“The Bar Keeps Lifting” – Tattersalls Craven Sale Kicks Off On Tuesday 

It's that time of year again, the Tattersalls Craven Breeze Up Sale–where whispers of Royal Ascot horses and potential breeze-up sensations fills the air. 

There's scarcely anything more exciting than the eve of a major sale and they don't come much bigger than the Craven. 

This is where Classic winners Native Trail (GB) (Oasis Dream {GB}) and Cachet (Ire) (Aclaim {Ire}) were found and the roll of honour does not stop there. Everything is up for grabs at Tattersalls over the next two days and few people know this better than Norman Williamson, who sold Irish 2,000 Guineas winner Native Trail to Godolphin here in 2021. 

Williamson offers three colts through his hugely successful Oak Tree Farm operation this year–by Mehmas (Ire), No Nay Never and Blue Point (Ire), hotly tipped for first-season sire honours by some of the finest minds in the game. 

And the man with the Midas Touch reports footfall ahead of the sale to be encouraging. 

Williamson said, “We've got three nice colts here. The horses are trotting up sound after the breeze, which is a huge relief because, until you get to this stage, you haven't jumped through the hoops.”

He added, “The bar keeps lifting and so does the standard of horses at the breeze-ups. Obviously, it's easy to see that by the results. But the standard has been lifted by the breeze-up consignors year after year. 

“There's only a small bunch of consignors but, John Cullinane always says it, we're punching above our weight. It seems to be working–the standard of breezing is getting so high and so too is the competition. That means it costs a lot of money to be competitive and therefore the risks are getting higher. You have to have your ducks in a row.”

Native Trail was not the only Classic winner to benefit from Williamson's tutelage, as Roger Varian's St Leger hero Eldar Eldarov (GB) (Dubawi {Ire}) also came through the Oak Tree Farm breeze-up system at Arqana.

Therefore, it was hardly surprising that Williamson's corner down at the Highflyer Paddocks on the sale grounds was one of the busiest going and, in between shows to top bloodstock agents Mark McStay, Peter and Ross Doyle and BBA Ireland's Michael Donohoe, he outlined his hopes about the sale that kicks off at 5.30pm on Tuesday. 

“Mehmas and No Nay Never are two great sires and Mehmas is upgrading his mares. This Mehmas [lot 2] of mine has an excellent pedigree being a half-brother to Insinuendo (Ire) (Gleneagles {Ire}), who won the Group 3 [Park Express S.] for Willie McCreery at the Curragh the other day. He's got lots going for him and is a real good-looking horse. The No Nay Never [118] is a big horse but did a beautiful breeze. And of course all of the talk is for Blue Point–he's already had his winners and I think it was quite obvious why there is so much talk about the sire watching them breeze. They are quick and my horse is fast. The unofficial clock says he's [199] very fast so let's hope we get rewarded.”

He added, “I have only one horse for day one and, usually at this sale, the buyers don't normally look at the day one and day two horses together, but they seem to be looking at every horse today which is a good sign. I'd have to say that, for the evening of the breeze day, we've been very busy. We haven't seen many international buyers around but we're hoping to see them tomorrow.”

Roderic Kavanagh | Tattersalls

It shouldn't go unnoticed that the fingerprints of Peter and Antoinette Kavanagh's Kildaragh Stud are all over the Native Trail success story, given they pinhooked the Classic winner as a foal to yearling. That is rather apt, as their son Roderic stands on the brink of recording notable success at this year's Craven Breeze-Up Sale after two of his Glending Stables-drafted colts topped the unofficial times. Put simply, Kavanagh can stick his chest out on Tuesday knowing he has two blisteringly quick colts on his hands, by Equiano (Fr) and Havana Grey (GB), respectively. 

What's more interesting is that the Equiano is a full-brother to the brilliant three-time Group 1-winning sprinter The Tin Man (GB).

“He was very professional–just enjoys doing it and has always been the same,” Kavanagh said of the Equiano colt [9]. “He's very like his dad with probably a bit more motion. In fairness, a lot of the credit has to go to everyone in Newsells Park Stud. When I went down to look at their horses at Book 2 here in October, I asked them if there was anything getting missed out of all of their horses. They put forward the Equiano, in fairness to them. The mare [Persario (GB) (Bishop Of Cashel {GB})] is getting on in years but she doesn't miss too often. I'd say this is a very talented horse, hopefully.”

