversy to another forgettable afternoon's work for Frankie Dettori, out of luck aboard Stradivarius (Ire) (Sea The Stars {Ire}) in the G1 Gold Cup and The Queen's 2-5 favourite Reach For The Moon (GB) (Sea The Stars {Ire}) in the G3 Hampton Court S., Brian Sheerin dissects the main talking points from Thursday's action.

Listen To Heffernan – Racing Needs To Wake Up

What needs to happen in Britain and Ireland for the stewards to start protecting riders? Let's not pretend that this is a problem confined to British racing because it is not.

Just last autumn, Shane Foley found himself on the receiving end of a five-day ban for careless riding when partnering No Speak Alexander (Ire) (Shalaa {Ire}) to victory in the G1 Matron S. at Leopardstown on Irish Champions Weekend.

Race-favourite Mother Earth (Ire) (Zoffany {Ire}) was one of the worst affected by Foley edging to his left aboard the winner and there was genuine dismay from the international audience looking in on our product that the result wasn't changed.

Lessons haven't been learned and there was an element of groundhog day at Ascot when Paul Hanagan veered halfway across the track aboard The Ridler, inconvenienced a number of big-race rivals, but was allowed to keep the G2 Norfolk S.

What you permit, you promote, and the rules, as they are interpreted, meant that The Ridler was never in any real danger of being chucked out.

Seamie Heffernan gave a candid interview to TDN Europe in the immediate aftermath of the farcical contest where he raised the point that riders should have to forfeit their winner's cheque if found guilty of dangerous or careless riding.

In Hanagan's case, he was handed a 10-day riding ban for careless riding, and one can only assume he took that punishment with a smile.

Put simply, there is no deterrent for riding dangerously and, as Heffernan described, a “win-at-all-cost mentality” has crept into racing in recent times.

It begs the question; what needs to happen for the interference rules to be brought into line to reflect what happens in America, Australia and France?

Kia Joorabchian, whose Amo Racing silks were carried by the second and the third–Walbank (Ire) (Kodiac {GB}) and Crispy Cat (GB) (Ardad {Ire})–was rightly fuming after the race. So, too, was Crispy Cat's trainer Michael O'Callaghan, not to mention the international bettors who got involved on the World Pool.

The damage caused by these farcical decisions pose a serious risk to the sport and Thursday's race should be the wake up call racing needs.

The problem is, this is an alarm bell that has been ringing for a while.

Forgettable Day For Frankie

Yesterday we spoke of how Irad Ortiz's week went from bad to worse and, unfortunately for Frankie Dettori, one of the all-time greats of the weighing room, he had a similarly forgettable day at the office.

John Gosden is not a man who goes around ruffling feathers for no reason but he was clearly disappointed with the ride Dettori gave Stradivarius in the Gold Cup, feeling the legendary rider was too far out of his ground in a slowly-run contest.

“I was a bit surprised that being in the box seat we dropped back so far,” Gosden told ITV Racing. He added, “It would have been nice to be a touch handier, to say the least.”

Dettori was once again out of luck in the Britannia S. when, in another stride or two, he almost certainly would have clinched victory aboard The Queen's Saga (GB) (Invincible Spirit {Ire}).

At least there was a 2-5 favourite to steer home, eh? Wrong. Reach For The Moon ensured this was a day that would be remembered for all the wrong reasons when, despite being sent off at prohibitively short odds, Gosden's charge fluffed his lines in the G3 Hampton Court S.

It should also be noted that Reach For The Moon represented the third odds-on favourite of the week at Royal Ascot after Baaeed (GB) (Sea The Stars {Ire}) got the meeting underway as a 1-6 jolly in the G1 Queen Anne S and Bay Bridge(GB) (New Bay {GB}) got turned over at odds of 10-11 in the Prince Of Wales's S. on Wednesday.

Alfred Munnings (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}), who runs in the L Chesham S., and short-priced G2 Hardwicke S. fancy Hurricane Lane (Ire) (Frankel {GB}), are set to start at odds-on for their respective races on Saturday.

