Summer Sands and Barry McHugh after their big Redcar success© Photo Healy Racing
Rags-to-riches three-year-old Summer Sands was the subject of a positive bulletin from trainer Joseph O’Brien on Monday evening, though plans for the son of Coach House are obviously fluid.
Summer Sands fetched 2,000 pounds when initially offered by Trickledown Stud at the Tattersalls Ascot Yearling Sale (September 2018).
Said to have put in a bullet workout less than seven months later, Matt Coleman and the Cool Silk Partnership, went to 85,000 pounds to secure the speedy individual from Robson Aguiar, at the Ascot breeze-up sale (April 2019).
Brazilian-born Aguiar said at that stage: “He’s got plenty of speed and has a very good action. When I bought him here he was a nice scopey yearling, and I liked that the dam had won twice over six furlongs. I think he’ll be a Listed horse at least.”
How right Aguiar proved to be as the colt won two races from six starts for the Richard Fahey yard, including the Listed Redcar Two Year Old Trophy.
Before that Summer Sands finished a staying-on third behind Earthlight in the Group One Middle Park Stakes.
It was Joseph O’Brien then, that struck an auction-topping bid of 625,000 guineas to add the interesting sort to his string, at the Tattersalls Autumn Horses in Training Sale (October 2019).
That was an amazing 328 times what Aguiar paid for him as a yearling.
Now O’Brien reports: “He’s an exciting horse to have in the yard and his work has been nice.
“Obviously it’s a little bit up in the air at the moment as to when we get him started but I was kind of aiming at that three-year-old five and a half furlong or so at Navan. A three-year-old sprint (won by Inverleigh last year).”
Unfortunate in that event in 2019 with third-placer, Cava, O’Brien went on: “We’re very happy with him and excited about him.
“He’ll carry the Iridessa colours of Chantal Regalado Gonzalez.
“He’s in good shape and was in good form last year so we’re hoping he can bring it over to this season.”
(EM)
