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Bolger Sends ‘Safe Hands’ Prendergast a Filly to Train

Two legends of Irish racing will join forces for the first time this season after Jim Bolger revealed that he has a 2-year-old filly by Holy Roman Emperor (Ire) in training with Kevin Prendergast.

Bolger gave €31,000 for the recently named Roman Moon (Ire) after Prendergast recommended the filly at the Goffs Orby Sale last September and she is set to break new ground by becoming his first runner with the Friarstown operator.

Roman Moon will carry the white and purple colours of Bolger's wife Jackie, once carried to major glories by Teofilo (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}), New Approach (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) and more recently Poetic Flare (Ire) (Dawn Approach {Ire}), when she hits the track this summer.

Speaking about the reasoning in sending the filly to the 89-year-old handler, Bolger told TDN Europe, “It was Kevin who suggested that we buy the filly and, when we did, we said that we would leave her with him knowing that she would be in safe hands.

“If I remember correctly, I was sitting beside Kevin when she walked into the ring and he told me that he was thinking of buying her on spec. Clare Manning [Bolger's granddaughter] also liked her and, when what she told me was confirmed by Kevin, I told her to go ahead and buy the filly.

“I decided there and then that, if Kevin was interested in training her for me, he could have her. She cost €35,000 so is qualified for all of those auction races and will carry Jackie's colours.”

Bolger added: “Kevin is very happy with her. You could say that Kevin is a victim of his age, and I suppose myself to a lesser extent, as not too many people want to send a man in his late 80s a racehorse. But, as far as Kevin is concerned, there are few better than him at his craft.”

Prendergast outlined his ambition to continue training “until the man upstairs calls it all to a halt” to the TDN Europe last week and Bolger's Roman Moon will form part of a 15-horse string.

Bolger's numbers are understood to be closer to 100 or more, the majority of which are owned by himself, with the wheels of his famous Coolcullen-based training establishment kept turning by the trainer's breeding arm of the operation.

It is a truly unique way of running things, with Bolger deriving just as much interest from breeding winners as he does in training them.

“One is dependent on the other but, as far as enjoyment is concerned, I suppose it would be 50-50. I have 80 broodmares and I would need 60-70 of those to go in foal every year in order to keep the wheel turning as I own 95% of the horses I train,” he explained.

“The majority of my mares will go to my own stallions but we use outside stallions as well. We could send up to 20 mares to outside stallions every year and the dam [Halla Na Saoire (Ire) (Teofilo {Ire})] of Mac Swiney (Ire) (New Approach {Ire}) has been covered by Mehmas (Ire). She also has a yearling by Make Believe (GB).”

Mac Swiney (Ire) (New Approach {Ire}), best known for getting the better of his stablemate Poetic Flare in a gripping Irish 2,000 Guineas last May, has been kept in training as a 4-year-old.

Just under 12 months on from that heroic display at the Curragh, Bolger recalls of how he wasn't best pleased to see his better-fancied Poetic Flare beaten but, any pain felt in the defeat soon disappeared when he realised he had the dam (Halla Na Saoire) standing out in the field.

“I was disappointed initially when Mac Swiney beat Poetic Flare in the Irish 2,000 Guineas last year but, when I realised that I had the dam of the winner standing out in a paddock, it made it a bit easier,” he said, before sharing details on some of stallions he supported this year.

“Along with Make Believe and Mehmas, we sent mares to Profitable (Ire), Blue Point (Ire) and Belardo (Ire). I sent 25 mares to Teofilo, about a dozen to New Approach and we supported Dawn Approach as well.”

Mac Swiney may be the best older horse Bolger has in training and is firmly on course to kick-start his 4-year-old campaign in the Tattersalls Gold Cup at the Curragh later this month but the trainer has Classic aspirations for TDN Rising Star Wexford Native and Boundless Ocean.

He said, “Good ground will make a huge difference to Wexford Native (Ire) (Teofilo {Ire}) and if we get good ground in the Irish 2,000 Guineas, he could go there. His proper trip will end up being 10f or 1m4f–he could stay the Irish Derby trip.”

Bolger added, “Boundless Ocean (Ire) (Teofilo {Ire}) was too keen [when 13th in the 2,000 Guineas] at Newmarket but we think we've got him settled at home now and will pick a race for him soon. He could go for the Irish 2000 Guineas but I would be in no rush to run the two of them against each other.”

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Robust Start To Bumper Goffs February Sale

KILDARE, Ireland–A dreich day may have tried its hardest to dampen the spirits, but there was an altogether warmer feel to proceedings in the ring as the sales season sparked into action in Ireland with a bumper mixed catalogue at Goffs.

