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Prix de l'Opera winner Barnavara (Calyx) and Listed-winning sprinter Saratoga Special (Mehmas) are set to shine at the upcoming Sceptre Sessions of the Tattersalls December Mares Sale. Both fillies are trained by Jessica Harrington and have carried the colours of Alpha Racing to some notable successes this year.
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AnimalsTranscript
00:00Alpha Racing have enjoyed a phenomenal year on the race course, headlined by their Group
00:041 winner Barnavara, but a portfolio that's also included listed winning Sprinter Saratoga Special.
00:11Both fillies will sell in the SEPTA sessions at the Tattersall's December Mares Sale and I've come
00:16here to Jessica Harrington's in Ireland to find out how their preparation has gone ahead of their
00:20big dates in the sales ring. She's the most beautiful looking filly, isn't she? She is.
00:25Amazing how you see her up close. She's huge. She is huge. I keep telling people she's huge.
00:32So when you first had her in, I mean, what were you thinking sort of profile wise and
00:36well, you presumably thought she'd take a bit of time.
00:39She did, but she actually won our maiden in May. Yeah.
00:42As a two year old. Then she was third at every, every third and fourth in every group
00:47and listed race the rest of the time, but no one took her seriously.
00:50And it's the newcomer Barnavara, winning in good style from Kilwood Susan Elton.
00:55And talk us through, you know, this season, she had a very good first half to the year.
00:59Yeah. Well, first, her first, first one was bad on very soft ground.
01:03I mean, a bit disappointed. And then from then on, then, you know, she just was a revelation.
01:09You know, she, when, when we went a mile, what was it, a mile and a, a mile in, in, in the,
01:16in the race of the Kionga at, at Nav and she was fantastic. We just let her bowl along and she was
01:21in great form. And I, I, you know, I didn't think, I thought Red Letter Day, quite honestly,
01:25was going to, was going to beat her that day. And I couldn't believe it. She came to her. And then
01:29she just, you know, it was her trademark, stuck her head out and said, no, you're not going past me.
01:33And then literally we backed her up fairly quickly after that in, uh, Nace. And then we, we'd
01:38stepped her up to a mile and a quarter. We weren't sure, but we said, okay, we'll ride her the same way.
01:42And she just, she stayed every yard of it. Barna Barra's medal will win the Al-Shirah.
01:49Her first run back then was in the Snow Ferry. Shami Heffeland rode her and he came in and
01:54apologized. She said, I should have won because I didn't realize, you know, how well she stayed
01:59and I didn't make enough useful. And she was done for, you know, they, she got caught.
02:03Yeah, she can be exuberant in her races, but she just keeps going, which is a remarkable thing.
02:08Yeah. And so we then said, oh, we're going to, you got beaten there. We'll still stick to plan A,
02:13which was then goes to the Blanford of the Cara. Yeah. And which she won really well,
02:18really, really well. And she probably that day in the Snow Ferry, she was probably short. She hadn't
02:22run for two and a half months. Yes. She had a long break. Yeah. She backs up her runs pretty well.
02:29So I knew I wasn't worried about her going to Paris.
02:32My only worry was that she actually had never traveled. She'd only raced in Ireland. She was
02:41brilliant. She traveled well, a little bit off her food, but she'd actually sent out early because
02:47there was going to be a storm. That's right. And so she went a day early and it was probably the best
02:52thing we did because by the time she got over there, she really settled in. And the other good thing was
02:57that they actually stabled us in Hauteuil, not in Blanchon. So we didn't go into Blanchon until
03:02Sunday morning. So it was lovely and peace and quiet and everything. So that was absolutely,
03:07that was brilliant too. That really played into her favour.
03:15And in terms of her sort of improvement, she obviously looked very good in her previous start
03:20to the opera. But did she surprise even you just how easily she did it in France?
03:25Well, she wasn't that easy. It was a bit tight at the end.
03:29No, true.
