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By Wandering Eyes · Posted
Here's to the hardy souls still grafting away at the Goffs December National Hunt Sale. For the mostly Flat brigade, however, we can now hang up bobble hats and waterproofs, put the final catalogue on the shelf (sorry, iPad users, not quite caught up with you yet) and wonder what to do with ourselves until the February Sale comes around. Oh yes, Christmas, that will distract us for a few days. During the long and frenetic sales season there is little time for reflection, but as the dust settles on the largest breeding stock sale of the year in Europe at Tattersalls, another vibrant round of foal trade at Goffs, and the final whirl of the ring in Deauville, we have the chance to consider some of the themes of the last month. Rowing against tide of fashion reaps rewards Despite the seemingly never-ending rounds of sales, plenty of top horses racing in this part of the world do so for their breeders. At the Tattersalls December Mares Sale, seven of the 11 seven-figure lots were either homebreds or had been sold privately in training. Among the others, the top lot, Barnavara (Calyx), who was sold for 4.8m gns, was a notably good yearling purchase by Patrick Cooper at €70,000 at the Goffs Orby Sale. It's not the first time that Cooper has pulled off something like this either, as only last year Village Voice (Zarak), who was picked up at the Tattersall Guineas Breeze-up Sale for 38,000gns, was bought for 1.3m gns by Resolute Bloodstock. Tamfana (Soldier Hollow), too, was a tremendous purchase by Jeremy Brummitt for the Quantum Leap Racing syndicate at €20,000 from the BBAG Yearling Sale. She returned to Tattersalls as a Group 1 winner and sold for 2.6m gns. Azure Blue (El Kabeir) had originally been bought as a foal at Goffs for €19,000 by Harry Dutfield, who sold her on to the Appleton family and trainer Michael Dods for 47,000gns at Book 3 of the October Yearling Sale before she made 1.1m gns last Tuesday. Roger and Hanako Varian also deserve credit for buying Lady Of Spain (Phoenix Spain) for 40,000gns at Book 2 from Whatton Manor Stud, who had pinhooked her at €16,000. The Group 3 winner was just outside millionaires' row but sold for a substantial 900,000gns to Katsumi Yoshida. None of these fillies mentioned above are by what might be considered top-tier stallions but their success on the track is not just a superb reflection on their trainers' abilities but also on their original buyers who were prepared to look past supposed sire power to the individual. Alongside an established broodmare sire in Oasis Dream, and the fashionable names of Night Of Thunder and Kingman, it was refreshing to note that the sires of the top ten most expensive fillies and mares of the year at Tattersalls included Calyx, Caravaggio, Soldier Hollow, Churchill and El Kabeir. It was a similar story at Arqana, where the Ten Sovereigns filly Half Sovereign, a 12,000gns yearling purchase by Karl and Elaine Burke, topped the sale at €2.6m. Nyra, a well-bred daughter of the Deutsches Derby winner Isfahan who was herself third in the G1 Preis der Diana, is on her way to America after being bought by Scott Heider for €875,000, while fillies by Soldier Hollow and Chachnak made €810,000 and €800,000 respectively. Syndicates hit the big time A whopping 11.9m gns was spent on the top three lots in the Tattersalls December Mares Sale – 14.5% of the total turnover from 580 fillies and mares sold – and while those three top race fillies went to just two powerful owner-breeder entities, there was plenty of shared upside to be had on the vendor side of the transaction. All three horses were owned by syndicates: Barnavara by Alpha Racing, Porta Fortuna by Medallion Racing 2020, Steve Weston, Reeves Thoroughbreds and Barry Fowler, and Tamfana by Quantum Leap Racing. Christmas sure did come early for the members of those respective ownership groups. One major buyer that was absent this time around was Amo Racing. Kia Joorabchian had spent 8,375,000gns at last year's December Mares Sale, including the purchase of top lot You Got To Me for 4.8m gns, but after another busy yearling season the Amo team kept away from the breeding stock sales. Class of 2024 looks strong There is nobody braver than pinhookers – except of course breeders – and there were plenty of enthusiastic young pinhookers to be found at Goffs in particular