The conclusion of the two-day Goffs Sportsman's Sale on Friday marked the end of a strong four days of trade at Goffs's Kildare Paddocks, with both the Orby and Sportsman's Sales rebounding from difficult 2020 renewals–when forced to move to Doncaster–and posting significant gains.
A shade over €3-million was added to the coffers on Friday when 150 of the 162 yearlings offered sold, bringing the two-day aggregate to €6,967,300. The cumulative average jumped 41% to €20,674, while the cumulative median rose 45% to €16,000. Last year at Doncaster, 67.7% of the offerings sold for an aggregate of £2,468,900, an average of £13,345 and a median of £10,000. The sale was up, too, on the 2019 renewal, the last time it was staged at Kildare Paddocks and before the pandemic hit: that year, 283 were sold for €4,854,900, at an average of €17,155 and a median of €13,000.
British-based agent Alex Elliott and American-based agent Ben McElroy were active at both Orby and Sportsman's, and they were the purchasers of Friday's most expensive lot, lot 719, a €100,000 colt by Belardo (Ire) who is bound for the U.S.
“He's going to Wesley Ward and the aim will be Royal Ascot so expect to see him at Keeneland next April,” said Elliott. The first foal out of the winning Tough Spirit (Ire) (Iffraaj {GB}) was offered by his breeder Denis McDonnell's Parkway Farm. McDonnell had purchased Tough Spirit carrying this colt for €40,000 at Goffs November in 2019.
The strength of the sale continued through to the very end, with the third-last lot through the ring commanding the session's second-highest price of €95,000. That was lot 854, a colt by Galileo Gold (Ire) from Vinesgrove Stud, and he was bought by Peter Nolan Bloodstock with trainer Noel Meade. Nolan outbid Tally-Ho Stud, which stands the young Group 1 sire Galileo Gold.
“We thought he was the outstanding horse of the day but we didn't intend giving that for him,” Nolan admitted. “We took on Tony O'Callaghan so we knew we were in the right ballpark then. He's a beautiful horse and the second one by the sire we have bought this year and we love him. He's for an existing owner in Noel's and hopefully he'll be lucky.”
All horses sold through the Sportsman's Sale were eligible for the 2022 €100,000 Goffs Sportsman's Challenge, which will be run at Naas over six furlongs in September, and that is the race trainer Johnny Murtagh is targeting for lot 831, a New Bay (GB) colt he picked up on behalf of Tony Smurfit for €75,000. The colt is a half-brother to two listed-placed horses, including this year's Coral Distaff and Flying Fillies' S. third Glesga Gal (Ire) (Lope De Vega {Ire}).
“He is a brother to a good horse and we are excited by him,” Murtagh said. “He looks a sharp 2-year-old type and one we will aim at the Sportsman's Challenge race. He comes from a good farm and we are very happy with the horses we have bought here this week.”
Upon conclusion of the Sportsman's Sale, Goffs Group Chief Executive Henry Beeby said, “And it rolled on. We are delighted that the Sportsman's Sale continued the vibrancy and tone of the Orby Sale with two days of strong, vibrant and lively trade. Once again we are indebted to our vendors who backed the sale with a really good commercial catalogue and were rewarded by a huge crowd of potential purchasers hungry to buy from start to finish. They were attracted by the individuals, the addition of the €100,000 Sportsman's Challenge and the added bonus of the superb new IRE Incentive Scheme that provided €10,000 vouchers only redeemable at Irish yearling sales to the winners of a bunch of races throughout the season. This excellent initiative has made a major impact and encouraged trainers in particular to engage with the Sportsman's Sale which is to the benefit of Irish breeders who chose the second part of The Irish National Yearling Sale for their yearlings.
“Once again this week has clearly demonstrated that Goffs can and will provide a vibrant market for every level of yearling from the blue bloods at the top across the spectrum to the sharp commercial types often referred to as 'trainers' yearlings.' Of course, Orby was headed by the millionaires but it is equally pleasing to see Sportsman's topped by a trio of six figure lots which drove the huge rises in each statistic. We are grateful to every vendor and each purchaser and have been so pleased to welcome new faces here for the Sportsman's Sale to join those who stayed after Orby. All of them have been enticed by the Purchaser Attraction Team at Goffs, our network of international agents and the proactive team at Irish Thoroughbred Marketing. These three groups combine sale after sale in a way that is quite unique and ensures that our clients are able to conduct their business in the most customer friendly sales complex whilst enjoying the kind of welcome that can only be found in Ireland.”
