THE yearling swing of the sales calendar is in full flow now and while it is no surprise to hear Bill Dwan say that he loves it, given that The Castlebridge Consignment will be among the leading vendors once more, it is evident that there is more to it than just making money.
As is the case for so many who will be active at Tattersalls Ireland, Goffs Orby, Tattersalls UK and so on, this is a way of life. It is nerve-wracking, exhilarating and heart-breaking. The results will inevitably affect the mood individually but when a community of like-minded people congregates like that, fun and devilment goes hand-in-hand with the serious business.
Dwan has known little else. His father Jack was a renowned bloodstock operator specialising in National Hunt horses and, along with brothers Dermot and John, was educated almost by osmosis.
Mirroring the line of work they operate in, the Dwans offer further evidence of the importance of genes and environment, particularly in those important years of early development.
John runs Ballyreddin Stud in Bennettsbridge and bred this year’s Grand National winner One For Arthur, having brought the Aintree hero’s dam Nonettia (a hurdle winner in France by Trempolino) to Coolmore stallion Milan in 2008.
Dermot is also Kilkenny-based, enjoying plenty of success in the ring and on the track with his Kellsgrange Stud produce.
Bill established The Castlebridge Consignment in 2002 along with his wife Tara – former assistant trainer to her legendary father Michael Cunningham – Andrew Mead and Marion Goodbody.
The Dwans oversee proceedings on this side of the Irish Sea at Castlebridge Stud in Kildalkey, outside Navan, while Mead and Goodbody run the British based operation Castlebridge East in Newmarket.
Having been fortunate to grow up working in the shadow of a master, Bill was astute enough to supplement that knowledge by completing the Irish National Stud course and then spending eight years at Coolmore, primarily in New Zealand and Australia.
He worked closely with champion sire Danehill in Japan too before returning to Ireland to manage Ballygallon Stud and then branching out with his partners to a brave new world.
There were no shortage of contacts between the quartet but you have to prove yourself in this game and so they sold only 12 horses that first year.
That figure is now in the region of 400 annually, with a slew of European records set in the intervening period.
CHICQUITA
No-one will forget the historic sale of Irish Oaks winner Chicquita to the Doyles (for the Coolmore partners) for €6m as part of the Paulyn dispersal at the Goffs November Sale in 2013, making the filly the most expensive horse ever sold at public auction in Ireland.
The previous year, Hydrogen went for 2.5m guineas at the Tattersalls October Sale to David Redvers for Qatar Racing.
That made the son of Galileo and Funsie the highest-priced yearling sold throughout the world that year.
As important as getting a return for clients in the ring is, the horses performing on the track confirms the quality associated with Castlebridge. Night Of Thunder (2000 Guineas), Charming Thought (Middle Park Stakes) and Tiger Roll (dual Cheltenham Festival winner including the Triumph Hurdle) are just some of the stellar cast consigned by the firm.
Describing consignors as similar to estate agents with the only difference being that they sell horses rather than houses, Dwan explains the benefits of using a consignor rather than going to the market yourself.
“A lot has to do with logistics,” he explains.
“Sending one or two people from the farm to any sale now is difficult as there are animals at home to be looked after, so we take that problem away as we have a team of staff to show and look after your animal at the sales. These staff are gifted at showing the animals in a very professional manner and also they are fully aware of what way potential clients like the animal to be shown to them.”
CIRCUS
“The sales are like a circus – and we are the clowns I sometimes think! But it moves from one location to the next and so we will show yearlings to the same clients for four weeks continuously in different locations and as a result we get to know what type of horse suits some trainers or agents more than others, and so can recommend a horse to suit them that they may not have had on their list.
“We also advise on what reserve we think should be placed on an animal. Before getting to the sales we help with sale entries, advise on what sale may suit best, organise prep, transport to sales and hopefully take a lot of the headaches away from our clients.”
Over time, clients and buyers have learned that the people at Castlebridge are to be trusted.
If Dwan tells a trainer a particular animal is what he is looking for, he or she will believe him. The results are in the form book which is why there is never any lack of interest in stock consigned by the group.
“We have had great days thanks to the support of many people through the years and it’s not always the top lots that give you the greatest satisfaction as ultimately our job is to get our clients’ horses sold and how successful we are at that is how we are judged.
“The auction ring can be fascinating to watch and the lead-up to the Paulyn dispersal was a magical few days. I have never witnessed as good an atmosphere as was in Goffs the afternoon Chicquita sold for €6m. She was owned by the colourful Paul Makin.
“The Wildenstein dispersal was another huge week for us as we were selling a part of history. Qualify, who won the Epsom Oaks, was owned by good friends (John Murrell and his wife Chantal Regalado Gonzalez) and sold at the Tattersalls mares’ sale for €1.6m. That was special.”
The success is based on not overcomplicating matters and being straight with everyone. You will only fool buyers and sellers once. Nothing is certain with horses but backing your judgement and being honest is always the best policy in the long run because reputation is everything.
“We try to keep it simple and straight and advise our clients as best we can. We call it as it is. Sometimes clients don’t like to hear that the market doesn’t like their animal and it is a tough pill to swallow but there is no point in telling people what they like to hear and then they are disappointed in the sales ring.”
HUGE DEMAND
With Castlebridge now firmly established as the cream of the consigning crop, the demand for its considerable services is much greater than they could have dreamed 15 years ago. That means a lot of travelling, assessing stock and ensuring that they are placed in a suitable sale, or indeed, discerning if there is a suitable sale.