once again. Whether breeding or pinhooking, luck needs to go your way – for the foals to be born healthy, strong and correct, and for them to remain so. If you're breeding to race, the stallion doesn't matter as long as he suits your mare. Commercially, stallion selection has become ever more tricky, and getting into a decent sale can be difficult if you're not on the 'right' sire, whose popularity can wax and wane in a heartbeat. Despite contracting foal crop numbers, demand for sales places remains strong. First-season sires appear to be more popular than ever, having yet to blot their copybook, but woe betide those who don't get a bunch of winners early in the season that their first runners hit the track. At the foal sales, Chaldean, Shaquille, Dragon Symbol, Native Trail, Triple Time, Vadeni, Erevann, Ace Impact, Paddington and Mostahdaf have been well supported from what is looking a strong intake of 2024. This flocking to new sires and then largely ignoring them in their third and fourth seasons is dangerous for the whole business, however. Plenty of stallion farms will be dealing on price this coming season – particularly for horses in those tricky years – but perhaps more incentives to loyalty should be considered and made public to keep things on a more even keel for a young stallion's covering numbers. That in turn may encourage breeders to be a little broader in their choice of stallions and allow pinhookers to follow suit when it comes to foal selection. Three days of mares in Newmarket This worked better than to have what had ended up as an abridged Thursday session which felt a bit after the show. That said, one larger consignor did suggest that having fewer horses spread across four days would be an improvement from the point of view of staff and potential buyers not having to be at the sales so late. We appreciate that starting the Sceptre Sessions around 7pm is to make them something of an evening feature, but it's pretty dark from 4pm onwards in winter and bringing them forward a little in each day would help rather than hinder, especially for those folk trying to sell a mare in the small batch that appears after the Sceptre Sessions. This can feel like an afterthought in a near-deserted ring. No mincing of words from Mahony There is generally a touch of marketing speak to a closing statement from a chairman of a sales company, which is what made Edmond Mahony's address at the conclusion of the Tattersalls December Sale so startling. While acknowledging another strong renewal for Tattersalls – and it was – he pulled no punches when referring to the challenges facing the industry. Mahony is clearly no fan of this Labour government. While we can't blame them for all of racing's woes, it is also easy to feel that, as much as Lady Starmer clearly loves a day at the races, her husband and his colleagues in power have so far been no friend to the sector despite the tax on racing betting having been left unchanged in the recent budget. This was of course some small relief, but the tax hikes in other gambling sectors look likely to have a knock-on effect for British racing's finances. “While government has accepted the racing industry's case with respect to betting duty, the wider industry dynamics remain perilously uncertain,” he said. “We are fortunate that the lure of Newmarket as the Headquarters of European racing continues to resonate globally, but we must also work to ensure that government does not allow the status of a globally admired industry to be eroded through neglect.” Strong words from Mahony, who is all too aware that headlines regarding record turnover at the sales can be out of kilter with the more troubling state of the racing industry as a whole. The post Sales Reflection: Pinhookers Wade In While Syndicates Cash In appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article -
By Wandering Eyes · Posted