That will bring the total number of odds-on shots at this year's Royal meeting to five. There was consternation over the fact that there were five odds-on shots at Cheltenham back in March. Where is the outcry this week?

Stradivarius Going Nowhere

There seems to be an unhealthy obsession, certainly in some quarters of the media, in feeling the need to bring up the prospects of retirement as soon as any top horse appears to be on the wane.

Stradivarius is clearly not the force of old, yet he ran a gallant race to finish third in the G1 Gold Cup behind Kyprios (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}), and many felt he was unlucky not to have won.

The most pleasing aspect of the performance, however, was that the old boy seemed to retain all of his enthusiasm for the game, which was evidenced by the live pictures of him strutting out of the parade ring afterwards like the champion that he is.

So why this constant talk of retirement? Stradivarius is a racehorse and, to these eyes at least, he still loves to run.

Judging by his fine effort in defeat, he will go close to winning the G1 Goodwood Cup and there is also the option of travelling to Paris later in the season.

Stradivarius has been masterfully handled by John and Thady Gosden. They will know when the time is right to bring the curtain down on his career. Judging by Thursday's performance, that time doesn't appear to be any time soon.

Brilliant Boughey Continues To Build

It is hard to believe that George Boughey has only recently turned 30. Since sending out his first winner in 2019, Boughey has bagged a breakthrough Classic success this year and sugar-coated what has been a memorable season by adding a Royal Ascot victory to his CV when Inver Park (GB) (Pivotal {GB}) landed the Buckingham Palace S.

Boughey got his training career up and running, by and large, with early 2-year-olds, but the standard of his Newmarket operation has risen dramatically with each season, as we saw when Cachet (Ire) (Aclaim {Ire}) won the G1 1000 Guineas.

Things could get even better for Boughey on Friday when Cachet lines out in the G1 Coronation S., which is shaping up to be one of the races of the week. His stock is not just on the rise, it's sky-rocketing.

Also, it would be remiss not to mention the exploits of Jane Chapple-Hyam this week. Twice the trainer's unmissable white bridle has been carried to victory at the royal meeting, with Claymore (Fr) (New Bay {GB}) running out a gritty winner of the G3 Hampton Court S. just 24 hours after Saffron Beach (Ire) (New Bay {GB}) bolted up in the G2 Duke Of Cambridge S.

Chapple-Hyam's only other runner this week, Intellogent (Ire) (Intello {Ger}), also ran a cracker to finish second in Wednesday's Royal Hunt Cup.

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Now, Paddy Kehoe is preparing to back his latest theory that his pride and joy Princess Zoe (Ger) (Jukebox Jury {Ire}) can land the G1 Ascot Gold Cup on Thursday and, if correct, the 75-year-old businessman and renowned racehorse owner will net himself a cool €50,000 to go on top of the winner's cheque for the £500,000 Thursday showpiece. 

“This mare is going to win,” says a confident Keogh, as he sips through his fourth pot of tea in Dublin's Burlington Hotel on Sunday morning. 

“She has the form in the book. Tell me another horse in the race with better form than Zoe? Stradivarius (Ire) (Sea The Stars {Ire}) was a brilliant horse but he's gone. One of my biggest bets of the week will be on Zoe to beat Stradivarius in a match bet and I could get odds of 2-1 on that. I'll definitely get 6-4. 

“That is an absolute house job. If we can't beat Stradivarius we may as well give up. If he is to win the Gold Cup this year, he'll want to start on Wednesday.

“He was a great horse, it's not like he hasn't done it, because he has, but he's an 8-year-old now and we beat him easily last year. 

“That's despite the fact that we were blocked in our run. Joey [Sheridan, jockey] was too far back because he was watching Stradivarius even though I told him that he wasn't the one to be worrying about. 

“If we rode our own race last year, we'd have won the Gold Cup, and I think we're bringing a better mare to Ascot this year. Where is Stradivarius going to find the improvement to beat us? I can't see it.”

This may sound like pub talk but, then again, so, too, is the idea of devising a plan to win the lotto. But that's exactly what Kehoe, along with mathematical genius Stefan Klincewicz, did back in 1992 when they beat the system and landed the most audacious gambling coup in Irish history, changing the way the National Lottery is run as a result.

