Osborne Kick-Starts Breeze-Up Season

[Wandering Eyes]

As Jamie Osborne put it, after signing for the top lot at the Tattersalls Ascot Breeze-Up Sale yesterday, “Time will tell.” The Lambourn trainer then gave that broad grin of his, and added, “Hopefully not too much time.”

And indeed the premise of this sale, the first of the European juvenile calendar, is precisely that you might be able to bring a sharp and early animal back over the road, in little more than a couple of months, and win at the royal meeting. Hence the new £100,000 bonus offered to any graduate that manages to do just that.

Even within that brief window, however, time will also have shown whether yesterday’s proceedings (though largely, and candidly, focused on blue-collar pedigrees) might again serve as a barometer for the rest of the breeze-up market. It did so two years ago, with a bumper session; and likewise last year, when conversely signalling stormy weather ahead.

The hosts had responded not only with the new bonus, but by streamlining the catalogue from 146 last year (a giddy jump from 99 in 2017) to just 91. But vendors will not exactly be filled with optimism by some of yesterday’s returns, with the median—which shrank last year from £21,000 to £16,000—dwindling further to just £13,000 (-x%). The average was also down, from £24,117 to £20,552 (-x%).

In fairness, however, indices of this kind tend to be at the mercy of the clearance rate and, after their bruising experiences on the circuit last year, there were signs that vendors were better prepared to take a hit. The sales company should also be given due credit for sieving out horses that would struggle. In 2018, only half the lots offered here found a new home; this time round, the clearance rallied splendidly to 86%. But while the number of horses actually sold advanced to 67, from 59, turnover subsided from £1,422,900 to £1,377,000.

“Achieving a healthy clearance rate was our foremost priority,” said Richard Pugh, director of Horses-in-Training Sales. “This was achieved following a notable effort from the entire team since last year’s sale. The £100,000 Royal Ascot Bonus caught the imagination of both vendors and purchasers, and a reduced catalogue ensured vibrant trade from start to finish.

“The Tattersalls Ascot Breeze-Up Sale has celebrated some notable graduates over the years including Group 1 winners The Wow Signal (Ire) (Starspangledbanner {Aus}) and Sands of Mali (Fr) (Panis) and is an established date in the breeze-up calendar.

“We would like to thank Ascot Racecourse for producing an ideal breezing track yesterday and GBRI who have assisted us greatly in attracting overseas clients.”

Time had certainly told for the very last animal into the ring, lot 91, a February colt by Swiss Spirit (GB) (Invincible Spirit {Ire}) presented by Thomond O’Mara of Knockanglass Stables. He had produced the fastest breeze of the 82 clocked by various private timing systems the previous day. As nowadays seems nearly automatic, the top time duly produced the top price as Osborne gave £110,000 to see off a sustained challenge from Matt Coleman.

“He’s a gorgeous horse with plenty of scope,” Osborne said. “The downside is that he’s by a pretty cold stallion. But let’s see. Thomond is a good friend and has been recommending the horse for a long time.”

This was a smart pinhook, the colt having been sold for €15,000 in a private sale to Kilronan Stud at Goffs last October. He is a half-brother to the group-placed juvenile March (GB) (Dutch Art {GB}) out of a half-sister to 18-time winner (including in the Listed Two-Year-Old Trophy at Redcar) Dubai Dynamo (GB) (Kyllachy {GB}).

Osborne, who duly bookended the sale after also buying the first horse under the hammer, was acting in this instance for a new syndicate of speculators focused on the breeze-up sector. “It’s a trading partnership,” he explained. “Hopefully we’ll be active at the other sales. We want to roll the dice and see where we end up.”

He had made the group’s first purchase when giving £60,000 for lot 28, a son of Gutaifan (Ire) (Dark Angel {Ire}). Having assembled a staggering debut book of 203 mares, the Yeomanstown rookie is not going to be short of ammunition this season. But Osborne is convinced that there will be quality as well as quantity.

“I have a handful of Gutaifans at home,” he said. “And if I have a representative sample—and it’s always possible that I don’t—I think he’s clearly a sire that’s going to work. In my mind, anyway. And this is a beautiful moving-horse.”

Consigned by the Slattery family’s Meadowview Stables, the same academy that produced the outstanding hurdler Faugheen (Ire) among others, this colt is out of a winning Bernstein granddaughter of GI Starlet S. winner Creaking Board (GB) (Night Shift). He was pinhooked for €12,000 in a private sale at Fairyhouse last September.

Guitafan was retired to stud after track career extending just four months, in the course of which he won two Group 2 races by a head.

