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Cormac Farrell, a trainer and a trader of both breeze-up and point-to-point horses, is a firm believer in the concept. After launching CF Bloodstock in 2023, the horseman has ambitious goals in mind for his fledgling operation's future.

“I want to produce horses that go on and become good racehorses,” Farrell said. “The dream is to produce a champion. You see these guys like Willie Browne, Con Marnane, Norman Williamson and Eddie O'Leary. I can't name them all, but they've produced Group 1 winners. You want to see your horses go on and fulfill their potential at whatever level, but if we could produce a couple of champions along the way, that would be the dream.”

Farrell's new operation could hardly have gotten off to a better start last year when CF Bloodstock co-topped the Tattersalls Guineas Breeze-Up Sale with a €55,000 Tattersalls Ireland September Yearling Sale pinhook. The Zoffany (Ire) colt sold for 200,000gns to Richard Hughes and Ted Durcan. Now named Bracken's Laugh (Ire) and campaigned by Bernadine and Sean Mulryan, he was an auspicious debut maiden winner last September for Hughes and in his 3-year-old debut last week, claimed the Cardinal Conditions Stakes by 2 3/4 lengths.

Farrell said that he was always a believer in the colt and admitted that he had been a bit relieved when the horse got the job done in his first start last year.

“I had sort of built him up enough that if he wasn't any good, I was going to look a bit silly really because I was pretty bullish about him from the word go,” he said. “He was a big, raw horse and we did very little with him the whole way through because we were allowing him just to fill into his frame. We were rewarded with our patience because he came to hand in time to do a lovely breeze. Hopefully Richard has an unbelievable year with him and it'll be great for everybody.”

But Farrell is no rookie to consigning big-ticket horses. He previously formed half of Leamore Horses, which he ran in partnership with his ex-wife Anna Calder. Dancing City (Fr) (Feel Like Dancing {GB}) is the latest high-profile graduate from that consignment, having  just won a second Grade 1 novice hurdle at Aintree on Friday.

Since last year's breeze-ups, Farrell has been active not only in buying his next crop of pinhooks, but he also acquired a yard for his operation. Partnering up with his longtime associate, owner and breeder Douglas Taylor, Farrell took over the prolific Copper Beech Stables from trainer Michael Halford. The property located just a few minutes from the heart of the Curragh grounds has provided an optimal setup for Farrell to get the business off and running.

“I pinch myself every day with the excitement,” said Farrell. “I never thought I'd be in a place like this. Never. So for Douglas to be as supportive as he's been throughout it all and for the success we've had and everything, to be here right now is so exciting. Hopefully it's just going to keep going in the right direction. It's a lot of pressure. This place wasn't cheap and it all has to be paid for, but I think we've got an incredible bunch of horses this year.”

Farrell was represented by just over a dozen breeze-up horses last year and that number has grown to 30 for 2024. In addition to a handful of horses pointing for the racetrack, point-to-point trainees round out the roster. But Farrell said that the breeze-ups sales are where he hopes to concentrate his focus.

“I won't completely get away from the point-to-pointers because Douglas stands a couple of very nice National Hunt stallions and there is a lot of nice young stock coming through the ranks here,” he explained. “I'd be happy to train them because he's gone out and bought some fantastic mares and he's got some very good jumps stallions, but I prefer the global market of the breeze-ups. It's such a vast market and it seems to be very strong at the moment. Hopefully that relays into the breeze-up sales.”

CF Bloodstock will be sending seven juveniles through the ring at next week's Tattersalls Craven Breeze-Up Sale. Among the group, Farrell pointed out a Kameko colt (lot 121) out of stakes winner Miss Sugars (GB) (Harbour Watch {Ire}) as well as a Sioux Nation colt (lot 123) out of the Street Cry (Ire) mare Mo Chara.

“I think they're a solid bunch,” he reported. “They're all very sound. They all X-ray clean and the scopes are excellent. Until they breeze and we get that out of the way, you don't know where you're going to land. All the homework is done now and I hope they all do themselves justice.”