He added, “The Havana Grey [198] is another horse who has shown an awful lot of ability. They showed up on the day and the man [Gordon Power] riding them was a big help–I think he rode four of the top six times. 

“We're still a million miles away and there's lots of water to flow under the bridge between now and the sale but hopefully it comes together. There's no reason why it won't because a lot of the right people are here and, when we have the models to match up with the performances, I think we should be okay.”

So, any nerves?

“After a good day like today, you wouldn't be as nervous. But hopefully it'll come together. They're not standing us a fortune, you know, they were 52,000gns and 42,000gns each, so I think we should be okay. 

“We're breezing horses for five or six years now and we've had a good run. We breezed Gis A Sub (Ire) (Acclamation {GB}), who was second in the Gimcrack, and we also had a good horse called Tuscan (Ire) (Churchill {Ire}), who was rated 105. In a short space of time we've had a few good ones.”

The same can be said for the Craven Sale on the whole, which is something the ever-enthusiastic Jimmy George, marketing director at Tattersalls, was keen to get across on Monday evening. 

“The breeze was well-attended and thankfully the weather was kind to us,” he said in a typically upbeat fashion. “There are some very smart two-year-olds in the sale and they breezed very well so all of the ingredients are in place for a good sale. The sale ground was pretty busy after the breeze and we're looking forward to tomorrow now. 

“The racecourse is the best possible barometer to measure any sale on and the results from the Craven Sale have been pretty spectacular in recent years, not least with Native Trail and Cachet winning Classics last season. That is the best possible advertisement for the Craven Sale which continues to go from strength to strength.”

George added, “It should also be said that it doesn't go unnoticed the bonuses that are on offer to buyers at the Craven Sale. For every Class 4 novice or better, there is an extra £15,000 bonus on top of the prize-money and for any two-year-old who goes on to win at Royal Ascot or indeed in any Group 1 race, there are hefty bonuses to be won as well. That has certainly caught the imagination.

“We have a pretty diverse crew of buyers in attendance, which is great to see. We have purchasers from America, some Japanese interests, representation from the Gulf and Hong Kong and broader Europe.”

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The Weekly Wrap: Happy Days Are Here Again 

To an extent, when Coolmore wins two of the weekend's premier Classics in Europe and Godolphin wins another, it feels like we are harking back to the glory days around the turn of the century, when the battle of the superpowers was epitomised by those back-to-back duels between Galileo (Ire) and Fantastic Light in the 'King George' and Irish Champion Stakes. Honours even.

And it was honours even at Epsom, with the dazzling victory of Ballydoyle's Snowfall (Jpn) (Deep Impact {Jpn}) in the Cazoo Oaks, followed by the satisfying success of Adayar (Ire) (Frankel {GB}) for Godolphin in the Cazoo Derby. 

Through those two decades, the dominance of Aidan O'Brien has only grown, and the Ballydoyle trainer now teeters on the brink of becoming the most successful trainer in British Classic history, with his 40 victories equalling the record of John Scott, who won seven runnings of the Oaks between 1836 and 1855 as part of his own Classic haul. 

It is fair to say that the fortunes of Godolphin have waxed and waned since the days of Daylami (Ire), Kayf Tara (GB) and Fantastic Light, but since the appointment of Charlie Appleby as trainer in the aftermath of the sorriest episode in the operation's history, Godolphin's flag has again been flying high.

Following the Derby, in typically modest fashion Appleby immediately pointed to O'Brien's overwhelming record when he was congratulated on providing a second homebred winner of the blue riband for Sheikh Mohammed in the last four years.

The pedigrees of both Masar (Ire) (New Approach {GB}) and Adayar stretch back generations within the Darley/Godolphin operation–to the 1998 purchase of Melikah (Ire), the daughter of Lammtarra and Urban Sea, in the case of Masar, and right back to the very early days of Sheikh Mohammed's foundation of a major breeding empire in Europe to the import of German Oaks winner Anna Paola (Ger) to Britain in 1982. Her 1983 mating with Mill Reef–winner of the Derby 50 years ago——produced Anna Matrushka (GB), who features as Adayar's fourth dam and who has played her part in the establishment of a decent dynasty within the Godolphin ranks. Anna Matrushka's penultimate foal Accessories (GB) (Sinsgpiel {Ire}) was exported to Australia and has helped to spread the family throughout the global operation, with three of her sons–Helmet (Aus), Epaulette (Aus) and Bullbars (Aus)–ending up as Darley stallions. Helmet has subsequently returned to the country of his great grandam Anna Paola and now stands at Gestut Fahrhof.

