Early Christmas Present For Timmons With Success Of “Value” Breezer In Hong Kong

[Wandering Eyes]

It may not have rivalled the headline acts Romantic Warrior, Ka Ying Rising or even Sosie, but for Justin Timmons, the success of his graduate Helene Supafeeling (City Light) in Hong Kong on Saturday provided the popular breeze-up consignor with reason to celebrate.

And why wouldn't it? Helene Supafeeling, formerly known as Port Light in Europe, landed a £107,160 cheque when making his debut at Sha Tin a winning one on what is one of the most important fixtures of the year in that jurisdiction.

Not only that, but the 24,000gns yearling purchase, who was then sold to Tom Biggs of Blandford Bloodstock for €41,000 at last year's Tattersalls Ireland Breeze-Up Sale, is yet another highly-rated horse to have been sold by Timmons under the banner of Dolmen Bloodstock. 

“It might have been a race on the undercard, but the biggest thing that I took from it was that he managed to win first-time up in Hong Kong,” Timmons said. “A lot of people tell me that it usually takes horses a couple of runs to acclimatise and adapt to the style of racing in Hong Kong so, to win on his debut, that was quite impressive.”

Timmons added, “He was rated 100 in Britain and won off a Hong Kong rating of 72 so he could be well ahead of that rating. Who knows, he could be running in one of the bigger races on that card in 12 months' time! He's definitely quite useful.”

Helene Supafeeling was winning for trainer David Eustace, but it was Archie Watson who managed the horse's career in between the breeze-ups and that valuable Hong Kong victory. A dual winner for Watson, Helene Supafeeling finished fifth behind Cosmic Year in a Listed contest at Newmarket before being sold to continue his career in Hong Kong. 

They say one swallow doesn't make a summer, though, and, luckily for Timmons, he has come up with a good horse from small numbers every year for the past number of years. 

He explained, “I have sold a horse rated 90 or 100 every year but they never seem to blitz in their breeze. Orderofthephoenix (Phoenix Of Spain), for example, was 70th or 80th on the clock at Tattersalls Ireland, yet she won over six furlongs at Woodbine earlier this year. She's obviously very quick for a Phoenix Of Spain, who seems to be getting mile-plus horses, but, for whatever reason, she didn't clock.

“Lost Signal (Lucky Vega) looks a nice horse as well. He was only beaten a few lengths by Gewan on debut at Newbury but he won his next two starts and is now rated 89. He's another who didn't rock the clock in his breeze but he looks an exciting horse for next year.”

Timmons added, “I only breeze on average five or six every year and I don't even have the hunger to go up in numbers anymore because it is just very hard to get riders these days. The way I work it is, I go to all of the sales and I try to buy something I really like. There are plenty of days I come home with nothing as a result. I don't need to fill a stable for the sake of it because I'm trying to keep numbers tight. That way, I can do a lot of the hands-on work myself. I have a good rider, Niall O'Connor, who is a big help to me. People say breezing is a numbers game but there's no point in having horses for the sake of it. It's hard to say what's right and what's wrong but, for me, I know that keeping the numbers tight is working so we'd rather keep it as a boutique operation.”

Along with producing nice horses, the one constant to Dolmen Bloodstock over the past number of years is that the horses sold under that banner rarely feature in the top third of the time sheets at the breeze-up sales. It doesn't seem to hinder them on the racetrack, however, and Timmons believes that his consignment highlights the value on offer to buyers willing to look beyond the clock at the breeze-up sales. 

He said, “I would like to think by now that there are one or two buyers out there that are savvy enough to know my horses don't blitz the clock. Tom Biggs, for example, bought the City Light off me last year and, off the back of him, he asked me what I liked this year. I told him that the Lucky Vega was my pick and he followed him into the ring. Fair enough, he didn't get him but he bid on him. He trusted me and I didn't set him wrong so there is definitely value to be gotten at the breeze-ups if you look beyond the clock and analyse the breeze as a whole. People build up a profile on consignors and they know what to expect from different vendors.”

Timmons added, “I started out in this game in a racing yard and have also dabbled in the breeding and stud farm side of the business as well. Every time I get a horse in, I train them like they're racehorses. Maybe from a trading perspective, I should be training more for the clock but this is what I know and I am set in my ways. The breeze-ups were fundamentally about getting a yearling in, breaking them and letting them go up the track in a good style. Buyers had the advantage of being able to see them gallop up the track without blitzing and I think that's what breeze-ups should always be about. There's a part of me that would love them to be able to go quicker in the breeze but, I'm 35 now so maybe I'm too old to change my ways!”

The post Early Christmas Present For Timmons With Success Of “Value” Breezer In Hong Kong appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

View the full article