 The Auction Review Special Edition - DerekW10 Hammer Down - Sunday 24th September 2011 |
Flashback to June 12th 2011 and you may be forgiven for thinking that Derek's stay in the challenge arena, yet alone the game itself, was at an end. However, you can't keep a RaceClubs.com racing legend down, not for long anyway. Today's auction saw the twelve time challenge final winner secure the deals which will hopefully re-ignite his yard and mirror his past success with an almighty bang! Eight horses found their way to the yard and will sport the famous colours for the grand total of £3773.96 at an average of £472 a pop. Now you may be thinking that the combined price was quite a lot of money to pay but closer examination of the qualities these eight animals possess will soon change your mind.
Running Veronica - Picking her up for two thirds of the price her previous master forked out, seems very good business indeed. She is a very powerful filly and her main target this season will be a tilt at juvenile classic success. Before that eventuality comes about, her hoof was tested in the Ladbrokes Monthly Challenge Final. Pre race, Derek commented that her price tag was way too high in the race and she was worth a little each way bet. Although not sporting the colours of the yard and still running in Tocohnas' silks, she ran fair enough, securing fourth place, giving a little back on her investment. She does look a similar sort of animal to Natusik Polukhina, winner of the classic, who enjoys firm ground but what differs is her ability to see out the extended classic distance of 2400m. The classic trip will pose no problem for her and if she converts some of her ability onto the dirt track, we could see the horse becoming yet another challenge final sale from Colonel Sterling who will rue that fact as it is his number ione priority to win a classic final.
Demanding Miss - This filly ran a blinder in the Ladbrokes Final, edging her stable companion into fourth place and with a little more luck in running, could possibly have taken the trophy. Another who came from the Tocohnas yard, making a tidy profit from the sale. What I like about this one is the options the yard have given themself by signing up two fillies who are well capable of lifting a title. It is fair to say the double handed approach by Derek could pay massive dividend when November comes around. It can prove very frustrating for an owner when a horse of this calibre is struggling to hit her maiden and after four attempts she is still not eligible for the challenge series. It's only a matter of time before her duck is broken and when that happens she will be handled with the greatest of care. I'm not convinced she holds the ability to compete over 2400m and it is likely that next season's Oaks will be her number one priority, so expect this one to be a front runner in the remaining qualifiers this term.
Zumba Queen & Best Terms - A two horse package from Gogogunner saw Derek pick up two handy sprinters. Zumba Queen looks best over 1400m and a little give in the ground will certainly help this one as she heads for the Sprinters Challenge Final. I am favouring soft ground as her niche which can sometimes prove a major obstacle for any challenge horse to overcome. She will relish the chance to get her toe stuck right in and should the final be privvy to a downpour, she would have to be on any shortlist. She may not possess the quality of some other juveniles we have seen this season but nevertheless, £250 seems cheap, a certain money maker and has already racked up some decent points in the series after three runs. I really like the price paid for Best Terms! A versatile sprint colt who appears to excel on a muddy track. He has already appeared at the track three times for his new owner, making great strides to repay the investment made in him. Again, £250 seems very little for a colt who will easily make money, in fact almost half that price tag is already in the bag. I would expect to see this one making an appearance in the Ladbrokes Monthly 1600m Final a few days before an effort in the sprint. With the sprint final being on turf, this colt may well be best served by a consolation race, although I'm sure his owner knows exactly where he is aiming.
Mighty Metropolis - I honestly thought that this horse would hit the dizzy heights of the juvenile classic winners' enclosure and give Colonel Sterling the happiness he desires. However, after a worthy second place behind champion, Olivia, it appeared that her Oaks campaign would provide many wins. She only had the one run before being carted off to the man with the money for a four figure deal. Tocohnas totted up the points in qualifying before he also sent her to the sales and for £407 she is a diamond bit of business. I think she was cheap and would not have any eyebrow raised if she had sold for double that. Her ability is on a par with my own horse, Goddess Of Heaven, who loves the yielding ground. I do hope she gets a little better luck with the ground than I have experienced with Goddess, firm and fast have proven her achilles heel. She will relish the Oaks trip of 2400m and will do well should it come up muddy but not so well if it is fast, therein lies her chance this season!
Grand Cruz - Bargain! Bargain! Bargain! That's all I have to say about this one. A leading player in this season's Derby and unbelieveable that a horse of this calibre can find its way to a yard for £378. The whole community need to stand up and take a good look in the mirror if they are willing to overlook profit machines for so little money. This is the type of auction buy that Shotgun Mike has thrived on over the years and it is good to see that Derek will not pass on an opportunity. He made his first appearance at the track recently in a Derby trial, putting his opponents to the sword with Saxon on board. One run, one win and something tells me that November will see him there or there abouts also. Great business Derek!
Running Kick Butt - His first outing for his new yard was very promising indeed. Only last season's juvenile sprint champion, Stunning Finish, stood in his way of securing the win and we all know how good that horse is! Already a cert for an appearance in The Nunthorpe Final, most of the hard work has already been done. It does appear that the 1400m trip will be right up his street and it is likely he will be hoping for a sound surface. When initially sold for nearly £900 as a juvenile, that investment seemed good enough, although the conditions did not suit at all and turned out a little overpriced when all is said and done. However, for less than half that price, he is a contender this season and will most likely be a very good asset to the yard in The Newbury races later in his career. He is another excellent piece of auction spending that will prove to get Derek back amongst the challenge final scene.
Lightening Pearl - Definately the gamble purchase of this auction. With adds free before the hammer went down, it was always going to be more of a speculative purchase than a cast iron certainty. Fortunately for Derek, it appears that she has turned out rather useful, evident by the supplement fee already laid down on her. From what I can tell by her time trials, 1400m seems to be her forte, although she may drop a little over 1200m, she could probably hold her own. Her numbers do play towards a favourable run as a juvenile in the sprint series, where she will certainly hold her own. Whether she has the winners enclosure in her sights is another matter and my opinion would be that she just falls short of others in the division and the consolation races may be her best November chance. The gamble has paid off though and she is sure to add some corn to the yards balance.
Forty Four Pegs - The champion trainer had his eye on this one and to be fair, I wish he was more distracted by this one than the one I really wanted to get my hands on, Thresher Shark. C'est La Vie as they say. Forty Four Pegs is another sprint colt who could set the track alight, if not, he will certainly yield a nice profit for his more than moderate asking price. Fast ground seems to be the order of the day for this one and he looks a certain consolation race type. You would have to say that pennies have been paid yet again for a quality animal and furthermore breeds the age old argument, you should hold onto horses like this. Even if this animal never appears in a challenge final, the money it will win from picking off qualifiers aged two and four, easily outweigh his asking price. Ok, so his debut run for the yard doesn't look great on paper but rest assured, there is certain gold in these hoofs.
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