VALENTINE BLOODSTOCK NEWS
August > October 2024
August swung by without a newsletter, strimming, painting and steam cleaning the barn, two wonderful family holidays and some downtime without the barn filled with horses got in the way of jotting down my thoughts on paper. This lack of commitment got the better of me again in September, but it’s better late than never, so at the start of November it’s time to get back on the horse and reflect on the past 3 months action. Let’s get to it…
As to be expected it’s been a quietish start to the “season proper” with many horses waiting for the ground to soften, we’ve certainly had a very unseasonal amount of rain here at Little Oakwell Stud. The weather has held fast from the summer, dry and mainly on the mild side, the final group of the horses only came in from their summer holidays a week ago. The grass lacks the big nutrient quality of spring and summer, but owing to the milder and sometime warmer weather, it’s kept growing so the horses that could stay out longer have done and have come in looking great. We have a nice group of Yearlings that all turned a corner physically through September , growing and filling out plenty, they were rugged up in September to make sure they didn’t lose any of their “gains” during those cooler autumn nights, it’s nice for them to stay out and remain babies for as long as possible. Now they’re in the work begins of course and we look forward to getting saddles and then riders on the Yearlings in the coming weeks.
Many of the horses we're excited to see this season will be waiting, like so many others, for the rain to finally come. However, over the past three months since our last update, we've had a steady stream of winners and some promising performances from the horses we've purchased.
One of the highlights from the track this summer was seeing KITESURFER (Karaktar) go to 2 wins from 4 runs, he still remains slightly enigmatic, but it's been great to see him get off the mark and then back it up with a second victory for Jamie Snowden and his owners the Atkin Family. A gelding who seems to have thrived on a bit of better ground and a marked step up in trip, on his day he shows plenty of talent and touch-wood there’ll be more fun to be had with him.
JUDICIEUSE ALLEN (Great Pretender) should probably be 2/2 over fences, however it’s just the 1 victory at Sligo to her name so far. After coming down late when looking a likely winner on her first start over fences in Tipperary, she came back and rewrote that wrong by winningly snuggly at Sligo. Her second attempt over fences was a winning one, overcoming a few nervous and awkward leaps namely at the first, she warmed to it and was well on top after the last. It would be great if she could nick some black-type for her owners Thurloe Thoroughbreds and trainer Willie Mullins. Hailing from one of Bruno & Damien Vagnes best families, with black-type next to her name she would make a very appealing broodmare further down the line for someone. She’ll be given every chance to fulfil that brief and opportunities should present themselves as the season goes on, she appears to cope and act on most ground.
SAISHO (Nirvana Du Berlais) who we purchased privately this summer and decided to leave in France and continue her career with existing trainer Etienne Andigne, broke her maiden in fine style at Angouleme over hurdles for Anne Underhill & John White. A big scopey filly standing 16.3h’s+ from a beautiful back family, we’re sure her best days are ahead of her. Natural improvement as a 4YO, plus 3500m+ trips over fences will bring out the best in her. Securing black-type within 2 years was very much the ambition and driving force behind the purchase, she should find the necessary improvement to hit that brief.
We’ll cover her sires rapid ascension later in this update…..
DON VIRGINIA (Walzertakt) has made a nice consistent start to his racing career, with 3 placed efforts from 4 starts. He’s also been met with some horrid luck in running, at Worcester on seasonal reappearance he lost his place due to interference when it mattered and ran home strong finishing 3rd , on his second start at Warwick he was carried across the track in the final 100yards when placing 2nd! The “Little Oakwell Stud Grad” will find the winners enclosure before long, there’s no doubt about that, he’s definitely a horse that will improve physically with time, quite a weak horse when we sold him and on both occasions we’ve seen him since he’s grown again. The family he comes from has plenty of stamina in and the sires better horses have been seen to best effect over an intermediate trip. If he can get some better luck he’s a sure fire winner for Jonjo & AJ and in winning would cap a perfect winning record for the first group of 2Yo’s that went through our system.
On the saddest of notes we lost CAPTAIN MARVELOUS (Masked Marvel) after his comeback win at Warwick in October, giving away plenty of weight to a couple of decent looking rivals he crossed the line going away from them, ecstasy turned into agony when it transpired he’d struck into himself causing an untreatable injury to his tendon. Racing has the ability to give you big highs and then quickly humble you to basement lows, this heartbreaking event was the aforementioned in a nutshell. It is still incredibly hard to come to terms with the fact we’ll never get to see him on the track again , he had so much to give and potential on tap. A career ending injury is one thing, losing the horse entirely is another and being the first foal we bought when we started our business, this is a loss that cuts pretty deep. Every horses life counts of course, but just like with people the loss of certain ones can leave a bigger imprint than others, in life and in death.
When we moved into Little Oakwell Stud in 2021, Captain Marvellous was our first resident, probably the first horse to enter the barn and he was the first horse that left for training, he represented everything we aspired to achieve. Winning 2 from 4 starts and placing in the Grade 2 Adonis Hurdle in his first season and he was our first winner produced from home.
He will be sorely missed by us both and his owners Jonny, Tracy & David, Stephen and Donna who loved him dearly, RIP.
In early October the news broke that the Multiple Champion Sire SAINT DES SAINTS (Cadoudal) had been stood down from covering duties at Haras d'Etreham at the age of 26 after standing for 22 years. We can’t say definitively what long term impact this one horse will have on the National Hunt breed, however the early signs suggest the magnitude of his stamp through the genetics he will pass to future generations could well be significant and potentially breed shaping. In his own right he sired multiple Grade 1 winners, 17 in Total, most recently Protektorat and Fastorslow this side of the channel.
Fittingly as he departs the covering sheds for the last time, he has both the Champion elect 3Yo Filly & Male Hurdlers in ZAINE and KIVALA DU BERLAIS.
With 91 foals sired in 2022 & 2023 and 2024 Foals still to be registered, there’s every possibility he will watch on in retirement as more champions are unearthed on the track in the coming years. His legacy and fame will undoubtedly endure, even though he is no longer directly producing. We've already seen his skill in producing top-quality offspring as a broodmare sire. In fact, one could argue that some of his highest-quality descendants have come from his influence on the maternal side. ENVOI ALLEN (X9 G1 WINNER), DOUVAN and his brother JON BON (G1W’s) plus wonder mare DE BON COEUR. It’s easy to imagine that many more fillies will retire in the future, continuing his legacy by producing offspring with him as the dam sire, further adding to his total of 14 Grade 1 winners (as dam sire).
Then we move on to his stallion sons, GOLIATH DU BERLAIS, CASTLE DU BERLAIS, JEU ST ELOI and NA HAS, all but one of those (NA HAS) has proved themselves as prolific sires of high-class winners and they’re all relatively young in the life span of a sire. The legacy is just getting started….
The aforementioned SAISHO is by Nirvana Du Berlais , who in turn is by Martaline the champion sire on several occasions and a prolific sire of winners, both in England, Ireland and France. Nirvana Du Berlais was the G1 Cambaceres Winner back in 2019, before embarking on stallion career at Haras de la Hetraie. His service fee of €6,500 has gone untouched since 2020 and he’s proved enormously popular from the word go, 256 mares covered in years 1 & 2 and a 46% increase on that number in 2022 & 23. All told he’s managed 789 mares in five seasons, a total that compares well with any stallion in France both in current times and historically. Soldiers on the ground provided by big-books of mares years 1 to 4, gives a strong foundation on which to build from.
