The colt, owned by Liberty Racing, won the oldest public vote in the history of German sport, which took place on his fourth birthday, March 21.

“We are very proud of this title. Fantastic Moon absolutely deserves it,” said Lars-Wilhelm Baumgarten, the co-founder of the colt's ownership syndicate Liberty Racing.

“His magnificent victory in the 2023 German Derby and his superior victory as the first German horse in the Prix Niel in Paris have clearly shown that he is currently Germany's best horse, and the fans have now confirmed this with their vote for the Sea The Moon colt.”

Sea The Moon was himself made Horse of the Year following his 11-length Derby win in 2014. The Lanwades Stud resident had an emphatic influence on the German Classics last season and was also responsible for the first three home in the G1 Preis der Diana, led by Muskoka (Ger), who was bred by Baumgarten.

Fantastic Moon remains in training with Sarah Steinberg in Munich with the aim being for him to make his seasonal debut at Hoppegarten in the Listed Preis von Dahlwitz on Easter Sunday. His runner-up in the Derby, Mr Hollywood (Ire) (Iquitos {Ger}), is also entered for the race. After Berlin, the Prix Ganay at ParisLongchamp at the end of April is also under consideration for Fantastic Moon. 

Baumgarten added, “He is only the second Derby winner in the past 23 years to win this award, likely because he has built up a large fanbase. We thank everyone who voted for him and of course his team around trainer Sarah Steinberg and jockey Rene Piechulek for the outstanding work with our hero.”

His co-founder in Liberty Racing, Nadine Siepmann, said, “As a child, I was impressed every year watching the Horse of the Year vote on TV, and now our horse has won the vote, which is so great.”

There are 22 members in the ownership group for Fantastic Moon, and this represents the first time that the German Horse of the Year has been owned by a syndicate. Liberty Racing was set up in 2020 and now has seven active syndicates with 16 horses in training for more than 100 shareholders.

Siepmann added, “Owner syndicates are enormously important for horse racing in order to introduce the great thoroughbred horses to new people. That's why it's all the more wonderful that these communities also win big races and own great horses, that's the best advertising.”

Fantastic Moon was bred by Philipp and Marion Stauffenberg from the Jukebox Jury (Ire) mare Frangipani (Ger). Now 10, the mare is due to foal to Sea The Stars (Ire) and she will return to Sea The Moon (Ger) this season. 

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The scribbling started reasonably early on Sunday morning from a desk in the press room that boasts one of the best views in the racing world, looking out across the turf to the wooded mountains of the Black Forest. It was also the desk that was once occupied by British-born but German-based racing correspondent David Connolly-Smith, who died in July. David was 83 but he had still been a regular presence at the races, and I always enjoyed a chat with him on my annual trip to BBAG. He brought German racing to life for readers of various publications in Britain and Ireland and, more than that, he was always so helpful and welcoming. David is much missed and it was an honour to be granted temporary residence at the desk that still bears his name.

The last day of Baden-Baden's premier week of racing is not for the faint-hearted. By 11am, the runners were already leaving the parade ring just after 11am for the first of a 12-race card on a sweltering day at Iffezheim. Three of those races, much to the delight of Baden Galopp's effervescent Stefan Buchner, featured within the World Pool, an increase from just one race on the same card last year and following on from the inclusion of the Deutsches Derby and Grosser Preis von Berlin earlier this season. By the end of the day, World Pool reported turnover of HK$64.3million (€7.5m) on those three races.

It is hard not to be concerned about German racing, primarily because it is really important for it not just to survive, but to thrive. Any country that continues to make such an impact on thoroughbred breeding globally really must have a strong domestic racing scene in order for that reputation not to start waning. Germany is not alone in struggling with falling racecourse attendances and a reduction in the number of horses in training and mares in the paddocks, but the contraction, to around 850 broodmares and slightly less than 2,000 racehorses, is worrying nonetheless.

A day or two at the bustling Baden-Baden racecourse during this late summer week almost certainly gives a false sense of the health of German racing overall, but it also provides an encouraging glimpse of racing at its very best, where a significant portion of the crowd is fully engaged with the stars of the show: the horses. It is hard to think of another racecourse where the runners and riders are clapped as they pass the stands for the first time. This happens for every race of sufficient distance at Baden-Baden; not so much a Cheltenham roar, more a polite Iffezheim ripple of applause, but it is beguiling.

The huge hedge-lined parade ring is encircled by racegoers four or five deep for every race, even from such an early start. Each winner and the also-rans are cheered back in by those lining the route, including plenty of children, along each side of the walk of fame that has the names of every winner of the Grosser Preis von Baden embedded in a path back to the winner's enclosure.

I wonder how many bosses of British racecourses have visited Baden-Baden on a raceday to see what's possible with low-cost entry, very little division of enclosures, no dress code, plenty of seating and picnic areas, and better still no noisy sideshows to divert attention from the main event or to upset the horses. It can be done, as long as we promote a day at the races as just that, and not as a big boozy outdoor party with some horses galloping around in the background.

To Longchamp via Baden-Baden

The trophy for Germany's main race of the week, the G1 Grosser Preis von Baden, hopped over the nearby border to France when Christophe Soumillon timed his run to perfection on the statuesque Zagrey (Fr) to give Zarak (Fr) his first Group 1 winner. The Aga Khan Studs stallion was also the sire of the third home, Straight (Ger), and in the States over the weekend he was represented by Parnac (Fr), winner of the GII Flower Bowl S. At Saratoga. 

It was a banner day for Zagrey's trainer Yann Barberot, who was in Germany to receive the prize for the second Group 1 win of his career despite having the smart Beauvatier (Fr) in action at Longchamp, where he remained unbeaten in the G3 Prix la Rochette. That son of Lope De Vega (Ire) looks a smart Classic prospect for Barberot's Deauville stable next season. Before that, however, the trainer has much to look forward to on the first weekend of October, with Zagrey bound for the Arc and Beauvatier likely to start next in the Prix Jean-Luc Lagardere.

Zagrey was the sole foreign runner in the Grosser Preis, and his last-gasp win was a blow to fans of the second-placed Mr Hollywood (Ire), who has featured in this column before and almost made all, going down by just a neck at the line. It was encouraging to see the three-year-old in the flesh, as he is a strong, handsome individual, who will surely notch his top-level win before too long. 

Sean Cronin and Tom Frary, who are the racing writers entrusted with handing out TDN Rising Stars, guard this honour closely, and it was hard not to prick up one's ears when Tom decided to award one to a son of the little known (outside Germany anyway) Iquitos (Ger) back in early April. That was the day that Mr Hollywood made his debut at Mulheim and bolted in to win by 16 lengths. He won the G3 Bavarian Classic on his next start, and has been second in his ensuing three runs, including when second to Fantastic Moon in the Deutsches Derby. He is one of one five foals from the first crop of his sire, a son of Adleflug (Ger) standing at Gestut Graditz. Another of the quintet is the G3 Diana Trial runner-up Drawn To Dream (Ire). Both were bred by Dietrich von Boetticher of Gestut Ammerland, where the stallion stood for his first two seasons, and they are both out of mares by the owner-breeder's Arc winner Hurricane Run (Ire). 

We'll keep a close eye on Iquitos. I've a feeling there may well be plenty more to report on his offspring in the coming seasons. 

Breakthrough Win for Pearson 

Baden-Baden is likely to be remembered fondly by British jockey Laura Pearson, who had her first German ride there on Saturday. She won the Listed Wackenhut Mercedes Benz Fillies Cup with a cool-headed ride aboard the Ralph Beckett-trained Diamond Vega (Ire) (Lope De Vega {Ire}).

It was the first stakes-race victory for Pearson, 22, who only rode out her claim a month ago having had to sit out the second half of 2022 with a serious neck injury. She returned to the saddle in January and is already well on her way to surpassing last year's tally of winners, with 19 on the board, including a Ffos Las treble for Beckett on August 25.

“I had a really fun trip to Italy last February and was lucky enough to have a double at Pisa, so it's great to keep my overseas record at 100 per cent,” Pearson told TDN.

She is enjoying her association with Beckett's Kimpton Down stable, which currently has one of the best strike-rates in Britain after a hugely successful August.

“I ride out there four days a week and it's a pleasure to be in there with the team,” she added. “I recently had my first treble for the boss, and it's great to get this win for him. I can't thank him enough for the opportunities he's given me. It's brilliant.”

Along with Zagrey, various international raiders struck in the major races during the week at Baden-Baden. Charlie Johnston saddled the third group winner from the first crop of Too Darn Hot (GB) when Carolina Reaper took the 150th running of the G3 Renate und Albrecht Woeste Zukunfts Rennen last Wednesday, and Francis Graffard sent out the Aga Khan's Darkaniya (Fr) (Frankel {GB}) to win the G2 T von Zastrow Stutenpreis.

Stauffenbergs on Top

Philipp and Marion Stauffenberg may be best known to many on the sales circuit as the leading German consignors internationally, but they are also first-class breeders and currently occupy the top spot on the list of German breeders with significantly fewer runners than their nearest rivals in the table, Gestut Karlshof and Gestut Rottgen.

Of course, a large portion of the prize-money haul comes from the Deutsches Derby victory of Fantastic Moon (Ger) (Sea The Moon {Ger}), who disappointingly was a late withdrawal for the G1 Grosser Preis on Sunday owing to ground worries. But they were also represented at the course on Saturday by a homebred debutante, Lady Mary (Ger) (Lawman {Ire}), winner of the strong maiden, the Gestut Etzean Winterkonigin Trial, for Andreas Suborics. The juvenile is out of La Reine Noir (Ger) (Rainbow Quest), a half-sister to G1 Prix de l'Opera winner Lady Marian (Ger) (Nayef), who, like Fantastic Moon, had been sold by Stauffenberg Bloodstock for €49,000 at the BBAG September Yearling Sale.

None of the five yearlings in the Stauffenberg draft sold for that magic number this year, but the vendor was among the leaders with a €220,000 filly by Sea The Stars (Ire). The other Sea The Stars yearling in the consignment, a colt from the Lordship Stud family of Classic winners Love Divine (GB) and Sixties Icon (GB), sold for considerably less than one might have expected, and was knocked down at €80,000 to Tina Rau for the Ullmann family of Gestut Schlenderhan. 

The good-looking colt will be well worth following when he heads into training with Joseph O'Brien, however. As we see time and again, there is often little correlation between sales prices and racecourse performances, and the most notable Lordship Stud graduate of recent years was another by Sea The Stars who was sold for just 60,000gns as a yearling. Later named Emily Upjohn (GB), she turned out to be rather good.

King of Paris

Kingman (GB) was represented by a notable double at Longchamp on Sunday when his daughter Sauterne reeled in the front-running Big Rock (Fr) (Rock Of Gibraltar {Ire}) to land the G1 Prix du Moulin and Narnaco (GB) made all in the G3 La Coupe de Maisons-Laffitte.

For Sauterne, who delivered her trainer Patrice Cottier a first Group 1 win, this was truly reward for effort and consistency. Bred by her owner Jean-Pierre-Joseph Dubois, she won the Listed Prix Pont du Neuf in April and since then has been placed three times at Group 1 level, in the Poule d'Essai des Pouliches, Prix Jean Prat and Prix Rothschild.

On the same weekend two years ago, Spain's champion trainer Guillermo Arizkorreta sent out Rodaballo (Ire) and Kitty Marion (GB) to win the G2 Oettingen Rennen and G3 Goldene Peitsche in Baden-Baden, and this year he turned his attention on Longchamp with Naranco. 

It was a truly international result. The colt was bred in Britain by the Hong Kong-based Eric Chen and was bought at the Tattersalls December Foal Sale by the former head of the Spanish Jockey Club, Jose Hormaeche, for owner Yeguada Rocio. Trained in Madrid by Arizkorreta, he was ridden to glory by Czech jockey Vaclav Janacek. Naranco also owns a pretty smart pedigree that is spreading its wings. His dam Patsy Boyne (Ire) is a Galileo (Ire) half-sister to High Chaparral (Ire) and she has been exported to Australia by Chen.

