“I think she's a good filly and I'd hoped she would do something like that,” Twomey said. “I haven't run her since she won the second time last year as she just grew and I wanted to give her the time. I'm glad I did and she's trained well all winter. I was looking forward to coming here today, although the heavy ground was a concern as her form was on good ground. She's uncomplicated and she's tough.”

Pedigree Notes
The dam Mejala, who was a 12,000gns Shadwell cast-off at 2020 Tatts December, has produced the dual listed-placed Mutaaqeb (GB) (Invincible Spirit {Ire}). From the family of the sires Bahri and Bahhare which includes the dual G1 Jebel Hatta winner Alfareeq (Ire) (Dark Angel {Ire}) and the G3 Prix Noailles scorer Raseed (GB) (Dubawi {Ire}), her 2-year-old filly is by Shaman (Ire).

3⃣ out of 3⃣

A Lilac Rolla makes it three wins from as many starts by grinding out victory in the Group 3 "Priory Belle" Stakes on return.

It looked hard work but she is tough!@paddytwomey | @wjlee24786 | @BallylinchStud pic.twitter.com/4Lxm85grOj

— Racing TV (@RacingTV) April 7, 2024

Sunday, Leopardstown, Ireland
BALLYLINCH STUD PRIORY BELLE 1000 GUINEAS TRIAL S.-G3, €55,000, Leopardstown, 4-7, 3yo, f, 7f 18yT, 1:40.89, hy.
1–A LILAC ROLLA (IRE), 128, f, 3, by Harry Angel (Ire)
1st Dam: Mejala (Ire), by Red Ransom
2nd Dam: Wissal, by Woodman
3rd Dam: Wasnah, by Nijinsky II
1ST BLACK-TYPE WIN; 1ST GROUP WIN. (€40,000 Ylg '22 TATIRY). O-Mutual Admiration Society Partnership; B-John Cullinan (IRE); T-Paddy Twomey; J-Billy Lee. €33,000. Lifetime Record: 3-3-0-0, $69,398. *1/2 to Mutaaqeb (GB) (Invincible Spirit {Ire}), MSP-Eng. Werk Nick Rating: B+. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree, or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.
2–Kitty Rose (GB), 128, f, 3, Invincible Army (Ire)–Varnish (GB), by Choisir (Aus). (20,000gns Ylg '22 TATOCT). O-Tim Porter; B-Carmel Stud (GB); T-Natalia Lupini. €11,000.
3–Buttons (Ire), 128, f, 3, Kingman (GB)–Wonder of Wonders, by Kingmambo. 1ST BLACK TYPE; 1ST GROUP BLACK TYPE. O-Westerberg, Mrs John Magnier, Michael Tabor & Derrick Smith; B-Wonder Of Wonders Syndicate (IRE); T-Aidan O'Brien. €5,500.
Margins: HD, 2 3/4, HF. Odds: 4.50, 4.00, 3.50.
Also Ran: Greenfinch, Alpheratz (Ire), Wendla (GB), Cherry Blossom (Ire), Mysteries (Ire), Money Dancer (Ire), Finsceal Luas (Ire), Sweetest (Ire). Scratched: Lexington Belle (Ire).

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Dick Hern, who sent out 16 British Classic winners including three winners of the Derby as well as his best horse Brigadier Gerard (GB), would have thoroughly approved of Dark Angel. Hern was an archetypal 'old-school' trainer who excelled with every type of horse. Late in his career he prepared two consecutive Horses of the Year (in 1989 and '90). One, Nashwan, successively won the 2,000 Guineas, Derby, Eclipse S. and King George VI and Queen Elizabeth S.; the other, Dayjur, was Europe's utterly dominant sprinter. Brigadier Gerard was a champion at two, three and four, from six furlongs to twelve.

Hern gave his charges a solid preparation at two and expected them to last for a few more years after that. Two of his best stayers, Little Wolf (GB) and Longboat (GB), won the Ascot Gold Cup over two and a half miles as five-year-olds, but each had shown very smart form at two, with Little Wolf winning over six furlongs at Hern's local course, Newbury. Little Wolf's high-class elder half-brother Smuggler (GB) had won from six furlongs to two miles. In short, the archetypal Hern horse was tough, started work early in life and thrived on that work over an extended period. One rather suspects that Hern would have loved the progeny of Dark Angel, a stallion whose sons and daughters in general come to hand quickly, hold their form for years, and are notably tough, sound, genuine and consistent.

The irony about Dark Angel's stock being so strongly associated with durability is that he himself did not have the chance to demonstrate whether he could have held his form over several seasons. He raced only as a two-year-old and his career lasted for precisely six months and two days during the spring, summer and autumn of 2007. During that time he raced nine times, showing himself to be a hardy, sound and enthusiastic racehorse. It is easy to believe that he could have put together a great sprinting career had he been asked to do so.

Trained by Barry Hills, an old-school conditioner in the Dick Hern mould, Dark Angel made his debut at Newmarket's Craven Meeting in the spring of 2007 and then ran at most of the traditionally prestigious meetings of the season: Chester, Royal Ascot, Newmarket's July Meeting, York's Ebor Meeting, Doncaster's St Leger Meeting. He then won the G2 Mill Reef S. at Newbury and contested both of Newmarket's juvenile autumn highlights, winning the G1 Middle Park S. before finishing unplaced behind subsequent Derby winner New Approach in the G1 Dewhurst S. It was a proper, old-fashioned two-year-old campaign from which he emerged with honour fully intact, the winner of four races.

A Changing Tide in the Stallion Market

Nowadays it is no longer unusual for a high-class two-year-old to be retired straightaway to stud. Dark Angel was only racing 16 years ago, but that was a different era. However, times were just beginning to change. 

