The irony is not lost on Jake Ballis, co-founder of Black Type Thoroughbreds, that his ownership group has played something of a shop window for the Tattersalls Craven Breeze-Up Sale despite the fact that the American native has never even set foot on the complex at Park Paddocks. It is in the Black Type racing silks that Azizam (Havana Grey), who finished third in last year's Windsor Castle Stakes at Royal Ascot, and live Kentucky Derby contender Six Speed (Not This Time), have raced lately. Both horses were picked up by Ballis on the private market and, while he didn't put his hand up in the ring here 12 months ago, their success for the syndicate has prompted partners to pay close attention to the happenings in Newmarket this week. “We work every sale in America but, ever since we won the Queen Mary with Crimson Advocate, we started following the breeze-ups sales in Europe more closely in a bid to try and learn more about the pedigrees,” Ballis explained. “There is a chance that we do something at the Craven this week with the goal of trying to get back to Royal Ascot. We bought Azizam, who ran third in the Windsor Castle Stakes last season, so I do think that our partnership has shown a lot more interest in returning to Royal Ascot. We have to be open-minded and continue to look at these breeze-up sales and the private market and hopefully we will buy one or two this year.”Azizam was consigned by Derryconnor Stud at last year's Craven Breeze-Up Sale but failed to sell for 115,000gns. He went on to carry his consignor's [Katie McGivern] colours to victory on debut at Hamilton for trainer Karl Burke, after which a private trade was negotiated prior to Royal Ascot. With Six Speed, it was something similar. After the colt, who was initially sold at the Craven by Eddie O'Leary for 220,000gns to Bhupat Seemar, won a UAE 2,000 Guineas Trial by three lengths, Ballis took notice. He began to dream about the road to the Kentucky Derby and victory in the UAE 2,000 Guineas proper followed by a fine second in the UAE Derby has done nothing to pour cold water on that idea. Both horses, according to Ballis, are a fine example of the diverse quality on offer at the Craven Sale year in, year out. “It shows the depth of the Craven Sale,” he summarised. “You can take a horse from that sale and go run on the dirt but you can also get a very good turf sprinter. You can get anything at the Craven; long on the dirt or short on the grass. I've done some research on the sale and the roll of honour is pretty impressive. Hopefully we can assemble a list of three or four horses for the Craven Sale and, if we get outbid, we can turn our attention to the private market to preferably focus on a Queen Mary filly. It's kind of funny, we usually focus on fillies but, since Azizam popped up, more partners came on board and we went and purchased Six Speed. Ideally, we would focus on finding a filly for the Queen Mary, but we're obviously not going to handcuff ourselves and if the right colt became available, we would be willing to strike.”As Ballis referenced, Black Type was involved in the ownership of the George Weaver-trained Crimson Advocate, winner of the 2023 Queen Mary Stakes at Royal Ascot. Ever since that memorable afternoon, the brief has been simple; repeat the trick. However, the success of Azizam and now Six Speed has opened up more avenues for partners to team up on high-potential colts.On plans for this week, Ballis concluded, “I always say that in horse racing, you can never make plans but I can remember when I sent an email out to my ownership group, I told them that if we got Six Speed bought, we could bring the horse back to the Kentucky Derby. For that to come to fruition would be very, very special. The first horse that I ever bought on the private market back in 2008 was a horse called Join In The Dance (Sky Mesa) and he ended up running in the Kentucky Derby the following year. He was 50-1 and finished seventh but it was the greatest feeling ever. I can remember thinking, 'wow, first horse and we make the Kentucky Derby. This isn't that difficult.' We have not been back since! The plan is on schedule and it's very special. Everyone is very excited and we have 117 people within our group between friends and family who are on course for the race. Logistically, it's been a challenge but to get a Not This Time colt with a stallion's pedigree and run in a Kentucky Derby, it's what all these ownership groups are all about. I've been impressed with the Craven Sale and it's just ironic that we bought two graduates from last year's sale without us bidding on them in the ring. But certainly, we'll be paying close attention this week. What we've learned as an ownership group is that you've