Seven Days: Perfect News For Haggas

Few, if any, trainers have been in more consistent form this season than William Haggas, who now finds himself atop the table in Britain, with a strike-rate of 27% for the season. His earnings of £4,611,340 at the time of writing place him narrowly ahead of reigning champion Charlie Appleby.

Top of the Somerville Lodge list of horses, and the earner of roughly a third of the yard's prize-money this year, is of course arguably the best horse in the world, Baaeed (GB), around whom continues to swirl uncertainty as to where we will see him next. What we now know with some certainty is that he will appear only once more on the racecourse, but whether that will be at Ascot or ParisLongchamp seems largely dependent on how soft the ground becomes in October following a drought-ridden summer.

The Haggas stable is no one-trick pony, however. Star of the show Baaeed is backed by a supporting cast which includes G1 Tattersalls Gold Cup winner Alenquer (Fr), the Group 2 and 3 winners Sea La Rosa (Ire), Maljoom (Ire), Purlepay (Fr), Lilac Road (Ire), My Prospero (Ire), Ilarab (Ire), Bashkirova (GB), and the Haggas family homebred, Hamish (GB). A particularly pleasing result for the team would have been the victory nine days ago of Perfect News (GB) in the G3 Ballyogan S., a first at group level for the daughter of Frankel (GB) and the former Haggas-trained G2 Lowther S. winner Besharah (Ire) (Kodiac {GB}), who died earlier this year at the age of just nine.

The championship is far from over, with some of the most valuable races of the season still to be run during an action-packed autumn. Haggas will doubtless be guided not just by weather forecasts but by Baaeed's owner Sheikha Hissa when it comes to deciding on the colt's swansong. While the Arc is the more valuable race overall, the near £750,000 on offer for the winner of the QIPCO British Champion S. could potentially make the difference for Haggas to gain his own championship for the first time.

The relentless winner-producing machine that is Mark Johnston reached a new milestone in the last week when passing the 5,000 mark. Technically speaking, the Johnston counter was reset to zero on New Year's Day 2022 when the trainer brought son Charlie on board as co-trainer, but only a pedant could insist that Johnston senior, one of racing's most successful participants and clearest thinkers, could be denied a continuing tally. 

Donny Dances to the Tune

I was strolling on a quiet Scottish beach last week while my colleague Brian Sheerin did the hard yards at the Goffs UK Premier Yearling Sale. The Highland idyll was interrupted every now and then to check on proceedings at Doncaster, where the words 'frenetic' and 'hunger' appeared to be being bandied around with frequency. Indeed, the final results testified to the strength in demand across the board that is extremely welcome at a yearling sale pitched at a more everyday level than the elite boutiques of Arqana August, Goffs Orby or Tattersalls October Book 1.

There had been pre-sale angst in some quarters that the relatively new Tattersalls Somerville Sale had been taking some of the Premier Sale's ground but that appears to have been unfounded, and Donny did as Donny does, only better again than last year. A rise in the number of six-figure lots and strong clearance rate pulled the rest of the sale up by its bootstraps to deliver what appears to be a satisfying set of figures.

The results from next Tuesday's Somerville Sale will be indicative as to whether this level of demand is set to continue as the season wears on. Considering racing's myriad problems, particularly in Britain, it is heartening, and perhaps somewhat mystifying, that this bullish market for horses continues not just at the very top level but on lower tiers as well. Yes, to a degree, there will be people buying with a close eye on the overseas resale market, and that includes the bold breeze-up pinhookers. But a scroll through the results shows that there remains a huge range of trainers waving their catalogues to start the annual restocking of their yards, which is an encouraging sign.

John and Jess Dance's Manor House Farm was the second-leading buyer at the sale which must remain a favourite to them, having purchased the mighty Laurens (Fr) (Siyouni {Fr}) at Doncaster six years ago. The Dances can also take encouragement from the excellent start made at Manor House by their resident trainer James Horton, who now has 12 wins to his name and sent out his first stakes winner at the weekend when Sam Maximus (GB) (Showcasing {GB}) won the Listed Hopeful S. at Newmarket. The 3-year-old was bred by Whitsbury Manor Stud, which continues to enjoy an excellent year courtesy of its graduates. 

The sales caravan rolls on next to the somewhat depleted Osarus Yearling Sale at La Teste de Buch on Tuesday, with much livelier fare likely to emanate from Germany's main event, the BBAG Yearling Sale, on Friday. I've been lured back from the beach for a return to the glorious spa town of Baden-Baden later this week. Go figure. 

Buick Forges On

There are few nicer people to bump into for a quick chat at the sales than Walter Buick and his son Martin, who now works with agent Hubie de Burgh having completed a stint with the Niarchos family. Walter, a former multiple champion jockey in Scandinavia, is a regular buyer for a number of his contacts in that part of the world and can count this year's Swedish Derby and Norwegian Derby winner Hard One To Please (Ire) (Fast Company {Ire}) among his recent purchases. 

The greatest result of the season for the Buick family, however, will be if William, the eldest of Walter's three sons, is crowned champion jockey at Ascot in October, and it is a scenario that becomes more likely by the day.

After an extraordinary week, particularly at Goodwood, where he won all three group races on Saturday and eight of his 12 rides there across the weekend, William added another 13 wins to his name and is now 43 clear in the championship (though only nine wins ahead of Hollie Doyle for the year as a whole). 

Tempus Fugit

While William Buick was hogging the Goodwood group action, his nearest pursuer for the title of champion jockey, Hollie Doyle, added yet another black-type victory to her increasingly impressive record at Deauville on Tempus (GB) (Kingman {GB}), who has now won back-to-back Group 3 races for Archie Watson and the Hambleton Racing syndicate.

