By Emma Berry
There are undoubtedly many good reasons to have a rounded life with interests beyond the breeding, training, buying and selling of a supreme equine athlete who can run faster than his contemporaries. Those of us whose waking hours are mostly consumed by one or more of these bloodstock industry pursuits can rightly be accused of not getting out more, particularly at this time of year. But when the daily non-racing headlines revolve around the British economy in freefall, hurricanes and floods decimating parts of the world, and President Putin looming like a rapidly unravelling Bond villain intent on obliterating Ukraine, then remaining within the 'racing bubble' can seem an eminently sensible idea.
So here's the good news: people still want to buy horses. In fact, lots of people from lots of different countries want to buy horses. Unexpectedly, that fact became even more apparent throughout the Covid pandemic, and now we are all flying free once more the demand has only continued to increase.
This week Great British Racing International (GBRI) launched an 'Invest in the Best' campaign, which in the words of its press release is “designed to highlight the strength and importance of the British racing industry globally and encourage future international investment.”
That is an admirable intention, but the excellence of the British racing 'product' is hardly a secret, and the massive international participation in the sales in this part of the world for many years stands testament to that. That starts with the breeders of course–and in fact if we are talking about massive international participation then nowhere is this more apparent than in the breeding juggernauts that are Juddmonte, Darley and Shadwell in particular being headquartered in Britain but owned by overseas individuals. With the passing of two of the heads of those organisations in recent years it is equally apparent that the sport cannot necessarily rely on that support forever, though other emerging nations are beginning to make their presence felt.
It has long been a personal belief that, while being proud of the success of one's own country is all well and good, British racing and breeding would be best served by taking a far more collaborative approach, particularly with our colleagues in Ireland, and also in France. This aim has been dealt a heavy blow by Brexit, but we can, and should, rise above that.
Away from the politics, a happy blending of the British and Irish Thoroughbred industries can be found on every sales ground, and it is the sales companies who are to be applauded for driving the demand for racehorses bred in those two countries thanks to their constant international roving, wining and dining. Perhaps nowhere will the fruits of these endeavours be more apparent than at Park Paddocks next week, where Book 1 of the Tattersalls October Yearling Sale begins its three-day run on Tuesday.
“For the overseas buyers, it's success-driven. They come, they buy, and they come back.”
The European yearling scene has been rolling along on a high since August but there remains a feeling that, as Bachman-Turner Overdrive once sang, you ain't seen nothing yet. For the few of us attempting to write a sale preview, it's a daunting prospect even to open the pages of Book 1 because too many corners are swiftly turned down as markers.
So let's hear from the man charged with spreading the word, Tattersalls' marketing director Jimmy George, who was also a guest on this week's TDN Writers' Room podcast, and who stresses the importance of the fact that pedigrees on the page deliver on stage.
“It's not just about pretty yearlings,” he says. “It's about top-class racehorses, and year after year Book 1 yearlings continue to perform at the highest level, and from all sectors of the Book 1 market.”
That in itself is a significant comment, as it is easy to dismiss Book 1 as a sale solely for the elite, with many buyers tempted to wait for the tide to turn the following week so as to swim in shallower waters. And in fact this perception dogged Book 1 for a time, prompting Tattersalls to take decisive action and to launch the Book 1 Bonus Scheme.
All horses catalogued for Book 1, whether sold or not, are eligible, upon payment by their owner of £1,700, for the Book 1 Bonus. The scheme awards a £20,000 bonus to the winning owner of a Class 2, 3 or 4 2-year-old maiden or novice race in Britain the following season, or any 'open' 2-year-old maiden run in Ireland.
When this year's catalogue was published there were already 284 winners across six years, but that number has already risen to 307 and a total payout of £7,265,000 in bonuses following the win of Vermilion (Ire) (Kodiac {GB}) for Andrew Balding and the Highclere syndicate at Newmarket last Saturday. The Balding stable had also won the landmark 300th bonus with Glenfinnan (Ire) (Harry Angel {Ire}), a 100,000gns purchase for owners Mick and Janice Mariscotti who have been staunch supporters of the concept since its launch in 2016.
“From the perspective of Tattersalls, to have owners like Mick and Janice Mariscotti winning the 300th bonus is absolutely what the Book 1 Bonus scheme is all about,” George says.
“I would say their Book 1 horses this year have won the thick end of half a million pounds in prize-money, but that doesn't include the bonus prize-money that they've won. Coltrane (Ire) (Mastercraftsman {Ire}), who won the [G2] Doncaster Cup recently, is one of the most exciting young stayers in the country and he is another Mariscotti-Balding Book 1 purchase [for 50,000gns].”
He continues, “It might be fairly obvious to say that at Tattersalls we really believe that if there's a prize-money sector that deserves attention the most, it is at maiden level, and decent maiden winners winning decent prize-money. These bonuses mean that it's competitive with certainly any other country in Europe, or better if you're winning £25,000 for winning your maiden, or more at times. If you've won the Convivial Maiden with a Book 1 Bonus horse, you'd be winning about £70,000.”
