Hotazhell would perfectly sum up the action at the highest echelons of this spring's breeze-up sales, with the latest installment taking place at Tattersalls Ireland May 23.
It's also the name of Jessica Harrington's 2024 Futurity Trophy Stakes (G1) winner and serious Irish Two Thousand Guineas (G1) contender, who was sold last year at the breeze-ups by Eddie Linehan and Dan O'Meara of Lackendarra Stables.
With the breeze part of the auction complete, O'Meara and Linehan were busy grooming their exciting colts ahead of an anticipated busy afternoon of inspections but demonstrated enviable multitasking skills to give a little insight into the colts they have for sale prior to Saturday's pivotal race.
"It's exciting," O'Meara said of Hotazhell's classic run. "It's not every day that a horse you buy and breeze runs in a classic, so it's very exciting. Two weeks ago in France it was a little disappointing that he didn't run (late withdrawal from Poule d'Essai des Poulains) but he didn't get his ground and I think they did the right thing by the horse, pulling him out and looking after him with a view to the rest of the year."
Hotazhell will be having his first run since that Doncaster victory over Delacroix, who has impressed in two Derby trials for Aidan O'Brien this season. Despite facing narrow Two Thousand Guineas (G1) runner-up Field of Gold and recent listed winners Cosmic Year and Officer at the Curragh Saturday afternoon, O'Meara believes that Hotazhell is flying under the radar.
"It's a top-class race, as you would expect, but he's a group 1 winner and he looks like he is overpriced so hopefully he can remind everyone of what he's capable of. We will be there and enjoying the day," O'Meara added.
The Cork operation has two representatives in the Tattersalls Ireland catalog with one (Lot 222) sharing his sire—Too Darn Hot—with the duo's most famous recent graduate.
The colt is a half brother to Hertford Dancer, a daughter of Foxwedge who won the listed Lingfield Oaks Trial in 2017. She is the dam of the John and Thady Gosden-trained Go Go Boots, who was third in last week's Musidora Stakes (G3) at York.
Foaled in early April, he has a stallion's pedigree. His dam Tebee is a Selkirk half sister to group 1-winning 2-year-old Nayarra (by Cape Cross) and to the 2017 Superlative Stakes winner Gustav Klimt, who was also third in the 2018 Irish Two Thousand Guineas, Sprint Cup (G1), and St James's Palace Stakes (G1). He is one of Tebee's five stakes-winning half siblings by Galileo.
He is one of just two colts by Too Darn Hot among the 251 juveniles due to come under the hammer at the Tattersalls Ireland sale.
O'Meara and Linehan had to dig deep for the colt at the 2024 Tattersalls October Yearling Sale Book 2, going to 105,000 guineas to secure him from Baroda Stud with the youngster costing Bryan Leonard 67,000 guineas from Highclere Stud at the 2023 Tattersalls December Foal Sale.
The world and his mother knows about Too Darn Hot and the quality of his first two crops, but the sire of Lackendarra's other offering at the sale is more of a lesser-known quantity in Europe. Although if Hour Agenda (104) is anything to go by, then it won't be long before his sire Known Agenda is no longer unknown.
The 2021 Florida Derby (G1) winner by the brilliant Curlin , sire of last weekend's Preakness Stakes (G1) hero Journalism, Known Agenda stands at Spendthrift Farm, and he is due to have his first runner Saturday when Public Knowledge lines up in a maiden special weight at Woodbine.
"He's a lovely horse and he breezed very well," O'Meara said of the bay colt.
The strong bay cost $28,000 at the Keeneland September Yearling Sale where he was consigned by Trackside Farm on behalf of his breeders William Bradley and Carl Hurst. The colt is a half brother to 2017 Fayette Stakes (G2) and 2018 Mineshaft Handicap (G3) winner The Player by Street Hero. Out of stakes winner Town Queen, the colt's dam, Hour Queen, is a Gilded Time half sister to Kentucky listed winners Queen's Award and Divine Queen.
There is turf success on the page too as the colt's third dam, Regal Export, although foaled in Canada, is a half sister to Tangshan, is the dam of 2005 listed Prix Caravelle winner Tivadare and the 2006 listed Prix Coronation winner Tianshan who has produced the 2021 Prix de Sandringham (G2) winner Tahlie and dual French group 3 winner Trixia.
Eddie Linehan said: "James Doyle and Pierce Gallagher bought him in Keeneland, and he's a lovely big horse with a brilliant temperament. He has a big, long stride, and he breezed really well. He vets well too and hopefully he'll go well. He is very genuine and hopefully he will be popular."
Breeze-up consignors, most notably Norman Williamson, have developed a successful line in purchasing yearlings in North America to breeze in Europe. The Gold Cup and Champion Hurdle-winning jockey sourced this month's Two Thousand Guineas winner Ruling Court and 2019 Preakness hero War of Will (sire of Lot 93 from Meadowview Stables) in Kentucky and sold both of them in France.
Hour Agenda is the only United States-sourced horse that Lackendarra has consigned on the circuit this year, but Linehan has inspected plenty of others and closely watched how they have performed. The signs are encouraging.
"American horses have done well, and even this year at the sales, the nice ones have been selling," Linehan said. "I haven't had one this year, but I've been looking around and they have been busy, so hopefully this lad can do us proud here. He's a very nice colt, puts his head down, and is very genuine. You can't ask for more. He seems the kind of horse who will win plenty of races."
If the season so far is a guide, it is about to get very hot at Fairyhouse Friday.
