Tob feb 2014

I n c o r p o r a t i n g

www.ownerbreeder.co.uk

MightyambitionHenry Daly on his desire

to train 100 horses andtaste Grade 1 glory again

£4.95 | February 2014 | Issue 114

Plus• Phil Smith talks handicap headaches and punter puzzles • Claiborne Farm: US stallion operation on the front foot • Tony Morris looks back at racing’s wartime controversy

Feb_114_FrontCover_revised_OwnerBreeder 17/01/2014 17:10

• ALFRED NOBEL • CAMELOT • CANFORD CLIFFS • CHOISIR • DANEHILL DANCER • DECLARATION OF WAR • DUKE OF MARMALADE • EXCELEBRATION • FASTNET ROCK •• FOOTSTEPSINTHESAND • GALILEO • HENRYTHENAVIGATOR • HIGH CHAPARRAL • HOLY ROMAN EMPEROR • MASTERCRAFTSMAN • MOST IMPROVED • PEINTRE CELEBRE •

• POUR MOI • POWER • REQUINTO • RIP VAN WINKLE • ROCK OF GIBRALTAR • SO YOU THINK • THEWAYYOUARE • ZOFFANY •

!Excelebration was close to being the best

• Group 1 winner by a son of DANEHILL from a daughter ofINDIAN RIDGE - just like DANCING RAIN and NAHOODH.

• His grandam MISS KEMBLE is a half-sister to Irish Oaks heroinePRINCESS PATI.

• His third dam SARAH SIDDONS won Irish 1,000 Guineas and Yorkshire Oaks.

29383_Excelebration_TBOB_DPS_Feb14_29383_Excelebration_TBOB_DPS_Feb14 14/01/2014 17:12 Page 1

Contact: Coolmore Stud, Fethard, Clonmel, Co. Tipperary, Ireland. Tel: 353-52-6131298. Fax: 353-52-6131382. Christy Grassick, David O’Loughlin, Eddie Fitzpatrick, Tim Corballis, Maurice Moloney, Gerry Aherne, Mathieu Legars or Jason Walsh. Tom Gaffney, David Magnier, Joe Hernon, Cathal Murphy or Jim Carey: 353-25-31966/31689. Kevin Buckley (UK Rep.) 44-7827-795156.

E-mail: [email protected] Web site: www.coolmore.com All stallions nominated to EBF.

1st Queen Elizabeth II Stakes-Gr.1 by 3 lengths1st Prix Jacques le Marois-Gr.1 from Cityscape,

Elusive Kate, Moonlight Cloud etc.1st Prix du Moulin-Gr.1 from Rio De La Plata1st Hungerford Stakes-Gr.2 by 6 lengths1st German 2,000 Guineas-Gr.2 by 7 lengths1st Gladness Stakes-Gr.3 by 3! lengths2nd Queen Anne Stakes-Gr.1 to Frankel2nd Lockinge Stakes-Gr.1 to Frankel2nd Queen Elizabeth II Stakes-Gr.1 to Frankel

Also won 2 of his 3 starts as a 2YO over 6f.at Doncaster and Newmarket.

miler seen in Europe in recent years!

Excelebration defeats 8 individualGr.1 winners in the Prix Jacques le Marois-Gr.1

Timeform Racehorses of 2012

The best son of Exceed And Excel

Fee: !20,000

29383_Excelebration_TBOB_DPS_Feb14_29383_Excelebration_TBOB_DPS_Feb14 14/01/2014 17:13 Page 2

VISITORS WELCOME BY APPOINTMENT

Why not come and see him for yourself?

N.B. Mayson’s fi rst book included the dams of

PEERESS, HOORAY, EXCELLENT ART, PENITENT and SUPPLICANT.

“He has a great walk and I was so taken with

him that I’m sending him three mares.”

DEREK ICETON Tara Stud

“I went to see him during December Sales and he’s let down into a really striking horse.

I can’t wait to see his fi rst foals.” CHRIS BUDGETTKirtlington Stud

“He’s certainly a strong-bodied sort,

who has a good walk and has developed into a taking individual.”

RICHARD BROWNBlandford Bloodstock

“I was really impressed when I saw him and

think he’ll make a very commercial stallion.”

BUMBLE MITCHELLBumble Bloodstock

MAYSON

With a pedigree that combines two of the most potent sprinting sire lines available today and a race record which included a thumping 5 length success in the Gr.1 Darley July Cup,

MAYSON represents the perfect ‘breeder’s dream’.

Not only are his pedigree and race record beyond reproach, but he has gone from strength to strength since retiring to stud and is now as eye-catching an individual as you will see anywhere.

Bay, 2008, 16.1hh :: by INVINCIBLE SPIRIT ex MAYLEAF (PIVOTAL)

THE HIGHEST RATED SON OF INVINCIBLE SPIRIT AT STUD

Cheveley Park Stud • Duchess Drive, Newmarket, Suffolk CB8 9DD Tel: (01638) 730316 Fax: (01638) 730868 [email protected] www.cheveleypark.co.uk

FEE:

£6,000 (1st October LFFR)

FIRST FOALS 2014

Mayson-Owner-Feb2014_v2.indd 1 17/01/2014 11:06

THOROUGHBRED OWNER & BREEDER INC PACEMAKER

WELCOME FROM THE EDITOR

Roll on Cheltenham? Not if you’re Henry Daly.Well, that’s not quite fair. The Shropshire trainer,the subject of a superb interview with Alan Lee

in this month’s magazine (pages 36-39), isn’t exactly keento test his novices on jumping’s biggest stage.

For all the anticipation, excitement and razzmatazzgenerated by the Festival, the racing is as intense andcompetitive as it gets. The will to win at Prestbury Parkis unsurpassed anywhere in the equine world. For themore inexperienced animals, the event can be somethingof a culture shock, on and off the track.

“It can be a terribly tough place for younger horses,”Daly says. “They go two strides quicker than anywhereelse.

“In 15 years I doubt if I’ve had more than threerunners in the Festival noviceraces. We deliberately keptMighty Man away fromCheltenham because his mindwould have been fried by theexperience.”

The aforementioned MightyMan, who was never at his bestat Cheltenham, is undoubtedlythe best horse to pass throughDaly’s hands in his decade and ahalf with a licence. The ultra-talented staying hurdler was alsothe last Grade 1 winner for themaster of Downton Hall stablesback in December 2006.

Other high-class runners have come and gone overthe years but they had all well and truly vanished by thetime of the 2010/11 season, which yielded the paltryfigure of eight winners from 189 runners.

For a man used to a certain level of success – none ofhis previous terms had returned less than 28 winners –it was tough to bear.

Daly says: “We had a bacterial infection. It wastreatable but it took a long time to fix it. We discoveredwhat was wrong but then twice used the wrong drugs.The third drug finally worked but the process had takentwo months and by that time the horses were flat.

“The season was a write-off. The lads and jockeys gotvery down and although the owners were stoic to a man,we did lose a few [owners] subsequently.

“It was a very interesting life lesson and not one I wishto go through again.”

Thankfully for the handler and his team, matters haveimproved since those dark days. This campaign haswitnessed Daly’s best ever start, with over 20 victoriesbefore Christmas, something not achieved previously.

While there may not be a Mighty Man in the yard –or a Behrajan, Young Spartacus or Hand Inn Hand forthat matter – the ratings of the novices indicate that thenext Grade 1 triumph may not be too far away.

And don’t think that Daly isn’t desperate to unearthhis next star. Beneath that calm exterior and tweed capis a man hungry for glory at the highest level. Theproblem has been in communicating that message to awider group of owners.

Daly explains: “I’m actually inawe of trainers like Paul Nichollsfor their skill in promotingthemselves. It’s a great talent.Some people get it wrong and goover the top but those that get itright, like Paul, do it in spades.

“It’s not in my nature. I’m veryaware that I’m missing out butit’s very hard to change the wayyou are made. I just find self-promotion very difficult, butthat is very different from beingunambitious. You cannot trainhorses unless you arecompetitive.

“I need more horses and that is my frustration. But forchoice, I would certainly have more. If I was offered 100,I would take them gladly.

“We have the room and I have the ambition.”The ambition at Claiborne Farm in Kentucky is surely

to live up to their own high standards in standing greatstallions – no easy thing when that list includesNasrullah, Secretariat and Danzig to name but three.War Front, sire of last year’s Royal Ascot victorsDeclaration Of War and War Command, is one of thecurrent stars on the roster.

Our Bloodstock Editor, Emma Berry, visited thefamous US operation, which has been in business forover a century, to find out more about its history andplans for the future (pages 46-51).

EDWARD ROSENTHAL

Quest for Grade 1 successis a daily battle for Henry

“Beneath that calm

exterior and tweed

cap is a man hungry

for glory at the

highest level”

I n c o r p o r a t i n g

www.ownerbreeder.co.uk

MightyambitionHenry Daly on his desire

to train 100 horses andtaste Grade 1 glory again

£4.95 | February 2014 | Issue 114

Plus• Phil Smith talks handicap headaches and punter puzzles • Claiborne Farm: US stallion operation on the front foot • Tony Morris looks at horseracing during World War I

Cover: Henry Daly surveys hishorses at Downton Hall stablesin ShropshirePhoto: George Selwyn

3

Publisher: Michael HarrisEditor: Edward RosenthalBloodstock Editor: Emma BerryDesigned by: Thoroughbred Group

Editorial: First Floor, 75 High Holborn, London WC1V 6LSTel: 020 7152 0209Fax: 020 7152 0213 [email protected]

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Editorial views expressed in this magazineare not necessarily those of the ROA or TBA

ABC AuditedOur proven average

monthly circulation is certified by the Audit Bureau of Circulation at 9,423**Based on the period July 1, 2012to June 30, 2013.

Racehorse Owners Association LtdFirst Floor, 75 High Holborn, London WC1V 6LSTel: 020 7152 0200 Fax: 020 7152 [email protected]

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Feb_114_Editors_Owner Breeder 17/01/2014 17:30 Page 3

4

CONTENTSFEBRUARY 2014

58

Kentucky Derby hero Orbis just one of the star

names at Claiborne Farm in Kentucky

(pages 46-51)

53

NEWS & VIEWS

7 ROA LeaderGaming machines no good thing

9 TBA LeaderUnified drug rules a necessity

10 NewsTerry Biddlecombe remembered

12 ChangesYour monthly round-up

20 Tony MorrisRacing and the First World War

22 Howard WrightARC under pressure

INTERNATIONAL SCENE

25 View From IrelandPrunella Dobbs on the up

29 Continental TalesEnrique Leon’s Guineas quest

33 Around The GlobeJerry Hollendorfer stillgoing strong

53 Hunting & RacingStrong ties between the two

58 Rory MacDonaldBritish Racing School’s main man

64 Sales CircuitJumpers and stores to the fore

70 Caulfield FilesHennessy’s posthumous impact

96 NEW!24 Hours With...Dave Roberts, jockeys’ agent,kicks off our new series

FEATURES

16 The Big PictureSprinter Sacre’s heartbreak

36 COVER STORYThe Big InterviewHenry Daly looks to the future

41 Talking To...BHA handicapper Phil Smith

46 Claiborne FarmUS operation in focus

Feb_114_Contents_Contents 17/01/2014 16:54 Page 4

5


FORUM

73 ROA ForumOwners Jackpot initiative launched

80 Racecourse League TablesThe latest Flat and jumps rankings

82 TBA ForumStallion Parade line-up confirmed

86 Breeder of the MonthNigel Franklin, for Killala Quay

88 Next Generation ClubFoaling season fuels dreams

90 Vet ForumNon-infectious conditions in neo-natal foals

DATA BOOK92 National Hunt Grade Ones

Top-level winners over jumps

9,423Can other magazines prove theirs?

Our monthly circulation is certified at

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Feb_114_Contents_Contents 17/01/2014 16:55 Page 5

And many, many more...

Foxwedge OB Feb 2014 f-p_Whitsbury OB Feb 2014 f-p 17/01/2014 08:52 Page 1

ROA LEADER

THOROUGHBRED OWNER & BREEDER INC PACEMAKER 7

Betting shops and gaming machines (Fixed OddsBetting Terminals) took up significantparliamentary time in January and, although a

Labour party motion to bring about a change inlegislation was defeated, the subject is not going to goaway. The Prime Minister, himself, acknowledges thereis a problem with the machines that have been dubbedbetting’s version of the “crack cocaine” of the highstreet.

We are told gaming machines now account for overhalf of betting shop revenues, which is hardly surprisingwhen you see how eagerly punters feed money intothem. It is a high turnover, low margin type of gamblingconcept, encouraging the playerto believe that a big win ismoments away just so long asthey keep going.

There is now a groundswell ofreal concern on both sides of par-liament as to whether the ma-chines fuel gambling addictionand prey on the lives of the mostneedy. The machines requirenone of the intellectual input orperiods of quiet contemplationthat often takes place before a betis struck on horseracing.

The bookmakers tell us that thepopularity and high profitability of the machines has keptmany of their shops open. Certainly, betting shops haveproliferated in a lot of town centres – in many cases againstthe wishes of residents – while bookmakers make theargument forcefully that a clamp-down on machineswould inevitably have an adverse effect on their large, tax-paying companies, with big implications for employment.

The racing world sits uneasily on the fringes of thisdebate because, apart from the huge contribution madeby owners, most of racing’s income emanates from thebetting industry in the form of payments from the levyand for pictures shown in betting shops. To be clear,income from the statutory levy is not directly affected bybetting on any activity other than horseracing but, iftougher legislation on machines leads to betting shopclosures, there will be fewer people betting on

horseracing – or so the argument runs. Recognising this, the BHA has weighed in with

support for the bookmakers. But you wonder whetherparading such self-interest against what is increasinglylooking like a moral argument puts racing in a goodlight. We must also remember that bookmakers havedone everything in their power over many years tosteer punters away from horseracing and onto otherbetting activities, from which racing has never receiveda penny. It wasn’t so long ago that we were arguingvociferously that gaming machines were taking thebread from racing’s mouth; that the great majority ofpeople who went into shops did so primarily to back

horses and only then movedonto other activities.

Even in these days when somepunters go into shops purely toplay on the machines, horserac-ing continues to be a crucial partof the betting shop mix. Andwhile we will never return tothose days when our sport accounted for 80% of all bettingturnover, there is great scope foran increase in racing’s bettingmarket share if bookmakers diverted some of their marketingspend in our direction.

Potential problems for racing stemming from therebeing fewer betting shops could be counterbalanced ifwe were to start receiving levy from the increasingnumber of bets placed via the internet or phone. The factthat most of these bets are now diverted to overseasjurisdictions that are untouched by levy legislation, is amatter over which racing must continue to keepgovernment onside.

If, as seems likely, a government of any complexionis going to make life difficult for bookmakers overgaming machines, racing would do well to distanceitself from this debate. A less opportunist stance mightcreate a better climate to get through legislation so thatevery time a bet is placed on British horseracing,wherever and however, our sport receives the revenueit justly deserves.

RACHEL HOOD PresidentRacehorse Owners Association

Gaming machine debatea conundrum for racingSupport for the bookmakers over this contentious issue is badly misplaced

“It wasn’t long ago

we were arguing that

FOBTs were taking

the bread from

racing’s mouth”

Feb_114_ROA_Leader_Layout 1 17/01/2014 16:20 Page 7

monthly copy of Thoroughbred Owner & Breeder

magazine

copy of the annual Thoroughbred Stallion guide

to regional events. Stallion parades, free badges,

price for Stud Farming Course

news and updates from the TBA

For more information contact [email protected]

Banstead Manor tour - Frankel

Darley yard visit

Tattersalls sales event

TBA LEADER


Each year it is customary for Tattersalls and DBS tohost industry liaison meetings, which offer avaluable opportunity for representative bodies to

air any matters of concern raised by their members anddebate new issues, rules and techniques. This year we willundoubtedly touch on the industry’s response to debateon the role of anabolic steroids in the racing and breeding industry.

Currently the BHA will not allow the use of anabolicsteroids in training, which the TBA fully supports.!The TBABoard would welcome harmonisation of the rulesregarding anabolic steroids, but realises that a total ban maypresent new problems, and these should be carefullyconsidered with all relevantparties prior to any hasty rulechanges. In fact, it will not just beracing and breeding in Britain thatwill face these new problems, itwill need a European andworldwide focus to produce aworkable outcome.

Our veterinary advisersexplained further in theirinformation to the Board:“Anabolic steroids are chemicalderivatives similar to the malehormone testosterone and havebeen used in animals and humansfor many years.!Their main therapeutic application is torebuild tissues that are weakened by disease, injury orsurgery.!The primary effect on animals and particularlyhorses is to increase weight and muscle, in conjunctionwith feeding and exercise programmes, believed to be aresult of increased appetite. Due to the similarities totestosterone there may be side effects including aggression.

“Anabolic steroids are detectable in horses for at leastfour weeks in blood and urine and sometimes longer, andin hair samples for up to two years, and currently can beobtained legally by veterinary surgeons in the UK for usein specific cases of horse debilitation and need.!It is wellknown that the repeated or prolonged use of someanabolic steroids in susceptible juvenile horses can bedamaging to their fertility.! Anecdotal evidence suggeststhat the use of anabolic steroids in the thoroughbred

breeding industry in Great Britain is at a very low level andcurrent opinion suggests that its use in horses is lessbeneficial than previously thought.!Recently the use of anintra-articular preparation that contains a small amount ofan anabolic steroid has been used to medicate some horses’joints as a way of reducing inflammation and a similarproduct has also been used in damaged flexor tendons.Recent publicity regarding the use of this preparation andintra-muscular anabolic steroids has reopened debateamongst racing authorities here and abroad.

“The TBA Veterinary Committee has pointed out that asimilar extended ban in Great Britain would preclude theuse of these drugs in any situation and would be difficult

and expensive to monitor eventhough it may be desirable inprinciple. The testing of hairsamples for anabolic steroids mayresult in unexpected resultsfollowing historic use, producingdifficulties perhaps with importedhorses that have been reared incountries who do not insist onlifetime bans and that may changeownership, sometimes throughsales rings.”

The TBA’s veterinary advisorsalso cautioned that a total banmay also preclude the beneficial

use of steroids in ways that have yet to be discovered, or arecurrently being assessed. The international breedingcommunity will have an opportunity to discuss this at theforthcoming International Thoroughbred Breeders’Federation meeting.

Recent press comment that the international appetite forEuropean-bred horses must not diminish the quality of ourstock as British racing struggles to provide incentives toretain horses in training in this country is food for thought.The TBA’s Flat Committee recently agreed to approach theBHA to offer funding for a series of races at varyingdistances for fillies and mares, just short of Listed status.This is aimed at ensuring those with ability continue torace on in Britain rather than seeking black type overseas.This is just one of the positive activities the TBA plans tosupport from sales levy income in 2014.

RICHARD LANCASTER Chairman Thoroughbred Breeders’ Association

Working towards unifiedapproach on drug rulesInternational solution needs to be found to address anabolic steroids issue

“The Board welcomes

harmonisation of the rules

on anabolic steroids but

realises that a total ban

may present problems”

Feb_114_TBA_Leader_TBA 17/01/2014 16:08 Page 9

Terence Walter Biddlecombe was bornin the middle of a war and in hischosen profession such was his

fearless bravery in the face of danger that heseemed as much soldier as jockey.

Forty-seven broken bones was the figurealmost casually mentioned, as if there shouldbe no fuss made of it, by his widow HenriettaKnight, the trainer whose ‘odd couple’relationship with the former championjumps jockey was such an integral part of theBest Mate story.

Among dozens of heartfelt and amusingstories and tributes, there were severalinsistences that Biddlecombe and Knightwere far from the odd pair portrayed; that intheir love and happiness they were, in fact, a‘normal’ married couple.

They got together in the autumn of 1992,having met at a Malvern Bloodstock Sale.

Knight, who admitted to having a huge crushon Biddlecombe during his cavalier race-riding days when she was in her twenties,wrote in her book Best Mate: Chasing Gold:“Our meeting at Malvern was to mark thebeginning of some of the happiest days of mylife. I met Terry three weeks later outside theweighing room at Cheltenham racecourseand I distinctly remember the shivers randown my spine. In less than a year Terrywould become an integral part of my life.

“If I had not re-met Terry at Malvern,would I have noticed Best Mate in the point-to-point at Lismore a few years later? Mostprobably, I wouldn’t even have been there.”

A word association game nowadays wouldmatch Biddlecombe with Knight and BestMate, the Gold Cup hero from 2002-2004,but play it a few decades earlier and youwould have got answers that better reflect

why Biddlecombe is a racing great.Born in Gloucester on February 2, 1941,

the son of a farmer and permit holder, he wasto partner his first winner aged 17, theplatform for a marvellous career highlightedby three championships and victory in the1967 Cheltenham Gold Cup on WoodlandVenture.

It was, however, not for the titles and raceshe won that Biddlecombe forged hisreputation, rather for the iron-man way hewent about the job. To say he was the APMcCoy of his day is to ignore the reality thatriding over jumps in the 1960s and 1970swas a brutally dangerous game; safety – andthe equipment to make race-riding as safe aspossible – was for future generations.

Biddlecombe’s mixture of courage andhumour – he was adored by the public andknown as ‘The Laughing Cavalier’ and ‘The

THOROUGHBRED OWNER & BREEDER INC PACEMAKER10

NEWSS t o r i e s f r o m t h e r a c i n g w o r l d

Terry Biddlecombe 1941-2014Three-time champion jockey and Gold Cup winner left a lasting impression

GEO

RGE

SELW

YN

The best mates behind Best Mate: Terry Biddlecombe with his wife, former trainer Henrietta Knight

Feb_114_News_Owner 17/01/2014 16:56 Page 10


Blond Bomber’ – was shown to good effectby the two rides for which he is most famed,his Gold Cup triumph and 1970 WelshGrand National victory on French Excuse.

On the morning of his Chepstow win hehad lost almost 9lb in two hours at his‘second home’, a Turkish bath in Gloucester,while before weighing out he had anosebleed that called for cotton wool to plughis nostrils. The gruelling race came down toa duel at the last fence, which Biddlecombetypically charged into, a crucial element in adramatic victory.

His nosebleed still in full flow after therace, a doctor diagnosed dehydration,prescribing a pint of Guinness andtablespoon of salt. The jockey recalled: “Itwas horrible. I drank it because I was sothirsty, but the sudden rush of fluid broughton an attack of colic and I needed aninjection to counteract the spasms. I’ve neverfelt so sick.”

Sick he might not have been, but injuredhe certainly was on the eve of his Gold Cupvictory, a kick above the knee leaving himwith ligaments so badly torn he was barely

able to walk. An injection to numb the jointat Cheltenham from his ‘friendly doctor’sorted him out, at least for the duration ofthe race.

Biddlecombe later said that given thechoice, he would keep the Gold Cup ratherthan trade it for a Grand National victory, a

contest that eluded him through bad luck. Asplit kidney meant he missed the ride on1970 winner Gay Trip and two years later,riding that horse, he was an unlucky second.

His kidneys were to continue to cause himgrief in his retirement after 900-plus winners,

along with the legacies of his falls, wastingand drinking – though his liking for thatnever left him as Mick Channon, who tookon Knight’s jumpers when she retired,relayed, saying: “I’d go and see him for anhour after evening stables, for a chat, andthat gave an opportunity for Hen to pop out.

“When she’d gone, he’d say, ‘Mick, get thebottle of scotch from the top shelf in thekitchen, but don’t tell Hen when she getsback’. I’d get the scotch, pour him a glass,then take the bottle back to the kitchen. Onenight Hen got back early and caught Terry.He said, ‘Mick got me the scotch’. He’d dropme right in it. That happened more thanonce!”

Biddlecombe, who had suffered a stroke inOctober 2011, died on January 5. He issurvived by five children and his wife, whoseeloquent tribute included these words: “Terrywas a wonderful friend to me. I adored himand he was special. He taught me atremendous amount about horses and racingand life. He did an awful lot for racing; hehas set the sport alight over the years. It willseem very strange without him.”

“I adored him and hewas special. He taught

me a tremendousamount about horsesand racing and life”

Biddlecombe on the Queen Mother’s Game Spirit leading Charlie Potheen (nearside) and Pendil in the 1974 Gold Cup

GEO

RGE

SELW

YN

Feb_114_News_Owner 17/01/2014 16:56 Page 11

Welsh National Longstanding sponsor Coral extends dealfor a further five years until 2017 andpromises to increase prize-money above£100,000.

Ann StokellTrainer has her Southwell base approved bythe BHA following a licensing issue; sherecently received 21 horses from ownerStephen Arnold.

Carl McEnteeCounty Kildare native moves fromNorthview Stallion Station in Maryland toDarby Dan Farm in Kentucky as newDirector of Sales and Bloodstock.

Jim BolgerTrainer will receive 15 two-year-olds ownedby Sheikh Mohammed in 2014.

Channel 4Station is reprimanded for a second time byOfcom over the credits for its racingprogramme which “promoted advertisingmessages” regarding Dubai.

Bryan Cooper21-year-old is appointed first jockey toMichael O’Leary’s Gigginstown operationin Ireland, replacing Davy Russell.

QIPCOChampions’ Day backer signs five-year dealto sponsor the King George and will begiven branding rights at Royal Ascot.

Goffs London SaleThe Orangery at Kensington Palace is thevenue for Goffs’ new breeze-up/horses-in-training sale on June 16.


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Michael HowardFormer leader of the Conservative partyresigns as Chairman of Arena RacingCompany owing to a disagreement with theReuben brothers.

Peter VelaLeading breeder in New Zealand is awarded aknighthood in the New Year’s honours list;he bred 2001 Melbourne Cup winnerEthereal.

Anti-dopingBHA strengthens its drugs policy by doublingthe number of horses tested in training andincreasing post-race sampling by 20%.

in association with

Racing’s news in a nutshell

Susannah GillBetfair’s Head of Public Affairs willtake up new role as Director ofExternal Affairs with Arena RacingCompany in March.

PEOPLE AND BUSINESS

Clive CoxTrainer of last year’s star sprinterLethal Force joins the CheveleyPark Stud training roster for 2014. >>

Willy Twiston-Davies19-year-old is appointed stable jockeyto Mick Channon in West Ilsley.

Feb_114_Changes2pp_Layout 1 17/01/2014 16:58 Page 12

Jim Crowley (left) and Jamie Spencer at the meet

You have quite a CV for this industry…I joined Tweenhills at the start of January having worked at Noel O’Callaghan’s Mountarmstrong Stud for six years. Before that I did spells with Derrinstown Stud and Ballysheehan Stud, and two years of yearling and foal consigning with Bill Dwan (of The Castlebridge Consignment).

No doubt born to the role?My parents keep a few mares at home in County Kilkenny, and I did a course at the Irish National Stud, which gave me a good insight to the business. I have shares in a few horses of my own and last year sold two foals and five yearlings.

Young, but experienced then…If I were a horse I’d have just turned 33.

What are your interests away from the job?I like all sports, although I don’t understand cricket. Hurling is my favourite game, but I think I’m going to struggle to find a team in Gloucestershire.

Sightseeing plans?I have been to Newmarket a good few times, but that’s about it in the UK. Given that Cheltenham is now so close I would like to get a day at the Festival.

Short-term goal?I’m looking forward to getting busy when the stallion covering season begins.

Two leading Flat jockeys showed their skill over jumps when spending a day as guests of David’s with the Ledbury Hunt.

Jim Crowley and Jamie Spencer are usually perched well above their saddle, but ‘ride long, live long’ is an adage that applies when taking on the Ledbury’s famous hedges, and both men went home unscathed.

Not that Jamie’s day was entirely free of incident. He later tweeted: “Survived hunting, and now the driver tried to get on the M50 facing the wrong way.”

Jamie and Jim join the hunt

QIPCO’s Ascot deal

staffPROFILE

Phil O’DwyerSecond man/foaling

Some serious muscle strains are likely when a team of racehorse trainers take part in this year’s London Marathon.

They have been goaded into action by Sheikh Fahad, a keen supporter of Racing Welfare, the charity which gives support, care and advice to racing and breeding industry staff who are in need.

Sheikh Fahad challenged trainers of horses under the Qatar Racing and Pearl Bloodstock banners to do some training of their own and get

fit for the 26-mile test of endurance, and it seems quite a few fancy

themselves as racing’s answer to Mo Farah. Likely starters are Andrew Balding, Toby Coles (pictured in light training),

Robert Cowell, Richard Hannon Jr, Charlie Hills and Olly Stevens.

Tweenhills’ head David Redvers is a competent stayer who was a shoo-in

for a slot, while Sheikh Fahad is also booked for a place in the line up – his posse of runners will be known as the ‘Qatar Racing Eight to Follow’.

Marathon effort for Racing WelfareSome serious muscle strains are likely when a team of racehorse trainers take part in this year’s London Marathon.

They have been goaded into action by Sheikh Fahad, a keen supporter of Racing Welfare, the charity which gives support, care and advice to racing and breeding industry staff

and Pearl Bloodstock banners to do and get

fit for the 26-mile test of endurance, and it seems quite a few fancy

themselves as racing’s answer to Mo Farah. Likely starters are Andrew Balding, Toby Coles (pictured in light training),

Robert Cowell, Richard Hannon Jr, Charlie Hills and Olly Stevens.

Tweenhills’ head David Redvers is a competent stayer who was a shoo-in

for a slot, while Sheikh Fahad is also booked for a place in the line up – his posse of runners will be known as the ‘Qatar Racing Eight to Follow’.

QIPCO has become the sponsor of one of Europe’s most famous races.

It is supporting Ascot’s £1,000,000 King George VI & Queen Elizabeth Stakes, the mid-summer highlight of British racing and a contest that has been won by some great champions.

Qatar-based QIPCO Holding will continue with it’s record-breaking sponsorship of the British Champions Series.

Novellist (Johnny Murtagh), who won last year’s race

Red-letter year for stud’s three stallions

HAVANA GOLD - FIRST SEASON HARBOUR WATCH - FIRST FOALS MAKFI - FIRST RUNNERS

TWEENHILLS TIMESFebruary 2014

Tweenhills Farm & Stud Hartpury, Gloucestershire, GL19 3BG W: www.tweenhills.comT: + 44 (0) 1452 700177 / 700545 M: + 44 (0) 7767 436373 E: [email protected]

AN EYE FOR SUCCESS

TWEEN335 - Tweenhill Times Feb 2014_V09.indd 1 16/01/2014 09:32


Piping Rock 2Unbeaten colt, viewed as a contender forthis year’s Classics having been bought byGodolphin, is put down after sufferingfrom colic.

Silver By Nature 11Grand staying chaser with back-to-back winsin the Haydock Grand National Trial forowner/breeder Geoff Brown and trainerLucinda Russell.

La Noire 18Broodmare whose progeny include Grade 1winners Jered and Jezki, who is one of thefavourites for this year’s Champion Hurdle.

Chatterbox 5Promising hurdler for the Nicky Hendersonstable is put down after severely damaging atendon in the Ladbroke Hurdle at Ascot.

Silver Train 11Breeders’ Cup Sprint winner dies fromcolic while returning from shuttling dutiesin Brazil.

RACEHORSE AND STALLIONMOVEMENTS AND RETIREMENTS

HORSE OBITUARIES

Moonlight CloudGeorge Strawbridge’s exceptional mare,winner of six Group 1 races and over £1.4million, is retired aged six; she will becovered by Galileo.

Baby RunTen-time winner for the Nigel Twiston-Davies stable is retired aged 14; hisbiggest success came in the 2010Foxhunter Chase at Cheltenham.

Countrywide FlameTriumph Hurdle and FightingFifth hero, also runner-up in the2012 Cesarewitch, is retiredaged five due to a degenerativebone condition.

OrfevreJapanese superstar, twice runner-up inthe Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe, isretired aged five after recording hissixth top-level win in the Arima Kinen.

PEOPLE OBITUARIES

Mount AthosOwner Dr Marwan Koukash moves his high-class Flat stayer, third inNovember’s Melbourne Cup, from Luca Cumani to Marco Botti.

Mad MooseTalented but wayward performer is forcedinto retirement after the BHA refuses toaccept entries for the ten-year-old due tohis habit of refusing to race.

Lily’s AngelGroup 3 winner for the Ger Lyons stable isretired to the paddocks aged five.

AlianthusSon of Hernando, a dual Group 2 winnerover a mile in Germany, is retired agednine and will stand his first season atHaras de Victot in France.

The Lumber GuyUS Grade 1-winning sprinter is retired tostand at Keane Stud in New York as theproperty of Spendthrift Farm; the son ofGrand Slam’s fee is $5,000.

Monsignor 19Winner of Cheltenham’s ChampionBumper and Royal & Sun AllianceNovices’ Hurdle, he also defeatedBest Mate in the Tolworth Hurdle.

Terry Biddlecombe 72Leading jump jockey of his generation,winning three championships and theCheltenham Gold Cup in 1972 onWoodland Venture.

Virginia ‘Bonk’ Walwyn 76Wife of former champion Flat trainer PeterWalwyn who was a popular figure in theLambourn racing community.

John Woodman 67Jump jockey whose career was ended by abroken neck in 1971; he later worked as abloodstock agent with Anthony Penfold.

Paddy Jones 77Owner who enjoyed success with five-timewinner Prince Dome and Royal Dome,successful for him seven times.

Tim Finn 86Former head man to Edward O’Gradywho was appointed travelling head lad toO’Grady’s father Willie in 1951.

Sir Run Run Shaw 106Hong Kong film tycoon and entertainmentmogul who owned 1959 Portland Handicapwinner New World, trained by Toby Balding.

