It was a bittersweet day as Mostly Cloudy sold at Tattersalls August Sale on Wednesday 31st August. Although the owners, myself included, made a very healthy return on the progressive son of Harzand, saying goodbye to my stable star after 5 months of training him, was never going to be enjoyable. Here's a run down of his journey.
Bought back in October 2021 at the Tattersalls Autumn Sale for 23,000 guineas with Kings Bloodstock, Cloudy as he was affectionately known on the yard, has taken us on one heck of a journey. His racing career began for my yard on April 16th, when he made his 3 year old debut rated 60. He finished fourth that day, and again the following start, until the penny dropped on his third run a month later. He never looked back. What followed was five straight wins (Redcar, Sandown, Nottingham, Doncaster) culminating in a decisive victory in long-term target the Brown Jack handicap, over 2 miles at Ascot Racecourse. It was an amazing day, with all his owners there to experience the thrill of an Ascot win, from a horse that didn't look like he was close to reaching his ceiling.
The decision was made to allow him to take his chance in the Group 2 Lonsdale Stakes at York's prestigious Ebor meeting, taking on the best of the staying division. Although it was a massive ask of the colt, we felt he deserved his place in the race and by this stage, owed us absolutely nothing. In the lead up to the race, there was high drama as the two market leaders (Stradivarius and Trueshan) were both pulled out. The race itself was a strangely run contest, with the leader going a long way clear, and the rest of the field chasing the whole way up the home straight in vein. Cloudy made what looked to be a very promising challenge, seeming as though he'd finish 2nd or 3rd, but unfortunately tired in the last half furlong and dropped back to finish fifth. It was frustrating as I'm convinced in a truly run race, the outcome could have been different for us. Needless to say, he by no means disgraced himself and it was an amazing feat to have a Group 2 runner in my first season.
Then came Tattersalls. Purchased by Mulcaster Bloodstock for 150,000 guineas, Cloudy is set for a tilt at the Sydney Cup, and is heading to Chris Waller I believe. It's obviously a massive loss for the yard, to lose a horse of his calibre (officially rated 98 post York), but with the prize money situation the way it is currently in the UK, it's understandable why most owners would choose to cash in. We'll be working very hard in the coming months to try and find our next flagship horse. If anyone is interested in getting involved in ownership with us, please don't hesitate to contact me, or keep an eye on the 'For Sale' page on this website.
Thanks for reading,
Gemma
