Huge thanks to Molly & Ed for arranging a fascinating behind-the-scenes visit to Tattersalls Newmarket on July 10th.

Firstly Molly arranged for Martin to give us an insightful overview of Tattersalls to help us to understand how it all worked. Ed arranged for Baroda bloodstock to tell us about their operations and some of the horses they were selling, before Ed, as usual was incredibly generous with his time and answered all our questions about buying, selling & breeding horses. 

These are some of the highlights.. 

🏇 A site rich in history

• Tattersalls has been a sales venue since around 1870.

• Originally, the sales ring was on a hill but expanded downwards when more space was needed.

• The London site was bombed in WWII, which led to all sales moving permanently to the main location we know today.

🗓️ How sales run today

• Nine in-person sales are held every year, plus monthly online sales.

• Online sales work like any other auction — there’s an e-catalogue, and the highest bidder wins. Vendors only pay an entry fee; no extra sales expenses.

• The biggest sales happen in autumn, including the famous yearling sales (Book 1, Book 2, Book 3) and horses in training.

• December is for foal, broodmare, and breeding stock sales.

• The July sale is a mixed sale, mainly horses in training. Interestingly, a record price of £550,000 was set the day before— that horse is now heading to Australia.

• That record was then beaten later on in the day when we visited with lot 895, Quai De Bethune fetching 775,000 Guineas. Wathnan Racing bought The Royal Ascot winner who will remain at Andrew Balding's Kingsclere Stables before a campaign in the middle east.

👀 How it works on the day

• Horses are walked to a pre-parade ring for 25–30 minutes so buyers can watch their action.

• A vet box is on hand for quick checks.

• Horses sell quickly: around 25 horses an hour, with each lot averaging 2.5 minutes.

• Bidding is always to the auctioneer — pro tip: sit on the auctioneer’s right side for the clearest view of bids.

• Sales are still done in guineas (£1.05 each) and prices are displayed in multiple currencies.

💷 Reserves & bidding

• Two types of reserves:

  • A normal reserve (fixed minimum price)

  • A floating reserve (vendor decides during the auction)

• If you hear “I’m selling” or “no reserve,” the reserve has been met or waived — every bid counts.

• If a horse doesn’t reach reserve, it’s marked “not sold” or “unsold”.

After collecting our catalogues and pens we went off looking for horses! 

Padraic Gahan from Baroda Stud kindly introduced us to lot 901, Dosman, who was being sold from the Roger Varian yard. 

• Breeding: 4-year-old by Kingman.
• Rating: Current rating of 97.
• Last Run: Second of 13 in a Class 2 handicap at Newcastle on 30th June, demonstrating ability on all-weather surfaces.
• Interest: "For that reason, we're getting interest from across, you know, the Arab Arab countries."

OLBG Racing Club members had a guess as to what he would go through the ring for. Well done Alice for getting closest to the 100,000 Guineas sale price. He was bought by Jamie Osborne.

We then had a chat with Ed and Padraic with some of the highlights being 

🌍 Flat racing is becoming increasingly international

• 10 years or so ago some of the best horses from sales like this would go jumping 

• The globalisation of the flat racing scene has driven prices up across the board.

• There’s an ongoing concern that the best British and Irish-bred stock could be lost abroad, though efforts continue to keep high-class horses racing closer to home.

🏆 Breeding incentives — GB 

• We talked about the Great British Bonus (GBB), which offers significant bonuses

• There’s a sense that Britain has a shortage of top stallions compared to other countries.

• However, there are still some real “hidden gems” here for National Hunt Breeders — Golden Horn, Nathaniel, and Stradivarius were highlighted as examples of underappreciated sires.

• We also discussed how the National Hunt French system benefits from earlier racing, which can help breeders and buyers assess a stallion’s potential more quickly.

It was another good week at the Sales for Harry Derham Racing who picked up lots 594 and 621 

We will look forward to following the progress of Gallivanted and Siorai this season. 

On Friday, 6th June, over 30 OLBG Racing Club members enjoyed an insightful visit to Ed Bailey Bloodstock. The group toured Ed's expanding facilities, gaining a behind-the-scenes look at National Hunt horse development.

 "Just like with our visits to Harry Derham's yard, every time we come here we can see it growing. It’s so exciting to see both Ed’s and Harry’s businesses developing and as long term partners of both, we can enjoy following their journeys for years to come."

What was once his family's cattle farm is now flourishing as a bloodstock operation. As well as sourcing horses, Ed also looks after horses on their holidays, recovering from injuries, new purchases, some being prepared for the sales, broodmares and a growing number of young stock. 

Facility Developments

• Ed's yard currently houses around 65 horses, many on summer breaks from Harry Derham's along with plenty of newly purchased horses
• The property spans 120 acres of grazing, with plans to expand to 220 acres next summer
• Upcoming additions include a round gallop and arena to support early training, along with more stables and loose pens to accommodate the growing business
• Ed recently welcomed his first home bred and hopes to develop the stud side of the business over the coming years

After finishing our drinks and lovely food laid on by Mrs B (thanks so much), we were off to the nearby paddocks to see our Polly. 

