DNA Equine Team Bidding To Build On Dream Debut At The Breeze-Ups

Humility goes by the household name of humble and you will be hard pressed to find a more humble couple than Donna Cowens and Nicky Souza de Oliveira of DNA Equine.

The pair burst onto the scene at the Goffs Breeze-Up Sale at Doncaster last year when selling Mantra (Ire) to Jake Warren on behalf of Highclere for a life-changing £160,000. The Tamayuz (Ire) filly had been bought for a song the previous winter.

Identified by Cowens as a potentially nice type to go breezing and get the DNA consignment up and running, the native of Northumberland shelled out just €10,000 for the filly from Ringfort Stud at the Goffs Autumn Sale 2022.

Mantra more than held up her part of the bargain by breezing like a rocket, resulting in that massive return on investment for the young couple, but you won't find any gloating here. Instead, Cowens and Souza de Oliveira described that dream debut as “beginner's luck” and are fully concentrating on building on that result this spring.

“I don't think that sale ever settled in, really,” Cowens reflected. “We didn't get a chance to sit back and take it in–you just keep your head down and keep on going in this game, don't you?”

She added, “But it definitely made the decision to go out on our own a lot easier. If we didn't take the plunge after that, well then we probably never would have. We owe that filly a lot. She gave us the springboard that we needed.”

The DNA team are raring to go for the breeze-up sales | Brian Sheerin

Cowens, 34, and Souza de Oliveira, 39, are graduates of Willie Browne's famous Mocklershill Stables. After the success with Mantra, the pair decided to go out fully on their own, and have rented a yard on the Curragh.

With 10 horses for the upcoming breeze-up sales and eight more in pre-training, you could say this fledgling operation is finding its stride.

Cowens said, “We have rented a yard on the Maddenstown side of the Curragh and have 18 horses in at the moment–10 are for breezing and the rest is made up of horses in pre training. We moved here last September.”

She added, “We've got three for Doncaster–a nice Earthlight (Ire) colt for the Guineas Sale and a lovely Sottsass (Fr) colt for Arqana. That's rather exciting because he is the only Sottsass colt catalogued for France.

“The rest of the horses will be split up between Tattersalls Ireland and then we have a few for the July Sale in France as well. Obviously it was very difficult to get horses into the breeze-up sales this year so we will be taking a few to France in July as well.”

It seems to be a common complaint among the breeze-up handlers this year. It was in these pages last month when Harry Fowler of Goffs and Tattersalls Ireland boss Simon Kerins explained how entries for the breeze-up sales were at an all-time high. Invariably, some consignors were going to be left disappointed, as there simply weren't enough slots to go around.

However, in DNA's case, they are happy to roll the big dice with a certain Sands Of Mali (Fr) filly on the racetrack, with Souza de Oliveira saying that he is convinced she is up to winning a maiden.

“I already have a name picked out for her,” he explained. “I am from Rio in Brazil and, with her being by Sands Of Mali, I was thinking Copacabana Sands would be a nice name. I think she could be up to winning a maiden so we don't mind being brave.”

And Souza de Oliveira would know. Still a major cog in Browne's Mocklershill wheel, Souza de Oliveira has ridden countless high-class horses at home and at the breeze-up sales. Not only that, but the couple are taking heart in the result fellow Brazilian native and prominent breeze-up rider Manoel Marques enjoyed with Buyin Buyin (Ire) (Bungle Inthejungle {GB}) this time 12 months ago.

Cowens explained, “We've worked her a couple of times and she goes particularly well. Obviously she will be for sale but we're happy to race her ourselves if we have to. She will go to Diego Dias and hopefully, if she shows on the track what she has been showing us at home, we can get her sold. With a filly like that, you don't want to be waiting until July. She will be ready to run in four to six weeks and, while we don't want to get into the habit of keeping horses, we're happy to take a chance with a filly like her.”

She added, “Diego is very good friends with Nicky. He has sat on her and is actually the one who said to us, 'this filly is good guys, I think you need to be brave.' Hopefully it ends up being a similar story to Buyin Buyin last year. He wasn't accepted into a breeze-up sale but was obviously ready to run early. Manoel rolled the dice and ran him and the rest is history. Nicky rode Buyin Buyin a good bit at home at Willie's so he knows what's needed to win a maiden.