One lucky fan and a guest can win a chance to attend the 55th Annual Resolute Racing Eclipse Awards presented by John Deere, The Jockey Club, and the NTRA as part of the Resolute Racing Eclipse Awards Sweepstakes, it was announced Tuesday. The grand prize winner and their guest will also accompany Resolute Racing at the Pegasus World Cup. The grand prize includes airfare, hotel, and two tickets to the Eclipse Awards to be held Jan. 22, 2026, at The Breakers Palm Beach, as well as tickets to the Pegasus World Cup held at Gulfstream Park on Jan. 24, 2026. There is no purchase necessary to participate in the promotion and entries may be made on the Resolute Racing website, or its accompanying social media channels, or the NTRA website, or its accompanying social media channels. “We are excited to again host two lucky fans at the most glamorous night in racing at the 55th Annual Eclipse Awards,” said NTRA President and CEO Tom Rooney. “In partnership with Resolute Racing, two fans will have a fantastic weekend we hope they remember forever.” “Racing fans are the backbone of the sport, and Resolute Racing is delighted to team with the NTRA to provide an avenue for two lucky people to attend the Eclipse Awards, which is Thoroughbred racing's version of the Academy Awards,” said John Stewart, founder and owner of Resolute Racing. “We also look forward to hosting the winners at the Pegasus World Cup.” The post NTRA and Resolute Racing Offering Sweepstakes to Attend Eclipse Awards appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article -
By Wandering Eyes · Posted
The shortlists for the 2026 Thoroughbred Industry Employee Awards (TIEA), sponsored by Godolphin, were announced on Tuesday. The shortlisted nominees for each category are: Newcomer Award Carly Rumsey – Jeremy Scott Emily Lucas – James Moffatt Emma Skerritt – Richenda Ford Faye Levick – Jedd O'Keeffe Freddie Wilks – Charlie Johnston Lizzy Skidmore – Nick Gifford Macey Ford – Jim Boyle Poppy Hatton – Folland-Bowen Bloodstock Sienna Anderson – Charlie Fellowes Verity Haigh – Jo Foster Leadership Award Aideen Marshall – Kevin Philippart De Foy Annelie Hollstenius – Stuart Williams Carrie Sanderson – Karl Burke Claire Freeman – Dan Skelton Jaimie Duff – Lucinda Russell Jennifer Burns – Jim Goldie Louisa Allen – Jim Boyle Michael Mavin – Tim Easterby Ryan King – James Owen Sarah Peacock – Hugo Palmer Rider / Racing Groom Award Bekah Duffy – Susan Corbett Danielle Mooney – Karl Burke Ellie Jefferson – Christian Williams Erin Shannon – Roger Varian Evie Gleason – Marcus Tregoning Jessica Jubb – Nick Alexander Kerry Bennett – Roger Varian Kieran Kourdache – Karl Burke Michelle Kramer – Paul Nicholls Tom Busfield – Jedd O'Keeffe Stud Award Dayna Walsh – Tweenhills Farhat Iqbal – Stetchworth and Middle Park Studs Graham Rylance – Charlock Stud Hannelore Gossage – Park Wood Stud Isabel Byford – Shadwell Estate James Goddard – Chasemore Farm Laura Wright – Hazelwood Bloodstock Oleh Ihnatenko – Whitsbury Manor Stud Scott Marshall – Tweenhills Zoe Andrews – Elms Bloodstock Dedication Award Christopher Pattenden – Diana Grissell Derek Snaith – Charlie Fellowes Emma Batten – Charlie Longsdon Dean Angell – Amanda Perrett Gemma Edwards – David Pipe Helen Halliwell – James Fanshawe Kate Ford – Goldford Stud Kenny Williams – Michael Dods Robert Storton – Jack Channon Tina Jacobs – William Haggas Community Award Anna Collins – Chester Racecourse Bobby Beevers – Autism in Racing Geraldine Jones – Godolphin Hayley Clements – Micky Hammond Karen Davies – Racing Welfare Liz Prowting – Thoroughbred aftercare Louise Robson – Thoroughbred Dressage Lucy Gurney – Women in Racing Simon Bailey – Sports Chaplaincy UK Susan Corbett – Charity work and mentoring Brant Dunshea, acting chief executive of the BHA, said, “Congratulations to everyone who has been shortlisted for an award. This is a very impressive accomplishment, particularly given the high standard of competition again this year, and you should be immensely proud. “The judges had a tough job in whittling down more than 160 nominations to a shortlist of just 60, and I hope that everyone who was nominated for an award will feel pleased that your hard work has been recognised by the people around you. “My sincere thanks to our judging panel, to our generous and longstanding sponsors Godolphin, and our partners at the Racing Post, Racing TV and Ascot Racecourse. “We are also grateful to everyone who helped support the nominations period. These are the industry's awards and it's wonderful to see racing and breeding embrace their significance and the importance to the people they exist to honour.” The post Shortlists For 2026 Thoroughbred Industry Employee Awards Revealed appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article -
By Wandering Eyes · Posted
Maiden Watch: Week of Dec. 1-6View the full article -
By Wandering Eyes · Posted
