Wingmen (Ire) (Kayf Tara {GB}) sold for a new Tattersalls Cheltenham January Sale record when making £250,000 to Gordon Elliott Racing/Bective Stud.
Sold as lot 8 and offered by Elliott's Cullentra House Stables, the bay won a point-to-point at first asking going three miles at Ballycrystal on Jan. 23. Out of the winning hurdler Raise You Five (Ire) (Flemensfirth), the €47,000 Tattersalls Ireland November NH Sale grad turned €88,000 Derby Sale purchase is from the family of Listed Christmas Hurdle winner Dramatist (GB).
“He is a very nice horse, and Gordon thinks a lot of him,” said buyer Eddie O'Leary, who sat with Elliott, who will continue to train the 5-year-old gelding. “He is a big raw horse, he won't begin to see the best of him until next year, he has been bought on behalf of Bective Stud.”
Another first-out winner, Sao Carlos (GB) (Blue Bresil {Fr}) (lot 18), who won a bumper on Boxing Day, went to Lisa Hales acting on behalf of her father, John, for £190,000. Consigned by Olly Murphy's Warren Chase Stables, the 5-year-old gelding is out of a half-sister to G2 Aintree bumper winner Diamond Sal (GB) (Bob Back) and three other black-type horses.
“He will probably be for Dad, Sir Alex Ferguson, Ged Mason and John Driver, the same syndicate that owns Hermes Allen,” said Hales. “This horse has got an amazing walk, an amazing presence, he is substantial and looks like a chaser for the future, and that is what we like.
“In fact, I backed him when he ran and before I knew he was coming here; I thought he put in a great run then.”
Magic Dawn (Ire) (Doyen {Ire}) (lot 14), from the draft of Michael Hickey's Sunnyhill Stud, was also knocked down to Aidan O'Ryan and Gordon Elliott for £185,000. A full-sister Magic Daze (Ire) (Doyen {Ire}), the G2 Mares' Novice Hurdle runner-up at Cheltenham, Magic Dawn was an impressive bumper winner at Punchestown on New Year's Eve.
Hickey said, “Magic Dawn is a gorgeous mare, has great presence, is a great walker and has a magic temperament. She needed her first run but four winners came out of that race and then she won very well on her second start. I think she has a huge future.
“The intention was to race her and, if she won a little race, cover her and keep her for breeding. However, we started to train her and she was showing that bit extra–when she won she just became too valuable for us to keep. We do have to balance the books.”
“She couldn't have been more impressive when she won, and the family speaks for itself,” said Mouse O'Ryan, who bought the mare for KTDA Racing, who has horses with Elliott. “We will be aiming her for something like the Aintree bumper.”
At the close of trade, 30 of the 40 lots offered (75%) sold for a gross of £2,406,000. The average rose 2% to £80,200, while the median decreased the same amount to £67,500 (-2%). Of those sold, seven horses made six figures or better.
Matthew Prior, Tattersalls Head of Sales, said, “I am delighted that this first sale of the year has produced such a positive result with a record-breaking top price and seven horses fetching over £100,000.”
What is the most important thing needed to get a stallion farm off the ground? A lot of people would rightly guess money but, according to Tangi Saliou, hard work trumps all, and his thriving Haras de la Haie Neuve is living proof to that theory.
He may not have had a penny to his name when he embarked on a career in bloodstock a little over 20 years ago, but Saliou now stands nine stallions at Haras de la Haie Neuve, and is convinced that there is little that can't be achieved without good old-fashioned graft.
Group 1-winning juvenile Ebro River (Ire) is the newest stallion to the Haras de la Haie Neuve roster, and represents an exciting new partnership with Al Shaqab, which goes some way in illustrating the trajectory of the stud.
“If you sit in front of the television all day, you will do nothing with your life. You need to get out there and try to make something of yourself in order to have something good. That is what we have tried to do,” – Tangi Saliou.
Saliou said, “I think Ebro River will cover a lot of mares. I am very happy to have him here because he was a very fast racehorse and we need some horses like that standing in France-some of our mares are not very fast. It's a new partnership for us with Al Shaqab and I am very happy to work with them. Let's hope Ebro River can be the next Mehmas (Ire) in France! I am a positive thinker.”