Leslie Brownell Combs II 80Former President of Spendthrift Farm inKentucky who syndicated Seattle Slewand Affirmed.

Paddy Fetherston-Godley 85Owner/breeder who landed the Gimcrackand Middle Park Stakes in 1985 withhomebred Stalker, trained by Peter Walwyn.

Johnny Limb 73Multiple champion jockey in Kenya whoserved his apprenticeship in Newmarketwith Sir Jack Jarvis.

Charles Weatherby 81Former partner in Weatherbys who alsoheaded the Jockey Club’s RacecourseDepartment and Inspectorate.

St Nicholas Abbey 7Outstanding two-year-old, later top-classmiddle distance performer, winner of sixGroup 1s including three Coronation Cups.

Sunshine Forever 29Son of Roberto, a multiple winner at thetop level in America and sire of SunshineStreet, fourth to High-Rise in the 1998Derby.

Feb_114_Changes2pp_Layout 1 17/01/2014 16:58 Page 14

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K E M P T O N P A R K

SPRINTER SCAREThere’s little sign of the drama to follow as Sprinter Sacre andBarry Geraghty follow Sire De Grugy and Jamie Moore to thestart for the Desert Orchid Pattern Chase at Kempton onDecember 27. In the contest, 2-9 favourite Sprinter Sacrewas pulled up, losing his perfect chase record in the process.Caroline Mould’s star was later found to be suffering with anirregular heartbeat, although the problem corrected itself.He remains on course for the Champion Chase on March 12

Photo George Selwyn

Feb_114_Big_Picture_SprinterSacre_Owner Breeder 17/01/2014 17:02 Page 17

IN THE SPOTLIGHT... STAR TURN

With an increase in the number of

BOBIS races this year, there is over

£5m in the prize fund for breeders,

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Bobis OB Feb 2014_Bobis OB Feb 2014 16/01/2014 13:24 Page 1

DON’T MISS OUT

Potential prize fund of over £5m Over 850 races o! ering BOBIS prizes for 2yos and 3yos

£10,000 prizes for fi llies in Class 2 - 4 fi llies’ only races for 2yos and 3yosNo limit to how many prizes can be won at two and three

For any assistance please contact Eimear Chance at [email protected] or 07770220026To download a registration form please visit our website:

Nominate two-year-olds for BOBIS at a cost of £275 if the breeder has registered the horse.

If the breeder has not registered the horse you can fully qualify the horse for a cost of £525, meaning the owner wins the owner

and breeder share of the BOBIS prize!

OWNERS " REGISTER NOW!

1-2 1 10:16

Bobis OB Feb 2014_Bobis OB Feb 2014 16/01/2014 13:24 Page 2

In the year when we commemorate the100th anniversary of the start of the FirstWorld War, we will be regularly reminded

of the ways in which every aspect of life inBritain was affected by the conflict. Wheremuch professional sport was concerned, theimpact was severe; it ceased for the duration.

Football kept going until the spring of 1915,long enough for Everton to claim the FirstDivision title and for Sheffield United to beatChelsea 3-0 in the FA Cup Final, but after thatthere was nothing until the autumn of 1919.After Surrey’s triumph in the 1914 CountyChampionship, there were four years when nofirst-class cricket was played.

While what was erroneously described as‘the war to end all wars’ was being waged, therecould hardly be an excuse for such frivolities.The proper place for fit young men was in thearmed services, fighting for King and country.

Controversially, there was racing throughoutthe conflict. What some might have consideredthe most frivolous pastime of all kept going,albeit on a much-reduced scale. Whereas thegoverning bodies of other sports accepted asuspension of activity was appropriate, theJockey Club stood firm in its resolve to carryon. Carrying on regardless was too strong aterm for its stance, but, unsurprisingly, that washow many interpreted it.

Three race meetings. And a warBritain’s declaration of war on Germany cameon August 4, 1914, a Tuesday when racing tookplace at Birmingham, Brighton and Ripon.Fixtures scheduled in the following weeks wentahead, while a considerable body of publicopinion built up in opposition. The JockeyClub could not ignore what was commonlyexpressed; they called all members to a specialmeeting on September 16 to discuss the matter.

The view held by the stewards – HenryGreer, Lord Wolverton and Viscount Villiers –was plain. They wanted racing to continue andwere quick to make it clear that their wish hadnothing to do with providing a spectacle forthose who found amusement in racegoing.Their concerns were, rather, that a cessationwould throw thousands out of work and would

be damaging to the nation’s breeding industry.After some debate the motion put to the

meeting was that the fixtures scheduled atNewmarket and elsewhere should be carriedout where the local conditions permitted, andthe feeling of the locality was not averse to themeeting being held. The motion was carriedunanimously, the lack of a single dissentingvoice suggesting to some the Club had actedwith insensitivity. Its message seemed to say theprivileged classes were not going to be deprivedof their fun, whatever the circumstances.

By the time of the Jockey Club’s next specialmeeting, March 16, 1915, there had beendevelopments outside the sport. Most notably,Lord Kitchener, recruiter in chief to the armedforces, had argued that racing should cease, andthose who worked in it might be employed inother roles more in the national interest. Therewere arguments among Club members thistime, and just finding agreement on thewording of motions proved difficult, but finallythe members voted to stand by the resolution ithad passed the previous September.

But another, more powerful, club was yet tohave its say. In May the subject was debated inthe House of Commons, and members on bothsides condemned the continuation of racing.

The upshot was a communication from thePresident of the Board of Trade to the Stewardsof the Jockey Club, stressing the necessity forkeeping the whole of the railway system freefrom congestion for the rapid and unimpededtransit of troops and munitions. Accordingly, allrace meetings should be suspended for theduration of the war, ‘except at Newmarket, thepeculiar circumstances and industries of which,dependent as they are entirely on racing,combine to make this exception expedient.’

There was no arguing with that. After theWindsor card on May 22, only Newmarketstaged racing in England in 1915. The situationchanged again early the following year. Justwhy there should have been any relaxation ofthe ban it was hard to know, but neither theWar Office nor railway companies objected tothe staging of a limited number of meetings atGatwick, Lingfield, Newbury and Windsor.Between them they had 24 days racing in 1916.

You’ve had your funIn February 1917 a similar schedule seemed tohave been agreed, but at the end of April therecame a missive from the Ministry of Food,stating ‘the War Cabinet had decided that it wasnecessary, in the national interest, to request the


The controversial acceptance of the government to Jockey Club arguments that racingshould continue during the First World War is an intriguing element of our sport’s history

THE MAN YOU CAN’T IGNORECOMMENT

Tony Morris

Gainsborough and Joe Childs (left) win the 1918 Derby, run at Newmarket

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Feb_114_Tony_Morris_Owner 17/01/2014 14:28 Page 20

Stewards of the Jockey Club to take steps to prohibit the holding of allrace meetings after the week ending May 5.’ The wording seemedextraordinary – asking rather than ordering – but that was probablybecause the government was conscious of reneging on the agreement ithad made two months earlier.

Perhaps even more extraordinary was the reaction of some membersof the Jockey Club, who turned angrily on the Stewards, blaming themfor not having sufficiently impressed on the government the realimportance of the breeding industry and the necessity of racing. Couldthose members not see that, in the prevailing circumstances, theprovision of feed for the cavalry’s horses on the continent must takepriority over that for thoroughbreds at home?

In fact, there was soon another turn of events in favour of racing.Needled by the criticism of their members, the Stewards of the JockeyClub sought a meeting with the Prime Minister, and that took place atLord Derby’s London residence on July 4. This time they made theircase for the need for more racing to good effect, Lloyd Georgeconsenting to the staging of 12 additional racedays, divided betweenAyr, Brighton, Manchester, Stockton and Windsor. Newmarket hadalready staged its Craven and first spring meetings, and there would befive extra meetings there before the three regular October fixtures.

Further relaxations were sanctioned for 1918, permission beinggranted for meetings at Birmingham, Gatwick, Haydock, Lewes,Wolverhampton and Worcester. Those courses, in addition to Lingfield,Manchester, Stockton and Windsor, had all staged meetings before the

axe came down againat the end of May.

The letter of May17 from the Board ofTrade to Lord Jersey,by now Jockey ClubSenior Steward, wassimilar to itspredecessors, up to apoint. It stated: ‘Thegovernment fullyrecognise thenational importanceof horse breeding,and also realise that

to maintain the thoroughbred breeding industry of this country a limitedamount of racing is necessary.’

However, the letter went on: ‘But in view of the great strain on thefacilities available on the railways for dealing with essential traffic, it hasbeen decided that no Flat racing should be allowed after May 31, exceptat Newmarket... and that no extra trains should be run to Newmarketfor the conveyance of racegoers.’

The government was not asking this time; it was issuing a command.And the Jockey Club made no further representations for the restorationof fixtures outside Newmarket, where the season ended on November1, ten days before the carnage in Europe ceased. Looking back, it is easyto recognise why much ill-feeling was generated over the continuationof racing, when so many other sports shut down for the duration. Therewas a case for carrying on, on a limited scale, but its necessity as theproving-ground for the horses with parts to play in a significant breedingindustry would have been lost on those who could not see beyond theupper classes being determined to preserve their amusement.

I have often wondered what my grandmother would have thought.The black-edged card which she received expressing condolences overthe death in action of her husband bore the signature of the Secretaryof State for War. He was Lord Derby, one of those most influential in thecontinuation of racing during the conflict.


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HOWARD WRIGHTCOMMENT


ARC sails into choppy seas

With Lord Howard jumping ship, Arena Racing Company must find a newChairman and fast – his successor will need to rebuild a damaged vessel

Lord Howard, who resigned asChairman of Arena Racing Companyon December 31, has relinquished a

position of authority before. As MichaelHoward MP, he stepped down as leader of theConservatives after the party came second inthe 2005 election. But there the similarityends.

He gave way as Tory head six months afterannouncing his decision, during which time heeffected a substantial reshuffle of the party’s frontbench, bringing in several newcomers,including a certain David Cameron. Howard’sARC departure featured no such well-plannedsuccession.

It came quickly, only days after Howard hadbeen on hand in an official capacity, presidingover the Welsh National fixture at Chepstow,one of two tracks in the ARC managementportfolio in his native Wales.

Howard and ARC’s owners, the privateequity, venture capital and real estate investmentand development company Reuben Brothers,

were at pains to stress that his exit was in no wayconnected to the running of the racing businessor its future strategy.

The decision is understood to concern one ofHoward’s other group interests as Chairman,Luup, a provider of mobile payment solutionsthat has its origins in Norway, has a head officein London and a commercial centre in Dubai.It numbers David and Simon Reuben as ‘keyinvestors’.

Nevertheless, Howard’s standing down fromReuben Brothers’ involvement had importantramifications for ARC, which was left bereft of awell-known figurehead at arguably just themoment it needs one most.

The Reubens – Simon has shown the greaterinterest in ARC – are famously publicity shy,despite having built up enormous wealththrough a conglomerate business whose scale ofengagement is staggering. Their reasons for firsttaking on Northern Racing from the late SirStanley Clarke’s family and then taking overArena Leisure, and any subsequent strategic

plans, have never been publicly explained.The identity of ARC’s Board of Directors is

not immediately obvious, and the most seniormembers of its executive team – mainly drawnfrom Northern Racing – would be instantlyrecognisable to no more than a few professionalsand administrators, much less among the racingpublic.

Yet collectively they operate or manage 26%of Britain’s racecourses, including three of thefour all-weather venues, and almost 40% of totalfixtures.

The tally of sites was, of course, greater beforethe closures of Folkestone and Hereford inDecember 2012 provoked much criticism –however commercially sensible both decisionswere – and acted as the precursors to a trail ofadverse headlines.

Trickle becomes a floodCondemned stands and sewage leaking into thejockeys’ quarters at Bath; major problems withthe surface at Wolverhampton; failure to sign aprize-money agreement with the Horsemen’sGroup (although a deal was done with theBHA): they all stirred significant criticism.

Even the plan to build an all-weather venueat Newcastle provoked anger at the prospect ofdigging up a well-established turf track, whilethe injection of £2 million prize-money for all-weather racing, climaxing in a new £1m racedayon Good Friday, was met with scepticism aboutfuture intentions.

Given the positive measures that ARC hasintroduced – enhancement of the racedayexperience for owners, big screens at all tracks,a comprehensive annual membership schemeand greatly increased total prize-money – itwould be little wonder if senior officials felt theirefforts have been less than fairly appreciated.

Yet negative perceptions take time to turnaround, and ARC’s identity crisis goes beyondits day-to-day PR and media operation, which isfirst class and stands to be enhanced by therecruitment from Betfair of Susannah Gill asDirector of External Affairs.

The corporate image boost that the companyurgently requires must start at the very top.Failing a sudden and most unlikely change ofapproach by the Reubens, the chair vacated byLord Howard needs to filled by someone withstanding, authority and the ability to deliver aconvincing, positive message.A dispute with the Reuben brothers ended Lord Howard’s tenure as ARC Chairman

GEO

RGE

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Feb_114_HowardWright_Owner Breeder 17/01/2014 15:30 Page 22

Discover more about the Shadwell Stallions at www.shadwellstud.co.uk Or call Richard, Johnny or Rachael on

01842 755913Email us at: [email protected]

*All statistics courtesy of Racing Post 01-10-13

SHADWELLSTALLIONS 2014

Standing at Nunnery Stud, England

NAYEF Gulch - Height Of FashionA leading sire of 3YOS in Europe in 2013 including Stakes winners TASADAY, VALIRANN and SPARKLING BEAM.*2014 Fee - £9,000 (1st JAN, SLF)

MAWATHEEQ Danzig - SarayirA Group winning last son of DANZIG with his first 2YO runners in 2014.2014 Fee - £4,000 (1st JAN, SLF)

SAKHEE Bahri - Thawakib

2014 Fee - PRIVATE

Also standing in England

HAAFHD Alhaarth - Al Bahathri

2014 Fee - £3,000 (1st OCT, SLF)Standing in France: Haras du Mezeray

MUHTATHIR Elmaamul - MajmuIn 2013: 5th leading sire in France (prize money) & sire of Gr.1 winning 2YO (Prix Marcel Boussac) INDONESIENNE.*2014 Fee - !7,000(1st OCT, SLF)

NAAQOOS Oasis Dream - Straight LassA Gr.1 winner and sire of a winning first crop of 2YOS in 2013.2014 Fee - !4,500 (1st OCT, SLF)

Standing in Italy: Allevamento di Besnate

MUJAHID Danzig - Elrafa AhLeading Italian based sire in 2013 for the second year running.*2014 Fee - !5,000 (1st OCT, SLF)

MAWATHEEQ NAYEF

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CC2639 TOB Feb - Roster:Layout 1 13/01/2014 19:13 Page 1

Champion 3yo Colt in the UKClassic Sire in Europe

Champion Turf Sire in CanadaSire of the winners of over $6m worldwide, including Classic winner

ARCTIC COSMOS, Gr.2 winners CELTIC NEW YEAR and GOL TRICOLOR and Gr.3 winners CHIPS ALL IN and GO FORTH NORTH.

His yearlings have made up to $450,000.

By Champion Sire DANEHILL out of dual Champion racemare SOUGHT OUT

LEROIDESANIMAUX Fee: £17,500 (1st Oct. SLF)

NORTH LIGHT Fee: £6,000 (1st Oct. SLF)

NEW FOR 2014

NEW FOR 2014

[email protected] • www.lanwades.com • Tel: +44 (0)1638 750222 • Fax: +44 (0)1638 751186

LANWADES

ARCHIPENKOFee: £6,000 (1st Oct. SLF)

Group 1 winning leading international miler

and one of the best bred stallions in the world

The Leading Active UK First Crop Sire by % winners to runners in Europe*

From the family of NUREYEV, SADLER’S WELLS and BLAME.His winners include LADY PENKO (dual winner and triple Stakes-placed)

and impressive debut winner MADAME CHIANG, etc.

2013 yearlings sold at Tattersalls Book 1 & 2 averaged £51,450

– over 81⁄2 times his 2011 fee.

*Source: Hyperion Promotions

AUSSIE RULESFee: £6,000 (1st Oct. SLF)

Multiple Group sire of 63% 3yo winners to runners

and 19 individual 2yo winners in 2013

The Leading UK Sire of 2yos in 2013 by % winners to runners in Europe*

His 2013 successes included FIESOLANA (Gr.2 & Gr.3 x3) – sold at Tattersalls Dec Sale 2013 for 960,000gns,

six 2yo Stakes performers, and the Classic placed GRAND TREASURE

and WISH COME TRUE.

2013 yearlings sold at Tattersalls Book 1 & 2 averaged £46,725

– over 9 times his 2011 stud fee.


SIR PERCYFee: £6,000 (1st Oct. SLF)

The Leading UK-based Sire with 77% lifetime winners

to runners† The Leading Active 3rd Crop Sire in 2013

with 62% 3yo winners to runners*

His 2013 winners included SIR ANDREW (Gr.2),

SIR JOHN HAWKWOOD (rated 110), SIR JACK LAYDEN (winner and

Gr.2 placed at 2; rated 109), MIRSAALE (rated 105) and

SOUND HEARTS (LR; rated 105).

2013 yearlings sold at Tattersalls Books 1 & 2 averaged £43,137

– over 7 times his 2011 stud fee.†50+ runners; crops born before 2011.


Eclipse Award Winning Champion and sire of World Champion ANIMAL KINGDOM

A leading sire of the winners of nearly $7.5m in the USA in 2013 and of $17m in total. 2013 yearlings made up to $400,000 and his biggest crops will race from 2014 onwards.

A mare in foal to LEROIDESANIMAUX sold for $550,000 in 2013.

By the sire of CANDY RIDE (a leading sire in the USA 2013)out of a half sister to the dam of DANSILI

A perfect outcross for GALILEO, DANEHILL and MR PROSPECTOR line mares

The independent option TM

Lanwades-OwnerBreeder_Feb14.indd 1 17/01/2014 11:12


VIEW FROM IRELANDBy JESSICA LAMB OF THE RACING POST

Dobbs spurred on by Tottenham’s starWicklow-based handler on the up with exciting hurdler Romantic Fashion

In BriefBallydoyle interest increasesAidan O’Brien’s jumps team that burst backinto life last February is continuing to grow.

Last season he ran five horses in thecolours of wife Annemarie and now JPMcManus owns three of those – Carriganog,Draco and Shield – as well as a further five.

At the time of writing he has run 12

horses this season and has five four-year-olds waiting in the wings that cost a total of!184,700 at the sales last summer.

These include the !66,000 son of Milan,Aqua Traverse, and the !65,000 son ofScorpion, Lieutenant.

HRI moves to lessen the loadHorse Racing Ireland has pledged to reduceits costs to owners and trainers by 10% thisyear.

It will drop prices for all services in amove it expects will save clients a total of!311,000 each year. In addition it willincrease prize-money by 5%, making thetotal spend !48.5 million and the newminimum value for a race !7,500.

HRI have also boosted its contribution tothe Turf Club’s integrity services by!167,000 to assist with equine forensictesting in light of major doping issues thatarose in Britain last year.

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Trainer Prunella Dobbs’s double atLimerick’s Christmas meeting signalledher intent to restore the strength of her

jumping team to the heights it reached whenOur Girl Salley was in her prime.

The Wicklow-based trainer has a smallyard, backed heavily by neighbours Jim andAnn O’Neill, who owned the Grade 3-winninghurdler Our Girl Salley and Punchestownfestival winner Our Gar.

She sent out four winners from her last fiverunners of 2013 to bring the total across allcodes to six. Dobbs has pledged to focus onthe Flat in 2014 but craves more jumpingsuccess, buoyed by Limerick hurdle victoriesfor Romantic Fashion and Windsor Queen.

She said: “It was a great end to the year. Iwas really pleased with them both and what Ireally want this year is more like them. Thesedays I have more Flat horses than ever and Iwould definitely like to build that up, but I

would also like to maintain the National Huntside of the team too.”

Since her recent peak with Our Girl Salley,Dobbs has put the finishing touches to heroperation. As well as a testing hill gallop andround sand gallop, she now has the use of a

new gallop in nearby Ashford.She explained: “This has been such a help.

It’s a straight gallop with an incline and is greatfor fine-tuning. It’s only 15 minutes away andmeans we don’t have to go to the Curragh forthat kind of work any more, which was alwaysa marathon and very costly.”

Among the new owners already on herjumping roster is breeder Kathryn Tottenham,based in the nearby, historic Ballycurry House.The 1,300-acre property has been in herhusband Charles’s family for more than 200years and is key to Tottenham’s production ofhorses like Romantic Fashion.

The breeder said: “I usually get somebodyelse to do the getting on and breaking bit, thenI school them afterwards. We’ve a wonderfulplace here to ride. We have good woodland

with lots of paths and I find it is quite goodfor getting them going.”

Tottenham has a background in eventingand breeding sport horses and ponies, butbegan buying thoroughbred foals in the late2000s with a view to building a broodmareteam. Romantic Fashion is likely to be the starof that after landing a bumper and maidenhurdle impressively. She is the first horseTottenham has had in training with Dobbsand will not be the last.

Tottenham added: “I’m forever going up tosee Romantic Fashion on the gallops, even inthe wind and the rain earlier in the year.Prunella has a good horse background; she’sbeen involved in eventing and hunting and alot of the other equine industries, and Iparticularly like her attention to detail.”

Kathryn Tottenham (centre) and Prunella Dobbs (left) with Romantic Fashion. Alsopictured are Mick Tottenham (second left), Caroline Shortt and Charlie Tottenham

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“It was a great end tothe year. I was reallypleased with both of

them and I wantmore like them”

Feb_114_View_From_Ireland_v2_Owner Breeder 17/01/2014 16:11 Page 25

26 THOROUGHBRED OWNER & BREEDER INC PACEMAKER

V I E W F R O M I R E L A N D

Switching Irish racing’s cameras to highdefinition this year will give the sport far morethan just brighter pictures.

In a five-year deal, the two companies thathave produced Irish racing’s pictures from theoutset, Bart Arnold’s TVM and O’Doherty’sAudio Video Production, have joined forces toupgrade all cameras.

Previously one worked on shots for theintegrity services and another on shots forcommercial use, for the on-course screens, AtThe Races, SIS and connections’ videos.

Now both operate under the one banner,

IRIS, and from the same, new production truck,set up to give the team scope for a full broadcastservice, including interviews.

Helen Anhold, General Manager at IRIS, said:“This is only the beginning. We have all knownfor a long time that the equipment we wereusing needed upgrading. It was a huge expensefor us as we had to replace everything, but it wasworth it and there is more to come.”

Darren Lawlor, Navan racecourse’s Managerand the chief driving force of this project, added:“Switching to high definition makes the picturessharper and brighter. It also magnifies

everything, making it easier to see things. Thehorses at the back of a field when it is strungout, for example.”

Watching races with improved clarity willimprove the viewer’s experience, but moreimportantly it makes the details easier to see forstewards. Those crucial moves made whenhorses are in close proximity, often in a bunch,will be clearer to the naked eye and could givestewards a better insight into races than theyhave ever had.

The new cameras can produce close-upimages and digital zooming, which can be usedpost-race for integrity purposes. Additionally,the introduction of new innovative truckmounts will enable new camera angles inaddition to increased elevation, allowing forbetter overall viewing, and there will be an extracamera at most meetings too, with a hand-heldcamera at IRIS’s disposal.

Arnold added: “The hand-held camera cango anywhere and has on-board recording and aradio link so it can send pictures live or recordthem and send them later. It gives us the abilityto produce on-course interviews.”

To make the most of these upgraded pictures,Horse Racing Ireland is giving financial supportto racecourses to replace standard definitionscreens, all related equipment and their PAsystems to improve on-course communications.Navan Manager Darren Lawlor, seen here with AP McCoy, is a fan of high definition

Stewards to benefit as the pictures clear

Gigginstown House Stud’s appointment ofBryan Cooper as its number one rider is set topass on new opportunities to trainer DessieHughes’s team of jockeys.

News broke on New Year’s Eve that DavyRussell would lose his position with theowners from the following Monday and threedays later Cooper, who has been operating asGigginstown’s unofficial number two, wassigned up.

It will give Cooper access to a high-classteam of horses and insight into yards like thatof Willie Mullins. The 21-year-old is set for atransforming season with this newassociation – but that does not come for free.

The partnerships he has built with bossHughes’s owners and top horses may have tocome to an end. He has said that it was acondition of the deal that he would still bebased on the Curragh with Hughes, butGigginstown are able to claim him on thetrack and they will also ask him to school andwork horses they have with other trainers.

This will open the door at Hughes’s forchampion conditional Mark Enright, who

enjoyed a good summer while Cooper wasoff with a broken leg, and long-standingmember of the team Roger Loughran.

Both have been unwilling to talk about thepotential Cooper’s new job leaves open forthem for fear of seeming too eager, but atsome point they will get the call upfor the likes of Kerry Nationalwinner White Star Line, improvinghandicap hurdler Pink Coat andleading Triumph Hurdle hope Guitar Pete.

The last-named is in Gigginstown’sweakest division, juvenile hurdlers, andcould prove the exception.

On the other side of the coin, Russell willnow be able to commit to Ladbrokes WorldHurdle winner Solwhit, if he returns frominjury this season, as well as decent novicechaser Rebel Fitz and staying novice chaserMorning Assembly.

The latter two have been ridden by BarryGeraghty and Ruby Walsh, but both areunder threat of being claimed by theirtrainers in the major races at the springfestivals. Russell is now freelance.

More chances for Enright and Loughran

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Dessie Hughes:plenty of riders

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Feb_114_View_From_Ireland_v2_Owner Breeder 17/01/2014 16:11 Page 26

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CONTINENTAL TALESBy JAMES CRISPE, INTERNATIONAL RACING BUREAU

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N Classic aim for Noozhoh Canarias Young trainer Enrique Leon planning to conquer Europe with Arc day runner-up

Spain is set to bid for its first ever BritishClassic success with the young Madridtrainer, Enrique Leon, planning a May

foray to Newmarket for the 2,000 Guineas. Thelist of Iberian big-race triumphs in Englandcurrently features just one name, that of 2009King’s Stand Stakes winner Equiano. However,Leon’s credentials, and those of the horse thathe intends to bring, Noozhoh Canarias, shouldensure that the visitor is taken seriously.

Leon may be only 33 years of age, yet healready knows what it is like to partner a Group1 horse at Newmarket, albeit in his case on thegallops rather than the racecourse. He was oncethe regular work rider of the five-time top-levelscorer Soviet Song, while working in the Suffolktown for trainer James Fanshawe.

And Noozhoh Canarias, though bred in theracing backwater of San Sebastian, has alreadyproved he deserves to dine at Europe’s top table.Last year, following three easy victories, the firsttwo at his home course of LaZarzuela in Madrid and thethird not far into Frenchterritory at La Teste, the son ofthe 2006 Prix de la Foretwinner Caradak venturedmuch further afield to takepart in the Group 1 Prix Jean-Luc Lagardere at Longchampon Arc day.

He was anything butdisgraced, beaten just three-quarters of a length intosecond by Karakontie. Yet thiscareer best effort made less ofa splash in his homeland thanhis previous Listed victory.

The Spanish media is some way short ofracing-savvy and a Parisian defeat was deemedless newsworthy than his earlier La Teste rout,when so many Basques nipped up the coast toback the proverbial ‘good thing’ that the on-course tote ran out of money to pay out! Thisamusing tale of cross-border plunder made allthe national daily papers and even some of theevening television news bulletins.

Leon, of course, was much more taken by hisLongchamp performance, though he insists thatit still did not represent his horse’s true ability.

“Noozhoh ran his heart out and I feel he wasvery unlucky,” Leon says. “He didn’t like the softground at all and, just as he was fighting backwith a furlong to run, he stumbled and then gothit by a rival jockey’s whip.

“He has had a few weeks rest back at [the

stud] Dehesa Milagroand is now back intraining in Madrid. Thereis a big chance he’ll go toEngland for the Guineas– that is his mainobjective – but itdepends on the ground.

The Poule d’Essai des Poulains is an option.”The 25-string trainer knows Noozhoh

Canarias, who cost less than £10,000, inside outas his dam, Darley-bred Singspiel mareNoozhah, was his first winner as a trainer in2005. He saddled her to win six straight races inhis native Canary Islands before she transferredto the mainland to win twice more in 2008.

“Noozhoh was always a superstar right fromthe beginning, he impressed everybody fromday one, we even planned taking him to RoyalAscot for the Coventry Stakes before he got soreshins,” Leon reveals. “He did well at two but hewas a baby and I believe he wasn’t really readylast year. I think the best is still to come.

“His owners [the Bolanos family] are fromGran Canaria, like me. They are real racing fans,and although they have had some quite bigoffers, they have not wanted to sell him. It is an

absolute pleasure to train for them as they makemy life very simple.”

“Racing mad” from an early age, Leondecided to further his education by working inwhat he believed was the world’s best trainingcentre – Newmarket – and gained a job therewith Fanshawe thanks to fellow Spaniard OscarUrbina, who at the time was stable jockey.

“I have huge appreciation for Mr Fanshaweand his family as at the beginning it was prettyhard because I didn’t speak English, but theyhelped a lot and made it very easy for me,”Leon explains. “I owe them a lot, they are greatpeople, and without their help I wouldn’t bewhere I am.

“Soviet Song opened my eyes to manythings, it was a huge experience for me to bewith such a great filly on a daily basis. I hadsome beautiful but also some very difficulttimes with her. It was really tricky because ofthe language barrier, but she taught me somuch.”

After two years with Fanshawe, Leon’slearning journey continued with a spell inCalifornia with Doug O’Neill before a secondsojourn in Newmarket, this time with DavidLoder.

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Noozhoh Canarias (left) finishes a hugely creditable second fortrainer Enrique Leon (inset) in the Prix Jean-Luc Lagardere

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Feb_114_Continental_Tales_v2_Owner Breeder 17/01/2014 14:31 Page 29


Not long now until the start of what is surely the world’s mostexclusive racing Festival, the ‘White Turf’ meeting which takes

place over the last three Sundays in February on the frozen lake racecourseof St Moritz.

Last year the fixture was a triumph for Manton handler George Baker ashis charge Ancient Greece became the first horse to win on all threeracedays – a feat that is rumoured to have gained him a mention inSwitzerland’s Sports Personality of the Year programme.

Ancient Greece has since done little to justify such star status, a decenthandicap fourth at Glorious Goodwood being much the best of six subsequentstarts. But, accompanied by his faithful groom, Cat Illott, he will be returningto the Alps for a second visit.

“I can’t believe that we will be having the same kind of success as last year,”admits Baker, who is pondering over the possibility of taking two orthree other horses.

“He will start off on the opening day (February 9) again butwill probably then wait a fortnight for the big race, the GrandPrix. He wouldn’t warrant a place in a field like that anywhereelse except ‘Up The Mountain’”.

Indeed, there is every chance that the Grand Prix will be avery hot contest. Apart from Ancient Greece, its 33 initialentries include a pair of German-trained Group 3 winnersand, among three more British hopefuls, none other thanDavid Lanigan’s 2012 Epsom Derby runner-up MainSequence, who boasts an official handicap mark that giveshim 35lb in hand of Baker’s course specialist!

George Baker: looking forward to Swiss sojourn

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Opportunity knocks with Derby gapsThe programme of top races in

Scandinavia has received a majoroverhaul for 2014, most notably with thebringing forward of the Swedish Derby by fiveweeks.

Formerly staged on the second Sunday inAugust, the Swedish Derby remains a Listeddirt contest over a mile and a half but its 2014date will be the evening of Saturday, July 5.

The Norwegian Derby maintains its positionon the penultimate Sunday in August and willas usual be run on turf, but the Danishequivalent, which is different to the otherpair in that it is restricted toScandinavian-breds and thus unableto carry Listed status, has been movedforward five weeks to Sunday, August 3.

Nicholas Cordrey, Director Of Racing for theSwedish Jockey Club, admits that the reshufflehas been in part due to a desire to fit in betterwith the big races staged by Scandinavia’s mostpopular equine sport – trotting. Other factorsalso came into play.

“We wanted to make it easier for horses togo for all three Derbies, and in particular run

in both the Swedish and Norwegian versions,which were formerly just a fortnight apart,”Cordrey explains.

“Ovrevoll [home of the Norwegian Derby] isquite a tricky turf track and now, with the tworaces separated by seven weeks, connectionscan opt to have a prep run at Ovrevoll inbetween if they so wish.

“The Swedish Derby has been moved from aSunday to a Saturday evening partly inspired

by what they have done to the Irish Derby.We are currently working on getting some

television coverage and we want to make itmore of a festive occasion – in the past ownersoften had to rush off straight after the race inorder to get to work on Monday morning.”

Another important development seesDenmark’s only Pattern race, the Group 3Scandinavian Open Championship, swapplaces in the calendar with its closestNorwegian counterpart, the Group 3 OsloCup. This means that the evening of Thursday,July 31 will become a showpiece for Norwegianracing with the running of both the Oslo Cupand another Group 3 event, the Polar Cup.

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Greece is again the word for Baker

C O N T I N E N T A L T A L E S

Swedish Derby winner Hurricane Red

Feb_114_Continental_Tales_v2_Owner Breeder 17/01/2014 14:31 Page 30

Take an ad onwww.racehorsetrader. com

in February and get one freeContact George Primarolo on 07833 048999 or george@racehorsetrader. com

Grange Park Racing offer shares in this exciting bay colt who willbe trained by Tim Easterby. He is eligible for all the Bobis Scheme& Yearling Bonus Races and will be entered in one o! the top two-year-old bonus sprint races. All owners receive a percentageo! prize-money and owner’s badges when the horse runs.n £220 per month for a 10% share – nothing to pay untilMarch 2014.