Tempus was already a four-time winner with a rating of 97 for Roger Charlton and Juddmonte when he came up for sale exactly a year ago, and it now seems scarcely believable that the half-brother to Time Test (GB) (Dubawi {Ire}) was bought for just 25,000gns. But by the time he popped up in the Tattersalls August Sale he had missed all of the 2021 season with what Juddmonte's useful and typically fulsome sales notes described as “sub condyle bone bruising in his left fore and left hind cannon bones” and which noted that Tempus had “exhibited a high level of form but is delicate”.

So, caveat emptor and all that, but in this case the outlay of 25,000gns was a risk worth taking because Tempus really is now flying. Making his first start for more than a year, and since being gelded, the 6-year-old won at Newcastle on January 2 and, with another five starts and a ratings rise to 103, he struck again at Ascot on July 23. Following that latest handicap success his two subsequent runs–and wins–have been in the G3 Sovereign S. at Salisbury, followed by Sunday's G3 Prix de Quincey. What next for the son of Group 1 winner Passage Of Time (GB)?

And talking of time flying, Deauville's August meeting has passed in what seems like the blink of an eye, and it has been a fruitful one for the Andre Fabre-trained Botanik (GB), who won the G3 Prix de Reux followed by Sunday's G2 Grand Prix de Deauville. With seven wins under his belt he thus becomes the top performer for his sire Golden Horn (GB). The Derby and Arc winner of 2015 recently moved from Dalham Hall Stud to Overbury Stud and has been represented in the past fortnight by the Ebor winner Trawlerman (GB) and Juddmonte's Listed Galtres S. winner Haskoy (GB), who appears to be heading next to the G2 Park Hill S. at Doncaster. 

Classic Potential?

If you saddle a horse with the name Classic, you'd have to be pretty sure he was worthy of such a portentous moniker. In the case of the 2-year-old Classic (GB), a winner at Newmarket for Richard Hannon on Friday, he had justifiable claims to a proper name just on paper, for the colt is a son of Dubawi (Ire) out of the stakes-placed Date With Destiny (Ire), the only offspring of the subfertile and ill-fated superstar George Washington (Ire).

Date With Destiny raced in the colours of Julie Wood, who now owns her son Classic. She has already produced the Group 3 winner Beautiful Morning (GB) (Galileo {Ire}), and Classic could yet surpass his elder sister as he has some pretty fancy entries in the coming months. 

“He still has signs of immaturity there but he is a very talented horse,” said Hannon of the colt, who was making his third start on Friday. “It wouldn't surprise me if we see him turn up at the top level, especially on soft ground. We will speak to Julie but she is never afraid of taking on these big races. I'd say there is a fair chance we go to the Champagne at Doncaster next.”

The Group 2 on September 10 is certainly a race in which the trainer has enjoyed plenty of success, having won three of the last eight runnings of the Champagne S.

Date With Destiny, who is now 14, remains in the Newsells Park Stud broodmare band and will be represented at Book 2 of the Tattersalls October Yearling Sale by her colt from the first crop of another Newsells Park graduate, the Arc winner Waldgeist (GB).

Secretariat's Silks For Sale

With the yearling sales in full flow, there is of course no guarantee that any of us will ever find a horse as good as Secretariat, but next Tuesday there is (bizarrely) a chance to bid for the right to register the famous colours carried by Penny Chenery's Triple Crown winner.

Officially described as 'royal blue and white check, striped sleeves, royal blue cap', the set of colours formerly worn by the champion lovingly known as 'Big Red' is one of six to be offered for auction by the BHA during Sotheby's sporting memorabilia sale on September 6. The sextet of cherished colours also includes the distinctive set of aquamarine jacket and black cap and, according to the BHA's notes, the auction “presents the opportunity to purchase a unique set of silks that are not available to own through any alternative avenue”. 

The guide price for Secretariat's silks is £5,000-£10,000. Then all you have to do is find a horse to wear them who moves like a tremendous machine. 

The post Seven Days: Perfect News For Haggas appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

Strong Clearance At Doncaster Opener

DONCASTER, UK–The desire of John Dance to develop Manor House Stud into a major force was well on show during the first day of the Goffs UK Premier Yearling Sale in Doncaster yesterday as the owner came out on top at £120,000 for the session-topper (lot 109), a well-related son of Dark Angel (Ire).

While the day's ceiling was a far cry from the record high of £440,000 achieved in 2019 by the Kingman (GB) colt Admiral Nelson (GB), no one could dispute the vibrancy of a trade that wound up with an average of £39,368, up 8% over last year's overall figure, and a clearance rate of 87%. And although the sale lacked participation from the Maktoum family, in recent years such a driving force at this sale, each of the seven yearlings to break the six-figure barrier fell to seven individual buyers. Crucially, it was also a day that featured spirited participation from a range of trainers and pinhookers.

The session-topping son of Dark Angel (Ire) was one of three purchases made during the day by Dance's Manor House Stud, bidding through its trainer James Horton alongside agent Ed Sackville of SackvilleDonald.

Bred by his vendor Yeomanstown Stud and offered as lot 109, the colt is out of Elusive Beauty (Ire) (Elusive Pimpernel), whose three wins for Ken Condon included the 2017 Listed Eternal S. at Carlisle. Elusive Beauty, a relation to Group 2 winners Little Treasure (Fr) (Night Shift) and Rhythm Of Light (GB) (Beat Hollow {GB}), sold for 185,000gns to Yeomanstown at the end of her career and this colt is her second foal. Her first, a sister to the colt named Angel's Dancing, is in training with John Gosden.