When the 3Y0 Hurdles kicked off March 2024 many including myself anticipated we’d see a wave of winners from Nirvana Du Berlais. Given he made 4 starts in the “spring season” winning once in the G3 Prix Aguado and placing twice before going onto G1 success in the Autumn, he had the right profile to get those early types. Contrary to the widespread belief that Goliath Du Berlais wouldn’t produce early winners, he emerged from the spring and early summer with an impressive total of victories. Nirvana Du Berlais didn’t do as was expected and Goliath did what some said he couldn’t do – the interesting world of breeding…. Nirvana Du Berlais has proved a slow burner, which on reflection could have been predicted. Like most of his stock NDB is a big, strapping horse, with lots of bone and lots of quality, he throws plenty of stock that are in his image, unlike Goliath who can throw plenty more akin to their mothers or smaller Saint Des Saints type horses. So it really shouldn’t have caught people out that NDB runners have taken a little more time to progress or hit the track for the first time.
SHANYADAME lit the fire In becoming the stallions first winner half way through May at Chateaubriant and has since backed up that victory winning again in September after a break. This filly is yet to be rated but she looks a likely 60+/120UK+ 3YO for trainer A Chaille-Chaille, who has been responsible for LARZAC DU MATHAN 2 from 2, SALY D'OROUX 3 from 3, rated 66FR/132UK and recent Auteuil Maiden Hurdle winner LULAMBA, not forgetting VICTORY VALLEY who has performed incredibly well for a horse that must stand 17.1h’s, placing on both his starts. It’s no coincidence that A-C-Chaille has the midst touch with NDB stock as he trained the horse himself in all his races. Of course other trainers have reaped the benefits of supporting the freshman sire, LA VANILLE has won once and placed in the money on 2 occasions for Noel George & Amanda Zetterholm, LADY GA earned her Black-Type in AQPS Bumpers for Eduard Monfort and of course SAISHO for Etienne Andgine. In all he’s managed to rack up 8 individual winners over “obstacles” this year to date and 2 winners on the flat (Bumpers) a 33% strike rate rnrs/wnrs, 11 total wins and currently sits 4th in the 3YO sires table on that final metric. As above one would expect to see plenty of classier, maybe more backwards types, appearing in the final few weeks of this season and onwards into 2025 running as 4YO’s. After a slower than expected start this stallion is now rocking and rolling and it definitely feels like we’ve seen x2 new sires in NDB & GDB that have the potential to drive the French NH breeding industry forward well into the future.
Following the retirement of Saint Des Saints this year and Martaline retiring 2 years before his passing in 2022, their stallions sons have hit the track and will no doubt fight it out for stallion supremacy like their fathers did before them. Let battle commence.
June & July 2024
We’ve passed the halfway mark for 2024, in the past weeks I’ve looked at how the top 20 active sires in France are performing, whether there’s perhaps something being missed or a stallion that deserves more credit. The below table is a condensed list of that “Top 20”, as it shows only the sires retired from racing and entering stud since 2014, that immediately eliminates stallions such as No Risk At All, Doctor Dino, Kapgarde and Saint Des Saints , to name but a few. Bloodstock is a game of predicting the future, whether that’s judging how a horse will develop physically, selecting a sire that’s currently under the radar or being dismissed by the market, especially when the results on the track say different. Correctly predicting both elements or at least getting close, can provide the buyer with a good value purchase, which is what we always aim to achieve for our clients. This is why I find it helpful to keep a close eye on the records of stallions, the mares they’ve covered, the success’s they’ve earned both in the sales ring and most importantly on the racecourse – the correct and proper test for any sire.
The table above is arranged by INDIVIDUAL WINNERS, to make it easier for the reader I’ve highlighted GREEN to show the best in class for each column and highlighted BLUE the stallion that’s returned the second best results in that column. The Columns show easy to understand metrics;
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Individual Runners
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Individual Winners
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TOTAL PRIZE MONEY
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TOTAL PRIZE MONEY per RUNNER
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Percentage Strike Rate (Wnrs / Rnrs)
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Black-Type Winners (FR races only)
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Mares Covered in 2022 / 23 / 24 Breeding Seasons
COKORIKO currently sits at the top of the pile, as he did at the end of 2023. For reference he’s also leading the overall table, 1 win and approx €500,000 ahead of Doctor Dino. 2024 will be the final year Cokoriko appears on a ‘new sire’ list by the metrics I apply (10 Years) as he entered stud in 2014. He’s done it the hard way compared to some stallions, starting off at ‘peanut fee’ of €1,700 in Haras De Cercy. His first runner hit the track just 2 years after his first foals had arrived, when LISA DE VASSYS’ won at 2, she went on to earn a Listed 3rd on Flat at 3. Then POLIRICO advertised his ability as a jumps sire by winning twice in the spring and then subsequently winning a G2 3YO Chase in the autumn. The talents contained in his first crop of runners rocketed the quality and quantity of mares he covered, servicing 473 mares from 2014>2017, he jumped up to 764 2018>2021. He ended his first full year of runners at nearly a 50% SR Wnrs/Rnrs (Obstacle Races Only) with 12 individual winners from 26 runners, 6 years on that first crop of 91 starters have amassed 73 victories between them in France. One would have thought his profile would continue to rise and be sought after on both sides of the channel and into Ireland, however he’s never really been ‘that sire’ on our shores. Coko Beach, Icare Allen & Homme Public would be his highest scorers to date in the UK & Ireland, not to discredit three high quality horses but none of them would be “stallion making” flag bearers. The latter has always been Cokoriko’s issue to some degree, that despite a glut of winners year on year, he’s never had that break through horse, that could be about to change and there’s evidence to support this theory. This year in France he’s already struck 5 times as a Sire in Black-Type races, including that elusive G1 victory with KOLOKICO, to put this into context in 2023 he managed x3 Black-Types wins all year and all at Listed Level. In addition he’s had JOJO LAPIN G2 winner and KINGLAND G3W, LW, G1P x2, who by all accounts I’ve heard and trusting my own eye looks like he could be the real deal. Winning a G1 in his career should be a formality and when he was beaten into second in the G1 Prix Alain de Breil this spring , he got a bad run round, he can and will right that wrong. On our side of the channel IBERICO LORD won x2 of our major Handicaps in the Greatwood & Betfair Hurdles, before blowing out in the Champion Hurdle – when N Hendersons’ horses were under a cloud. No idea what he’ll do the 24/25 season, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see him go over fences and any horse that progressed like he did last season, could well be capable of more success in the future. In the sales ring over the last 12 months, he’s had P2P recruits PORT JOULAIN & KOKTAIL BRUT join Willie Mullins & Gordon Elliot respectively – both selling for >€250,000 in the process. His x3 highest priced stores have sold for €105,000, €95,000 and €115,000 to good homes. There always seems to have been a few questions marks surrounding this stallion, maybe it’s just the simple fact he's never had a poster boy or girl type horse to advance his reputation into “superstar sire” territory, as above that could be just around the corner with KINGLAND. On the balance of evidence a sire that’s set to go back-to-back as French Champion Sire, gets winners every day of the week and has covered 472 mares since 2022, he should never be a sire you dismiss lightly, better still his stock doesn’t always come with the a flashy price tag you might associate with others, that are in fact beneath him in the sire league!