Farrell's pinhook shopping takes him everywhere from Goffs and Tattersalls to Arqana and Keeneland. No matter where he's buying, Farrell considers conformation to be non-negotiable for his breeze-up prospects.

Bracken's Laugh sells for 200,000gns | Tattersalls

“If I had any amount of money to spend, I'd go for a gorgeous horse that is well put together before anything else,” he explained. “Then I think in terms of the breeze-ups, you need a bit of stallion power and then the pedigree nearly comes last. The Sioux Nation that goes to Craven is huge. I just felt that as a yearling last year he screamed 'racehorse' to me. He was a very mature yearling and now he looks like a 3-year-old. Funnily enough, last year Bracken's Laugh was also a very big horse and people probably didn't think he would be ready.”

“You have to think outside the box a little bit buying breeze-up horses because if everybody wants to buy the same horse, none of us would be able to buy a horse,” he added. “There's a lot of luck involved. We buy a lot of horses and some go right and some go wrong, but I look for a horse that catches my eye, that sort of tells me that he wants to be a racehorse.”

Of course the purchasing of the horse is oftentimes the easy part. The training is where the real work begins. Farrell, who has a background in eventing, cited that this area in particular is where he hopes his business garners a positive reputation.

“The way the horses are produced and their performance at the sale and going forward beyond the sale is a reflection on how we produce them,” he explained. “We do a lot of flatwork with them and they all ride very nicely. If you get them to clock fast and they turn out that they've been drilled to clock fast, that's not good for everybody. There is no point in getting a horse to breeze and then a trainer gets them and says that the horse is so rank that he's unrideable. That would be no good for business.”

Farrell applauded the many consignors he has known over the years who have had a hand in developing the breeze-up sales' track record for producing effective athletes.

“The people producing the breeze-ups horses are doing an incredible job,” he said. “The horses are all coming out and winning within weeks of the sale. It used to be months, but it's weeks after the sale now and they're super sound. They're conditioning them to race and they're standing up to training a lot better. Their longevity is a lot better. The breeze-ups are proven to be an unbelievable source of good horses and let's hope it continues to be that way. I'm excited to be a part of it and I hope I can live up to some of the people that have come before me and do as well as they have.”

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With the high-class dual Group 1 winner Vandeek (GB) (Havana Grey {GB}) as its poster boy for last year, the Craven sale has been represented by some notable graduates in recent seasons, including the Classic winners Native Trail (GB) (Oasis Dream {GB}) and Cachet (Ire) (Aclaim {Ire}). The latter's half-brother by Mehmas (Ire) is among those on offer this year.

Plenty of other well-bred horses are contained in this year's book which boasts half-siblings to 29 Group or Listed winners, induing another Mehmas colt who is a half-brother to the G2 Coventry S. winner River Tiber (Ire) (Wootton Bassett {GB}). Also included is a Siyouni (Fr) half-brother to Grade III-winning sire Demarchelier (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}), who is out of a sister to Group 1 winners Yesterday (Ire) and Quarter Moon (Ire).

As already referenced in a recent TDN feature on the members of the final crop of multiple champion sire Galileo (Ire), last year's sale-topping consignor, Glending Stables, will offer a Galileo three-parts brother to Listed winner Hidden Dimples (GB) (Frankel {GB}).

All 180 horses in the catalogue are eligible for the £250,000 Tattersalls Royal Ascot/Group 1 Bonus. The scheme offers a £125,000 bonus for the first Craven Breeze-up winner of any of the six two-year-old races at the Royal Meeting and an additional £125,000 bonus to the first Craven Breeze-up winner of any of the 15 European Group 1 races open to two-year-olds.

