[QUOTE=ejm;8738807]
EGS was bred and raced by E. P. Taylor and Coolmore. He retired to Windfields and was syndicated for $40 Million total. Coolmore kept a large interest (around a quarter IIRC) and self-insured. The insurers settled with other syndicate members and he was moved to Ashford for the rest of his career in a partnership with Coolmore.
The high number of covers I referred to occurred during his first season when they were trying everything and breeding and collecting constantly trying to figure out what was going on with him before the insurance companies had to pay off. It was a highly unusual and truly shocking number of covers at that time (1985) although many stallions routinely maker 2 to 3 times that many today.
EGS would have been one od truly great sons Northern Dancer if he’d had even moderate fertility.[/QUOTE]
This is not entirely accurate and I didn’t want to or have the time to write a book. But by nature I feel there should be a certain amount of historical accuracy considering the amount of people who have read, will read long after this posting without fact checking.
Quoting from very reliable sources. EGS was bred and raced in partnership as explained by the Blood Horse;
“A brother to champion Try My Best, El Gran Senor was bred in a partnership that included E.P. Taylor, Magnier, Robert Sangster, and trainer Vincent O’Brien and was campaigned in Sangster’s name on behalf of a partnership”
I believe it can be said Try My Best who was bought and raced by Robert Sangster (the money behind what became Coolmore, Magnier being the business “brains” and V O’Brien the “master” of the horses) put him in the stallion business. The rest is the history called Coolmore.
EGS dam Sex Appeal unraced a foal of 71 was bought by Taylor for $55,000 but the “The Lads” bought into her when Try My Best was a 2 year old. As explained in this’
“Foaled in Kentucky, Sex Appeal was bred by Anne Forsythe (Mrs. H. Frank Forsythe), who sold her for US$52,000 at the 1971 Keeneland July yearling sale. Sex Appeal spent most of her broodmare career as the property of E. P. Taylor. Robert Sangster (along with Vincent O’Brien and John Magnier) purchased an interest in her following Try My Best’s juvenile season, and Taylor sold his interest in the mare to Swettenham Stud and Partners following the birth of her 1983 foal, Golden Oriole”
Swettenham Stud was/is the name Sangster bred under. The “partners” we know.
He only stood for one season at Windfields Md, also from the Blood Horse;
“El Gran Senor (Northern Dancer-Sex Appeal, by Buckpasser) stood his first season at his E.P. Taylor’s Windfields Farm in Maryland in 1985, then was moved the following breeding season to Ashford”
Ashford is the American division of Coolmore, aka Coolmore America if memory serves Coolmore had just acquired the Ashford property was putting the finishing touches on it in 85 which is why EGS stood in Md. The “partner’s” fondly referred to as the “Irish Mafia” not so fondly by some of their adversaries own/owned a number of horses in partnership. But never a non-controlling interest.
As to the syndicate ownership without digging out a syndicate agreement I have somewhere I would agree. Coolmore and partners always bought/kept controlling interest. Most if not all syndicate agreements state it takes around 80% sometime 85% of syndicate members to move or make any changes to the syndicate agreement, syndicate manager.
A large percentage of the horse was insured for infertility. I knew the insurance adjuster and a number of people that owned shares. The insurance company dictates how things have to be done before they will pay a claim. They ended up paying and taking ownership of X percentage of the horse. Coolmore payed X cents on the dollar and purchased him from the Underwriters.
I saw EGS win the 2000 Guineas, my first time to Newmarket racecourse. My first art “investment” is a signed and numbered 19 of 300 of the fabulous IMO painting by the NZ artist Peter Williams of him losing by a short head to Secreto (trained by V O’Brien’s son David) in the English Derby.
“EGS would have been one of truly great sons Northern Dancer if he’d had even moderate fertility”
Totally agree
Please don’t take exception for filling in, correcting some historic “facts”. It’s nice to see/read someone else that seemed to have been around the block. My first trip to Coolmore was with my father who was good friends with the “Partners” in 83 while it was still under construction. I was a “fly on the wall” but it was not lost on me how special it was to be allowed to sit at the same table with history makers. My father got invited to Sangster’s fabulous birthday parties in the Barbados. My invitation must have gotten lost in the mail.
Phonsie O’Brien the youngest and last living brother of V O’Brien died last week. Phonsie IMO personality wise was the complete opposite of Vincent. Gregarious and just a great guy to hang out with. But I didn’t “hang out” with the master and only had very brief “meetings”. I think he left the fun and story telling up to Phonsie
