And so it proved after the colt was knocked down to Anthony Stroud on behalf of Godolphin. Bought for 125,000gns from the Ogden family's dispersal at Book 1 last year, the already-named Anno Domini (GB) (lot 26) was one of the big eyecatchers from Monday's breeze that took place in some of the most challenging weather conditions that many key stakeholders said they could remember. 

After out-muscling BBA Ireland's Mick Donohoe, who filled the role as underbidder, Stroud explained how he empathised with some of the consignors and even the horses for negotiating such terrible weather conditions during the breeze.

“Struck early, go home early,” Stroud said, referencing the contrasting approach to last year's sale, where he was forced to stay to the bitter end to secure the joint-top lots, including what turned out to be the unbeaten superstar Vandeek (GB) (Havana Grey {GB}). 

Asked if he saw the colt last year, Stroud answered, “I did see him as a yearling. I probably should have bought him as a yearling, shouldn't I!? But sometimes, it's better to leave them and come back. It's good to keep the whole business rolling on. He is a very nice horse and did a very good breeze. Katie Walsh does a fantastic job. We're delighted to get him.”

He continued, “I thought it was really hard on consignors and mostly the horses [on Monday]. It was really hard. I think I would probably be more flexible in looking at the weather charts but it's difficult when you have people coming in on the Monday for the breeze to go and switch it for another day. I have never seen it that bad.

“Also, I sometimes think the concentration required for that length of time [during the breeze] is difficult. I don't know if you want to go and have them on two separate days but I do think that, if you are breezing 180 horses, it's difficult for everyone. If the weather had been really nice, it would have all worked out.”

The New Bay colt really was one of the big talking horses coming into the sale and he didn't disappoint. Stroud, who did his bidding at the back wall, held off the persistent challenge of Donohoe in the bidders' area, but there was a moment of confusion before the hammer fell.

Double checking with auctioneer John O'Kelly that it was, in fact, he who had placed the winning bid, the bloodstock agent was met with a typically witty response. 

“Don't worry sir, I'm an auctioneer–I'm here to look after you,” O'Kelly joked. 

As for Walsh, topping sales is something she has done in the past, but there was an extra layer of satisfaction to Tuesday's result given she owned a large chunk of the colt. 

“I can't believe it, really,” Walsh said. “But I guess I did dream a little bit as he had cost 125,000gns and he has the pedigree. The people who are into pedigrees couldn't knock him on it. He made sense on paper and then when he breezed well and vetted well, I knew we had a chance of getting a touch.”

She added, “In the moments after a big sale it is all a bit of a whirlwind as the phone is ringing from home, and you want to ring everyone, but it is brilliant–it's great for everyone. We are a family-run business with my sister Jennifer, my Mum and Dad, and my husband Ross. We are all in it together–as well as all the lads at home.”

Anno Domini hails from the Galileo (Ire) mare Alegra, who has produced five winners, including Listed scorers Pythagoras and Blue Gardenia.

Anthony Stroud goes to 525,000gns on behalf of @godolphin for the only New Bay in the #TattsCraven catalogue, consigned by @katiewalsh9's Greenhills Farm.

A ½-brother to Stakes winners Pythagoras and Blue Gardenia, the colt was bought for 125,000gns at #TattsOctober Book 1. pic.twitter.com/elg1Kigv8V

— Tattersalls (@Tattersalls1766) April 16, 2024

Collins's Pinatubo Colt Off To Paddy Twomey

Paddy Twomey doesn't hang about. Along with his stable jockey Billy Lee, the leading Irish trainer day-tripped it to Newmarket on Monday before scouting the barns to catch a glimpse of the horses who caught his eye in the breeze.

Back at his base in Golden, County Tipperary on Tuesday, where he opened his yard to the Irish press, Twomey snapped up a colt by exciting first-season sire Pinatubo (Ire) from Johnny Collins's Brown Island Stables for 220,000gns through bloodstock agent Mark McStay. 

The Pinatubo colt proved to be one of the big hits on day one. Bought by Collins for 68,000gns from New England Stud at Book 2, he ended the session as the third highest-priced lot and will carry the colours of Mohammed Al Suboosi on the racetrack.

“It's great,” said Collins. “He's going to a very good trainer and I hope he's very lucky for him. He has a great temperament, he's a straightforward kind of horse. He breezed very well and showed very well all week and was just a pleasure to deal with.”

McStay and Twomey have teamed up with a good degree of success at the breeze-up sales and the bloodstock agent explained how the pair came to land on lot 22. 

The agent said, “He's been purchased for a very good client based in Dubai called Mohammed Al Suboosi who already owns some nice horses with Paddy–Procrastinate (GB) (Siyouni {Fr}), another breeze-up horse, and Noche Magica (Ire) (Night Of Thunder {Ire}), who'll come back for a sprinting campaign this year.”

McStay added, “We had a very select list and combined all our thoughts and this was the horse we hit on. I think the sire could be very promising and the mare has already done it by breeding Mrs Gallagher (GB) (Oasis Dream {GB}). The colt came recommended by Johnny Collins, who I've known for a long time. His recommendation counts for a lot so I'm delighted to get this colt.”

O'Callaghan Begins With A Bang

Michael O'Callaghan makes no secret about the fact that he prefers to stock his Kildare-based stable with breeze-up horses rather than shopping at the yearling sales. The trainer struck early in the sale for a Mehmas (Ire) half-brother to the Aidan O'Brien-trained Coventry S. winner and Classic hopeful River Tiber (Ire) (Wootton Bassett {GB}) for 300,000gns. 

Consigned by Willie Browne's Mocklershill Stables, lot 6 got the sale off to a roaring start, with O'Callaghan revealing that he was taken by the professionalism of the colt's breeze. 

He said, “The horse has a great pedigree. He's a half-brother to River Tiber and it's a very good cross with Mehmas and an Arcano (Ire) mare–Supremacy (Ire) is the very same. He's been bought for an existing client.”

O'Callaghan added, “He was up early and, not long after he breezed, things were delayed because of the weather. The weather was bad so he was very professional and we're delighted to get him. Hopefully he can be a nice horse.”

The #TattsCraven Breeze Up has started with a bang as @MDOCallaghan goes to 300,000gns for @Mocklershill1's Mehmas ½-brother to the Coventry winner and Prix Morny third River Tiber. pic.twitter.com/d71OOz9iDj

— Tattersalls (@Tattersalls1766) April 16, 2024

Talking Points

• Cormac Farrell told TDN Europe this week that his dream was to emulate top breeze-up handlers Willie Browne, Con Marnane, Norman Williamson and Eddie O'Leary by producing a champion. The Copper Beech Stables-based consignor, who went out on his own under the banner of CF Bloodstock last year, couldn't have wished for a better start to the 2024 breeze-up campaign when his Hello Youmzain (Fr) colt [lot 12] was knocked down to Blandford Bloodstock for 200,000gns. Bought for 58,000gns at Book 2, Tuesday's result represented a respectable profit for the man who sold top-notch prospect Bracken's Laugh (Ire) (Zoffany {Ire}) at Tattersalls last year.
• The Rancho Temescal Thoroughbred Partners have lit up Park Paddocks in recent times and, in snapping up lot 20, a Havana Grey (GB) filly consigned by Cian Hughes, the American outfit got in on the action once again. Interestingly, the 180,000gns purchase will go into training with Newmarket-based handler, Dylan Cunha. 
• Mick Donohoe may have been out of luck on the day's top lot but he didn't come away from Tattersalls empty-handed after picking up a City Of Light colt for 210,000gns and a Good Magic filly for 65,000gns. Both horses were bought for Saudi Arabian clients. The BBA Ireland agent said, “I bought two horses for Saudi Arabia today and hope to do a bit more business here tomorrow as well. I have been travelling to Saudi Arabia for 20 years now so you could say that the hard yards are paying off. I actually underbid the New Bay that topped the sale. He probably would have stayed in Britain before eventually going to Saudi Arabia but, anyway, we couldn't get it done.” He added, “We're very happy with the two horses we bought today. The City Of Light colt is a brother to a horse [Rational Choice (Candy Ride {Arg})] who has done very well out there and was a very good individual. The Good Magic filly was good value at 65,000gns and she has a good pedigree being a sister to a Group 3 winner. Happy with the day's business.”
• Donohoe wasn't the only man representing Saudi Arabian interests at Tattersalls. Lot 46, a Knockanglass Stables-consigned colt by Munnings, went the way of Marco Bozzi for SBS Global. Bozzi said, “We saw the horse in Ireland last week and really liked him. The Prince likes Munnings and we know the family. So we think he is a good prospect to run in Saudi Arabia. He will go to Ireland for now and then ship over in August.”
• It wasn't all a bed of roses on day one. Of the 75 horses offered, 53 were sold, representing a clearance rate of 71%. The aggregate was down 14% to 5,589,500gns, the median stayed the same at 77,000gns and the average dropped 4% to 105,462gns.

The Golden Touch: Lot 78
Filly by King Of Change (GB) out of Greatest Virtue (GB) (Poet's Voice {GB})
Consigned by Donovan Bloodstock 
Purchased by Sheikh Abdullah Almalek Alsabah
Danny O'Donovan and Adam Potts deserve some credit for turning lot 78, who was the cheapest yearling sold at Book 1 at 8,000gns, into a 80,000gns breezer. The filly is from the family of Sole Power (GB) and certainly caught the eye of some good judges by how well she breezed. In the end, the hammer fell the way of Sheikh Abdullah Almalek Alsabah [owner of Haatem (Ire) (Phoenix Of Spain {Ire})], securing a healthy profit for the two lads. 

Thought For The Day

Consignors might well have come away from day one of this year's Craven Breeze-Up Sale suffering from a heavy dose of deja-vu. The patchiness that dominated on day one 12 months ago was back again, which was represented in a clearance rate of 71%.

The post Craven Sale: Walsh In Dreamland As Godolphin Goes To 525k For New Bay Colt  appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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There is Group 1 winner Bucanero Fuerte (GB) (Wootton Bassett {GB}) leading Derby entrants Mr Hampstead (Galileo {Ire}) and Padesha (Fr) (Wootton Bassett {GB}). And who's that lobbing along in behind? Potential Dubai World Cup runner Elegant Man (Arrogate) and Qipco Champion S. hero King Of Steel (Wootton Bassett {GB}) add to what is a star-studded string. 

There are days where you might head to the racecourse and not see one horse as good as any of those mentioned above. But this is just a normal day in the life of Robson Aguiar, leading breeze-up handler, pre-trainer and more recently assistant trainer to Adrian Murray. 

A man of many hats is Aguiar, who is in no way short of ambition. He came to Ireland in 2006 with nothing and, after cutting his teeth at Ballydoyle followed by Tally-Ho Stud, quickly established himself as one of the best judges of equine talent in the business. 

The buying and selling of horses like The Lir Jet (Ire) (Prince Of Lir {Ire}), Star Of Emaraaty (Ire) (Pride Of Dubai {Aus}), Summer Sands (GB) (Coach House {Ire}), Queen Jo Jo (GB) (Gregorian {Ire}), Shantisara (Ire) (Coulsty {Ire}) and more got Aguiar's name in lights. It didn't take long for Kia Joorabchian of Amo Racing to take stock of those achievements and, in a little over three years working together, the pair has achieved Royal Ascot success with G2 Norfolk S. winner Valiant Force (Malibu Moon) and a breakthrough Group 1 victory with Phoenix S. scorer Bucanero Fuerte. 

