‘Isn’t he the most wonderful horse to go on an adventure with?’ - Group 1 winner White Birch brings 300,000gns after Mullins and Osborne showdown

Who would buy Group 1 winner White Birch and for how much were the questions on almost everyone’s lips ahead of this year’s Tattersalls Autumn Horses in Training Sale. Shortly after 6.30pm on Tuesday evening we had our answer: Jamie Osborne and 300,000gns. The trainer, who signed alongside Sam Haggas’s Hurworth Bloodstock, saw off a determined challenge from Willie Mullins’ talent scout Harold Kirk. 

“It’s very rare to be able to buy a horse of his calibre,” said Osborne. “Yes, he’s five, but I think he still has plenty of life in him. Compare him to a 300,000gns yearling, I know which risk I’d rather be taking! He can go anywhere. He can run at Royal Ascot next year and would be one of the better horses in the Wolferton. He can go around the world for the next couple of years too. We’ll look after him and he can give his news owners a lot of sport.” 

Asked whose colours White Birch would next be seen carrying, Osborne said: “It’s to be decided. There’s a couple of options. It’ll be somebody that’s already with me but, genuinely, we still need to have that conversation.

“A lot of my clients like the little adventures we go on, and isn’t he just the most wonderful horse to go on an adventure with? We’ll look after him. He’s probably ended up with a home for life. I’ll almost certainly geld him, which will give him that bit more longevity and we’ll take it from there.” 

When pressed on his valuation, Osborne said: “How do you value him? It just depends entirely on somebody’s appetite for guaranteeing themselves a good, strong-travelling horse that can give them a lot of fun for the next two years. When you think of the amount of money that we waste in this game taking chances on what might be; with him, you’re buying a bit of certainty. I think he makes sense at that price. As I said, in Book 1, every other lot cost 300,000gns. And how many of those are going to be rated 120? Not many.”

Jamie Osborne: "With him, you’re buying a bit of certainty"Credit: Alisha Meeder

The Cheveley Park Stud-bred White Birch was making a belated reappearance at Park Paddocks. He first stepped out in the Newmarket sales ring in 2020, where he was pinhooked as a foal by Tally-Ho Stud at 75,000gns. He was reoffered at Book 2 11 months later but failed to find a buyer when the bidding stalled at 48,000gns. 

That apparent setback saw him find his way into John Murphy’s Cork stable, from where he was prepared for his five victories. He scored at Dundalk on his second outing at two, with that six-and-a-half length romp seeing the colt transferred to the ownership of Chantal Regalado-Gonzalez. 

He then won the Group 3 Ballysax Stakes on his three-year-old bow, and followed that effort up by finishing second to The Foxes in the Dante Stakes before a running-on third in Auguste Rodin’s Derby. 

White Birch began his four-year-old campaign in a rich vein of form, claiming the Group 3 Alleged Stakes and the Group 2 Mooresbridge Stakes before his top-level breakthrough in the Group 1 Tattersalls Gold Cup. 

He was sent off second favourite behind his Epsom conqueror Auguste Rodin but reversed the form in no uncertain terms, travelling strongly off the pace before sweeping clear down the outside. The eventual margin of victory was three lengths, with a further eight lengths back to the third.

White Birch was led through the Tattersalls ring by Aaron PurcellCredit: Alisha Meeder

That proved White Birch’s fifth and most recent success, although he was far from disgraced when behind the likes of Los Angeles and Delacroix this season. He was last seen failing to make an impact in the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe won by Daryz.

Murphy’s son and assistant trainer George reacted to the transaction by saying: “It’s tough to see him go, for sure, but he’s been brilliant for us. We’re very thankful to have had him, and we’re very thankful to the owners. We’ve had a great run with him and they’ve been great owners for many years. It's a tough day but we’re just delighted to have him. 

“When he was a young horse he was full of life, as you probably saw on the racecourse, but he matured into a lovely horse with a great mind. Winning the Tattersalls Gold Cup was an amazing day for everyone in the yard, and in our family. I suppose when he was placed in the Derby was a great day also. We’re just delighted to have had him. I’m sure the new connections will have a great time with him and we wish them the best of luck." 

More to read:

'The powers that be gave us the opportunity' - major players clash as classy Gladius brings 950,000gns 

Travel nightmares and an interviewer’s dream as I return for another cycle in the sales reporting washing machine 

‘He’s an expensive horse but I had to have him’ - August George tops day one at Autumn Horses in Training Sale at 375,000gns