Hays Making Merry

One should never say never, but it seems highly unlikely that any other owner will be able to repeat having a treble spreads across Kincsem Park and Kentucky Downs, as enjoyed by Jim and Fitri Hay on Saturday.

This unique feat was pulled off by Splendent (Ire) (Fast Company {Ire}) and Silent Film (GB) (New Approach {GB}), both of whom won at Hungary's big meeting with Frankie Dettori in the saddle. This was followed later in the day by victory in the valuable GIII Mint Millions S. for Ancient Rome (War Front). Trained by Charles Hill and ridden by Jamie Spencer, the 110-rated four-year-old won almost £1 million in prize-money and was following up on his win in the Chesterfield Cup at Goodwood last month. 

The post Seven Days: No Hollywood Ending but Baden Still Shines appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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   Stauffenberg was once again in the spotlight in October when five of his yearlings took Tattersalls by storm when selling for a combined figure of 2,345,000gns at a memorable Book 1 sale. 

   Back at Tattersalls, where he was searching for his next Book 1 star at the December Foal Sales, the never-boring and cigarillo-smoking Stauffenberg spoke with TDN Europe's Brian Sheerin about his approach to pinhooking, love for breeding, family history and much more. 

   Stauffenberg went on to add another foal to his portfolio at the December Breeding Stock Sale at Arqana, a €150,000 Hello Youmzain (Ire) filly. He also sold four foals at that sale and explains the reasons why they were offered at public auction below. 

Now that the foal sales are almost finished for 2022, how would you sum up buying in the current market?

Very tough. If you wanted to buy quality, the prices had risen and, overall, the selection of foals in that top bracket was very small. Quite often you can find the nice horse without the pedigree or else you have the page and the physical does not match up. I like to buy the physical and some of these physicals just didn't have a strong enough page for me. The problem for me is that we do all of the work back home in Germany. All the foals come back home to Germany and we prep them there. I have to focus on the Book 1, Book 2 or Orby horse, as that is where the market has the best chance of holding up. In is very difficult doing these high-level pinhooks. Obviously, you have a reduced number of people who are able to afford these high-end yearlings so, if I buy a foal for say €200,000, a lot of trainers and owners will automatically say that it will be out of their range when it comes to the yearling sales. For that reason, it is a little bit of a risk to buy in that bracket but, when it works out, it's very good. The other problem I face is, I just can't buy the numbers. Nowadays I buy seven to 10 foals. We are a small operation. I have a few principles on how I want to raise these horses so we keep only a very small number on the farm so we never overstock. I have just 39 boxes on the farm and these are all limiting factors. So, if I was to go to pretty much all of the sales and buy horses at every level, I would completely lose control. This is why I focus on the few sales and limit my selection process. 

I know you said you are concentrating on the top bracket but I noticed you bought a few speedier types on pedigree at least–two Dandy Mans (Ire) and an Advertise (GB)-at the foal sales at Goffs.

Buying that Advertise filly happened more or less by accident. I didn't target that filly. I was looking at other foals and I saw her out of the corner of my eye and really liked her. I bought her and, yes, there is hope that Advertise will produce some very good 2-year-olds and she is a lovely physical and I really adore her. I just thought they were racehorses. Whether they will be successful pinhooks, I don't know, but I think they are racehorses and that's why I bought them. 

Are you down on numbers for this year given you bought only two foals at Tattersalls?

I am happy with what I bought. I got six foals at Goffs and only two here at Tattersalls. I have some very nice colts but I am lacking the high-end filly. There was a better selection of high-end fillies here at Tattersalls on paper than at Goffs but the owner-breeders, Juddmonte especially, were so strong. The value was not there for me. I underbid the Lope De Vega (Ire) filly that Juddmonte bought for half a million-I went to 480,000gns-but, paying that price, your margin becomes very thin when you are buying for resale. I just wanted to have her. She was the one I liked the most of all the filly foals here. But I didn't succeed. I bid 600,000gns on the sister to Chaldean (GB) and she sold for one million. I formed a special syndicate to buy Chaldean when he was a foal but, again, Juddmonte were strong on him and already owned half of him. I just had to leave him behind as well. So I fended off all of my competitors on these high-end foals but when the owner-breeders, who are the people you want to be selling to the following year as yearlings, come in and bid strong, you cannot compete with that.

That was the major theme to develop at Tattersalls with Juddmonte, Shadwell and Moyglare being so strong. It must have been fairly demoralising going head-to-head with operations of that size?

Yea, it is in a way. You do your selection process and target these horses, then you try to think about what kind of money you will have to spend and, when it comes to the bidding, you can even go beyond your limit to try and get it and then you don't succeed. Obviously that is tough. But anyway, you have to cope with that. It's how the whole thing works. I only had a very short list of these fillies so, when you target them and cannot buy them, it is a little bit frustrating. 

It seemed like a lot of buyers were zoning in on the top of the market. Perhaps the thinking there is that, if there is a bit of a downturn in the economy, they will have the yearlings to sell to the recession-proof operations?

I think so. It is not only us but some of the pinhookers who have been operating at that high level, they have been really well-rewarded. The thinking is that it is a safer option. Okay, you have to spend a little bit more money but it might be better in the reselling process to focus on that bracket. Whether we have a year like this again, that is a question mark. We had a very special situation this year where Sheikh Mohammed and his son were incredibly strong on the high-end yearlings. Their spending impacted every other level of the market because the high-end buyers couldn't succeed at the top level against him and were forced to drop down. There was a knock-on effect and it lifted everything.

There was a cloud of doubt hanging over the yearling sales this year so, given what transpired, how surprising was that?

If you leave our little bubble, you have the war in Europe, which we haven't had since World War II, all the other problems the industry is facing with the situation in China and the supply chain, and the fact we had the coronavirus for two years as well. You had to be worried but the yearling sales turned out to be sensational. People say to me, oh you had a tremendous year, how do you do it? I think that is wrong. I might be a little bit more in the limelight through some big prices but, the truth is, anyone who had a half-decent horse made a profit this year. Whether it was a breeder or a pinhooker, it didn't matter, the whole market was so strong. If you didn't get paid this year, you did something wrong. You can't blame others. This year was the year for everybody and I think that was reflected in the foal sales and even more so now in the sales of mares. It's madness. It really is. I looked at every foal I felt would get into Book 1 and 2 at Tattersalls as well as high-end Orby types and, let me tell you, what some of my colleagues spent on foals that I would not like to touch was amazing. 

You mentioned the war in Ukraine. Unfortunately, war is something your family knows all too much about. Can you tell us a little more about that?

My grand-uncle tried to assassinate Hitler but failed. The whole family was sent to a concentration camp after that. It was obviously a very difficult situation but, because it happened towards the end of the war, nobody really wanted to take over the responsibility of killing the entire Stauffenberg family. The order came from the German government for all of them to be killed and quite a big number of them were. A lot of my family were shot after it happened. My father told me all about his own situation in the concentration camp. He told me about how they were on the walk to death, as the German government had found someone who was willing to kill them all, but thankfully they were freed by the Americans. It's a relief that I am here today and I feel lucky but it does not really influence what I do in my life. Sometimes, you have to factor in what is going on in that world and how many people are in that same situation in Ukraine right now.

The war in Ukraine could have had a much more detrimental effect on our industry. 

Definitely. Okay, it's happening in Europe and is very close to us so it's overall very worrying but the war and the coronavirus have had a big impact on the way people do things. I have never seen so many poorly raised foals because of the costs involved-the price of everything has gone up. Don't forget we didn't have the easiest of years with the drought, either. This was also a major factor as well. Maybe that is why there was a smaller selection of foals but a lot more breeders may have decided not to sell their stock as foals due to the strength of the yearling market. They had too much money left over on the table so maybe a higher number of the better foals from this year's crop will be offered as yearlings next year. The pinhooking game is about getting value when buying foals. You have to weigh up if the foal has been underdone just because the people who prepped it didn't do the best possible job or whether the basics have not been laid with that foal. If the foal has had a poor youth, then you lack a foundation to be able to build them up. For example, if the bone substance is not there because they have not been raised properly, they will never make it as racehorses. The aim is to buy a really good racehorse and make money on the way. That is necessary to keep the whole thing going. But at the end of the day, if you don't sell good racehorses and only sell nice show horses, it will not work. 

Can you give us an idea of what kind of work you do with the foals between now and the yearling sales?

In the first few weeks, you have to look after them especially well because they have gone through a pretty difficult process. They have been prepped, which is one thing, and then the sales with all of the shows can be quite demanding. You have to be careful that these foals don't fall into a hole when you buy them. They normally live out 24/7 but we bring them in every day to check temperatures and give them a chance to lay in the straw or whatever. But they more or less live outside all of the time. You have to keep a close eye on how they are. That's very important, especially at this time. Luckily, I have had fewer foals who need to be wrapped up all of the time. I just hate these foals who have been pampered going to the sales. They are just not tough enough to live out all of the time so you may have to adjust one or two things for these ones. You can't leave those ones out day and night because it gets quite cold with us in Germany. It's an individual process but the goal is that they will all live outside in time. It's a natural approach and it's the same for when we prep them as yearlings. We don't keep them in the boxes during that time. All of them go out, depending on the weather, but usually they all stay out at night until the beginning of September. After that, they get turned out for between four and six hours per day. It's much more labour intensive and I need more staff to do it this way. For me, the horse comes first and, in nature, they wouldn't stay the whole day in a box and not be moving. That's why I like to have them out as much as possible. 

It's a big family operation with your wife Marion and daughter Alexandra heavily involved at the sales which must be a big help?

It's fantastic that it is like that. Alexandra studies in London but when I ruptured my Achilles tendon, I could not do anything with the yearlings and it was difficult to find staff so we managed to persuade her university to allow her to come back and work with us. She had to do an internship in the bracket of luxury goods and we managed to convince the university that we are dealing with luxury goods. This allowed her to come back and work with us and continue her studies. She always loved the horses and I was really happy to have an assistant this year. Whether she will continue in horses when her studies are complete, we don't know. 

When you think of this game objectively and explain what you do to people outside of the industry, spending six figures on a foal in the hope of turning it into a million-Euro yearling, it's all a bit crazy, isn't it?

I think about that more than you would believe. I think I am a realist. You may not believe that but I have my feet down on the earth and I am realistic about what can happen. It has just developed this way but I know that I am mad to be doing what I am doing. It is madness. Even I can admit that. It is mad and I am mad to be doing it. 

Has there ever been times where you thought it was too mad?

Again, I am thinking every moment like this. It is a high-risk thing. The way I do this, I select and buy the foals first and when I have finished my shopping, we start to split the horses up between different partners. That is a long process because it is difficult to please everyone. I'm not doing this, for example, in a way where everyone has to take 10 per cent of every horse, it's all different. Some may want 20 per cent in one and nothing in the other. It is up to me to try and balance the whole thing out. Whoever is willing to support every horse is at an advantage.

Can you explain a little more about who the partners are and what the breakdown of the investment is like?

There are some foals where I am left with them myself. A good example would be two years ago when I bought a Free Eagle (Ire) colt. He was well-bred on the dam side but obviously nobody wanted Free Eagle. I paid €80,000 for him but I couldn't persuade my partners to come in on him so I was left with 80 per cent. They just thought I was completely mad. I then sold him for 150,000gns here as a yearling so I was happy that I was left with 80 per cent on that occasion. I cannot do that every time because I am not a wealthy man. This is the risky part of this. I have to pay for all of these foals and then I go and collect between all of the different partners depending on what shares we sell after the sales. Luckily, some of my partners who have been with me for many years rely on my judgment and have done very well financially out of this. That makes it a little bit easier.

Is there one particular result that you look back on as being the one that catapulted you to becoming one of the leading pinhookers in Europe?