Holy Roman Emperor (Ire) (Danehill) had been a top-class and super-tough two-year-old for Aidan O'Brien in 2006 and began 2007 appealing as a likely 2,000 Guineas winner. However, when it became clear that Coolmore Stud's star recruit, the 2006 2,000 Guineas winner George Washington (Ire) (Danehill), was infertile, suddenly there was a three-figure book of high-class mares looking for a suitable horse (preferably a fast son of Danehill) who could cover them. The solution was to take Holy Roman Emperor out of training and give him the job. Consequently Holy Roman Emperor started covering mares at Coolmore in March 2007, officially aged three but in reality not yet 36 months old.

Perhaps emboldened by this, Gay O'Callaghan put in an offer for Dark Angel in the final weeks of 2007, an offer so good that his connections felt that they could not refuse it.

The son of Acclamation (GB) proved popular at a first-season fee of €10,000, although this had come down to €7,000 by the time that he began to have runners in the spring of 2011. Once his offspring had started racing, though, it soon became clear that he was at least as good a stallion as he had been a racehorse and that he would never cover for a four-figure sum again. In Great Britain and Ireland he was represented by 27 individual winners of 44 races during 2011, headed by his first stakes winner Lily's Angel (Ire), successful in the Empress S. at Newmarket after changing hands for only £8,000 as a yearling.

Lethal Force (Ire), who cost €8,500 as a yearling, should also be mentioned in dispatches in any review of Dark Angel's first juveniles as he finished a close fourth of the 23 runners in the G2 Coventry S. at Royal Ascot. That admirable grey, though, didn't fully come into his own until his four-year-old season in 2013, when he completed the great summertime six-furlong double of the G1 Diamond Jubilee S. at Royal Ascot and the G1 July Cup at Newmarket. Lily's Angel too did even better at four than she had done at two, her wins in 2013 including the G3 Chartwell Fillies' S. over seven furlongs at Lingfield.

Just this quick snapshot of the stars of Dark Angel's first runners tells the tale of what was to come: a torrent of horses who came to hand early and then thrived on their racing, continuing to improve as they got older. Just how durable they really could be, though, obviously took several years to be established, but in the spring of 2017 it became crystal-clear.

Two of Dark Angel's first-crop two-year-old winners in 2011 were Sovereign Debt (Ire) and Gabrial (Ire). The former won a maiden race at Doncaster in June and a nursery at Ascot in July; the latter scored on debut at the Chester May Meeting before following up in the Two-Year-Old Trophy at Beverley and then, like Lethal Force, running in the Coventry S. at Royal Ascot. They were clearly both precocious two-year-old sprinters; but, as it turned out, that was only the start. Six years later, in the spring of 2017 at the age of eight, Sovereign Debt was in the form of his life. He won the £150,000 All-Weather Championships Mile Conditions Stakes at Lingfield in March; the G2 Sandown Mile in April; and the G3 Diomed S. at Epsom's Derby Meeting in the first week of June. At both Sandown and Epsom, the runner-up was Gabrial. The latter finished second in the Diomed S. again the following year aged nine, with Sovereign Debt recording his 15^th and final victory (on his 62^nd start) as a nine-year-old in June 2018 when taking a listed race, the Ganton S., over a mile at York.

Attracting Outside Interest

As horses such as these began to show the full extent of Dark Angel's merit as a stallion, his fee began to climb and he found himself covering ever more impressive books of mares. In August 2015 it was announced that Sheikh Mohammed had bought a block of shares in the horse to ensure that he was guaranteed plentiful access to the stallion. Dark Angel had stood for €27,500 that spring but his progeny were winning good races so regularly (at the time that this deal was announced, he had already been represented by 13 individual stakes winners that year alone) that his fee would rise to €60,000 in 2016 (before reaching €80,000 in 2018).

It is not always the case that seemingly better opportunities bring even better results, but in Dark Angel's case that is what has happened. His roll of honour is now gilt-edged. His 14 Group/Grade 1 winners on the Flat are headed by a sprinting great: the mighty gelding Battaash, who in the five seasons 2016 to 2020 inclusive won 13 of his 23 starts (starting with a five-furlong two-year-old maiden race at Bath in May 2016 and ending with his second successive G1 Nunthorpe S.) including 12 stakes races, showing himself to be arguably Europe's fastest horse at ages three, four, five and six.

Aside from Battaash, Harry Angel (Ire) and Mecca's Angel (Ire) stand out among Dark Angel's fastest offspring. The brilliance of Mecca's Angel, a member of Dark Angel's third crop, was particularly impressive bearing in mind that she was conceived at a fee of €7,000 and then changed hands for 16,000gns as a yearling. These two speedsters won 10 Group races between them. Harry Angel's finest hours came when he won both the G1 July Cup and the G1 Haydock Sprint Cup (by four lengths) in 2017; while Mecca's Angel is best remembered for matching Battaash's feat of winning the G1 Nunthorpe S. twice.

The aforementioned Lethal Force and this year's G1 Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee S. hero Khaadem (Ire) are other top-class sprinters sired by Dark Angel. Khaadem is currently in the form of his life at the age of seven, having continued to progress since winning at Newmarket and Doncaster as a two-year-old in 2018 and then kicking off his three-year-old campaign in 2019 by beating subsequent G1 King's Stand S. and G1 July Cup hero Oxted (GB) in the Carnarvon S. at Newbury.

Dark Angel's best milers have included the US Grade I winners Raging Bull (Fr) and Althiqa (GB); the recently-retired Top Ranked (Ire) who thrived after being exported to Australia where won the G1 Epsom H. at Randwick in October 2022; and Persuasive (Ire) who won her first five races before finally signing off as an autumn four-year-old by beating Ribchester (Ire) and Churchill (Ire) in the G1 Queen Elizabeth II at Ascot in October 2017.

The one way in which the stock of Dark Angel differ from the profile of horses trained by Major Dick Hern is that, while Hern trained plenty of stayers, Dark Angel's stock almost exclusively excel as sprinters or milers. There is always the exception which proves the rule, of course, and in Dark Angel's case that exception was his second-crop son Guitar Pete (Ire), who raced 55 times between May 2013 and March 2021.  After starting out on the Flat, Guitar Pete thrived over jumps, his wins including the G1 Spring Juvenile Hurdle over two miles at Leopardstown in February 2014 and the G3 Caspian Caviar Gold Cup Steeplechase over two miles and five furlongs at Cheltenham in December 2017. He might be untypical of Dark Angel's stock as regards the distances and type of race at which he excelled, but as a grey horse who is as tough as old boots he is very much his father's son.

