‘The horse galloped off but I held on and got dragged along’ - six-figure Sea The Stars colt a welcome tonic after consignor’s leg break drama

It would be something of an understatement to say that Johnny Hassett has endured an up and down few days in Deauville. On Thursday the Bloodstock Connection man was involved in an accident at the breeze that left him hospitalised with a broken leg. 

Before he went under the knife to repair the nasty injury, Hassett received some sales ring pain relief when his Sea The Stars brother to German Group 3 winner Alpen Rose was knocked down to Anthony Stroud at €430,000. Alastair Donald filled the role of underbidder.

The dose was doubled up a short while later when Fabrice Chappet went to €400,000 for the Bloodstock Connection’s Too Darn Hot filly out of Bubbling Up. 

Explaining the unfortunate sequence of events, Hassett said: “I was bringing our Too Darn Hot colt over and sometimes these horses can get a bit excited at the start. He jumped forward, got in front of me a little bit and kicked out. He kicked me just below the knee at the top of the tibia. The bone is shaped like a funnel and it broke off half the funnel, so he’s broken the tibia and part of the knee joint, which makes it quite sore, I can tell you! 

“I went down and the horse galloped off but I held onto the rope and got dragged along a little bit. I didn’t want to let him go because I thought he was going to be the fastest of my breezers. Having done all that, he then breezed quite poorly for him. He was in the top 50 per cent but I’d thought he was going to be in the top ten per cent.” 

The Too Darn Hot colt went some way to atoning for his misdemeanour by realising €110,000 from Jason Kelly Bloodstock during Saturday’s session. All told the Bloodstock Connection sold six lots from eight offered at the Arqana Breeze-Up Sale for a combined €1,125,000.

Hassett was quick to praise the work his team have done in his absence, saying: “I got taken away in an ambulance but I’m lucky that I have a really good team, including my son, Mike, and my head lad, Fernando. Mike took care of the people and Fernando took care of the horses, and there’s a great team there in Rebecca Monahan, Beth Whelan, Marsy, Jim, Issac and Ollie. 

"They were very good anyway, but they really stepped up and put their shoulders to the wheel when I left. Mike in particular as he’s only 16, but he took control of the cards with the support of my friend, Ian Conroy.” 

The Sea The Stars colt out of Valais Girl sells at Arqana for €430,000Credit: Zuzanna LUPA

Expanding on the practicalities of trying to contribute to a successful sale from his hospital bed, Hassett said: “I couldn’t really talk to the team for the first day or two and I didn’t have reception or WhatsApp, so they just had to do their thing. They came and met me every night and we went through the lists and then we had a morning meeting between seven and eight. 

“I’m reminded of Bill Mott when I was working at Payson Park when I was younger. He hurt his back and had to take some time out. When he came back he said to me, ‘Irish, there’s only one thing worse than not being able to go to the barn for six weeks.’ 

“I said, ‘What’s that?’ He said, ‘When you come back and you realise it went just fine without you!’ There’s a little bit of that going on today.” 

Reflecting on the sale of the Sea The Stars colt, who topped Book 2 of the Goffs Orby Sale when pinhooked for €160,000, Hassett said: “That was a great result. He was a lovely horse and kind of a bullseye. He wasn’t that easy to buy but he was very easy to sell. He breezed very well, showed very well and vetted very well. I’m delighted as I haven’t sold a horse to Anthony Stroud for a long time, so I’m thrilled I’ve sold him a good one.” 

Stroud said: “He’s been bought for KHK Racing and is going to be trained by Roger Varian. I’m very pleased for the person who sold this horse. I heard about Johnny breaking his leg and I hope he has a speedy recovery and that this is a welcome tonic.” 

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