Forgive me for sounding like I’m only pointing out the obvious ones at the top , however, the second Stallion worth looking into based on the table above is MASKED MARVEL. Already a G1 sire through his Grand-Steeple Champion SEL JEM in 2022, the sire added TEAHUPOO to his roll of owner when he landed the Stayers Hurdle this past spring. Again starting off at a fairly modest fee of €3,000 in 2015, he’s steadily built a decent reputation and now stands at €12,500 (fee adjusted in 2023 – 7 months after SEL JEMS G1 victory in 2022). He’s never been a hot sales sire and this year’s store sales convey that view, despite having had TEAHUPOO win the Stayers Hurdle G1 and KALIF DU BERLAIS win the Adonis Hurdle G2 in the months proceeding the sales, the 3Yo Store average from the Land Rover & Derby sales equalled €49,500. This leaves him sat only marginally above the overall average for the x2 sales combined at €48,000. It’s worth noting his earlier crops were conceived with perceived ‘lesser’ mares and since SEL JEM popped up on everyone’s radar early in 2022, he’s received a select group of higher quality mares in 2022>24 totalling 313, worth noting this is partly due to him being limited to X number of covers per day. This year he’s managed 4 individual Black-Type winners, that’s a rise of 4 from the grand total of Zero in 2023, although it equals his total of 4 individual winners in 2022. Of course we’re only just beyond the half way point of 2024 and with plenty more racing to come this year, he could still add to this total. The most important thing to note is he landed a 3YO Hurdle Listed winner with his daughter OLYMPIC STORY, for Francois Nicolle in Auteuil. A feat that so far to my records had eluded him, it’s a rarity him getting a 3YO winner let alone a Black-Type one! Roughly this time last year (08.06.23) he was sitting at 22% S/R Wnrs/Rnrs and €8,500 Prize Money Earned Per Runner, well this year those figures have risen sharply to 39% and €19,200 respectively with total of 19 winners and total prize of €900,000 (up from €300,000 in June 2023). He should continue to build upwards from this point, with some potentially nice horses already on the track that will improve with time, as all his stock does, plus a well-bred group of stock still on the farms.
The next stallion that stands up well and has a growing reputation as a reliable source of winners is CHOEUR DU NORD. The son of the late great VOIX DU NORD ( sire of Kemboy, Espoir D’Allen & Defi De Seuil) retired to stud after just 3 starts, 2 wins and a place all at Auteuil. He’s beginning to break through with a smattering of good quality horses, familiar to UK/IRE readers, HEART WOOD who was G1 placed when stepped up to 3m in Aintree and JERIKO DU REPONET , G2 winner for N Henderson. They’re both in good hands and I particularly like the way Heart Wood was steadily campaigned, avoiding Cheltenham, perhaps with one eye on this coming season.
They are two of many promising young talents for CHOEUR DU NORD and he hasn’t amassed over €1,000,000 worth of Prize Money in France by the middle of the year without having done something right. IMPRENABLE 5YO LW & LP this year, CHANTEUR DU BOURG 4YO G2 & G3 placed, GARDIEN DE MUSEE LW & G1 4th, ROYAL SAGA G3W and 3YO Hurdle winner VOLOVO. His covering statistics haven’t been submitted for 2024 yet, so it would be unfair to draw direct comparisons with his counterparts in the table above, so instead I’ll refer to the years proceeding this from 2021/22/23 in which he covered 370 mares, the 4th busiest stallion (retiring to stud since 2013). His stock have always appealed to me physically, but it can easily be said that the UK/IRE market / buyers are probably yet to catch up with the sires abilities. Only x6 3YO’s have been offered across the 2 premium store sales in the last 2 years, his most notable store grad would be N Henderson / McManus bumper winner Centreofattention £65,000 from GUK 22 Stores.
There’s two stallions left that need more coverage than just the table above. Firstly KARAKTAR, best known as the sire of Noel Georges’ IL EST FRANCAIS, the star that swept aside a decent field in the Kauto Star Novices’ Chase late in 2023. For those that watch French Racing they’ll know that he’s been putting in similar scintillating displays on their turf for the last 2 years, that said it was still a surprise to see how easily he did it in Kempton. Nothing makes people dream in the bloodstock world like the promise or chance of breeding something as special as Il Est Francais, Douvan & Min set Walk in the Parks ball rolling and IEF has light the touch paper for KARAKTAR. Like mentioned above, it is perhaps why Cokoriko has never really captured peoples imagination like he should have done. Off the back of a decent first crop and Il Est Francais’ AQPS G2 Bumper 2nd, the stallion has covered books of 141, 245 and 203, totalling 589 mares in 3 years – those are huge numbers by French standards. The other good ones he’s had include KALA CONTI G2W, KARAKTA G3W and JANEIRO VERDE LW – who was terribly unlucky to sustain a tendon injury prior to the G1 Grand Prix Du Ferdinand in 2023, as he would have held a live chance. It’s worth noting that the early success Karaktar has had, came off a small sample of mares. In his first 5 years at stud the proceeding foals from those mating’s totalled 259, the wins accrued by this early group totals 94 Wins (this includes this years 3YO’s). The sales are yet to reflect his talents and there’s probably a very plausible explanation for that, a lot of his stock can be smaller and neater horses, I’ve found especially the fillies can be small & racy, whilst the colts can vary in size. One thing they all seem to have in common is a long languid athletic walk, just like the horse himself, who can cover the stallion shed in about 3 strides when others take 6. Therefore plenty of them wouldn’t fit the template demanded by the store sales “big, strong, horses” , this won’t stop them running however and I fully expect to see a lot more from this stallion in the coming years. Perhaps he’s already sired his best one, but if he sires more and more nearly as good, he will no doubt be one of the top sires operating within the UK / IRE & FR in the next 10 years.
It wouldn’t be a monthly newsletter without mentioning the final sire of note, GOLIATH DU BERLAIS. The sire has already bagged 8 individual winners from just 19 Runners operating at a 42%, amazingly he’s yet to have many runners that haven’t shown enough ability to at some stage win a race. The 19 starters so far represent 17% of registered foals from the first crop of 109, you can’t really guess how many new ones we’ll see run in the Autumn or through the rest of the summer, but I suspect he’ll probably push near enough 30-35 individual starters for the season.
Therefore if he persists with this exceedingly fast start he will no doubt break through Cokoriko’s record of 12 and possibly beyond 15 winners. At this point in time he’s the leading sire of 3YO Hurdlers, on Total Winners and Prize Money earned, toppling established stars like Doctor Dino, Cokoriko and his father Saint Des Saints. SOBRIQUETTE & ENTERLOUPE have both hit the frames in G3 and x2 Listed Races and EARLY MIST arguably has the credentials and form to say he’s close to being the 2nd best 3YO Male Hurdler in France. By the time the year is out, I have no doubt we’ll have seen the first BTW for the sire. The sales rings in Ireland have clocked what’s going on and the Goliath stock haven’t been missed by buyers with 4 lots going for €100,000+ and to good homes. That said his stock can be a bit indifferent, so don’t be surprised to see them go cheaper on occasions, winning horses are beautiful horses and this must be kept in mind when observing his stock at any age. I’ve bought plenty of his horses so far, I’ve always been his biggest fan and can say from experience they rarely fit a type. Some are spitting images of their mothers, others like neither mother or father and occasionally he’ll throw one that’s in Saint Des Saints and his own mould, well built, dark and handsome. Only two of the aforementioned stallions (Cokoriko & Karaktar) have been busier through the spring in the breeding sheds, lack of numbers will not slow the momentum he’s built therefore. I was on record when I bought LUMINO BELLO in 2021 that I believed Goliath would be the Champion Sire within 5 crops of racing age and I firmly stand by that statement to this day!
Other stallions worth noting who are on that list or just off it are as follows;
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BORN TO SEA – 45% SR with 3YO Runners, has moved around a bit as a stallion, 5 different locations in fact! Has already sired ASPIRE TOWER & MY MATE MOZZIE, but it’s only been in recent years that he’s been on more NH based mares. SHIKA DU BERLAIS won a G3 3YO Hurdle for him this spring and MAMBONUMBERFIVE made €450,000 to Ben Pauling in Arqana Summer Sale
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CLOVIS DU BERLAIS – 32% overall SR in 2024 and 42% SR with his 3YO’s
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TUNIS – x2 BTW’s in 2024, ever growing demand for his stock in the sales ring, stock that tends to be well built, athletic and with plenty of size, includes store sales results of €210,000, €155,000 & €120,000 plus a €280,000 HIT purchase by WP Mullins.
