Gestut Hony-Hof | Horse Racing Free Tips

Europe’s Finest Bloodlines On Offer: Three Sales, Three Weeks, Three Countries

Sales of breeding stock are just as much a feature of the final couple of months of the year in Europe as they are in North America. In fact, the European sales have been an important fact of American bloodstock life since the early days of the sport, with many breed-shapers having been recruited in Europe before heading west to make history.

Perhaps the most famous graduate of Tattersalls's December Sale remains La Troienne (Fr) (Teddy {Fr}). After a racing career in which, without winning, she notched up some minor placings in both France and England (and, strangely, contested the Poule d'Essai des Poulains) she was sent to the December Sale in 1930 by Marcel Boussac. Bought by Colonel Bradley of Idle Hour Farm in Lexington for 1,250 guineas, she was brought to America, where she became arguably the greatest matriarch the country has ever known.

Almost as influential was Rough Shod (GB), bought at the December Sale in 1951 for 3,500 guineas, in foal to My Babu (GB), by Arthur 'Bull' Hancock of Claiborne Farm, where she went on to change the course of bloodstock history, most obviously as third dam and fourth dam respectively of the legendary Northern Dancer horses Nureyev and Sadler's Wells.

A similarly significant purchase came in 1952 when Martin Benson, proprietor of Beech House Stud in Newmarket, offered the Hyperion mare Lady Angela (GB), a winning great-great granddaughter of Pretty Polly (Ire) who was in foal to the stud's resident stallion Nearco (Ity). She topped the sale, bought by George Blackwell on behalf of E. P. Taylor of Windfields Farm in Ontario. Taylor came to an agreement with Benson that Lady Angela could visit Nearco again the following spring. She was then exported to Canada, in foal, after that subsequent covering. The resultant foal was born at Windfields. As Nearctic (Can), he went on to make an indelible mark on the Stud Book as the sire of Northern Dancer (Can).

It might be asking a bit much to hope that there will be a La Troienne, a Rough Shod or a Lady Angela coming out of the forthcoming round of mares' sales at Goffs in Ireland, at Tattersalls in England and at Arqana in France, three world-class auctions which follow on conveniently one after the other. It could happen, though. What definitely will happen is that some of the fillies and mares sold at the three auctions will go on to breed top-class horses all around the world.

Reduction and Dispersals at Goffs

Goffs' November Sale kicks things off on Nov. 24, immediately after a four-day foal sale whose catalogue includes over 1,000 lots. Lasting two days, the mares' catalogue is more streamlined but the concentration of quality is intense. There are always some notable offerings at this sale, with recent treats having included a Wildenstein dispersal in 2016. The particular treats this time include a mouth-watering draft offered as a result of the restructuring of the Niarchos family's studs and the dispersal of the stock of Gestut Hony-Hof, over and above the usual drafts from such proven sources of class as Ballylinch Stud, Godolphin, HH Aga Khan Studs and Moyglare Stud.

Horses bearing the colours firstly of the late Stavros Niarchos and subsequently of his heirs have been a feature of top-class racing for half a century. In the early days, Stavros Niarchos's champions, such as the aforementioned Nureyev, were bought as yearlings but by the time that the great Miesque (Nureyev) came along in the late 1980s it was very much an owner/breeder enterprise. Numerous champions have borne the family's livery since then and the current on-going restructuring provides a special opportunity for other breeders to tap into the bloodlines which have been developed by this world-class operation over the decades.

Goffs November Kicks off Nov. 24 | Goffs

Consigned variously by Norelands, Baroda and Kiltinan Castle Studs, the 41 Niarchos fillies and mares form a mouth-watering bunch. Daughters of world-class stallions such as Galileo (Ire), Deep Impact (Jpn), Frankel (GB), Dubawi (Ire), Sea The Stars (Ire) and Lord Kanaloa (Jpn) and boasting suitably exalted coverings, the bunch is made up entirely of blue-bloods and includes the G1 winners Alpha Centauri (Ire) (Mastercraftsman {Ire}), Alpine Star (Ire) (Sea The Moon {Ger}) and Albigna (Ire) (Zoffany {Ire}), in foal respectively to Sea The Stars, Frankel and St Mark's Basilica (Fr).