Extended to three days, with around 600 horses slated to sell, it is tricky to make direct comparisons with smaller and Covid-interrupted sales of previous years, but a healthy median of €10,000, average of €20,235, and turnover of €2,124,700 from 105 horses sold (64%) should be regarded as a decent start to a sale which cleared a little over €4 million in two days just before the pandemic struck two years ago.

Roughly half the horses catalogued for the February Sale have just become yearlings, and a full session of the class of 2021 will be offered on Wednesday, but of those taking their turn during the opening day, it was an AQPS 4-year-old hurdler who topped the list at €150,000.

The Irish-based racing syndicate All About Sunday is making a first foray into the UK and will be represented by the wild card 27B, a Great Pretender (Ire) gelding named Invincible Power (Fr).

“He will be trained by Donald McCain and will be our first horse in training in England,” said All About Sunday founder Darren McGrath. “He seems to have a great temperament, he's a really relaxed horse, with size and scope. His form in France is pretty good and everyone is chasing the French horses.”

Following two placed starts in the French provinces, the Pascal Noue-bred relation to Grade 1-winning hurdler Cilaos Emery (Fr) (Califet {Fr}) was consigned to Goffs by Derryluskin Stud and will now head to Cheshire to join the in-form McCain stable, which was the first to reach the 100-winner mark this jumps season.

A 2-year-old son of Teofilo (Ire) (lot 99) from Shadwell's Derrinstown Stud draft headed the Flat-bred offerings, and the grandson of the dual Grade I winner Fleet Indian (Indian Charlie) will be heading to Jim Bolger's Coolcullen stable after being knocked down to his grand-daughter Clare Manning's Boherguy Stud for €135,000. As the breeder and trainer of Teofilo, Bolger is of course no stranger to the stallion, and he has bred and/or trained six of Teofilo's 22 Group 1 winners. His latest acquisition, out of the dual winner Fleeting Smile (Distorted Humour), has plenty of well-credentialed relations, including American champion 2-year-old Game Winner (Candy Ride {Arg}) and his fellow Grade I winner Flagstaff (Speightstown), both of whom are out of a half-sister to Fleeting Smile.

A Shadwell-bred Teofilo 2-year-old was on the shopping list of Patrick Prendergast, who went to €80,000 for lot 52, a daughter of the Group 3 and Listed-placed Reyaadah (GB) (Tamayuz {GB}) who is already a stakes producer via her Listed-placed daughter Tamreer (GB) (New Approach {GB}).

As the yearlings took to the ring, it was a member of the first crop of Ballylinch Stud's Waldgeist (GB) (lot 160) who commanded the highest price, with the son of the dual Listed winner Modeeroch (Ire) (Mozart) fetching €85,000 when sold to Ronald Rauscher. The agent confirmed that the Ballylinch-bred youngster, from the family of champion 2-year-old Belardo (Ire), had been bought to race for a German owner.

Weanlings by the Arc winner fared well at the Goffs November Sale, with nine sold for an average a little in excess of €54,000. Another two sold on Tuesday, the second (lot 122) being a half-brother to Group 3 winners Burnt Sugar (Ire) (Lope De Vega {Ire}) and Brown Sugar (Ire) (Tamayuz {GB}), who was bought for €50,000 by David Cox of Baroda Stud.

Saudi Arabia's Najd Stud has made quite an impact when buying horses with form but it got in on the action a little earlier with the purchase of lot 186, a yearling colt by Dark Angel (Ire) from the G3 Prix d'Aumale-placed Pleasemetoo (Ire) (Vale Of York {Ire}), for €82,000. This time around Boherguy Stud was on the other side of the transaction as consignor on behalf of Godolphin.

Ross Doyle conducted the bidding in the company of Najd Stud's Saud Al Qahtani and said after signing for the colt out of the half-sister to Group 3 winners Siyoushake (Ire) (Siyouni {Fr}) and Skyward (Fr) (Camelot {GB}), “He'll continue to be raised in Ireland and will probably go into training here. He's been bought to race and he's a good strong colt by a stallion who does it everywhere and from a very good family.”

The team from Tally-Ho Stud stepped in to buy the half-brother to G1 Matron S. winner Champers Elysees (Ire) (Elzaam {Aus}) by their promising young stallion Cotai Glory (GB) for €70,000. Lot 118, was consigned by Railstown Stud on behalf of breeder Archway Stud and is out of La Cuvee (GB) (Mark Of Esteem {Ire}), who returned to Elzaam in 2021.

The sale gets underway an hour earlier on Wednesday at 10am.

