It’s a new dawn, it’s a new day and we’re feeling good. As I write to you now I’m currently on my 6th day of isolation after contracting the dreaded COVID-19. Those of you who may know me sitting still in a room for 24hrs a day is nothing short of my worst nightmare, especially when I’m completely asymptomatic!
However, to get back to the opening line “we’re feeling good”. One of the pros to all of this extra time meant that I was really able to delve down into the year that we had on the track. As you can see from our 2021 timeline we had a great year on and off the track, so much happened that I could have actually put together a second calendar there’s not enough months in the year!
Owners celebrate after Nós na Gaoithe’s impressive debut victory.
National Hunt
Its easy to dish out the phrase “best year ever” but when you delve down into the statistics it really and truly was our best year ever. We continue to punch well above our weight over jumps with a 50% winners to runners % (w/r%) in bumpers which is marked up to 75% when you look at our Irish bumper statistics. We have the same strike rate over hurdles, albeit from a much lesser number of runners, and although Cabaret Queen never managed to add to our figures over fences last year she was still G3P, ran at the Cheltenham Festival and became the first mare home in the ‘21 running of the Worlds Greatest Race, the Aintree Grand National. That brought our total w/r% in the National Hunt sphere to a whopping 33%.
Grangee and Jody Townend after winning the Grade 2 Mares Bumper at the Dublin Racing Festival.
But here’s where it becomes even more interesting. We all want to dine at the top table and the following stats prove that if you buy a share with us you’ve a very good chance of getting to the top of the sport. We had an 83% blacktype runners % (BTR%) meaning if you bought a share with us you had an 83% chance at running in a Grade 1 Handicap, Listed, Grade 3, Grade 2 or Grade 1 race. Remarkable. Continuing on from that 42% of our NH runners were blacktype placed (BTP%) and a very impressive 17% of those won at blacktype level (BTW%).
Owners in the winners enclosure with their beloved Grangee after her maiden hurdle success.
Flat
We also punched above our weight on the flat. It’s very hard to compete in Ireland on the flat especially with 2yo’s so to have produced a filly of the calibre of Mise le Meas was quite the thrill. One exciting 2yo filly might have been enough but then Golden Mayflower became our first debut 2yo winner, first UK trained winner, first winner trained by a female trainer and just an all round massively exciting prospect. Those two fillies helped us to a 29% w/r for our 2yo’s a stat which we’re very proud of.
Mise le Meas eating up the ground en route to victory in a Gowran Park Maiden.
We had an overall w/r% of 20% a stat that took a little bit of a hit with our older horses running into setbacks and problems this year. We had a 6.7% BTP% which we were very proud of as Irish blacktype is extremely valuable and will always be in the Stud Book for ever more.
Young horses excite
We had the perfect storm during the week as both Cabaret King and our Westerner filly worked up the Curragh, we published our yearly statistics and Grangee ran in the Grade 1 in Leopardstown. All of this lead to an onslaught in share sales meaning we have less than 10% left in the Westerner filly and 15% left in Cabaret King, two horses we’re pretty sure are going to contribute fairly favourably to the above statistics in time.
I had the pleasure of riding the Westerner filly and I couldn’t have been happier with how she went. It was her first time away from Sonny’s and first time up the grass and she couldn’t have been more professional. We went in a group of 11 up the bush gallop and without going a mad gallop we did a nice piece where they learned loads. My filly was straight as a die the whole way and my God did she pull my arms out!
‘18 Westerner ex. Zara’s Victory filly with Sonny Carey in Tinnakill House at Brunch With The Stars
Cabaret King followed in behind me so I didn’t get to see him in action but his jockey gave him a glowing report. He’s a fine looking horse, he’s big, he’s strong and he’s good looking. He looks a ready made 4yo type and we’re very familiar with his breeding so it’s safe to say we’re very excited for him to get to Willies. Sonny commented how how far forward they are versus normal years so we’re looking forward to getting the green light from Closutton.
‘18 Cabaret King and Tony at Brunch With The Stars, an owners open morning we held during the summer
Glorious Grangee
We’re starting to run out of adjectives to describe our stable star but it’s safe to say she did us very proud in Leopardstown on Monday. Even though Leopardstown was moved behind closed doors at the last second we still managed to accommodate everyone who asked for a ticket which was great.
Grangee and Bryan Cooper en route to an impressive debut maiden hurdle victory in Fairyhouse.
She’s a funny little mare as alls she wants to do is pass horses but when she has them all passed she thinks that her race is over and this is exactly what happened on Monday. She hit the front two out and she said “right job done” only to just weaken to finish fourth, but a very good fourth. To think that she could do what she did in a Grade 1 in Leopardstown at Christmas against the boys on just her second start is quite the achievement. Roll on Cheltenham we say.
Flat Fans awake
The turn of the New Year means Cheltenham, Aintree, Puncherstown, Fairyhouse all of the big jumping festivals are on the horizon, but not for all of us. Champion stallions have been crowned, the jockeys and trainers championships are up and the breeders have their mating plans done all with a view of the new flat season and Royal Ascot 2022.
Golden Mayflower and Mise le Meas will both be taking aim at the Royal meeting this year and we’d love to have one or two 2yo’s line up this year. Last week I visited Denis Cullen to see our Kodi Bear filly with Steve and Joe Straker. She’s not big but she packs a punch. She has a great shoulder, a good strong, square hind-end and a lovely fluid action. Denis compared her to the G3W & G2P Santosha who he broke and who was also trained by Dave Loughnane who trains Kodi Bears best progeny to date, Go Bears Go, so it’s a proven winning formula. Denis also paid tribute to how beautifully well balanced the filly is and how elegantly she covers the ground. She has a bit of flare as well which we love to see in a filly.
She’s bred to be quick and early so we’ll look at getting her moved over to England in the coming weeks. She could be anything.
‘20 Kodi Bear ex. Cucuma filly posing at Denis Cullen’s yard.
January Sale Special
To celebrate our best ever year on the track we wanted to give you the best possible chance of joining us in the winners enclosure next year. We’re very confident that the team we have assembled for 2022 is even stronger. So for a limited time only we are giving you the chance to buy into four of our flat 2yo’s for just €1,200. That’s €1,200 all in for the entire of 2022 with nothing further to pay, no hidden costs or expenses, a one off payment and your in it to win it. Fillies by top sires Fast Company, Le Havre, Kodi Bear and Muhaarar to be trained by Johnny Murtagh, Jessica Harrington, Jack Davison and Dave Loughnane. That’s four chances of getting to the winners enclosure but also at least four stable tours with some of the best in the business. Click here to get involved but be quick!
Happy New Year
We hope that you like the new look of this years Sunday Syndicates Post as we look to bring you on another exciting journey in 2022. It will be hard to top 2021 but we firmly believe that we have the team in place to do so. If you would like to get involved or have any qualms or queries at all please do not hesitate to contact me john@syndicates.racing.