Will The Full-Brother to Sottsass be the Star of the Show at Arqana?

It has become a familiar occasion to open the Arqana August catalogue and find an offering from the remarkably consistent broodmare Starlet's Sister (Ire), whose progeny have shone for years here for the perennial leading consignor, Ecurie des Monceaux.

Most recently, the Dubawi (Ire) filly Pure Dignity (GB) brought €2,500,000 from Oliver St. Lawrence in 2020, and Parliament (GB), a colt by Fastnet Rock (Aus), sold for €700,000 in 2019. Pure Dignity just won her first start for Roger Varian.

But the 2022 offering might be the most exciting yet: a full-brother to the multiple Group 1-winning Sottsass (Fr), the record-breaking World Champion, French Derby and Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe winner, now standing stud at Coolmore in Ireland. Sottsass himself sold here in 2017 to Michel Zerolo's Oceanic Bloodstock on behalf of Peter Brant for €340,000. And the people who know Sottass well, they will tell you his full-brother is almost a dead ringer.

Michel Zerolo bought both Sottsass and Sistercharlie | Sue Finley photo

“If you compare this yearling with Sottsass, you would find them quite similar,” said Henri Bozo, who will sell Lot 154 under his Ecurie des Monceaux banner on Sunday. Sottsass's regular pilot was by the farm to see the 2021 version, said Bozo. “Cristian Demuro, the jockey, was by to see him the other morning, and he was amazed by how much they looked alike. I think he's got the same head, the same forehand, and the same self-confidence. I think it's striking to people who know Sottsass well.”

One of those people, of course, is Michel Zerolo, both a buyer at Arqana and a seller under his Haras des Capucines banner, the farm and consignment he owns with partner Eric Puerari.

Zerolo bought Starlet's Sister's first-ever progeny, Sistercharlie (Ire), after her win in the G3 Prix Penelope in France, for Brant. Zerolo said she caught his eye when she won a Class 1 race at Saint-Cloud in her prior start, when he first recommended her. “She was mighty impressive that day,” he said. “She had a fantastic turn of foot.”

Zerolo would go on to be proven correct; Sistercharlie would go on to win 10 starts over four years, including the Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Turf, to be named the Eclipse Award-winning turf female.

So when Sottsass, her half-brother by Siyouni (Fr) came up for sale in 2017, Zerolo and Brant were back. “He was an obvious one, of course,” said Zerolo.

In looking at Starlet's Sister's 2021 yearling, Zerolo said he sees the similarities as well.

“He's a nice horse,” he said. “He's probably a bigger version of Sottsass, very athletic. They're similar; they're full-brothers, of course. He has more white, and is a slightly lighter chestnut, but other than that, there are a lot of similarities.”

Bozo said that potential French buyers had been visiting the colt along with others in the consignment over the summer, but now, of course, an international marketplace has descended upon Arqana for the sale. “We've seen all the right French people and now we are looking forward to seeing all the foreigners coming here. But they will be present. They will be inside. The market is good and this sale has been extremely successful and good value.”

The Jour de Galop recently called Starlet's Sister the `unicorn of Monceaux,' and Bozo took a moment to reflect upon his good fortune in buying her. “We are very lucky and we do mean it. There was no talent in chasing her, a mare with a good pedigree, by Galileo (Ire) from a family we didn't have. We are always investing in young mares, I'm a big believer in young mares, especially when they are by the right sire lines. She was not expensive, and Hubert Guy keeps reminding me about the time he called me about her, and I must say, it has been a life-changing thing. She has been amazing.”

In the beginning, he said, he was looking to breed her to a proven stallion at an affordable price. “That's why we sent her to Myboycharlie,” he said. “He brought some strength and speed. And that was Sistercharlie. And the story keeps going. It's amazing.”

But for Bozo, who looks every bit the part of a man who could top this sale yet again, humility, gratitude and hard work seem the order of the day.

“We have to be grateful for these mares who have put Monceaux on the map and we keep trying to invest in new bloodlines to improve our work, improve our facilities,” he said. “And it's a non-ending adventure.”

And will Sunday be another chapter?

Zerolo said he felt it would. “He's got a wide appeal, it's a great cross, Siyouni over Galileo, and it has already worked. I would imagine he would appeal to a number of people. Best of luck to Henri.”

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National Yearling Sale Catalogue Online

The catalogue for Bloodstock South Africa's National Yearling Sale, which takes place at the TBA complex in Germiston on Apr. 15 and 16, is online. The catalogue includes half siblings to a pair of Horses of the Year who were also National Sale graduates in Do It Again (SAf) (Twice Over {GB}) and Legal Eagle (SAf) (Greys Inn). Stallions represented by their first yearlings in the country include a few familiar names in Europe in Canford Cliffs (Ire), Erupt (GB) and Wings Of Desire (GB). Colts by Oasis Dream (GB) and Myboycharlie (Ire) are also on offer. The sale likewise includes a plethora of yearlings out of Group 1-winning mares, and siblings to Group 1 winners.