Following in the Footsteps of Sands

Though disappointed to surrender the top lot, Matt Coleman of Stroud Coleman Bloodstock had already made his customary impact here on behalf of the Cool Silk Partnership, having found a subsequent Group 1 winner at this sale two years ago for just £75,000 in Sands Of Mali (Fr) (Panis). The Haydock Sprint Cup winner duly adorned the front of this catalogue, and Coleman hopes that the same silks can be in contention for the Royal Ascot bonus through lot 58, a Coach House (Ire) (Oasis Dream {GB}) colt whose £85,000 docket represents a spectacular dividend on the £2,000 given by consignor Robson Aguiar here last September.

Aguiar has been so taken with this colt that he has since acquired both his dam—who is out of a half-sister to G2 Coventry S. winner Hellvelyn (GB) (Ishiguru), himself standing alongside Coach House at Church Stud—and his half-brother.

“I think he won’t just break his maiden but can be a listed horse,” he said. “I liked him as a nice, scopey yearling, whose dam had won twice over six furlongs. He’s very forward, he’ll be ready to run in three or four weeks.”

Like Sands Of Mali, this colt will be sent to Richard Fahey. “Let’s he can do just as well,” Coleman said. “He breezed very well, and obviously here it’s more about the breeze than the pedigree. But Rob’s sold some pretty good horses, and he’s usually pretty accurate in his assessment—and he’s very sweet on this one.”

Fahey will also be receiving lot 84 in the same cause. A Hot Streak (Ire) (Iffraaj {GB}) filly presented by Dunsany Stables, she is out of a Marju (Ire) half-sister to German 1000 Guineas winner Hawksmoor (Ire) (Azamour {Ire}).

“She’s small but looks very fast,” Coleman said after signing a £60,000 docket. “She breezed well and looks like she thinks she’s bigger than she is. She has a great attitude, and it’s a fantastic family of fillies. Let’s try and win that bonus in the Queen Mary.”

Hot Streak, who registered a number of healthy dividends at the yearling sales last autumn, also had a colt warmly received in lot 79. Another Knockanglass knockout, he raised £55,000 from Tom Morley, an astute patron of an astute trainer in Stuart Williams. “Tom liked the way he breezed, and we’ve had luck from this sale before,” said Williams. “And also when we’ve bought from Thomond.”

Collins Opens a New Front

Summer Front (War Front) is a young stallion who can definitely repay the interest of Europeans sufficiently imaginative to go prospecting in Kentucky and one such, Johnny Collins of Brown Island Stables, demonstrated as much when lot 51 raised £85,000 from Richard Brown of Blandford Bloodstock.

This colt was imported in a private deal after being knocked down for just $12,000 at Keeneland last September and his conduct since is not the only reason Collins was able to give such a warm endorsement of his Airdrie sire.

“I saw plenty of Summer Fronts over there and they’re really good-looking horses,” he said. “I’ve another very good one going to Doncaster, and this fellow is a lovely, uncomplicated horse who hasn’t put a foot wrong since the day we got him. All the good judges liked his breeze.”

“Delighted to get him,” enthused Brown. “He was the one horse we were picking out from the whole sale, in my mind anyway. Lots of quality, a really good-moving horse. And he did a very good breeze on ground he’d have hated. He’ll be going to Richard Hughes, but wouldn’t necessarily be a whizzbang. He might want a little time and maybe start at six before going seven furlongs.”

Houldsworth Using His Eyes

How refreshing to hear at least one agent holding out against the infatuation with breeze times, Matt Houldsworth professing indifference to the clock after giving £55,000 for lot 49, a February colt by Cable Bay (Ire) (Invincible Spirit {Ire}).

“I’m more interested in how they finish off, if they hit the line going hard,” he said. “I thought this was a standout, a good-looking horse with a good pedigree. Hopefully he can make up into an Ascot horse. It helped that the stallion had his first winner yesterday [for Archie Watson at Lingfield], and he’s from a good hotel we’ve had some luck with in the past.”

That was Kilminfoyle House, which had also presented the colt when he was knocked down (actually for twice as much) at Doncaster last August. Houldsworth was acting on behalf of John Guest and was standing alongside trainer George Margarson, who also sounded optimistic of meeting his patron’s brief for a Royal Ascot horse.

He certainly has the page, relative to some in this sale, his dam being out of a half-sister to G1 Moyglare S. winner Necklace (GB) (Darshaan {GB}). And the fourth dam is none other than Colorspin (Fr) (High Top {GB}), herself a Classic winner and dam of champions by Sadler’s Wells in Opera House (GB) and Kayf Tara (GB).

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