Shaun Nolen looks forward to the next juvenile sale season

Cover image courtesy of Magic Millions

It was written in the racing stars that Shaun Nolen would spend his life with racing, his father a trainer who has successfully specialised in 2-year-old sales for a number of years whilst his brother, Luke, is a high-class jockey best known for his association with the wonder mare Black Caviar (Bel Esprit).

Last year’s Magic Millions Gold Coast 2YOs In Training Sale saw JCS Thoroughbreds sell three of the top 10, with his father, Tal Nolen, filling another four of those spots.

Leading the way for JCS was a $200,000 Written By colt from the family of the G1 Toorak H. winner Attrition (Churchill {Ire}) purchased by Hancock Quality Bloodstock. Named Wind And The Lion, the Sean and Jake Casey-trained gelding has looked good winning two recent trials at Lark Hill and Belmont.

Skeida Investments bought the next best seller for JCS - a $160,000 Castelvecchio half-brother to the subsequent Listed winner Katsu (Mikki Isle {Jpn}). Named Two Wolves, he is trained by Donald Baker at Toowoomba.

The other top 10 seller for JCS was a $150,000 Russian Revolution colt out of the city winner Catalina Miss (Sidereus) purchased by Waltrin Pty Ltd. Third and fifth in a couple of Rosehill trials over the summer, he is called Just Think Twice and is a member of the Chris Waller stable.

Nolen took just two horses to the previous year’s sale at the Gold Coast, fetching $150,000 for a Smart Missile colt and $140,000 for a son of Hellbent, both purchased by Trilogy Racing. The former, a full brother to the dual Group winner I’ll Have A Bit, is called Speed On Speed and he headed to Hong Kong after winning a Doomben trial whilst the latter is a member of the Michael Moroney stable called Highway To Hell.

JCS mastering the juvenile sales

Starting his racing career as a jockey - as an apprentice with Dalby trainer Des Burns - Shaun rode in Victoria on and off until he was thirty - “I retired 45 times!” he joked, citing weight issues and a dedication to the sport that lay elsewhere.

Whilst he enjoyed being a jockey, it was breaking in and educating young horses that really intrigued him. From 21 he was combining this vocation with riding, eventually deciding to concentrate on the one area.

For a couple of decades working with his father, Shaun formed JCS (named after his children Jai, Cash and Sunny) Thoroughbreds around six years ago.

“I was always going to end up doing something horse related,” he said, “and I love working with the young ones - shaping them into the sort of horse you want them to become.”

A fulfilling job

“I enjoy the steps it takes to get them there and the challenges of working with the tough ones, it is very fulfilling.”

“I was breaking in ponies when I was a kid so it is something that I have always done.”

Buying young horses from a variety of locations - at sales and online - Shaun is always on the lookout for a horse who has scope for improvement and he works by an important rule - “I will only go for horses who I would be happy to train myself.”

Which certainly gives buyers a bit of confidence, that knowledge that a horse sold by JCS is one that a trainer would want in their stable.

“With first-season sires I look for those who I think are going to make it,” Shaun said, adding that he has several favourites amongst the proven stallion ranks - such as Per Incanto (USA), Street Boss (USA), Toronado (Ire) and All Too Hard.

“The Per Incantos have great temperaments and improve with work - they are user-friendly horses.”

Gallery: The progeny of these proven stallions are preferred by Shaun Nolen when preparing a Ready to Run horse

“Street Boss’ progeny can test you a little bit of times but they tend to deliver in the end, they are tough and robust.”

“I love the Toronados - especially as Hong Kong buyers are our main market and they love him - but they are getting harder to buy.”

“Horses by All Too Hard can be a bit plain but they are nice horses to work with, they can handle pressure.”

Whilst Shaun does not have a big group of horses being readied for this year’s sales, he is happy with the progeny of Per Incanto, Street Boss and Brutal (NZ) that he has.

Buy a horse you'd want to race yourself

He has found it harder than usual to source young horses this year and he is keen to stick to his standards; “there is just no point in buying a horse you would not want to race yourself.”

Shaun has, over the years, changed his mind in regards to the type of young horse he buys for resale, noting that the “small sprinting type” he used to look for is not as appealing now as the “bigger, scopier” horses that the Hong Kong market likes.

Though he doesn’t want them too heavy.

“I prefer them a bit under-done, you can put weight and condition on them with work.”

“I like to buy the frame, a horse with the scope to mature into that.”

Shaun’s process is one of time and patience, allowing his horses to come into their own at a steady pace without being rushed.

He doesn’t like to have them fully wound up for the sales, liking to leave something there for their new owners to further improve upon.

“If they can do it (run fast times) on the day they can do it but I like to have that natural improvement in them.”

Which makes them more appealing to buyers whilst also giving Shaun and his clients a chance to do something with the horses who don’t sell.

“They are easy to train,” he said.

Let horses be horses

Breaking in is the first process the JCS horses go through and then they have “a good break.”

“I like letting horses be horses,” he said. “They go out into big paddocks with other horses, I don’t like mollycoddling them; they aren’t rugged when they go out.”

A second preparation follows, then another break and another preparation before the sales.

Shaun is a big fan of this ‘in and out, in and out’ process.

“It helps them mentally and physically,” he said. “It grows the bone and you notice how much horses progress through each preparation, there is consistent improvement.”

Noting that he is “always learning,” Shaun is happy to make tweeks “here and there” to his procedures and each horse is taken as the individual they are - “some horses need that bit more work.”

Not that he ever pushes them - “you don’t want them over-cooked,” he said;

“We do a bit more pace work with them these days, setting up horses for their training and racing careers.

The business of pin-hooking has its risks - we all know how much can go wrong with horses at any time! Shaun is well aware of this, noting that “probably one out of every four might not make it to the sales.”

“Some have soundness issues develop or are injured, others are just not quick enough.”

Flying under the radar

Liking to “fly under the radar,” Shaun does not really promote himself, preferring to work for “a few set clients.”

With Hong Kong in mind, he has a lot of colts come under his charge but he likes the fillies as well.

“I don't think I have ever lost on a filly,” he said. “The Australian market likes them.”

Shaun derives great satisfaction from seeing the horses he prepares go on to big things with one success story being the flashy and talented Lightsaber who he purchased for $80,000 at the 2020 Inglis Classic Yearling Sale.

Whilst the $100,000 he received when Blueblood Thoroughbreds purchased him at the Inglis Ready 2 Race Sale later in the year was not a big profit margin, seeing the horse make a name for himself as one of Victoria’s best 2-year-olds was a thrill.

“I wasn’t sure he’d stand up to a big first preparation but he did just that, some horses can just do it.”

“He was a bit naughty at times,” he recalled, “but ultimately he became a very nice horse.”