Leading the way at the Tattersalls Online September 15 Sale was a breeding right in first-season sire Time Test (GB) (Dubawi {Ire}) as lot 27, which went for 85,000gns to Peter and Ross Doyle Bloodstock. The stallion, who stands at The National Stud, has been enjoying a purple patch of late with his first juveniles and has celebrated black-type success with Group 3 winners Rocchigiani (GB) and Romantic Time (GB), while Tardis (GB) has already won a listed race and Sunset Shiraz (Ire) ran third in the G1 Moyglare Stud S. on Sunday after placing in the G2 Debutante S. earlier in her career. The 9-year-old also boasts Italian Group 3 third The King's Horses (GB) and has seven winners from 23 starters to date.
Ross Doyle said, “He's a young sire going places, by a top sire in Dubawi out of a well bred Dansili (GB) mare which we love. He's been very well supported in recent years and very well managed by Tim Lane and the team at the National Stud. We have bought it for a client who will support him with some very nice mares.”
“It's a great result and a true reflection on his success to date,” said The National Stud's Head of Nominations and Sales Joe Callan. “The Tattersalls Online platform offered an excellent opportunity for a breeding right to be offered on the back of Time Test's recent outstanding results.”
The second highest price on the day was 35,000gns for a breeding right in proven Group 1 stallion Havana Gold (Ire) (Teofilo {Ire}) (lot 32), who stands at Tweenhills. Haras du Mont Dit Mont purchased the breeding right in the sire of G1 Flying Five S. victor Havana Grey (GB).
Sophomore filly Espouse (Ire) (Elusive Pimpernel) was snapped up for 32,000gns by agent Alex Elliott, who was bidding from America. A winner in five starts, the bay is a half-sister to the placed juvenile filly Azure Blue (Ire) (El Kabeir), while her dam Sea of Dreams (Ire) (Oasis Dream {GB]) is a half-sister to group winners Pincheck (Ire) (Invincible Spirit {Ire}) and Valeria Messalina (Ire) (Holy Roman Emperor {Ire}).
“My mother part owns the 2-year-old half-sister Azure Blue who was very unlucky on her most recent start and we hope could be stakes class,” said Elliott. “She's a filly from a young family that I like a lot who had plenty of ability so I'm excited to have bought her.”
Patrick Cooper, representing Simmonstown Stud, said of lot 9, “We had a great sale. It was all very easy and for the lower end of the market, online is probably the way forward.”
Overall, 11 lots sold from 25 offered for a gross of 188,200gns. The average was 17,109gns and the median settled at 9,000gns.
DONCASTER, UK–Any fears that a reduced catalogue and lack of high-end Maktoum participation could lead to a soft market at the Goffs UK Premier Sale were firmly quashed as the auction came to a close on Wednesday in Doncaster with a set of results that compared favourably with the pre-Covid era.
At 366 lots, Goffs UK compiled a catalogue that was 8.5% smaller than last year. Yet in a testament to the quality of horse on offer, not to mention the appetite of buyers on the ground, the sale returned an aggregate of £13,334,000, up 18% from 2020. The average also rose by 20% to £40,907, while particularly impressive was the clearance rate of 89%.
A total of 13 yearlings made six figures headed by a first-crop son of Darley's Harry Angel (Ire) (lot 296), who provided a fine advert for his young sire by selling for £220,000 on Wednesday to agent Alex Elliott.
Goffs UK Managing Director Tim Kent was understandably delighted with the level of trade.
“The Premier Sale is back on track,” he said. “Last year's sale endured its own Covid-related challenges but, with the help of a very loyal band of vendors and purchasers, we've seen a remarkable trade over the two days and proved to everyone that 2020 was a one-year blip due to circumstances beyond anyone's control. The car park has been overflowing since Sunday morning and the footfall of genuine buyers has been incredible. There has been a real buzz around the sales complex over the last few days and it's great that this has resulted in trade which started well yesterday, finished strong last night, and kicked on again today.
“The impressive 89% clearance rate shows the demand for Premier yearlings is as strong as ever. The fact that the 13 six-figure yearlings were purchased by 11 different buyers demonstrates the diversity of the buying bench associated with this sale whilst our policy of going 'back to the future' when selecting the traditional 'Donny yearling' has clearly proved popular with buyers.
“We've said this before but it is never more relevant than today; we simply cannot do this without our clients. Without them, we are nothing and we would like to thank all of our vendors for putting their faith in the Goffs UK team. We are absolutely delighted that this loyalty has been well rewarded, and we wish all purchasers the best of luck with their new racehorses. We are already looking forward to next year, when we will see the next star graduates emerge, and build again on two great days in Doncaster.”
His views were echoed by Richard Brown of Blandford Bloodstock.
“I think it's a fantastic trade,” said the agent, who signed for two six-figure lots. “I've been involved on the selling side with vendors as well and there's been some fantastic sales. Lots of horses are changing hands. It's great to see and good on Doncaster.”
