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New Approach’s Telecaster Dominates the Grand Prix de Deauville

Patience has long been a particular virtue of Hughie Morrison and Sunday’s G2 Lucien Barriere Grand Prix de Deauville was testament to his ability to play the waiting game as Castle Down Racing’s Telecaster (GB) (New Approach {Ire}) fully came of age. Sent straight to the front by Christophe Soumillon, the 13-10 favourite whose previous foray to France had resulted in a four-length success in ParisLongchamp’s G3 La Coupe June 25 was always content untroubled at the head of affairs on this deep surface. Setting down for his plunge up the straight, the bay was on his own at the end of this 12 1/2-furlong feature as he powered to a 6 1/2-length verdict over last year’s runner-up Soft Light (Fr) (Authorized {Ire}), who edged out last year’s winner Ziyad (GB) (Rock of Gibraltar {Ire}) by 3/4 of a length.

“There were doubts beforehand as to whether he would stay this distance or not, as he had run a moderate race over it in the Derby, and also about the ground but going down to the start he gave me a lot of confidence,” Soumillon commented. “He was very relaxed, so I decided to go on and he handled that very well–it was no effort for him. Turning for home, I had them covered and he quickened very nicely. Hughie Morrison is very good at handling older horses, which boosted my confidence.”

First coming to prominence when beating Too Darn Hot (GB) (Dubawi {Ire}) on good-to-firm in York’s G2 Dante S. last May, Telecaster was last of the 13 to run in the Derby and beat only one rival on his only subsequent 3-year-old outing in Sandown’s G1 Eclipse S. Returning with an encouraging third behind the subsequent G1 Prince of Wales’s S. hero Lord North (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}) in the June 7 G3 Brigadier Gerard S. at Haydock, he stayed at that 10-furlong trip to gain a perfect confidence-booster in the La Coupe before finishing fourth in the July 25 G2 York S.

Morrison was not ruling out a tilt at the G1 Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe and said, “He was very raw mentally and physically last year and anything after the Dante was always going to a big step. He needed putting away for next year and thanks to the patience of Mark Weinfeld and his sister Helena we were able to do that. He’s always been a very exciting horse, but we were concerned that the ground might be too deep for him. Christophe says he can go on any ground, but he’s more comfortable with a bit of cut. The Arc has exceptionals horses in it this year and he would have to improve to feature–I’m not saying he can’t or won’t, but it’s exciting to think he can be considered in the same bracket as them.”

Telecaster is out of the stable’s talented but free-going Shirocco Star (GB) (Shirocco {Ger}), who was runner-up in both the G1 Epsom Oaks and G1 Irish Oaks, as well as the QIPCO British Champions Fillies & Mares S. when it held group 2 status and was also third in the G1 Pretty Polly S. Her 2017 foal is Godolphin’s classy 3-year-old Al Suhail (GB) (Dubawi {Ire}), who recently took the Listed Sir Henry Cecil S. having finished runner-up in the G3 Autumn S. and third in the G3 Solario S. last term. The fourth dam Hyabella (GB) (Shirley Heights {GB}), one of four black-type winners out of the G2 Prix de l’Opera heroine Bella Colora (GB) (Bellypha {Ire}), produced the G3 Rose of Lancaster S. winner Poet (GB) (Pivotal {GB}) who relished testing ground. Bella Colora is kin to the G1 Irish Oaks heroine and excellent producer Colorspin (GB) (High Top {Ire}) and the G1 Champion S. hero Cezanne (GB) (Ajdal) from the immediate dam line of the great matriarch Reprocolor (GB) (Jimmy Reppin {GB}). Also connected to the G1 Irish 2000 Guineas runner-up and G3 Tetrarch S.-winning sire France (GB) (Desert Prince {Ire}), the dam has a filly foal by Frankel (GB) to come.

