Young Sires: Who’s Backing Who To Be A Success In 2024?

With the foal sales at Goffs and Tattersalls confined to the rear view mirror, perhaps now is the time to get a good gauge on the young sires coming through. 

Bragging rights belong to St Mark's Basilica (Fr), who topped the December Foal Sale at Tattersalls when a filly by the multiple Group 1-winning stallion out of Oaks winner Talent (GB) sold for 575,000gns. 

The St Mark's Basilica sale-topper was consigned by Ashbrittle Stud and bought by agent Jill Lamb on behalf of Newsells Park Stud, with the former labelling the filly as the nicest foal that she had seen by the stallion. 

Add that result to a 180,000gns colt to Camas Park Stud, a filly to Ronald Rauscher for 175,000gns and a colt to Yeomanstown Stud for 130,000gns, it's fair to say St Mark's Basilica stamped his authority as a force to be reckoned with.

Space Blue (Ire) was the other big name whose first foals were eagerly anticipated at Goffs and Tattersalls. A colt by the Kildangan-based stallion caught the attention of Baroda Stud at €140,000 at Goffs while the triple Group 1 winner enjoyed solid trade at Tattersalls with a filly making 95,000gns and two colts selling for 80,000gns apiece. 

'Yeomanstown Don't Come Up With A Bad One Too Often'

Peter Kelly summed Supremacy (Ire) up at Goffs when, after selling his half-brother by the stallion to Group 3-winning juvenile Caught U Looking for €180,000, he said, 'Yeomanstown don't come up with a bad horse too often.' The early signs are that the O'Callaghans could be on to a decent one with Supremacy with 31 foals selling at Goffs for an average of €30,952.

The Six-Figure Lots For Starman

Three foals–two colts and a filly–by Starman (GB) have cleared six figures between Goffs and Tattersalls. Two of those were snapped up by Tally-Ho Stud, where the Group 1-winning sprinter will stand at €10,000 for 2024. Jimmy Murphy of Redpender Stud was another notable supporter of the stallion when signing for a Starman colt for €120,000 at Goffs. 'Flash' Conroy, Timmy Hyde of Camas Park Stud and the Gleeson brothers were other notable buyers.

Vega Looking Lucky

One of the stories to emerge from Goffs was the positivity at which the market met Lucky Vega (Ire). The Group 1-winning juvenile, who stands at the Irish National Stud, achieved sales of €75,000, €72,000 and €65,000. The support continued at Tattersalls last week with Tinnakill House Stud selling a half-sister to Prix de l'Abbaye runner-up Good Vibe (Ire) (Dream Ahead) for 82,000gns.

Nando The Surprise Package

Fellow Irish National Stud-based stallion Nando Parrado (GB) could be viewed as something of a surprise package. Standing for just €6,000, he achieved a rock-solid average of €17,800 for 20 foals sold at Goffs with three foals clearing €30,000. A 20,500gns average for six foals sold at Tattersalls represented another good innings for the son of Kodiac (GB) who makes plenty of appeal to breeders operating on a budget.

Alkumait Packing A Punch

Similar comment could apply to Alkumait (GB), the Showcasing (GB) half-brother to 2,000 Guineas winner Chaldean (GB) (Frankel {GB}), who stands for €5,000. Two foals by Alkumait sold for €32,000 and €30,000 at Goffs, with top judges Shane and Alex Power of Tradewinds signing for the latter.

Lope Y Looking Good

A 100,000gns colt capped a memorable debut performance for the foals by Lope Y Fernandez (Ire). Standing at the National Stud for £8,500, Lope Y Fernandez is averaging more than double that fee on 50 foals sold in Britain and Ireland. He has earned the plaudits of some top judges and, along with a 100,000gns colt sold at Tattersalls, Kelly Equine also signed for a colt by the stallion for 78,000gns.

Top Judges Row In Behind Pinatubo

Of the stallions with their first runners next year, it seems as though Pinatubo (Ire) is the one that the majority are rowing in behind. It was a fair achievement for Pinatubo to finish third in the sires table at Tattersalls in terms of aggregate. Granted, Pinatubo was well-represented with 14 foals selling throughout the week, but perhaps the metric to concentrate on here is that his average of 115,500gns and aggregate of 1,617,000gns is greater than what the brilliant first-season sire Blue Point (Ire) achieved through the very same representation. For Blue Point's 14 foals, he cleared an average of 109,929gns and an average of 1,539,000gns. Could Pinatubo chart a similar path next season?