GO TO OUR WEBSITE TO CHECK THESE OUT

Yourinthewill is a !ive-year-old chestnut gelding in training withDaniel Mark Loughnane. The Over The Moon syndicate hit theground running recently with their !irst runner, Matraash, andthis gelding is fully expected to follow him into the winner’senclosure, having !inished second recently at Wolverhampton.n £150 per month on a FREE on-loan basis – no furtheroutlay required.

A rare opportunity to lease a share in Sir Vincent, a ten-year-oldgelding in training with Willie Mullins. The son o! Norwich is afour-time winner, having landed two bumpers, a novice hurdleand a novice chase. He is likely to make his reappearance in April,with the Galway Plate and the Kerry National his big targets.n Ten leased shares are available at £1,500 each whichwill cover the entire of 2014.

Ixora was a very decent National Hunt performer (rated in the130s over fences and hurdles in her pomp) who is now being soldas a broodmare prospect. By Milan, she is out o! Tucacas whohersel! was Listed placed over hurdles. Both Ixora and Tucacaswon at Cheltenham and she has the pedigree to make a top-classbroodmare.n Ixora is on the market for £15,000.

Join new syndicate on FREE on-loan basis Shares in exciting Tim Easterby colt

Winning hurdler/chaser broodmare prospect Lease on Willie Mullins National prospect

KZLGH IYDAP

FOUVWBQKKF

HORSETRADER FEBRUARY 2013_Layout 1 17/01/2014 10:11 Page 1

HaafhdCh. 2001 15.3 h.h. (1.59m) by ALHAARTH – AL BAHATHRI (BLUSHING GROOM)

Sleeping IndianBay, 2001, (16hh) by INDIAN RIDGE – LAS FLORES (SADLER’S WELLS)

European Champion 3yoRated 115+ at 2 • Rated 129 at 3Won 5 races at 2 and 3 years, 6-10f, £492,288, and was placed 3 times, all but one of his starts.Won Gr.1 2,000 Guineas Stakes, 8f, Newmarket

by 1! lengths, beating Gr.1 winners Azamour, Grey Swallow, Whipper, Bachelor Duke, etc.

Won Gr.1 Champion Stakes, 10f, Newmarket by 2" lengths, beating Gr.1 winners Chorist, Azamour, Refuse To Bend, Doyen, etc.

Won Gr.3 Craven Stakes, 8f, Newmarket,by 5 lengths, beating Three Valleys.

Won LR Washington Singer Stakes, 7f, Newbury, at 2 years3rd Gr.1 Dewhurst Stakes, 7f, Newmarket3rd Gr.2 Champagne Stakes, 7f, Doncaster.

Racehorses of 2004: “Hills had gone on record before Newmarket as saying Haafhdwas as good as any miler he had trained”

Won 6 races, £252,417, 7-8f, from 3 to 5 years, and placed three times, from 12 startsWon Gr.2 Challenge Stakes, 7f, Newmarket, beating Gr.1

winner Somnus and 11 other Group winnersWon Gr.3 Hungerford Stakes, 7f, Newbury, beating Gr.1

winner Attraction and 2 other Group winnersWon LR Dubai Duty Free Cup, 7f, Newbury, beating Gr.1

winner Spinning Queen and 8 other Group winnersWon LR Ben Marshall Stakes, 7f, beating Gr.1 winner

Tout Seul and 3 other Group winnersWon LR John O’Gaunt Stakes, 7f, Haydock Park,

beating 3 Group winners2nd Gr.2 Park Stakes, 7f, Doncaster, beating Gr.1 winner

Court Masterpiece and 5 other Group winners2nd Gr.2 Challenge Stakes, 7f, Newmarket,

beating Gr.1 winners Somnus and Peeress, and 4 other Group winners

Apply: STEVE KNOWLES, BEECHWOOD GRANGE STUD, Malton Road, York YO32 9TH.Tel: 01904 424573 • Fax: 01904 427079 • Mobile: 07786 260 904

E-mail: [email protected] • Website: www.beechwoodgrangestud.com

FEE: £3,000

FEE: £3,000

Sire of 37 individualwinners of 63 races

in 2013

Timeform rating: 122 A MULTIPLE STAKES SIRE IN 2013

STUD RECORD:MELODY OF LOVE – Gr.3 Firth of Clyde S, at 2;

2nd LR Champion Trophy, 4th Gr.3 Prix Miesque, Maisons-Lattitte.SWORDHALF – Gr.3 Preis de Winterkonigin,

2nd LR Premio Giovanni Falck. Champion 2yo filly in Germany.TELWAAR – LR Free Handicap; 2nd LR Washington Singer S, at 2.JUNOOB – LR Winter Derby Trial; 2nd LR Quebec S.SILVER GRECIAN – Gr.2 Superlative S; 3rd Gr.2 Champagne S, at 2.COUNTRYWIDE FLAME – 9 wins, Flat and NH, incl:

Gr.1 Fighting Fifth H’dle, 2012/13; Gr.1 Triumph H’dle; 2nd Gr.1 4-y-o H’dle, Aintree; Gr.1 Future Champions H‘dle; 3rd Gr.1 Champion H’dle, 2013, Gr.1 Spring Juvenile H’dle.

CARLITO BRIGANTE – Gr.2 Juvenile Hurdle, Leopardstown; Gr.3 Coral Cup, Cheltenham; 3rd Gr.1 World H’dle, Punchestown.

SHOW RAINBOW – LR Sandy Lane S; 3rd LR Cecil Frail S.FITYAAN – 3 wins, incl 2013, 2nd LR Shadwell Jebel Ali Sprint.AARAAS – winner, 2nd Gr.3 Blue Wind S; 3rd Gr.3 Killavullan S, at 2.ROWAN BRAE – 2nd LR Junioren-Preis, at 2.EMIRATES CHAMPION – 5 wins, £208,883; 3rd Gr.2 Anatolia Trophy.PRIMERA VISTA – 8 wins, 3rd LR Super Handicap; 3rd LR Prix du Ranelagh.PASAKA BOY – 4 wins, 3rd LR Lingfield Dery Trial, 2013.BIASED – 3rd LR Prix Charles Laffitte; LR Prix de la Pepiniere.IMPERIALISTIC DIVA – 3rd LR Empress S, at 2.KOKALTASH – 2 wins, 3rd LR Prix Isonomy, at 2, and many other winners.

STUD RECORD:NIGHT CARNATION – 5 races, including:

Gr.3 Sandown Sprint, 2nd LR Doncaster S, LR Queensferry S.HOTOTO – £271,089, including: LR Windsor Castle S,

DBS Yearling S, 2nd LR Redcar Gold Trophy, 3rd Gr.3 Molecomb S, all at 2, 3rd Gr.3d Invitation Cup, 2013.

MELBOURNE MEMORIES – 3 wins at 2, including:LR Bosra Sham S, 3rd Gr.3 Fred Darling S, 2013.

MORACHE MUSIC – 4 races, Shergar Cup Sprint, 2nd LR Prix Zeddaan, 3rd Gr.3 Prix de Ris-Orangis, 2013, 4th Gr.3 Hackwood S, rated 109.

LEWISHAM – 2nd Gr.2 July S, at 2, rated 107.SHOSHONI WIND – 3 races, 2nd LR Empress S.LOWAWATHA – 3rd LR Premio Pisa.DAM BEAUTIFUL – 3rd LR Tipperary Sprint.CAUGHT NAPPING – 3rd LR Oak Tree Juvenile Turf S.PROUD CHIEFTAN – 5 races, 4th Gr.3 Brigadier Gerard S, 2nd LR James Seymour S, 2013, rated 102. LIGHTNING CLOUD – 6 races,

4th LR Garrowby S, 2013, rated 108, etc.

CONSISTENTLY SIRING 2YO STAKES HORSES

Beechwood Grange OB Jan 2014 f-p_Beechwood Grange OB Jan 2014 f-p 17/01/2014 09:01 Page 1


Hall of Fame trainer Jerry Hollendorferwas standing outside his stable atSanta Anita in early November when

he motioned a visitor into his office.Hollendorfer reached into his briefcase andgrabbed the form of a recent private acquisition,a two-year-old gelding named Shared Belief.

On his debut in October at Golden GateFields outside of San Francisco, Shared Beliefwon a six-furlong maiden race by seven lengths,easily beating Hollendorfer-trained TimeJumper. A private purchase took place a fewdays later.

“I didn’t think there was anything in therethat could beat Time Jumper,” Hollendorfer saidat the time. “I was wrong.”

The question in 2014 is whether there is anAmerican three-year-old that can beat SharedBelief. The gelding, by Candy Ride, won his firsttwo starts for Hollendorfer at the now-closedHollywood Park – the Grade 3 HollywoodPrevue Stakes over seven furlongs in Novemberand the Grade 1 CashCall Futurity over anextended mile in December.

Shared Belief is a leading contender for theEclipse Award as America’s champion juvenilemale of 2013. He is expected to keepHollendorfer’s name at the forefront of racingdiscussions in coming months as the KentuckyDerby approaches.

For the 67-year-old Hollendorfer, having aleading three-year-old in his stable is newterritory to start a season. His stable has excelledwith all runners, winning more than 6,550 racesthrough January 5. He ranks fifth on the NorthAmerican all-time list.

A perennial leading trainer in northernCalifornia, Hollendorfer’s stable has had moreof a national presence in recent years. His 100-horse stable had 2013 earnings of $11,221,769,a career-best figure that ranked sixth in thenation. From 2000 to 2013, Hollendorfer won3,636 races with runners who earned $98.9million.

“The one thing I try to do every day is tomove forward,” he said recently at Santa Anita.“I think it helps a person mentally. If you workhard, you’ll have a certain amount of success,no matter what business you are in.”

For Hollendorfer, that translates to a hands-on approach. He is typically at the barn at 4 amand sometimes does not leave until lateafternoon, depending on whether the stable hasrunners. He spends the early part of the week in

northern California, a stable overseen by hiswife Janet, and weekends at Santa Anita in thesouth.

“At my age, doing better now than I have inthe past, I’m grateful for that,” he said.

The success has changed his operation. Hehas a higher quality of horses, and frequently

takes an ownership share in the runners.Hollendorfer is part of the partnership thatbought Shared Belief.

“The thing that I really enjoy is being able tobuy a piece of some of the horses I’m training,”Hollendorfer said. “A lot of people have given

me young horses.”Hollendorfer began training in 1979 and was

inducted into the American racing Hall of Famein 2011. He trained Blind Luck, the championthree-year-old filly of 2010, and turned theformer Irish maiden Tuscan Evening into a nine-time stakes winner in the United States. Sadly,she was lost to an apparent heart attack inAugust 2010.

But Hollendorfer has never won a TripleCrown race, losing contenders such as Event OfThe Year (1998) and Globalize (2000) to injuryprior to the Kentucky Derby.

That could change this year with SharedBelief, whose campaign will be heavilyscrutinised.

“I think what happens with the young horses,the ones that show a lot of promise, is thateveryone praises them,” he said. “Then, after afew races, people try to pick them apart andknock them down.

“That’s legitimate. There are a lot of big racescoming up. People want to focus on who will bethe best.”

For early 2014, there will be plenty of focuson Hollendorfer.

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Veteran trainer still moving forward

AROUND THE GLOBETHE WORLDWIDE RACING SCENE

NORTH AMERICA by Steve Andersen

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Jerry Hollendorfer’s name should be kept in lights this year by Shared Belief

“If you work hardyou’ll have a certainamount of success,

no matter whatbusiness you are in”

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Feb_114_AroundtheGlobe_Owner Breeder 17/01/2014 14:33 Page 33


When Melbourne man Bill Vlahos bought theAmerican pinhooking business BC3Thoroughbreds in 2008, it created very fewheadlines in Australia and only a modicum ofinterest in America.

First, few Australians had heard of Vlahos,and, second, the ready-to-run sales concepthadn’t really caught hold outside the US,despite serious efforts from the two sellingcompanies, Magic Millions and Inglis, topromote the idea as a conduit to feeding ahorse-hungry Asian market.

Five years later and the world knows allabout Vlahos and BC3 Thoroughbreds – for allthe wrong reasons. The business has collapsed,Vlahos is bankrupt, thousands of investorshave done their money in a multi-milliondollar get-rich punting scheme and a prized,royally-bred colt has died amidst a cloud ofunfounded innuendo.

BC3 Thoroughbreds was formed in 2003from the partnership of two Utah-basedhorsemen, John Brocklebank and ShaneChipman. Brocklebank had developed a knackof buying cheap yearlings and turning a profitwhen they resold as run-along two-year-olds.Chipman, an ex-quarter horse jockey, had hisown reputation as an excellent breaker andeducator of young horses.

Under their business banner BC3Thoroughbreds (B for Brocklebank and C forChipman, and 3 for the silent financier, Utahbusinessman Craig Tillotson), they strucksome early success when one of their resalehorses, Brother Derek, won the 2005Hollywood Futurity and the 2006 Santa AnitaDerby. BC3 paid US$150,000 for BrotherDerek at Keeneland in 2004 and sold him thefollowing year at Barretts Horses in TrainingSale for US$275,000.

Brocklebank’s and Chipman’s theory wasthat keeping a youngster in work frombreaking in as a yearling until sale time as atwo-year-old built bone density and didn’tharm the horse as long as the workload wasn’tstressful.

It’s not known what Vlahos paid for the BC3brand, which also included the use of theexpertise of Brocklebank and Chipman inAustralia. On paper it looked like a perfectmarriage that gave the Americans work all yearround and, according to Vlahos, speaking tobloodhorse.com, Brocklebank retained equityin the business. Vlahos also toldbloodhorse.com that he would be financing thepurchase of the horses and he was looking forbusiness partners to take 40% of the business.

BC3 Thoroughbreds catalogued 16 two-year-olds (from 17 yearlings bought) in itsfirst year at the Magic Millions Horses inTraining Sale on the Gold Coast late in 2008and sold ten for a gross $687,000. It was amoderate but encouraging start, although nota profitable one.

Couldn’t miss ’emAustralians hadn’t seen anything like the BC3concept and the BC3 horses turned heads atthe Gold Coast – the riders were decked outin the BC3 all black and the youngsters withflashy coloured leg bandages.

After that, BC3 Thoroughbreds swappedand changed its attack on the ready-to-runmarket, including conducting its own breeze-up and auction extravaganza that was moreGreat Gatsby than great success.

Vlahos realised that BC3’s days of dabbling

in the pinhooking market wasn’t what hehoped, so in 2012 he changed the wholeconcept of the company from buyer/seller tosyndicator. To launch himself into thatmarket, Vlahos, front and centre at the InglisEaster Yearling Sale, outbid his rivals to buyBlack Caviar’s half-sister (by Redoute’sChoice) for an Australian record equalling$2,600,000 (for a filly) and she quicklybecame the star attraction at BC3Thoroughbreds’ new training and spellingfarm at Connewarre, near Geelong. The filly,Belle Couture, was narrowly beaten on herdebut in a maiden at Bendigo in December.

It was during this foray into the top end ofthe yearling market that the first questionswere being asked about the BC3 businessmodel, principally, ‘Where’s the money comingfrom?’ It wasn’t hard to work out that theoutgoings since the company first burst on to

A racing life – and lie – lived on the edge

Bill Vlahos: from relative unknown to unwanted notoriety in the space of five yearsIN

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A R O U N D T H E G L O B E

AUSTRALIA by Danny Power



the scene in 2008 far exceeded the incomings,and there was an executive structure at the topthat was more top-heavy than a British Lionfront-rower.

Last year, Vlahos was back again, standingunder the famous Moreton Bay Fig tree atInglis’ Newmarket saleyards. Surrounded byan entourage of staff, investors andbackslappers, the Melbourne psychologist –self-proclaimed – paid an Australian record ofA$5 million for the next foal from BlackCaviar’s famous dam Helsinge, a big, strappingcolt by Redoute’s Choice. So high profile wasthe colt that the general running of the sale wasstopped while he was paraded on his ownbefore entering the sale ring. Flashlightssnapped, TV crews jostled for position andVlahos was in his glee when the hammerthumped.

Little did most of us know that Vlahos wasa man under extreme pressure. This exposurewas a show of strength, confidence and wealthto appease a growing, grumbling (unseen)crowd of investors in a secretive puntingsyndicate that was named The Edge.

Many of The Edge investors were calling intheir alleged profits and, in real terms, Vlahosneeded to show them that all was well and atthe same time encourage others to invest tokeep some blood pumping through the shakyscheme to keep it alive.

What has emerged is that The Edge, by allreports, was nothing more than a Ponzischeme. Few bets were ever played and theprofits a dupe. By late 2013, Vlahos was suedby a group of investors, for $26m, wantingtheir money and during cross-examination ina Sydney court he claimed that $194m in abank account had “disappeared” and the fundswere under the control of a mysterious Dubai-based partner, Daniel Maxwell.

Investigations by a rabid media on the chaseof a big story have discovered that the accountdid not exist, while efforts to find Maxwellhave drawn a blank.

An attack – but by whom?Soon after, Vlahos allegedly suffered an attackby unknown assailants at his Connewarre farmand during the affray his car was torched – inthe car was his laptop with all hisdocumentation on The Edge. Police believeVlahos’s injuries were self-inflicted.

Within days, Vlahos declared himselfbankrupt and went into hiding. BC3Thoroughbreds was put into the hands of anadministrator. It was discovered that the 2013yearlings, including the A$5m colt, had notbeen paid for. Inglis and Magic Millions movedquickly to repossess the bloodstock.

Unfortunately, life for the Redoute’s Choice-

Helsinge colt, nicknamed ‘Jimmy’, had becomea struggle. The big horse had suffered asuspected spider bite that resulted in a leginfection that required a large dose ofantibiotics. The colt reacted badly to thetreatment and developed laminitis. Despiteefforts to save him at Werribee VeterinaryClinic, he was humanely put down late inDecember.

Fortunately for Inglis, the colt was insured.Whether the handful of BC3 clients who hadpaid BC3 up to $250,000 (plus $70,000insurance) for a 5% share in the colt (whichwas not forwarded to Inglis) will benefit from

any insurance payout remains to be seen. Anautopsy (the result of which has not beenrevealed at the time of writing) will determineif the death of the colt should trigger aninsurance payout.

No doubt the mystery surrounding the colt’ssorry demise and the ongoing Vlahos saga hasresulted in considerable scuttlebutt runninglike a virus through social media and sections

of the racing industry,but there is no evidence offoul play surrounding thecolt’s illness. It is not uncommon for spidersto bite horses (and it’s hard to prove) andcertainly not uncommon for horses to have anadverse reaction to antibiotics.

This dreadful story has terrible ramificationsfor the many small investors who have putmoney into the betting scheme – some reportssuggest that $500m of paper money has beenlost, although it is more likely that the real-money figure is between $70-$100m.

Vlahos was clever to spread his net wide andteased investors with dividends, mostlyfinanced by the new money to come into thescheme. Very few diehard racing people, whocould easily doubt Vlahos’s figures of a 6%return per quarter on investment, were invitedinto The Edge.

In the past five years, BC3 Thoroughbredshas spent close to $20m on yearlings inAustralia and New Zealand. Until 2013, itscredit rating was high. Little did the racingindustry know that the money paid foryearlings was coming via dubious means,although many had their suspicions.

Where is the rest of the money? Most of itappears to have been spent on an extravagantlifestyle and the high cost of running a failed,top-heavy business.

And while the get-rich Ponzi scheme inmany ways is adrift from the racing industry,it is the Australian racing industry that issuffering a backlash it did not need in anintegrity issue-riddled past 12 months.

The A$5 million colt nicknamed ‘Jimmy’, whose sad death typified a sorry saga

A R O U N D T H E G L O B E

“This dreadful storyhas terrible

ramifications for themany small investorsin the betting scheme”

ING

LIS



On the right

PATHBy his own admission, Henry Daly is “exceptionally bad” at self-promotion

but with his Shropshire stable continuing to fire in the winners, the trainer is happy to let his horses do the talking

Words Alan Lee • Photos George Selwyn

THE BIG INTERVIEWHENRY DALY

The other Downton, Sunday nighttelevision heaven for millions, was notfilmed here but might easily have been.

Downton Hall is an 18th century countryhouse approached through venerable gatepostsand up a half-mile drive with verdant views toall sides. Past the cricket ground and thewalled garden lies surely the most gloriouslysited stable-yard in Britain.

It has not always seemed so desirable. Thelate Tim Forster brought his assistant trainerhere, 20 winters ago, and sought his opinionabout moving from Letcombe Bassett. “I

thought Tim was completely mad,” HenryDaly recalls. “It was just a sea of mud andmuck, barns falling down, roofs falling in. Itwas very hard to see the potential.”

Forster had forged the idea over Sundaylunch with his friend Micky Wiggin, who hadjust inherited this estate. “It started out as ajoke,” Daly says. “Micky said he had no ideawhat to do with it, so Tim said he would comeand train here. It was a throwaway line, andthey both laughed, but over lunch they saw itwasn’t so ridiculous.”

Driven by the energy of Wiggin, a long-time

Chairman of nearby Ludlow racecourse, theyard was ready for Forster within six monthsand the facilities now on show were completewithin 18. “That was quite remarkable,because it was a ramshackle old estate. BeforeMicky, a spinster called Mary Rouse-Boughtonhad lived in three rooms of the house. Therewere other rooms no-one had been in for 50years.”

It had also never been a base forthoroughbreds but quickly housed somemighty good ones. “In the first couple of yearshere, Tim had Martha’s Son and Dublin Flyer.

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The place worked.” Sadly, Forster did not liveto enjoy it for long but he would greatlyapprove of the manner in which Daly hascontinued operations in this rural idyll near theevocatively-named Shropshire hamlets ofStanton Lacy and Hopton Cangeford.

Much of the droll, self-deprecatingpessimism of Forster is replicated in hissuccessor. Linked with the enviable setting, itis a façade that leads some to perceive Daly asa Corinthian throwback, content to train a fewdozen horses for his owner/breeder patrons solong as it does not interfere with his shooting.

Henry Daly,who trainsnear Ludlowracecourse inShropshire,has made hisbest everstart to aseason


suspect we did lose a few through itsubsequently.”

I ask how Daly himself coped with thestress. “I actually think I am better when thingsare going badly than when they’re going wellbut I rarely raise my voice anyway. In 15 yearsof training it might have happened twice andI can’t think when or why.”

In that horror season of 2010-11, the glorydays brought to Downton Hall by horses suchas Behrajan and Mighty Man seemed a distant

The reality is quite different.“Those who think that should talk to my

bank manager,” he sighs. “I have rent and billsto pay, like everyone else. I need more horsesand that is my main frustration. We have 45here and it’s true that 50% of them are forowner/breeders – I realise not many trainershave anything like that percentage. But forchoice, I would certainly have more horses. IfI was offered 100, I’d take them gladly. Wehave the room and I have the ambition.

“I suspect people think I don’t worry aboutit but that is only because I never show it. I’mreserved, very reserved. I’m actually in awe oftrainers like Paul Nicholls for their skill inpromoting themselves. It’s a great talent. Somepeople get it horribly wrong, going over thetop, but those who get it right, like Paul, do itin spades.

“I’m exceptionally bad at it. It’s not in mynature. I’m very aware I am missing out but it’svery hard to change the way you are made. It’snot deliberately trying to stick in the past, I justfind self-promotion very difficult but that isvery different from being unambitious. Youcannot train horses unless you’re competitive.It’s all about winning.”

He has done a good bit of winning thisseason – 26 by the turn of the year wascomfortably a personal best – but he did hardlyany of it three seasons ago, when the tallydropped to a mortifying eight. “It was a veryinteresting life lesson,” he says wryly. “Not oneI wish to go through again.

“We had a bacterial infection in the yard.Unlike a virus, the infection was treatable butit took a long time to fix it. We discovered whatwas wrong but then twice treated them withthe wrong drugs – basically, the vets could notfind the right antibiotic to kill the bacteria. Thethird drug finally worked but the process hadtaken up two months by that time, the horseshad been given an awful lot of drugs and werenaturally flat.

“The season was a write-off. The lads andjockeys got very down and although theowners were stoic to a man at the time, I

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Then and now: Mighty Man (above) was a Grade 1 winner for Daly while Quentin Collonges (grey) is Grand National-entered

memory. “For the first ten years here, we alwayshad a horse to win us a good race or two,” Dalymuses. A picture on the wall of his cosy office,in what was once a game larder, backs him up,recalling the 2003 Cheltenham Festivalvictories of Young Spartacus and Palarshan.

“Behrajan was a bit of a freak. He was byArazi and bred to win an Arc but he stood 17.1hands, turned up here for less than ten grandand was a smidgen below Gold Cup class.He was very, very good and a delight to train.”


Mighty Man was placed twice in the WorldHurdle but he won the equivalent Aintree racetwice and was beaten only by Big Buck’s in hisbid for a hat-trick in 2009. “He was magic atAintree, he went round the track like amotorbike,” the trainer says. “Cheltenhamnever really suited him as well. We put offchasing because he was such a good hurdlerbut he won his first two novice chases and itwas a shame he went wrong, because he wasvery good at it.”

Daly’s last Grade 1 success was the LongWalk Hurdle victory of Mighty Man in 2006and he has had no Festival winners since the2003 double. There have been times when ithas been too easy to forget him as a force inNational Hunt racing but, to widespreadapproval, those times are over. Last seasonended with Quentin Collonges, a contenderfor this year’s Grand National, taking theBet365 Gold Cup at Sandown Park and thisone began with a double at Towcester, whichled serenely to a first-ever treble.

“We’ve never had so many winners by thistime of year and we undoubtedly have a betterquality bunch of horses now – the ratings ofthe novices, in particular, tell you that,” heexplains. “I won’t be aiming many atCheltenham, though, because it can be a


H E N R Y D A L Y

terribly tough place for young horses. They gotwo strides quicker than anywhere else.

“In 15 years, I doubt if I’ve had more thanthree runners in the Festival novice races. Wedeliberately kept Mighty Man away fromCheltenham in his novice year because hismind would have been fried by the experience.I thought I was being clever by taking him toSandown the previous Friday for a quietNational Hunt novices’ hurdle but I hadn’t

registered that it was a military day – the bandstarted up as he went into the paddock and hewent mad.”

Such patience with youngsters was handeddown by Forster in their ten years together andhas remained entrenched in Daly, along with an

aversion to Flat racing and a love of countrypursuits. Behind the tweeds and theunexcitable nature, though, lies a man moredriven than many might imagine.

“We’ve only got one horse here that even ranon the Flat and I’ve no interest in taking out aFlat licence unless the finances dictate it – goingto Taunton on a wet Monday is quite fun butthe thought of a twilight meeting atWolverhampton fills me with dread.

“But I do want to build the numbers up here.I’m always amused when hearing a trainer saythey’d ideally only like 15 or 20 horses. I simplydon’t get that logic. With that number, thefinances are dire. Very, very few trainers make alot of money these days, yet the publicperception persists of a champagne lifestyle.The reality is extraordinarily different, even forthe most successful.”

Not that Daly is complaining about his lot.At 47, his two teenage children have grown upon this magical estate and now, thankfully, thewinners are flowing once again.

“My brother, Dermot, works in the City,” hesays, “and when I sit up on my gallop, firstthing on a crisp, frosty morning, with the suncoming up over Clee Hill, I think, ‘He mightearn a few quid more than me, but you reallycan’t better this’.”

Few men espouse the traditions of jumpracing more clearly than Henry Daly, so everysupporter of the code should be troubled byhis concerns for its future.

By his own admission, Daly is anythingbut impulsive or effusive. His words aregenerally weighed carefully. Yet he says: “Ibelieve in my lifetime, jump racing will nolonger exist.

“I actually formed this view about tenyears ago and although I hope very muchthat I’m wrong, nothing has happened sinceto dissuade me. We are in the entertainmentindustry. However else we dress it up, that’swhat it is and I fear the society we live in willnot accept jump racing as a form ofentertainment.”

Such alarm is frequently spread inconjunction with the Grand National but it isnot this iconic race that causes Daly hisgloomy prognosis. “The National doesn’tworry me because Aintree has gripped thesituation so firmly – they are so far ahead ofthe rest of us in understanding the issues andacting on them.

“Elsewhere, jump racing is being routinelydumbed down. Even at Ludlow, my localtrack, the fences are half as stiff as they oncewere. No-one wants to see horses falling but

‘I fear for the future of jump racing’ the sport is actually called JUMP racing. Myfear is that this dumbing down willcontinue until the sport is an irrelevance.”

As a past President and long-servingcouncil member of the National Trainers’Federation, Daly is well qualified to speakon the financial issues affecting hisprofession. He fears for those operating atthe lower end of the scale and believescasualties are inevitable. “Some of thefigures are quite alarming,” he says.“Equally, it’s very hard for trainers to puttheir fees up for fear of driving ownersaway – I haven’t raised mine for five years.”

He also has some trenchant opinions onprize-money – specifically on one Grade 1course that is failing in its responsibilities.“Just before Christmas, there was a daywhen Ludlow put on £80,000 prize-moneyand Newbury offered only £55,000,” hesays. “How can that be?

“If you were to ask every trainer inEngland to name their top three courses, atleast 50% of them would include Newbury.Everybody wants to run their horses therebecause it is a fantastic track. But it isshameful that they are not providing betterprize-money and I just hope the newmanagement there turns it round.”

“I’ve got no interest intaking out a Flat

licence; the thought ofWolverhampton fills

me with dread”


Of all the milers in Europe, only Frankel and Excelebration were rated his superior.

He beat or was rated above Moonlight Cloud, Immortal Verse, Al Kazeem, Declaration Of War, Poet’s Voice, Cape Blanco, Monterosso,Lethal Force, Lope de Vega, Rio de la Plata, Elusive Kate, Most Improved.

Powerful shoulder, well-balanced, goodbone, lovely mover, kind temperament.

From the Best In Show family that has already produced 19 sires of G1 winners, led by Redoute’s Choice. His half-brother is fellow record-breaker Bated Breath – rated inferior to Cityscape on the track.

CityscapeOVERBURY STUDCALL SIMON SWEETING ON 07796 174926 OR (01386) [email protected] www.ovstud.co.ukALSO STANDING DELEGATOR KAYF TARA SCHIAPARELLI

NEW £5,000 OCT 1, SLF

There’s much more abouthim on our website

THE FORM

THE PHYSIQUE

THE FAMILY

TIMEFORM 127

THE SAME ASSHARPEN UP

HIMSELF!

DAR6259 OVERBURY OB page Cityscape 16 JAN14 15/01/2014 16:28 Page 1

TALKING TO...PHIL SMITH

Ahead of the HANDICAP

Phil Smith has one of the most responsible jobs in the sport as head of the team that rateBritain’s racehorses; it’s a role, and an art, that has evolved over more than two decades

By Tim Richards • Photos George Selwyn

Tell us about your firstinvolvement in racing, where itall started and where it led…

I was asked by a friend from SouthamptonUniversity, who kept his own ratings, to joinhim at the Derby to celebrate my 21stbirthday, on June 3, 1970. It was my firstexperience of racing and we had threewinners including Nijinsky. I was completelyhooked and started keeping my own ratingsthe following day. Initially, I kept the two-year-olds and later on I rated the Pattern andListed races.

How much of a punter were you, andhow successful?I was a punter for 24 years and had only onelosing year. But I never won huge amountsbecause as a teacher I never had a big enoughbank to risk very much, so my stakes werepretty small. My biggest win was on FairyFootsteps in the 1981 1,000 Guineas. Ithought I’d done my dough the week beforewhen Lester Piggott ripped his ear in a stallsaccident at Epsom and looked unlikely toride her. But fortunately he did and got herhome, thank God!

You were a teacher and professionalfootballer. How and why did youenter the world of handicapping?I was a semi-professional footballer andstarted teaching PE and then moved on toeconomics, history and finally maths. Ihad met Geoffrey Gibbs, who was thesenior handicapper at the time, and hewas interested in a book I had written in1992 called 21 Years of the Pattern. Wediscussed the book together and I wascompletely enthused by Geoffrey. Sowhen a job for a handicapper was

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Phil Smith has beenhandicapping horses, privatelyand professionally, since 1970

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advertised, I applied and luckily got it. I owemy handicapping career totally to Geoffrey.

At what level did you play footballand which teams did you play for?What was the pinnacle?I played at the top non-league level forAltrincham and Northwich Victoria. I wasthe number 9, striker. I didn’t score a lot ofgoals for Altrincham but I did for Northwich.I had a ten-year career and the pinnacle wasplaying for Altrincham at Goodison Parkagainst Everton in the FA Cup third roundand we drew 1-1. It was great as I supportEverton, though I didn’t that day. They keptkicking me! The replay was switched to OldTrafford and we got 35,000 at both games.

The Grand National weights arepublished in February. The Nationalis a unique event – how do you viewit, as a headache or do most of thehorses handicap themselves?It is a privilege, not a headache. Very fewpeople have handicapped the GrandNational and when you land the job you tryand stick with it because it is great fun. A fairnumber of horses do handicap themselves,although I review every horse in the race. Istart off with the previous year’s result as a

base, then take in the top weights andeverything filters down from the best horses.I do take Aintree form into consideration butdon’t find I have to stick with publishedratings; I can pretty much come up with abespoke handicap. It is the only race wherewe don’t necessarily use our official ratings,although in 75-80% of cases I actually do.