“Nicky still works very closely with Willie and will be riding for him at the breeze-ups as well. If we didn't take the plunge to go out on our own, Willie is a man I would have happily worked for for the rest of my life. He has always been there for help and advice. The knowledge he has on the game is amazing. When we were leaving, he said, 'I'm not happy that ye are leaving, but I wish ye the best of luck.'”

And finally, what's behind the name? Not only do DNA have the horses to make their second year in business a success but they are also the proud owners of one of the catchiest consignment names in the game.

Cowens laughed, “Everyone asks us this! Basically, it's all about the DNA of the racehorse, isn't it? When you are buying potential racehorses, you are looking at bloodlines and pedigrees, so we said we'd use DNA. The logo actually came first. Everyone thinks the D and the N is for Donna and Nicky and they ask us what the A is for. We always say it's for associates. So, anyone who wants to associate with us, it can be Donna, Nicky and associates.”

There are few nicer people to be associated with.

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Sands Of Mali to Remain at Ballyhane Stud

It has been confirmed that Sands Of Mali (Fr) will remain at Ballyhane Stud, where he has stood since his retirement in 2021. This is contrary to a statement released on Tuesday by Steve Parkin's Dullingham Park.

The Group 1-winning sprinter has his first runners this season. His former stud-mates at Ballyhane, Asymmetric (Ire) and Space Traveller (GB), have moved to Micheal Orlandi's Starfield Stud in Co Westmeath.

A statement released by Ballyhane Stud on Friday morning cited “a breakdown in the business relationship between Clipper principal Steve Parkin and Ballyhane Stud owner Joe Foley.”

It read, “It was agreed that stallions wholly owned by the Clipper operation would not stand at the Carlow farm in the future and, as a consequence, Asymmetric and Space Traveller moved to Starfield stud near Mullingar on Wednesday.”

The G2 Richmond S. winner Asymmetric recently commenced covering his first book of mares, while Space Traveller (GB), who won the Clipper-sponsored G2 Boomerang S. at Leopardstown, is in his second season at stud.

“We both thought this was the best way forward and I wish the team at Starfield all the best with the two horses,” said Joe Foley.

“As Sands of Mali is a partnership horse, he will remain at Ballyhane where his book has been increasing significantly due to highly encouraging reports of his first crop of two-year-olds.”

He added, “It has been a great adventure helping Steve and his family build his racing and breeding operation into what it has become today and I'm proud of the top horses that I've sourced for them over the years. I wish them all the best into the future, especially on the racetrack this year where the Clipper and Bronte teams have an exciting string of horses preparing for the season ahead.”

Parkin's homebred Group 1 winner Fallen Angel (GB) (Too Darn Hot {GB}) is currently second-favourite in the betting for the Qipco 1,000 Guineas, while her stable-mate at Karl Burke's Spigot Lodge, Night Raider (Ire) (Dark Angel {GB}), shortened significantly in the Qipco 2,000 Guineas market following his 'TDN Rising Star'-worthy wide-margin win at Southwell on Wednesday. Bred by Linden Bloodstock, he was bought for Parkin by Foley as a foal. 

 

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Space Traveller And Sands Of Mali Relocated To Starfield Stud

Exciting young sires Space Traveller (GB) and Sands Of Mali (Fr) have been transferred from Ballyhane Stud to Micheal Orlandi's Starfield Stud for the remainder of the 2024 breeding season.

A statement released by Dullingham Park on Tuesday read, “Due to unforeseen circumstances, Space Traveller and Sands Of Mali, formerly at Ballyhane Stud, have been relocated to stand the remainder of the 2024 season at Micheal Orlandi's Starfield Stud in Mullingar [County Westmeath].

“Space Traveller is in his second season covering and reports of his first foals are exceptional. His fee remains at €6,500. Sands Of Mali has his first crop of runners this year and his fee remains at  €5,000.”

The statement continued, “All enquiries and covering bookings must be made to Micheal Orlandi – 083 8092299 or micheal@compasequine.co.uk.”

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‘Managing Numbers And Expectations’ – Breeze-Up Inspections In Full Swing

Never has the demand to get horses into the breeze-up sales in Europe been higher. It begs the question; how do the big sales companies limit their catalogues? 

Inspectors from Tattersalls, Arqana and Goffs have been out in force in recent weeks trawling through the breeze-up consignors' barns to come up with their shortlists. 

