Winter dreams run high for £3,000 purchase

The great thing about this sport is that success can come to anyone, regardless of the level they play at. Miracle Of Medinah (pictured) cost just £3,000 at the 2012 DBS St Leger Festival Sale – over a year on and he is the winner of nearly £56,000 following four victories topped by the Group 3 Somerville Tattersall Stakes at Newmarket in September.

Mark Usher’s colt is as tough and genuine as they come and taken literally, his 1 1/4 length beating of Cable Bay that day compares very favourably to the 1 1/4 length beating War Command gave the same colt in the Group 1 Dewhurst Stakes the following month. He certainly has the right attitude to keep progressing and after providing his owners, The High Jinks Partnership, with many memorable days this year, should continue to do so in 2014.

Another tough two-year-old, Supplicant, progressed through the ranks for Richard Fahey to win the Listed Ripon Champion 2yo Trophy and then the Group 2 Mill Reef Stakes at Newbury. The son of Kyllachy, who was knocked down to me for 65,000gns as a yearling, also came close to winning at Royal Ascot when a narrow second in the Listed Windsor Castle Stakes.

Lamar, a 40,000gns yearling, gained valuable black-type when third in the Listed Star Stakes at Sandown while it would be wrong to underestimate Snow Trouble, who had six subsequent winners behind him when successful back in the summer at the Glorious Goodwood main meeting. Marcus Tregoning’s colt, a 100,000gns breeze-up purchase at the Craven Sale on behalf of Guy Brook, wasn’t seen out after that race but will be an interesting prospect when he reappears.

Another two-year-old who indirectly contributed to a successful year was George Margason’s Princess Margaret and Lowther Stakes winner Lucky Kristale – her half-sister, I See You, was purchased at the Tattersalls February Sale for just 8,000gns.

Krypton Factor was once again a star among the older horses for Fawzi Nass, notably when third in the Group 1 Dubai Golden Shaheen (a race he won in 2012) and Group 1 Golden Jubilee Stakes. There should be plenty more to come from him in Dubai this winter.

There should also be more to come from Moviesta, who put up an excellent performance for a three-year-old when defeating older horses in the Group 2 King George Stakes at the Glorious Goodwood meeting. With a winter on his back, he should be an exciting sprinter next year for Bryan Smart.

2013 will be remembered as the year the market rebounded following several difficult years. Increases were recorded at every major sale and there were frequent occasions when a new record was set.

I ended the year having bought 49 yearlings including a Raven’s Pass colt that cost €180,000 out of the Coulonces Consignment at the Arqana August Sale. In Newmarket, purchases included a Showcasing filly from the fast Bickmarsh Stud family of Intense Pink that cost 110,000gns.

It was also a very productive foal sale in Newmarket, where Marcus Tregoning and I purchased foals by Sea The Stars, Dream Ahead and Iffraaj. Not only is the Sea The Stars colt, who cost 140,000gns, by an outstanding champion but he is a half-brother to a Group 1 winner in All The Good and from the immediate family of Ramruma – hopes will be high for him when he goes into training!

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