Beyond his two Derby winners, Appleby was also responsible for the top-rated horse in the world last year in Ghaiyyath (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}), as well as the previous season's European champion 2-year-old, Pinatubo (Ire) (Shamardal).

You don't really need to cap winning the Derby but just for good measure, some four hours later on the other side of the Atlantic, Appleby was represented by the first two home in the GI Just A Game S., Althiqa (Ire) (Dark Angel {Ire}) and Summer Romance (Ire) (Kingman {GB}). The fillies were a precursor for an even bigger result in New York for Godolphin when the homebred Essential Quality (Tapit) prevailed in a thrilling stretch battle with Hot Rod Charlie (Oxbow) in the GI Belmont S. 

The champion 2-year-old in America last season following his GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile victory, the Brad Cox-trained Essential Quality has been beaten just once, when fourth in the Kentucky Derby, and he may yet be promoted to third following confirmation of the positive drug test from the B-sample of winner Medina Spirit (Protonico).

For Godolphin, the good days are no longer few and far between. The significant breeding operation behind the racing stables clearly plays its part, but much of the renaissance can be attributed to Appleby, who is not just an accomplished trainer but is also a reliable and helpful spokesman. His popularity as an everyman made good is similar to that of the Derby-winning jockey Adam Kirby, whose Epsom triumph was widely enjoyed, and together they made a beguiling duo in the winner's circle. Both men have got to where they are through their own had work and skill, and they can only be admired for the humility with which they accept their success.

Still Making An Impact

With Frankel's first Derby winner, and Kingman (GB) represented by a third Grade 1 success for Domestic Spending (GB) at Belmont, as well as the G3 Princess Elizabeth S. win of Parent's Prayer (Ire), it was a good weekend for the Juddmonte stallions. The pensioned Zamindar even made his presence felt as damsire of the Derby runner-up Mojo Star (Ire) (Sea The Stars {Ire}), a son of the Juddmonte-bred Galley (GB), who is a half-sister to the dam of Arc winner Rail Link (GB) (Dansili {GB}).

St Mark's Basilica (Ire) notched a second Classic in the Prix du Jockey Club to the obvious delight of 'super-sub' Ioritz Mendizabal, who was himself winning the race for the second year in a row after standing in for David Egan on Mishriff (Ire) last year. It was also a second winner of the French Derby for Siyouni after Sottsass (Fr) became his first Group 1-winning colt in 2019 and then returned to win the Arc last year. He and St Mark's Basilica are both out of mares by Galileo (Ire) who have previously produced high-calibre individuals in Sistercharlie (Ire) (Myboycharlie {Ire}) and Magna Grecia (Ire) (Invincible Spirit {Ire}) respectively.

The same star-strewn background was evident in Snowfall, who beat her 'aunt', the third-placed Divinely (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) in the Oaks. Snowfall's grandam, the dual Group 1-winning miler Red Evie (Ire) (Intikhab), has only ever been mated with Galileo, and she produced her tenth foal by the champion and her eighth filly on April 28. Red Evie's best offspring is unquestionably the Breeders' Cup Turf and Arc winner Found (Ire), who has already produced the G2 Vintage S. winner Battleground (War Front) as her first foal. Now Found's year-younger sister Best In The World (Ire) has a record-breaking Oaks winner to her name with her own first foal. 

There will be plenty of anticipation ahead of the debut of Snowfall's full-brother, Newfoundland (Ire), from the penultimate crop of Japan's multiple champion sire Deep Impact (Sunday Silence). The late Shadai kingpin also had the first two home in the GI Yasuda Kinen in Tokyo on Sunday, bringing his tally of top-level winners to 51 when outsider Danon Kingly (Jpn) narrowly denied favourite Gran Alegria (Jpn) from recording her second win in the race. 

