Janury 3
Festive winners
Kempton on Boxing Day has always been a happy hunting ground for Highflyer purchases over the years and this year was no exception. CLAN DES OBEAUX’s victory in the Gr 1 King George VI Chase was Highflyer’s 11th winner of the race since 2006. VERDANA BLUE’s narrow defeat of fellow Highflyer-purchase BUVEUR D’AIR in the Gr 1 Christmas Hurdle was another highlight of the holiday period. Other Black type winners included those of VALTOR at Ascot, LAKE VIEW LAD at Wetherby and ALTIOR’s scintillating victory in the Gr 2 Desert Orchid Chase on 27 December
December 18
Graded winners galore!
The 2018/2019 NH Season has been a stellar one already for our clients with recent Grade 1 victories being recorded by ALTIOR, BUVEUR D’AIR, MASTER DINO (in France) and BRISTOL DE MAI. Improving stars who could make into Grade 1 winners later this season include the likes of Gr 2 scores FRODON, ALSA MIX, VERDANA BLUE, SCEAU ROYAL and POLITOLOGUE and many of these horses are due to be seen out again over the Festive Period. Best of luck to all their connections.
April 30
Record-breaking NH season
Sandown on Saturday 28 April brought the curtain down on a record-breaking season for Highflyer Bloodstock. Four of the day’s big winners were purchased by the Highflyer team, with the stand out being this year’s Champion 2 Mile Chaser, ALTIOR, taking the Gr 1 Celebration Chase. This was the 26th Grade 1 winner of the season purchased by Highflyer and comfortably beat the company’s previous-best score of 19 Grade 1 victories in the 2008/09 season. Saturday’s meeting at Sandown also saw Grade 2 wins for Simon Munir and Isaac Souede’s TOP NOTCH and CALL ME LORD and those victories helped take these owners above Gigginstown Stud into the runners-up spot for the UK Owners Table with a UK string of 30 horses, all bought by Highflyer’s Anthony Bromley. On the same day in France, another purchase EDWARD D’ARGENT was a convincing winner of the top French Gold Cup Trial, the Gr 3 Prix Ingre, and is now one of the favourites for the Gr 1 Grand Steeplechase on Sunday, 20 May.
April 18
Awesome Aintree
Once again the Aintree Festival proved a rich hunting ground for Highflyer’s clients. With 7 winning purchases over the 3 days, it was a particularly good Festival for Champion Trainer Nicky Henderson and owners Simon Munir and Isaac Souede. They joined together to win 3 of the Grade 1 contests with L’Ami Serge (Aintree Hurdle), We Have A Dream (4yo Hurdle) and Terrefort (Manifesto Novices Hurdle). However the highest-rated performance at the meeting was that of Might Bite, who led home a 1-2-3 in the Gr 1 Betway Bowl for Highflyer buys with Bristol De Mai (2nd) and Clan Des Obeaux (3rd). The other Gr 1 success for the Highflyer buying team was Anthony Bromley’s purchase, Politologue who bravely denied Min in the Gr 1 Melling Chase and that win has now seen his rating rise to the lofty mark of 169. Not to be outdone, Highflyer agent Tessie Greatrex got on the scoresheet with her husband’s Portrush Ted who took the Gr 2 Aintree Champion Bumper in decisive style.
March 20
Dazzling Cheltenham Festival
Nicky Henderson very nearly pulled off the unprecedented treble of training the winners of the Champion Hurdle, Champion Chase and Gold Cup at Cheltenham last week. Buveur D’Air kicked it all off with his second consecutive victory in the Champion Hurdle on Tuesday, Altior made it a 3rd Festival win in as many years when easily taking the Champion Chase on Day 2 and Might Bite gave his all when an exceptionally gallant close 2nd in the Gold Cup. All 3 were purchased by Highflyer and helped make it a great week for the Company who helped source 6 winners there for their connections. As well as the aforementioned, Footpad was supreme in taking the Gr 1 Arkle whilst Missed Approach (bought by Tessa Greatrex for her husband Warren to train) also got on the scoresheet along with the Paul Nicholls-trained duo of Pacha Du Polder and the former Million In Mind-owned Le Prezien, who was the decisive winner of the Gr 3 Grand Annual Chase.
February 14
February Trials
The big pre-Cheltenham Festival Trials are going well for Highflyer-sourced horses. Altior led the way by posting a brilliant reappearance effort to easily win the Gr 2 Game Spirit Chase at Newbury on 10 February beating fellow Highflyer buys Politologue and Valdez into 2nd and 3rd. The 1st two are set for a re-match in next month’s Queen Mother Champion Chase now. Earlier this month Footpad won his second successive Gr 1 novice chase in Ireland when decisively taking the Irish Arkle and all roads now lead to the Arkle Trophy at Cheltenham on the first day of the Festival. Terrefort recorded a Gr 1 success over 2m4f at Sandown on the same day for the same owners, Simon Munir and Isaac Souede, and in so doing it meant that Highflyer buys had won the last 4 runnings of the Gr 1 Scilly Isles Novices Chase all in the same owners’ colours, namely Gitane Du Berlais (2015), Bristol De Mai (2016), Top Notch (2017) and of course Terrefort (2018).
January 26
Jewels in January
2018 has started well for Highflyer purchases with The New One leading the way by taking his 4th consecutive Grade 2 Haydock Champion Hurdle Trial to move his career earnings to comfortably over £1 Million. He was bought as a 3yo store at Tattersalls Ireland Derby Sales for 25,000 Euros. Mr Whipped marked himself as a leading staying novice hurdler when winning Warwick’s Grade 2 Leamington Novices Hurdle for owners Mike Grech and Stuart Parkin, whilst his trainer Nicky Henderson also trained the two big January handicap hurdle winners, William Henry (Lanzarote hurdle, Kempton, January 13) and Jenkins (Holloway Hurdle, Ascot, January 20) who were both bought as youngsters by David Minton for their owners Dai Walters and Paul Sandy respectively.
January 5
Festival glory
Highflyer purchased had a successful time of it over the holiday period. Grade 1 victories were achieved by Buveur D’Air (Christmas Hurdle), Might Bite (King George VI Chase) and Footpad (Racing Post Novices’ Chase) with other black-type wins by Politologue (Desert Orchid Chase), Gold Present (Silver Cup), Claimantakinforgan (Kennel Gate Novices’ Hurdle), Yanworth (Dipper Novices’ Chase) and Wholestone (Relkeel Hurdle). This brings the running tally of Graded/Listed races won by Highflyer buys this season to 47.
December 19
Two Grade 1 winners and 4 Grade 2 winners
In a matter of 7 days, Highflyer purchases won 2 Grade 1 Chases and 4 Grade 2 events in the U.K. for their owners. The brace of Grade 1 victories came at Sandown on 9 December with Politologue (for owner John Hales) in the Tingle Creek (the 9th winner of this race bought by Anthony Bromley) and Sceau Royal in the Henry VIII Novices Chase. The Grade 2 wins were led by My Tent Or Yours in the International Hurdle at Sandown (in the process beating another David Minton buy in The New One), Peterborough Chase winner Top Notch, along with We Have A Dream in the Summit Juvenile Hurdle and Keepers Hill (bought by Tessa Greatrex for her trainer-husband Warren) in the Grade 2 December Novices Chase at Doncaster.