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JOSHUA TREE – Currently operating with the highest return prize money return per starters at €20,000. He has two good operators in IRISH POINT G1W and YOUTWOGLASS, I suspect that time will catch up with this sire before we see what he could do with a full book, he’s got only 116 registered foals from his last 3 breeding seasons.
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BEAUMEC DE HOULLE – After a slow start with his first crop he came bouncing into action with his 2nd crop of 3YO’s, so far that’s yielded 3 winners at a 30% SR. His best so far being WILLY DE HOUELLE, who I believe has been exported to WP Mullins. The stock in the sales ring always seem to go down well, with x4 3YO’s making over €80,000 this year alone.
Born to Sea
Tunis
Back in the UK now, at the start of June KITESURFER (Karaktar) notched his first win for Jamie Snowden. We bought Kitesurfer after winning a Vichy 3YO Maiden Hurdle from Emmanuel Clayeux and for the Atkin Family. Sadly he sustained a minor injury shortly after returning to work for the 22/23 season, he then took a while to adjust to UK racing seemingly, meaning it was very rewarding to see him get his head in front at Fontwell. Now he’s got some confidence and settled into life here, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see him win a few more times and he holds entries throughout the end of July.
We had a fruitful trip to Deauville for the Arqana Summer Sale, selling one and buying another. APOLLON FORLONGE realised €75,000 in the ring, a result we were pleased with, he will be trained by Warren Greatrex for his long standing owners Jim and Claire. Warren is a great guy and also trains KEEP RUNNING, so it’s comforting to know Apollo has gone to good home and we will be able to keep in close contact - it’s never easy to let them go, we wish all his new connections the very best of luck with him and we’re confident he will not let them down.
Apollon Forlonge
Apollon Forlonge is the latest in the production line of horses we’ve sold in partnership with our investment syndicate, following successful sales in 2022 and 2023. He is also another horse that we’ve sold and been able to return our investors a profit, we are naturally very proud of this record and are grateful to the investors who have supported us and this project year-on-year.
The purchase we made was NAVARAU lot 154, a strong gelding with a good action by GOLIATH DU BERLAIS. He was Lizzie’s pick of the sale so naturally he was the horse we had to try and buy, he’s already completed his week of being broken in and found that easy, a quick learner that always wanted to be one step ahead. With our other 2YO’s now out on holiday and the horse having been through a sales prep, he’s gone out for a well-deserved holiday and will resume work early autumn.
Navarau
As mentioned above we were delighted to sell the latest horse for our successful VBS & Partners Investment Syndicate and in these last 6 weeks we’ve also added to the roster, with the purchase of a GOLIATH DU BERLAIS Colt foal. The colt foal is similar on looks and breeding to the Goliath 2YO we bought in Arqana for €62,000 , so we felt this foal had plenty going for him and the plan as always is reoffer him in 2/3 years. There is still an opportunity to get involved and take a share in this Foal, so please get in touch ASAP.
Goliath Du Berlais ex. Amazonya n24. Colt
It was great to have photographer Georgina Preston at the farm during June to capture loads of images of the horses and the site as a whole, she’s brilliant at getting the all the best shots, capturing the horses as naturally as possible. We take an immense amount of pride in Little Oakwell Stud and we appreciate that for some of our clients, trainers we work with and supporters that with us being all the way down in Devon, it’s not easy for people to visit as often as we wish they could. So it gives us great pleasure to add this video produced by us featuring Georgina’s photography, showing Little Oakwell Stud in it’s setting and all our facilities. We hope you enjoy it!
This autumn we launch PLANTAGENET RACING FRANCE, a National Hunt syndicate with x3 horses based / trained in France. The syndicate is devised to give investors the opportunity to enjoy racing in France, with minimal paperwork. Three National Hunt yearlings will be purchased from this Novembers’ Arqana Sale and be entrusted to a trainer (TBC) in France. The premise is of course the fun and thrill of owning horses, combined with the potential to cover costs or even profit from the increased prize money and the potential to offer the horses for resale, once they’ve run and hopefully performed creditably ! The fund raise for this began in the spring and we’re pleased to announce it has gone successfully, there is however a small amount of capital still to find before the deadline in September, so if any reader is interested in becoming a shareholder in PRF, please do contact us directly to hear about the project in greater detail.
A rather sombre ending to this month’s edition, we would like to send our thoughts and prayers to John Hunt, after the most awful event in the last few weeks that no one could possibly imagine happening to their own family. John has worked with Lizzie on 5Live and they’ve shared conversations in the press room about Hugo and Johns girls. No words can fill the void that is now left, but hopefully the collective kindness of everyone in the racing world, will help John in this most desperate of times. RIP
May 2024
Feels like spring has finally arrived and the horses here are all thriving on the grass and in their exercise programmes. At the time of writing all our 2YO’s are in a winding down stage after an intensive month of work during May, which we hope has set the foundations for their racing careers in the not to distant future. They’ve all been schooling, completing strong but collected canters on the ring gallop and all of them have shown up nicely. Our group this year are probably more backwards types of horses in comparison to previous years, so it’s been really nice to see them progress mentally and even when finding tasks set challenging they've all shown great attitudes and will finish this block exactly where we want them to be in their development and skill set. We think they’ll improve again for a break and then return in the late summer for another 6-8 weeks work refreshed and ready to learn a bit more!
Apollon Forlonge (Karaktar)
Each year we sell a 2YO we own through public auction, Don Virginia made £32,000 at Doncaster August Sale in 2022 and Deception Island n21. got £25,000 in Doncaster September Sale 2023. This time round we’ve been preparing APOLLON FORLONGE, but this year it’s Arqana not Doncaster. Apollon Forlonge has been earmarked for this sale for the last year, he’s a seriously classy individual that for us ticks nearly every box, he has size, scope, pedigree, looks in abundance and we’re very much looking forward to seeing how he is received. Channel Consignment will sell him on our behalf and he ships to France for his final preparation in the coming days. We’d rank him right near the top against horses we’ve had through our hands and are sure whatever happens in July he’ll go on to having a successful racing career.
In terms of runners we’ve bought through May, it’s been understandably quiet. LUMINO BELLO ( Goliath Du Berlais ) returned to a racecourse off a short 19 day break and maybe ran a bit flat at Compiegne, given this it was very encouraging to see him finish 2nd behind another Goliath Du Berlais horse Early Mist and in front of an expensive & well regarded Doctor Dino horse of Noel Georges, back in 4th was a next time out winner as well. This wasn’t a bad run by any means, being AQPS bred he’s almost a certain improver for time and duly be given a break now until the autumn season commences in Paris. He sits just outside the top ranking Males 3YO’s on his 2 starts and remains an exciting prospect this autumn and well beyond.
Lumino Bello at Compiegne
At the end of my latest trip to France to buy foals I scheduled in 2 days in Paris to attend the jewel in the crown meeting of French NH racing – Grand Steeple De Paris weekend at Auteuil and it didn’t disappoint! This was my first time attending the fixture and the crowds were notably greater than any other day I’ve been to at the home of French NH Racing, the atmosphere was brilliant, the love for the horse evident. On both days but especially the Sunday the stands and concourses were filled with avid racegoers alongside families enjoying the day out, I think British racecourse’s could learn a lot from the mix of people they attracted at this meeting. At the centre of it all the main lure was the racing and the horse’s themselves which for those already in love with the sport it felt like a real celebration of what we all do this job for – trying to find the best horses and crowning champions.