The Flourishing of a Sprint Line

Dark Angel retired to stud on his racing record rather than his pedigree, which at the time that he was sold as a yearling in 2006 at Doncaster's St Leger Yearling Sale for 61,000gns was seen as a page likely to produce the smart sprinter which his muscular physique suggested he should be, but probably not a stallion. In retrospect, of course, it is now tautologous that he has a stallion's pedigree (because he is a stallion). The most obvious aspect which makes it a stallion's pedigree is that he is a member of the first crop of the Royal Applause (GB) horse Acclamation (GB), who was a very good sprinter himself (most notably winning the 2003 G2 Diadem S. at Ascot, which is now the G1 British Champions' Sprint S.) and has turned out to be a far more influential sire than could have been reasonably expected at the outset.

Acclamation was not an obvious candidate to become a notable sire of sires, but that is exactly what he has become, with two of his sons, Dark Angel and Mehmas (Ire), having ended 2022 in the top 20 in the General Sires' Table for Great Britain and Ireland. Furthermore, another son, Aclaim (Ire), sired the 1,000 Guineas winner Cachet (Ire), while Harbour Watch (Ire) was represented by King George VI And Queen Elizabeth S. hero Pyledriver (GB).

Dark Angel himself is now part of the furniture in the uppermost tiers of the General Sires' Table. He is currently sitting in fourth place in the 2023 table behind Frankel (GB), Siyouni (Fr) and Sea The Stars (Ire). Last year he finished fifth behind Dubawi (Ire), Frankel, Sea The Stars and Galileo (Ire). If he were to finish this season where he currently lies, his 'form figures' for the General Sires' Table in the nine years 2015 to 2023 inclusive would be 442763554, figures which represent an extremely high degree of sustained excellence.

Looking ahead, Dark Angel is still aged only 18 and should be among Europe's most successful sires for years to come. Among his sons to retire to stud, things are looking promising. Lethal Force was the first to get Dark Angel going as a sire of sires, retiring to Cheveley Park Stud as a five-year-old in 2014 and producing some fast horses including Golden Horde (Ire) who was twice Group 1-placed as a two-year-old in 2019 before winning the G1 Commonwealth Cup at Royal Ascot in 2020.

In August alone, his son Guitaifan (Ire) has been represented by GI Beverly D S. heroine Fev Rover (Ire), while another, Heeraat (Ire), enjoyed a particular successful Goodwood, with Aberama Gold (GB) winning the Stewards' Cup (on his 60^th start) and White Lavender (Ire) finishing second to the great sprinting mare Highfield Princess (Fr) (Night Of Thunder {Ire}) in the race which Battaash won four years in a row, the G2 King George S. Furthermore, Harry Angel is shaping up as a useful young sprinting sire in both Europe and Australia, where he was one of only two first-season sires, along with Justify, to be represented by three individual stakes winners during the 2022/'23 season.

The other marker which adds depth to a stallion's career is his success as a broodmare sire. In this sphere, Dark Angel's influence is also becoming noteworthy, particularly through the exploits of one of the rising stars of the stallion ranks, Havana Grey (GB), who sired his first Group 1 winner last Sunday and is himself out of the Dark Angel mare Blanc De Chine (GB).

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Conditioned by Karl Burke, the colt had won three of his nine career jumps and found his first Group black-type victory at Chantilly earlier this season in April when annexing the Prix Sigy. He had last been seen finishing eighth in Sandown's G3 Coral Charge S. in July but hopes were high as the return to York would've meant a return to a course at which he'd already put in two credit-worthy performances.

“He went for a breeze early last week and came back sore,” explained Nick Bradley, managing director of Nick Bradley Racing. “We sent him for a bone scan and it's not conclusive, but it looks like a suspected pelvic injury. I think that will be him done for the year. We'll bring him back next year. Three can be a hard age for sprinters, so we'll try again at four.”

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But before Mills can look forward to next Sunday on the Rowley Mile, he first has another four breezers to put through their paces for the Guineas Sale on Thursday. The quartet is shaping up nicely just a short hack away from where they will be asked to perform the first proper test of their young lives during Wednesday's gallop session. RMM Bloodstock is based at Bill O'Gorman's Seven Springs stable on Newmarket's Hamilton Road, meaning that the consignor has only to have his horses ridden straight onto the Heath that they have come to know well in recent months. 

He is understandably proud of Naomi Lapaglia, who races for Ed Babington and Phil Cunningham and is trained locally by Richard Spencer.

“Richard said she did a nice piece of work at the Rowley Mile last week and she will go straight to the Guineas,” he says.

Bred by Shadwell, Naomi Lapaglia had been selected by the pinhooker from the operation's reduction of stock at the Tattersalls December Yearling Sale for just 2,000gns. Five months later, she was knocked down at 110,000gns to Cunningham, with an extra boost coming when her half-sister Rogue Millennium (GB) (Dubawi {Ire}), similarly let go relatively cheaply by Shadwell, won impressively on debut four days before the breeze-up sale. She went on to win the Lingfield Oaks Trial and finish seventh in the Oaks for Tom Clover.

“It was a hot race,” Mills recalls of Rogue Millennium's debut. “So that really helped  the two-year-old, it just put the icing on the cake really, going into the sale. And she did a solid breeze.”

Mills is by no means a newcomer to the breeze-up circuit, but this will be the largest draft he has brought to sale so far. The consigning part of his business, along with breaking and pre-training and some bloodstock agency work, is an area which he is planning to expand.

“Over the last few years we've always had a few to breeze, but then we've either sold them before the sale or the owners have changed their mind. A few years ago, I bought Pocket The Profit as a yearling, and Ed Babington bought him off me privately,” he adds.