Do you make special allowancesbecause the race stands alone?I usually raise horses that run well over thecourse in the Topham, Becher and SeftonChases, which sounds quite harsh, but I putthem up because I want to make sure theyget into the National. Horses that run wellover the Aintree fences often replicate theirperformances in the National. Once horseshave shown an ability to handle the track andthe fences I think it is important to get theminto the race.

What is the idea behind theHandicappers Blog, available on theBHA website?When we started the blog three or four yearsago the idea was to try to explain how wearrive at various ratings. Most people know alittle bit about handicapping but there aren’tmany that know a lot about it, so we give

them as much information as possible.Hopefully we make it interesting and help toimprove people’s overall knowledge. We getlots of very positive feedback and the blogreceives more hits on the BHA website thananything else.

Do you see your job as setting apuzzle for racing enthusiasts tounravel?The basic job of a handicapper is to give allof the horses an equal chance. Yes, setting apuzzle is important. But it is even moreimportant that when owners and trainers goracing with a runner in a handicap that theybelieve they have a chance. We are unhappyif they feel they don’t – and we’re equallyunhappy when they think they are acertainty. Another aspect of the job is to keepour figures as consistent as possible, becausepeople like to compare generations using ourratings. Also, we shouldn’t forget that we arepart of the entertainment industry and wewant racegoers to enjoy exciting finishes.

Do you get a hard time fromtrainers? How do you handle theircomplaints and frustrations?Increasingly less so; when I started 19 yearsago I used to get a hard time from some

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Neptune Collonges and Sunnyhillboy so nearly provided the Grand National dead-heat craved by race handicapper Phil Smith


P H I L S M I T H

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trainers who were inclined to pick on the‘new boy’. Nowadays I hardly ever get acomplaint. I think this is partly due to thefact all trainers have to go to a handicappingsession in the British Racing School beforebeing granted a licence. I oversee a four-hourclass which goes into handicapping in depth,so all new trainers of the last 18 years havebeen on my course and should be muchmore knowledgeable about the idiosyncrasiesof rating horses. As a result, the modern-daytrainer has become much more analyticaland when we discuss ratings he or she findsit easier to understand why we have arrivedat a certain figure.

The key to handling complaints is to beflexible, and not to be stubborn. It’s amazinghow often a horse which a trainer complainsabout wins its next race, and that happenedas recently as Kempton’s Christmas meeting.

Who would give you the biggest earbashing?The trainers today are all pussycats comparedwith those of yesteryear. Ginger McCain usedto give us a hard time and since NevilleCallaghan has retired things have got a loteasier and less volatile.

What has been your most satisfyingmoment in handicapping? And whathas been your biggest mistake?The closest ever finish in the 2012 GrandNational between Neptune Collonges andSunnyhillboy was the most satisfying becauseyou can’t get much closer. In the days beforethe introduction of the margin of a ‘nose’ thatresult would have been called a dead-heat. Itwas both satisfying and disappointing as itwould have been great to have beenresponsible for a dead-heat. It was aninteresting race for me because I told Ruby

Walsh Neptune Collonges was his best ride,but he didn’t choose it.

My biggest mistake came after about threeyears in the job when I became big-headedand over confident and dropped a horse ofMichael Bell’s for winning, albeit a poor race.I made this extravagant decision because thewinner should have won further. I thought itwould be clever to drop a horse for winning.

It won its next race as a hot favourite. Thekey to handicapping is to keep it simple:don’t try and over-complicate things.

Which are the most difficult horses tohandicap and why?There are lots, very in often Pattern races. Arecent example is the Feltham Chase won byAnnacotty. I expected him to finish last, so Istruggled to come up with a sensible figure.I worked on a time comparison between hisrace and the King George, but nothing fitted.Annacotty is massively lower than any otherFeltham winner I can remember. Maybe I’veunderestimatedhim, and he waswearing blinkersfor the firsttime. We’ll see.

Interestingly, not one of the last 18 Felthamwinners has gone on to win the RSA Chase.

How many handicappers do you haveworking for you? How often do youmeet to discuss races and ratings?We have 11 and we all cover differentdistances and codes. Before the all-weatherthe Flat handicappers used to go on safari inthe winter and have fun! But now of coursethe job, both Flat and jumping, is all yearround. We meet only twice a year as we livein different corners of the country, but we areconstantly emailing and phoning each other.Every Monday each handicapper sends out alist of horses which he did not handicap lasttime but wants to drop, and must askpermission to do so from the person whohandicapped it in its last race. This helps togive us a commonality of approach. It is soimportant we are consistent.

Which have been the best Flat horsesand jumpers you handicapped?Frankel and Kauto Star, both by a long way.Kauto Star is my favourite. He was incrediblyconsistent at the top level, year after year.Great credit to his trainer Paul Nicholls forkeeping him sweet and sound for so long.Kauto Star produced 19 performances above170 and that sort of thing only ever happensevery 40 years or so. He gave me more funand pleasure than any other horse.

Racing in the north is lesscompetitive than at the big southerntracks. Should the handicappingsystem reflect this, rather thantreating all winners the same?This is a question we are asked fairly

consistently. I did some research aboutnorthern-trained horses in handicapsat the Cheltenham Festival and

Aintree and they actually have anamazingly high success rate.Malcolm Jefferson, DonaldMcCain, Ferdy Murphy andLucinda Russell have all donevery well there. So it is not

strictly correct to suggest thatnorthern horses are at a disadvantage

Kauto Star was Smith’s favouritehorse to deal with as a handicapper

“Trainers today arepussycats compared toyesteryear’s, such asGinger McCain andNeville Callaghan”



when they venture south. But the generalquality of the jumpers in the north is nothinglike as good as those in the south. Our job isto give them a chance and when they go toCheltenham and Aintree they boast a highpercentage strike-rate in handicaps. Funnily,we never get a complaint about northern Flathorses being rated too highly and unable tocompete in the south.

Why are handicappers so quick toput horses up after an impressivewin/effort, but so slow to reduceratings?Historically that’s absolutely true. But inrecent years I’ve been encouraging the teamto drop horses more quickly. However, thereis a huge proviso. And that is an integrityissue, which is one of the most importantaspects of our job. If trainers knew that ifthey won and then their horse was pulled upor disappointed we would automaticallydrop its rating, there would be an incentiveto cheat. We have a major integrity functionto keep everyone honest. But I must say thatin recent years we have been inclined to drophorses a fair bit quicker.

How do you ensure that Irish-trainedhorses are not advantaged whenthey run in Britain?Since 2003 we have assessed Irish jump racesin the same way we do every English race.On the Flat we are happy to take the Irishhandicappers’ decisions. But jumping we areapplying the same methodology to the Irishas we do with the English. It is worthremembering there can be a huge differencein the quality of the ground and when some

Irish horses come here after running onheavy they improve on the better going.

The novice chase situation in Britain,with two/three-runner races and lackof opportunities for high-classrecruits from hurdling, is damagingthe sport. What should be done?

It certainly is damaging the sport and I havejust produced a paper on the subject that hasgone to my boss, Ruth Quinn, the BHA’sDirector of Racing. So watch this space…

You often take flak from journalistswhen rankings are revealed,including when you reduced therating of Dancing Brave and co intandem with Frankel being given amark of 140. Was it really necessaryto tinker with the ratings?Well, it was unofficial. I did an exercise,which said this is how these figures wouldhave looked with modern-day methodology.The guys who were handicapping in 1987were operating in a marginally different wayfrom they way we do it nowadays. We did itout of interest and fun, and Dancing Brave isstill officially 141. Only unofficially is he 138.Frankel is 140.

P H I L S M I T H

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CLOSE UP AND...PERSONALHow do you relax… on holiday withmy wife and playing golf

Most exciting moment in my life…getting married in 2012

Four dinner party guests… Catherineand I are quite reclusive, but I’d likeBeyoncé to join us!

Favourite holiday destination…following the Tour de France in the Alpsand Pyrenees

My weakness is… chocolate

CLOSE UP AND...PROFESSIONALMost demanding part of my job…hitting the deadlines with so much racing

I’d encourage more people to goracing by… attracting the over 50s, whohave more time and money than theyounger generation

My ambition is… a dead-heat in theGrand National

Best horse I have seen… Kauto Star

I feel the pressure when… I’ve had abad result in a handicap

Smith pictured with connections of 2010 Grand National hero Don’t Push It, JP McManus, Jonjo O’Neill and Frank Berry (l-r)

“The novice chasesituation is damagingthe sport and I have

just produced a paperon the subject”


DELEGATORTimeform125

Won G3 Craven Stakes

Won G2 Celebration Mile (dq’d)

2nd G1 2,000 Guineas

2nd G1 St James’s Palace Stakes

3rd G1 Queen Elizabeth II Stakes

DANSILITimeform125

Won G3 Prix Messidor

2nd G1 Poule d’Essai des Poulains

3rd Prix Jacques le Marois

3rd Prix du Moulin

Every bit as good as his sire at three

SEATHESTARSOUTSTAYSDELEGATOR

OVERBURY STUDGLOUCESTERSHIRECALL SIMON SWEETING ON 07796 174926 OR (01386) [email protected] www.ovstud.co.ukALSO STANDINGNEW CITYSCAPE KAYF TARA SCHIAPARELLI

DELEGATOR £4,000 OCT 1, SLF

More than 100 mares in his first book in 2013

WITH RIP VAN WINKLE AND MASTERCRAFTSMAN BEHIND

There are Classics. And then thereare classic Classics: races full of big names, names that resonate.The 2,000 Guineas of 2009 wasjust such a race...

The favourite that day, after showing stunning powers of acceleration to defeattwo future G1 winners in the Craven, wasDelegator – the best-ever sprinter or milerby Dansili. Top class over a mile at three,Delegator also won the G2 Duke Of Yorkon his first start over six furlongs.

DAR6259 OVERBURY OB page Delegator 16 JAN14 15/01/2014 16:28 Page 1


Despite a marked physical similarity,when the Grade 2 winner War Frontfollowed his sire, the mighty Danzig,

to the stallion barn at Claiborne Farm in 2007,it would have been a case of hope overexpectation that he would also follow theextraordinary stud career of his father, whohad died the previous year.

“One of the reasons dad brought him backto the farm was that he was so much likeDanzig,” says 24-year-old Walker Hancock,who is set to become the fourth generation ofhis family in charge of Claiborne when hetakes over the running of the farm from hisfather Seth in the near future.

Bred and raced by Joseph Allen, War Frontwas raised at Claiborne, like so many of hiscontemporaries on the farm’s 12-strongstallion roster. Though he still has some way togo to emulate Danzig fully, the 12-year-old hasmade an eye-catching start, with five Grade orGroup 1 winners to his name already –including, significantly, two in Europe – and atthe time of writing he had already recordedtwo Grade 2 winners within the first fortnightof 2014. Such is the present clamour fornominations to War Front that his book –strictly limited to 100 mares – could easily befilled three times over, but it was a differentstory back in 2009.

“In his third season we sent out a letter thatwas sort of a begging letter trying to get peopleto breed to him,” recalls Claiborne’sBloodstock Manager Bernie Sams. “I think thatyear he bred around 68 mares. But that wasalso the year he got Lines Of Battle, JackMilton and Departing. In many ways it wasprobably his best book of mares as Seth had

On theFRONT LINE

For more than a century, Kentucky’s Claiborne Farm has been a byword for excellence in the thoroughbred lexicon and its reputation continues through

one of the world’s most sought-after stallions, War Front

Words and photos Emma Berry

Walker Hancock, left, and Bernie Sams

bred a number of good mares to him that yearand so had Joe Allen.”

While the likes of The Factor, SummerSoiree, and Data Link had already signalledthrough top-level wins that War Front was asire of serious note, 2013 was to prove a majorbreakthrough year on the international stage,the red-letter day coming on June 18 when hissons Declaration Of War and War Commandsecured a dream Group-race double at Royal

Ascot. Both horses were bred by Allen andraced by him in partnership with theCoolmore team. Declaration Of War is nowWar Front’s first son to stand in Europe, underthe Coolmore banner in Ireland.

Sams says: “The number of emails, textsand phone calls we all had that day wasphenomenal. That probably did more for WarFront to make him an international sire thanif he’d had the Kentucky Derby winner.

“Coolmore have supported the horse – theystarted breeding mares to him in his fourthyear at stud and since then they’ve been bigsupporters and own quite a few with JoeAllen. It’s been a good relationship forClaiborne too.

“There are a lot of European mares comingto Kentucky for him this year. My problem isI haven’t been able to take as many of them asI’d like to because he only breeds 100 maresand that’s it.”

In the age of colossal books, this refreshingpolicy isn’t restricted to War Front but is inplace across the Claiborne roster.

“The maximum for any stallion would be120. Young horses like Orb, Data Link,Algorithms and Trappe Shot will breed 120but the idea at that number is to be able tocompete against other stallions who will havemuch bigger books,” Sams explains.

“As they get down the road and becomeproven we’ll try to take back a little bit andkeep them to around 100. We breed WarFront twice a day and that’s the book he gets.

“There are 40 shares, of which Mr Allen stillowns significant interests, along with[Claiborne] farm. There are a few other share-holders but it’s a pretty tightly held syndicate.

CLAIBORNE FARM

Feb_114_Claiborne3_Owner Breeder 17/01/2014 14:52 Page 46


War Front, who remindedSeth Hancock so much of his sire, Danzig

Four great names to have inhabitedone stallion box over the years

Most of the people in there are people whobreed to race anyway, so I think as we godown the road there’ll probably be feweroffered as yearlings than in recent years.Previously he was a $15,000 stallion and therewere a lot more commercial people who bredto him then.”

In fact, War Front has stood for as low as$10,000 in his fourth year at stud but that wasalso the year his first runners hit the track andsince then his fee, like his reputation, hasclimbed annually. The annus mirabilis thatwas 2013 also saw Declaration Of War go onto capture the Juddmonte International afterhis Queen Anne Stakes victory, and WarCommand add the Dewhurst and Futurity tohis Coventry Stakes win, while Derby wins (inVirginia, Illinois and the UAE) were providedby Departing, War Dancer and Lines Of Battle.

In the sales ring a War Front colt toppedKeeneland September at $2.5 million and 43of his yearlings sold for an average of$378,186 – another reason why he nowcommands a fee of $150,000, making him themost expensive stallion in the US along withTapit, a son of the late Claiborne residentPulpit.

History made and in the makingOf course War Front is merely the latest in along line of illustrious names to have gracedthe stallion barns at the 3,000-acre farm inParis, Kentucky, and relating his rise toprominence is only scratching at the surfaceof Claiborne’s rich history. Founded in 1910by Arthur Boyd Hancock Sr, the farm receivedits first stallion, Wrack, in 1916. He wasfollowed by the imported Poule d’Essai

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Feb_114_Claiborne3a_Owner Breeder 17/01/2014 15:39 Page 47

des Poulains winner Sir Gallahad III, sire ofTriple Crown winner and fellow Claiborne sireGallant Fox and the first of ten champion siresto stand at the farm. In 1949, Hancock wassucceeded by his son, AB ‘Bull’ Hancock Jr,under whose reign Nasrullah was imported,future champion sires Bold Ruler and RoundTable were born at the farm (on the same day)and English Triple Crown winner Nijinskyreturned to North America to be syndicatedby Claiborne.

At the age of 23, Seth Hancock, the youngerof Bull’s two sons, took up the reins followingthe death of his father at just 47 and made hismark instantly by encouraging the farm’sclients to get involved in a stallion syndicate

for the then-juvenile Secretariat. WalkerHancock has some big shoes to fill.

In the graveyard behind the farm office –one of three equine cemeteries on the gentlyrolling property – are the headstones of 21horses. Twenty of them were Claibornestallions, including Nasrullah, his son BoldRuler and grandson Secretariat, whosedamsire Princequillo is also nearby. The deedsof that quartet alone are enough to fill severalhistory books, but alongside Secretariat in thisrevered corner of horse heaven is found MrProspector and next to him, Nijinsky. Theonly non-stallion among them is Swale, SethHancock’s homebred Kentucky Derby andBelmont Stakes winner who collapsed and

died just eight days after his 1984 Belmontvictory.

But Claiborne’s heritage is far from beingall about the stallions. In the MarchmontCemetery is buried Personal Ensign, one ofthe most talented racemares of all time with13 unbeaten starts to her name. Her geneticsuperiority was such that she produced threeGrade 1 winners and was Broodmare of theYear in 1996. She was one of the jewels of thePhipps family’s broodmare band, whichresides at Claiborne and marks a longassociation between two racing families. TheHancocks’ long established partnerships withprominent fellow breeders who remain asclients has not only seen reflected glory forClaiborne on the racecourse but has alsoaided its mission of securing a plethora ofwell-credentialed stallions.

The Phipps family’s influence is evidentagain in one of Claiborne’s new recruits forthis season, the Kentucky Derby winner Orb.Bred by Ogden Mills ‘Dinny’ Phipps with hiscousin Stuart Janney III, the son of MalibuMoon was another to have been foaled atClaiborne and later return triumphant.

“It’s always great to have a Derby winnercome to the farm, especially one who’s beenraised here and one that has the history ofgoing back through the Janney and Phippsfamilies and their longstanding relationshipwith Claiborne Farm,” says Sams.

“It was fantastic even to have the horse winthe Derby for those connections. For thiscountry it’s pretty much what it’s all about.

“If you look at the stallion roster here now,Arch was bought as a yearling, Blame wasraised here, Flatter was raised here, alongwith Orb, Stroll, Horse Greeley, Parading,

C L A I B O R N E F A R M

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Owner/breeder Joseph Allen, second right, leads in War Command at Royal Ascot

Everything about the farm itself is understated, the only extraordinary feature being the success of its graduates over the decades

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War Front. Really the only outside horses areFirst Samurai – but he belonged to BruceLunsford, who has mares here – and TrappeShot belonged to Mr Brady who’s been along-time client of Claiborne.”

And it’s not only the equine lines that havelongevity at Claiborne. Current generalmanager Bradley Purcell was born and bred atthe farm, his father Billy having been abroodmare foreman for decades, and it’s asimilar story for many of his co-workers.

Sams adds: “For the guys out on the farmto raise those horses, see them leave, run likethey have and come back as stallions, it’sgreat.”

Marchmont’s hallowed grounds alsocontain a mare who could hardly have beenbetter named when one considers her impacton the breed: Special. A grand-daughter ofRough Shod, who was bought in England byBull Hancock in 1951, Special, as the dam ofNureyev and grandam of Sadler’s Wells, hasplayed a significant role in extending theClaiborne influence on a global scale, and thatcould expand yet further through her greatgrandson, Blame (see panel, right).

Famed as the sole conqueror of Zenyatta,Blame’s six Graded stakes victories includedthe Fayette Stakes at Keeneland in 2009, inwhich he was chased home by his fellowClaiborne graduate Parading, a greatgrandson of Personal Ensign who hasfollowed his sire Pulpit to stand on theClaiborne roster. Like Blame, he has his firstrunners this year. That continuity is echoedby the second new stallion at the farm for2014, War Front’s Grade 1 winner Data Link,bred and owned by Stuart Janney.

Claiborne’s motto is ‘Doing the usualunusually well’. It’s a slogan which can beread as both modest and boastful, and itsparadoxical nature strikes at the very essenceof the farm itself. No imposing gates or signsadorn the entrance; the small office is homelyrather than flashy. The only hint at the high-grade operation conducted within itswalls are the leather headcollars which hangthere, bearing brass nameplates to makeracing historians go weak at the knees:Buckpasser, Herbager, Easy Goer, Damascus,Danzig, Mr Prospector. The list goes on.

The modern-day norm – shuttle stallions,big books of mares, state-of-the-art coveringsheds – is eschewed for more traditionalways, but then the old covering shed hasserved the farm very well, with six of the 11American Triple Crown winners having beenconceived within, while ten Kentucky Derbywinners have been raised at Claiborne.

The stallions, without rugs, their coatsnaturally long in midwinter, are allowed justto be horses for as much time as is naturallypossible on a farm which is about to head intoits busiest period. The mares, precious asmany of them are, mostly foal down in thepaddocks.

When interviewed for a centenary featurein the Blood-Horse in 2010, Seth Hancock,who has steadfastly stuck to his guns over thefarm’s traditional approach to breeding andrearing thoroughbreds, admitted: “There ispressure; I’d be lying if I said there wasn’t. This

place has been a going concern for a long,long time. We have ten stallions here now; the oldest is just 16, so our roster is young,though it’s obviously not as strong as it waswhen I took over. Pulpit is terrific, and we’reexcited about First Samurai and War Frontand Flatter. Hopefully Blame will come backhere and the playing field will level out so we can compete for some of these big-timehorses again.

“I have no regrets. We’ve done everythingwe can do to try to position ourselves for thefuture, and I think we are well-positioned.Having said that, we still need to have somethings happen.”

Pulpit died in 2012 but has provided theClaiborne roster with two sons and agrandson. Blame is back and War Front hashappened. In the meantime, Claiborne hascontinued to do business as usual. That is tosay, unusually well.


C L A I B O R N E F A R M

“To raise thosehorses, see them

leave, run like theyhave, and come backas stallions is great”

Take Blame to be Claiborne’s new starWith War Front now an established name among the world’s elite stallions, the team atClaiborne will be eagerly following the racetrack progress of the first crop of Blame thisseason.

“At this point all the reports out of Ocala [where the breeze-up sale takes place in earlyMarch] have been very good about Blame. Hopefully he’ll be our shining star for nextyear,” says Bernie Sams.

Now eight, Blame gained notoriety by becoming the only horse ever to toppleZenyatta’s crown when repelling her late charge in the 2010 Breeders’ Cup Classic atChurchill Downs. His success was timed to perfection, earning Claiborne, who co-ownand co-bred the son of Arch with Adele Dilschneider, the Eclipse Award for ChampionOlder Male in its centenary year.

While he may have broken the hearts of Zenyatta’s many fans, Blame was fully entitledto be as good a racehorse as he was. The three-time Grade 1 winner is bred in the purple,his pedigree having the name Claiborne running through its core like a stick of Brightonrock.

Blame now stands alongside his sire, while his broodmare sire Seeking The Goldremains at Claiborne in retirement at the age of 29. The three horses have paddockswithin calling distance of one another.

Blame’s dam Liable is out of Nureyev’s three-parts-sister Bound, whose parents Nijinskyand Special – also the grandam of Sadler’s Wells – were both Claiborne residents, as wereeight of the 15 stallions in his first four generations.

The Breeders’ Cup Classic winnerBlame has his first runners in 2014

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Enquiries: Bearstone Stud, Market Drayton, Shropshire TF9 4HFOffice: 01630 647197 Mobile: 07974 948755 Email: [email protected]

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CAPTAIN GERRARD is the leading English based 1st season sire. Now sired 21 winners of 29 races. Yearlings in 2013 made up to £48,000.

21 winners from 69 runners – 35% strike rateincluding multiple winners.Dual Group Winning Sprinter by OASIS DREAMWon 6 races at 2 and 3 years, £145,408, and was placed 7 times.Won or placed in 9 of 10 starts at 2.

Fee for 2014 is £4,000, special live foal.

“Rapidly rising through the ranks”


HUNTING & RACING

TraditionWITH PURPOSE

Riding to hounds is what gives jockeys their bottle, according to the fearless Paul Carberry, and plenty in the world of racing share his passion for the sport

Words Catherine Austen

It’s no secret that National Hunt racing, atleast, has its roots firmly lodged in thehunting field. Point-to-pointing started

when two hunting men, Edmund Blake andCornelius O’Callaghan, challenged eachother to a race in 1752 for four-and-a-halfmiles across country from Buttevant Churchto Doneraile Church in Co Cork. Theyjumped everything in their path, and bykeeping the steeple of Doneraile church insight (steeple-chasing), the two men kept tothe planned route along the banks of

the Awbeg River. The same line can still betaken while hunting with the DuhallowFoxhounds now.

Amateur jump racing evolved from there– and subsequently became a professionalsport.

And a few decades ago, many Flat trainerswould have spent their (all-weatherless)winters hunting. But does hunting still haveany relevance to the modern racing world,and how strong are the ties between the two?

“The volume of racing is so much greater

now and people are training more and morehorses – who had 100 horses 25 years ago,let alone 150?” says Ralph Beckett. “Thedemands on a trainer’s time – all year round– are so much greater.”

Beckett is one of a handful of majortrainers who still go hunting regularly,managing a dozen days a season with thelocal Tedworth hounds and, further afield,the big-jumping Portman.

“I genuinely enjoy it and it’s the one sportI can do with my wife,” he says. “And my

Joint-master DavidRedvers (scarlet coat)

leads the Ledbury field

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daughter, who is eight, is now happy to gohunting without her mother, so I can takeher out, which I love. So it’s about family asmuch as anything for me.

“And it gets me away from everything – it’sa holiday in itself.”

Beckett hunted the Marlborough CollegeBeagles while he was at school there, and hisfellow Group 1-winning trainer JamesFanshawe hunted the beagles at Stowe.Fanshawe, the son of a famous master andhuntsman, no longer rides to hounds, butamong the Newmarket trainers who stillmake the pilgrimage to nearby Leicestershireto hunt across the county’s famous grass andhedges are Michael Bell, riding his trustyhack Ruby, and Toby Coles, who cuts a dashin top hat and scarlet tails.

Coles is passionate about hunting, saying:“It’s about horsemanship, but also about anunderstanding of the way nature and theworld around us works. Hunting teaches youto know what is going to happen before ithappens – and either to do something tohelp it or slam the brakes on if necessary,such as avoiding breaking a horse down.

“Those who made the best soldiers in thelast War were very often those who went thebest in the hunting field, and that can becompared to racing. It gives you the abilityto read yourself and your surroundings. Andconversely the sharpest thinkers in racing areprobably the best in the hunting field as well– not just in terms of jumping huge fencesbut in watching what is really going on, thevenery side of the sport. Major Hern made

sure Willie Carson hunted, and some of thegreat hunting figures of that era, such as theHon Migs Greenall, greatly respected him fordoing it.”

Having grown up hunting with the Quornand the Cottesmore in Leicestershire, Colessays that he got few days while he waslearning his craft as an assistant trainer and inhis first couple of years after going solo.

“Until I started in racing, hunting was mylife, and then racing became my life, and Ididn’t want to confuse the two,” he adds.“But now I am trying to do more and morehunting. It freshens up one’s eyes, not somuch the thrill of galloping fast and jumpingthings but the actual hunting and thehounds.

“And I’ve probably got more owners fromgoing hunting than I have by socialising andpressing the flesh in London!”

Coles has also visited the Ledbury tofollow David Redvers over the whackinghedges for which his pre-Christmas meet atTweenhills Stud is renowned.

Redvers’s racing and bloodstockcommitments mean he gets only “six orseven” days’ hunting a season now, but hehas been a joint-master of the Ledbury since2005.

“It’s a great release from the pressures ofeveryday life,” he says. “A lot of it for me isabout community. I have a genuine affectionfor the land and the people round here, andI get to see people from the local area that Idon’t see often enough.

“Hunting and racing have always beenintertwined. It’s a fantastic second career forracehorses and a great schooling ground foryoung riders. Those who have grown up inthe hunting field are better prepared for thedemands of race-riding. Their basichorsemanship skills are undoubtedly better.”

Redvers persuaded trainer MikelDelzangles to have his first day’s hunting atthe Tweenhills meet this season – but he’s notsure that, after sustaining four broken ribs ina fall, the Frenchman will be back.

Other trainers who escape the pressures oflife on the hunting field include Eve JohnsonHoughton, with the Old Berks, and AnnDuffield with the Bedale, where she is joinedby trainer’s wife Deirdre Johnston. Anotherfemale trainer, Di Grissell, has long been amaster of the East Sussex and RomneyMarsh.

Redvers also masterminded the Ledbury’sGolden Button – a three-and-a-half mile raceacross natural hunting country along thebanks of the River Severn. It has been wontwice by jockeys: former Flat rider EddieAhern took it in 2007 aboard the formerJonjo O’Neill-trained chaser World WideWeb, who was enjoying his ‘retirement’ as ahunter with the Ledbury’s Ridley family, andPaul Carberry won it two years later on the

H U N T I N G & R A C I N G

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Gold Cup winner Denman stands to attention at the meet with Charlotte Alexander


Brendan Powell-trained Mandingo Chief.Davy Russell also rode in it that year, but fellearly on.

Other Flat jockeys who love huntinginclude Jimmy Quinn and Jim Crowley, andAhern introduced Adam Kirby to the sportfour years ago.

“I’d never been before and Eddie took meto the Cottesmore with him and I had areally good time,” says Kirby. “It wasfascinating to me: nice company, everyonewas very welcoming, the jumping was greatand I fell in love with it. I’ll always go now.”

While Tattersalls Chairman EdmondMahony usually goes home to Ireland tohunt with the Louth, of which he has beena master since 1998, the Thurlow, local toNewmarket, attracts many racing figures.

Darley’s Sam Bullard can be seen inLeicestershire, but wearing the black coatand tan collar of Ireland’s famous ScarteenHunt. Bullard had followed in JohnFerguson’s footsteps by becoming a masterof the pack, which has strong ties to racing.Its senior master and huntsman Chris Ryanworked for Frank Dunne in the days ofStanerra, and oversaw her preparation forand victory in the Japan Cup in 1983.

Several of the Scarteen’s neighbouringpacks have ample racing connections.Coolmore vet John Halley is a joint-masterof the County Limerick. Camas Park Stud’sTimmy Hyde is a former Tipperary master,and his son, Tim Hyde jnr, is Vice-Chairmanand a regular field master of the famouspack, whose former huntsmen include GoldCup and Grand National-winning jockeyCapt Evan Williams.

Most of the Irish packs have jockeys,former and current, among their regularfollowers. Norman Williamson huntsregularly with the Meath, while CharlieSwan is often seen out with the Limerickpacks and Jim Culloty hunts with theDuhallow – and Barry Geraghty, DavyRussell and even Ruby Walsh are regularlyseen out. But there’s one Irish jockey whoselove of hunting comes even before his loveof race-riding. Step forward Paul Carberry.

He whips-in to the Ward Union, Ireland’sonly pack of staghounds, and hunts as manydays a week as his racing commitments



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“I’ve probably gotmore owners fromgoing hunting than by pressing the flesh

in London”

Hunting: ‘It’s a holiday in itself’

Flat jockeys enjoying some winter sport: a laid-back Jamie Spencer, left, outhunting with the Ledbury and Adam Kirby flies a hedge in Cottesmore country

The great Ruby doubles as trainer’shack and hunter for Michael Bell

TBA Chief Executive Louise Kembletakes a Heythrop hedge in her stride

Darley’s Dawn Laidlaw and Jimmy Hyland, with Tom Burns of Victor Studand Deirdre Johnston enjoying a day’s hunting in Ireland with the Scarteen

NIC

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ORG

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allow. He has described hunting as “vital” tohis preparation for riding in races such as theGrand National (see panel, right).

There are few British jump jockeys whodidn’t grow up in the hunting field. RobertThornton’s father Martin was one of the bestprofessional huntsmen of his era and ‘Choc’grew up following him over the walls, railsand hedges of the Zetland and Belvoircountries. Colleague Sam Jones, whosegrandfather Peter Jones hunted the Pytchleyfrom 1971-2005, does some whipping-in forthe VWH.

And when last year’s Grand Nationalwinner Ryan Mania took time out from hisrace-riding career a couple of years ago hetook a job as whipper-in to the Fife Hunt.

The hedges of Cheshire attract jockeys likeflies to a honeypot. Lord Daresbury, himselfa champion amateur rider and retiringChairman of Aintree racecourse, is master ofthe Wynnstay, and his sons Tom, Jake andOliver hunt with the pack when they are notriding winners on the track.

Joe Tizzard is a regular with the Blackmoreand Sparkford Vale in Dorset, while a recentmeet of the Heythrop – on a Saturday whenmost of the racing was cancelled due to

flooding – witnessed Sam Twiston-Davies,Tom Bellamy, Ryan Hatch and CharlieDeutsch come and join the fun. Twiston-Davies was riding the quirky Mad Moose,now banned for planting himself at the startin his races, and his behaviour on thehunting field was rather similar.

Perhaps hunting will sweeten him up, asit did Silver Birch before his 2007 GrandNational win. The top-class chaser Kingscliffwas another who hunted regularly during hisracing career.

But most horses either hone their skills onthe hunting field as young horses, learningbalance, patience, courage and to jump andgallop with their peers, or come to it as asecond career when their racing days arefinished.

“So many racehorses do, and always have,end up hunting,” says Retraining ofRacehorses (RoR) Chief Executive DiArbuthnot. “They are pack animals and lovejumping and competing together. Whywouldn’t they take to it?”

Marcus Armytage has hunted many ex-racehorses, including the Martell Cup winnerKings Fountain. He also had an ill-fated dayon the former Gold Cup winner See MoreBusiness, during which the great horse ranaway with him and then tried to impalehimself on an iron gate.

“I start shaking when I read those threewords, See More Business,” jokes Armytage.“Kings Fountain was very good but, like inhis races, he unfailingly uprooted one fencea day. Given his size, luckily it was usuallythe fence which came off worst.”

Another Gold Cup winner, Denman, hastaken to the sport more successfully in the

hands of Charlotte Alexander.Many ex-racehorses find a hunting home

on Exmoor and Dartmoor. There is little orno jumping, but crossing the moor takesstamina, speed and light-footedness – thecharacteristics of a thoroughbred. WelshGrand National hero Edmond and themultiple winner Village King are happilyhunting with the huntsman and the formermaster of the Devon and SomersetStaghounds respectively.

There are many, many more horses andhumans who find that hunting offers thesame sort of adrenalin rush as racing. Longmay the links continue.