Strong Support For Ghaiyyath

The strength behind Ghaiyyath (Ire) continued last week, with 10 foals selling for an average of 97,500gns, but most interesting was the support from within. Godolphin signed for just four foals last week, two of which were by Ghaiyyath–a colt and a filly respectively to the tune of 540,000gns. That followed on from a bumper performance from Ghaiyyath at Goffs where 23 foals sold for just shy of a €50,000 average and an aggregate of €1,127,500 which made him the second-highest performing stallion at the Irish sale. The figures held up at Tattersalls last week with 10 foals selling for an average of 97,500gns. It's probably an understatement to describe the Darley operation to be in good health with a view towards next season. Rare has there been a more exciting time for the outfit. 

Earthlight Adds To The Excitement At Darley

Earthlight (Ire) adds to that excitement at Darley. There were just six foals by the stallion at Tattersalls and they averaged 63,800gns. But the real story was how punters couldn't get enough of foals by Earthlight at Goffs with Yeomanstown Stud, Camas Park, Ballyphilip and Manister House Stud all featuring on the list of buyers where 13 sold for an average of €56,770.

Good Vibes Behind Mohaather 

Of the other stallions with runners next year, Mohaather (GB) is one who continues to earn the respect in the ring. Not only does Shadwell have eight horses by the Group 1-winning miler to look forward to next season, but plenty of shrewd buyers snapped up yearlings by Mohaather this year. The foals were equally well-received with Mark Dwyer, Eddie O'Leary, 'Flash' Conroy and Shadwell themselves signing for foals by the big-walking stallion at Tattersalls.

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Almost 30 Million Guineas Spent On Foals At Tatts But Figures Take A Dip 

Tattersalls chairman Edmond Mahony acknowledged the weakness of the lower end of the market as the Tattersalls December Foal Sale concluded on Saturday with a 125,000gns Showcasing (GB) filly leading the way. 

Almost 30 million gns was spent on foals this week at Tattersalls while Friday saw the most expensive foal sold so far this year–a St Mark's Basilica (Fr) filly–in Europe and North America at 575,000gns.

However, the aggregate of 29,842,902gns was down 15% on last year while the average dropped 6% to 44,608gns. The clearance rate was more or less the same, dropping 1% to 75%, while the median dropped 19% to 21,000gns.

Mahony commented, “Sustained demand for quality foals has been the feature of the four days of selling at Europe's premier foal sale. In addition to the highest price for a foal in Europe and North America this year there have been a record 29 foals sold for 200,000 guineas or more and a healthy diversity of buyers in all sectors of the market.

“The cream of the British and Irish foal crop has attracted buyers in abundance not only from Britain and Ireland but also from throughout Europe and the Gulf region as well as China, Japan and America. The overseas demand has had a significant impact on trade which, although not matching last year's record levels, has remained robust with the exception of the lower end of the market which we must all recognise has been challenging.”

He added, “The pinhookers will always be the backbone of any Tattersalls December Foal Sale and as ever they have worked tirelessly, but the contribution from so many significant owners is becoming an increasingly important and regular feature of the sale. When a sale consistently produces racehorses the calibre of 2000 Guineas winner Chaldean (GB) and the unbeaten Group 1- and 2-winning two-year-olds Vandeek (GB) and Ghostwriter (Ire), it reflects the quality of the stock presented by the consignors and it is clear that their confidence in the sale has been reciprocated by many of the world's most successful racehorse owners.

“Another positive to come out of this year's December Foal Sale has been the overwhelmingly favourable response to the break in selling on the Thursday of the sale which allowed buyers valuable extra time to view the Friday and Saturday foals. The change was introduced in response to feedback from vendors and purchasers alike and as well as being well received it is notable that the clearance rates for both Friday and Saturday have improved significantly on last year's record-breaking sale.

“With a solid Tattersalls December Foal Sale behind us we now look forward to welcoming buyers from every continent in the world to Park Paddocks for another quality renewal of the Tattersalls December Sale which features some spectacular fillies and broodmares, many of them showcased in the elite Sceptre Sessions which take place on Monday and Tuesday.”