Even by its own lofty standards, Book 1 does look a proper belter this year. Its 549 entrants include siblings to 61 Classic or Group 1 winners. That recommendation is bolstered by results on the track this season, which include seven Group 1 winners bought from Book 1 for 200,000gns or less–a sum below the 2021 sale average of 230,317gns.
“I think that is indicative of the quality throughout,” George says. “It's an amazing list of Group 1 winners in that sector of the market, and staggering to think that Native Trail (GB), who was an unbeaten champion 2-year-old and a Classic winner at three, was actually the least expensive of the lot at 67,000gns.
“Then there's horses like Al Riffa (Fr), who won the National S. the other day, who could be bought for 150,000gns last year, and Luxembourg (Ire), who's now favourite for the Arc, was also bought for 150,000gns two years ago. To see horses of that calibre that were purchased for those sorts of figures emerging every year is very much part of the Book 1 story.”
Those three big names mentioned are backed up by this year's G1 Irish Oaks winner Magical Lagoon (Ire), whose price tag of 305,000gns looks inexpensive considering that she is a daughter of Galileo (Ire) and a half-sister to the G1 King George VI and Queen Elizabeth S. winner Novellist (Ger). Sadly, we are coming towards the end of the days when we see Galileo's youngsters at the sales, but there are 16 members of his penultimate crop among the pages of Book 1, including a full-brother to the Arc winner Waldgeist (GB), who is just one of many enticing yearlings from the draft of Newsells Park Stud, which has been the leading vendor at Book 1 on six occasions. In fact, it will be important to be ringside in good time on the opening day because the first lot through the ring is New England Stud's full-sister to GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf winner Line Of Duty (Ire).
A 400,000gns Book 1 purchase, Line Of Duty is just one example of the international success of the sale's graduates. This season alone, three Grade I winners in America–McKulick (GB) (Frankel {GB}), Ocean Road (Ire) (Australia {GB}) and In Italian (GB) (Dubawi {Ire})–have emanated from Book 1.
“It's extraordinary to think that there were more turf graded stakes winners at Saratoga last year from the October yearling sale at Tattersalls than from any other sale in the world,” says George.
“To see Book 1 yearlings winning at the highest level in all corners of the world every year is really the key to the sale. It's what attracts the international buyers and the domestic buyers in such numbers. They know that they will be properly and richly rewarded if they win a decent maiden or novice, but for the overseas buyers, it's success-driven. They come, they buy, and they come back.”
For people buying in overseas currencies, and in particular those pegged to the dollar, there is hardly a better time to buy in Britain. That is not something for the country to be crowing about, but it is a situation that will doubtless continue to drive the demand at the yearling sales throughout October. The strong dollar is not the sole factor, however.
“The number of yearlings from Book 1 that have gone over to America in recent years has understandably risen based on consistent success,” George avers. “The first year that the Chad Brown, Seth Klarman, Peter Brant, Mike and Mary Ryan axis came to Book 1, they went away with 12 yearlings and two Grade I winners out of it, and another graded stakes winner, which is a pretty extraordinary strike-rate. Again, not one year has passed without them going home with at least one Grade I winner. It's a strong endorsement of the quality at the sale, but also the way they approach the sale; the rigour with which they work. It's obviously not just that team: Liz Crow's team bought Aunt Pearl (Ire), another spectacular Breeders' Cup winner.”
A strong roster of stallions currently standing in Britain and Ireland is also an appealing element.
George adds, “Buyers understand the quality of the stallions and that the largest numbers of yearlings by these particular stallions–Galileo, Sea The Stars (Ire), Frankel, Kingman (GB), Dubawi (Ire), Dark Angel (Ire), Lope De Vega (Ire), and so on–will be in front of them at Book 1 of the October yearling sale. So it's a real magnet for anybody who's looking for superior turf performers, wherever they happen to be in the world.”
Whatever troubles there may be in the outside world, it is safe to assume that a diverse array of members of the bloodstock world will be descending on Newmarket in the coming days. It is also safe to expect that the strength of the market will continue on its merry way during 2022.
“So far this year we can't really look back on a sale that we've been disappointed in,” George agrees. “The market has been very robust, whether it be the breeze-up market or our mixed sales in July and August , through to the Somerville Yearling Sale, which had a vibrant feel to it from start to finish. Park Paddocks was alive and it's been wonderful to see.”
Trickle-down economics may not work out for Liz Truss and Kwasi Kwarteng, but at Tattersalls a more positive forecast can be made for the predicted strong market at the top end to ensure that trade remains robust throughout two weeks, four books, and 2,000 yearlings. Watch this space.
🤩 Here's Belmont Oaks winner McKulick as a yearling.
Yet another Grade 1 winner for @TheRealChadCBr1 and Klaravich Stables from #TattsOctober Book 1, bought by Mike Ryan for 180,000gns from @AdrianOBrien2's Hazelwood Bloodstock. pic.twitter.com/M6pWq9mjfK
— Tattersalls (@Tattersalls1766) July 9, 2022
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