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Vadeni to Arc; Sweet Lady to Ascot

The Aga Khan's leading 3-year-old Vadeni (Fr) (Churchill {Ire}) looks set to be seen next in the G1 Qatar Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe, it was confirmed on Wednesday.

Winner of the G1 Prix du Jockey Club and G1 Coral-Eclipse, the Jean-Claude Rouget-trained colt was most recently third behind Luxembourg (Ire) (Camelot {GB}) when sent off as favourite for the G1 Irish Champion S. It appeared after that race that Vadeni would swerve the Arc, which has been won by his owner-breeder on four occasions, most recently with Zarkava (Fr).

However, Georges Rimaud, manager of the Aga Khan Studs in France, announced that a decent forecast for Paris for the first weekend of October had swung the balance in favour of the Arc over Britain's G1 Champion S.

“All things being well, Vadeni will run in the Arc next weekend,” he said.

“Hopefully the ground will be suitable in Paris as that is an element of importance for this horse. He doesn't need good ground as such, but he doesn't need to have it very slow or deep or challenging.”

Asked whether the fact that Baaeed (GB) (Sea the Stars {Ire}) is now being aimed at a career finale in the Champion S. had swayed the decision, Rimaud added, “When making these decisions you put all the elements on the table.

“Baaeed not running in the Arc has been discussed, but it is not the primary concern. We really feel this horse needs the right ground and feel he is more likely to have what he needs in Paris rather than in Ascot. It is dependent on the forecast and things may change.”

Proven over 10 furlongs, Vadeni will be stepping up to a mile and a half for the first time in the Parisian showcase.

Rimaud said, “We will find out on the day about the distance, but we feel that with his pedigree, and his dam being by Monsun (Ger), and his sire being by Galileo (Ire), there is no evidence that he cannot stay.

“We feel he has performed very well over the mile and a quarter, but we are happy to try. Vadeni doesn't have to travel, he's at home and we'll give it a shot.”

One horse Vadeni will not now have to face at Longchamp is recent G1 Prix Vermeille winner Sweet Lady (Fr) (Lope De Vega {Ire}). Her owners Francis and Benjamin Teboul of Gemini Stud told Jour de Galop that after consultation with her trainer Francis Graffard they had opted to send the 4-year-old to Ascot for the G1 QIPCO British Champion Fillies and Mares S., giving Sweet Lady an extra two-week break between engagements.

Graffard will be represented in the Arc by the Australian 11-time Group 1 winner Verry Elleegant (NZ) (Zed {NZ}).

The post Vadeni to Arc; Sweet Lady to Ascot appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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McGivern Grasps A Golden Opportunity

“I'm on a mission to make GB great in its own right.” A statement from Britain's new prime minister, perhaps? No. Forget Westminster, and cast your mind instead to the rolling Cotswold hills that frame the area around Cheltenham.

Those words are uttered not far up the road from the home of National Hunt racing, at Overbury Stud, by the new owner of the stud's newest stallion. Jayne McGivern is unashamedly proud of her recent purchase of Golden Horn (GB), the horse who lit up the 2015 Flat season, graduating from Derby trials, to winning the Derby itself, followed by the Eclipse, the Irish Champion S. and the Arc. No prizes then for guessing that by the end of that glorious season he was made Horse of the Year.

Since those days, Golden Horn, now 10, has resided at Dalham Hall Stud on the Darley roster. But with his Flat stallion career perhaps not as explosive as it might have been hoped for, but with some eye-catching early results over jumps, he was sold this summer by his owner-breeder Anthony Oppenheimer to McGivern, whose passion for all things equine is equal to her formidable curriculum vitae in the construction industry. With a track record that includes London's Crossrail project, a major construction development at Madison Square Gardens in New York, and a seat on the board of one of the world's leading construction companies, McGivern has recently been appointed as the CEO of the Sports Boulevard Foundation in Saudi Arabia. Currently on her plate is that company's major urban regeneration of the Saudi capital, Riyadh.

