Tag: richard brown

‘Sir Michael Stoute Gave Me a Bollocking and Told Me Not to Be a Pessimist’ 

He has been branded a pessimist by Sir Michael Stoute for admitting as much, but Richard Brown of Blandford Bloodstock, who bought Cazoo Derby hero Desert Crown (GB) (Nathaniel {Ire}), believes Saturday's achievement will never be topped.

Brown, a renowned bloodstock agent with over 20 years of experience in the game, went to 280,000gns to secure Desert Crown on behalf of Saeed Suhail at Book 2 at Tattersalls in 2020 and counts himself as extremely lucky to have sourced what he believes is a once-in-a-lifetime colt. 

“I ended up at Sir Michael's for quite a few glasses of wine on Saturday night,” said Brown on Monday. “I called him yesterday [Sunday] to thank him and I said, 'look, you've done this before but I haven't and I'm sure I never will again.' 

“He gave me a bollocking and told me not to be a pessimist. I think it's once-in-a-lifetime stuff, mainly because so few Derby winners are offered up at public auction and you are up against the might of the top breeding operations like Coolmore, Juddmonte, Aga Khan and Godolphin. The chance of buying a horse like Desert Crown is so slim. We got very lucky.”

Desert Crown became Stoute's sixth Derby winner when powering home at Epsom under Richard Kingscote who, like Brown, was securing his first Derby. Prior to Saturday, Brown may have been best known for sourcing dual Group 1-winning juvenile Perfect Power (Ire) (Ardad {Ire}) and top-notch sprinter Dream Ahead. However, Desert Crown eclipses all other achievements in the business and Brown is convinced he will never come across one better. 

He explained, “This won't be topped. It can't be topped. Rabbah Bloodstock was formed in 2006 and Jono Mills, who is one of my greatest mates, is the managing director and I work very closely with him, Bruce Raymond and Philip Robinson. It's through them that I have been able to buy for the people that I do. Also, I have known Sir Michael for a long time and, while we haven't done a lot of business together, we share a pretty big passion for cricket, which is all we ever seem to talk about. To be a small part of that team and to do it with these guys is very special.”

Brown added, “I am fortunate to buy for the people I do. I get to go to the sales and pick out the horses I like for people who trust me. It gives you a sporting chance. I spent many years going to the sales and not being able to buy these types of horses so I realise how fortunate I am that I have people who will back me to stretch out if I like one.”

Brown clearly liked Desert Crown as a yearling, as did plenty of others, given the colt fetched 280,000gns, above average for a colt by Nathaniel. But Brown was never going to be beaten to Desert Crown. Such was his love for him as a yearling, Brown revealed how he even ignored his own advice by laying his cards on the table and declaring his interest in the colt before he walked into the ring.

He recalled, “It's easy to say it now but he was outstanding, just a gorgeous horse with a great temperament, which he is showing now as a racehorse. We put a lot of emphasis on temperament at the sales and he just showed fantastically well. 

“I actually pride myself on my poker face at the sales but I couldn't hide my love for this guy. I told Gary Robinson, who bred the horse, what an outstanding specimen that he was and, as the words were coming out of my mouth, I was thinking 'what are you doing, what about your poker face?' He was just bombproof, such a cool dude, and he showed that on Saturday. He walked around the paddock and down to the start like a pro and he was a pro during the race as well.”

Brown has been buying for Desert Crown's owner Saeed Suhail, whose colours were also carried to Derby glory by Kris Kin (Kris S) in 2003, for three years. He sources between eight and 10 yearlings for the owner every year and, while the first batch were forgettable, Brown believes he is making up for his mistakes with Desert Crown. 

He explained, “Desert Crown is part of the second crop of horses I bought for Saeed Suhail. I didn't do a very good job with the first crop. We had some winners but didn't have a good horse. “I don't think I got the brief properly in the first year but we gave a good throw for a few horses in the second crop and luckily it's working out. To produce a Derby winner for Saeed Suhail is fantastic and there's some very positive reports about a couple of the 2-year-olds so hopefully that first crop is well and truly forgotten now.”

Brown added, “Nathaniel is a top-class stallion. You can't sire a mare like Enable (GB) without being top class. Andrew Stone of St Albans Bloodstock, who I do a lot of work for, had God Given (GB). She won a Group 2 in Britain before winning a Group 1 in Italy and was actually Luca Cumani's last Group 1 winner, so we have been huge fans of Nathaniel all the way through and the market does not give him the respect that he deserves. 

