Tag: Top News Europe

Manoel Marques Q&A: The Top Breeze-Up Rider Talks Buyin Buyin And More

   Prominent breeze-up rider and handler Manoel Marques will have an extra pep in his step at the Craven Sale next week as Buyin Buyin (Ire) (Bungle Inthejungle {GB}), a horse he sourced for just €8,000 before riding him to victory in his wife Leidiana's colours on debut at Dundalk, looks set to be sold for a multitude of that initial outlay.
   Marques has earned himself a reputation for being one of the leading riders on the breeze-up circuit, having partnered Trueshan (Fr) (Planteur {Ire}), California Spangle (Ire) (Starspangledbanner {Aus}), Mshawish (Medaglia d'Oro) and many more top-notchers in their breeze before they became famous.
   In this week's Q&A, Marques explains what it was that drew him to the Tally Ho-Stud bred Buyin Buyin at the sales, what that six-figure sale to an unnamed client means to him and his family and what he is most looking forward to at the breeze-up sales over the coming weeks.

You had a big result with Buyin Buyin winning his maiden on debut at Dundalk and I understand you have since got him sold.
I am very happy and the horse has made a few pound alright. I have never got anything like this before so my family is very happy about that. I buy about four or five horses every year and we have had some good horses but this is the best result for me.

What other good horses have you had through your hands?
I bought a very good filly called Happy Odyssey (Ire) by Camacho (GB) and she ended up winning a listed race for Amy Murphy. Jim McCartan consigned the filly under Gaybrook Lodge Stud at the breeze-up and Amy bought her there for £14,000. She turned out to be a very good race filly for her.

How long have you been based in Ireland?
I am in Ireland over 10 years now and my first job was with Willie Browne. I moved around a little bit and have spent time working with Thomond O'Meara, Tom Whitehead and Jim McCartan as well. When Paul Deegan was training, I spent some time working for him in Kildare as well, so I have moved around a lot.

You are a popular man on the breeze-up circuit and have a reputation for being one of the go-to riders.
That's right. Thank God for that. I am very proud about that. Everybody knows me and I am very busy for the breeze-ups. I have my jockey's licence as well and my family have some horses to race. I also rode a winner for Thomond O'Meara before at Dundalk.

Would winning in your wife's colours on Buyin Buyin be your best experience in racing so far?
I was a very good jockey when I was younger. I would have been top jockey a couple of times in Brazil and I rode at Nad Al Sheba in Dubai for a bit as well. It was a long time ago, but I also rode all across South America–Paraguay, Uruguay and other places like that–and I have ridden over 1,000 winners all together. When I was younger, I rode many Quarter Horse races because I was very light. I rode many winners at that in Sao Paulo.

Why did you decide to come to Ireland?
I was working in England for Paul Cole and Ralph Beckett and got some great experience. I can remember somebody telling me all about the breeze-ups and I just thought it could be very good for me and help me to start a business with my family. I knew that I had the ability to ride these fast horses and thankfully it has worked out. I started out working with Willie Browne and got more contacts and it started to happen for me.

The breeze-up game has changed a lot in those 10 years.
It has and I am very proud of my business because, when I came here, I had absolutely nothing. I had some money from my time working in Brazil but it wasn't a lot to go buying horses. I got some help from friends to get one or two horses every year and tried to grow it little by little. This year, my wife had five horses and it looks like Buyin Buyin is sold now. We have a few more to go breezing so hopefully it will be a good year.

What have you left to breeze?
I have one for Arqana, one for the Guineas Sale and another for Goresbridge. The horse for France is by Sioux Nation and he's a nice colt who cost €40,000. The Guineas Sale horse is a Dark Angel (Ire) filly and the Goresbridge colt is by Dandy Man (Ire).