The post Robust Start To Bumper Goffs February Sale appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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Speed Sires In Bolger’s Plans For 2022

As he prepares his runners for the upcoming flat season, Jim Bolger is also keeping a watchful eye on his breeding stock. The master trainer may be juggling the education of his runners with the oversight of his broodmares and youngstock, but Bolger has proven mighty adept at this kind of multi-tasking in the past: as has been well-documented, Bolger breeds many of his own runners, often going back two or three generations on both the top and bottom of the pedigree. His 2021 G1 2000 Guineas and G1 St James's Palace S. winner Poetic Flare (Ire) is by his homebred sire Dawn Approach (Ire) out of his homebred mare Maria Lee (Ire) (Rock Of Gibraltar {Ire}). He also trained Dawn Approach's sire, the Derby winner New Approach (Ire). New Approach sired Bolger's 2021 G1 Irish 2000 Guineas winner Mac Swiney (Ire), who returns for a 4-year-old campaign this year. Bolger also bred Mac Swiney's damsire Teofilo (Ire) and Mac Swiney's first two dams.

It is no surprise that New Approach and Dawn Approach, as well as Bolger's “favourite sire” Teofilo (Ire), will feature prominently in his 2022 mating plans. But Bolger is also mixing in some young, fast sires to inject some speed into his families.

Bolger, who on Christmas Day celebrated his 80th birthday, explained that while he “would have a good idea” at this point as to his mating plans, he doesn't set them in stone until after his mares foal.

“Because I have access to so many stallions, and some of them we would have used in the last covering season, we're waiting to have a look at the foals first,” he said.

Looking for “speed up to a mile”, Bolger said, he will send eight mares to leading third-crop sire Mehmas (Ire) in 2022. Also fitting that bill on his list are Profitable (Ire), Galileo Gold (Ire), Blue Point (Ire), Belardo (Ire) and Space Blues (Ire).

“We used to be told–though I don't hear so much about it in recent years–that when you're breeding staying horses you need to go back to speed every now and then,” Bolger said. “It may not get you a great result in the first instance, but the progeny of the progeny of the speed attempt could be capable of getting you a Classic horse. In recent years some of the owner/breeders have been sending their Oaks winners to Derby winners and they seem to be making out alright. Whether that will continue now or not, I just don't know. I suspect that sometime in the future with those sorts of families that those breeders will be going back and trying to inject some speed.”

Darley's G1 King's Stand S. winner Profitable was fourth on last year's first-season sires' table and sired three stakes winners, including the G2 Queen Mary S. scorer Quick Suzy (Ire).

“Profitable doesn't have a terribly strong pedigree himself except that he's by a very good sire and a sire of sires,” Bolger said. “He's a gorgeous horse and a very good mover, and was a very good racehorse himself.”

G1 Dewhurst S. and G1 Lockinge S. winner Belardo got off to a fast start in 2020, siring four first-crop stakes winners. The Kildangan Stud resident was quieter in 2021, with just one black-type winner, but the son of Lope De Vega has started 2022 on the right note with Bellabel (Ire) winning the Listed Blue Norther S. at Santa Anita.

“He's a nice horse,” Bolger said of Belardo. “I trained some of his family and I liked them. I felt he was a horse with a chance, so much so that I bought a share in him, and I'll continue to use the share.”

Another young Kildangan stallion that will get Bolger's support this year is the four-time middle-distance Group 1 winner and 2020 world's highest-rated horse Ghaiyyath (Ire). Bolger said he has selected the son of Dubawi (Ire) based on his racecourse merits, and also to save face with Ghaiyyath's breeder.

“He's a world champion, so why wouldn't you use him?” Bolger reasoned. “Plus, if I don't use him, Dermot Weld won't talk to me again.”

Bolger will also support a pair of young Newmarket-based stallions in Time Test (GB), the sire of four first-crop stakes winners last year, and Masar (Ire), the son of his Derby winner New Approach who has his first yearlings next year. Bolger said he has earmarked a mare by Sea The Stars he purchased at the December Sales for Time Test.

“I'm doing something that I don't tend to do, and I'm going with the mob,” Bolger said. “Time Test is one of the talking horses at the moment, and he has got off to a great start, so it would seem to be not a very big risk, and he's a great-looking horse.”

Masar won the G3 Solario S. at two and was a first Derby winner in the Godolphin blue at three, in addition to winning the G3 Craven S.

“He's a very good-looking horse himself and a very good-moving horse,” Bolger said. “You don't need me to tell you about his racing achievements, but I think he's a horse that could do very well. I'm very happy to use him; I'll be guaranteed to get horses that will be effective beyond a mile.”

Bolger will send 12 mares to his former star pupil New Approach, who like his son Masar resides at Dalham Hall Stud. Bolger is responsible for breeding and training New Approach's only two multiple Group 1 winners, Dawn Approach and Mac Swiney, and Dawn Approach, who started his stud career at Kildangan, was brought back to Bolger's Redmondstown Stud last year just months before Poetic Flare recorded his Group 1 double. Despite that, Bolger said there hasn't been much outside interest in Dawn Approach, a reality that suits him just fine.

