28 Oct

It was no surprise to see a number of leading Australian-based buyers flexing their muscles on some of the top middle-distance prospects and Ciaron Maher added a potentially smart Sea The Stars gelding to his team Down Under in the shape of Shadwell's 89-rated Mukhtalif. Will Bourne, who was assisted by Billy Jackson-Stops, landed the William Haggas-trained dual winner for 325,000gns. He said, "Mukhtalif is progressive and, having inspected the horse, you can see he’s a beautiful animal. We really like the fact that the stallion works in Australia. David Hayes had the Australian Cup winner Fifty Stars and Johnny McKeever bought the Metropolitan winner Just Fine out of this sale, and they’re both by Sea The Stars. This horse is a progressive stayer so he profiles perfectly for us and we’re happy to be taking him down there." Bourne added, “When you look at Ciaron’s...

12 Oct

Andrew Balding's colt is 2lb clear of Gstaad and ended a run of six straight Aidan O'Brien or Charlie Appleby-trained winners. Dewhurst winner Gewan received the "cherry on top" by being crowned Europe's champion two-year-old on Tuesday, when it emerged he is set to head straight for the Betfred 2,000 Guineas. The Andrew Balding-trained colt ended a run of six straight champion juveniles from the yards of either Aidan O'Brien or Charlie Appleby, topping the 2025 table with a mark of 121 after assessment by a panel of international handicappers. "It's a huge honour for us to be involved with such a horse and to have the cherry on top to be what he is today, it's a fantastic achievement," said Paul Curran, bloodstock and racing manager to Ace Stud, about a colt who will run under the Forz Europe banner this year. "It was a dream year we had with...

05 Oct

Caballo De Mar was creating several firsts in the Prix du Cadran by becoming a maiden Group 1 winner for both his trainer George Scott and his sire Phoenix Of Spain. The Barouche Stud-bred gelding had become the sixth individual Pattern winner for his sire only a fortnight ago in the German St Leger and took that record a step further with a gallant defeat of Coltrane at Longchamp. Caballo De Mar is a member of the first of Phoenix Of Spain's three crops of racing age. The grey hero of the Irish 2,000 Guineas and son of Lope De Vega is standing at the Irish National Stud, with his 2025 fee held steady at €10,000. Scott's winner represents the growing Bahrain powerhouse ownership Victorious Forever, the result of a recent merger of the interests of Shaikh Nasser bin Hamed Al Khalifa’s Victorious Racing and his brother Shaikh...

01 Oct

September proved to be another busy and productive month both on the racecourse and at the yearling sales, with several exciting additions to the team and a number of strong performances from our horses in training. Tattersalls Somerville Yearling Sale We were active at Tattersalls Somerville, securing a strong group of prospects with excellent pedigrees: A good-looking son of Almanzor out of Olympe was purchased for 50,000 guineas and will be trained by Andrew Balding for Michael Blencowe. A Sioux Nation colt out of Sea Of Reality joined George Scott’s yard after being purchased for 95,000 guineas. Completing the Somerville trio was a Ten Sovereigns colt out of Snow Wind, who will go into training with Tom Clover, bought for 28,000 guineas. Tattersalls Ireland Yearling Sale Our team also made a number of notable acquisitions in Ireland, highlighted by a striking Starspangledbanner colt out of Broderie Anglaise, secured with...

31 Aug

August has been another hugely exciting month, marked by major investments at the sales in France and Doncaster, as well as a fantastic run of winners on the track — including a breakthrough Group success for Gewan. Sales Successes At the Arqana August Sale in Deauville, we were delighted to secure some outstanding yearlings for clients. Among the highlights was a striking Siyouni filly out of Typique, purchased for €625,000 on behalf of Victorious Racing. Joining the Victorious Racing ranks is a Sea The Stars colt out of Vanouche (€160,000), who will be trained by George Scott, and a sharp-looking Kodiac filly out of Queenmania (€150,000). In addition, a classy Too Darn Hot filly out of Rocksavage was secured for Opulence Thoroughbreds at €230,000. The following week at Goffs UK Premier Yearling Sale in Doncaster, we added further quality. For Victorious Racing, we picked up a Mehmas colt...