A less-heralded landmark at Goffs this year will be the dispersal of the stock of Gestut Hony-Hof, whose 11 mares form part of the Castlebridge Consignment. The nucleus of Gestut Hony-Hof's broodmare band has stemmed from Salve Regina (Ger) (Monsun {Ger}) who carried the Hony-Hof colours to victory in the G1 German Oaks in 2002 before finishing second in the G1 German Derby four weeks later. As a full-sister to the German Derby winners Samum (Ger) and Schiaparelli (Ger) as well as to the dam of 2014 German Derby winner Sea The Moon, Salve Regina was a perfect candidate to develop into the great matriarch which she became. The majority of the Hony-Hof mares descend from her, although the best horse whom the stud has bred most recently, 2020 G1 Prix du Cadran heroine Princess Zoe (Ger) (Jukebox Jury {Ire}), comes from another family. Besides Salve Regina's descendants, the draft includes Princess Zoe's half-sister Palace Girl (GB) (Areion {Ger}).

Any Godolphin reduction draft is worth making a long journey to inspect. The operation's consignment at Goffs is no exception, with the G1 winners Ambivalent (Ire) (Authorized {Ire}), Lyric Of Light (GB) (Street Cry {Ire}) and Be Fabulous (Ger) (Samum {Ger}) being of obvious interest. Ambivalent makes particular appeal as she has already bred a Group 1 winner, being the dam of 2021 Prix Vermeille heroine Teona (Ire), and she becomes of even greater interest as she is currently back in foal to Teona's sire Sea The Stars.

Tattersalls Kicks Off Sale With Sceptre Sessions

Tattersalls make it easy for would-be buyers to home in on many of the the most obvious prospects in the December Mares' Sale (Dec. 4-7) by highlighting some of the choicest lots in the two 'Sceptre Sessions', which are named after one of the greatest horses ever to pass through the ring at Park Paddocks, Sceptre earning immortality by contesting all five British Classics in 1902 and winning four of them.

Sceptre went through Tattersalls's ring as both a sale-topping yearling and as a proven Classic winner. Many Classic heroines have graced the arena since then and another will do so this year as last year's 1,000 Guineas victrix Cachet (GB) (Aclaim {Ire}) will be one of the star lots of the second of the two Sceptre sessions.

It is often the case that the ring is subdued immediately before and immediately after a stand-out lot but that won't be the case in this instance. Cachet will be preceded by this year's G2 Lowther S. winner Relief Rally (Ire) (Kodiac {GB}) and followed by this year's G2 Duke Of Cambridge S. heroine Rogue Millennium (GB) (Dubawi {Ire}). All three of these starlets provide a reminder that many of the future broodmares on offer still offer plenty of racing potential. Last year one of the best fillies to go through the ring was 1,000 Guineas place-getter Fev Rover (Ire) (Guitaifan {Ire}) and she has illustrated the point perfectly. She is now looking a bargain at the 695,000 guineas which Tracy Farmer paid for her 12 months ago following her wins this season in the G2 Nassau S., G1 Beverly D S. and G1 E. P. Taylor S.

Cachet is set to sell during Tattersalls's Sceptre Sessions | Scoop Dyga

Other smart fillies straight off the track due to be offered the Sceptre Sessions include the Group 1 winners Lezoo (GB) (Zoustar {Aus}), Prosperous Voyage (Ire) (Zoffany {Ire}), Via Sistina (Ire) (Fastnet Rock {Aus}) and Poptronic (GB) (Nathaniel {Ire}). The latter comes in particularly good form as her most recent run was her best, ie her victory last month in the G1 QIPCO British Champions Fillies & Mares S. Another recent Group 1 winner in the second Sceptre Session is Teona (Ire) (Sea The Stars {Ire}), successful in the G1 Prix Vermeille in 2021 and now offered in foal to Frankel (GB). Via Sistina features particularly prominently in the catalogue as her dam Nigh (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) is also on offer, in foal to Too Darn Hot (GB).

It would be wrong to focus too much on the Sceptre Sessions, however, as each year one of the highlights of the December Sale is the Juddmonte draft. This will again be the case this year. None of the Juddmonte horses are included in a Sceptre Session, the draft being split into two parts with the first part coming immediately before the first day's Sceptre Session and the second part preceding the Sceptre Session the following evening.

