Richard Fahey: ‘You have to think of horses like humans; what’s good for their minds’

It never bodes well when a trainer starts an interview with the words, “I don't really like doing interviews.”

This, from Richard Fahey, was far less intimidating, however, than when TDN went to interview David Elsworth some years ago to be greeted by him marching across the yard and stating, “I'm in a murderous mood.”

I Having mercifully escaped from Egerton House Stables unscathed to live to annoy many more trainers, our recent mission to Malton was a comparative cakewalk. 

For a start, it would be impossible for either interviewer or interviewee to be in a bad mood, murderous or otherwise, in the Yorkshire countryside on the most vibrant of late spring days. From the top of Fahey's idyllic fiefdom at Musley Bank, an eye can be cast over great swathes of North Yorkshire. Umpteen racecourses are within easy reach, as is the A1, but the outside world seems a far cry from these peaceful acres where his horses and their riders go about their business unfazed and unfussed.

On the day of the visit, the trainer warned that he was about to run a number of two-year-olds that were pleasing him and, indeed, last week he had three juveniles make a winning debut. They followed Golden Mind (Ire) (Galileo Gold {Ire}), who won on his second start and is no doubt looked upon fondly at the yard as a half-brother to the recently retired stable star Perfect Power (Ire) (Ardad {Ire}). The latter became the first of Fahey's two consecutive G2 Norfolk S. winners in 2021, before going on to win the G1 Prix Morny and G1 Middle Park S. He returned to Royal Ascot last year to take the G1 Commonwealth Cup.

“From the middle of May to the end of June, you should start to know where you are and if we've got some stars coming through. Fingers crossed, we have five or six two-year-olds there that we're extremely excited about,” says Fahey. “Over the next three or four weeks we'll find out whether we're going to play with the big boys or not.”

The trainer admits to having adapted his approach in recent years when it comes to the youngsters in his care.

“I do train horses a lot different now. Two-year-olds especially,” Fahey says. “I'm not as tough on them as I used to be. I used to love to see them win first time out. Now I prefer if they get beat [on debut].

“It may sound like a crazy thing to say. If they win, fine, but I felt over the years that to get them to win, because I was so keen and I wanted winners, you have to be tough on them. And then of course if they win, the next race is going to be tough. And about six years ago I decided not to be so tough on them because at least if they run a decent race, they've got an easy race the next race. And I just felt maybe one or two of the better horses I left behind because I was over-keen myself.”

It is an admission that speaks well of a man who has had a tally of winners well into three figures for the past 15 years but is clearly prepared to learn as he goes along. Indeed, Perfect Power and his Norfolk Stakes successor The Ridler (GB) (Brazen Beau {Aus}) were both beaten on debut, as was Ribchester (Ire) (Iffraaj {GB}), who later struck in the G2 Mill Reef S. before winning three Group 1 races at three and four.

“Perfect Power is a perfect example,” Fahey says of the young Darley stallion. “He had a great mind and I didn't want to ruin it. And he kept it all his life. He got beat at Newcastle then he went to Hamilton and won. He arrived down to Ascot absolutely bouncing.”

He adds, “Hey look, it's each to their own, but if I've changed anything in my years of training, that's it. You have to think of horses like humans; what's good for their minds.”

Perfect Power is one of two former Fahey trainees to have joined the European stallion ranks this season, along with Space Traveller (GB) (Bated Breath {GB}), winner of the G3 Jersey S. and G2 Clipper Logistics Boomerang S. before latterly spending some time with Brendan Walsh in America, where he was Grade I-placed. Earlier this year at Ballyhane Stud, where Space Traveller now stands, Joe Foley jokingly referred to a section of his stallion yard as the Richard Fahey Wing, as the Group 1-winning sprinter Sands Of Mali (Fr) (Panis) is another to have been trained at Musley Bank. But the former Fahey-trained stallions stand far and wide, and include Mayson (GB) (Invincible Spirit {Ire}) at Cheveley Park Stud, the aforementioned Ribchester at Haras du Logis and, perhaps most notably, another son of Iffraaj, Wootton Bassett (GB), at Coolmore. 

The G1 Prix Maurice de Gheest winner Garswood (GB) (Dutch Art {GB}) started his stallion career at Cheveley Park Stud and now stands in Saudi Arabia. He was one of a number of successful recruits to the Fahey stable from the breeze-up sales over the years.