The best may yet be come for the operation with Bucanero Fuerte facing a crucial gallop in a fortnight's time to determine whether he goes straight to Newmarket for the 2,000 Guineas or reverts in trip for races like the Commonwealth Cup, while the team is well-stacked in the fillies' department with Ornellaia (GB) (Night Of Thunder {Ire}) and Persian Dreamer (Calyx {GB}) firmly on course for the 1,000 Guineas. 

“The money I got for him and then Star Of Emaraaty is the money I used to buy this farm. Those two horses paid for this place,” – Robson Aguiar

Aguiar said, “I brought Bucanero Fuerte away to the Curragh last Sunday. It was only a light canter but he went well and we will bring him back there in about two weeks' time where he will work on the grass. After that, we will make a decision on whether he goes for the 2,000 Guineas or the Commonwealth Cup but I think he will get the mile no problem. That's what I hope. If we think he's a Guineas horse, he will go straight there.

“The favourite City Of Troy (Justify) is a very good horse and will be hard to beat. But, if you look at Bucanero's best form, it is very good as well. He beat genuine Group 1 horses in Porta Fortuna (Ire) (Caravaggio) and Unquestionable (Fr) (Wootton Bassett {GB}) in the Phoenix Stakes. City Of Troy hasn't beaten a Group 1 horse by four lengths but Bucanero has. But I respect City Of Troy a lot. To be honest, he looks like he will be hard to beat.”

On the fillies, Aguiar added, “I think Ornellaia and Persian Dreamer will run in the 1,000 Guineas. The 1,000 Guineas looks a bit more open than the 2,000 Guineas and we are happy with both fillies.”

There are so many lots to be ridden this morning that Aguiar says he's lost count but the number is said to be somewhere between 10 and 14. That's before making a mad dash to Dublin airport in order to catch a flight to England where he will meet up with Joorabchian for dinner before having a sit on some of the youngsters coming through the Amo Racing system in other yards the following day. 

Along with Murray, Aguiar may be overseeing the careers of a galaxy of young stars at his base just outside Mullingar, but there is nothing fancy about how he gets the job done with Dunlop wellies the order of the day.

“When you go to Newmarket, you will find a lot of fancy riding boots, but they cannot ride,” Aguiar jokes about his footwear of choice. “Yes, they have nice boots, but they cannot ride. It's like a soccer player with fancy football boots. They're not the good players.” 

That's not the only football reference throughout the morning with Joorabchian, who first shot to prominence in the sporting pantheon as the agent who looked after Argentinian soccer stars Carlos Tevez and Javier Mascherano, being said to be sometimes guilty of viewing racing as “one big football game.” 

However, Aguiar is quick to point out that even in football, the amount you spend in the transfer market does not have a direct correlation to getting results on the pitch with big spenders and serial underachievers Paris Saint-Germain put forward as the most glaring example of that.

One thing Aguiar cannot be accused of is spending over the odds. It was the small-money buys that got his business off the ground and, while he does not plan on sending many horses to the breeze-up sales this year, there is no shortage of trade being done at this place with Natalia Lupini, Middleham Park Racing and Nick Bradley buying privately from him in the past couple of weeks alone. 

“I will have a few horses in the Craven Sale and we will see how that goes but I won't have as many for the breeze-ups this year. I am able to get good money for horses on the private market and I have a lot of my own clients that I need to keep happy every year. Some people will ring me looking for a 75-rated filly and I will ask for a 75-rated filly's price and other people will ring asking for a good colt and I will charge what I think the horse is worth. You need to earn people's trust but we've sold a lot of nice horses privately-Kitty Rose (GB) (Invincible Army {Ire}) to Natalia Lupini, Oscula (Ire) (Galileo Gold {GB}) to Nick Bradley and Brave Emperor (Ire) (Sioux Nation) to Middleham Park Racing. They've all bought horses off me this year again.”

Back out on the gallops, it's Aguiar in the plate aboard Bucanero Fuerte while his brother-in-law Jose-a dead ringer for David Loughnane-who has the pleasure of steering King Of Steel through his morning paces. Aguiar reports the Group 1 winner to be “very strong” and suggests he will be ready to return to trainer Roger Varian in the coming weeks.

He explained, “King Of Steel looks well. He did very well for us last year and he has come back very strong. He should return to Roger Varian very soon and he can decide what he wants to do with the horse this year.”

Fellow four-year-old Elegant Man, who has been earning his stripes quietly on the all-weather during the winter, could be another older horse to follow this season, according to the 42-year-old.

Aguiar said, “He is entered in the Dubai World Cup but I don't know if he will get in or not. His form is working out well. He was second to Rebel's Romance (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}) at Kempton in December and that horse has won a Group 3 in Qatar since. Elegant Man is still a big baby but I think he could be a very special horse in time. If he doesn't go to Dubai, we might run him in the Devoy Stakes at Naas at the end of March and start his campaign for the year on grass. I think he will handle the grass. If he does, he could end up being a Group 1 horse. Arrogate is dead so, if Elegant Man could win a Group 1 race on the grass, he could be a very interesting stallion prospect. That's the dream.”

It wasn't always this way for Aguiar. He's had to work hard to get to where he is now, working closely with stallion prospects and black-type fillies, but there were times where he doubted if it may happen at all. 

He explained, “I came to Ireland in 2006 with nothing. It was not easy and it took a lot of hard work. I had to go to the sales and buy whatever it was that everybody else didn't want and then try to make a good horse out of what was left over. Now, I go to the sales and buy whatever I think is the best horse at the right money. But before, I could only buy the ones that other people didn't want. 

“The Lir Jet and Star Of Emaraaty, they changed everything for me. I think I would have been f****d without them because I sold them during Covid. There were no sales, barely any racing and I had 25 horses who I had to pay rent for and everything else on top of that. I got The Lir Jet going and sent him to Michael Bell. We got him sold privately before he made his debut but he failed the vet. I said to myself, 'oh my God, this can't be happening.' 

“We entered him at Yarmouth and I asked Silvestre [de Sousa] to ride him for me. I told him to treat the horse like a three-year-old and he did. He broke the track record first time out. Two minutes later, I have about five missed calls from agents trying to buy him because in that year, you had to nominate your horses for the two-year-old races at Royal Ascot. Michael Bell nominated him and he was one of the favorites for the Norfolk Stakes, which he went on and won for Qatar Racing. That was very important for me. The money I got for him and then Star Of Emaraaty is the money I used to buy this farm. Those two horses paid for this place.” 

The one constant in Aguiar's progression has been his close association with Tally-Ho Stud's Roger O'Callaghan. The Brazilian native refers to the O'Callaghans, whose famous farm is less than 10 minutes of a drive away, as being “like family” to him.

He said, “Roger O'Callaghan helped me a lot, I have to be honest about that. At that time, when there was no racing, no nothing, I told him I had no more money left. He told me not to worry about that and to put my head down and get to work. He told me, 'whatever you need, I'll support you.' That was a big help to me, to have someone like Roger in my corner helping me. It gave me a lot of confidence. The O'Callaghans are like family to me and have helped me a lot. 

“I learned a lot at Ballydoyle but Tally-Ho is where I got a lot of confidence to go and practice what I learned. Every day you are learning in this game. Aidan O'Brien was the same. Every year, he would train the horses a different way. He changes every year. He is learning as well as us. As soon as you think you know everything about a horse, you are gone.”

That's the sort of drive that sustains an operation as big as this. The hunger in Aguiar is palpable, borderline inspirational, and you have to take your hat off to a man who has grabbed every opportunity that has ever been presented to him and left nothing but crumbs on the table. 

He said, “I have always been ambitious but the younger generation don't want to work nowadays. They want to sit on their phones all day. When I was younger, we didn't have phones, we had to play outside. Nowadays, all we get is lazy people and soft people. Everybody is getting this and that. We never had time to think about such problems. We had to work to survive. Things come too easy to people now. If you give a person of 14 or 15 years of age a job, you'll get jail.”

What age did you start to work?

“When I could walk! When I was six or seven years old, I was already helping out on the farm. Seriously. My Dad used to milk cows back home in Brazil. At that time, everything was done by hand. You could get 150 litres of milk every day by hand. It was a lot of work. In the evenings, I used to go and separate the calves from the cows with my brother. Even at six or seven, you needed to use your brain because, if you made a mistake, there was trouble.”

Through his association with Amo Racing and now Murray, Aguiar has had a taste of what it is like to dine at the top table. Make no mistake, he's hungry for more. 

“I have a very good relationship with Adrian,” he says. “We trust each other and, at the moment, his strike-rate is very good so I'd like to think I have been able to help him because he came to me a few years ago saying that he was thinking about not renewing his licence but I told him not to panic and to sit tight. I have known Adrian for a long time now. I bought Shes Ranger (Ire) (Bushranger {Ire}) for him at the breeze-ups back in 2016 and I rode her to win for him on the Flat at Dundalk. Before that, he didn't even have his Flat licence. Shes Ranger went on to finish third in a Group 3 at Leopardstown before being sold.”

He added, “I think we are only just starting. We need to start selling a few more at the horses-in-training sales and qualifying horses better as well. A lot of horses will go to the horses-in-training sales in July and October. There is no point in us having a horse rated 90. What are you going to do with a 90-rated horse? We want Group 1 colts and black-type fillies. We don't want handicappers. We will have between 50 and 60 two-year-olds in training in Europe and America this year. My big aim is for us to become more competitive in Ireland. You look at the Group races in Ireland and it's Aidan O'Brien, Joseph O'Brien, Donnacha O'Brien and then Paddy Twomey. My ambition is to help Kia and Adrian to take our horses to those big races.”

And what will it mean to them if they achieve that Classic dream?

“One day we will do it,” he says without flinching. “When I first started working with Kia, the main thing he wanted was a winner at Royal Ascot. He also wanted a Breeders' Cup winner and a Group 1 winner. We nearly got all three last year. Now, we want a Classic winner. That's the dream and hopefully one day we can do it.”

The post ‘I Came To Ireland With Nothing – Now, Winning A Classic Is The Dream’ appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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Like David, Tally-Ho Stud has taken years of hard chiseling but you must be living in Lalaland if you think Tony O'Callaghan is a man for slowing down and taking in all that has been achieved. 

If there's one thing O'Callaghan hates more than arrogance it's idleness. With 200 mares on the farm, considerably more yearlings and foals coming through the system, a sizable breeze-up consignment and, of course, the bread and butter that are the stallions to tend to, there isn't a whole pile of time left over in a day for slacking. 

But what drives a man, who has an uncanny knack of avoiding questions he doesn't want to answer–including those about his age–to attack each morning the same as his sons Roger, 43, and Henry, 41?

“I like action,” he says, unapologetically. “I do. They say there are two chairs you should never sit in; the electric chair and the armchair. They're not putting me into a bin any time soon! Why do some people live to do nothing? I can never understand it.”

The O'Callaghans live for the game. When Kodiac, the horse Roger describes as being “the man who paid for the place” strides out of his box, the lads wear a smile that neither sex nor drugs could supply. 

Tony O'Callaghan: “When the bad year comes, suck it up and move on.” | Tattersalls

Apparently “there's a queue of breeders” wanting to use Kodiac's Group 1-winning son Good Guess, who is new to the roster for 2024, but it wasn't always like this. Before Kodiac, Mehmas, Cotai Glory, Inns Of Court, Persian Force, Starman and now Good Guess, there were tougher times at Tally-Ho.

