Fair Winds

Once considered the last chance saloon for trading, breeze-up sales are big business today. The sector’s contribution to the 2025 sales year was around £71.4 million across its six auctions, a total fuelled by a septet of seven-figure lots amid a smattering of record figures. It was indicative of the depth of belief behind the idea of breeze-ups as a regular source of good racehorses, which in itself is testament to the skill of the people involved in pinhooking and bringing on these animals.

All of that was brought into sharper focus during a year on the track that featured 2,000 Guineas winner Ruling Court and champion two-year-old Gewan, who sadly suffered a fatal injury during his preparation for this year’s 2,000 Guineas. Powerful Glory wound up being one of  the stars of the sprinting ranks by virtue of his big-priced success in the QIPCO British Champion Sprint Stakes, while Group-race winners Distant Storm and Zanthos were among those to join Gewan as standouts of the juvenile division.

That’s to go with a list of recent highlights that includes multiple Group 1-winning sprinter Bradsell, champion two-year-olds Native Trail, Lezoo, Perfect Power and Vandeek, and popular stayer Trueshan. The group were sourced across the spectrum, with Ruling Court and Distant Storm topping their respective editions of the Arqana May Sale and Bradsell and Trueshan each secured for under 50,000gns.

Last year was special

The ill-fated Gewan was relatively inexpensive at €80,000 to J S Bloodstock and Al Rabban Racing at Arqana last May; just over three months later he changed hands for many multiples of that to Zhang  Yuesheng, in whose colours he went on to win the Dewhurst. He led the way among close to 50 stakes-winning graduates in 2025.

“There’s been a lot of success in recent years,” says Brendan Holland of Grove Stud, who serves as Chairman of the Breeze-Up Consignors Association. “But last year was special with a champion two-year-old and a Guineas winner. It would have been hard to imagine that happening ten years ago.”

Gewan’s championship season set a new benchmark of success for his vendors, Mick Murphy (left) and Sarah O’Connell of Longways Stables in County Waterford, Ireland. The grey was purchased as a yearling by the pair for 100,000gns – not an expensive amount for a son of Night Of Thunder – from his co-breeder Overbury Stud out of Book 2 of the Tattersalls October Sale. He was well liked at Longways throughout his prep yet didn’t return his yearling cost, selling for €80,000 outside the ring at the Arqana May Sale. The story of Gewan’s trips through the sales sums up the rollercoaster nature of the game, especially when there is more to it than meets the eye, as Mick Murphy explains.

“We picked him up out of Book 2 from Overbury Stud,” he says. “He was a bit raw and unfurnished at the sales but I liked him. He was a Night Of Thunder out of a stakes mare [Grey Mystere, by Lethal Force] and I didn’t think I’d get to buy him at that kind of money – I didn’t think I was being in any way clever – but he had a few veterinary issues.

“He improved a lot physically over that winter. I actually rode him a bit myself in January. He rode a bit like a seven-furlong horse and a miler. Harvey Bell [of Tattersalls] made a big strong play for him but I thought I’m going to give him a bit more time and go to Arqana, just because he’d been a bit raw when we bought him. He wasn’t a fast horse and in hindsight the Newmarket track might have suited him better than Arqana because Deauville is a sharper flat track. But I felt that the best thing for the horse was to give him time.”

The clock has long been a key element to this market and, rightly or wrongly, is seemingly exerting a greater influence year on year. It is common knowledge how Vandeek, subsequently a champion two-year-old, stood head and shoulders on the clock against his contemporaries at the 2023 Tattersalls Craven Sale. But for every Vandeek, there is another success story who failed to satisfy the time hunters for one reason or another. Gewan is one such horse.

He was impressive on the stride analysis programmes that some of the lads use.

“Gewan wasn’t a fast horse – he did a nice breeze without being fast,” says Murphy. “But he was impressive on the stride analysis programmes that some of the lads use.