“I think we've had four Group 1 horses out of the breeze-ups,” says Fahey, who works the sales hard alongside his son Peter and valued ally Robin O'Ryan.  

“I wouldn't regard myself as a big purchaser at the breeze-ups, but we've had more pattern winners and more winners than anybody. I only know that because they keep the stats! We've been extremely lucky at it, and the breeze-up sales are very professional now. They are getting loads of winners.”

Fahey finds the increasingly crowded sales calendar in general, however, a source of frustration. 

“There's too many sales at the moment,” he says. “It's every week. Last three weeks we've been at sales. I didn't get to Ireland [for Goresbridge] because I want to see my horses. We've been to France, we've been to Newmarket twice, and Doncaster, in the last month. It's only two, three days away, but the season's getting going now and I need to be here.”

He adds, “As a matter of fact, I think they should bring in a rule that a horse can only go to the sales twice before they run, because they can literally be there five times. They can be inside the mother, they can be at the foals, they can be in yearlings or the breeze-up twice.”

Now 57, Fahey left his native Ireland the day before his 18th birthday and competed both on the Flat and over jumps as a jockey, which included him being the joint-champion conditional at the conclusion of the 1998/99 National Hunt season. 

This summer sees him celebrate his 30th anniversary as a trainer, having started with one winner in 1993 from just nine runners. An operation that began in a modest fashion has grown into one which now regularly features on the list of leading stables in the country. Fahey first passed the 100-winner mark in 2008, and set a personal record in 2015 when he trained 235 winners and was runner-up in the championship to John Gosden.

“It's a strange thing but you never really appreciate it when you're doing it,” he says rather wistfully as he notes that he is currently training a smaller string than in those days. “Covid hit and we stopped racing, and at the time it was serious. The government terrified us all. And it was a time I reflected on things.

“We trained our 3,000th winner not long ago, and I think as you get older you do think about it. But 10 years ago I never thought about it. I just got on with it. I trained 42 winners one month, which was a phenomenal amount. But as I'm getting older, I'm probably enjoying it a lot more.”

Fahey admits that enjoyment was not always easy to find, despite a thriving stable with plenty of horses. But in a business which is now about so much more than just focusing on horses on a daily basis, increased numbers can also increase stress levels.

“I went through a spell there where I wasn't enjoying it as much. I felt I was putting myself under an awful lot of pressure but I was keeping it in. I would have hated anyone to think that I was under pressure. The last year and a half I've really started to enjoy it again,” he says.

“I didn't purposely reduce the number of horses. I stopped having shares in as many, which automatically reduced the numbers.”

The hundred-plus acres at Fahey's disposal means that his horses can benefit from turn out in the 42 pens up on the bank above their stables. The gallops are private and, as we jump in a vehicle to watch a few of the horses in action, the trainer says with a mischievous grin, “We'd better take the Audi because the turbo has gone on the Jeep so we'll never keep up with them.”

Back down in the yard, we take a tour of the indoor ride, which is large enough to start the two-year-olds cantering before they venture up onto the bank, or to give shelter to the string in particularly bad weather. Fahey is clearly proud, though not boastfully so, of what he has built here on land bought from fellow trainer Colin Tinkler, but he is unwilling to take sole credit.

“Every trainer says it, but I genuinely believe, without the staff, you are completely nothing,” he says. “You can't do it all yourself. You have to rely on third parties. And I've been very lucky that I've had some good third parties. Some of my head guys have been here 15, 16 years since they started in racing and haven't left me. We like to give everybody responsibilities. And I think if you treat people with respect, they'll work for you. And I've been very lucky over the years that we've had that. I just feel the yard runs itself. Everybody knows their job and I never have to worry that something's not going to get done. They know what's to be done.”

Foremost in the minds of the team at the moment will be putting the finishing touches on the raiding party heading south for Ascot in less than a fortnight's time.

Some juveniles worth watching before then appear on Saturday at Beverley, where Midnight Affair (Ire) (Dark Angel {Ire}) will seek to go one better than her eye-catching runner-up finish at Newmarket when she runs in the Hilary Needler Trophy for Clipper Logistics. Hussain Alabbas Lootah's homebred Bombay Bazaar (GB) (Kodiac {GB}) also returns to the track where he ran out the easy winner on his second start on May 16.

The Ascot juvenile team could be joined by Roisin and Richard Henry's Ribblesdale entrant Midnight Mile (Ire) (No Nay Never), the winner last year of the G3 Oh So Sharp S. who went on to be fourth in the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf. 

