‘She’s A Bullseye’ – Camas Park Bidding To Maintain Amazing Record At Arqana

[Wandering Eyes]

DEAUVILLE, FRANCE – Pound for pound, Camas Park Stud has produced the goods like no other consignment at the Arqana August Sale in recent years. 

Queen Mary third Balantina (Ten Sovereigns), Saratoga Oaks runner-up Evershed (Churchill) and genuine Derby hope Isaac Newton (Camelot) are just some of the August Sale graduates that have been strutting their stuff on the track this year alone for an outfit that sold the 2022 European Champion Two-Year-Old Little Big Bear on this sale ground. 

Put simply, few people run a tighter ship than Tim Hyde snr and Tim Hyde jnr and the hope is that there are one or two potential stars lurking in their seven-strong draft this year. 

“We've been coming here a long time – didn't miss a year since the mid-80s,” Hyde snr says in the baking hot sun in yard C at Arqana. “We've been lucky here. And a lot of good horses have come out of here also. Arqana is a great company to deal with. Very helpful. I think our horses are up to scratch. There are some really nice horses. But you need a good horse to come here. You need a Book 1 horse.” 

Balantina, Evershed and Isaac Newton are good horses alright and are just the type of animal that the Hydes bring to the market. Balantina was beaten a whisker in a Group 3 in Deauville a few days ago while Evershed ran a career-best to finish second in the Saratoga Oaks last time. But Isaac Newton could be something out of the ordinary. Trained by Aidan O'Brien on behalf of the Coolmore partners, he won his maiden at Goodwood in the style of a colt with Classic aspirations for next year.

Hyde jnr said, “Isaac Newton looks a very good horse. He won very nicely at Goodwood and could be a Derby horse for next year. We have a good roll of honour but we tend to bring good horses here. For a select sale like this, you have to come with good horses and, when they perform on the track, people tend to come back. We've been coming here for a long time. This sale has always been supported well internationally. You'd always have people from Japan, America and all across Europe attending this sale.”

The general chat in Deauville is that the horses assembled for this year's August Sale are the best for some time. So, the horses are here. But are the buyers? Judging by the footfall on Wednesday and Thursday, many of whom have travelled long journeys to be here, there is plenty of money around. Hyde jnr concurs. 

He said, “The traffic has been really good. There are a lot of people here from a lot of different countries so I would expect that it will be a very good sale. The market was good in Saratoga and we had a good sale there. We sold four or five yearlings and they all sold very well. I think it took people by surprise just how strong the market was over there but there is a big hunger for horses in the US.”

Despite its international footing, Camas Park Stud remains a consignment rooted in quality rather than quantity. It's a model that has allowed the farm to thrive with Whistlejacket, Russian Camelot, Ten Sovereigns, Capri, Highland Reel, Rekindling, Idaho and Osaila being other big-name graduates to note.

“We're not that big of an operation,” Hyde jnr explained. “We don't sell huge numbers and tend to concentrate on quality. We have 60 or 70 mares and keep only 30 of them at Camas. So we're not huge. And it is becoming harder and harder. Expenses have doubled in the past seven or eight years. The cost of running any thoroughbred business has sky-rocketed in recent years. That's why you need to focus on quality. Trading in low-end mares, the margins are so small that the costs are outweighing the margins.”

On the Hyde family's affinity with France, in particular Deauville, he added, “We sold Little Big Bear here. We owned part of No Nay Never and he won the Prix Morny. Then we bred Whistlejacket and of course he won the Prix Morny as well. That day with Whistlejacket meant a lot. If they grow up outside your door and you follow them the whole way here to the Prix Morny, that's special. This place is very close to our hearts and we like coming here and we like selling here. We've a big association with No Nay Never and we've three of them to sell here this year and they are three very good animals. If you want to go to Royal Ascot, you've got to consider No Nay Never because he is top of the list. He is an amazing stallion.”

Hyde snr and Hyde jnr are in agreement that this year's consignment ranks highly, with the latter indicating that the three yearlings selling on Monday will be worth the wait. 

Speaking about their draft, Hyde jnr said, “We have just one Blackbeard to sell here but we have a lot more of them at home that will be going to other sales. I'd say that he is stamping his horses really well. They've great strength and good action – he's making the right type. 

“But we could be in for a very busy Monday. The No Nay Never filly out of Panthere [182] is a bullseye filly – really strong and a great mover. Every time we pull her out, people just go 'wow'. If you're thinking about Royal Ascot, lot 262, a No Nay Never colt out of Snow Shower, is your man. We've sold a lot of good No Nays and he ranks right up there with the best of them. There's a Churchill filly out of Travel [289] and her No Nay Never colt won impressively at Monmouth Park and he looks the real deal. So she's another lovely filly who is going down well.”

On working the sale alongside his father, Hyde jnr concluded, “I'll never fill his shoes. It's great to be here and to be associated with him as he is a legend.”

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