MAXIMIZED LATEST 'BREEZER' TO IMPRESS AT EPSOM

In light of his victory in the 2,000 Guineas, Ruling Court has rightfully established himself as the primary pin-up boy for the breeze-up class of 2024. It is still early days, but given how strong trade was at the breeze-ups this spring - particularly at the northern end of the market - it is interesting to wonder which two-year-olds will turn out to be the success stories, and feature on the graduate posters that consignors will hang up at next year’s sales.

Maximized could be one such individual. The son of Mehmas was knocked down to Godolphin for £720,000 on a record-breaking day of trade at the Goffs Doncaster Breeze-Up in April. He was one of several Tally-Ho Stud-consigned two-year-olds to acquit themselves incredibly well during the breezes this year. Maximized’s gallop was impressive, and (unofficially) he clocked in the top ten. The colt won on debut at Haydock just a month after the sale, before following up emphatically at Epsom on Friday in the Woodcote Stakes, in better company and on sounder surface.

The only similarities to draw between Maximized and Ruling Court at the moment are the blue silks and the fact that they both won first time out. Ruling Court did not run until July of his juvenile year, although he was the product of a later sale. It is commonly known that Oak Tree Farm’s impressive Justify colt realised a record price of €2,300,000 as a result of his work in Deauville at the Arqana May Breeze-Up.

Ruling Court followed up his first win at two by finishing third behind The Lion In Winter in the Acomb Stakes before being given the autumn months off to mature. This was clearly a wise decision as he has improved markedly from two to three.

On seasonal reappearance, he easily won the Listed Jumeirah 2,000 Guineas in the UAE, before striking in the English 2,000 Guineas, earning himself Classic honours slap bang in the middle of the breeze-up calendar. A breeze-up graduate attaining success in Group 1 company cannot have been a bad thing for the market, the northern end of which was unsurprisingly solid this year, a large chunk of which was due to Anthony Stroud and the Godolphin pockets, presumably trying to locate another Ruling Court. Irrespective of Maximized’s future progress, one could not fault the start he has made. The Coventry at Ascot or the July Stakes in Newmarket have both been mentioned as targets for the horse.

The Goffs Breeze Up from whence Maximized came has thrown five debut winners so far, from forty individual runners (correct at the time of writing). Unofficially of course, they all galloped times that were amongst the quickest twenty percent. There are three by Mehmas, two of which are now Wathnan Racing horses that were purchased by Richard Brown of Blandford Bloodstock, further expanding the portfolio of his Qatari client. They had luck with a ‘Donny Rocket’ before when the Karl Burke-trained filly Leovanni scored in the Queen Mary Stakes last year, after fetching £190,000 at the sale following a particularly good breeze.

The filly Zelaina could be a similarly smart prospect. She clocked a quick time at the sale and realised £650,000, before cosily breaking her maiden at Nottingham, in the same race Leovanni won before Royal Ascot last year. The second Wathnan Mehmas to have won since the sale is the colt Underwriter, who won at Ayr in May – he changed hands for £200,000.

Rogue Supremacy is the next ex-Tally-Ho inmate who has been successful on the track. The son of St Mark’s Basilica did another speedy breeze and was bought by Henry Lascelles and Rogues Gallery Racing for £160,000. He struck at Wetherby for trainer David O’Meara.

The fifth winner to come out of the sale is the filly Miss Yechance, who was actually unsold but has since rewarded connections with the decision to send her into training. The Cotai Glory filly clocked incredibly well on the Moor and went on to make most of the running in a maiden at Redcar for Jack Morland – she now heads to a Tattersalls Online Pop-Up Sale in a week’s time, and will be offered with entries in the Windsor Castle Stakes and the Queen Mary.

Society Kiss is a Craven Sale expat who should be heading to Royal Ascot. Station Yard consigned the daughter of freshman sire A’Ali at the Tattersalls Craven Sale and she breezed well before realising 55,000gns. As she later bolted up at Ascot on debut and broke No Nay Never’s pre-existing track record, the purchase now gives the appearance of value. Ralph Beckett said at the time she would head to the Queen Mary.

By my reckoning, there have been seven winners that have come from the Craven Sale so far, five of which were on debut. Twenty percent of thirty-five runners have won first or second time out, as of the 7th June – that does not seem bad going.

The Craven has also thrown the Mehmas colt First Legion, another Tally-Ho horse who was knocked down to Dullingham for 500,000gns. In mid-May he won a hot little race at York, before then finishing runner-up to a useful-looking filly called Anthelia in a Listed race at Sandown.

A very speedy Havana Grey by the name of Staya won on debut for George Scott at Yarmouth in the yellow-and-black stripes of KHK Racing. She was a 375,000gns Craven purchase from Tradewinds Stud by Stroud Coleman. Gold Digger (Starman) and Azizam (Havana Grey) fetched 260,000gns and 115,000gns respectively – they both struck first time out, having breezed times that were well into the top ten percent, ‘unofficially’ of course. Old Is Gold is yet another Mehmas who excelled during the breeze and then on the track. After posting a rapid time on the Rowley Mile Andrew Balding gave 200,000gns for him and he then triumphed second time of asking at Beverley, beating another expensive breezer in Naval Light.

Overall, it looks as though there will be plenty of breeze-up representation at Royal Ascot, which is of course one reason sourcing horses at the breeze-ups has become so popular. As for whether the best horses to come out of the sales have run yet or not remains to be seen. There has been a huge amount of media attention on the breezes recently, partially due to recent successes such as Ruling Court, Leovanni, Shareholder and Vandeek. It has become apparent how shrewd the consignors can be when sourcing tough, sound, precocious types, plus the juvenile having shown they can withstand months of training and galloping helps.

It hardly needs stating here, but Tally-Ho’s Mehmas has performed notably well for consignors and trainers alike this season, and it is no surprise that he is currently the leading sire of two-year-olds in Europe, of both winners and prizemoney.

written by Gabriella Herbert