“I was a little disappointed at York,” says Fahey of Midnight Mile's fourth-place finish in the G3 Musidora S. when 4 1/2 lengths behind subsequent Oaks winner Soul Sister (GB) (Frankel {GB}). “I thought she was second best really and I'm not just a hundred per cent sure what her best trip might be. I'm thinking I might step her up again.”

Fahey notched his first winner at the royal meeting back in 2000 with Superior Premium (GB) (Forzando {GB}) in the G2 Cork And Orrery S., the race that has undergone four name changes and an upgrading since then and this year will be run as the G1 Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee S. Another seven Royal Ascot winners have come his way since then and it would be no surprise to see a young star emerge this year to start to fill the gap left by Perfect Power and last year's G1 Prix de l'Abbaye winner The Platinum Queen (Ire) (Cotai Glory {GB}), who was sold for 1.2 million gns in December to Katsumi Yoshida.

“We've been lucky over the years in that we've always seemed to find a good one,” he says. “In the past it was definitely easier to buy a more precocious sprinter type. And I suppose we didn't really have the clients that would wait two years. They wanted instant success and I was a young trainer that needed winners.”

Fahey adds, “As I've got older, I've mellowed. I'm not as hard on myself as I used to be. My attitude now is that I can do my best and if it's not good enough, well I'm sorry but I know I'm doing my best. We're very lucky to have the facilities and the staff we have and if we don't get the results that we want, it's not for the want of not doing it right.”

He may not like interviews, but Fahey is refreshingly candid on a range of topics. He did his best, and only a short amount of time in his company is required to understand how he coaxes the best out of his horses and people.

 

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Varian Building on Best Season as The Platinum Queen Joins Team

Twelve years have passed since Roger Varian became a licensed trainer as the health of his much-loved former boss and mentor, Michael Jarvis, declined. One softly-spoken but calmly assured man took over from another after Varian had served a decade as Jarvis's assistant. By that stage he had clearly proved himself a worthy successor, and the rise of the Varian stable in the intervening years has only served to underline Jarvis's judgement in this regard.

Last year was Varian's best to date. There haven't been many seasons during his term as a trainer that he hasn't secured a top-ten finish in the championship. In 2022, he was fifth overall, his highest place yet, with a domestic prize-money haul well beyond the £3 million mark for the first time. 

A British Classic winner, Eldar Eldarov (GB), who also won the G2 Queen's Vase at Royal Ascot ahead of the St Leger, was one of the headline acts, along with the smart juvenile Sakheer (Ire) (Zoffany {Ire}), winner of the G2 Mill Reef S. and now a leading Guineas contender. Another exciting two-year-old, Charyn (Ire) (Dark Angel {Ire}), won the G2 Criterium de Maisons-Laffitte and, to cap off a great turf season, Bayside Boy (Ire) landed the G1 Queen Elizabeth S. on QIPCO British Champions Day before joining his sire New Bay (GB) at Ballylinch Stud.

Now, along with a raft of well-bred two-year-olds to have boosted the string for 2023, Varian has taken charge of the G1 Prix de l'Abbaye winner The Platinum Queen (Ire) (Cotai Glory {GB}) following her purchase at the Tattersalls December Sales by Katsumi Yoshida of Northern Farm for 1.2 million gns. The high-class sprinter has also been joined at Varian's Carlburg Stables by last year's G1 Preis der Diana (German Oaks) winner Toskana Belle (Fr) (Shamalgan {Fr}). Again, highlighting the value placed on European race form by Japanese breeders, Toskana Belle was bought by Katsumi's brother Teruya Yoshida of Japan's other major powerhouse operation, Shadai Farm.

“It's great to have the support of both Shadai Farm and Northern Farm,” Varian acknowledges, while also crediting his Japanese wife Hanako, who is a key component in his stable's set-up and has a good relationship with both operations from her time spent working in racing and breeding in her home country.

He is also quick to credit The Platinum Queen's former trainer, Richard Fahey, for whom she won four of eight races, including her big strike on Arc day, and was runner-up in both the G1 Nunthorpe S. and G2 Flying Childers S.

“He was very much a gentleman, as you would expect from Richard,” says Varian. “He was very helpful with telling us all about her. She looks very well and she's obviously a Group 1 winner, so I hope I can add to her CV, but in a way her CV is already there. The programme can be tough for the sprinting fillies at three, but hopefully she trains forward nicely. She looks a real speedball. Five [furlongs] looks her trip; maybe she's good enough to run in a King's Stand. She's quite a spicy character, but she's very talented and it's nice to be training these good animals.”

