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BBAG Launches New August HIT Sale

The BBAG August Sale, a new sale comprised mainly of horses-in-training that have entries during German racing's Big Week at Baden-Baden, was announced by the sales company on Wednesday. A single-day sale, action will begin at 2 p.m. local time on Aug. 20, with the Big Week of racing kicking off from Aug. 29-Sept. 5.

Bids will be accepted in person, by phone or online. All horses in the catalogue can be viewed at their respective racing stables. Registration deadline for the auction is Friday, Aug. 13. Buyers can register at www.bbag-sales.de.

“After the success of the spring auction, we want to meet the high demand for starting horses and establish a new auction as part of the Big Week,” says BBAG Managing Director Klaus Eulenberger.

The post BBAG Launches New August HIT Sale appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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Destination Lexington: What’s New on the Food Scene

The 2021 Keeneland September Yearling Sale is just around the corner and soon, buyers from around the globe will be scouring the expansive sales grounds in search of their next star. Such intense scrutiny of the thousands of impressive yearlings at the annual auction is sure to work up an appetite, and thankfully the culinary scene in Lexington is vibrant with a diverse group of restaurants that can appeal to any palate.

For many visitors, it will be their first time in town in two years, so we paid a visit to some of the newest and most popular restaurants downtown to give an early taste to sales-goers who might be looking to discover something new during their time in Lexington.

Horse and Jockey -15 Minutes from Keeneland

131 Cheapside St. Lexington, KY 40507

Horse and Jockey Pub and Kitchen, a traditional Irish gastropub, is located in the heart of downtown Lexington. The restaurant has quickly garnered positive reviews amongst the local horse racing community and the racing-themed decor further lends itself to that clientele.

Paul Murphy, a native of Scotland who spent most of his childhood and young adult life in Ireland, moved to New York 20 years ago. He and his partner, Jimmy McSweeney, had a dream of starting up a restaurant in Lexington.

They found an old night club on Main Street that looked promising, but when they came to town for a visit, quickly realized there was no proper place to add a kitchen. As they were strolling through the streets of downtown afterwards, they came across the building now known as Horse and Jockey.

“The place had just closed,” Murphy recalled. “There was paper on the windows but I looked in and said, 'Wow, this could make a nice speakeasy-type place.' So we got in touch with the landlord and he walked us through the next morning. It was pretty much a done deal right there.”

As for the name, while obviously reminiscent of the famed Horse and Jockey Hotel in Tipperary, Murphy said when he moved to Queens two decades ago, the first bar in his neighborhood that he visited was also called Horse and Jockey.

“Everybody can understand where it's coming from,” he explained. “We figured there were already a couple of Irish bars downtown, but none of them had any food. So we figured that would be our niche-a traditional Irish menu.”

After four months of renovation, Horse and Jockey opened its doors in January of 2020. Five weeks later, they were forced to shut down due to the Coronavirus pandemic. But the new eatery came back with a vengeance this June.

“It has been so busy,” Murphy said. “Luckily we have a good staff and a lot of them stayed on. It was a tough year for everybody and thankfully the people downtown and the local community have come in and it's been great. We've made a lot of friends.”

Murphy said some of their menu's best-selling items include fish and chips, bangers and mash and curry cheese fries. Another popular dish, Shepherd's Pie, is made daily by Murphy's wife.

'A hundred thousands welcomes' greet guests seated at Horse and Jockey's outdoor patio. | Katie Ritz

“It's as good as you'll get back in Ireland,” he said proudly. “We also do a burger with Irish bacon on it. A lot of people ask why we don't have American bacon, but this is our thing. We're trying to stick to our traditional menu.”

First-time guests have plenty of options upon visiting. Aside from the main indoor dining area, the restaurant also has an outdoor patio as well as an upstairs covered patio that features both a bourbon and a gin bar.

The menu offers a wide array of drink selections, from beers on tap to an expansive wine list and various cocktails. All of the herbs used in the drinks–mint, rosemary, lavender and basil–are grown in-house.

