The four-year-old son of Tavistock, sourced at the NZB Ready To Run Sale in 2022 for $170,000 by Sydney trainer Joe Pride and Kingmakers Leighton Howl, has now netted his syndicate of owners which includes Howl over six million dollars.
Ceolwulf commenced racing in Sydney as a spring three-year-old and was placed at his first start. He then won over 1500 metres and followed that with a second at his next start.
Returning as an autumn three-year-old his programme was focused on three-year-old group races, and at his third start he finished second in the Gr.1 Rosehill Guineas (1600 metres) before running second in the classic Gr.1 Australian Derby behind the ill-fated Champion Three-Year-Old Riff Rocket.
With a successful three-year-old campaign complete and Ceolwulf in the paddock, a plan was made for his spring four-year-old which would focus on the rich Sydney Spring Carnival.
Ceolwulf had six starts, winning over 1600 metres at his second, before being stepped up to 2000 metres and running second in the Gr.3 Kingston Town Stakes.
Dropping back to 1600 metres he chased the big money races the $A1.5million Gr.1 Epsom Handicap and the $A5 million Gr.1 King Charles III Stakes which also carried a $A750,000 Emerald bonus, and he showed his true class winning both.
Another successful plan had come to fruition for Pride and Howl and their syndicate of owners.
Growing up in thoroughbred entrenched Matamata, Howl had a lifelong racing apprenticeship developing an understanding of horses and their handling. His interest in the horse morphed into following form, studying pedigrees, and successful ownership.
Over the last 15 years he has honed his skills in bloodstock purchasing and management, with a number of successful syndicates and enlisting the expertise of respected veterinarians and trainers.
He is responsible for selecting and investing in three individual group one winners (Ceolwulf, Gaultier, Miss Keepsake) and another three black type winners (Lupo Soltario, Tomorrowland, Villifye)
He has proven to be very astute and Ceolwulf’s recent journey is testament to that.
Together Howl and Pride have had a lot of success racing horses in Sydney, in 2022 they teamed up to try and buy a potential Guineas/Derby horse at the Ready To Run Sale. Howl had made a couple of purchases from the sale including the group one winner Gaultier, and had sold a few successful $200,000k pinhooks. Pride had not previously shopped at this sale.
They put together a short list and set to work studying pedigrees, breeze-ups and finally inspecting the conformation of 40 odd horses. By the time they had completed their analysis and consulted their vets in Auckland and Sydney they had a short list of four horses they wanted to bid on.
Lot 146 a bay colt by Tavistock was on that list. A quality racehorse Tavistock found instant success as a sire and when Howl and Pride went looking for a Guineas/ Derby horse he had already sired half a dozen Derby winners across Australasia, along with a host of other stakes winners.
Ceolwulf was one of only three Tavistock’s in the sale and was from the last crop of the successful Montjeu stallion. He was bred by Cambridge Stud from their imported Sharmardal mare Las Brisas and boasted a strong stakes winning European family.
He was offered by Riversley Park draft and as soon as he walked out of the box both Pride and Howl were very much taken by the horse.
For Pride it was love at first sight, while Howl who had looked at a lot of Tavistocks over the 10 years he was at stud felt that he was probably the best Tavistock he had seen, declaring that he was the only Tavistock that looked like the sire when he was a racehorse.
As per the original plan Ceolwulf did his best to be the syndicate’s Guineas and Derby horse but was thwarted by Riff Rocket who was later named the Australian Champion of 2023-24. However, all was not lost, as a four-year-old he made up for it in spades by winning the Epsom a group one handicap mile, followed by the King Charles III Stakes a group one weight-for-age.
Ceolwulf 2022 Ready to Run Sale, Lot 146