Sunday, Deauville, France
LUCIEN BARRIERE GRAND PRIX DE DEAUVILLE-G2, €140,000, Deauville, 8-30, 3yo/up, 12 1/2fT, 2:48.29, hy.
1–TELECASTER (GB), 130, c, 4, by New Approach (Ire)
1st Dam: Shirocco Star (GB) (MG1SP-Ire, G1SP-Eng & GSP-Fr, $485,970), by Shirocco (Ger)
2nd Dam: Spectral Star (GB), by Unfuwain
3rd Dam: Hyperspectra (GB), by Rainbow Quest
(180,000gns RNA Ylg ’17 TATOCT). O-Castle Down Racing; B-Meon Valley Stud (GB); T-Hugh Morrison; J-Christophe Soumillon. €79,800. Lifetime Record: GSW-Eng, 9-4-1-1, €225,996. *1/2 Al Suhail (GB) (Dubawi {Ire}), SW & MGSP-Eng. Werk Nick Rating: A+++ *Triple Plus*. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.
2–Soft Light (Fr), 130, c, 4, Authorized (Ire)–Light Saber (Fr), by Kendor (Fr). (€40,000 Ylg ’17 AROCT). O-Claudio Marzocco; B-SARL Jedburgh Stud & Mme Isabelle Corbani (FR); T-Jean-Claude Rouget. €30,800.
3–Ziyad (GB), 130, g, 5, Rock of Gibraltar (Ire)–Arme Ancienne (GB) (SP-Fr), by Sillery. O/B-Wertheimer & Frere (GB); T-Carlos Laffon-Parias. €14,700.
Margins: 6HF, 3/4, 2. Odds: 1.30, 7.80, 2.20.
Also Ran: Red Verdon, Deacon (GB), Subway Dancer (Ire), Styledargent (Fr). Click for the Racing Post result or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree. Video, sponsored by Fasig-Tipton.

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Doncaster To Offer Early Market Clues

The start of the racing season, and in fact the yearling sales season itself, may have been badly impeded by the coronavirus pandemic, but that didn’t stop Goffs UK’s Premier Yearling Sale graduates from getting off to a flying start once things finally did get underway. One of the fastest from the gate was The Lir Jet (Ire) (Prince Of Lir {Ire}), whose debut victory three days after racing’s resumption on June 3 led to a private deal with Qatar Racing and a subsequent victory in the G2 Norfolk S. 16 days later. It was the second straight year that a Premier graduate had taken that Royal Ascot feature, following on from A’Ali (Ire) (Society Rock {Ire}) in 2019, and it was the first of the sale’s two title defenses of the meeting, with Golden Horde (Ire) (Lethal Force {Ire}) taking the mantel from Advertise (GB) (Showcasing {GB}) in the G1 Commonwealth Cup an hour later.

The Lir Jet would go on to finish second to fellow Premier graduate Ventura Tormenta (Ire) (Acclamation {GB}) in the G2 Prix Robert Papin and was runner-up again in the G1 Keeneland Phoenix S.

Such is the quality of last year’s Premier Sale intake, however, that it could be someone other than The Lir Jet or Ventura Tormenta who winds up top of the heap. Supremacy (Ire) (Mehmas {Ire}) proved to be well-named with a four-length score in the G2 Richmond S. on July 30 that earned him a rating of 115. Method (Ire) (Mehmas {Ire}) looked a smart type when taking the Listed Rose Bowl S. at second asking in July, and the filly he had beaten by 4 1/4 lengths on debut, Fev Rover (Ire) (Gutaifan {Ire}), came roaring back to take the Listed Star S. and last weekend won the G2 Prix du Calvados. These are among nine graduates of last year’s Goffs UK Premier Yearling Sale to have already won stakes, and they set a strong precedent for the 423 yearlings set to go under the hammer at this year’s edition of the sale at Doncaster on Sept. 1 and 2.

“It’s been a wonderful year on the track and we have a wonderful bunch of horses,” said Goffs UK’s Managing Director Tim Kent. “If we were in a normal year we’d be very confident we’d have a wonderful sale but it’s difficult to know what to expect with the way everything is going, but the market has held up remarkably well in Europe up until now. The breeze-up sales went better than anyone expected and the horses in training sales have had plenty of demand. So we have to hope that continues. We’re confident we have a nice draft of horses and the stallion index is reading well. There have been a lot of photos on social media and videos online and just looking at those you think ‘blimey, that’s a nice horse…that’s a nice horse…’ and they’re by the right stallions and from some good farms, so we’re hopeful it will all come together.”

