This was a result that rubber-stamped an exceptionally good year for O'Donovan, who has only been trading under Donovan Bloodstock for two years now. From an Acclamation (GB) filly [Jiwin (Ire)] who sold for 170,000gns at the Craven Sale to an Eqtidaar (Ire) filly who made £120,000 at Donny, it's safe to say that things have gone well this year for the Cork native who operates just outside the Curragh in Kildangan. 

But things reached new dizzying heights for O'Donovan and Adam Potts, who helped source the colt at Arqana last October, when the Zelzal lit up the bid board. 

Doyle said, “I was very taken by the horse who was bred the way he was and physically he had a lot of size to him. I loved the way he breezed–nice and relaxed and a big action. 

“He was bought very well by the lads [O'Donovan and Potts] and he's as good a physical as I have seen for a long time. A trainer hasn't been confirmed but he's for a long and established client and he's off to France.”

Ross Doyle was spotted having a final look at lot 79 @tatts_ireland & he must have decided he had to have him.

The son of Zelzal sold for €270,000 to @Doyle_Racing and continues a good year of trade for the young operation Donovan Bloodstock. pic.twitter.com/SUqBhY8Cs3

— TDN (@theTDN) May 26, 2023

Doyle also bought the Eqtidaar filly off O'Donovan at Doncaster on behalf of Amo Racing and it is understood that she is currently in training with Richard Hannon. 

On the young operators, the top agent added, “The lads do a great job and their horses look great. Fingers crossed now. This horse could be anything.”

The Zelzal colt will be well at home in France given he was one of the few horses in the sale who qualified for French premiums. He is out of an unraced Medaglia d'Oro mare and hails from the family of Mastercraftsman (Ire). 

Speaking after the sale, O'Donovan commented, “Days like these are few and far between. I'm just delighted the horse put in the breeze I expected him to do because he shows us exactly that at home. He wasn't missed by anyone–all of the good judges were in the ring for him and I'm just delighted that one of the best judges of them all bought him because he will get the best possible chance to be good on the track and that's the most important thing.”

He added, “Mathew Dickinson, who led him up, said that he never looked after a horse with as many vets in his life. As well as that, we had an agent here first thing this morning before the horse even had his breakfast, so we were half expecting that he'd sell well. But to get €270,000, you couldn't have predicted that.”

“This is the first year that me and Adam teamed up together. He bought a few shares in the yearlings last year and helped me out in the yard with them. It's worked out well and we've had a good season.  Even Adam's mother, Suzy, was a big help. There were some nights when she didn't leave the place until 11 o'clock because she'd be up checking on them, so everyone has played their part.”

Doyle went on to snap up a Profitable (Ire) colt consigned by Tradewinds Stud for €185,000. The wildcard entry [lot 253] was bought by Shane and Alex Power for 37,000gns at the Somerville Yearling Sale and turned a tidy profit after breezing well on Thursday.

• Successful jumps jockey Brian O'Connell, who will forever be associated for his association with Champion Bumper hero Dunguib (Ire) (Presenting {GB}), enjoyed one of his best days as a consignor when selling a Calyx (GB) filly [lot 99] to Mark McStay for €155,000. The filly was shrewdly bought here last September for €24,000 and represented one of O'Connell's biggest results as a consignor under Chasefield Stables. 
• McStay clearly had his Weetabix on Friday morning. The top agent hit the ground running to provide some early excitement in signing for a Sioux Nation colt [lot 2] from Katie Walsh's Greenhills Farm for €240,000. That represented yet another big result for Walsh at the Tattersalls Ireland Goresbridge Breeze-Up Sale, given she broke the record here 12 months ago with a €520,000 Saxon Warrior (Jpn) filly.
• Anna Barlow told TDN Europe on Thursday that she was hopeful of securing a profit with lot 137, a Phoenix Of Spain (Ire) filly she sourced here in September for just €6,000. The 22-year-old, whose only other breezer this year, a Starspangledbanner filly (Aus), netted over €40,000 in profit at the Guineas Breeze-Up Sale, turned more water into wine when the Phoenix Of Spain filly was knocked down to Michael O'Callaghan for €55,000.
• It wouldn't be a breeze-up sale without Willie Browne's Mocklershill playing a leading role. In this case, it was a Ten Sovereigns (Ire) filly [lot 15] who sold to Alex Elliott for €200,000, who led the way for the legendary consignor. 
• Ado McGuinness has already hit the ground running with his breeze-up purchases this year. Tiger Belle (Ire) (Cotai Glory {GB}), who the trainer sourced along with assistant and nephew Stephen Thorne at Doncaster for £70,000, is Royal Ascot bound after winning on debut at Cork. The Lusk-based operator will be hoping to have secured another speedy youngster for the Shamrock Thoroughbreds syndicate in the shape of lot 8, an Inns Of Court (Ire) colt for €100,000 from Tally-Ho Stud.

early action @tatts_ireland Goresbridge Breeze Up with lot 2 selling for €240,000.