Needless to say, some people are always going to chase the fast buck. In the main, however, we all know this to be the longest of games. You can't drive the green from every tee; nor should you panic if your first drive lands in the water. There are 17 more holes to go. For Jane Lyon and her late husband Frank, one of the least fulfilling days in their Turf journey must have been the GI Matron Stakes of 2005. They had just made an expensive gamble to restore to their Summer Wind program a Hennessy filly sold to John P. Fort as a Saratoga yearling the previous year. Fort had paid $400,000 for India, a daughter of their foundation mare Misty Hour (Miswaki), and watched her win a 5.5 furlong Saratoga maiden on her second start by 12 lengths. The papers reported the cost of bringing her home at $2.05 million. High stakes, then, when India lined up for the Matron as 7-5 favorite. But she got upset in the gate, was gunned into the lead and folded meekly, finishing tailed off. Todd Pletcher told the press that she had returned bloodied and distressed. No Breeders' Cup for India, then. And when India did resurface at Aqueduct that winter, odds-on in a short field for a Grade III, she managed no better than third. Eventually, however, she stretched out to a mile and got on a roll, winning two stakes and two graded stakes. But while her genes had now told on the track, it was presumably their potential for her second career that had inspired her retrieval. After all, her dam had been recruited during her own racing career–from Sam-Son Farm, after winning a Woodbine stakes–because she represented Darby Dan royalty. For Misty Hour's third dam is the matriarch Golden Trail (Hasty Road), who had arrived in the famous “bulk buy” of 38 mares from the estate of Isabel Dodge Sloane by a syndicate headed by John Galbreath. Her family is one of the oldest in America, tracing all the way to Maria Slamerkin in 1769. Little wonder, then, if Golden Trail was one of those mares reserved for Darby Dan, where Galbreath more or less “married” her to Graustark–sire of 11 of her last 12 foals (from 17 overall). The second of these, Java Moon, was good enough to win a Grade III but would achieve greater fame as granddam of nine stakes winners. These were headed by the elite performer/producer Memories of Silver (Silver Hawk), but also included Misty Hour, who was out of Java Moon's unraced daughter by Nijinsky and finished second in the GII Fantasy Stakes after her transfer to Summer Wind. Given the parallel lines of this dynasty–which turn up names like Dynaformer, Ryafan, Brian's Time and Sunshine Forever–India was favored with some of the best stallions around, especially with her stakes-winning half-sister Pilfer (Deputy Minister) meanwhile emerging as a top-class producer. Pilfer's second foal To Honor and Serve (Bernardini), winner of the GI Woodward and GI Cigar Mile, secured her an automatic booking to his sire and together they additionally produced not only GI Chandelier Stakes winner Angela Renee but also the dam of one of the leading sophomore fillies of 2025, La Cara (Street Sense). Still a very active family, then, and India herself rewarded her owners' enterprise in sending her to Frankel (GB) with Mozu Ascot, a dual Group 1 winner in Japan. Admittedly she also produced some fairly tepid talents, while her 2015 daughter by Tapit, Secret Sigh, never made the gate. But the Summer Wind team continued to do right by the family, and started Secret Sigh with Frankel, too. The resulting filly was retained, while Secret Sight's next foal–a son of Uncle Mo–brought $1.5 million as a Saratoga yearling. Unfortunately, Frankel's daughter showed zilch in one start while the Uncle Mo colt failed to break his maiden in a dozen attempts. Nonetheless the mare's 2023 foal, a colt by Gun Runner, proved an even bigger hit at Saratoga last year, realizing $1.9 million from M.V. Magnier and White Birch Farm. This time, Summer Wind did not risk seller's remorse and stayed in for a piece. As a result, they may yet find themselves sharing the ultimate legacy of India's return to the farm. For this, of course, is Paladin, winner last Saturday of the GII Remsen Stakes. On one level, Paladin emulated Further Ado (who had the previous weekend likewise banked 10 Derby points) in exalting the first crop of Gun Runner juveniles conceived even at $125,000. Though only half his current fee, that was steeply up from the $50,000 he had charged “on the bubble,” pending