bloodstock agent
TDN's Brian Sheerin catches up with John Foley and Sean Grassick to review the 2024 yearling sales. What went well and where was there room for improvement? They cover all this and more.
DEAUVILLE, France--As of Tuesday morning it's been six days since Adam Potts landed in Deauville, but there's no time to slow down as the newest recruit to the team of bloodstock agents at BBA Ireland. With the Arqana August Sale fast disappearing in the rear-view mirror, attentions now turn to the v.2 Yearling Sale and the catalogue of 189 lots scheduled to go through the ring when bidding gets underway at 11am local time. For Potts the task until then is simple: to get through as many of the lots...
Adelphi Racing Club has announced that Joe Migliore will assume the role of Head of Racing and Partnership Operations for their growing racing syndicate. Migliore was a sales associate for West Point Thoroughbreds for six years before launching his own bloodstock agency in 2021 and then adding on the title of jockey agent soon after. Migliore has had a hand in sourcing horses for Adelphi in recent years and he will continue to operate his own agency after he starts this new role. He will also stay on as jockey...
Adam Potts has joined BBA Ireland as a bloodstock agent, the organisation announced on Friday. A graduate of the Irish National Stud Course, Potts has a Bachelor of Science in Economics with Finance from the Queen's University Belfast. He previously worked for the Racing Post, as well as European Bloodstock News, Thoroughbred Stallion Guide and International Thoroughbred. More recently, Potts worked with trainer Ken Condon, in addition to his work as a bloodstock agent. He selected G1 Irish 1000 Guineas runner and 'TDN Rising Star' Purple Lily (Ire) (Calyx {GB})...
Bloodstock agent and longtime racing veteran Timothy Vaughn Kegel passed away Thursday, April 25, 2024 at the age of 74. The following is an obituary written by son Van Kegel and provided to the TDN by the Kegel family: "Born in Clifton Springs, N.Y. in 1950, he charted his own path from his years at SUNY Cortland to a long career in the racing industry as a vet's assistant, trainer, jockey agent and bloodstock agent. He loved horses and the racetrack, and the track loved him. He will forever be...
The TDN picks the brain of bloodstock agent Sean Grassick on his highs and lows of 2023 and what he's looking forward to this year. Proudest moment of 2023? Catherine Of Siena (Ire) (U S Navy Flag), who we bought for £13,000 as a yearling, earning black-type. What is your biggest ambition for the New Year? More winners and happy clients. Give us one horse to follow and why? Bladon (Ire) (Churchill {Ire}). He ran eye-catchingly for Atomic Racing and Kevin Coleman in a Killarney over a...
As 2023 draws to a close, the TDN is asking industry members to name their favorite moment of the year. Send yours to suefinley@thetdn.com Echo Zulu winning the GI Ballerina S. She put on an impressive performance. I've always been a fan of hers. She's a hell of a horse. Exceptionally fast and a generational defining talent. --Clay Scherer, Bloodstock Agent
Imperium Sales may be the newest name on the consignment block but this is no rookie outfit. Imperium is the brainchild of leading bloodstock advisor Alex Elliott and it makes its debut with 14 horses hitting the market at this week's Tattersalls Autumn Horses-In-Training Sale. From what Elliott describes as a potential Melbourne Cup horse in Balance Play (Ire) (Lope De Vega {Ire}) to the rapidly-progressive He's A Monster (Ire) (No Nay Never), Imperium Sales has the potential to make its debut draft a memorable one. In many ways, Elliott...
Many eyes will be on the top-class racing in Ireland this weekend, but the relentless run of yearling sales continues, with Italy's major auction taking place on Saturday at San Siro racecourse in Milan. Among those in action at the 117-lot sale will be Valfredo Valiani, whose globetrotting success as a trainer saw him conquer the Knavesmire not once but twice, first with Super Tassa (Ire) in the Yorkshire Oaks of 2001 and then four years later with Electrocutionist, winner of the Juddmonte International. An amateur rider from a young...
I am a bloodstock agent and, at times, a horse owner based in California. I have been reading, with great interest, the various comments and opinions regarding how best to resolve the ongoing and serious issue with the spate of deaths of our precious and amazing Thoroughbreds. While I am not as well known (and as articulate) as most of the professionals who have commented on this topic in TDN, I feel that I might be able to bring a different perspective. My family has owned both flat and steeplechase...
Against the backdrop of one of the most eagerly anticipated King Georges in recent history on Saturday, bloodstock agent Sean Grassick and trainer Kevin Coleman enjoyed something of a red-letter day of their own when Uluru (Ire) (Zoffany {Ire}) ran out a taking debut winner at Gowran Park. Uluru was one of eight yearlings that Grassick purchased on behalf of Atomic Racing at the sales last year and was considered just about the most talented juvenile the commercial syndicate had to go to war with this season. Despite showing signs...
A beloved father, grandfather, friend and horseman, Glenn Byron 'Gus' Bell passed away peacefully July 4 in the care of the Veteran's Administration Hospice in Lexington, Kentucky. With a sobriquet like the 'Working Agent' inscribed below his name on his business cards, Bell defined his craft and his outlook on life. He spent nearly a half century in the equine industry as a bloodstock agent based in the Bluegrass region. As a Lexington native, Bell was a graduate of Lafayette High School before heading out of state to Marshall University,...