Louise Carberry took the GSDP with Gran Diose (Planteur) he’s been steadily progressing the last few years and probably taken this length of time to fill his exceedingly tall frame! This is Louises’ 2nd GSDP after her Doctor Dino horse won it a few years back and that’s a remarkable achievement for a stable of her size – so bravo Lousie, her team and jockey Clement.
Cokoriko finally claimed his maiden Grade 1 victory through his son Kolokico, who started off in Pau earlier this year and won a G1 5 months later decisively . Cokoriko has been banging on the door for a while now, he’s always had a high profile as a sire and last year took the French Champion NH Sire title, a G1 winner had eluded him but no longer and this will surely be the first of many.
Cokoriko
Nietzsche Has continued on his winning path to the G1 Cambaceres in November by winning the G3 3YO C&G’s Hurdle, he won with ease if a little bit flat after taking in a few races this spring already. He’s by the top flat stallion Zarak and a female pedigree that already includes a Cambaceres winner in Nirvana Du Berlais. Right now there isn’t a 3YO that looks like they’d beat him, they say you can’t win the championship 3YO Hurdle in November without having run in the spring, so it really wouldn’t be a surprise if his victory march continues all the way through. This would give his trainer Marcel Rolland a remarkable back-to-back victory in the race after Jigme in 2023 and we could see Nietzsche Has take up stallion duties like the aforementioned in 2025.
We’ve been hard at work in Normandy and the central region of France this spring sourcing foals for our clients to return to us at Little Oakwell or respective client farms. This is never an easy process so it’s very rewarding to have acquired a very strong group already that will nearly fill our barn up this winter! Making new connections over there is a key ingredient to future successful purchases so the trips across the pond will by no means slow down! In the coming months we will be attempting to source Foals for ourselves and our investment syndicate we’ve operated since we started – which to date have all returned a profit for investors. In addition we’ll be sourcing Foals to stay in France for UK owners, we’ve seen an ever increasing amount of people interested in racing over there, given the fragile state of UK racing prize money right now, combined with an interest in something new we don’t see that curiosity slowing down until the BHA get their house in order.
Karaktar x Cavalerie n24. Colt
Goliath Du Berlais x Coeur D'Allen n24. Colt
(Both Colts purchased for UK Clients)
Arqana Summer Sale as previously mentioned is now only weeks away ( July 2nd - 4th ) and the catalogue has been released already, it’s a great place to pick up a horse at any budget so would recommend to anyone that they get in touch soon for a chat if you’re interested in seeing a shortlist or want more information on what we can offer during the sale.
April 2024
Lumino Bello - 3YO Hurdle Winner
April is the final month of the UK & Irish National Hunt season, over in France however the Spring / Summer season is only reaching it’s midway point. We’ve been eagerly awaiting the debut of LUMINO BELLO (Goliath Du Berlais) since the season kicked off at the end of February and the wait was well worth it, after he won snuggly at Nantes this month. Given an educational ride from Clement Lefebvre, he took it up rounding the bend with ease and galloped home in a greenish fashion, leaving the impression there was plenty left on the day and tonnes of improvement to come. Lumino Bello was purchased as a Foal for his owners Gascoigne , Brookes & Allison and from the moment we put Lizzie on board in the winter of 2022/23 it was obvious he had something a bit different about him. He’s an exciting horse to be involved in and takes our record amongst the 4 horses produced at Little Oakwell Stud (having debuted) to 9 Starts, 3 Wins, 5 Places. Understandably we’re delighted that all these horses have continued their progression once leaving us and we look forward to following them as they continue their journeys!
Prince Quali ( Prince Gibraltar ) made it two on the bounce at Chepstow, taking his UK Chase record to 4 starts , 2 wins , 2 places, starting the season off 114 and ending up on 128. He’s been a bit of star for his owners and trainer Robert Walford, earning 36k across the season and with the form of his second victory at Chepstow looking hot after Sans Bruit won the big 2m Hcp Chase at the Aintree National Festival , they can all day dream away the summer looking forward to another fun year with him.
Our group of x6 2YO’s came back into full work at the start of the month, beginning with some road work whilst they adjust to the feeling of the rider on their backs once more, doubling down on what they were taught through the winter. Now they’ve built up a bit of fitness and rider & horse are in sync they’re all cantering away on our ring gallop, with the sole aim of getting them to relax, which teaches them to breathe properly and carry themselves well.
All the work is done in a collected and steady tempo, our ring gallop was designed specifically for these important few months and the youngsters swiftly take to it, the development you see day on day is really rewarding. Some of them grasp this stage quickly and find picking the bridle up a completely natural process, gradually raising the tempo of the canter but never getting too carried away. The work load we demand in these months forces their skeletons to adapt and its thought within veterinary circles that stressing the more immature horses in a controlled manner, can help to improve longevity and soundness long term. The body is forced to adjust at an earlier stage before the horse becomes too heavy, causing the joints especially to struggle with the workload imposed on them by waiting until 3 or 4 before they’ve done anything of real substance.
Royal Dino 2YO
Apollon Forlonge 2YO
We waved goodbye to x2 3YO’s who had been with us since the Autumn of their foal year, Livingit Du Large (Nirvana Du Berlais) & L’Air Du Large (No Risk At All).
They were bought from the same field at Pascal Noues’ Haras de La Hetraie in the summer of 2021 and have been together ever since, so it was a rather sad day when the horses parted company in Mid-April, although our business revolves around the horses moving on, it’s never easy to see them leave. Both horses passed every test we gave them across the nearly 16 months of ridden work on and off, so we are sure they will flourish in their respective new homes with trainers Oliver Greenall & Josh Guerrieo (L’Air Du Large) and Jane Williams (Livingit Du Large) best of luck to all connections.
The maestro Willie Mullins reigned supreme once more at Aintree, bagging 4x Grade 1’s and the big one in the Grand National. Although the battle for the UK Trainers title rolled on until the end of the month, he’d effectively secured it when I Am Maximus crossed the finishing line in front that Saturday afternoon. He was never going to let that lead slip when victory in the trainers championship was within his grasp, launching an armada from his stable at several ‘smaller’ meetings in the subsequent weeks. Myself and Lizzie were lucky to visit Clossutton last autumn and got the chance to have a light hearted chat with Willie over a cup of tea half way through the morning, his success and dominance in his own words the result of exponential growth in the last few season, that was never a conscious or intentional move, just a result of more owners wanting to use him and cautious not to say no after the Gigginstown exit one suspects. It’s a perfectly oiled machine, with the obvious top horses and a human team around him to match the equine talents. His success has impacted the sport, its impossible to ignore that his buying power and lure to new owners isn’t affecting others within the sport negatively, however racing like life is a cyclical thing so it will no doubt come round, in the mean time we must keep working hard to identify the equine talents earlier before Willie gets his hands on them!
Back to Aintree for a brief “Bloodstock Review” out the 19 PremHcp > G1 races FR breds were responsible for x11, IRE x5 and GB x3. x10 Grade 1s were run across the meeting and FR Breds collected x7 of those, IRE x2 and GB X1. Authorized, Diamond Boy, Walk In The Park and Kayf Tara won x8 races between them, x2 each respectively. 15 different sires had the winners of the 19 races, which just like after Cheltenham reminds us to keep looking for new or existing sires outside “fashion”.