The four-year-old Pocket The Profit (GB) (Mayson {GB}), a 10,000gns yearling, has now won six of his 22 starts, earning a rating of 90.

“We also buy some for Qatar, we know some trainers over there,” he says. “This year we won the Guineas and we were fourth in the Derby with a horse called Conflict, who we bought from Andrew Balding.

“We've got good team of people, so we're going to try and do some yearling prep this summer and angle more towards consigning. With the horses is in training as well, with staff shortages it's better for the trainers to ask someone else to do it.  It's something that we're going to build on and we've got a few yearlings already on the books to come. We're lucky to have the most beautiful yard and we're just building every year now.”

Mills is also planning to build on his good contacts in America, where he spent four years as a track rider and was assistant trainer to Michelle Nihei in Florida. 

“I went all over really, from Gulfstream, up to New York, Saratoga, and California to Hollywood Park, when it was open, and Santa Anita. Then I came back here and was riding out, and RMM Bloodstock has been going about eight years now.

“It's working, anyhow, because we're having winners after they've breezed, we've made horses from 10 and 12,000 into 40,000 the last couple of years. And then obviously last year was pretty exceptional, turning 2,000 into 110,000,” he recalls.

“I just scratched my head all winter, I still couldn't believe that I bought her for 2,000 because I couldn't really find a lot wrong with her. Luckily everything just went perfectly in the prep. We knew she had a lot of ability, and she won first time out.”

Mills's own skills as a former track rider have been called upon by American trainers visiting the UK for Royal Ascot. He rode the Kentucky Derby and Preakness winner California Chrome in all his exercise in Newmarket during the spring of 2015, and more recently he partnered with Bucchero, who was fifth in the King's Stand in 2018 and is managed by Harlan Malter of Ironhorse Racing Stable. 

“I bought Harlan a filly called Improvise (Fr), who was the Queen's last runner before she died,” he notes. Bucchero has made a good start as a stallion and this year we've been discussing with Harlan about trying to get some to bring here to breeze.”

In the meantime, the RMM Bloodstock draft heading to Tattersalls next week consists of three colts and a filly by stallions a little closer to home and Mills has drawn extra encouragement from events at Doncaster on Tuesday. Among the group is a colt by young Darley stallion Harry Angel (Ire) and a filly by Cheveley Park Stud's Twilight Son (GB), the same two stallions who provided the top colt and top filly at the Goffs UK Breeze-up Sale.

“I try not to buy a horse just for the sake of having a breezer,” says Mills. “The Guineas Sale has always been good to us and in this year's draft there's four really nice horses.

“The Harry Angel, he speaks for himself when he comes out of his stable. Through the winter we've had to go easy on him really, because he's grown a lot and has been  immature physically, but now he's just come right for us for the sale, which is nice of him.”

Offered as lot 345, the colt is a grandson of a filly who had plenty of top-level experience of the Rowley Mile: Natagora (Fr) (Divine Light {Jpn}), winner of the 1,000 Guineas and the G1 Cheveley Park S.

“I think he's a horse with a lot of ability,” Mills adds. “And again, with the Kessaar colt, he's grown and matured a lot and he really goes well. He's got a good brain on him, which means you're halfway there, especially with the breeze-up horses.”

The colt by Kessaar (Ire) is a half-brother to treble winner Hurry Up Hedley (Ire) (Mehmas {Ire}) and will be sold at lot 294. The consignment also contains a Time Test (GB) colt whose family was seen to good effect on Saturday through the good Newbury maiden winner Klondike (GB) (Galileo {Ire}), whose grand-dam Kithanga (Ire) is the third dam of lot 316.

Mills continues, “Our Time Test is another solid, good-bodied colt and we're expecting them to do good breezes this year. The Twilight Son filly is extremely sharp.”

He adds, “I try, obviously, to buy a good-looking horse, a solid horse. And you want a sire and that'll stand out so they don't get a line put through them, just in the index, when people open their catalogue. 

“We're lucky that, with the results we've been having, Tattersalls have supported us and given us spots to fill and we're taking them there to sell. 

“We haven't got to travel too far. It's a great warm-up from here over to [the Rowley Mile], so if we've got the advantage, we'll use it.”

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Last year, this auction produced 17 six-figure sales from 158 lots. This time round, as many had been recorded by the halfway stage of an admittedly expanded offering of 184. By the end of proceedings, no fewer than 33 lots had made £100,000 or more. At one stage there were three £200,000-plus sales–as many as were achieved from the whole catalogue last year–in the course of just seven lots into the ring. The average duly soared from £48,989 to £63,396 (+29%). The median rose 11% to £40,000.

In the circumstances, it could be no surprise that the principal protagonists in the record sale should be those namesakes, and mutual stalwarts of this auction, the O'Callaghan family of Tally-Ho Stud and trainer Michael O'Callaghan.

With typical acuity, Tally Ho had bought the record-breaking colt as a €38,000 foal, at the Goffs November Sale of 2021-not as a potential yearling pinhook, but expressly as a long-term play for their breeze-up division. He was out of Go Angellica (Ire) (Kheleyf) (lot 191), who promised to double down the speed as a stakes winner at two.

“Yes, when we bought him the plan was always to breeze,” confirmed Roger O'Callaghan. “He was always a class horse, a natural: unbelievable temperament, just easy, so simple. When you asked him, he delivered. And when you didn't ask him, he didn't!”

Michael O'Callaghan will already have had his eye drawn to the page, having bought dual group winner Twilight Jet (Ire) (Twilight Son {GB}) from the same vendors here two years ago: he was out of a half-sister to Go Angellica. But then the colt breezed a tick off the quickest time of the sale on Monday.

NEW TOP LOT @GoffsUK

Lot 191 sells for £500,000! This colt by Harry Angel was consigned by @HoStud who bought the horse as a foal for €38,000.

The colt has been bought by @MDOCallaghan & sets the new record top price for this sale. pic.twitter.com/t468SGnI77

— TDN (@theTDN) April 25, 2023

“I thought him the best horse here by a long way,” the trainer declared. “Obviously I've been extremely lucky with the vendors, and he's from the same family as a very good horse for us. Trade has been very strong so we kept our powder dry for this lad, we didn't want to leave without him.”