I have to admit that, in my heart, I am a breeder and never thought about pinhooking. It just developed through Andreas Putsch, who is also a German, and he knew how I was working with horses and asked me if I would like to pinhook for him. At the beginning, it was only his money I was spending and I was not even involved in the ownership of the foals. I only bought them, prepped and sold them. That was going quite well so some people were asking to come in. Andreas is no longer involved but other partners who started on that journey are still involved now and new ones have come in.

And prior to the pinhooking, how did you develop your love for thoroughbreds?

I was a professional showjumper before I started working in racing but I was not good enough to fulfill my dream by becoming an Olympic champion. I always loved thoroughbred breeding so, back in 1985, I was approached and became an assistant manager at a stud farm. I then managed two stud farms, building them up from scratch, before setting up my own bloodstock agency in 1994. Of the first foals and yearlings I bought, there were two Classic winners and several stakes horses, so I was very lucky at the time. There were two fillies by Seattle Dancer who were very good. Que Belle (Can) won the German 1,000 Guineas and the German Oaks and was Group 1-placed. She also ran in the Arc. She was a very good filly and we sold her to Wayne Hughes. This is how Marion and I could start our own operation because he obviously paid quite a lot of money for her. The other one was Rose Of Zollern (Ire), who I bought off Kirsten Rausing, so this is how it started. Marion and I have been developing the farm ever since and we have been developing the breeding side of the operation. Then I met Andreas and, as I said, he set me up. I never would have taken the risk to go at that level without him. 

You've mentioned a few times that it's the breeding that is closest to your heart so it must give you huge pleasure to have bred Fantastic Moon (Ger) who is one of the best 2-year-olds in Germany this year. 

Yes and it's very emotional for us because this colt is by Sea The Moon (Ger) and I bought the second dam of Sea The Moon as a foundation mare for Gestut Karlshof for €4,000 and she has produced three Classic winners. Marion and I met through the second dam of Frangipani (Ger), who is the dam of Fantastic Moon. From both sides, horse and human, it is very emotional. This family is very close to our heart. If Marion had not looked for a boarding place for that mare, Fraulein Tobin, many years ago, we'd have never met. For this to happen now after a sensational Book 1 sale is incredible. 

And what type of horse do you view Fantastic Moon as next year?

Obviously he's one of the best 2-year-olds in Germany but now he has to progress through the winter. I don't think he is a Derby horse because the family lacks stamina but obviously Sea The Moon is a stamina influence. I see him more as a 10-furlong horse. There is talk of the French Derby for him so we will see. It's a nice situation to be in. We can dream a little bit over the winter with that horse as well. 

You are best known for being a buyer but you also sell four foals at the December Breeding Stock Sale at Arqana. 

The Kingman (GB) was a foal share for a client and she was born and raised on the farm. Juddmonte want to sell most of these foals at the sales which is why she goes there. The other three were homebreds. It sounds odd but our homebreds sold very badly as yearlings this year so, to balance the books, we needed to sell the foals this year. 

I understand that you have been contemplating consigning mares as well?

The aim is to diversify. The demand of people who want to invest is getting bigger and I can't increase my foal portfolio. The idea is to buy young mares, breed from these mares and then sell the offspring. This is the aim as we'd like to develop a new branch in the portfolio. But I am not sure if now is the right time to invest in these younger mares because the market is so hot. If you want to turn the mare around quickly, you could buy a race filly and cover her and sell her on, but in my heart I am a breeder and would like to take on something that is more of a long-term process.

You clearly care deeply about breeding and your philosophy is an interesting one.

It sounds odd but money does not really interest me. Okay, I need to survive but that's all. I only need money to live. I can't take it with me anyway. I need to give my kids a chance as well but they are going to have to make it on their own. I said to all of my kids, 'you won't inherit anything because I need all of the money for the way we live our life', so the only thing they get is a good education and then they have to build it up on their own. 

Who has been your biggest influence on your journey in bloodstock?

I really adore a few of my colleagues. They do a fantastic job in the way that they prep their horses. Take Paul McCartan, he's a genius. He is somebody I have always adored. He's a very good stock person. If you look at some of the younger ones coming through, the Gleeson brothers from Aughamore do an incredible job as well. I was stabled beside them during Book 2 and we had a long chat about how they do everything. They are good guys. There are some fantastic people in this industry. If you were to ask me who influenced me, though, there isn't someone who has influenced me in pinhooking. It has just grown into its own thing and I have followed my own ideas. My main aim is to take care of these animals. It's a fine balancing act between producing your horses to achieve the best possible price but also allowing them to be animals and not being too hard on them. I have to admit that some of my competitors, when you look around and observe who they are, it's brutal. They are only thinking about money and what's best for them out of the whole industry. I can't do that. We have produced a lot of good horses but what we are lacking is a Chaldean. That's the aim. This is what I would like to achieve with what I am doing. I need to survive but the aim is to produce top-class racehorses. That's what gives me the most pleasure. 

The post Stauffenberg Q&A: ‘If You Didn’t Get Paid This Year You Did Something Wrong’ appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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But to justify the day's top price tag of 250,000gns at this stage of his young life, the colt had to have plenty more going for him, and his half-brother Dragon Symbol (GB) (Cable Bay {Ire}) has certainly helped in that regard with a trio of top three finishes in Group 1 sprints and five victories to his name.

The Whitsbury Manor Stud consignee was bought by one of the best judges in the business, Philipp Stauffenberg, who carried on his bold spending from Goffs with a first strike at Park Paddocks. He said, “He's a racy-looking horse and a brother, nominally, to a Group 1 winner. He's the one I wanted to have today.

“I liked [Havana Grey's] first crop but I didn't buy one, but he has proved that he is capable of getting a good horse.”

The colt is a son of the Arcano (Ire) mare Arcamist (GB), a winner at three and herself the daughter of the Group 1-placed Good Enough (Fr) (Mukaddamah) whose seven winners include two at listed level.

“He is probably a bigger model than Dragon Symbol, but Arcamist just keeps throwing lovely stock,” said Harper. “It is a family we have done really well with and we have had for a long time. Dad bought the second dam Good Enough in the US around 25 years ago. She was the most expensive mare he'd bought ever at that time.”

With more squalling rain drenching the foals and their handlers intermittently through the day, a steady start gave way to a livelier evening session which pushed the figures slightly past the markers set in the equivalent session last year. The average and the median were both up, by 8% and 7%, to 42,372gns and 32,000gns. With 223 foals sold at a clearance rate of 81%, the second-day aggregate was also up slightly at 9,449,000gns.

In Mehmas We Trust

There may be plenty of competition from the arrivistes with their first crops for sale, but Mehmas (Ire), who in a few short years has earned a major stamp of approval from the market, commanded plenty of respect in the ring on Thursday. His colt out of the Stormy River (Ire) mare Heavenly River (Fr) stole a significant march on his rivals early in the day when sold to Peter and Ross Doyle for 240,000gns.

His specific cross has already been tried by breeder John McEnery of Rossenarra Stud with some success as the 11-year-old mare's previous mating with Mehmas resulted in the American listed winner and Grade III-placed Quattroelle (Ire), who was set to run in Thursday evening's GIII Red Carpet S. at Del Mar. The family has been given a further boost this season by the G2 Queen Mary S. victory of Dramatised (Ire) (Showcasing {GB}), who is out of Heavenly River's listed-winning half-sister Katie's Diamond (Fr) (Turtle Bowl {Ire}).

“We've always liked the foals by Mehmas and we'd had a bit of luck with Dark Angel. I thought the first year he was too expensive at €12,500, and I got caught for €25,000 last year,” said McEnery, who bought Heavenly River seven years ago at Tattersalls for 5,000gns.

“I had to go home to Ireland and left my nephew Billy to look at a few pedigrees and he picked her up. She was a maiden mare and we bought her out of Karl Burke's yard.”

After selling one of the session leaders (lot 667), Rossenarra Stud's next lot into the ring, by a different son of Acclamation (GB) in Dark Angel (Ire), was knocked down at 85,000gns. The son of the Redback (GB) mare Charlotte Rua (Ire) is a full-brother to the G2 Duke of York S. runner-up Nahaarr (Ire).

Ross Doyle, whose familiarity with Mehmas stretches back to buying him at the Craven Breeze-up Sale for Al Shaqab Racing, said of the purchase of the session-topper for an undisclosed client, “As always it's the physical and it's a huge bonus that he's by Mehmas. He's from a very good nursery in Rossenarra and is closely related to a very good filly. I thought he was an absolute standout.

“He had a lot of strength for his age; he's naturally very strong with a good deep girth and he was a real pro for every show. That's his dad's influence coming through. He might come back [for resale] but I'd say long-term they'll race him.”

He continued, “Mehmas has obviously been very lucky for lots of people including ourselves. We bought Persian Force last year for Amo Racing. We've had massive pleasure out of Mehmas and so have so many people, going right back to John Cullinan and Roger Marley in his breeze-up days, then at Richard Hannon's yard, and all the staff there were mad about him. They used to say to me that he'd go the races, come home, go for a pick of grass and put on weight. Then he ended up at Tally-Ho, which is one of the best studs in the world, and they've done a wonderful job with him.”

Tally-Ho reaffirmed their support of the stallion when buying lot 766, Plantation Stud's Mehmas half-brother to Group 3-placed Flash Gordon (Ire) (Kodiac {GB}) for 115,000gns.

, #

Rossenarra Stud's colt by Mehmas @HoStud has set the bar for the second day of the foal sale at Tattersalls. He was bought by @Doyle_Racing. pic.twitter.com/DN5ZfZFpAm

— TDN (@theTDN) November 24, 2022

Ghaiyyath And Earthlight Impress

Ghaiyyath (Ire), whose first-crop members have been the subjects of increasingly positive bulletins, was responsible for three of the six-figure lots of the session including lot 789, Kellgrange Stud's half-brother to the useful Harrow (Ire) (El Kabeir), and from the further family of Group 1 winners Dream Ahead and Fairyland (Ire).

John Cullinan and Roger Marley, signing under the name of JR Bloodstock, held their nerve to 240,000gns for the Ballyreddin Stud and DCL-bred colt but Cullinan was heard to comment after signing the ticket, “I think I need a change of underpants now.”

He added, “I saw the horse yesterday and loved him. We were keen to buy a Ghaiyyath as he's one of the stallions who has been on our mind as a first-crop sire. He looks to have very good stock, he was a brilliant racehorse and was the highest-rated racehorse in the world for a time and is by a sire of sires.”

Cullinan continued, “This is a lovely individual. He vetted very well, and we were at full stretch at that price, but nice horses are always hard to come by, and have to pay a bit more for the ones you want. We will try to keep him safe and come back to one of the premier sales.”

Ringfort Stud also had a decent result with a Ghaiyyath filly from the listed-placed Shenoya (Fr) (Zoffany {Ire}). Sold as lot 705, she brought a final bid of 130,000gns from Tally-Ho Stud and boasts a suitably smart pedigree which includes two prominent horses of this season in G1 Champion S. winner Bay Bridge (GB) and G3 Sweet Solera S. victrix Lakota Sioux (Ire).

“We thought Ghaiyyath would would suit the mare physically,” said Ringfort's Derek Veitch. “He is a big, scopey stallion and would suit a smallish mare. We are delighted with that price.”

Ghaiyyath's average for four weanlings sold at Tattersalls over the last 48 hours is 143,000gns.

Earthlight (Ire) also featured among the sires of the top 10 lots of the day when Cullinan returned to the ring to sign for lot 827 at 100,000gns. Consigned by Northern Bloodstock, the colt is a half-brother to the stakes-placed Born To Be (Ire) (Born To Sea {Ire}) out of the Intikhab mare Duquesa (Ire).

Yeomanstown Stud, Redpender Stud and Jamie Railton are also among the pinhookers to have taken home an Earthlight weanling. Railton bought two on Thursday, including a colt from Carisbrooke Stud for 72,000gns, while Redpender's Jimmy Murphy bid 78,000gns for lot 594, a half-sister to this season's juvenile winner Selenaia (Ire) (Sea The Moon {Ger}) from Keith Harte's consignment and bred by Derek Iceton.