got to be ready at all times to strike because you never know when the next good horse will pop up.”Meet The Domestic Buyer Who Believes Opportunity Could Knock This WeekJohn Fleming | TattersallsWord on the street is that there is likely to be a Kia Joorabchian-shaped hole in the market this week. The Amo Racing boss played a large part in the record-breaking trade here 12 months ago by spending 3,160,000gns on seven horses. His rumoured absence, coupled with the uncertainty in the Middle East, could spell opportunity for buyers. That is the view that John Fleming, a qualified accountant, racehorse owner and key cog in trainer Michael O'Callaghan's operation, is taking this week. He explained, “We were forced into buying the backend horses at the breeze-ups over the past number of years simply because the market for the Royal Ascot two-year-olds was so strong. There is an air of uncertainty, especially with the war in the Middle East and the whole global political scene, about the market but for us, that could represent a buying opportunity. If the market is any way shaky, we will be hoping to buy those Royal Ascot types, which we have struggled to buy in recent years.”Few trainers have shopped the breeze-up market better than O'Callaghan has, which makes sense, given he cut his teeth at this very discipline. The Kildare-based handler has sourced no fewer than 32 individual black-type performers from this sphere, headed by the likes of Angelic Light, Black Forza, Crypto Force, Blue De Vega, Steel Bull, Twilight Jet and Navassa Island, who carried Fleming's own red and navy silks to Listed glory at Cork earlier this month. Navassa Island is a Craven Breeze-Up graduate herself and Fleming, who also part-owns the Joe Murphy-trained G1 Coronation Stakes heroine Cercene, elaborated on what O'Callaghan's approach might be this week.He explained, “We buy 10 or 12 horses every year. I would like for five or six of those horses to be Ascot two-year-olds who could then go on to places like Goodwood and maybe even make a champion two-year-old out of one of them. The rest of the dozen would more than likely be made up of backend horses, which you don't have to spend as much on, and the more people we have on board the better the type of horse we can buy.”He concluded, “In previous years, we would have spent in and around €1 million on a dozen horses. We never sit down and say, 'this is the budget,' we just buy the horse. Michael is building extra stables and, the better the horse, the better chance you have because it costs the same to train a bad horse as it does a good one. But certainly, we feel like we might be able to get more bang for our buck at the breeze-up sales this year.”Flannery Has Reason To Dream With Starspangledbanner FillyMark Flannery | Tattersalls Whatever doubts linger about the market, one thing is for sure, Mark Flannery's Starspangledbanner filly [lot 147] will command plenty of attention. Flannery has been associated with classy horses like Landshark, Angelic Light and Caspian Queen and he feels he could have something potentially out of the ordinary with the Starspangledbanner filly who posted one of the most eye-catching breezes on the Rowley Mile on Monday morning. He said, “She is owned by the Gaffneys [Anne and Michael] of Churchtown House Stud in County Cork. They sent her to me in October and she has always showed us plenty. We don't usually break the clock but, generally, when they do a time like that, they are usually very good. Hopefully she is. “The standard there today was frightening. It's getting better every year and we're just trying to keep up. The level of the horses, and even the level of consignor, has improved massively in the past number of years. I have no doubt that I am better at what I do compared to, say, 10 years ago. The problem is, so is everyone else. If you stand still, you get eaten alive. You have to keep improving yourself and up the standard. Hopefully we've done that.”Flannery's draft is completed by a Too Darn Hot colt [137] and a Sea The Stars filly [61] and he is quietly optimistic about what the next two days will bring. He said, “We bought the Sea The Stars filly here during Book 2 for 70,000gns and I was delighted with her breeze as well. The Too Darn Hot also breezed nicely. He's very good-looking but might take a bit of time. Very happy with the three of them, to be honest. We always thought the Starspangledbanner filly was quick so it's a bit of relief that she came and did what we thought she could. Hopefully she stacks up well.”The post From US Interest To A Domestic Buyer With A Seven-Figure Budget: What To Look Out For At The Craven Breeze-Up Sale appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.