“That can happen. I have always thought he was a very underappreciated stallion so, when I saw a colt as nice as Desert Crown, I knew we had a chance. If he was by Frankel (GB), Dubawi (Ire) or Sea The Stars (Ire), I wouldn't have been able to buy him. He's an absolute beauty and the exciting thing is that he was still one of the more unfurnished colts in the Derby field so there should be a lot more to come from him.”

There is still an amount of celebrating to do before a plan is drawn up for the rest of the season but Brown is convinced that Desert Crown can build on Saturday's heroics. 

He said, “Sir Michael's training was exemplary. This horse had a minor setback in the spring. I went to see him in March and he was standing in his box so he was definitely undercooked heading into the Dante. When he won the Dante, I did think we had something special on our hands and it's looking that way now.”

“We are all having dinner tonight and I am sure it [future plans] will be discussed but that's well above my pay grade. The great thing is that, when you have guys as experienced as Bruce Raymond, Saeed's racing manager, and Sir Michael, you don't need to worry about it. They'll get things right. Where they decide to go next, that's down to them, I'm just lucky to be a small part of the team.”

 

The post ‘Sir Michael Stoute Gave Me a Bollocking and Told Me Not to Be a Pessimist’  appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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Following Wind Takes Breezers To Record Sale

DONCASTER, UK—There may be “wars, and rumours of wars”, but somehow for the bloodstock market it seems as though these things really will just pass.

Having emerged from the economic shock of the pandemic with record business last year, the Goffs UK Doncaster Breeze-Up once again raised the bar as investors seemingly remain impervious to dramatic new volatility in the geopolitical environment.

The juvenile sector had been first to take the Covid broadside in 2020, and no meaningful comparisons can duly be made with the auction salvaged—in conjunction with one hosted by Arqana—that July. But last year this sale seamlessly resumed the bull run that had animated trade before that trauma, with £6,219,500 turnover breaking down to a £48,590 average and £34,000 median (128 sold of 144 into the ring).

Well, on Thursday those indices were in turn effaced, albeit narrowly, by transactions totalling £6,495,500 for a £49,208 average and £36,000 median, the only slippage coming in the clearance rate at 132 sold of 158 offered (81.6%). Following a very strong start to the European circuit at Tattersalls last week, and with unmissable momentum on the racetrack, consignors can dare to believe that the good times really are back.

“As ever with a breeze-up sale, vendors can only expect to be paid for those that perform their very best when galloping prior to sale,” said Goffs UK Managing director Tim Kent. “And those that ticked all the boxes sold very well today. A record-breaking 17 horses sold for £100,000 or more, with three making more than £200,000, which helped to return a record average price that was just shy of £50,000 for the first time in the sale's history.

“It has been a fantastic few days in sunny Donny and, as ever, we would like to thank our loyal band of vendors who again prepared some truly exceptional horses to showcase their talents on Town Moor. Much of the talk during the last few days has been the search for Royal Ascot runners as this sale has an unrivalled record of success at that meeting.”

 

Byrne Family Helps Whyte Pick up the Pieces

There are three things indispensable to a breeze-up consignment: horsemanship, horsemanship and horsemanship. Scale doesn't come into it. True, scale doesn't get in the way, and this was duly another fertile day for those masters of all trades at Tally Ho Stud. But top billing this time should surely be reserved for Michael Byrne and his family at Knockgraffon Stables—not just for a fine result with their own, solitary offering, but also for a service rendered to another small operation in what is, after all, a community of colleagues as much as rivals.

Matty Whyte of Bushypark Stables in Co Kildare similarly breezed just the one horse here on Tuesday, a Tasleet (GB) colt found in the same ring for just £14,000 last August. But he went so well as lot 97 that Richard Brown of Blandford Bloodstock was forced all the way to £230,000 in his quest for a new Perfect Power (Ire) (Ardad {Ire}) for Sheikh Rashid Dalmook Al Maktoum.

After shaking hands with Brown, however, Whyte candidly diverted all credit to Byrne and his family.

“I'll be honest,” he explained. “I got badly broken up in a fall in January, cracked vertebrae and the lot, and I had to spread seven horses among friends and colleagues. And all the credit for this one goes to Michael Byrne. He prepped the horse, I was just getting weekly videos.”

Though he joked that he might have to delegate the work routinely in future, Whyte naturally remained entitled to congratulation for having started the process—most notably in having found the horse so cheaply.