Three of the sale’s likely heavyweights will come on day two, beginning with a Starspangledbanner (Aus) half-brother to Ventura Tormenta (lot 313) from Baroda Stud. Given the Group 2 update supplied by his elder brother, that one is likely to provide a hefty return on the €40,000 paid by the Tweenhills team Redwall Bloodstock at Goffs November last year.

Just a few lots later Salcey Forest Stud’s Cotai Glory half-sister to A’Ali (lot 322) will grace the ring (see Monday’s TDN for more on her). And the very last horse through the ring is likely to ensure that bidders stick around; he is a full-brother to the 2016 sale topper and G3 Hackwood S. winner Yafta (GB) (Dark Angel {Ire}) (lot 423) offered by Highclere Stud, the same draft that sold Yafta as well as Golden Horde here. Others that appeal on paper include a No Nay Never daughter of the G3 Round Tower S. scorer Dingle View (Ire) (Mujadil) (lot 170); an Invincible Spirit (Ire) colt out of G3 Firth Of Clyde S. winner Distinctive (GB) (Tobougg) (lot 173); a Kodiac (GB) filly out of a half-sister to Equiano (Fr) (lot 195); a Night Of Thunder (Ire) colt out of a full-sister to champion sprinter Fleeting Spirit (Ire) (Invincible Spirit {Ire}) (f2lot 346); a Siyouni (Fr) filly out of a half-sister to GI Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Turf victress Queen’s Trust (GB) (Dansili {GB}) (lot 361); and a Lope De Vega (Ire) son of the Group 3-placed Royal Empress (Ire) (lot 380).

With the consequences of Britain’s low prizemoney levels being increasingly felt, it is perhaps more important now than ever to provide owners with incentive to get in or stay in the game, and races like the £180,000 Goffs UK Premier Yearling Stakes open to all graduates of this sale can go some distance towards that. The winner of this year’s contest at York on Aug. 20 was the Dandy Man (Ire) filly Happy Romance (Ire), who cost £25,000 at Doncaster a year ago and is the first horse owned by the McMurray family. It is likely no mistake, either, that trainer Richard Hannon targets the race so heavily, and Happy Romance gave him his fourth win in it in the past five years. Happy Romance was scratched from Saturday’s G3 Prestige S. but will doubtless get her shot at black-type soon.

The Premier Yearling Sale S. has not only been taken by some quality fillies, but also by three of the best colts to ever come from the sale: Wootton Bassett (GB), Acclamation (GB) and his son Dark Angel (Ire). That triumvirate sits atop a burgeoning group of successful sires to have emanated from this sale.

Acclamation was a £33,000 purchase by his trainer Gerald Cottrell in 2000 under this sale’s former guise as the St Leger sale and was a member of the first crop of his sire Royal Applause (GB). Acclamation capped a productive juvenile campaign the following year with a victory in the £200,000 St Leger Yearling Stakes. After an interrupted 3-year-old campaign he blossomed to take the Listed Starlit S. and the G2 Diadem S. at four, but it was in the breeding shed where his legacy was truly cemented. While his best runner was the superstar sprinting filly Marsha (GB), he has left behind a stacked roster of colts to carry on his line, thus far led by Dark Angel and Equiano (Fr) and with this year’s first-season sensation Mehmas (Ire) potentially poised to join them. He can also lay claim to the very useful sires Lilbourne Lad (Ire) and Harbour Watch (Ire), the latter of whom is responsible for this season’s impressive G2 King Edward II S. and G2 Great Voltigeur S. scorer Pyledriver (GB). And with young horses like Aclaim (GB) and Expert Eye (GB) still to have their first runners, the Acclamation sireline looks likely to continue to thrive.