“You have to place the animal in a sale where it stands out for the correct reason and I do not like over-facing animals in a select sale if they are not up to the standard. This standard is based on a combination of pedigree and physical attributes.”
The Dwans dabble in the breeding side themselves with friends at the stud and so they understand the various pitfalls and difficulties faced by their clients. As Bill says “it’s not for the faint-hearted!”
The upcoming sales will provide plenty of headlines, with vast sums of money being splashed out on regally-bred stock. The establishment will spend heavily as will the newer players that have proven so welcome to the trade in recent years and thus the top end is booming. This tends to mask what is happening further down the scale however.
“The business is strong but we are producing too many below-average animals and, like any business, if you produce something that the market doesn’t want, you won’t sell it,” comes Dwan’s simple summation.
Because there are too many horses, people can afford to be very selective, even at a budget, but there is value to be found.
What Dwan has seen is that the absolute emphasis on precocity and having early juvenile winners on the flat is beginning to recede, however slightly, with the dream of owning a classic winner or at least stock that can progress as racehorses thankfully beginning to take hold once more.
“There are so many horses up for auction the buyers can afford to pick and choose what they like and so animals that fall under the bar will struggle. I do think common sense is returning and, while we all like fast sprinters and sharp two-year-olds, the recent bias against horses staying over a mile is subsiding and people realise there is no better achievement than winning a Derby or Oaks.”
BREXIT
Brexit hangs over the industry like the darkest of clouds, though not necessarily because of anything we know will happen. So slow is the process that no-one has a clue how Britain’s departure from the EU will impact on the bloodstock industry and, in particular, the intertwined nature of the business between Britain and Ireland.
“Uncertainty is never good as we are selling horses, which are a luxury item, but I do not think any of us know what the effects of Brexit will be on our business.”
Bill and Tara have experienced every side of the bloodstock industry including ownership. Indeed they had a significant role in one of the greatest feats of Michael Cunningham’s career as a trainer. This, remember, is a man who conditioned Cairn Rouge to win the Irish 1000 Guineas, Coronation Stakes and Champion Stakes in 1980 and For Auction to claim the Champion Hurdle two years later.
On June 21st, 2003 however, an ambitious plan was executed to perfection at Down Royal, providing Cunningham’s daughter and new son-in-law with perhaps the best, and most imaginative, wedding gift of all time.
UNIQUE DOUBLE
“He trained a double the day I got married to Tara. The horse that won before we went to the church (Any Dream Will Do) was part-owned and bred by me, and the other horse (Tara’s Gift) won (the Ulster Oaks) when we came out of the church, and she was part-owned and bred by Tara. It was some achievement and training performance in fairness.”
All the more so for the fact that the trainer was not at Down Royal to ensure everything went in accordance with the pretty outlandish script. The father of the bride had other responsibilities, of course.
It is the owners that grease the wheel of the entire industry and Dwan maintains that more needs to be done by racetracks in particular to reward them for that.
“The racehorse owner is number one in my view and he or she should be looked after at every level as without them we have no industry. As a result I think we need to do more to look after owners and make the experience of attending a race meeting to be a memorable one.”
He helps keep an eye on the interests of aforementioned friend John Murrell and his wife Chantal Regalado Gonzalez, who have had a number of excellent horses running in Mrs Regalado Gonzalez’s distinctive colours trained in Ireland in recent years.
Apart from Qualify, who was trained by Aidan O’Brien, Zhukova has won seven times and after bagging her second Group 3 at Leopardstown during Irish Champions Weekend last year, she was placed brilliantly by Dermot Weld to claim the Man O’War Stakes at Belmont Park in the US, a Grade 1 success that increased her value as a broodmare significantly.
Intricately earned herself a place in history when providing Joseph O’Brien with his first Group 1 victory as a trainer on a dramatic day, with brother Donnacha O’Brien in the plate. The siblings famously saw off Hydrangea, who was trained by their father Aidan and never was a man happier to be beaten.
It capped a glorious weekend for Regalado Gonzalez, Murrell and the Dwans, coming as it did on day two of Irish Champions Weekend 2016, just under 23 hours after Zhukova’s triumph.
“John and Chantal are good friends of ours and when they are in Ireland they come and stay with us. As John lives out of the country we help him out with some of his horses.
“Zhukova is a beautiful looking filly and very talented. She is being targeted at the Arc and if she gets the right conditions I wouldn’t underestimate her. The ball hasn’t bounced Intricately’s way this year. She was fourth in the Irish Guineas, beaten in a photo for second with Hydrangea and Roly Poly. She will go for the Matron stakes on Champions Weekend.”
Racing is the pleasure. Business is hotting up now though and Dwan is looking forward to Tattersalls’ September Yearling Sale.
“This sale is going from strength to strength and we have been lucky here and sold some good horses including 2016 Dee Stakes winner Viren’s Army, bought by Peter and Ross Doyle (for Middleham Park Racing) and, as a result, her half-sister by Slade Power goes there. We also have yearlings by good proven sires such as Dark Angel, Exceed And Excel, Dandy Man, Teofilo, Zoffany and more ... so plenty to choose from!”
Business it is then, but in truth, it is pleasure too. He wouldn’t be anywhere else, doing anything else and is as enthused as in the early days, watching his father like a hawk.
“I can’t wait,” he says of the impending hectic schedule.
“Once it starts it flies along as you’re so busy. The preparation beforehand seems more trying than the sales themselves. We do try to have a joke and laugh along the way.”