The Saturday topper (lot 1203) was consigned by Daymark Stud and went the way of Ciaran 'Flash' Conroy. The Showcasing filly is a sister to the stakes-placed Fourth Way (Ire) (Iffraaj {GB}) and will be offered for resale next year. 

Conroy commented, “Let's hope she is a top lot next year! She is a lovely physical, I like the stallion – he is a very good sire of fillies. She is a really good individual, very balanced, a very good walker. She is a Book 1 individual, and from a young operation so good to see young breeders having a good result.”

The sale capped off a solid day's trade for Daymark Stud with four foals selling for 263,000gns. 

“It is a sigh of relief! It has been incredible, we are very lucky, we are a very small operation,” the stud's Josh Cameron said. “I have done every hand walk with every single foal and some days I think 'Oh maybe I should get someone to help', but I do think it helps the foals in the end. I am not sure my girlfriend has loved living with me over the last eight weeks!

“But we got there in the end and thanks to the little syndicate who own the mare Messalina for their support. Two mates bought her out of Archie Watson's yard and sent her to me, and just said, 'See how you get on!' Her first foal by Havana Grey (GB), who we sold here last year for 46,000 guineas, is going to Kevin Philippart De Foy and this year she has produced this amazing Showcasing filly, who has not missed a beat all week. She is a real athlete and for someone like Flash to buy her is unreal.”

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Landmark Result For St Mark’s Basilica With 575k Sale-Topper At Tattersalls 

Friday marked a breakout result for five-time Group 1-winner St Mark's Basilica (Fr) as a filly by Coolmore's freshman sire out of the Oaks winner Talent (GB) (New Approach {Ire}) topped the December Foal Sale at Tattersalls on 575,000gns. The aggregate fell 11% compared to this day 12 months ago to 17,943,000gns while the clearance rate climbed 7% to 87%. The average fell 13% to 95,952gns and the median dipped 9% to 62,000gns.

It was bloodstock agent Jill Lamb, bidding on behalf of Newsells Park Stud, who came out on top for the most expensive foal sold at public auction in Europe or North America this year.

“She is beautiful, absolutely gorgeous-I fell in love with her as soon as I saw her,” Lamb said of lot 869. “She is very athletic and has a wonderful page. She has been bought to race and to come back to Newsells Park Stud [as a broodmare]. She has two half-sisters by Dubawi and she ticked all the boxes for us. We are delighted to get her.”

Talent landed the Oaks at Epsom a decade ago for trainer Ralph Beckett. She has already proved herself as a broodmare with her daughter, Ambition (GB) (Dubawi {Ire}), a Group 2 winner in France.

Lamb added, “I watched everyone going in for her and thought, 'oh my gosh!' St Mark's Basilica is the unknown quantity, but she is the nicest I have seen by him.”

The filly was bred, like her Classic-winning dam, by Mark Dixon and James Rowsell of Ashbrittle Stud in Somerset, which is also home to Talent's aforementioned daughter Ambition.

Stud manager Ginny Whales said after exiting the ring, “We have Ambition back and she had a Frankel (GB) foal this year and is in foal to Palace Pier (GB), and Talent herself is in foal to New Bay (GB), so if she has a filly we can keep her and race her.

“The idea is to keep the fillies and sell the colts but Talent's colts haven't been the prettiest. This filly was lovely though and she has been grand. She had 10 vets and she was getting very tired but she was still walking out and trying her best.”

She added, “I broke Talent in so it's been exciting to see the whole family. They tend to keep themselves out of trouble, so Talent and Prowess, when you got out to the field to feed them, they will walk away from everybody else and tell you where they want to be fed. They're complete divas. Then this foal and Ambition's Frankel foal do the same.”

 

 

Coolmore Go Strong For Vandeek's Brother At 450k

It can be a daunting task stepping out from the shadows of your older siblings but the Starspangledbanner (Aus) half-brother to dual Group 1-winning and unbeaten two-year-old sensation Vandeek (GB) (Havana Grey {GB}) did not disappoint when knocked down to Coolmore's MV Magnier at 450,000gns. 

