The year was 1984.
The late Robert Sangster was among 64,254 gathered at Hollywood Park for the inaugural $10 million extravaganza that would evolve into the Breeders' Cup World Championships we know today.
Sangster had just flown in from Australia, where horses he owned had finished second in the Australian Derby (G1) and third in the Melbourne Cup (G1) the previous week. It was symptomatic of his lifestyle as an international horseplayer whose huge bloodstock investments would transform the global canvas.
Sangster was at Hollywood to watch Royal Heroine contest the $1 million Breeders' Cup Mile (G1T)—and lo and behold, Fernando Toro brought the 4-year-old filly with a flourish down the stretch to seize the prize.
Fast-forward 38 years and the fabled Sangster silks are angling at the Breeders' Cup after a lengthy absence. The steed who carries them is Isaac Shelby, a colt named for the first Governor of Kentucky who races for the Manton Thoroughbreds VII partnership fronted by Sangster's son, Sam.
"He could not be better named for a Breeders' Cup at Keeneland," Sangster mused of the colt who came again to win the Bet365 Superlative Stakes (G2) over seven furlongs at Newmarket July 9. "He will run next in either the (Oct. 2) Qatar Prix Jean-Luc Lagardere (G1) or the (Oct. 8) Darley Dewhurst Stakes (G1), and the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf (G1T) is firmly in our thoughts after that. It's lovely to be having this conversation; it means the dream is still alive."
Sangster, 35, was still three years in the making when Royal Heroine earned her garland.
"I was also a twinkle in dad's eye when he had those wonderful years with Vincent O'Brien (at Ballydoyle) but I was around for the good horses with Peter Chapple-Hyam at Manton, where we lived," he said.
Sangster followed his father into the horse industry, working in Australia for three years before he returned to Britain in 2010. The following year he set up his first partnership venture and has since diversified into buying horses for clients, mainly from Brian Meehan's stable, where Isaac Shelby is trained.
"I was at the Breeders' Cup last year with Vertiginous (also trained by Meehan), whom I bought privately as a yearling and retained a share in," he said. "She only finished seventh (in the Juvenile Turf Sprint, G2T) but we had a fabulous time. And I was at Churchill when Brian (Meehan) won the Turf (G1T) with Dangerous Midge in 2010."
Meehan required no prompting where the Breeders' Cup is concerned.
"I have so many fond memories," he said. "I've won the Turf twice (the first time in 2006 with Red Rocks). It's very exciting to think we might go back with a 2-year-old this time."
It is 17 years since the Sangster silks were last seen at the Breeders' Cup. On that occasion the Bill Mott-trained Sand Springs attempted to reprise Royal Heroine by winning the Mile but she faltered abruptly on the home turn.
Sangster dispersed almost all his breeding stock in 2007, since when his livery has barely been sighted. But his son has revived silks that won more than 100 group/grade 1 races worldwide and were momentously associated with Sadler's Wells, the breed-shaping sire who was bred by Robert's Swettenham Stud.
The chances are that Sangster won't be the only son of his father to be represented at the Breeders' Cup. His brother, Ben, is part-owner of Saffron Beach, who is trained by Jane Chapple-Hyam.
Saffron Beach was earmarked for the Filly & Mare Turf (G1T) after she annexed the Prix Rothschild (G1) at Deauville Aug. 2. She races in the predominantly red silks of Ben's wife, Lucy, while Isaac Shelby runs in the green, blue, and white livery so redolent of Robert Sangster.
In that respect Isaac Shelby's Superlative Stakes triumph unlocked a treasure chest of memories. "I can't begin to tell you how much warmth from the racing community we felt after that win," Sangster says. "I'm privileged to have the silks that remind people of what dad accomplished all those years ago."
Sangster can expect reciprocal love from American horsemen should Isaac Shelby prevail at Keeneland in November. Countless Kentucky breeders were enriched beyond their wildest dreams when Robert Sangster paid top dollar for yearlings at elite Thoroughbred auctions in the 1970s and 1980s. Indeed, he still holds the world record price paid for a yearling when the partnership he fronted gave $13.1 million for a son of Nijinsky II, subsequently named Seattle Dancer, at Keeneland in 1985.
Sam Sangster's forays into the yearling markets are more modest. He gave £92,000 (US$126,254) for Isaac Shelby, whose dam, Kentucky Belle, changed hands for just 4,500 guineas ($6,197) in 2019.
Meehan, for his part, remembered watching that inaugural Breeders' Cup at Hollywood, featuring those bright yellow starting gates, with great affection. "I thought it was intriguing then and it has since become a bit of an institution," he said.
"I'm sure Sam (Sangster) will be keen to run Isaac Shelby in the Juvenile Turf. We work very well together largely because we think alike."