“There was every sort of obstacle put in our way,” he says, almost tired of telling the story. “I remember driving out the South Circular Road and the Gardai, the people from the Lotto and the press were all following me. It was world news at the time.”

He added, “One of the lads was on holiday and he picked up a newspaper in Spain and who was on the front of it? Me! He phoned home to Jamesie O'Donnell [another friend] and said, 'what's Kehoe after doing now?' That was a couple of years after Grabel won the richest jumps race ever run in America. It was mad stuff altogether.”

That Irish lotto coup will go down as one of Kehoe's greatest payouts and, the man who understands odds more than most, is all too aware that there is more than just probability to overcome at Ascot next week. 

Having said that, the County Wexford native is confident that his trainer Tony Mullins, who was in the plate aboard Grabel on that fateful day in Kentucky back in 1990, has Princess Zoe in even better shape than 12 months ago, when the mare finished a gallant second to Subjectivist (GB) (Teofilo {Ire}). 

“I've a lot of money on her,” he says. “I have her backed to win €50,000. We've backed her each-way at 16-1, 12-1 and I'd another €500 each-way on her the other day at 12-1 when she should have been 8-1. We have the value and we have the horse, the jockey and the trainer. If she wins, great, but if she doesn't, it won't be the first time it's happened and I'll put it down to bad luck. I know in my heart and soul that she's a better mare this year so we're confident.”

Kehoe added, “You have to give Trueshan (Fr) (Planteur {Ire}) the respect that he deserves but it doesn't look like he's going to run now because of the ground. What does that leave as favourite? Kyprios (Ire) (Galileo {Ire})? And what has he beaten? 

“He beat Search For a Song (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) at Navan and she has been well-beaten since. Fair enough, he won again at Leopardstown [the G3 Saval Beg Levmoss S.] but that was an egg-and-spoon race because he started as a 1-10 favourite which tells you what he had to beat. 

“Kyprios hasn't won beyond 1m6f either so he's not certain to get the trip. For my money, the Gold Cup is a two-horse race between Zoe and Scope (Ire) (Teofilo {Ire}), the horse who won the G1 Prix Royal-Oak last year, and now I see that he's a doubt to run because of the ground as well.”

Kehoe likes a bet as much as he does a pint of Smithwick's, hates referees as much as he does jockeys, has never married and never intends to either. It's an all-singing, all-dancing operation, which begs the question, where does he find the time to fund the whole thing?

“I get up at four every morning, five at the latest-when I'm not drinking-to price jobs so that I'd have it all done. You'd be finished your work at 10 or 11 o'clock in the morning and you'd have it all done. I could never sleep. The way I look at it is, when you get to 75 years of age, every minute of the day that you're alive is a bonus. What the f*** would you be lying in the bed for?”

Kehoe makes no secret about the fact that he's fond of a good night out-and when Wexford won the All-Ireland in 1996, rumour has it there were several-but he also runs a hugely successful business that specialises in suspended ceilings, travels to race meetings and sporting events all over the world, which goes some way in explaining why sleep falls falls down the pecking order in his list of priorities. 

“A fella was slagging one day, telling me that I can remember everything that is said on a night out, and I told him I can remember the day I was born!”

It's at this point where Kehoe's phone lights up for the seventh or eighth time within the space of an hour, each number different to the last, none of which have been saved under a name. No need.

“I don't bother saving them. I know every number in there, I'd have them all in my head. I'm not big on computers. Never was. Sure my mother [Ina] is 96 years of age and she can tell me everything that's going on. I was talking to her this morning and she was talking about tennis, the results from the soccer matches, everything.

“The first thing I do every morning is check the stock markets and switch back over to Sky News to see what's happening in Ukraine. My mother would have all the sports news and everything for me. She's even booked in for the Galway races again this year.” 

It's at Galway where Princess Zoe shot to prominence, winning two premier handicaps at the summer festival before returning to Ballybrit later in 2020 to win the Listed Oyster S. and she has since confirmed herself as one of the most talented stayers in the business. 

