Tag: Philipp Stauffenberg

Record Books Rewritten as Book 1 Bonanza Concludes

By Emma Berry and Brian Sheerin

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.”

 

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).

 

 

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.

 

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}).

 

 

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.”

 

 

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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Fillies To The Fore On Opening Day Of Tattersalls October Book 1

Fillies by No Nay Never and Dubawi headlined the opening day of the Tattersalls October Yearling Sale when selling for 825,000 guineas and 800,000 guineas respectively. The opening session saw turnover of 25,201,000 guineas, at an average of 210,008 guineas and a median of 152,500 guineas.

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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Classic Intent At The Stauffenberg Boutique

Balancing Classic intentions with commercial reality is not always easy. In Germany, the majority of breeders would veer towards the former, and it is certainly an ethos that Philipp and Marion Stauffenberg attempt to maintain while being all too aware of the demands of many modern-day purchasers of Thoroughbreds.

The Stauffenbergs each had a good grounding in sport horses and racehorses before developing their own broodmare band at Schlossgut Itlingen in Ascheberg in 1999. The boutique operation has also had notable success pinhooking foals, and the business includes consigning yearlings and boarding mares for clients.

Most breeders in Europe this year will have felt the twin impact of Covid and Brexit, and it is a factor which made Philipp Stauffenberg reassess some of his mating and travel plans.

“We have five foals at the moment and we are waiting for two more, then we're done,” he says. “That's the lowest number of foals we've ever had and it was mainly due to the fact that we had so many late foalers last year, so we decided with all the difficulties we would leave them empty instead of having May foals.”

Stauffenberg adds, “We shipped some mares to England before the end of December because of the Brexit problems. Usually we keep them at home and send them at the beginning of the covering season. At the beginning it was tough but we have worked out a system of getting the mares to England without massive problems. But it does all add to the costs of producing the next generation.”

The Stauffenbergs have retained two daughters of the German Oaks winner Centaine (GB) (Royal Academy) for their farm in Capichera (Ger) (Shirocco {Ger}) and C'est l'Amour (Ger) (Whipper).

“Capichera has two runners and two winners from her first three foals but she didn't get in foal to Soldier Hollow (GB) last year,” Stauffenberg explains. “She is now in foal to Bated Breath (GB). All the stallions we use should be Group 1 winners or Classic winners, or have produced Group 1-winning offspring. So we hadn't used Bated Breath before this year but he has now proven himself capable of getting a good horse and he produced a Group 1 winner last year.”

He continues, “C'est l'Amour is the dam of three winners from three runners so she has done quite well so far. She foaled a colt by Holy Roman Emperor (Ire) on 3 March and we haven't quite decided where she is going yet.” 

The active broodmare band has been reduced recently by the retirement of Four Roses (Ire) (Darshaan {GB}) and Firedance (Ger) (Lomitas {GB}), two daughters of the farm's foundation mare Fraulein Tobin (J O Tobin), but her line is still being nurtured.

Stauffenberg says, “Frangipani (Ger), a 2-year-old winner by Jukebox Jury (Ire), traces back to Fraulein Tobin. At the moment, sadly, we have no daughter of Four Roses and we have only this daughter of Firedance. We have a 2-year-old filly by Harzand (Ire) in training, so these are the only two female homebred descendants of our foundation mare. Frangipani is visiting Masar (Ire), who was a good 2-year-old, he's a Derby winner and he is a very well-bred horse. I think there is every chance he will succeed. She is currently in foal to Starspangledbanner (Aus) and has a yearling by Sea The Moon (Ger).”

Though not a homebred, Relevant (Ire) (So You Think {NZ}) is another representative of the Fraulein Tobin family. 

“We tried to buy her as a yearling but she was too expensive, and then we bought her when she was in training and a non-winner. We put her back into training with Stuart Williams and she won by nine lengths. She's a daughter of the Rockfel Stakes winner Germane (GB) and her first foal by Sea The Moon is in training with Andre Fabre, having been bought last year by Godolphin,” Stauffenberg explains. 

“Relevant has a very nice colt by Gleneagles and is due to foal at the end of April to Dark Angel, but she always goes two or three weeks over, so at the moment I think she won't be covered. 

“It comes back to the problems with Brexit and the travelling. Our normal route to Ireland was always through England but this has got quite complicated. And from April onwards, foals can only travel when they are 30 days old so we will have no chance to cover her in Ireland or England so we have decided to leave her and cover her early next year.”

The desire to return to families who have provided past success is alive in every breeder, and this is how Marion Stauffenberg ended up buying Belle Anglaise (GB) (Cable Bay {Ire}) as a foal. 

Her husband explains, “We bred her dam Belle Allemande (Can) (Royal Academy) and had to sell her at the beginning when we set up our farm but we had always wanted to get back into the family because Belle Allemande is a sister to Que Belle (Can) (Seattle Dancer), who won two Classics for us. I leased their dam in Canada and sent her to Royal Academy. 

“Belle Anglaise won twice in England with Stuart Williams, and then with the lockdown last year we moved her to Germany and she got two black-type placings here. She is going to be covered by Dark Angel (Ire). With the young mares we use mostly proven stallions as it's easier to judge their offspring. So she is being given a good chance using Dark Angel, putting back a bit of speed. She's quite a speedy filly, though usually we are not so focused on sprinters—we are more into the Classic breeding.”

