Online syndication the key to promising Mister Saint Paul

Mister Saint Paul promises to be a rare French Classic contender outside the grip of the established owners and breeders, having started his racing life being registered for a modest sum on the auction site start-up I Want The Winner.

The Dariyan colt has made remarkable progress for Etienne Leenders, the veteran trainer based near Angers better known for his jumpers, and his son Gregoire, breaking his duck at the fifth attempt in the Listed Prix Isonomy at Deauville last October.

At Longchamp this month, he showed great determination from the front to thwart the Andre Fabre-trained Dreamflight in the Group 3 Prix la Force, justifying what might have previously been considered ambitious entries in both the French Guineas and Derby.

Mister Saint Paul, who was bred by Annie Delarue and is a half-brother to one minor winner, had actually failed to sell at €10,000 when offered as a yearling at Arqana and is a first Group level triumph for his Haras de Bonneval-based sire, whose second crop are on the track this year.

An alternative platform, by which way the Leenders family could keep him in their yard but were able to attract a whole raft of small owners, as well as the 50 per cent belonging to Ecurie Bernd and Torsten Raber, seems to have worked perfectly.

Valentin Adam, I Want The Winner's development director, said: "Basically last year I visited Gregoire Leenders, they had a few horses to sell and I said the system is handy if you want to sell shares and get new clients. You need people to pay the bills at the end of month and it's not always easy.

"He showed me the horse, he was in a race at the time, I took some pictures and put him on the platform. He was for sale for €25,000, that was the basis of the syndication. You could get 50 per cent but if a client wanted five, ten, 15, it could have been possible. Anyway, he ran his first race at Nantes and was third, a good performance considering the race he had.

"After that we communicated on social media. Obviously Bernd and Torsten Raber, who has been super from the beginning, worked hard for the horse.

"They contacted us and the trainer to get some news of the horse, they agreed on the price, made the offer on the platform and that was it.

"We got all the transactions done and we were lucky enough that he won a Listed race as a two-year-old at Deauville; that was good, so people realise you can get those horses through a young platform."

Adam, who works in partnership with CEO Christophe German and a few investors, remembers Mister Saint Paul well.

He said: "He wasn't small but he was maybe a bit leggy, not the best looking horse you could find, but still nice. He was a good walker, good eye, a bit light but it doesn't matter, he can run.

"We just started last year and getting a horse like that is very nice, you don't get them very often, to be honest, so I think we were kind of lucky! You need some luck in racing but it's not only that, it's going around the countryside, getting connections with talented trainers.

"For trainers it's handy [to sell for syndication]. They can keep control of the horse, which is important. It's a tool to enable business between the players."

Trainer Etienne Leenders was emotional after the Group 3 scoreCredit: Scott Burton/Racing Post

Mister Saint Paul is not the only horse to trumpet for the operation, which began last March from an idea that German had from his friends in Club Elevage, a venture trading nominations in trotting stallions.

"We've been pretty happy with the way it has gone for the first year," said Adam.

"We've sold some nice horses, including Moulins Clermont, who went on to win a nice juvenile hurdle for Gary Moore at Sandown. I think he'll be a good horse because he's not really a juvenile hurdler, he'll be better chasing when he gets older.

"We sold a horse called The Famous Five for €250,000 and also a sister to Apple's Jade and Apple's Shakira as a broodmare, and it's only the beginning.

"We're organising an exclusively online auction over 24 hours from Wednesday to Thursday, a few form horses, a broodmare, and a few interesting ones.

"One is a brother to [Moore's smart chaser] Editeur Du Gite, another is a brother to [Lonsdale Cup winner and Melbourne Cup-placed] Max Dynamite, they've just run their first races and are ready to go to another trainer. There's also a smart three-year-old filly rated 97 who could be one to go to the USA."

I Want The Winner is not a lone wolf in this industry, with several other start-ups competing against the established auction houses for online trade.

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Adam is optimistic that there is space for multiple operators in the marketplace.

"We based the development on the digital functionalities," he said.

"It's not only a website like a shop, it's bidding, contracts that are done behind the scenes, which was quite difficult to build but it's very well advanced in terms of technology.

"Our goal is to represent the team on the field, we're often at the races, going to the farms, a lot of communications.

"You need to get it going, build a reputation, and that's built on what you do and if you do business in an honest way. I think we'll get there."

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