The £220,000 sale-topper will be trained by Clive Cox after Alex Elliott saw off Oliver St Lawrence to sign on behalf of an undisclosed client. Offered by Houghton Bloodstock, the colt was bred by Cheveley Park Stud and descends from one of their most successful families as a son of listed winner Red Box (GB) (Exceed And Excel {Aus}), herself a daughter of the stud's G1 Prix de Diane heroine Confidential Lady (GB) (Singspiel {Ire}).
“I am delighted to buy him, first and foremost because he's an exceptional individual, but also because Mr and Mrs Thompson and Chris Richardson have been extremely supportive of me–I was able to buy A Plus Tard for them,” said Elliott. “So I'm very happy to be able to buy one from Cheveley Park Stud.
“He's by one of the best horses that this sale ring has ever seen and out of a very fast mare. He also vetted perfectly and watching him in the back ring, it was like men against boys.
“You could see all the breeze-up boys on him and they're the best in the business with the fast ones. But when you get into the end-user territory, then it can thin out a bit.
“He's for a new client and with the passing of Sheikh Hamdan, who was such an influential figure within the industry, and especially at this sale, we felt there was a bit of a gap in the market. We were all out at the end but we're pretty excited. Hopefully there will be a photo of him outside on the wall here this time next year.”
Red Box was trained by Sir Mark Prescott to win three races, including the 2016 Listed Valiant S. at Ascot. Her first foal, Secret Box (GB) (Le Havre {Fr}), is also a winner this year and rated 81 for the Newmarket trainer while her 2-year-old by Pivotal (GB) is in training with Martyn Meade.
“I bought his third dam Confidante as a yearling and it's a family that has done us proud,” said the stud's managing director Chris Richardson. “Confidential Lady provided Mr and Mrs Thompson with a great thrill when she won the Prix de Diane. This colt is a bonny horse by a first-season sire that we thought would be a nice one to send to Doncaster. Mentally he's very sound and what I really liked about him was how he thrived from the moment prep started.”
Top sprinter Harry Angel is one of the most celebrated graduates of the Premier Sale, having sold for £44,000 to Clive Cox at the 2015 edition, and with a sale-topping transaction in the books, it was appropriate that he should reign as the auction's leading first-crop stallion thanks to five yearlings who sold for an average of £92,000.
Star for Fitzgerald
From an investment of just 10,000gns in the Bated Breath (GB) mare Under Offer (Ire), Alice Fitzgerald and Michael Doyle were able to reap excellent rewards on Wednesday in the sale of a homebred Starspangledbanner (Aus) filly (lot 381) for £160,000 to M V Magnier.
The filly is the first foal out of the mare, a half-sister to listed winner Bayargal (Bernstein) who was purchased by the pair through SJ Leahy Bloodstock at the 2018 Tattersalls July Sale.
“We'd had our eyes on the mare for a while and we were able to buy her,” said Fitzgerald, whose select draft also included a £55,000 first-crop son of Kessaar (Ire). “We actually tried to sell her later on at Tattersalls but luckily she didn't sell. This filly is a good first foal and it helps that Starspangledbanner is having an excellent season. The mare isn't that big so I think he has put a bit of strength into this filly.”
The filly was the sole purchase made during the two days by Magnier. Speaking on behalf of the Coolmore team, its UK representative Kevin Buckley said, “She was a lovely filly, a very good first foal, and all the team loved her.”
Tally-Ho On Top
The sale of a Kodiac (GB) colt for £210,000 sealed an excellent sale for vendor Tally-Ho Stud, who wound up as leading vendor thanks to 20 yearlings who turned over £1,188,000. The star act was lot 359, a homebred colt out of the Pivotal (GB) mare Stunner (GB) for whom Richard Brown of Blandford Bloodstock outbid Alex Elliott on behalf of Sheikh Juma Dalmook Al Maktoum.
The owner has horses in training with an array of British trainers and this colt is set to join Richard Fahey, who sent out Perfect Power (GB)–a grandson of Kodiac–to win Sunday's G1 Prix Morny in the colours of Sheikh Juma's younger brother Sheikh Rashid Dalmook Al Maktoum.
“Obviously Sheikh Juma's brother, Sheikh Rashid, had a good weekend and so he wanted to find a nice colt to go to Richard,” said Brown. “We ran through them here with Richard and we both fell on this colt–he's a smasher. He comes from a top-class farm, he's an early foal, he looks forward and then you have the Pivotal mare. It was further than we thought we would have to go but he was the one horse we really wanted in the sale and we're delighted to get him.”
Bred on the same Kodiac-Pivotal cross as Group 1 winner Fairyland, the colt is the first foal out of Stunner, who was purchased to join Tally-Ho for 77,000gns as an unnamed 3-year-old at the Tattersalls July Sale in 2018. The mare is out of listed winner Adonesque (Ire) (Sadler's Wells), also granddam of the G2 Coventry S. hero Buratino (Ire) (Exceed And Excel {Aus}), and from the further family of influential sire Danehill Dancer (Ire) (Danehill).