“No, he didn't cost much,” Whyte said. “But he costs enough now! Look, he was up there in the top corner, the consignors had done a lovely job with him but he was just a little immature, a little raw, and I thought there might be a bit of improvement there.”

Brown, for his part, will be hoping that this colt can emulate Perfect Power, who had similarly multiplied his yearling value (16,000gns out of Book 2) when bought for £110,000 at this auction last year—but nonetheless went on to prove a bargain in winning at Royal Ascot, plus two Group 1s before his successful reappearance at Newbury last weekend.

This colt will carry the same colours. “We bought Far Above (Farrh) from Matty three years ago,” Brown said, recalling the 105,000gns purchase of that brief-but-bright sprinting star at the Tattersalls Guineas Sale. “He was extremely talented, and is now at stud with I have to say some pretty exceptional foals in his first crop. This is a gorgeous colt and, for me, he did an absolutely outstanding breeze.

“He did a very good time, which is important in a horse bred as he is. But he also showed a great attitude, which is something we place a big emphasis on, and a great stride and action. Tasleet was a very tough, talented horse, and Ardad was another first-season sire last year, of course—and the rest is history. It's been well documented how we got Perfect Power at this sale, and Sheikh Rashid was keen to try and find another very nice colt. Let's hope we've done so, because this horse has plenty of scope: he's not just a whizzbang.”

As for Whyte, asked how he was feeling a few months on from his accident, he replied: “Euphoric! Look, I'm back in one piece. I'm alive and well, and meanwhile all thanks to Michael.”


Knockgraffon's own offering was scarcely less impressive. Remember this is very much a family operation, with Byrne, wife Kitty and sons Michael Jr. and Stephen assisted only by rider Evan Dwan at their yard outside Cashel in Co. Tipperary. Between them they'll reckon on pre-training around 15, with another 10 to breeze. Nonetheless they had a right touch at this sale four years ago, when catapulting a €12,000 Tamayuz filly to £140,000, and they had another cracking result with the Havana Gold (Ire) filly they brought here as lot 31.

This time it was Stephen Byrne doing the honours, having picked her out for £22,000 at the Tattersalls Ireland sale (transferred to Newmarket) last September. He was relieved by not surprised by her flashy breeze on Tuesday, which caused her value to stretch to £120,000 from Stroud Coleman Bloodstock.

“She did exactly what I thought she would,” Byrne said. “She's never disappointed me, she's always done everything so easy. I loved her the moment I saw her, she had that big round scopey action. We got her home and she's been a queen ever since.”

 

Brown Tries To Improve On Perfection

Brown's investment in the sale-topper crowned a hectic few minutes in which he doubled down on the success he has enjoyed at this auction, not just with Perfect Power but also in finding that horse's sire.

And he went back to the same well in giving £160,000 for another son of Kodiac (GB) (lot 92) from the farm that sent Ardad here in 2016, when he co-topped the sale at nearly the same price (£170,000). This time Tally Ho had sent the son of an unraced Bushranger (Ire) half-sister to the dam of Ardad.

“So he's closely related to Ardad, and obviously from the same consignors, but he's a different type of horse,” Brown remarked. “He's a May foal, he'd be a little more backward than Ardad was, and will probably take a little more time. Myself, I'd be keen to put a line through Ascot but that's not my job now and we'll see what the trainer says.”

Who will enjoy that privilege remains to be seen, but the silks will be those of Sheikh Hamed Dalmook Al Maktoum, brother to Sheikh Rashid and Sheikh Juma. And their good friend Saeed Bin Mohammed Al Qassimi will also be competing through a brother to last year's G2 Queen Mary S. winner Quick Suzy (Ire) (Profitable {Ire}) acquired from Oak Tree Farm for £125,000 (lot 99). Al Qassimi has a smart young sprinter in Caturra (Ire) (Mehmas {Ire}), who made a promising reappearance when second in the G3 Prix Sigy for Clive Cox only the previous day.

“All these guys are unbelievable horsemen in their own right,” Brown emphasised. “Sheikh Rashid is a championship endurance rider. They're great to buy for, and great to train for: if a horse needs time, the horse will be given time.”

Brown's commitment to the sale, incidentally, had been marked by his unanimous selection by the Goffs UK Board as winner of the Willie Stephenson Memorial Trophy for the biggest contribution to the company's profile over the past year.