Horton joins Dance in Middleham following a lengthy spell as assistant trainer for Sir Michael Stoute, and was understandably delighted with the purchase.

“It's the first one that we've bought as a team,” he said. “We all loved the horse. John came down on Sunday and we saw a load of horses and everyone liked this colt. He's an exciting horse to go to war with next year.”

Dance also paid £95,000 for lot 146, a Showcasing (GB) filly from Lynn Lodge Stud. A 52,000gns Tattersalls December pinhook through Mags O'Toole, the filly is the first foal out of Girls Talk (Ire), a Shamardal half-sister to the Group 2-placed 2-year-olds Al Madina (Ire) (Noverre) and Basateen (Ire) (Teofilo {Ire}).

Mehmas In Demand

Fresh off a week that featured the winners of the GI Del Mar Oaks and GII Gimcrack S. in Going Global (Ire) and Lusail (Ire), Tally-Ho Stud's Mehmas (Ire) was understandably in strong demand throughout the day. Each of the stallion's five yearlings through the ring changed hands, two of them for six figures to contribute to an impressive average of £90,800.

Leading the way was lot 175, a colt from Joe Reid's Shinglis Stud who will be trained by Andrew Balding after selling for £115,000 to Sheikh Abdullah Almalek Alsabah. The colt is the second foal of out a winning mare, Interweave (GB) (Dutch Art {GB}), who hails from the fast Cheveley Park Stud family of champions Soar (GB) (Danzero {Aus}) and Entangle (GB) (Pivotal {GB}).

Speaking on behalf of the new owner, agent Billy Jackson-Stops said: “We loved the horse, he's a lovely physical, and we are very keen on the sire. He seems to really upgrade his mares. He will be the first horse that Andrew trains for the owner–he was very keen to send him a horse.”

Sheikh Abdullah Almalek Alsabah maintains a numerically strong string in Britain, the bulk of whom are in training with Richard Fahey. John Gosden also trains the promising 2-year-old Alotaibi, who won well on debut earlier this month at Newbury.

Archie Watson, meanwhile, will train a Mehmas daughter of the listed-placed Fainleog (Ire) (Rock Of Gibraltar {Ire}) who was bought for £100,000 by Alex Elliott.

Part of a powerful draft from her breeder Tally-Ho Stud, lot 121 is the third foal out of her talented dam, in turn a half-sister to the listed-winning The Reaper (Ire) (Footstepsinthesand {GB}).

“She was the one I really wanted to buy today,” said Elliott. “She looks like an Ascot type of filly and Mehmas needs no introduction–we all know about him. Plus she vetted very well.

One of the great things about her is that if she doesn't quite hit the mark over here, she has good residual to race on overseas. Mehmas is going very well in the U.S.–he had the Del Mar Oaks winner, Going Global, the other night and the likes of Tetragonal and Quattroelle have done well out there too, so that could also be a viable option for her.”

Big Result For Havana Grey

Whitsbury Manor Stud's young sire Havana Grey (GB) received a major vote of confidence with the sale of a well-related colt (lot 120) for £110,000 to Richard Ryan, acting on behalf of owners Teme Valley.

Consignor Guy O'Callaghan of Grangemore Stud paid a relatively inexpensive 36,000gns for the colt out of the draft of his breeder Whitsbury Manor Stud at last year's Tattersalls December Sale, since when his half-brother Ehraz (GB) (Showcasing {GB}) has enhanced the page appreciably as the wide-margin winner of his maiden at Ascot for Richard Hannon. As such, it was no surprise to see Hannon try hard to secure the colt, eventually winding up as underbidder.

The pair are out of Exrating (GB), an unraced Exceed And Excel (Aus) half-sister to high-class sprinter Pearl Secret (GB) (Compton Place {GB}).

“He's for Teme Valley and will be the first one that we have with Clive Cox,” said Ryan. “He looks a proper fit for Clive and he loved him. When people specialise in a certain genre, I think it's foolish not to use that to our advantage and he looks to be the type that Clive excels with. I thought he was a fantastic example of a sharp, strong, 2-year-old type and his half-brother is well regarded.”

Teme Valley hit Grade I heights earlier this month when their State Of Rest (Ire) (Starspangledbanner {Aus}), trained by Joseph O'Brien, made a successful trip to New York to land the G1 Saratoga Derby Invitational Stakes at Saratoga. The outfit also has several smart 2-year-olds to look forward to, notably the Listed Denford S. runner-up Bayside Boy (Ire) (New Bay {GB}), who is campaigned in partnership with Ballylinch Stud, and Claim The Crown (Ire) (Acclamation {GB}), who broke his maiden at Chelmsford City on Sunday.

Double Gold

Having enjoyed a productive buying trip to the Arqana August Sale, Fawzi Nass again made his presence felt in Doncaster yesterday, with agent Oliver St Lawrence going to £105,000 for lot 151, a Havana Gold (GB) colt from Baroda Stud.

St Lawrence outbid pinhooker Mick Murphy of Longways Stables for the colt, who is the first foal out of triple winner Golden Spell (GB) (Al Kazeem {GB}). A talented filly for Johnny Murtagh, Golden Spell filled the frame on seven occasions in stakes company, notably when second in the Listed Polonia and Legacy S.

“We loved him from the first moment we saw him,” said St Lawrence. “I thought he was a great first foal, a strong horse with a bit of Dubawi [sire of Al Kazeem] coming through. He really stood out–I thought it was very interesting how many trainers pulled him out in the walking ring.”