Commenting on the catalogue, Tattersalls Chairman Edmond Mahony said, “The Tattersalls Craven Breeze-up Sale's market leading status was reinforced again in 2023 with another exceptional year on the racecourse following the Craven Classic double of Native Trail and Cachet in 2022. The £125,000 Tattersalls Craven Group 1 Bonus was won for the second time in three years by Vandeek, whose two spectacular Group 1 victories saw him crowned the highest rated British trained two-year-old, following in the footsteps of European Champion Two-Year-Old Native Trail. The sale produced more Group and Listed winners in 2023 than any other European breeze-up sale, and the unrivalled racecourse results are testament to the outstanding quality that Europe's leading breeze-up consignors offer year after year. Their support has again resulted in a catalogue with quality in abundance, which combined with unrivalled bonuses on offer makes the Tattersalls Craven Breeze Up Sale a compelling prospect for both domestic and overseas buyers.”

Horses in the sale will breeze on Newmarket's Rowley Mile Racecourse on Monday, April 15 starting from 9.30am. The sale will take place at Park Paddocks after racing on Tuesday and Wednesday. 

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The scheme pays £100,000 to the owner and £25,000 to the vendor of any Craven graduate to win one of the six two-year-old races at Royal Ascot. Should that horse go on to win any of the 15 Group 1 races for juveniles this season in Britain, Ireland or France, a further £100,000 and £25,000 will be paid out to the owner and vendor. 

Godolphin's champion two-year-old Native Trail (GB) (Oasis Dream {GB}) and KHK Racing's Vandeek (GB) (Havana Grey {GB}), consigned respectively by Oak Tree Farm and Glending Stables, are both previous bonus winners. 

“The £250,000 Tattersalls Craven Royal Ascot/Group 1 Bonus reinforces our commitment to rewarding owners with multiple bonuses in addition to our ever popular £25,000 Tattersalls October Book 1 Bonus, which has seen more than £8 million in bonus prize-money paid to owners since the scheme's inception,” said Tattersalls Chairman Edmond Mahony.

“That the Craven Group 1 Bonus has been won twice in three years is testament to the outstanding quality on offer year after year at the Craven Breeze-up Sale which once again in 2023 produced more Group and Listed winners than any other European breeze-up sale.”

The Craven Breeze-up Sale starts the two-year-old sales season in Europe and takes place on April 16 and 17, with the horses set to breeze on the Rowley Mile at Newmarket on Monday, April 15.

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The joint top lot of that sale, Vandeek was knocked down to Anthony Stroud on behalf of KHK Racing Ltd and was making it two wins from as many starts for Simon and Ed Crisford at Goodwood. 

After Vandeek made a successful debut at Nottingham last month, Kavanagh admitted that relief was the overriding emotion that he experienced. 

However, with Group 1 targets put forward by connections after Thursday's triumph, the young operator explained that he was beginning to allow himself to enjoy the occasion and pointed to how special it is for his family to be associated with a colt who could now be bound for the Prix Morny in France. 

He said, “It's a great accolade for the horse to come out and be unbeaten in his first two starts on a racecourse and to win such a prestigious race as the Richmond. It's a testimony to what is a family run business here at home between Glending, Kildaragh Stud and Alice [Kavanagh's sister] with AK Thoroughbreds. I can remember the first day I got the leg up on Vandeek, Alice was holding on to him, and he was a fine, big and strapping colt. Having capable people in place to do the job right and produce them at the sales in the best possible shape is a huge asset.”

Kavanagh added, “Even my mum [Antoinette] in accounts who manages the logistics of everything and my Dad [Peter] who has been a great guide from day one, it's been a massive team effort. We have some key people on the farm here as well but for us as a family, being associated with a horse like Vandeek, it means a lot.”

Vandeek was bred by Maywood Stud, who sold him as a foal to Childwickbury Stud at the Tattersalls December Foal Sale for 52,000gns. He was knocked down to Glending at the December Yearling Sale at Tattersalls for just 42,000gns before turning that mammoth profit less than six months later at the Craven Breeze-Up Sale, which has proved a major confidence booster for everyone at Glending, according to Kavanagh.

