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SportsTranscript
00:00We've been fortunate in the last few years to welcome a number of new players to the
00:06industry who have signalled their intent to play the long game. Among them is Wotnan Racing
00:11whose first horse and training purchase was Isaac Shelby, a son of Night Thunder. He has
00:16retired to New South Park stud and while he was on show at the Tattersall Stadium Parade
00:21during the February sale, TDN seized the opportunity to speak with Julian Dollar about the classic
00:27placed horse. Isaac Shelby came out and won his maiden at Newbury on debut by three and
00:34a half lengths, pretty impressive start. Second start he stepped up to run in the group two
00:38superlative stakes at Newmarket, he won that. Same race that was won by his grandson, Dubawi,
00:44Native Trail and of course a couple of years ago City of Troy, so it's a pretty good two
00:48year old race to win. He then came out as a three year old and won brilliantly on his
00:53debut in the Greenham Stakes, obviously a major classic trial. He won that by three
00:59lengths from multiple group one winning Milo Charin with the rest of the field miles behind.
01:05So his obvious next step was to go for a guineas and he came within a short head of winning
01:09a guineas. He was in front but he just got done on the line. He's a proper seven to eight
01:15furlong horse. He's got that speed, he's got that precocity and as you said he was bloody
01:21nearly a guineas winner so he's got an awful lot to offer. I've dealt with a few Night
01:26of Thunders and that Dubawi Sire line a fair bit and I've known that temperament is generally
01:31very good but this horse seems to have an exceptional nature. He's a very, very kind
01:35horse. You go and sort of fuss him and stroke his head, he sticks his tongue out and wants
01:40you to play with his tongue and he's just a lovely, lovely character. I think he's very
01:45hard to fault. He stands sixteen and a half an inch so you could send him a small mare,
01:50you could send him a big mare. He's very correct. I know that that can be a fault of
01:54Night of Thunders but he was quite an expensive Night of Thunder from one of his first crops
01:59so it says a lot about him physically that he's correct. He's got a pretty good walk.
02:05I know again that Dubawi line can be slated for not necessarily having a great walk but
02:09I think he walks pretty well. So physically I think he suits a lot of mares. The temperament
02:14is obviously a great attribute for a highly strong mare. He'll blend well with that. We're
02:19excited to be standing the only son of Night of Thunder but the fact that it's owned and
02:23we're doing it in partnership with Wathland Racing is very important. These guys I hope
02:29are here to stay and they could have a major positive influence on the UK breeding and
02:35racing industry. They already have but they have a lot to offer. To work with two guys
02:41like Ollie Tate and Richard Brown is an absolute dream. They're so easy. They know the industry
02:46inside and out. They trust us to do a decent job. It's all done on yes and no and a phone
02:51call and they're going to support the horse. More so probably in the ring in the early
02:57days as they're building up their broodmare band. They're just starting in that regard
03:00but they certainly will be there to support the horse and he means a lot to them. He was
03:04one of the first horses they bought. I think he probably was the first horse they bought
03:08to race on with so I think he's important for them and they will support him accordingly.