Training plans for the colt will be confirmed at a later date.

Murphy did not come away empty-handed, however, with a busy day consisting of the purchase of four lots worth £198,000. They were led by lot 74, the sole daughter of Kingman (GB) catalogued who cost £100,000.

Bred by Rabbah Bloodstock and sold through Whatton Manor Stud, the filly possesses a deep pedigree as the second foal out of the high-class Daban (Ire) (Acclamation {GB}), who was trained by John Gosden to win the 2017 G3 Nell Gwyn S. and run third in the G1 1000 Guineas. Not only that, Daban was also a good breezer herself, commanding 260,000gns from Blandford Bloodstock at the 2016 Tattersalls Guineas Breeze-Up Sale.

“I remember Daban as a breezer,” he said. “Katie McGivern had her and she was a quick filly. Hopefully this filly will be the same.

“We've had great success with fillies before. We bought Al Raya [winner of the G3 Prix d'Arenberg] out of this sale, and she went on to do well, and then we also had Queen Of Love [Listed winner], a good filly by Kingman. This filly might be a little bit handy but she looks quick, and were she to breeze well, then there would be an upside to her with that pedigree. Time will tell.”

Daban's first foal is a 2-year-old Sea The Stars (Ire) (Cape Cross {Ire}) filly named Nigwa while she also has a filly foal by Frankel (GB) (Galileo {Ire}). The daughter of Acclamation (GB) is a half-sister to Group 3 winner Thikriyaat (Ire) (Alhaarth {Ire}) and from the noted Gerry Oldham family of Mahalia (Ire) (Danehill).

McKeever On The Mark

A busy day for the buying team of Barry and Charlie Hills with McKeever Bloodstock consisted of the purchase of five lots worth £280,000 led by an Acclamation (GB) colt (lot 95) for £100,000.

The colt formed part of a strong draft from Eddie O'Leary's Lynn Lodge Stud, which had paid €82,000 for the youngster as a Goffs November foal. Out of the winning Dubawi (Ire) mare Dukinta (Ire), he is from the further family of Grade II winner Grandeur (Ire) (Verglas {Ire}) and champion Darjina (Fr) (Zamindar).

“He's a traditional Donny type of horse, the type that we come here to buy,” said McKeever. “He's a good, strong colt who looks as though he should be a 2-year-old and by a good sire.”

Hills is also set to take charge of a Kodiac (GB) filly bought through McKeever for £90,000 out of the Tally-Ho Stud draft. A homebred by her vendor, she is a half-sister to the listed-placed Lexington Grace (Ire) (Sir Prancealot {Ire}) and this season's dual-winning 2-year-old Uncs (Ire) (Galileo Gold {GB}).

“She's looks a real sharp filly–a Queen Mary type of filly,” said McKeever. “She's by a great sire and has a great pedigree.”

A good day for Lynn Lodge Stud also included the sale of the aforementioned Showcasing filly (lot 146) for £95,000 to Manor House Stud and lot 23, a homebred son of Starspangledbanner (Aus) for £90,000 to Ross Doyle.

“He'll go to Richard Hannon,” said Doyle of the colt, the first foal out of the listed-placed Beach Wedding (Ire) (Footstepsinthesand {GB}). “He's a typical Donny horse, the type we love to buy, and he's come from a great home. Starspangledbanner is also having a great season, probably his best ever.”

Doyle also later went to £92,000 for lot 168, a Showcasing (GB) colt out of Impede (GB) from Fernham Farm. The colt boasts regal Juddmonte connections as a grandson of Coraline (GB) (Sadler's Wells), dam of the high-class French performers Reefscape (GB) (Linamix {Fr}), Coastal Path (GB) (Halling) and Martaline (GB) (Linamix {Fr}).

With a £90,000 colt by Harry Angel (Ire) also among their haul, Peter and Ross Doyle went on to end the day as leading buyer with 12 purchased for a total of £742,000.

There was also a fine result for Ruth Pitman's Park Wood Stud in the sale of its only yearling catalogued, a Night Of Thunder (Ire) colt (lot 196), for £92,000. Sam Sangster signed for the colt, who was bred by Elaine Chivers out of Kentucky Belle (Ire) (Heliostatic {Ire}), a half-sister to Grade II winner Ramazutti (Honor Grades).

The post Strong Clearance At Doncaster Opener appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

Power-Packed Premier Sale Kicks Off

The opening hour of last week's Yorkshire Oaks card was about as good as it gets for a sales firm just days out from its flagship stand. Thirty-five minutes before Goffs UK was firmly in the spotlight with the running of its time-honoured Premier Yearling S., Premier Yearling Sale graduate Zain Claudette (Ire) (No Nay Never) provided a welcome introduction with victory in the G2 Lowther S. Bought for what now feels like a staggering bargain (£20,000) last summer, Zain Claudette has won three of her first four starts including two group races and has compiled earnings of £123,411 for owner Saeed H Al Tayer and trainer Ismail Mohammed.

Ever Given (Ire) (Kodi Bear {Ire}) cost the Dandy Boys £40,000 last September, but he proved that was money well spent when taking home the lion's share of the £200,000 purse of the Goffs UK Premier Yearling Sale S., pushing his account to £118,897.

The latest renewal of the Goffs UK Premier Yearling Sale begins on Tuesday and concludes on Wednesday, with 400 yearlings set to go under the hammer. The Silver Yearling Sale will immediately follow the Premier on Wednesday, with 90 commercial yearlings set to sell.