He added, “My first job in racing was as a rider before working for 10 years at the French National Stud. When the French National Stud finished up, I went to work for Haras de Montaigu where I worked as the technical director for six years. We had a lot of success with Martaline (Fr), No Risk At All (Fr) and we also bred Wings Of Eagles (Fr) as well.
“About five years ago, I decided to buy a new 50-acre farm two hours west of Normandie. I began with four stallions and now we have nine. As well as that, our farm was responsible for 8% of the entire thoroughbred mares covered in France last year. I have 60 mares here myself and, after buying a new farm last year, we have upgraded and have 45 yearlings and 10 full-time workers. It's busy!”
Seahenge is another Haras De La Haie Neuve resident that fans of British and Irish racing will be familiar with. The son of Scat Daddy carried Michael Tabor's silks en route to victory in the G2 Champagne S. at Doncaster for Aidan O'Brien in 2017 and joined fellow ex-Ballydoyle inmate Taj Mahal (Ire) on the roster.
Saliou said, “We have worked with Coolmore to get Seahenge and Taj Mahal. We also worked with the Wertheimer family to stand Anodin (Ire) here. So, along with Al Shaqab, who we are also very happy to be working with, we have been busy trying to get many partnerships together to stand these stallions.
“Seahenge was the champion first-season sire in France and a lot of the trainers are looking forward to his 3-year-olds this season. Seahenge is a big horse and we think his progeny will do even better at three.”
Ebro River winning the G1 Pheonix S. at the Curragh in 2021
So how has Saliou built up the quality at Haras de la Haie Neuve year after year? For starters, the stud places as much emphasis on jumping stock as it does on the Flat, the broodmare band does a lot of the heavy lifting and, perhaps more importantly of all, Salious's wife has a penchant for investing in stock over diamonds.
“We strive to be better, always. When I was 18, I had no money, not even a euro to my name. All I had was my driver's licence and my hurt. My courage was my best friend and I always worked hard. That was the only solution.
“As well as this, my wife Dorothy is very good. There are some women who like to buy clothes and diamonds but my wife prefers to buy mares. She is very good at that. I always had two or three mares myself. When I was working at the French National Stud, I had two Group 1-producing mares, but I was not even aware of this at the time. It was a very good surprise.”
He added, “One of the mares, Nutz (Fr), bred the Grade 1-winning hurdler in Britain, Elixir De Nutz (Fr) (Al Namix {Fr}). We have been very lucky with horses but, to have the luck, you need to roll the dice. If you sit in front of the television all day, you will do nothing with your life. You need to get out there and try to make something of yourself in order to have something good. That is what we have tried to do.
“We have some good mares at the moment, 12 of which are ours, and they are split between jumps and Flat mares. We have the dam of Sceau Royal (Fr) and she is in foal to his sire Doctor Dino (Fr). We also have a full-sister to Doctor Dino in foal to Kapgarde (Fr) and bought in partnerships some very good Flat mares as well.”
Saliou's love affair with Doctor Dino does not end there. A number of Christmases ago, when going through the profile of the top-class jumps sire who stood for €20,000 last year, the stallion man stumbled across a sibling who he simply had to add to the roster at Haras De La Haie Neuve.
He explained, “We bought Bande (Ire) in Japan and it was very good business. We had nothing to do over the Christmas holidays and looked up to see if Doctor Dino had a brother anywhere around the world. We saw that Bande was in Japan, called someone there, and got the deal done.”
For how much?
“I don't remember,” he laughed, before adding, “but it was very good business! We got him syndicated and he has covered over 100 mares every year which is very good in France. He covered 165 in 2021 which was the most any jumps stallion covered that year. We have a lot of good-looking foals and yearlings by him and we are very happy with him. He's a very strong stallion and he looks like his father, Authorized (Ire), so hopefully he can be the next Doctor Dino.
“He only covered 10 mares in Japan before we bought him. Of those 10 mares, he had only eight foals, and only three or four runners. From that tiny crop, he had two winners and one second, which is very good.”
To be able to get over 100 mares into an unproven stallion year after year, regardless of who he is related to, is a fair achievement. So what is the secret?