Princess Zoe has netted Kehoe €238,500 in career earnings, not bad for a mare who cost just €39,500, but he doesn't subscribe to being labelled lucky to be associated with such a money-spinner.

“If I didn't have bad luck I'd have no luck,” he says, only half-joking. “Take Antarctic Bay as an example. He won the SunAlliance in 1985 and was favourite for the following year's Gold Cup. He never set foot on the track again after his Cheltenham win. Abbey Glen (GB) (Furry Glen {GB}) was beaten a neck in the Arkle, went for the Irish Grand National and pulls up entering the straight after breaking down. He was also favourite for the following year's Gold Cup. Two ante-post favourites for the Gold Cup. Both gone. And people tell me I'm lucky? Stop.”

A night on the town with camp Kehoe is not for the faint-hearted. It may be easier to predict the lotto numbers than to forecast the outcome of Thursday's race but the greatest certainty of them all is that the travelling contingent of Irishmen and women will make the most of the occasion.

“There'll be 15 or 16 of us heading over to Ascot and we'll be back in Cassidy's Pub in Dublin by 11.30pm on Thursday night. There's lads coming over from Paris, New York-all over the place-and they all believe that she will win. 

“I've told them not to be disappointed if we're beaten because we'll drink as much if she loses as we will if she wins. It won't make any difference.”

The money is secondary. 

The post Paddy Kehoe: ‘I’ve Backed Princess Zoe to win €50,000 – I got the Value’ appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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A general 5-2 favourite for the race on Sunday morning, Trueshan could be backed at odds as big as 15-2 after the 6-year-old's trainer Alan King revealed that the quick ground was likely to scupper plans of running in the Gold Cup. 

The ground at Ascot was described as good to firm, good in places on Sunday and, with no sign of rain in the forecast, coupled with drying winds and soaring temperatures, King feels Trueshan will not get his desired conditions.

He explained, “I am hugely concerned about the ground and I can't see any rain coming either, looking at all the forecasts. We might hang on in there, but if the forecast is right, I can't see us running.”

Kind added, “It is frustrating, but last year the ground came right for us at Goodwood, in France and at Ascot later in the year.

“Ascot should be run on fast ground, it is high summer at the end of the day. But if I call it wrong once, I could finish him. We are going to try to get it right. We have to try to get it right. It will be a last-minute call, but I would say he is very unlikely to run.”

The field could be further reduced as connections of Scope (Ire) (Teofilo {Ire}), who won the Listed Noel Murless S. at Ascot before taking the G1 Prix Royal-Oak at ParisLongchamp in October, have also indicated he will be held back.

With doubts around some of the leading players in the Ascot Gold Cup, the Aidan O'Brien-trained Kyprios (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) hardened into a general 6-4 chance for the race with Stradivarius (Ire) (Sea The Stars {Ire}), who won the race three times on the trot from 2018, available at odds of 2-1 in his bid to regain his crown.

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Princess Zoe, who rapidly rose through the ranks in 2020 to win the G1 Prix du Cadran for trainer Tony Mullins, was second to Subjectivist (GB) (Teofilo {Ire}) in last year's Gold Cup. The 7-year-old mare finished 10th in last weekend's G3 Red Sea Turf H. on Saudi Cup day. Mullins said of that effort, “The ground was too fast for her and she was on top of her head early, but we were afraid if we didn't have her up handy we might not be able to close,” he said. “The ground was just too fast for her and she didn't get into her comfort zone. She was in great form and it was such a pity it didn't work out.

“She's grand. She was very tired when she got home, but there's not a bother on her.”

Princess Zoe is likely to have her Ascot warmup in the G3 Vintage Crop S. at Navan on Apr. 23.

“She won't go to Dubai,” Mullins said. “I would imagine the plan at the moment is the Vintage Crop at Navan at the end of April and train her then for the Ascot Gold Cup. It won't be ideal for her, but it's the only race to suit to give her a run and have her in fine form for Ascot.”

