Cowell Pockets Ten At Keeneland

[Wandering Eyes]

For many shopping at Keeneland September last week, when the seven-figure action started to drop away was when the real work began. One such buyer was Newmarket-based trainer Robert Cowell, who jetted in for the start of Book 3 and signed for 10 yearlings through Book 5 for an average of $40,100.

This was nothing new for Cowell, known domestically as the ‘sprint king’ for his penchant with short-course runners. Cowell has been attending Keeneland September for about 10 years, but his 2019 count marks a significant up tick in business.

“I had originally been going over every other year, and then about three or four years ago I decided to start going every year and buy three or four, which then turned into four or five. This year, some other owners got on board and said, ‘let’s grab a few while you’re there.’ So we signed for 10 yearlings in the end.”

It is likely not a coincidence that the spike in interest from Cowell’s clients comes the year after Pocket Dynamo (Dialed In), a $35,000 find by Cowell at Keeneland in 2017, finished second by a nose to Wesley Ward’s Shang Shang Shang (Shanghai Bobby) in Royal Ascot’s G2 Norfolk S. Pocket Dynamo was subsequently bought privately by Phoenix Thoroughbreds from owner Tom Morley.

“Tom Morley wasn’t really keen on getting any yearlings a few years ago,” Cowell said. “I told him I was going over to Keeneland, and when I got over there the first one I bought for him was Pocket Dynamo. This year he has [2-year-old listed winner] Strive For Glory, another Dialed In from Keeneland, so he’s excited by that sale and true to his word he was keen to buy a few more. Let’s hope we’ve got something that can fly the flag next year for us.”

“The type of horse we’re looking for is something that is first and foremost a good model, looks almost like a dragster, so slightly up behind and big thick shoulder in front, well balanced and with a good walk,” Cowell added. “The mare must have been a producer, or it’s a first foal. And by sires that predominantly breed speed. Those would be the four main ingredients of what we try to buy. I’m trying to buy horses to go to Royal Ascot for the Norfolk or the Queen Mary, that sort of thing; I’m just trying to buy a nice sprinter.”

While Cowell lamented not being able to secure another by Darby Dan’s Dialed In this time around, he was able to sign for Morley for lot 1925, a Kantharos colt for $70,000; lot 2504, a Congrats filly for $35,000; lot 2605, a Palace filly for $40,000; lot 2763, a Violence colt for $50,000; lot 3009, a Super Saver filly for $12,000; lot 3039, an Mshawish colt for $37,000; and lot 3106, a Fed Biz colt for $27,000. Cowell also signed for lot 2322, a Super Saver colt for $50,000; lot 2421, a Distorted Humor colt for $45,000; and lot 2801, a Speightster colt for $35,000.

A good few of those sires will be foreign to Europeans, but Cowell said that doesn’t scare him in the slightest.

“I’m not a massive believer in that myth [that dirt-bred horses don’t go on the turf],” Cowell said. “A lot of horses that come over from America and go to the breeze-up sales would be dirt-bred, yet they come over here and breeze on grass without any problem at all. They have to have a good set of feet on them, but as long as they’re not great massive feet or tiny little feet I guess it doesn’t really matter.

“With Dialed In, when we brought Pocket Dynamo over here the owner said to me, ‘what are the chances of this horse racing on the grass?’ And I said, ‘why not? What stops them?’ I’m not a massive believer in that myth; I know that some horses prefer the dirt or all-weather or grass, but I’m not a massive believer in it. I think what happens is that people think that’s the case, so they don’t buy them and they’re never tried on grass. Typically, it’s not really proven that they can’t go on grass.”

With such a large sample size to judge from, Cowell said there were a few sires that caught his eye.

“I would have loved to come home with a Runhappy,” he said. “He seemed to stamp his stock really well. And I would have loved to come home with an American Pharoah. There were a few of those that went a bit above our budget, but those were two sires in particular that I thought seemed to stamp their stock really well. There were many others, but those two in particular we seemed to follow a few of them into the sales ring.”

Cowell said the sheer numbers at Keeneland and the hot pace of the sale means that there are plenty of opportunities to land on a gem that others may have missed.

“There is so much choice out there at Keeneland,” he said. “You have 4,500 horses going through over two weeks and with not that many buyers, so statistically, you can find one that others haven’t seen in Keeneland. At [other sales], everyone sees everything 10,000 times. At Keeneland, things fall through the net. And the sale goes through so quickly in Keeneland that you have to be on the ball. You can miss something if you put a sugar in a coffee or you grab yourself a quick sandwich; you might miss five horses that look the part. You just have to be on the ball the whole time.

“The other thing I like about Keeneland is that essentially you know when it starts and you know when it stops. A lot of sales companies can go on too long and spend a lot of time selling horses, whereas it’s quick and efficient. I like the routine of how it all works. It would be nice if other companies got through these horses a bit quicker because it can become a bit tedious waiting and waiting and waiting long into the night especially in Europe to watch the horse go through. The system works really well out there and I enjoy it.”

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