I came across Baila Me via strange and unfortunate circumstances. Howard Johnson rang one day in late 2020 to ask my advice on the valuations of some mares and foals that had been left with a young lady by their ‘owner’ – without his bothering to pay any keep or veterinary bills for 15 months. There were at least 7 mares (none covered in 2020) and five 2020 foals. The outstanding bills amounted to several tens of thousands of pounds.
None of the stud fees for the foals had been paid, so that made their valuation easy. Although three were by expensive stallions from Flat mares with good pedigrees, no covering certificates would be issued unless the ‘owner’ contacted the stud to make arrangements either to pay the fees or transfer ownership to allow a sale to go ahead. Since no such contact had been made, despite repeated attempts by the stud’s lawyers, no certificates would be released and as of 1st January 2021 the foals could no longer be registered as thoroughbreds, so their value would be minimal.
Of the mares, four stood out: one was by Sadler’s Wells and two by Galileo, all having very good pedigrees for Flat breeding; but all now had breeding records with ‘missing years’ and no NH connections, so I was unable to interest anyone in them as Jump breeding prospects. The fourth – actually the first whose pedigree I checked – was Baila Me; I was astonished by what I found.
Firstly, unlike the others Baila Me was a very good Flat racehorse, winner of the Group 1 Preis Von Europa as a 3yo, beating G1 winner Poseidon Adventure and three Aiden O’Brien challengers; she also won a Group 2 race in Germany and two Listed races in Britain.
She was a middle-distance runner with a good outcross pedigree, by the German sire Samum (brother to the German Classic winners Schiaparelli and Salve Regina and three-parts brother to the German Classic winner and successful sire Sea The Moon) out of a Law Society mare that had produced two Black-Type Placed (BTP) horses and another Group 1 winner – Baila Me’s full-sister, BE FABULOUS, whose first two runners were themselves a Listed winner and a multiple BTP horse. These were serious credentials!
Baila Me had been sold to Godolphin after her Group 1 win but was moved on by them for a mere €20,000 as a 12yo, to the ‘gentleman’ who purported to be her owner. He in turn had left large debts in both his name and that of his partner, who under the stress of the situation took her own life in 2019. My advice to the lady who was looking after Baila Me was to write to him advising that, unless he paid the money owed to her, she would take possession of all the horses with the intention of selling them to clear his debt. She took this advice and received no response. This being the case, I agreed to purchase Baila Me.
‘Why would I want a Flat mare after my previous breeding experiences with similar mares had proved somewhat unsuccessful?’ is a question that more observant readers (all two of you) are doubtless eager to ask.
Well, the first reason is that Baila Me was a far better racehorse than any of these (Rose Alto, Sierra and Estrelle). She also had an outstanding pedigree with tough German connections that are proving to be increasingly significant Jump influences, i,e. Samum, Schiaparelli, Sea The Moon, Monsun and Law Society. She was also a really good-looking horse: 16-2 h.h., dark bay and with good limbs.
Finally, although Darley had rejected her as not quite up to the level of racehorse production they aspire to, her breeding record wasn’t all that bad; and there were definite elements of promise for Jump breeding – apart from her racing ability, pedigree and looks!
Three of her foals were winners. One of them, Bailarico, won 9 races including three over hurdles, with best RPRS of 80 (Flat) and 130 (NH); whilst another, Paso Doble, won two Flat races and was sold for €125,000 to join Paul Nichols shortly before I bought Baila Me. Three months later he finished third in the Grade 2 Adonis Juvenile Hurdle on his first Jump start and won a novice hurdle on his second, which did nothing to dent my confidence in his dam. However, these remained his best efforts.
We completed the purchase in late December 2020 for what I regarded as a fair valuation for a soon-to-be 16YO mare, collecting her from Howard Johnson’s yard in County Durham. Transfer of ownership was completed shortly afterwards; Mr Hockenhull insisted on mating her at a rediculously early date; and in January 2022 she produced an impressive colt foal by Telescope.
Whilst the colt was a strong, slightly blocky individual as a foal his pedigree seemed notv to carry the same attractions to others as it did to me, and his walk was ok but no better than that. He brought a somewhat disappointing €10,000 to a telephone bid by Telescope’s former groom, Bulent, who was looking for a colt by Tele in order to pursue the dream of raising and racing one of his progeny. I really hope it works out for him!
However, that same year we hit problems with Baila Me. Although she initially got in foal to Logician she was empty when examined on October 1st and proved impossible to get in foal during the 2023 covering season. Uterine problems meant this was likely to continue, so sadly we had to say goodbye to the only Flat Group 1 winner we are ever likely to have, I just wish the one colt she left us had been a filly, so she could chase the same dream for her breeders.