‘Horse First, Pedigree Second’ – Donny Rockets Take Centre Stage At Goffs 

DONCASTER, England-The vendors have answered the rallying call. That was the message issued by an upbeat Henry Beeby on the eve of the eagerly-anticipated Doncaster Premier Yearling Sale. And judging by the footfall here since Sunday, the Goffs chief has every reason to be positive. 

The Al Mohamediya Racing team have been out in force trying to find the next Jasour (GB) (Havana Grey {GB}). Top trainers Richard Hannon, Clive Cox and Ger Lyons have also been busy inspecting the stock on offer, not to mention the number of leading agents and breeze-up handlers in attendance. 

If Arqana lit the touch paper on the European yearling sale season with a booming trade, all of the ingredients are here at Doncaster for another lively session, and Beeby was left praising vendors for coming up trumps in fitting the brief that was set out to them.

He explained, “There is no doubt the vendors have stepped up and answered our call. We had a good sale last year and, when our team went on to the farms in Britain and Ireland, we asked vendors for a step up in quality for this year's sale. The vendors have done us proud and we have been very well supported by them. 

“I have looked at almost all of the horses that I am going to be auctioning myself and I am very impressed. There are some lovely horses here-horses that would grace any other first choice sale.”

Luke Barry: has a strong draft | Emma Berry

One man who has brought more than his fair share of classy yearlings to Doncaster down through the years is Luke Barry of Manister House Stud. It was at this sale where Barry sold Group 1 winners Fev Rover (Ire) (Gutaifan {Ire}) and La Collina (Ire) (Strategic Prince {GB}). He offers an 11-strong draft on Tuesday and Wednesday and reported the action at Barn B to be encouraging. 

In between organising shows for Brian Meehan, the Al Mohamediya team, Shadwell boss Angus Gold and more, Barry said, “Footfall in Donny is always good and it has been very good again this year. We have a nice bunch of horses and this sale has been very good. It's been busy but, like I said, it always is here. 

“They do a great job and people always turn out in force for this sale. We've been lucky here. We've sold a lot of Group 1 winners here. We've had luck in the ring and on the track from this sale so hopefully that continues this week.”

As well as offering some early and fast-looking types, Barry has never been afraid of throwing a nice horse who could benefit from more of a trip, into this sale while his neighbour in Barn B, Tom Blain or Barton Stud, is another consignor who has brought a classy draft of horses that features everything from a sharp Pinatubo (Ire) [428] to a good-walking Sea The Stars (Ire) [234].

However, according to Beeby, the foundations of the Premier Yearling Sale have been built on Donny rockets, which is something the sales house does not want to lose focus on again. 

He explained, “We are seeing the faces we want to see here. The industry takes this sale very seriously. It has a long, rich history. We took a long look at the Premier Yearling Sale a few years ago. We felt we had morphed slightly away from what we were always known for. We reviewed it all and thought that the most important thing was to get back to the Donny rockets.

“When I started in the early eighties and when my father was there before me, it was always about the individual. It was always about the good-looking horse. When we went into the fields with the vendors, we told them we needed a looker, and that's what we have delivered. It's horse first, pedigree second here. And unashamedly so. It works and, of all the sales, the Doncaster Premier Yearling Sale has as an identity, if not the strongest identity, of any other sale. Everybody knows what they are going to get when they walk in through these gates and we're very proud of that.”

Beeby added, “The horses from this sale have done well on the track and, the fact that we have increased the prize-money for the Harry's Half Million has obviously caught the imagination and we had a very good renewal of the sales race on Thursday. That demonstrates the quality of the horses on offer and the footfall ahead of this year's sale has been great.”

One of the fascinating subplots of the Doncaster Premier Yearling Sale each year is how it provides the first taster of how the market reacts to a first-season stallion. One horse, or at least a couple of different variations of his name, has come up in conversation more than any other over the weekend, and that's Whitsbury Manor Stud's Sergei Prokofiev, or as one leading buyer called him on Monday, 'Sergei Provoloff.'

While everyone may not be in unison on how to pronounce his name, the stock of Sergei Prokofiev has gone down well with many industry judges, and Whitsbury's Ed Harper is optimistic about what this week will bring. 

Ed Harper of Whistbury Manor Stud | Sarah Farnsworth

He said, “The past few weeks, you couldn't open the newspaper without seeing a son of Scat Daddy producing a stakes winner. It has been ridiculous. Whether it's Justify, No Nay Never, Sioux Nation, Seahenge or Seabhac, it's every day. It's unreal. I was very confident about Sergei Prokofiev being a son of Scat Daddy but it has just been off the scale. You want to come here and see a resemblance in his stock compared to the other sons of Scat Daddy and they are big, strong horses. That's what I have seen here from them-they are strong, have lots of bone and seem to have great attitudes as well. I couldn't be happier.” 