“The overall atmosphere on any night is busy,” Murphy said. “We have live music on Thursday nights and we have a big screen where we will show horse racing or whatever sporting event is on. There's a good buzz around the place. Everybody enjoys themselves.”

The first thing that catches any guest's eye, according Murphy, is the artwork.

Before the Horse and Jockey opened for business last year, Murphy and his partner hired Kate Lossen to help design the space. Lossen was also the curator of the collection from famed Eclipse Award-winning photographer Tony Leonard. She provided the photographs that now grace nearly every inch of wall space at Horse and Jockey.

“I think we have maybe 300 and something pictures, but they're all from Tony Leonard,” Murphy said. “Some of them are really, really unique, like we have a picture of Secretariat sitting down. There are even pictures from Ireland that he took. They're all dated and have a description of who is in the photo, so a lot of horse people come in and want to take a look.”

Other popular photos from the collection include a shot of Leslie Combs with stallions Swaps and Nashua at Spendthrift Farm, Mary Lou Whitney in the paddock at Keeneland, and an enlarged photo from 1952 that covers an entire wall and depicts mule-drawn sledges working up the track at Keeneland.

“Steve Cauthen's brother was here and said he thought there might be a picture of him,” Murphy recalled. “We looked and found a picture of Steve when he won an Eclipse Award and his brother was in it too. That was really unique, but a lot of people from the horse business come in. People from Coolmore, Darley, Shadwell, all the big horse farms, they come in to watch the racing and have Irish breakfast. They'll chat amongst themselves and they can remember everything about the horses in the pictures-when they were foaled, how much they sold for and who trained them.”

Murphy said that Breeders' Cup week last November was a busy time at the restaurant with visits from Frankie Dettori as well as some of the owners of Classic winner Authentic (Into Mischief).

“The good think about Lexington is that there's a lot of different types of restaurants that you can go to, but everybody has their own thing, their own niche,” he said. “Our niche is traditional Irish food. For people in the horse business coming into town who stop by, they'll first be intrigued by the pictures and then they'll all know each other and start talking about horses, which is great. I love listening to them.”

Several other new spots have launched in downtown Lexington recently, many of which offer a bit of horse racing flare.

Frank and Dino's -16 Minutes from Keeneland

271 W Short St. Lexington, KY 40507

A racehorse owner, trainer and breeder by day and a restaurant owner by night, Carlo Vaccarezza is a man who wears many hats. The native of Italy has lived in the U.S. for over half a decade now, making a name for himself in the country with homebred Little Mike (Spanish Steps), winner of the 2012 Breeders' Cup Turf, among others.

While his passion is horse racing, Vaccarezza is also involved in the restaurant business. Frank and Dino's, a nod to Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin, opened its first location in Boca Raton, Florida. This July, a second restaurant is set to launch in Lexington.

With an atmosphere aimed to be reminiscent of Italian-American culture in the post-war 1950s, guests can expect a lively, classy setting where they can sit back and enjoy authentic Italian cuisine. Along with an array of pasta entrees, the menu will also feature Italian fish and chicken dishes, salads and appetizers.

Greyline Station -15 Minutes from Keeneland

In the 1940s, the Greyline Station building was home to the headquarters for Southeastern Greyhound, Lexington's largest private employer. | Keeneland

101 W Loudon Ave. Lexington, KY 40508

Built in 1928, the 65,000 square foot building now known as Greyline Station was once the company headquarters for Southeastern Greyhound Lines. The structure has been mostly vacant since 1960 and was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2014. Four years later, the complex was given a makeover and modernized into what is now Greyline Station.

The building, now transformed into Lexington's first public marketplace, is home to dozens of restaurants and shops as well as an event space. Popular dining spots in the complex include The Breeze Wine Bar, which features international chocolates along with wines and spirits, North Lime Coffee and Donuts, a well-loved stop for Lexington residents, Porterhouse BBQ, Rise Up Pizza and more. A 'sip and stroll' license in the building allows visitors to grab a drink before exploring the diverse group of merchants.