His model has often been to trade on breeze-up graduates, but the stakes for this one are plainly high.

“Please God, he needs to be a Group 1 horse,” he conceded. “He could potentially be traded, down the line, but he has to go and do it. But if he can get to a high level by midsummer, who knows? He certainly looks ready to go, hopefully we'll be getting the top hats out.”

Tally Ho have been selling here annually since the inauguration of a first European breeze-up sale here, way back in 1977, and there could be no more fitting holder of the new record.

“We've always sold good horses here, so why not bring another one?” Roger O'Callaghan said. “Between Tally Ho, 'Donny', Mike and Blandford [Bloodstock], there have been a lot of good horses sold here. It's been very strong today, so fair dues to Donny, they got it right.”

Anthony Stroud, who topped the purchasing averages with three at £710,000, noted the strength of the market after a rather patchy start to the breeze-up circuit last week.

“There's lots of middle, which is very encouraging, and I'm sure the clearance rate is good, it certainly feels like it,” he said. “Last week I felt it was very selective and I questioned whether you could have this amount of breeze-up horses, and if there were enough clients, but I think today has really underlined that things are going in the right direction.

“Of course it makes buying more difficult, but you want the best for the industry. These guys work so hard and it's such a difficult job preparing a horse for a breeze-up, so while you want to buy them at the right price it's important that everyone gets rewarded for their efforts.”

Michael O'Callaghan | Sarah Farnsworth/Goffs UK

The Main Talking Points

• Tally Ho had already enjoyed another excellent day even before topping the sale and duly ended as leading consignor, banking £1,340,000 for a dozen sold. Federico Barberini/Apple Tree Stud gave £200,000 for a son (lot26) of Kodiac (GB), who has had some of his finest hours in this ring, out of a mare bought by Tally Ho for 35,000gns back in 2015. In the meantime she has gained fresh distinction as a half-sister to the mother of Alcohol Free (Ire) (No Nay Never).
• Fillies were in conspicuous demand and Longways Stables processed two with nice pedigrees within five minutes for a total of £550,000. Jake Warren gave £340,000 for a Dark Angel (Ire) filly (lot 167) (a €52,500 private purchase at Arqana) specifically because his clients Bermuda Racing would ultimately want to breed from “a beautiful filly who did a phenomenal breeze-and whose half-sister has already bred a top-class horse” in G2 May Hill S. winner Powerful Breeze (GB) (Iffraaj {GB}). Then two lots later Oliver St Lawrence gave £210,000 for a Dubawi (Ire) filly (lot 169) out of a group-placed mare.
• Havana Grey built on his Newmarket triumph by fuelling another tremendous pinhook, Knockanglass Stable banking £200,000 from Al Mohamediya Racing for a son (lot 46) found in this ring last August as a £27,000 private sale to Kilronan.
• The Blue Point bandwagon was another to keep on rolling, with five lots changing hands for an aggregate of £690,000. Katie Walsh of Greenhills Farm had been hoping to ride the wave with the colt (lot 37) she had found in Book 2 at Tattersalls last October for 42,000gns, and was delighted as he soared to £220,000 for Arthur Dobell of Oliver St Lawrence Bloodstock in the company of trainer Roger Varian. “The sire's on fire,” Walsh enthused. “With all the chat about them, I felt lucky to have one. They're just so consistent and straightforward. I'm not sorry that I can't be at Punchestown now!”
• The Sioux Nation filly (lot 35) presented by Gary Bloodstock clocked one of the fastest times on Monday and that completed an impressive salvage operation after she was returned unsold for €15,000 at Fairyhouse last September. A £160,000 docket from Avenue Bloodstock/Paddy Twomey was not just due reward for keeping the faith, but for John Nagle's discovery of her young dam for just €2,800 at Goffs in February 2020. Another hit for Sioux Nation was the colt from Mocklershill (lot 204) that brought £210,000 from Anthony Stroud.
• One of the fastest times had set more parochial shoppers a challenge as a daughter of Lane's End rookie Catalina Cruiser out of a mare (aptly named Quizzical) by the obscure Cindago. She'd been purchased by Glending Stables for $50,000 at Keeneland last September, but while Roderick Kavanagh could not quite match his eye-watering triumph at Tattersalls last week, £140,000 from Najd Stud was another highly satisfactory increment on his ledger.
• Another profitable Keeneland pinhook was lot 101, a son of the late Claiborne stallion Flatter picked out by Bushypark Stables for just €25,000 last September. Out of a sister to Grade I winner Capo Bastone (Street Boss), here he elevated his value to £195,000 as Richard Brown of Blandford Bloodstock sought to enhance his brilliant record at this sale.

NEW DONCASTER BREEZE UP SALE RECORD

Fireworks this afternoon at the #BreezeUpSale as Lot 191 from @HoStud, a stunning Harry Angel colt is knocked down to @MDOCallaghan for £500,000 pic.twitter.com/xFThnujjgh

— Goffs UK (@GoffsUK) April 25, 2023

A Following Breeze For Tradewinds

Tradewinds Stud celebrated a tremendous coup with a Twilight Son (GB) filly found at the Tattersalls Somerville Sale for just 30,000gns and brought here as lot 141. Reportedly the quickest through the demanding conditions in Monday's breeze show, she also made £360,000 from sale specialist Richard Brown of Blandford Bloodstock.

Shane Power and his brother Alex are only in their second year as a breeze-up consignors, having diversified from foals and yearlings more or less by accident after finding themselves with a couple of yearlings “left over”. One of those turned out to be Bright Diamond (Ire) (El Kabeir), whose success on the track encouraged the Powers to acquire five yearlings specifically for this job-and also sustained Brown and his patrons through a protracted duel with Conrad Allen.

