Tag: breezeup

Additional stabling completed in 2014

Additional stabling completed in 2014

War Alert

On the eve of the first Classic of the British turf season, the Tattersalls Guineas Sale drew a decent crowd to Newmarket for a record-breaking day’s action topped by a daughter of red hot sire-of-the-moment, War Front, at 270,000gns.

Sheikh Fahad Al Thani is the proud new owner of the filly (Lot 233), a first foal for multiple winner and listed-placed Pastel Gal (Lemon Drop Kid), who was led out of the ring unsold at $85,000 at Keeneland September and subsequently changed hands in a private transaction between Suzi Shoemaker and Jim McCartan of Gaybrook Lodge Stud.

Buying on behalf of Sheikh Fahad, his racing and bloodstock manager David Redvers said: “Jim’s horses go like rockets. We have Lightning Thunder running in the [G1] QIPCO 1000 Guineas on Sunday and we bought her from Gaybrook Lodge last year. This filly did the quickest breeze and was by far the nicest filly at the sale. She’s a bit up behind and a bit back at the knee but she clearly has a massive engine.”

He added: “The fact that she’s by War Front is a bonus. We locked on to him from the start and sent him mares when he was still standing quite cheaply.” Three six-figure transactions and solid trade with a 79% clearance rate throughout the breeze-up section of the sale led to the highest turnover in seven renewals of the auction, and at 3,271,800gns, the aggregate leapt up by 39% on the 2013 auction. The average of 32,718gns improved by 28% and the median, at 22,000gns, was up by 33%.

Combined with the figures for the horses-in-training section, the aggregate for the day stood at 3,955,328gns (+43%), with the average at 27,278gns (+18%) and median at 16,000gns (+14%).

“After the record-breaking Tattersalls Craven Breeze-up Sale it has been encouraging to see the momentum continue to this week’s Guineas Breeze-up and Horses-in-Training Sale,” said Tattersalls Chairman Edmond Mahony. “The 270,000gns top price was the highest price at the sale since 2010 and the second-highest price for a filly at this fixture.”

War Alert

The sales-topper provided yet another memorable moment in a highly successful breeze-up season for McCartan’s Gaybrook Lodge Stud, which also consigned the day’s second top lot (Lot 181) at 215,000gns, plus an 800,000-guineas High Chaparral (Ire) colt which returned the second-highest price at the Craven Sale.

“I’m chuffed to bits, it’s absolutely brilliant,” said McCartan, who sold four juveniles through the session for a total of 553,000gns to end the sale as leading consignor. “I love War Front. We’ve been successful with him right from the start. I bought this filly from Suzi Shoemaker, who’s a very good breeder. It’s just such a relief when it all works out like this–it’s great for the team at home who have worked so hard.”

Taking second billing during the session was another filly, this time a daughter of Invincible Spirit (Ire) out of the unraced Machiavellian mare Golden Flyer (Fr), who had been bought by McCartan for just i39,000 at the Goffs Sportsman’s
Sale last year. She will join Sheikh Hamdan Al Maktoum’s string of bluebloods after being knocked down to Ed Dunlop, who will train the filly in Newmarket.

“We tried hard to buy a horse for Ed at the Craven Sale,” said Sheikh Hamdan’s racing manager Angus Gold. “She looked sharp and did a really good breeze for her size. I doubt she’ll be out too early but she vetted well.”

Source: Thoroughbred Daily News, Saturday, May 5, 2014 | by Emma Berry

War Alert

He briefly held the European record for a breeze-up horse last month and yesterday Jim McCartan claimed the top two prices at Tattersalls’ Guineas Breeze-Up and Horsesin- Training Sale, writes Carl Evans.

A daughter of War Front (Lot 233) out of the winning mare Pastel Gal (Lemon Drop Kid) gave McCartan another memorable day when selling to David Redvers for 270,000gns – well ahead of the price her vendor paid last year when he bought her outside the ring – and he had earlier reaped 180,000gns when selling an Invincible Spirit filly (Lot 181). The pair became the second and third-highest priced fillies to change hands at this one-day auction, albeit some way behind a daughter of Mr Greeley, who made 470,000gns in 2008.