He explained, “We put in a new gallop at home and this year's two-year-olds were the first to come off it. I'm sure there are lots of other variables that make it work but the fact that the system is in place for producing horses for the breeze-ups and for them to go on and do the business on the track and continue to progress, it's very encouraging. We plan to go back and do something similar this year and results like this gives you the confidence to reinvest.”

Vandeek has already confirmed himself as one of the smartest juveniles in training in Britain but Kavanagh says that he is confident that the colt can be even better next year.

He said, “I know we are getting towards the back end of the season now but I didn't expect him to be doing it as he is. With Havana Grey, you'd be expecting precocity but I wasn't sure he was going to be as early as this. It's great to see him kicking on and getting to an international level of competition. The Morny will be the ultimate test but, at this stage, he has earned his place in the line-up in a Group 1.

“Cormac O'Flynn, who owned the horse in partnership with me, was talking about the Craven Stakes for the horse next year even before today. I was slagging him about that but it's looking like it could be a fair shout now. Hopefully he would be on course for races like that next season and, with his physical stature, you would be thinking that he can make up into a very good three-year-old.”

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14:15 Nottingham, Mdn, £6,850, 2yo, 6f 18yT
VANDEEK (GB) (Havana Grey {GB}) emerges a touch later than would have been expected from a colt who at 625,000gns was the joint sale topper at the Tattersalls Craven Breeze Up. Simon and Ed Crisford introduce KHK Racing Ltd's grey from the family of the sires Anabaa and Key Of Luck against last month's Newmarket runner-up Never So Brave (Ire) (No Nay Never), a Saeed Suhail-Sir Michael Stoute project who was close enough to TDN Rising Star Ancient Wisdom (Fr) (Dubawi {Ire}) to suggest he has ability.

14.25 Newbury, Novice, £12,000, 2yo, 7fT
TRAFALGAR SQUARE (IRE) (Too Darn Hot {GB}), a 600,000gns Book 1 graduate, is introduced by Andrew Balding for Qatar Racing in the maiden the stable won 12 months ago with Chaldean (GB) (Frankel {GB}) and which saw Bayside Boy (Ire) (New Bay {GB}) prevail the year previously. A son of the G2 May Hill S. scorer and G1 Prix Marcel Boussac runner-up Turret Rocks (Ire) (Fastnet Rock {Aus}) and half-brother to last month's G3 Jersey S. winner Age Of Kings (Ire) (Kingman {GB}), he has it to do to match up to the Westerberg colour-bearer Maximum Dividend (Ire) (American Pharoah), a Richard Hannon-trained son of the G3 Give Thanks S. winner Sizzling (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) who was such a promising nose second to Juddmonte's Starlore (GB) (Kingman {GB}) at Sandown a fortnight ago.

HOW THEY FARED
18.20 Leopardstown, Mdn, €16,000, 2yo, f, 8fT
Andromeda (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}), the full-sister to the G1 Irish 1000 Guineas heroine Peaceful (Ire), put up a debut full of promise in second.

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19.20 Newcastle, Nov, £15,000, 2yo, 5f (AWT)
Having skipped a six-furlong test at Thirsk yesterday, Kevin Ryan trainee NARIKO (IRE) (Night Of Thunder {Ire}) is rerouted further North for her debut over this shorter trip. She was the highest-priced filly at Tattersalls' Craven Breeze-Up Sale when selling for 600,000gns and is a half-sister to G3 Molecomb S. winner Rumble Inthejungle (Ire) (Bungle Inthejungle {GB}). The May-foaled bay faces five rivals in this straight dash.

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13.50 Thirsk, Novice, £6,500, 2yo, f, 6fT
NARIKO (IRE) (Night Of Thunder {Ire}) debuts two months after becoming the highest-priced filly at the Tattersalls Craven Breeze Up Sale when selling for 600,000gns. Owned by Furkhat Ibragimov and trained by Kevin Ryan, the May-foaled half-sister to the G3 Molecomb S. winner Rumble Inthejungle (Ire) (Bungle Inthejungle {GB}) meets another pricey newcomer in Coverdale Stud's Lunar Shine (Ire) (Kodiac {GB}), a James Horton-trained half-sister to the recent G1 Prix d'Ispahan winner Anmaat (Ire) (Awtaad {Ire}) who cost 300,000gns at the Book 1 Sale.  