Michael Owen has been a staunch supporter of the Premier Sale in recent years, and in the aftermath of his syndicate the Dandy Boys winning the Goffs UK Premier Yearling S. with Ever Given, Owen confirmed he would be back shopping this week. And he comes armed with a £34,007 voucher, thanks to the new 'Premier Prizes' incentives attached to the race for the first time this year. The Premier Prizes include a voucher for a 'free horse' for the race's winning owner-a voucher of value equal to the average of the prior year's Premier sale-plus a day of hospitality at York Racecourse, and a free six-month rental of a horse box for the winning trainer, in this case Tom Dascombe.

“When we are talking about ways to improve racing, ultimately it all comes down to owners,” said Goffs UK Managing Director Tim Kent. “The Goffs UK Premier Yearling S. is often targeted by the leading syndicates. Happy Romance won the race last year and the owners of Happy Romance were first-time owners, and it was a great story. So we thought, 'how do we add a bit more to that race to try to incentivize ownership?' We felt this was a way to bring people back in and hopefully help those syndicates. Not only does [the race winner] have a good 2-year-old, they now also have the chance to buy another one for the following year.”

Kent said he hopes the added incentives now attached to the sale race will encourage buyers to have an extra bid or two.

“Hopefully it causes people to think a bit differently,” he said. “The race has been very popular, and some good horses have won it: the likes of Acclamation, Dark Angel and Wootton Bassett are the headline horses for it. Hopefully it has something for everyone and gets people thinking a bit differently.”

The Goffs UK Premier Yearling S., of course, is just one reason for buyers to shop the Goffs UK Premier Yearling Sale: others include the numerous Royal Ascot 2-year-olds, Group 1-winning sprinters and Classic winners, like the six-time Group 1 winner Laurens (Fr) (Siyouni {Fr}), to have emanated from the sale's ranks. This year has proven another very fruitful one for Premier graduates on the track, its star graduates in addition to the aforementioned Zain Claudette including Dream Of Dreams (Ire) (Dream Ahead), the popular winner of the G1 Diamond Jubilee S. after twice finishing second in the race; Happy Romance (Ire) (Dandy Man {Ire}), last year's sale race winner who has won a pair of Group 3 sprints since; Fev Rover (Ire) (Gutaifan {Ire}), last year's G2 Prix du Calvados winner who was third in the G1 1000 Guineas; Mystery Angel (Ire) (Kodi Bear {Ire}), the Listed Pretty Polly S. winner who was second in the G1 Oaks and, like Fev Rover, was bought here by Nick Bradley; and multiple group-winning 3-year-old sprinter and Royal Ascot victor Rohaan (Ire) (Mayson {GB}). Supremacy (Ire) (Mehmas {Ire}) also won last autumn's G1 Middle Park S. From last year's sale, there are currently more than 50 individual 2-year-old winners.

“It's been another good year on the racetrack and that's what this sale is all about,” Kent said. “It's less about the pedigree and more about the type of the horse. Buyers want to get there and see a ready-made racehorse. That's what people expect when they come to us and that's certainly what plays out on the racecourse. We've had a very good year, we've had some good winners and good runners and hopefully there is more of the same to come. People come to Doncaster expecting to see a certain type of horse and we're confident those in are play.”

While, as Kent alluded to, there will be numerous star graduates to come from the sale that may not have lit up the catalogue page, there are nonetheless plenty of pedigrees in the book that fit the advertisement of fast, powerful racehorses. Those include lot 40, a Dark Angel (Ire) half-brother to G2 Coventry S. winner Rajasinghe (Ire) (Choisir {Aus}); lot 57, a Kodiac (GB) half-brother to G3 Superior Mile scorer Balty Boys (Ire) (Cape Cross {Ire}); lot 88, a Hot Streak (Ire) half-sister to champion 3-year-old sprinter Total Gallery (Ire) (Namid {GB}); lot 125, a Showcasing (GB) son of the listed winner Fig Roll (GB) (Bahamian Bounty {GB}), already a stakes producer thanks to the G3 Prix d'Arenberg scorer Al Raya (GB) (Siyouni {Fr}); and lot 291, a full-brother to G2 Duchess of Cambridge and G3 Albany S. winner and G1 Cheveley Park S. second Illuminate (Ire) (Zoffany {Ire}).

Describing the typical Donny yearling, Kent said, “It's going to be a 2-year-old, and it has to have a good walk; that's one thing people really want to see in a Doncaster yearling. It's got to be an athlete and it's got to be ready to go. It's got to show a bit of speed and it's likely to be running over sprint distances as a 2-year-old and may progress up to a mile as a 3-year-old, but really a mile is the maximum capacity for the sort of thing we're selling. They have to have a toughness and determination about them that means you can get the tack on them and get on with them and get running. They're not just whiz-bang 2-year-olds, but they're 2-year-olds that can give you a shot at Ascot and those big 2-year-old meetings and train on. Something like a Guineas horse would be what we'd like to aspire to in the future.”

There are yearlings catalogued, too, that fit that Classic profile, like lot 74, the Kingman (GB) filly out of G3 Nell Gwyn S. winner and G1 1000 Guineas third Daban (Ire) (Acclamation {GB}); lot 101, a Kingman (GB) colt out of G2 Kilboy Estate S. second Earring (Dansili {GB}), whose own dam Together (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) won the GI Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup and was second in the 1000 and Irish 1000 Guineas, the G1 Fillies' Mile and G1 Matron S.; lot 102, an Invincible Spirit (Ire) grandson of the G1 Irish 1000 Guineas winner Mehthaaf; and lot 169, a Lope De Vega (Ire) colt whose dam is a half-sister to G1 Queen Elizabeth II S. victress Persuasive (Ire) (Dark Angel {Ire}).