ItalX–17 Minutes from Keeneland

Spaghetti Carbonara-Guanciale, egg yolk and Pecorino with housemade pasta–at ItalX. | ItalX Facebook

160 W Main St. Lexington, KY 50407

Quality is the word of the day at ItalX, where the menu is inspired by Italy's emphasis on simple, fresh, quality ingredients. Everything offered is made in-house daily-from hand-made pastas to velvety desserts. ItalX, housed in the downtown City Center development, was officially launched last October by award-winning chef and Lexington native Jonathan Lundy alongside partner TJ Cox.

Popular dishes include the Pizza Fritta appetizer with oven-roasted tomato, basil and burrata, the Candele Cacio e Pepe entree, made with toasted black pepper and Pecorino Reggiano and offered with or without truffles, and of course for dessert, Tiramisu al Marsala. An extensive wine selection is housed in a temperature-controlled wine room.

Jeff Ruby's-17 Minutes from Keeneland

The line of lawn jockeys outside of Jeff Ruby's Steakhouse displays many well-known and prominent silks. | Katie Ritz

101 W Vine St. Lexington, KY 40507

Jeff Ruby's Steakhouse opened its highly-anticipated Lexington location in the spring of 2019. With restaurants already established in Cincinnati, Nashville, Louisville and Columbus, the fine-dining company is regarded amongst food critiques for offering one the best steakhouses in the country.

A prominent restaurateur, Jeff Ruby is also known for his love of horse racing. He has been a partner in several graded stakes winners over the years and his company's logo is displayed on the pants of several top jockeys in the U.S.

Ruby was thrilled to launch his fifth location by pulling out all the stops to create a Lexington-themed atmosphere centered around bourbon, (Thoroughbred) breeding and basketball. A long line of lawn jockeys welcomes guests entering the establishment and a horseshoe-shaped bar sits in front of the stage that often features live music. Several signature rooms are graced with equine touches, including one private room specifically geared towards horse racing enthusiasts.

For more on where to stay, what to do and what's new in Lexington, click here.

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Bloodstock Start-Up Aims To Modernise Sales Process

ThoroughBid is the new kid on the block in the bloodstock auction world, offering Britain's first online-only platform for buying and selling everything from horses in training and broodmares to shares in syndicates and stallion nominations.

“It's evolution rather than revolution,” says the company's co-founder Ross Alberto, a racehorse owner who runs a commercial property and farming business in Gloucestershire.

Alberto launched ThoroughBid last week in partnership with Will Kinsey, the former amateur rider and trainer whose many roles in the bloodstock business include breeder, syndicator, agent and sales consignor.

Alberto and Kinsey have already combined successfully through their Future Bloodstock banner in the purchase of Stormy Ireland (Fr) (Motivator {GB}), winner of the G1 Mares' Champion Hurdle at the Punchestown Festival in May for their FB Racing Club, which offers micro shares.

They spoke with Emma Berry about their plans for involvement in the digital bloodstock sales market, which has recently seen a new world record set for an online auction when Funstar (Aus) (Adelaide {Ire}) was sold by Inglis for A$2.7 million.

TDN: The pandemic has really opened up the digital Thoroughbred sales market, and the established sales companies have either revamped or launched online bidding platforms. Is that good or bad for you as a company which had been planning this sales format since before March 2020?

Ross Alberto: Pre-pandemic, I got involved in owning racehorses alongside Will and I just remember the early days of buying the syndicate horses and going up to Goffs in Doncaster and thinking it was wonderful. I found it fascinating having loads of horses in one place but I found it equally confusing trying to pick your way through the catalogues and then see all the horses and remember them.

So I asked, “Is this really the only opportunity to transact?” Will said, “Well, look, there is [an] online [option] but no one really seems to do it over here.” I thought that had to be the way forward.