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It is a deserved uplift. Last year's winner of the $20 million Saudi Cup, Mishriff (Ire) (Make Believe {GB}), was a Classic winner coming into the race, and won another two Group 1s in Dubai and Britain following his success in Riyadh. What's more, he had the subsequent Breeders' Cup Classic winner and American Horse of the Year Knicks Go (Paynter) behind him in fourth in the Cup.

This triumph by a globetrotting star owned and bred by Saudi Arabia's Prince Faisal was everything the race needed following an unwelcome turn of events in the aftermath of the inaugural Saudi Cup. A matter of days after Maximum Security (New Year's Day) won in 2020 his initial trainer Jason Servis was charged with race fixing and the use of performance-enhancing drugs in the U.S. and is currently awaiting trial. Within a month of that first international gathering, the world went into a Covid-enforced lockdown, which persisted though last year's meeting, staged in an elite sport 'bubble' with only a small number of participants and spectators present. 

This time around, the world is a little freer but no less dappled by ongoing controversies within the wider racing world. In the quarantine barn is stabled the horse who has just been crowned the Kentucky Derby winner of 2021, some ten months after the race was run. Mandaloun (Into Mischief), who is one of the main chances to take the third running of the Saudi Cup on Saturday, could well be in the unusual position of having 'won' two Group/Grade 1 races within a week, having been awarded the Kentucky Derby on official confirmation on Monday of the disqualification of the late Medina Spirit. The latter's trainer Bob Baffert now faces a 90-day suspension and is represented in the Saudi Cup by Country Grammer (Tonalist), who, like Medina Spirit, is owned by Saudi-born Amr Zedan.

Mandaloun remained in the barn on Wednesday morning. His compatriot  Art Collector (Bernardini) ventured out and stood placidly watching the equine world go by on the main track at King Abdulaziz racecourse. Breezing past amid the strong Japanese contingent–always a delight at any international race meeting–was the shock GI Breeders' Cup Distaff winner Marche Lorraine (JPN) (Orfevre {JPN}). The 6-year-old mare, looking pretty woolly having been plunged back into a Japanese winter after her golden autumn in California, will be without her big-race partner Oisin Murphy. The reigning champion jockey in Britain was suspended from race-riding for 14 months on Tuesday following a BHA Judicial Panel hearing into various offences pertaining to failed breath tests and Covid protocol breaches.

Ah, racing. You're hard to love sometimes. But whatever slings and arrows are thrust upon the sport by a minority of the humans involved, there are at least those four-legged wonders who remind us, happily, on a daily basis exactly why we fell for the game in the first place.

In Riyadh this week, no horse deserves a cape and a gold star more than the mighty Mishriff. They say, apparently, that 80 per cent of success is just showing up. Mishriff has shown up every year since the Saudi Cup was launched, running second to Full Flat (Speightstown) in the first Saudi Derby before his glorious hurrah, as much for locals as for Britain, in the big one last year. His success is clearly down to much more than simply being present, not least his owner's formidable boutique breeding operation which has been honed with panache though generations. But he's back again, and if looks and glowing good health are anything to go by, Mishriff will not surrender his crown easily, even from the widest draw of all.

As the tractors exited the dirt track on the dot of seven on Wednesday morning, it was only fitting that the poster boy for the Saudi Cup was out first and almost alone, followed at a respectful distance by his stable-mate Harrovian (GB) (Leroidesanimaux), who runs in the Neom Turf Cup. John Gosden is not in Riyadh, but his son Thady, arriving at the track by bicycle, has already proved his mettle in overseeing a major international runner when travelling with Mishriff during last year's lockdown. A month later, the younger Gosden's name was officially added to the licence as co-trainer.

Out even earlier than Mishriff were Jocelyn Targett–former creative director for the inaugural Saudi Cup–and John Hammond, former trainer, notably of Montjeu (Ire), one of the few horses who was even better looking than Mishriff. The two old pals are on something of a busman's holiday as owners of runners trained respectively by the up-and-coming French trainers Jerome Reynier and Edouard Monfort. Targett is in town to cheer on his homebred Saudi Derby runner Jacinda (GB) (Aclaim {Ire}), her background memorably described by him on Tuesday as “the story of a mare I shouldn't have bought, a yearling I couldn't sell and a claimer that no-one wanted to claim.” Look how far you can go with horses if you never stop believing. Targett never does.