Premier graduates are going on to success not only on the racecourse, but also in the breeding barn. Acclamation and his son Dark Angel, as well as Wootton Bassett, have been excellent ambassadors for the Goffs UK Premier Yearling Sale as sale race winners that have gone on to success at stud. Those looking to follow in their footsteps include Group 1-winning Premier graduates Advertise (GB), Golden Horde (GB) and Harry Angel (Ire). Champion sprinter Harry Angel, a son of Dark Angel, has five first-crop yearlings catalogued to this year's Premier sale.

“It's great to see them come full circle like that, to see a graduate of the sale's progeny coming through,” Kent said. “We've seen some lovely horses by Harry Angel, I've seen a couple lovely yearlings by him and I know my colleagues have done the same. He's an exciting one; he was a brilliant racehorse. Clive Cox did a wonderful job with him and hopefully he can continue that line going forward.

“If you look at what Acclamation has done, he's been a phenomenal stallion. Dark Angel has re-written the history books in many ways and to be honest, there aren't that many stallions in the world that are hotter than Wootton Bassett after his move from France to Ireland. It gives the whole team an immense amount of personal satisfaction that a horse that won our sales race can go on to win a Group 1 in France and has now been bought by one of the leading stallion operations in the world and has been given the very best chance at stud.”

The European yearling sale caravan rolls into its second sale of the season with vibes positive after the Arqana August Yearling Sale 10 days ago, and Kent's enthusiasm is palpable heading into Goffs UK's headline sale.

“It's the physical that really will get people going when they get here,” he said. “Whatever you see on the page, we think it will be even better in real life, and that's what is exciting us. We've seen videos and photographs of these horses and seen how they've improved since we saw them however many months ago. All of the nominations team have horses they think will top the sale, and we're having a bit of fun between us, telling each other that we're going to do better than our colleagues. It's great that we all have horses we're really excited about. They're a great bunch of physicals and these horses do what it says on the tin. It's athletic racehorses we're looking for and we think we've chosen almost 500 horses that fit that mould over two days and we're excited to show them to purchasers at Doncaster.”

The post Power-Packed Premier Sale Kicks Off appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

Yearling Vendors Start Counting the Cost

DONCASTER, UK–Having put on a brave enough face on the opening day, the first auction of an improvised European yearling sales calendar hastened to its conclusion on Wednesday as though downing a necessary but deeply unpleasant medicine.

Horses were ushered through the ring at the Goffs UK Premier Yearling Sale with a briskness that spoke of a pragmatic willingness, among vendors, to clarify the extent of the damage. The clearance rate for the session was duly maintained at 84% across the two days. Albeit trading a marginally smaller catalogue, it says everything that this session finished well over two hours earlier than had the previous one. As Macbeath says: “If it were done when ’tis done, then ’twere well it were done quickly.”

Everyone knew it was going to be tough, and that nobody is to blame. All we can do is hope that the tempest in the global economy, in a pandemic year, abates sooner rather than later. As things stood, however, the indices were predictably grim.

Turnover for the second session was down 43% on last year, from £7,889,500 to £4,525,000; yielding a £30,782 average that declined 29% from £43,349, and a median slipping 25% to £24,000 from £32,000. Given somewhat stronger returns the previous day, that equated across the whole sale to a 38% slump in aggregate, to £11,503,500 from £18,468,000; a 27% loss in the £34,034 average from £46,519; and a 23% dip in a £27,000 median from £35,000.

As Goffs UK managing director Tim Kent observed, this had been one of the most anticipated editions of this sale in recent years.

“But not in the way that we normally prepare for a sale,” he said. “And we share everyone’s collective relief that we have been able to conduct the sale, and provide an opening to Europe’s yearling sales circuit during these difficult times.

“There is no doubting that trade across that last few days has not been straightforward, but the important thing is that horses are getting sold and the collective view from vendors and purchasers has been that this was a ‘good’ sale, even though ‘good’ may currently be difficult to quantify. We obviously missed some key faces who were active last year but there were a significant number of success stories over the last two days, including some spectacular pinhooks, and we must remember these moments as we reflect what has been achieved.

“Despite the two days proving predictably difficult, we echo what has been said many times this week, that we are lucky to hold sales and continue to trade despite the challenges that face us and our industry. It has been encouraging to see so many people descend on Doncaster and to see a respectable clearance rate upheld over the two days.

“Full credit to our vendors who have adapted to the market to facilitate trade and we now look forward to the Goffs Sportsman’s and Orby Sale which will take place here at the end of this month.”

As Kent indicated, this auction was always going to be exposed after finding itself shuffled to the front of the calendar. And the fact that it has so flourished in recent years only gave it farther to fall. Last year, it processed 35 six-figure transactions. The three recorded yesterday took the total this time round to just 12.

There will be anxiety, naturally, about the complete absence of the firm that had topped aggregate purchasing here in each of the previous five years. But Shadwell’s boss is a human being like everyone else, and it would be most ungrateful–after decades of priceless support from his whole family–for anyone to forget that the debt is owed to him by the industry, and not the other way round. For all most of us can know, his inaction this week may be governed by factors extraneous to the industry’s present difficulties.

That said, those preparing for elite sales ahead will be hoping that the whole market does not take its lead from the physical appearance of the ring here, with only sporadic green ticks among all the black crosses marking those sections of the benches to be left vacant to keep bidders safely apart.

