By Emma Berry
NEWMARKET, UK—Ahead of the most important three days in Tattersalls' trading year, confidence can surely be drawn from the vast array of international visitors at Park Paddocks for the October Sale.
Not only were Sheikhs Mohammed and Hamdan inspecting yearlings on Monday, but John Magnier made an appearance with a large team which included Michael Tabor and trainers Aidan and Joseph O'Brien. A broad smattering of representatives from Japan, Australia, South Africa and the Middle East is complemented by a strong American contingent, with Chad Brown, Seth Klarman, Mike Ryan and Peter Brant returning to the scene of some considerable recruiting success in recent years, while first-time visitor Todd Pletcher is among a number of travellers from across the Atlantic.
The man with a deservedly broad smile on Monday was Julian Dollar, general manager of Newsells Park Stud, co-owner with Gestut Ammerland of Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe hero Waldgeist (GB) (Galileo {Ire}), who was also bred by both entities in partnership with Coolmore. Furthermore, Newsells Park stands Nathaniel (Ire), sire of the great Enable (GB), and is the breeder of Japan (GB) (Galileo {Ire}), who was fourth in the Arc and has also won the G1 Juddmonte International and G1 Grand Prix de Paris this season.
Japan was one of the stars of Book 1 of the October Sale when selling for 1.3 million gns two years ago, and last year Newsells Park Stud was the leading vendor with 18 horses sold for just over 11 million gns. For Newsells Park as well as Tattersalls, the next three days are of great importance.
“I think every consignor gets pretty worked up and nervous before the sales and from our point of view we've been thinking about it non-stop for the last few weeks,” said Julian Dollar on Monday from the Newsells Park hospitality box at Tattersalls, where the breeder's trophy for the Arc held pride of place.
“Every night I seem to wake up thinking of yearlings so it was nice to think about something else yesterday in Paris, but by the time I was coming back on the plane I was thinking about yearlings again.”
Reflecting on Waldgeist's victory, he added, “It was a great day for the stud and for the Jacobs family, and it was nice to remember Klaus Jacobs, my boss initially, who passed away about 10 years ago. He had a dream to establish a stud and, with his German heritage, to be successful breeding these kind of horses—these Classic-distance horses over a mile and a quarter, a mile and a half. So yesterday was about everything he had been working towards and it was quite emotional for me certainly, and for his son Andreas and the rest of the family to have bred that horse.”
Dollar continued, “In a way we were real party-poopers and there is so much of me that would love to have seen Enable win, for racing, for Nathaniel, for everything she stands for. It was heart-wrenching to beat her but if anything was going to beat her, I'm glad that it was Waldgeist. Days like that don't come around very often so I was glad that I could get away from the sales—the guys were doing a great job and I think they were glad that I went and left them in peace.
“It was very special and it means a lot to everybody involved. Andreas was there with his wife and Mr Von Boetticher was there with his family. We don't take these things for granted and I'm still pinching myself that we've managed to breed an Arc winner. For us that's incredibly special.”
Looking ahead to the next three days, during which Newsells Park will send 22 yearlings through the ring, including half-siblings to Group 1 winners Legatissimo (Ire) and Without Parole (GB), and a sister to The Tin Man (GB), he added, “When you come to the sales, you never know what you've got until you go up to the ring. I hope we'll be alright. I believe we have some very nice horses. We are lucky to have some good horses that we have bred ourselves and also very lucky to sell some horses that we've bred for clients. I just have to trust that people have faith in the horses we are producing.
“Yes, you get some headlines for sales horses but it's all about the quality of the horses when they are racing. We're breeding racehorses, that's what we're about, and of course we have to breed sales horses to survive, but if that becomes our raison d'etre then we're in trouble. So it has been very gratifying seeing a number of horses from the farm doing very well.”
After withdrawals, around 500 yearlings, all eligible for the £25,000 Book 1 Bonus, are slated to sell this week, starting at 11 a.m. on Tuesday.
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