I first encountered Senorita Rumbalita prior to the Fairyhouse November Sale in 2007 when we visited Mill House Stud to view a consignment of very appealing NH mares. My top pick was Chamoss Royale, who was a more highly rated racehorse with more glamorous pedigree; but Rumbalita was winner of a Grade 2 over hurdles and of a Listed NH Flat Race, whereas Chamoss Royale had ‘merely’ been Listed placed over hurdles and fences. The two were in foal to King’s Theatre and Presenting respectively, though Chamoss Royale was a year older. Accordingly, I valued my top pick at a maximum of €95,000 and the second choice, Rumbalita, at €110,000. This was before the 2008 financial crash!
Chamoss Royale came up first and we bid the allocated sum. The board then went up to €100,000 after which the auctioneer announced ‘Not Enough’; and she was led out unsold. Rumbalita followed her into the ring and here the bidding went to €100,000 fairly swiftly, and I bid €110,000. This was my one-and-only bid; and it was definitely ‘not enough’ as she was sold for €160,000 to Philip and Jane Myerscough. Bye bye and goodnight! I tried to purchase Chamoss Royale outside the ring, but it was €100,000 or nothing – which meant nothing.
This looked a fairly bad piece of non-business in future years when the King’s Theatre foal Chamoss Royale was carrying turned out to be a colt (Southfield Theatre) that won a Grade 2 Chase, a Listed Hurdle and placed second in the RSA Chase at Cheltenham. Her next two foals, Southfield Vic and Southfield Royale, were also high-class racehorses. She was a top-class broodmare; and this was the one occasion that I would, if I could, beam back in time and offer one more bid to buy a mare – if I could also beam back to having the money to pay for her!
In contrast,, Senorita Rumbalita did not prove such an immediate success. The foal she was carrying in 2007, Bedrock Lady, failed to win; and, whilst her next foal, Havana Dancer, won four races and was Black-Type placed, their dam was back at Tattersalls four years after her €160,000 sale, when her price fell to €50,000. Five years after that she returned again, this time in foal to Yeats with a reserve of €30,000. Since she had now reached the advanced age of fifteen, I considered this excessive. When she failed to reach it, I purchased her as one of Telescope’s second-season mares for the more realistic sum of €20,000, a fall of €140,000 in the nine years since I had first encountered her.
Unfortunately, Rumbalita slipped the Yeats foal that winter, and Coolmore refused to give a free return in lieu. The stated reason was that the person from whom I had bought her in foal to Yeats had paid for the nomination, rather than me – though I am not aware that she was refunded either. No wonder their boss is a billionaire!
However, Rumbalita bore a colt by Telescope in 2018 and fillies by Black Sam Bellamy and Highland Reel in 2019 & 2020 (the latter arose from a free nomination given by a friend rather than belated feelings of guilt from employees of ‘the lads’); and these sold for in excess of £50,000, rendering her a rather better buy at the age of fifteen than she would have been at seven. This was helped by Rumbalita’s 2014 foal, Havana Hermano, proving himself a useful racehorse by winning two hurdles and a chase.
Of the foals we have so far produced from Rumbalita, none is yet to win, although ‘Blacksamssenorita’ (cunningly named by owner Ashton Selway so there is no chance he will forget the pedigree) finished a promising third in her first NH Flat race. We also have hopes for Ramalamadingdong and the putative Cougarontheloose.
At the age of 23 Senorita Rumbalita produced her final foal in May 2024, a bay or grey filly by Logician, born three weeks early. Despite this, she is growing into a good-sized, determined filly with a lot of potential; and she is likely to be retained by us to lease / race. If so, we may burden her with another song title that I hope proves apt – but I won’t mention it yet in case someone steals it!