As for Sheikh Rashid, he did not come away empty-handed, acting through Brown to invest £100,000 in a colt by Perfect Power's sire Ardad (Ire) from Whatton Manor Stud. As with the Kodiac colt, he will be trained by Richard Fahey.
Brown is well placed to appreciate Ardad better than most having purchased the horse as a Doncaster breezer back in 2016 in addition to his flag-bearing son Perfect Power as a 2-year-old in the same ring in April.
“Ed [Player of Whatton Manor Stud] rang me a couple of weeks ago to say he'd just had a belter of an Ardad walk into the yard,” said Brown. “My ears pricked up and obviously Ed was right–he's a smashing colt, very athletic and with a great temperament, something that we're seeing coming through a lot with the Ardads. And he comes from very good breeders. So it all added up. He was hard enough to buy though–we had to outbid a very good judge in Clive Cox.”
The colt was bred by Mick and Fiona Denniff–of Beat The Bank (GB) (Paco Boy {Ire}) and Kachy (GB) (Kyllachy {GB}) fame–out of their homebred mare Pigeon Point (GB). He is the second foal out of his unraced dam, who is a half-sister to three minor winners and from the further family of GI Travers S. winner Alpha (Bernardini).
The Denniffs have managed the first two generations of this family but it was only by a quirk of fate that Pigeon Point remained in their ownership, as Fiona Denniff explained.
“I bred the mare and when she was a yearling, something frightened them in a field and she was the first one to get out,” said the Nottinghamshire-based breeder. “She jumped two gates–despite being Flat-bred–and hurt herself so she never raced.”
She added: “We've been very lucky with Ardad. I went to look at him when he came to the sales to parade and thought then that he was a lovely individual, and one who would suit a number of my mares. So I actually bought a breeding right in him. We loved this colt from day one. He's very easy to deal with, very relaxed, and Ed and his team have done a marvellous job with him.”
Returning To The Well
Hopes that lightning would strike twice ran high following the sale of lot 268, a Dandy Man (Ire) filly, to Peter and Ross Doyle. It was at this sale two years ago that the father and son duo plucked a daughter of the same stallion for £25,000 out of the draft belonging to Jimmy Murphy's Redpender Stud. It has since proven to be money exceptionally well spent with the filly in question, Happy Romance (Ire), going on to win the G3 Dick Poole and Hackwood S. in addition to the 2020 Weatherbys Super Sprint and the Goffs UK Premier Yearling S. for Richard Hannon.
Yesterday, the Doyles returned to source for another daughter of the stallion, a filly out of Nuclear Option (Ire) who blossomed from a €29,000 foal into a £135,000 yearling.
“If she's as good as Happy Romance, that will be ok,” said Ross Doyle after outbidding Joe Foley. “She's for a good owner in the yard.
“We've been very lucky buying off Redpender before–we bought [G1 winners] Canford Cliffs and Toormore here off them in the past. We thought she was the pick of the fillies here. She really stands out. She's just a bit different, very mature–she looks right now like a 2-year-old going on three.”
The filly was making her second trip through the ring, having been picked up by Redpender for €29,000 as a Goffs November foal. Bred by John Grogan's Milestream Stud, she is the first foal out of her placed dam, a Frozen Power (Ire) half-sister to the listed-placed Danielsflyer (Ire) (Dandy Man {Ire}) who descends from Daniel Wildenstein's champion mare All Along (Fr) (Targowice {USA}).
“We were very lucky with Happy Romance,” said Murphy. “This was a lovely filly bred by a very good breeder, John Grogan. She was lovely the day we bought her and did everything right for us.”
Overall, it was a very productive sale for the Doyles as the purchasers of 16 yearlings for a total of £1,032,000, enough to place them at the head of the buyer standings.
Successful Day for Ballyhimikin
It was also a good day for James Hanly's Ballyhimikin Stud, which sold three colts for an average of £95,000.
Leading the way was lot 244, a second-crop son of Ribchester (Ire) who caught the imagination of Richard Hughes, so much so that the trainer was happy to stretch to £125,000 to secure the youngster on spec.
By a stallion who has sired ten first-crop winners to date, he was bred by Joseph Stewart Investments out of the placed Miracle Dictu (Ire) (King's Best {USA}), whose four winners include the Listed-placed Tres Belle (Ire) (Holy Roman Emperor {Ire}).
“We've done the rounds for two days and I thought he was the nicest horse here,” said Hughes. “I fell in love with him–he has great movement to him and he's a big, strong horse. He's going to be fine horse. I own him myself at the moment and there'll be a few sleepless nights but I couldn't help myself.”
He added: “I don't have any in training by Ribchester at the moment but I bought another by the sire yesterday, a colt for £28,000. You could see at the breeze-ups that they're big, fine horses, quite like him, and I think he's doing well.”