Offered by Kelly Thomas of Maywood Stud, lot 961 capped a memorable year for the breeder following Vandeek's exceptional triumphs in the Prix Morny and Middle Park S. 

“He's taken everything in his stride. He's a very relaxed character, he likes his feed, likes his sleep and he likes to exercise,” a beaming Thomas said shortly after the sale. 

“Charlene [groom] has been frogmarched around the exercise ring every morning and he's come out every day as fresh as a daisy despite what he's had to do.”

Thomas added, “It's been one hell of a year for sure. Everything is quite surreal. We have five mares, we bred his dam. We actually sold her as a yearling and then bought her back for very little money. I've just had absolute faith in the family and felt that something had to come up at some stage. They're just too determined with that will to win, and their heads in front all the time. He even has his head in front at feed time; the other foals come second to him all the time, he just has that competitive nature.”

Thomas confirmed that the colt's dam Mosa Mine (GB) (Exceed And Excel {Aus}) is not in foal this year but asked whether she would be sending her back to Vandeek's sire Havana Grey, she replied with a smile, “Quite possibly.”

She continued, “It's all a bit overwhelming. There's almost a little bit more to worry about, as much as you're happy about it and want to go on to the next stage, but we had him at home and you wake up every morning and hope that he's still in one piece.”

MV Magnier confirmed the Starspangledbanner to be everything one would expect him to be; fast and precocious. 

He said, “A lovely horse and, in fairness to Kelly Thomas and everyone associated with him, they've done a great job. Starspangledbanner is doing so well and he's a brother to a very good horse. We're just glad we can support the Thomases. It's a good result for them. He's a lovely quality horse and he looks like he will be early and fast. Hopefully he will be. 

Amo Makes Statement Of Intent

Amo Racing might be best associated for sourcing horses from the yearling and breeze-up sales but Kia Joorabchian made something of a statement when splashing out 360,000gns on a Kingman (GB) colt through agent Alex Elliott. 

The Kingman boasts a strong pedigree, being a half-brother to smart sprinter Dragon Symbol (GB)–who has recently retired to stand at Whitsbury Manor Stud–and Elliott says the purchase made a lot of sense. 

He explained, “This is a three-parts brother to Dragon Symbol, who has been retired to stud. He's by an elite stallion in Kingman and was a beautiful horse physically. The mare has produced to lesser stallions–way lesser stallions–and he has been bought for Amo Racing.”

The Kingman colt was bred by Whitsbury, who ended the day as leading consignors so far this week with 21 lots sold for 1,940,500gns. The sale represented an important one for Elliott, having been beaten by Juddmonte earlier in the afternoon on a Wootton Bassett (GB) colt, and the agent was all too aware that he'd levelled the score. 

Elliott said, “He will go back to Ireland. We tried hard to buy the Wootton Bassett that Juddmonte bought and I think they underbid us on this horse. It's one-one! We obviously like Wootton Bassett because of King Of Steel and Bucanero Fuerte.

“But this horse [lot 909] made a lot of sense. For an end-user, the half-brother by Havana Grey made 250,000gns here last year and he came back and made 600,000gns to Godolphin. Kia has a long-term plan for this horse and hopefully he's another good one for the Amo operation.”

Elliott went on to sign for the Showcasing (GB) half-brother to 2,000 Guineas winner Chaldean (GB) (Frankel {GB}) on behalf of an unnamed client from Whitsbury for 260,000gns.

Godolphin Snaps Up Brother To Bay Bridge

A brother to Bay Bridge (GB) lived up to his billing as one of the star attractions to the Friday session when knocked down to Anthony Stroud on behalf of Godolphin for 375,000gns. 

Bred by James Wigan, whose colours were carried with great distinction by Bay Bridge, winner of the G1 Champion S. at Ascot in 2022, the colt (lot 942) was offered by the breeder's West Blagdon Stud. 

Stroud said, “He's for Godolphin. He's a really attractive horse and is a full-brother to a very good horse. It's a great stud to buy off because they produce such good horses. We're delighted to buy him.”