Arqana December Gets Underway Dec. 9

It would also be wrong to have exhausted one's budget by the end of the December Sale because following hot on that auction's heels is the Arqana December Sale in France (Dec. 9-12). This invariably provides some superb racing and breeding prospects. Over the years it has proved to be a particularly fruitful source of fillies who have gone on to achieve notable success in the USA. G1 Prix de l'Opera heroine Rougir (Fr) (Territories {Ire}), sold for €3,000,000 in 2021 and subsequently the winner of the G1 E. P. Taylor S. in 2022, is a classic example.

The sale is even more notable as a source of broodmares worldwide. Top-level winners in 2023 whose dams came out of this sale include Feed The Flame (GB), Iresine (Fr) and Trueshan (Fr) in France; Sol Oriens (Jpn) in Japan; Via Sistina (Ire) in Ireland; India (Ger) in Germany; and Gold Trip (Fr) in Australia. Obviously appealing mares on offer this year include the 2019 G1 Prix de Diane heroine Channel (Ire) (Nathaniel {Ire}), offered in foal to Wootton Bassett (GB), and 2022 G2 Prix du Muguet winner Sibila Spain (Ire) (Frankel {GB}), offered in foal to Dubawi (Ire).

Furthermore, the draft of HH Aga Khan Studs is always a feature of the Arqana December Sale. This consignment is invariably a rich source of notable broodmares for countries all over the world. Another particularly interesting offering in this year's sale is the dispersal of the stock of world-renowned German nursery Gestut Ammerland, the owner/breeder of numerous champions including Hurricane Run (Ire), Lope De Vega (Ire) and Borgia (Ger). A particular treat from that source will come when it offers as consecutive lots Sea The Moon's stakes-winning four-year-old full-sister Sea The Sky (Ger); Lope De Vega's G3-winning Frankel (GB) half-sister Lady Frankel, in foal to New Bay (GB); and Lady Frankel's three-year-old daughter Lightning Lady (Ire) (Kingman {GB}).

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Curtain Falls on Boutique Hony-Hof Operation at Goffs

There will, rightly, be much attention paid to the Niarchos draft at the Goffs November Sale as the family operation undergoes restructuring, but there is one boutique dispersal which also deserves proper perusal.

Manfred and Edith Hellwig of German-based Gestut Hony-Hof bring 11 mares and nine foals to market though the Castlebridge Consignment, many of whom offer access to one of the best German families of recent decades.

In 2000, the Hellwigs bought from Gestut Karlshof a yearling filly by Monsun (Ger), a full-sister to that year's G1 Deutsches Derby winner Samum (Ger), who would later be named Salve Regina (Ger) and go on to claim her own Classic laurels in the G1 Preis der Diana. The family's place in German bloodstock history has been even more deeply carved since then. In 2006, another full-brother, Schiaparelli (Ger), brought a second Deutsches Derby home, and while their sister Sanwa (Ger) didn't make it to the track herself, she atoned for that by producing yet another Derby winner, Sea The Moon (Ger) (Sea The Stars {Ire}).

Salve Regina herself has established a dynasty at Hony-Hof, the central German farm “close to nowhere”, which includes the GII Ballston Spa H. winner Salve Germania (Ger) (Peintre Celebre), whose full-sister Salve Haya (Ire) is catalogued as Lot 1148. Six of the 11 mares to be offered at Goffs are Salve Regina's descendants, as are four of the foals.

“That whole family has been so good to us, and also to Karlshof,” says Simon Minch, the longstanding manager of Gestut Hony-Hof. “The number of group runners they've brought out of it and black-type horses, it's like a gift that keeps on giving. It's a family that just doesn't seem to go out of fashion.”

He adds, “The one thing you have to say about that family is that it gets good, honest, tough horses. They don't wilt easily, they normally go on and have good, long careers to them. You know, the rarely-see-a-vet type.”

Leading the draft of mares on the Friday of the sale is Sea The Sunrise (Ger) (Lot 1139), a Sea The Stars granddaughter of Salve Regina offered in foal to Gleneagles (Ire), and her weanling filly by Arizona (Ire) will be sold as Lot 525 on the Tuesday.

Minch continues, “A lot of that family aren't that big are very, very good. Like Salve Regina herself. She was the height of the average coffee table. Same with the dam of Sea The Moon, she was even smaller. Salve Del Rio was a two-year-old winner for us, and he was fourth in the German Derby, and third in a Group 2. He was barely 15 hands, but he was as tough as nails.

They don't wilt easily, they normally go on and have good, long careers to them. You know, the rarely-see-a-vet type.

