By Brian Sheerin
The breeze-up season gets underway this month with the Tattersalls Craven Breeze-Up Sale – which takes place from April 13 to 15 – followed by the Goffs UK Breeze-Up Sale – on April 21 and 22. Few trainers have enjoyed better luck than Richard Hughes when it comes to sourcing horses from that sphere.
The Group 1-winning handler has big-race targets for breeze-up graduates Rose Ghaiyyath (Ghaiyyath), America Queen (Havana Grey) and Nobody Knows (Wootton Bassett). Meanwhile, the Group-placed Bella Lyra (Oasis Dream) has recently been sold to continue her career in America while valuable prizes are also under consideration for Craven graduate Captain Fox (Australia).
No surprise then that Hughes, who sent out No Half Measures (Cable Bay) to win the July Cup last year and has maintained that high level of form into 2026 with the stable operating at a massive 19 per cent strike rate, intends on shopping the breeze-up sales again this year.
From drumming up orders, buying horses on spec, working closely with former weighroom colleague-turned bloodstock agent Ted Durcan and even his opinion on the first-season sires, Hughes is first up in the breeze-up focussed Q&As that will lead TDN Europe readers into the sale season.
America Queen: has Classic targets | Racingfotos.com
BS: You've done very well buying out of the breeze-up sphere. How have you found drumming up interest ahead of this year's sales?
RH: We've done well out of the breeze-ups but, funnily enough, we don't have many orders this year. We buy 40 yearlings between September and October on spec every year. We don't mind that because we have all winter to try and get them sold. But the spring is not the time of year to be worrying about selling horses that were bought on spec so, unless someone comes along with an order, it could be very hard to buy over the next few weeks.
I was lucky enough to have an order going to Fairyhouse last year, where we bought Nobody Knows [off Derryconner Stud for €320,000]. We actually had that order for a while and I went to three different sales before I found the right horse. I was looking for a mile-and-a-quarter horse to fill that order, purely because I find them a little bit better value at the breeze-up sales. They're also a little bit safer.
Mr Jaber Abdullah was also at the Tattersalls Ireland Breeze-Up Sale at Fairyhouse and it was he who bought America Queen. I pointed her out to him, told him I loved her and luckily for me, he also loved her and he put his hand up. I think I stopped at around €140,000 and said, 'Jaber, I can't go any more,' and thankfully he took over the bidding and bought her at €180,000. But he saw that I was willing to put my neck on the line.
Jaber came in for Rose Ghaiyyath as well but Ted Durcan and I actually bought her on spec initially. We both drove back [from the Arqana Breeze-Up Sale] together in the car from Deauville and I put her to a different man on the journey home but I didn't get much of a vibe. So again, I rang Jaber and I was lucky that he said he'd come in and buy her.
Trainers have enough on their plate around this time of year without having a horse around their neck so that's why you need orders going to the breeze-up sale. It's very difficult to go there and start buying on spec.
America Queen, Rose Ghaiyyath and Nobody Knows would appear to be three of your biggest bullets to fire this year. They could be good advertisements for the sector.
Yes, three very good horses. But, then again, we went to every sale and worked them hard. We bought [the Group 3-placed] Bella Lyra at Donny for £80,000 and we thought she was well bought as well. We've actually just sold her to America but, the people who own her [Jastar Capital Limited] are staying in for half and I'd say that could be a good move because she might just be up to winning a Group 1 in America.
We also got one out of the Craven last year, a horse called Captain Fox – he was an Australia colt at a Craven Breeze-Up Sale, which was very odd. He was a fine big horse – he looked like a store – and he did a very respectable breeze and all of his family got to Royal Ascot as well. So we bought him for 105,000gns and we felt at the time that he was a good buy.
If I try to buy one of the fastest horses at the breeze-ups, I can't compete. Bracken's Laugh (Zoffany) is another good horse we've got out of the breeze-ups. Again, he was 16.2hh and, while he did a very good time, he wouldn't have been everyone's cup of tea. He was a very good horse for the money [200,000gns] we paid for him.
What plans have you put in place for some of those better horses that you bought from the breeze-ups?
Both America Queen and Rose Ghaiyyath will go for a trial. They're in the Nell Gwyn and the Fred Darling and the ground will depend on who goes where because America Queen will not run on soft ground. She's in the French 1,000 Guineas because I think she'll have a better chance of getting a French mile as opposed to a Newmarket mile.
Rose Ghaiyyath will have no bother getting the mile and she has improved a lot now. She's a faster filly than she was last year. Over the winter, I was thinking she wouldn't be able to run over seven furlongs, but her early gallops are showing me that she's a lot quicker than she was and that means that she's stronger.
Nobody Knows will go for the Esher Cup and he wants more than a mile in time. The Golden Gate handicap at Royal Ascot would be his main aim. If he's a Group horse after that, it would be nice to work our way into those races.
You seem to be able to buy the fast and early types as well as the middle-distance prospects from the breeze-up sales. How would you describe your approach to sniffing out the good horses on a budget?
At this time of the year, I can't be gone out of the yard for two or three days watching practice breezes and everything like that. Ted Durcan [bloodstock agent] is invaluable to me because he can watch horses behave, listen to their wind and make notes on what he liked and didn't like during the breeze. I could rock up to the sale and I might like a pedigree or something but Ted will be able to tell me if the horse misbehaved or made a noise in the breeze.