Hammond meanwhile has a runner in the Neom Turf Cup, a mare he owns with Rebecca Philipps and who was selected by his son Oscar at the BBAG Yearling Sale some years ago for €14,000. Eudaimonia (Fr) (Vision d'Etat {FR}) has merrily skipped her way through plenty of dances in some pretty fancy halls since then, and the music plays on. 

French racing has not been immune to turbulent times of late, and Sealiway (Fr) (Galiway {GB}) has arrived in Saudi with a different trainer to the one who saddled him to win the G1 QIPCO British Champion S. last October. With both his former trainers Cedric and Frederic Rossi currently suspended, the 4-year-old now represents Francis Graffard's stable, and he has been exercising along with the Aga Khan's Ebaiyra (Distorted Humour), who was Alain de Royer Dupre's final Group 1 runner in Hong Kong before his retirement in December. She is another new recruit to Graffard's increasingly powerful string. Their compatriots Skazino (Fr) (Kendargent {FR}), another former Rossi incumbent now trained by Richard Chotard, and the Jean-Claude Rouget-trained Glycon (Fr) (Le Havre {Ire}) have been keeping them company and the quartet took the opportunity for a little paddock schooling after cantering on the main track on Wednesday morning. 

Wandering past them as they circled the parade ring, head in the air but ears firmly pricked, was one of the most likeable mares of recent racing seasons, Princess Zoe (Ger) (Jukebox Jury {Ire}). We hear plenty about Willie Mullins at this time of year, usually in relation to Cheltenham, though the over-achiever also sent True Self (Ire) (Oscar {Ire}) to score at last year's Saudi Cup meeting with another formidable female, Hollie Doyle, in the Neom Turf Cup. But Willie's brother Tony has received deserved plaudits for his handling of the super staying mare Princess Zoe, now seven, who is another to have taken her happy team of connections on many memorable days out having been racing off a mark of 64 less than two years ago. Her next challenge is back in tandem with her young jockey Joey Sheridan for the $2.5 million Longines Red Sea Turf Handicap.

Regally named she may be, but Princess Zoe's determined climb to the top is just one reminder here in Riyadh that in the sport of kings, at the world's richest meeting laid on by a prince, even those from slightly humbler origins can have an important part to play in the greatest game of all. 

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Princess Zoe made a remarkable rise through the ranks last year after joining Irish trainer Tony Mullins, climbing from an official rating of 64 at the beginning of the season to 110 at the end, when she won the G1 Prix du Cadran at ParisLongchamp. Though Princess Zoe went winless in five starts this campaign, she was runner-up to Subjectivist (Ire) (Teofilo {Ire}) in the G1 Gold Cup at Royal Ascot, and was last seen finishing fifth behind Trueshan (Fr) (Planteur {Ire}) in the latest renewal of the Cadran on Oct. 2.

“She's in light training, but we've decided not to go hurdling,” Mullins said. “I feel it wouldn't suit her, so we had her meeting and owners Paddy [Kehoe] and Philomena [Crampton] have agreed. We're considering the staying race at the Saudi Cup meeting–the Red Sea Turf. It is a handicap, but I think it's quite a tight handicap. We're going to train her with that in mind and hopefully go there. She's in light training the whole time and we'll just see how she does over the winter months.”

Mullins said Princess Zoe could be covered if she runs below par in Saudi Arabia.

“The way we're looking at it is if it doesn't work out in Saudi, we'll cover her, and if it does work out we'll aim for aim for the Ascot Gold Cup–that's sort of our rough plan at the moment. The track in Saudi should be good and level and we acted on good to firm at Ascot during the summer. I'm not a big fan of it [running on fast ground], but the timing is right as if it doesn't work out then she will probably be covered.”

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The graduates of Gestut Hony-Hof, which lies among remote woodland in the country's Hessen region to the north-east of Frankfurt, are more commonly seen running in the colours of the stud's owner Manfred Hellwig, whose purple-and-white silks are emblazoned with a giant H. Currently they are worn by three colts of this season's Classic generation, including Sunday's G2 Derby Trial winner in Hoppegarten, Sea Of Sands (Ger) (Sea Of Stars {Ire}). 

