The curious case of the Group 1 winner who couldn't find a buyer at the sales

A Case Of You has taken connections on the journey of a lifetime, earning his second Group 1 triumph in the Al Quoz Sprint at Meydan on Saturday for trainer Ado McGuinness and owner Gary Devlin.

The colt that nobody wanted as a yearling is now one of the best and most exciting sprinters in the world and his breeder Derek Iceton of Tara Stud was overjoyed after watching the four-year-old son of Hot Streak avenge his recent Super Saturday Group 3 defeat by Man Of Promise, who finished third in the Al Quoz.

"That was the business. I was very worried today because it's not a simple place to win and he was drawn on the wrong side," said Iceton. "He's normally a very cool dude but sweated up today. They used different tactics and he showed how versatile he is. It's just brilliant."

A Case Of You's success has been a long time in the making at Iceton's farm near the legendary Hill of Tara in County Meath. His damsire Key Of Luck stood at the farm where A Case Of You and his dam Karjera were foaled and raised.

Karjera was unsold as a yearling at Goffs Orby and Iceton sent her into training with his neighbour Eddie Lynam. A sister to Listed Rochestown Stakes winner Akanti and the Group 3-placed Lock And Key, she was placed four times as a three-year-old.

"I bred him and his mother and stood his damsire Key Of Luck, so it's a real in-house success and it's great," said the breeder.

A Case Of You's breeder Derek Iceton (left) with Diana Hutch and Cathy Grassick at GoffsCredit: Peter Mooney / Goffs

Iceton sent Karjera to Tweenhills, where Hot Streak stood until his relocation to Haras d'Annebault in 2021, and the resultant foal is the best progeny either of his parents has produced.

However, the vagaries of fashion and attitudes went against A Case Of You when it came to the sales ring, as Iceton picks up the tale.

"I took him to the sales and couldn't get a bid for him, so I ended up selling him privately for a grand. He was a lovely horse. I was thinking of selling him as a foal because he was very good-looking and Hot Streak's foals were selling well that way, but something made me keep him until the yearling sales and then they went off Hot Streak in the intervening period."

He took A Case Of You home to Tara after buying him back for just €3,000 at the Goffs Sportsmans Sale in 2019 and eventually sold him privately to trainer John McConnell.

A Case Of You quickly proved Iceton's judgment to be correct, winning the Group 3 Anglesey Stakes at the Curragh for McConnell on the final start of his juvenile season.

Another private sale followed and A Case Of You switched to the Lusk yard of McGuinness, from where he won the Prix de l'Abbaye and the Lacken Stakes and was runner-up in the Flying Five Stakes last season.

His breeder's incredulity over what transpired at the yearling sales is still there.

"Nobody wanted him," he exclaimed. "And he is a very fine horse, a big, correct horse and really good-looking. They wouldn't even open the stable door to look at him and he's a dual Group 1 winner now."

The story continues at Tara, where Karjera has a foal from the first crop of the most recent Group 1 winner bred by Iceton, and the stud's latest stallion hope.

"She has a River Boyne colt foal and he is a bonny horse so hopefully his brother's exploits will be of benefit to him when it comes to the sales," Iceton added.

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