Talking Points
  • Juddmonte bought their 2,000 Guineas winner and new stallion Chaldean (GB) (Frankel {GB}) at this sale three years ago and returned to buy his Kingman (GB) half-brother for a sale-topping 1 million gns last year. This time around Juddmonte's Simon Mockridge signed for three colts — two by Kingman (GB) and one by Wootton Bassett (GB) — for 1,015,000gns.
  • It shouldn't go unnoticed the strong week that Sioux Nation has enjoyed. Three foals by the Coolmore-based sire, who has earned a bump to €27,500 for 2024, cleared six figures. One of which was a 210,000gns half-brother to Bright Diamond (Ire) (El Kabeir) (lot 898), bought by Castlehyde Stud from Riversfield Stud. All told, 10 horses by Sioux Nation have sold for an average of 71,200gns this week.
  • One of the fascinating subplots to the foal sales is viewing the stock of a young stallion and one would wager that those in the Lope Y Fernandez (Ire) camp are quite happy with their lot. Considering Lope Y Fernandez stands at the National Stud for £8,500, his results of 78,000gns, 45,000gns and 41,000gns have to be viewed as a major positive. 
  • Ghaiyyath (Ire) has not lacked for support from within at the yearling sales this season and that continued on Friday with Godolphin signing for a filly and a colt by the stallion for 350,000gns (lot 928) and 190,000gns (lot 916), respectively.
  • Pinatubo is more than capable of paddling his own canoe, it would seem, with a whopping seven foals by the Darley-based sire selling for six figures. That included a 250,000gns filly (lot 878) sold by Barton Stud to Blandford Bloodstock and another filly (lot 983) from Plantation Stud to JP Bloodstock for 240,000gns.
Buy of the Day

Fashion can work both ways and often the market can overreact, be that positively or negatively. It might just be the latter at the moment with Time Test, whose colt (lot 827) out of listed winner Dynamic (GB) (Teofilo {Ire}) looks a bargain at just 20,000gns. 

Consigned by Highclere Stud, the Time Test colt was a particularly racey offering by the sire, and Cigar Bloodstock–whoever that may be–could well be toasting this horse in the future. 

Thought of the Day

There was a super turnout at Tattersalls on Friday and the stock on offer clearly cut the mustard with 59 horses making six figures on the day.

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No Racing Background To Top Breeder And Pinhooker – Q&A With Hanshen Tham 

Hanshen Tham has become one of the most recognisable faces on the bloodstock circuit in Britain and Ireland but that's not to say that many people know a lot about the owner-breeder and pinhooker. Instead, Tham prefers to go about his business quietly. 

This year was a big one for the 34-year-old. His family enjoyed its greatest success on a racecourse when homebred Thornbrook landed a listed contest in France for Joseph O'Brien.

Not long afterwards, the Tham family enjoyed its biggest day in the ring when a Night Of Thunder half-sister to Thornbook, out of their top producer Lillebonne, sold for a whopping 500,000gns at Book 1 at Tattersalls. 

Despite no racing background, Tham has cut his teeth from working with Irish Thoroughbred Marketing to developing a quality broodmare band. He has also embarked on pinhooking foals recently and added a €210,000 Night Of Thunder colt to the books at Goffs last week.

Good horses are what drives the native of Malaysia who, having studied Computer Science at University, adopts a mathematical approach to his racing and breeding endeavors without limiting himself to it.

In this week's Q&A, Tham sat down with Brian Sheerin at Park Paddocks where he explained how he became hooked on bloodstock, his approach to the December Foal Sale and much more. 

What's your background in the game?

I was just your regular student who loved to punt on horses. I got into the sport that way and have no background in horses. When I was at University, instead of studying for my final exams in Computer Science, I was punting on Cheltenham. I would have been a casual follower of the sport at that time but, the more racing I watched, the more fascinated I became. I thought, 'I really have to try and get into the industry somehow.' But, definitely, it was from punting on racing that the passion developed. 

Was there any particular horse responsible for developing that passion?

I am 34 now, so I wouldn't have been that young at the time, but Frankel (GB) was the first wow horse for me. I never really thought about pedigrees much until he came along. After Frankel, I became very interested in why certain horses are better than others. 

Were you a serious punter?

Yes, I started to get into it quite seriously. I approached races from a mathematical point of view and loved the puzzle of working out races. I have an analytical mind-as I said, I studied Computer Science and I also spent some time in real estate-and still like the punting side of things. But, the pinhooking and breeding has probably taken over. 