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Sistercharlie Chasing Historic Three-Peat In Grade 1 Diana

Trainer Chad Brown will enter Sunday's Grade 1, $500,000 Diana at Saratoga Race Course loaded for bear, saddling two former Breeders' Cup winners in Rushing Fall and Sistercharlie as he looks to win the race for a fifth consecutive year.

The 82nd running of the Diana for older fillies and mares going 1 1/8 miles on the Mellon turf course will see Brown attempt his sixth win in the prestigious race, for which he has conditioned the previous four winners after first earning a victory with Zagora in 2011.

Sistercharlie has captured the last two runnings for Brown and will look to achieve a three-peat in headlining the six-horse field. The now 6-year-old daughter of Myboycharlie won the 2018 Eclipse Award as Champion Turf Female for a campaign that included her first Diana victory as well as scores in that year's Grade 1 Jenny Wiley, Grade 1 Beverly D. and Grade 1 Breeders' Cup Filly and Mare Turf.

After ending 2018 with three straight Grade 1 wins, the Irish-bred owned by Peter Brant started 2019 with three additional victories against the highest caliber, defeating Rushing Fall by 1 ¾ lengths to repeat in the Diana before winning the Beverly D. again and adding a three-quarter length triumph in the Flower Bowl in October at Belmont Park.

All seven of Sistercharlie's North American wins have come in Grade 1s. With 10 career wins in 16 starts, she also counts a Group 3 win in the 2017 Prix Penelope in France among her accomplishments.

Sistercharlie is one of just six repeat Diana winners, joining Forever Together [2008-09]; Glowing Honor [1988-89]; Shuvee (1970-71]; Tempted [1959-60]; and Miss Grillo [1946-47]. The race, which had its first running in 1939, has never seen a horse win three straight.

“That would be an amazing accomplishment,” Brown said.

Hall of Famer John Velazquez, aboard Sistercharlie for the two Diana wins, will go for three straight, breaking from post 5.

Sistercharlie's stablemate, Rushing Fall, is a five-time Grade 1 winner, including last out when she outkicked Jolie Olimpica by three-quarters of a length to repeat in the Jenny Wiley on July 11 at Keeneland. The winner of the 2017 Grade 1 Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf is already Grade 1-winner at ages 2, 3, 4 and 5, including the 2018 Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup at Keeneland.

Owned by e Five Racing Thoroughbreds, Rushing Fall is 10-2-0 in 13 career starts, with her only off-the-board finish coming when fourth in the Grade 1 First Lady last October at Keeneland. The More Than Ready mare has registered triple digit Beyer Speed Figures in four of her last five starts, notching identical 103 figures for winning last year's Grade 1 Just a Game at Belmont Park and running second in the Diana. She also matched that figure in her two starts this year, winning both the Grade 3 Beaugay on June 3 at Belmont before besting an eight-horse Jenny Wiley field.

“They both seem to be training very well and coming into the race the right way. There are some nice horses in the race, so it looks like another great edition of the Diana,” Brown said.

Hall of Famer Javier Castellano, a two-time Diana winner, will be in the irons from post 3.

R Unicorn Stable's Call Me Love has come close to breaking through since arriving in the United States this year from her native Europe. The English-bred filly made her first North American start in the 1 1/16-mile Grade 3 Beaugay, running third behind the Brown-trained Diana duo, before running fourth in the Grade 2 New York just three weeks later at 1 ¼ miles over the Belmont turf.

Cutting back to 1 1/16 miles, Call Me Love was second by a neck to fellow Diana contender Starship Jubilee in the Grade 2 Ballston Spa on July 25 at Saratoga over firm turf. Clement said Sunday's distance, along with the possibility of inclement weather, could be the key if she wants to win for the first time since her last race in Europe in the Group 2 Premio Lydia Tesio in November in Italy.

Since the Ballston Spa, Call Me Love has breezed three times over the Oklahoma turf training track at Saratoga, including a four-furlong work in 49.11 seconds on Sunday.

“She's been training great. Not OK. Great,” Clement said. “I think the distance suits her well – a mile and a sixteenth to a mile an eighth is good for her. There might be some rain in the forecast and she's run well on softer turf before, so we're ready to go.”

Joel Rosario will ride from the inside post.

