Nolan Becoming A Man For All Seasons

By Daithí Harvey

Peter Nolan Bloodstock is a consignment that has shot to prominence at national hunt sales in what seems a very short space of time and Nolan is hoping his first big flat consignment at Tattersalls Ireland's Ascot Yearling Sale next week will be a springboard to a greater presence at similar sales in the future. The Wexford man will offer a draft of 10 colts at the second edition of the Ascot Sale held on Tuesday and was encouraged by the success he had at the inaugural auction last year to go armed with a stronger batch this time around.

“Both numbers and quality are up this year,” Nolan said. “I brought one to the sale last year and got on well and I thought there were plenty of customers there if I'd had a better type of horse for them. The team in Tatts actually asked if we would support the sale last year and we did and myself and a few clients of mine were happy to give it a good go again this year with a bigger and better draft.”

With such a packed British and Irish yearling sale calendar and with plenty of choices nearer home, one could question the wisdom of why Nolan is entrusting such a big draft to such a fledgling sale. “The yearling crops are getting big again and I think you have to give a lot of thought as to what sale to bring your yearling. I worked for Joe Foley for five years and he always maintained it is better to be a big fish in a small pond. That was the number one thing he taught me so I hope I am applying that principal well,” he said.

Among Nolan's draft next week is a son of No Nay Never, arguably the season's most exciting first-season sire whose initial crop his headed by recent G3 Round Tower S. winner Ten Sovereigns (Ire) and lot 84's pedigree also received a timely update when his half-sister Bandola (Ire) (Requinto {Ire}) broke her maiden at Ripon at the end of August, thus becoming the dam's first winner from her first runner. “The No Nay Never belongs to Geoff Turnbull's Elwick Stud and he is a lovely horse. I buy a good few mares for Geoff who is setting up quite an impressive breeding programme headed by his own stallion Mondialiste [a dual Group 1 winning son of Galileo {Ire}]. He also has a very nice Acclamation (GB) colt (lot 145) who should do well. They are probably close on being [Tattersalls] Book 2 type horses. I hope he sells well for Geoff, as he is supporting the sale with some nice horses.”

Nolan continued, “From the home team we have a nice Poet's Voice (GB) colt (lot 54). He has a lightish pedigree, but he is a really nice horse and lot 31 who is a lovely colt by Society Rock (Ire). Both stallions are having a good year so hopefully they will be well received.”

Although Nolan served his early apprenticeship with Coolmore before finishing his education in Ballyhane Stud, it was the national hunt sector that he focused on when he branched out on his own eight years ago. “It was the fact I am based in the heart of jumps country here in Wexford was why I started out in that sphere. In my first year, I sold two very good horses in John's Spirit and Holywell and it grew from there. We topped two national hunt sales this year, so that end of it is going well.”

Nolan probably spends as much time at various sales as he does at home, but it is an environment he feels just as comfortable in. “I enjoy the sales and I enjoy the adrenaline flow of selling a horse. I get a great kick out of say, selling a horse for €20,000 for someone that really needs that 20 grand just as much as selling a really expensive horse.”

Recalling his initial foray as his own boss Nolan explained, “Before I went out on my own I thought there was a niche in the market around here and that there would be enough of a local horse population to get a business off the ground. The first year I started I think I sold 30 horses and I reckon we will put around 180 horses through our hands this year. So it's significant growth in eight years and the flat side of things looks like it will get busier. I'll have at least 20 foals to offer at Newmarket in December, so that side of things is definitely ramping up. To be honest the principles are the same when consigning flat or national hunt horses. Between the five years I spent in Coolmore and the other five with Joe [Foley] I got to know all the flat buyers anyway, so it has been a fairly seamless transition.”

Nolan's commitment to this growth in business has seen him purchase some land in his native Oylegate and build a new house and stables with all the relevant facilities required for further expansion. “We are in the midst of it now with stables built and more in the offing. It was a green field site so I could develop it the way I wanted to. I'd definitely like to increase our flat presence at sales, although gradually. The biggest factor, and I'm not unique in this, is getting staff and it would probably be easier to keep a roster of full-time staff if we were consigning at the majority of sales. At the moment I'm probably doing 80% of the prepping myself. It's early mornings and long evenings, but that's what it takes.”

Having scaled the heights of the jumps sector, Nolan will now be hoping to see some of his flat sales graduates go on to greater things on the racetrack in the coming years. “Selling horses is so much about reputation. I remember when I started out David Minton gave me some advice that I take with me to this day. He said, 'I don't mind you selling me a slow horse, but don't sell me an unsound horse'. That is so true, you are only as good as your word, if you don't have a good reputation you won't build a business in selling horses.”

That integrity should stand Nolan in good stead as he goes about increasing his flat profile and also in the short term next week at Ascot when he offers the second-biggest draft in the sale. “They're a good bunch, there are plenty of what you call 'proper 2-year-olds' among them. The No Nay Never is a bigger type of horse that should make a 2-year-old and more and his sire couldn't be doing any better. This sale will be a test of the market; saying that there was plenty of trade there last year and I thought it was a sale that was worth supporting with a better type of horse. Let's hope we are right.”