Hill ‘N’ Dale Partners To Buy AU$1.7 Million Topper At Magics

There was an international flavor to the top lot through the ring on Friday's fourth session of the Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale in Australia, with Gai Waterhouse, Adrian Bott and Bruce Slade's Kestrel Thoroughbreds teaming up with Jes Sikura of Hill 'n' Dale Farm and William Johnson Bloodstock (FBAA) to secure a filly by I Am Invincible (Aus) for AU$1.7 million (US$1,140,479), as reported by The Thoroughbred Report.

The purchase represents the first foray into the Australian market for Hill 'n' Dale. The farm's Jes Sikura was one of a number of people high-fiving others on the Waterhouse- Bott table as a round of applause broke out in the Magic Millions auditorium moments after auctioneer Clint Donovan brought the gavel down.

Offered by Widden Stud, the filly is the first progeny of the G2 Tristarc S. winner Madam Rouge (Aus) (Zoustar {Aus}), who collected six victories on the track. Her grand dam, Cabernet (Aus) (Al Maher {Aus}) also enjoyed a sextet of successes, headlined by the Listed Summond S. The damline doesn't end there, with great-grandam Golden Weekend (Aus) (Nine Carat) a talented 2-year-old performer and a producer of three foals to race for as many winners.

Sikura was visibly delighted and was quick to thank Johnson, whose relationship with Hill 'n' Dale was pivotal in bringing the group of successful purchasers together. “We really didn't have too much intention to get involved in anything when we came over here, but I have to give complete credit to Will Johnson,” Sikura said. “He's always at the top of his game, he finds the nicest horses in every sale and it wouldn't have happened without him, especially without Gai and Adrian putting together such a good group.

“Being by I Am Invincible, she really ticked all the boxes and we thought if there was some point to get involved, she was the one to do it with.

Trent Needham, Antony Thompson, Noel Greenhalgh, Will Johnson, Jes Sikura, Adrian Bott, Barry Bowditch with Gai Waterhouse, Maria Greenhalgh and Patricia Bourke | Magic Millions

“They [the auctioneer] were definitely fighting for the AU$1.8 million up there and we were shaking a little bit, so we were happy to get it at AU$1.7 million. She was worthy of every dollar and we're excited for the future.”

“It's great to have Jes in Australia and it's great to have that international investment from downtown Kentucky,” Johnson said. “A massive thank you to John Sikura and his family and a massive thanks to Gai, Adrian and Bruce Slade for getting to work because, as we know, these are expensive fillies, so you have to be organized. It's exciting times ahead.”

The AU$1.7 million sale wrote another chapter in the story of Widden Stud and Madam Rouge, with the leading nursery having bred her, sold her as a yearling, retained a share in her to race and then bought out some of their partners to secure her from the Magic Millions National Broodmare sale for AU$2.7 million back in 2022.

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Lope De Vega and New Bay Available on Southern Hemisphere Time

Lope De Vega (Ire) (Shamardal) and New Bay (GB) (Dubawi {Ire}) will be available to cover on Southern Hemisphere time this year, Ballylinch Stud's Eoin Fives told TTR AusNZ. They will stand for €60,000 (AU$98,957) and €40,000 (AU$65,971) respectively.

In total, Lope De Vega has sired 18 Group 1 winners and 112 individual stakes winners across 12 different countries. From 2011 to 2014, he shuttled to the now-defunct Patinack Farm, and left an indelible stamp on the Australian industry. The result was four elite-level winners of nine Group 1s; Santa Ana Lane (Aus), Vega Magic (Aus), Gytrash (Aus) and Vega One (Aus).

His potency when crossed with Fastnet Rock mares has certainly helped in accruing that total, with the mix firing at a rate of 21 per cent stakes winners to runners. Both Santa Ana Lane and Gytrash fall into that category, with their exploits no doubt driving demand on the other side of the world.

“It's a cross that seems to work very well, and it's definitely pushed an uptake up here in the last few years where we've covered a lot more Fastnet Rock mares,” Fives said. “He's very easy to breed to. He's an outcross for over 90 per cent of the mare population in Europe, so, if you're buying a mare up here, he's very easy to breed to as there are very few things you have to avoid in a pedigree.”

Fives reported that New Bay was also getting the attention of Southern Hemisphere breeders. He received the support of one of Australia's top stables at the Goffs London Sale recently. Landed on by Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott, the aptly named New Endeavour (GB) was a £260,000 (AU$499,000) purchase for the Tulloch Lodge team, who was previously co-owned by Ballylinch and Teme Valley.

He will remain in training with Roger Varian in Newmarket before eventually making his way down to Australia.

Twice a handicap winner over 1400 metres, New Endeavour was sold in the lead up to Royal Ascot, and subsequently ran second in the high-class Britannia S., earning an official rating of 103, which puts him well in the mix at Listed level in the UK. He appears to be on a neat upward curve and may yet be New Bay's next stakes winner.