The War Front had been led out unsold at $85,000 when she appeared as a yearling at Keeneland in September, but McCartan, who trades as Gaybrook Lodge Stud, approached consignor Suzi Shoemaker and struck a deal.

He had bought the Invincible Spirit at Goffs for €39,000. He is not the biggest consignor of breeze-up horses, but  McCartan has had the Midas touch this year, headed by a High Chaparral colt he traded for 800,000gns at Tattersalls’ Craven Breeze-Up Sale after being bought for a humble 41,000gns last year.

Reflecting on a breeze season which has been extended into June – when Goffs stages an eve-of-Royal Ascot auction – McCartan said: “We have had our best year, but we probably spent more on yearlings – we wanted to try and buy nicer horses and upgrade the thing a bit, and it seems to have paid off. I have the nice job of travelling to the sales and trying to buy and sell nice horses, so I have to rely upon a very good team who are dedicated to getting the best out of the raw material.”

For Redvers the War Front filly’s purchase was an unequivocal decision from the moment she lit up the Rowley Mile with a breeze that signalled she was the fastest filly on display.

War Alert

Acting for Sheikh Fahad, he had to dig deep to head spirited interest from agent Stephen Hillen, who was standing near the ring entrance with trainer Kevin Ryan. Ironically, Ryan is one of the Sheikh’s trainers, and today, at Newmarket, he saddles Hot Streak – a 42,000gns purchase by Redvers at this sale – for him in the Gr.3 Pearl Bloodstock Palace House Stakes.

Yet it is another breeze-up purchase from McCartan, Lightning Thunder, who is arguably of greater significance this weekend, for she carries Sheikh Fahad’s colours in tomorrow’s Classic, the Gr.1 QIPCO 1000 Guineas.

Redvers said: “Our experience of Jim’s horses is that they breeze like rockets, and run like rockets in races, too. This was by far the nicest filly and she did the quickest time with her ears pricked. She is a bit dip-backed and back at the knee, but it doesn’t stop her running.”

War Front has become the hottest stallion in Europe not standing in Europe – a resident of Claiborne Farm, the son
of Danzig began stallion life in 2007 at a fee of $12,500 but now requires $150,000 for his services.

Royal Ascot winner Declaration Of War promoted him on this continent last year, and one of his colts set a new European record at the Craven Breeze-Up Sale a few weeks ago when knocked down to Coolmore Stud interests for 1,150,000gns.

Redvers said: “We’ve been hooked on him for a long time – way before he became so fashionable – and we’ve sent mares to him.”

Dunlop Adds to McCartan Joy

Jim McCartan’s double dose of luck was completed by the sale of an Invincible Spirit filly who enters the Shadwell fold.

One of four winners produced by the Machiavellian mare Golden Flyer, she joins Newmarket-based trainer Ed Dunlop, who bid in person and headed interest from agent Ross Doyle. The latter bought McCartan’s aforementioned 800,000gns son of High Chaparral at the Craven Sale.

Sheikh Hamdan’s racing and bloodstock manager, Angus Gold, subsequently said: “We tried to buy a horse for Ed to train at the last sale [Craven Breeze-Up], but failed, and he liked this filly very much. She looked quite sharp in her breeze – it was just unfortunate Mr Hannon [Doyle’s client Richard Hannon] decided to join in.”

Gold admitted that breeze-up buying is not his premier forte, and that the individual, rather than the time they achieve in their breeze, was a factor when buying. “I’m not a huge clock fan,” he said, “but she vetted well and Ed was pleased with her breeze.

“She’s quite a big filly considering how well she breezed, but we will give her a bit of time.”

McCartan said of the filly: “She did  particularly well during the winter and was a very nice, kind filly who was easy to prep. She showed herself well all week.

“I had two Invincible Spirit fillies to sell, so sent one to the Craven – where she made 210,000gns – and kept the other one for this sale. I thought she would do well at this event, and it’s paid off.”

Source: European Bloodstock News, Saturday, 3rd May 2014