Sergei the Tongue-Twister

They may not agree on how to pronounce his name, but plenty of buyers appear to agree on the desirability of the stock of Sergei Prokofiev. Whitsbury Manor Stud's newest recruit will have his work cut out to follow the example of Havana Grey but he is certainly not sparsely represented at Tattersalls: so far 29 of his 67 weanlings catalogued have gone through the ring, returning an average of 28,172gns.

They include lot 607, consigned by the stallion's home team and bought by Andrew Black's Chasemore Farm for 95,000gns. The chestnut colt is the first foal of Italian listed winner Avengers Queen (GB) (Brazen Beau {Aus}), whose half-sister El Cabala (GB) (Havana Gold {Ire}) won the G2 Sandy Lane S.

The first weanling to breach the six-figure mark this week (lot 604) at Tattersalls was by another of the Whitsbury Manor Stud crew, the popular Showcasing (GB), and was bred and consigned by Natton House Thoroughbreds, who have enjoyed a successful couple of days at Park Paddocks.

Chris Dudfield of Natton House explained that he had bought the colt's dam, Parliament House (Ire) (Slade Power {Ire}) from the Godolphin draft back in 2019 for 22,000gns.

He said, “She was tiny, only about 14.3hh, but she has grown well since and her first two Showcasings have been beautiful foals. Last year's foal made 72,000gns; this horse was even nicer and some of the lads said he is flawless, he is just a beautiful horse.”

The diminutive Parliament House did not excel on the racecourse but she boasts bloodlines that entitle her to be considered a smart breeding prospect. Her dam was Embassy (GB) (Cadeaux Genereux {GB}), the former European champion 2-year-old filly, who was herself a daughter of the Irish champion 2-year-old Pass the Peace (GB) (Alzao). Top-class performers stemming from those two smart race fillies include King's Apostle (Ire), Atlantic Jewel (Aus), Tarfshi (GB) and Russian Emperor (Ire).

#

This colt by Showcasing @WhitsburyManor was consigned by @NattonHouseTb and has been bought by @YeomanstownStud. pic.twitter.com/3LOR1my4wy

— TDN (@theTDN) November 24, 2022

Yeomanstown Stud placed the final bid for the colt at 100,000gns and later went to the same figure for Tweenhills Stud's colt by New Bay (GB). Offered as lot 648, he is out of the listed winner Strawberry Martini (GB) (Mount Nelson {GB}), who will be offered for sale next week as lot 1480 in foal to Kameko.

Tweenhills' David Redvers said of the colt, “He has a good outlook and action and captured the attention of some big buyers. Strawberry Martini is quite a stout Mount Nelson mare and New Bay gives his progeny a bit of 'energy', which I like.

“She has now had some very good foals. We sold her Masar for 110,000gns at October Book 2 this year to Shadwell, and then this horse has made 100,000gns. She is in the sale next week and is owned by a syndicate of friends, and we will need to have a chat and make a decision as to whether we keep her or sell her.”

New Bay, who has been represented by Group 1 winners Saffron Beach (Ire), Bayside Boy (Ire) and Bay Bridge (GB) this season, also found favour with Joe Foley, who bought the Norelands Stud-bred colt (lot 763) out of the Cheshire Oaks runner-up Moorside (GB) (Champs Elysees {GB}) for 150,000gns.

Harry McCalmont of Norelands said, “Moorside was a very good racemare. We bought her from Juddmonte and I have always been a fan of New Bay–we got in at the right time. He's going to be very expensive now but she may have to go back to him.”

The mare's first two foals, both by Invincible Spirit (Ire), are in training in Hong Kong and at Kingsclere with Andrew Balding, respectively.

, #
@YeomanstownStud strike again for a six figure lot, this time for a colt by New Bay @BallylinchStud consigned by @Tweenhills. pic.twitter.com/0y0kCGaWft

— TDN (@theTDN) November 24, 2022

Classic Winners Shine

Both Persian King (Ire) and Kameko, in the top echelon of the Classic generation in 2019 and 2020, respectively, have first-crop foals on offer this year, and the sole weanling by the former was one of the leading lights during Wednesday's session. Based at Haras d'Etreham, Persian King, the winner of six group races, whose three Group 1 victories include the Poule d'Essai des Poulains, was the sire of the third most expensive foal. His first-crop son (lot 779) was bought for 130,000gns by the French-based pinhooking syndicate Fairway Partners, which is led by Charles Briens.

Consigned by Newsells Park Stud on behalf of breeder Al Shahania Stud, the colt is the second foal of the G3 Nell Gwyn S. winner Qabala (Scat Daddy), who was covered by Persian King's sire Kingman (GB) in her first season at stud.

The 2000 Guineas winner Kameko, on the other hand, has had 15 foals sold so far at Tattersalls for an average of 32,800gns and headed by a pair of colts sold for 92,000gns and 90,000gns. Lot 768 was sold by breeder Gigginstown House Stud through Michael O'Leary's British-based Plantation Stud to Roger Marley and is out of the winning Frankel (GB) mare Like (Ire). The Tweenhills draft features seven Kameko foals, including lot 749, a half-brother to Australian Group 2 winner Surf Dancer (Ire) (Lope De Vega {Ire}), who was pinhooked by Aughamore Stud and Matt Houldsworth for 90,000gns.

Two More Wildcards For Mares Sale

Next week's Tattersalls December Mares Sale has been boosted by another two late entrants. On Monday, the Group 3-placed juvenile All The Time  (Ire) (Kodiac {GB}) will be offered by Highclere Stud as lot 1639D. Tuesday's session will now include the Paddy Twomey-trained 3-year-old Limiti Di Greccio (Ire) (Elzaam {Aus}), who won the Listed Staffordstown Stud S. on her most recent outing in October and has been added to the catalogue as lot 1924C.

The post Havana Grey Brother to Dragon Symbol Leads Tattersalls Foals appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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At the top end of the market, Kingman (GB) dominated with three foals by the Juddmonte-based stallion selling for a combined €1,540,000 and one of Europe's leading pinhookers Philipp Stauffenberg signing for the €550,000 top lot by the sire. 

Tally-Ho Stud may be best known for being sellers but they pipped Stauffenberg for the biggest spenders title by signing for 19 foals for €1,429,000. Juddmonte, Yeomanstown, BBA Ireland and Camas Park Stud were also on the front foot at Goffs. 

Away from the top end, there were interesting trends to emerge last week that could well impact how this week's December Foal Sale plays out at Tattersalls.

What first-season sires do the buyers want? Who are the emerging forces in the stallion ranks and where might the value lie at Tattersalls? We've examined all of that and more.

Stock In Mehmas And New Bay Is Booming

It's been a breakout year for Mehmas (Ire) and New Bay (GB), who have had their fees for 2023 hiked off the back of memorable campaigns for their respective progeny and, judging by how well their foals went down at Goffs, they can again be expected to play a leading role at Tattersalls.

Let's start with Mehmas, a horse who began his stud career at Tally-Ho in 2017 at a fee of €12,500 and has justified his bump to €60,000 after another memorable campaign, highlighted by Group 1-winning sprinter Minzaal (Ire).

New Bay has done something similar at Ballylinch in that he has climbed the ranks the hard way. He also entered the stallion ranks in 2017, standing for €20,000, but has had his fee for 2023 increased to €75,000 from €37,500 with Bay Bridge (GB), Bayside Boy (Ire) and Saffron Beach (Ire) doing their bit to advertise their stallion's prowess at the highest level this season.

Nine New Bays sold at Goffs for an average of €80,750, headed by colts who sold for €145,000 and €140,000, while Mehmas enjoyed a similarly productive sale with 26 foals selling for an average of €62,455. Four foals by Mehmas broke the €100,000 mark with BBA Ireland going to €160,000 to secure a colt by the stallion.

What's clear about last week's results is that Mehmas and New Bay are the emerging forces in the European stallion ranks. There are 30 foals by Mehmas and 16 New Bays at Tattersalls this week and it will be interesting to see how they perform.

Sergei To Make A Splash?

The Whitsbury Manor Stud team got to dip their toe into the market with some of the first foals by Sergei Prokofiev (Can) going under the hammer at Goffs. How that will prepare an operation who excelled itself with leading first-season sire Havana Grey is hard to know given the amount of foals due to be sold by Sergei Profkofiev at Tattersalls this week. 

The Goffs offering went down well; one colt made €52,000 while the WH Bloodstock team paid €45,000 for another. Of the six foals that sold at Goffs, they averaged at €34,167. Not bad going for a stallion who stood at £6,500 in his first season at stud. 

Indeed, Sergei Prokofiev hails from that Scat Daddy line that is proving so popular. He was clearly quite the looker, too, given he fetched $1,100,000 as a yearling before carving out a decent career without managing to win a Group 1 for Aidan O'Brien. 

There are 60 foals by Sergei Prokofiev at Tattersalls this week. They should provide a better sample size into the standing in which he is held in with the buyers.

Najd Stud Snap Up Foals

We have become accustomed to Najd Stud playing a major role at the horses-in-training sales but it was interesting to see the Saudi Arabian-based outfit sign for four foals at Goffs. Is that a sign of things to come at Tattersalls this week?

Najd Stud didn't shoot the lights out, either, at Goffs. A Ghaiyyath (Ire) colt topped the total spend of €134,500 across five foals. Interestingly, a filly by Shadwell's Commonwealth Cup winner Eqtidaar (Ire), who has his first runners next year, was among the purchases at €36,000 as was a €3,500 Belardo (Ire) colt on the final day of the sale. 

Kildangan-Based Sires Come Up Trumps

Speaking of Ghaiyyath, the Kildangan-based freshman sire enjoyed a rock-solid start at Goffs with 11 of his first foals selling for €824,000 which averages out at €74,909.

Leading pinhookers Pier House Stud bought the top two colts by the stallion for €185,000 and €145,000 respectively and few would be surprised if the offerings by the four-time Group 1 winner go down well at Tattersalls as well. 

Of the 11 foals cataloged by Ghaiyyath at Tattersalls, a filly out of a sister to New York Girl (Ire) (New Approach {Ire}) and a half-brother to Global Giant (GB) (Shamardal) stand out on paper at least.

Fellow Kildangan-based stallions Blue Point (Ire) and Earthlight (Ire) also performed well. Earthlight had 17 foals sell for €942,500 at an average of €55,441 with Tally-Ho, Lynn Lodge Stud, Peter and Ross Doyle among the significant buyers of his progeny.

Even more impressive were figures posted by Blue Point, who had 20 lots sell for €1,011,500 at an average of €56,194. Top of the pops were colts knocked down for €200,000 apiece to Camas Park Stud and Katsumi Yoshida.

Blue Point's yearlings were similarly well-received. Famous for winning the King's Stand and Diamond Jubilee S. in the same week at Royal Ascot in 2019, Blue Point will have his first two-year-olds hit the track in 2023, with yearlings by the sire averaging over €100,000 this year. 

His stats performed favourably against proven sires Dark Angel (Ire), Showcasing (GB), Kodiac (GB), Starspangledbanner (Aus) and Acclamation (GB) in terms of average for a similar number of lots through the ring at Goffs last week. It will be interesting to see if he can carry over that sort of momentum at Tattersalls. 

First-Season Sires

Next year's race to be crowned champion first-season sire is being billed as one of the most exciting renewals for a long time with Too Darn Hot (GB), Blue Point, Waldgeist (GB), Magna Grecia (Ire), Ten Sovereigns (Ire), Calyx (GB), Advertise (GB), Invincible Army (Ire), Land Force (Ire) and Soldier's Call (GB) having their first runners in 2023.

As mentioned above, Blue Point performed well at Goffs while a number of leading pinhookers got behind the progeny of a number of the first-season sires. 

Advertise was one who came out nicely on the figures from a relatively small sample size at Goffs and one would imagine that Tattersalls will provide a more accurate barometer given he has 19 foals there.

But the Goffs results read well. Six foals sold for an average of €32,167 which was more than Invincible Army [14 for €29,773], Ten Sovereigns [15 for €26,833] and Soldier's Call [14 for €26,417]. Those figures could well average out this week. Time will tell.