>>

In an open letter to the-then Minister forthe Environment, John Gormley, when theWard Union’s licence to hunt was underserious threat in 2009, jump jockey PaulCarberry eloquently described whathunting did for him...

“Every Friday in winter I miss racing tohunt with the Ward Union. Why? I needto keep my eye in.

“I get up on a racehorse each Friday,November to February, and we’re off,hounds out front. Way up ahead there’s awild Irish red deer stag, and he’s out therejumping and towing us across hugehedges, cavernous drains, deep ditchesand through the beautiful lush green Irishcountryside.

“So, when it comes to the GrandNational and I am coming to Becher’sBrook, I see the tension in the Englishjockey’s shoulders. I sense his fear. Hedoesn’t realise it but he is holding his

horse just a ‘gnat’s tight’ and we’re sevenstrides out, galloping 40 miles an hour, toa deadly drop. Suddenly you are there.The moment of truth, and in my head Iknow I jumped bigger following the stagthe previous month.

“I kick on, I hear the brush of the top ofthe fence and we’re heading down anddown, and the horse lands, I adjust mybalance and I feel his lungs fill, his headcomes up and we are galloping on. Out ofthe corner of my goggles I see a flailingbody, the English jockey is gone and I lookaround and there are just a few of us incontention now, Barry [Geraghty], Ruby[Walsh], and this year, coming on behindme, is Puppy [Robert Power], all regularshunting with the Ward Union.

“How come all the big jump races arebeing won consistently by Irish jockeys? Itall starts with brave kids hunting boldponies. Hunting is what gives us our bottle.”

Hunting gives Carberry the edge

Paul Carberry is the whipper-in for the Ward Union Staghounds in Ireland

“Young horses honetheir skills on the

hunting field, learningbalance, patience

and courage”

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& H

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58

>>

It doesn’t take long in the company of itsChief Executive Rory MacDonald toappreciate the strength and depth of the

British Racing School’s role within the industry.It is the supplier of a key group of

participants in the sport of racing: those whoride the horses, and those who look after them.The fact that young people can attend the BRSfor free, with the guarantee of a job in a racingyard in return for dedication, discipline andhard work, is an achievement that should dropjaws.

MacDonald, who received an OBE for hiswork at the Newmarket complex, is notsomeone who strikes you as immodest. Yeteven he describes the facilities andopportunities at the BRS as “extraordinary”. Heis right to. “Anybody who comes here isactually bowled over by the place,” he adds.Again it is hard to disagree.

The British Racing School is tucked away onthe outskirts of Newmarket, found next to asmall railway bridge, not far past the grandlandscape of Godolphin.

First impressions are of a neat, well-maintained, purposeful facility. Nothing flash,but it is a place where you will be given everychance to do things the right way. The presenceof a £40,000 horse riding simulator, the onlyone of its kind in the UK, with screens that tellyou whether you are leaning too heavily to theright or left, or hitting the horse in the wrongplace, is testimony to that. A computer gameraised on the very finest of technologicalsteroids.

You can hardly blame MacDonald for lackingthe words to describe how much the place haschanged since he joined, part-time, in 1992. Hewill leave his post this September, but is alreadyin a new role as a Trustee of Retraining of

Racehorses, which he started in January at atime when the future role of the RoR is underreview.

Anyone who cares to scan the range oftraining courses offered by the BRS will beimpressed by how much goes on in anenvironment where calm efficiency defies thesteady buzz of the A14 right beside it.

They include: pre-apprenticeship courses for16 to 22-year-olds; a foundation degree run inpartnership with Warwickshire College; alicence course for every type of rider;qualifications for trainers and assistant trainers;training for racing secretaries and yardmanagers; a general racing industry course thatlets you learn about aspects such as breeding,welfare, funding, betting, the levy, racecoursesand the appeal of racing; plus an academy forthose who seek management opportunities inracing.

While a cuddly toy seems to be missing fromthat long list, it is pretty much a one-stop shopfor training anyone for anything in the worldof horseracing.

“It should be,” MacDonald says. “After all, itis called the British Racing School. Our job hereis to deliver the training that the industry asksof us; and we have a letter of agreement eachyear with the BHA that actually specifies whatthat is. We have to be specifically alert and intune with what racing wants, so we willdevelop things where we think there is amarket.”

He cites the flexible learning programme, atwo-year diploma course, run in partnershipwith over ten local schools, as an innovationthat has met its brief. Pupils attend the BRSone-day a week – it has brought into racingriders Luke Morris and William Carson Jr.

Likewise, MacDonald enthuses about a pony

Schooling in PUBLIC

Long-serving Rory MacDonald OBE will be a mighty toughact to follow as Chief Executive at the kitchen sink learning

environment that is the unique British Racing School

Words Richard Griffiths • Photos George Selwyn

RORY MACDONALD

Feb_114_MacDonald_Owner Breeder 17/01/2014 15:23 Page 58

“Anyone who comeshere is actually

bowled over by thisextraordinary place”


racing academy, which is for eight to 15-year-olds.

“Pony racing was becoming too elitist,”MacDonald says. “You need to have a certainamount of money to own a pony in the firstplace and live in a certain part of the country.That precludes quite a lot of people. We havebeen lucky enough to get some funding and itdoes open up pony racing to a raft of newpeople.”

To emphasise that this course is not viewedas a frippery, the BRS website highlights thatBarry Geraghty, Jamie Spencer and NinaCarberry all graduated from this sphere, whilea certain Frankie Dettori says: “When I was 11years old living in Italy there was a pony race onone of the family racedays at Milan racecourse.I had a pony called Sylvia and we entered therace. I came last but it was a brilliant experienceand the closest you can get to the real thingwhen you are that age. After that I knew I didn’twant to do anything else.”

Almost at the opposite end of the BRSspectrum, MacDonald speaks of the BRSManagement Academy as “one of the betterthings we do here.”

Restricted to those who work in racing,industry organisations that have sent employeeson this course range from individualracecourses to the Levy Board, National Studand racing media groups.

“The middle management of racing neededto up its game,” MacDonald explains. “So westarted to look at those people who are justbelow what I would call moving into importantpositions.

“Some of the major clients we have areracecourses and there are people who are notyet in a racecourse management position butcertainly in the zone for that. It has been a hugesuccess and I know that Jockey ClubRacecourses, for one, are very happy with it.”

However, the training of wannabe managers,while impressive, pales, to this observer at least,

in comparison to the emphasis that the BRSplaces on giving a chance to young people.

“The idea is that there should be some sort ofladder that allows people starting at the bottomto progress to wherever their ability takesthem,” MacDonald says.

“Somebody could start here, with next to noGCSEs, go through a foundation degree – theirapprenticeship – and could then actually go onfor an honours degree at university, should theywant to.”

Run in partnership with Warwick University,the Foundation Degree is the first of its kind inhorseracing.

“This course is important because we aretrying to attract good people into racing,”

MacDonald says. “We shouldn’t be saying thatyou are going to be mucking out horses for thenext 40 years, or something like that. This is aladder for everyone to progress.

“This place is quite principled about what itdoes. We have the idea that you can bewhatever you want to be in life, and we willhelp you, we will support you. We are thecatalyst, but only the individual can make ithappen.

“That is why the training for our ApprenticeFoundation course is free, and that is afundamental principal: it should be available toanyone and everyone, irrespective of theirability to pay, or worse still to incur debt.”

All change in two decadesSince 1992, when the BRS was 100% financedvia racing’s Levy Board, much has changed inallowing students free access. As an approvedtraining provider, the BRS can accessgovernment funding.

With racing now providing around 25% offunding for the apprentice course, and thegovernment around 65%, the school’scommercial arm, set up in 1988, provides therest of the budget mostly by letting out itsfacilities for conferences.

Although there are some policy clashesbetween the aims of the BRS and thegovernment agencies, there is much supportfrom the latter for the task of finding everystudent a job (starting off in a racing yard).“That, in my book, is a fundamental principleof this school,” MacDonald continues.

“There is no point in training people forsomething if you cannot put them into a job.

R O R Y M A C D O N A L D

>>


The next generation: Luke Carson, 19, is the grandson of Classic-winning jockeyWillie Carson and enroled on the Apprenticeship in Racehorse Care course at BRS


This isn’t some intellectual pastime – this isabout giving people the skill to go into a job.”

Mind you, that’s only once some of theyoung people have had the shock of their lives.The nine-week course – which increases to 14weeks from July – requires total dedication. AsMacDonald shows me a plan of the BRScampus, I quite innocently ask where theshuttle bus is to take the students into town.

MacDonald looks aghast, explaining that ifstudents lack the determination to stay on thestraight and narrow for such a small part oftheir lives, they might not be ideal foundationcourse material. I withdraw my applicationthere and then.

“The whole mantra of this place is that wehave fantastic facilities, but the students needto work for a living,” MacDonald says, addingthat some students have left home for the firsttime and may need help with the basics such ascooking and cleaning. A member of the BRSteam sleeps in each section of the dormitoriesevery night. One less chance to party, one moretest of their devotion to the cause.

“I think people from other sports are reallyimpressed by racing in that it does have ascheme like this: to educate young peoplebefore they go into a job,” MacDonald adds.

“You need to have people who areemployable and you need to have effectivetraining. But what it does mean is that traininghere has to do what it says on the tin; preparingthem to go into a job in a yard.

“Young people come here, they will beworking harder than they have ever worked intheir life, and they will be mixing with a wholegroup of people they have never mixed with

before. On top of that, we are taking them inevery direction, out of their comfort zone.

“There is a lot going on in their lives alreadybut we have to make this training demandingbecause we wouldn’t be doing them anyfavours by preparing them for a job theycouldn’t do. It isn’t just about getting the stablework and riding right. But in many cases wehave – to use the jargon – to ‘man them up’.Their personal development needs to besufficiently robust for them to work in racing.”

The foundation course will receive around800 applicants a year, of which 230 will betaken on after fitness tests, functional skills testsand a personal interview with MacDonald. Yes,

all 230 of them. “I have to know every kid that comes

through here sufficiently well that I can talk toa trainer honestly about taking them on,”explains MacDonald. “What you can’t do isgive a trainer blarney and tell them the personthey are getting is something they are not.Because next time you ring a trainer up…

“I have legal duty of care while they are here.I am legally responsible for them. That is quitean obligation but, wherever they are, they aresupervised.

“We have to be careful in our selection. Wetake only people who we believe are going toachieve the qualification. If they can’t achievethe qualification they don’t get into a job.”

As I tour the facilities, I see two girls sittingquietly, with cases, at the back of a leisureroom, waiting for transport. They have notmade it.

“Some of the kids have had a roughupbringing, they may have some sort ofmedical/mental health condition, but the keyquestion is: are they going to be able to do thejob or aren’t they?” MacDonald says. “Becauseif they are not able to do the job, you have tosay, ‘Look, there are probably better options foryou’. Besides, we can’t afford failures. That iswhy you have to be honest with people. Andsometimes it is very tough.”

All pupils undergo regular reviews,“particularly with their riding, particularly withtheir work rate”, according to MacDonald. “Ifthey don’t come up to scratch on that, they willgo into special measures, which is basicallysaying, ‘Look, you are not there at the moment.We will take a week out, we will put in place araft of measures to help you to get up to scratch.But if you can’t make it, then a job in racing isprobably not for you – at the moment’.

“It concentrates people’s minds. When I ringup a trainer, I have to be very honest. And it isme who does the ringing up; 170 [successfulgraduates] ready for careers in racing.”

Unlike those who take a Blackadder view ofarmy life, MacDonald believes his service,which he left as a Major, has helped him impartstructure and discipline to his role. Althougheach pupil happily calls him ‘sir’, he is straight,upfront, rather than draconian, and quick topraise a team that includes jockey coachRichard Perham.

Many might find it hard to imagine the BRSwithout Rory MacDonald, and his reply toquestions about who might succeed him arerevealing: someone with a passion forhorseracing, he says, and a passion for youngpeople “who strives to be better tomorrow thanthey are today in everything they do.”

You wonder if he realises he could bedescribing himself.


R O R Y M A C D O N A L D

“We shouldn’t tellpeople they will bemucking out for thenext 40 years; everyperson can progress”

Rory MacDonald and jockey coach Richard Perham in supervisory mode (left), whileabove, BRS pupils take in one of the important lessons conducted in the classroom


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The sales calendar isan ever-evolvingbeast and this year

sees two brand newauctions tied in to majorracing festivals.

Brightwells, which hasdone a great job in creating

a market for ‘boutique’ jumpers-in-trainingsales, has added an extra date to its list witha select auction set to take place on theThursday evening at Cheltenham during theFestival (March 13).

But it is Goffs that has really stolen theshow, with the announcement of its LondonSale at The Orangery at Kensington Palace onthe Monday of Royal Ascot week (June 16).

“We considered a number of centralLondon venues but this was the one wesettled on and it’s a beautiful setting,” saidGoffs’ Chief Executive Henry Beeby. “Theplan is to hold the sale mid- to late-afternoonso it doesn’t interfere with other events, suchas the GBR party. There’ll be a reception in theOrangery and we are aiming for it to have agarden party feel, a bit like a Royal Ascotpicnic, rather than a more formal function.”

The sale itself will consist of breezers andform horses, with some of the latter, it ishoped, potentially holding entries for Ascot.

“We’ve discussed this with the BHA andthey are prepared to work with us regardingany transfer of ownership,” Beeby added.

As was the format for Goffs’ March breeze-up sale, which is not being staged this year,horses will be breezed on the Polytrack atKempton over the weekend prior to the sale,with video footage available on the Goffswebsite. The horses can be viewed at theracecourse, where they will parade as they aresold, with a live video link to be shown at TheOrangery and bid-spotters also in place atKempton for any agents who wish to be there.

Family matters for WestlakeThe wait for Frankel’s first foal is over, thoughit’s unlikely that we’ve heard the last ofFrankel fever, which will be inflamed againonce the foal sales start later in the year. Withhis three-parts brother and former lead horseBullet Train ensconced in Kentucky, there’s anintriguing new addition to the stallion ranks

in Britain. Westlake, a ten-year-old half-brother to Frankel’s dam Kind, by Frankel’sgrandsire Sadler’s Wells, has been recruitedby Andrew Spalding’s Hedgeholme Stud inCountry Durham.

A full-brother to Powerscourt, who wonthe Arlington Million and Tattersalls GoldCup, Westlake raced six times for DermotWeld, winning his final three starts to achievea rating of 99. He was part of the Juddmontedraft at the 2008 Tattersalls Horses-in-Training Sale, where he was sold for12,000gns to Qatari owner Abdulaziz AliAbdullah Al Kathiri. He will return toTattersalls on February 6, though this time heis not for sale. Westlake is one of 13 stallionsappearing at the TBA Stallion Parade, whichtakes place on the morning of the FebruarySale (see TBA Forum, page 82).

“We’ve had him here only since Christmasbut he’s a really good-looking horse and I’mlooking forward to showing him to breedersat Tattersalls,” said Spalding, who was madeaware of Westlake by his friend Conrad Allen.

“We decided it was worth giving him achance on pedigree alone and it gives smallerbreeders an opportunity to use thisbloodline.”

Allen, who trains in Newmarket and waspreviously based in Qatar, still operates onbehalf of a number of Qatari owners. He said:“I knew Westlake’s owner as I buy horses forone of his friends. He asked me to look thehorse up and see if there was anything I could

do, and when I did, I thought ‘wow’. Theybought him pre-Frankel and have decided togive him a chance at standing in England.”

Westlake raced a further three times inQatar and has already covered maresprivately, with a small number of yearlingsand foals on the ground in that country.

Racing is just the first chapterAs most racehorses retire before they haveeven reached double digits in age, they willgenerally have plenty of years of active lifeahead, even if not suitable for breedingpurposes. Placing the right horse in the righthome with the right rider is thus one of themost important tasks faced by their ownersand trainers.

Happily, a number of organisations, headedby Retraining of Racehorses (RoR), arededicated to doing just this and many racingyards take it upon themselves to find homesfor their ex-racehorses. One trainer’s wifewho works tirelessly in this cause is PippaBoyle, who set up Jim Boyle’s Ex-Racehorses11 years ago and has rehomed more than 100horses in that time.

While many of us were nursing hangovers,Pippa and a team of four riders and formerracehorses took part in the All The Queen’sHorses parade in London on New Year’s Day.Six-year-olds Isingy Red (Charlotte Bruton)and Regal Approval (Torie Joyce) were joinedby seven-year-old Tatawor (Nat Warren) andled by 21-year-old veteran Law Dancer(Aimee Owsin), with the first three-named allhaving been trained in Epsom by Jim Boyle.

“The parade started at the Ritz and finishedat Parliament Square, and the horses behavedamazingly,” said Pippa. “They found the first100 metres very exciting – the noise, lashingwind and rain – but they soon settled andstood patiently to meet and greet the public.”

And it’s not just young thoroughbreds whocan excel in a second discipline. At the recentRoR/SEIB Racehorse to Riding Horse ShowChampionships, I was delighted to see JackDawson win the Endurance section. Jack wastrained by my husband, John, until the age of10 and won 11 of his 71 races. At 17, heretains the enthusiasm he displayed on theracecourse and has covered 1,500km in‘retirement’ with rider Lorna Kidson.

Goffs goes to town on new venue

63

Our bloodstock coverage this month includes:

• Sales Circuit: Brightwells, Goffs, Keeneland January and Magic Millions – pages 64-69

• The Caulfield Files: The emerging influence of the late Hennessy in Japan – pages 70-71

BREEDERS’ DIGESTBy EMMA BERRY, Bloodstock Editor

Pippa Boyle and her ex-racehorse teamoutside the gates of Buckingham Palace

Feb_114_Bloodstock_Intro_Owner 17/01/2014 15:19 Page 63


Brightwells December Sale, Cheltenham

Brightwells completed a year ofauctioneering at Cheltenham with asale whose figures pushed annual trade

slightly ahead of results achieved in 2012.A smaller catalogue for this sale – thought

to be a reflection of reduced numbers runningin British and Irish point-to-points and dryweather throughout November leading tofirm going – was a factor which contributedto a drop in aggregate on the night, but the£1,569,000 which went through the till took2013 turnover by Brightwells at Cheltenhamto £11,561,500.

That was a narrow £28,200 up on thefigure posted 12 months earlier, although ithad leapt 27%, and so consolidation was agood result. Annual clearance of 71% (324horses offered and 230 sold) was not to besniffed at, while an average price of £50,267was a fine advertisement to place beforevendors ahead of sales during 2014.

If pinhookers can find a handsome, scopeygelding and train him to win a point-to-point,bumper or maiden hurdle then the rightpeople will be at Cheltenham to invest, aswitnessed by the £290,000 sale of Tell UsMore to Harold Kirk on behalf of Irish trainerWillie Mullins. Messrs Henderson and

Form is key at BrightwellsFresh from racecourse success, Tell Us More nears the record price at Cheltenham

SALES CIRCUITBy CARL EVANS and EMMA BERRY

EMM

A B

ERRY

EMM

A B

ERRY

Brightwells December Sale, Cheltenham Top lotsSex/Name Vendor Price (£) Buyer

G Tell Us More (Scorpion-Zara’s Victory) Lingstown Stables 290,000 Harold Kirk

G Mystical Dreamer (Flemensfirth-Voodoo Magic) Willow Stables 160,000 Gordon Elliott

G Racing Europe (Kayf Tara-Titanic Quarter) Kilbarry Lodge Stud 120,000 Tom Malone

G Oficial Ben (Beneficial-Up) Silverfort Stud 120,000 Jonjo O’Neill

G Sir Abbot (Morozov-Paddyeoin) Leighmoney Stables 85,000 Frank Berry

G Tiger Roll (Authorized-Swiss Roll) Thorne Farm Racing 80,000 Mags O’Toole

G Capote (Oscar-Kinsellas Rose) Saundercourt Stables 75,000 Highflyer Bloodstock

G One For Arthur (Milan-Nonnetia) Ballydarragh Stables 60,000 T Malone/L Russell

G Inner Drive (Heron Island-Hingis) Hackness Villa Stables 60,000 Highflyer Bloodstock

G Benzel (Beneficial-Jezel) Silverfort Stud 55,000 Jonjo O’Neill

Five-year taleYear Sold Agg (£) Avg (£) Mdn (£) Top Price (£)

2013 31 1,569,000 50,613 30,000 290,000

2012 39 1,818,600 46,631 26,500 165,000

2011 55 1,672,000 30,400 25,000 75,000

2010 34 899,000 25,853 20,000 75,000

2009 43 1,147,200 26,679 17,000 100,000

>>

Harold Kirk claimed Brightwells’ top lot

Sales-goers in Kentucky for Keeneland’s opener faced beautiful but chilly conditions

Feb_114_Sales_Circuit_Sales 17/01/2014 15:51 Page 64

65THOROUGHBRED OWNER & BREEDER INC PACEMAKER

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Nicholls and their British training colleaguesmust be relieved Mullins merely makes raidson British racecourses and does not operatehere full-time, for the son of Scorpion hasjoined a yard brimming with young talent.

He was teed up for his ring appearance bytrainer Willie Codd on behalf of ownerWilliam Drew, who bought him as a three-year-old for !27,000 at Goffs’ Land Rover(stores) Sale last year. Victory on his point-to-point debut a few days before this auctionwas a tried and trusted route that came goodonce again.

His sale came close to the record at thisvenue, which remains the £310,000 paid forFascino Rustico, who was second for ownerJohn Hales in a novices’ hurdle at Kempton’sChristmas meeting. County Clare’s RonnieO’Leary was the vendor on that occasion, andhe was again in action at this sale, offeringMystical Dreamer, whom he bought for!27,000 at Tattersalls Ireland last year.

O’Leary prefers to tackle British bumpersas a way of showcasing such a horse, and afterthis one, a big gelding who looks ready to


S A L E S C I R C U I T

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Poncha De Leona awaits her turn in the heated pre-parade ring at Keeneland prior to topping the January Sale at $775,000

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Goffs December National Hunt SaleTop lotsSex/Breeding Vendor Price (!) Buyer

C Beneficial-Tanit Lady Shanaville Stables 39,000 Kevin Ross Bloodstock

C Jeremy-Poulkovo Tinnakill House 35,000 Rathmore Stud

C Flemensfirth-Mucho Macabi Grange Stud 30,000 G H Bloodstock

C Presenting-Papoose Quill Farm/Ballincurrig House 30,000 Kevin Ross Bloodstock

C Scorpion-Spring Baloo Grange Hill Stud 30,000 Abbeylands Farm

C Kayf Tara-For More John Kent 30,000 First Of Many

C Gold Well-Musicienne Jamestown Consignment 29,000 Rathmore Stud

C Robin Des Champs-Roli Flight Ethel Browne 29,000 Rathmore Stud

C Robin Des Champs-Liss Agragh Five Naughts Stud 29,000 J J Frisby

C Flemensfirth-Kestral Heights Beeches Stud 28,000 John O’Byrne

Five-year taleYear Sold Agg (!) Avg (!) Mdn (!) Top Price (!)

2013 210 1,901,850 9,056 6,500 39,000

2012 169 1,410,950 8,348 5,800 55,000

2011 110 883,850 8,035 5,900 70,000

2010 214 535,300 5,818 3,200 35,000

2009 225 775,000 6,250 3,450 40,000




By ARAKAN, sire of Gr.1 winning 2yo TOORMORE, Gr.3 winning 3yo SRUTHAN, and multiple Gr.2 and Gr.3 winner TRUMPET MAJOR.

2013 Tattersalls December Foal Sale average of 20,755gns.

TOP 5 LOTS IN 2013 SELLING FOR Lot 910: ex Imperialistic, sold for 70,000gnsLot 771: ex Presto Levanter, sold for 30,000gnsLot 507: ex Whirly Dancer, sold for 28,000gnsLot 629: ex Heckle, sold for 24,000gnsLot 809: ex Adaria, sold for !22,000

Some of the industry’s most shrewd judges were among the purchasers of his fi rst foals.

DICKTURPIN


by Arakan - Merrily£4,000 (1st Oct SLF)

Peter & Ross DoyleTattersalls.com

Johnny McKeever

Tattersalls.com

Stephen Hillen

tackle a fence, landed such a race at Sedgefield he was knocked downto Gordon Elliott for £160,000.

Goffs December NH SaleImprovements in all figures at this foal sale – bar the top price – createda pleasing note on which Goffs ended trading in 2013.

A 74% clearance rate (up from 64%) plus rises in average andmedian of 8.5% and 12% respectively were good results, and, while anadditional 18 weanlings went through the ring, a 34% gain in turnoverwas another substantial plus.

The sales company hopes to convert this one-day sale into a two-dayevent, and, given the demand for three-year-old National Hunt stores,many of whom come from auctions such as this, its ambition couldsoon be achieved.

Kevin Ross was the buyer to follow, for he not only took the top lot– a !39,000 son of Beneficial – but also the leading filly, a !25,000daughter of Yeats. These two Ross purchases had won red rosettes asthe leading colt and filly at the previous day’s foal show.

Sisters to Hurricane Fly and Oscar Whisky were represented by foalswho made !30,000 apiece.

KeenelandJanuary Horses Of All Ages SaleKeeneland’s January fixture is often held with snow on the ground but few sales-goers will have endured quite such challengingconditions as those experienced for the first two sessions of the four-day fixture, with the wind chill factor bringing the temperature downto around -25F.

The icy blasts did little to affect the warmth of trade in the ring,however, with Much Macho Man’s dam Ponche De Leona leading theway when sold to Grand National-winning owner Betty Moran for$775,000.

The 15-year-old grey daughter of Ponche was sold in foal toWinStar’s Distorted Humor and she has a two-year-old full-brother toher Breeders’ Cup Classic-winning son to race for her this season.

She was one of three mares to reach the three-quarters of a millionmark, with the dual graded stakes producer Life Happened, carrying

Unbridled Belle is off to Japan after being sold for $400,000

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to the late Harlan’s Holiday, holding swayearly when selling to Jason Litt for $750,000only an hour into the sale.

She was joined at that figure by SweeterStill, a Rock Of Gibraltar half-sister toKingsbarns, offered in foal to the Racing PostTrophy winner’s sire, Galileo. In fact, she wasthe only mare in the catalogue with a Galileocover and is now the property of PhyllisWyeth, having been bought on her behalf byBraxton and Damian Lynch of Royal OakFarm. Sweeter Still is one of a number ofmares selected by the couple to visit Wyeth’shomebred stallion Union Rags, the BelmontStakes winner who is standing his secondseason at Lane’s End Farm.

Craig Bernick, President of Glen Hill Farm,picked up two of the ten best-selling mares atKeeneland when going to $425,000 to securePoule d’Essais des Pouliches winner Flotilla’shalf-sister Louvakhova and $300,000 for theunraced Dynaformer mare Rietondale, thedam of Grade 1 runner-up Stormy Len. GlenHill Farm has already enjoyed a Grade 2victory in 2014 with the success of War Frontfilly Pontchatrain in the Monrovia Stakes onthe first day of the Keeneland Sale, and thenew purchases will eventually join thebroodmare band at the Florida farm whichwas established by Bernick’s grandfather, theAlberto VO5 founder Leonard Lavin.

It was the first time since 2009 that the salehad not recorded a seven-figure transaction,but the 2014 median of $20,000 was also thehighest throughout that period, indicating thegood depth to the market. Several notablewithdrawals, plus the absence of a dispersalto match last year’s 78-strong Fares Farmconsignment, which brought more than $7million, hit the overall figures for the sale –which last year saw a top price of $1.45m fora yearling Street Sense half-sister to Fillies’Mile winner Certify, while Grade 1 winnerNereid led the mares at $1.3m. Vendors and

industry observers alike, however, will havetaken heart from a strong clearance rate of80% and solid demand for mares and ‘short’yearlings in the six-figure price range.

Top of the youngsters was a colt byAmerica’s newly-crowned champion sireKitten’s Joy, who fetched $235,000 to a bidfrom Philip Blake

A number of European buyers braved theKentucky cold – though some only got as faras Chicago and found themselves strandedwhen connecting flights were cancelled in thesnowstorm – and those on the buyers’ sheet

included Tom Goff of Blandford Bloodstock,who bid $165,000 for a yearling filly by Arch.

Haruya Yoshida of Japan’s Oiwake Farmwas represented by his son Masahi, whosethree six-figure purchases were headed byGrade 1 winner Unbridled Belle, in foal toBernardini, at $400,000.

“As in November, during January we sawextraordinary demand for broodmares, which signals that horsemen are making along-term commitment to the industry,”commented Keeneland’s Director of SalesGeoffrey Russell.

Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling SaleTop lotsSex/Breeding Vendor Price (A$) Buyer

C Redoute’s Choice-Hades Newhaven Park 1,000,000 Jon Kelly/Gai Waterhouse

F Fastnet Rock-Headway Milburn Creek 700,000 Tom Magnier

C More Than Ready-Polaway Newhaven Park 600,000 Ellerslie Lodge/Bryce Heys

C Northern Meteor-Ms Bowie Musk Creek Farm 525,000 Gai Waterhouse/James Harron B/s

C Lonhro-Noesis Willow Park Stud 520,000 Sun Bloodstock

F Redoute’s Choice-Luna Bella Arrowfield Stud 500,000 James Harron Bloodstock

F Fastnet Rock-Fleur De’here Newgate Farm 460,000 Chris Waller

F Fastnet Rock-Zavana Baramul Stud 450,000 C C Lai

C More Than Ready-Ringa Ringa Rosie Rothwell Park 450,000 Boomer Bloodstock

C Star Witness- Pachanga Glenlogan Park 450,000 James Harron Bloodstock

F Fastnet Rock-Native Song Three Bridges T’breds 450,000 Matchem Racing

Five-year taleYear Sold Agg (A$) Avg (A$) Mdn (A$) Top Price (A$)

2014 521 75,082,500 144,112 120,000 1,000,000

2013 497 67,677,500 136,172 105,000 1,350,000

2012 492 62,570,000 127,175 100,000 960,000

2011 503 62,575,000 124,403 90,000 1,150,000

2010 515 66,640,500 129,399 95,000 925,000

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Keeneland January Horses Of All Ages SaleTop lotsName (Sire) Consignor Purchaser Price ($)

Ponche De Leona (Ponche) Blake-Albina T’Bred Services Brushwood Stable 775,000

Life Happened (Stravinsky) Select Sales, Agent Solis/Litt 750,000

Sweeter Still (Rock Of Gibraltar) Eaton Sales Royal Oak Farm 750,000

Louvakhova (Maria’s Mon) Hill ‘n’ Dale Sales Glen Hill Farm 425,000

Unbridled Belle (Broken Vow) Hill ‘n’ Dale Sales Haruya Yoshida 400,000

Patti’s Regal Song (Unbridled’s Song) Paramount Sales River Bend Farm 325,000

Lady Kierkegaard (Arch) Winter Quarter Farm Fleetwood Bloodstock 310,000

Rietondale (Dynaformer) Mill Ridge Sales Glen Hill Farm 300,000

Heavenly Pride (Sky Mesa) Taylor Made Sales Chadds Ford Stable 290,000

Liam’s Dream (Saint Liam) Lisa & Tim Turney Three Chimneys Farm 290,000

Five-year taleYear Sold Agg ($) Avg ($) Mdn ($) Top Price ($)

2014 1,027 41,025,700 39,947 20,000 775,000

2013 1,105 45,207,300 40,912 15,000 1,450,000

2012 1,003 37,991,900 37,878 15,000 1,400,000

2011 1,021 25,250,350 24,731 7,500 1,400,000

2010 982 23,895,100 24,333 8,000 1,085,000

Four Star Sales made two ‘warm rooms’from converted stables at Keeneland




PASTORALPURSUITS


SIRE OF 24 INDIVIDUAL TWO YEAR OLD WINNERS IN 2013 AND A WINNERS/RUNNERS STRIKE RATE OF 41% WITH HIS EUROPEAN 2YO’S OF 2013. 23.12.13

VENTURA MIST Won Totepool 2yo Trophy, L.; 3rd Firth of Clyde Stakes, Gr.3; 2nd Bet365 Empress Stakes, L. LILBOURNE LASS 3rd St Hugh’s Stakes, L., and winner of over £68,000 AL MUTHANA 2nd Prix de Cabourg Jockey Club de Turquie Gr.3

2013 Doncaster Premier Sale yearling averages of over 5 times his 2011 stud fee, and sire of 3 Lots selling for more than 11 times his 2011 stud fee:

Lot 201: ex Sheer Indulgence, sold for £100,000Lot 340: ex Ashes, sold for £100,000Lot 248: ex Talampaya, sold for £80,000

“We’ve been lucky with the sire – Lilbourne Lass has won 3 this year and Auld Burns won the Tattersalls Sales Race for us; and this colt is the best physical specimen we’ve seen all day”. Ross Doyle, EBN 28.08.13, purchaser of Lot 201

by Bahamian Bounty - Star£4,500 (1st Oct SLF)

“It’s very healthy to see buyers competing for broodmares at all strataof the market. And it’s very encouraging to see major investors comingto central Kentucky to establish their American breeding and racingprogrammes.”

Magic MillionsGold Coast Yearling SaleViewed from a wet and windy corner of Northern Europe, Australia’sGold Coast seems particularly appealing in early January, and it proveda honeypot for bloodstock buyers who attended this annual auction ofyearlings.

A catalogue of 663 youngsters was put together for the upper-tierBook 1 of the sale and it achieved a clearance rate of 87%, which wasnot only very good but up on last year’s 83% figure. Turnover rose by11%, while the average and median shifted upwards by 6% and 14%respectively.