Blues Traveller and Mac's Imp are some of the earliest hard luck stories. Both stallions met a premature end just as their stock were starting to get going. Danetime, too, was on the cusp of becoming a proper stallion when he died whilst covering on Southern Hemisphere time in Australia. Red Clubs and more recently Society Rock are others who never got a fair crack.

“Danetime was when things started to happen for us,” Tony explains. “Then we got a list of them. Society Rock was doing well when he died and Sir Prancealot did okay as well, but Kodiac was the one who really took off.”

He added, “Danetime might have done the same thing, you know. He was only nine when he died. He had the winner of the Prix Morny two years running—Myboycharlie and then Bushranger. That was a shock when he died.”

So you could say it has been a triumph of perseverance?

“Oh we've kept at it. We've never changed direction. When the bad year comes, suck it up and move on.”

For many people in this industry, 2023 will go down as a bad year. The smaller breeder, who has been a huge part of the success story here, struggled on the whole. But if it's sympathy you're after at the O'Callaghan family's kitchen table, or as Tony's wife Anne describes it, “the engine room,” you've come to the wrong place. 

“It's up to you as a breeder to correct things and not go around blaming everyone bar yourself,” Tony says. “Some people will switch off and become disillusioned. I never get disillusioned no matter how bad the sales are. I never come home disillusioned. I come home blaming myself.”

There may be a lack of sympathy on offer but there's no shortage of encouragement. The business model is simple; try to make everyone–big or small–a winner.

Henry explains, “We're in this for the long haul and we don't take shortcuts. We try to treat people right and, if we both win, that's how you really succeed. There can be repeat business if that happens.”

It is an honourable way of conducting business. And it is one of the reasons why Ger Lyons named Tony The Gent after the man himself. A Whatsapp message to the trainer confirmed as much.

“He was, because in the dictionary beside the word gentleman, you see a picture of Tony O'C,” comes the reply from Lyons, swiftly followed by, “lovely family that.”

There can be a price to be paid when only dealing in facts, though. Some will confuse the no-nonsense approach to business as being cold but the reality is the complete opposite. 

It was this scribe's great pleasure to kill more than a few hours with Roger in Cincinnati Airport during a layover on the way home from the Breeders' Cup a couple of years back.

When a young couple across the bar endured a nightmare episode when both of their cards declined, it was Roger who thought nothing of jumping into action to settle the bill of the two people he'd never set eyes on before in order to prevent further blushes.

'That's my good deed done for the year,' he chirped, before sitting back down at the table. A chip off the old block.

The similarities between Roger and his old man was clear to be seen at the Tattersalls Ireland September Yearling Sale last year as well. Less than 48 hours after Tally-Ho and Archie St George turned a $550,000 Into Mischief colt foal purchase into a $1.8-million yearling, O'Callaghan was back to the grindstone.

A simple, 'well done in America, Roger,' was met with a, 'now on to the next one,' in that inimitable droll tone. Insatiable. 

Tony and Anne O'Callaghan | Tattersalls

Anne comments on what drives her boys, “We're the lucky ones. We're the ones who have something to achieve and to look forward to every day. Imagine grinding your way to work behind the wheel after having dropped your kids to creche. You're having your cup of coffee, or maybe a cigarette, and listening to the droning bad news on the radio. We get out of bed, roll down the hill, step out into the yard, and bingo. Light on. Let's get at it.”

Henry concurs and provides his own insight into the motivation behind this winner-producing machine, when saying, “You have a chance of a bit of magic. That's the great thing about this business. When you're involved with a good horse, there's no better feeling.”

The hope is that Good Guess, who claimed the notable scalp of 2,000 Guineas winner Chaldean when storming to Prix Jean Prat glory at Deauville last summer, can be the latest good horse that the O'Callaghans will be associated with. 

The horse had been on Tally-Ho's radar ever since Cheveley Park Stud flagged that they had a good Kodiac at the Tattersalls October Book 1 Yearling Sale in 2021. They were right. 

Good Guess went on to make 420,000gns to Sebastien Desmontils and the O'Callaghans have been tracking his progression ever since. In fact, so sure they were that Good Guess would be a good fit at Tally-Ho, a deal was done not long after he had crossed the line in front in that Group 1. 

“Sure he'd be whipped from underneath you,” says Tony, explaining why there wasn't even time to hop on a plane to get the deal done. Instead, it was trashed out on the phone. “These things are done quickly.”

Good Guess | Scoop Dyga

It has been well-reported that, in order to secure Good Guess, a lot of money needed to change hands. 

“You've got to try and win the lottery. Pay your money, take your chance,” is how Roger sums up the transaction. Henry adds, “It's grand when you're right. There's never a bad time to buy a good horse but then there's never a good time to buy a bad horse. If you can buy a good horse, what you pay for it ultimately doesn't matter. The economics of this game, it's unique, isn't it?”

He adds, “Given how much stallions are costing at the moment, you need them to work in order for the whole thing to make economic sense. It's a big test of how bad you want a horse if you are prepared to send it a clatter of your own mares.”

Good Guess, along with the rest of the stallion roster at Tally-Ho, won't be lacking in that department. 

Tony explains, “When the stallions do well, it's huge. But, when the stallions do bad, it's an absolute nightmare. When they don't click, you suffer. There's a queue up for Good Guess but we'll support him as well. It's very simple; back your own.

“The way it works is, you look after everyone else first. Whenever we can get a slot for him, we'll send him a mare. We'll send him between 30 and 50 of our own mares but we won't know how many until the end of May. “

On what makes Good Guess an attractive stallion proposition, he adds, “Sure you could see below, his action and his physique. The bone structure is there and he has a nice big eye and a nice head. He floats around the yard there. Those are his strong points. Everyone who has come to see him, they all love him.”

Could he be the heir to the throne?

“Never,” says Tony, half-insulted. “I don't think we'll ever get an heir to that horse. We'd love one. But I don't think we'll ever find another Kodiac.”

And with that, the master of Tally-Ho leaves the table to tend to more pressing duties in the yard. He's not one for sitting, you know. But was he always like that?

“I'll never forget I was covering a mare with Dad,” Roger recalls. “He was holding the mare and I had Danetime. When Danetime went to get up on the mare, she reared. Dad had the lead rope wrapped around his thumb and the thumb went with the lead rope. Severed it. Straight off. 

“I'll never forget it. And then, when he went into the hospital, all he was telling me was, 'I'm really sorry.' I was saying, 'what are you sorry for?' 

“Anyway, he did a night in hospital but was back in the yard the following morning. He had a big bandage on his hand out cleaning water troughs that day. But what happened next? Didn't the f**king bucket fall over and of course he went to grab it. Bang. It bounced off the thumb. 

“Oh Jesus, I'll never forget it. The poor f**ker nearly died with the pain. But as soon as he could get back going, he was out in that yard. You can count the number of days on one hand that Dad has taken off work in his life. Seriously. He just loves it.” 

And that, ladies and gentleman, is the difference. 

The treasure that is KODIAC, holding court at @HoStud He is 23 this year. #IrishStallionTrail

@BrianSheerin91 pic.twitter.com/EJLi8FJu3d

— TDN (@theTDN) January 12, 2024

Tony O'Callaghan on…….

Caught U Looking

I'd been watching her going around the back ring at the Goffs Autumn Yearling Sale and was wondering whether or not I should bid for her. Next thing, she went into the ring and Peter Nolan bought her for Noel Meade. I said I'd take her. They told me the most I could have was a half, so I took half. She's a nice filly. I'm hoping she will go on this season but we'll see, won't we? I'm hoping she'll stay a mile plus. We could have sold her 10 times over but we'll roll the dice. I'd be hoping she can stay a mile-and-a-half. That's what I'd like. She has plenty of size and scope. It would be nice to have a runner in the Oaks. 

Working the sales

There are people giving out about the industry but, when they go to the sales, they are fiddling around and they wouldn't do any homework. A lot of the trainers are like that. Willie Mullins started with eight or nine horses. Gordon Elliott started with one or two. When you go to the sales, do you go to zone in or you go to be sociable for the day? You can only do one or the other. You can't do both. If you want to buy something, you have to pay attention, not be in and out of the bar. I've nothing against that but it's gone a bit like that. The sales are competitive. We're there to work.

National Hunt

We always had National Hunt horses going back years ago. I quite like National Hunt horses. As the fella says, what do you do in January? I always felt the first day of Spring was Thyestes Day. Long ago, when we were young, Thyestes Day marked the start of Spring. 

Polarisation

It is gone polarised but you can always sell a nice horse. It's always been the model first for me. If you can get the sire as well, then you are away. The model will always get you out of trouble, though. 

The post An Endless Pursuit Of ‘A Bit Of Magic’ For The O’Callaghans At Tally-Ho Stud appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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Rafha and Moon Cactus were both daughters of Kris (GB) (Sharpen Up), an outstanding miler who became champion sire of Great Britain and Ireland in 1985 when his oldest offspring were 3-year-olds, thanks largely to the terrific season enjoyed by Britain's Fillies' Triple Crown heroine Oh So Sharp (GB). Oh So Sharp became an excellent broodmare, responsible for Rosefinch (Blushing Groom {Fr}) who edged out Dancing Brave's full-sister Jolypha in the G1 Prix Saint-Alary in 1992. Rafha and Moon Cactus, though, did even more to advertise Kris's talent as a sire of broodmares.

Moon Cactus bred four stakes winners including the 1995 G1 Oaks heroine Moonshell (Sadler's Wells) and her younger full-brother Doyen, who excelled on firm ground in the summer of 2004 when firstly breaking Ascot's 12-furlong track record in the G2 Hardwicke S. at the Royal Meeting and then following up over course and distance five weeks later with a superb win in the G1 King George VI And Queen Elizabeth S.

Ultimately, though, Rafha has proved the most influential of these eminent matrons. Her legacy continues to expand, 33 years after her Prix de Diane triumph, and she is now even more revered than she was on that glorious summer's afternoon when she galloped to Classic glory at Chantilly.

It is not unfair to say that Rafha did not produce a racehorse of the distinction of either Moonshell or Doyen (or, indeed, of Colour Chart's GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies-winning daughter Tempera), but four of the seven black-type performers whom she produced were stakes winners. Easily the pick of these was Invincible Spirit (Ire) (Green Desert). Trained, as his mother had been, for owner/breeder Prince AA Faisal by John Dunlop, Invincible Spirit was a tough sprinter who raced for four seasons, winning a listed race as a 2-year-old and at Group 3 level at four before enjoying his best campaign as a 5-year-old in 2002, taking the G3 Duke of York S. over six furlongs in the spring and the G1 Haydock Park Sprint Cup over the same distance in the autumn, putting in his best performance on the 17th and final start of his career.

A first-season stud fee of €10,000 was fair for Invincible Spirit when he started out at the Irish National Stud as a 6-year-old in 2003. He had maybe lacked some of the precocity that a lot of the breeders who patronise sprinting stallions like to see, but he was a Group 1-winning sprinter and had shown himself to be a durable one at that. Furthermore, it helped that he was a son of Green Desert (Danzig) who was very popular at the time, buoyed in part by his superb son Oasis Dream (GB), who had been an outstanding 2-year-old in 2002, most notably breaking Newmarket's six-furlong juvenile track record when winning the G1 Middle Park S.