Sadlers Wells was prominent within 3 gens of 11 o/o 19 winners, which is the usual prompt to nod at the massive influence that horse has had, not just with Montjeu as a NH sire but Galileo – who although seems to be subject to regular scorn as a NH sire – has proved himself to be a rather positive impact and now a sire of sires within NH spheres. His sons include Feel Like Dancing, Mahler, Nathanial, Telescope (mentioned in previous newsletter) , Galiway and Order of St George , he’s also the Grand-Sire (through Australia) of Mare Australis who looks to be producing some beautiful foals this year over in France.
Hats off to JP McManus who bred x2 Grade 1 winners at the meeting in Inothewayurthinkin and Mystical Power, backing up his successful Cheltenham as an Owner / Breeder.
From French exports we saw x4 winner’s, Impaire Et Passe & Il Etait Temps coming out of smaller tracks Vichy & Nancy and Sir Gino your stereotypical ‘export’ out of an Auteuil 3YO spring hurdle obliged as he should in the G1 Juvenile after missing Cheltenham. The final ex-French was Sans Bruit, who wouldn’t be your typical export having raced over 10 times for D Cottin in the same ownership before arriving in the UK.
Ex-Irish Pointers took home 6 winning prizes, x2 expensive purchases in Jonbon & Gerri Colombe and a “cheapy” for 16,000 in Colin Bowe graduate Arizona Cardinal winning the Topham for Stuart Edmunds and Ciaran Gethings.
Some further stats relating to the Dams of the 19 PremHcp > G1 Winners
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Average age ( of Dam ) at conception of winning horse 9 YO
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Average races ( of Dam ) 11 Races
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7 Winning Dams
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4 Black-Type Performers or Winning Dams
The UK season has come to a close and we can now reflect on how the horses we’ve bought have performed. The 23/24 NH Season was our first season with a decent number of horses running and it’s been the debut year for our initial group of Little Oakwell graduates ( bought & pretrained at home). In numbers we’ve had 20 individual runners with 12 individual winners, they’ve won or placed at strike rate of 45% and the young horses (as mentioned above) produced here have set a standard we now feel we need to keep delivering on. We’ve had winners in France, UK and Ireland , bought winners for 7 different Trainers and seen 2 of our yard grads place in black-type races. Our personal report would read “done well, shows promise but needs to keep trying” …… which of course we will.
March 2024
The French National Hunt season bounced into action in March and we’ve already seen multiple meetings held at the big tracks, Auteuil, Compiegne & Fontainebleu and it’s been hard not to notice the super-fast start GOLIATH DU BERLAIS ( Saint Des Saints ) has made with his debut crop of runners. We’ve always been a huge fan of this horse and for a multitude of reasons, his pedigree, physical and race record are as close to being a blueprint for brilliance as you can get. Combine the aforementioned with the success of his sire (Saint Des Saints) earlier stallions sons JEU ST ELOI & CASTLE DU BERLAIS, you look at Goliath Du Berlais with a superior profile to JSE & CDB and think the sky could be the limit for him. He’s set a strong pace with his first few runners, x9 Runs, x2 Winners, x7 Places and at present ( Newsletter written 12/04 ) he currently sits top of the tree for 3YO Races on Prize Money Earned. We’ve been lucky to handle some of his stock at home and they have remarkable minds on them, love to work and keep coming back for more and we’ve heard the same from others who’ve had them. As long as he keeps breeding them, we will keep trying to buy them.
Goliath Du Berlais (Saint Des Saints )
Another sire who has made a really good start to the season is BEAUMEC DE HOUELLE ( Martaline ) after a less than ideal start with his runners in 2023, he jumped back into action on the opening day at Compiegne with a Winner and 2nd in the Fillies and then Colts 3YO Hurdles respectively. He also sired the winner of 3Yo Hurdle at Auteuil at the opposite end of the month, taking his record to the month with 3YO’s only to x4 Runners, x2 Winners, x2 Places and La Marquise took her winning tally to x2 wins this season for Jamie Snowden in the UK. Beaumec De Houelle was a champion 3YO Hurdle, winning the G1 for 3Yo’s at Auteuil in November, he’s from a nice pedigree and represents a strong sire line through Martaline – in fact he’s almost the spitting image of his father. There’s a lot to like about the him, in his first 5 seasons at Haras de Montaigu he’s covered at an average of 115 mares per year. Those numbers would place him in the higher percentile of mares covered by French stallions in recent years. The number of foals produced from those mating’s and some good early momentum in 2024 should help him maintain the reputation he retired to stud with. I for one think he’s very much one to keep onside despite his slightly underwhelming start in 2023, he produces a nice type of horse, many of which have his tall, well balanced body with a strong and athletic silhouette.
Beaumec De Houelle (Martaline)
I spent 6 days in France the week after Cheltenham touring the North-West region, seeing upwards of 100 foals at around 15 different farms. It’s a demanding process, but a highly rewarding one, especially when you find a Foal that ticks a few boxes! This time round we came away with two foals, for two new buyers to us, a Filly by Motivator from the direct family of recent Cheltenham winner Fact To File and a Mare Australis Colt , Half-Brother to Listed Winner Kel Du Large and from a family and breeder we’ve had good success from in the past. There were plenty of foals that reached the shortlist, mainly ones that were very young and need to be seen once more before decisions can be made on purchases, if you’re considering a purchase do get in touch before we go back in April.
Don Virginia , Captain Marvellous & Sorceleur at Little Oakwell Stud 2022
Cheltenham has been and gone and what a fantastic meeting it was, highlighted by that ultra-tough display in the blue ribbon event the Cheltenham Gold Cup by Galopin Des Champs. This was a dominate display by a horse at the peak of his powers and it was talent, toughness and class that won the day. Gaelic Warrior was scintillating in the Arkle, Ballyburn announced himself as the “next big thing” In the Ballymore and Golden Ace gave GOLDEN HORN a well deserved first festival win in the Mares Nv Hurdle, beating a very classy field of young mares. When all the shouting was done, it was the FR bred horses that came out on top with 11 victories from the 24 Premier Hcp > G1 Races across the week, Irish breds took 10, German breds 2 and the GB bred horses 1 with the aforementioned Golden Ace. The living legend Saint des Saints shared top honours with another legend Shantou both gaining x2 victories,
Yet again it should serve as a huge reminder that there were so many different sires represented with winners, including those that are deemed unfashionable. Slade Steel (Telecope) won the supreme in good style and I am sure 6 months earlier you wouldn’t be able to give away a Telecope foal. Now he’s shown his ability to get a good one – will the sales fashion driven market in the UK & Ireland follow the advice the racecourse gives us, time and time again?
7 of the 24 victors came through Irish P2P’s and it should be noted that only 2 of these were available to purchase through a sale, with the other 5 changing hands privately. Another 7 came through the buoyant French HIT market, all sold privately to their current connections.
Some further stats relating to the Dams of the 24 PremHcp > G1 Winners
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Average age ( of Dam ) at conception of winning horse 10YO
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Average races ( of Dam ) 13 Races
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12 Winning Dams
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5 Black-Type Performers or Winning Dams
February 2024
We can’t start this month’s update any other way than congratulating Robert Walford, his Owners and his team at home for the success of Prince Quali (Prince Gibraltar) at Chepstow in the Class 2 Hcp Chase over 2miles. Running away with the race shortly after jumping the first in the home straight, the horse showed his usual enthusiasm and pinpoint jumping to win snuggly from the second who was closing, albeit all to late. The result therefore never looked in doubt and since his “warm up” over hurdles late last year Prince Quali has performed consistently for Robert. Placing on 2 occasions and winning on this third start - all over fences. He’ll certainly win more races in the UK and went up just 4lbs for this win, if it keeps raining you wouldn’t rule out him entering the winners enclosure again before the seasons up.