Now Tradewinds will have the ammunition to raise the stakes afresh. “Though we're in the middle of building a new barn at home, so this will help with that as well,” Power said. “When you do a breeze like she did, you spend the whole day hoping that all the right guys will pitch up. And when she came into the ring it was, 'Okay, everyone's here.' But you can't expect [money like] that.”

Recalling his impressions of the filly from Rosyground Stud at Tattersalls, he said, “I just thought she was a very nice individual. We wouldn't focus as much on the stallion as others might. She was very athletic, very light on her feet, looked a nice and early type we could kick on with.

“A special mention goes to 'Flash' [Gordon Power] who rode the breeze. He's top-class, and there have been a lot of cold wet days riding on the Curragh in February and March. There's been a lot of hard work gone into this, but now the most important thing is that the filly goes on and does well for them on the racetrack. We had the two last year and Richard bought one and was underbidder on the other. To be fair, he's very straightforward to deal with and takes you at your word. And repeat business is everything in this game.”

Sure enough, Brown stressed that a good experience with Bright Diamond had encouraged him to keep going, albeit he was now sinking exhausted into his chair. He also had the self-deprecating grace to bring up his comments in Tuesday's TDN about the folly of spending big at the breeze-ups purely on the clock.

“There I was on the front page saying that's how you do really badly!” he said with a smile. “And yes, she was the quickest, on how we do it. We handicap it all, take everything into account, but it does mean she beat all the colts and it was a phenomenal breeze. That was significantly more than we expected, I have to say, a real war of attrition. But this market is phenomenal and we're very excited to get her.”

This filly will also run in the colours of Sheikh Rashid Dalmook al Maktoum, just like Bright Diamond and indeed Perfect Power (Ire) (Ardad {Ire}), the multiple Group 1 winner Brown found in this same ring a couple of years ago for £110,000. Her trainer, however, could not yet be confirmed.

“Bright Diamond won her maiden at Newmarket by nine and then ran third in the [G1] Fillies' Mile,” Brown noted. “So we've had success buying off Shane. Obviously we've had a lot of luck at the breeze-ups, particularly in this ring, and [Sheikh Rashid] was very determined. This filly obviously looks a faster type, so I'd imagine she will be pointing to Ascot.”

All's Well That Ends Well for Holland

Brendan Holland of Grove Stud is a man of many talents but nonetheless appeared here in an unusual capacity as breeder, as well as consignor, of the Starspangledbanner (Aus) filly who made £350,000 from Anthony Stroud (for Bahrain interests) as lot 102. She was out of a Shadwell cull, Sulaalaat (GB) (New Approach {Ire}), picked up for just 36,000gns at the Tattersalls July Sale of 2017.

“I only have a share in four mares,” Holland said. “While this one didn't have an extremely strong pedigree close up, she had some really good speed figures when she was running. She was a bit inconsistent but had a lot of speed for a New Approach (Ire). Her first foal was average, and her second one was born this size.” Here he held his hand unfeasibly low. “And stayed this size! It's amazing that the same mare could produce a filly as nice as this.”

This was a classic example of the axiom that you never know, in racing, when your good luck may prove your bad luck-and vice versa.

“Unfortunately all mine got sick and I had no horses in Book 3 [at Tattersalls last October],” Holland explained. “I kept this one because she always had lovely balance and action. I thought this had come too early for her, but she produced on the day because she's just got loads of quality.”

£350,000 for lot 102 @GoffsUK

This filly by Starspangledbanner was consigned by @grovestud and had plenty of interest in the ring.

Anthony Stroud was the winning bidder for this relation of The Fugue. pic.twitter.com/8m5FtaxlK5

— TDN (@theTDN) April 25, 2023

To be fair, Sulaalaat (GB) could summon some outstanding genes through her own mother, a half-sister to Group 1 winners Compton Admiral (GB) (Suave Dancer) and Summoner (GB) (Inchinor {GB}) as well as to the dam of champion The Fugue (GB) (Dansili {GB}).

“She breezed well but she's not an immediate type of 2-year-old, I think she'll be better over seven furlongs,” said Stroud. “She looks all New Approach and I think she's a horse with a future. Brendan does a terrific job.”

Strong Statistics Across The Board

Goffs UK Managing Director Tim Kent said, “What an incredible day at Europe's Oldest Breeze-Up Sale. A record top price; record turnover; record average; record median; four horses selling for £300,000 or more; 10 horses selling for £200,000 or above and 33 horses realising £100,000 or more.

“That is an incredible achievement for any sale and accurately sums up today's trade but there is so much more that goes into today and we must thank all our vendors and purchasers who have supported this record-breaking event. When we started to visit vendors in the early part of the year, we knew they were planning to target this sale with some of their better horses and the fact that there was a healthy increase in their purchase price compared to last year was a positive way to start. We then began to hear many positive reports after vendors had started to work these horses and the momentum continued to Town Moor where some sensational breezes led to some breath-taking prices.

“But it's not just the top end that has been a success. Indeed, the success of any sale relies on buyers at every level of the market, and we made a concerted effort to ensure that everyone was encouraged to participate at a sale which has a long history of winners being bought at all levels of the market.  This obviously meant that we focussed on all domestic buyers, but we also worked closely with GBRI to ensure that we had an increased participation from overseas clients with many new faces visiting Doncaster for the first time including those from Australia, Denmark, Dubai, France, Hong Kong, Italy, Norway, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Sweden. All of this led to a healthy 86% clearance rate which is the envy of any recent sales of this kind.

“Today's results graphically illustrate how this sale is capturing the attention of buyers from across the globe and this is purely down to the unrivalled success on the racecourse. Seven Royal Ascot winners in seven years is an incredible accomplishment for any sale and this 'royal dream' is a large part of what has attracted so many people to Doncaster today and helped to fuel this breath-taking trade. We are certain that vendors have provided the ammunition to continue this incredible success story and we look forward to welcoming these horses to the winner's enclosure in the coming weeks. Roll on Royal Ascot!”