“Richard has been a great friend to DBS/Goffs UK over the years,” said managing director Tim Kent. “And it's entirely appropriate that we present him this trophy at the very sale from which he has bought so many wonderful horses. Perfect Power is one of several and it's indeed fitting that it was Richard who bought Ardad's first Group 1 winner, having also bought Ardad in 2016.

“Perfect Power continues to do wonders for the Doncaster Breeze-Up Sale, following his brilliant win on Saturday, and there is plenty to look forward to with his Classic clash next month and we wish Richard and connections the very best of luck. We thank Richard for all his support over the years and we are sure he will be unearth many more Group 1 talents in the years to come.”

 

Another Back to the Tally Ho Well

Repeat business for Tally Ho was again central to one of the other big transactions of the day, with breeze-up regular Michael O'Callaghan forced to £200,000 for the Mehmas (Ire) colt they presented as lot 94.

This is the first foal of an Epaulette (Aus) half-sister to the dam of Epsom Icon (GB) (Sixties Icon {GB}), from the Cheveley Park family of Red Camellia (GB).

“He's a lovely colt and did one of the best breezes of the day,” O'Callaghan observed. “Visually, he's very impressive—and he's obviously by a sire conquering all before him. He's from a hotel we've had a lot of luck buying from, and came highly recommended. Hopefully he can make an Ascot horse: he looks early and fast, but has enough size and power that you'd hope he'll not just be early.”

The Curragh trainer has learned to appreciate the groundwork of Tally Ho through, among others, a couple of horses found at this sale: Classic-placed Now Or Later (Ire) (Bushranger {GB}) cost just £45,000, while only last year the tough and classy Twilight Jet (Ire) (Twilight Son {GB}) co-topped the sale at £210,000 before proceeding to win the G3 Cornwallis S. on the 10th of 11 starts at two.

 

Fresh Travels Beckon Munnings Migrant

The breeze-ups have for some reason become the one surviving route into the affections of European investors for American stock, and the latest to boom in value for a transatlantic journey was a colt by the flourishing Ashford sire Munnings presented by Ballinahulla Stables as one of the last into the ring as lot 177.

Signed for at Fasig-Tipton last October by Shamington Farms at just $32,000, the grey was strongly contested by Johnno Mills of Rabbah but eventually fell for £205,000 to Colm Sharkey.

Tadgh Ryan of Ballinahulla was keen to stress the partnership of Micky Cleere, while both expressed a debt to Donal Keane who was doing the legwork in Lexington.

“And it was really Micky who saw the video,” Ryan said. “Donal does it on the ground, and Micky sends me a shortlist of the videos he likes. That video work can be brutal! But this was a gorgeous horse as soon as he came over, with a great mind and a great constitution. He loves the game, and I really think he could be pretty good. We took a gamble bringing him here, they wanted him for Dubai, but it's worked out and Colm is one of the best judges out there.”

In the event, the colt will be heading out to the desert after all, as Sharkey was acting for clients in Dubai—perhaps aware that Ryan and Cleere had also been behind another American import in Summer Is Tomorrow (Summer Front). Sold here by Arqana last year for £120,000, he finished second in the G2 UAE Derby and has been flown back to his native land for the GI Kentucky Derby itself.

“He's the only horse I wanted to buy, so I've waited all day for him,” Sharkey said. “He's got a nice pedigree, did a nice, even breeze and vetted well. He'll head to Dubai now and hopefully race at the backend, once they get going in October or November.”

Underbidder Mills did secure a notable U.S. import, and quite a celebrity too: a half-brother to California Chrome himself.

The emigration of the dual Horse of the Year to Japan could well prove a good career move, breeders out there having repeatedly made their Bluegrass counterparts regret their commercial prejudices. In the meantime, however, his sibling by Accelerate—himself an absurdly generous fee, and a far more accomplished animal than California Chrome's sire Lucky Pulpit—was also exported, from Keeneland last September, to Powerstown Stud for just $62,000.

Here he advanced his value, as lot 36, to £110,000. His breeze having shown him to be functioning well, at this stage of his development, that may well turn out to be something of a bargain. “He's a May 16 foal, and will be given all the time he needs,” stressed Mills. “But he's the right stamp of horse, very solid, and his ultimate destination will be Dubai.”

That makes a lot of sense, given this horse's dirt antecedents, though it's possible that he will get an initial grounding on turf in Europe.