“He was popular but wasn’t passing the vets. We didn’t sell him in the ring – Ross Doyle tried hard to buy him but he couldn’t get anyone to bite – and we ended up getting him done outside.”

The Longways class of 2025 also included another smart sort in Vasy, a son of Space Blues who won last month’s Colonel Liam Stakes at Gulfstream Park. However, nor was his sale  straightforward, with the colt failing to show his true colours when breezing first time round at the Tattersalls Craven Sale. Withdrawn out of that engagement, he later performed to expectations at the Tattersalls Ireland Breeze-up Sale at Fairyhouse, where he sold for €115,000 to Osborne Lodge Racing.

Gewan and Vasy illustrate just some of the pressures that these vendors are under. And that has been further amplified by that increased reliance on the clock, especially from a number of the top-end buyers.

The importance of timing has accelerated in the past few years

“The importance of timing has accelerated in the past few years unfortunately,” says Murphy. “It certainlywent back to the clock more last year.

“We always had success at Arqana with the bigger miler types but I found even there that it is now being led by the clock a bit more. You’ll be down in the yard after the breeze and even before the timing sheet comes out, you’ll know within ten minutes what breezed fast and what didn’t just by looking at the traffic.”

Con Marnane (left), whose Bansha House Stables has had the likes of Sands Of Mali, Teppal and Amadeus Wolf through its doors, concurs. His sales season last year started well at the Craven with the sale of a Havana Grey colt for 650,000gns to Godolphin; named Castle Rock, he won two of his three starts for Charlie Appleby at the back end of last season.

However, in keeping with some of his contemporaries, it wasn’t ultimately all plain sailing.

“It was tough, trickier than normal,” he says. “The agents all want something different. I’ve got a few expensive ones that didn’t get sold and we’re racing them. It didn’t make a difference if you had really well-bred horses or really good-looking horses; if they didn’t clock, you were in trouble. I don’t push mine, I never did, and we’ve had about 140 stakes horses through our hands. I’m more interested in producing horses that people can train.

“The Havana Grey [Castle Rock] was a lovely horse who won at Newmarket just before Book 1 and then again later on. He will only improve as he’s a fine big horse with a temperament to die for. His time in the Craven wasn’t huge but he did a very good gallop out; he was only getting going at the top of the hill.”

He adds: “We have a couple of fast Havana Greys this year as well. I’m sending a good few horses to Doncaster. We bought that sort of sharp, ready-to-go horse and the ones going to Donny are all sharp, speedy two-year-olds. We’ve done it a few good times where we’ve sent horses there that have gone on to hit at Royal Ascot, and that’s always our aim if we can do it.

“Hopefully it will be a good year because expenses are going through the roof – most things have almost doubled in the last two years. With this oil crisis, no doubt things like transport will fly up again.”

 

The question of the Middle East

It remains to be seen how the conflict in the Middle East will affect this year’s market. Traditionally, it has relied heavily on investment from Bahrain, Qatar and Saudi Arabia in addition to the UAE.

Having campaigned the likes of Ruling Court and Native Trail, Godolphin were once again influential in driving the top end in 2025, accounting for around £7.4 million worth of stock including the €1.9 million top lot at the Arqana May Sale (subsequent Group 3 winner Distant Storm) and the record-setting £1 million sale-topping lot at Goffs in Doncaster (Kempton novice winner Rapid Force).

The current situation in the Middle East might not necessarily bode well for the spring ahead

Leading UAE trainer Bhupat Seemar also enjoys operating in the sector; his purchases last year included subsequent UAE 2,000 Guineas winner Six Speed, who cost 220,000gns out of Eddie O’Leary’s Lynn Lodge Stud draft.

Major Qatari involvement is led by the Emir of Qatar’s Wathnan Racing, whose breeze-up success stories include the Royal Ascot-winning two-year-olds Shareholder and Leovanni. Wathnan has become a formidable top-end player within a short space of time while aggressive participation from the Bahraini-based Victorious Forever, the nom-de-plume of Shaikh Nasser bin Hamed Al Khalifa and his brother Sheikh Khalid, has yielded the likes of Vandeek and Zanthos, who cost 625,000gns and €1 million respectively through Stroud Coleman Bloodstock.

