'There's a page and sire power there' - DNA Equine ready to shine again with Guineas Breeze-Up Sale trio

Donna Cowens and Nicky Souza de Oliveira of DNA Equine and their input is already encoded in two of the biggest success stories of the breeze-up sales season, illustrating the interconnectedness of those involved.

Souza de Oliveira is one of the finest jockeys on the breeze-up scene and he was in the saddle for the gallop on the Rowley Mile that so impressed the Godolphin team at the Craven Sale they splashed out 1,400,000 guineas on the Acclamation colt, prepared by Willie Browne.

One of the pinhooking sensations of the year so far is that of Johnny and Danielle Hurley, who sold a Kodi Bear colt at Goffs UK last week for £500,000 having bought him as a yearling for €9,000, and, like the Acclamation, he was knocked down to Godolphin. 

"Nicky is having a lovely year this year," she says of her partner who arrived in Newmarket on Sunday with their three horses for the Guineas Breeze-Up Sale, which takes place on Thursday. 

"He rode Willie's Acclamation at the Craven and then he rode the Kodi Bear that Johnny and Danielle Hurley sold at Doncaster. We had him at the start and broke him as a yearling, we break some of theirs, do the first month with them and they go back to Johnny and Danielle for prep.  

"Nicky did most of his proper work with him up on the Old Vic and on the grass gallops. He did say the whole way through that he liked him and I am delighted for Danielle and Johnny, it's a brilliant pinhook."

Souza De Oliveira is the man with the golden touch and will be in the saddle for some of Mocklershill's finest on the Rowley Mile on Wednesday, as well as the trio of juveniles DNA Equine consigns.

Nicky Souza De Oliveira riding the record-breaking Acclamation colt in his breeze Credit: Laura Green

Cowens and Souza De Oliveira met while working at the sales and he suggested that Cowens swap winters riding out for trainer Rose Dobbin back home in Northumberland for riding breezers for Willie Browne in Tipperary. 

She took the chance and spent four years at Browne's renowned breeze-up academy, learning while taking the next steps on the road to independence. They started pinhooking a horse or two, preparing them but selling under the Mocklershill banner before eventually finding the right home for DNA Equine in September 2023; a yard on the Maddenstown side of the Curragh where the Irish National Stud is their main neighbour.

While the breeze-up side of the business invariably is the one that garners headlines, and can produce the kind of life-changing windfall seen last week, there isn't enough certainty and stability to sustain a business and a life on its own.

Not that they haven't experienced transformative sales themselves and early enough in the life of their brand to be crucial in grabbing attention.

At Goffs UK in 2023 they sold Mantra, a Tamayuz filly bought for €10,000, to Highclere for £160,000, something Cowens modestly ascribes to beginners' luck.

Not in the same realm in monetary terms, but definitely another eye-catching percentage increase, was their debut at Osarus in early April. At La Teste they sold a Lucky Vega half-sister to Listed Naas Juvenile Fillies Sprint Stakes runner-up Chicas Amigas to Outsider Bloodstock.

"She only did two pieces of work before she went and each time she worked she surprised us with how well she did. She exceeded expectations; we did not expect to turn €2,000 into €22,000!" Cowens says.

Breaking and pre-training are essential elements of the DNA Equine brand and complementary to the preparing of breeze-up horses.

Cowens says: "The breaking and pre-training are not that dissimilar to a breeze-up prep, and we would treat the breeze-up horses as if they were going to be racehorses rather than focusing on the two furlongs of the breeze. They only have to gallop two furlongs on that one day, when they are racing they will be galloping over much further and you want to sell horses who can train on and keep running for several years."

Up to a certain point, the pre-training and the breeze-up horses are done together.

Copacabana Beach (left) finishing second at the Curragh on her first start for Michael O'CallaghanCredit: Patrick McCann

It is solely a two-person operation, with Souza De Oliveira in Newmarket overseeing the breeze-up horses this week, while Cowens is at home finalising the preparations of their two horses for the Tattersalls Ireland Breeze-Up Sale in late May, dealing with clients and the administration side of the business which has been the biggest educational development.