Horses, then, provide a pleasurable respite during McGivern's return trips from Riyadh to the green pastures of her Dash Grange Stud, or nearby Overbury, which is temporarily home to her four broodmares and their followers. Golden Horn, meanwhile, is now a permanent resident at the latter and has been reunited with two old stablemates from his time at John and Thady Gosden's Clarehaven Stables in Jack Hobbs (GB), who was runner-up to him in the Derby, and Ardad (Ire), whose more precocious profile makes him a rather different prospect.

McGivern has been steadily making some notable purchases in her establishment of a boutique broodmare band. Queen Of The Stage (Ire) (King's Theatre {Ire}), the dam of the outstanding young hurdler Constitution Hill (GB) (Blue Bresil {Fr}), is perhaps the stand-out and was bought for €340,000 in May. Buildmeupbuttercup (GB) (Sixties Icon {GB}) was acquired last November, a year after the purchase of Jelan (Ire) (Milan {GB}), a full-sister to the Champion Hurdler Jezki (Ire). She had good reason then to wish to secure a stallion whose profile is rising fast among the National Hunt sector.

Of her mission to ensure that good stallions remains in Britain, McGivern told visitors to Overbury Stud last week as Golden Horn paraded before them, “I'm starting with the very best. I've looked for a stallion for some time and missed a couple for various reasons. I had a little go for Nathaniel and then [Newsells Park] stud got sold. But for the right reasons, I've ended up with this magnificent horse. I can pinch myself. I'm the luckiest person on the planet that he's mine. He's very intelligent and fortunately very fertile.”

Indeed he is. Golden Horn may have seen his appeal adjusting more from the Flat towards the National Hunt crowd but he has not been standing idle, and he covered more than 150 mares this spring before he left Newmarket. One of those was McGivern's treble listed-winning hurdler Buildmeupbuttercup, and while there are some smart jumping names on the list, such as L'Unique (Fr) and My Petra (GB), there are also still some Flat names to conjure with. At Overbury, which has been home to two leading first-season sires in Bertolini and Ardad, as well as multiple British champion National Hunt sire Kayf Tara (GB), it could be said that Golden Horn will have the chance to be involved in the best of both worlds.

McGivern is quick to emphasise that it is Golden Horn's genuine dual-purpose profile that appeals to her and, she hopes, to her fellow breeders. While his smattering of jumps runners to date can boast a strike-rate in excess of 60%, with 14 of his 23 representatives in this sphere having won, including the smart Grade 2 winner Stag Horn (GB), he has also had an encouraging summer on the Flat since relocating to Overbury. The thrice-raced Juddmonte filly Haskoy (GB) has won twice, including the Listed Galtres S., and may yet win back her second-past-the-post finish in the St Leger that was taken away in the stewards' room. The Andre Fabre-trained dual group winner Botanik (GB), meanwhile, is heading to the Breeders' Cup Turf, and another Godolphin representative, Trawlerman (GB), won the valuable Ebor.

“I do think that he's proving himself on the Flat and is a proper dual-purpose stallion,” says McGivern, who also owns 4% of Nathaniel (Ire), another stallion who has piqued the interest of jumps breeders but is eminently capable of siring top-class runners on the Flat.

“And I don't want to get political, but I think everybody may agree that Brexit has been a bit of a disaster for the thoroughbred breeding industry. I look at my own mares and the thought of sending them to Ireland, as we might have done some years ago, just doesn't work for me any more. It's incredibly expensive, it's a huge amount of admin, and I don't think that it's practical.”

She adds, “I have lovely mares, and I think it's really important that we start securing these terrific stallions for the United Kingdom.”

McGivern's broader-brush interests on the equine front run to the ownership of some smart eventers ridden by the current Burghley champion Piggy March. Together they won last weekend's CCI4* class for young horses at Blenheim Horse Trials with the grey stallion Halo.

“I'm fortunate enough that Pig rides for me, but really racing is my heart,” says the effervescent McGivern, who, like her husband David Crossland, previously rode in point-to-points.

“I am a National Hunt person. I love National Hunt racing. It is my passion and has been for most of my life. But that said, I'm moving to the dark side.”

It could be described as returning to the dark side, as McGivern's current horse on the Flat, the winning juvenile Sirona (Ger) (Soldier Hollow {GB}), is with Mark Johnston, whom she and Crossland previously had horses with in the 1990s. She also bid on the filly's full-brother at the recent BBAG Yearling Sale, but he was eventually bought by the Hong Kong Jockey Club.

