Breeze-Up Sector Hopes For Positive Reboot

NEWMARKET, UK–Business as usual? Hardly. But at least things don't feel quite as unnervingly unusual as last year.

At the best of times, breeze-up pinhookers have a precarious window of opportunity. After a long winter of preparation, their horses get a few, fleeting seconds between those timing lasers–and if for any reason they misfire then very few prospectors nowadays, whatever they may claim, will give them the benefit of the doubt. And, unlike with foals and yearlings, there is no second chance. All you can do is put the horse into training yourself, and hope to sell off the track.

On the one hand, then, it was especially hard on this sector that it should have been the first exposed to the terrifying economic uncertainties that accompanied the outbreak of the pandemic this time last year. On the other, you could argue that the resilience and adaptability routinely demanded of its practitioners made them more eligible than anybody, once the time came for the industry to send someone back up that ladder and over the parapet.

The belated resumption of the breeze-up calendar, then, was not just an exercise in damage limitation in terms of their own profit and loss. It also became a gesture of perseverance on behalf of horsemen everywhere. They would absorb the shock and, so long as they could still afford it, they would be back in the autumn to restock.

In the event, that actually proved a somewhat more expensive process than they might have imagined in the summer. But the confidence that had returned to much of the market, by the time of the yearling sales, at least entitles consignors to return to Newmarket on Tuesday with some hope of due reward for their exposure last year.

For all the Covid protocols still to be observed, the Tattersalls Craven Sale is not only restored to its customary slot–having last year been staged the week after Royal Ascot–but coincides with the latest easing in national restrictions. Just to be here, renewing such familiar rituals, heightens a sense that things may finally be getting back onto an even keel.

Yes, the calendar remains in a state of flux, not least given the contrasting Covid picture in France and Ireland. Yet those present for the breeze show were nonetheless heartened to renew one of the most timeless spectacles anywhere on the Turf: the silhouette of a young Thoroughbred pulling up against the horizon of the Rowley Mile. Pandemic or no pandemic, the skylarks remained delirious as ever; and the slow clouds, hanging high in the East Anglian sky, alternated the lingering chill of winter with samples of brighter days ahead.

True, the number of spectators appeared down on years past, but then this is hardly the only environment where remote retail has matured in consumer trust over the past year. Besides, we know how many people nowadays view even breeze videos through a prism of evidence gleaned by their timers, stride-counters and all the rest. Quite how many buyers are still incorporating old-fashioned horsemanship into their shortlisting is another matter. As always, it was fascinating to observe the observers: which agents, for instance, didn't bother to make a single note all morning; and which, equally, sited themselves to pick up any “straws in the wind” as the horses were eased.

Tattersalls, for their part, have assisted the regrouping process by introducing a twin bonus scheme, worth £125,000 to any graduate of the sale who can first win a juvenile race at Royal Ascot; and another £125,000 to any who can first win one of the 15 European Group 1 races open to 2-year-olds. (This would be split in a ratio of £100,000 and £25,000 to owner and vendor, respectively.) Consignors are complimenting Tattersalls on looking to their laurels, regarding this sale, with Doncaster having made such an effective play for the precocious types likely to be ready for Ascot, and Arqana muscling in on pedigrees that might take a little longer but also reach a little higher.

As ever, of course, it all boils down to flesh and blood and the associated roll of the dice. Few consignors ever get a pleasant surprise at the breeze show, and there were the usual cases of stage fright and/or soreness reported here. But at least those are familiar challenges. By the time this sale was eventually staged last year, with many horses sold to regular clientele off the home gallops, a catalogue of 154 had shrunk to 84 in the ring. Of these, 70 sold for a 61,000gns median and 94,993gns average, down from 85,000gns and 121,682gns, respectively the previous year–and from sale records of 110,000gns and 144,082gns in 2017. Yet it was a relief just to get the cycle renewed in some form.

Overall, the salvaged calendar contrived what was generally considered an acceptable return in the circumstances. Many had feared real carnage.

“It was all little bit nervous, to say the least,” recalls Brendan Holland of Grove Stud. “Would there be a marketplace at all? And if so, how would it happen? And not only was there a marketplace, but an amazing increase of about 20% in the amount of individual buyers.”

The clearance rate was strong, too, though it must be said that would prove a trend in every sector, suggestive of a “fire sale” mentality.

“For sure, there was a higher-than-normal level of pragmatism in the valuation of stock,” concedes Holland wryly. “And possibly there was an element, in the increased number of purchasers, of people seeking value as a result. But ultimately it was about the success the horses have had on the track. Even in an uncertain year, that over-rode everything. There was bigger participation than you'd ever have imagined, and that was because the track end is what it's all about. The breeze-up horses are performing consistently at a higher and higher level every year.