Breeder Trevor Stewart was watching on from Deauville and was understandably delighted with the result.
“He's the first yearling I've sold this year and I'm delighted,” he said. “I think this was the nicest individual that Mirabile Dictu had produced. He's a cracking, big, long-striding horse. We bred the dam and I bought her out of the partnership and put her in training. She was placed a couple of times and has done ok as a broodmare. Her daughter Tres Belle got black-type and now I have her first foal, Tortuguero, in training in France, and he's won this year too. It's a nice family that gets plenty of winners.”
Hanly and Stewart later combined to sell a Fast Company (Ire) half-brother to the listed-placed Snazzy (Ire) (Kodiac {GB}) for £80,000 to agent Armando Duarte.
Silver Linings
As a successful Premier Sale was consigned to the books at Goffs UK, another 69 yearlings comprising the Silver Sale catalogue were ushered straight into the ring for a final session of trade conducted at a more modest level.
Of that number, 47 horses were sold, with the average and median figures closely aligned at £8,830 and £8,000, respectively. A further £415,000 was added to the day's takings.
The session's leading light, as in the Premier Sale, was a yearling colt by a Darley sire, this one a colt registered as black, by Brazen Beau (Aus), and offered as lot 404.
Sarah Fanning, the wife of leading jockey Joe Fanning, is a relative newcomer to the scene as a consignor but she is an accomplished horsewoman and the £30,000 attained for the half-brother to four winners, including Topmeup (GB) (Mayson {GB}), was a considerable mark up on his foal price of 5,000gns.
Fanning consigned the colt on behalf of his pinhooker Vanessa Thompson. Bred by Whitwell Bloodstock, his dam Ambrix (Ire) (Xaar {GB}) is a half-sister to GII Del Mar Mile H. winner Ferneley (Ire) (Ishiguru) from the family of G1 Irish 1000 Guineas winner Just The Judge (Ire) (Lawman {Fr}).
With last year's Silver Sale having been merged with the Autumn Sale, it is hard to draw direct comparisons, and in 2019 more than double the number of yearlings were offered when 160 came under the hammer. But in that pre-Covid sale, the average, at £8,094, was slightly below that set on Wednesday in Doncaster, and the median was just £5,500. A mixture of relief and satisfaction can be drawn from a distinctly buoyant two days of trade in Yorkshire to get the British yearlings sales off to a decent start.
TIMONIUM, MD – The Fasig-Tipton Midlantic 2-Year-Olds in Training Sale returned to its traditional May spot on the calendar with an ebullient session topped by a $1.5-million son of Quality Road at the Maryland State Fairgrounds Monday. The seven-figure purchase was the co-highest priced colt ever sold at the Timonium auction, tying the price of a Curlin colt sold in 2017.
“It was unbelievable,” Midlantic Sales Director Paget Bennett said at the close of business Monday. “The activity in the barn area over the weekend was strong and all of the people you want to see at a 2-year-old sale were here. So we just hoped that everything would line up. And then this morning, the people just kept coming and coming. The pavilion was full of folks and the infield was full of cars.”
For the session, 170 head sold for $15,826,500. The average was $93,097–ahead of the record figure of $90,104 set in 2019–and the median was $45,000.
During last year's pandemic-delayed sale, 152 head sold during the auction's first session for a total of $12,632,500. The average was $83,109 and the median was $40,000.
“The consignors were here with top horses and people reconized that and they battled for them and it made for a great day,” Bennett said.
Of the 284 catalogued juveniles, 210 went through the ring. With 40 horses reported not sold, the buy-back rate was 19%.
For Bennett, Monday's results were a continuation of the demand for horses at all levels at last month's OBS Spring sale.
“From what I was hearing at OBS, people were just excited to be back for sales and wanting to buy horses,” Bennett said. “I heard so many people didn't get their orders filled in Ocala. We are the next stop and here we are. We are thilled we had a great catalogue to give them and the horses matched up.”
The Midlantic sale continues with a final session beginning at 11 a.m. Tuesday.
“We are certainly going to give it our best,” Bennett said when asked if the hot results would continue Tuesday. “I certainly hope so. From what I am hearing, we have a lot of really nice horses tomorrow, so we will hope for the same result. If we can keep on today's pace, I am thinking it will be another great day.”
A 'Proper Horse' For West Point
West Point Thoroughbreds' Terry Finley knew he'd have to dig deep to secure a handsome colt by Quality Road (hip 211) and, armed with the backing of a new partner, he saw off a determined Amr Zedan to secure the juvenile for $1.5 million Monday in Timonium. The colt, who worked a furlong in a co-bullet :10 flat last week, was consigned by Eddie Woods on behalf of Jon Clay's Alpha Delta Stables. He will be trained by Dallas Stewart.
