THIS is truly one of the most exciting times of the year for fans of flat racing. The sun is shining and there’s classic trials and impressive maiden race winners everywhere you look.

It all goes up another level next Tuesday (April 15th) when the three-day Craven meeting gets underway at Newmarket. And of course the racing ties in with the Tattersalls Craven Breeze Up Sale. Approximately 175 two-year-olds will breeze up the Rowley Mile course on Monday before being offered for sale after racing on Tuesday and Wednesday.

The Craven Sale is undoubtedly the market-leader in Europe at the moment. Just getting your horse into the sale is a badge of honour. Everyone in bloodstock knows the roll-call of Group 1 winners to have come from the Craven Sale in recent years - Native Trail, Cachet, Vandeek, Hotazhell and now Believing, winner of the Al Quoz at Meydan last Saturday.

The five-year-old daughter of Mehmas was purchased by Jake Warren’s Highclere Agency for 115,000gns from the draft of Mick Fitzpatrick’s Kilminfoyle House Stud, having been purchased at Book 2 of the Tattersalls October Yearling Sale for 70,000gns from Baroda Stud. Trained by George Boughey, Believing had previously been placed in five Group 1 races for Highclere Thoroughbreds before she was sold for three million guineas at the Tattersalls December Mares’ Sale to Coolmore, who share her with Resolute Racing’s John Stewart.

Spycatcher brother

John and Jake Warren of Highclere have a great record of buying winners at this sale, including the aforementioned Cachet (60,000gns) and also Spycatcher (90,000gns), who came within a short-head of being a Group 1 winner himself and recently won the seventh race of his career at Doncaster.

No doubt the Highclere team will be interested in Lot 34 on Tuesday, a Starman half-brother to Spycatcher from Francesca and Charlie Poste’s Station Yard.

This colt is one of 31 own- or half-brothers and sisters to group race or listed winners in the catalogue.

Other notably well-bred lots include the Mehmas own-brother to the Group 2 Flying Childers Stakes-winning young sire Caturra, the Blue Point half-sister to Group 1 winner Ventura Storm, the New Bay half-sister to Grade 1 winner Going Global, and the St Mark’s Basilica half-sister to last year’s Grade 1 placed two-year-old Al Qudra.

St Mark’s Basilica, a Dewhurst winner and dual classic winner, has four two-year-olds in the sale and other first-crop stallions represented in the Craven Sale include A’Ali (3), Knicks Go (2), Lucky Vega (2), Palace Pier (4), Space Blues (2), Starman (7) and Supremacy (1).

Whitsbury Manor Stud’s outstanding sire Havana Grey has had some outstanding results at this sale and he has the highest number of two-year-olds catalogued at 13, followed by Sioux Nation with 11, Blue Point and Mehmas with 10 lots respectively and Hotazhell’s sire Too Darn Hot with eight colts catalogued.

Willie Browne’s Mocklershill will offer the largest consignment with 10 juveniles catalogued, followed by Thomond O’Mara’s Knockanglass Stables and Tally-Ho Stud, last year’s leading consignor, both with nine. Glending Stables, consignors of the sale’s top lot in 2024 and dual Group 1-winner Vandeek in 2023, will offer five lots, whilst Eddie Linehan’s Lackendarra Stables, who consigned Hotazhell, has three juveniles catalogued.

Some catalogue highlights

Lot 34: Starman half-brother to dual Group 3 winner Spycatcher, from Station Yard.

Lot 94: Wootton Bassett colt out of listed-placed Materialistic, from Oak Tree Farm.

Lot 117: St Mark’s Basilica half-sister to Grade 1-placed Al Qudra.

Lot 132: Blue Point half-sister to Group 1-winner Ventura Storm, from Brown Island Stables.

Lot 138: Speightstown colt out of Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies winner She Be Wild, from Lynn Lodge Stables.

Lot 142: Mehmas half-brother to Group 2-winner Caturra, from Tally-Ho Stud.

Lot 180: New Bay half-sister to Grade 1-winner Going Global and Group 2-winner Mitbaahy, from Mayfield Stables.

HOTAZHELL, winner of the Group 1 Futurity Stakes last year for trainer Jessica Harrington, was purchased from Eddie Linehan’s Lackendarra Stables for 200,000gns at last year’s Craven Breeze Up Sale by his owners, Bonnie and Tommie Hamilton, based in Kentucky.

The colt earned Linehan a healthy profit from yearling to two-year-old, having purchased him at Book 2 of the Tattersalls October Yearling Sale for 70,000gns six months earlier.

Richie Galway, racing manager and son-in-law to Jessica Harrington, was a key influence behind the purchase of Hotazhell.

Describing the son of Too Darn Hot, Galway said: “He takes everything in his stride. He’s an exuberant horse with a bit of presence about him. He’s really tough and you can see that in his races, he loves a battle and comes out of his races really well.”

The affiliation between this stable and the owners is longstanding as Galway explained: “The Hamiltons previously had horses with us, they had a very good horse back in Frankel’s time called Pathfork, who was champion two-year-old in Ireland.

“They hadn’t had horses with us since, but we kept in touch - they’re great pals in Kentucky.

“They just hadn’t been having any luck, Bonnie Hamilton rang me and said ‘we’d love to have a horse in Ireland again. Go to the breeze ups and find one’.

“We failed in the brief because she said, ‘find one for Royal Ascot’, so we didn’t achieve that, but we’re very lucky. You buy one horse at the sales; you have a very small chance. We saw this fella at the sales and loved him. We were very lucky to get him.”

Galway was very taken by both the breeze and physical constitution of the colt as he reflected: “He was a lovely big horse; I was impressed with his breeze given his size.

“When I saw him the day after his breeze, I felt he could have been a horse that it would take more out of, but he looked brilliant. Eddie Linehan and his crew did a great job, he looked fantastic the day after the breeze in his show.

“We got him back here and normally with a breeze, you just let them settle in, see how they relax into the environment. This fella took everything in his stride.”