The post “He Was Always A Class Horse” – Roger O’Callaghan On £500,000 Harry Angel Colt At Goffs UK Breeze-Up appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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NEW DONCASTER BREEZE UP SALE RECORD

Fireworks this afternoon at the #BreezeUpSale as Lot 191 from @HoStud, a stunning Harry Angel colt is knocked down to @MDOCallaghan for £500,000 pic.twitter.com/JY5ONfIxbK

— Goffs UK (@GoffsUK) April 25, 2023

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The well-backed 6-5 favourite broke sharply and raced on the front end from flagfall in this sophomore bow. Holding sway throughout, he was shaken up approaching the final furlong and kept on strongly under continued coaxing in the closing stages to easily hold the late threat of Irish raider Wodao (Fr) (Showcasing {GB}) by 1 1/4 lengths for a career high.

“He's a very nice horse and ran some lovely races last year, but we were a bit disappointed with his run in the Group 1,” the winning trainer said. “He was probably a little over the top at the end of a long season for him. Our horses haven't been running particularly well, we've had a bad six weeks and they're just beginning to come back now. It's a relief to get one of the good ones in and a win under our belt. He's a very good horse and will defintely come on for the run.”

Burke has prior experience of charting a passage from the Sigy to Royal Ascot's G1 Commonwealth Cup, via Haydock's G2 Sandy Lane, and he is eyeing the same winning path taken by former stable star Quiet Reflection (GB) (Showcasing {GB}) in 2016. “He is in the [G2] Duke of York at York [in May], but he will probably go for the Sandy Lane at Haydock, which is a stepping-stone race to the Commonwealth Cup. I won this race with Quiet Reflection, then she won the Sandy Lane and then won the Commonwealth Cup. Hopefully, this fellow can take the same route.”

Pedigree Notes
Marshman, half-brother to a 2-year-old colt by Zoustar (Aus) and a yearling colt by Mehmas (Ire), is the second of three foals and lone scorer produced by a winning daughter of G3 Sirenia S. victrix and G1 Cheveley Park S. second Dhanyata (Ire) (Danetime {Ire}). Dhanyata's siblings include the stakes-placed Guinea Hunter (Ire) (Pips Pride {GB}), the dam of G2 Gran Criterium third Gerrard's Quest (GB) (Captain Gerrard {Ire}) and the second dam of G1 Irish 2000 Guineas placegetter Decrypt (GB) (Dark Angel {Ire}). Black-type descendants of another half-sister, Miss Brief (Ire) (Brief Truce), include Listed Prix du Cercle victrix Riskit Fora Biskit (Ire) (Kodiac {GB}), G2 Gimcrack S. second and G2 Mill Reef S. third Crown Prosecutor (Ire) (Exceed And Excel {Aus}) and the Group 3-placed duo Fox Trotter (Ire) (Bushranger {Ire}) and Mur Hiba (Ire) (Helmet {Aus}).

Monday, Chantilly, France
PRIX SIGY-G3, €80,000, Chantilly, 4-17, 3yo, 5 1/2fT, 1:04.15, sf.
1–MARSHMAN (GB), 126, c, 3, by Harry Angel (Ire)
1st Dam: White Rosa (Ire), by Galileo (Ire)
2nd Dam: Dhanyata (Ire), by Danetime (Ire)
3rd Dam: Preponderance (Ire), by Cyrano De Bergerac (Ire)
1ST BLACK-TYPE WIN; 1ST GROUP WIN. (5,000gns Ylg '21 TATOCT; £38,000 2yo '22 GOFTY). O-Nick Bradley Racing 2 & Mrs Elaine Burke; B-Highbank Stud LLP (GB); T-Karl Burke; J-Clifford Lee. €40,000. Lifetime Record: GSP-Eng, 5-3-1-0, €122,829. Werk Nick Rating: A. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree, or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.
2–Wodao (Fr), 126, c, 3, Showcasing (GB)–Dadao (GB), by Intello (Ire). 1ST GROUP BLACK TYPE. (€150,000 Wlg '20 ARQDEC; €260,000 Ylg '21 GOFOR). O-Atlantic Thoroughbreds; B-SCEA Elevage d'Yllone (FR); T-Donnacha O'Brien. €16,000.
3–Vicious Harry (Fr), 126, c, 3, Harry Angel (Ire)–Umneeyatee (Aus), by Encosta De Lago (Aus). (€28,000 Ylg '21 ARQOCT). O-Cuadra Mediterraneo; B-Medya SARL & Tarik Tekce (FR); T-Mauricio Delcher Sanchez. €12,000.
Margins: 1 1/4, 4, 1 1/4. Odds: 1.20, 3.60, 3.10.
Also Ran: *Denver Chop (Fr), *I Am Incredible (Fr), Whistle And Flute (Ire), Ciao Pa' (Fr), Disillusion (Ire). Video, sponsored by TVG.
*Dead-heated for 4th.

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A tilt at Royal Ascot will also come under consideration for the Harry Angel (Ire) colt later this summer with Boughey reporting the three-year-old to be thriving in the gulf at present. 

The trainer said, “He's just gone from strength to strength out there really. He was quite a raw, immature horse when he left and they can kind of go one way or the other but he has just improved.

“I've never been so relaxed before a high grade race as I was the other day, just because he's so relaxed and he also stays very well for a sprinter, which is helpful at Meydan and will also be a huge asset for him when he gets back home.

“He's come out of the race in great shape. Ryan King, who is my head man out there to ride him, has done a great job with him. I actually haven't seen him since he ran as I was on the night flight out of there, but he's sent me pictures and videos and he looks better than he's ever looked really.”

Al Dasim holds an entry in the 2000 Guineas at Newmarket on May 6 but Boughey admits the chances of him lining out in that race are  “very unlikely”. Instead, the Newmarket handler is considering races at the royal meeting.

“He'd be very unlikely to run in the Guineas. He's had a busy enough winter and if he does go to the Al Quoz, he'll have a good break and probably go first up at Royal Ascot.”

Boughey added, “He could have a prep run, but he's going to have penalties now and rather than carrying a penalty in a trial it might be worth just going straight to the Royal meeting.