As such, the current situation in the Middle East might not necessarily bode well for the spring ahead.

However, the breeze-up community are a resilient and resourceful bunch, and those who like to look on the bright side might take some encouragement from results at last month’s Ocala Breeders’ Sales (OBS) Company’s March Sale in Florida, the first northern hemisphere breeze-up of the year at which a record turnover of $71,815,500 was set.

Granted, the depth of buying bench tends to be stronger in the US, especially right now in light of the tax incentives introduced last year by the Trump administration. That was again apparent at OBS and went some way to masking seemingly limited participation from Middle Eastern interests, particularly those from Saudi Arabia who are traditionally extremely enthusiastic supporters of the North American two-year-old sector. Even so, those operating in the US will have derived some confidence going forward from the sale’s performance, which included seven million-dollar lots.

 

Code of Conduct

The European sales season opens this month with the Tattersalls Craven Sale in Newmarket on April 13 – 15. Numbers have held steady at 182 lots from last year, when records in turnover  (18,040,000gns), average (158,017gns) and median (100,000gns) were established.

The circuit then moves on to the Goffs Breeze-Up Sale in Doncaster, another sale to produce a record trade in 2025 when 141 horses sold for a record £11,813,000. Records in average and median were also set, buoyed by the presence of the first ever seven-figure lot to pass through the Doncaster sale ring. Having kept the catalogue to 206 in 2025, numbers have been increased to 233 for 2026.

The Tattersalls Guineas, Arqana May, Tattersalls Ireland, Goffs Classic and Aktem Breeze-Ups follow thereafter. Arqana’s May breeze-up remains one of the premier events, notably in its place as the source of Ruling Court, Zanthos and Shes Perfect alongside Gewan. It was another to hit record levels in 2025, with gross sales of €27,179,500 for 134 sold, yielding an average of €202,832.

Likely enhancing the sector this year is the introduction of the Breeze-Up Sales Code of Conduct. Instigated by BUCA, it has been signed off by the sale companies with the purpose of protecting the integrity, safety and reputation of breeze-ups and its participants.

The code stipulates that consignors must “conduct their business honestly and in a manner that upholds the integrity of the breeze-up industry”. They must not present any horse that is unfit to  breeze or seek to gain advantage through “unsafe, dishonest or unethical practices”.

Jockeys and exercise riders are also asked to “act in a way that protects both horse welfare and the integrity of the sector”. They may only carry a Pro-Cushion whip, which can only be used down the shoulder of a horse with both hands on the reins. The code goes on to state that “improper or excessive use of the whip will be treated as a serious breach”.

Each consignor and jockey are being asked to sign the document. Any breaches may result in a warning or sanction and exclusion from a breeze-up sale.

Anything that promotes very high standards is to be welcomed

“It’s there to protect the sector and to give confidence to the participants,” says BUCA Chairman Brendan Holland. “There were a lot of things happening within the sector that were unwritten – for example, riders have never been allowed to use sticks behind the saddle. So this is formalising what was already in practice and with the sale companies on board. It is also making participants aware of their obligations because there are standards that we need to uphold.

“They’ve produced something similar in America at OBS and Fasig-Tipton [see panel]. That was mostly done as a reflection to what was developing over there. We’re trying to be one step ahead.”

“Anything that promotes the very high standards of the breeze-up sales is to be welcomed,” says Henry Beeby, Group Chief Executive of Goffs. “It’s our belief that the breeze-up community work to very high standards of welfare and care, but anything that raises the profile of that is obviously a positive. It’s part of the evolution of the whole breeze-up concept, which as a company we’ve been involved with for such a long time, and we embrace, support and applaud it.

“We’ve given as much proactive feedback to BUCA as they’ve asked us for, which has been plenty, and if the code needs tweaking as it goes along then of course that will be done.

