The bloodstock agent's dinner guests include a Benedictine monk and an Olympic gold medallist, but don't tell Harry Eustace that Hubie de Burgh no longer considers him a youngster.
Proudest moment of 2023?
Reaching 160 stakes races won by de Burgh Equine purchases since setting up the agency.
What is your biggest ambition for the new year?
Keep on the bright side of life.
Give us one horse to follow and why?
No Knee Never (Ire) (No Nay Never), purchased for Bronsan Racing.
And a young person in the industry to keep an eye on…
Ollie Sangster. A great first season in 2023 without the ammunition of the large stables. Harry Eustace was a close second but I wasn't sure he qualifies as a 'young person' anymore.
Who do you think will be champion first-season sire this year?
If it's European first-season then Hello Youmzain (Fr). If it's just Ireland and the UK then Earthlight (Ire). He was a good two-year-old, and there's plenty of them to run and in good hands.
And the best value stallion in Europe?
Camelot (GB) at €50,000 – a sire who consistently gets real Group-class horses. At a lower end, Bated Breath at £10,000 – a great value sire who upgrades his mares.
What's the one horse you wish you'd bought in 2023?
The Siyouni (Fr)-Lucerne (GB) yearling filly from Arqana. We were underbidder with Craig Bernick to his good friend Ramiro Restrepo of Mage fame.
Biggest regret?
Not being able to sing… I knew I was bad when once at a karaoke night in Hong Kong when I had finished my rendition of American Pie my host jumped up and clapped and then asked me to sing it seriously!
Biggest influence on your career?
My father. Not only a successful breeder but a thinker ahead of his time. He also advised me to take the job with Sheikh Hamdan when I was about to take another.
If you could sit down for dinner with three people (dead or alive) who would they be and why?
Mark Todd: great company and an even greater equestrian Olympian. Dom Perignon: the benedictine monk whose influence on the early development of champagne production is recognised worldwide. He will guarantee the quality of what we will drink. Sacha Baron Cohen of Borat fame: for a bit of humour if he hasn't already been shot by a disgruntled citizen of Kazakhstan.
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