 

Top Hats Booked Down Under

An abrupt opening bid of £125,000 from Stuart Boman for the Kessaar (Ire) colt offered by Star Bloodstock (lot 26) put any dozing competition on the back foot in the morning session, and though one or two recovered briefly it was the Blandford Bloodstock agent who completed the job at £160,000.

Boman explained that this calculated, “disruptor” flourish had been imported on behalf of his good friend James Harron, who had jointly instructed him and Martin Buick from Australia.

“James got in touch with Martin and myself with a view to finding a runner for Royal Ascot,” he explained. “Like so many Australians they'll be glad to be able to leave the country and it sounds like they're all coming! We had very strict criteria and identified this as the one horse we wanted to buy, hence the bidding tactics. He's a very mature horse, he was the quickest colt in the sale and, while time isn't everything, in this instance you're looking for a five-furlong horse and he was particularly quick. He'll be joining Richard Hannon.”

After a “shocking” start to their cycle at the Craven Sale, according to Matt Eaves, this was a welcome touch for Star Bloodstock on a £25,000 pinhook in this ring last August by Byron Rogers. Here was yet another case of investors returning eagerly to Tally Ho, also the source of two headline successes for Star Bloodstock in G2 Norfolk S. winner A'Ali (Ire) (Society Rock {Ire}), found here for £35,000 before his £135,000 sale at this auction in 2019; and GI Breeders' Cup Fillies Juvenile Turf runner-up Malavath (Ire) (Mehmas {Ire}), a £120,000 private sale at the refugee Arqana auction staged here last year, after her £29,000 acquisition the previous August. Malavath has meanwhile contributed to a breeze-up spree in the Classic trials with her reappearance success in the G3 Prix Imprudence.

“I'm delighted,” Eaves said. “We've had so much success buying from Tally-Ho and bringing them here to sell. At home, this horse has just been fast all the way. At the end of the day it's racetrack results that we want, so let's hope he goes and wins the Norfolk for them.”

 

Boman and Buick returned to the fray for lot 130, on behalf of the same clients, in the process completing another fine pinhook for Longways Stables, who had picked out this Zoustar (Aus) filly for £26,000 here last summer—even though her dam Ainippe (Ire) (Captain Rio {GB}) won twice in group company and was placed at the highest level. This time, with the benefit of a lightning breeze, she raised £150,000.

“Sharp filly,” Boman said. “She went very quick, one of the top five times, and she's very fit and forward so we can expect her to be early and hopefully we can get her to Ascot. Obviously you don't have to explain Zoustar to Australians, and this filly also has some residual which you can't say of every horse in this sale.”

Longways had also rolled the dice on a Zoustar colt here last August, and were again well rewarded in converting his value from £35,000 to £130,000 from Bryan Smart lot 135.

Overall this catalogue is unabashedly promoted on the Royal Ascot record of its graduates and the same handful of races, now barely two months away, were duly on the mind of investors throughout the day.

Fawzi Nass was one, when giving Kessaar (Ire) another significant boost in the £160,000 acquisition—the docket signed in the name of Oliver St Lawrence Bloodstock—of a February colt found here for just £20,000 last summer and recycled as lot 114 by Bansha House Stables.

“Royal Ascot is always the plan,” Nass said with a grin. “But it's not that easy. The way he's built, well put together with a nice stride, he looks a proper 2-year-old type—so he should be sharp enough to come out very soon. He'll be trained by Roger Varian.”

His pedigree is certainly more commensurate with his April price than his August one: his dam is a half-sister to the three elite winners—Iridessa (Ire) (Ruler Of The World {Ire}), Order Of Australia (Ire) (Australia {GB}) and Santa Barbara (Ire) (Camelot {GB})—produced by the O'Briens' blue hen Senta's Dream (GB) (Danehill).

A couple of lots later Robin O'Ryan was endorsing another young sire in Sioux Nation, giving £130,000 for a colt consigned by Gaybrook Lodge as lot 116.

“We've two and we like them,” said Richard Fahey's assistant, here representing an established patron of the yard. “This one was well recommended before coming here. And while he breezed a little bit green, we liked him. They're all Royal Ascot horses at the moment. But he does look racy.”

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Goffs Aiming To Maintain Power Surge

DONCASTER, UK—Having seen their rivals open up with two booming aces—graduates of the Tattersalls Craven Sale won both the big Classic trials at Newmarket last week—the Goffs UK Doncaster Breeze-Up returned serve at the weekend with an equally timely advertisement for the auction staged here on Thursday.