Indeed, Whitsbury Manor Stud is familiar with launching a young stallion and it's their own Havana Grey who is responsible for this sale's poster boy Jasour. An £85,000 purchase by Clive Cox from renowned pinhooker and consignor Jenny Norris, Jasour won his maiden in June before running out an impressive winner of the G2 July S. last month. 

That success sparked great scenes on the July course, with Ali Majeed of the Bahraini outfit celebrating as though he'd struck a last-minute winner at Wembley, and he was busy trying to find the next winner to toast on Monday.

He said, “We like fast horses and Doncaster is the sale for fast horses. We like coming to Doncaster. We bought Jasour, Shagraan (Ire) (Sioux Nation) and Golden Horde (Ire) here. We bought two in France last week. One was by Golden Horde, so we wanted to support him, and the other was by Hello Youmzain (Fr). We're happy with how the yearlings by Golden Horde have sold and there is a filly here [219] by him as well. The majority of them will sell in France, where Golden Horde is standing, but hopefully when buyers see more of his yearlings they will like them.”

Majeed added, “We are very happy with how racing in Bahrain is developing and improving. We had a Group 2 there this year and hopefully there will be a Group 1 next year. We really enjoy coming together for the racing and the sales. It is one family and one group of people involved and that's why we enjoy it so much. The sales in France were very strong but, here at Doncaster, you can buy the fast horses. We look for speed.”

There will be no shortage of speed on offer here over the next two days with the sale kicking off at 10 am on Tuesday. 

The post ‘Horse First, Pedigree Second’ – Donny Rockets Take Centre Stage At Goffs  appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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From France To Doncaster: The Key Pointers For The Premier Yearling Sale

DONCASTER, England–A serious tempo was set to the European yearling sale season at Arqana last week with strong trade recorded in the August and V2 sales. If the momentum is to continue into the Doncaster Premier Yearling Sale this week, Goffs could be in for a productive week. 

G3 Princess Margaret S. winner Sacred Angel (Ire) (Dark Angel {Ire}) was sourced here 12 months ago for £52,000 while similarly smart two-year-old Jasour (GB) (Havana Grey {GB}) cost £85,000. 

Both juveniles have flown the flag for the Donny yearlings with their exploits on the track this season and, judging by the footfall on the sales ground on Sunday, there is a long queue of buyers eager to find the next Sacred Angel and Jasour. 

The two-day sale kicks off on Tuesday at 10am and there are plenty of pointers to take from Arqana that could shape the way things play out at Doncaster and beyond. 

Blue Point Here To Stay

There was huge expectation placed on Blue Point's first runners this season and he has lived up to his billing with a Royal Ascot success and 25 individual winners in Britain and Ireland alone. 

Big Evs (Ire) has been the flagbearer for Blue Point (Ire), with Mick Appleby's colt following up his Windsor Castle victory at Royal Ascot with a Group 3 success in the Molecomb at Goodwood before running down the field in last Friday's Nunthorpe. 

Blue Point has eight horses rated 90 or above in Britain and Ireland and these are the sort of statistics that are willing buyers to reinvest in the Kildangan Stud-based stallion's yearlings. 

An average of €191,364 for 11 yearlings sold at an aggregate of €2,105,000 at the August Sale would suggest that Blue Point has more than justified the belief placed in him by breeders. His yearlings won't be easy to buy this week.

Pinatubo and Earthlight Off To A Strong Start

The strength of the Darley roster was there for everyone to see at Arqana. If it wasn't a son or a daughter of Dubawi (Ire) selling for a couple of million euros, well then it was one of the legendary stallion's sons Night Of Thunder (Ire) or Ghaiyyath (Ire) who were catching the imagination. 

Pinatubo (Ire) was the one of the most popular freshman sires at Arqana while fellow Darley stallion Earthlight (Ire) certainly struck a chord with his first yearlings. 

Of the nine Pinatubos to sell in the August Sale, they averaged €195,000 with buyers including Wesley Ward, Oliver St Lawrence, Robson Aguiar and more. 

There are three Pinatubos and eight Earthlights on offer at Doncaster. One would wager that they will be in high demand. 

Sergei Set To Make a Splash

If the first yearlings by Sergei Prokofiev (Can) are as popular as the foals were, the Whitsbury Manor Stud-based stallion could be in for a good week.