Green Desert, himself formerly an outstanding sprinter, was already on the way to being respected as a sire of sires, not least because his Group 1-winning son Cape Cross (Ire) was starting to do well.  Curiously, Cape Cross ultimately became best known for his Derby and Oaks winner Sea The Stars (Ire), Golden Horn (GB) and Ouija Board (GB) but that slight anomaly shouldn't deflect attention away from the fact that Green Desert was a terrific conduit of Danzig's speed. Oasis Dream has been much more typical of the Green Desert line, becoming an absolute stalwart of the ranks of British-based sprinting sires over an extended period, just as his father was before him.

Invincible Spirit was an immediate success as a stallion. He had his first runners in 2006 and got off to a flying start when his first runner Spoof Master (Ire) won Britain's first 2-year-old feature of the new season, the Brocklesby S. Invincible Spirit continued to churn out winners as the year went on, so much so that his fee rose from €10,000 to €35,000 for the 2007 season.

Invincible Spirit's position was further consolidated in 2007 when his first 3-year-olds included the G1 Prix du Jockey-Club hero Lawman (Fr), whose Classic triumph was instrumental in Invincible Spirit's fee shooting up again to €75,000 in 2008.  Also running for Invincible Spirit in 2007 was the very fast 2-year-old filly Fleeting Spirit (GB), winner of the G3 Molecomb S. and G2 Flying Childers S. as well as being runner-up in the G1 Cheveley Park S. and G2 Lowther S. She subsequently developed into a wonderful sprinting mare, arguably her sire's second-best daughter behind Moonlight Cloud (GB), and her finest hour came when she won the G1 July Cup as a 4-year-old. With his career thus heading onwards and upwards, Invincible Spirit ultimately had his fee peaking between 2016 and 2019, when his nominations cost €120,000.

The six seasons 2015 to 2020 inclusive were particularly good ones for Rafha with both Kodiac and Invincible Spirit featuring in the top ten every year.

Although Rafha ended up as the dam of four stakes winners, her second most-distinguished child was not one of them.  Kodiac (GB) can be described as a three-parts brother to Invincible Spirit, as each is by a son of Danzig, Kodiac being by Danehill. Like Invincible Spirit, Kodiac was a tough sprinter, but unlike his superior sibling, he couldn't quite manage to score in stakes company, his four wins (from 20 starts) consisting of a maiden-race success and three triumphs in handicap company.  He did at least manage a couple of minor placings in stakes company, finishing second in the G3 Hackwood S. over six furlongs at Newbury and fourth in the G1 Prix Maurice de Gheest over 1300m at Deauville as a 5-year-old in 2006.

Under normal circumstances, Kodiac's achievements would perhaps not have been enough to secure him a place at stud.  However, there's nothing quite like being in the right place at the right time. As the 2006 racing season drew to a close, it was clear that Invincible Spirit was about to be priced out of reach of many of the Irish small breeders who had used him so satisfactorily in his early years. At the time Danehill was at the peak of his popularity as a sire of sires, so it made sense for Tally-Ho Stud to take a chance that Invincible Spirit's fast three-parts brother by Danehill might appeal to many breeders and might become a successful sire.

That was the theory and, happily, it proved to be a sound one.  Kodiac started out at a fee of €5,000 in 2007 (which had to be lowered to €4,000 a couple of years later), but once he began to have runners in 2010, he soon started to pay back many of those who had put their faith in him.  He quickly established himself as an ultra-reliable source of tough, precocious and very fast horses, both colts and fillies. In a pleasing piece of symmetry, 10 years after retiring to stud, he was standing at a fee 10 times higher than it had been at the outset. The price subsequently continued to rise after that and, now aged 22, he is still churning out fast, precocious horses such as 2023 G2 Lowther S. heroine Relief Rally (Ire), who recently sold for 800,000gns at the Tattersalls December Mares Sale.

It is frequently noted that the 1993 Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe heroine Urban Sea (Miswaki) usually has two sons in the top five of the General Sires' Table of Great Britain and Ireland.  The 2019 season was her piece de resistance, as her two Derby-winning children Galileo (Ire) (Sadler's Wells) and Sea The Stars (Ire) occupied the first two places in the championship.  Under the circumstances, the fanfare justly directed at Urban Sea possibly takes some of the spotlight away from Rafha, whose feat of also having two sons consistently in the upper echelons of the sires' championship should not be underestimated.

The six seasons 2015 to 2020 inclusive were particularly good ones for Rafha with both Kodiac and Invincible Spirit featuring in the top 10 every year. Kodiac in particular has been remarkably consistent. He first broke into the top10 of the sires' table in 2015, having finished 15th in 2014 (in which year Invincible Spirit achieved his best position, finishing second to Galileo).  From 2015 until this current season Kodiac has never been out of the top 10, and he regularly tops the table for the most number of winners in a season.

In one sense, Rafha's sons merit even greater respect than do Urban Sea's stars. Galileo and Sea The Stars were Derby winners who started out covering high-class mares from the outset but Invincible Spirit and Kodiac did not have that luxury, having instead had to 'make their own luck' as stallions. Despite these relatively humble beginnings at stud, the influence of both Invincible Spirit and Kodiac will not end when they cease to have runners because they have already started to establish their own sire lines.

Just as Lawman was Invincible Spirit's first headline-maker as a racehorse, so he was his first successful son at stud. Lawman's first crop included G1 St James's Palace S. winner Most Improved (Ire) and the star of his second crop was G1 Irish 1000 Guineas and G2 Rockfel S. winner Just The Judge (Ire). G1 Racing Post Trophy winner Marcel (Ire) and G1 St Leger winner Harbour Law (Ire) followed, although–disappointingly–Lawman seems subsequently to have fallen out of commercial favour, notwithstanding that he is still in action at Haras du Mazet in France (having started out in Ireland at Ballylinch, where his fee peaked at €25,000).

The popularity of Invincible Spirit's best son Kingman (GB), winner of four consecutive Group 1 mile races as a 3-year-old in the summer of 2014, shows no sign of waning. An immediate hit at stud with his first-crop son Calyx (Ire) winning the G2 Coventry S. in June 2018, Kingman has gone from strength to strength and consistently posts eye-catching statistics when measured by totals of individual stakes winners or black-type ratios. With, to name but three sons, Calyx at Coolmore, four-time Group 1 winner Palace Pier (GB) at Dalham Hall and three-time Group 1 winner Persian King (Ire) at Haras d'Etreham, Kingman could well become a notable sire of sires.

Calyx currently lies in third place in the 2023 first-season sires' table for Britain and Ireland. Invincible Spirit's grandson thus sits ahead of three sons of Invincible Spirit with their first juveniles this year: Inns Of Court (fourth), Invincible Army (eighth) and 2019 2000 Guineas winner Magna Grecia (12th). All have a chance to become established as long-term residents of the stallion ranks in this part of the world, joining their elders Territories (Ire) and Mayson (GB) and Swiss Spirit (GB).

The 2011 crop which featured Kingman also contained Charm Spirit (Ire), winner of three Group 1 mile races during the 2014 season. He, too is currently in vogue thanks to his very fast son Shaquille (GB), winner during the summer of the G1 Commonwealth Cup and the G1 July Cup. Shaquille looks sure to be popular at Dullingham Park, where he will have a first-season fee in 2024 of £15,000. Another likely future flag-bearer for Invincible Spirit's line is his three-time Group 2-winning son Mutasaabeq (GB) who starts off at the National Stud in 2024 at a fee of £6,500.

Kodiac, too, is well represented by sons and grandsons at stud.  As was the case with their father, Ardad (Ire), Kodi Bear (Ire), Prince Of Lir (Ire) and Coulsty (Ire) all started out without any significant blaze of publicity. Each has done plenty to raise his profile since starting to have runners, while Ardad's three-time Group 1-winning first-crop son Perfect Power (Ire) is about to stand his second season at Dalham Hall Stud. The one drawback for the furtherance of the line is that Prince Of Lir's fastest son, G1 Nunthorpe S. winner Live In The Dream (Ire), is a gelding.

Being represented by a 2,000 Guineas winner at the age of 27 would be unusual, but for the redoubtable Invincible Spirit it may well happen.

Sons of Kodiac who have yet to have runners include the dual Group 1-winning sprinter Hello Youmzain (Fr), G2 Coventry S. winner Nando Parrado (GB) and G2 Flying Childers S. winner Ubettabelieveit (Ire). Furthermore, this year's G1 Prix Jean Prat winner Good Guess (GB) will join his father on the Tally-Ho roster in 2024 at a fee of €17,500.

Elsewhere, Best Solution (Ire) had his first 2-year-old runners this year in Germany, in which country he recorded two of his three Group 1 victories (at, untypically for the progeny of Kodiac, 2400m). International stud success for stallions sired by Rafha's sons is, of course, commonplace. Most notably, Invincible Spirit briefly shuttled to Australia early in his career and there produced the tough sprinter I Am Invincible (Aus) who has become astonishingly prolific sire of stakes winners of all ages. He deservedly became Australia's champion sire in 2021/22, retained the title last term, is currently leading the standings this season, and is already respected as a sire of sires. The Invincible Spirit horses Cable Bay (Ire), National Defense (GB) and Shalaa (Ire) have all enjoyed success at stud in both hemispheres, while Cable Bay is about to get under way as a sire of sires with his fast son Dragon Symbol (GB) retiring to Whitsbury Manor Stud.

Invincible Spirit's G1 King's Stand S.-winning son Profitable (Ire) has headed out to Turkey ahead of the 2024 season, notwithstanding that he started out well on the Darley roster in Ireland with his first crop of juveniles containing 2021 G2 Queen Mary S. heroine Quick Suzy (Ire). Looking to spread Rafha's influence even farther afield will be the Invincible Spirit horse Digital Age (Ire), a Grade I winner in the USA in 2020 of the Old Forester Bourbon Turf Classic S. over nine furlongs on a firm turf track at Churchill Downs. Digital Age stands in South Africa at Mauritzfontein Stud. It should also be mentioned that the treble Group 1 winner Mishriff (Ire), a great grandson of Rafha through his female line, and successful on turf and dirt, is about to make his belated debut at Sumbe in France.

To return to Invincible Spirit and Kodiac, their success at stud has been one of the most heartening bloodstock stories of the 21st century to date. The sire-sons of each look set to ensure that this story will run and run, not to mention that each has plenty of good racehorses still to come. Most obviously, Invincible Spirit's unbeaten 2-year-old son Ghostwriter (Ire) stamped himself as a serious Classic prospect for 2024 when he extended his winning run in the G2 Royal Lodge S. at Newmarket at the end of September. Being represented by a 2000 Guineas winner at the age of 27 would be unusual, but for the redoubtable Invincible Spirit, it may well happen.

The post Rafha’s Influence Prevails Through Her Dominant Sons appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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There is plenty, still, to look forward to next year, with fellow Whitsbury-based stallion Sergei Prokofiev set to be represented by his first crop of runners and Dragon Symbol taking up his position on the roster. 

From all things Whitsbury to reflecting on the breeding stock sales, the ever-engaging Harper makes for required reading in this week's Q&A.

You must look back on 2023 pretty fondly with Whitsbury Manor Stud homebred Chaldean winning the 2,000 Guineas for Juddmonte?

We wouldn't have a lot of runners in Classic races because of the types of stallions we stand but, obviously, we use a few outside stallions every year. When you use the best stallion around [Frankel], you hope to provide yourself with a chance to step up on quality. It couldn't have worked out any better with Chaldean winning the 2,000 Guineas. 

Where would that rank?