“It demonstrates a responsibility from BUCA and the breeze-up community to react to 2026 and the expectations of the general public. As an industry we know that we work to incredibly high  standards, but it’s important that we work out ways of demonstrating that to those not in our industry, and this is a good way of doing it.”

 

 

 

Stricter protocols in place in the US

European breeze-ups aren’t alone in operating alongside new guidelines this year. Participants at the North American two-year-old sales are now required to do the same following the introduction of enhanced safety measures by the Ocala Breeders’ Sales Company (OBS) and Fasig-Tipton.

OBS opened the season with its March Sale last month, where over 800 two-year-olds were catalogued for the three-day auction. Each turned in workouts over the company’s Tapeta track in the week ahead of the sale, the majority of them officially timed.

“The riders have to have both hands on the reins at all times,” says Will Douglass, the company’s European representative.

“They can’t hit a horse with a hand off the rein. It’s a $1,000 fine for the jockey and if they do it three times, they’re out for the year.”

While several of the times recorded in March were as lightning quick as ever – six youngsters went a furlong in 9.3 seconds – one consequence of the new measures is an increased emphasis on the gallop out.

“The riders can’t do it at any point,” explains Douglass, alluding to the whip use. “That includes at the top of the stretch. So the gallop outs have become much more important because they’re keeping them going round the bend.”

There is also increased veterinary scrutiny in keeping with last year’s introduction of stricter protocols on the use of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDS) and corticosteroids, whereby neither are allowed to be administered within 48 hours of a breeze.

Douglass continues: “Every horse is also X-rayed on site and that is put in the repository. The horses have to be approved by veterinarians within the 48 hours before they breeze and they are monitored before and afterwards. It’s pretty strict but progressive. Everyone is working hard, they’re doing a good job and want to produce good horses.”

The top end of the market in the US remains in rude health if results from the March Sale are any indication. Led by a $2 million daughter of Nyquist sold by Ciaran Dunne’s Wavertree Stables to Killora/ Linton, agent for Boyd Racing, seven two-year-olds made $1 million or more. A record gross of $71,815,000 was set while the average rose by seven per cent to $163,589.

As ever, the buying bench was predominantly domestic, although agent Justin Casse signed for three lots worth $740,000 on behalf of Joseph O’Brien’s Carriganog. The pair teamed up last year to come away with The Publican’s Son, a $200,000 purchase by Beau Liam who went on to run second in the Round Tower Stakes at the Curragh first time out.

“Joseph bought one horse here last year and he’s obviously pretty good,” says Douglass. “Hubert Guy also bought [Group 1 winner] Onesto here in 2021. There’s also been great success in the Middle East. They breeze on a Tapeta all-weather track here, so I think it relates well to an international market.”

Fasig-Tipton hosts just the one two-year-old sale these days, the Midlantic May Two-Year-Olds in Training Sale, but it holds major importance as the only dirt-based breeze-up on the US calendar. Staged in Timonium, Maryland, the sale ran into problems last year when significant rain midway through the breeze shows placed the track under such pressure that company officials took the decision to shelve official timings. The move was met with decidedly mixed reactions by participants, but the sale still performed well to the extent that records in gross ($44,192,500), average ($135,560) and median ($60,000) were set.

The dust had barely settled on that renewal when Fasig-Tipton announced that those unintended changes were here to stay. As such, all breezes this year will be untimed and use of the whip will be restricted: riders can carry a whip for safety purposes but may not strike horses during workouts.

“These changes reflect our commitment to improving our two-year-old sales process,” said Fasig-Tipton President Boyd Browning in a release. “We believe buyer focus has skewed too heavily toward stopwatch-based evaluations. This approach is intended to restore balance, emphasising how a horse moves and presents itself on the track.”

Alluding to last year’s sale, Browning added: “It became an unexpected case study. Not only did the show present well visually, but the horses came out of their workouts in excellent condition. That experience, combined with the tremendous horsemanship of our consignors, gives us the confidence to make these changes.”