Meanwhile, Fives reported a surge of interest following that solid Royal Ascot performance. “Coming back from Ascot, more Australians were asking about him (New Bay) and curious about him,” he said. “We can probably see his profile increasing over the next few years, he's only a young sire.”

“His fee has increased every year since he's had runners. His first crop really dazzled, I suppose, and then the last season was just incredible. “He had a Group 1 winner with Saffron Beach, and then he just totally stole the show on British Champions Day when he took the two feature races with Bayside Boy and Bay Bridge.”

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Givemethebeatboys the Star of Goffs London Sale at £1.1m

By Emma Berry and Brian Sheerin

“Everyone who is anyone” assembled at Kensington Palace ahead of one of the great weeks in world racing, and Goffs will be hoping that the star of its London Sale on Monday night will go on to be one of the stars of Tuesday afternoon at Royal Ascot. The G3 Marble Hill S. winner Givemethebeatboys (Ire) (Bungle Inthejungle {GB}) led allcomers when sold for £1,100,000 to Con and Neil Sands of Bronsan Racing. He will remain in training with Jessica Harrington and heads almost immediately to the G2 Coventry S.

Generally 10/3 third-favourite for the Coventry, Givemethebeatboys is set to be ridden by Frankie Dettori but he will not now carry the colours of Theresa Marnane, whose husband Con and daughter Amy bought the dual winner for just €11,000 at the Goffs Autumn Yearling Sale last November.

Amy Marnane said, “It's completely surreal, really, to buy Givemethebeatboys for €11,000 and then for him to not get into a breeze-up sale, and then to go on to win his maiden so impressively at Navan, and then to win the Marble Hill Stakes at the Curragh. It was won by Blackbeard last year, and has been won by Caravaggio, it's a fantastic race to win.”

She continued, “Goffs put on such a show. Everybody who is anybody is here and we just hope that the horse goes on to win the Coventry tomorrow. Mrs Harrington and Kate Harrington have been a huge part of this horse's career and they are so excited to see him run tomorrow, which gives us huge confidence in him.”

Kate Harrington confirmed that the colt will return to her family's stable. She said, “We're delighted for Bronsan Racing to have bought such an exciting horse in Givemethebeatboys and let's hope he can go and do them justice in the Coventry. He will stay in training with us after Ascot which is very exciting.”

The Marnanes will not be without a runner at Royal Ascot, however, as they retained the recent Tipperary winner Supersonic Man (GB), another son of Bungle Inthejungle who is declared for Wednesday's Windsor Castle S., at £270,000.

“He'll go close,” said a delighted Con Marnane, while his daughter added, “We didn't sell Supersonic Man but we are very excited to see what he can do on Wednesday. He's not just a small, sharp two-year-old, he's a big, robust horse who will go on and hopefully we'll have a lot of fun with him throughout the summer.”

It was nine years ago that the racing crowd first descended on London on the eve of Royal Ascot for the sale of a select group of Thoroughbreds, plenty of whom had some smart entries for the week ahead. It is a unique concept in Europe, and as much a lavish cocktail party as it is a horse sale. But since that inaugural event of 2014, the boutique auction, which has been tweaked and trimmed in the process, has sold 148 lots for just shy of £37 million. That tally was boosted by the £3,770,000 bid on Monday, when, from 21 lots offered, including breeding rights to Havana Grey (GB) and Soldier's Call (GB), 11 were sold at an average of £342,727 and median of £250,000.

Other highlights of the sale include:

  • No Nay Mets (Ire) won a Royal Ascot qualifying race on his sole start at Gulfstream Park for trainer George Weaver and Bergman Family Racing.  Not only has he had his airfare paid by Ascot Racecourse, but he has now netted his owners £800,000 before even setting foot on a racecourse again. The No Nay Never colt, who was bred by Coolmore and sold as a yearling by Baroda Stud at Arqana for €180,000, was bought by Liam Culman's Tuckernuck Stables.
  • Gai Waterhouse has supported the Goffs London Sale since its inaugural year and she and co-trainer Adrian Bott purchased two lots on Monday assisted by bloodstock agent Johnny McKeever. The first, bought in partnership with Craig Thompson's Mount Hallowell Stud, was Cuban Dawn (Ire) (Teofilo {Ire}), bought for £300,000 from his breeder Jim Bolger and co-owner Teme Valley Racing. The three-year-old colt has finished second in two of his three starts during May, having made his debut in the Listed Tetrarch S., in which he was fourth behind subsequent Irish 2,000 Guineas winner Paddington (GB) (Siyouni {Fr}). Teme Valley was also the co-owner, with Ballylinch Stud, of Waterhouse's other purchase, New Endeavour (Ire). The New Bay (GB) gelding was sold for £260,000 and is entered for both the Britannia and the Buckingham Palace S. on Thursday for Roger Varian.
  • Ocean Vision (Ire) (U S Navy Flag) was knocked down to Marquee Bloodstock, with bloodstock agent Martin Buick acting on behalf of Ramiro Restrepo, best known for purchasing Kentucky Derby winner Mage (Good Magic). It is understood that the three-year-old will remain with his trainer Tim Donworth in France for the immediate future but the plan is for the colt to continue his career in America. Ocean Vision, who was sold for £250,000, was one of three French-trained horses to be offered at the sale. He won the Listed Prix de Pontarme in May among his four victories from 10 starts for Jonathon Kirkland and Geraldine Ryan.
  • Joseph O'Brien's useful dual-purpose campaigner Nusret (GB) was knocked down at £300,000 to Jayne McGivern of Dash Grange Stud, who also owns his sire Golden Horn (GB). The four-year-old, a multiple winner on the Flat and over hurdles for Simon Munir and Isaac Souede, holds an entry for Friday's Duke of Edinburgh S.
  • Breeding rights to last year's champion first-season sire Havana Grey and one of this season's leading lights of the freshman division, Soldier's Call, were offered at the start of the sale. They were bought respectively for £205,000 by China Horse Club and £80,000 by Oliver St Lawrence.

Speaking at the conclusion of the London Sale, Goffs Group chief executive Henry Beeby said, “We are delighted with today's London Sale, which saw strong demand from an international audience capped by a dream result for the connections of Givemethebeatboys. We are delighted for the Marnane family and wish new owners Bronsan Racing the very best of luck in the Coventry Stakes tomorrow. The chance to offer the dream of a Royal Ascot runner is very special, and everyone at Goffs will be shouting as loud as anybody for Givemethebeatboys, or indeed any of the other Ascot runners from today's sale, over the next few days.”

He added, “For Goffs to be here in the grounds of Kensington Palace welcoming so many friends and colleagues from international racing is something we are very proud of.  It's what we're all about – the business of buying and selling top-class horses but making it as enjoyable a process as possible. Of course we cannot deliver an event of this level without the incredible support of our partners and I wish to thank our title sponsor Privat 3 Money who have helped bring the sale to a new level, along with Ascot, Chateau Leoube, Ampito and IYC who have been tremendous supporters of the London Sale for many years now, while we were delighted to welcome two new partners this year in Aston Martin and Hofmeister.”



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Alcohol Free Joins Waterhouse/Bott Stable with Everest the Aim

Four-time Group 1 winner Alcohol Free (Ire) (No Nay Never), who topped the Tattersalls December Mares Sale on Tuesday evening when selling for 5,400,000gns to Yuesheng Zhang's Yulong Investments, will be trained in Australia by Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott.

Yulong's chief operating officer Sam Fairgray confirmed to TDNAusNZ on Wednesday that the 4-year-old, formerly trained by Andrew Balding and a Group 1 winner at two, three and four, will potentially be aimed towards the A$15-million The Everest.

He said, “If everything fell into place she would definitely take her place for us in The Everest and, given her race record, I think she would be very competitive. She is going into training with Gai and Adrian so it is going to be really interesting to see how she will perform over here.

“It is fantastic. She is a very exciting mare and she is obviously high-class and it is great for the industry that she is coming down to race here against the Australian competition, but then she will have a great career as a broodmare as well. It is what Mr Zhang is about and trying to achieve and to have her race on is a bonus as well.”

Fairgray continued, “There is no limit to the options for any of the mares he buys. He has a very broad mind and he is very passionate about racing.

“It is a nice thing to be able to interchange some of these mares between hemispheres and obviously with Lucky Vega (Ire) he is going to get supported with some fantastic mares in his second year, it's really very good for him.”

Yulong Investments already own Alcohol Free's dam, the Hard Spun mare Plying, who was bought for for €825,000 at last year's Goffs November Breeding Stock Sale and is currently in foal to Irish National Stud resident Lucky Vega with a foal by the son of Lope de Vega (Ire) on the ground.

The Yulong team has been working in partnership with Michael Donohoe of BBA Ireland, who purchased over 30 fillies and mares at Tattersalls this week. Another of those, the G1 Prix Marcel Boussac runner-up Gan Teorainn (Ire) (Saxon Warrior {Jpn}), is also heading south to Sydney. Formerly trained in Ireland by Jim Bolger, she will join Chris Waller's stable.

Donohoe said, “She's a big 2-year-old and what she did this year is extraordinary for a big filly. Again, she vetted exceptionally well and we'll give her a little bit of time to acclimatise in Australia. She's for the same syndicate of people who bought Alcohol Free.”

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