03:29Like she, you know, but she was determined to win. She has great,
03:33unbelievable attitude. You know, you can see her sticking her neck. She's got a big,
03:38long neck and she stuck it right out on the line. Yeah.
03:41With everything surrounding her. And it was just amazing. You know, you know, Shane got everything
03:47right. You know, he's, he's a very, very good jockey from the front. He gets fractions right.
03:51And, you know, he just, you know, he has it in there and he has unbelievable faith in her.
03:58Yeah. And now she's travelled and she's taken that experience so well, I guess,
04:02with her future career in mind, just given the scope of a filly like that.
04:06Yeah. You know, you looking at it, you would think she'd have to improve.
04:09Absolutely.
04:10At four because she's only now filling into her frame.
04:14And obviously the ownership group always sell at the end of the two years.
04:19Yes. Unless there's something gone wrong or we can't sell or, you know, something comes up.
04:23But if you were plotting a campaign for her next year, or indeed towards the back end, what would you...
04:28Oh yeah. We've got it kind of plotted out that we would be going,
04:31I think the Middleton, the race at York.
04:36Yes. Yeah.
04:37And then the Pretty Polly here.
04:40And then the race at Goodwood, the Nassar, you know, keep her in her own thing.
04:48And then, you know, maybe try her over a mile and a half.
04:51Yeah.
04:51You just don't know.
04:52Yeah.
04:52And she goes really on any ground.
04:56Yeah.
04:57You know, she has run on all grounds because the ground that she won, the day she won in,
05:02the day she won in Nassar, the ground was pretty quick that day.
05:06Yes.
05:07And she had no problem.
05:08When you see her moving, she's a beautiful mover.
05:10Yes.
05:19She's obviously feeling well this morning.
05:21She looks fresh still.
05:23Yeah.
05:23She's very, very well.
05:24It's kind of keeping a bit of a lid on her and if we just went back trotting and walking,
05:29she'd be definitely far too risky for any of her jockeys to ride.
05:34But no, she's very fresh and well and she's really come out of France so, so well.
05:40You know, you'd have to think the dream is alive for next year.
05:43Absolutely.
05:44And I guess you, at the time, probably she had quite a hard race, I would imagine, in France.
05:48But would you be tempted to run her again if you didn't, you know,
05:50if she wasn't going to the sales?
05:52If she wasn't going to the sales, you could have looked.
05:55There was definitely a few other options for her.
05:57But the way the syndicate set out, she has to go to the sales.
06:02So it's a little bit sad.
06:05But I think she's going to be a trailblazer next year.
06:08She's really only really, I'd have to agree with them.
06:11She's only really filling her frame now.
06:12Yeah, she's only because, you know, Gina couldn't believe how big she was.
06:17And mentally, how much has she come on through the year and, you know,
06:20and kind of grown in confidence, I guess?
06:22Big tie.
06:23Yeah, throughout the year, you could say she was a little bit weak,
06:25maybe at the start of the year.
06:26And as soon, since she had that nab and win, she's just gone from strength to strength.
06:31Because she just looks to have that fantastic attitude in her races and that will to win,
06:35which goes so far, doesn't it?
06:36It really, really does.
06:37And all she ever does is want to go and win.
06:39And, you know, we really saw it in the Lopper when she really stuck her head out at the line.
06:43And everyone's had another stride or two, and she might have been beaten,
06:47but I don't think she was going to be.
06:50I was going to say, the ground is kind of incidental that it was soft in France.
06:53So she seems to be pretty versatile.
06:56Very versatile.
06:57Yeah, I'd say she'd go on any ground.
06:59And I think as she gets older, we'll see her even be more effective on better ground.
07:03Yeah, she doesn't stop over a mile and a quarter.
07:07Would you see her stepping up in triples?
07:09Oh, good ground.
07:10On good ground, I think you definitely will be able to see her stepping up.
07:13And what's she like to deal with at home, you know, temperament-wise?
07:16Yeah, she loves her work.
07:17You actually can't give her enough work.
07:18And she tells you that she's fresh and well.
