'We’re not afraid to spread our wings' - Hazelwood Bloodstock branching out with first drafts at Arqana and Doncaster

Adrian and Philippa O’Brien’s renowned Newmarket nursery Hazelwood Bloodstock is branching out by sending drafts to the Arqana August Yearling Sale and the Goffs UK Premier Yearling Sale for the first time this season – although the operation is not making any major changes to its successful modus operandi.

“It’s a case of having the right horses at the right time this year,” says Adrian O’Brien. “The Arqana trip was borne out of having a couple of really forward, mature colts who would stand up well to being presented at an early sale.”

Hazelwood Bloodstock is taking to Deauville a No Nay Never colt out of Gabrielle, a winning Dark Angel half-sister to Lancashire Oaks heroine The Black Princess (lot 87), and an American Pharoah colt out of Singing Sweetly, a daughter of Galileo and Loughbrown Stakes scorer Sing Softly (259).

“The No Nay Never colt is from the immediate family of last year’s Prix du Jockey Club winner Look De Vega and is out of a French-bred mare with a lot of Group 1 action in France on the page,” says O’Brien. “Latice and Lawman are on there, for example.

“The American Pharoah colt also looked like a good fit for Arqana as the sire has had a lot of success in jurisdictions around the world, including France, and so he should be popular there. It seemed like a good idea with a very mature horse like him, anyway.”

The operation’s duo at Doncaster comprises a Havana Grey filly out of six-time winner I Promised Myself, a Dabirsim half-sister to Preis der Diana runner-up Isfahani (216), and a Kodi Bear colt out of Tafawoq, a placed daughter of leading broodmare sire Oasis Dream bred along similar lines to champion sprinter Muhaarar (398).

Grade 1-winning graduates from the Hazelwood Bloodstock nursery include McKulickCredit: Fasig-Tipton Photo

“We’ve been toying with the idea of taking yearlings to Doncaster for a while now, and we happened to have horses who we thought would suit that market this year,” says O’Brien. “The Havana Grey filly is nice and athletic, and certainly by the right sire, and the Kodi Bear colt, who was pinhooked as a foal, looks like a good, hardy trainer’s horse.”

O’Brien calls the two small drafts on either side of the Channel “an exercise in dipping the toe”.

“But there are valid reasons for them to be taken to those sales,” he continues. “It also shows to the world, hopefully, that we’re a dynamic operation and that when we have the right kind of horse we’re not afraid to spread our wings.”

He adds with a laugh: “And, let’s face it, there are worse places to go to work every day for a week than Deauville.”

Book 1 of the Tattersalls October Yearling Sale remains Hazelwood Bloodstock’s main shop window, though. The operation has sold in that auction three seven-figure lots, including subsequent Group 3 winner Noble Dynasty for 3,600,000gns, as well as the US Grade 1 winners In Italian and McKulick.

Hazelwood Bloodstock’s Book 1 draft this year is made up of five blue-blooded yearlings. 

Hazelwood Bloodstock offers a Frankel half-brother to Dramatised at Tattersalls Book 1Credit: Alan Crowhurst (Getty Images)

“We’ve really picked the eyes out of it,” says O’Brien. “We’ve got a Dubawi colt out of Ring The Bell, a mare we’ve had plenty of success with both in the ring and on the track, as she’s the dam of Sounds Of Heaven and Voice Of Angels. It’s the family of Hermosa, Hydrangea and now Whirl.

“There’s also a Frankel half-brother to Dramatised, who’s a mid-April foal, but an absolute cracker with a great action. I’m really excited to consign him. We’ve got a Baaeed filly out of Ragsah, the final daughter of Colorado Dancer and a half-sister to Dubai Millennium. She has a massive page, and a beautiful physique as well.

“The Lope De Vega colt out of Hibiscus was pinhooked as a foal for 325,000gns. His half-sister Queen Of Hawaii came out and won her maiden for Joseph O’Brien recently, and is entered up in a Group 2. The draft is completed by a lovely Havana Grey filly from a very current family. She was also an expensive foal purchase.”

O’Brien is bullish about the five yearlings, calling them “a little bit special”.

“They’re exceptional individuals with proper, genuine Book 1 pedigrees, so we’re going there with every chance – now all we need is a reasonable amount of luck,” he adds.

It promises to be a productive second half of the year for O’Brien. Not only will he have a busier than usual sales season, but also – all things being equal – Irish Champion Stakes hero Economics, whom he pinhooked for 42,000gns and resold at Book 2 for 160,000gns, could make his long-awaited return to the track.

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