The full figures, which can be seen on the accompanying table, werea fine result for Magic Millions, whose Managing Director Vin Cox said:“They are a beautiful set of numbers, they really are.”

One round number, A$1,000,000, was the sum paid for the sale-topper, a Redoute’s Choice colt knocked down to Californian Jon Kelly,who is a familiar face at European auctions. This was a case of Jon Kellyand his wife Sarah buying from John Kelly and his wife Sarah – thelatter pair of Kellys run Newhaven Park, which consigned the yearling.

Australian trainer Gai Waterhouse will handle his future, and shewas also the leading buyer during this part of the sale, spendingA$8,235,000 on 39 lots in partnership with James Harron Bloodstock.

Second on the list of high-priced buys was a filly by Coolmore Stud’sFastnet Rock, who fell to Tom Magnier with a valuation of A$700,000.She was one of several paternal half-sisters who featured among thetop-ten buys.

Redoute’s Choice and Fastnet Rock, two stallions who shuttle toFrance and Ireland respectively, filled the top two slots on the leadingsires’ table by average.

Yearlings being readied to face the cold in Kentucky

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70

When you think of Japan’s breedingindustry, the name Sunday Silenceis overwhelmingly dominant.

After all, nine sons of this great stallion rankedin the top dozen sires in Japan in 2013, withDeep Impact taking his second championship.

Surely the time is going to come whenJapanese breeders will need alternativebloodlines and one possible option may comevia the unexpected form of another – verydifferent – American stallion. The one I have inmind is Storm Cat’s son Hennessy, who died ofheart failure at the age of 14 in 2007 while onshuttle duty in Argentina. In a peripatetic career,Hennessy had also stood one season in Japanand three in Australia, in addition to his yearsat Ashford Stud in Kentucky.

Hennessy had raced only at two, when hematched some of the achievements of his sireStorm Cat, such as finishing a close second inthe Breeders’ Cup Juvenile and earning a weightof 124lb on the Experimental Free Handicap.However, he bettered his sire in some areas.After narrowly losing his first start, Hennessyreeled off four wins by a total of 25 lengths,including impressive victories in the Grade 2

Hollywood Juvenile Championship, Grade 2Sapling Stakes and Grade 1 Hopeful Stakes.

An injury ended Hennessy’s career after nineraces, before he could run at three, so we wereleft in the dark as to how he would haveprogressed or how far he would have stayed.The chances are, though, that he wouldn’t havestayed much beyond the 8.5 furlongs of hisnarrow Breeders’ Cup Juvenile defeat.

His stallion career largely celebrated his abilityto pass on his speed, often coupled with hisprecocious juvenile talent. We were remindedof this a few years after his death, when hisdaughter Special Duty won the Prix RobertPapin and Cheveley Park Stakes as a prelude to her ‘victories’ in the English and French 1,000 Guineas.

Hennessy’s 2001 season in Japan suppliedhim with a Grade 1 winner, Sunrise Bacchus,winner of the February Stakes over a dirt mile,and now Japan is the permanent home of twoof his most accomplished northern hemispheresons in Johannesburg and Henny Hughes.

Johannesburg never quite showed the samebrilliance as a sire that had made him such anexceptional two-year-old. How many juveniles

manage to become a Group 1 winner in twocountries, let alone four, as Johannesburg didby winning the Phoenix Stakes, Prix Morny,Middle Park Stakes and Breeders’ Cup Juvenile?Even though he has proved less effective as astallion he still managed to sire a magnificenttotal of ten Group/Graded winners in his firstcrop. It could be significant that two of theseten – Scat Daddy and Teuflesberg – have siredfirst-crop Grade 1 winners, while another of

CAULFIELD FILESANDREW CAULFIELD REPORTS ON THE BLOODSTOCK WORLD

Johannesburg is now in Japan, where his sire Hennessy served a season

Emerging lineHennessy influence could prove to be useful in Japan

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When Top Ville’s son Pistolet Bleu died at 13in 2001, after covering 325 thoroughbredmares in his first season as part of Coolmore’sNational Hunt squad, I guessed that would bethe end of his male line. After all, his presencein Ireland was partly a result of hisdisappointing results as a sire of Flat horses inFrance (and partly a response to the excellentresults achieved by his own jumping stockand that of other sons of Top Ville).

A winner of the Criterium de Saint-Cloudand Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud, Pistolet Bleuwas to prove a major loss to the Irish industry,judging by a legacy which featured the likesof Sizing Europe, Cappa Bleu, Merigo, Geos,Katarino, Vodka Bleu, Snap Tie, Copper Bleu,Seven Is My Number, Parsons Pistol,I’msingingtheblues and Ramses Bleu.

Fortunately, France’s jumping trainers donot automatically geld their horses andconsequently two sons of Pistolet Bleu wererepresented by stakes-winning jumpers inDecember. The better known of the two is the

Devon-based Arvico, whose son ArvikaLigeonniere recorded his fourth Grade 1success over fences when he took thePunchestown Chase. Arvico had won all threeof his starts over hurdles in France, havingearlier scored five times on the Flat.

The other son of Pistolet Bleu to make hismark in December was the French-basedBalko. Born in 2001, Balko raced exclusivelyover jumps, winning nine of his 19 starts. Hissix successes over hurdles included a Grade 2at Auteuil and he also won two importantchases on the same track, including the Grade2 Prix Congress.

Balko’s first foals were born in 2008 andamong them are Fago, a familiar namefollowing his very useful victories at Newburyand Haydock; Michto, a Grade 3 winner overfences at Auteuil; and Walk Sibo, a Listedwinner over jumps at Cagnes-sur-Mer inDecember.

Balko also scored with the ex-French GitaneDu Berlais, an impressive all-the-way winner

of a Listed juvenile hurdle at Aintree. This talented filly could just be the tip of the icebergfor her sire, as Balko has some sizeable cropsin the pipeline, withnearly 70 two-year-oldsthis year and a similarnumber ofyearlings.Make a noteof his name.

Pistolet keeps firing through his sons Arvico and Balko

Gitane DuBerlais lookspromising forBalko

Feb_114_Caulfield_Owner Breeder 17/01/2014 15:20 Page 70


them – Sageburg – has a first-crop Group 2winner. Scat Daddy has also sired the excitingNo Nay Never from his second crop. For goodmeasure, Johannesburg’s ten first-cropGroup/Graded winners included the very fastfilly La Traviata, already the dam of Middle ParkStakes winner Crusade.

It was announced in October 2009 thatJohannesburg had been sold to Japan, so his firstJapanese crop reached the races in 2013.Despite being smaller than those of some of hishigh-profile rivals, this crop did well enough toearn Johannesburg fourth place among Japan’sjuvenile sires.

His 30 winners were led by Fukuno Dream,a Listed winner on turf and dirt, and HoraiAkiko, who established herself among the bestof her sex with three wins from four starts,including the Grade 3 Kokura Nisai Stakes andthe Grade 2 Daily Hai Nisai Stakes. Althoughtechnically not a first-season sire, Johannesburghas been included in this category and toppedthe table by a sizeable margin.

It will be fascinating to see whether theseresults restore breeders’ faith in Johannesburg,as it seems that the Japanese quickly lost interestin him. The Japanese Stud Book credits himwith only 28 foals in 2012 and 14 in 2013.

Henny Hughes is another whose career hashad some peaks and troughs. At his best he wasa top-notch sprinter, but sprinters tend not tobe highly prized by American breeders andHenny Hughes initially did little to counteractthis prejudice.

Having started at $40,000, his fee was soonin freefall, to the extent that he was available at$12,500 in 2012. He managed to attract only22 mares that season, so it came as little surprisewhen Darley sold him to Western Australia inJuly 2012.

The perverse world of racing and breedingthen played one of its tricks. By the end of 2012Henny Hughes ranked second among NorthAmerica’s leading sires of two-year-olds, thankslargely to his champion daughter Beholder. Innext to no time he was heading back toKentucky for the 2013 season.

Even though Beholder was busily adding toher reputation with victories in the Grade 1 LasVirgenes Stakes and Grade 1 Santa Anita Oaks(and ultimately the Breeders’ Cup Distaff),Henny Hughes wasn’t rushed off his feet,despite his modest $7,500 fee. The next stop onhis itinerary proved to be Japan, as he was soldto the Yushun Company in October.

This latest move was prompted by thesuccess of a couple of Henny Hughes’s sons.The first, Henny Hound, became a Grade 3winner over six furlongs in 2011. Then KeiaiLeone won one of Japan’s top dirt tests for two-year-olds in 2012, before developing into aGrade 3 dirt winner at three.

Yushun Company has every reason to bedelighted with their purchase, as Japan’s toptwo-year-old prize, the Asahi Hai Futurity inmid-December, was won by Asia Express, aFlorida-bred son of Henny Hughes.

Bought for $230,000 at Ocala in March 2013,Asia Express is now unbeaten in three starts.After winning his first two starts on dirt atTokyo, he adapted very well to turf in the Asahi

Hai Futurity, and ended 2013 as the top-ratedjuvenile in Japan.

It will be interesting to see whether a son ofHenny Hughes has sufficient stamina for theJapanese colts’ Classics, the shortest of which isover a mile and a quarter. It could be in hisfavour that his broodmare sire, Running Stag,was a Group winner over a mile and a quarterin France and the US.

The continuing misfortune suffered by TheFugue in the Group 1 Hong Kong Vasetended to divert attention from theunexpected winner, the ex-EnglishDominant. While some might argue thatDominant had luck on his side in beating theEnglish-trained daughter of Dansili, itmustn’t be forgotten that Dominant alsoaccounted for such seasoned internationalperformers as Dunaden and Red Cadeaux.The irony of the result was that Dansili’sdaughter had been outpointed by a son ofDansili’s brother Cacique.

Dominant was last seen in England inJuly 2011, when he started favourite, onthe strength of his victory in the £150,000Tattersalls Millions 3-Y-O Cup, to beat theredoubtable Twice Over in the Group 2York Stakes. Although Dominant wasn’tquite up to the task, he earned a Timeformrating of 115p.

He was by no means the only highly ratedcolt from Cacique’s first crop. Census,winner of the Geoffrey Freer Stakes, wasrated 120, while Mutual Trust was given afigure of 122 on the strength of his victory inthe Prix Jean Prat. The Listed winnerSlumber also did well, with a rating of 116.

This collection of smart performers wouldhave been admirable enough in anycircumstances. However, they came from acrop which numbered just over 30, because

of the fertility issues which had beset Caciquein his first season. These problems becamemore pronounced in Cacique’s secondseason, which resulted in only a handful offoals. However, one of them was Canticum,whose victory in the Group 2 PrixChaudenay suggested he was a very smartstayer in the making. Unfortunately thispromising colt died soon afterwards.

It is worth pointing out that the dams ofCanticum, Census and Slumber neverraced and that Dominant’s dam didn’t winuntil the 13th attempt. Even Mutual Trust’sdam, Posteritas, was rated no higher than91, even though she was a Listed winner.

The magnitude of Cacique’sachievements demanded that he bepersevered with and veterinary studyhelped establish a workable managementsystem. So, after two blank years, Caciquewas back in action in 2012. He justified allthe hard work by achieving 80% fertilityand he was similarly successful withanother limited book in 2013.

This resurrection of his career is all themore welcome in view of Dominant’s Group1 win. With Dansili continuing to provehimself one of the world’s elite stallions andtheir youngest brother Champs Elyseesshowing plenty of promise, we have theunusual prospect of all three brothers beingmajor assets to the British industry.

Cacique’s fertility battle worth the fight

Dominant became Cacique’s second Group 1 winner with victory in Hong Kong

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Feb_114_Caulfield_Owner Breeder 17/01/2014 15:20 Page 71


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73

Purses peak but what about race values? Richard Wayman believes that minimum values have fallen behind where they should be

With just about everymajor meeting towardsthe end of last yearhaving beaten theweather, total prize-money in 2013 endedup higher thanpreviously forecasted at£114.2 million. Thisexceeded the previous

high of £110.5m in 2009 with, in betweenthose years, prize-money dropping sharply to£93.9m in 2011 before recovering to £97.8min 2012.

Last year’s £16.4m increase was largely theresult of the Levy Board increasing its prize-money budget by £12.1m, with the rest of thegrowth coming from racecourses (£2.5m) andowners’ stakes (£1.8m). The latter tends toincrease as prize-money rises as the entry feefor a race is usually set as a fixed percentage ofthe race’s prize-money.

As has been reported in previous months,a further increase in prize-money is expectedthis year to around £123m. This is partly asa result of the contractual prize-moneyagreements signed with 39 supportiveracecourses and, also, the latest levysettlement, which included an additionalvoluntary contribution of £4.5m from thefour largest retail bookmakers.

The prize-money agreements haveestablished the crucial link between the mediarights income received by the tracks and theirtotal contribution to prize-money, but theywere never intended to dictate how this

contribution is allocated across fixtures. Rather, it is the minimum values set out in

the Rules of Racing that provide themechanism for dealing with prize-money at anindividual race level. The values that will applyin 2014 are, with one or two minor exceptions,unchanged from last year and, in most cases,much lower than several years ago.

The current race classification on the Flatwas introduced in 2005 when prize-moneytotalled £98.6m. As the following table shows,nine years later, races at Class 2 and below canbe run for less despite the fact that total prize-money will be around £25m higher.

Lack of space prevents me from providingthe same analysis for jump racing but it showsa similar picture with, for example, theminimum value for a 0-115 handicap chase

having fallen from £8,000 in 2005 to £5,800in 2014.

Now, of course, we have to acknowledgethat some things have changed during theintervening period, not least that the fixturelist has expanded significantly from 1,349 to1,464 fixtures. The vast majority of thegrowth in fixtures is accounted for by theintroduction of floodlit twilight meetingsfrom September through to April; 102 ofthese are programmed for 2014 and withprize-money of at least £30,000 per fixture,twilight fixtures would account for between£3-4m of the increase in total prize-money.

I can only conclude that, even after takingthe additional fixtures into account, the currentsituation is illogical – total prize-money ishigher than it has ever been and yet minimumvalues are often a long way short of where theywere.

Of course, these lower values suit thoseracecourses who now enjoy much moreflexibility when allocating their prize-moneybudgets. Indeed, the scale of this flexibility isillustrated by the fact that if every race was runat its minimum value in 2014, total prize-money would be around £80m rather than theforecasted £123m.

It obviously doesn’t work anywhere near sowell for owners, particularly those with horsesoperating at the lower levels of the raceprogramme, who can win a race but take homeprize-money that doesn’t get close to coveringthe month’s training bill.

The numbers speak for themselves and thesituation needs addressing.

ROA FORUM www.racehorseowners.netThe special section for ROA members


Race Type 2005 2014

Group 1 £200,000 £200,000

Group 2 £90,000 £90,000

Group 3 £50,000 £60,000

Listed £28,000 £37,000

Class 2 £20,000 £19,000

Class 3 £14,000 £11,500

Class 4 £10,000 £7,250

Class 5 £5,000 £4,000

Class 6 £3,500 £3,000

Flat Race Values

The ROA will once again have an exclusivefacility for members and their guests forthe four days of the Cheltenham Festival,March 11-14.

This year the ROA marquee is in a newlocation, albeit remaining in the tentedvillage but situated much closer to thepaddock.

The facilities will be similar to previousyears, providing a comfortable base withtelevision viewing, a cash bar, hot andcold food available to purchase andunreserved seating. In addition, membersand their guests can enjoy complimentary

tea or coffee on arrival.The ROA marquee is always a popular

meeting point at the Festival, and we hopeto see many of our returning members andwelcome new visitors and guests to thenew facility next month.

Rates for members and their guests,which remain excellent value, are asfollows:

Daily rate Weekly rate

Members £30 £85Guests £40 £125

As usual, admission to the ROAmarquee does not provide admission intothe racecourse itself, and members andguests will require admission badges to getinto the course. Admission badges can bepurchased directly through Cheltenhamracecourse either online atcheltenham.co.uk or by calling0844 579 3003.

Bookings for the ROA marquee can bemade online at racehorseowners.net or bycalling the ROA office on 020 7152 0200.Marquee badges regularly sell out so ordernow to avoid disappointment.

Exclusive marquee at the Cheltenham Festival

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We are thrilled to announce a valuablenew benefit for ROA members withthe introduction of the ROA

Owners Jackpot in association with the RacingPost.

At the ROA we are constantly striving to addto the package of benefits offered to owners and,following feedback fromthe survey of ROAmembers at the end oflast year, we arelaunching a bonusscheme that will return£120,000 to membersthis year.

Starting at Leicester onThursday, February 13,the ROA OwnersJackpot will providebonus payments tosuccessful ROA members at a Jackpot Fixtureeach month, where bonuses totalling £10,000will be on offer.

At each of these meetings, ROA membersowning an eligible winner will receive bonusesof at least £1,500, and possibly as much as£10,000, depending on how many other eligiblewinners there are on the same card. The bonuspayments will be made in addition to theadvertised prize-money and will be paid out bythe ROA to our members.

The ROA Owners Jackpot has been designedto support those members operating atgrassroots levels where the financial returns areat their most dire. The Jackpot Fixtures havebeen selected to ensure an even spread acrossBritain as well as between codes.

The racecourses staging the fixtures areamong the 39 tracks thatmade their commitmentto owners by signingprize-money agreementswith the Horsemen’sGroup, establishing acontractual link betweentheir media rightsincome and their owncontributions to prize-money.

The ROA isparticularly grateful to

the Racing Post for its support of the scheme. Lastyear’s members’ survey showed just how muchowners value the Racing Post and its unrivalledcoverage of British racing.

As well as being displayed by the Racing Postand in the pages of the ROA Forum, details ofthe Jackpot Fixtures will be shown in BHApublications, including the Racing Calendar, andwe look forward to ROA members targetingtheir horses towards the Jackpot Fixtures in thehope of securing a significant bonus payout.

“This injection ofbonus payments willbe very well receivedby ROA members”

Bruce Millington, Racing Post Editor

ROA launch Owners Jackpotwith £120,000

up for grabsExciting new initiative will enable members to win individual bonuses of up to £10,000

ROA OwnersJackpot: howit worksAt each of the Jackpot Fixtures,the ROA will make bonuspayments totalling £10,000.These will be shared betweenROA members who own aneligible winning horse at themeeting.

If only one race at a JackpotFixture is won by an eligiblewinner, the ROA memberconcerned would receive theentire £10,000. Alternatively, ifthere are four eligible winners,each would receive £2,500.Irrespective of the number ofwinners, there will be a minimumbonus payment of £1,500guaranteed.

To be eligible, a horse must beowned entirely by an ROAmember or:lIn the case of a Joint Ownership,

owned at least 51% by ROAmembers;

lIn the case of a RacingPartnership, both NominatedPartners must be ROA members

The full terms and conditions ofthe ROA Owners Jackpot aredisplayed on the ROA website atracehorseowners.net


Feb_114_ROA_Forum-Jackpot2_Owner 17/01/2014 16:37 Page 74


Date Racecourse Code

Thursday, February 13 Leicester Jump

Wednesday, February 26 Wincanton Jump

Friday, March 28 Wetherby Jump

Tuesday, April 29 Nottingham Flat

Thursday, May 29 Haydock Park Flat

Tuesday, June 10 Salisbury Flat

Thursday, July 17 Hamilton Park Flat

Friday, August 29 Sandown Park Flat

Wednesday, September 17 Beverley Flat

Friday, October 10 Newton Abbot Jump

Thursday, November 6 Fakenham Jump

Friday, December 12 Bangor-On-Dee Jump

ROA Owners Jackpot Fixtures 2014

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www.racehorseowners.net

Lady Cobham (above, right) says theOwners Jackpot will mean more competitiveracing while Janet Davies (below, right) wona Sunday Bonus payment and will nowtarget ROA Owners Jackpot Fixtures

What they say...

Richard Wayman, ROA ChiefExecutive: “We are always looking toextend our package of benefits andfeedback from members, especiallythose operating at the lower end of thescale, is that the chance to win bonusprizes is very welcome.”

Bruce Millington, Editor of theRacing Post: “We are delighted to besupporting the ROA Owners Jackpotinitiative, which rewards owners at the grassroots level of the industry.There are already a host of excellent benefits available to membersof the ROA but this injection of bonus payments will be very wellreceived.”

Janet Davies, BHA Sunday Bonusrecipient: “We wouldn’t have run if ithad not been for the attraction of theBHA Sunday Bonus, and I will certainlybe targeting the ROA Owners JackpotFixtures this year.”

Lady Cobham, an ROA member forover 25 years: “Not only will the ROA Owners Jackpot be attractive toowners, but it is also good for racegoers, who will see more runnersand competitive sport than would have been the case without this boost.”

Come and meet the ROA!ROA regional meetings provide ROAmembers with the opportunity to hearfrom Council members and staff onlatest developments within the industryand, crucially, to provide their ownopinions to the ROA team.

The first regional meeting of 2014will be staged at the ROA JackpotFixture at Wetherby on Friday, March28, where guests will be welcomed withdrinks and lights refreshments an hourbefore racing.

ROA members who live in the areawill receive an invitation to attend, butother members are welcome to join us.Places are limited so anybody wishingto attend should contact Keely Breweron 020 7152 0200 or [email protected]

Feb_114_ROA_Forum-Jackpot2_Owner 17/01/2014 16:37 Page 75


ROA FORUM

Kauto Star provided connections withmany magical moments, and the racethat honours him at Kempton on

Boxing Day witnessed one such for winningowner Liz Prowting.

Annacotty’s win in the Kauto Star Novices’Chase – previously the Feltham – provided herwith a first Grade 1 success after 27 years ofracehorse ownership and ROA membership.

Happily, it was far from her only great dayon the racetrack, and Prowting was quick tomention a cherished victory at Newbury adozen years earlier.

“My best and most amazing win was in theMandarin Chase with our homebredWindross,” she says. “It was a great surprise toall of us. Alan King and I stood there with ourmouths open. And we both just burst intotears. Alan said he so wanted to win a goodrace for me. You could say my magicalmoment was a Mandarin moment!”

Prowting came within three-quarters of alength of winning the same race again inDecember, when her Faultless Feelings wasdenied by Financial Climate. The winner’strainer Oliver Sherwood said he regretted itwas Prowting’s horse that his had beaten.

“I was clapping his horse and he came overand said that, which was very nice of him –but typical of the people you get in jumpracing, a lot of them are such good value,”Prowting says.

Two days earlier at Kempton it was othersclapping her winner, Annacotty. “It was nice towin a Grade 1 certainly, and he was only a five-year-old taking on older horses,” saysProwting, “and it was Martin’s first Grade 1winner too.”

The ‘Martin’ is trainer Keighley, who rodeProwting’s first homebred winner, Air Shot, atChepstow in 1994.

“They then won at Bangor but on the thirdstart they were second at Worcester, and David[Nicholson] gave Martin an almightybollocking,” recalls Prowting. “He’s neverforgotten it and still talks about it with me tothis day!”

The Duke was Prowting’s first trainer, theowner saying of her background: “I startedriding when I was five and when I left schoolwent to work in a hunting yard. I’ve prettymuch always worked with and been aroundhorses. One day a great friend rang and said

David Nicholson wanted to train a horse for me.“I said, ‘That’s very nice but I don’t know

him’. I’d never thought about owning aracehorse, and my husband Peter wasn’t tookeen – and he still isn’t; he thinks it a colossalwaste of money – but I went to see him, andthe funny thing was it felt like I had knownhim and Dinah for 100 years.

“David rang a short while later and said he’dfound a horse but that he did not want me tosee it for three weeks while he got it into shape.I said no way, I’m coming tomorrow, and I did.

“That was 1986 and the horse wasWoodside Road, who won six times. That’show it all started.”

Eight horses had represented Prowting thisseason at the time of writing, three trained byKeighley, three by King and one each by PhilipHobbs and Richard Phillips, with LetsbyAvenue and Coyaba winners, along withAnnacotty and Faultless Feelings.

Prowting, who with her husband features inThe Sunday Times Rich List, her other halfhaving been one of the biggest players in theconstruction business, says she seldom missesher horses run and plans to be at Cheltenhamin March, where she may have a runner or two.

“I was once asked by friends in the USwhere I would most like to go on holiday andI replied the Cheltenham Festival,” she says.“They looked at me like I was mad, but it’s myholiday of a lifetime.”

M A G I C A L M O M E N T Swith ROA member Liz Prowting

Annacotty and Ian Popham give owner Liz Prowting (inset) a Grade 1 success in Kempton’s Kauto Star Novices’ Chase

“It was nice to land aGrade 1, however my

best win was in theMandarin Chase”

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What is/was the day job?Very active partner with James in the day-to-dayrunning of JD Bethell!

Why did you get involved in racingpolitics and what do you bring to theROA Council?I know a little and felt it was time to learn moreabout the politics of racing. As a member of theROA Council I will try over the next four yearsto help the ROA in their fight for more prize-money and much higher standards at theracecourses.

I would also like to encourage new andyounger owners into racing and it would alsobe nice to think we could entice morehomegrown owners.

How has your background/upbringing influenced your views?My family had been involved in racing in theChannel Islands, my father an elected memberto the Channel Island Racing and Hunt Club in1958. My sister Jane is married to RobertArmstrong.

How long have you owned horsesand how much success have youhad?I have had horses for around 25 years. I am the

owner of Fossgate and a Trustee in ClarendonThoroughbred Racing, which has owned manysuccessful horses since it was launched in 1997,including more recently Bradbury, Braidley andTrue Pleasure.

Are you involved with any otherracing organisations?I am also a member of the Racing Syndicates &Clubs Association (RSACA).

What do you love/hate about racing?I love the glamour, buzz and people on a goodday’s racing. I hate the subterfuge which seemsto be creeping into our modern day’s racing.

Where would you like the sport to bein five years time?In five years I would like to see the finances inracing used more efficiently and a very muchmore candid approach to drug testing.

Sally Bethell with Fossgate (left) and True Pleasure, trained by her husband James

MEET THE COUNCILSally Bethell wants to see more young people enter ownership

One of the most frustrating situations anowner can experience is the lateabandonment of a race meeting. Thedisappointment of not being able to race iscompounded by the reality that the ownerwill shoulder the considerable costs of gettingtheir horse (and themselves) to theracecourse.

The ROA’s Raceday Curtailment Scheme,provided by Weatherbys Hamilton LLP,provides a payment of £100 to any memberswho own at least 51% of a horse that hadbeen due to run at a meeting that isabandoned after at least the first race hastaken place.

The aim of the scheme is to provide a littlehelp towards meeting some of the costs thatowners are left to pick up in these situations.

Compensation payments wereautomatically triggered on two occasionsduring 2013, at Bath in October and atLingfield in December, when flooding in thejockeys’ changing room and fog forced the

respective race meetings to be abandoned.In each case, a payment of £100 was sentoff by Weatherbys Hamilton to owners ofqualifying horses the day after theabandoned race.

One ROA member, Eric Griffiths, ownerof Prince Of Burma, was unfortunateenough to be affected by both the Bath andLingfield late abandonments. At Lingfield inDecember, one owner had two runnersaffected, and another, Canisbay Bloodstock,had three runners affected, and thoseowners received compensation of £200 and£300 respectively.

Full details and the terms of this schemeand all the other benefits of membershipappear on the ROA website atracehorseowners.net.

ROA BENEFIT IN FOCUS: Raceday Curtailment Scheme

Prince Of Burma: foiled twice in 2013

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ROA FORUM

The ROA Raceday Committee visit all 58British racecourses at least once peryear.!However, they cannot attend everyfixture, and feedback from owners whohave had a runner is therefore a vitalcomponent of the assessments of eachracecourse.

To assist in the collection and collatingof this important data, a new onlinefeedback form has been created on theROA website.!

It will take only a few minutes tocomplete and will provide the RacedayCommittee with much needed additional

information with which to encourageracecourses to provide the best racedayexperience they can.

Members are actively encouraged toprovide feedback using the form, whichis available in the members’ area atracehorseowners.net

Help us to improve your raceday experience

Wincanton add-onsLudlow was one of the 39 racecourses to signa three-year Prize-Money Agreement andthey have now pledged to invest over£400,000 of their own funds towards totalprize-money of £1 million in 2014. With theexception of the two leasehold fixtures stagedat the track, all other meetings will offer totalprizes of at least £60,000, with all races otherthan bumpers and hunter chases worth atleast £6,000.

Ludlow deservedly remains popular withowners and congratulations are due to BobDavies and the rest of his team for theirenlightened approach.

TRACK TALKTHE LATEST NEWS FROM THE UK’S RACECOURSES

Ludlow cash boostPopular West Country track and GoldStandard Award holder Wincanton hasrecently announced an enhancedpackage for winning connections.!

The winning owner will now receivea platter of local Somerset cheesealongside their race trophy, DVD andbottle of champagne. They will alsohave the opportunity to purchase abespoke ink and oil celebratorypainting, from Wincanton’s artist-in-residence, Hannah Fowler.

Ludlow: guarantees £60,000 meetings

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York has announced that it will increaseits prize-money in 2014 to a new recordof over £6 million.

Aside from its self-funded evening inJuly, all remaining racedays have a prizefund of at least £100,000, a feature raceworth at least £25,000 and no contestworth less than £10,000.

The racecourse, which contributedover £2.7m to prize-money from its ownfunds in 2013, will put on the richest raceever staged at York when the Group 1Juddmonte International is run for£800,000 (up £50,000) on August 20.York also stages Europe’s richest Flathandicap, with the Betfred Ebor to be runfor £265,000 (up £15,000).

York to offer prize-money of £6m in 2014

Declaration Of War wins the 2013Juddmonte International, which will be worth £800,000 this year G

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Diary datesand remindersFEBRUARY 13ROA Owners Jackpot DayAt Leicester (see page 74 for details).

FEBRUARY 26ROA Owners Jackpot DayAt Wincanton.

MARCH 11-14ROA marquee at theCheltenham FestivalROA members can book places forthemselves and up to three guests in theROA Marquee, located in a new locationin the tented village (see page 73).

MARCH 28Regional Meeting and ROAOwners Jackpot DayAt Wetherby. To attend the regionalmeeting, please contact the ROA office.

APRIL 29ROA Owners Jackpot DayAt Nottingham.

APRIL 29Free admission to opening day of Punchestown festivalFree admission for ROA members toBoylesports.com Champion Chase day atPunchestown (see adjacent story).

MAY 29Regional Meeting and ROAOwners Jackpot DayAt Haydock Park.

Bookings for all ROA events can be made online at racehorseowners.net or bycalling the ROA on 020 7152 0200.



Many owners question how the total prize-money displayed in the racing pressbecomes the very different amount creditedto their racing account when their horsewins or is placed.

The distribution of prize-money is set outin the Rules of Racing and the exactpercentage of the total prize fund receivedby each successful owner depends on anumber of factors, including whether it is aFlat or jumps race, the type of race and alsothe number of prizes the racecourse isoffering (tracks can choose to offer anythingbetween three and ten prizes).

There are some constant principles,however, including that, collectively, thesuccessful owners in Flat races receive 80%of the total prize-money, with the remaindersplit between trainers 7.85%, jockeys5.77%, stable staff 4.75% and industrycauses 1.63%.

The distribution over jumps is slightlydifferent with owners collectively receiving78.25%, trainers 7.85%, jockeys 7.52%,stable staff 4.75% and industry causes1.63%. The industry causes compriseindustry training, jockeys’ valet attendance,the PJA pension fund and the NationalAssociation of Stable Staff.

An owner’s racing account (which can beeither a Weatherbys Bank account or a BHAaccount) is credited with prize-money 15days after the relevant race, with WeatherbysBank account holders having access to themoney from that time. BHA accountholders, meanwhile, can access the moneyonly at the beginning of the followingmonth.

On the racing account statement, owners’prize-money is split between the amountoriginating from the owners’ entry fees andthe added prize-money from all othersources. This division is for VAT-purposesonly, with VAT added to the latter.

Did you know: Prize-money payments

Flat Jumps

Owner 80 78.25

Trainer 7.85 7.85

Jockey 5.77 7.52

Stable Staff 4.75 4.75

Industry Causes 1.63 1.63

Breakdown of prize-money (%)

Codes of Practice 2014The Horserace Betting Levy Board (HBLB)has published the 36th edition of the Codesof Practice on equine disease, in preparationfor the 2014 equine breeding season.

Applying to all breeds of horse and pony,and to both natural mating and artificialinsemination, the Codes are an essentialguide for the prevention and control ofvarious equine diseases that represent apotential major threat to equine breeding.

Further detail on recent and currentresearch on equine infectious disease isavailable on a new online resource,racehorsehealth.hblb.org.uk, and users cansign up for online news updates.

The 2014 Codes are available online atcodes.hblb.org.uk and can also bedownloaded in PDF format for printing orviewing offline.

The Punchestown festival provides agrand finale to the jump season inIreland, and Punchestown racecourse isonce again generously extending freeadmission to ROA members on the firstday of this year’s festival on April 29,Boylesports.com Champion Chase Day.!

The card features three Grade 1 racesand last year thetrack’s openingday attendancerecord wasbrokenwhen over18,600visitorsflocked to see theimperious SprinterSacre win the featurerace.

Members will be able togain free admission on production of avalid ROA Horseracing Privilege

Photocard at the allocated visitors’turnstile.!The first race is at 3.40pm andthe last race is at 7.15pm.