“And Sea the Sunrise, she's also an interesting outcross as well. She's a lovely mare and she's got a lot of potential to her. You're buying a lot of good stallion stuff in there.”

It's not all about the Salve Regina clan in the Hony-Hof draft though. For a start, the horse that has brought the farm the most acclaim in recent years is the G1 Prix du Cadran winner Princess Zoe (Ger) (Jukebox Jury {Ire}). She too isn't that big and is as tough as they come, but she's from a different family altogether.

Her half-sister Palace Girl (GB) (Areion {Ger}) sells as Lot 1142 and is in foal to Churchill (Ire) with a yearling by Adlerflug (Ger) on the ground. Her filly foal by Isfahan (Ger) is Lot 524.

Then there's the German champion two-year-old, Ocean Fantasy (Fr) (Make Believe {GB}), a rare foal purchase by the stud who went on to win the G3 Preis der Winterkonigin and finish placed in the G2 Diana Trial. Selling as Lot 1141, she is in foal to Lope De Vega (Ire) while her filly foal from the first crop of St Marks's Basilica (Fr) could bring some interest late in the day on Tuesday as the final lot in the ring (532). Her dam's half-sister La Mehana (Fr) (Al Wukair {Ire}) is a treble Listed winner who was placed in the G1 Prix de Royallieu since the catalogue was printed.

“There's another very interesting family we have though, that shouldn't be overlooked,” says Minch. “It's been my pet project, and that's Wish You Well and Westfalica family.”

Those two named mares (Lots 1140 and 1149), by Soldier Hollow (GB) and Areion (Ger) respectively, are both great-granddaughters of the Oaks winner Jet Ski Lady (Vaguely Noble).

He continues, “We decided to go a different direction with that family. To go back to 1,600, 1,400-metre horses, with One Cool Cat and Areion and things like that. And the bit of speed back on it has paid dividends, and it has started giving black type for us again. Westfalica's two-year-old [Wikinger] won the big €200,000 sales race in Baden-Baden. So that was pleasing, and also from that family is Words Of Peace, who was fourth in the Winterkonigin, the top two-year-old race for fillies in Germany.

“So that's coming alive again, and then Wish You Well is a listed winner herself and her first foal by Caravaggio had one start and ran a grand race to be second. But interestingly the winner came out from that and won the sales race down in Munich recently. So the form of that race is looking pretty solid. They're both very young mares with plenty going for them. Westfalica has a foal by Sioux Nation and Wish You Well has a Starspangledbanner filly.”

The advancing age of the Hellwigs, who have had broodmares for 35 years, has prompted the dispersal of the operation which has been conducted in the true tradition of owner-breeders.

“Everything was bred for their own racing stable,” Minch explains. “It was only in the last one or two years we started selling a couple because we kind of knew it was coming to the end, but unfortunately it's come a bit quicker than anyone expected or wished for.

“They started off in North Germany and they were having a bit of fun, a hobby really, with a cattle farm and a few broodmares,” says Minch, who has managed Hony-Hof since 2005. “And then Salve Regina who won the Oaks for them. Mr Hellwig wanted to sell her, because of course there were offers, but Mrs Hellwig basically put her foot down and said, 'No, we're going to start breeding properly now.' They bought Gestot Hony-Hof in the late nineties.”

The 11 mares going to sale represents the largest number the farm has ever had at one time. The mares have been in Ireland to foal at Joe Hernon's Castletown Stud and have remained there in anticipation of their sales date.

“I'm very grateful to Joe, who I've known for years since I worked at Castle Hyde Stud, and to everyone at Goffs for their help in arranging everything,” Minch says. “And Theresa Lotz has been working here at Hony-Hof since she was 18. She did her apprenticeship with us and then she stayed on for the last 12 years. She's been absolutely magnificent in the amount of work she's put in. The whole operation just wouldn't run without Theresa.”

There will be poignant days for himself, too, as the sale gets underway.

Minch says, “People have asked me, 'what are you going to do after the last mare goes to the ring?' And I said, 'I'm going to go down to the bar and have a double whiskey.' That's what I'll probably do. It's going to be an emotional moment, but we've known it's been coming for a year now and our job is to get this done and organised for the Hellwigs with the best possible result for them.”