Last year the couple had a Sands Of Mali filly who was rejected by every sale company for each auction they put her forward to. Private sales were not forthcoming so they were left with little option but to put her into training, despite the outlay being one that they could have done without.

Diego Dias, who trained Copacabana Sands for them, also shared their belief in her ability. 

"He said, 'Don't worry she's a racehorse but probably a three-year-old,'" Cowens recounts.

Dias's judgment was spot on. The three-year-old ran five times for them including when third in the Irish EBF Auction Series Race Final at Naas in October and caught the eye.

Prior to the start of this season, Copacabana Sands was sold privately to Michael O'Callaghan and was runner-up on her debut for the trainer at the Curragh last month. She then ran a solid race to finish fifth in the Group 3 Priory Belle Stakes at Leopardstown, a performance which earned her a Racing Post Rating (RPR) of 105.

"We said we would have to race her, not that we have lots of money or anything but we loved her and thought she deserved a chance. We tried to sell her but we couldn't so we had to run her ourselves. She's entered in the Group 3 Mutamakina Stakes at Leopardstown on Sunday week [May 11]," she adds.

There are different routes to success and courage of your convictions is a necessary quality for anyone pursuing their own path.

Copacabana Sands might not yet have made headlines, but she shares the DNA of those who already have.

DNA Equine's Guineas Breeze-Up draft

Lot 180
Chestnut colt
Shaman - Alys Love (New Approach)

Purchased by DNA Equine for €18,000 at last year's Goffs Orby Yearling Sale, the colt's a brother to Brian, the best two-year-old from Shaman's first crop, who finished third in the Group 3 Sirenia Stakes and Listed Chesham Stakes.

Now with Stan Moore, Brian is due to make his seasonal reappearance at Ascot in the Group 3 Pavilion Stakes on the same day his younger brother breezes for selling .

"That would really be quite a dream if he could do something in that race, but you need a lot of luck," Cowens reflects. "We hope our Shaman can be as good as his brother. I have to say he is a racehorse, he is my favourite horse in the yard. He does everything very easily, he is the most chilled, laid-back dude - he can go and do a piece of work, and he really impresses in his work, but then he'll come back and walk round in a headcollar for his pick of grass. Nothing bothers him."

Lot 315
Bay colt
Kingman - Samba Inc (Include)

The Kingman is out of Samba Inc who was a Group 1 winner over a mile as a two-year-old in Argentina and he is a brother to Chocalho who was placed on her second start at two last season for Dermot Weld and Juddmonte. DNA Equine picked up the colt from Baroda for €20,000 at the Goffs Autumn Yearling Sale last year. 

Cowens says: "The mare won a Group 1 in Argentina and he's by Kingman so there's a page and sire power there. When he went through the ring we said, 'he could make small money or he could make anything, you just don't know.'

"Again, he's really straightforward and he has strengthened up in his prep. He isn't the biggest in the world but he's a very strong horse, and he rides really really big. He goes very nicely.

"Kingman - it's there in black and white in front of you."

Lot 339 
Bay filly
Iffraaj - Starrylita (Galileo)

Her dam is a sister to Group 3 winners Roberto Escobarr and Pablo Escobarr and a three-parts sister to Oodnadatta, who was third in the Moyglare Stud Stakes. Their dam is Bewitched, a four-time Group 3 winner out of Abbatiale, who was runner-up in the Prix de Diane. The filly sold to DNA Equine for €13,000 at the Goffs Orby Yearling Sale last October. 

"She looks like a colt!" Cowans says of the March-born bay. "She's a really strong filly and goes nicely. Breeding-wise she has a page that means she could go on and be a broodmare in the future. When we are buying fillies we look at pages a bit differently, you look to buy a filly who could have a second career and she has that."

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