A great milestone. It ranked very highly but I don't feel as though it was a whole heap of hard work that produced the result. For example, producing a stallion like Showcasing or Havana Grey, that takes five or six years of hard work from every team member pulling in the same direction. A result like Chaldean is a piece of good judgement in the sales ring to buy the mare by Dad, which isn't to be underestimated, but even he would admit that there is a lot of luck involved. So, you get yourself a diamond mare in Suelita, what are you going to do with her? You're going to send her to a diamond stallion. It's brilliant, and it's fantastic, but it's not comparable to the whole Whitsbury machine working together for years to make a stallion. I see the two things very differently. 

You must have got a lot of pleasure at seeing Chaldean's half-sister Get Ahead, a talented mare in her own right, selling for 2.5m gns to Ian MacAleavy's First Bloodstock? 

I'd have rathered if we didn't have to sell her! We have to remind ourselves that the function of Whitsbury is not to have a small, uber broodmare band sending mares to the best stallions on the planet. Our job is to keep small breeders alive in England because, without them, there is no breeding industry in this country. If we can sell Get Ahead and support the business in areas that help, such as the grassroots by making stallions, then that's our job. Effectively, weighing up the sale of Get Ahead, we can't be everything to everyone. You can't be brilliant at everything. It doesn't work like that for anybody. So weighing it up, we ask ourselves what our priority is. Is it looking out into the paddock and seeing the occasional super mare going to the super stallion or is it making the next stallion? We effectively prioritised the buying of Dragon Symbol over keeping Get Ahead. That's the choice we made. 

I'll go on to Dragon Symbol in a second but, when you mentioned Whitsbury supporting the grassroots players in England, I just wonder how you would look back on the breeding stock sales on a personal level taking into consideration how many smaller breeders took a kicking?

The most satisfying thing for us this year was the 20 to 30 smaller breeders who really benefited from Havana Grey. That means that some of those breeders can reinvest and possibly step up the next rung up the ladder, which is great, or, on a slightly scarier level, it means some will survive another two or three years. Without stallions like Havana Grey, that doesn't happen. I'm not pretending to have the answers as to why this is but, culturally, when smaller breeders in England stop, they stop for good. They don't come back. When small breeders in Ireland stop because, say there's a dip in the market or maybe there's overproduction, for whatever reason, they seem to have the ability to come back when times get better. I feel like we have to be the lifeboat throwing the vests out to keep some of the smaller breeders alive and, when you get it right and you help a load of people, it's very satisfying. Obviously, we're trying to run a profitable business as well, we're not a charity, but we need a thriving industry and we have to provide our clients with a chance to make money. It's very satisfying when it happens. 

Did you listen to this month's Jamie Railton podcast where Roger O'Callaghan was the guest? Roger singled out Whistbury for high praise. A lot of people would say there are similarities between how Whitsbury and Tally-Ho Stud is run. What would those similarities be?

I listened to it, yes. There's lots of other places in England who had good years, so we don't have a monopoly on that. But what do we do similar? For starters, we don't really worry what other people are doing and Tally-Ho certainly don't worry either. The one thing that we would agree on is that we need to see success scattered around the business from time to time. It can't be for one outfit all the time because that's not how a sport works. I've a few friends and connections who have never been involved in the breeding industry who have started to ask me questions about getting involved for the first time. I've known some of these people for 20 years and they've never asked me that so it's nice to think we have just pricked the interests of a few new players because we can't just have people going out of the market. We need new people as well. 

For me, one of the stories from the mares sale was your neighbour Katrina Yarrow getting 52,000gns for Havana Grey foal with the first mare she ever bought.

Exactly. And that was someone who was brave enough to listen to us when we recommended the mare. Fair play to Katrina for giving it a go. You're only ever going to find out by giving it ago and, if you don't risk too much and keep top of what you are prepared to invest, it can be a lot of fun.

Getting back to the Railton podcast, when Roger said that some breeders need to look themselves in the mirror over some of the poor results in the ring, rather than blaming the game, did you think that was fair comment?

Yea, I would agree with Roger completely. We're all good at seeing the difficulties in our game but the skill is figuring out how to combat it. Sending back the same mares, who are a year older, year after year, and then saying, 'oh, it hasn't happened for me,' is not the approach. If you asked that same person what they have done to give themselves a chance, what have they actively gone and done, they often don't have any answer for you. Some will say, 'oh, well I can't go out and buy a new mare, I had to play it safe because the foal sales didn't go well or the yearling sales didn't go well.' Well, the answer to that is no, when the foal or yearling sales don't go well, that's when you have to go out and buy a new mare! You almost have to be more active when things aren't going well. People tend to almost go back into the shell when things aren't working for them. Everyone should be trying to improve all the time. I mean, I read Emma Berry's piece with Peter Kavanagh in the TDN on Tuesday, and he made some excellent points. The bit I would completely agree with is that, part of the puzzle, and the piece of the game that we rarely talk about, is horse husbandry. It's arguably the most important part of the puzzle. From choosing stallions, to buying mares or even sending horses into training, it's all completely irrelevant if the horse husbandry hasn't been good enough. That is the area that is slipping in Britain; the horse husbandry is going the wrong way a lot of the time. Obviously there are plenty of people doing a good job but, in general, the slide is in the quality of husbandry, and that's difficult to get around. When husbandry slides, the rest of it becomes irrelevant. 

What are we talking about here? Just poorly presented foals at the sales with regards to lack of bone, poor feet etc?

Everything. The quality of the land, management of the pasture, the attention to detail on the stock, general care of the stock; it's everyday stuff. Thinking that you can just turn out horses and forget about them, be it mares, foals, whatever, horse husbandry is an everyday job. If you are not on it every day, it slips. 

I was at the pinhookers panel at Tattersalls on the evening before the foal sales where you came out with a great line when referencing a conversation you had with your accountant. I think he was questioning one of your decisions and you said something along the lines of, 'you don't get to have a say, you just keep the score!' With that in mind, and I know you won't mind me saying this, but I would say there were a few people questioning the decision to stand Dragon Symbol at Whitsbury. Lucky you don't care what other people think!

We had the same reaction with Showcasing and Havana Grey. When we bought Showcasing, I was told that the Gimcrack wasn't a stallion-making race. You had to go back to Mill Reef when a Gimcrack winner became a good stallion. What a load of rubbish that was. With Havana Grey, people were saying, why are we getting excited about a son of a stallion who was standing for eight or 10 grand, or whatever it was at the time. That made no sense to me either because, first of all, Havana Gold had already proved himself as a bloody good stallion and, also, you could give 10 examples in about three seconds of horses who were more successful than their sires. In terms of Dragon Symbol, he's very easy to defend. He was five pounds a better racehorse than Havana Grey ever was and it's about standing a quality racehorse at the end of the day. To be first past the post in a Commonwealth Cup, with himself and Campanelle six lengths clear of the rest, and to then go and be beaten just a neck behind Starman in a July Cup as a three-year-old, those are serious performances. I happened to think Cable Bay was a bloody good stallion as well. He just didn't have the rub of the green in terms of fertility and soundness, in that he had one or two issues that held him back, which was nobody's fault. He got eight black-type two-year-olds in his first crop which is better than ninety per cent of stallions and that allowed them to double his fee to 15 grand, which nobody batted an eye over. He absolutely deserved it. 

Dragon Symbol (right) | Racingfotos.com

Is it extra special bringing Dragon Symbol back to where he was bred or does it even matter?

The answer to that is I couldn't give a monkeys who bred him! It's a nice thing to talk about but it had zero influence on the decision. In fact, I think it could have the opposite effect as people might get the wrong end of the stick in thinking Dragon Symbol was a vanity project when the reality is that it couldn't be further from the truth. We're far too business-minded and commercial to worry about that sort of thing. 

And what's the vibe ahead of Sergei Prokofiev's first runners next year?

I don't even want to hear things from trainers in February, let alone December, but all I would say is that the Sergeis are very easy customers to deal with. They are relaxed and compliant. As we were saying earlier, sadly with the staffing in the industry, we don't have the time to deal with difficult horses compared to back in the day, so having a stallion who produces even-tempered and nice horses is a step in the right direction. 

We almost got to the end of the conversation without waxing lyrical about Havana Grey. I know you find it boring to continue to heap praise on him but even you must have been punching yourself over the continued support behind him at the foal sales?

It's fantastic but my pulse doesn't raise much at the sales. When we're selling our own stock for good money, we need to do that to keep the cogs turning in the right direction and to reinvest in the industry, but it's not something I get excited about. What excites me most is watching our horses win on the track. I do get nervous watching a two-year-old we thought a lot of make its debut. Even if it's a Class 5 at Wolverhampton, I'll be far more nervous about that than a horse going through the ring. The other thing that makes us happy is trying our best to help and advise people and, when it works out even better than what we'd hoped it would, that is very satisfying. Celebrating the result of our clients is more satisfying. 

The post Ed Harper Q&A: “What Excites Me Most Is Our Horses Winning On The Track” appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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The stud's flagbearer Kodiac, the sire of Good Guess, has also had his fee relaxed from €40,000 to €35,000 for 2024.

A statement published on Monday read, “We are delighted to announce that G1 Prix Jean Prat winner Good Guess will stand his first season in 2024 at a fee of €17,500.

“A 420,000gns yearling from the family of Classic-winning miler Russian Rhythm, Good Guess retires as the winner of four races highlighted by this season's G1 Prix Jean Prat, in which he defeated G1 performers such as Chaldean, Hi Royal and Meditate.

“Good Guess is the first G1-winning son of Kodiac to stud in Britain and Ireland and shares his sire with successful sons such as Ardad, Coulsty, Kodi Bear and Prince Or Lir, all of whom have been represented by G1 performers in the past two seasons.”

It continued, “Kodiac himself will stand for €35,000. Now the sire of close to 200 stakes performers, Kodiac enjoyed another excellent year on the track highlighted by the G1 achievements of Good Guess in addition to Relief Rally, his fourth winner of the G2 Lowther Stakes, G2 Minstrel Stakes winner Zarinsk, and the exciting G3 Killavullan Stakes winner Atlantic Coast. 

“Yearlings by Kodiac sold for up to €430,000. Leading young sire Mehmas will stand for €50,000 following a year highlighted by the top American miler Chez Pierre, winner of the G1 Maker's Mark Mile at Keeneland, G2 Buena Vista S. winner Quatroelle, and G1 sprinter Believing. Yearlings by Mehmas sold for up to €500,000.”

Cotai Glory, already a proven sire of top-notch talent, will remain at €12,500, champion sprinter Starman will stand for €10,000, Persian Force will stand his second season at €8,000 while Inns Of Court has been set at €5,000. 

Tally-Ho Stud's 2024 Fees

MEHMAS: €50,000

KODIAC: €35,000

GOOD GUESS: €17,500

COTAI GLORY: €12,500

STARMAN: €10,000

PERSIAN FORCE: €8,000

INNS OF COURT: €5,000

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Away smartly from the widest draw, the 9-1 shot was kept handy by Gary Carroll and mastered the 6-5 favourite Mansa Musa (Ire) (Ten Sovereigns {Ire}) a furlong out en route to a convincing 2 1/4-length success with Lia Fail another 1 1/4 lengths behind in third making it a one-three for the impactful son of Invincible Spirit (Ire).