She says of Sirona, who was recently second in the valuable British EBF Fillies' Series Final, “I'm really chuffed at the way that she's panned out. We're entering her for a listed race at the end of this month and then a Group 3 in Dusseldorf in mid-November. And then I think we'll just turn her out and see what we've got as a 3-year-old, but her pedigree's perfect for Golden Horn.”

McGivern adds, “I'm moving over into Flat racing a little bit, because this is a dual-purpose stallion by anybody's measure. If it had been six weeks later, the deal might have been slightly different, but as soon as I heard he might be available, we moved very quickly. I think I was extremely lucky to get him and he will be with me for the rest of his life.”

The post McGivern Grasps A Golden Opportunity appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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Inns Of Court Colt Lights Up Tattersalls Ireland

RATOATH, Ireland–John and Jess Dance continued their recruitment drive on day one of the Tattersalls Ireland September Yearling Sale, signing for three colts, including the €110,000 session-topper by Tally-Ho Stud's first-season sire Inns Of Court (Ire).

Having struck for colts by Mehmas (Ire) and Invincible Army (Ire)–lots 33 and 34–early in the afternoon, the husband-and-wife team added the Mountain View Stud-drafted colt (lot 187) to their team, signed for by Ed Sackville on behalf of Manor House Farm.

Sackville said, “He is a lovely stamp of a horse and a really big, strong and imposing type. I have never seen so many people bid on one horse.

“Inns Of Court is an unproven stallion, but he is by a proven sire of sires in Invincible Spirit (Ire). If he is anything like Tally-Ho Stud's recent first-season sires then he is going to have a very good chance of being successful. I would hope we are safe hands.”

The day's top lot is out of Silk Fan (Unfuwain), a three-time winning and twice listed-placed filly who reached a rating of 95 in her pomp and has become a proven producer of talent as a broodmare.

He was bred by the Silk Fan Syndicate, who have almost exclusively sent the mare to Tally-Ho stallions in recent years, with a filly foal by Inns Of Court on the ground and the mare reported to be in foal to Starman (GB).

Silk Fan is the dam of seven winners, including the Group 3-placed Haikbidiac (Ire) (Kodiac {GB}), and is a half-sister to the G2 Flying Childers S. winner Gutaifan (Ire).

 


John and Jess Dance paid €80,000 for the Mehmas colt from Grove Stud and €65,000 for Yeomanstown Stud's Invincible Army colt, bringing their total spend on day one to €255,000.

Manor House Farm spent more on average at €85,000 than anyone else did at Fairyhouse on Tuesday but Joe Foley came out top on overall spend at €278,000 for four lots on a day where the strong demand that was seen for yearlings at Arqana, Goffs UK and Tattersalls continued.

Not only did Inns Of Court supply the top lot on the day, but he also ended proceedings on day one as the leading stallion on overall figures, with the seven lots consigned by him netting an average of €37,857. The total spend on the seven lots was €265,000, just €10,000 more than the six yearlings by Sioux Nation made in total at a higher average of €42,500.

Another first-season sire, Invincible Army, came out well on the figures with five yearlings recording an average of €50,600 and a hugely respectable total of €253,000.

Of the 230 yearlings offered on day one, just 28 were led out unsold, representing a clearance rate of 88%. Total spend was down 5% on last year from €6,807,434 to €6,436,000 but the median was up 15% to €27,000 and the average was also up 5% to €31,861.

 

 

Tallon Strikes Gold

Relief was the overriding emotion experienced by Michael Tallon after lot 57, a colt by Havana Gold (Ire), fetched €95,000 less than a year after the consignor picked the beautiful chestnut up for just 19,000gns at the Tattersalls December Sale at Newmarket.

“It's pure relief. That is probably the best way to put it as we were a little bit apprehensive before the sale,” Tallon said.

“So many things can go wrong from the time you buy them as foals to when you get them to the yearling sales. When you get them here, you can only hope the buyers turn up.”

And that they did. Joseph O'Brien, Ross Doyle and Kevin Ross all fought hard for the Havana Gold colt. But it was Ross who wanted him most at €95,000.