Buyin Buyin looks a steal now at the €8,000 you paid for him off Tally-Ho Stud at the Tattersalls Ireland September Yearling Sale.
I don't why he was so cheap but I just think God helped me and I thank God that I was lucky enough to have found him. I saw him at the sales and I really liked him. I remember going to look at him twice down in the yard. Before he went into the ring, I asked Roger what his reserve was and he told me it was only eight grand. I said, 'okay, that's fine,' without making it look like I was really interested in the horse but I really loved the horse. Anyway, when the horse came into the ring, I went away to hide! Someone bid six, another person goes seven, then someone else goes seven-and-a-half. I bid the eight and then nobody else bid. I said, 'thank God,' and that's how it happened.

Why didn't you breeze him?
I nominated this horse for a couple of breeze-up sales but he didn't get in. Some of the sales companies said they wouldn't take him because the pedigree was a bit light but I never pushed too much for them to accept the horse. I really liked the horse and I can remember telling my wife, 'look Leidiana, I like Buyin Buyin very much, this horse is a January foal and he is very strong and is working very well. I've made my mind up, I'm going to race this horse.' My wife was a little bit afraid and said, 'you need to be very careful because, if this horse does not win or finish in the top three, we are in trouble.' I was very confident in the horse and guaranteed Leidiana that, if he didn't win, he would finish in the top three at Dundalk. She wished me good luck and, while the horse was green in the race, thank God he won it very well and he was quite impressive.

You mentioned that he was green so hopefully there could be plenty more to come from Buyin Buyin.
He has plenty of ability. When I told Willie Browne that I wanted to run him, he told me that I was crazy. I told Willie how confident I was in the horse because he had been training very well and I think he will improve a lot for his next race.

And what does it mean to get a big payday with the sale of the horse?
I'm very happy because I've never had anything like this before. I am very happy and very proud of the horse. When the sale goes through, we can look at buying a property or something like that.

This is a very exciting time of year with the Craven Sale on the horizon.
Definitely. I have ridden a lot of special horses in the breeze-ups, including Trueshan (Fr) (Planteur {Ire}), so it's a very exciting time for me. I also rode Mshawish (Medaglia d'Oro), California Spangle (Ire) (Starspangledbanner {Aus}), Thundering Blue (Exchange Rate),
Dutch Masterpiece (GB) (Dutch Art {GB}) and Ligthning Thunder (GB) (Dutch Art {GB}) so I have been doing this for a long time and, while there is a lot of pressure at the breeze-ups, it's normal for me.

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Equinox Ascends To Top of Longines WBRR

Japanese horses have readily left their marks at racetracks in the Middle East over the first three months of 2023, and accordingly, the nation is now home to the top-rated gallopers in the world on both turf and dirt according to the latest edition of the Longines World's Best Racehorse Rankings (WBRR) that was made public Thursday.

On the strength of his mesmerising front-running victory in the G1 Longines Dubai Sheema Classic at Meydan Mar. 25, Silk Racing's Equinox (Jpn) (Kitasan Black {Jpn}) has been assigned a rating of 129, four points clear of dual Hong Kong Horse of the Year Golden Sixty (Aus) (Medaglia d'Oro) and five better than his compatriot Titleholder (Jpn) (Duramente {Jpn}), who made a splashy return to the races of his own with an eight-length demolition of the G2 Nikkei Sho hours before Equinox's effort in Dubai. The G1 Takarazuka Kinen in June could bring together the two Japanese rivals, while Golden Sixty is ticketed for the G1 FWD Champions Mile at Sha Tin Apr. 30.

Ushba Tesoro (Jpn) (Orfevre {Jpn}) capped a Japanese three-timer at Meydan with a late-running defeat of Algiers (Ire) (Shamardal, 118) in the G1 Dubai World Cup and is rated the best dirt horse in the world on 122, sharing that spot with Hong Kong's California Spangle (Ire) (Starspangledbanner {Aus}) and recent G1 Queen Elizabeth S. victor Dubai Honour (Ire) (Pride of Dubai {Aus}), each of whom is also set to appear on Champions Day at Sha Tin in a bit more than two weeks.