First Crops Of Note

Along with Ghaiyyath, Earthlight and Sergei Prokofiev, who we have already mentioned, a number of stallions had their first crop go under the hammer at Goffs. 

Some of the more interesting results were posted by Arizona (Ire), perhaps unsurprisingly given he is a son of the sire of the moment, No Nay Never, while King Of Change (GB), Mohaather (GB), Sottsass (Fr) and Without Parole (GB) caught the imagination. 

Peter Nolan paid €60,000 for an Arizona half-brother to Eldrickjones (Ire) (Cotai Glory {GB}) while the Coolmore-based freshman sire, who stands for just €5,000, averaged a respectable €20,192 for 13 foals.

Sottsass was a classier racehorse than most of his first-crop rivals and it told in the figures at Goffs with the former Arc winner posting averages comparable with Mehmas, Invincible Spirit (Ire) and Dark Angel. There were 11 foals by Sottsass at Goffs and they sold for an average of €61,100 and a top price of €180,000. 

G1 Sussex S. winner Mohaather created a good impression with five foals selling for an average of €49,250 including a top lot of €95,000 while Without Parole had four foals sell for an average of €27,000 and a high of €70,000.

King Of Change was subject to a recent transfer after being snapped up by Starfield Stud from Derrinstown and it looks like it could prove to be a decent move given how his first foals performed. 

Peter and Ross Doyle paid €50,000 for a colt by the sire who averaged a solid €24,714 for seven foals sold. That's a good return for a Group 1-winning stallion who is set to stand for just €5,000 next year.

Coolmore Can Count On Wootton Bassett And No Nay Never

Wootton Bassett (GB) and No Nay Never flew the flag for Coolmore at Goffs while demand for the progeny of Saxon Warrior (Jpn) was evidently up off the back of an excellent autumn for the first-season sire. 

Wootton Bassett was bettered only by Kingman and Galileo, who between them accounted for just four foals at Goffs, for the highest averages posted. 

The sire of brilliant G1 National S. winner Al Riffa, Wootton Bassett clearly captured the imagination last week, with seven foals selling for €1,345,000 at an average of €224,167 which earned him a top-three finish in that particular table. 

No Nay Never enjoyed an eighth-place finish in averages posted on €134,800 and, while Saxon Warrior was down on that list at €52,263, he posted a chunky aggregate with 21 foals selling for €993,000. That was the seventh-highest aggregate recorded by any stallion. 

The post Who’s Hot Ahead Of The Tattersalls December Foal Sale? appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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The Airlie Stud-consigned colt is not just a half-brother to that 2018 champion 2-year-old filly in Ireland but also the promising Charlie Appleby-trained Victory Dance (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}) and the €550,000 it took to buy him represented a new record for Stauffenberg.

The fact that lot 727 boasted a stallion's pedigree provided Stauffenberg with the confidence to push on and buy the colt who brought the leading pinhooker's total spend at Goffs this year to over €1 million.

Stauffenberg said, “As the auctioneer said, he has a stallion's pedigree and I was actually the underbidder on the Dubawi (Ire) [Victory Dance (Ire)] as well. I think there is a lot of upside and, from what I hear, the Dubawi is going extremely well. They pushed him a little and thought he was a little bit earlier than he was. If he wins something nice next year, which you would hope he can, it will improve the page again. He definitely has a stallion's pedigree. It's a very good family and if Kingman (GB) comes up with a nice horse I'm not too worried.”

Asked if the significant outlay could make securing a pinhooking profit more difficult, Stauffenberg replied, “On one side, yes, but on the other, how many chances do we have to come up with something like him to go to war with next year? We spent a lot of money but hopefully we spent wisely. Sometimes it is more risky to buy one for €200,000. I think he was a no-brainer. I never gave this much for a foal before but I did underbid one for €1.2 million but didn't get her. She was the first crop of Frankel out of Finsceal Beo (Ire). This is the most expensive foal I've bought.

“Like all the others, he will come back to the farm. I will have to tell my staff that we have quite a valuable thing there. We treat everything the same and he will be raised like all the others then we will make a decision about where we are going, but I think it's an obvious decision about where we will go next year with him.”

Stauffenberg spent €1,113,000 on six foals at Goffs this week, including a Night Of Thunder (GB) colt (lot 601) for €280,000 who was offered from the Irish National Stud.

Lot 727, the Kingman @JuddmonteFarms half-brother to G1 winner Skitter Scatter, sells to @StauffenbergBS for €550,000 @Goffs1866 November Foal Sale. He was consigned by @airliestud. pic.twitter.com/y1XeVwK3d9

— TDN (@theTDN) November 16, 2022

Asked if he was confident that the market would stay strong into the yearling sales next year, Stauffenberg replied, “Listen, who was confident this year? We were blown away with how well the yearling sales went and this is another thing with a horse like him; whether you are a high-end racing owner or someone looking for a stallion prospect, a horse like him will always have a value with his pedigree. I think you can be a little bit safer on that level than on a lower level. Whether I am right or not, we will know next year. I am happy to have him.”

The German-based operator was also happy to snap up the Night Of Thunder colt from the Irish National stud earlier in the afternoon.

On that acquisition, he added, “There aren't many Night Of Thunders on the open market and I've been very lucky with the sire already. I sold a filly by him in Book 1 to Godolphin who was an absolute queen so you could say I'm quite biased towards the sire. This was just an exceptionally good colt and I was keen to get him after missing out on one earlier today.”

That Night Of Thunder colt was owned by the Irish National Stud Mares Syndicate and the dam in question, Persona Grata (GB) (Sire Percy {GB}), a six-time winner including twice at listed level, was a relatively new recruit having been snapped up at Arqana December last year for €190,000.

Cathal Beale, CEO of the Irish National Stud, said, “This is the fourth year of the syndicate. A lot of the foals we are selling are in different syndicates. The Night Of Thunder was in the newest version. We bought four mares last year and, what we try to do is, there are 100 shares and we offer half of them out and we keep the other half. That's what we try to do. It's gone fantastically well.

“We had a Dark Angel (Ire) colt out of Nabeyla (GB) make €78,000 and now this Night Of Thunder colt makes €280,000. We have a Showcasing (GB) and a Mehmas (Ire) that we will sell on behalf of the syndicate as yearlings and the mares are back in foal to different stallions now as well.”

He added, “Hopefully we will try and produce some stakes winners along the way and appreciate the mares if at all possible. We want to try and continue to sell foals profitably. That's the game. We bought this mare for €190,000 at Arqana so, to get the price of the mare back already, you don't fully expect to do that in your first year.

“He was a smashing colt and he's gone to a great home. He will be reoffered and hopefully he can make a good profit for Philipp next year.”

Those sales stood out in an exceedingly strong sale. The aggregate was a whopping €15,242,500, up 27% on last year's figures, while the average jumped 22% to €88,619. The median also rose 16% to €58,000. Of the 203 foals offered, 172 were sold, which represented a clearance rate of 85%.

Juddmonte Snaps Up Half To Derby Contender

Just over a month on from Arrest's narrow defeat in the G1 Criterium de Saint-Cloud, Juddmonte paid a handsome compliment to their Derby contender by securing his half-brother by Wootton Bassett (GB) (lot 591) for €340,000 as well as a €530,000 Kingman (GB) colt (lot 606).

Arrest (Ire) (Frankel {GB}) went from strength to strength this season, ending his campaign with a head defeat to Dubai Mile (Ire) (Roaring Lion) in France, and can be backed at odds as big as 40-1 for next year's G1 Derby at Epsom.

€,

Bobby & Honora Donworth of Roundhill Stud are excellent breeders and their Kingman @JuddmonteFarms colt had a timely update ahead of the @Goffs1866 November Foal Sale. pic.twitter.com/4MJ6FcL6Mo

— TDN (@theTDN) November 16, 2022

Juddmonte's racing manager Barry Mahon said after the sale that parallels could be drawn between Arrest and his Swordlestown Little-consigned little brother.

Mahon said, “He's a half-brother to a good one. He [Arrest] was unlucky the last day to get beaten just a head in a Group 1 in France and the Abdullah family were particularly keen to buy him given how well the brother had done for them. I looked at him the other day and felt he was a very nice horse and that we'd be happy to have him. They gave me the confidence to kick on and buy him.”

Asked if there were similarities between the two, Mahon added, “They are both big strong-looking horses. This fella might be a little bit sharper than the brother but they are both good-sized, good-moving quality animals. It was an easy decision with how well the brother has done for us.”

@mariannklay consigned lot 591, a colt by Wootton Bassett @coolmorestud, who sold for €340,000 to @JuddmonteFarms. Mariann Klay and Des Leadon sold a filly by the sire a little earlier for €280,000. pic.twitter.com/HftQaOxXG9

— TDN (@theTDN) November 16, 2022

The sale capped off a wonderful afternoon's work for Marriann Klay and Des Leadon of Swordlestown Little with their offerings by the sire as, not only did their homebred sell to Juddmonte for €340,000, but they also secured €280,000 for a Wootton Bassett filly (lot 565) from Tally-Ho Stud earlier in the day.

ᴀ ᴡᴏᴏᴛᴛᴏɴ ʙᴀꜱꜱᴇᴛᴛ ꜰɪʟʟʏ ʙʀɪɴɢꜱ €280,000 ᴀᴛ ɢᴏꜰꜰꜱ@mariannklay consigned lot 565, a filly by @coolmorestud's Wootton Bassett. She is a half-sister to Gr.2 winner Terebellum and has been bought by @HoStud @Goffs1866 November Foal Sale. pic.twitter.com/HNeKPcKZAy

— TDN (@theTDN) November 16, 2022

Des Leadon said, “Nisriyna (Ire) (Intikhab) is just fantastic. We're just so lucky to have her. She's a wonderful mare with a wonderful temperament and how exciting to sell a half-brother to what may be next year's Derby winner. It's not often you have horses like that and, in their own way, our two Wootton Bassetts in this environment as foals are as precious as the Alpinistas (GB) (Frankel {GB}) and Baaeeds (GB).

“These are collectors items and they don't come along very often. We feel very lucky to have Marvada (Ire) (Elusive City) for our very good friend and client Alan O'Flynn and to have Nisriyna ourselves. To have the support of Juddmonte, who have been wonderful to work with, has been brilliant and Nisriyna goes to Kingman next year. We have a Dark Angel in utero and we are very happy to work with such professionals within the industry and, in our own small way, to enjoy everything that it brings to us. It's a very special day.”

Asked what led to the decision to support Wootton Bassett, Leadon said, “Because he was here and that he had done so well. We wanted to use better and better sires because the mare had shown us what she could do. The accessibility of Wootton Bassett was a big factor in our decision.”

Wootton Bassett broke the €1-million marker on the day. The sire of this year's impressive G1 Vincent O'Brien National S. winner Al Riffa (Fr) had six foals sold for an aggregate of €1,345,000 on Wednesday.

On how the Nisriyna story began, Leadon continued, “Mariann and I rode out for John Oxx for many years. That's where we first met the mare. We bought her here in Goffs [for €2,000 in 2010] and tried to develop her as a broodmare from there. We can't do it without the raw material and these Aga Khan families are wonderful. John Oxx was so good with them and it gave us an insight into the thinking of elite stud farms like that and to John's wonderful assessment of horses.”

Kingman Reigns Supreme

Kingman reigned supreme at Goffs on Wednesday. Not only did he supply the top lot and the Roundhill Stud-drafted colt who was knocked down to Juddmonte for €530,000 but he completed the clean sweep when The Castlebridge Consignment's filly (lot 688) by the stallion was snapped up by Japanese buyers for €460,000.

Shingo Hashimoto, who has made the trip to Goffs in the past, signed for that Kingman filly on behalf of Katsumi Yoshida.

He said, “She has been bought to race in Japan. Kingman has done well in Japan and has a runner [Schnell Meister (Ger)] in a Group 1 there this weekend. She looked good and the pedigree is very strong. She is lovely. She has been bought for Katsumi Yoshida.”

