A year ago Michael O’Leary announced to a shocked racing world that he was to reduce his NH string over a phased five-year withdrawal plan – he was not to buy any new store horses and he was aiming to reduce time and finance spent on racing. The news was released shortly before that summer’s store horse season – and the tremors spread through the NH bloodstock world with force.
In the end, the NH market did not crash, the buying and selling of NH horse did not come to an abrupt halt, instead others seized the buying opportunities that subsequently emerged.
The latest to step into the small breach created is the County Meath-based couple, Noel and Valarie Moran, who sold their start-up company Prepaid Financial Services last year for €327 million with a €266 million payout. The business had gone from a kitchen table working office to operating in 25 countries, creating an annual revenue of £86 million and earnings of £13.5 million.
Noel had been involved in ownership as a younger man, but his first step into recent ownership with a horse in training with Gordon Elliott came in 2016. Since then the couple have decided that they want to operate on the bigger stage with horses in Grade 1 company; they are certainly setting out to make those ambitions come true.
As reported in a recent interview with the Racing Post’s David Jennings, Noel said: "No, we don't want to be as big as Gigginstown, but we definitely want to compete at Grade 1 level. That's the objective. You don't need to have 300 or 400 horses to do that. It obviously makes it a bit easier, but if you're selective with what you're buying, you can still compete in the Grade 1s.”
Furthermore, the opportunities created by the Gigginstown’s step back in the market place have not been lost on Moran.
"Gordon has a great team around him. He gets good input from Jamie Codd, and Eddie O'Leary is no longer buying for Gigginstown so, if there's anything decent, he will always give me a heads-up on something. There is a very good team behind the scenes. If there's something that's decent we will probably know about it,” he said to Jennings.
This autumn has seen the pair up the ante. The point-to-point winner Ginto (Walk In The park) was purchased at the beginning of November via telephone at the Tattersalls Cheltenham November Fairyhouse Sale for €470,000, then in December the Morans added a new mare to Bective Stud’s broodmare band with the purchase of the blue chip mare Apple’s Jade, who, ironically, was bought from Gigginstown House Stud.
The winner of 15 races, 11 Grade 1s, Apple’s Jade offered at the Goffs December NH Sale. The Saddler Maker mare, carrying to Walk In The Park, who has been enjoying his own golden period in the sale ring, was auctioned by Nick Nugent to fetch a record-breaking price for a NH mare of €530,000. Her former trainer Gordon Elliott was responsible for bidding on behalf of Bective Stud.
“It will be a very, very long time before we see her like again and it’s next to impossible to have a chance at auction to buy a mare like her who won 11 Group 1 races. We’re delighted to have got her and I’d say in future we will definitely be keeping her progeny to race,” reported Noel Moran to the EBN by phone after the sale.
The previous record price given for a NH broodmare was achieved twice in 2007 in sterling and euros. Feathered Lady was sold for £270,000 at the Doncaster August Sale to Howard Johnson, the figure matched later that year in euros at the Tattersalls Ireland November Sale by the six-year-old Karello Bay. Offered then by the Chugg’s family’s Little Lodge Farm she was bought by Patrick Burling Developments, the Listed-winning mare, who hails from the prolific family of Marello, was sold in-foal to Presenting.
The investment risks that are assimilated by breeders, and the long-term nature of the NH breeding business, even if they are buying the best and breeding to the best, are neatly epitomised by the pair.
Feathard Lady’s progeny listing on bloodstockreports.co.uk records that, for breeder Graham and Andrea Wylie’s Chesters Stud, Feathard Lady has had eight foals, six currently of racing age. She has had just the one winner, but that success came at the highest level in the shape of the talented Grade 1 winner and placed Augusta Kate (Yeats).
In 2017, for the changed breeding ownership of Shade Oak Stud and Mr Bryan Mayoh, Feathard Lady produced a colt by Yeats, missed producing in 2018 and 2019 and this year foaled a filly by Telescope, whom she visited again this spring.
Karello Bay, a daughter of Kahyasi, has since produced six foals, three runners and two winners. In the sale ring, the best price given for one of her progeny was €40,000 spent by Mouse O’Ryan on a filly by Shantou at the Derby Sale 2018. She has turned out to be the best so far – named The Sliding Rock and now a five-year-old she is the winner of two races, is rated 121 and picked up the first progeny black-type for the mare when second in this November’s Listed Voler La Vedette Mares’ Hurdle. She is trained by Ellliott.
Karello Bay is now 19 and her last progeny listing on bloodstockreports is a 2016-born gelding by Gentlewave. He is listed as bred by Ronnie O’Neill, the previous progeny all bred by the Burling family. The mare was subsequently barren to Valirann on her 2016 cover and no return was listed from her 2017 cover to the same stallion, who stands at O’Neill’s Whytemount Stud.
The date December 10, 2020 must go down as a big spending day of days for trainer Elliott – the trainer’s bidding on Apple’s Jade through the evening session of Goffs following up his involvement earlier in the day with the purchase of the top lot at the Tattersalls Ireland Cheltenham December Sale held at Newmarket – Grangeclare West (Presenting) bought with owner Cheveley Park Stud for £470,000.
Four days later, Laurina went through the ring at the Tattersalls Ireland November NH Sale. A seven-time winner, victories that included the Grade 1 EBF Mares’ Novice Hurdle Championship, the daughter of Spanish Moon became the most expensive NH broodmare sold in the Fairyhouse sale ring, bought by Samcro’s breeder Douglas Taylor for €290,000 from Ballincurrig House Stud.
Douglas, who signed under his Ridgewood Stud banner, commented: “We are delighted to get Laurina. She is scheduled to visit Jet Away and we are looking forward to her first progeny in 2022.”
The breeder, based in County Meath, will be hoping that lightning strikes twice and his new mare breeds him a runner to match the ability boasted by the Cheltenham Festival winner Samcro.