Then when Covid came along, and hearing Will's frustration as a breeder and a buyer and seller of horses, that's when we thought it would be a good idea and that if we didn't do it, someone else would. And, yes, the other two sales houses, Tattersalls and Goffs UK, have a sort of duopoly, and they've ended up doing it but actually what it has done is sort of credentialised it. Many vendors and purchasers have actually enjoyed the process of buying and selling online. So we think it is definitely here to stay. Tattersalls and Goffs sort of did it out of necessity rather than desire and then as time has gone on, they've seen that it works. So actually all they've done is given us more conviction to carry on with what we're doing. And there are things that we've designed, that are going to be our USP, that are slightly different to what they will offer.

[ThoroughBid] is not just a trading platform. Our terms and conditions are nigh on 50 pages long and we've spent a fortune with lawyers to make sure that both the vendor and the purchaser are protected in the process. We want to be seen as the next auction house, but purely online at this stage, which will allow us to control our costs and keep the costs that are incurred by vendors and purchasers to a relative minimum.

TDN: ThoroughBid has been announced as a sponsor of the Racing League, which starts next Thursday. How did you get involved in this new concept?

RA: We met the guys at the Racing League and we thought it was a disruptive young start-up, an enthusiastic business that works well on two folds. One, it fits with what we're trying to achieve. And two, we wanted to show our intent by becoming stakeholders in the industry and putting money directly into something along those lines. Ultimately our investment ends up rippling all the way through to prize-money and into people's pockets.

TDN: When can we expect the first ThoroughBid sale?

RA: We haven't defined a date yet, but it's going to be the end of summer. I would imagine it's going to be in September. It might be that it coincides with the end of the Racing League. We can hopefully speak to all the owners and trainers involved, and try to bring our first catalogue through sometime in early September.

We want to become known for being a company that trades regularly on a certain day. To start with we're hoping once a month, but there's no reason why it won't be every two weeks. Maybe even every week if the demand allows. That's one of our key USPs, flexibility for all, including ourselves and both vendors and purchasers.

Will Kinsey: There's nothing to stop us doing, say, a one-horse sale at the drop of a hat if that's what they wanted, but initially it's one step at a time. We'll hold our auctions on a Sunday. Everyone will know that and can get all their work done in advance. Sometimes the way a physical auction is run isn't the best for every horse in a sale, especially if you're first lot in a sale or last lot and people have not arrived, or they've left already. Obviously this format is much more flexible.

TDN: What's the entry fee for a ThoroughBid sale?

RA: It's £250 plus VAT to enter a horse. The vendor gets 100% of the sale price and there's a 5% charge to the purchaser. They can buy in almost any currency. One of the key things is the speed of the fiscal transaction, which is seven working days, unlike the others who pay 30 days after the end of the auction.

There's no credit. It's effectively taking private sales but making them public, but with the benefit of both effectively selling over the stable door and a public-facing auction. So purchasers are going to have to get used to coming up with the money a little bit quicker, but the point is that the liquidity is there to then hopefully help people get in and trade out of horses quicker.

TDN: What sort of feedback have you had so far?

RA: While people have been positive and optimistic about what we're going to be bringing forward, they say, “Well, how can I buy a horse if I haven't seen it?” The point is you've got the week or 10 days prior to assess them online, get down to your shortlist and then either go and see them yourselves or send your agent, trainer, or vet, because every horse will be available to you. That's part of our terms and conditions. But it's all done from the comfort of the stable. So trainers are not tying up staff too much, and hopefully there's an extra level of engagement there for trainers and studs to actually get people in through their doors and talk about not just that horse but other opportunities that may exist.

WK: Young trainers especially are really excited about it. I think this was coming, online selling was coming before Covid, but Covid has sped that process up. The two sales companies have proven that it works. And we wouldn't be here today if we didn't think it did.