The festival runs from Tuesday, April29 to Saturday, May 3 and further detailscan be found at punchestown.com

Punchestown ROA offer

Sprinter Sacre:starred on thefirst day of the

2013 festival


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Flat Racecourse League TablePtn Racecourse Ownership Avg racecourse Avg HBLB Avg owner Avg prize- Total no. Total Avg racecourse Up/

spend per spend per spend per money per of fixtures prize-money spend per fixture downfixture (£) fixture (£) fixture (£) fixture (£) (£) 2012 (£)

1 Ascot I 349,480 132,552 178,627 660,659 18 11,891,857 376,146 !2 York I 160,032 105,147 84,648 349,827 17 5,947,060 157,927 "3 Epsom Downs JCR 120,544 71,576 81,087 273,207 12 3,278,480 115,897 "4 Newmarket JCR 91,698 80,576 76,304 249,275 38 9,472,447 84,383 "5 Goodwood I 84,714 75,890 27,928 188,532 19 3,582,104 87,914 !6 Chester I 77,393 44,521 8,364 130,278 15 1,954,165 70,940 "7 Doncaster ARC 54,738 59,046 36,978 151,711 25 3,792,783 57,572 !8 Sandown Park JCR 53,586 54,329 17,531 126,246 18 2,209,306 48,039 "9 Newbury I 46,673 63,275 27,912 140,910 17 2,395,467 45,320 "

10 Haydock Park JCR 41,800 49,022 15,671 107,681 24 2,538,203 35,090 "11 Musselburgh I 31,993 24,856 5,055 63,375 17 1,077,375 26,483 "12 Ayr I 29,569 39,428 10,820 81,138 14 1,135,937 20,344 "13 Pontefract I 28,935 32,701 3,804 66,440 16 1,063,035 18,755 "14 Salisbury I 27,239 28,193 5,408 63,389 15 950,842 25,109 "15 Ripon I 27,030 27,349 4,510 59,671 16 954,732 25,580 "16 Ffos Las I 23,461 9,820 3,081 36,762 8 275,712 22,021 "17 Carlisle JCR 21,280 16,458 4,489 43,591 11 479,500 15,448 "18 Thirsk I 20,943 22,797 5,650 51,757 15 776,350 22,834 !19 Newcastle ARC 20,782 21,439 6,615 51,103 18 919,850 26,320 !20 Windsor ARC 20,262 19,189 4,735 45,080 26 1,172,086 16,451 "21 Kempton Park JCR 20,202 14,786 4.735 40,408 88 3,555,911 16,389 "22 Leicester I 18,719 19,612 4,932 44,564 20 891,280 14,628 "23 Beverley I 17,864 21,001 3,108 43,988 20 879,760 13,214 "24 Hamilton Park I 17,024 22,944 3,448 43,750 18 787,500 20,764 !25 Nottingham JCR 16,842 24,029 5,815 49,491 18 890,845 13,222 "26 Warwick JCR 15,897 21,236 3,926 41,469 11 456,158 22,120 !27 Catterick Bridge I 15,840 18,099 2,733 39,172 17 665,925 13,267 "28 Redcar I 15,226 18,507 13,843 49,877 15 748,150 13,484 "29 Lingfield Park ARC 15,199 19,908 3,009 39,530 94 3,704,514 12,771 "30 Bath ARC 14,678 14,970 2,853 32,951 20 659,018 18,037 !31 Yarmouth ARC 12,327 19,900 3,089 35,605 26 925,725 11,967 "32 Wolverhampton ARC 12,228 15,627 2,473 31,846 115 3,662,249 11,003 "33 Chepstow ARC 10,464 14,790 2,761 29,016 15 435,235 9,452 "34 Southwell ARC 9,435 16,824 1,932 29,124 41 1,194,096 9,862 !

Jumps Racecourse League Table

EXPLANATION

The tables set out theaverage prize-money ateach fixture staged by aracecourse over the last12 months. They showhow this is made up of thethree sources of prize-money:1. Racecourses’

contribution2. Levy Board (HBLB)3. Owners

The tables also confirmthe number of fixturesstaged and the totalamount of prize-moneypaid out by eachracecourse throughout thisperiod.

The racecourses areordered by the averageamount of their owncontribution to prize-money at each fixture. Thiscontribution originatesfrom various sourcesincluding media rights,admission revenues andracecourse sponsors.

If a racecourse hasincreased its averagecontribution at eachfixture compared with theprevious 12 months, itreceives a green ‘up’arrow. If its averagecontribution has fallen,however, it receives a red‘down’ arrow.

As these tables arebased on the prize-moneypaid out by eachracecourse, theabandonment of a majorfixture could distort aracecourse’s performance.

OWNERSHIP KEY

JCR Jockey Club Racecourses

ARC Arena Racing Company

I Independently owned racecourse

Gold Standard Award

Ptn Racecourse Ownership Avg racecourse Avg HBLB Avg owner Avg prize- Total no. Total Avg racecourse Up/spend per spend per spend per money per of fixtures prize-money spend per fixture downfixture (£) fixture (£) fixture (£) fixture (£) (£) 2012 (£)

1 Aintree JCR 232,451 126,319 66,206 424,977 8 3,399,812 231,612 "2 Cheltenham JCR 228,095 115,449 60,723 404,267 15 6,064,012 216,280 "3 Ascot I 93,112 89,760 16,886 199,758 7 1,398,306 124,411 !4 Haydock Park JCR 84,693 79,715 17,584 181,992 7 1,351,943 91,057 !5 Sandown Park JCR 74,582 70,983 15,148 161,134 10 1,530,773 59,207 "6 Kempton Park JCR 49,724 61,538 9,779 121,373 12 1,456,482 53,477 !7 Newbury I 44,171 68,030 15,511 127,712 10 1,277,119 46,033 !8 Ayr I 32,200 44,664 11,627 88,971 10 889,715 28,295 "9 Perth I 28,814 23,250 1,521 53,586 15 803,785 28,788 "

10 Chepstow ARC 28,363 29,766 8,476 67,525 15 1,012,881 16,652 "11 Cartmel I 24,931 19,059 4,982 48,971 7 342,800 25,659 !12 Musselburgh I 23,906 33,411 4,144 62,836 8 502,685 19,761 "13 Warwick JCR 23,438 35,871 6,333 65,642 9 590,778 11,230 "14 Wincanton JCR 22,334 33,109 4,931 61,235 18 1,102,235 25,559 !15 Ludlow I 21,304 27,547 4,600 53,717 15 805,760 16,347 "16 Wetherby I 20,783 28,816 4,728 55,257 17 939,369 23,021 !17 Newton Abbot I 20,588 27,466 0 48,054 19 913,034 24,493 !18 Newcastle ARC 19,755 27,831 3,872 52,269 9 470,423 21,664 !19 Market Rasen JCR 19,383 28,362 4,846 52,844 19 1,004,027 19,986 !20 Stratford-on-Avon I 18,614 21,871 4,451 45,998 16 735,966 21,077 !21 Wolverhampton ARC 17,500 24,500 0 42,000 1 42,000 0 "22 Huntingdon JCR 17,318 22,498 3,911 44,215 16 707,437 9,165 "23 Exeter JCR 15,865 30,743 5,112 52,787 15 791,809 14,634 "24 Kelso I 15,431 33,177 3,098 53,622 12 643,469 25,379 !25 Carlisle JCR 14,468 32,505 4,504 52,309 13 680,014 14,509 !26 Taunton I 14,236 28,670 4,889 47,794 12 573,532 18,956 !27 Ffos Las I 14,191 24,238 3,754 42,183 19 780,394 17,254 !28 Plumpton I 13,820 25,042 3,929 42,792 14 599,084 12,098 "29 Fontwell Park ARC 13,275 21,679 3,218 39,029 21 819,600 13,709 !30 Hexham I 12,838 13,923 2,277 29,769 13 387,000 11,954 "31 Fakenham I 12,677 25,148 0 37,825 9 340,424 21,119 !32 Worcester ARC 12,278 18,198 3,655 35,683 21 749,347 9,210 "33 Doncaster ARC 11,797 41,223 5,565 58,585 9 527,266 31,625 !34 Bangor-on-Dee I 11,416 22,595 3,297 37,557 14 525,800 13,021 !35 Uttoxeter ARC 10,908 23,598 4,653 39,809 24 955,406 13,174 !36 Southwell ARC 10,436 18,942 2,795 32,640 19 620,168 14,161 !37 Towcester I 9,393 14,393 2,927 26,873 15 403,100 8,648 "38 Leicester I 9,192 26,818 3,883 40,448 9 364,032 10,097 !39 Lingfield Park ARC 9,155 21,433 1,794 32,382 10 333,072 18,943 !40 Catterick Bridge I 8,131 29,292 2,608 40,587 9 365,285 3,580 "

Figures for period January 1, 2013 to December 31, 2013



S U B S C R I P T I O N F O R M F O R COURSES & ÉLEVAGE

301

Généalogies

POLIGLOTE (En FR) : 19 c. - 5 v. (3 Gr.) - 8 pl. - 442 041 ! de 2 à 4 ans.

Production : Cumuls 2001 - 2011 : En FR : 271 Parts./406 Vict./7 735 441 !/DM

= 2 000 m.En 2012 : FRIO WELLS (FR) - SOLEMIA (FR).

Au total : 32 SWS (dt 15 Vqs. Gr.).

BROOKLYN’S DANCE (FR), b., 1988, éleveur : Wertheimer & Frère.

8 c. - 3 v. à 2 et 3 ans - 1 pl. à 3 ans - 71 651 !. - IdP = 5,06.

1er Prix Cléopâtre Gr.3 (Evry - 2 100 m) - 1er Prix Zariba (Saint-Cloud - 1 600 m) - 1er

Prix Belfonds (Saint-Cloud - 1 600 m) - 2è Prix de Royallieu Gr.2 (Longchamp).

1993 : WEST BROOKLYN (USA), f. b., par Gone West : 8 c. - 2 v. à 2 et 3 ans - 4 pl. à 2

et 3 ans - 23 095 !. Mère de :

Cote Quest (f.00) : 16 c. - 1 v. - 8 pl. à 3 et 4 ans - £ 28 406 (3è Prix Isola

Bella L., Hoppings St. L., 4è Pipalong St. L., Conqueror St. L.). Mère de vqs.

Campanillas (f.08) : 1 v. à 3 ans - 67 500 ! (2è Prix de Malleret Gr.2).

1994 : GOLD DODGER (USA), f. b., par Slew O’Gold : 6 c. - 2 v. à 3 et 4 ans - 2 pl. -

42 686 ! (Prix de la Pépinière L., 3è Prix Joubert L.). Mère de :

CHINTZ (f.06) : 4 c. - 2 v. à 2 ans - 2 pl. - £ 65 423 (CL Weld Park St. Gr.3).

1995 : BROOKLYN’S GOLD (USA), h. b., par Seeking The Gold : 10 c. - 2 v. à 3 ans -

5 pl. de 3 à 5 ans - 46 039 ! (Prix de Suresnes L.). - En obstacles : 4 v. -

14 pl. de 7 à 9 ans - £ 56 068 (3è Cordon Bleu Hcap Hurdle L.).

1996 : BROOKLYN’S STORM (GB), f. b., par Storm Cat : 8 c. - 2 v. à 2 et 4 ans en FR et

USA - 4 pl. à 2 et 4 ans - $ 52 646 (4è Prix Robert Papin Gr.2). Mère de:

STORMINA (f.02) : 16 c. - 6 v. à 3 et 4 ans - 8 pl. - $ 273 600 (Indian Maid H.

L., Frecracker S. L., Summer Finale S. L., 3è Prix de Sandringham Gr.2).

Mère de:SILASOL (f.10) : 3 c. - 2 v. à 2 ans - 188 420 ! (Prix Marcel Boussac Gr.1).

1997 : Out Of Control (IRE), m. b., par Gulch : 11 c. - 1 v. à 3 ans - 9 pl. à 2 et 3 ans -

40 704 ! (3è Coupe des 3 Ans L., 4è Grand Critérium de Bordeaux L.).

1998 : BROOKLYN GLEAM (FR), f.b., par Caerleon: 3 c. - 1 v. - 2 pl. à 3 ans - 19 514 !.

Mère de:Kakofonic (m.03) : 53 c. - 6 v. - 27 pl. de 2 à 6 ans - 164 850 ! (3è Prix La

Rochette Gr.3, du Haras de la Huderie L.).

2001 : PROSPECT PARK (GB), m. b., par Sadler’s Wells : 16 c. - 5 v. à 3 et 4 ans - 8 pl.

$ 617 510 (La Coupe de Maisons-Laffitte Gr.3, Prix du Lys Gr.3, de Cour-

celles L., 2è Prix du Jockey-Club Gr.1, Hocquart Gr.2, Niel Gr.2, Jim

Murray Memorial H. Gr.2, 3è San Luis Rey H. Gr.2, Prix de Condé Gr.3).

Etalon en Argentine.

2002 : LE REVEUR(GB), h.b., par Machiavellian: 66 c. - 4 v. de 2 à 8 ans - 8 pl. - £ 36 876.

2004 : NEVER GREEN (IRE), f. b., par Halling : 6 c. - 3 v. à 2 et 3 ans - 1 pl. à 3 ans -

49 600 ! (Prix Occitanie L., 5è Prix Finlande L.). Mère de 2 vainqueurs.

2005 : PROSPECT WELLS (FR), h. b., par Sadler’s Wells : 15 c. - 2 v. à 3 et 5 ans - 5 pl.

259 659 ! (Prix Greffulhe Gr.2, Pontefract Castle St. L., 2è G. P. de Paris

Gr.1). - En obstacles : 2 v. - 6 pl. - £ 42 962 (2è Sharp Novices’ Hurdle Gr.2).

2006 : OLD WAY (IRE), h. b., par Gold Away : 15 c. - 1 v. en obstacle - 8 pl. - £ 20 511.

2008 : SOLEMIA (IRE), f. b., par Poliglote :

à 2 ans : 1er Prix Aquatinte II (Maisons-Laffitte - 1 800 m).

à 3 ans : 5è Prix Rose de Mai L. (Saint-Cloud) - 3è Prix Dictaway (Saint-Cloud) - 2è Prix

des Tourelles L. (St-Cloud) - 1er Prix Joubert L. (Saint-Cloud - 2 400 m) 2è Prix

du Conseil de Paris Gr.2 (Longchamp).

à 4 ans : 1er Prix Lord Seymour L. (Longchamp - 2 400 m) - 2è Prix d’Hédouville Gr.3

(Longchamp) - 1er Prix Corrida Gr.2 (Saint-Cloud - 2 100 m) - 4è Prix de

Pomone Gr.2 (Deauville) - 3è Qatar - Prix Vermeille Gr.1 (Longchamp) - 1er

Qatar - Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe Gr.1 (Longchamp - 2 400 m).

2è mèreVALLEE DANSANTE (USA), b., 1981, éléveur : Jacques Wertheimer.

(Vendue 19 000 Guinées à Newmarket en Décembre 1999).

4 c. - 1 v. à 3 ans - 3 pl. à 3 ans - 15 778 !. - IdP = 1,47.

1er Prix d’Isigny (Deauville - 1 600 m) - 3è Prix du Château (Chantilly) - 4è Prix Charles

Laffitte L. (Longchamp) - 4è Prix Timandra (Maisons-Laffitte).

DIAMOND VALLEY (FR), 1986 : f. bb., par Saint Cyrien : 7 c. - 1 v. - 3 pl. - 21 472 ! à

2 et 3 ans. Mère de vainqueurs au Japon dont:

Himalayan Blue (m.98) : 4 v. au Japon (2è Hakodate Kinen L., Tokyo Sports Hai Sansai L.).

VAILLANT CHEVALIER (GB), 1987 : h. b., par Saint Cyrien : 19 c. - 5 v. en plat et en

obstacles - 5 pl. - 108 011 ! (Prix James Hennessy L.).

BROOKLYN’S DANCE (FR), 1988 : f. b., par Shirley Heights : voir ci-dessus.

SURFSIDE (GB), 1990 : m. b., par Shirley Heights : 99 c. - 7 v. - 53 pl. - 191 729 !. Etalon.

QUEST OF FIRE (FR), 1991 : f. b., par Rainbow Quest : 14 c. - 1 v. - 6 pl. - 10 672 !. Mère de:

QUILA (f.97) : 1 v. à 2 ans en Allemagne. Mère de :

QUIJANO (h.02) : 14 v. (G.P. von Baden Gr.1, G.P. di Milano Gr.1, Dubai

City Of Gold Gr.3, 2è Hong Kong Vase Gr.1, Grosser Preis von Baden Gr.1).

QUESTAN (GB), 1992 : h. b., par Rainbow Quest : 11 c. - 1 v. à 3 ans - 5 pl. - 25 763 !.

En Angleterre : 1 v. à 6 ans - 1 pl. - £ 4 151.

Krissante (USA), 1993: f.b., par Kris: 7 c. - 1 v. - 5 pl. - 35 703 ! à 2 et 3 ans (2è Prix La

Sorellina L., Saraca L., 3è Prix Petite Etoile L., 4è Prix des Lilas L.).Mère de:

OKAWANGO(m.98): 13 c. - 3 v. - 9 pl. - 341 262 ! de 2 à 5 ans (Grand Critérium Gr.1,

Prix La Rochette Gr.3, 2è Prix Edmond Blanc Gr.3, 3è Prix de Fontainebleau

Gr.3, 4è Prix du Jockey-Club Gr.1, Poule d’Essai Gr.1). Etalon en Turquie.

Green Bend (USA), 1994 : f. b., par Riverman : 6 c. - 4 pl. - 5 794 ! à 3 ans. Mère de:

DOUBLE GREEN(f.01): 2 v. - 66 400 ! (Prix Michel Houyvet L., 3è Prix de Lutèce Gr.3).

Gone Far (USA), 1997: h.b., par Gone West : 19 c. - 3 v. - 10 pl. - 85 729 ! de 2 à 4 ans.

En obstacles : 1 v. - £ 13 304 (3è Dovecote Novices’ Hurdle Gr.2).

Funsie (FR), 1999 : f. bb., par Saumarez : n’a pas couru. Mère de :

AUTHORIZED(m.04): 4 v. à 2 et 3 ans - £ 1 286 663 (Derby d’Epsom Gr.1, Juddmonte

International Gr.1, Racing Post Trophy Gr.1). Etalon en Angleterre.

Rejess (IRE), 2000 : m. b., par Septieme Ciel : 5 c. - 1 pl. à 3 ans - £ 1 306.

PRINCESSE DANSANTE (IRE), 2003 : f. b., par King’s Best : 16 c. - 1 v. à 3 ans - 10 pl.

86 300 ! (Prix Joubert L., 2è Prix de Royallieu Gr.2, 4è de Royallieu Gr.2).

Jument baie, née en Irlande le 20 Février 2008

Propriétaire : Wertheimer & Frère

Eleveur : Wertheimer & Frère

Age Cses Vict. 2 3 4 Sommes

2 2 1(1)17 000 !

3 5 1(1) 2(1) 1(1) 74 350 !

4 7 3(2) 1(1) 1(1) 1(1) 2 450 805 !

Total 14 5(1) 3(2) 2(1) 1(1) 2 542 155 !

Northern Dancer

SADLER’S WELLSb. 1981

Fairy Bridge

POLIGLOTEb. 1992

Val de l’Orne

ALEXANDRIEb.b. 1980

Apachee

Nearctic

Natalma

Bold Reason

Special

Val de Loir

Aglaé

Sir Gaylord

Américaine

Never Bend

Milan Mill

Hardicanute

Grand Cross

Northern Dancer

Goofed

Val de Loir

Sly Pola

Nearco 4Lady Angela 14

Native Dancer 5Almahmoud 2

Hail To Reason 4Lalun 19

Forli 3Thong 5

Vieux Manoir 10Vali 5

Armistice 9Aglae Grace 11

Turn-To 1Somethingroyal 2

Cambremont 1Alora 4

Nasrullah 9Lalun 19

Princequillo 1Virginia Water 22

Hard Ridden 16Harvest Maid 3

Grandmaster 1Blue Cross 1

Nearctic 14Natalma 2

Court Martial 1Barra II 17

Vieux Manoir 10Vali 5

Spy Song 10Ampola 16-c

Solemia (IRE)

Mill Reef

SHIRLEY HEIGHTS

b. 1975Hardiemma

BROOKLYN’S DANCE

b. 1988Lyphard

VALLEE DANSANTE

b. 1981Green Valleyb.b. 1967

QATAR - PRIX DE L’ARC DE TRIOMPHE - Gr.1

07/10 - L. - Pour chevaux entiers et juments de 3 ans et au-dessus. - 99 engts.

Distance : 2 400 m – Temps : 2’37"68 – Terrain collant.

1 – SOLEMIA (IRE), f.b., 4a, 58 kg, Poliglote - Brooklyn’s Dance (Shirley Heights)

Wertheimer & Frère (Olivier Peslier) Carlos Laffon-Parias

2 – Orfevre (JPN), m.al., 4a, 59,5 kg, Stay Gold - Oriental Art (Mejiro McQueen)

Sunday Racing Co Ltd (Ch. Soumillon) Y. Ikee

3 – Masterstroke (USA), m. b., 3a, 56 kg, Monsun - Melikah (Lammtarra)

Godolphin SNC (M. Barzalona) A. Fabre

4 – Haya Landa (FR), f. b., 4a, 58 kg, Lando - Haya Samma (Pivotal)

Mme O. Fau (F. Blondel) Mme L. Audon

5 – Yellow And Green (GB), f. b., 3a, 54,5 kg, Monsun - Green Swallow (Green Tune)

Cheik A. Bin Khalifa Al Thani (Th. Thulliez) N. Clément

6 – Great Heavens (GB), f. b., 3a, 54,5 kg

12 non placés : Camelot (GB) - Sea Moon (GB) - Shareta (IRE) - Bayrir (FR) - St

Nicholas Abbey (IRE) - Méandre (FR) - Mikhail Glinka (IRE) - Robin Hood (IRE) -

Aventino (JPN) - Kesampour (FR) - Ernest Hemingway (IRE) - Saonois (FR).

Distances : encol - 7 l - 1 l - 1/2 l - 21/2 l - 1 l - nez - tête

Prix : 2 285 600 ! - 914 400 ! - 457 200 ! - 228 400 ! - 114 400 !.

Eleveurs : 1er Wertheimer & Frère (87 995 !) - 4è Mme O. Fau (8 793 !).

� � France, U.E (except Scandinavia, Eastern countries) 90 !

� � Scandinavia, Eastern countries, DOM ..................... 105 !

� � Middle East, Africa .................................................... 121 !

� � Canada, USA ............................................................ 140 !

� � South America, Asia, Australia, New Zealand ........... 148 !

� I enclose a cheque made payable to ETALONS EDITIONS

� Or I would like to pay by VISA card :

Visa Number :

Expiry date : : Signature :

PLAT

133

Qatar Prix de l’Abbaye de Longchamp, Gr. 1, 350 000 €, 1 000 m

Wizz Kid, en une incroyable remontée…

Comme d�habitude, le Prix de l�Abbaye de

Longchamp a fait le plein, avec une horde

britannique déferlant sur les 1.000 m du

Bois de Boulogne, couteau entre les dents�

Le programme annonce 19 partants, de 2 à

10 ans, qui totalisent près de 540 sorties ( !),

un véritable casse-tête pour le pronostiqueur

qui ne sait par quel bout prendre l�affaire,

tant les paramètres sont nombreux et les

juxtapositions difficiles�

Une approche consiste à trier les éléments

déjà testés au niveau Gr. 1, ce dont on ne

déduit guère d�évidences d�ailleurs, avec

les réserves que suggèrent les résultats de

telles charges de cavaleries dans le contex-

te des lots surchargés de ces exercices en

Angleterre, et compte-tenu du fait que, sur le

sprint, ce sont pratiquement les mêmes che-

vaux qui disputent les Gr. 1 et les Gr. 3�

Seule française au départ

Pour le client du PMU, l�affaire est d�autant

plus complexe qu�elle le plonge dans un

papier totalement anglais, du chinois pour

lui, qui aura finalement déniché un seul et

unique concurrent français au départ, la

Collet Wizz Kid, confiée à Gérald Mossé -

tout en notant deux autres noms de jockeys

français, Olivier Peslier (Monsieur Joe) et

Thierry Thulliez (Definightly). Le retrait de

dernière heure du seul 2 ans en lice (Cay

Verde, Prix d�Arenberg) est resté un sous-

événement, en aucune façon susceptible

d�amoindrir la difficulté de cette équation à

mille données.

Il faudra en tous cas tenir compte de l�alour-

dissement du terrain, rédhibitoire pour cer-

tains, et des numéros de corde, six des sept

derniers vainqueurs de l�épreuve ayant été

dotés de numéros inférieurs à 9 Mais aussi,

se garder d�assimiler les performances sur

1.200 m et celles sur 1.000 m.

Mayson, la référence obligée

La classification issue du betting permettra

cependant de se faire une idée du casting. Et

d�abord d�un premiers tiers, regroupant six

Dans un rush final étourdissant Wizz Kid (G.Mossé), seul concurrent entraîné en France dans cette course, vient ajuster le favori Mayson

(P.Hanagan), au centre, et Hamish Mc Gonagall (D.J.Allen) pour remporter ce Prix de l�Abbaye de Longchamp. (Photo Scoop Dyga)

Qatar Prix de l’Abbaye de Longchamp, Gr. 1, 350 000 €, 1 000 m

, en une incroyable remontée…


9��4) 9.4. la difficulté de cette équation à

mille données.

Il faudra en tous cas tenir compte de 0��0�2r-



derniers vainqueurs de 0��.�2�� ayant été


se garder 9�� 4�40�. les performances sur


Mayson, la référence obligée



9��5�.9 9�2) premiers tiers, regroupant six

(G.Mossé), seul concurrent entraîné en France dans cette course, vient ajuster le favori

(D.J.Allen) pour remporter��) ��Photo Scoop Dyga


9��4) 9.4. la difficulté de cette équation à

Il faudra en tous cas tenir compte de 0��0�2r-




se garder 9�� 4�40�. les performances sur


, la référence obligée



9��5�.9 9�2) premiers tiers, regroupant six

(G.Mossé), seul concurrent entraîné en France dans cette course, vient ajuster le favori

Photo Scoop Dyga

COURSESELEVAGE

TRÊVE, ÉBLOUISSANTE DANS LE PRIX DE DIANE

TRÊVE, ÉBLOUISSANTE DANS LE PRIX DE DIANE

INTELLO, ROI DU JOCKEY-CLUB

INTELLO, ROI DU JOCKEY-CLUB

⌜ REPORTS ON ALL FRENCH GROUP RACES, FLAT AND N.H.

⌜ REPORTS ON ALL GR.1 RACES IN GREAT BRITAIN AND IRELAND, AND ON MAJOR INTERNATIONAL MEETINGS.⌜ FRENCH PROVINCIAL LISTED RACES AND

PROVINCIAL MEETINGS (CAGNES, PA U, VICHY…).⌜ GROUP RESULTS AND WINNER’S FULL PEDIGREE.⌜ ONE SPECIAL FEATURE (INTERNATIONAL

RANKINGS, THE BREEDING SEASON IN FRANCE…) AND “AT A GLANCE SECTION”.⌜FRENCH SALES ANALYSIS.⌜ FULL LISTED RACES RESULTS IN FRANCE.⌜ FRENCH RACING REVIEW (IN ENGLISH).⌜ FLAT AND JUMP RACING STATISTICS IN FRANCE.

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ANDNGS.

RACING

47

ROUND UP OF THE FRENCH FLAT RACING SEASONBy Desmond Stoneham

So brave, so toughSolemia, on previous form, was not the best horse to line up for the 91st Qatar Prix de l�Arc de Triomphe at Longchamp on October 7 but she was the gutsiest individual in the field of 18 and one of the few to adapt to the bottomless going. For the third time in 13 years, the Japanese had to be content with the runner up�s position although it is fair to state that Orfevre was the moral winner and a racing certainty to win as he surged into the lead with Christophe Soumillon at the furlong marker. It was just with 20 metres left to run that the colt was running on empty and he finally went under by a neck to Olivier Peslier and Solemia who rallied so gamely after looking a forlorn hope to win Europe�s richest race. For the Wertheimer family, it was their third victory in the Arc and the second with a home bred four-year-old filly. The American-bred Ivanjica set the ball rolling in 1976 and then the Prix du Cadran and Prix Royal-Oak winner Gold River landed the race five years later but it was the first success for Alain and Gérard Wertheimer who took over the racing empire after the death of their father, Jacques. For 49 year-old Carlos Laffon-Parias, it was his first success in the Arc and his wife Patricia is the grand daughter of Alec Head who for many years trained and advised the Wertheimer family. Indeed, he was the trainer of Ivanjica and Gold River and the latter was ridden by his son Freddy so the associa-tion of these two famous French racing families was continued by Solemia.

She was a 40.5-1 outsider but one of the most consistent performers in the Arc field having been only out of the money on one occasion in 13 outings and that was when she made her racing debut. Olivier Peslier was winning the race a fourth time so equals the record currently jointly set by Jacques Doyasbere, Freddy Head, Yves Saint-Martin and Pat Eddery. The 39 year-old had previously landed a hat trick which ended in 1998 with Sagamix follow-ing the victories of Helissio (1996) and Peintre Célèbre the following year. Peslier rode a blinder in the Arc. He was always perfectly positioned behind the early leaders Ernest Hemingway and Robin Hood on the rail. Orfevre�s pacemaker Aventino was useless and was never able to play his intended role. On the other hand, Mickael Barzalona made a great start on Godolphin�s Masterstroke from his wide number 17 stall and he was challenging for the lead with Solemia at the two furlong marker where Soumillon asked Orfevre to make a forward move from a long way back.

The influence of the goingThe Japanese colt swept past his rivals to lead with more than a furlong left to run. The Arc looked in the bag but he faltered late on and even brushed the far rail when veering right under extreme exhaustion in the final strides where Solemia rallied so gamely. She won by a neck and Masterstroke finished seven lengths away third in front of the 133-1 chance Haya Landa, Yellow and Green, Great Heavens, the triple Classic winner and favourite Camelot, Sea Moon and Shareta. There is little doubt that the very heavy ground played an enormous role in the result and there was very little point in looking at the form before the race. The only previous Group 1 winner in the first five was Orfevre and Haya Landa had previously only won a conditions race although she had been placed in top company on several occasions. The influence of the going can best be shown through the Aga Khan�s Shareta. She was unlucky when just touched off by a nose to Solemia (rec 1 kilo) in the Group 2 Prix Corrida at Saint-Cloud where third place was taken by Siyouma, since the winner of the Group 1 Kingdom of Bahrain Sun Chariot Stakes and the Grade 1 E.P.Taylor Stakes, and Haya Landa took fifth place. Shareta went on to win the Darley Yorkshire Oaks and then make the opposition look rather ordinary in the Qatar Prix Vermeille where Solemia was just over two lengths away third on the good to soft ground. Shareta was never a factor in the Arc where she was beaten just under 13 lengths. For the Japanese, it was also a brutal defeat and one which has previously happened on two previous occasions. On a similar surface in 1999, El Condor Pasa was caught in the final strides by Mick Kinane and Montjeu. Eleven years later on very soft ground, Nakayama Festa was caught by Workforce close to the line and now Orfevre had to settle for second place. It was no surprise that the Arc was run in a time of 2��37�68 which was the slowest since

In front of 52 000 people Solemia (O.Peslier) rallied back to beat Orfevre (C.Soumillon) on the line

in the Prix de l�Arc de Triomphe. (Photo Scoop Dyga)

Wizz Kid

Comme 9��54329�1 le Prix de 0�, 55�� de

Longchamp a fait le plein, avec une horde

britannique déferlant sur les 1.000 m du

Bois de Boulogne, couteau entre les 9�) 3 �

Le programme annonce 19 partants, de 2 à

10 ans, qui totalisent près de 540 sorties ( !),

un véritable casse-tête pour le pronostiqueur

qui ne sait par quel bout prendre 0��ffaire,

tant les paramètres sont nombreux et les

juxtapositions dif�4�40� �

Une approche consiste à trier les éléments

déjà testés au niveau Gr. 1, ce dont on ne

déduit guère 9��49�) �� 9��400�2. 1 avec

les réserves que suggèrent les résultats de

telles charges de cavaleries dans le contex-

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Courses et Elevage OB Feb 2014_Courses et Elevage OB Feb 2014 15/01/2014 13:01 Page 1

This year’s Annual TBA Stud Farming Coursereceived enthusiastic reviews from the 45delegates hailing from studs large and small inthe UK, Ireland and Switzerland who attendedthis popular course held once again at theBritish Racing School in December.

Twenty-two lectures covering topics rangingfrom conception to management of limbdeformities, and taking in foaling, nutrition,sales preparation and stallion management,were delivered by vets and industry experts wellversed in their chosen topics.

A dinner at the Bedford Lodge on the firstevening allowed delegates and speakers tomingle informally, and visits to RossdalesEquine Hospital, Ed and Tanya Peate’s pre-training yard at Penny Farm, Brinkley and abehind-the-scenes tour of the British RacingSchool provided a break from the lecturetheatre.

As always the catering at the Racing Schoolreceived special commendation fromdelegates, who also welcomed the chance tolearn from speakers who work at the ‘coal face’of the industry and were keen to apply theoryto practical situations encountered by all indaily stud work.

TBA member Hilary Fitzsimonscommented that the course offered “acomprehensive range of well-presentedsubject matter, delivered at an excellent paceand provided a wonderful opportunity tonetwork with other breeders with a variety ofexperience and knowledge.”

The 2014 course will take place in December(dates to be confirmed) and information will beavailable later on in the year.