Some vendors did make a stand, refusing to allow a nice horse to go too cheap–a description that even extended to the highest bid of the day when lot 322, a Cotai Glory (GB) half-sister to multiple Group winner A’Ali (Ire) (Society Rock {Ire}), was bought in for £150,000. The new plan? “She’ll win a group race,” promised Daniel Creighton of consignors Salcey Forest Stud. “And they’ll all rue the day they didn’t buy her.”

By the same token, many other vendors will doubtless end up shaking their heads over the derisory reward they had to accept for subsequent high achievers. But one of the most seasoned sages on the circuit put it best. “Look, you couldn’t sell a kid’s bike at the moment,” he said. “Yet people are here selling racehorses. There’s trade, and trade is good.”

That was something you heard a lot. Lady Carolyn Warren of Highclere Stud summed things up well. “Yes, it’s been tough,” she said. “But we ought to be pleased that we’re able to sell horses at all. And with that in mind we must all be respectful of the ‘rules and regs’, going into such a busy sales season. But there are nice horses here, and the trade has been solid.

“Yes, we’ve had to adjust our sights a bit, but hopefully people will realize that the opportunities that are out there now; opportunities, to compete at the top level, that maybe weren’t there before. There could be better value around now than for many years, so we’ve just got to hope that people feel more encouraged to have a go.”

£115,000 Havana Gold Colt Tops Session

The top price of the day was paid by Oliver St Lawrence, who gave £115,000 for the Havana Gold (Ire) colt presented by Mountarmstrong Stud as lot 303.

He is out of Majestic Missile (Ire) (Royal Applause {GB})’s stakes-placed half-sister Majestic Alexander (Ire) (Bushranger {Ire}), whose three previous foals onto the track have all won, two also gaining black-type.

“We’re all looking for a Royal Ascot 2-year-old, of course we are,” St Lawrence said. “And he does look a really strong, sharp type. Actually we hadn’t originally intended to buy him: he was on the radar, and I showed him to Fawzi [Nass] yesterday, but we hadn’t had him vetted. But then the trainer said how much he liked him, and we re-evaluated today. Of course it helps that he comes from breeders who do such a good job.”

St Lawrence diplomatically left the trainer in question anonymous, pending formal confirmation of the horse’s destination. Gentlemanly conduct, from one who described his mask-fetchingly adorned with sports cars–as more suitable for a second-hand car salesman. True to his own profession, however, he professed that even so depressed a market remained challenging.

“It’s still tough enough,” he said. “I know all bloodstock agents say that, and the market overall is a bit down. I’m not sure there are quite the horses here they’ve had in the last couple of years. Doncaster do a great job, and there are some really nice ones here. But I suspect some of the vendors have made a percentage call, with sales moving around and this one ending up first.”

Another Diamond for Middleham Park?

The embers of a cold market were stoked into life when the day’s second and third six-figure sales were achieved from its closing half-dozen lots. First of these was lot 418, a Showcasing (GB) filly bought by Middleham Park for £110,000–a good result for W.H. Bloodstock, having made €58,000 from Peter and Ross Doyle at Goffs last November.

“She was our nap of the sale, really,” said Middleham Park’s Mike Prince. “She just looks a lovely racing filly. Showcasing’s had a great year, and the mare has already produced [a dual winner] by Raven’s Pass. She’ll be going to Mark Johnston, so let’s hope she can follow in the footsteps of Marie’s Diamond (Ire).”

An apt turn of phrase, regarding that daughter of Footstepsinthesand (GB), who achieved a Group 1 podium in the Queen Anne S.

Encouragingly, Prince reported plenty of interest in Middleham Park syndicates from investors looking forward to getting back on the racetrack.

“We’ve bought five here,” he said. “One apiece for Mark, David O’Meara, Keith Dalgleish, Karl Burke and Richard Hannon. Our guys have got a taste for it, and as long as they’re buying, we’re buying.”

“It’s a very resilient industry,” concurred colleague Tom Palin. “We’ve been through two recessions and racing just seems to come back stronger than ever.”

A Brother to Make up for the One That Got Away

The very last horse into the ring, likewise, put a more heartening signature on proceedings. Certainly one of the best pedigrees of the sale had been reserved for last, the Dark Angel (Ire) colt (lot 423) out of multiple stakes winner Swiss Dream (GB) (Oasis Dream {GB}) being a brother to group scorer Yafta (GB).

That horse had made £280,000 here four years ago, when likewise consigned for breeders Lordship Stud by Highclere Stud. Given that he ended up running for Sheikh Hamdan, whose buying team was absent this time, £100,000 from Ed Sackville arguably represented an equivalent result in this market. Sackville was completing some business-like shopping over the two days for Tom Dascombe.

“It’s a nice story because [Dascombe’s landlord] Michael Owen was under-bidder on Yafta,” said Highclere’s Lady Carolyn Warren. “So I really hope that this one will be just as successful, if not more. He’s a lovely-moving colt who sailed through his preparation.”

Owen, the former England striker, has evidently managed to interest more of the North West’s football community in his Cheshire yard: Burnley midfielder Jack Cork had earlier been standing alongside Sackville when the agent gave £88,000 for another Dark Angel (Ire) colt, presented as lot 350 by Yeomanstown Stud.

This one, too, has a lively page: out of a stakes-placed half-sister to G2 Queen Mary and G2 Prix Robert Papin winner Signora Cabello (Ire) (Camacho {GB}); and the third dam is a half-sister to Classic winner Las Meninas (Ire) (Glenstal).