“I talked to Eddie and he said this was a proper horse,” Finley said after signing the ticket on the youngster. “These Irish guys, when they throw that term out, that's a pretty good indication. They'll say, 'He's a nice horse.' But when they push it to the next level and talk about him being a proper horse, I take notice. And the fact that he's a big strong horse that worked in :10 flat (see below), you take a look at him and he's not supposed to work that fast, but he did it the right way.”
Of West Point's partner on the million-dollar baby, Finley said, “We have a brand new guy who took 50% of him. He's a West Pointer who is a little bit older than I am. He hasn't had a lot of success in the business and he called me a couple of days after the Kentucky Derby and he said, 'I want to compete in the big races.' So I told him I would give him my best effort. That's what we did.”
While Medina Spirit (Protonico)'s high-profile positive test following his GI Kentucky Derby victory two weeks ago tumbled the sport into turmoil, Finley said he believes the newly passed Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act will help to reassure and attract new investors.
“The last week has been turbulent, but up until then, I think people were really starting to look at the Horse Racing Integrity Act as something that in a short period of time is really going to help our business,” Finley said. “I just ask everyone in the horse business to get behind it because I think it will attract people and investors. I think it will present all of us a level playing field. I've always been a big fan of the Horse Racing Integrity Act, but especially now. I think we all need to get behind it and try to push it across the line.”
Finley did his bidding standing at the back of the pavilion. Just a few rows up, Medina Spirit's owner Amr Zedan was sitting with advisors Gary Young and Charlie Boden, as well as lawyer Clark Brewster. Zedan would ultimately bow out of the bidding and Finley said the difference was the bidding power inherent in partnerships.
“This is our 30th year, so we've been doing this a long time and you can't be intimidated when you walk onto a sales ground,” Finley said of the bidding war. “If you do, you're going to get intimidated very quickly. Because there is a lot of money. But I think that's the power of the partnership–the ability to make some calls and tell people, 'Look I have a very good prospect. I think he could be a special horse. And I'd love for you to take a part of him.' And I think this is one of those horses.”
For his part Woods, who also consigned the day's second-highest priced juvenile, was asked to define his 'proper horse' observation.
“A proper horse is a horse who has all the attributes of being a very good horse, both mentally and physically,” Woods said. “The way they move and the way they handle themselves. When you saw this horse up here in the back ring, he'd walk beside you without a shank on him. He's been like that since he came to us. Every time we worked him, we wished they were all like that.”
Clay purchased the juvenile's unraced dam Stormy Welcome (Storm Cat) for $600,000 as a 9-year-old at the 2015 Keeneland November sale. The mare, who is also the dam of stakes-placed Welcoming (Tapit), is a half-sister to Guest House (Ghostzapper), the dam of graded winner Guest Suite (Quality Road). The colt's third dam is Weekend Surprise (Secretariat), dam of A.P. Indy and Summer Squall.
Alpha Delta traditionally offers most of his foal crop at the yearling sales, but the decision was made to give this colt more time to mature last fall.
“This horse was very backward as a yearling and they weren't happy with the way he was coming into the sale, so they scratched him,” Woods said. “Then when they were giving him time, they said give him a lot of time. We discussed it and decided we'd go to the Timonium sale. He was always pointed for Timonium and it was a great plan because it came together.”
Of the colt's monster bullet work, Woods added, “I was nervous because I expected him to work really, really good. And it doesn't always happen, as you well know. But he nailed it and he galloped out fantastic. When I came back and watched the video, I couldn't believe it. He's the best video I've had on a horse in five or six years. I couldn't stop watching it. He just nailed it. And that's why he brought what he brought.”
A colt by Malibu Moon (hip 164), who worked the furlong in a co-bullet :10 flat during last week's under-tack preview, will be joining the Southern California barn of trainer Simon Callaghan after selling for $700,000 to bloodstock agents Alex Elliott and Ben McElroy. The two agents were bidding on behalf of a partnership.
“He was the horse we really honed in on,” Elliott said. “It's an old line, but when they tick all the boxes and jump through all the hoops, you know they are good horses. He looks like he can take us all the way.”
Hip 164 is a son of the unraced Seeking Atlantis (Seeking the Gold) and is a half-brother to graded placed Seeking Her Glory (Giant's Causeway). His second dam is multiple graded winner Atlantic Ocean (Stormy Atlantic).
“For a big horse on a tight track like this, he was so smooth and he had a great gallop out,” Elliott said. “He's a very hard horse to fault. He was an absolute king in the back ring. We are both delighted to get him. Ben and I work together here and in Europe, so it's good to hook up with him and get a horse that we wanted.”
Bred by Castleton Lyons and Kilboy Estate, the colt was consigned by Eddie Woods on behalf of Bill Harrigan's Miacomet Farm, which purchased him privately after he RNA'd for $135,000 at Keeneland last year.