“I don't know the reason for that, but I don't mind having the sole rights, so to speak,” he said. “It suits me fine to be able to send so many mares to him.” Bolger said he is expecting 2022 to be another good year for Dawn Approach; he has 12 to 15 homebred 2-year-olds by him in the yard, as well as others for clients. “I have a nice crop by him so I'm expecting him to do well,” he said.

The same goes for Teofilo, who will get 25 Bolger mares at Kildangan.

“He's given me two Classic winners already and I'm expecting to do well with his progeny this year,” Bolger said. “I have 2-year-olds by him and some 3-year-olds that didn't get the business done at two, so I'd be looking forward to a very good year with them.”

Bolger's stallion selections for 2022 are completed by Parish Hall (Ire), Vocalised and Verbal Dexterity (Ire), who stand at Redmondstown alongside Dawn Approach and will get “a few mares each.” And given Bolger's habit of drawing the very best from his stock as both a breeder and a trainer, any of them are fair game to produce the next big horse from Coolcullen.

The post Speed Sires In Bolger’s Plans For 2022 appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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Brown To Saddle Pocket Square, Miss Teheran In Saturday’s Athenia Stakes

Four-time Eclipse Award-winning trainer Chad Brown will saddle Pocket Square and Miss Teheran in Saturday's Grade 3, $200,000 Athenia, a nine-furlong inner turf test for fillies and mares 3-years-old and up at Belmont Park.

Brown has won four of the last five runnings of the Athenia and has totaled five wins overall, including scores by Pianist [2013], Roca Rojo [2016], Off Limits [2017], Rymska [2018] and Tapit Today [2020].

Juddmonte homebred Pocket Square, a 4-year-old Night of Thunder chestnut, enters from a 4 1/2-length optional-claiming win traveling nine furlongs on the Saratoga Race Course turf on Aug. 25.

A Group 3-winner as a juvenile in France for trainer Roger Charlton, Pocket Square posted a debut win for Brown in a 1 1/16-mile Keeneland allowance tilt in April. She followed with back-to-back fifth-place finishes in Grade 1 company in the one-mile Longines Just a Game in June at Belmont and the nine-furlong Diana in August at Saratoga.

“We had very high hopes for her coming out of the allowance win at Keeneland and we tried her in some ambitious spots. She has always trained well,” said Brown's Belmont-based assistant Dan Stupp. “She came back into form at Saratoga and hopefully that gave her confidence. She's made a good appearance at Belmont this fall.”

Doubledown Stables' Miss Teheran, a 5-year-old Irish-bred daughter of Teofilo, captured a one-mile optional-claimer on the Saratoga turf on August 1 and rallied to finish second last out in the 1 1/16-mile Miss Liberty on August 28 at Monmouth Park. The late-running chestnut boasts a record of 13-4-4-1 with purse earnings of $199,372.

“She had a little bit of a trip and came with a nice late kick, but didn't quite get the job done. She gave a good account of herself and we were pleased with her effort,” Stupp said of the Miss Liberty try. “Obviously, we would have liked to have won but she showed up off her allowance win at Saratoga and gave another good effort.”

Miss Teheran has breezed back twice at Belmont since the Miss Liberty, including a half-mile effort in 50.05 Saturday on the Belmont main track.

“She's had a couple maintenance works and seems to be doing well,” Stupp said. “She's a very honest filly and tries every time. She's a one-run late filly – save a little ground, get a little cover and then get out and make her run.”

Irad Ortiz, Jr. has the call aboard Pocket Square from post 4, while Manny Franco will guide Miss Teheran from post 2.

Godolphin homebred Lake Lucerne, a 4-year-old Dubawi bay, enters from a narrow nose score in a 1 1/16-mile optional-claiming event on September 1 at the Spa.

Out of the multiple Grade 1-winning Awesome Again mare Round Pond, Lake Lucerne launched her career in England with trainer John Gosden which included a maiden score in March 2020 at Chelmsford.

Transferred to the care of trainer Brendan Walsh, Lake Lucerne rallied to finish fourth in her North American debut in February at Gulfstream Park and followed with a 3 1/4-length allowance score in May traveling 1 1/16-miles on the Churchill Downs turf.

Jose Lezcano has the call from the inside post.

Rounding out the field are Group 2-placed Made In Italy [post 3, Junior Alvarado] for trainer Graham Motion and two-time winner Stand for the Flag [post 5, Dylan Davis] for conditioner Rob Atras. Spice Is Nice is entered for the main-track only.

The Athenia is slated as Race 10 on Saturday's 11-race card, which also features the Grade 2, $300,000 Kelso Handicap, a one-turn mile for 3-year-olds and up slated for Race 4. First post is 1 p.m. Eastern.

America's Day at the Races will present daily coverage and analysis of the fall meet at Belmont Park on the networks of FOX Sports. For the complete broadcast schedule, visit https://www.nyra.com/belmont/racing/tv-schedule.

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