Prospective buyers impressed in Hunter road trip

Cover image courtesy of Willow Park Stud

John O’Shea

Multiple Group 1-winning trainer John O’Shea is in the midst of a purple patch, with his 35 winners this season coming at an impressive strike rate of 21 per cent – his highest in a decade. Earlier this spring, he won the G3 Tibbie S. at Newcastle with All Saints’ Eve (NZ) (Sacred Falls {NZ}).

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A walk with Peter Liston

O’Shea was impressed by a number of potential new recruits for his in-form stable last week, and even more impressed by the way the touring group was welcomed throughout the Hunter.

“It was a very enjoyable few days,” he said. “We were treated to a lovely dinner at Arrowfield, which was simply outstanding. The quality of the hospitality was almost as good as the quality of the horses!

“I thought the yearlings were a really good, even bunch of horses. I was very impressed with the overall standard, and now I’m looking forward to the sales.”

When asked which of the first-season sires made the best impression with their yearling progeny, O’Shea provided a very quick and emphatic response.

“Hellbent,” he said. “Definitely Hellbent. I thought he was, by far and away, the most impressive of the first-season sires. But Pariah was another one who caught my eye. He seems to have left some very nice types as well.”

Andrew Williams

Young bloodstock agent Andrew Williams, whose roll of honour features the six-time Group 1 winner Verry Elleegant (NZ) (Zed {NZ}), believes the signs are highly positive in the countdown to the 2021 yearling sales season.

“The horses all look great, and there seems to be a lot of positive talk and interest leading into the sales,” he said. “Every farm we went to, there seemed to be plenty of people either coming or going. A lot of them were from Melbourne – no doubt they’re just happy to be able to move around again!

“I think it could be a particularly good year. The climate has been beneficial for the farms, and you can see the results of that in these really good, well-grown horses.

“It’s a busy trip around, but we saw pretty much every horse in the Hunter that’s going to the Magic Millions Sale. It’s great to get a good gauge on the horses early, and work out in advance what we need to do to drum up a bit of business.

“There are a lot of very nice horses out there, including the progeny of some of the first-season sires. The Hellbent yearlings at Yarraman Park looked fantastic, and we saw some very nice horses by Russian Revolution around the place as well.”

In terms of the Hunter’s hospitality, Williams is a repeat customer at Newgate Farm.

“I’d say Jim Carey at Newgate provides the best hospitality in the area, but I’m probably a bit biased,” he said. “Guy Mulcaster and I stay there every year. He looks after us very well and is a fantastic host.”

Peter Moody

Just a few months into his rekindled training career, popular racing identity Peter Moody has been quick to make an impact. He has already trained 17 winners, including the G2 Bill Stutt S. with Glenfiddich (Fastnet Rock), who also placed against older horses in the G1 Memsie S.

Moody took time out from a family get-together on Sunday afternoon and provided a glowing report on his experience in the Hunter.

“It was a great trip, I really enjoyed it,” he said. “We got around and looked at about 600-odd horses. It was a really good cross-section of yearlings and a nice overview of what we can expect in the sale ring.

“I wouldn’t really want to try to single out any particular standouts. They were all really well presented, and there were lots of really good-looking horses, which bodes well for the Sale.

“There seems to be a bit of buoyancy around in the industry at the moment, despite the fact that we’re all in such a strange time in our lives at the moment. It’s very encouraging.”

Annabel Neasham

Formerly at the helm of the Sydney arm of the Ciaron Maher and David Eustace operation, Annabel Neasham has made a flying start to her solo training career this season. She has already had eight wins and 13 placings from just 29 starters to date.

Still being at the launching stage of her career made the Hunter trip a bit of a frenetic week, but one that was well worthwhile.

“I didn’t want to miss any trackwork, so it was a bit manic and I was going up and down every day,” Neasham said. “But I still managed to make it to most of the farms and see their drafts, and it was a really good trip. I’m glad I did it, with the travel restrictions that seem to be coming in now.

“The hospitality was fantastic. It’s hard to say who was the best, but Kitchwin Hills looked after us very nicely. A few of us hit a few golf balls around – not me, but it turns out Will Johnson can hit a golf ball pretty well.”

Like some of her colleagues, Neasham was impressed by the progeny of first-season sire Hellbent.

“I was particularly taken with the Hellbents, he seems to be leaving some very nice horses,” she said. “The progeny of Impending looked good too – they’re very nice walkers.”

Because of her previous role with the Maher stable, Neasham was also keen to see the first yearlings by G1 Coolmore Stud S. and Diamond Jubilee S. winner Merchant Navy.

“I had a lot to do with Merchant Navy during his career, and this was the first time I’ve had the opportunity to see his progeny,” she said.

“A lot of them were really nice types and reminded me of him. I’m looking forward to following their progress and seeing a few more of his progeny in the future.”

John Sargent

Expat New Zealander John Sargent is in unfamiliar territory this season, not being able to return to his homeland. He is a multiple Group 1-winning trainer on both sides of the Tasman, with a lot of his big-race success coming through relatively low-priced purchases from New Zealand.

“It’s a bit different this year, not being able to get over to New Zealand, it’s definitely caused some real changes to this whole process for me,” Sargent said.

“But I’m glad I went on the tour of the Hunter last week. It was a very good few days, we saw a lot of lovely horses and it was a trip that was well worth doing. Now we’re just hoping we’ll be able to get up to Queensland to be there in person for the Magic Millions Sale.

“The studs all did a great job of looking after us, it was great hospitality all of the way around. If I had to pick one that was the best, I’d say Newgate – they took us out for a very nice dinner.

“A lot of the studs have put together some extremely nice drafts this year. This trip was a great chance to have a really good look at some of the first-season sires. I thought Pariah had some particularly nice yearlings, and Hellbent was another one that impressed me.

“Arrowfield and Coolmore both had terrific drafts, as you’d come to expect from them. It’s definitely made me very keen to try to buy horses at the Sale, and hopefully we can get up there in person.”