First and foremost, of course, the G3 Greenham S. success of Perfect Power (Ire) (Ardad {Ire}) was another win for the whole breeze-up sector, reiterating consignors' ability not just to showcase precocity and professionalism, but to lay a foundation for continued development. At the same time, this colt had long ago served the principal agenda of a sale that unabashedly aims to corral stock ready to roll for Royal Ascot.

So while he went on to win Group 1 prizes at Deauville and Newmarket, it was Perfect Power's success in the G2 Norfolk S.—by a satisfying head from Craven alumnus Go Bears Go (Ire) (Kodi Bear {Ire})—that has made the cover of this catalogue. He is, after all, the third winner of that race found here in the past six runnings; and the sixth overall at the royal meeting since 2016.

Perfect Power was brought here by breeders Tally-Ho Stud, who had another stellar sale at Newmarket last week. Having been retained as a Book 2 yearling, at 16,000gns, he was instead sold here to Richard Brown of Blandford Bloodstock for £110,000. For the agent, a lightbulb had come on: he had bought the sire here, also from Tally-Ho, in 2016.

“There were a lot of similarities with his father,” Brown said. “Not just physically but in temperament. It was definitely something Sheikh Rashid [Dalmook Al Maktoum, owner] and I spoke about at length before he decided to pull the trigger.”

Brown is unsurprised by the serial endorsements of breeze-up stock on the track this spring.

“These guys do an extraordinary job,” he said. “They're exceptional judges, exceptional at getting horses to show us what they can do over two furlongs, while also going on. The proof of the pudding is that two of the top four in the 2000 Guineas betting are breeze-up horses. That's hugely to the credit of the guys that prepare these horses.

“I'm actually a big believer that the whole process can make a good horse: the grounding they have, the hoops they have to jump through to get to the point of the hammer coming down, it's a huge test of a young horse. The fact is that you not only have horses that can come out and run early, you've also had Gold Cup winners, and now we're talking about genuine Classic horses.”

Horses acquired at this sale, with Ascot in mind, do tend to be “oven-ready” and go straight into training.

“But we only ever give them a chance to show whether or not they can be an Ascot horse,” Brown said. “If they say they're not ready, you back off immediately. And we will buy horses at the breeze-ups for the summer or back-end, and they'll always get turned out for three weeks.”

In the case of Perfect Power, however, trainer Richard Fahey received an unequivocal response.

“Richard sent me the video, there was what has now become quite a well-known piece of work,” Brown said with a smile. “He'd sent eight or 10 2-year-olds away for a piece of work on the grass and, out of nowhere, this colt came to the front and galloped three lengths clear of the whole bunch. I'm very cynical, I thought rest of them must be useless—but as it turned out, it was obviously pretty unfair on the rest of them to have to gallop with him.”

What's so heartening about the maturing profile of breeze-up stock is that they are plainly progressing in the round. There was a time, as prices started to rise, that many consignors were feeling uncomfortable with the slavish obedience of some investors to their stopwatches. But Brown argues that the European environment remains geared towards a fuller package.

“I'm vehemently against official times,” he stressed. “I think if we went down that route, we'd very quickly find ourselves in an American situation where it would become very hard for us sell a horse to client if it hadn't done one of the top breezes. Perfect Power wasn't in the top 10 times, nor was Ardad. Here everybody gets their own times and disseminates them in their own way. And it works. You can see that in the clearance rates here, compared with America. If we went down the route of official times, I'm absolutely convinced that clearance rates would reduce by probably 25%.

“Remember there are also plenty of guys out there buying good horses that don't use times. Everyone does it in a different way. Yes, we use times—but we use lots of other things as well. And if you asked me what the number one factor is, for me it would still be temperament. And there's no better test of temperament than this.”

Certainly the emergence of Perfect Power has enabled Henry Beeby and Tim Kent, respectively chairman and managing director of Goffs UK, to introduce this catalogue with due pride. “Facts are facts and spin is spin,” they write, before wryly conceding themselves to be “well capable of the latter”. But here, they continue, “Facts need no spin. Whatever you may have heard elsewhere and whatever gimmicks may have been rolled out, the fact is that the Doncaster Breeze-Up Sale's record at the royal meeting is simply second to none.”

No need, plainly, to specify which “gimmicks” they might have in mind. This was transparently an aside directed at the lucrative bonus schemes nowadays enhancing the Craven Sale, including one expressly focused on juvenile races at Ascot.