He continues, “The programme's quite sparse early season, so she might not run before Royal Ascot. She could run in something like a Temple Stakes, but she's not doing anything fast yet.”

One three-year-old who does have an early season target is Sakheer, who has done little wrong in his three runs to date in the colours of KHK Racing, representing Bahrain's Shaikh Khalid bin Hamad Al Khalifa. Whether we see him on the racecourse before the 2,000 Guineas on May 6 remains to be seen, but the Arqana breeze-up graduate is continuing to put a smile on his trainer's face, even after a week of bleak March weather in Newmarket.

Sakheer is very natural…he knows his job and I would have no qualms about going straight into a Guineas without a trial

“We'd be very pleased with his condition, very pleased with his action, and his attitude as well,” says Varian. “He's always looked the part. He was an exceptional workhorse going into his two-year-old races, and sometimes the performance on a racecourse doesn't always match their home life. Some of those really flashy workers can never quite live up to that when they run but, with him, what we saw at home was what we were seeing on the track. He looks like he's training on nicely. He's not a huge horse, but he's big enough and he's very well-made. Touch wood he's in a good place.”

He adds, “I'm not sure if he'll trial or not. I think our trials, the Craven and the Greenham in particular, come so close to a Guineas. This horse is very natural and he didn't have a huge amount of racing last year, but he knows his job and I would have no qualms about going straight into a Guineas without a trial. 

“What's key is the impression and the look he gives us over the next three or four weeks. As we sit here today in a snowstorm, I don't think we're committed one way or the other to a trial. He's training nicely and is on the point of where I think he needs to be, and he still looks the part, as he did last year.”

As members of Bahrain's royal family continue to increase their investment in British racing as well as their domestic programme, Sakheer and his fellow colour-bearer Eldar Eldarov, who, similarly, had been bought by Oliver St Lawrence at the previous year's breeze-up in Deauville, were both significant winners for KHK Racing in 2022, and each has a good chance of enhancing their record.

“The team behind KHK have been big supporters over the last couple of years,” Varian notes. “Shaikh Khalid is relatively new to the international scene of racing, so it's great that he had some nice horses to have enjoyed last year and hopefully to look forward to this year. [The Bahrainis] are very good sportsmen in their own right and have really got behind their own racing scene in Bahrain, but they are also spreading that interest into Europe and America, and I think that can only be good for the sport.”

Eldar Eldarov, whose dam All At Sea (GB) (Sea The Stars {Ire}) is a half-sister to Alwilda (GB) (Hernando {Fr}), dam of the celebrated Alpinista (GB) (Frankel {GB}), owns a pedigree which gives those around him every right to dream of him progressing with age and, potentially, a step up in trip. The four-year-old, who last year became Varian's second St Leger winner after Kingston Hill (GB), is described by Varian as “a bit of a street fighter” and he is clearly a horse held in much fondness within the stable.

“He's not a big robust horse and I think he'll always look a bit like a long-distance runner,” the trainer says. “Last year he took an age to come to himself out of the winter. In fact, we had aspirations of Derby trials having seen him win his maiden as a two-year-old so impressively, but he just didn't really come to hand. I'm not quite sure why, but the earliest we could have run him was when we did run him, which in the end was in a novice at Newcastle, which was probably about three weeks before Royal Ascot. He won there and suddenly started to blossom, just in time for Ascot. I don't think that he's ready to do anything too early this season. I don't know if that's just his make-up, but I wouldn't think we'll be racing him before May.”

 The 'street fighter' Eldar Eldarov

He continues, “We'd dearly love to see him back at Royal Ascot, hopefully in the Gold Cup, I would think, over the Hardwicke. Royal Ascot for us as a training establishment, and for the owners as well, is very important. If we can set up a first half of the season target at Ascot and work back from there, I think it'll only be one run before, so it could be a Yorkshire Cup or a Sagaro.

“We're hopeful that he's of a calibre to establish himself as a Cup horse, though of course Kyprios looks the standout in that division at the moment. But Eldar Eldarov had to dig deep to win the Queen's Vase. He came from a long way back that day and he's got this lovely head carriage. He pins his ears back and he really seems to relish the fights, and I think that's very important in all horses, but particularly in staying horses because they have to dig deep. You do need that attitude.”