TBA FORUM T h e s p e c i a l s e c t i o n f o r T B A m e m b e r s


Stallion parade line-up confirmed

EMM

A B

ERRY

TBA Stud Farming Course receives rave reviews from delegates

The TBA is delighted to confirm that 13stallions will be on show at the TBA StallionParade on Thursday, February 6 in the salesring at Tattersalls, immediately preceding theFebruary Sale.

Selkirk’s Group 1-winning son Cityscape will be on parade at Tattersalls

Delegates during the visit to Ed and Tanya Peate’s pre-training yard at Penny Farm

Stallions on parade...

CAPTAIN GERRARD

CITYSCAPE

DELEGATOR

DICK TURPIN

EQUIANO

FINJAAN

FOXWEDGE

MOUNT NELSON

PASTORAL PURSUITS

SAYIF

STIMULATION

SWISS SPIRIT

WESTLAKE

This popular event gives breeders the uniqueopportunity to see all the stallions, includingfirst-season sires Cityscape, Finjaan, SwissSpirit and Frankel’s close relation Westlake atone venue. The parade begins at 10am promptand each stallion will be shown individually inthe sales ring, with commentary from GinaBryce.

After the parade, breeders are invited to

inspect the stallions in Further Paddock, wherethey can also speak with the stallions’connections about their 2014 season matingplans. Breeders are also warmly invited to joinus in the TBA hospitality box (Further Paddock459) for refreshments.

The TBA would like to thank Tattersalls fortheir continuing support of this annual event,which is not to be missed.

Feb_114_TBA_Forum_Owner 17/01/2014 16:01 Page 82

www.thetba.co.uk


With only one more racecourse to receiveits certificate from the 2011/12 season, thepenultimate presentation was made atDoncaster on December 29 by one of ouryoung members, Jade Taylor.

A few weeks earlier, loyal membersRichard and Rachel Wilson were delighted

to present Fakenham racecourse with itsmuch deserved award. Both hosted TBAmares-only races at their respectivemeetings and racegoers at Fakenham saw athrilling result as Carol Herbert’s MissBiscotti claimed the prize at 100-1. Riddenby Nico de Boinville, this was only the

second outing for the five-year-old but sheturned in a sparkling performance, goingstraight into the lead and maintaining itthroughout.

The TBA would like to thank bothcourses for their efforts in offering andpromoting races specifically for mares.

Rewarding courses for mares’ racesTBA representative Richard Wilson presents Carol Herbertwith the trophy for Miss Biscotti’s win at Fakenham

Mark Spincer, Managing Director of Doncaster racecourse,receives the mares’ race award from Jade Taylor

Following the launch of the industry guideto ‘Health and Safety in the Racing andBreeding Industry’ (commonly known asthe Red Book), a series of seminarsorganised by the BHA and delivered by theBritish Racing School has begun. This one-day course provides delegates with aninsight into the new publication, includingan overview of the principles of health andsafety management systems, legalrequirements, how to develop andimplement a policy, and the role ofinsurance in risk management strategies.

The course has been devised by TonyPayne, Health and Safety advisor to the TBAand British Racing School, together withStuart Pickering, advisor to the NorthernRacing College.

The course is accredited by the Instituteof Occupational Safety and Health and ashort test will take place at the end of theday to assess knowledge gained and enabledelegates to achieve certification. Delegateson the first course in December found theday extremely informative and a useful

complement to the Red Book. Moreseminars will take place this year as follows:Tuesday, February 11 – Northern Racing College, DoncasterTuesday, April 15– Oaksey House, LambournTuesday, June 3– British Racing School, Newmarket

The cost per delegate is £40 and furtherinformation can be obtained from ClareHiggins at the British Racing School:[email protected] or 01638 675907.

If members are unable to make thesedates, please contact Caroline Turnbull atStanstead House as further seminars will bearranged on a rolling basis.

Health and Safety seminars under way across UK


Simon Munir’s Une Artiste proved she wasback on track after winning the EBF/TBAMares’ Novices’ Chase on December 12 atHuntingdon.

Sent off the 8-15 favourite, Une Artiste

was accompanied throughout by marketrival Baby Shine and it required someintervention from jockey Barry Geraghtybefore taking command in the homestraight to score by two and a half lengths.

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 6 TBA Flat Stallion Parade atTattersalls, Park Paddocks TBA Flat Stallion Parade at Tattersallspreceding the start of the February sale.Members are invited to join us in theTBA hospitality box after the parade. For further details contact Pauline at theTBA on [email protected] or01638 661321.

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 7EBF/TBA Mares’ Novices’ ChaseSeriesAt Bangor-on-Dee.

SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 8EBF/TBA Mares’ Novices’ ChaseSeriesAt Newcastle.

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 18EBF/TBA Mares’ Novices’ ChaseSeriesAt Wetherby.

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 24TBA Mares Only Club RaceAt Marks Tey.

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 24EBF/TBA Mares’ Novices’ ChaseSeriesAt Plumpton.

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 25Godolphin Stud & Stable StaffAwardsAt the Jumeirah Carlton Tower hotel,London.

NEW MEMBERS Ms S L C Evans, Hampshire; M Fonseka, Northamptonshire;N P Franklin, Nottinghamshire; P Gillbard, Devon;E Hawkings, Hampshire;A Hogg, North Yorkshire;S Malcolm, Buckinghamshire;The Blow Family Partnership,Nottinghamshire.

18-35 MEMBERSStacey Bosley, Somerset;Harriet Bradford, Essex;James Purves, Selkirkshire; Bobby Richmond-Watson, London;John White, Wiltshire.

TBA diary dates

TBA FORUM


EBF/TBA Mares’ Novice Chase Series

McCoy a real asset to Elms

Carla McCoy, from The Elms Stud, wins the January 2014 Stud Staff Award

January’s Stud Staff Award winner is CarlaMcCoy, from The Elms Stud,Northamptonshire, who has been nominatedby Stud Groom Sarah Baker for herconscientious, calm and caring attitude to herrole there.

Having worked at The Elms Stud for fouryears, McCoy is described as “a thoroughlydependable member of staff who regularly

takes responsibility when Sarah is away.” She is especially skilled at treating sick and

injured horses, and comes into her own whencaring for sick foals or managing fosteringsituations. As a member of a small team,living on site, she is held in high regard by allat The Elms for the key role she plays in thesuccess of the stud, and is a well-deservedwinner of the January Stud Staff Award.


THOROUGHBRED OWNER & BREEDER INC PACEMAKER 85THOROUGHBRED OWNER & BREEDER INC PACEMAKER

www.thetba.co.uk

Breeders’ Prizes for TBA membersBreeder Prize (£) Horse Sire Dam Date Course

The National Stud 1,800 Steventon Star Pastoral Pursuits Premiere Dance 07/12/2013 Wolverhampton

Whitsbury Manor Stud & Mrs M E Slade 1,800 Betimes New Approach See You Later 18/12/2013 Lingfield

Dr B Drew & Mr J Burke 1,800 Tears Of The Sun Mastercraftsman Perfect Star 20/12/2013 Southwell

Prizes subject to confirmation of qualification with Weatherbys

A

A

Breeders’ PrizesNational Hunt HBLB Breeders’ Prizes worth £1,000 or more Based on date money was paid

Breeder Prize (£) Horse Sire Dam Date Course

Goldford Stud 8,000 Riverside Theatre King's Theatre Disallowed 12/12/2013 Huntingdon

L. Dettori 6,000 Dodging Bullets Dubawi Nova Cyngi 27/12/2013 Kempton Park

N. Franklin 5,000 Killala Quay Karinga Bay Madam Bijou 06/12/2013 Sandown Park

Margaret Cuff 5,000 Willow's Saviour Septieme Ciel Willow Gale 21/12/2013 Ascot

R. D. M. Sharp 2,500 De La Bech Karinga Bay Vallis Vale 07/12/2013 Chepstow

R. D and Mrs J. S. Chugg 2,500 Royale Knight King's Theatre Gardana 08/12/2013 Kelso

New England, Myriad & Watership Down 2,500 Seven Nation Army Rock Of Gibraltar Crepe Ginger 20/12/2013 Ascot

P. Murphy 2,500 Carole's Spirit Hernando Carole's Crusader 21/12/2013 Haydock Park

D. J. and Mrs Deer 2,500 Modus Motivator Alessandra 01/01/2014 Cheltenham

R. J. and S. A. Carter 2,500 Bitofapuzzle Tamure Gaelic Gold 02/01/2014 Huntingdon

Helshaw Grange Stud Ltd 2,000 Mwaleshi Oscar Roxy River 21/12/2013 Haydock Park

Longdon Stud Ltd 1,750 Makari Makbul Seraphim 14/12/2013 Doncaster

J. B. Sumner 1,750 Mickie Kayf Tara Island Mist 27/12/2013 Kempton Park

Ian Low 1,750 Like Minded Kayf Tara Sun Dante 07/12/2013 Aintree

Mr and Mrs N. Faulks 1,500 Amore Alato Winged Love Sardagna 26/12/2013 Kempton Park

J. F. F. White 1,250 Westward Point Karinga Bay Hottentot 07/12/2013 Wetherby

Mr Richard Evans 1,250 Bucking The Trend Kayf Tara Macklette 10/12/2013 Fontwell Park

B. Derrick and P. R. Rodford 1,250 Midnight Lira Midnight Legend Bally Lira 19/12/2013 Exeter

Cheveley Park Stud Ltd 1,250 Samstown Kingsalsa Red Peony 05/12/2013 Market Rasen

Exors Of The Late Peter Lamyman 1,250 Loose Chips Sir Harry Lewis Worlaby Rose 26/12/2013 Kempton Park

Jeremy Hinds 1,000 Violet Dancer Bertolini Another Secret 06/12/2013 Sandown Park

Juddmonte Farms Ltd 1,000 Tantamount Observatory Cantanta 07/12/2013 Aintree

See breeders' prizes table effective from January 1 on TBA website, www.thetba.co.uk. Prizes subject to confirmation of qualification with Weatherbys

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BREEDER OF THE MONTHwww.thetba.co.uk

NH BREEDER OF THE MONTH – December 2013

Nigel FranklinCharlie Longsdon is, or has been, involved with two of the principalcandidates for the December Breeder of the Month award.

Not only did he saddle a new recruit Killala Quay to win the Grade 2Neptune Investment Management Novices’ Hurdle at Sandown Park, buthe is also the former trainer of Willow’s Saviour, successful in Ascot’s Grade3 Ladbroke Hurdle. In deciding which of the pair was the more deserving,the adjudicating panel adhered to the official ranking of those races.

Whether Killala Quay (by Karinga Bay) reaches the dizzy heights of suchprevious winners of the Sandown feature (registered as the Winter Novices’Hurdle) as See More Business (1999 Gold Cup) and Neptune Collonges(2012 Grand National) remains to be seen, but as the winner of three ofhis five seasonal appearances to date, he is obviously a bright prospect.

To a large extent the background to Killala Quay revolves around thelate Owen Brennan and his widow Pat, together with their good friendRichard Kent of Mickley Stud in Shropshire. It was Brennan who trainedKillala Quay to win his first race, a bumper at Uttoxeter, while his damMadam Bijou has been mated exclusively with Mickley stallions.

Following Killala Quay, she has had progeny by Needwood Blade,Multiplex and Captain Gerrard. Killala Quay himself was actually bred byNigel Franklin (who wins a supply of TRM’s world-famous Calphorminplus a bottle of premium Irish whiskey), while his three younger siblingswere bred by Peter Mina, whose Derbyshire base, Ellerslie Lodge, iscurrently home to her unraced four-year-old Multiplex filly Bella Bijou andher two-year-old colt by Captain Gerrard.

Franklin lives near Newark and for many years he had horses in traininglocally with Derek Shaw, from whom he purchased Killala Quay’s dam,Madam Bijou, as a two-year-old. “I had a few with Derek at the time andhe persuaded me to buy her,” says Franklin. “She showed a lot of speed athome but never ran due to damaging a stifle.

“I had become interested in racing as a boy through Owen Brennan andhis jockey son Martin. I used to work on oil rigs and in steel erecting, beforereturning home to help my father as a builder and developer. Havingworked for both Derek Shaw and John Fretwell, I also had an agriculturalfencing business and built a 50-box yard for Derek Shaw, where MichaelAppleby is now based.”

Remarkably, Madam Bijou is the only broodmare that Franklin has ever

owned, although he once bought a half-sister, but she ended up as a polopony.

“When Madam Bijou first went to stud I wanted to mate her withNeedwood Blade, but Owen Brennan persuaded me to send her to KaringaBay instead as he said his stamina would work well with her sprinting sireAtraf,” Franklin added.

In due course Owen and Pat Brennan were responsible for sendingKillala Quay and her youngster to Mickley Stud with a view to him joiningDonald McCain, but in the event the gelding returned to the Brennans torace for his present owners, Richard and Susan Perkins – they owned theyard where Brennan trained.

Understandably, the success of Killala Quay has rekindled Franklin’sinterest in racing and he has rejoined the TBA.

“At one time I decided that I could not afford to have racehorses andrun my own business,” he reflects. “So I cut back and then packed it inaltogether. I rather regret selling Killala Quay now, but it’s good to see himdoing so well.

“And I had a nice surprise the week before Christmas when Weatherbystelephoned to tell me that I was due a £5,000 breeders’ prize.”

Words Alan Yuill Walker

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Horseracing is a sport most cyclical inits nature, a trait for which we shouldbe very grateful when it comes to our

equine heroes. Sea The Stars made the summer of 2009 his

own when repeatedly beating arguably themost talented generation of three-year-olds inrecent years, before turning his attention to theolder brigade and repeating those efforts. Yethere we are, poised ready to watch his firstClassic crop take on their rivals in the hope ofwitnessing a similar performance.

Likewise, Frankel still looms large in racing’sconsciousness, a gift to all fans who will neverforget either his breathtaking performances orwhat he did for the sport. His first foals will beevoking a similar excitement by their verypresence – a feeling not exclusive to those bythe great one himself.

There is something magical about seeing afoal take its first steps, or gallop around a fieldfor the first time – whimsical though it may sound on paper, in the flesh it isanything but.

However, for those few minutes of awe, thereis a lot of work behind the scenes, and this isthe time of year stud staff are gearing up for abusy few months ahead.

“The end of March and the beginning ofApril is the busiest time,” says Barton StudManager and NGC committee member TomBlain. “Everything is still in at night because ofthe weather, and we not only have lots of maresfoaling but we have barren mares and maidenmares, plus those who foaled earlier going tobe covered.”

Barton Stud has a large number of bothtemporary and permanent boarding mares, buteach one needs the same amount of time andattention as the big day approaches.

“Seasonal boarders arrive from the secondweek in January onwards depending on theirstatus,” says Blain. “Maiden mares [those whohave never been covered] and barren mares[broodmares who are not in foal] arrive early,and earlier foaling mares are put under 24-hourcamera supervision.

“Later-foaling mares tend to arrive a coupleof months before their due date to give themplenty of time to settle in.”

The action plan for mares ready to foal is awell-practised one, Blain and his team havingdelivered plenty of foals year in, year out –which includes having a night watchman onduty to monitor those close to foaling oncamera and checking all the other residents.

“All the equipment needed for and afterfoaling is always clean, ready and waiting,” saysBlain. “As long as the mare is displaying normalsigns of stage one labour – walking the box,sweating, pawing ground, getting up anddown, and milk from her teats – closeobservation and waiting is required.

“Once the waters break – stage two – and themare lies down, correct presentation of the foalis checked, and all being well foaling is smooth

and problem free.”Job number one after a potential future

champion has made its way into the world isto ensure he or she is kept safe from infection,which includes treating and monitoring theumbilical stump, and making sure they receivetheir all important first milk – colostrum –which contains antibodies from the mare togive the foal’s immune system a kickstart.

“The suck reflex is present within about tenminutes,” says Blain. “Foals normally standwithin 15 minutes to one or two hours, and arenormally suckling by the three-hour mark. Theantibodies can be absorbed only within the first12-24 hours of life, so receiving good-qualitycolostrum is vital.”

As for the new mother, there are also plentyof checks, the most important of which isensuring the placenta has been passed – if notit can be life-threatening.

All of this goes on within just the first fewhours of a foal’s life – a scene that will berepeated thousands of times across the countryin the coming months – and from then on thereis still plenty of work for the stud staff toundertake.

Some of those born will go on to win, somemay even be champions, and the lucky few willearn their place as a stallion at stud – a job thatwill be in focus next month.

Racing dream begins with the foaling season

NEXT GENERATION CLUBBy KATHERINE FIDLER

www.nextgenerationclub.com

Foals should be able to suckle by around three hours after birth

Sean McGuinnessThe TBA and NGC were deeplysaddened at the recent news of thedeath of Sean McGuinness, who hadbeen a recipient of the NGC/BHAGraduate Scheme Bloodstock WorkPlacement in 2012, when he spent timeat Tweenhills Farm and Stud andNewsells Park Stud.

NGC Chairman, Sam Hoskins, said:“Sean was a brilliant ambassador for theNGC work placement, taking everyopportunity offered to him and makingmany friends along the way. It isdesperately sad that he was unable tofulfil the potential he so obviously hadto make a successful career in theindustry. Our sincere condolences go tohis family.”

EMM

A B

ERRY

Feb_114_TBA_NGC_Owner 17/01/2014 16:00 Page 88


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This is a brief, whirlwind tour of a few ofthe more common non-infectiousconditions of neonatal foals that

breeders need to be on the look out for. Anyonelooking after foaling mares and newborn foalsshould know how a ‘normal’ foaling willprogress, what a ‘normal’ newborn foal lookslike and how it should behave. Every foal mustreceive adequate good quality colostrum within12 hours of birth and this can be even moreimportant if the foal is compromised by anyone of these non-infectious conditions.

Neonatal MaladjustmentSyndrome (NMS)Neonatal foals are particularly susceptible to theeffects of low blood oxygen and birth trauma,so anything which shortens or prolongs thebirth process, such as red bag or dystocia(difficult foaling), can affect the foal. Often the‘incident’ is not recognised and the birth mayappear normal. However, very soon after birththe foal will start showing signs of abnormality.These can vary enormously and may includeappearing a bit slow or sleepy (dummy foal) orexcessively agitated. There may be a poor ornon-existent suck reflex, inability to stand orpersistent aimless walking/circling.

Occasionally the foal will convulse and a fewwill vocalise abnormally, hence the old name‘barker’ foal. These foals require urgentveterinary attention and should, wherepossible, be given oxygen while you wait forthe vet. They will initially be given anti-convulsants, anti-inflammatory medication(corticosteroids) and antibiotics, and may alsorequire intravenous fluids and feeding bystomach tube. Treatment and nursing may benecessary for several days. Every year a fewfoals require intensive, 24/7 hospital treatmentand nursing, and there is no guarantee ofsurvival, even with the very best care.

Prematurity/dysmaturityWhile we assume a ‘normal’ gestation is 340days, there is actually a wide range of ‘normal’,i.e. 315 to 365 days, depending on the mare.Anything that causes a mare to foal early (forexample surgery, severe or chronic pain,infection or other stressful event) will usuallyresult in the birth of a ‘premature foal’. If thefoal is too premature, it will have virtually nochance of survival.

In other mares, the foal’s maturation in theuterus is impaired and this results in a foal that

is not ‘ready’ to be born, even if it is carried toterm. These are called dysmature foals.

In both of these groups the normalphysiological mechanisms needed to allow lifeoutside the uterus have not been properly‘switched on’ and the foal may simply not beready for life in the outside world. These foalsoften have a very fine coat and soft ears. Theymay be unable to stand unassisted, have soft(incompletely ossified) bones and may be verysmall and weak, although some are of average size.

In some mild cases, all these foals need is tobe fed, either by bottle or stomach tube andprovided with basic nursing care until theirsystems have a chance to catch up. Others mayrequire more intensive treatment, includingassistance to stand and suck, more intensivenursing care such as tube or intravenousfeeding, surfactant and oxygen administration,and hormonal support just for starters. Thefoals must be kept warm. If the foal is tooseverely impaired it may not be possible to saveit. Twin foals are often either premature ordysmature and can be very difficult to save.

Haemolytic anaemiaThe antibodies in colostrum are derived fromthe mare’s own blood and concentrated in thecolostrum in the weeks before birth. The mare

produces these in response to antigens she hasbeen exposed to in her environment and viavaccination. It is essential that foals receivethese antibodies soon after birth to help themfight infection in the first weeks of life.

However, in a small number of foals, some ofthe antibodies they receive from their damactually attack the foal’s own red blood cells,causing them to rupture (haemolysis) becauseof an incompatibility between the blood typesof the mare and the stallion. The resultinganaemia may be life threatening. The foalappears normal at birth but within a few dayswill become weak, rapidly tire and appeardepressed. Respiratory rate increases, the urineappears dark or reddish and the gums willappear paler than normal.

Diagnosis is based on clinical signs andblood results. The foal may require transfusionof washed red blood cells, normally from itsdam and ideally after cross-matching. Morethan one transfusion may be required andaffected foals must be closely monitored forsecondary problems such as infection, and forsecond and third ‘waves’ of haemolysis. Othersupportive treatment is needed and a few foalswill die, despite treatment. Mares who produceone haemolytic foal are likely to have others,although the risks can be reduced by coveringwith compatible stallions and testing the mare

VET FORUM: THE EXPERT VIEWBy DEIDRE CARSON, BVSc, MRCVS

A newborn foal receiving treatment in an intensive care unit

Addressing newborn problemsA number of acute non-infectious conditions are encountered in neonatal foals

Feb_114_Vet_Forum_Owner Breeder 17/01/2014 16:09 Page 90


in the month prior to foaling. These mares must be attended at foaling and

the foal prevented from sucking from the mare.The colostrum should be stripped from themare (this can be started prior to foaling) anddiscarded until it has become ‘normal’ milk(usually around 24 hours). The foal should begiven donor colostrum which has been sourcedprior to the foaling, and then mare’s milk orreplacer until it is safe to allow it to suck fromthe mare. If no donor colostrum is available, aplasma transfusion should be given usingcommercial plasma or plasma from a cross-matched donor.

Ruptured bladderSymptoms of ruptured bladder (normally justa small tear) are usually not seen until severaldays after birth. Colt foals are more frequentlyaffected than fillies. The foal will usually appearnormal at birth and may even be seen to urinatenormally during the first few days but will thenstart showing signs of illness. Symptomsinclude reduced appetite, dullness, straining tourinate, abdominal distension and labouredrespiration. Some may show signs of colic.

Urine leaks from the damaged bladder intothe abdominal cavity, causing pressure on thediaphragm, the accumulation of toxins andpotentially life-threatening electrolyteabnormalities.

Diagnosis is based on clinical signs, scans ofthe abdomen and abdominal fluid and bloodanalysis. Surgery is necessary to repair thebladder defect but is usually delayed until afterthe urine has been drained from the abdomenand the electrolyte levels restored to nearnormal. If caught early enough, most of theaffected foals make a quick and completerecovery.

Severe limb deformities It is not possible to describe in this short articleall of the limb deformities which might be seenin newborn foals. The very severe ones cancause dystocia (difficult foaling) or may result inthe foal being unable to stand, let alone walkproperly. You should call your vet if the foal hasbeen unable to stand within a few hours ofbirth. If the foal cannot stand but has a goodsuck reflex, you should express the colostrumfrom the mare and feed it to the foal by bottlewithin the first couple of hours after birth andthen every hour or two until your vet arrives.

Some foals will require splinting, either withspecially formed plaster or fibreglass splints, orcommercially available adjustable devices.Some conditions, for example excessivelystraight fetlocks, may be improved with a largedose of oxytetracycline that helps to ‘relax’ thesoft tissue structures. Exercise will need to beregulated and adjusted according to the

condition. For example, fetlock contracture canbe improved with periods on a level, cleansurface as long as the fetlock does not knuckleover when weight bearing. On the other hand,mild carpal (knee) contracture may get worse ifthe foal is allowed too much exercise andbecomes tired. Short periods of exercise a fewtimes a day are better than one longer period.Ask for advice early in the foal’s life, as theseconditions are easier to manage the earlier theyare seen.

Meconium impactionWithin a few hours of birth all foals should beseen to pass their first droppings or‘meconium’. This is usually soft and moist butin some foals it is dry and pebbly. In a few, andit is usually colts again, the meconium becomes‘stuck’ within the pelvic canal or rectum. Thefoal will strain unsuccessfully and may standstretched out with the tail held rigid. In a fewcases, the foal will develop colic signs and thesemay be severe.

Treatment is usually by administration of anenema (either commercial buffered phosphateor specially prepared acetyl cysteine) butanalgesia may be required until the blockage iscleared. In very mild cases a dilute solution ofdishwashing liquid can be effective, but caremust be taken during administration to avoiddamaging the delicate rectal lining.

Rib fracturesSome larger foals or those that are born after adifficult or rapid foaling might suffer fromfractured ribs. These may not be immediatelyapparent, especially if there are only one or tworibs involved. Usually, only one side of the chestis involved but up to seven or eight ribs may be

affected. The foal may not show any signs ofabnormality but the fractures might be detectedby close palpation of the chest in the days after birth.

In the more severely affected foals, they willshow laboured respiration and the affected areaof the chest will collapse during inspirationrather than expand like a normal chest. Mostaffected foals do not require further treatmentbut in a few cases surgery is necessary to repairsome of the ribs and stabilise the chest wall.Sadly, in a few cases, the fracture ends damagethe lungs or heart and the foal may either die orrequire euthanasia.

Atresia ani/coliI have included this because, although prettyrare, it can cause symptoms similar tomeconium impaction. In affected foals, theanus or part of the colon (large bowel) ismissing or incompletely formed. The mostobvious feature is that no faeces will be passed.If the anus is affected, there may simply not bean opening under the tail. Simple surgicaltreatment may be possible in some of thesecases. In atresia coli, the foal may appearcompletely normal initially but will developsigns of colic. It may be necessary to perform abarium enema or exploratory surgery to makea correct diagnosis. Depending on the locationand extent of the malformation, it may bepossible to correct it, but in most cases this issadly not an option.

Fortunately, most foals are carried to termand are born uneventfully. There are few eventsmore exciting than the birth of a normal foalbut early recognition of any abnormality willprovide the best opportunity for a successfuloutcome.

An x-ray showing fractured ribs in a young foal which have been repaired surgically

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National Hunt Grade Ones

DATA BOOKSTAKES RESULTS

60 HENRY VIII NOVICES’ CHASE G1

O- B-TR-

Age Starts Wins Places Earned

POLIGLOTE

QUEEN PLACE

61 TINGLE CREEK CHASE G1

O- B-TR-


MY RISK

HIRLISH

62 JOHN DURKAN MEMORIAL PUNCHESTOWN CHASE G1

O- B-TR-


ARVICO

DARAKA

63 NAVAN NOVICE HURDLE G1

O- B-TR-


SHANTOU

BACKAWAY

64 LONG WALK HURDLE G1

O-B- TR-


ASSESSOR

EVA DE CHALAMONT

Feb_114_Databook_Leader 17/01/2014 17:00 Page 92


65 KAUTO STAR NOVICES’ CHASE G1

O- B-TR-


BENEFICIAL

MINI MOO MIN

66 CHRISTMAS HURDLE G1

O- B- TR-


Northern Dancer

Northern Dancer

DESERT PRINCE

SPARTAN GIRL

67 KING GEORGE VI CHASE G1

O-B- TR-


DOM ALCO

GAZELLE LULU

68 RACING POST NOVICE CHASE G1

O- B-TR-


FLEMENSFIRTH

OSIERY GIRL

Caulfield on Silviniaco Conti: “His sire Dom Alco has proved a powerful source ofstamina, siring the likes of Neptune Collonges, Grands Crus, Unioniste and Sire Collonges”

>>



National Hunt Grade Ones

DATA BOOKSTAKES RESULTS

69 PADDY POWER DIAL-A-BET CHASE G1

O- B-TR-


BENEFICIAL

SUPREME BREDA

70 FUTURE CHAMPIONS NOVICE HURDLE G1

O- B- TR-


OSCAR

BOBBING BACK

71 FUTURE CHAMPION JUVENILE FINALE HURDLE G1

O-B- TR-


SAINT DES SAINTS

BELLE DU ROI

72 LEXUS CHASE G1

O- B-TR-


BOB BACK

FASHIONISTA

73 CHRISTMAS HURDLE G1

O- B-TR-


RED RANSOM

ZAINTA

>>



74 CHALLOW NOVICES’ HURDLE G1

O- B-TR-


Northern Dancer

Northern Dancer

WESTERNER

HOLLYGROVE SAMBA

75 FORT LENEY NOVICE CHASE G1

O- B-TR-


KING S THEATRE

BADEN76 ISTABRAQ DECEMBER

FESTIVAL HURDLE G1

O- B- TR-


MONTJEU

SCANDISK

Caulfield on Bobs Worth: “His earnings now stand in the region of £650,000, yet hewas unsold at !24,000 at the 2008 Land Rover Sale and then cost only £20,000 at Doncaster”

National Hunt Graded races



24 HOURS WITH… DAVE ROBERTS

Idon’t do sleep. My body just wakesat five, sometimes even half pastfour, and aided by plenty of black

coffee I start to sort out which trainers Iam going to ring first. I try and checkthe ground at the various meetings asearly as I can and by 5.30am I am goingthrough the form, looking at the races.

At this time of year on a typicalMonday I could be working on eightmeetings, two a day over the four daysahead. Generally I am working four orfive days in advance. I see myself as asalesman, selling jockeys to trainers andit’s all a question of how much you putinto the job.

I have between 40 and 50 jockeys onmy books with AP McCoy, DickyJohnson, Tom Scudamore, PaddyBrennan, Tom O’Brien, Paul Moloney,Nick Schofield, Leighton Aspell, RobertThornton and Jamie Moore amongthem.

I have been doing the job for 27 yearsand it has become an obsession. And itneeds to be for you to keep at it. I justget this amazing adrenalin rush at fiveo’clock every morning.

Guessing, I would say I make about350 phone calls and texts a day. OnFriday mornings, with the weekenddeclarations, I have three hours to sortout as many as six meetings, which ismanic. That’s when I have two landlinesand three mobiles all active at the sametime.

I don’t do breakfast, but at about10.45am I’ll have more coffee and grabwhatever is in the fridge for about 30seconds.

At one o’clock on a Monday theentries come out for Saturday andSunday so potentially you could have asmany as 11 meetings in front of you. Youring round as long as you want to; I’mnot happy until I’ve rung everybody.

I tend not to read what’s in the papersor the formbook, but watch every raceon television and keep a list of dodgyjumpers. I can’t afford to miss a racebecause I rely on my eyes; that’s myformbook.

The best thing about dealing with APis that he’s totally, totally professional.He always accuses me of beingobsessed and you know what we allthink about him. So maybe we are twoof a kind.

Being at Towcester for his 4,000thwinner was a surreal day. It was just 24hours after my father had passed away

and my emotions went from rockbottom to right off the top of the scale.When AP lent down, shook my handand said: “That’s for you, and for yourdad who will be watching,” it was a verypersonal moment between the two ofus. What he said sums up AP. Justtypical.

For me, the most satisfying momentduring our association was when hebeat Sir Gordon Richards’s record of269 winners in a season on Valfonic atWarwick in 2002. I don’t think 280-plusin a season will ever happen again.Furthermore, I don’t think people willrealise how good AP is and what he hasachieved numerically until some timeafter he has retired. I reckon jockeys willbe winning the title with around 160 or170 winners.

I’m not sure why, but I have nointerest in Flat racing and never watchthe Derby or Royal Ascot. People tellme I’d have been a lot better off if I’dgone down the Flat route, where thereis more prize-money. I get 10% of what

jockeys earn, which is their riding fee(£157.72) and prize-money.

I don’t bet at all because I am in avery privileged position and would losethe trust of trainers.

Chelsea Football Club is myrelaxation. My son Josh and I are seasonticket holders. I try to go to all midweekand night matches. My daughter Beth isinto dance and musicals and I go tomusicals with her. Josh and Beth helpme to switch off.

I won’t really think about food untilabout 8.30pm, and I’ve started cookingmyself, which gives me pleasure andsomething else to focus on at the end ofthe day.

I don’t enjoy sleeping and generallyhave only about two hours a night so Igo to bed about one or two o’clockafter watching sport I’ve recorded, quiteoften four hours of darts. Sometimes I’llsleep on the sofa in the office. It’s alifestyle your body gets used to.

Interview by Tim Richards

He makes hundreds of phone calls every day, manages

the careers of 50 jockeys and sleeps two hours a night –

welcome to the glamorous world of agent Dave Roberts

‘AP accuses me of being obsessed’

Feb_114_24Hours_v2_Owner 17/01/2014 16:52 Page 96

DarleyHELMETExceed And Excel – Accessories (Singspiel)£8,000 Oct 1, Special Live FoalStands at Dalham Hall Stud, Britain+44 (0)1638 730070 +353 (0)45 527600 www.darleystallions.com

DECIDEdestinyDarley’14 The facts, stats, latest developments, foal galleries and race videos.

Find them online in our all-new digital brochurewww.darleystallions.com/decidedestiny

New to Britain: The best two-year-old by the world’s best sire oftwo-year-olds who trained on to win a Classic in record time.Helmet blazed away with the Australian equivalents of the Dewhurst, theRacing Post Trophy and the 2,000 Guineas and was higher rated at threethan his sire and grandsires – Exceed And Excel, Danehill and Singspiel.

Have youmetHelmet?

DAR6241 OB page Helmet, 15 JAN14 13/01/2014 13:46 Page 1

Tob feb 2014

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Transcript of Tob feb 2014