Dark Angel, meanwhile, has already firmly established his own branch of the Acclamation line. Like Acclamation was, Dark Angel was a member of the first crop of his own sire and was a £61,000 purchase from the 2006 St Leger sale. He won the sales race for trainer Barry Hills in 2007 before going on to take the G2 Mill Reef S. and G1 Middle Park S. before retiring upon the conclusion of his 2-year-old campaign. Dark Angel’s first crop, interestingly, would include the G1 Diamond Jubilee and G1 July Cup S. winner Lethal Force (Ire), the sire of current Goffs UK Premier Yearling Sale poster boy Golden Horde. Dark Angel looks in these early days to be making a similar mark on the breed to his sire, with Gutaifan (Ire) proving his prowess in his second year with runners and with Estidhkaar (Ire) and Markaz (Ire) each having gotten off to a promising start with his first runners this season. And while his best runner to date, Battaash (Ire), will not get the chance to pass on his genes as a gelding, Dark Angel still has the Goffs UK graduate and champion sprinter Harry Angel (Ire) waiting in the wings with his first foals this year. Another Group 1-winning sprinter to come from the sale with a chance to make his mark as a sire is the Phoenix S., Commonwealth Cup and Prix Maurice de Gheest scorer Advertise (GB), a £60,000 graduate who covered his first book at the National Stud this year.

Already a sire on the rise, Wootton Bassett is set to enter a different stratosphere, having been purchased by Coolmore just prior to getting his second Group 1 winner in the G1 Prix Jean Romanet victress Audarya (Fr). A £46,000 graduate of 2009, Wootton Bassett won the sales race midway through a perfect 2-year-old career which was capped by a G1 Prix Jean-Luc Lagardere score and French champion 2-year-old honours. With Coolmore having pledged the support of its impeccable broodmare band and with Wootton Bassett’s best son Almanzor (Fr) set to have his first runners next year, there looks to be plenty more to come in the Wootton Bassett story.

With such opportunities on the line, the shrewdest buyers will not miss this week’s Goffs UK Premier Yearling Sale. And as the first yearling sale during this pandemic-stricken season, all eyes will be on the figures as an indication of what is to come.

“The big thing for us will be clearance rate,” said Kent. “People have brought these horses here to sell and we’re providing an opportunity for that to happen. The way we’ll measure the sale is going to be different; the normal metrics will go out the window and it will be very much about clearance rate and feel. If vendors are happy with what they’re achieving and purchasers are saying they can’t buy horses, for us that’s a good feel for this sale. We’re normally worried about comparative metrics-average, turnover, median, that sort of thing. It’ll be less about that this year and more about clearance rate and the ability to get horses sold.”

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TDN Q&A With Ross Doyle

Bloodstock agents Peter and Ross Doyle have developed quite an affinity with the Goffs UK Premier Yearling Sale, having plucked Group 1 winners like Canford Cliffs (Ire), Olympic Glory (Ire), Tiggy Wiggy (Ire) and Barney Roy (GB) from its catalogues. The Doyles’ haul from last year’s sale includes the G2 Prix Robert Papin winner Ventura Tormenta and the Goffs UK Premier Yearling Stakes winner Happy Romance (Ire) (Dandy Man {Ire}). The TDN‘s Kelsey Riley caught up with Ross Doyle as he prepares to shop this year’s catalogue.

KR: You have purchased four winners of the Goffs UK Premier Yearling Stakes in the past five years, most recently Happy Romance this year. Is that the kind of result you’re looking for when you go to Doncaster, a precocious horse who can collect those kinds of purses early on?

RD: Its great when you can win the race dedicated to a particular sale; it confirms that our team are doing a very good job selecting the yearlings along with the great job Richard Hannon and his team have done with Happy Romance. The Premier Sale is known for precocious types but you would hope they can train on as 3-year-olds like Canford Cliffs, Olympic Glory and Barney Roy, for example, in the past.

KR: Happy Romance is the first horse raced by the McMurray Family. How important is a result like that at a time when we need to incentivize owners to stay involved and when prizemoney levels are such a concern?

RD: Happy Romance is repaying her owners in spades considering she cost £25,000, not only by winning the Weatherbys Super Sprint but also the sales race, taking her earnings to £177,600 so far for the season. It’s a huge help to get the owners something back on their initial investment which will hopefully spur them on to reinvest during these tough times for everybody.

KR: You have a long list of successful purchases from the Premier Sale-the likes of Canford Cliffs, Olympic Glory, Tiggy Wiggy, Barney Roy, and Ventura Tormenta most recently. Can you tell us what you recall about some of those horses at their times of purchase?

RD: A lot of the horses you mentioned had a presence about them, strong but balanced with good movement, temperament and they all came from top nurseries. The team at Goffs UK along with the vendors obviously do a fantastic job selecting the right types to suit the sale.

