Cover image courtesy of Darley
TJS Bloodstock has successfully bid for the final nomination for Darley shuttle stallion Too Darn Hot (GB) paying $55,000, with all proceeds going to support the CatWalk Spinal Cord Injury Research Trust.
The auction, conducted on the Magic Millions Online platform, drew strong interest from several bidders, with the final price $11,000 more than what Too Darn Hot will stand for in his second season in Australia at Darley Kelvinside.
“To TJS Bloodstock, on behalf of the team at Darley and Watership Down Stud congratulations on securing the final nomination in Too Darn Hot, we thank you for supporting a wonderful cause in CatWalk,” Godolphin Australia’s Managing Director Vin Cox said.
“Too Darn Hot is set to cover another exceptional book and we have no doubt these funds will help support much-needed spinal cord injury research.
"Too Darn Hot is set to cover another exceptional book and we have no doubt these funds will help support much-needed spinal cord injury research." - Vin Cox
Meg Spiers, CatWalk's general manager, also expressed her gratitude for the support which will assist in the funding of research and trials in Australia and New Zealand.
“The proceeds from this sale will go towards world-class research in New Zealand, and also to a neurostimulation trial occurring at NeuRA in Sydney,” CatWalk General Manager Meg Speirs said.
“The CatWalk Trust believes the need for the development of treatments being made available across Australia and New Zealand is critical to repairing the complex damage caused by a spinal cord injury.”
Too Darn Hot (GB) | Standing at Darley
TJS Bloodstock is headed up by Victorian businessman Simon Raleigh.
Magic Millions Managing Director Barry Bowditch was also pleased with the outcome of the auction.
“We are thrilled that the Magic Millions Online platform was the vehicle for the sale of the Too Darn Hot nomination,” he said.
“We congratulate Darley and Watership Down Stud for donating the nomination, we thank all bidders and congratulate TJS Bloodstock for being the successful purchaser.”
CatWalk was founded in 2005 by Catriona Williams, formerly one of New Zealand’s leading international equestrian riders. Following a riding accident in 2002, Williams is a C6/C7 tetraplegic and confined to a wheelchair. Williams runs Little Avondale Stud in New Zealand, along with her husband Sam.
Sam and Catriona Williams, the founder of CatWalk Trust | Image courtesy of Little Avondale Stud
Given he shuttles from Darley’s Dalham Hall Stud in the United Kingdom, Too Darn Hot's book is restricted to 130 mares per Australian season.
Among his first book were the likes of G1 Blue Diamond S. winners Catchy (Fastnet Rock) and Earthquake (Exceed And Excel) and the dual Group 1 winner Cosmic Endeavour (Northern Meteor). His first foals are set to arrive this spring.