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Jukebox Jury’s Princess Zoe Prevails in Sagaro Thriller

Winless in seven starts since capturing ParisLongchamp's 2020 G1 Prix du Cadran, last term's G1 Gold Cup runner-up Princess Zoe (Ger) (Jukebox Jury {Ire}) bounced back in style on seasonal return to claim a thrilling victory in Wednesday's two-mile G3 Longines Sagaro S. at Ascot. The 7-year-old mare claimed a rail position after the early strides and raced third passing the judge first time. Biding her time throughout, the 17-2 chance was bustled along to find an open lane off the home turn and stayed on relentlessly under a drive inside the final quarter mile to hit the line with a head advantage from Quickthorn (GB) (Nathaniel {Ire}) with Queen's Cup winner Enemy (GB) (Muhaarar {GB}) a further neck adrift in third. Wordsworth (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}), who was bidding to provide his sire with a world record 348th stakes winner, went off as the 2-1 favourite and finished another neck away in fourth.

“I think she likes to come into her races, she is just a warrior and loves a battle and I will never have the like of her again,” commented trainer Tony Mullins of his stable star. “When you have trained ordinary horses for 25 or 30 years and then you have one like this it is special. She is just part of the family. I was anxious about the ground and was a little surprised they didn't water last night as it would still have left it good-to-firm, but not quite as quick as that. Everyone believes she is a heavy-ground mare and I'm bringing her here on good-to-firm. I know if she was well beaten that everyone would say I was wrong and made a big mistake. We came here today to win, she was fit enough to win and she is going to improve for Royal Ascot. The extra half-mile [of the G1 Gold Cup] is going to make a difference and I feel there is more in the tank. Hopefully, she will be fine in the morning and then the whole build-up to the Gold Cup begins.”

Princess Zoe is one of five winners, from six foals, produced by a multiple-winning half-sister to MGSW sire Peppercorn (Ger) (Big Shuffle), G2 Oettingen-Rennen victor Pepperstorm (Ger) (Big Shuffle), G3 Preis des Winterfavoriten winner Peppershot (Ger) (Big Shuffle) and the dual stakes-placed Pepperjuice (Ger) (Big Shuffle). The March-foaled grey is a half-sister to MGSW G1 Deutsches Derby runner-up Palace Prince (Ger) (Areion {Ger}). Her second dam Pasca (Ger) (Lagunas {GB), broodmare of the year in 2003, is a half-sister to G2 Preis der Diana (German Oaks) heroine Padang (Ger) (Ile de Bourbon).

Wednesday, Ascot, Britain
LONGINES SAGARO S.-G3, £80,000, Ascot, 4-27, 4yo/up, 15f 209yT, 3:26.41, g/f.
1–PRINCESS ZOE (GER), 125, m, 7, by Jukebox Jury (Ire)
1st Dam: Palace Princess (Ger), by Tiger Hill (Ire)
2nd Dam: Pasca (Ger), by Lagunas (GB)
3rd Dam: Palmas (Ger), by Neckar (Ger)
O-Patrick F Kehoe & Mrs P Crampton; B-Gestut Hony-Hof (GER); T-Tony Mullins; J-Joey Sheridan. £45,368. Lifetime Record: Hwt. Older Mare-Eng & Fr at 14f+, G1SW-Fr, SW & GSP-Ire, G1SP-Eng, 29-8-8-3, $516,352. *1/2 to Palace Prince (Ger) (Areion {Ger}), Hwt. Older Horse-Ger at 7-9.5f, MGSW & G1SP-Ger, SW-Fr, $462,429. Werk Nick Rating: A+++ *Triple Plus*. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.
2–Quickthorn (GB), 128, g, 5, Nathaniel (Ire)–Daffydowndilly (GB), by Oasis Dream (GB). 1ST GROUP BLACK TYPE. O-Lady Blyth; B-Lemington Grange Stud (GB); T-Hugh Morrison. £17,200.
3–Enemy (GB), 128, g, 5, Muhaarar (GB)–Prudenzia (Ire), by Dansili (GB). 1ST BLACK TYPE; 1ST GROUP BLACK TYPE. (€420,000 Ylg '18 ARAUG; €92,000 4yo '21 ARQAUT). O-Tracey Bell & Caroline Lyons; B-Ecurie des Monceaux & Skymarc Farm Inc (GB); T-Ian Williams. £8,608.
Margins: HD, NK, NK. Odds: 8.50, 3.50, 4.00.
Also Ran: Wordsworth (Ire), Tashkhan (Ire), Nayef Road (Ire). Scratched: Calling The Wind (Ire). Click for the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.