KR: What first-season sires are you looking forward to seeing the progeny of this year?

RD: On the back of our old friend Mehmas doing so well this year with his first crop, it will be nice to see the Aclaims being by Acclamation as well. I have seen some very nice yearlings on the farms recently by Caravaggio, Churchill, Profitable and in particular by Ribchester; they look very racy.

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Dubawi’s Sister To Journey a New Rising Star

Granted a much easier task after the 15-8 market-leader Lucid Dreamer (GB) (Dansili {GB}) refused to enter the stalls, George Strawbridge’s Indigo Girl (GB) (Dubawi {Ire}) nevertheless cut a real dash on debut as she earned TDN Rising Star status at Yarmouth on Sunday. Due to start the 10-3 second favourite for the Norfolk venue’s British Stallion Studs EBF Fillies’ Novice S. over a mile with Khalid Abdullah’s Lucid Dreamer having registered a promising debut win at Kempton, the full-sister to former celebrity Journey (GB) was slowly away and last of the five remaining runners throughout the early stages. Rab Havlin was cajoling at halfway, but the John Gosden trainee picked up impressively to surge to the lead with 1 1/2 furlongs to race before staying on strongly under hand riding to record a three-length verdict over Final Thought (Ire) (Sea the Stars {Ire}), with Mystery Show (Ire) (Showcasing {GB}) half a length away in third. “She wears a hood, as she can be a bit lively at home but actually she was really well-behaved today,” her rider commented. “We thought she might do things back-to-front, as her sister used to and it took her a long time to settle, but she was nice and relaxed and there was a lot left in the tank at the end. She was racing behind the bridle, but when I showed her daylight she picked up through the gears and off she went. The ground is a bit dead, but she handled it well and switched off. Her sister was at her best over a mile and a quarter and a mile and a half, so hopefully she’ll get that sort of trip–it’s definitely within her compass if she switches off like she did here.”

Journey, who also sported a hood throughout most of her career, enjoyed her finest hour when beating the high-class Speedy Boarding (GB) (Shamardal) by four lengths in the 2016 G1 QIPCO British Champions Fillies & Mares S. She first burst on to the scene when making all in dynamic fashion to take Newmarket’s Listed Princess Royal S. by eight lengths in September 2015 prior to finishing runner-up on her first tilt at Ascot’s Champions Fillies & Mares. She also won the Princess Royal the following season and Haydock’s G3 Pinnacle S. and was second in the 2017 G1 Prix Vermeille, Hwt. Older Mare-Eng at 11-14f, G1SW-Eng, G1SP-Fr, $912,717. The dam Montare (Ire) (Montjeu {Ire}) captured the 2006 G1 Prix Royal Oak and the G2 Prix de Royallieu and G2 Prix du Conseil de Paris as well as placing in the G1 Prix Vermeille. Her dual listed-winning dam Contare (GB) (Shirley Heights (GB) is also the second dam of Worth Waiting (GB) (Bated Breath {GB}), winner of the G2 Dahlia S. and G3 Prix Minerve.

Indigo Girl is Montare’s ninth foal, with the other black-type performer being Travelling Man (GB) (Oasis Dream {GB}) who was placed in three pattern races including when third in the G2 Grand Prix de Deauville, MGSP-Fr, $127,771. This stable’s 3-year-old filly Mostly (GB) (Makfi {GB}) was recently off the mark at Kempton and has potential, with the family generally needing time to settle down and mature fully. Given how well Montare works with Dubawi, it is no surprise to see her with another yearling filly in the wings.

1st-Great Yarmouth, £6,400, Novice, 8-30, 2yo, f, 8f 3yT, 1:37.27, sf.
INDIGO GIRL (GB), f, 2, by Dubawi (Ire)
1st Dam: Montare (Ire) (G1SW-Fr, $852,544), by Montjeu (Ire)
2nd Dam: Contare (GB), by Shirley Heights (GB)
3rd Dam: Balenare (GB), by Pharly (Fr)
Lifetime Record: 1-1-0-0, $5,528. O/B-George Strawbridge (GB); T-John Gosden. Click for the Racing Post result or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree. Video, sponsored by Fasig-Tipton.

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