Varian also highlights Charyn among the colts he is looking forward to seeing back on the track this season. Nurlan Bizakov's homebred was third to Sakheer in the Mill Reef before claiming his own Group 2 triumph across the Channel. 

“I thought his run in the Mill Reef was good because he was still learning, and was probably on the wrong side of the track, and I actually felt he was second best to Sakheer that day,” he says. “He's a horse with a very laidback demeanour, which I like, and he's another one who hasn't raced beyond six [furlongs], but looks like he's crying out for a little bit further. He might be a horse to look at the Greenham with. He's got a Guineas entry at Newmarket and in Ireland. He's not flashy but he's really a very professional horse who should improve as the year goes on.”

Sheikh Mohammed Obaid's Resolute Man (GB) (Dubawi {Ire}), won a Yarmouth novice last October, and Dragon Icon (Ire) (Lope De Vega {Ire}), the Yoshiro Kubota-owned full-brother to Breeders' Cup wunner Aunt Pearl (Ire) are also singled out as three-year-olds to note for the coming campaign.

“We had some nice horses win novices last year and they need testing in deeper water, but they look quite nice horses,” Varian notes.

As the trainer sits in his office still drying out from a morning of squally snow showers in subzero temperatures, it is easy to imagine that, for him, spring can't come soon enough, but he says, “I actually love January, February and March, because you start counting back from the season. Of course we run horses all year round now, we have winter runners, but the majority of our horses are on that spring programme. You've got targets starting to be set and plans starting to formalise and you really see a change in the horses on a week-to-week basis at this time of year.

“As the better weather starts to come, you can really see them change and develop in a positive way in front of your eyes, and spot the ones that are really starting to shine through early and the ones which have not come to themselves. It's an enjoyable time to be able to start recognising the difference without all the helter-skelter of the season being upon you. I think it's a lovely time of year to be a racehorse trainer because you really can be with the horses every day and see them develop from their winter programme into where they need to be for the start of the season.”

There have been plenty of changes in the 12 years since Varian joined the training ranks. In 2017, he migrated from the Jarvis family's Kremlin House Stables to purchase Carlburg Stables from Clive Brittain, who still lives alongside the yard. Sir Michael Stoute is his next-door neighbour in Freemason Lodge, and from last year the Varian string started occupying Beech Hurst just across the Bury Road, which had been Stoute's original base and had for many years acted as his second yard. The additions of senior staff such as Kate Grimwade as general manager overseeing all aspects of the business speaks to the demands of running a modern-day international racing stable, backed up by the appointments of form expert David Baxter as racing manager and Eleanor Rance as communications manager. 

There are, however, some familiar faces from the days of Michael Jarvis, notably long-term racing secretary Jim Hiner and Jo Fowles, the accomplished horsewoman who oversees Beech Hurst and is one of three assistant trainers, along with Oliver Rix and George Hill.

“It's a really good team, and the results of last season show that everyone's pulling in the same direction,” says Varian. 

“And we've got a good team of jockeys, headed by David Egan. There's no official order of hierarchy amongst the jockeys, but David's at a point of his career where he's been progressive. He's still a young man and he's ready to build on what he achieved last year. Jack Mitchell is a brilliant team player, of course, and Ray Dawson's been in Dubai but will be coming back. Although Andrea [Atzeni] is not employed by Sheikh Mohammed Obaid any more, he will no doubt still ride at times for us. We also train for owners who have their own jockeys.”

Egan, who set another benchmark with his first British Classic victory last year on Eldar Eldarov, has recently enjoyed a fruitful first spell riding in Japan over the winter. A stint perhaps inspirited by his unofficial guv'nor's close ties to the country, it has done his international profile no harm, especially when considering the high-class horses with Japanese links in Varian's stable. Mind you, there is also now no shortage of horses from that country competing at the major meetings around the world.

[The Japanese] don't really set their sights on just doing something, they set their sights on mastering something

“I don't think they're about to slow down,” says Varian of the competition from Japanese trainers. “I think they've got 25 horses in Dubai for World Cup night. They had 14 or 15 in Saudi. They're all invited, so they're all good enough to be invited. I think they are really becoming a superpower. They haven't quite had the consistency of winners in Europe like they have done in Dubai, America and Australia, and Europe is probably another challenge for them. We actually hosted some of their horses for Royal Ascot here, and of course the holy grail for them is the Arc, isn't it? It's probably only a matter of time before they win it.”