“It’s a lovely female family, going back to the tremendously fast Kingsgate Native (Ire) (Mujdail), and with a recent Royal Ascot winner on the page,” Sackville said. “SackvilleDonald have always been admirers of Dark Angel, including Art Power (Ire) who’s running for Alastair [Donald] in the GI Betfair Sprint Cup at Haydock on Saturday.”

Dascombe’s partnerships are famously convivial and Sackville confirmed that his clients “have been very loyal and supportive–especially in these difficult times.”

Albeit even this price would represent a fairly marginal gain on Dark Angel’s fee, the mating is certainly paying its way: the colt’s sister realized €275,000 as a yearling at Goffs last October.

Murphy Hopes for New Dawn

This market is a teasing one for breeze-up pinhookers: there’s value, for sure, but they are betting on confidence returning to the economy as soon as next spring. For Mick Murphy of Longways, however, £95,000 for a Night Of Thunder (Ire) colt (lot 346) was too tempting to resist.

“Gorgeous horse,” he said. “For me, the nicest in the sale. I saw him Sunday morning and didn’t think I’d get him. He’s an exceptionally correct individual, for a Night Of Thunder, who’s obviously very much in demand. I just hope he’s fast! He has the pedigree to be.”

The dam, indeed, is an unraced sister to G1 July Cup winner Fleeting Spirit (Ire) (Invincible Spirit {Ire}). In previous years, perhaps, competition from absent friends such as Shadwell would have put a colt like this beyond reach. As it was, he was Murphy’s fifth purchase of the sale.

“But generally the ones you want are still making money,” Murphy said. “The top end looks after itself. There’s always someone to buy a nice horse. I suppose the market is down, without the likes of Shadwell. But let’s just hope they’re buying next April.”

Aguair Upgrading for next Stage of His Odyssey

As the son of a Derby winner out of an Oaks winner, Ulysses (Ire) might not seem the most obvious of the new stallions for the breeze-up pinhookers. But not enough people grasp how class can tell in any environment. Credit to Robson Aguiar, then, for stretching to £92,000 for lot 255, a February colt by Cheveley Park’s rookie out of a winning sister of listed sprinter Feet So Fast (GB) (Pivotal {GB}).

After all, Ulysses won two Group 1 races over 10 furlongs, and his deep Classic pedigree will doubtless gain a bit of commercial spice from some of those zippy Cheveley Park mares. This colt’s dam was a case in point, albeit recently culled from the farm, as she is out of another of its black-type dashers in Splice (GB) (Sharpo {GB}), whose seven winning foals–besides Feet So Fast and her sister–include G2 Lowther S. winner Soar (GB) (Danzero {Aus}).

“He will probably be a horse for later on, for seven furlongs, but he is a very nice and scopey type,” Aguair said. “I’m trying hard to improve the horses, to keep things going forward, and it’s not easy: nicer horses will still sell well. I have tried for a few that I could not get. But I have some people who are investing with me, and I will keep a half.”

The Brazilian has certainly established his eye for a young prospect at a lower level. One graduate of his nursery is Alicestar (GB) (Charming Thought {Ire}), found for just £10,000 as at Tattersalls Ascot last August. She won on debut at Yarmouth in July, and seeks black-type for David Simcock in the G3 Unibet Dick Poole S. at Salisbury on Thursday.

Mother Takes Pride

Anna Sundstrom of Coulonces Sales had another happy tale to tell when following up the top price of the opening day with the £85,000 sale to Hillen-Ryan of a Caravaggio colt, lot 355.

Having co-bred Tuesday’s Starspangledbanner (Aus) sale-topper with head girl Charlotte Hutchinson, she revealed that this one was all the work of her 19-year-old daughter Moa–who, just like Hutchinson the previous day, led up her charge.

“Moa has done an amazing job with her and deserves every penny,” Sundstrom said. “She bought the dam privately the night before [her subsequent group-winning half-brother] Peace Envoy (Fr) (Power {GB}) won first time out. She had obviously done her homework, and now the mare has a lovely Starspangledbanner colt foal and is in foal to Sioux Nation (Scat Daddy).”

“Very well produced colt,” said Kevin Ryan, congratulating her consignor. “Athletic, with a lot of quality.”

The selective cross-Channel raids of Coulonces to South Yorkshire have paid wonderful dividends, both in the ring and on the track, above all through Laurens (Fr) (Siyouni {Fr}). When she won the G2 May Hill S. on the adjacent track in 2017, it was just the first downpayment on the spectacular dividends she achieved as a £220,000 graduate of this sale the previous year.

Lloyd Excels in Premier Sale Debut

Let’s end on a positive note. It would be misleading to construe the figures, severely depressed as they are, as causing universal despair. Horses were brought here by resilient and realistic people, and the skills of their presentation remain undiminished.

Jamie Lloyd of Far Westfield Farm will have been speaking for many, then, when he concluded his first experiment in selling at this sale with the sale of an £80,000 Exceed And Excel (Aus) filly, lot 414, to Richard Brown.

“It’s been great,” he said. “I’m very glad we came. I brought six and sold five, including an Acclamation (GB) for £95,000 and a Showcasing (GB) for £80,000, which was great–we were supposed to sell that one as a foal, but he wasn’t up together enough.”

The mating that produced this filly had been directed by the dam’s half-sister, Group 3 winner Sound Of Silence (GB), also by Exceed And Excel.

“I bought the dam off Darley, off the track for 25 grand, before Sound Of Silence had run,” Lloyd said with a grin, before reiterating his broader satisfaction. “They’ve managed to get lots of people here and, given what the market’s like, they’ve done a brilliant job.”

 

The post Yearling Vendors Start Counting the Cost appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

Verified by MonsterInsights