Honora and Bobby Donworth of Roundhill Stud know a thing or two about selling big ticket items and, in lot 606, the second-highest priced foal of the sale, the perfect suitor was found.

Honora Donworth explained, “I'm so pleased he is going to Juddmonte. For me, that was everything. Everything. He's going where he should be going. We wanted to give it every shot in the world and the mare has been bred to Frankel so fingers crossed. There has been a good horse every year and it goes back to his grandmother who we bought in America. It's the most wonderful family.”

There were just three foals sold at the November Foal Sale at Goffs by Kingman and they filled the top three slots at an aggregate of €1,540,000.

No Nay Never Colt Commands 300k

Off the back of a memorable season, No Nay Never had his fee for 2023 increased by Coolmore to €175,000 and progeny by the sire proved popular on the day at Goffs with a colt (lot 602) selling for €300,000 from Rockfield Farm to Rockbank B/S.

A first foal out of Piece Of Paradise (Ire) (Holy Roman Emperor {Ire}), who carried owner-breeder Michael O'Flynn's red and yellow silks to victory at listed level, the No Nay Never colt delivered on the high expectations that everybody at Rockfield Farm had for him.

Mitch Barry, the racing and stud manager at Rockfield, said, “It's great and we've always liked the colt, he's been a cracker from day one. When we came up here everything just clicked with him and he came out of his box every day and did everything perfectly. We couldn't be happier. He's been busy but I was humming and hawing whether he'd get to €300,000 but I'm delighted he surpassed that.”

He added, “We're big fans of No Nay Never, he's had a phenomenal season. The mare is in foal to St Mark's Basilica (Fr) and she's a beautiful mare. It's been a great family for Michael and all the O'Flynns and this is a great day for the farm.”

No Nay Never has had an exceptional year with Blackbeard (Ire), introduced on the Coolmore roster at €25,000, Little Big Bear (Ire) and Meditate (Ire) winning Group 1 juvenile races.

Five colts were offered by him on Wednesday, selling for an aggregate of €674,000 and an average of €134,000.

The post Stauffenberg Secures Kingman With “Stallion’s Pedigree” For 550k At Goffs appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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Lot 727, the Kingman @JuddmonteFarms half-brother to G1 winner Skitter Scatter, sells to @StauffenbergBS for €550,000 @Goffs1866 November Foal Sale. He was consigned by @airliestud. pic.twitter.com/y1XeVwK3d9

— TDN (@theTDN) November 16, 2022

The post Philipp Stauffenberg Strikes For Kingman Colt At 550k appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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Not only did Saxon Warrior top the session when Ballyhimikin Stud signed for a colt [lot 231] drafted by Kildallan Farm for €88,000, but he was also responsible for three of the top four foals on the day. 

The Monday session-topper is out of an unraced sister to black-type performer Impendor (Ire) (Holy Roman Emperor {Ire}) and led home a cracking days's trade for the Coolmore-based stallion who, off the back of an excellent debut season with his two-year-olds, had his 2023 fee increased to €35,000.

The second most expensive Saxon Warrior through the ring on the day was a colt [lot 78] from  Collegelands Stud who was knocked down to KCS Bloodstock for €65,000. 

He is out of an unraced New Approach (Ire) mare who has produced two winners from two runners; El C Wells (Ire) (Belardo {Ire}) and Wohileh (GB) (Cape Cross {Ire}).

Ciara Carty of KCS Bloodstock said, “He's a nice colt and stood out today. He's got plenty going for him, he's from a nice pedigree and he's by a sire who has done well and is going to have global appeal going forward. This colt will be back for sale next autumn.” 

Rochestown Lodge Stud's colt [lot 135] by the sire sold for €62,000 and will chart a similar path with the yearling sales next autumn the ultimate aim. 

Marie McCartan of Ballyphillip said of the big-walking chestnut out of the dual winner Zagharit (Ire) (Sir Percy {GB}), “We're delighted to get him. He's a really nice horse and will come back to the sale next year. Saxon Warrior having the Breeders' Cup winner was a big help.”

Four colts by Saxon Warrior sold for an aggregate of €260,000 at an average of €65,000 at Goffs on Monday.

The overall trade was also strong. The aggregate was up 3% to €3,529,000 and the average also rose 6% to €20,399 while the median fell by 3% to €15,000. 

Stauffenberg A Dandy Man Fan

Philipp Stauffenberg signed up to the Dandy Man (Ire) fan club by snapping up a filly and a colt by the Ballyhane-based stallion as well as an Advertise (GB) filly on the day. 

But it was the lot 162, the Dandy Man filly out of Astonished (Ire), a dual winner by Sea The Stars (Ire), who led the way for the leading pinhooker at €85,000. 

On that purchase, he said, “She was one of the best physicals of the day. Joe Foley bought the half-sister by Night Of Thunder (Ire) for €160,000, so there's every chance that there will be an update there.”

Forenaghts Stud brought a small, but select draft to Goffs this week and manager Caoimhe Doherty revealed that the whole team was over the moon with the sale of the Dandy Man filly. 

She said, “We are thrilled. We thought she'd sell well but we didn't think she'd sell as well as she did. She was bought by a brilliant judge and underbid by another top judge in Joe Foley. 

“For her to make €85,000 is really beyond what we could have hoped for. We brought two very nice foals to Goffs this week so we're thrilled with how the week has begun.”

@BallyhaneStud's Dandy Man had a filly sell for €85,000 @Goffs1866 today. She was bought by @StauffenbergBS from Forenaughts Stud. pic.twitter.com/lGYnV5K8Vm

— TDN (@theTDN) November 14, 2022

The second foal to sell under the Forenaghts Stud banner is a Starspangledbanner (Aus) [lot 710] who goes through the ring on Wednesday.

The Dandy Man colt was consigned by Kellsgrange Stud and sold for €55,000. Out of an unraced daughter of Camacho (GB), he hailed from a good family, with his granddam Miss Philllyjinks (Ire) (Zoffany {Ire}) producing G1 Prix Marcel Boussac winner Tiger Tanaka (Ire) (Clodovil {Ire}).

It has been a memorable year for Stauffenberg with his pinhooks. At Book 1 at Tattersalls alone, Stauffenberg Bloodstock sold five yearlings for 2,345,000gns, including a 550,000gns Night Of Thunder filly who was knocked down to Godolphin. 

Asked how he was planning on reinvesting at Goffs this week, he joked, “Hopefully wisely! We will know next year if it was wise or not.”

On buying the Advertise filly [lot 62] out of a dual-winning Dark Angel (Ire) mare [Prying Pandora (Fr)] earlier on in the day, he added, “The Advertise filly was lovely as well. She was a little bit light on the page but she was a very nice physical and we are hoping that Advertise will do something next year. I think we got one of the best physicals by Advertise.”

Doyle Delighted With King Of Change Colt

Ross Doyle paid a handsome tribute to King Of Change (GB), a horse the leading bloodstock agent knows well–given he won the G1 QEII on British Champions Day for Richard Hannon–after he secured a colt [lot 102] by the first-season sire for €50,000. 

King Of Change recently made the move to Micheál Orlandi's Starfield Stud in County Westmeath and Doyle described himself as being impressed with the first foals he has seen by the stallion. 

On lot 102, he said, “Peter [Doyle, the agent's partner and father] and Flash Conroy bought him and the plan will be to resell him as a yearling. He was as nice a foal as we saw here at Goffs today–a good physical with a very good walk.”

Doyle added, “Richard Hannon held King Of Change in very high regard, which is a big help. We have seen some nice foals by the sire. They are very nice types.”

Three of the four foals by King Of Change sold for an aggregate of €85,000 and averaged at €28,333. 

Arizona Off To A Solid Start

Some of the first foals by Arizona (Ire) were well-received with Peter Nolan snapping up a colt [lot 201] by the 2019 G2 Coventry S. winner for €60,000.

The Castlebridge Consignment also sold a colt by the stallion earlier in the day for €35,000 to Paula Flannery which went some way to cementing a rock-solid trade for the newbie, with six foals selling for an average of €25,500.

Nolan's purchase is a half-brother to the speedy Eldrickjones (Ire) (Cotai Glory {GB}), who reached a rating of 104 in his juvenile year, and the plan will be to re-offer the colt as a yearling. 

He said, “We just thought that the mare had produced two good ones by Pride Of Dubai (Aus) [three-time winner Moddy Puddle (Ire)] and Cotai Glory. He's a big, fine, good-looking colt and the stock looks good by the sire. They're nice. He'll be for re-sale.”

LOT 201 is a colt by @coolmorestud's Arizona a half to Group 2 placed Eldrickjones

Consigned by Ballybin Stud (@peteskelly) and sold to @peternolanblds for €60,000 at #GoffsNovember pic.twitter.com/EfWf2Kkp0i

— Goffs (@Goffs1866) November 14, 2022

The post Saxon Warrior Leads The Way At Goffs November Foal Sale  appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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NEWMARKET, UK–And breathe. Book 1 is over, galloping out the door after a three-day bonanza of record returns, the highest-grossing single day of horse trade in Europe, and the world's most expensive yearling of 2022.

What this all means for next week and Books 2, 3 and 4 of the October Yearling Sale is anyone's guess, but a safe bet would be that all those potential buyers so frustrated at playing bridesmaid during Book 1 still have rolls of grubby fifty-pound notes burning holes in their pockets.

But before the bell rings for the first session of Book 2 on Monday morning, let's have a closer look at the facts and figures of three days of rip-roaring trade that  had even seasoned sales-goers walking around Park Paddocks shaking their heads in disbelief. It's no wonder really, as the sale's aggregate reached an all-time high of 126,671,000gns, soaring 45% on decent levels of trade at last year's Book 1. At 200,000gns, the median was also a new record, and was up by 25%, while the record average rose by 30% to 298,752gns. With 424 sold of the 489 yearlings offered, the clearance rate climbed by 4% to 87%.

Let's Hear It For…

This time 10 years ago, Frankel (GB) was preparing for his swansong on British Champions Day, and in that time he has gone from ruling the racecourse to ruling the ring: his 25 offspring at Book 1 accounted for 15% of the turnover over the three days, amassing a tally of 18,745,000gns and selling at an average price of 749,800gns. His greatest rival Dubawi (Ire) beat that figure, with an average of 849,524gns for 21 sold. Together, Frankel and Dubawi accounted for 14 of the 16 yearlings to have sold for a million gns or more, with the four most expensive yearlings of the sale all being by Frankel.

Newsells Park Stud completed a five-timer of successive leading vendor titles, a mantle it has achieved on seven occasions in total. From 29 consigned, the stud sold 23 yearlings for a total of 10,985,000gns.

Fellow British farms Watership Down Stud and Fittocks Stud also fared very well during Book 1, the former selling 10 yearlings for 8,780,000gns, and the latter 11 for 6,010,000gns.

Leading Investors

Brightly attired each day, Sheikh Mohammed was easy to spot at Tattersalls but nowhere was his presence more greatly felt than on the buyers' list, which he dominated almost from flagfall.

Bidding through Anthony Stroud at the group's favoured spot next to the walking ring, Sheikh Mohammed lent enormous support to the elite yearling market, adding 35 yearlings by a range of top sires to his Godolphin string for a total outlay of 25,355,000gns, which was roughly 20% of the sale's record turnover.

The Coolmore and White Birch Farm partnership spent 10.2 million gns on 13 yearlings, and agent Richard Knight signed for 15 for just over 10 million gns.

“This has been an extraordinary yearling sale,” said Tattersalls chairman Edmond Mahony. “When the first two lots through the ring on Tuesday morning made 500,000gns and 1,300,000gns, the stage was set and the pace has been unrelenting from that moment on. Book 1 of the Tattersalls October Yearling Sale annually showcases the very best yearlings to be found in Europe, and even by the lofty standards of this special sale we felt that this year's catalogue was out of the ordinary. Nevertheless we could not have predicted the extraordinary level of trade we have experienced over the past three days.”