“We always cover a lot of mares. When you are young and full of energy, you must work hard. I am 46 now but I like to work hard. I always do my best for my clients and, if you think that way, you will do well. I have had the same clients for over 10 years and lots of the same clients who call me up for advice. I work with a lot of trainers, too, and try to be as correct and honest with everyone. If you can be correct and honest, you can work in this industry for a long time, because you need to build long-term relationships.”
Yakushima (GB), the first and only runner in Japan for his 2022 European, British and Irish Champion Sire, became the sixth stakes winner for Havana Grey with a speedy score in the Listed Crocus S. at Tokyo on Saturday.
Third choice in the field at 3-1, the Godolphin colourbearer was part of the early pace discussion and shadowed From Dusk (Bolt d'Oro) and Smooth Velvet (Jpn) (Discreet Cat) through splits of :23.50 for the quarter and :47.30 for the half mile. He remained in shouting distance of the leaders and saved every inch of ground on the bend.
Given a small nudge from Smooth Velvet to his outside entering the stretch, he recovered and charged up in between the two frontrunners to take over a quarter-mile from home. Satono Wille (Jpn) (Declaration Of War) gave chase, but Yakushima rolled across the line a three-quarter length winner. It was two lengths back to the group-placed From Dusk.
The grey was a first-out winner against newcomers at Kokura over 1200 metres last July, and placed third in the Listed Kikyo S. going this trip at Chukyo in September. Fifth in the G2 Keio Hai Nisai S. behind Obamburumai (Jpn) (Discreet Cat) and From Dusk on Nov. 5, he ended his juvenile season with a fourth in the Sports Hochi Hai Chukyo Nisai S. Warming up for this run, the colt was third in a 1200-metre 3-year-old Class 1 affair at Chukyo on Jan. 7.
A half-brother to Good Vibes (GB) (Due Diligence), who won the G3 Cornwallis S. and was third in the G2 Lowther S., Yakushima is followed by fillies by Showcasing (GB) and Due Diligence born in 2021 and 2022, respectively. The Showcasing filly went to Carmel Stud for 120,000gns at the Tattersalls December Foal Sale in 2021.
Under the second dam is the G2 Flying Childers S. runner-up Astrophysics (GB) (Paco Boy {Ire}), while both G3 Ballyogan S. heroine Age Of Chivalry (Ire) (Invincible Spirit {Ire}) and GI Hollywood Derby second Sebastian Flyte (GB) (Observatory) are also members of the extended family.
Saturday's Result: CROCUS S.-Listed, ¥38,300,000, Tokyo, 1-28, 3yo, 1400mT, 1:21.10, gd/fm.
1–YAKUSHIMA (GB), 123, c, 3, Havana Grey (GB) 1st Dam: Satsuma (GB), by Compton Place (GB) 2nd Dam: Jodrell Bank (Ire), by Observatory 3rd Dam: Aravonia (GB), by Night Shift 1ST BLACK-TYPE WIN. (130,000gns Wlg '20 TATNOV).
O-Godolphin. B-Whitsbury Manor Stud (GB). T-Ryo Terashima.
J-Christophe Lemaire. ¥20,000,000. Lifetime Record: 6-2-0-2,
¥39,237,000. *1/2 to Good Vibes (GB) (Due Diligence),
GSW-Eng, $126,592.
2–Satono Wille (Jpn), 123, c, 3, Declaration Of War–Daiwa
Gelato (Jpn), by Fuji Kiseki (Jpn). 1ST BLACK TYPE. O-Hajime
Satomi. B-Fujiwara Farm (Jpn). T-Yuichi Shikato. ¥8,000,000.
3–From Dusk, 123, c, 3, Bolt d'Oro–Foolish Cause, by Giant's
Causeway. ($200,000 Ylg '21 KEESEP; $900,000 2yo '22
OBSMAR). O-Susumu Fujita. B-Springhouse Farm (KY).
T-HIdeyuki Mori. ¥5,000,000.
Margins: 3/4, 2, 3/4. Odds: 3.00, 13.90, 2.50.
Also Ran: Lord Defeat (Jpn), Smooth Velvet (Jpn), Nishino Piu Mosso (Jpn), Raifort (Jpn), Cool Moore (Jpn), Blue In Green (Jpn), Boukephalas (Jpn). Click for the chart and video.
