There have been many memorable trades at the Tattersalls Autumn Horses in Training Sale in recent years, none more so than the purchases of future Classic winners Makfi and Jet Setting as 2-year-olds for just 26,000gns and 12,000gns respectively.
But one of the greatest stories from this auction - and certainly one that was of more mutual benefit to connections on both sides of the transaction than even those two virtual giveaways - occurred at the start of the new millennium, when a popular racing syndicate decided to move on its inexpensively bought star 2-year-old.
Kennet Valley Thoroughbreds had been set up by Nick Robinson, former proprietor of Pacemaker magazine and owner of Classic-winning filly Dibidale, in 1988 with the aim of buying horses to contest the newly launched Cartier Million sales race. The operation nearly hit the bullseye in the inaugural running of the valuable heat, with Miss Demure and French Pretender running second and third behind Corwyn Bay at the old Phoenix Park racecourse in Dublin.
There were plenty of other high-class horses campaigned by Kennet Valley Thoroughbreds in the early days besides, such as Richmond Stakes winner Contract Law and the G1-placed 2-year-old Book The Band, while the talented sprinter Cathedral and prolific miler Gateman emerged a little later.
But as impressive as all those horses’ achievements might have been, they were surpassed by the Charnwood Forest colt out of the listed-placed Song mare Breakaway bought for the club by Charlie Gordon-Watson for just 27,000gns as a yearling at Tattersalls in October 2000. Subsequently named Firebreak, he became the first Kennet Valley Thoroughbreds representative sent to be trained by Ian and Andrew Balding at Kingsclere.
“Charlie and Nick had a long history of buying horses together,” remembers Giles Anderson, who was racing manager for Kennet Valley Thoroughbreds at the time and now publishes magazines including Thoroughbred Owner Breeder and Trainer. “Charlie worked for Nick back in the Pacemaker days and Nick had great respect for him as a bloodstock agent. Charlie has always been very good at buying within budget, and our idea was usually to try to beat the sale average.
“At the time, the Kennet Valley Thoroughbreds approach was to buy horses by young stallions out of mares who had produced a 2-year-old winner, and they had to be born before April 1. Those were the main criteria, and Firebreak ticked all of them.”
Firebreak showed the system worked by winning his first two starts before running a neck second to Landseer in the Coventry Stakes at Royal Ascot. He then took the Prix de Cabourg and returned to Deauville to finish fourth to the Cartier champion 2-year-old colt Johannesburg in the Prix Morny. Back on home turf, he scored a clear-cut victory over the Windsor Castle Stakes winner Irony in the Mill Reef Stakes at Newbury.
Kennet Valley Thoroughbreds now had a highly valuable commodity on its hands and the decision was taken to cash in its chips. However, while many exciting 2-year-olds are sold privately either to the big stallion farms or for racing on the international stage, Firebreak was entered in a public auction instead.
“It was written in the Kennet Valley Thoroughbreds contracts that we would have the option of selling certain horses at the end of their 2-year-old seasons, and that’s something we exercised with Firebreak,” remembers Anderson. “We had mulled over a few options, including racing him overseas ourselves, but you have to remember that, at the time, there wasn’t the programme for sprinting 3-year-olds that we have today, such as the Commonwealth Cup at Royal Ascot. That’s now a common target for the sort of horse that wins the Mill Reef.
“So we entered him in the Tattersalls Autumn Horses in Training Sale as we thought that the fairest option. We could have made a private sale but we wanted it to be transparent and you know that the top buyers from all around the world will always come to Newmarket for the auction and there will be a vibrant market.”
The Kennet Valley Thoroughbreds managers’ instincts proved correct. Firebreak went through the ring as lot 678 at Tattersalls in October 2001 and found himself the subject of a fierce bidding battle between Sheikh Mohammed’s right-hand man, John Ferguson, and Macau-based trainer Alan Ngai.
Ferguson was forced all the way to 525,000gns to secure the colt, which was more than double the previous European auction record for a colt or gelding in training, which had been achieved when Rockingham Stakes scorer Atmospheric had sold to Borje Olsson for 235,000gns at the same sale just a year earlier.
“We knew we had a seriously good horse going into the sale,” says Anderson. “We did a lot of advertising around him and worked our butts off getting people to view him as we thought we had a decent chance of breaking the sales record for a horse in training, and we absolutely did.”
Kennet Valley Thoroughbreds threw parties for shareholders in celebration of the sale, including a swanky dinner in London, and the publicity surrounding Firebreak’s record-breaking sale proved priceless in enticing more owners to the operation’s syndicates.
The club, which was acquired by Sam Hoskins, Luke Lillingston and father and son Peter and Piers Winkworth in 2013, has gone on to race stars such as Magical Memory and Tullius, as well as current colour-bearer Sir Busker, who ran a screamer in fourth behind The Revenant in the Queen Elizabeth II Stakes on Qipco British Champions Day at Ascot on Saturday.
Firebreak, meanwhile, also proved profitable for new owners Godolphin - in terms of both enjoyment and prize money. Transferred to Saeed Bin Suroor, he claimed G1 laurels in the Hong Kong Mile, struck twice in the Godolphin Mile at Nad Al Sheba (see video below of his 2004 win) and landed the Challenge Stakes at Newmarket. The affection in which he was held by Godolphin is demonstrated by the fact that he has a G2 at the Dubai Carnival, won by the international stars such as Tamarkuz and Variety Club, named in his honour.
Firebreak retired to Bearstone Stud in Shropshire in 2006 with more than £1.5 million of earnings from the racecourse in the bank and died in February this year, having distinguished himself as a highly capable value sire.
Incidentally, Firebreak’s second career brought about a remarkable case of history repeating itself.
Hearts Of Fire, a colt from his first crop, had been bought by Pat Eddery for a mere £13,000 as a yearling at Doncaster and was sent out by the late legendary jockey-turned-trainer to win the G1 Gran Criterium at two and run third in the St James’s Palace Stakes at Royal Ascot at three. He too was sent to the Tattersalls Autumn Horses in Training Sale, in his case at the end of his Classic season, and was bought by Qatari trainer Ibrahim Saeed Al Malki for a blockbuster 550,000gns.
There will no doubt be more fair profits for consignors and bargains for buyers at this year's Tattersalls Autumn Horses in Training Sale, which takes place from October 26 to 29. Among the classy 2-year-olds entered in the sale are Superlative and Vintage Stakes runner-up Devious Company (lot 630) and Roses Stakes scorer Acklam Express (lot 1172).
The catalogue, which includes drafts from leading owners including Juddmonte, Godolphin and Shadwell, as well as from all the top stables, is available to view at tattersalls.com.