The breeding and pinhooking is another form of punting, isn't it?

It's all part of the problem solving aspect of racing that my mind has always been fascinated with. We have eight or nine broodmares in Ireland with some good friends of ours, Peter and Carol Henley, and we try to adopt a quality over quantity approach. Peter and Carol are based in Kildare and are very good breeders. They produce very good racehorses and we're delighted to have teamed up with them. 

How has your broodmare band and racing interests developed? You and your Dad have gone from owning fun handicappers like T For Tango, Our Manekineko and My Manekineko to winning listed races and breeding big-ticket lots at some of the premier sales.

My Dad [Terry] liked punting as well. He used to work in England in the seventies and eighties and would always tell me about Grundy and Bustino. We're originally from Malaysia but Dad got introduced to horses originally through punting and walking in and out of the bookies. Dad took me to a lot of race meetings when I was younger. So, our interest started out as a bit of fun and, even up until recently, it has been that way. Our family business is property. My Dad obviously wanted me to go into that but I was too contrary and wanted to have a career in horse racing. My older brother and older sister are helping him out with the property business and I'm helping him to waste money on horses! I've gone a different path and, while my family took some convincing initially, it's been going okay in the past number of years so hopefully that will continue. 

Doing okay might be an understatement. While people might not know a lot about you, they are probably aware of Thornbrook (Ire) (Saxon Warrior {Jpn}), who is the latest high-class performer that your mare, Lillebonne (Fr) (Danehill Dancer {Ire}), has produced. 

Thornbrook has won her listed race but we do think she is capable of winning Group races next year, which is why she will stay in training. The whole story with the mare is just incredible. We've had successes with pinhooks and things like that but nothing quite like Lillebonne. 

How did you get into the family?

I am very good friends with trainer James Nash in Ireland. He has introduced me to a lot of good people in the industry, including Peter Henley. A lot of people I have met at the sales and in racing, they have been through James's connections. Peter is a very nice guy and I always liked the stock he produced-they all had good bone and looked like proper racehorses. I can remember he wouldn't shut up about this big Mehmas (Ire) colt he had going to Goffs one year. He was telling me for weeks and weeks that I needed to buy this horse. He turned out to be Magnanimous (Ire), who we bought for €50,000, and put into training with Joseph O'Brien. We got him sold for over €500,000 to Hong Kong where he has turned out to be a brilliant horse. After that, I bought into Lillebonne, and she has done it every year since, which is pretty incredible.

She has an excellent track record.

It's not normal. She has produced Seisai (Ire) (Gleneagles {Ire}), Thornbrook, Magnanimous and, funnily enough, Micro Manage (Ire) (Rip Van Winkle {Ire}), who was probably the most talented of them all.  He had Group level talent but was very hard to keep sound. Seisai was sold to Lane's End last year and I understand she is going to visit Flightline, which is exciting. Then there was the Night Of Thunder (Ire) filly, who we sold for 500,000gns through Baroda Stud here at Book 1. That was another brilliant result with the mare. 

Where does that rank in terms of achievements in the sport?

It's by far the best result we've had. We got a touch out of Magnanimous but it was special to share the success with the Henleys at Book 1. Full credit has to go to them because Carol sourced the mare for 40,000gns here in 2013. Carol is an excellent judge of a mare and I have learned a lot from her. 

And how did the link with Joseph come about? 

We got a horse for my Dad, Uncle Henry, who was a pretty average jumper but we got to know Joseph through that and we got on very well with him. Joseph is young but is very intelligent, driven and is an incredible horseman. I wouldn't describe myself as a horseman but I can ask Joseph anything and he will help me. I rely on the best horsemen I know and surround myself with the best people who know what they are doing. 

You might not label yourself as a horseman but plenty of people have described you as a good judge. How have you gone from having no background in the game to breeding and pinhooking to a high level?

One of the first agents I followed was a guy called Justin Bahen. I got to know him through James Nash and he mainly works the horses-in-training sales for the Hong Kong market. I can remember being green as grass with Justin. I know I was not a good student but I still follow a lot of the stuff he did and adopt similar processes to how he shortlists horses, what to look for and what not to look for. He was quite particular and I'd say I am quite particular as well. But the key was just getting out there and looking at as many horses as I could. I'd go to every sale and look at every horse I could. Over time, you pick it up. It's only recently that I became confident in my own abilities to judge a horse.