Deep Impact has only had 59 runners in Europe, and clearly those that have been bred by European-based outfits will be out of good mares, while those sent over to race here from Japan will have already proved themselves to be classy performers. Even so, his record of 19 stakes winners, including six Group 1 winners, five of which are Classic winners, is pretty damn good.

The six that have won at the top level are split evenly, three being out of mares from the Sadler's Wells line, and three from the Storm Cat line, with the young stallions Saxon Warrior (Jpn) representing the former and Study Of Man (Ire) the latter. It is fervently hoped that in time these two winners of the 2000 Guineas and Prix du Jockey Club in 2018 can continue the success of their sire in Europe.

Watch List

A sireline that has thrived in a stealthily successful way over the years is that of Acclamation (GB), who is now 22 and in his 18th season covering at Rathbarry Stud.

The old boy himself provided one of the most popular results of Derby day when his 8-year-old son Oh This Is Us (Ire) won his 16th race and first at group level when just outpointing 7-year-old Century Dream (Ire) in the G3 Diomed S.

This followed two fantastic results for Acclamation's late son Harbour Watch (Ire) on Friday when first Pyledriver posted a popular win in the G1 Coronation Cup for William Muir and Chris Grassick, backed up later that day in America by the GII Belmont Gold Cup triumph of the Joseph O'Brien-trained Baron Samedi (GB). Both are members of the penultimate of Harbour Watch's five crops conceived at Tweenhills before his retirement from covering in 2018 and death the following year. 

On Nov. 29, 2017, the foals that would become known as Baron Samedi and Pyledriver were sent through the ring at Tattersalls 50 lots apart, both offered by the late Kevin Mercer's Usk Valley Stud. The first was bought by LECH Racing for 3,500gns, while Pyledriver was a 10,000gns buy-back by breeders Roger Devlin and Guy and Hugh Leach.

Mercer, who died not long after the foals were born at his Welsh farm, was the breeder of Baron Samedi and the advisor to Pyledriver's breeders when they retired their first mare to stud. He is much missed, but the two sons of Harbour Watch, in whom Mercer had a strong belief, paid him a great posthumous compliment on Saturday.

Acclamation's son Mehmas (Ire) is rarely far from the breeding headlines these days, and he was another to feature at Epsom via the listed Surrey S. Victor Mehmento (Ire), while another, Dark Angel, notched his eighth Group/Grade 1 winner with Althiqa in America. 

Dark Angel also appeared as the broodmare sire of the admirable Oaks runner-up Mystery Angel (Ire), who is by Rathbarry's rising star Kodi Bear (Ire), and we'll be hearing more about her and her trainer George Boughey in Wednesday's TDN. Furthermore, Dark Angel's son Lethal Force (Ire) is the sire of Mokaatil (GB), winner of the most terrifying race to be run on a British track, the downhill Epsom Dash.

The Tin Man, All Heart

It was not such good news over the weekend for Acclamation's grandson The Tin Man (GB) (Equiano {Fr}), who was retired after fracturing a leg at exercise eight days before his planned resumption in the listed Cathedral S. at Salisbury.

The 9-year-old won nine of his 31 races for James Fanshawe and Fred Archer Racing, his three Group 1 victories coming at Royal Ascot, British Champions Day and in the Haydock Sprint Cup.

Fortunately, The Tin Man was swiftly and successfully operated on at Newmarket Equine Hospital, where he is currently recovering, and he will now spend his retirement with James and Jacko Fanshawe at Pegasus Stables.

“He's recovering well. James went see him today and I am hoping to see him tomorrow,” said Jacko Fanshawe on Monday. “He'll be in the hospital for about a week and then he will stay with us for good.”

The Fanshawe stable has enjoyed plenty of success with The Tin Man's family over the years. His half-brother Deacon Blues (GB) (Compton Place {GB}) previously won the QIPCO British Champions Sprint when it was still a Group 2 race, and he also notched a hat-trick of Group 3 wins among his seven victories. Another half-sibling, Indian Tygress (GB) (Sepoy {Aus}), won three races in 2018, while currently in the yard is the 3-year-old full-sister to The Tin Man, Persaria (GB), who has been placed twice this season and looks poised to win before too long.

The trainer's wife, who runs the Fred Archer Racing syndicate, added, “The Tin Man was due to run on Sunday. We weren't going to run him in such big races any more but he had been in such good form. He's been such a star and it's a huge relief that the surgery went well. We're looking forward to him coming home.”

