TDN Q&A With Ross Doyle

Bloodstock agents Peter and Ross Doyle have developed quite an affinity with the Goffs UK Premier Yearling Sale, having plucked Group 1 winners like Canford Cliffs (Ire), Olympic Glory (Ire), Tiggy Wiggy (Ire) and Barney Roy (GB) from its catalogues. The Doyles' haul from last year's sale includes the G2 Prix Robert Papin winner Ventura Tormenta and the Goffs UK Premier Yearling Stakes winner Happy Romance (Ire) (Dandy Man {Ire}). The TDN's Kelsey Riley caught up with Ross Doyle as he prepares to shop this year's catalogue.

KR: You have purchased four winners of the Goffs UK Premier Yearling Stakes in the past five years, most recently Happy Romance this year. Is that the kind of result you're looking for when you go to Doncaster, a precocious horse who can collect those kinds of purses early on?

RD: Its great when you can win the race dedicated to a particular sale; it confirms that our team are doing a very good job selecting the yearlings along with the great job Richard Hannon and his team have done with Happy Romance. The Premier Sale is known for precocious types but you would hope they can train on as 3-year-olds like Canford Cliffs, Olympic Glory and Barney Roy, for example, in the past.

KR: Happy Romance is the first horse raced by the McMurray Family. How important is a result like that at a time when we need to incentivize owners to stay involved and when prizemoney levels are such a concern?

RD: Happy Romance is repaying her owners in spades considering she cost £25,000, not only by winning the Weatherbys Super Sprint but also the sales race, taking her earnings to £177,600 so far for the season. It's a huge help to get the owners something back on their initial investment which will hopefully spur them on to reinvest during these tough times for everybody.

KR: You have a long list of successful purchases from the Premier Sale-the likes of Canford Cliffs, Olympic Glory, Tiggy Wiggy, Barney Roy, and Ventura Tormenta most recently. Can you tell us what you recall about some of those horses at their times of purchase?

RD: A lot of the horses you mentioned had a presence about them, strong but balanced with good movement, temperament and they all came from top nurseries. The team at Goffs UK along with the vendors obviously do a fantastic job selecting the right types to suit the sale.

KR: What first-season sires are you looking forward to seeing the progeny of this year?

RD: On the back of our old friend Mehmas doing so well this year with his first crop, it will be nice to see the Aclaims being by Acclamation as well. I have seen some very nice yearlings on the farms recently by Caravaggio, Churchill, Profitable and in particular by Ribchester; they look very racy.