“He'll get an entry in the Commonwealth Cup and will probably get an entry in the King's Stand as well because it doesn't look a very good division this year and a stiff five or six furlongs at Ascot could be right up his street.”

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Racing just behind the pace on the far side of the straight under Mickael Barzalona, the George Boughey-trained colt stalked leader Miqyaas (GB) (Oasis Dream {GB}) before gradually reeling him in two out and taking the lead inside the final furlong.

Miqyaas held on to take second for Rashid Boursely, finishing more than two lengths behind the winner, and holding off a tightly-bunched pack which included third-placed Thunder Of Niagara (Ire) (Night Of Thunder {Ire}) and Equilateral (GB) (Equiano {Fr}) in fourth.

With three trainers to his name already in his young life, Al Dasim won a Windsor maiden over the minimum trip last July for Kevin Philippart de Foy and, once switched to Boughey, claimed another two victories on the Wolverhampton Polytrack. He is now unbeaten in his three starts at Meydan, all over six furlongs, and is likely to head next to the G1 Al Quoz Sprint on the Dubai World Cup card.

“He has just kept improving,” Boughey said. “I had hoped for a better draw but he was very tenacious through the race. Mickael Barzalona has galloped him out here every week and he has just really got him to relax. He has matured and is now a very straightforward ride. My assistant Ryan King has done a great job with him out here.”

Asked about Al Dasim's likely participation in the Al Quoz, the trainer added, “I think it has to be [his next race]. It's obviously a big step up. Dare I say it, he's a very sound and sound-minded horse so we'll see how he comes out of this and look at taking them on.”

Pedigree Notes

Al Dasim becomes the first group winner from the first crop of Harry Angel. Bred by Lady O'Reilly's Skymarc Farm, his dam Dance Hall Girl (Ire) (GB) raced and won in the breeder's colours and is the dam of seven winners, including the Listed Flying Scotsman S. winner and Dewhurst fourth Tashweeq (Ire) (Big Bad Bob {Ire}). Dance Hall Girl is in turn out of Dawn Raid (Ire), a Docksider half-sister to the dual Guineas winner Bachir (Ire) (Desert Style {Ire}). Now 16, the mare's youngest offspring is a juvenile filly by Ten Sovereigns (Ire). She was covered last year by Magna Grecia (Ire).

Saturday, Meydan, Middle East
NAD AL SHEBA TURF SPRINT (SPONSORED BY EMIRATES HOLIDAYS)-G3, $250,000, Meydan, 3-4, NH3yo/up & SH3yo/up, 1200mT, 1:09.08, gd.
1–AL DASIM (IRE), 121, c, 3, by Harry Angel (Ire)
1st Dam: Dance Hall Girl (Ire), by Dansili (GB)
2nd Dam: Dawn Raid (Ire), by Docksider
3rd Dam: Morning Welcome (Ire), by Be My Guest
1ST BLACK-TYPE WIN. 1ST GROUP WIN.(£50,000 ylg '21
GOFAUG). O-Sheikh Abdullah Almalek Alsabah; B-Skymarc
Farm (IRE); T-George Boughey; J-Mickael Barzalona. $150,000.
Lifetime Record: 11-6-3-0, $271,347. *Half to Tashweeq (Ire)
(Big Bad Bob {Ire}), SW-Eng, $142,034. Click for the
   free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.
2–Miqyaas (GB), 131, g, 8, Oasis Dream (GB)–Fawaayed (Ire),
by Singspiel (Ire). (£1,500 HRA '18 GOFAUG). O-Bouresly
Racing Syndicate; B-Shadwell Estate Company Ltd (GB);
T-Rashed Bouresly. $50,000.
3–Thunder Of Niagara (Ire), 131, g, 5, Night Of Thunder (Ire)–
Cairncross (Ire), by Cape Cross (Ire). 1ST GROUP BLACK-TYPE.
O-Mohammed Mubarak & Hamad Mubarak bin Shafya;
B-Rabbah Bloodstock Ltd (IRE); T-Ahmad bin Harmash.
$25,000.
Margins: 2 1/4, SHD, NK.
Also Ran: Equilateral (GB), Spirit Of Light (Ire), City Walk (Ire), Could Be King (GB), Motafaawit (Ire), Meishar (Arg), Acklam Express (Ire), Coachello (Fr), Batwan (Fr), Khaadem (Ire), Ventura Rebel (GB), Erasmo (GB). Scratched: Lord Tennyson (GB). VIDEO.

Al Dasim – all class in the Nad Al Sheba Turf Sprint Sponsored by Emirates Holidays

Three runs at Meydan
Three wins
Hugely exciting prospect for @gbougheyracing & @mickaelbarzalon #DWC23 | #RacingDubai | @emirates pic.twitter.com/5dg9JGxB6q

— Dubai Racing Club (@RacingDubai) March 4, 2023

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“He came out of the [Middle Park] lame in front,” explained Nick Bradley, managing director of owner Nick Bradley Racing.

“He was suffering with sore shins throughout his 2-year-old campaign, which is just something that can happen with 2-year-olds, particularly ones which come from the breeze-ups. So, when he went downhill in the Middle Park, I expected him to hang but he hung more than I thought he would. He was keen at the beginning of the race as well and everything went wrong, but we still managed to finish [fifth] in a Group 1.”

According to Bradley, the sophomore is approaching his first official work of the season.

“He's been back in since December time,” Bradley continued. “Karl was raving about the horses in general and Marshman was kind of top of the pile. He has not done any serious work as yet though.”

Bradley added that Marshman will be targeted at many of the top sprints this season.

“We're not going to be drawn into stepping him up in trip for the Guineas or anything like that, we very much see him as a sprinter. I find a lot of those breeze-up horses run over a shorter distance than their pedigrees suggest due to the way they have been trained early in their careers. But, hopefully, we are going to win the [Sigy] then we can look at races like the G2 Sandy Lane [Haydock], G1 Commonwealth Cup [Royal Ascot] and the G1 July Cup [Newmarket]. Those sorts of races will be his targets and the aim is to win as many group races as we can.”

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