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Derby Dream Thriving At Hony-Hof

A small private stud in the heart of Germany provided one of the great stories of the 2020 racing season in Europe as the breeder of G1 Prix du Cadran winner Princess Zoe (Ger) (Jukebox Jury {Ire}).

The graduates of Gestut Hony-Hof, which lies among remote woodland in the country's Hessen region to the north-east of Frankfurt, are more commonly seen running in the colours of the stud's owner Manfred Hellwig, whose purple-and-white silks are emblazoned with a giant H. Currently they are worn by three colts of this season's Classic generation, including Sunday's G2 Derby Trial winner in Hoppegarten, Sea Of Sands (Ger) (Sea Of Stars {Ire}).

For most German breeders, winning the Deutsches Derby remains the ultimate goal, and few colts have better genetic claims to this coveted prize than Sea Of Sands. His third dam Sacarina (GB) (Old Vic {GB}) was bought as a 2-year-old by Philipp Stauffenberg on behalf of Gestut Karlshof. Though she didn't make the racecourse herself, Sacarina was a grand-daughter of the Schwarzgold-Rennen (German 1000 Guineas) winner Bravour (Fr) (Birkhahn {Ger}), who was also third in the G1 Preis der Diana (German Oaks). She more than atoned for her lack of performance by producing for Karlshof the Derby-wining full-brothers Samum (Ger) and Schiaparelli (Ger). The mare's repeated matings with their sire Monsun (Ger) also produced the Preis der Diana winner and Derby runner-up Salve Regina (Ger), who was bought as a youngster by Hony-Hof, and the unraced Sanwa (Ger). The latter is now best known as the dam of the 11-length Derby winner Sea The Moon (Ger), who is now a sought-after stallion at Lanwades in Newmarket.

For Gestut Hony-Hof, Salve Regina was an inspired purchase. Not only was she a superior racemare but she left quite a dynasty of her own in the quiet wooded paddocks of Hessen, where she produced seven fillies. Three of those daughters–Salve Haya (Ger) (Peintre Celebre), Salve Estelle (Ger) (Dansili {GB}) and Salve Aurora (Ger) (King's Best)–are each represented by a son in the entries for this year's Deutsches Derby.

Being by the outstanding Sea The Stars, Salve Haya's son Sea Of Sands is of course very similarly bred to Sea The Moon and he is currently co-favourite with Martial Eagle (Ire) (Adlerflug {Ger}), representing last year's winning connections of Gestut Schlenderhan and Francis Graffard, and the Gestut Auenquelle homebred and Henk Grewe-trained Virginia Storm (Ger) (Soldier Hollow {GB}). Jean-Pierre Carvalho trains the Hony-Hof trio which is completed by Sassoon (Ger) (Soldier Hollow {GB}), a winner in Cologne and Chantilly this year and a decent fourth in Monday's G2 Prix Hocquart, and Sun Of Gold (GB) (Golden Horn {GB}).

Simon Minch, the Irish-born manager of Gestut Hony-Hof, says of Sea Of Sands, who has now won two of his five starts and was third in the G3 Bavarian Classic before his Derby Trial victory, “He's still learning his job. He was going around the parade ring screaming his head off [on Sunday]. We'll probably give him another run before the Derby just to get the routine into him more than anything. He's got talent to burn and he's improving with his racing but he he needs to learn.”

He continues, “We were very lucky to get into this family. Mr Hellwig bought Salve Regina directly from Gestut Karlshof. It was more by accident than anything else because when she was a yearling Samum hadn't won the Derby yet. Then we bought Sanwa as well, and we actually sold her in foal to Dansili at Tattersalls in 2008 to Charlie Gordon-Watson. So we had the dam of Sea The Moon here, but we already had Salve Regina, and Sanwa is tiny so I was worried she didn't have much scope. That shows you what I know as she produced a Derby winner, but we might get our own one out of the family yet.”

Minch has been at the helm of Hony-Hof since 2005, since then it has enjoyed success with horses such as G2 Goldene Peitsche winner Donnerschlag (GB) (Bahamian Bounty {GB}), GII Ballston Spa H. victrix Salve Germania (Ger) (Peintre Celebre), and the G2 Badener Meile winner Palace Prince (Ger) (Areion {Ger}), the half-brother to Princess Zoe who has just embarked on his second season at stud in France. A recent foal purchase became the 2019 G3 Preis der Winterkoenigin winner Ocean Fantasy (Fr) (Make Believe {GB}).