He adds, “I feel a little bit close to them through Hanako and I think once you delve into Japanese culture you understand why they do very well in racing. They don't really set their sights on just doing something, they set their sights on mastering something, and I think that's very much embedded in the culture of Japan in any form of industry. 

“Obviously they've got quite a lengthy history of racing, but it's nowhere near what we can delve into. But they've been buying some amazing bloodlines over the last 20, 25 years, and they've also created their own. They are no doubt breeding exceptionally talented horses, as they are proving on the international stage.”

Varian, whose brother-in-law is the Japanese champion trainer Mitsu Nakauchida, admits to being able to “fool my way through a few pleasantries” when it comes to speaking the language. He adds, “If someone thought, 'Oh he speaks Japanese, we'll carry on and have a conversation', I'd get found out very quickly. But they're great people, it's a lovely culture, and it's nice to be connected to that side of the world.

“I think what's very nice about the racing industry is that it's quite a niche industry, but it is a global industry, and I love it. We live and train horses in Newmarket, but that opens up a world in itself.”

There has perhaps been no more better time in racing's history to grasp the global opportunities available and, with a client base incorporating owners from a diverse group of nations, it would seem that the Varian stable is already a frontrunner in this regard.

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Hollie Doyle Keeps Ride On Breeders’ Cup-Bound The Platinum Queen 

Hollie Doyle will maintain the partnership with The Platinum Queen (Ire) as the pair bid to follow up on their brilliant Prix de l'Abbaye success with victory at the Breeders' Cup.

Oisin Orr, who joined The Platinum Queen's trainer Richard Fahey earlier this year, does most of the work with the speedster. However, Orr was unable to do the weight about the daughter of Cotai Glory (GB) in France.

With the Middleham Park Racing-owned youngster set to carry just 8st 7lb in the Juvenile Turf Sprint at Keeneland, the Irishman will once again be forced to sit the big race out. 

Fahey told Sportinglife, “I feel sorry for Oisin as he's done so much work with The Platinum Queen at home, but he can't do the weight.

“The owners Middleham Park very much want him to have the ride when he can, but unfortunately that won't be in America.

“Hollie has done a fine job on her twice before, including when winning the Abbaye, so she knows her well.”

 

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October Book 1: ‘The Cream Of The Crop’

NEWMARKET, UK-It is going to require a Herculean effort to plunder the best of what is on offer at Tattersalls, according to leading bloodstock agent Alex Elliott who, on the eve of the eagerly-anticipated Book 1 session, described the stock on offer as being “the cream of the crop”. 

With Sheikh Mohommad, Sheikha Hissa Hamdan Al Maktoum, Aidan O'Brien, John Gosden, Yoshito Tahagi, Chad Brown and a host of American and foreign buyers in attendance at Newmarket on Monday, Elliott is expecting more mayhem in the sales ring this week. 

Elliott, who spent almost £4 million on 13 horses at Book 1 alone last year, said, “There's a hell of a selection. It will be very hard to buy them. People have been talking about this sale for a while and I think it's going to be every bit of what people were expecting and more.”

He added, “I'm buying for a domestic person so it's going to be hard for me to buy exactly what I want. It's always hard to buy what you want but it's going to be even harder this time. Between the prize-money, the weakness of the pound and the amount of people here–it just won't add up as well for us as it will for the Americans for example. That's going to make things extremely difficult. 

“There's more American buyers here than I have ever seen before. There are people here who I don't even recognise. This is the cream of the crop. They are the best turf horses that get brought to the market in Europe, if not the world, and it's going to be a challenge.” 

A mouse in a room full of hawks would have enjoyed a more peaceful afternoon than Sir Mark Prescott did at Tattersalls with the local legend met with a hero's welcome after Sunday's Arc heroics achieved with Alpinista (GB) (Frankel {GB}). 

Concurring with Elliott, the in-demand trainer said, “The stock is very good. It's a strong catalogue–we'll be short of money but we've enjoyed seeing them!”

He added on the reception, “My team are quite unhappy with me as we are taking too long and not seeing enough yearlings. I've had nothing but trouble! Too many 'thank yous' and 'not at alls' and so on. It's been marvellous.

“I'm very surprised by the reception. It's been extraordinary. It was just a great day and everything went right. I was saying to Aidan [O'Brien] that, if I hadn't trained the winner, I'd have enjoyed watching the race as she always seemed to be so well-placed. It just went perfectly well.”