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For reasons that are hard to fathom, ungraded sales, with horses sold merely in alphabetical order of their dam's name, can often be wildly disparate in regard to results from the different sessions. While Tuesday evening's trade looked on the tough side, with the clearance rate dropping to 69% from last year's 78%, and a 9% and 10% slide in the average and median figures, Wednesday came rallying with a late charge to level things up considerably. A final-day clearance rate of 84% meant that overall the sale settled at 76%, largely the same as 2022, with the average up by 5% and median down by 11%.

The buying bench had its usual international feel, though Amo Racing, which spent just over 1.5 million gns under various guises at last year's Craven Sale, was a notable absentee. Ironically, Kia Joorabchian's operation then won the following day's G3 Craven S. with Arqana breeze-up graduate Indestructible (Ire) (Kodiac {GB}).

As ever, we hear about the big touches, such as Roderick Kavanagh and Cormac O'Flynn turning a 42,000gns December yearling into a 625,000gns breezer, but for every hit, there are plenty of misses. Those operating in the breeze-up sector are well used to spreading the risk and praying that one horse will cover potential losses on others, especially as the cost of the yearlings now turning up at breeze-up sales has risen considerably. 

The number catalogued across the sector is also rising. Last year saw the introduction of the Goffs Dubai Sale during the Dubai World Cup week. Though this takes place in the Middle East, we can pretty much count it as a European sale, featuring as it does the same group of consignors. Across the six breeze-up sales, from Goffs Dubai in March, to Goresbridge in late May, a total of 1,115 juveniles have been catalogued this year, which is an increase of 92 (9%) from 2022.

The question on the minds of most consignors will be whether or not the specialised sector can sustain such an increase. In this sense, the breeze-ups may even have become a victim of their own success to a degree, following a banner year in which the headline horses were the Classic winners Native Trail (GB), Cachet (Ire) and Eldar Eldarov (GB).

At the top end of the Craven market, 10 horses sold for 250,000gns or more in both this year and last. This time around, 59 reached six figures, compared to 46 in 2022.

Vendor Views

Matt Eves is the managing partner of Star Bloodstock, which, like many consignors, had mixed results at the Craven Sale. From an original draft of four, one horse was withdrawn, one failed to reach her reserve, another sold for two and a half times his yearling price, while another had a setback after breezing well.

“From a personal perspective, it was a rollercoaster,” said Eves candidly. “We had a Sea The Stars (Ire) colt on the first day, and he breezed really well and we had everybody looking at him and everybody on him. And then he comes out and he's got a slight lame step and suddenly it's a nightmare. So I went from having a horse that I was thinking was going to make 300 to 400,000 to having a horse that got 165,000 and nobody bidding in the ring.”

I'll be fascinated by the end of the year to see if the increased volume of horses has meant the spend has gone up or if we've had the same spend spread thinner – Matt Eves

He continued, “It felt, for most of the sale, that the catalogue was too big.  If Tattersalls want to carry on doing a catalogue of this size, they need to look back to the success they had in 2020 [during a season interrupted by Covid] when they had an Ascot section and a Craven section. And if they go back to doing that, then from a consignor perspective it will feel a lot better, to go back to that split so you've got the speedy types in one bit of the book and you've got the more expensive horses in the other. And what you had then was people coming in, they were looking for that Ascot horse, and you had the guys on the ground who would buy one for 40 grand. So if I got one that hadn't quite breezed like I'd hoped in the Craven section, I had a man on the ground who would give me 40 grand for it, whereas I didn't have that this year.”

Eves also believes that a change in format would help proceedings. “The sale is always too long, the way it is spread out,” he said. “The after-racing factor doesn't really have a massive impact in terms of getting people in so you need to think of a better way to do that. What they did in 2020 actually worked really well.”