Our £62,000 purchase at the British National Hunt Breeders Showcase in November 2024 is doing exceptionally well as a yearling. She is clearly the boss of the group of yearlings in the paddock.

Polly watched everyone driving up the yard with interest and couldn’t get enough of the fuss and attention

Ed described Polly as an "absolute legend," very sweet, growing nicely with good bone and correct conformation. "One of those that kind of causes you no nuisance."

She will stay out in the fields until October, then come into barns for "very lightly" breaking in (horse walker, lunge pen, roller, long reining, and light riding for a few days). Will be ridden more as a two-year-old.

These are the other foals in the field, letting Polly take the lead and seeming to dote on her as much as us

• Jack Hobbs filly x Shuil Gealach
• Logician x Salonica
• Blue Bresil x Blixt

We were very excited to meet Julio Coolio, an exceptionally well-bred mare now available through our new one-horse club opportunity with 100 memberships. 

Ed commented on the strategy to buy her before she ran in a point to point “I'm really pleased that we managed to buy her because had she won, she would have been very expensive. So, I think it's better off that we took the gamble to get her before... She's a really exciting proposition."

He further elaborated on her qualities, noting that she "looks very similar to Ascending Lark, although a different shade of colour, but she's a very similar model... she looks the spitting image really of Ascending Lark as a physical". Ed also highlighted her sound physical attributes, saying, "She's correct. She walks well. She's sound. She's got good wind. She vetted well, jumps well”

• Her half-brother, Romeo Coolio, is a Grade 1-winning hurdler who has placed twice at the Cheltenham Festival already 
• Her half-sister, Ascending Lark, has won six consecutive hurdle races, including a Listed race at the Punchestown Festival
• Julio Coolio is eligible for up to £50,000 in bonuses through the Great British Bonus (GBB) scheme
• The plan is for her to head to Harry Derham’s yard around the end of July, after which a plan for her season will be developed

If you are interested in further information on memberships in Julio Coolio please email racing@olbg.com 

Picks Lad who OLBG syndicated in micro shares, has been retired and the plan is that he will soon be heading to Greatwood, a charity OLBG has supported for many years. He has been recovering well, Ed is really pleased with him and he is now happily out in a large field.

OLBG is sponsoring Greatwood’s open day on Saturday, 14th June. Please head along if you want to learn more about the charity. Thanks to everyone who donated via our fun prize draw, we have a further £160 to send to Greatwood, along with Picks Lad and OLBG's £5,000 donation towards their open day.

Ed’s team paraded three impressive three-year-old stores, set to go to the Derby Sale in Ireland later this month:

Mysteriosa (Filly by Mekhtaal)

• Lot 243
• Described as a very racy filly with a lovely big loose walk and a great attitude.

Bay Gelding by Soldier of Fortune

• Lot 299
• Half-brother to Grade 2 winner Blow Your Wad
• Described as a very intelligent, smooth, and well-balanced horse, suited for three miles and fences.

Bay Gelding by Jack Hobbs

• Lot 21.
• Out of Atlanta Ablaze, a mare rated 147 and known as a very tough three-mile chaser.
• Described as a big, strong type with a really big loose walk and a huge overstep, covering a lot of ground.
  
  

It was very enjoyable seeing these stores paraded for us and understanding more about the store sales process. It was also a great experience for the horses who were all exceptionally well behaved. These horses were purchased as investments for resale, and we will look out for them as they go through the ring in a couple of weeks. Best of luck to all their connections.

We’ll let members know how they get on in the OLBG Racing Club WhatsApp group. Let us know your favourite and how much you think they will fetch! 

We then returned to the barn for a fun draw with lots of black and orange merch given away and thankfully some of Molly's OLBG black and orange cup cakes were left! Amazing. 

Huge thanks to Ed, Mrs B, Molly, Brittany & Kate for a lovely couple of hours in a beautiful location - we all learned lots and thoroughly enjoyed hearing about the amazing horses at the farm. And a special thanks to Mr B for letting Ed transition the farm from cattle to horses. Isn't he doing incredibly well! 

The OLBG Academy

We are hoping to source some well bred foals over the remainder of the year who will enter the OLBG Academy! The plan is to acquire very well bred thoroughbreds, bring them to Ed's farm where they can enjoy the best grass in the World and the best early education they could hope for. They will work their way through a programme of short amounts of learning mixed with lots of time for development, they will be broken in early and begin gradual training with the aim of some of them being ready to graduate to full training at a National Hunt yard at three years old. We keep hearing about how great the French are at doing this - why sit back and watch? There is nothing stopping us from doing the same. 

Through our partnerships with Ed & Harry, the development of the Junior NH Hurdle programme, the generous GBB bonus scheme and the excellent programme for mares in Britain, there is lots to be positive about supporting British breeding, the British bloodstock industry and British Racing. They all need our support and maybe we can help a little through the development of an OLBG Academy. 

We are still working on the details but OLBG Racing Club members will be able to hear more about this project in the coming weeks and months. If you aren't in the OLBG Racing Club, then register your interest here.