John Dance joins the owner-breeder ranks with first homegrown winner

It may have only been a humble 0-70 handicap, but when Ivory Charm ran away with race four at Hamilton on Wednesday she propelled John Dance into the ranks of the successful owner-breeder.

Admittedly the Newcastle-based investment manager has some way to go before he can give the likes of the Aga Khan, Cheveley Park Stud and Juddmonte Farms a run for their money, but being the first homebred winner produced by Dance and his wife Jess, the Charm Spirit filly's three and a half length victory is one that will live long in the memory nonetheless.

"She's only won off a mark of 60 but it's still a very proud moment in the Dance household," he said. "It feels that bit more special because you've known the horse longer and you feel more connected having watched them grow from birth. There's a double slice of pride that comes with a homebred winner and, with this being the first one, it feels like quite an achievement."

Ivory Charm crosses the line in front at HamiltonCredit: Grossick Photography

Dance, whose silks star filly Laurens has carried to five Group 1 victories, saw his first homebreds, a group that includes Ivory Charm, hit the track last year. While owning thoroughbreds is one thing, breeding them is altogether more involving, and Dance expanded on the processes that went into breeding Ivory Charm, the seventh foal out of the Galileo mare Ivory Gala.

"We've tried to replicate some of the crosses that have been successful within the family before," he said. "Although not always with exactly the same sires as Ivory Gala's best offspring so far, Red Galileo, is by Dubawi, whose covering fee is a bit outside our budget!

"But she's had success with speedy stallions. We've just had an Exceed And Excel colt foal out of her and he's probably the best foal we've ever bred from any of our mares, he's absolutely stunning.

"She's also got a Kingman filly yearling who we're keeping her to race. Prior to the Exceed And Excel arriving she was probably the best we've bred and hopefully she continues to progress as she's a stunner. Ivory Gala has gone to Kodiac this year as the speedier the sire she's been to, the better her foals have been."

Dance has six homebred two-year-olds in training this year, but with a broodmare band of 18, with the majority of his herd residing with Daniel Creighton and Josh Schwartz at Salcey Forest Stud in Warwickshire, the homegrown squad looks set to increase in the coming years.

"Next year's two-year-olds will be the biggest crop we've had," he said. "We're hoping we end up breeding lots of winners, and hopefully a few nice ones, whether they're in our colours or someone else's."

While Dance has enjoyed a level of success beyond his relatively short time within horseracing, he fully expects others to benefit equally - if not more so - from his expanding breeding programme, with the plan being to go down the traditional owner-breeder route of selling the colts he breeds and keeping the fillies.

"The only time we'd keep a colt is if it was a first foal to protect the mare's record," he said. "If we have a process in place as to which ones are sold it stops potential buyers thinking 'why are John and Jess selling this horse?'. If it's gone to the sales it's because them's the rules. We've got what will hopefully be some really nice yearlings going to the sales this year."

As Dance rattles off the names of the stallions his mares have visited in recent years, it's easy to see why he feels his homebred youngsters could contain a few stars of the future, with proven names like Sea The Stars and Mastercraftsman joined by those on the up such as Kingman, Gleneagles and No Nay Never.

Among the mares Dance is most excited about it Aim To Please, a Group 3-winning daughter of Excellent Art who was sourced from the Goffs London Sale in 2017 at a cost of £340,000.

"Aim To Please has gone to No Nay Never and she's got a Sea The Stars colt foal at foot," he said. "She only ran a couple of times for us before picking up an injury but she's one that we've pushed the boat out with as much as any in terms of covering.

"It'll take some time until we've built our own dynasty but, eventually, hopefully the first, second and even third dams will all come from Dance families."

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