“He was a beautiful colt,” Harrigan said of the colt's appeal last year. “I liked everything about him then. I was surprised that he RNA'd and the next day I bought him. But that horse has an exceptional demeanor. He has a tremendous stride and he's very athletic and smooth.”
Asked if he was surprised by the big colt's bullet work, Harrigan said, “Not really. We don't ask them to go that fast at Payson Park, but he had shown us that he was very talented.”
Bloodstock agent Jacob West got the best of a bidding war to acquire a New York-bred filly from the first crop of champion Classic Empire (hip 72) for $550,000 on behalf of Robert and Lawana Low Monday in Timonium. The bay filly, who worked an eighth of a mile last week in :10 1/5, was consigned by Sequel Bloodstock on behalf of breeders Chester and Mary Broman. Out of Newbie (Bernardini), she is a half-sister to multiple stakes winner Newly Minted (Central Banker).
“She's a nice filly who breezed well on this track here,” West said. “This filly breezed incredibly quick here and she galloped out big. She did it on the racetrack that's not the easiest to do that on. The New York-bred status was just an added bonus. She could have been foaled on the moon and we would have bought her. She is a beautiful filly. She'll go to Todd [Pletcher] and we'll keep our fingers crossed.”
The Lows have been among the many owners who have had success with Bernardini as a broodmare sire. The couple campaign GI Pegasus World Cup Turf Invitational S. winner Colonel Liam (Liam's Map) and Friday's GIII Allaire DuPont Distaff winner Spice is Nice (Curlin).
“We have had luck buying out of Bernardini mares,” West said. “We have two graded stakes winners this year.”
Hip 72 is the highest-priced juvenile so far for Classic Empire, who won the 2016 GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile and returned in 2017 to win the GI Arkansas Derby and finish second in the GI Preakness S. The Coolmore stallion was represented by a $450,000 colt at OBS April and a pair of $410,000 juveniles.
“He was an incredible racehorse himself, so it should be no surprise that he is getting good-looking stock,” West said. “And now we see them on the track at the 2-year-old sales. It's not a surprise that they are fitting the bill of what we are looking for. It's not very often you are champion 2-year-old and come back and win a big graded stakes at three like that. [Trainer] Mark Casse was always very high on him. You have a lot of confidence when you can buy one like that.”
Sequel Bloodstock's Becky Thomas has plenty of experience with the filly's family.
“We're incredibly happy with that result,” Thomas said. “We are happy with the trainer and the buyers. I have trained for Mr. Broman for a long time and been part of his program. I trained the mother and I have the family. This filly was beautiful and fast and smart.”
Broman, a major player in the New York breeding industry for decades, began aggressively selling three years ago as part of what he called, “estate planning.” The planning included the $2-million OBS March topper Chestertown (Tapit) in 2019.
“Mr. Broman started doing his estate planning very aggressively a couple of years ago,” Thomas said. “He's kind of relaxed a bit. He is enjoying participating in the New York program and participating in breeding. Even though he may race a horse or two, he's trying to keep the numbers to where it makes a little better sense for him. We will have some horses to sell for him as yearlings and some as 2-year-olds. I think he is enjoying a different kind of action. And he will continue to race, too.”
Sheila Rosenblum, bidding alongside bloodstock agent Kerri Radcliffe, secured a colt by Munnings (hip 260) for $460,000 late in Monday's first session of the Midlantic sale. Out of Tweet (Medaglia d'Oro), the dark bay worked a co-bullet furlong in :10 flat. He was consigned by Ciaran Dunne's Wavertree Stables. Dunne purchased the colt for $55,000 at last year's Keeneland September sale.
“We had our eye on him from the day he breezed,” Radcliffe said. “After he breezed, they couldn't pull him up. And Munnings is flying right now.”
Rosenblum said the colt would be trained by Steve Asmussen.
“He was at the top of our list,” Rosenblum said before adding with a laugh, “There was a Quality Road that was quite nice, too, but my financial brains took over.”
Asked if she was done shopping, Rosenblum said, “We don't know yet.”
Besecker Stays Busy at Fasig Midlantic
Prolific owner Joe Besecker, who was busy on both sides of the ledger early during Monday's first session of the Midlantic sale, capped a blitzkrieg buying spree with the $425,000 purchase of a son of Gormley (hip 56).
“When I saw this horse yesterday, I was there for about 45 minutes, and it's a very bad thing to fall in a horse, but I fell in love with this horse,” Besecker said. “Luckily, I will have some partners on him. This is way above my pay grade. I usually stay in the middle range. But I have a couple of partners and we decided we wanted to get one–ONE–expensive horse.”