My card is well marked by the time I get to the sale. He's very good at preparing a list for me, which is very helpful. When it comes to bidding, Ted would be telling me, 'that's enough now Richard'. Always. I tend to stick my neck on the line a little bit more but Ted is good for me in that he tells me when we might be spending a little bit too much on a horse. He just works very hard and I find him a massive help to us at the sales if I am being completely honest.
And what kind of horses do you target together?
We have to be very careful we don't go after the fastest horses in the breeze. We can't afford them number one and I'd prefer a nice horse with plenty of size instead. If those types can go up there in a good style, they must have a good engine, because, those bigger, scopier horses shouldn't be able to breeze fast at this time of the year. You'd be looking for a horse with a big stride and a good-ish time, not a fast time. If you can find one like that who is 16hh and was a half a second slower than a little whipper-snapper, I'd take that.
I know from my string at home, the horses that I'd like to buy, I wouldn't be galloping them yet because I know it would be hard for them to perform this early in the year. Normally, when they get stronger, they get quicker as the year progresses. So, I think it's a fair feat from the breeze-up handlers to produce these types of horses in the shape that they do. You'd be very aware of the vendors and I am lucky that I have a good relationship with a lot of the consignors.
Ted Durcan: works in tandem with Hughes at the sales | Tattersalls
How important is the vendor for you?
Oh, it's huge. I've been to Ireland and I rode for a lot of the vendors a few years back. I know how some of the bigger outfits work. For example, I think I rode something like 30 breeze-up horses on my most recent trip a few years ago. They were all good rides, had sound minds, did their gallop and pulled up fine afterwards and walked home. So I know the guys who are doing a good job and are doing it right.
Now, I didn't get around to every breeze-up yard, but the people I did get in to visit, I found them very professional and they have produced the horses very similar to how I'd prepare mine. A lot of the breeze-up horses that I saw on that trip were being prepared as if they were in training.
How many two-year-olds do you have on the team for the season ahead and how did you find selling the ones that were bought at the yearling sales on spec?
We have 50 two-year-olds. We bought plenty at the yearlings sales and I had a 150,000gns No Nay Never and a 120,000gns Sioux Nation hanging around my neck at the beginning of the year. I managed to divide the No Nay Never up – thankfully existing owners each took a leg – but nobody came in for the Sioux Nation.
I remember going to Barbados in January thinking that I would sell him to somebody over there and I didn't. My business model simply cannot take that much of a hit so I gave the colt to Mark Grant to breeze. People might think it looks funny, 'why is a Sioux Nation colt that Richard Hughes bought as a yearling in a breeze-up sale?' The simple answer is that he is a lovely horse, I just couldn't sell him. I'd rather bring the horse home than make money on him because I know he's very nice but my hands were tied back in January and I had to make a decision. That's why I decided to send him to Mark.
It takes bravery to buy on spec at the yearling sales but at least you have the winter to try and get owners into them. The timing of the breeze-up sales makes buying on spec difficult for trainers.
Spending 40,000gns or 50,000gns is grand, because you'll find owners all day long at that level. But once you go over 100,000gns, it gets harder. There are plenty of sleepless nights doing what we do at the yearling sales. But you don't need sleepless nights at this time of the year as a trainer. I definitely won't be buying a horse for 200,000gns or 300,000gns on spec at the breeze-ups. I've enough stress in my life at the moment!
Of the 50 juveniles you have to go to war with, how many of them are by first-season sires? Are there any that are putting their hand up yet?
I am happy with the Blackbeards – I have two very nice colts and a filly by him. I definitely wouldn't mind going back in again and buying another Blackbeard. I have a very nice filly by Caturra. I genuinely couldn't remember Caturra as a racehorse but this filly was one of the best-looking yearlings at the Tattersalls Somerville Sale last year and we bought her for 42,000gns. She will probably be one of my first two-year-old runners and she'll trouble the judge. She could even run next Monday.
I have a nice Minzaal filly who has a bit of size – I'll just have to wait for her but she is very nice. I didn't buy too many first-season sires purely because you have to be very careful when you're buying on spec. But those are the ones that I like so far anyway.
On that note, would you give us a two-year-old to follow?
We have a lovely Blue Point filly out of Fig Roll who we bought at Donny for £175,000. I rode a lot of the horses from that filly and they'd run through a brick wall for you despite the fact that they were quite small. This filly is probably a little bigger than usual for the family but she goes very nicely and wants firm ground.
I've a nice Ubettabelieveit filly. Again, he's not the most fashionable sire but we have Sayidah Hard Spun (Ubettabelieveit), who is a 90-rated filly, so I don't mind the sire at all. We also have a nice Rajasinghe colt. He's a bloody cracking horse – very strong and a big white face. Rajasinghe does unbelievably well with his two-year-olds on the all-weather so this fella will go to Wolverhampton on April 10. They were basically giving away nominations to the stallion recently yet he had two winners in Dubai over the winter and consistently churns out winners.
It's a fashion thing and all I know is I am a fan of his. You can buy a lovely jumper in Primark but if it doesn't say Ralph Lauren on it, people don't want it. Same thing.
Final question. Is there a certain type you are searching for at the breeze-up sales this year?
In my head, I have a lot of sharp two-year-olds at home, and I am always thinking about what will happen to some of them next year. If I was going to be buying something, I'd like to find a horse that could stretch out over a mile or further. I have enough fast ones – at least I hope they're fast – and I'd prefer to go and find something like a Bracken's Laugh or a Nobody Knows. I'll be using my imagination and trying to go for a bit of value.
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