Lucky Sweynesse (NZ) (Sweynesse {Aus}) defeated California Spangle in the G1 Queen's Silver Jubilee Cup last month and is a joint-fourth in the WBRR alongside fellow Hong Konger Romantic Warrior (Ire) (Acclamation {GB}) on a rating of 123. Both runners also have Champions Day engagements.

The Peter Moody-trained I Wish I Win (NZ) (Savabeel {Aus}) is the top Australian-based runner in the WBRR, having been given a rating of 121 and honours as the world's top-rated turf sprinter for his victory in the G1 T J Smith S. over heavy Randwick turf Apr. 1. The 4-year-old is one point clear of nine-time Group 1 winner Anamoe (Aus) (Street Boss).

Art Collector (Bernardini) remains America's top-rated horse on 121 for his GI Pegasus World Cup Invitational S. heroics and is just ahead of Eclipse Award-winning sprinter Elite Power (Curlin), who sits on 120 for his victory earlier this season in the G3 Riyadh Dirt Sprint.

 

 

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Royal Ascot Dream Still Alive For Australian Ace Anamoe

He may have had his colours lowered by British raider Dubai Honour (Ire) (Pride Of Dubai {Aus}) in the G1 Queen Elizabeth S. at Randwick last week, but Australian star Anamoe (Aus) (Street Boss) is still in contention to run at Royal Ascot this summer.

A nine-time Group 1 winner in Australia, Anamoe could only manage third behind William Haggas's Dubai Honour, but connections are not giving up on the Ascot dream despite most firms pushing his odds for the G1 Queen Anne S. out to 12-1.

Godolphin Australia spokesman Vin Cox told racenet, “We've still got Anamoe in light work. We are not making any excuses for his defeat last week but we feel he wasn't quite at his best.

“Anamoe will be given a chance to freshen up and we will see how he is later this month then make a decision on Royal Ascot. We don't have to lock anything in just yet.”

The same statement applies for James Cummings' stablemate Aft Cabin (Aus) (Astern {Aus}), who put himself in the Royal Ascot picture when landing the G2 Arrowfield 3YO Sprint last Saturday.

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Richard Hannon: ‘I Love The Blue Points – He Could Have A Big Year’

Leading trainer Richard Hannon has nominated the juveniles who have been impressing him the most at home on the gallops and described himself as a massive fan of first-season sire Blue Point (Ire). 

So impressed is Hannon by Godolphin's freshman sire, whose first runner–Action Point (Ire)–was a winner, he has predicted that he will struggle to get near the progeny of Blue Point at the sales in the coming years. 

Alongside the leading bloodstock agents Peter and Ross Doyle, Hannon has amassed a team of over 100 two-year-olds to go to war with this season, of which he has revealed to TDN Europe the ones who have been showing up best at home. 

He said, “I have five or six Blue Points that all go very well and a Dandy Man (Ire) colt who I really like that will be out soon. There's also a lovely Soldier's Call (GB) colt, owned by Sheikh Abdullah Almalek Alsabah, who cost £60,000 at Donny [the Premier Yearling Sale]. 

“I have a £200,000 Dark Angel (Ire) colt belonging to Al Shaqab who was also picked up at Donny, a New Bay (GB) filly belonging to Amo Racing who is pretty sweet and a lovely Kodiac (GB) colt called Odin Legacy (Ire) who cost  €575,000 at the Goffs Orby Sale. He's a smashing horse.”

Hannon added, “I have a nice Havana Gold (GB) colt called Notta Nother. Havana Gold is an excellent stallion, as good as any of them, and he is a real trainers' stallion. He's going to be a big loss. Of the younger stallions coming through, I really like the Soldier's Call colt that I have and I liked Soldier's Call as a racehorse as well. 

“I love the Blue Points. They are all pretty similar-looking and you can see the Shamardal coming out in them but they all go nicely. I don't think I will be able to afford many of these Blue Points next year–he could have a big year which will make them very expensive next year.”

Mehmas (Ire) and Night Of Thunder (Ire), who Hannon trained to record major honours with, have sky-rocketed in value since they retired to stud, with the handler revealing that even he now struggles to get near their offspring at the sales. 