“He's only coming, this lad,” Carroll said. “Inns Of Court didn't win until the very back-end himself. Every run he's been improving and he was very professional there today. I didn't make enough use of him the last day, I should have won. It was a good run, he's very honest and hopefully he'll step forward again. He'll get seven anyway, I'm not sure about a mile as he's not a slow horse.”

Megarry (9/1) lands the Listed @BallyhaneStud Bleinheim Stakes and in really likeable style under Gary Carroll for @gavincromwell1.

What a day for trainer, saving the best until last in a brilliant across-the-card four-timer @Fairyhouse pic.twitter.com/TjY63wQ3zR

— Racing TV (@RacingTV) September 18, 2023

The winner is currently the last known foal out of Highest Praise (GB) (Acclamation {GB}), a daughter of the listed scorer Yarastar (GB) (Cape Cross {Ire}) and granddaughter of the G1 Phoenix S. runner-up Yara (Ire) (Sri Pekan).

BLENHEIM S.-Listed, €40,000, Fairyhouse, 9-18, 2yo, 6fT, 1:16.99, yl.
1–MEGARRY (IRE), 131, c, 2, by Inns Of Court (Ire)
     1st Dam: Highest Praise (GB), by Acclamation (GB)
     2nd Dam: Yarastar (GB), by Cape Cross (Ire)
     3rd Dam: Yara (Ire), by Sri Pekan
1ST BLACK TYPE WIN. (€25,000 Ylg '22 GOFSPT). O-J R Brennan & E Hughes & Kiva Cromwell; B-Highest Praise Syndicate (IRE); T-Gavin Cromwell; J-Gary Carroll. €24,000. Lifetime Record: 6-2-2-0, $52,772.
2–Mansa Musa (Ire), 131, c, 2, Ten Sovereigns (Ire)–Sundiata (GB), by Showcasing (GB). (60,000gns Wlg '21 TADEWE; 55,000gns Ylg '22 TATOCT; €49,383 RNA 2yo '23 GOFFDU). O-Team Valor International LLC & Gary Barber; B-Middlelane Farm (IRE); T-Diego Dias. €8,000.
3–Lia Fail (Ire), 126, f, 2, Inns Of Court (Ire)–Balqaa, by Invasor (Arg).
1ST BLACK TYPE. (€5,000 Ylg '22 GOAUYR). O/T-Michael Mulvany; B-Kelly Equine Services (IRE). €4,000.
Margins: 2 1/4, 1 1/4, 1 1/4. Odds: 9.00, 1.20, 12.00.
Also Ran: Rush Queen (Ire), Matter of Fact (Ire), Verified (Ire), Edwardian.

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Trained by Fabrice Chappet in France, Good Guess had the 2,000 Guineas winner Chaldean (GB) (Frankel {GB}) and other high-class horses such as subsequent G1 Prix du Moulin winner Sauterne (Fr) (Kingman {GB}) behind him when landing his Group 1 at Deauville. 

He will stand alongside his sire Kodiac (GB), who has served Tally-Ho proud since joining the roster in 2007, at the stud next year. 

“We are delighted to be adding Good Guess to our roster,” said Tally-Ho Stud's Roger O'Callaghan. “As one of Kodiac's best sons, it is very satisfying to be standing him in the same stallion yard as his sire.

“Kodiac already has a number of successful sons at stud and in Good Guess, we are delighted to be offering a son who was not only a precocious two-year-old but also trained on into the one of Europe's best three-year-olds. He is also a very good-looking horse, as underlined by his yearling sales price of 420,000gns.”

Good Guess has won four of his nine starts for Chappet and carried the colours of Hisaaki Saito throughout his career. As well as showing top-class form as a three-year-old, Good Guess had the precocity to win over five furlongs on debut at Chantilly.

Chappet commented, “Good Guess is an extremely classy horse. The Prix Jean Prat is always a good test of a three-year-old, being over seven furlongs on a straight track, and Good Guess won the race over a strong field very easily.

“He also came to hand early as a two-year-old, had a very good turn of foot and is good-looking, so he should be an exciting prospect for breeders.”

Good Guess is the first Group 1-winning son of Kodiac to stand in Britain and Ireland. A renowned influence for quality two-year-old speed, Kodiac has emerged as a successful sire of sires with sons such as Ardad (Ire), Coulsty (Ire), Kodi Bear (Ire) and Prince Or Lir (Ire) each represented by Group 1 performers in the past two seasons.

Good Guess was purchased for 420,000gns by Sebastien Desmontils' Chauvigny Global Equine at Book 1 of the Tattersalls October Sale. He was bred by Cheveley Park Stud and belongs to one of their most successful families as a son of Zykina (GB), a Pivotal (GB) daughter of Russian Rhythm, whose four Group 1 victories included the 1,000 Guineas.

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LEXINGTON, KY – With the very first horse through the ring bringing $1.3 million, the second session of the Keeneland September Yearling Sale was off to the races Tuesday and the action didn't slow down throughout the day as the second-to-last offering brought $1.25 million. In between, 13 other yearlings sold for seven figures, including a colt by Into Mischief who brought top price of $3 million from the partnership of Chuck Sonson, West Point Thoroughbreds and Woodford.

With eight million-dollar yearlings Monday, the two-session Book 1 section concluded with 23 yearlings bringing $1 million or more.

“It was a great day with lots and lots of different buyers, the partnerships were active, it was active from the domestic side as well as the international side,” said Keeneland President Shannon Arvin. “The 15 top prices were bought by 13 different buyers. And there was also a real diversity among the consignors, which was really nice to see. There were a lot of consignors who had a lot of success today.”

Figures for the marathon auction continue to track very closely with its record-setting 2022 renewal. In all, 221 yearlings sold during Book 1 this year for a total of $116,925,000. During last year's Book 1 section, 220 yearlings grossed $113,660,000 as the auction was well on its way to recording its first-ever gross over $400,000,000.

“Going in, I didn't think it would be fair for us to expect that we could replicate last year,” said Keeneland Vice President of Sales Tony Lacy. “But I think when you look at the numbers–obviously the median is down a little, the average is up a little bit–but overall the fact that the gross is up over $3.5 million from last year is incredible. When you look at the numbers through the ring that got sold, it's very, very comparable.”

The Book 1 average of $529,072 is up 2.41% from a year ago, while the median dipped 11.11% to $400,000.

From a catalogue of 392 yearlings, 302 went through the ring with 81 failing to meet their reserves for a buy-back rate of 26.82%. It was 21.99% a year ago.

“A lot of people don't have to sell,” Lacy said. “When you have a purse structure and people are enjoying it so much, they are happy to race.”

Gainesway was the book's leading consignor with 29 horses sold for $20,920,000. The farm sold eight of the book's 23 million-dollar yearlings, with five coming from Mandy Pope's Whisper Hill Farm broodmare band.

“We had high expectations coming in,” Gainesway's Brian Graves said. “I wasn't sure we had as many million-dollar horses to sell as we actually did. The market proved to be really strong. But we knew we had a really good group of horses for our clients. The market is alive and well.”

Mike Repole continued to lead all buyers at the auction. On his own, the New Yorker purchased 21 yearlings for $8,135,000, while in partnership with Spendthrift Partners, he acquired an additional two yearlings for $1.2 million.

In addition to his activity buying, Repole also bred and sold the section's $3-million topper through the Lane's End consignment.

Into Mischief continued to dominate the top of the market. The Spendthrift stallion had 11 seven-figure yearlings and a total of 31 head grossing $27,910,000. Coolmore's Uncle Mo, with four seven-figure yearlings, had 17 Book 1 horses sell for $12,495,000. The duo were represented by nine of the book's top 10 yearlings.

The Keeneland September sale continues with Book 2 sessions Wednesday and Thursday beginning at 11 a.m. Following a dark day Friday, the auction continues through Sept. 23 with sessions beginning daily at 10 a.m.

$3M Into Mischief Colt Heads Day 2

Continuing to underscore the sheer sire power of Into Mischief on this year's yearling market, Hip 261, a colt by the Spendthrift sire out GISP Nonna Mia (Empire Maker) landed a $3-million final bid from the partnership of West Point Thoroughbreds, Woodford Racing and Chuck Sonson.

“This is a beautiful colt. This is a young family [and] with Into Mischief, you don't have to say much. He was always in the hands of Lane's End, so we knew a little about his upbringing,” said Terry Finley, who handled the signing duties from inside the pavilion. “We are really excited and have a new group of partners who are in on him. We will try to get to the Derby in 2025.”

Terry Finley & Chuck Sonson | Keeneland

Of the session-topping yearling, Finley added, “I thought he'd bring a significant amount of money. You never know. After they bring $1.5-$2 million, you never really know where you're going to stop. I was just glad that we got to a point where I thought it was a 'reasonable' amount of money, if you can in fact call $3 million reasonable for a racehorse that has never had a saddle on his back.”

The buying partnership also combined to purchase Hip 220 and Hip 225, a pair of $800,000 colts by Candy Ride (Arg) and Quality Road.

The Feb. 11 foal was consigned by agent, Lane's End.

“When you bring an individual like him to this sale, you hope to be rewarded and that's what happened today,” said Lane's End's Allaire Ryan. “Over the past decade, of the horses we've raised at the farm, he is right up there. He's always been a forward individual from Day 1. He's been a special horse for us.”

She continued, “All the top players you think would be interested in a future stallion prospect like him. I'm just thrilled for everybody on the farm. To be entrusted to a mare like this for Mr. Repole means a lot in and of itself but to be able to raise a horse and bring him to an auction is rewarding for everybody.”

While showing moderate ability on the track, Nonna Mia has already proved her mettle in the breeding shed, producing GI Wood Memorial winner Outwork (Uncle Mo), in addition to SP Nonna's Boy (Distorted Humor).

Commanding the spotlight at $3 million!

Hip 261, an Into Mischief colt out of Nonna Mia and a half to Outwork, sells for $3 million to Sonson, Woodford, West Point, LEB, Agent. He was consigned by @LanesEndFarms. #KeeSept pic.twitter.com/ZCCmg0AP2a

— Keeneland Sales (@keenelandsales) September 12, 2023

Day 1 Leading Buyer Repole Returns Tuesday with Breeding Score

Mike Repole was busy spending through Book 1, purchasing 11 yearlings, alone or in partnership, for just a tick under $3.945 million. Recouping some of that cash during Tuesday's session, Repole sat front and center with his team when a homebred colt out of a horse he campaigned, Nonna Mia, lit up the board.

“She was named after my grandmother,” he said. “I named the horse in 2009. My grandmother passed away in 2020. So she's very special to me.”

A half-sister to MGSW Cairo Prince (Pioneerof the Nile), Nonna Mia was a $200,000 purchase by Repole from the Mill Ridge consignment at the 2008 renewal of the Fasig-Tipton Saratoga sale.

According to Repole, the 16-year-old mare currently resides at Lane's End.

“Nonna Mia is getting up in age, maybe she has one more in her, maybe not,” he said.

The pedigree received a significant bump at Saratoga when Repole homebred Fierceness (City of Light), a son out of Nonna Mia's daughter Nonna Bella (Stay Thirsty), blew the doors off to earn 'TDN Rising Star' status Aug. 25.

“She also gave me Outwork and a horse I think is the best 2-year-old, Fierceness, who is going to the GI Champagne S.,” he confirmed. “So, we're lucky to have her.”

Underscoring the importance of the recent update to the colt's catalog page, Finley added, “I was up at Saratoga when Fierceness ran. I was awestruck by that performance.”