The chestnut colt, from the first crop of GI Santa Anita Derby winner Gormley, is out of Mott N Hester (Super Saver) and is a half-brother to stakes placed Nicky Scissors (Mission Impazible). He breezed a furlong last week in :10 1/5 for consignor Robert Brewer. Ronnie Edmondson purchased the chestnut for $140,000 at last year's Keeneland September sale. He had sold for $77,000 at the Keeneland January sale.
“We vetted him twice, we had two or three vets on him,” Besecker said. “He's a late foal and he looks like a 3-year-old. I thought personally–I don't care what any of these other horses sell for–I will tell you in the last three years going to Kentucky, going to Florida, to my eye and I'm not really good at it, but to my eye that was the best looking horse I've seen in three years.”
Asked who would train the youngster, Besecker said, “I just had four of my trainers come up to me. We have to talk about it.”
Hip 56 was the ninth purchase of the young sale for Besecker. He paid $67,000 for a colt by Not This Time (hip 2) and $60,000 for a filly by Holy Boss (hip 55). He also sold a filly by Goldencents (hip 7)–purchased for $15,000 at last year's Fasig Midlantic October Sale–for $110,000 to bloodstock agent Larry Zap.
“I'm done for a little bit,” Besecker said. “We had that run and I sold one earlier today for a lot more than I thought I would. So I have to add it all up. I've blown my budget, so I need to see if I want to partner on one or two of these others.”
“A little bit,” didn't last all that long, as Besecker returned later in the session to secure an additional four juveniles. He ultimately signed for 13 head for a total of $859,000 and an average of $66,077.
Keen Purchase for Venosa
Steve Venosa may be buying more yearlings in the name of his young son Dylan in the future after scoring a second big pinhooking score of the spring with a colt purchased last fall in the name of Big D Stables. Venosa purchased a colt from the first crop of GI Travers S. winner Keen Ice (hip 171) for $57,000 at last year's Fasig-Tipton October sale and sold the juvenile Monday in Timonium for $225,000 to the bid of Gervais Racing and West Point Thoroughbreds.
“I bought him out of the October sale,” Venosa said of the colt. “He was selling up at the tents, and I wasn't specifically looking for that sire, but I saw him in a group of horses and he really stood out.”
The chestnut colt is out of Sheisinitttowinit (Student Council) and Venosa admitted the pedigree had him momentarily hesitating last fall.
“I opened my catalogue and cocked my head a little bit and turned the page a couple times,” Venosa said. “And then I closed the book and said, 'You know what, I like the horse.' We had left the sale and we were in the car coming back from the airport and I said, one more bid.”
Of the colt's progress as a 2-year-old, Venosa said, “He's a big horse, but he's very light on his feet and very athletic for a horse that size. He is still kind of filling out in the right way. That's why we held him back for the later sale.”
Dylan Venosa's 2021 pinhooking successes also include a colt by Valiant Minister who sold for $350,000 following a bullet :20 3/5 work at the OBS Spring Sale. The colt had been a $40,000 purchase at last year's OBS October sale.
“He's had a great year,” Venosa said of his son's success. “I think when I go back, I'm going to have to hit him up for a loan.”
Asked if the profits would be going into a college fund, Venosa quipped, “College fund? He might be able to buy a college after the year he's had.”
Champion Gun Runner is off to a flyer with his first crop to hit the racetrack, already represented by a pair of winners, and consignor Al Pike capitalized on the stallion's quick start when selling a colt (hip 160) for $225,000 to Kim Valerio, agent for DJ Stables, Monday in Timonium. Pike had purchased the youngster for $45,000 at last year's Fasig-Tipton October sale.
“He was a Gun Runner with a lot of family,” Pike said of the colt's appeal last fall. “Tom Hamm from Three Chimneys contacted me when I was in the back ring and explained to me he was a foal share, which piqued my interest. So I went up there to see what he would sell for and I was fortunate enough to buy him.”
The Midlantic sale wasn't originally in the cards for the colt, who is out of Secret Jewel (Bernardini), a half-sister to GI Breeders' Cup F/M Turf winner Shared Account, the dam of GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies winner and 'TDN Rising Star' Sharing (Speightstown).
“I bought him with the intention of taking him to Texas,” Pike said. “I thought he'd be a really nice horse to take to Texas and maybe top the sale there. But then we got to training him and we liked him enough to think we could bring him up here to be competitive here. And he showed up and did his job, so we were very happy.”
The colt worked a furlong in :10 2/5 during last week's under-tack preview. Since his purchase last year, his half-sister Twenty Carat (Into Mischief) won the Apr. 2 GIII Beaumont S.
“On the racetrack, he thinks he is Godzilla,” Pike said. “The farther he goes, the better he gets. And I think that's what attracted a lot of people to him. He just looked like he could keep going and going. I think he has a bright future.”
Of Gun Runner's early success, Pike added, “I think we all didn't know what to think about them, but they've come out running and everyone seems to be very excited about them. And he had a timely update, so that helped a lot, too.”