Listed winner for @WhitsburyManor HAVANA GREY (GB) in Japan!
Lemongrove Stud may have been the newest name on this year's Irish Thoroughbred Stallion Trail and stallion master Tom Wallace, who is set to stand Tosen Stardom (Jpn) at the County Westmeath operation this year, is confident that the son of Deep Impact (Jpn) will provide something different for breeders.
Wallace, a notable breeder who has, up until now, yet to dip his toe into standing a stallion, said the opportunity to offer a dual Group 1-winning son of the late, great Deep Impact, was too great an offer to turn down.
Tosen Stardom began his racing career in Japan before transferring to Australia where he recorded both of his Group 1 successes.
Owned by Emiratis Hamad Al Kadfoor and his racing business partner Ali Farooq, Tosen Stardom is shuttling from Woodside Park Stud for the 2023 northern hemisphere breeding season and is already booked in to see over 40 mares.
Wallace said, “Obviously some people might be a little bit wary about a new unknown stallion who is standing at a stud they never heard of before but, to try and get your hands on a horse who has won two Group 1s in Europe, that's extremely difficult.
“Has he been difficult to market? Not at all. The Deep Impact connection is working in our favour and the fact that he was an unbeaten two-year-old in Japan is a major help as well. Everyone tells me that Deep Impact's progeny do better with time, as this lad did, so for him to do what he did at two shows how good a horse he was.”
He added, “Not only did he win a listed race as a 2-year-old, but he also started favourite for the Japanese Derby at three, only to hit the rail when coming with his run and eventually finishing down the field. He achieved a rating of 118 which is three pounds higher than Study Of Man (Ire) and only three pounds lower than Saxon Warrior (Jpn) who won the 2000 Guineas. He's a gorgeous horse.”
Tosen Stardom was not the first horse who was put to Wallace with a view towards standing him at Lemongrove. Based a couple of miles down the road from Tally-Ho Stud, an operation that knows a thing or two about producing speed, Wallace turned down the chance to stand a smart Australian sprinter in the opinion that he would be bringing an apple to an orchard. But in Tosen Stardom, he was confident he could offer breeders something different.
He explained, “I was asked if I had any interest in standing a good Australian sprinter but, where I am based, you have Tally-Ho Stud a couple of miles down the road and Starfield Stud isn't too far from me either. Tally-Ho specialises in speed while Starfield have a number of sprinting stallions, including Kuroshio (Aus), so I didn't think it made much sense to try and go into competition with them. Then Tosen Stardom cropped up and, obviously Saxon Warrior had just had a brilliant year with his 2-year-olds, so I thought a son of Deep Impact could be something different. Study Of Man has also been well-supported in England so it made a lot of sense.”
Wallace added, “I have been following sons of Sunday Silence for over 20 years, which obviously Deep Impact is, so I just said to myself, the pedigrees have become saturated over here in Ireland by sons of Green Desert, Danehill or Galileo (Ire), so why not try a new sire line. This fella seemed to fit the bill, a real good-looking horse who retired sound of limb and wind. As well as that, he raced as a 2-year-old right up to his 7-year-old campaign. Why not give him a chance?”
Lemongrove Stud may be new to the stallion ranks but Wallace is no novice. He spent time working at Water Cress Farm in America, where Cigar was based while he was there, spent time with his neighbours Tally-Ho, Rathbarry and has sold many good horses in his own right as well.
Branching out into the Zenith Stallion Station at Lemongrove is by no means a step into the unknown and, given he is in the process of building a four-horse stallion barn, Wallace is hoping Tosen Stardom can be the first of many to stand at his burgeoning operation.
Wallace said, “We're very happy with how things have gone so far with him. He went down well on the Irish Thoroughbred Stallion Trail. The fact that Tally-Ho weren't taking part in the Stallion Trail probably lessened our footfall but we'd plenty of interest, which was great. I had over 50 different groups call here on the Friday and Saturday and not many of them were tyre-kickers either. There are over 40 definites booked in to him in his first season which is positive. It's all about numbers so hopefully we can get a few more mares into him.
“I'm building a new four-box stallion barn because Hamad Al Kadfoor and Ali Farooq want to send another stallion next year and hopefully we can keep building it up. It would be nice to establish a stallion-standing stud.”