For most German breeders, winning the Deutsches Derby remains the ultimate goal, and few colts have better genetic claims to this coveted prize than Sea Of Sands. His third dam Sacarina (GB) (Old Vic {GB}) was bought as a 2-year-old by Philipp Stauffenberg on behalf of Gestut Karlshof. Though she didn't make the racecourse herself, Sacarina was a grand-daughter of the Schwarzgold-Rennen (German 1000 Guineas) winner Bravour (Fr) (Birkhahn {Ger}), who was also third in the G1 Preis der Diana (German Oaks). She more than atoned for her lack of performance by producing for Karlshof the Derby-wining full-brothers Samum (Ger) and Schiaparelli (Ger). The mare's repeated matings with their sire Monsun (Ger) also produced the Preis der Diana winner and Derby runner-up Salve Regina (Ger), who was bought as a youngster by Hony-Hof, and the unraced Sanwa (Ger). The latter is now best known as the dam of the 11-length Derby winner Sea The Moon (Ger), who is now a sought-after stallion at Lanwades in Newmarket.

For Gestut Hony-Hof, Salve Regina was an inspired purchase. Not only was she a superior racemare but she left quite a dynasty of her own in the quiet wooded paddocks of Hessen, where she produced seven fillies. Three of those daughters–Salve Haya (Ger) (Peintre Celebre), Salve Estelle (Ger) (Dansili {GB}) and Salve Aurora (Ger) (King's Best)–are each represented by a son in the entries for this year's Deutsches Derby.

Being by the outstanding Sea The Stars, Salve Haya's son Sea Of Sands is of course very similarly bred to Sea The Moon and he is currently co-favourite with Martial Eagle (Ire) (Adlerflug {Ger}), representing last year's winning connections of Gestut Schlenderhan and Francis Graffard, and the Gestut Auenquelle homebred and Henk Grewe-trained Virginia Storm (Ger) (Soldier Hollow {GB}). Jean-Pierre Carvalho trains the Hony-Hof trio which is completed by Sassoon (Ger) (Soldier Hollow {GB}), a winner in Cologne and Chantilly this year and a decent fourth in Monday's G2 Prix Hocquart, and Sun Of Gold (GB) (Golden Horn {GB}).

Simon Minch, the Irish-born manager of Gestut Hony-Hof, says of Sea Of Sands, who has now won two of his five starts and was third in the G3 Bavarian Classic before his Derby Trial victory, “He's still learning his job. He was going around the parade ring screaming his head off [on Sunday]. We'll probably give him another run before the Derby just to get the routine into him more than anything. He's got talent to burn and he's improving with his racing but he he needs to learn.”

He continues, “We were very lucky to get into this family. Mr Hellwig bought Salve Regina directly from Gestut Karlshof. It was more by accident than anything else because when she was a yearling Samum hadn't won the Derby yet. Then we bought Sanwa as well, and we actually sold her in foal to Dansili at Tattersalls in 2008 to Charlie Gordon-Watson. So we had the dam of Sea The Moon here, but we already had Salve Regina, and Sanwa is tiny so I was worried she didn't have much scope. That shows you what I know as she produced a Derby winner, but we might get our own one out of the family yet.”

Minch has been at the helm of Hony-Hof since 2005, since then it has enjoyed success with horses such as G2 Goldene Peitsche winner Donnerschlag (GB) (Bahamian Bounty {GB}), GII Ballston Spa H. victrix Salve Germania (Ger) (Peintre Celebre), and the G2 Badener Meile winner Palace Prince (Ger) (Areion {Ger}), the half-brother to Princess Zoe who has just embarked on his second season at stud in France. A recent foal purchase became the 2019 G3 Preis der Winterkoenigin winner Ocean Fantasy (Fr) (Make Believe {GB}).