During Tuesday's session, Repole was also an active buyer, securing an additional 12 yearlings, 11 alone and one in partnership, for a gross of $5,390,000.

“I want to be the leading buyer and leading seller one day,” he quipped. “But I am passionate about all aspects of this game. Stallions, stallion shares, broodmares, buying, selling, weanlings, yearlings, even claiming horses for $12,500.

“I just enjoy the game. I like to play it at every single level I can and try to as well as we can do. I enjoy winning.”

Asked whether he will be back for Book 2 and 3, Repole laughed, “We'll be buying today, tomorrow, and the next day. Don't forget, we bought [juvenile champion] Forte in [Keeneland's] Book 4. Winners can come from anywhere.”–@CbossTDN

Stewart Strikes for Uncle Mo Filly

John Stewart, who made a big splash during Monday's first session of the Keeneland September sale, took his biggest swing of the week when going to $2.5 million to acquire a filly by Uncle Mo (hip 337). While Stewart was at the sale in person during the first session, he left bidding Tuesday to agent Gavin O'Connor and farm manager Chelsey Stone.

“She's an unbelievable filly,” O'Connor said after signing the ticket on the yearling who was consigned by Denali Stud as agent for breeder, WinStar Farm. “Uncle Mo is the sire of incredible fillies.”

The yearling is out of Starship Warpspeed (Congrats) and is a half-sister to GI Kentucky Oaks winner Shedaresthedevil (Daredevil).

“I know the family personally,” O'Connor said. “I used to work for WinStar. I spent five years under Dave [Hanley] and Elliott [Walden]. So I have had babies out of the mare. They have a full-brother in training and he looks very promising as well.”

O'Connor, who was on the phone with Stewart during the bidding, admitted they had to stretch to get the filly.

“It was a little bit more than we wanted to go, but like we've said, John is a buyer,” he said. “I thought we were going to have her at $2.2 there, and then it went 3, 4, 5, and I thought, 'How far can we go here?'”

He added, “She's just an unbelievable broodmare prospect. She's an incredible filly. And the residual value is there. We just feel we have a safe asset at that price.”

Stewart purchased 10 yearlings during Book 1 for a total of $7,750,000. In addition to his $2.5-million acquisition, the Lexington financier also paid $1 million for a colt by Into Mischief (hip 147), a colt by Constitution (hip 135) for $850,000 and another son of Into Mischief (hip 83) for $800,000.

“We are done now,” O'Connor said. “We've got a really exciting stable of horses to go on with.” @JessMartiniTDN

All eyes on hip 337 as the Shedaresthedevil half sister by Uncle Mo sells for $2.5 million! Consigned by @denalistud for @winstarfarm, purchased by Gavin O'Connor for John Stewart. #KeeSept pic.twitter.com/L6AHvoVGUD

— Keeneland Sales (@keenelandsales) September 12, 2023

Into Mischief Colt Rewards St George Team

Archie and Michelle St George, along with pinhooking partners Tony and Roger O'Callaghan of Tally-Ho Stud, hit a home run Tuesday at Keeneland when selling a colt by Into Mischief (hip 283) for $1.8 million to Coolmore's M.V. Magnier. The team had acquired the dark bay for $550,000 at last year's Keeneland November sale.

“I'm kind of speechless at the moment,” Archie St George admitted as Magnier signed the ticket on the yearling. “We're just very fortunate to have a horse as good as him. It's a huge team effort, with everyone at home, Roger and his dad and my wife Michelle and all the lads. A lot of work has gone into the horse and this is a huge thrill.”

Arthur St George | Keeneland

The yearling is out of Princess Haya (Street Cry {Ire}) and is a half-brother to stakes winner and Grade I placed Lady Kate (Bernardini).

Asked about the nerves associated with buying a pinhook prospect for $550,000, St George said, “It's nerve-wracking, but it's high risk-high reward. It's the quality of the horse. It's a huge team effort. I'd like to thank Coolmore and their partners and wish them the best of luck.”

Magnier, who purchased a son of Uncle Mo for $1.35 million Monday, was making his second purchase of the Keeneland sale. Magnier later added a $1.25-million Gun Runner colt late in the session.

“He is a very good mover and Into Mischief is a very good sire and [his son] Practical Joke is doing really well [as a sire] at the moment,” Magnier said of hip 283. @JessMartiniTDN

$1.35M Not This Time Colt Gives Airdrie Sentimental Score

Offering a small but select group of yearlings in this year's Book 1, Airdrie Stud once again showed quality over quantity often wins the day when it comes to the sales. Underscoring that point this week, Hip 344, a colt by Not This Time, drew a tidy $1.35 million final bid from Jacob West, who was bidding on behalf of Robert and Lawana Low. Over the course of two days, Airdrie sold all three of the yearlings it offered, amassing $2,475,000 in gross receipts while averaging $825,000. Airdrie also sold a Nyquist filly (Hip 31) for $750,000 on Day 1 and a $375,000 colt (Hip 356) by Complexity Tuesday.

After selling its priciest yearling so far this season, Airdrie's Bret Jones, who also bred the colt, said, “Special is the right word. A little overwhelming. I'm feeling a little sentimental right now, thinking about dad [Brereton C. Jones] and thinking how many memories we get from these great horses, these horse sales, horse races.”

Bret Jones | Keeneland

The Mar. 8 foal is out of Street Mate (Street Cry {Ire}), dam of Grade I winner Bell's The One (Majesticperfection) and GSW King Cause (Creative Cause). The 15-year-old mare, who was a $35,000 purchase at Keeneland November in 2012, is a half-sister to GSW and GISP Tap Day (Pleasant Tap)

Jones continued, “The colt has always been beautiful. He is by the right stallion. And the mare has been incredible to us. It's a really special family. He has always lived up to that family. He is just so good looking and makes you think he can be a special horse on the racetrack. The horse vetted perfectly clean which is always nice.”

When asked about the reserve, Jones didn't miss a beat.

“[The bidding] went past his reserve as fast as I hope he passes horses in a Grade I.”–@CbossTDN

Best Packs $1.3M Punch to Land Constitution Colt

The name Into Mischief seemed to be on nearly everyone's lips following a buying blitz of the sire's offspring during the first two days of selling. And while not generating the same headlines, at least not by sheer volume, WinStar's Constitution paved a slightly more subtle road while still packing a punch with five yearlings realizing $2,980,000, yielding a robust $596,000 average on Day 2. Leading the fray Tuesday was Hip 324, a bay colt who realized a $1.3 million final bid from Larry Best's OXO Equine. The purchase was Best's sole purchase on the afternoon.

“I thought he was one of the best colts in the sale,” said Best. “I paid more than I would want to. This particular auction I've never seen one quite this strong. I knew he was going be around $1 million to get him. But he's a beautiful specimen of a Constitution. He looks very racey, very athletic.”

Bred by Kindred Stables, the Mar. 26 foal was consigned by Indian Creek. The bay is out of the unraced Solo Uno (Medaglia d'Oro), a half-sister to MGSW and GISP Tom's Ready (More Than Ready).

“When you buy colts it's a high risk game,” Best said. “And when you saw some of the other colts that I liked in the sale they went for $2-million plus. There is only so much money I want to invest in a colt. This was a good shot. We'll see how it works out.”

@CbossTDN

Serengeti Empress's First Foal in Demand

The first foal out of GI Kentucky Oaks winner Serengeti Empress (Alternation), a son of the omnipresent Into Mischief, was scooped up by the partnership of WinStar Farm's Maverick Racing, Siena Farm and CHC, Inc. for $1.2 million Tuesday at Keeneland.

“If he didn't break his ribs as a foal, he might have topped the sale,” said WinStar Farm's Elliott Walden. “We saw him on the farm and David [Hanley] and I both loved him. He's out of an Oaks winner on a Distorted Humor cross. Hopefully he can do some great things on the racetrack.”

Serengeti Empress was one of the first yearlings Joel Politi purchased when he decided to purchase young fillies with the goal of raising his own broodmare band from scratch. Politi and trainer Todd Amoss purchased the future Oaks winner for $70,000 at the 2017 Keeneland September sale.

After watching the mare's first foal go through the ring Tuesday, Politi admitted, “It was emotional watching him go through the ring. I had a lot of second thoughts in the back ring. I was thinking, 'My goodness, he is so good-looking.' But we set a price that we would be ok with him moving on. I am being practical about the whole thing. So you can't argue with it really. He's going to a great place. WinStar is a first-class operation. They will take good care of him and they will have him here in Kentucky and we can come visit him, so it's a win-win.” @JessMartiniTDN

A Racing Prospect for Hartley/DeRenzo

Randy Hartley and Dean DeRenzo are typically active in the pinhooking sphere, but with new partner Rich Mendez expanding his footprint in the industry, the Ocala horsemen acquired a racing prospect in a $1.2-million daughter of Into Mischief (hip 316). Also partnering on the yearling is John Bellinger and Brian Coelho's BC Stables.

Bred and consigned by Gainesway, the gray filly is out of Silver Colors (Mr. Greeley) and is a half to GI Alabama S. winner Eskimo Kisses (To Honor and Serve) and a granddaughter of GI Kentucky Derby winner Winning Colors.

Hip 316 Into Mischief–Silver Colors filly | ThoroStride

“For us, she was the pick filly of this book,” Hartley said. “It's just such a great female family and we just felt like if we put enough guys together, we could get her. To have a half-sister to a Grade I Alabama winner and the grandmother a Kentucky Derby winner, you just don't get those pedigrees that often. So she was a filly we thought we really needed to have in the barn.”

A Miami music titan, Mendez has been on both sides of seven-figure transactions this year. He purchased an Into Mischief colt for $1.3 million at the OBS April Sale. Now named Urban Legend, the juvenile is in training out west with Bob Baffert. Mendez was also involved in seven-figure pinhooks with Hartley/DeRenzo at the Fasig-Tipton Midlantic May sale and at last month's Fasig-Tipton Saratoga sale.

Asked if the purchase of this well-bred filly indicated Mendez would consider getting into the breeding side of the business, Hartley said, “We are thinking about it for sure. This would obviously be one you'd want in your barn. My favorite saying is black cats have black kittens and she's a beautiful filly, so I think she would definitely have beautiful babies. It was just a pedigree that you very rarely get and we felt like we really had to stretch to get her. But we were taking her home.” @JessMartiniTDN

All Into Mischief, All The Time

Continuing the feeding frenzy for colts, specifically those by Into Mischief, a son of the Spendthrift sire joined the millionaire's club when reeling in a $1.2-million final bid from Team Coolmore at Keeneland Tuesday. Led by M.V. Magnier, the group held their customary spot out back, picking up their fourth purchase, also the fourth seven-figure buy, of Book 1. Offered as Hip 331, the flashy grey was consigned by Machmer Hall, who also bred the colt.

“I'm overwhelmed,” said Carrie Brogden, standing alongside her mother, Sandy Fubini. “I had no idea he was going to bring that much money. Personally, that is our most expensive yearling. We've sold 2-year-olds for more, but that is our most expensive yearling. We are overjoyed.”

Commenting on the price, she admitted, “Our reserve was well below $500,000. We're sellers and breeders. We're here to sell our horses.”