Sorceleur (Saint Des Saints) took in a Taunton bumper and won in dominating fashion. After a short break since his Listed 3rd at Cheltenham on new years day, he made a good reappearance winning with complete ease by 15 Lengths for his Owners John White & Anne Underhill. We cannot envisage a scenario that he doesn’t take a big step forward next season over obstacles. This victory also gave us the notable accolade of buying winners for both the Champion trainer in the UK ( Paul Nicholls ) & Ireland ( Willie Mullins ) within one season, something we’re very proud of!
Prince Quali wins at Chepstow
Sorceleur winning connections at Taunton
It was satisfying to see Hermes Boy (Diamond Boy) win again at Wincanton, after looking like he’d completely lost his way. In Feburary 2023 he was well fancied to run a big race in the Lanzerote where he ran no race and then on all subsequent runs until this victory. It was a never say die ride from Ciaran Gethings who got the best out the horse galloping home very strongly with 2L’s back to the 2nd and a further 26L’s back to the 3rd! He’s threatened a good level of ability all his career and he has shown that on occasions, we hope he continues in this form!
Other performances this month include Keep Running (Turgeon) maintaining his strong season by hitting the frame at Hereford, he’s now 2 places and a win from 5 starts. Captain Marvellous (Masked Marvel) ran a great race in the Grade 2 Adonis finishing 3rd under Ciaran Gethings, it’s likely he didn’t enjoy that ground, he’s a free going type and relishes bouncing off a sound surface. He’ll go into next season as a novice and he remains a very exciting horse for his connections. Don Virginia (Walzertakt) made his debut for Jonjo O’Neil at Hereford in a Junior Hurdle, running the Listed Bumper winner Kel Du Large very close after looking green throughout. This was an extremely taking debut for a horse we always thought would need some time and this view is shared by his trainer. We can’t wait to see him out again, based on his debut it wouldn’t be beyond imagination for him to end up a high class novice hurdler next season.
Captain Marvellous 3rd in Grade 2 Adonis Hurdle
Don Virginia 2nd in Junior Hurdle at Hereford
Don Virginia’s debut completed a full-house of runners from our first group of Little Oakwell Stud graduates. We set our stall out in 2021 that buying Foals or Yearlings was the way to access a better level of horse if you didn’t have a 6 figure budget. So to be writing this at the end of February 2024 after seeing how the first crop have performed fills us with immense pride and satisfaction. Of course these horses need to continue progressing next season and beyond, which we’re sure they can and will do. Their current combined record reads as 7 Races , 2 Wins and 5 Places plus Grade 2 & Listed Placings, we feel we’re setting the foundations for delivering on a promise to those who invested in us. Both Don Virginia & Captain Marvellous were purchased for <£20,000 as foals from a field in France and Sorceleur was a €35,000 yearling purchase at Arqana.
Don Virginia , Captain Marvellous & Sorceleur at Little Oakwell Stud 2022
In the same vain we started, we can’t not mention the upcoming Cheltenham Festival as we head into March. We hope to be represented by one runner this year, in the form of Judiceuse Allen for Willie Mullins. She was a shade disappointing last time out when stepped up into G3 company, however the tacky ground was given as a plausible excuse and a sounder surface typically found at Cheltenham should suit her. She’ll have to improve plenty but it’s not impossible to imagine her running a big race if the ground has some “good” in it.
‘FR’ Bred horses managed 11 wins at the 2023 Festival and with 13 market leading horses at the time of writing, its not inconceivable they could match or even better that tally this year. Heading into Cheltenham FR Breds have won 53% of G1>G3’s ran in the UK & Ireland and 67% of all Grade 1’s. The festival usually provides us with a reminder that plenty of different sires can get a good horses, last season the only sire to notch more than one winner was the legendary Shantou, with all other race’s won by a different individual sire! Walk In The Park has had a great run this season with his stock taking 16 G1 > Premier Handcap Races so it will be interesting to see if they can do it on the grandest stage, Firefox of Gordon Elliot’s looks to have a decent chance and I wouldn’t rule out seeing the best of Facile Vega again if he goes up in trip. Of the active French Sires, Doctor Dino has three live chances in Jade Du Grugy (Mares Nv Hurdle), Dinoblue (Mares Chase)and State Man (Champion Hurdle), the latter could be the beneficiary of Constitution Hill not making the festival and if that happens Doctor Dino could well take the title of top sire at this year’s meeting. Other festival hopes and their French sires to keep an eye on, Jeriko Du Reponet for Choeur Du Nord, currently near the top of the market in the Supreme for Nicky Henderson, won the Supreme Trial at Haydock and represents connections who do well in this even. It would be a minor miracle if he ran, but if Iroko gets to the Turners Nv Chase he would give Cokoriko a live chance of bagging his first Grade 1 win , he was mighty impressive on chase debut so fingers crossed for the Greenall Team they get him there. Jeu St Eloi could also have a crowning moment should Kargese roll over Sir Gino in the Triumph with her valuble fillies allowance, I’m not convinced she can but her father Jeu St Eloi is certainly a sire going in the right direction. There will be a bumper crop of foals available to purchase from France this coming spring, he covered a big book of mares in 2023 before he transferred to stand in Ireland this year. The sire has shown an aptitude to sire a racehorse of quality, despite not possessing the greatest of race records himself, he’s certainly passing down those legendary Saint Des Saints genetics!
Choeur Du Nord
Jeu St Eloi
January 2024
The New Year bounced into action for us at HQ Cheltenham , with SORCELEUR ( Saint Des Saints ) finishing a credible 3rd in the Listed Bumper. He was purchased as a Yearling in Arqana 21 November Sale, spent 18 months with us at Little Oakwell Stud being Broken & Pretrained before moving on to Paul Nicholls. He’s yet to get his head in front from 2 runs but looks a certain winner at some stage this season. His jumping whilst with us was exceptional, so we have high hopes for him when the 24/25 NH season comes round as he should hopefully find Novice hurdling much to his liking!!
We didn’t have to wait long for a New Years winner, KEEP RUNNING (Turgeon) got off the mark at Taunton for Warren Greatrex. The horse has taken well to fences this season, albeit he knuckled on landing and Unseated Harry Cobden on debut earlier in the season, he’s looked to enjoy the larger obstacles. It’s believed he’ll probably improve further when he tackles an intermediate trip either this season or next. He’s given his owner Mrs Julie Fowler some fun since he arrived from France and it was great to see him notch up a second victory in her colours.
Keep Running wins at Taunton
PRINCE QUALI ( Prince Gibraltar ) moved from France in February 2023. We bought him with Robert Walford and we all knew he had a small issue that would require some time off the track before resuming his career in the UK. He’s made an encouraging start hitting the frame over an inadequate trip at Wincanton this past month, he’s a big horse and despite having run a good few times in France in the past, the feeling is he could continue to improve on these shores under the right conditions.
At home the 2YO’s – all ridden away in November / December as Yearlings - did another short block of work this past month, we saw some promise and appetite to do more at the end of 2023 so we gave them the opportunity to do a bit more. We introduced them gently to the gallop following an experienced horse, walking, trotting and a light canter round our All-Weather ring. They all went about it nicely, some of them more forward than others and no buttons even close to being pressed, but it’s great to see these young horses showing themselves off and it already has you dreaming about what might be in 3 ,4 ,5 years’ time! It’s certainly one of the most enjoyable parts of what we get entrusted to do by our clients and we take immense pride introducing the raw product to their future lives.