He continued, “Record turnover in excess of 125 million gns, a rise of almost 40 million gns on last year's October Book 1, as well as a record median and a record average price just under 300,000gns are impressive statistics by any standards, but the progression of this sale in recent years has been truly remarkable. Only 12 years ago Book 1 of the October Yearling Sale produced turnover of 48 million gns and an average of 107,000gns, which puts this week's remarkable figures into context.

“As well as the huge rises in all of the key indicators, an unprecedented 73 yearlings have sold for 500,000gns or more and there have been 16 which have broken the million-guineas mark with the 2.8 million-guineas Frankel colt from Watership Down Stud being the highest-priced yearling sold anywhere in the world this year.”

Watership Up

Different day, same story. Within an hour of the start of the final session of Book 1, a colt by Frankel (GB) offered by Watership Down Stud shot to the top of the leaderboard at 2 million gns. The previous day's high of 2.8 million gns was not reached again, meaning that the team at Lord and Lady Lloyd Webber's Watership Down Stud can exit Book 1 with major brownie points for having consigned two of the top three lots of the most extraordinary sale witnessed at Tattersalls, or indeed anywhere in Europe.

Lot 381 was added to the extensive shopping list of agent Richard Knight and, bred by Bjorn Nielsen on the same cross as this year's G1 Grand Prix de Paris winner Onesto (Ire), he has plenty to recommend him.

“The dam has produced a 100-plus-rated horse already, he comes from a nice family. He is just a lovely colt. It was the top of our budget and where we saw we'd have to go to get him,” Knight said.

“We underbid a filly yesterday by Frankel and they are as hot as anything and hard to buy. We were well aware we'd have to pay a good price to get him.”

“There is a beautiful bunch of horses here, it is the best catalogue of individuals we have seen at any yearling sale this year. You often get into some sales and individuals don't match up to the pedigrees. Here, the individuals have matched up as well–there are some lovely horses.”

# as trade picks up where it left off.

This colt by Frankel @JuddmonteFarms was consigned by @WatershipStud and bought by @rkba_com pic.twitter.com/gb5T4XxqnN

— TDN (@theTDN) October 6, 2022

Cumani Identifies Reason Behind Record Figures

Trust Luca Cumani to come up with a playful reason behind the sky-rocketing spend at Tattersalls this week.

“Maybe people want to enjoy themselves before Putin strikes the nuclear button?”

The legendary trainer-turned-breeder had reason to crack a joke after selling his Frankel colt (lot 379) to MV Magnier and White Birch Farm for 1.9 million gns.

Cumani, who, along with his wife Sara, operates under the banner of Fittocks Stud, may have been all smiles after the hammer fell, but revealed that his heart won't be thanking him after a pulsating few days.

“Boom, boom, boom,” he said, beating his chest with his fist. “I'm still an apprentice at this job and this is only our third year consigning.”

Fittocks Stud sold 11 yearlings this week for a total of 6.01 million gns.

Cumani added, “We sold a Dubawi yesterday for 1.6 million gns (lot 301) and now this Frankel for 1.9 million gns–it's been an amazing week.

“The market is very strong and long may it continue. It's very exciting to be a part of this environment. I love it.”

The sale to MV Magnier and White Birch Farm represents a continuation of a long-lasting relationship between Cumani and the owners.

He said, “Peter Brant has been a friend for many years. I used to train for him in the eighties and early nineties. I trained the dam of Thunder Gulch [Line Of Thunder] for him. I've known him for donkey's years.

“I am very grateful to MV and Paul Shanahan. I'm especially very grateful to my staff. They have done a great job today and excelled themselves.

“It's especially good that this horse stays in Europe. We need those good horses. Everybody reckons that, if you want class horses, you have to come to this sale to get them.”

Cumani also trained the dam of the Frankel colt, Blue Waltz (GB), to win three times. A daughter of Pivotal (GB), her mating with the champion sire represents a cross that has already worked notably well and includes the Group 1 winners Cracksman (GB) and Hungry Heart (Aus).

. #

This colt by Frankel @JuddmonteFarms was consigned by @saracumani and the winning bidder was M V Magnier and White Birch Farm. pic.twitter.com/mMhXlWfV9w

— TDN (@theTDN) October 6, 2022

God Given Keeps Giving

Another two seven-figure lots were to follow the early Frankel flurry, and those waiting to see the Whatton Manor Stud-consigned Dubawi colt out the Group 1 winner God Given (GB) (Nathaniel {Ire}) (lot 504) were not disappointed. Following his half-brother, the G3 Solario S. winner Silver Knott (GB) (Lope De Vega Ire}), into the Godolphin string, he made more than double the price his elder sibling had fetched in the same ring last year, and was eventually knocked down at 1.5 million gns, with David Redvers as underbidder to Anthony Stroud.

The colt, who is also a three-parts-brother to multiple Group 1 winner Postponed (Ire), was bred by Andrew Stone of St Albans Bloodstock, who also bred and raced his dam. He said, “When you breed a lovely horse, it is always sad to see them go. I have 16 mares and one has to keep the operation going. We are so blessed to have wonderful buyers in the market who are prepared to pay such a wonderful price. Having bred Postponed, I was so excited to see him go on so well, and now Silver Knott. I hope this horse is really good for them.”

Stone, who boards God Given at Whatton Manor Stud, continued, “A lot of credit must go to the Players and the team at Whatton, they do such a fantastic job. I am very blessed to have the majority of my mares with them and with Julian [Dollar] at Newsells Park.”

Ed Player, who was celebrating a first seven-figure sale for his Nottinghamshire farm, added, “Last year was our highest with his half-brother when he made 725,000gns, so to hit the million was unbelievably exciting. We are so delighted for Andrew. He is such a great guy, and a massive supporter of the industry.

“All year we have known he is a beautiful horse. He has the pedigree, the looks, everything, but to hit that sort of level, you dream about it, but in reality you have so many hoops to jump.”

Silver Knott is entered for Saturday's G3 Autumn S. at Newmarket and is pencilled in for a trip to the Breeders' Cup at Keeneland.

. # @whattonmanor consigned this colt with Godolphin coming out on top. This yearling's half-brother, Silver Knott, won the G3 Solario Stakes. pic.twitter.com/2pobAhWjdM

— TDN (@theTDN) October 6, 2022

Stroud also won the bidding war for lot 530, a son of Dubawi (Ire) out of How (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}), the final seven-figure lot of the sale. Consigned by Longview Stud, the bay was secured for 1.6 million gns and his dam is a full-sister to the multiple Group 1 winner Minding (Ire), as well as the fellow top-drawer winners Tuesday (Ire), and Empress Josephine (Ire). All three of those fillies each won at least one Classic, while their dam is the G1 Coronation S. and G1 Matron S. heroine Lillie Langtry (Ire) (Danehill Dancer {Ire}).

#

Another colt by Dubawi @DarleyEurope attracts the attention of Godolphin and this son of an own sister to Tuesday & Minding makes 1.6million gns. Lot 530 was consigned by @longviewstud pic.twitter.com/m0Xieyyb86

— TDN (@theTDN) October 6, 2022

Sackville Barks Loud for Dubawi Colt

Jenny Norris is no stranger to selling seven-figure Book 1 yearlings, having topped the sale on two previous occasions, and her Norris Bloodstock draft hit the bullseye again when selling Lord Margadale's Dubawi colt out of Frangipanni (Ire) (Dansili {GB}) (lot 491) for a million gns to Ed Sackville.

“I'm so grateful to Alastair [Lord Margadale] for entrusting him to me because we've had him since the foal sales, and it's great having horses like him but it was a huge pressure having him back at the farm.

“He's such a star. We'll miss him at home because he has the most amazing attitude, he just eats and sleeps. But the girls at home, Hannah, Verity and Jazz, have done a great job, we're only a small team and I'm just so pleased for all of them.”

Through Anthony Stroud, Lord Margadale bought the Lady Rothschild-bred Frangipanni, a daughter of the G1 July Cup winner Frizzante (GB) (Efisio {GB}) as a 3-year-old at the July Sale for 78,000gns. Her first foal Tropbeau (GB) (Showcasing {GB}) was a multiple group winner in France for Andre Fabre and Lady Bamford.

Lord Margadale, enjoying the moment with his brother, trainer Hughie Morrison, added, “I'll probably burst into tears. From the word go he has been a really lovely, sweet horse. Nothing fazes him.

“We've got an extremely nice full-brother to Tropbeau and the mare is now in foal to Zoustar. We bought Frangipanni from Serena Rothschild and we brought her here last December and she didn't sell, so I am extremely happy. I think sometimes these things are meant to be.”

Sackville, who bought the colt on behalf of John and Jess Dance's Manor House Farm, said, “The whole team loved him– John and Jess Dance, Maria Ryan and James Horton. We have tried on plenty, but he was one we were prepared to go to the max for.”

After jumping 100,000gns in one bid to buy the colt at a million, he said, “If you want to hang with the dogs you've got to bark loud.”

@DarleyEurope, # Book 1

Lot 491 sells to @DanceThorobreds from @jenny_norris for 1million gns. This colt is a half-brother to Tropbeau. pic.twitter.com/Lkbi99cbpN

— TDN (@theTDN) October 6, 2022

St Lawrence the Judge

After Frankel and Dubawi, Sea The Stars (Ire) enjoyed a rock-solid week as the third-most popular sire among buyers with 28 lots selling for a total of 8,425,000gns. His half-sister (lot 476) to G1 Irish 1000 Guineas winner Just The Judge (Ire) (Lawman {Fr}), consigned by Corduff Stud for breeder Joan Keaney Dempsey, sold to Oliver St Lawrence on behalf of Fawzi Nass for 800,000 gns.

“She is a lovely filly out of a slightly older mare, but she is a half-sister to a Group 1 winner and there are lots of fillies in the pedigree so there are, hopefully, lots of updates to come,” said the agent. “We tried to have a go at the Battaash half-sister last night (lot 344) but we didn't even get a bid in.”

St Mark's Basilica's Brother to Juddmonte

Though primarily racing homebreds, the Juddmonte team makes the odd foray into the foal and yearling sales, and has a Group 1 runner to show for it on Saturday with the 550,000gns foal purchase Chaldean (GB) (Frankel {GB}), who has already won the G2 Champagne S and G3 Acomb S.

On Thursday, two yearlings were recruited when Simon Mockridge went to 725,000gns for lot 415, a Siyouni (Fr) filly out of a half-sister to G1 Coronation S. winner Lillie Langtry (Ire) (Danehill Dancer {Ire}) and 600,000gns for the Kingman (GB) half-brother (lot 390) to Classic winners St Mark's Basilica (Fr) and Magna Grecia (Ire).

Eddie O'Leary's Lynn Lodge Stud consigned the daughter of Siyouni on behalf of his brother Michael's Gigginstown House Stud, who bought her dam Contemptuous (Ire) (New Approach {GB}) through Mags O'Toole when she was carrying this filly at the December Sale of 2020.

At 360,000gns, her purchase was a significant outlay at the time, but carrying a foal by one of Europe's most-sought after sires, as well as updates in the immediate family from G1 Oaks winner Tuesday (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) and Sunday's G1 Prix de l'Opera winner Place Du Carrousel (Ire) (Lope De Vega {Ire}), are factors which have contributed to a terrific sales return for the first foal.

Flay Plays Both Sides of the Deal

A vendor on Wednesday and a buyer on Thursday, Bobby Flay selected a smartly-bred daughter of No Nay Never to be trained in America by Christophe Clement. The daughter of Cushion (GB) (lot 422), who was twice a Grade III winner in the US and is herself out of the champion racemare Attraction (GB) (Efisio {GB}), was another decent result for the Watership Down Stud draft, sold on behalf of her breeders Floors Stud and Coolmore Stud, for 600,000gns.

“The sire is very quick, and I like training grass horses in the US, my trainer Christopher Clement is a specialist,” Flay explained. “I love the No Nay Never cross over Galileo and my bloodstock agent picked her out, Tom McGreevy.”