Alex G. Campbell, Jr.'s Mean Mary is undefeated as a 4-year-old, starting 3-for-3 after ending her sophomore campaign with a victory against optional claimers in December at Gulfstream Park. In 2020, the Graham Motion trainee has racked up three straight graded stakes wins, taking the Grade 3 La Prevoyante at 1 ½ miles over Gulfstream Park's turf before winning the 1 3/8-mile Grade 3 Orchid at the same track in March.

Returning off a three-month respite, the Scat Daddy filly recorded a career-best 101 Beyer for her 5 ¼-length win in the Grade 2 New York at 1 ¼ miles on June 27 at Belmont, giving her four straight victories overall.

Motion said he is anxious to see how Mean Mary handles a slight cut back as he looks towards the Grade 1, $2 million Breeder's Cup Filly and Mare Turf contested at 1 3/16 miles in November at Keeneland.

“She's been pointing to this race for a long time,” Motion said. “With the Breeders' Cup, I need to find out if she can handle these shorter distances. She certainly did before we started running her at these longer races, but not at this level. She's trained really well for this race and hasn't really missed a beat. It'll be a small but solid group of horses she's facing.”

Since running fifth in her debut in September at Laurel Park, Mean Mary has won five of six, with her second-place effort against allowance company in November at Aqueduct Racetrack marking the lone race that didn't end with a winner's circle visit.

“I'd be lying if I told you I always knew she was going to be this caliber. She's been a progression,” Motion said. “I think she really enjoys it. She gets out there and is just galloping.”

Luis Saez, aboard for her wins during the current streak, will return, drawing post 6.

Motion will also send out the 5-year-old veteran Secret Message, who ran fourth in last year's Diana and is coming off a third-place finish in the 1 1/16-mile Perfect Sting on August 14 at the Spa.

Wheeled back a week later, Motion said the Hat Trick filly, who started her 2020 with a victory in the Grade 3 Mint Julep going 1 1/16 miles in May at Churchill, has showed good energy leading into a return engagement.

“The fact that she's a big, robust filly, we felt she could handle a quick turnaround,” said Motion, who has saddled five second-place finishers in the Diana. “It's not going to be an oversized field and we feel like she's been doing really well. She really ran the last quarter-mile last weekend and really sprinted home. She sprinted home as fast as anyone.”

Irad Ortiz, Jr. will pick up the mount from post 2.

Blue Heaven Farm's Starship Jubilee also enters Sunday on a four-race winning streak, with all those efforts against stakes company for trainer Kevin Attard. The 7-year-old veteran is the field's most experienced entrant, compiling an 18-5-3 record in 36 starts.

Last out, Starship Jubilee bested Diana rivals Call Me Love and Sistercharlie to win the Grade 2 Ballston Spa by a neck, building on her win in the Grade 2 Hillsborough in March at Tampa Bay Downs. The daughter of Indy Wind is 4-for-4 this year, adding scores in the Grade 3 Suwannee River and the Sunshine Millions Filly and Mare Turf this winter at Gulfstream.

Jose Ortiz will pick up the call from post 4.

The Diana, Sunday's featured race, is slated as Race 8 on the nine-race card, which offers a first post at 1:10 p.m. Eastern. Saratoga Live will present daily television coverage of the 40-day summer meet on FOX Sports and MSG Networks. For the complete Saratoga Live broadcast schedule, and additional programming information, visit https://www.nyra.com/saratoga/racing/tv-schedule.

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Champion Sistercharlie Returns To Action In Saturday’s Ballston Spa

Champion Turf Mare Sistercharlie will kick off her 2020 campaign in the 32nd running of Saturday's Grade 2, $200,000 Ballston Spa for older fillies and mares going 1 1/16 miles over the Mellon turf at Saratoga Race Course.

Trained by Chad Brown and owned by Peter Brant, Sistercharlie has put together a sensational record of 15-10-3-1, including seven Grade 1 triumphs while boasting $3,662,003 in lifetime earnings. In 2018, the daughter of Myboycharlie was named Champion Turf Female after winning all four of her Grade 1 efforts that year, which registered triple-digit Beyer Speed Figures. Two starts after kicking off her subsequent championship-worthy year with a victory in the Grade 1 Jenny Wiley at Keeneland, she mimicked such winning ways in the Grade 1 Diana at Saratoga en route to Grade 1 scores in the Beverly D. at Arlington Park and the Breeders' Cup Filly and Mare Turf at Churchill Downs, where she beat six Grade/Group 1 winners.

Sistercharlie did not return to action until July 2019, where she notched repeat victories in the Diana and Beverly D. before winning the Grade 1 Flower Bowl Invitational at Belmont Park, where she joined 2010 Horse of the Year and Hall of Famer Zenyatta [who won nine straight] as the only other North American-based horse to win six straight Grade 1 events. She has not raced since November, finishing third to Iridessa in the Grade 1 Breeders' Cup Filly and Mare Turf at Santa Anita.