his first starters in 2021. But neither his giddy rise since, nor the failures of Frankel and Uncle Mo with the same mare, alter the fact that Gun Runner was here tapping into a most aristocratic line. Some will no doubt excite themselves that both Paladin and Further Ado (whose damsire is Sky Mesa) are out of mares by a son of Pulpit. But the rest of us will focus on sheer depth of family, and the seeding of this branch since Golden Trail: Graustark, Nijinsky, Miswaki, Hennessy, Tapit. This was a chance Gun Runner has plainly earned, but that will prove no less true of his breeders (and part-owners) should their patient trail through India happen to end up in the Churchill winner's circle next May. REPOLE RECRUITS SHARE OVERNIGHT MOMENTUM Misty Hour and Pilfer are just two contributors to the reputation of their respective sires, Miswaki and Deputy Minister, as elite distaff influences. That's a phenomenon easier to identify than explain, but I wonder whether this may become another of the many ways in which modern stallion books are eroding the coherence of breeding. On the face of it, you would have to say that Uncle Mo's legacy is being lavishly expanded by his daughters, who have lately come up with Thorpedo Anna (Fast Anna), Journalism (Curlin), Nitrogen (Medaglia d'Oro) and Muth (Good Magic). But the fact is that we're talking about a sire who long matched quality with quantity, and you would hope that any stallion favored by quite so many mares deserving of such a high fee (up to $175,000) would come up with a few good producers. Buckpasser, one of the greatest of all broodmare sires, was also denied a full span of life: he died at 15, a year younger than Uncle Mo. His total output was 320 named foals. Uncle Mo, with two more crops yet to enter training, has so far bequeathed 1,099 starters. Still, there's no denying that several of his daughters are matching his sons in a growing imprint on the breed. Last Saturday was a case in point. With the GII Cigar Mile success of Bishops Bay advertising his eligibility to enter competition with other sons of Uncle Mo at stud, two young fillies out of Uncle Mo mares followed up their debut wins in Grade II company on either coast: Zany (American Pharoah) in the Demoiselle Stakes, and Consequent (Into Mischief) in the Starlet Stakes. Besides a shared damsire, however, these two fillies have something rather more astonishing in common: the dams of both have literally just joined the same program that raced Uncle Mo himself. Consequent's owner-breeder Juddmonte bought her dam Cognitive as a $500,000 yearling at the 2016 Saratoga Sale and, after she failed to build on her debut success in a light career, culled her (in foal to Elite Power) at the same price to Repole Stable at Keeneland last month. The 10-year-old had already produced one Into Mischief filly, Show Card, to win four of her last five starts including two stakes, so the emergence of Consequent–who made her debut immediately after the November Sale–makes Cognitive look exceptionally well found. After all, she's out of a half-sister to none other than Dream Rush (Wild Rush), herself a Grade I winner and dam and granddam of two others, in Dreaming of Julia (A.P. Indy) and Malathaat (Curlin). If Juddmonte presumably knew that Cognitive was about to launch another talented daughter, then Zany is herself owned by Repole Stable–who bought her for $350,000 at Saratoga last year–and had won on debut at Gulfstream on the eve the November Sale. So when her dam Mo' Green was included in D.J. Stable's reduction, Repole and his team stepped in to buy her (with a fashionable cover by Vekoma) for $550,000. In this instance the vendors made a nice profit, having bought Mo' Green for only $70,000 as a 2-year-old before watching her crown a 4-for-14 career in the GIII Top Flight Invitational Stakes. She's a couple of years older than Cognitive, but both still have plenty of opportunity to build on the overnight gains they have achieved for their new owner. Presumably Hips 349 and 496 were bought to support Fierceness or Mindframe. Whatever the extra spur of sentiment, when it comes to Uncle Mo mares, King Midas recruitment of this kind will give those young sires every chance. The post Breeding Digest: Long Trail Through India Leads to Another Top Gun appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article
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