According to Harry Fowler, one of the main inspectors at Goffs, entries for the company's only breeze-up sale have sky-rocketed this year. With most of the viewing done at this stage, the Goffs inspectors will meet in the coming weeks before calling on vendors to make up their mind on Valentine's Day at the latest. By the end of February, the 210 slots for Goffs will be finalised and the catalogue will be sent off to be printed. 

Explaining the process, Fowler said, “You will have definite yeses, some maybes and then straight nos. With the nos, you would discuss them there and then with the consignor so that there are no surprises later on. 

“We get all of our inspections done by the end of January and then have a meeting and go through things on a horse-by-horse basis. We can't have any more than 210 horses in the sale. In the current economic climate that we are in, it's important that we keep it tight and it seemed to work well last year, as the sale leapt forward by 30 per cent on average and over 50 per cent on turnover. It was a rocking sale.”

He added, “The results on the track proved buyers right as well. So we want to keep it tight and, by doing this, we basically allocate vendors a certain number and try to keep them to that number unless they have an exceptional bunch. In that case, we might give them a couple more slots. The same might be the case if, say, they didn't perform last year, we might cut them back a couple of spots. By Valentine's Day, we will have asked vendors to commit about who is going where and then we will send the catalogue off to get printed by the end of February.”

Harry Fowler | Goffs

It may seem a little soon to be making these calls. The Goffs UK Breeze-Up Sale is the earliest of them all yet it doesn't take place until April 23 and 24. That's over two months of galloping to be done between making a decision about where you are going with a horse and the fall of the hammer. A lot of time for some to turn a corner and bob their heads above the parapet and, unavoidably, others to go the wrong way. Therein lies the risks.

Tattersalls Ireland boss Simon Kerins is in a unique position in that, not only are he and his team of inspectors searching for that Royal Ascot two-year-old for the Craven Sale in mid April, but there are also slots to be filled for the Guineas Sale in early May and the Tattersalls Ireland Breeze-Up Sale later that month. Without a deep trust and strong working relationship with the vendors, Kerins explains, making these calls in February would be close to impossible. 

He said, “So much of it is down to the trust that we, as inspectors, have with the vendors. The guys who have been doing this a while will be able to tell you if they really think something is good or not. The bonus with the breeze-ups is, if you have a horse by a sire who is just about acceptable from a commercial perspective, they can surpass what they would ever make as yearlings if they go and breeze very well. The same can be said for a horse who is not one hundred per cent correct or if one is a little bit small. 

“From getting out and seeing a lot of the horses over the past few weeks, many of the vendors have done very little with them, and wouldn't have tested them in a way that would determine their ability. A lot of it is faith between the vendor and the inspector.” 

Kerins admitted that while some horses who are just about acceptable in terms of pedigree and conformation get into breeze-up sales provided they are showing the right signs to their respective handlers, the margin for error has become even narrower such is demand for sale slots. 

Kerins added, “The standard is rising. Certainly with our own Tattersalls Ireland Breeze-Up Sale, the standard is rising exponentially. The challenge that we can sometimes face is we have some people who have been stalwart supporters of us down through the years and always sent us a similar type of horse. Now there are newer people on the scene with a better calibre of horse they want to send us and we have to just marry the loyalty and the quality. It can be very challenging managing numbers and managing expectations as well. We are ultimately delivering bad news to some vendors given there are only a certain number of slots up for grabs. Entries are through the roof but we do have the option in June for those horses who don't get into the Craven, Guineas or Tattersalls Ireland sales, to breeze at Dundalk and then sell online afterwards. That is an option.”

One man who has had more good news than bad in recent times is Shane Power of Tradewinds Stud. It was his Beautiful Diamond (GB) (Twilight Son {GB}) who lit up the breeze-up circuit when selling for £360,000 at the Goffs UK Breeze-Up Sale just seven months after being sourced for 30,000gns as a yearling. Those are the types of results that earn a hungry young consignor some clout by the time it comes to inspections. 

“It's like anything, when you turn up and get the results, they repay you the following year and the relationship grows,” Power explains. “We sold our first breezer five years ago at Donny. It was a little horse by Arcano (Ire) and he went and won a couple of races for Michael Dods. A couple of years ago we had only two breezers, last year we had five and this year we have 11, so we are trying to up our game the whole time. We've had all of the sales companies out already this year and you'd have a fair idea about where they are all going at this stage.” 

