'It's all pressure until the horse sells' - Colm Kennedy looks ahead to the Dubai Breeze-Up Sale

As the sun gets lower behind the unmistakable Meydan grandstand on Tuesday evening, a young breeze-up consignor from Carlow will be hoping that the No Nay Never colt strutting around the sales ring will herald a bright new dawn for his business.

Colm Kennedy's Drumphea Stables consigns a single horse in the Goffs Dubai Breeze-Up Sale and the dark bay colt also has the distinction of being the only horse in the sale by last year's champion two-year-old sire.

This sales season is just the fifth that Drumphea Stables has been in existence for, and this No Nay Never colt represents a further step in the operation's evolution, with the potential to accelerate growth and development.

During Dubai World Cup week, there is so much more at stake than the racing results.

"For a small business, it's a great chance," says Kennedy. "Having a horse in this sale really gets the Drumphea Stables name out there."

The No Nay Never colt who could put the Drumphea Stables name in lightsCredit: Colm Kennedy/Goffs

The Drumphea Stables business model sees him take a stake in each horse, with investors buying into the remaining percentage.

"Our aim is to get to the level where we can afford more of those nicer types and hopefully the No Nay Never colt will enable us to do that," says Kennedy.

"He has the pedigree and the presence, there is something about him. Hopefully he sells well and that will enable Drumphea Stables to go to the next step on the ladder. 

"That's the thing about this game, you have to keep sticking at it and keep going. Willie Browne didn't get there overnight, Johnny Collins either. Everybody has to start somewhere and you do need a good horse to get you to the next level."

Kennedy's early immersion in racing was all local; his interest in breezers ignited during college when he spent time working at Ballyhane Stud, but his broad education in the sport encompassed National Hunt racing too. 

Having studied horticulture at Waterford Institute of Technology as a plan B, should a career with horses somehow not materialise, he went on to spend two years with Willie Mullins and also worked with Pat Fahy when Punchestown Grade 1 winner Morning Assembly was the stable star.

Then it was time to see what lay beyond Carlow's confines, with Kennedy travelling to New Zealand, where he worked for Paul Nelson for a year before moving to Australia, where he worked for a number of leading trainers prior to breaking yearlings for Godolphin. After five years away, Kennedy returned to Ireland with either point-to-pointing or breeze-up consigning on his agenda.

Princess Sinead and Fran Berry on the gallops at Jessica Harrington's stablesCredit: Patrick McCann

After careful consideration, it was the younger Flat horses that won out and that first foray yielded Albadri, who contested the Saudi Derby and was twice a winner for Jane Chapple-Hyam with a peak rating of 96.

He rides out for Jessica Harrington every morning before starting work with the breeze-up squad. Ten minutes from Harrington's Commonstown Stables is Francis Flood's storied yard in Grangecon, and Kennedy rents stables whose previous occupants include Glencaraig Lady and Ebony Jane.

Commonstown is the starting point for this journey to Dubai, with the No Nay Never colt Kennedy purchased last October having strong connections to Harrington's powerful yard. 

He is a son of Princess Sinead, who was trained by Harrington and finished third in the Irish 1,000 Guineas. A daughter of Jeremy, she was also second in a Listed sprint at Naas as a juvenile and third in the Park Express and Park Stakes. Princess Sinead is also a granddaughter of the champion filly Kooyonga whose Group 1 triumphs included the Eclipse and Irish 1,000 Guineas.

"The family was in Jessie's already," says Kennedy. "His four-year-old half-sister was second to Sunset Shiraz in a Gowran maiden at two, after that filly had been third to Discoveries - trained by Jessie - in the Moyglare and second in a couple of other Group races. 

"His three-year-old full-brother is a cracking horse; I was cantering beside him one day last year and I thought this fella is a machine. He ran in a Curragh maiden last season that was won by Proud And Regal; he looks a really nice horse, he's a fine big strapping horse and this colt is very similar to him."

Both colts are said to resemble their dam by those who worked with Princess Sinead and her sons. The Classic-placed filly was bred and raced by the late Betty Moran, in whose colours Jeremy won the Jersey Stakes. By Danehill Dancer and out of an Arazi half-sister to Deep Impact, Jeremy is the broodmare sire of Blue Rose Cen, who won the Prix Marcel Boussac last season.

No Nay Never: Coolmore resident is going great guns Credit: Coolmore

No Nay Never has worked well with Danehill-line broodmare sires and two of his seven Group 1 winners, namely Ten Sovereigns and Madame Pommery, are out of Exceed And Excel mares. He has also sired Group winners with daughters of Fastnet Rock and Rock Of Gibraltar.

"His temperament is fantastic, nothing bothers him and he doesn't waste any energy," says Kennedy. "He doesn't worry about anything, that's really important in a racehorse and it's good for travelling to Dubai as well, it shouldn't stress him."

The same cannot be said for his consignor, whose nerves will be in the shredder until the hammer comes down on Tuesday night, and even after then as the other five horses which Drumphea Stables will sell later in the season all have their own targets to achieve.

There is a lot riding on this No Nay Never's unflappable temperament and easy acceleration, not least of which is the potential to elevate Drumphea Stables to a higher level.

"It's all pressure until the horse sells," says Kennedy. "These six or eight weeks are highly stressful until you get the horses sold.

"Hopefully there will be a chance to recharge before going again at the bigger yearling sales and we can up the pedigrees, up the class and see what happens."

The sun rising behind the Blackstairs mountains to bathe Drumphea in some of Meydan's golden light would be the perfect start.

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