We’ve been busy organising several Broodmare movements to France this new year, notably a clients Black-Type winning Mare to visit the sensation Doctor Dino. The Stallion Scene in France offers breeders plenty of choice and in some cases truly great value, especially if they’re hoping to race the progeny. This year we’ll see the premier crop of both Goliath Du Berlais and Nirvana Du Berlais hit the track, they’ve been busy since they retired from the track covering strong numbers of mares each year. Like many out there we’re tipping them to be successful sires, they both have strong black-type maternal families and represent already successful sirelines in Saint Des Saints & Martaline respectively. In addition both their race records feature wins at the highest level possible, with GRADE 1 Victories in the Champion-3YO Hurdle (Nirvana) and Champion-4YO Chase (Goliath). If you’re considering where to send your mare there’s still plenty of time to secure a move, we’re able to assist in Stallion Choice, Nominations and finding a suitable & trusted farm for your mare to board, either permanently or for the season in 2024.
Goliath Du Berlais (Left) & Nirvana Du Berlais (Right)
In France, Kassell Allen was a Listed Winner at Cagnes-Sur-Mer for Hugo Merriene and Owner / Breeder Bruno Vagne. I must add now that we have no connection with this horse other than a strong interest in his genetic make-up. Kassell Allen is by up and coming sire Castle Du Berlais and from the Haida II Family, she was a prolific winner in AQPS Bumpers nearly a quarter of a century ago in her native France. She is more likely to be remembered for the legacy she leaves as a broodmare however – especially when her genes have been matched with the multiple champion French sire Saint des Saints, Kassell Allen falls into this sample through his Grand-Sire of course and is joined by other black-type horses GELINO BELLO G1W, ELFILE G1P, VLADIMIR LW. The total yield when the match up of Haida II blood either direct or through daughters or granddaughters with Saint de Saints occurs, sits at 29% Runs / Wins, with an average rating of 63FR / 126BHA and every horse that’s run in the nick has Won. It’s got to be seen as impressive that Haida II Family x SDS have consistently produced a horse of Avrg > Decent level ability and nearly 50% of runners have achieved Black-Type status. We were lucky to buy a beautiful Goliath du Berlais( Saint des Saints) colt as a foal in Arqana Nov 21 named LUMINO BELLO, now in training with Donatien DBS in France, he hails from the HAIDA II family as a great-grandson. Here’s hoping he can uphold family tradition….
Looking forward into February, firstly it would be great if we could get a slight change in the weather, this has felt like a very long and wet winter and by the end of the month we’ll start thinking about when the Yearlings can get out on pasture 24/7. It certainly needs to dry up before then and the long range forecast suggests maybe some colder weather before the sun comes out for the spring – so patience will have to be observed. Next week the Arqana Feburuary Sale mixed sale takes place in Deauville (13th & 14th Feb) if any readers wish to receive a shortlist prior to the sale please let us know, there’s still time to discuss any requirements and get organised. Although the catalogue doesn’t boast the substantial quality of the Summer or November Sale for NH stock, it still features plenty of interesting horses and probably represents a good place to pick up “value” types.
Finally our thoughts go out to all those that were close to Keagan Kirkby, who sadly lost his life at Charing last Sunday. Rest In Peace Keagan.
December 2023
WELCOME – firstly we hope you all had a great Christmas and New Year break, the racing over the Festive period was brilliant and we’ll touch on that later in this update. Our new year’s resolution was to offer some insight in to what we do at Little Oakwell Stud, in addition expect updates on Valentine Bloodstock purchases, future sales, visits to France and any insight we can offer on the French Racing & Bloodstock scene, plus more. We hope you enjoy reading the first addition……
Since moving into Little Oakwell Stud, December has been the month we start taking the cars out the show garage onto the roads for the first time – it’s yearling ( Now 2YO’s of course ) breaking season, the wraps come off and we start to find out what we’ve got. We’ve got six this time round and I like to think each year we’ve upped the quality, both on physical and on pedigree. Our current client base continue supporting us to buy these types and it’s a real privilege to work with such quality animals year in year out ( I won’t add the pedigree’s here, but if you scroll to the bottom you’ll see the list of all our current 2YO’s )
The breaking of these horses follows two very basic principles, get them to listen, get them to relax, when they master those two bits, they learn very quickly. The majority of these horses have been with us since weanlings, so they’re used to us and we know their personalities. Being able to read our horses “tells” is a huge benefit to us and also to them, the better we know them the easier it is to know which buttons to press and how early. The horses will always tell you if it’s too early for the next step or indeed they want to do more and progress through the levels quicker! They’ll all start being driven in long reins , out the yard up the drive and back, the distance travelled progresses each day if the horses is cooperating. We’ll incorporate lots of turning and figure 8’s, this is giving them their “mouth” listening to the bit, we’ll stop them, ask them to walk on and keep them guessing – so they have to pay attention to the long reiner and not just march forward like head less chickens. It’s not always smooth sailing, some will take a day to master this, others much longer! Then it’s Lizzie's job to get on their backs for the first time, once they’re happy with the fact she’s up, they’ll take their first steps with a rider on. Firstly within the safe confines of our front yard, once mastered and everyone is content with the new arrangement they progress from a short walk around the barn to a 10-15 minute lot with a rider on boardup the road. Once they're competent and enjoying their new jobs we stop until March / April time… easy as that!
Now further afield it was great to see a number of horses we’ve purchased win races in December. JUDICIEUSE ALLEN was up first, winning a Limerick Maiden Hurdle for Willie Mullins and Thurloe Thoroughbreds – a much needed winning tonic for the owners, who have had a rough year losing high profile horses through injury or retirement notably BUZZ. JUDICIEUSE ALLEN took nearly every inch of the 2m4f trip to get her nose in front, getting up in the shadow of the post. Expected to appear again on a racetrack late January she rates an exciting prospect for that team. IMAGINARY DRAGON won up at Kelso for Charlie, Nicola and Sandy Thompson, making his 4th start in the UK since transferring from David Cottins via Arqana 2022 May Sale. He ran out a ready winner by just under 10 Lengths and really it never looked in doubt throughout the race. He’s a lovely horse who should provide his very keen owners plenty more days fun days out. Then to Taunton where MOKA DE VASSY finally did the business and in style, this should give him the confidence to go on and fulfil all his potential having placed in a G2 as a Juvenile.
JUDICIEUSE ALLEN wins at Limerick
Happy owners after IMAGINARY DRAGON wins at Kelso
Our Christmas Racing Highlight away from the success of the horses we had involvement in, had to be the jaw dropping, spine tingling display from IL EST FRANCAIS, this was something special. It’s no surprise he’ll miss Cheltenham in favour of a tilt at the equally prestigious Grande Steeple De Paris in May , if he stays the trip he'll take some beating. Both IL EST FRANCAIS & MOKA DE VASSY are sired by the latest sensation to emerge from Haras Cercy KARAKTAR. Who alongside the aforementioned horses sired x3 other individual winners during December in the UK & IRE. He’s a stallion that’s been bubbling away nicely with winners in France the last 2yrs and at the same time covering lots of mares. This combination provide the horse with strong momentum to go on and scale new heights as a sire, with a horse like IL EST FRANCAIS listed amongst your progeny the sky is the limit for the son of High Chapparal.
Haras De Cercy - Karaktar
As mentioned above, this is the list of 2YO’s currently residing at Little Oakwell Stud who have just been broken in;
- ROXIMAN – KAPGARDE EX. ROXINELA
- LE BRETON – HUNTERS LIGHT EX. MAM'ZELLE NITOUCHE
- EAU BATIE – BATHYRHON EX. EAU PERLEE
- APOLLON FORLONGE – KARAKTAR EX. LA KALICI FORLONGE
- ROYAL DINO – DOCTOR DINO EX. QUEEN CRYSTAL
- MILLEVIC ALLEN – CHOEUR DU NORD EX. SUNNY VIC
