Deva Racing presents a rare and exciting opportunity to buy shares in a US-based French-bred yearling colt by No Nay Never. He is to be trained by multiple Gr.1 and Royal Ascot winner Wesley Ward and is part-owned by Coolmore supremo John Magnier.

Foaled on the 2nd of March, this stunning physical specimen was sourced by his trainer at the Arqana August Yearling Sale in Deauville. He is out of the winning Pivotal mare Girl Friday, whose three previous runners by Showcasing (twice) and Frankel are winners at 1m1f or less. 

Girl Friday is a half-sister to the Gr.2 Grand Prix de Deauville winner Glycon and her dam is the Listed Prix Finlande winner and Gr.1 Poule d’Essai des Pouliches runner-up Glorious Sight. The last-named is a half-sister to the Gr.2 Prix du Gros-Chene winner and celebrated producer Beauty Is Truth, another daughter of the esteemed broodmare sire Pivotal, who is the dam of the Gr.1 1,000 Guineas and Gr.1 Irish 1,000 Guineas heroine Hermosa, the dual Gr.1 winner Hydrangea and the Australian Gr.1 winner and sire The United States (all by Galileo).

It is also worth noting that the No Nay Never over Pivotal cross has previously resulted in the dual Listed-winning and Gr.3-placed sprinter Nymphadora.

To suggest this yearling colt comes from a high-class family would be something of an understatement. One man who knows plenty about top-class pedigrees, and this family in particular, is the legendary chief of Coolmore Stud, John Magnier. The aforementioned Beauty Is Truth joined the Coolmore broodmare band after her racing career and all of her Gr.1-winning offspring raced in the silks of John Magnier’s wife Susan or his ownership partners. For Deva Racing to be joining forces with such a titan of the industry is a huge coup.

Joining Coolmore in Fethard, County Tipperary, in the 1970s, a young Magnier soon turned it into the pre-eminent breeding operation in the world. Linking up with Robert Sangster, the duo descended upon the major North American yearling sales and pinpointed the progeny of the great Canadian sire Northern Dancer as the key to transforming the stud’s fortunes.

Before long they had bought the likes of The Minstrel, Alleged and El Gran Senor, all expertly trained by the masterly Vincent O’Brien from Ballydoyle, the training wing of Magnier’s empire, and a decades-long stream of unparalleled glory was in motion.

Vincent O’Brien would eventually be succeeded by his unrelated namesake, Aidan, as the in-house trainer at Ballydoyle, the likes of Michael Tabor and Derrick Smith have slipped into the position of co-owner once filled by Robert Sangster, and the baton of leading sire at the stud has been passed from the likes of Sadler’s Wells and Danehill, to Montjeu and Galileo, and now a new cast of talent. The constant amongst all of this success has been John Magnier.

In addition to their Irish base, Coolmore operates studs in Australia and the US, as well as a successful NH operation, and No Nay Never is one of the leading lights amongst a glittering array of stallions on the roster. He was trained by Wesley Ward to win the Gr.2 Norfolk Stakes and Gr.1 Prix Morny during an unbeaten two-year-old campaign and was a Gr.3 winner and Gr.1-placed at three. Since retiring to stallion duties in 2015, he is responsible for a host of Gr.1 winners such as Alcohol Free, Ten Sovereigns and Little Big Bear, to name just three.

He is undoubtedly one of the standout names trained by Wesley Ward. Winner of the Eclipse Award for outstanding apprentice in 1984 and the rider of more than 700 winners before weight got the better of him, Wesley has been sending out winners from his Keeneland base since turning his attention to training in 1991. Nearly 2,500 victories have followed, including 12 at Royal Ascot and six at the Breeders’ Cup, and he has a proven track record with the progeny of his former charge No Nay Never. This colt could not be in better hands.

Deva Racing and its partners will own 50% of this yearling, with John Magnier retaining the other 50%. That means that the horse will alternate which colours it races in, sporting Deva Racing silks on one day and the famed Magnier silks, carried by greats such as Galileo, Giant’s Causeway, George Washington, Hawk Wing, Rip Van Winkle and Yeats, plus this season’s brilliant Gr.1 Derby winner City Of Troy, on the next.

Rarely does an opportunity present itself at syndication level to get involved with a horse of this calibre, particularly with the input of one of the world’s leading trainers and a legend of the bloodstock industry. Shares are sure to sell out very quickly; please get in touch to learn more.