Seattle Dancer, who stood his last five seasons in Germany prior to his death in 2007, also features as the sire of Golden Whip, whose winning offspring are the Jessica Harrington-trained Giuliana (Ger) (Muhaarar {GB}), who was Group 3-placed last year, and listed-placed Geraldine (Ger) (Royal Applause {GB}).

“She's from a very speedy family with Ballad Rock in the pedigree, and there are a lot of good 2-year-olds in the family,” says Stauffenberg. “She has produced two winners from her first two runners, both black-type horses. She wasn't covered last year and she has now been covered by Blue Point (Ire), so again we are putting a lot of speed back in. Blue Point is interesting because he has True Rocket in his pedigree, who is the dam of Ballad Rock, so the mating is inbreeding to that fast, good producer. On top of that, Blue Point is out of a mare by Royal Applause,  as is Geraldine.”

After Blue Point, another son of Shamardal, the hardy German-based miler Amaron (GB), has been selected as the mate for Queensberry (Ger), a great grand-daughter of former Kentucky Broodmare of the Year Glowing Tribute.  

“I bought her dam in America when she was already 20 but it was just a very good, deep family,” Stauffenberg recalls. “Queensberry is by Tertullian, who is an interesting stallion as he's bred on the same cross as Urban Sea, being by Miswaki out of a daughter of Allegretta (GB). Queensberry has a yearling by US Navy Flag but he was born in May so we didn't cover her last year.”

The talented Lady Marian (Ger) (Nayef) provided the Stauffenbergs with many happy days during her racing career and a half-sister to that G1 Prix de l'Opera winner, La Reine Noire (Ger) (Rainbow Quest), remains in the broodmare band with her 2021 mating to be decided.

“Again, she traces back to our beginning,” says her breeder. “I bought her grandam in 1995 and she was one of the first mares I bought. La Reine Noire has a Lawman (Fr) filly foal, which we are very happy about, because the Lawman cross with Rainbow Quest has produced very good horses, like Just The Judge.”

The Stauffenberg rule of using Classic or Group 1 winners at stud is backed up in the decision to send Noelani (Ger) (Nayef) to Coolmore's new boy Sottsass (Fr), a choice of stallion enhanced by the fact that the mare is a half-sister to last season's listed winner New Harzburg (Ger), who is by Sottsass's sire Siyouni (Fr).

“It's a very deep German family and she's a 2-year-old winner herself but we couldn't get her into Siyouni so she is booked to Sottsass, who was such a good racehorse,” says Stauffenberg.

The couple's understandable fondness for Nayef extended to the purchase of Rusookh (GB) from Shadwelll. Her dam Thamarat (GB) (Anabaa) has also produced Motamarris (Ire) (Le Havre {Ire}), who was third to Sottsass in the Prix du Jockey Club, as well as the stakes-placed Riqa (GB) (Dubawi {Ire}), who is now the dam of treble Group 3 winner Tantheem (GB) (Teofilo {Ire}).  The family received a further boost last year when another of Rusookh's siblings, Wadyhatta (GB) (Cape Cross {Ire}), was responsible for the Irish Derby winner Santiago (Ire) (Authorized {Ire}). Of extra pertinence, especially for a German breeder, Rusookh's fourth dam is Allegretta.

“She wasn't covered last year as she foaled so late but she has now been covered by Magna Grecia (Ire),” says Stauffenberg. “I was underbidder on him as a foal but Coolmore bought him. I just loved him. He was a beautiful specimen and he was a very good racehorse so we thought that might fit. We have been very lucky with Nayef, producing Lady Marian and also a Norsk Oaks winner by him. He's a fantastically bred horse and he has produced some good broodmares even if he wasn't the most sensational stallion himself. I think we will find his bloodlines coming through in the second generation.”

The Norsk Oaks also looms large in the family of Zegna (Ger), another daughter of Shirocco who won the Scandinavian Classic in 2012, a victory emulated five years later by her first foal Zahara (Ger)—by the Stauffenbergs' old friend Nayef.

“I was always a big believer in Shirocco and I don't really think he got as much of a chance as he should have done as he was a bit overshadowed by Manduro at the time, but he was a very good racehorse,” Stauffenberg notes. “Zegna has also bred a winner by Casamento (Ire) in Japan and she has a yearling by Camacho (GB) and a colt foal by Zarak (Fr). She is now in foal to Sea The Moon.”

Though based in Newmarket at Lanwades, Sea The Moon remains the pride of Germany and Stauffenberg has had close links with his offspring in his role consigning yearlings in Britain for the stallion's breeder Heike Bischoff and Niko Lafrentz of Gestüt Gorlsdorf. Those he has sold include the multiple group winner Wonderful Moon (Ger) and Saturday's G3 N E Manion Cup winner in Australia, Favorite Moon (Ger).

“It has been very pleasing to see the success Sea The Moon has had,” he said. “I take special pride because I bought his grandam Sacarina (GB) as a foundation mare for Gestüt Karlshof and this family has developed into a really outstanding family now. Sea The Moon, as a German Derby winner, is getting some really good horses. He had another 3-year-old listed winner last week in France and he looks on the right path to be a successful stallion. He is also still good value—he's not so expensive that we can't use him.”

Along with some of his own stock, Stauffenberg will also be bringing to the yearling sales seven horses bought last winter. A notoriously bold pinhooker, his purchases included a sister to the G2 Coventry S. winner Arizona (Ire) (No Nay Never).

He says, “I focused on well-bred fillies and bought only two colts, but five fillies with good pages. I thought I would play it safe with fillies—even in bad times well-bred fillies are always in demand.”

The post Classic Intent At The Stauffenberg Boutique appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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