He added, “But, if you have sold a few good horses the previous year, it's definitely a big help to the sales companies coming back to you because, at the end of the day, that's what they want. We obviously want to get paid as well but the sales companies really need to sell the good horses year in year out to be able to compete with their rival sales companies. In fairness to the inspectors, they do use their imagination and they are well aware that the breeze-ups, in particular, are designed to produce racehorses, and not just sales horses.”

Power also went on to pour cold water on the theory that it's too early to make a prediction on what horse should go where in January and February.

Shane Power | Tattersalls

He explained, “You'd probably have half an idea about who would be likely to go where at the yearlings sales. And, in fairness to the inspectors, they are nearly always on the same page as you when they do come out. The earlier bunch will end up in the Craven or at Donny and, those who need a bit more time, you have the Guineas Sale or Tattersalls Ireland. The horse tells you more so than anything else.”

Power added, “It definitely helps when they have cost a few quid as yearlings. It's probably the most obvious barometer for which people can judge the horses on. It's the same for the foals to yearlings, the first thing a sales inspector can go off is what the market thought of the horse four or five months ago.”

It was Fowler who inspected Beautiful Diamond this time 12 months ago. They don't always stick out like she did, but the Goffs scout recalled what drew him to Beautiful Diamond and how she encapsulates everything that the sale company searches for when out and about in the winter months.

He said, “We understand that, for an earlier sale, our buyers are coming in search of Royal Ascot horses. In the past eight years, we have had nine Royal Ascot winners, and not all of those have been two-year-olds, many have trained on as well. 

“Perfect Power (Ire) and Bradsell (GB) are brilliant examples of top-class Goffs graduates who have not only gone on and won at Royal Ascot, but become stallions as well. Buyers come to Goffs looking for horses who will be early but it's not just the whizzbang two-year-old they are looking for, they want the horses who can train on, just like Perfect Power and Bradsell did.”

He added, “I remember walking into Shane Power's yard last year and being taken by two lovely horses. Both were inexpensive yearlings but they had a lot of quality. One of them turned out to be Beautiful Diamond who, not only breezed very well and made £360,000 to Blandford Bloodstock, but she won first time out and then went on to finish third in the Queen Mary. That's your perfect Donny horse. She has her whole three-year-old career ahead of herself and, in the meantime, she paid for a new barn at Shane Power's yard. That's what we're all hoping for. We were just lucky enough that Shane wanted to bring her to us. He knew exactly what he had from an early stage.

“The flip side of that is there are plenty of examples of when it doesn't work out but Beautiful Diamond was one who just hit you right between your eyes. You've got to rely on your instincts doing this job and, generally, the ones who look as though they might be a little bit chancy at this stage, they are the ones who need a lot of luck.”

They say it's the talented breeze-up men and women who will know quicker than anyone else in the industry who will make it and who will drift away when it comes to the freshman sires. After all, these are the people who are separating the wheat from the chaff. But what do the inspectors think?

Fowler mused, “You would get a fair feel at the yearling sales and again when going around and speaking with all of the breeze-up consignors. Pinatubo, for example, is the favourite for the first-season sires' championship but I have only seen a couple of those so far. A lot of the first-season sires, their progeny look as though they will make up into two-year-olds. I've seen plenty of Shamans and they look like they'll be two-year-olds. The Sergei Prokofievs are big horses so, whether the power of those horses will make them two-year-olds or not, I don't know.”

He added, “I've seen a few sharp and early types by Sands Of Mali, some by Far Above who look to be big and powerful horses like he was and then a few nice Mohaathers. I think they have plenty of quality about them. Arizona is another stallion who I have seen a few nice two-year-olds by. They look to be very powerful horses. There are plenty of good reports on Earthlight but they look to be horses for later on in the season. They look as though they'll train on. The same could be said about Ghaiyyath. They look to be more three-year-old types.”

Like Fowler, Pinatubo and Earthlight were nominated as the more obvious young sires to keep the right side of by Kerins, who admitted that the progeny of younger stallions can often be an easier sell at public auction.

He concluded, “I have only seen a couple of Pinatubos and they were very nice. The same with Earthlight. I've seen a couple of those that were quite nice but that's quite obvious. It's the same with the foals and years, the progeny of the first-season sires sell like hot cakes, and the breeze-ups are no different. With the two-year-olds, if they can gallop and they look the part, they will be an easy sell if they are by any of the first-season sires. Again, it's buying that dream that appeals to so many people.”

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