If it hadn't been for bloodstock agent Anthony Bromley, names such as Kauto Star, Master Minded, Azertyuiop and Voy Por Ustedes might never have appeared on the Festival role of honour. Here he talks to Zoey Bird about his purchases running at the 2009 Festival.
The Cheltenham Festival is very English with all that tweed - and Irish of course with all that Guinness - yet don’t really think of it as being very French. However, it is when it comes to the horses, as these days almost half the contenders running at the Festival were born and raised in France.
And the majority of that half would never have made it over the Channel to compete at Cheltenham if it hadn’t been for one canny Englishman who saw a gap in the National Hunt Bloodstock market.
In 1997 a young bloodstock agent called Anthony Bromley, fed up with extortionate prices of young National Hunt horses in Ireland, took a leaf out of Martin Pipe’s book and headed over to France for some fresh blood. Not one trainer was interested at first but then David Nicholson and Nicky Henderson took a punt; they were rewarded quickly with Toto Toscato and Festival winner Katarino.
Then Bromley met shrewd French jumps trainer Guillaume Macaire and since then the pair have supplied a huge array of Festival winners to Champion Trainer Paul Nicholls, Alan King and their principal owners. Great chasers such as Azertyuiop and Voy Por Ustedes are among Bromley’s portfolio and in all he’s bought 28 Festival winners from France for nine different English trainers.
Bromley’s biggest success to date is multiple Grade 1 winner Kauto Star but Master Minded could well be on his way to topping that if he wins his second Champion Chase this March. What with that and five Bromley purchases running in this year’s Gold Cup alone, plus a further 60 runners in other races at the Festival, Cheltenham 2009 looks like being Bromley’s biggest yet.
In the build up to the most important week of the year for the agent, I asked Bromley to select the pick of his purchases that will be in action at the Festival.
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WILLIAMHILL.COM SUPREME NOVICES' HURDLE (13.30 Tuesday)
"The Supreme Novices' looks to be a race for the Irish this year but Alan King's Medermit has a live each-way chance, definitely. He’s a horse who has exceeded our expectations and that’s good for a novice to do, he just keeps getting better and that’s what you want at Cheltenham; knowing that there’s more to come."
IRISH INDEPENDENT ARKLE NOVICES' CHASE (14.05 Tuesday)
"This is one of the Stewart family’s best chances. It was so good to finally get a winner for Andy (Stewart) at the Festival last year, he’s such a good client and he’s had a lot of luck, just not at Cheltenham. I knew Tatenen would be good because of what he’s achieved in France; he was unbeaten there and won a Listed Hurdle and a Graded hurdle. When we went across to see him he looked great schooling and really knew his job. For the first half of this season he was the best novice out there but there’s plenty of competition now. Gary Moore’s Panjo Bere is interesting; he was bought out of a claimer in France, but not by me!"
SMURFIT KAPPA CHAMPION HURDLE (15.20 Tuesday)
"I’ve never bought the winner of the Champion Hurdle but I'm hoping to break that record this year. Nicky (Henderson) said JP McManus was looking for a Triumph Hurdle horse and I knew about Binocular so Nicky came across to France to see him and fell in love with him. He is so neat and quick over his hurdles and a determined galloper; he’ll come up that hill no problem. There’s plenty of French breds in the race this year; Osana, Sublimity, Ashkazar, all of them have chances. If you take Binocular out the race, its wide open, Celestial Halo has been trained especially for the Champion all season rather than various other big prizes and trials."
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BALLYMORE PROPERTIES NOVICES' HURDLE (14.05 Wednesday)
"If it’s soft Mikael D’Haguenet wins this for Willie Mullins. Willie likes his French horses, they suit him because they’re precocious and just the right sort for bumpers and novice hurdles. If it’s quicker Karabak would have a big chance. I bought him at the breeze-up sales because he was racey with a nice pedigree. He’s a big strong sort and the combination of the hill and the trip will play to his strengths."
SEASONS HOLIDAYS QUEEN MOTHER CHAMPION CHASE (15.20 Wednesday)
"This and the Arkle are the races that I am associated with most, largely thanks to Azertyuiop’s successes for owner John Hales. Then I bought Master Minded for Clive Smith and he blew everyone away when he won this last year. It took seven months for me to get him off of Guillaume (Macaire). He knew Master Minded was going to be very good. He had excellent form in France and the rate at which he was progressing from a four to a five-year-old was incredible. Even so, none of us thought we would be dealing with a stellar champion and he’s only six. To think Clive’s (Smith) only ever owned five horses, he’s been a lucky man! Away from Master Minded there are plenty of live chances for the places including Twist Magic and especially Petit Robin who was unbeaten over fences in France and would have contested the Ballymore Properties two years ago if he hadn’t been injured. The Poyntons (owners) have been very patient with him. He is lightly raced, but mature and there’s a lot more to come from him. He could be a dark horse."
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RYANAIR CHASE (14.40 Thursday)
"I’ve bought a few horses for Sir Robert Ogden, including Voy Por Usteres and Star de Mohaison, both Festival winners. Voy Por’s been a fantastic horse, he’s another to have notched up the Arkle/Champion Chase double but since then he’s had to play second fiddle to Master Minded over two miles, though he did beat him at Aintree. He ran with the choke out a bit at Ascot last time but that suits him. This is the right race for him, the right trip, everything and he’s my banker. I bought Gwanako for Andy Stewart to win the Triumph but he was injured and although he was small he’s made up into a decent chaser which he proved at Aintree. He’s been one of those bonus balls, a real trier."
LADBROKES WORLD HURDLE (15.20 Thursday)
"It would be very poignant if Punchestowns could win for owner Judy Wilson who lost her husband last year. He was fast becoming the leading bumper horse in France when I spotted him. I record every single race from France, I have a whole library. He was a reasonably good novice but has matured into a serious horse. He does very little wrong in a race, has an engine and stays really well. Big Buck's had a change of tack from top-class staying chases to hurdles. It’s no real surprise he’s done it so well, as he’d won graded races over hurdles in France. He’s a classy, talented horse and I think he’ll run a massive race but the way Kasbah Bliss won at Haydock, I don’t think he’ll be beaten."
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JCB TRIUMPH HURDLE (13.30 Friday)
"It’s really exciting to have bought the two market leaders. I found Zaynar at the French sales. He has a fantastic pedigree by Daylami out of Zainta who won the Prix De Diane. He was quite expensive at 120,000 euros but to be honest he’s justified that by doing everything so easily. He’s just a lovely horse. So also is Walkon but he was very reasonably priced. He’s been a real revelation and just seems to get better and better and we get the impression there is more to come, he’s very gutsy, a real Triumph sort."
TOTESPORT CHELTENHAM GOLD CUP (15.20 Friday)
"I was so gutted when Kauto Star didn’t win last year that I left almost straight after the race. He’s been a very special horse to me. It took forever to buy him off of Serge Foucher as he didn’t really want to sell him. We’ve had some nail biting moments through his amazing career but I really thought last year was Kauto’s and I was wrong. A lot depends on the ground this year. I don’t think Kauto Star wants it too soft, just good. Neptune Collonges jumps, gallops and stays but he just has to show some extra sparkle to actually win the Gold Cup. I personally think it’s a wide open race this year. You ignore Madison Du Berlais at your peril, he could spoil the party. As could Albertas Run, who I bought for Trevor (Hemmings), he has a real live chance."
Having brokered the market leaders in ten of the big races at Cheltenham, Bromley looks like having his best Festival to date but he’s quick to point out that providing owners with a horse good enough to run there is difficult enough, the rest is down to luck.
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