“It's so important for the overall health of the industry that our particular part held up, because we're such important investors in the yearling market–and of course that feeds into the foal market, feeds into the mare market. I'm also a yearling seller, so a healthy breeze-up market was as important for me in that way as it was as a breeze-up seller. They're all links in the same chain and thankfully it held up.”

Holland found Book 2 of the October Sale as strong as ever, but did feel that restocking was slightly less expensive elsewhere.

“The other sales, worldwide, were all back a little bit,” he says. “Back by acceptable margins, but still back: it was a little bit easier to buy. Because I think people in the autumn were still in that pragmatic mood, with their valuations, and there was still uncertainty.”

His biggest concern, as an Irish consignor, is that the business has jumped straight from the frying pan of Covid into the fire of Brexit.

“And that, to me, is much more challenging even than Covid,” he argues. “It has different and long-term implications, for the economy and for the ability to do business. Covid will pass. Brexit's not going to pass. You couldn't describe the headaches it's causing, in unnecessary paperwork and cost.”

Routines that Holland has been following for 20 years have suddenly become complicated and expensive.

“I had the Department of Agriculture checking my horses coming here,” he says. “Then we had another check for Doncaster. Because I'm now exporting to a 'third country' outside the E.U., by law they have to check all these horses before they can travel. Brexit is adding costs not just to the British economy but to other economies as well, and there's no gain: only extra cost, extra bureaucracy. People give out about E.U. bureaucracy but it's been replaced by even more.”

But if the goalposts keep moving, then you can fall back on one constant.

“Your job is to produce nice horses,” Holland stresses. “That's what keeps you in business. Your job is not to forecast trade, economies, currency differences. You can't start thinking about things that you have no control over. Producing the horses is what will get you out, in good times and bad.”

Holland himself has started the cycle with familiar challenges. Only three of his original six entries made the journey, thanks to untimely setbacks. One will make another sale, but the other pair will have to go into training. But it's precisely because such experiences are so familiar that this sector has its reputation not only for resilience and adaptability, but also for world-class horsemanship.

“This is an extremely tough way to make a living for many reasons,” Holland reflects. “First of all because you're dealing with something so unpredictable, in livestock. But also because of who you're competing against. When most people go to work in the morning, they're not competing against the best in the world. But we are: every sale we go to, Europe and America. So you just have to make the most of your good luck, and hope that you have a proper card somewhere in your deck. Because some years you won't–and you will always have the other kind!

“It wasn't just our industry that faced challenges last year. It was the whole world. So you just had to be accommodating, had to be flexible. And yes, I'd say we are flexible by nature anyway. When you work with animals, you're being challenged daily, never mind annually. So it was a big deal, but we coped.”

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Tattersalls Craven Sale Breeze Videos Now Online

Videos of the individual breezes for the 2-year-olds cataloged in the Tattersalls Craven Breeze Up Sale are online now at www.tattersalls.com.

The videos can also be viewed via the Tattersalls App on the iPhone or iPad or on other smart phones via www.tattersalls.com. The sale is set to take place on Tuesday, April 13 and Wednesday, April 14 starting at 5:45 p.m.

A total of 169 high quality juveniles are cataloged for Europe's premier sale of 2-year-olds in training, which has produced a remarkable 49 group and listed winners in the last five years. All 169 lots are eligible for the new £250,000 Craven Royal Ascot/Group 1 Bonus, in addition to the lucrative and widely acclaimed £15,000 Craven Breeze Up Bonus.

Catalogs for the Craven Breeze Up Sale are out now and available from Tattersalls and Tattersalls representatives. Live internet bidding will also be available with more details available at www.tattersalls.com/livebidding.

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Breezes for Tattersalls Craven Breeze Up Sale to Take Place on Monday

In advance of the Tattersalls Craven Breeze Up Sale on Apr. 13-14, the breezes will be held over the Rowley Mile at Newmarket beginning at 9:30 a.m. on Monday morning. Tattersalls has ensured that there are multiple options to view the breezes, including live vide coverage streamed directly to the Sale Day Live page on the Tattersalls website: www.tattersalls.com. In addition, the breezes may be viewed on the Tattersalls YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/Tattersalls1766/ or on the Tattersalls Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/Tattersalls/.

Replays of the breezes will also be available for viewing on the Tattersalls website shortly after each breeze. The catalogue features 169 2-year-olds, with all lots eligible for the £250,000 Craven Royal Ascot/Group 1 Bonus, as well as the £15,000 Craven Breeze Up Bonus. In the last five years, the sale has produced 49 stakes winners.

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Tattersalls Craven Breeze Up Catalog Online Now

The catalog for the Tattersalls Craven Breeze Up, which will take place Monday, April 12 – Wednesday, April 14, can be viewed online at www.tattersalls.com and will be available from Tattersalls and Tattersalls Representatives from Monday, March 8.