Sandy Fubini & Carrie Brogden | Keeneland

The Feb. 26 foal is out of Special Me (Unbridled's Song), who failed to distinguish herself on the racetrack, allowing Craig and Carrie Brogden to swoop in to secure the mare for a mere $6,000 at Keeneland January in 2009. Subsequent to that most fortuitous purchase, the mare produced GI Santa Anita H. winner Gift Box (Twirling Candy), MGSW and GISP Stonetastic and MGSW Special Forces. She is also responsible for GI QEII Challenge Cup S. heroine Gina Romantica (Into Mischief), herself a $1.025 million purchase at Keeneland September in 2020.

“We're never going to get another mare like her,” Brogden said. “We have a Twirling Candy filly for 2023 and it'll be a hard decision whether she comes up here or not because we can buy a lot of new broodmares for a million dollars. She is tough as nails. She is in foal to Flightline right now, but we might have to send her back to Into Mischief after this.”

Armed with both top-class runners on both the dirt and turf, Brogden admitted she doesn't see any limitations to what this colt will be able to do.

“I wouldn't be surprised if he is a great dirt horse or if he is a great turf horse,” she said.

Seeming to have the knack for coming up with pricey sales prospects out of inexpensive mares, Brogden explained Machmer Hall's overall breeding philosophy.

“We just try to go with the families we like and understand what we can afford,” she explained. “For example, I bought Stonetastic's daughter for $400,000 because I can afford that. I can't afford Stonetastic even though we bred her. You have to know the families you are dealing with.”

“And I have to thank Unbridled's Song once again. [Monday] we sold six yearlings, three of them out of Unbridled's Song mares.”

While the Machmer Hall team can credit hard work, commitment and diligence to much of their success, Brogden is quick to point out that sometimes the intangibles can also come into play.

“We had two yearlings struck and killed this year and [the Into Mischief colt] was in the same field with them,” she said. “And there were only 14 of them. We got lucky it wasn't him.”–@CbossTDN

Volatile Filly Sparks Three Chimneys' Day 

Three Chimneys Farm, which hit it out of the park with the fast-starting stallion career of Gun Runner, could have another stallion success in the making after a first-crop daughter of Volatile (hip 215) sold for $1.15 million to the bid of Mike Rutherford Tuesday at Keeneland.

“I don't think you could write it out any better than to have a $1.15-million filly in the first crop, but those are the kind of mares that we bred to him,” said Three Chimneys' Chris Baker. “That's the kind of confidence that we have in him.”

The filly, consigned by Taylor Made Sales Agency, was bred by Three Chimneys and is out of multiple Grade I winner Love and Pride (A.P. Indy).

“She was a spectacular filly,” Baker said of the yearling. “She deserved that kind of recognition. She is that special. We wish Mr. Rutherford all the luck in the world with her.”

Three Chimneys purchased Volatile (Violence) in partnership for $850,000 at the 2017 Keeneland September sale. The gray won the 2020 GI Alfred G. Vanderbilt H. and stood this season at Three Chimneys for $12,500.

“Volatile has consistently produced great physicals, horses with scope and substance that look fast,” Baker said. “And he was fast. It's really been pleasant to see how consistently he has race horse physical types. So we are as excited as we can be right now.”

Of the stallion's first seven-figure yearling, Baker said, “With a horse that started at his initial stud fee, it is a pleasant surprise–it's not shocking, but it's a pleasant surprise.”

Three Chimneys came right back with another seven-figure yearling when a colt by Into Mischief (hip 218), co-bred with Mandy Pope's Whisper Hill Farm, sold for $1.1 million to the SF/Starlight/Madaket partnership.

Consigned by Gainesway, the yearling is out of Magical World (Distorted Humor) and is a half-brother to multiple Grade I winner Guarana (Ghostzapper). Guarana's Into Mischief colt sold for $1.4 million during Monday's first session of the September sale.

“Nothing would have surprised me with him,” Baker said. “I think he is an exceptional colt. He's a great-moving colt with a great pedigree–by a top sire out of a top mare. So I think he is well sold and I expect to hear more about him in the future.”

Also Tuesday, Three Chimneys sold a filly by Munnings (hip 280) for $700,000 to Shadwell. The yearling is out of Princesa Carolina (Tapit). @JessMartiniTDN

Gun Runner Filly to Speedway

Marette Farrell, bidding on behalf of Peter Fluor and K.C. Weiner's Speedway Stable, went to $1.2 million to acquire a filly by Gun Runner (hip 222) from Jody and Michelle Huckabay's Elm Tree Farm consignment. The Huckabays were selling the youngster on behalf of Dell Ennis, who purchased the filly for $625,000 at last year's Fasig-Tipton November sale.

“She is so athletic and so light on her feet and has an amazing demeanor,” Farrell said. “I believe she is a runner and I hope Peter and K.C. are lucky with her.”

The bay is out of Mama Yay (Mineshaft), an unraced full-sister to Dialed In and a half to Broadway Gold (Seeking the Gold). The yearling is a half-sister to stakes winner Empire House (Empire Maker).

“It is a pedigree that Peter Fluor himself loved,” Farrell said. “We now have three stallions–Collected, Roadster and Corniche–so we are trying to do things with a view towards buying fillies [to breed to them]. We were the underbidder on this filly when she sold as a weanling. So we followed her and saw her here.”

Ennis said the filly's pedigree was what attracted him to her at Fasig-Tipton last November.

“I loved her,” Ennis said. “I loved the pedigree. I love Miss Doolittle and I love Mama Yay.”

The filly was Ennis's lone pinhook of the year and the Virginian admitted to some pre-sale jitters.

“I woke up at 2:22 this morning and couldn't sleep,” he said. “She is so classy and confident in herself. You are going to be writing about her again.”

Tuesday's seven-figure transaction was an emotional one for veteran horseman Jody Huckabay.

“I've been doing this for 35 years and this was my first million-dollar horse,” a visibly moved Huckabay said after watching the filly sell. “We thought she was a very, very good filly and obviously a lot of people thought she was nice. But you never know.”

Huckabay and Ennis were enjoying their first collaboration at the Keeneland sale.

“Dell bought this filly and called me and said, 'I hear you raise a good horse,' and he sent her to me. I met him yesterday [for the first time]. So I didn't know him. But things worked out. It's a very exciting day.”

Of the decision to send the weanling to Elm Tree last November, Ennis said, “I interviewed several farms and at the time, [Huckabay] checked the boxes for us. He could take the filly right from the sale, so he checked the boxes. I have a very good rapport with several other farms in Kentucky and I love them as well. Jody and Michelle are very hands on and they pay attention to detail. And that's what it takes to get a horse in that ring from a weanling.”

This is not the first time the bay filly has rewarded her connections in the sales ring. She was bred by Mark Erlandson, who purchased Mama Yay for $20,000 at the 2020 Keeneland November sale. Erlandson sent the Gun Runner filly through the sales ring at Fasig-Tipton last year through the New Hill Farm consignment. @JessMartiniTDN

Into Mischief Continues Powerful Run Into Day 2

Picking up where he left off Monday, Into Mischief was represented by his first seven-figure yearling of the session when Hip 218 reeled in $1.1 million from agent Donato Lanni. Tom Ryan signed the ticket on behalf of prolific partnership of SF Bloodstock, Starlight and Madaket.

“There is no mystery about the stallion,” Ryan said. “It's a very unique pedigree. Just a fantastic piece of paper. And it's rare you have the opportunity to buy into that sort of bloodline. So we're glad to be involved.”

According to Ryan, the colt will go to Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert.

“Donato loved him and so did Bob. Our own team, John Moynihan was involved too. We're excited to have him.”

Whisper Hill Farm and Three Chimneys Farm bred the colt in partnership. The Apr. 20 foal is out of Magical World (Distorted Humor), most notably the dam of GI Acorn S. winner Guarana (Ghostzapper). The colt is also half to SW Beatbox (Pioneerof the Nile) and SW and GSP Magic Dance (More Than Ready). The family includes GI Breeders' Cup Distaff winner Pleasant Home (Seeking the Gold).

Following a lucrative streak, Mandy Pope's Whisper Hill, in partnership with Three Chimneys Farm, extended to $5.2 million to secure Magic World while carrying this foal at Fasig-Tipton November in 2021. Last term, the partnership dipped into the family again to purchase Magical World's colt by Quality Road for $1.1 million. Guarana herself was a $4.4-million purchase at Fasig-Tipton November in 2021.

The family had its desirability in full display Monday when a son of Guarana, also by Into Mischief, brought $1.4 million.

During Tuesday's session, Lanni also secured Hip 207, a colt by Into Mischief out of Late Night Pow Wow (Fiber Sonde) for $900,000 and Hip 243, a colt by Justify ($625,000) for the same partnership. —@CbossTDN

Seven-Figure Book 1 Parade for Pope

Mandy Pope, who has steadily been building a high-octane broodmare band, reaped the benefits of her investments during Book 1, selling five seven-figure yearlings over the two sessions. Leading the way was a $1.7-million son of Into Mischief (hip 162) who sold Monday. Pope got Tuesday's second session of the auction off to a quick start when the first horse through the ring, a daughter of Tapit (hip 202), sold for $1.3 million to the internet bid of Sinandigan Stable. Also Tuesday, Pope, in partnership with Three Chimneys Farm, sold a colt by Into Mischief (hip 218) for $1.1 million to the SF/Starlight/Madaket partnership; and a colt by Curlin out of champion Songbird (hip 325) for $1 million to Grandview Equine.

Mandy Pope | Keeneland

“It's been a lot of hard working buying the right mares,” Pope said. “We worked hard buying excellent race mares and trying to reproduce them. This has been an awesome day for us.”

Asked how the results in the sales ring matched up to her expectations, Pope said, “We thought a couple of them would sell that well. A couple of them were surprises for the better and one or two were not. The usual thing.”

Pope's Book 1 yearlings were at the forefront of a big two days for the Gainesway consignment.

“Mandy has invested a lot of time and a lot of money and it's starting to yield dividends,” said Gainesway's Brian Graves. @JessMartiniTDN

The post With $3M Into Mischief Topper, Keeneland September Sizzles from Start to Finish Tuesday appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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Stott replaced Rossa Ryan in the role as Amo Racing's number one jockey earlier this year and partnered the breakthrough Group 1 winner for the team when landing the Phoenix S. at the Curragh last month. 

However, Joorabchian did not hold back in an RTE television interview at Leopardstown on Saturday, where he said he felt Stott made a number of mistakes aboard King Of Steel, who could only manage fourth behind Auguste Rodin in the Irish Champion S. Now, less than 48 hours later, the relationship had ended.

Joorabchian told Sun Racing on Monday, “I told Kevin thank you very much. This was a collective decision on and off the racetrack. We have decided not to renew his contract for next season. It was always a one-year contract.”

Stott partnered King Of Steel to win the King Edward VII Stakes at Royal Ascot, won the Duchess of Cambridge S on Persian Dreamer, and the Craven on Indestructible among plenty of other big-race winners this term.

He had been stable jockey to Kevin Ryan in Hambleton before announcing he was to move south and ride freelance last autumn.

Joorabchian added, “We have done everything that we promised, he [Stott] has done everything he promised and we have parted ways, nothing more than that. I've never had a problem with jockeys. I never fell out with Rossa [Ryan], I love him more than anybody, he rode at Royal Ascot for me.

“He was my only retained jockey, he needed to go out on his own and get experience. I have supported him and he is thriving. But you know, Kevin is not a young boy, he has experience. For reasons outside of racing, I have to decide what's best. I don't know what jockeys we'll use now, I'll leave it to the trainers to pick the best available.”

The post “For Reasons Outside Of Racing” – Amo Racing Sacks Stott As Retained Rider appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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