07:20And she's her character.
07:23Adrian rides her out every day and Keith is her barn manager.
07:27And, you know, she's never missed a beat.
07:30I'd say she's the most uncomplicated filly.
07:32I wouldn't say her vet's bills are zero because a vet rarely sees her,
07:36because she's just so uncomplicated.
07:41Well, it's been great to see Barnabar out this morning.
07:44She's a filly with so much presence.
07:46Just tell us a little bit about what caught your eye when you saw her at the yearling sales.
07:50Well, she was a big gangly filly with presence,
07:54but one that you thought would develop into a nice three-year-old.
07:57She was tall and narrow, but pretty.
08:00And, you know, we didn't expect her to mature quite as quickly as she did.
08:04And we were very surprised when she won in May as a two-year-old.
08:10And tell us a little bit about her pedigree,
08:12because it is quite an interesting pedigree.
08:14Well, she's by Calyx, who has just come in good.
08:17Unfortunately, he's lost to us now.
08:19Yeah.
08:20But, I mean, she's from a very good German family of Loeb de Vega.
08:23And, you know, when you have a champion stallion in the back of the pedigree,
08:26it's a good pedigree.
08:27Absolutely.
08:28But were you expecting her to kind of, well, achieve what she's achieved,
08:33but in terms of distance and the way her career has progressed,
08:36it's almost quite a surprise.
08:37I'm going to have to give Richie full credit for that.
08:39I didn't think she'd stay.
08:41And Richie was adamant that she would.
08:43So he pushed her to run at an ace that time over a mile and a quarter.
08:46So he takes full credit for that.
08:48And she's part of the portfolio courses for the Alpha Racing Syndicate.
08:52I mean, what an incredible year they must have had.
08:55Oh, they've had great fun.
08:56I mean, they're a great bunch of people.
08:58You know, we've been doing it, I think, for eight years now.
09:01And every year we've managed to come up one that pays for the rest of it.
09:05Yeah.
09:06And hopefully this year they might have a little change as well.
09:08Yeah, absolutely.
09:09And as far as the owners that have been involved,
09:12we saw plenty of them come over to France for the opera itself.
09:16Yeah.
09:16How much pleasure have they had from the racing?
09:19Oh, well, that's what it's all about.
09:20It's all about racing.
09:21I mean, the money, you know, we try to cost them as little as possible.
09:25That's the way it works.
09:26And, you know, it'll be a big night out on December sales.
09:31But, I mean, nothing's going to top the opera.
09:34You know, it was always the plan to sell.
09:35So I imagine it's not.
09:37Well, the rules of the syndicate are that they, you know,
09:39these syndicates, it's much easier if you have a set rules.
09:42You know, so they have to be sold by the end of their three-year-old career.
09:45We have broken it a couple of times.
09:47But that's the rule of the syndicate.
09:49So it was never, it hasn't been a discussion to sell.
09:52What will it be like seeing her go through the ring?
09:55You know, is it bittersweet?
09:56Going through the ring won't be.
09:57I mean, well, it depends.
09:58You know, if she goes on and does what I think she'll do next year,
10:01then it will be bittersweet.
10:02Yeah.
10:06Hello.
10:09What will she do now before the sale?
10:12So we're kind of trotting her, then cantering her every other day,
10:15just to keep her back down more so than anything.
10:17And just keeping her moving.
10:18She's had a nice little bit of a spell just on the low.
10:22And now we're just doing a bit of cantering every other day with her,
10:25just to really keep her back down and keep her fitting well.
10:28As you can see, she's looking fantastic.
10:30And yeah, onto the sale.
10:33And obviously, pedigree-wise, she's kind of not typical of what you'd expect from a calyx, really.
10:38She's got, I know she's related back in the pedigree to the horse like Lope de Vega,
10:42and she's got that amazing back catalogue.
10:45But how much have you expected her to be like her pedigree?
10:49I, it's kind of, she didn't, it was interesting.
10:51And we bought her off Castle Hyde.