A total of 168 high quality juveniles are catalogued for Europe's premier sale of two-year-olds in training which has produced a remarkable 49 Group and Listed winners in the last five years.

All 168 lots are eligible for the new £250,000 Craven Royal Ascot/Group 1 Bonus which will offer a £125,000 bonus for the first Craven Breeze Up winner of any of the six two-year-old races at Royal Ascot. An additional £125,000 bonus will also be paid to the first Craven Breeze Up winner of any of the 15 European Group 1 races open to two-year-olds, including the all-age Group 1 Nunthorpe Stakes at York and the Group 1 Prix de l'Abbaye de Longchamp. This is in addition to the lucrative and widely acclaimed £15,000 Craven Breeze Up Bonus, which has rewarded the owners of horses bought from the Craven Breeze Up Sale with more than £250,000 in bonus prize-money since its inception in 2019.

The catalog features 20 2-year-olds out of group or listed winning mares including the Frankel colt out of Group 1 Prix Jean Romanet winner Ribbons, and the Dubawi colt out of the Group 3 winner Stellar Path. Also out of top class racemares are U.S.-bred colts by Arrogate and Union Rags out of the Grade 1 winners Funny Moon and Careless Jewel, respectively.

Additionally there are own or half brothers and sisters to a further 32 group or listed winners cataloged, including two exceptionally well bred sons of Siyouni. Oak Tree Farm consigns a half-brother to the Grade 1 scorer Western Aristocrat, whilst Longways Stables offers a half-brother to the Grade 2 winner and Grade 1 runner-up Mrs Sippy. The catalog also features the Aclaim half-brother to Group 1 Sussex Stakes winner Here Comes When consigned by Ardglas Stables and the half-sister to the Group 2 winner and classic placed Laughing Lashes, by exciting first-season American sire Mastery, coming from Mocklershill.

No less than 42 of the sires represented in the catalog have already produced Classic or Group 1 winners including Acclamation, Camelot, Dark Angel, Dubawi, Exceed and Excal, Frankel, Invincible Spirit, Kingman, Kodiac, Le Havre, Lope de Vega, Mehmas, No Nay Never, Oasis Dream, Pivotal, Sea the Stars, Showcasing, and Siyouni. Leading U.S.-based sires also feature prominently including proven Grade 1 sires American Pharoah, Bernardini, Distorted Humor, Empire Maker, Hard Spun, Kitten's Joy, More Than Ready, Street Boss, Street Sense, and Union Rags.

Equally impressive is the exciting group of first-season sires with their first crop of 2-year-olds with Aclaim, Almanzor, Ardad, Caravaggio, Churchill, Cotai Glory, Ectot, El Kabier, Galileo Gold, Highland Reel, Profitable, Recorder, Ribchester, Time Test, and Ulysses, joined by a strong contingent of U.S.-based contemporaries including Arrogate, Gormley, Mastery, and Practical Joke.

Irish consignors Mocklershill and Aguiar Bloodstock have the equal largest consignments with 12 juveniles cataloged a piece, whilst last year's sale-topping consignor Tally-Ho Stud will bring eight 2-year-olds to the sale. The largest British-based team comes from Malcolm Bastard, who has a team of eight to represent him.

In addition to all lots being eligible for both the new £250,000 Craven Royal Ascot/Group 1 Bonus and the £15,000 Craven Breeze Up Bonus, buyers looking to benefit from additional incentives will be well catered for with nine lots entered in the hugely popular £20,000 Tattersalls October Book 1 Bonus. There are also 12 fillies registered for the Great British Bonus Scheme, 10 2-year-olds eligible for French Owners' Premiums, and one 2-year-old eligible for each of the £150,000 Tattersalls October Auction Sales Stakes and the €300,000 Tattersalls Ireland September Super Auction Sales Race.

Commenting on the Tattersalls Craven Breeze Up catalog, Tattersalls Chairman Edmond Mahony said;

“The combination of the new £250,000 Craven Royal Ascot/Group 1 Bonus and the £15,000 Craven Breeze Up Bonus makes the 2021 Tattersalls Craven Breeze Up Sale a compelling prospect for owners. We are committed to rewarding owners in as many innovative ways as we can and a quality Craven Breeze Up catalogue, well supported by Europe's leading breeze up consignors, as well as unprecedented bonuses provide the perfect ingredients for owners, especially in the current climate. The Tattersalls Craven Breeze Up has always been a prolific source of top class 2-year-olds and they stand to be rewarded like never before in 2021.”

The 'breeze' for the Tattersalls Craven Breeze Up Sale will take place at Newmarket's Rowley Mile Racecourse on Monday, April 12 starting at 9:30 a.m., and the sale will take place on Tuesday, April 13 and Wednesday, April 14, after the conclusion of racing on the first two days of Newmarket's three-day Craven Meeting.

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