British trainer sells Breeders’ Cup contender for big bucks then has dream of first runner dashed - The Mirror

Newmarket trainer Stuart Williams landed a huge windfall when Pandora’s Gift fetched £660,000 on Wednesday but her new connections have scratched her from the Filly & Mare Sprint

British trainer Stuart Williams toast of a huge windfall at the sales has been tinged by a bittersweet aftertaste.

The Newmarket trainer was on the verge of saddling his first ever Breeders’ Cup runner in Pandora’s Gift in the £724,000 Filly & Mare Sprint at Del Mar on Saturday.

The three-year-old was declared for the Grade 1 among the ten-strong field for 7f race on dirt.

But she was bought by new connections at auction on Wednesday night and the owners Larry Sarf’s LSU Stables decided not to run her.

Williams, who flew to California for the race meeting, took the change of plan on the chin knowing he had achieved his main aim when he sent her to the US where she ran two races before going through the auction ring at a special sale at Del Mar.

“She’s made $850,000 which is a fantastic price,” said Williams, speaking to the Breakfast at the Breeders' Cup show. “We paid €28,000 for her as a yearling. She’s been brilliant for us, we’ve had a great journey with her.

“We brought her over here to race two months ago, she’s raced fantastically and she’s been sold to the Christophe Clement stable.

“Unfortunately for us they don’t want to race her on Saturday night so we don’t get to have a runner in the Breeders’ Cup which is a bit sad but we can’t have our cake and eat it.

“The plan was to bring her here to sell and we sold her for a fantastic price and everyone’s really happy.”

Pandora’s Gift won four in a row between December and May this year and was placed in two Grade 2 races in the US.

“We ran out of options in Europe for her,” he said. “We hatched a plan to run her at Presque Isle Downs where we were slightly unlucky to get beat and she only got beaten a neck.

“If she’d run ordinary we’d have probably taken her home. We ran her at Keeneland and finished third which paid for the $30,000 entry here so we decided to roll the dice and come here.

“It’s so special to be here. It’s some of the best horses in the world, the best trainers in the world all in the one place at the one time on a fantastic day by the beach. It’s a dream really.

“You have to have the owners to do it. The family owns this horse. I own a share myself, my mother, brother-in-law and his sons, everyone has pulled together in the same direction and tried to come over here. It’s all been worth it.

“We have a good reputation at home but are not known internationally. I hope it showcases what we can do.”