Sergei Prokofiev embarked on his stud career on a fee of £6,500 and rewarded breeders with an average of almost £30,000 for 52 foals sold in Britain and Ireland in 2022. 

Last weekend was a good one for the Scat Daddy line, as pointed out by Coolmore's Mark Byrne on Twitter, with Ten Sovereigns (Ire), Justify, and Sioux Nation responsible for a number of smart winners. 

Good judges Julie Woods, Freddy Tylicki, Larry Stratton, Harry Dutfield and Tom Whelan nominated the progeny of Sergei Prokofiev as being ones to keep the right side of in the TDN last year and plenty can be expected from him this week. 

Hello Youmzain One To Take From France

Fair to say Hello Youmzain (Fr) really captured the imagination at Arqana. Etreham's newbie had 19 sell for an average of €128,789 in the August Sale and 12 sell for €42,458 at V2.

Many are tipping him to scoop champion first-season sire honours in France next year and it's easy to see why given how well his stock was received.

The dual Group 1-winning sprinter is represented by two yearlings this week and the momentum could continue to build behind Hello Youmzain at Donny.

Golden Horde A Dark One?

Golden Horde has just one yearling at Doncaster [219] but he could be an interesting sire judging by how his first yearlings were received at Arqana.

They came in different shapes and sizes last week, with Peter and Ross Doyle signing for a strapping colt from Anna Sundstrom's Coulonces draft for €80,000 in the August Sale catching the eye. Six of the seven yearlings by the G1 Commonwealth Cup winner sold for an average of €35,833 at the V2 Sale and it was notable that Richard Fahey, Jean-Claude Rouget and Sheik Sultan Al Khalifa featured among the list of buyers at V2. 

Standing at Montfort et Preaux for €8,000, Golden Horde won't have many yearlings to represent him in Britain and Ireland this year. Along with lot 219, a filly consigned by Kildaragh Stud, Golden Horde has a couple of yearlings to sell at Book 3 at Tattersalls. 

Nevertheless, judging by his stock at Arqana, Golden Horde remains an interesting young sire at an affordable level.

Breeze-up Handlers Out In Force

Kenny Rogers famously said that one of the gambler's secrets to survival is knowing when to walk away from the table and there was plenty of that in France from the breeze-up fraternity. 

While Mick and Sarah Murphy from Longways Stables picked up five yearlings, Tally-Ho Stud added two and different operators like Matt Eves of Star Bloodstock were dotted around the sales results across both sales, the trip to Deauville didn't yield much for the majority of breeze-up handlers.

This will be the week where many operators buy their first breezers for the upcoming season and that will add to what is expected to be strong trade. 

Other Newbies To Note

We were provided with an early glimpse of the yearlings by Arizona (Ire), Kameko, Mohaather (GB), Threat (Ire), Without Parole (GB) and Shaman (Ire) at Arqana but Doncaster will mark the debut Far Above (Ire), King Of Change (GB), River Boyne (Ire) and Sands Of Mali (Fr).

Of that bunch, Mohaather could be the pick. His sole yearling failed to sell at the August Sale but he has a nice bunch of yearlings to go under the hammer this week and, with a foal average of over £40,000 last year, plenty can be expected from his yearlings.

 

The post From France To Doncaster: The Key Pointers For The Premier Yearling Sale appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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Royal Ascot-Placed Filly Hits The High Notes At Tattersalls With 330k Sale

Royal Ascot-placed Balalaika (Ire) (No Nay Never) was the headline act at the July Sale on Thursday when selling to BBA Ireland's Eamonn Reilly for 330,000gns with the agent coming out best in an entertaining tussle for the Rebecca Menzies-trained filly. 

Bred by the late Sir Robert Ogden, Balalaika is out of an unraced Frankel (GB) daughter of G1 Matron S. winner Emulous (GB) (Dansili {GB}) and boasts a rating of 90. 

Also involved in the bidding for the Sandringham third were Gavin Hernon, Matt Coleman, and Mark McStay but Reilly battled off the attention of Richard Brown of Blandford Bloodstock to land Balalaika.  

“There are no plans, but she will stay in training and although no trainer has been decided on, she will probably stay in the UK,” Reilly said.

“Her last run was very promising and she has been bought as a long-term broodmare prospect for an existing client. She is good-topped filly, has a good walk and behaved very well up here. There is plenty happening with the pedigree.”

Six horses broke the six-figure mark on the day to make it 34 all told at the July Sale this year. Thursday's trade was solid with 147 of the 156 lots offered selling at a 94% clearance rate. The aggregate was 4,445,500gns while the average was 30,241gns.

