John Dance

First Ambition (GB), a colt by Invincible Spirit (Ire) and the first foal of the six-time Group 1 winner Laurens (Fr) (Siyouni {Fr}), is among a sizeable number of horses owned by John Dance's Coverdale Stud to be catalogued within the Castlebridge Consignment draft for an extended Tattersalls Guineas Breeze-up and Horses-in-Training Sale.  A record number of 195 lots in the horses-in-training section means that the auction will now start with an evening session on Wednesday, May 1 at 5pm. The sale continues on Thursday morning at 9.30am with the...

After parting ways with owner John Dance, conditioner James Horton will return to Newmarket to begin training next term on his own. When leading chaser Bravemansgame (Fr) (Brave Mansonnien {Fr})--co-owned by Dance--was barred from running in the Aintree Grand National meeting early this year, the horse was later allowed to continue his career when Bryan Drew took sole ownership. Dance's other horses, most with Horton, were cleared to run, though under different names, in May but with the announcement Monday of "further concerns coming to light", another interim stop had...

The British Horseracing Authority (BHA) has confirmed that horses under the ownership of John Dance will now be permitted to run in the name of Coverdale Stud and Titanium Racing Club "with a view to supporting the welfare of the horses and the livelihoods of the staff impacted by the investigation". Dance's company WealthTek LLP was ordered to cease training in early April and is currently under investigation by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), which has agreed to money being made available for the training and racing of the owner's...

Vertem Asset Management, the company that sponsors the G1 Futurity Trophy at Doncaster, has been ordered to immediately cease carrying on all regulated activities by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). A 48-year-old man was arrested and questioned under caution in connection with the move the authority took "following serious regulatory and operational issues coming to light". Vertem, which trades under WealthTek LLP, was founded in 2010 by prominent racehorse owner John Dance, whose colours were carried by a number of high-profile horses, including multiple Group 1 winner Laurens (Fr) and...

The first major yearling sale of the autumn in Britain or Ireland, the Goffs UK Premier Yearling Sale provided entertainment from the beginning to the end, but most importantly, boasted impressive figures. Brian Sheerin was in attendance and discusses the major talking points from the sale. Figures on the up The team at Goffs UK could hardly have wished for a better start to the Premier Yearling Sale. The day one figures were off the charts. Of the 218 lots offered on Tuesday, 199 were sold, representing a clearance rate...

DONCASTER, UK--The desire of John Dance to develop Manor House Stud into a major force was well on show during the first day of the Goffs UK Premier Yearling Sale in Doncaster yesterday as the owner came out on top at £120,000 for the session-topper (lot 109), a well-related son of Dark Angel (Ire). While the day's ceiling was a far cry from the record high of £440,000 achieved in 2019 by the Kingman (GB) colt Admiral Nelson (GB), no one could dispute the vibrancy of a trade that wound...

DONCASTER, UK--Look, we all know to refrain from any bold pronouncements in such an uncertain world. But the same market that was last year first to be broadsided by the pandemic has now made consecutive statements: first one of cautious optimism and now, remarkably, one of record-breaking confidence. For if we left Newmarket last week reminding ourselves that a single swallow does not a summer make, then flight after flight seemed to fill the air at the Goffs UK Breeze-Up Sale. Whatever the ups and downs that inevitably still await,...

Laurens (Fr) (Siyouni {Fr}), a winner of six Group 1 races, has produced a colt by Invincible Spirit (Ire) as her first foal, owner John Dance announced via Twitter Tuesday morning. Successful in the G1 Fillies' Mile at two, she will visit Kingman (GB) in 2021. The bay is also a winner of the G1 Prix Saint-Alary, G1 Prix de Diane, G1 Matron S., G1 Kingdom of Bahrain Sun Chariot S. and G1 Prix Rothschild. It was announced last January that Laurens would visit the Irish National Stud stalwart, having...

The first Tattersalls Cheltenham Preview Panel will be available for viewing on YouTube and Facebook at 7:30 p.m. on Mar. 10, Tattersalls announced on Monday. Hosted by Vanessa Ryle, Richard Pugh, and Jamie Codd, the trio will be joined by guests Paul Nicholls, Anthony Bromley, Tom Malone, Cormac Doyle (Monbeg Stables) and owner John Dance. There will also be insights into the runners in the build up to the Cheltenham Festival on Mar. 16-19, as well as bloodstock analysis on some Cheltenham hopefuls.

Newbury's G2 Dubai Duty Free Mill Reef S. has been won by the sprinting luminaries Harry Angel (Ire) (Dark Angel {Ire}) and Ribchester (Ire) (Iffraaj {GB}) in recent times and Saturday's renewal has some potential class acts lurking in the line-up for the six-furlong feature. Setting the standard is John Dance's Rhythm Master (Ire) (Dark Angel {Ire}) following his third placing in the G1 Prix Morny at Deauville on Aug. 23, but he has several unexposed rivals placing a target on him and will have to be every bit as...

Fledgling bloodstock agent Daniel Creighton took a swing at the top of the market at the Goffs UK Premier Yearling Sale in 2016, spending £220,000 on behalf of owner John Dance on the sale's highest-priced filly. The transaction could hardly have worked out better, with that yearling going on to become the six-time Group 1 winner Laurens (Fr) (Siyouni {Fr}). Creighton, along with his partner Josh Schwartz, are hoping to feature on the leaderboard at the same sale on Sept. 1 and 2 as sellers, with six yearlings set to...