But just as the whole market prospers from the success of breeze-up graduates on the track, so the extremely strong performance of the Craven Sale sets an auspicious tone for this one. The breeze-up sector, after all, was viciously exposed to the economic tempests of the pandemic and even new tremors in the geopolitical environment do not discourage the hope that consignors may finally be back on something like an even keel.

In 2020 this auction found itself one of the first canaries in the mine for the bloodstock industry. A diminished catalogue was eventually offered alongside one for Arqana in July—hardly an ideal date, for a sale with Royal Ascot as its avowed priority—and actually gave some early hint of the remarkable resilience that emerged from the overall market that year. Sure enough, last year a record £48,590 average outstripped even the £45,750 peak of what had become a sustained bull run, at this sale, in 2019.

Simply keeping the show on the road over the past couple of years often required competing sales companies to co-operate for the greater good of a traumatised industry. So just to be removing the gloves again, with a little friendly jousting, actually feels quite heartening.

“In troubled times, of course we pulled together,” Beeby remarked. “We live in very small world, a very insular world, and of course we're competitive. Some people have said in the past that we shouldn't fight so much, but I don't think we do at all. Yes, we are competitive—but that's what creates such a strong and vibrant market, the fact that we all work so hard, try so hard. And when people have been saying over the past couple of years how well we were getting on with Edmond Mahony [of Tattersalls] and Eric Hoyeau [Arqana], I said, 'We always have: we're roughly the same age, we've been doing exactly the same thing for 30 or 40 years, we understand each other intricately.' As I've always said, I want our sales to go really well—and everyone else's to go… okay! I don't want anybody to get hurt, I just want ours to be the best. And I'm sure everyone else is the same.”

That said, nothing ever stays quite the same for these restlessly ambitious rivals. This time round, Goffs has already staged a breeze-up sale, meeting the exotic challenge of hosting an auction in Dubai during World Cup week.

“That was wonderful,” Beeby said. “It was a huge learning curve, both for ourselves and the vendors. Going forward, a particular type of horse will be required. But it was a massive success. The vendors were wonderful, stepping into the unknown; and the Dubai Racing Club were fantastic. To use the vulgar phrase, they put their money where their mouth is, flying the horses out, and they were just so proactive and encouraging.”

A less welcome break from business as usual came in a fatal injury suffered during Tuesday's breeze session. However innocuous the tasks assigned to a Thoroughbred, there will always be some perennial element of hazard at the gallop.

“It was just one of those terribly unfortunate things, a freak accident,” Beeby said. “But we had everything in place, just as if it was raceday, and I've heard a lot of praise today for the speed and professionalism of the teams that had to deal with what was a deeply upsetting situation for everybody.”

There were poignant moments later on for Beeby himself, in presiding in the sale ring over a celebration of his late father Harry, formerly managing director and chairman of DBS and president of Goffs UK. The family having observed its private grief in November, this was an apt opportunity to honour the memory of the much-loved figure who had, besides many other accomplishments, been pivotal to the inauguration of this market.

“Yes, he was the one who pioneered breeze-ups in Europe in 1977,” Beeby reflected before taking to the rostrum. “If he hadn't done it, none of this would have happened. He wasn't just my father: he was also my teacher and mentor, my inspiration. He was my hero. He was everything I wanted to be. He allowed me to be that, but also to be my own person. And that was very important.

“At 60 he decided, of his own volition, that the time had come for him step back and for me to take a step forward. And the great thing was that still he was young and vibrant enough to be this absolutely reassuring presence, while also strong enough to give me my head and say, 'Kick on, I'm with you.' We worked together 35 years, two very strong personalities, but we hardly ever had a cross word.

“In the hundreds of letters and emails and messages we received, the one word that recurred most was 'gentleman.' That's not just somebody who opens doors to ladies and doffs his cap. It's somebody who acts with decency and integrity. It means someone who treats people the right way. There are a lot of people in this industry who've been kind enough to say they would never have made it but for him. In fact, there's a breeze-up consignor who calls his home 'the house that Harry built'. And he brought a great sense of joy. Everybody loved seeing Harry. He had a welcome for everybody, and looked after big men and the little man in the exact same way.”

It's not just on the racetrack, then, that this environment is producing a model for everyone to emulate.

The sale, in a single session, opens at 10 a.m.

