The news that Johnny Hassett was diagnosed with cancer last year received widespread and generous support in the worlds of racing and blood and is now the man behind The Bloodstock. Linkion and more recently Get In The Game Syndicate is keen to repay those who supported him when he needed it most.
So, how will he do it? By doing what he does best; sourcing good horses. This season, every year Hassett provides resources for the following year will be for sale in the Get In The Game Syndicate, one of the only micro-stakes involved in the horse business in that field.
Hassett added a Sioux Country filly – lot 741 for €90,000 on Thursdays and sellers on Fridays, a Magna Grecia (Ire)colt for €145,000 [lot 897]with this year’s series from Sportsman’s, and there’s no doubt that he’s valuable to association members.
“I think I got the best jacket and the best tunic among the athletes and, in my opinion, they are great value. We will spend 25 to 26 thousand dollars to sell a horse. Uncare. Costs have gone up and they are not going to go down.”
The same goes for the price of raw materials. Demand for annuities has skyrocketed this fall, which is evident during the vibrant Orby Sale in which US buyers made their mark and also at Sportsman’s, where sales increased 49% y/y. last year’s figure to 10,360,000 euros. The average is also up 21% to €25,085 while the median is up 31% to €21,000.
When asked if such a strong market would prompt Hassett to adopt a more conservative approach to fingerling selection, he said, “Here I am being cautious. If you look back at the results, the best foal in Sportsman’s is as good as the best foal in Orby. A hundred and fifty thousand in Sportsman’s will get you a nicer pony than if you went and spent half a million on Orby.
“The Magna Grecia is a good pony. Ken Condon has a younger sister [Rhea Moon (Ire) (Starspangledbanner {Aus})] and he told me she was European. They made a lot of money for her to go to America and she won pretty easily and got into Del Mar Oaks but was scratched so the pedigree could look a lot better in a few months. “
He added of the pony, signed by Getinthegame.ie/Archdale BS, “Also, he’s a May 28 pony, so he’s five months younger than most ponies. in the sale. Interestingly, this guy shares the same birthday as the Northern Dancer, who was technically two years old when he won the Kentucky Derby. “
Hassett has become something of a social media sensation through his behind-the-scenes documentation of what prepares a horse for shows and boasts more than 5,000 Twitter followers. But will that translate to taking over the system?
“The reception has been great. Twitter has really worked, and 80% of the people who joined last year made money. The average return is close to 20%.
“I only made two videos last year, didn’t promote it properly at all, because I was sick again. I received a diagnosis – 15 brain tumors, one of them an inch in diameter and the tumor in my lung came back and also a new tumor in my stomach. The two most recent scans have shown everything down in size. Diet is a major part of that.
“But everyone was so nice to me when I was sick and this whole Get In The Game Syndicate is my way of giving something back. If I can get people to race and give them a good experience, and we can make a good horse, then I would consider that a job well done. I am happy with the 16 individuals we selected this year and have stock available. “
Keep trading strong
Henry Beeby was spotted signing out of the sales house on Friday night and few would blame Goffs executives following a subsequent sale by a sportsman from Orby.
The work the Irish Purebred Marketing department and the team at Goffs have done to engage buyers of all levels has been particularly commended by Beeby.
He said, “We reflected on a record-breaking version of the Orby on Wednesday topping the world’s highest priced fall edition at €2.6 million and Sportsman’s just continued the theme. with a vibrant transaction driven by domestic and foreign buyers. Once again we thank our suppliers for entrusting us with two great days of the year that have been so appealing and have allowed us to widely advertise the power of our catalog.
“Like Orby, we broke records, especially for the highest price with Abbeville Stud’s amazing colt selling for €300,000, which proved to be the highest price ever sold in Ireland. outside of the Orby Sale, so proving that Sportsman is living up to its paycheck like Part 2 of the Ireland National Anniversary Sale. “
Beeby added, “International engagement has proven important throughout the past week and we appreciate the work of ITM, who work so well with our vibrant Buyer Recruitment Team and Goffs’ network of International Agents, all of which played a big part in the week’s success. “
Elliott Swoops for the well-bred Spanish Phoenix
Descendants of Phoenix Of Spain have been well-received in Orby, with 8 out of 10 being offered for sale for an average of 69,000 euros, including Twilight Gleaming’s half-sister (Ire) (National Defense { GB}), whom Ben McElroy summed up for €200,000.
National resident of Ireland plays a key role in Sportsman’s second day, with Gordon Elliott going up to 82,000 euros to secure a half-sister [lot 833] for talented hurdler Zanahiyr (Ire) (Nathaniel {Ire}) on behalf of Noel and Valerie Moran’s Bective Stud.
“Family is obviously very good to us,” said Elliott. I’m glad I can buy her for Morans and we’ll take her home and help her broken. We’ll take her with us and she’s a stout person with lots of options. “
Perfect Pinhook
Nothing is as inspiring as a good pinhook story and Harry Swan, Sam Baker and Pat Taaffe turned their €15,000 purchase of Zoffany ponies into €42,000. [lot 815].
The share price increase was helped in no small part by the appearance of Sioux Country half sister Sydneyarms Chelsea (Ire), who landed in Group 3 in Deauville last month.