He added, “I'll be fascinated by the end of the year to see if the increased volume of horses has meant the spend has gone up or if we've had the same spend spread thinner.”

Brendan Holland of Grove Stud sold all three horses offered at the Craven, with two making a tidy profit, including the most expensive filly of the sale, a daughter of Night Of Thunder (Ire) bought for €90,000 and sold to Kerri Radcliffe on a behalf of an unnamed, new London-based client for 600,000gns.

“One of the main things from the first two sales has been the poor clearance rates,” Holland said. In addition to the listed clearance rate of 76% at Tattersalls, the Dubai Sale weighed in at roughly the same on 74%.

“And there did seem to lack a middle market. On a positive note, there's new buyers for the top lots and there are more international buyers. They had an increased catalogue, the average did hold up, and the aggregate jumped accordingly. But on the back of such fantastic results last year in particular, and for a few years now, we would like to have seen a stronger clearance rate really, there's no doubt about that. I mean, it's a tough sector of the industry. You have to perform. It's not forgiving. It is about separating them and trying to find the good ones. I accept that.

“We've done okay so far, but the worry this year starting the season was that there's an increase in the numbers overall being sold. I think the sales companies have struggled to contain the numbers, understandably. They've been inundated with applications. But it's been proven over the last 10 years that there is only a certain market for a certain number of breeze-up horses, and it's not a thousand; it's not anywhere near that.  So I would think the theme will remain the same for the rest of season. There'll be plenty of money there, but there will be poor clearance rates.”

Holland also believes that there is a misconception that 'better' horses are being held back for the Arqana sale in mid-May.

“As vendors, we keep hearing it, but we're selecting in January, and we have to remind them by the first week in February,” he noted. “No-one knows in the first week of February who the best ones are. We pick them based on suitability for an early sale and a later sale, and it's a different type of horse. It's nothing to do with ability.

“I would traditionally have more late-maturing horses than early-maturing horses. I would struggle often to find what I would consider suitable Craven horses. I mean, I had three this week, I wish I had more, but when I sit down and go through the bunch, the drafts that I've bought, that's all I felt were suitable for a high-class early sale, which is what the Craven is. 

“But as regards the better ones going to France, that's a ridiculous statement to make really, if you think about how the horses are selected in the first instance. We can't be selecting abilities in January because we don't know then.”

Buyer Views

A skilled selector of young horses, Richard Ryan was in action at the Craven sale and signed for a Starspangledbanner (Aus) colt who will run in partnership for Teme Valley and Coolmore. A recent breeze-up purchase of his, the Group 1-placed French Claim (Fr) (French Fifteen {Fr}), runs in Saturday's Listed Vintage Crop S. at Navan.

From a buyer's perspective, Ryan opined that the middle market at the Craven was stronger than he had anticipated. He said, “I have been around a little while and I couldn't value accurately even closely on occasion. I was wide of the mark on many occasions to the tune of them far exceeding what I expected them to make.

“If you take the sums of some of those higher-echelon lots around the 600,000 mark, what would that get you in Book 1? Would you expect to find something by a proven, Group 1 or Classic-producing stallion? Highly likely. From a very high-class page with a very effective broodmare sire that may even have stakes pretensions under the first dam? Highly likely. 

“Spending that sort of number on a breezing two-year-old in April by a sire that has had a couple of maiden winners on occasion, that's all, and nowhere near Group 1-producing level yet, from some indifferent pages as well, and the fact that it has been asked to achieve a sub-12 second furlong for one or two furlongs, if at all, is actually head-scratching. In the global market for proven horses in training, £600,000 will get you a stakes winner. So I scratch my head a little bit at the rationale of some of those upper-echelons figures, but if two people are bidding against each other, then so be it.”