The post Goffs Aiming To Maintain Power Surge appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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Third-Highest Turnover At Strong Tattersalls Guineas Breeze Up Sale

The Tattersalls Guineas Breeze Up Sale concluded with the third-highest turnover in the sale's history with 150 2-year-olds changing hands for just short of 4.5 million guineas, an average of almost 30,000 guineas, a median of 24,500 guineas and a clearance rate of 82 percent. The Guineas Horses in Training Sale had earlier seen 24 horses in training exchange hands for 262,500 guineas.

Blandford Bloodstock's Richard Brown secured the top-priced lot of the Guineas Breeze Up Sale when going to 135,000 guineas to land the son of the first crop sire and multiple Group 1 winner Postponed. The colt is out of the Malibu Moon mare Micalea's Moon, a half-sister to the dam of Champion 2-year-old and exciting stallion No Nay Never. Brown secured the colt despite the persistence of underbidder Anthony Bromley, stood alongside trainer Alan King.

“He is for my resale syndicate Never Say Die, and will be trained by David Simcock,” said Brown. “A client bred Postponed so I have followed him all the way through and I am giving him a big chance.

“I don't see this horse running until August or September, he is a horse for the future. I just thought he is a smashing horse.”

Explaining the ownership syndicate, Brown said: “The syndicate is all about resale. We aim to sell as 3-year-olds. There are great people involved in the syndicate and I think they will be really excited with this horse.”

Of the colt's breeze, Brown enthused: “He did a cracking breeze. He just showed a great action, it wasn't a speedy breeze but it was the style he did it in, he has a good attitude.”

The sale represented a great success for Glending Stables' Roderick Kavanagh, with the colt having been purchased at the Tattersalls December Foal Sale for just 20,000 guineas.

“He was bought by my Dad (Peter Kavanagh) and Michael Downey, and we've always really liked him,” recalled Kavanagh. “He's a racehorse and he was such a good pull-out outside the boxes. He did an impressive breeze for his size and the date of birth he has, and he really fills the eye. He was very popular and he never let us down from start to finish.”

He added of the son of Postponed: “He is a lovely horse and all the agents were on him, all the big dogs as you'd expect. I think there were five or six bidders on him.”

The Mehmas colt out of the Milk It Mick mare Cheworee for was the second lot to sell for a six-figure value when knocked down to David Redvers for 105,000 guineas on behalf of Sheikh Fahad.

The colt's sire, who stands at Tally Ho Stud, has enjoyed a sensational start to his stud career and the successful purchaser David Redvers said of his plans: “He will be trained in Newmarket, Sheikh Fahad [who lives in Newmarket] wants to see him trained locally and close by. The horse did a very good time, he is by a very good sire and he is a lovely model, it is a great touch for the vendor.”

The vendor was Irish-based National Hunt jockey Ian McCarthy who owned him with two friends, the trio purchasing him as a foal for €3,000 as a yearling pinhook prospect but that plan failed to come to fruition.

“Gerry McCormack pinhooked him as a foal for €3,000, it is lucky enough now that he was not sold as a yearling!” smiled McCarthy. “I prepped him for us, he has been very straightforward. As time went on he just developed, he got much stronger and through the last eight weeks he has really turned a corner – he takes his work well.”

“He is a horse who has had a great preparation and we've liked him all along,” continued McCarthy. “We've had plenty of interest in the last couple of days, he did a lovely breeze ridden by Micky Cleere and he is by the right sire, isn't he?”

At the conclusion of the 2021 Tattersalls Guineas Breeze Up and Horses in Training Sale, Tattersalls Chairman Edmond Mahony commented;

“A median bettered only once this decade at the Tattersalls Guineas Breeze Up Sale combined with an average and turnover which both compare favorably with the 2019 and 2020 renewals are all positives to take from today's sale, as has been the consistent domestic demand at all levels of the market. Similarly, while not quite matching the unprecedented levels at the recent Craven Breeze Up Sale, the clearance rate has also held up well, especially considering a significantly larger catalogue than usual and the disruption to overseas participation owing to the current widespread travel restrictions.

“We can also reflect on a Guineas Breeze Up Sale which has produced numerous impressive pinhooking triumphs, as ever reflecting the expertise of the consignors, and another sale which has underlined the importance of the Tattersalls live internet bidding platform which has yet again proved to be invaluable, particularly for overseas buyers unable to attend the sale. COVID continues to test us all, but once more we have experienced trade of remarkable resilience and a collective determination from all involved to explore every avenue to provide as vibrant a market as possible in the face of considerable obstacles.”

The post Third-Highest Turnover At Strong Tattersalls Guineas Breeze Up Sale appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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