But negotiating the sales has been made a great deal easier for the Hannon team through their long-standing relationship with Peter and Ross Doyle, according to the trainer, whose approach to the yearling sales is unrivalled given most of the stock is bought on spec. 

Richard Hannon and Ross Doyle | Tattersalls

Hannon said, “Peter and Ross Doyle are top-class. Ross and I are great mates and have worked together for 25 years now–like our fathers did before us. It's been a great relationship and a very natural one. Ross fits exactly what we want and is a great asset to our business as I hope we are to his. We've been together a long time and not many of those trainer-agent relationships last as long.”

He added, “There's a lot of competition out there now. We can't afford to buy the pedigrees so we have to look for the individuals. The old 20 grand is now 60 grand. We need those horses in the cheaper bracket as that's what owners want with two-year-olds. It's also very exciting owning two-year-olds and they will always sell. We sold all of our yearlings last year. I thought it would be a lot harder to get it done but thankfully we did.”

Hannon is well-represented in terms of numbers in all of the early-entry sales races. The team have targeted and been successful in those races in recent years, with Gubbass (Ire) (Mehmas {Ire}) and Shouldvebeenaring (GB) (Havana Grey {GB}) being prime examples, and he described the plotting and dreaming that is involved in relatively cheap yearling purchases at this point of the season as one of the most exciting aspects to racehorse ownership. 

“This is the best time of year. Owners want to come and see their horses and everyone is full of hope ahead of another new season. The horses can change very quickly at this time of year and can transform into racehorses from little babies overnight. A bit of sun on their back and when they hit a bit of grass, you can see a massive change in their attitude, their appearance and their work.”

On other two-year-olds who are showing up well, he added, “I've got a nice Profitable (Ire) colt for Sheikh Abdullah Almalek Alsabah who cost £68,000 at the Premier Yearling Sale, a lovely Kodiac filly for Middleham Park Racing, a very nice Phoenix Of Spain (Ire) called Local Hero who only cost 37,000gns at the Tattersalls Somerville Sale. He belongs to Michael Pescod and is a fantastically-nice mover.

“We've a couple of nice two-year-olds by Advertise (GB). There's a filly there out of Raggety Ann (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) by him and she's a real nice type but might just need some time. 

“Mehmas is another fantastic stallion. We have five or six of them this year and we always try and buy a few. Night Of Thunder is another but they have become very hard to buy now as well.”

While Hannon has over 100 two-year-olds to work with, he revealed that he will be on the lookout for talent at the breeze-up sales, including at the Craven Sale next week, which is where Mehmas (Ire) was sourced for just 170,000gns by the Doyles back in 2016.

“If we see something that we think is good value, Ross will buy it, but I really don't have much interest in the ones who do the fastest times at the breeze-ups,” Hannon explained. “I really don't believe in that. The fastest horses are never the best horses–it's all about how long they can do it for. 

“Doing it over two furlongs is a false economy. All you want to see is a nice-moving horse who looks like it's not a squeezed lemon. It needs to have a bit of scope and a good attitude as well. But when it comes to the breeze-ups, we buy off the same sort of people every year. They are people we know and we know the horses that they produce have not been gunned at home.”

It's not all about the two-year-olds for team Hannon this season as Trillium(GB) (No Nay Never), who beat The Platinum Queen (Ire) (Cotai Glory {GB}) in the G2 Flying Childers at Doncaster last season, headlines a strong team of three-year-olds for the year ahead. 

Hannon said, “I have a very nice unraced three-year-old filly called Maman Joon (Ire) (Sea The Stars {Ire}). She could be a lovely mile-and-a-half filly. There's another lovely three-year-old filly called Mammas Girl (IGB) (Havana Grey {GB}) for Amo. 

“I've got Trillium as well and she's in great nick. She wants to go a little too fast sometimes but we'll probably start her off in the Sandy Lane or the Merriebelle. That's a Commonwealth Cup trial at Ascot so we'll take things from there with her.”

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