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The Tin Man Injured, Retired

Triple Group 1-winning sprinter The Tin Man (GB) (Equiano {Fr}) has been retired from racing after sustaining an injury on the gallops on Saturday, trainer James Fanshawe reported via Twitter.

“Sadly we had to retire our wonderful old stalwart The Tin Man this morning after he was injured on The Limekilns,” Fanshawe's Tweet read. “He has had surgery and is now standing. He will continue to be spoilt and have a home at Pegasus [Stable] for life.”

Campaigned by Fanshawe's stable syndicate Fred Archer Racing, The Tin Man hinted at his talents when fourth behind Muhaarar (GB) in the G1 British Champions Sprint S. at three, and he built on that promise to win that event the following season. He added the 2017 G1 Diamond Jubilee S. back at Ascot at the Royal meeting, and made it a third straight season with a Group 1 win the following year in the G1 Sprint Cup S. That proved The Tin Man's last win, but he finished second behind Hello Youmzain (Ire) (Kodiac {GB}) in the 2019 Sprint Cup and was placed in last year's G3 Hackwood S. and G3 Bengough S.

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War Horse Ward ‘N Jerry Chasing Second Win In The Tin Man Turf Starter Distance Series

Ward 'n Jerry, an old war horse that has been with trainer Mike Puype so long he's considered part of the family, seeks his second victory in Saturday's “The Tin Man Turf Starter Distance Series” at Santa Anita Park.

Ward 'n Jerry won the second leg of the challenging marathon on Feb. 20, coming from well off the pace as usual to take the mile and a quarter turf event by a head as the 4-5 favorite under Flavien Prat who is back aboard Saturday.

The “Tin Man” series provides distance-progressive opportunity for older horses that have started for a claiming price of $40,000 or less dating back to 2019 to run in four races that began at a mile and one eighth on Jan. 18 and will conclude at a mile and three-quarters on April 24.

In addition to the winner's share from this Saturday's Tin Man, the winner will get a free berth into either the Grade 2, $200,000 Charles Whittingham Stakes at 1 ¼ miles on turf May 29, or the Grade 3, $100,000 San Juan Capistrano at 1 ¾ miles on turf June 19.

The series is named in honor of Ralph and Aury Todd's homebred son of Affirmed, The Tin Man, who was foaled in 1998 and raced through age nine in 2007. Trained by Richard Mandella, The Tin Man was a multiple graded stakes winner and a two-time Grade 1 winner at age nine, after which he was retired with earnings of more than $3.6 million.

“Our hope is this distance series serves as a throwback to some of the legendary horses that have competed at Santa Anita and the races provide good betting opportunities,” said Santa Anita's Director of Racing and Racing Secretary Chris Merz.

“This race came up a lot tougher than the last one,” said Puype, who has had California-bred Ward 'n Jerry going on six years now for owners/breeders Mr. and Mrs. Larry Williams, longtime successful supporters of racing in The Golden State.

“This is a very solid race for the purse level, no doubt ($47,000, plus up to $5,640 to Cal-bred winners),” Puype said. “You've got Oscar Dominquez and Red King (each a Grade 2 stakes winner) running for $47,000. Tartini's not bad, either, so it's no easy race by any stretch.

“But we've surely got a good chance. He's got a great rider (Flavien Prat, who pilots the 8-year-old Lucky Pulpit gelding for the eighth time, winning twice); we're ready to go.”

Ward 'n Jerry has a 7-2-4 record from 27 starts with earnings of $434,419.

“I've had Ward 'n Jerry since his 2-year-old season (back in 2015),” Puype said. “He's very nice to have around and it's nice to have a horse for that many years. He's been here longer than any of them. He's kind of like the chairman of the board at the barn.”

Leg three of The Tin Man series, which goes as race five: Lure Him In, Edwin Maldonado, 5-1; Red King, Umberto Rispoli, 5-2; Ward 'n Jerry, Flavien Prat, 3-1; New Year, Tyler Baze, 50-1; Oscar Dominguez, Mario Gutierrez, 4-1; The Stiff, Alexis Centeno, 12-1; Tartini, Juan Hernandez, 4-1; and Irish Heatwave, Abel Cedillo, 8-1.

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