21 Aug

Andrew Balding, who won this race with the subsequent Gr.1 2,000 Guineas winner Chaldean back in 2022, added a second Gr.3 Tattersalls Acomb Stakes to his CV at York when Gewan powered clear on the run towards the line to win yesterday. The two-year-old son of Night Of Thunder sat in behind the pace during the early stages of the 7f contest under P J McDonald. As the race began to come to the boil at the three-furlong marker, Gewan pressed the leader and soon picked up the pace. However, he had not yet shaken off the challenge from Aidan O’Brien’s Italy (Wootton Bassett), who appeared very quickly on his right-hand side, but having responded well to his jockey’s urgings, Gewan showed great courage and pulled a length and a half clear of Italy to win. The Charlie Appleby-trained and Godolphin-owned Distant Storm (Night Of Thunder)...

21 Aug

YORK, UK -- What a day, or perhaps that should be, oh, what a Night. Fresh from providing the i3m top lot at Arqana on Monday, Night Of Thunder was by Wednesday ruling the Knavesmire, courtesy of his sons Ombudsman and Gewan. In Ombudsman, Godolphin and the Gosdens have the classic late improver, who set about his racing in the middle of last season and burst onto the Group 1 scene in impressive fashion at Royal Ascot. The narrowest of defeats in the Eclipse next time out did little to dent his allure and now the four-year-old colt has added to his r sum the Juddmonte International, the race which last year was judged to be the best in the world. Spend enough time at the sales and you might be fooled into believing that it's all about the money. Perhaps it is for some and,...

19 Aug

Shaikh Nasser Bin Hamad Al Khalifa’s Victorious Racing entered the market at Arqana on Monday when bidding €625,000 for the Siyouni half-sister to Prix de Malleret scorer Babylone. The filly was bred by Haras Voltaire and sold through Haras d’Etreham. There is plenty of black type on the page, with the dam being a daughter of the Niarchos family’s Prix Marcel Boussac winner Denebola. In turn she is out of the increasingly influential Coup De Genie, a sister to Machiavellian and ancestress of top-flight winners like Bago, Emollient and Maxios. “She’s staying here in France and going to Yann Lerner,” said Billy Jackson-Stops, racing manager to Victorious Racing. “She was a selection between myself, Yann and the boss, Shaikh Nasser. All three of us were very keen on her. We’ve tried on a few today but we’ve been strict on our valuations and didn’t quite get close...

19 Aug

A bit of history was made at Catterick on Monday when Alther Walden became the first Hungarian-bred winner on the Flat in Britain since the Racing Post's comprehensive records begin. George Scott's gelding was second favourite among the four runners for the 1m4f novice but could not have been a more effortless winner as he coasted 14 lengths clear under Liam Wright. Only three imports from the country have even competed on the Flat since 1988. Charlie's Destiny beat only one rival in two starts for Gerry Enright in 1999, while Gringo had won twice over fences ten years earlier. Alther Walden, a son of Study Of Man, was bred by Hungary's Babolna National Stud and has a poignant story. He was part of a project driven by stud manager Zsolt Hegedus, who had planned to offer four Hungarian-bred yearlings at Baden-Baden in a bid to promote his country's bloodstock...

31 Jul

July has been a busy and rewarding month, both in the sales ring and on the racecourse. At the Tattersalls July Horses-in-Training Sale, Billy was delighted to secure three exciting new additions, while a number of past purchases continued to shine with impressive victories. At Tattersalls, we added Ahlain, a 4-year-old daughter of Too Darn Hot, who heads to France to join the Chantilly stable of Mario Barratti. Also purchased was Channagide, who will travel to Bahrain to be trained by Fawzi Naas. Joining him there will be Grand Karat, bought on behalf of Victorious Racing, who also goes into Naas’s care. Each of these horses offers plenty of potential, and we’re looking forward to seeing them thrive in their new environments. On the track, July produced a strong run of winners. Front Line Fury, trained by George Scott, picked up a Nursery Handicap at Haydock, showing...