“I'll tell you what gave us great confidence, Tallon said, “was the number of vets he had. We knew there were a lot of people interested in him and I didn't hear one bad comment about the horse from anyone inspecting him. Everybody was very complimentary of him.”

Streets Of Gold (Ire) has done his bit to highlight the prowess of Havana Gold as a sire in recent times by extending his winning sequence to four in the valuable Tattersalls-sponsored sales race at the Curragh on Irish Champions Weekend.

El Caballo (GB) has also flown the flag for the Group 1-winning stallion this season and Tallon has long felt that his colt can do his bit for the Tweenhills resident when he hits the track.

“As soon as I saw this fella at Newmarket, I liked him. He was stabled down in Solario and, when I spotted him on the Friday, I thought he was a racehorse. Saturday was a dirty afternoon and everybody must have been in the bar. I can remember standing in the rain and watching him–the stride on him was tremendous. He had a great walk and, while he had a good page, it wasn't exceptional, but he had a great presence about him.”

Tallon added, “Percentage-wise, this is up there with one of my best results in racing, to turn 19,000gns into €95,000. One good result can pay for the rest of them. We're delighted and the best could yet be to come because we have a lovely Havana Grey colt (GB) [lot 265] to sell tomorrow.”

 

 

Footstepsinthesand Yearling Walks The Walk

Much of the pre-sale chat revolved around lot 176, the Footstepsinthesand (GB) half-brother to recent G1 Flying Five S. runner-up Erosandpsyche (Ire) (Sepoy {Aus}), consigned by the talented sprinter's owners, Mark Dreeling and Barbara Fonzo of Coole House Farm.

It was John and Sheila Lavery (brother and sister) who struck the winning bid at €100,000, with the trainer revealing that she thinks the price tag represented value.

Lavery said, “This horse was the standout for us–he has a lovely attitude, he was up here watching everything with his ears, looking around but going forward the whole time. He is a very straightforward horse. He is for John and I will train for him. We will know this time next year if he is value or not but I think we got value.”

Lavery added, “He is a big horse, but he looks forward enough, but until you put the saddle on their backs and start to canter them you don't know whether they will be early sorts or not.”

Fonzo told the TDN on Tuesday about how Coole House Farm came to acquire the Group 3-placed Sciolina (Ire) (Oratorio), the dam of Erosandpsyche and listed winner Some Respect (Ire). Dreeling couldn't hide his delight over the hammer falling Lavery's way at €100,000 and labelled the trainer as one of the best in the business.

   “The horse is going to a brilliant trainer-Sheila Lavery is a top-class trainer,” he said. “She loves him, she came to see him four or five times. The Danehill and Footstepsinthesand cross is a very successful and proven cross which is why we decided on the stallion for the mare–and we are also huge fans of Footsteps, we have been so lucky with him. This will help pay the bills and keeps the operation going.”

 

  

Life-Changing Result For Joy

A quick glance at Laura Joy's Twitter bio and you will see the words, 'aspiring pinhooker.' Well, Joy needn't use the word aspiring anymore after transforming her Tasleet (GB) colt (lot 125) from a 2,000gns foal into a €43,000 yearling.

It was the type of result that even the shrewdest of pedigree buffs would have been proud of and, for Joy, she described the sale as 'life-changing.' Not least because the Tipperary-based Business and Law graduate recently bought a house near Fethard.

There is also the small matter of a car loan that needed paying off, but such financial concerns were confined to the rear-view mirror as soon as that hammer fell the way of Highflyer Bloodstock for the Boherguy Stud-drafted yearling.

Joy said, “It's genuinely a life-changing amount of money. He was bought by Anthony Bromley of Highflyer, who is probably one of the best judges in the game, so I'm delighted.”

She added, “He didn't sell for 5,000gns at the December Sale at Tattersalls and my good friend Padraic Gahan brought me down to see him. The owner didn't want to bring him home so we were able to get him bought for 2,000gns.

“There was nothing wrong with him but I suppose people were a bit cold on the sire at the time because he didn't cover a lot of mares and maybe they were wondering if he'd take off or not.

