BADEN-BADEN, Germany–In a special year for German racing as the country celebrates the sport's 200th anniversary, what better way to bring the curtain down on Baden-Baden's Grosse Woche than by having dual German Horse of the Year Torquator Tasso (Ger) return to defend his crown in Sunday's G1 Grosser Preis von Baden? Before that, however, there is the not insignificant matter of around 200 of the country's best yearlings coming under the hammer on Friday in a catalogue that a number of potential buyers around the BBAG sales ground on Thursday were labelling as the strongest ever.
They certainly would not be disabused of that notion by BBAG's managing director Klaus Eulenberger, who could barely walk 20 yards on Thursday without greeting someone or being greeted. Between frequent phone calls he had a few moments in his busy day to assess the scene ahead of his company's biggest day of the year.
“All the usual, local faces are here but there are also many new faces, and international faces, and we are really happy about that, and with the catalogue,” he said. “And it is great for the racecourse that we will have Torquator Tasso here for what will probably be the last time [in Germany] on Sunday.”
While that catalogue is liberally sprinkled with some of the best female families in Germany, there is a broad international range to the stallions represented. Over the last three years, the sale has been topped twice by a Sea The Stars (Ire) yearling at the record price of €820,000, while last year the top lot was by Britain and Ireland's champion sire Frankel (GB).
Eulenberger continued, “Over the last few years we have been happy to see two or three yearlings by Sea The Stars, but now we have seven in the sale and two nice Frankels, Wootton Bassetts, a Kingman, a lovely Dubawi filly, four colts from the second-last crop of Adlerflug, lots of nice Soldier Hollows and a really nice Le Havre filly.”
That shopping list of some of Europe's elite sires has no doubt been a source of encouragement for some of the first-time visitors to Baden-Baden this week, which include Jason Litt, Ahmad Al Shaikh, Paul Nolan, Tom Clover, and Billy Jackson-Stops.
Mick Donohoe of BBA Ireland is not a newcomer to the sale but is in Baden-Baden for the first time in eight years. He said, “The catalogue is really good and now I have had a chance to look at the horses there are some really nice yearlings here. Klaus and his team have done a terrific job and it's a very easy sale to work.”
International consignor Philipp Stauffenberg has brought a select draft of four yearlings to BBAG which includes a trio that represents a departure for established breeders Gestut Honyhof, the owners of the 2002 German Oaks winner Salve Regina (Ger) (Monsun {Ger}), a full-sister to the German Derby winners Samum (Ger) and Schiaparelli (Ger). The late mare's purchase as a yearling not only led to Classic success on the track but has helped the farm to establish a significant dynasty. Two of Salve Regina's daughters, Salve Aurora (Ger) (King's Best) and Salve Haya (Ire) (Peintre Celebre), appear as the dams of two yearlings on offer on Friday. Salve Aurora's strapping son of Lope De Vega (Ire) is in the book as lot 158 and is a half-brother to two listed winners as well as a Group 3-placed winning 2-year-old, while Salve Haya's daughter (lot 61) is the only yearling by the late Le Havre (Ire) in the catalogue and is a half-sister to G3 Derby Trial winner Sea Of Sands (Ger) (Sea The Stars {Ire}).
Gestut Honyhof manager Simon Minch explained, “This is the first time we've ever sent horses to the sales. It's all part of the process, the owners aren't getting any younger, and this should put us on a solid foundation for the future. We're known as breeders, but we're not known as sellers, so it takes time to get established in the market and we're very pleased to offer three very decent yearlings to start it off.”
Espousing the eventual broodmare appeal of the Le Havre filly, he added, “I think nowadays we are maybe running into a little bit of problem with inbreeding and it is important to offer something that might be a bit of an outcross for breeders. She's a half-sister to a Group 3 winner and the dam has a lovely filly foal by Sottsass this year. It's a family of producers and it's a female line that rarely comes on the market.
“Salve Haya and Salve Aurora are both daughters of the Group 1 winner Salve Regina. She only had eight foals and they were all fillies. We have the full-sister to the Le Havre filly [Salve Le Meer] and she has been retained and was a winner this year at three.”
Completing the trio is a colt from the first crop of Ten Sovereigns (Ire) (lot 209) and again the sole representative of his sire in the sale.
Minch said of the dark-brown colt out of the dual winner and listed-placed Westfalica (Ger) (Areion {Ger}), “The family is a bit of a pet project of mine. It's the family of Jet Ski Lady but it had gone a bit quiet. I've put things like One Cool Cat and Areion, going back to the Vaguely Noble speedy side of things, and it has paid off. The second dam only ever had three foals and two of them were black type, so it is a fun family to play around with.”
Of Gestut Honyhof's association with Stauffenberg Bloodstock, he added, “I've known Philipp for many years and if you want to get the best you have to work with the best. That's why we are working with Philipp and we are very lucky to have him involved with our operation going forward.”
Undoubtedly plenty of focus will fall on the first foal Gestut Brummerhof's German Oaks winner Diamanta (Ger) (Maxios {GB}), who also happens to be the only Dubawi (Ire) yearling catalogued this year in Germany (lot 178). The dark-brown filly certainly didn't fluff her lines as she paraded serenely for plenty of interested parties on Friday and her breeders Gregor and Julia Baum, who proudly boast the tagline 'The Home of Danedream' on their sales branding, are no strangers to success at BBAG. Brummerhof broke the record yearling price when topping the sale in 2019 with a daughter of Sea The Stars sold to Godolphin. Can they do it again on Friday? Time will tell, but it appears that they could well have strong competition.
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