Flay also paid tribute to James Delahooke, who had a long association with the owner-breeder and died suddenly last month. He said, “He is a huge loss. I keep thinking I am going to see him here. He was a great educator, a great friend, and, most importantly, besides his amazing ability to pick out beautiful horses and great broodmares, he was a pleasure to be around, I always learnt something about life and about horses with James.”

 McElroy Returns To Happy Hunting Ground

It was at this sale in 2019 that Ben McElroy bought dual Royal Ascot winner Campanelle (Ire) (Kodiac {GB}) and the leading American agent returned to one of his happiest hunting grounds to purchase seven yearlings.

McElroy kept the biggest deal until last, signing for a Night Of Thunder (Ire) filly (lot 388) out of the Watership Down Stud draft for 800,000 gns.

Like Campanelle, the Night Of Thunder half-sister to Group 3 scorer Snazzy Jazzy (Ire) (Red Jazz) will race in Barbara Banke's Stonestreet silks. However, Coolmore will also retain an interest, with MV Magnier also signing for the filly.

McElroy said, “We're always coming out here to look at fillies who we think can be precocious–be Royal Ascot types. They go to Wesley Ward, who trained Campanelle, and the minute this filly walked out of the stall and stood in front of me, I knew she was the one we had to have.

“The stallion has made a phenomenal start at stud–starting from a low stud fee. That really gave us a lot of confidence. The mare keeps producing horses that run good ratings. Between the physical and the pedigree, she had the complete package.”

He added, “I'm really relieved that we got her and am hoping that we got some nice horses in the bunch that suit our programme.

“Barbara loves the sale and she's really excited about coming back in the summer to watch them run over here. Hopefully we'll get a few more in the bunch for next year.

“The biggest emphasis is on the physical because we're going to try and start them off early. They go to Florida, get the sun on their back and then go into training with Wesley. You want to see a bit of precocity in the pedigree and, when those two things align, they're the ones we go for.”

Crystal Ocean Colt Makes Waves

He was the highest-rated Flat horse in the world at one point but Crystal Ocean (GB) retired to the Beeches Stud in Ireland as predominantly a National Hunt stallion with multiple Grade 1-winning hurdler Apple's Jade (Fr) among the high-class jumping mares to have visited the stallion in his debut season.

But that did not stop lot 512, an easy-moving pinhook by the stallion, selling from Michael and Laurence Gleeson's Aughamore Stud for 135,000gns to Andrew Balding.

The sale justified the huge confidence that the Gleeson brothers had in the colt, bought by Howson and Houldsworth Bloodstock for 46,000gns at Tattersalls last December.

It was the second big pinhook that the leading bloodstock agent and the Gleesons pulled off on Thursday as, earlier in the afternoon, a Night Of Thunder filly (lot 461) bought for 150,000 gns as a foal, sold to Alex Solis and Jason Litt for 450,000 gns.

“This guy was a dude,” said Gleeson. “We loved him from day one at the foal sales. We thought he'd be a bit different. There are not many Crystal Oceans at these Flat sales but people seemed to get it and this stallion needs to cover more Flat mares based on the two yearlings [lot 86 also sold for 115,000 gns] he had here. It was an amazing day and this horse reminds me of Stradivarius. A chestnut with a good-looking head and he's not overly big either.”

Gleeson added on the Night Of Thunder filly, “She was out of a very tough Kodiac mare [Group 3 winner Ellthea (Ire)] and it's the same cross as the Abbaye winner Highfield Princess (Fr). Night Of Thunder is on fire and we were just lucky to have one.”

Night Of Thunder enjoyed an exceptional sale, especially when considering his 2020 covering fee of €25,000. There were 28 lots by the sire sold for an average of 276,964gns, for a total of 7,555,000gns, which contributed to him ending the session as the fourth-most popular stallion on the figures.

The Gleesons were not the only people to enjoy a major twist out of the stallion as, just a few lots later, Ballyhimikin Stud's 175,000 gns colt foal (lot 463) purchase by Kildangan Stud resident rocked into 475,000 gns, with Peter and Ross Doyle buying.

Stauffenberg Sugarcoats Super Sale

Few consignors boasted a better return at Book 1 than Philipp Stauffenberg. The German native brought five horses to Tattersalls and they went down a bomb, selling for an average of 469,000gns and 2,345,000gns all told.

After quite the bounty on Wednesday, when Stauffenburg sold a Night Of Thunder (Ire) filly for 550,000gns, a Lope De Vega (Ire) colt for 525,000 gns and a Sea The Stars (Ire) colt for 650,000gns, his two pinhooks on Thursday rocked into money.

His Teofilo colt (lot 465), bought for 80,000gns at Tattersalls last December, was knocked down to Godolphin for 260,000gns. An excellent week was crowned when his 200,000gns Sea The Stars foal purchase (lot 484) netted 360,000gns to Rabbah Bloodstock.

“We brought five and sold five for very good prices,” Stauffenburg said shortly after the Sea The Stars filly went through the ring.

“When you see what is going on outside our little world, it's amazing that the market is so resilient. There is plenty of money for the good ones. We had a record turnover yesterday and that speaks its own language.

“It will be really interesting to see how Book 2 goes now because I am pretty sure that a lot of people will have left here today disappointed that they couldn't strike as well as they thought they would.”

Stauffenburg added, “The Teofilo colt was probably the best Teofilo I have seen at the foal sales for many years. He was an absolutely outstanding horse and he went the right way. We paid 80,000 and he made 260,000. That's not bad business.

“We have been quite lucky. Yesterday was quite an amazing day.”

Tattersalls chairman Edmond Mahony would doubtless expand on that sentiment to include all three amazing days. He concluded, “Impressive as all the statistics are, the real feature of Book 1 of the 2022 October Yearling Sale has been the sustained demand at all levels of the market which has contributed to a clearance rate well in excess of 85%. Buyers from throughout the world, most notably the Gulf region, America, China, Japan and throughout Europe have all made a significant impact on a record-breaking sale and particularly notable has been the presence of so many of the world's most successful racehorse owners here at Park Paddocks for the duration of the sale. Their confidence in Book 1 of the October Yearling Sale is hugely appreciated and reflects not only the outstanding quality of the yearlings which the vendors commit to the sale year after year, but also the sale's unrivalled reputation for producing Classic and Group 1 winners and Newmarket's status as the European hub of the Thoroughbred business.

“In addition to so many of the world's leading owners, the number of British and Irish trainers active throughout the week has been notable and their presence has without doubt been influenced by the £7,200,000 in October Book 1 Bonus prize-money which we have distributed since 2016. The £20,000 Tattersalls October Book 1 Bonuses are hugely popular and to see so many beneficiaries reinvesting this week is a strong endorsement of a scheme which continues to reward owners at all levels of the Book 1 market.”

He added, “To have rewritten the Book 1 record books and to have seen so many breeders and consignors so richly rewarded this week has been wonderful. Europe's premier yearling sale has lived up to its reputation in spectacular fashion and we look forward to sustaining the momentum into Books 2, 3 and 4 of the Tattersalls October Yearling Sale starting on Monday next week.”

The post Record Books Rewritten as Book 1 Bonanza Concludes appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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German pinhooker Philipp Stauffenberg enjoyed his best ever return in a sale ring when the No Nay Never sister to the Group 2 Coventry Stakes winner and G1 Dewhurst Stakes second Arizona was knocked down for 825,000 guineas to Cheveley Park Stud's Chris Richardson. The daughter of the English Channel mare Lady Ederle is also a sister to the Grade 2 winner Nay Lady Nay and was secured by Richardson after he saw off Juddmonte Farms' Simon Mockridge. She was a €260,000 foal purchase.

Richardson was stood alongside Patricia Thompson, the owner of Cheveley Park, and her son Richard.
“She was the one we really wanted,” said Mrs Thompson. “She is a beautiful filly and she was first on the short list. We were looking for a filly for the broodmare band, we will get her broken in and make some plans.”
The Stephen Sullivan-bred bay filly was purchased by Philipp Stauffenberg as a foal for €260,000 and hails from the family of Champions Dabirsim and Sea of Class. Explaining his reasoning behind his purchase last autumn he commented;

“I bought her because she is an outcross and would be attractive for the big farms, and that was exactly what the case was. She was a top horse for every breeder, it didn't matter who. But she still needed to be a good physical, otherwise I wouldn't have bought her.

“The racecourse is the primary goal, today is just one step. Hopefully she will prove that she is worth what Cheveley Park have spent. It is wonderful that Mrs Thompson goes on and spends something like that. This is not a filly in training Mrs Thompson will have to wait for her, it is a future investment and it is very encouraging for the industry.”

He added: “All the sales companies wanted to have her, but she has done so well I think she deserved to be in the top sale, this is the top sale.”

Juddmonte Farms' Simon Mockridge didn't have to wait long after the missing out on the top lot of the day, striking to secure the Dubawi filly out of the Group 2 winning Monsun mare Logina for 800,000 guineas. Newsells Park Stud consigned the filly on behalf of breeder Al Shahania Stud.

“We were strong on the No Nay Never filly, but not strong enough,” said Simon Mockridge. “This is a very, very nice filly, by Dubawi who for us is a great outcross for the longer term for stallions such as Kingman and Frankel. But she is also a great free moving filly, who showed very well.”

Of plans for Juddmonte, Mockridge continued: “The positive news is that Prince Khalid's family want to continue to develop Juddmonte and we need to buy some outcross fillies, and that is the reason why we are here. The No Nay Never and this Dubawi filly fitted the bill perfectly.

“It has been a tough year, a very difficult year losing Prince Khalid, but the family is committed and is showing that it is committed to the future. The Prince left us with a great legacy and it is there for us to drive forward. It is fortunate in that we have a very strong stallion base, we are very fortunate to have Frankel and Kingman. That is number one, it keeps us going, and we just need to refresh a little bit.

“Fillies like these are very rare and very difficult to buy, you have to be competitive, and I think we have been that.”

Julian Dollar of Newsells said: “We have five lovely horses for the draft from Al Shahania Stud. They have been with us for ten weeks, we have just put a bit of polish on them. They came looking fantastic, produced by a good team. They deserve all the credit, they are very good horsemen.”

Bertrand Le Metayer, bloodstock advisor for Al Shahania who was at Tattersalls with stud manager Arnault Leraitre, said: “The team on the farm in France has done a great job, it is an honour to get such a result with a filly. She has been brilliant from the word go – she goes to sleep, gets up, goes to sleep. She has a great mind and she showed it today. That is what caught the buyers' eyes.

“We thought she was our best yearling and deserved the best sale.”

The top priced colt on the opening day of Book 1 of the Tattersalls October Yearling Sale was the Lope de Vega colt out of the Group 1 Premio Lydia Tesio winner God Given, who was knocked down to Godolphin's Anthony Stroud for 725,000 guineas.

The colt, who was consigned by the Player family's Whatton Manor Stud on behalf of Andrew Stone's St Albans Bloodstock, is out of a half-sister to the multiple Group 1 winner Postponed and is a great grandson of the Champion race filly Bianca Nera.

“He moved extremely well, he is very light on his feet and he behaved very well here,” said Stroud. “He is out of a very good mare from the family of Postponed, whom we know well, and Lope De Vega we like very much. We think he is a very nice horse.”

Ed Player of Whatton Manor said: “We are delighted to have horses nice enough to come to Book 1, we have always aspired to have horses for Book 1.

“Andrew Stone of St Albans has entrusted us with God Given, we had Bianca Nera at the farm a long time ago and it has come full circle. We are absolutely delighted with the price, he is such a good walking horse, he walks for fun and he has not put a foot wrong here.”

“God Given is at the farm and she has a Dubawi colt foal and she is back in-foal to Siyouni. She is a beautiful mare, we are lucky to have her. The team has done an amazing job prepping the horse so well and shown him so well here,” added Player.

Book 1 of the Tattersalls October Yearling Sale continues at 11 a.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 6.

The post Fillies To The Fore On Opening Day Of Tattersalls October Book 1 appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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