“I wasn't as worried, though, because I worked for William Haggas and then for Shadwell so I was a fan of Tasleet. Then, when Bradsell (GB) (Tasleet {GB}) came along and won the Coventry, that was probably the best day of my life.”

Jerry Horan, one of the main men behind the Tattersalls Ireland Goresbridge Breeze-up Sale-topper Brasil Power (Fr) (Dark Angel) in 2021, came to Joy's rescue back in January when her car broke down.

After taking a half-share in the colt when Joy needed him most, it was Horan who should have been thanking his good friend on Tuesday.

Joy said, “Jerry came in on the horse when my car broke down as I needed the money. We've been friends for a long time so it's great that it worked out. I have since bought a new car recently so the horse has paid for that.”

 

Condon Keeps It In The Family

Ken Condon made the Classic breakthrough when delivering Romanised (Ire), a son of Holy Roman Emperor (Ire), at fever pitch in the 2018 Irish 2000 Guineas and the Curragh-based trainer added a powerful colt (lot 91) by that sire to his string for €80,000.

Like Romanised, who now stands Haras de Bouquetot, lot 91 will carry the colours of Robert Ng after being snapped up from Lodge Park Stud.

The trainer said, “He is a very nice colt, from a good farm, he has a lot of size and quality about him and is an easy mover. He has been bought for Robert Ng, and he does come from the further family of Romanised so that was a big help, but he is a lovely individual in his own right.”

Condon added, “He handled himself well through all the proceedings. We will get him home and our own people will break him in and he will come into the main yard in January.”

The post Inns Of Court Colt Lights Up Tattersalls Ireland appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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Daughter Of Promising Lead Stars In Intriguing Kempton Affair

Observations on the European Racing Scene turns the spotlight on the best European races of the day, highlighting well-pedigreed horses early in their careers, horses of note returning to action and young runners that achieved notable results in the sales ring. Wednesday's Observations features a daughter of Group 1 winner Promising Lead (GB) (Danehill).

6.15 Kempton, Novice, £9,900, 3yo/up, f/m, 8fT
LAUREL (GB) (Kingman {GB}) held an entry in Friday's Listed Rosemary S. at Newmarket, but John and Thady Gosden have opted for this lighter task for the Juddmonte homebred. A daughter of the G1 Pretty Polly S. heroine Promising Lead (GB) (Danehill), the bay who made a striking impression on debut at that Suffolk venue in July meets another blueblood in Shaikh Nasser Al Khalifa and KHK Racing's fellow Newmarket debut winner Pure Dignity (GB) (Dubawi {Ire}). The Roger Varian-trained €2.5-million Arqana Deauville September Sale topper is a half-sister to Sottsass (Fr) (Siyouni {Fr}), Sistercharlie (Ire) (Myboycharlie {Ire}) and My Sister Nat (Fr) (Acclamation {GB}).

 

2.42 Chantilly, Debutantes, €27,000, 2yo, c/g, 8fT
KOVANOF (GB) (Dubawi {Ire}) is a son of the G3 Prix Cleopatre winner and G1 Prix de Diane third Terrakova (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) and therefore a grandson of the brilliant Goldikova (Ire) (Anabaa) who represents the Wertheimer-Carlos Laffon-Parias link. Among his peers is The Aga Khan's Beshtani (Fr) (Siyouni {Fr}), a Francis-Henri Graffard-trained relative of the G1 Grand Prix de Paris winner Behkabad  (Fr) (Cape Cross {Ire}).

 

3.52 Chantilly, Debutantes, €27,000, 2yo, f, 8fT
ROSIR (FR) (Style Vendome {Fr}) is a half-sister to last year's G1 Prix de l'Opera heroine Rougir (Fr) (Territories {Ire}) who represents Haras de la Gousserie and Guy Pariente and the Francis-Henri Graffard stable in another intriguing contest on the card. Also in the line-up Is Al Shira'aa Farms' Jannah Rose (Ire) (Frankel {GB}), a Carlos Laffon-Parias-trained half-sister to the G2 Lanwades Stud S. winner Creggs Pipes  (Ire) (Rip Van Winkle {Ire}) who was a €650,000 purchase at Goffs Orby.

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