The yearlings assembled at Tattersalls also came in for high praise from leading Irish trainer Paddy Twomey, who is expecting the demand for young stock to soar this week.

He said, “Tattersalls have attracted a lovely bunch of horses and you'd imagine that the strong trade from Goffs can carry over into the next two weeks.”

Barton Stud Bring A Big Draft

He may be one of the youngest stud managers in Britain but that infectious enthusiasm should stand Tom Blain in good stead as Barton Stud offer 22 yearlings in Book 1.

It is one thing bringing a big draft and something altogether different to offer up quality and, with two colts and a filly by Frankel (GB), a filly by Dubawi (Ire) and a filly and a colt apiece by the great Galileo (Ire) among the 22 on offer, expectations are high.

Blain said, “All of the right people are here and it was lovely to see Sheikha Hissa looking at a few of our yearlings and I understand Sheikh Mohammed is here. There are plenty of people here from America as well so there's huge interest.”

He added, “The pound is as weak as it's been for a while so, while that's not great for the country, it will help buyers. People vote with their pocket. You'd like to think that there are plenty of people who still have plenty to buy and that they will get stuck in so let's hope there's enough horses to go around.”

Barton has already earned a reputation as a proven source of top-notch talent with recent G2 May Hill S. winner Polly Pott (GB) (Muhaarar {GB}) the latest graduate.

Not only is this Barton's biggest draft of yearlings to offer up at public auction but the 34-year-old thinks it's the best.

He said, “I am really pleased with our draft. I've never sold anything by Galileo before and we've got a Dubawi filly who is very nice. There are three Frankels as well, one of which is particularly nice, and he sells on the last day [lot 436]. 

“This is what we do it for, isn't it? Try and be here competing at the top level and, most important of all, let's hope they go on and become good racehorses.”

Tally-Ho Out To Build On Dream Results

Whether it's buying, breezing or consigning, Tally-Ho Stud has an unrelenting ability to produce top-class winners, further evidence of which was seen on Sunday when homebred The Platinum Queen (Ire) (Cotai Glory {GB}) became the first juvenile since 1978 to win the G1 Prix de l'Abbaye.

She also became an important first at the highest level for the stud's up-and-coming sire Cotai Glory, not that Sunday's victory came as much of a surprise to Roger O'Callaghan, who is keen to build on the momentum with a 15-strong draft to offer this week. 

Trained by Richard Fahey and ridden to that momentous victory by Hollie Doyle, The Platinum Queen was bred and then breezed by the team at Tally-Ho, realising 57,000gns at the Tattersalls Guineas Breeze-up Sale last year.

Her success comes hot on the heels of the G1 Cheveley Park S. heroine Lezoo (GB) (Zoustar {Aus}) and G1 Beresford S. hero Crypto Force (GB) (Time Test {GB}), both of whom were breezed by Tally-Ho.

“It's the pinnacle, isn't it?” O'Callaghan says, nonchalantly. “You want to be good at your job, don't you? It's very satisfying but, today's headlines are tomorrow's fish and chips papers and we're concentrating on this week. But it's gratifying and, also, it's good for the breeze-ups as well.”

He added, “All I want to do is sell good horses. Lezoo was a very nice filly with a bad front leg. She just looked like she'd run and she did. I liked the Red Clubs (Ire) mare in the pedigree as well and she'd a great temperament.

“In fairness to Dad [Tony], he bred the dam of The Platinum Queen and he got 460,000gns from Niarchos. She didn't turn out to be much good but he bought her back for nine grand and this is the first foal out of her. Richard Fahey and Robin O'Ryan have done a fabulous job with her.”

Crypto Force represented something of a different theme for the Tally-Ho team when landing the G2 Beresford S. over a mile at the Curragh last month. 

However, that victory, according to O'Callaghan, proves that the renowned producers of equine talent can cater for every market, which could be seen with John Gosden, Kevin Ryan, Michael Donohoe and Mr Zhang, Hugo Palmer and Alice Haynes all busy inspecting the stock on Monday. 

O'Callaghan said, “Crypto Force was satisfying. He was a good-looking horse and I told everyone to buy him. Michael O'Callaghan out-bid Federico Barberini and the rest is history. “He's a different type of beast for us but we try to cater for everyone we can. We've a lot of races that we haven't sold the winner of.”

The post October Book 1: ‘The Cream Of The Crop’ appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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