Duarte Hopes Whisky Turns Out To Be Sweet Investment For Australian Clients

It's fair to say that Whisky On The Hill (GB) (Ribchester {Ire}) did not stand out as a horse who would ever rock into six figures earlier in the spring. 

After three low-key efforts in maidens, Whiskey On The Hill offered his first crackle of potential for trainer Ado McGuinness when finishing third on handicap debut at Cork as an unfancied 33-1 shot. 

He has since been sent off favourite on his next three starts and won every one of them for his owner Alex Zevenbergen, climbing 24lbs in the process.

Armando Duarte was of the opinion that there is more improvement left in the good-looking gelding and went to 135,000gns to secure him on behalf of the same owners of his flagship buy Alenquer (Fr).

The G1 Tattersalls Gold Cup winner is now plying his trade in Australia for Ballymore Stables and trainer Michael Moroney and Whiskey On The Hill will chart a similar path. 

Duarte said, “He's for the same team of people-Ballymore Stables and Paul Moroney [bloodstock agent]–who bought Alenquer and English King (Fr) (Camelot {GB}). That's the only horse we looked at here at the sales who we liked and who fitted our profile. Let's hope he will be lucky for them now as well.”

He added, “Whiskey On The Hill fits the bill and was not over-expensive. He is very similar to Emissary (GB) (Kingman {GB}), who we bought off Juddmonte a couple of years ago.”

Jasour Team Keep The Party Going At Tattersalls

Just a few hours after Jasour (GB) (Havana Grey {GB}) stormed to G2 Kingdom Of Bahrain July S. glory a couple of miles up the road on the Newmarket July course, HH Sheikh Sultan's Al Mohamediya Racing made a splash in the sales ring when going to 125,000gns to secure Vega Sicilia (GB) (Lope de Vega {Ire}).

A smart performer for Harry and Roger Charlton, Vega Sicilia was bought with the aim of competing in the top races in Bahrain for the leading owner in that jurisdiction. 

Vega Sicilia came to the July Sale off the back of winning a Goodwood handicap over 1m4f in the style of a progressive horse. Now rated 91, he boasts a high enough rating to compete in some of the top races in Bahrain.

Ali Majeed, who purchased Vega Sicilia on behalf of Al Mohamediya Racing, said, “We bought this horse because we bought a sprint horse [Edward Cornelius (Ire) (Bungle Inthejungle {GB})] and were looking for a Classic horse. We think this horse will be for a-mile-and-a-quarter or a-mile-and-a-half. He will handle fast ground and is rated 86 so he can run in the Bahrain Series directly. He has the rating.”

He added, “Al Mohamediya Racing is the leading owner in Bahrain for two years now and we wanted a Classic horse. There is the Crown Prince and the King Cup if we are happy with him. 

“It's amazing for Al Mohamediya Racing and for every Bahraini. To win with Jasour in a Group 2 at Newmarket in the race sponsored by the Kingdom Of Bahrain was very good. Everybody was very happy and the celebrations were very fun.”

It was a busy week on and off the track for Al Mohamediya Racing. Along with Jasour landing the July S., the owner recorded wins at Windsor and Newcastle and signed for seven horses for 444,000gns.

Another Bound For Bahrain As Donald Takes Home The Parent

The Parent (GB) (Frankel {GB}), was another six-figure lot sold on Thursday when Alastair Donald of Sackville Donald went to 105,000gns to secure the three-year-old on behalf of a Bahraini client. 

A winner of a Goodwood maiden last year, the gelding placed in two of his three starts this term and is rated 81. 

Donald said, “He is for a Bahrain-based client and goes to Bahrain for the Turf series. He was the only horse we wanted. He should be perfect for the series. 

“He is a fast-ground horse, a cracking-looking horse, and he is bred to be good. I am very pleased to get him.”

He added, “I don't think he stayed the trip on his last run and the form of his other runs look very strong. He should do well in Bahrain and will be trained by Alan Smith.”

Tiverton Off To America After 100k Sale

Be it mares or horses-in-training, the Juddmonte draft always commands plenty of interest and the Dermot Weld-trained Tiverton (GB) (Expert Eye {GB}) proved exactly that when selling to Jerry McGrath for 100,000gns. 

“Tiverton is going to the US,” McGrath said. “As a young man I worked for Dermot Weld. I have a few contacts there and they told me how highly this horse was regarded, particularly as a 2-year-old.”

Indeed, Tiverton showed good form as a juvenile, winning a Listowel maiden before being pitched into Group 3 company. He has run just twice this season, finishing down the field in both starts. 

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