That's handy because you spent €210,000 on a Night Of Thunder colt last week at Goffs!

The main focus is breeding but I want to supplement that with pinhooking and will aim to buy a couple of foals each year. It's funny, the first sale I ever went to was at Goffs and I went around with Bobby O'Ryan. I can remember it was the time of No Nay Never's first foal crop and I liked a filly by him. I bought her with Bobby and that was my first pinhook. 

And did you turn a profit?

No, but she was a Group 2 winner. Her name was Nay Lady Nay (Ire) and she won four times for Chad Brown. Her full-brother Arizona (Ire) came out the following year and she ended up selling for $1.7 million. It's a mad game. 

Will you try and buy another foal here at Tattersalls?

I'll be trying but it won't be easy. I tried on a few on Wednesday but got outbid. I'll try again on Friday and have plenty on the list. The market is very sire dominated. You need to be by the right sire-Havana Grey (GB), Blue Point (Ire), Pinatubo (Ire), Night Of Thunder, that kind of thing. It's very sire focussed and I need to factor that into my pinhooking. Everything by the big sires will make a little more than it should. The yearling market was tricky enough this year and, apart from the Night Of Thunder filly, we had a pretty average year. 

With all of that in mind, how will you approach the next few months in terms of doing up mating plans for your mares?

Lillebonne needs a good cover but we don't go too high on the sires. She is in foal to Saxon Warrior, so we'll have a sibling to Thornbrook, but we don't like to stretch ourselves. We've a few nice mares coming through who, hopefully, will be the next Lillebonne. We'll see. There's a lovely mare there called Statuesque (GB) (Sea The Stars {Ire}), who we bought off Cheveley Park here in 2019 for 52,000gns. She has been producing really good stock. We bought her in foal to Le Havre (Ire), who turned out to be Beechwood (Ire). She won her maiden for John O'Donoghue and looks a promising filly. Statuesque has a really nice Space Blues (Ire) filly who is probably the best foal on our farm. We'd give her a good shot. 

You say you approach everything with an analytical mindset but how do you apply mathematics to breeding horses?

It's all probability, isn't it? You have a good sire and a good dam, you've got a good chance. But, anyone who works solely on stats, the proper horsemen will just run rings around them. You need to understand where you are looking. It's good to have things in the background about certain sires and statistics can be good at times but nothing is more important than looking at the physical attributes of a horse.

Given numbers are your forte, how have you viewed the market in recent times?

The domestic market is a bit of an issue. The health of the industry over here is a big worry. Take for example the Night Of Thunder filly we sold at Book 1, almost all of the vets were on behalf of American buyers. Very few trainers in Britain and Ireland had orders and that can't be healthy because the racing product is going to suffer. There are some very good trainers in Britain and they don't seem to have orders. Obviously, I am a racing fan, and I think racing in Britain and Ireland is the most entertaining. I live in London and never miss Royal Ascot and go to Sandown quite regularly as well. Prize-money is a big problem and, if the talent drain continues for another 10 years, we're going to weaken the product quite significantly. It's turning into an exporting business. Book 1 is the best of the best over here in England but the majority of the big horses were being sold abroad. That has to be a big worry. We still have amazing stallions and brilliant owner-breeders over here so that's the positives. 

And what are your own aims going forward?

To be involved in good horses. Like everyone, I'd love to be involved in a Group 1 horse. It might take a long time but that's the aim. I just want to be involved in good horses, be that buying them or selling them. My Dad supports me and, as I said, it took a long time to convince him about the idea. We buy nice fillies and race them with Joseph. If they're good enough, they feed into the broodmare band, and the hope is that we keep on breeding nice horses. There are some very good breeders around, the likes of Lodge Park Stud, Ballyphilip Stud, those kinds of guys are people to look up to. I just try to emulate those guys. We've a lot of good people helping us out so hopefully one day it happens. This is a great game, full of interesting people and some fascinating characters. I don't know how I got down this road but I am hooked. It's one big puzzle and I love it. 

 

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