“People kind of think Hony-Hof are new kids on the block but the Hellwigs have been breeding for over 30 years. I took over in 2005 and we had our first group winner in 2009,” says Minch. “I'm very lucky that I have an owner like Manfred Hellwig who can go to Sea The Stars. How many breeders can do that if they're not a sheikh and it's not a foal share? Sea Of Sands, Sassoon and Sun Of Gold were the only three colts we had in that year and they are all knocking on the door so we're delighted.”

He continues, “A horse like Ocean Fantasy is part of the long-term strategy of the stud. We breed purely for our own racing stable, we don't sell yearlings or foals. I bought Ocean Fantasy at Arqana as a foal for €30,000 and she was bought to be a broodmare here to give us another string to our bow. We also have a Make Believe half-sister to Sassoon. I've always liked the stallion, and we have another mare in foal to him this year.”

Salve Germania was sold on to stud in Japan after her American stakes win and it is her full-sister Salve Haya who has now produced Sea Of Sands. Their Classic-winning mother who started the ball rolling, Salve Regina, was lost to lymphangitis several years after producing her final foal, Salve Estelle, the dam of Sassoon who in turn died last November after producing only two foals. Her yearling filly by Make Believe will hopefully continue her branch of the line, while her half-sisters Salve Haya and Salve Aurora are still in action at the farm, along with Salve Stella (Ire), a Shamardal half-sister to Sea Of Sands.

“It's a beautiful farm and we were dreaming of winning the Derby so over the years we upgraded the broodmares,” Minch says of the property, which is the sole stud farm within a 100km radius. “We bought Palace Princess, the dam of Princess Zoe, privately as a foal, and we have the 'Salve' line. And we slowly built it up and brought new fillies in like Ocean Fantasy. In breeding it doesn't happen from one day to the next, but I am very happy that for a small stud with eight to ten mares we are doing alright.”

The stud manager grew up in Ireland in a family with close ties to both racing and showjumping, and went to Germany initially in the early 1990s to break in some yearlings.

“It's all the fault of Joe Hernon,” he recalls. “I worked in Castle Hyde Stud as a young lad and did the yearling sales for Camas Park and Islanmore. I was asked if I wanted to go to Germany to break in nine yearlings–I used to ride a lot in those days–so I came over and it all went swimmingly well. We got the yearlings broken in and got some nice horses out of it and I was asked if I would like to stay. It was never my plan but I just found my niche and I've got to work with some very good people.”

He adds of his colleagues at Hony-Hof, “It's only possible because of the stud's good owners who will let us do our thing. Teresa Lotz does a great job here, and there's really only two of us on the farm. But the farriers, the feed men, the lads in the racing stable–if they don't do their job then all we do is for nought. It's a big team effort.”

Minch admits that it is likely we will see the name Gestut Hony-Hof on the list of consignors at BBAG in the years to come. “We're going to start selling and we'll probably keep fillies, sell colts,” he says.

In the meantime, there appears to be much to look forward to on the track in the seasons to come, especially with the arrival this year of a half-sister to Princess Zoe from the first crop of Gestut Auenquelle's Best Solution (Ire). The filly has already been named Palace Sunshine (Ger).

Minch says, “Palace Princess has been very difficult to get in foal but she had a filly this year. The mare is not a good traveller. I sent her to England once and she ended up being on a drip for two days with travel sickness. So I can really only use stallions here who aren't too far away and we like to support the German breeding scene as well. We also have Palace Prince's full-sister, Palace Girl, in foal to Best Solution.”

Perhaps the only foal by his sire in Germany is a colt from the first crop of four-time group winner and Hony-Hof graduate Palace Prince. He now stands at Elevage Joel Denis near Moulins in the prime National Hunt breeding territory of central France. Also much prized among the crop of eight foals this year is the Le Havre (Ire) half-sister to Sea Of Sands. The filly also has a full-sister, Salve Le Meer (Ger), in training alongside the Classic hopeful at the Carvalho stable.

Minch says, “The Le Havre 2-year-old filly is a goddess, she's absolutely gorgeous. The trainer has nearly built an altar with incense sticks outside her box. I love her so much we sent the mare back to Le Havre and happily we have a full-sister this year. We live in hope that we have another nice one there.”

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