I was wide of the mark on many occasions to the tune of them far
exceeding what I expected them to make – Richard Ryan

He continued, “If you take a Sea The Stars or Dubawi, or for example Wootton Bassett, or a nice No Nay Never, something that has a rake of evidence supporting it, then there will be numbers of people willing to bat against each other. But even those by middle-market stallions, that weren't the dearest individuals as yearlings, probably aren't quite there yet and whose breezes were just adequate, were far exceeding my valuations in the mid-ranges, so I genuinely felt wide of the mark in terms of rationale behind the hammer fall this week.”

Ryan, whose previous breeze-up purchases also include the stakes winners Mitcham (Ire), Peace Offering (Ire) and Buxted (Ire), added, “The breeze-up sector is an incredible indictment of the skills of the vendors. It shows the enormous depth of horsemanship they have as a wider team. It is quite impressive to say the least that they are able to produce a horse at this time of year, keep it intact without overdoing it, and giving the trainers that follow on cause for confidence.”

Anthony Stroud is also no stranger to the full range of bloodstock sales and has enjoyed success through breeze-up purchases Native Trail, Sir Gerry and A'Ali (Ire) among others. At this year's sale he signed for the co-top lots, one for Godolphin and the other for an undisclosed client, among four purchases.

Regarding the increase in numbers this season, he said, “There's no doubt that the breeze-up sector is a very good medium for buying horses but it is difficult to know where all the clients will come from.”

Of the Craven Sale in particular, for which the horses breeze on the turf of Newmarket's Rowley Mile on the Monday, followed by two post-racing sale sessions on Tuesday and Wednesday, Stroud added, “I think what's very difficult is that as the weather improved the ground got a bit better for the horses breezing later. Consistency of ground is very important for everyone, whether you start early in the morning or whether you're the last one up. People have to take account of that when they are doing the timings and the stride patterns. Going up the Rowley Mile for Tattersalls is a very good test but the consistency is something that needs to be discussed between the consignors and the sales company.”

Stroud continued, “I think there needs to be a break of, say, 20 minutes during the breeze because it's quite a lot for people to take on board, the concentration levels required, though they are very efficient at getting through them quickly. 

“They've added an extra 30 horses and the last horse I bought was at 9.40 on the Wednesday night. I think that's too late for everyone involved, especially the staff. Mind you, I don't think it necessarily makes any difference to how the sale goes. However late a horse sells, people will be there to buy the right horse.”

The European breeze-up action moves on to Doncaster next week with the gallops session for the Goffs UK Breeze-up Sale taking place on Monday from 9am, followed the next day by the sale at 10am.

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Bred by Maywood Stud, the colt was picked up by Childwickbury Stud for 52,000gns out of the Tattersalls December Foal Sale, and joined Glending Stables when selling for 42,000gns in this ring as a December yearling just a few months ago. G1 Prix Robert Papin heroine Balbonella (Fr) (Gay Mecene) and her G1 Prix Maurice de Gheest-winning sire son Anabaa (Danzig) are under the third dam. A resident of Whitsbury Manor Stud, Havana Grey's progeny are going from strength to strength, and he sired his fourth group winner, Mammas Girl (GB), in Wednesday's G3 Lanwades Stud Nell Gwyn S.

On behalf of Godolphin, Stroud acquired a colt by Darley stallion Blue Point (Ire) for the same amount, 625,000gns, just one lot later to provide a fitting exclamation point to the two-day stand. Lot 199, bred by Armitage Bloodstock and part of the Oak Tree Farm draft, had already passed through this ring twice–when making 110,000gns from John Rowe during the 2021 Tattersalls December Foal Sale, and he was also a 70,000gns buyback from Book 2 of the October Yearling Sale.

The March-foaled bay is a son of Most Beautiful (GB) (Canford Cliffs {Ire}), who won the G3 Balanchine S. and was group/graded placed another three times. Her dam, in turn, won the Listed Pretty Polly S. and was also twice third in the G2 Pride S. Blue Point already has a trio of winners to his name, with his latest being Blue Storm (GB) in a novice stakes on Tuesday.

The post Anthony Stroud Snaps Up A Pair Of 625k Colts By Havana Grey And Blue Point Late At Tattersalls appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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