Vendors are now really used to taking pictures and videos of their stock and I think that is going to become the norm. I have found that even at the physical sales it's great to see all that video footage beforehand because I can knock off the ones that I don't want to consider that perhaps before I would have gone to look at. So it really helps me streamline.

TDN: Do you feel there's space in the sales market for a new entity?

WK: There's not just a huge space for online selling, but for a third party. Not that Tattersalls and Goffs don't do a good job, but I think people want another option, and I think they're quite excited by a new company on the block that's offering different terms.

RA: For me as a relatively new entrant to the industry, having been involved in ownership for five or six years, I feel this has to be a fun, engaging process. And I think one part of the racing experience as an owner is the buying and even potentially the selling of the horse. As a company we want to look at that and try to make the user experience even more intuitive and immersive. And I think that we will hopefully connect owners, trainers, agents and vendors in a way that hasn't been done before.

WK: For me, racing has evolved so much even in the time I've been involved, let alone the last 50 years, but selling racehorses has never really evolved in the UK and Ireland. The store dates are still the same and the big sales are in May and June. Well, there's a lot of racing in May and June these days and the days of jump season finishing at Sandown at the end of the season and then National Hunt trainers basically having time off to go and do their business are gone. Time is probably more valuable than ever, so this is where it's a great fit for most trainers.

Primarily, we've come to this stage from a users' point of view and it's something that, as someone that works in the industry, I feel we need. But as a consignor, I'm still going to be selling horses through Tattersalls and Goffs. I don't want people to think, “Oh, there's absolutely no reason for that.” But for syndicate shares, stallion shares, nominations, all those type of things, there's flexibility.

It's also a showcase for the horse's owner or trainer. If you're selling a horse online it's a good advert for you to sell your stud, your yard, your facilities. Every time somebody fresh comes into the yard it's a great opportunity. They might come in to look at the horse and they might say, “Tell you what, I will buy the horse and I'm going to keep it with you.”

RA: We're a small business that's going to be effectively a start-up. And we hope to be still here in 10 years' time, hopefully dining at the top table with Goffs and Tattersalls and competing with them. If we can get the support of the industry behind us, then I think there are a lot of reasons to be optimistic. And look, we're trying to keep money in the game, not take it out. So I hope that people will see all the advantages of what we're bringing forward and they'll back us, because we can't do it without the horses.

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Poetic Flare Pleases Bolger Ahead of Sussex

Dual Group 1 winner Poetic Flare (Ire) (Dawn Approach {Ire}) is giving all the right signals to his trainer Jim Bolger just seven days out from the G1 Qatar Sussex S. on July 28. A winner of the G3 Killavullan S. as a juvenile, the hulking bay returned to take the Listed Ballylinch Stud “Red Rocks” 2000 Guineas Trial S. at Leopardstown on Apr. 11, and battled to a thrilling win in the G1 QIPCO 2000 Guineas at Newmarket on May 1. Although unplaced in the French equivalent on May 16, he pushed stablemate Mac Swiney (Ire) (New Approach {Ire}) all the way to the wire when second in the G1 Tattersalls Irish 2000 Guineas at The Curragh on May 22. The colt added another Group 1 laurel with an impressive 4 1/2-length victory in the G1 St James's Palace S. at Royal Ascot in June.

“Poetic Flare has been very well since the St James's Palace S.,” said Bolger. “We're very happy with his work and he seems to be improving further. I was expecting and hoping for him to win at Ascot but possibly not as spectacularly as he did.

“I felt from the spring of 2020 that he would be our best 2-year-old and as things transpired, he could only partially prove that. I did view him all along as my Guineas horse so it was very pleasing that he could prove that this year.

“He handles soft ground but he's better on good ground. He is very well balanced, so I don't think Goodwood holds any problems for him. He's a heavyweight in every regard and is over 500kg. He has a great appetite for eating and for working, he's just like his sire Dawn Approach in every way.”

Bolger added, “He has one more bit of work to get through and will then arrive at Goodwood on Monday. It's a very special race and a race I've not won before.”

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