Tara-bred makes his Case after yearling buyers shunned him

LAST year I had occasion to write about A Case Of You following his victory in the Group 3 Anglesey Stakes. Trained at the time by John McConnell, his subsequent sale meant that he transferred to the care of Ado McGuinness.

The colt’s new handler was interviewed by Jon Lees in January of this year, and he told my pressroom colleague: “It’s brilliant to have a good horse like him; I am just delighted to have him. Hopefully he will progress into a very smart horse. He has blacktype already, which is not easy in Ireland, so hopefully he will go forward and become a Group 1 and Group 2 horse in the future.”

McGuinness added: “I think he could definitely win a Group 1 race in Europe somewhere. He was very lightly raced last year, so hopefully he will progress and train on.”

Well Ado got it spot on, and last weekend the son of Hot Streak (Iffraaj) stepped up to the plate and won the Group 1 Prix de l’Abbaye de Longchamp, having been runner-up at the same level in the Derrinstown Flying Five Stakes at the Curragh.

A Case Of You was sent to the Goffs Sportsman’s Sale two years ago where his breeders, Limestone and Tara Studs, could not get the minimum bid of €3,000 for him.

Subsequently Derek Iceton sold him for what he called a “fraction of the minimum bid” to McConnell, in whose colours he won twice. The three-year-old is the best of three winners for his Key Of Luck (Chief’s Crown) dam Karjera and she was also bred by Limestone and Tara Studs. She came within half a length of winning a race on her penultimate start as a three-year-old, being in the frame four times.

John Walsh

Karjera’s dam Lock’s Heath (Topsider) was purchased through bloodstock agent John Walsh for only 6,800gns at the Tattersalls December Sale 25 years ago. She clicked with Tara Stud’s Key Of Luck and three of her four winners were sired by him. The best of the trio, Akanti, won the Listed Rochestown Stakes for Ger Lyons and later won a stakes race in the USA, while Lock And Key won for Eddie Lynam and was multiple group-placed.

A Case Of You is from the second crop of Group 2 winner Hot Streak who was runner-up in the Group 1 Middle Park Stakes and third in the Group 1 King’s Stand Stakes. The former Tweenhills Farm stallion also sired a stakes winner in his first crop, and already has a stakes-winning juvenile this year. He has just completed his first season at Haras d’Annebault.