“People kind of think Hony-Hof are new kids on the block but the Hellwigs have been breeding for over 30 years. I took over in 2005 and we had our first group winner in 2009,” says Minch. “I'm very lucky that I have an owner like Manfred Hellwig who can go to Sea The Stars. How many breeders can do that if they're not a sheikh and it's not a foal share? Sea Of Sands, Sassoon and Sun Of Gold were the only three colts we had in that year and they are all knocking on the door so we're delighted.”

He continues, “A horse like Ocean Fantasy is part of the long-term strategy of the stud. We breed purely for our own racing stable, we don't sell yearlings or foals. I bought Ocean Fantasy at Arqana as a foal for €30,000 and she was bought to be a broodmare here to give us another string to our bow. We also have a Make Believe half-sister to Sassoon. I've always liked the stallion, and we have another mare in foal to him this year.”

Salve Germania was sold on to stud in Japan after her American stakes win and it is her full-sister Salve Haya who has now produced Sea Of Sands. Their Classic-winning mother who started the ball rolling, Salve Regina, was lost to lymphangitis several years after producing her final foal, Salve Estelle, the dam of Sassoon who in turn died last November after producing only two foals. Her yearling filly by Make Believe will hopefully continue her branch of the line, while her half-sisters Salve Haya and Salve Aurora are still in action at the farm, along with Salve Stella (Ire), a Shamardal half-sister to Sea Of Sands.

“It's a beautiful farm and we were dreaming of winning the Derby so over the years we upgraded the broodmares,” Minch says of the property, which is the sole stud farm within a 100km radius. “We bought Palace Princess, the dam of Princess Zoe, privately as a foal, and we have the 'Salve' line. And we slowly built it up and brought new fillies in like Ocean Fantasy. In breeding it doesn't happen from one day to the next, but I am very happy that for a small stud with eight to ten mares we are doing alright.”

The stud manager grew up in Ireland in a family with close ties to both racing and showjumping, and went to Germany initially in the early 1990s to break in some yearlings. 

“It's all the fault of Joe Hernon,” he recalls. “I worked in Castle Hyde Stud as a young lad and did the yearling sales for Camas Park and Islanmore. I was asked if I wanted to go to Germany to break in nine yearlings–I used to ride a lot in those days–so I came over and it all went swimmingly well. We got the yearlings broken in and got some nice horses out of it and I was asked if I would like to stay. It was never my plan but I just found my niche and I've got to work with some very good people.”

He adds of his colleagues at Hony-Hof, “It's only possible because of the stud's good owners who will let us do our thing. Teresa Lotz does a great job here, and there's really only two of us on the farm. But the farriers, the feed men, the lads in the racing stable–if they don't do their job then all we do is for nought. It's a big team effort.”

Minch admits that it is likely we will see the name Gestut Hony-Hof on the list of consignors at BBAG in the years to come. “We're going to start selling and we'll probably keep fillies, sell colts,” he says.

In the meantime, there appears to be much to look forward to on the track in the seasons to come, especially with the arrival this year of a half-sister to Princess Zoe from the first crop of Gestut Auenquelle's Best Solution (Ire). The filly has already been named Palace Sunshine (Ger).

Minch says, “Palace Princess has been very difficult to get in foal but she had a filly this year. The mare is not a good traveller. I sent her to England once and she ended up being on a drip for two days with travel sickness. So I can really only use stallions here who aren't too far away and we like to support the German breeding scene as well. We also have Palace Prince's full-sister, Palace Girl, in foal to Best Solution.”

Perhaps the only foal by his sire in Germany is a colt from the first crop of four-time group winner and Hony-Hof graduate Palace Prince. He now stands at Elevage Joel Denis near Moulins in the prime National Hunt breeding territory of central France. Also much prized among the crop of eight foals this year is the Le Havre (Ire) half-sister to Sea Of Sands. The filly also has a full-sister, Salve Le Meer (Ger), in training alongside the Classic hopeful at the Carvalho stable.

Minch says, “The Le Havre 2-year-old filly is a goddess, she's absolutely gorgeous. The trainer has nearly built an altar with incense sticks outside her box. I love her so much we sent the mare back to Le Havre and happily we have a full-sister this year. We live in hope that we have another nice one there.”

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