'A lot of people say Scandinavia? Really? It's getting stronger there'

Take a wander around the barns at Tattersalls Ireland this week and one would be forgiven for believing it to be a meeting of the United Nations with the variety of voices, such is the international nature of the September Yearling Sale. Different languages may be spoken and translation apps working overtime but the universal tongue that needs no translation here is that of racing. 

One agent who is well versed in international client relations is Edgar Byrne, who along with his siblings operates Leinster Bloodstock Agency with clients based around the world.

The Kilkenny native lives in Newmarket but has developed a successful partnership with Niels Petersen, originally from Denmark but perennial champion trainer of Norway. 

At the 2023 sale Byrne and Petersen made a splash, purchasing the sale's second most expensive lot and the distinctive €115,000 colt from the first crop of Kameko, who was a triumphant pinhook for Adrian Costello of Clenagh Castle Stud, has just been named with a bright future away from the long dark Norwegian winter in the offing.

"We bought him for Alice Weiste and John Christensen of the JC Organisation and they have named him War Socks," Byrne explains. "He wintered here with all our yearlings with Dick Brabazon on the Curragh and they moved up to Niels in April.

"Of the nine  yearlings we bought we have raced four and all four have won, so we have five to race including War Socks. Niels just felt that he could win after the two pieces of work he did but that he was still growing so he left him to go to Dubai."

Petersen has been sending horses to the Dubai Carnival with success but this year a plan that has been a number of years in the making has finally come to fruition and it's not only War Socks who will be swapping almost 24 hours of darkness for the heat of the desert this winter.

"Niels will be locally licenced in Dubai this year and War Socks will join the team there as a maiden; that is the status we hold the horse in. We think he is good enough to win in Dubai," Byrne says.

It is with an eye on Dubai in 2025 that Byrne is at Fairyhouse this week as the next stage of Petersen's evolution begins to take shape. Quality is what they are focused on, as the competition heats up on the track.

Byrne explains: "We had planned that [buying horses with the potential for Dubai] last year so we raised the bar with our purchases in terms of the amount that we spent – we got into some six-figure yearlings – and the intention is to do the same this year.

War Socks: One of the top lots from the 2023 Tattersalls Ireland September Yearling Sale will be heading to Dubai shortlyCredit: JASON BAX / EQUUIS

"We are looking for quality and we are starting here in Fairyhouse and will go as far as Book 2, but we are being selective."

The roots of this go back to the winter of 2019-20 and the private purchase by Leinster Bloodstock of the Group 3 Sovereign Stakes and Listed Feilden Stakes winner Kick On from Qatar Racing.

Bought at the end of his three-year-old season, the son of Charm Spirit was sent into training with Petersen and went unbeaten that season, winning Group 3 and Listed contests in Norway and Sweden, the highest level possible to win at in Scandinavia.

Kick On did just that and travelled to Dubai where he was fifth to Lord Glitters in the Group 2 Singspiel Stakes and seventh of 14 in the Group 1 Jebel Hatta. 

Could Be King, who was a Listed-placed sprinter for Ken Condon, followed and he too earned his black-type victories in Scandinavia which cemented the relationship between agent and trainer. A Classic contender ensured that it would endure.

"We bought Noble Justice off Johnny Collins," Byrne says. "He was the first breeze-up horse we bought and he was third in the [Norwegian] Derby. It has snowballed and we have been successful together. Everything that's gone up has won – a lot of people might read that comment and say Scandinavia? Really?

"However, it is very tough to win there and I am proud of what we have achieved; they are not all champions but they pay for themselves and that's not easy to do in any jurisdiction."

And it is getting tougher, with the model that Petersen and Byrne have refined now being adopted by more of Scandinavia's leading and powerful owners.

He continues: "It's getting stronger there – I watched a two-year-old maiden the other day and the first three home were six-figure European sales purchases and the fourth horse was a local bred. It's a small pool with a few big owners and they all have the same game plan now which is coming to Ireland, England and France to buy good horses."

That is the mission Byrne has been tasked with and accepted this week, and at the September Yearling Sale, which has grown its reputation around Europe as a source of high-quality performers, that is no mission impossible.

Byrne explains what it is about the Tattersalls Ireland version that appeals so widely to one of the most successful trainers in Europe and his contemporaries around the continent.

Kick On (Oisin Murphy,right) beats Walkinthesand (Tom Marquand) in the Feilden StakesCredit: Edward Whitaker

"This is probably an underrated sale," he says simply.

"One of the things I love most about this sale is Tattersalls Ireland has a very homely feel. I live in Newmarket now but coming here, you don't get that commercial bang, there isn't a big push on you so it allows you to think and you can do your business in your own time. I like that.

"The second thing I find is that other sales have a lot of big, consigning drafts which I find a little bit impersonal whereas when you come here you get the depth of Irish breeders. There are individual and independent vendors here, there are a lot of breeders here and they have put the personal touch into their stock.

"When you go round the vendors, you have a bigger selection of individuals to shop from with more stories and input, and a more personal touch. It gives an opportunity to buy horses who have been very well handled and looked after."

As well as the warmly welcoming environment, the pool of horses which purchasers have to select from at Tattersalls Ireland offers that wide variety necessary to find horses who need to be tough and versatile, considering that Scandinavia, and Dubai offer opportunities on two very different surfaces. 

There are very defined qualities required of the equine athletes who race in Norway, Sweden and Denmark.

"For Scandinavia you need an extremely well-balanced horse who is nimble on his feet, purely because the tracks are tight," Byrne explains. "Bro Park is a good galloping track in Sweden but Ovrevoll, the local track in Norway, is quite tight and undulating, so is Klampenborg [in Copenhagen] and therefore you have to have agility, balance and soundness.

"You also need to have horses who can adapt to surfaces."

With Petersen's acceptance as a fully licenced trainer in Dubai, that is even more of an imperative this time around but the nature of racing in Scandinavia has resulted in everyone involved needing to up their game with European purchases now starting to overtake the locally bred runners. 

"It's a tight scene that has become extremely competitive and you cannot take your eye off the ball," Byrne concludes.

That needs no translation.

Part One of the Tattersalls Ireland September Yearling Sale begins at 10am on Tuesday.

Tattersalls Ireland September Yearling Sale Part One factfile

Where Tattersalls Ireland sales complex, Fairyhouse

When Tuesday and Wednesday from 10am

Last year’s stats From 473 lots offered, 404 sold (85 per cent clearance rate) for turnover of €12,522,000 (up one per cent year-on-year), an average price of €30,995 (up three per cent) and a median of €28.000 (up eight per cent) 

Notable graduates Cool Hoof Luke (sold by Vinesgrove Stud, bought by Andrew Balding for €20,000); Ponntos (sold by Mr Brendan Murphy, bought by Adam Wyrzrk for €6,800); A Lilac Rolla (sold by Castledillon Stud, bought by Amanda Skiffington for €40,000); Anshoda (sold by Mountain View Stud, bought by Rodrigo Goncalves and Barry Nolan for €24,000)

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