“She's been training really well,” said Brown, who is targeting a sixth Ballston Spa victory. “It's only a mile and a sixteenth, which is a little shorter than the Diana was last year, but she did it a couple of years ago in the Jenny Wiley. She's been ready to run for a little while now. It's great that he [Peter Brant] decided to race her as a 6-year-old. To have a star horse like this in training is good for the entire industry, so hopefully she has another great year.”

Sistercharlie has been training forwardly for Brown into her 2020 debut, most recently working a half-mile over the Oklahoma turf course in company with Eliade, completing the distance in 50.44 seconds.

“She did well. It was a final piece of work to get her to stretch her legs. She seems ready to go,” Brown said.

Bred in Ireland by Ecurie Des Monceaux, Sistercharlie is out of the Galileo broodmare Starlet's Sister and is a half-sister to Sottsass, a dual Group 1-winner in France.

Hall of Fame jockey John Velazquez has been aboard Sistercharlie in all 10 of her North American starts and will have the call from post 5 as he attempts his sixth Ballston Spa triumph.

Brown also will send out maiden special weight winner North Broadway for Brant. The dark bay daughter of Quality Road was a 3 ½-length winner of her second career start on May 20 over the turf at Gulfstream Park before facing winners at Monmouth Park, where she was rank in the early stages, tracked in second and faded to sixth, beaten seven lengths as the favorite.

Jockey Tyler Gaffalione will pilot North Broadway from post 3.

Trainer Christophe Clement has enjoyed a superb start to the Saratoga meet, saddling two turf stakes winners with Decorated Invader in the Grade 2 National Museum of Racing Hall of Fame and Speaktomeofsummer in the Grade 2 Lake Placid on back-to-back days, and will seek to keep such winning ways afloat when giving Call Me Love a cutback in distance.

Owned by R Unicorn Stable, the chestnut daughter of Sea the Stars is a two-time group stakes winner in Italy and seeks her first triumph since winning the Group 2 Premio Lydia Tesio on November 3. After making her North American debut with a runner-up finish to Rushing Fall going a mile and a sixteenth in the Grade 3 Beaugay on June 5 at Belmont Park, she finished fourth beaten eight lengths in the Grade 2 New York going 1 ¼ miles.

Clement will attempt a third win in the Ballston Spa having previously won with Danish [1996] and Penny's Gold [2001].

Jockey Joel Rosario will pilot Call Me Love from post 1.

Blue Heaven Farm's reigning Canadian Horse of the Year Starship Jubilee has done no wrong in her trio of starts this season and has not finished worse than third in her last 10 races. The Florida-bred bay mare will try to keep a consistent pattern intact while attempting an eighth graded stakes victory for trainer Kevin Attard.

Starship Jubilee has captured all three starts in her 7-year-old campaign, beginning at Gulfstream with scores in the Sunshine Millions Filly and Mare Turf in January and the Grade 3 Suwanee River in February before taking the Grade 2 Hillsborough last out on March 7 at Tampa Bay Downs.

Attard said a planned layoff coincided with the interruption to the national stakes calendar amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

“We were planning on giving her a break anyway. We wanted to keep her fresh for this year,” said Attard. “At one point, we were pointing toward the Jenny Wiley at Keeneland in April but then COVID took over and plans changed. We sent her to the farm after her race at Tampa and she had a bit of a freshening before we got her back into training.”

Starship Jubilee enters Saturday's test off a four-month layoff, but her ledger includes eight works at Woodbine topped by a bullet half-mile breeze in 47.40 on July 18 on the dirt training track.

“I think she's ready. It took her a little bit longer to come around, but she is getting a little bit older,” said Attard. “Her last few works have been good and I saw enough in her last work that I think she's ready to ship and compete.”

Hall of Fame jockey Javier Castellano was aboard Starship Jubilee in her last out Hillsborough victory and retains the mount breaking from post 6.

Completing the field is Ballybrit Stable's Bramble Queen, who arrives off allowance optional claiming victories at Tampa Bay Downs and Delaware Park for trainer Michael Dini.

The 5-year-old Silent Name mare owns one stakes triumph, which took place in last year's Illini Princess Handicap at Hawthorne.

Jockey Jose Lezcano, who guided Laughing to a Ballston Spa score in 2013, will be aboard Bramble Queen from post 2.

Another Broad [post 4] has been entered for main track only.

The Ballston Spa is slated as Race 3 on Saturday's 11-race card, which offers a first post of 1:10 p.m. Eastern. Saratoga Live will present daily television coverage of the 40-day summer meet on FOX Sports and MSG Networks. For the complete Saratoga Live broadcast schedule, and additional programming information, visit https://www.nyra.com/saratoga/racing/tv-schedule.

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