10:53And actually, my brother-in-law, James O'Donoghue, was working there.
10:56And mum and Richie and Patrick went and said, James, which one do you like?
11:00He goes, well, the calyx filly there, we never see the end of her on the lunge.
11:04So that was nearly, probably an instinct that we all kind of veered towards her
11:09and at the sale.
11:10And we got her at the right price for the syndicate.
11:12And she's told us the rest.
11:15She's got real presence and star quality about her, hasn't she?
11:18Yeah, she's quite, for a filly, she's feminine but quite masculine at the same time.
11:22And she's, she's all go, she's all business.
11:29In addition to Group One winning Bar Navara,
11:32Alpha Racing's portfolio also includes listed winning sprint filly Saratoga Special,
11:37who carries high hopes for her owners heading into the sceptre sessions of the Tattersall's December
11:41mares sale.
11:42So tell us a little bit about Saratoga Special.
11:45She just seems such an easy, straightforward filly.
11:48Yes, she's a lovely filly.
11:49You know, she was unlucky at two not to win.
11:52She had some very, very good runs and got listed placed at two.
11:55But this year, she was really impressive when she won at Cork.
11:59And, you know, she's just been a kind of fairytale since.
12:02She kind of kept her stepping forward.
12:04And she was so good when she won at Ayr.
12:07And she got her ground that day.
12:09And, you know, they had a really fast pace on Ayr.
12:12And that really, really suited her.
12:14They race up towards the line.
12:15Saratoga Special's won it.
12:17She looks very straightforward.
12:18We saw her drop it beautifully around the canter this morning.
12:21She just seems to go about business.
12:24For a sprinter, she has an amazing, amazing attitude.
12:26And she just turns it on when she needs to.
12:28And very, very laid back.
12:30And she's just lovely.
12:33And tell us a little bit.
12:33She's part of the same syndicate as well.
12:35I mean, she must have given the guys great thrill as well to watch her progress this year.
12:39Yeah, it really has been, you know.
12:40She was really, really good.
12:42And it's been great for the syndicate to see her progress.
12:44Because she showed so much potential last year.
12:47And she just has progressed when she was winning so well in Cork and breaking her maiden.
12:53But firm ground, good to firm ground, is really key to her.
12:57I think she'd be a filly that was tribe in America if someone was to buy her for there.
13:01And there's definitely plenty of racing in her.
13:04She's a good, sound, solid filly.
13:06Yeah, and attitude-wise.
13:07She seems to just take it all in her stride if she was travelling, for example.
13:10Oh, travelling literally doesn't miss a beat.
13:14She'd nearly drive the box herself.
13:16Lauren and Louise have been away with her a few times.
13:18And she said that she's just so, so easy.
13:20She's a stakes winner.
13:25Her three-part sister made $450,000 this year at the yearning sales.
13:30And she's also racing sound and ready to go on with, you know, she's a different type of animal
13:35altogether.
13:36You know, she's a proper furlong, top-of-the-ground sprinter.
13:39But she's racing sound and in another year, she'd be the star.
13:44Yeah, and is that what you try to do, is create a portfolio with the sort of different profiles?
13:49Yeah, we aim to buy sort of between seven and ten horses a year.
13:55Colts and fillies, mainly aimed at three-year-old types.
13:58But, you know, we want to run as many races as possible, so you've got to have a spread.
14:03And she's a lovely mem-ass filly, but she's quite scopey almost.
14:07And she's a big, strong sprinting filly.
14:09Again, you know, a lot of these sprinters do get better as they get older.
14:12I mean, you look at them this year, I mean, every race has been won by a four-, five-,
14:16six-year-old girl there.
14:17So you'd expect her to get better, which I think she will.
14:22You know, it's just a question where she goes, really.
14:24Yeah, and I imagine you've had no trouble filling the syndicate this year.
14:27Patrick.
14:28No, it's been an easy sell this year.
14:32Best of luck with the new draft.
14:33Thank you very much.
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