This colt was bought by @katiewalsh9 for €40,000 as a yearling and @mcstayagent, the purchaser, had him vetted even before he breezed! He is by Sioux Nation. pic.twitter.com/9o0xWL9PNO

— TDN (@theTDN) May 26, 2023

Dreams Come True For The Shinnick Brothers With Make Believe Filly

The good results just kept coming and there were few better than what brothers Andy and John Shinnick produced when transforming their €7,000 Make Believe (GB) filly foal (lot 47) purchase into a €170,000 breezer. 

The sire in this case was quite apt as the result was clearly beyond the Shinnick brothers' wildest dreams with Nick Bell doing the buying on behalf of Middleham Park Racing. 

“It isn't too bad, I suppose, for your first time doing it,” came the understatement of the year from Andy.

John, who is an apprentice jockey, added, “We always liked her. We don't even have a gallop at home–just train her in the fields. She looked quick running past thistles!

“She is ignorant to go, though, she wants to go and is very straightforward. We did like her at home and, to be honest, it was our first time doing it so we didn't come here with any real high expectations.”

The Shinnick brothers hail from County Cork and it was at the Goffs November Foal Sale in 2021 where they sourced the speedster from Grennanstown Stud.

On the experience on the whole, John said, “There's a lot of pressure and work involved. It all comes down to the one day and a lot can go wrong. But you have to take your chance and it's great when it does pay off–it really gives you the bug.

“It's brilliant for the likes of the two of us. For it to be the first time to go at it, it's dream work. We have a bit of money so we'll go and buy a few more of them now!”

When you sell for €170,000 @tatts_ireland you deserve some attention.

Lot 47, a filly by Make Believe, posted a good breeze for Shinnick Brothers and will now race in the colours of @MprUpdates who bought the filly with Nick Bell. pic.twitter.com/FpyvtGgGur

— TDN (@theTDN) May 26, 2023

Lordan Sioux Happy With €230,000 Colt

Another young operator, Darragh Lordan, produced a result to rival the exploits of O'Donovan and the Shinnick brothers when selling his Sioux Nation colt to Adam Driver [later changed to Global Equine Group] for €230,000. 

A €25,000 yearling purchase here last September, the Sioux Nation colt was consigned under Innishannon Valley Stud, and exceeded all of Lordan's expectations in the ring. 

He said, “I did expect around €100,000 for him as I really liked him, but that was just unreal. To have the horse for top tier-trade is unreal and all the right people were on him. He breezed savage and all year he has been so straightforward, everything was so smooth, a very easy horse to do. I think he is a very good horse. Hopefully he can go to the track and show it there.”

He added, “I sold Marshman (GB), a good Harry Angel (Ire) horse, last year. It helps when you sell a good horse because it brings the buyers to the door and then they listen when you talk about a horse.”

Bourke Pulls Another Rabbit Out Of The Hat With James Garfield Colt

John Bourke of Hyde Park Stud rightly grabbed the headlines last year when his breeze-up graduate Cachet (Ire) (Aclaim {Ire}) won the 1,000 Guineas for George Boughey.

The Mullingar man, who is not afraid to chance a cheaper yearling every now and again, was duly rewarded for rolling the dice on his €3,000 purchase here in September by James Garfield, with the colt selling to Richard Brown of Blandford Bloodstock for a whopping €155,000. 

Brown said, “It is extraordinary trade here. I think there were four or five people in over €100,000, which for a colt who cost very little as a yearling is certainly testament to the way he was prepared and the way he breezed. 

“He is a gorgeous colt and he did a very good breeze. He is bred to be a sprinter–he has got the looks, he did the breeze and he was the one on that basis that we really wanted.”

Strong Trade At All Levels At Tattersalls Ireland

Bigger does not always translate to better, as we have seen already on the breeze-up circuit this year, but in the case of this sale, it resulted in an excellent trade across the board.

The average climbed 13% to €43,033, and the median rose 36% to €22,000. Of the 267 horses offered, 239 sold (83%) for a gross of €8,563,500.

Simon Kerins, CEO of Tattersalls Ireland, said, “Incredible is the word that springs to mind when I reflect on today. The Tattersalls Ireland Goresbridge Breeze Up Sale is truly going from strength to strength, the second lot into the ring making €240,000 set the tone for the day and the six-figure lots didn't stop coming after that. To sell a record 18 lots for €100,000 or more is remarkable and our sincere thanks must go out to every single vendor who entrusted us with their top-quality 2-year-olds. It was also fantastic to see so many young consignors rewarded for their hard work and determination, and I congratulate all of those who returned with profitable pinhooks.

“We must also thank our overseas buyers who flocked to Tattersalls Ireland in their droves, it was wonderful to see everyone and to welcome a wealth of new faces as well. The footfall seen across the last two days at Ireland's only Breeze Up Sale has been phenomenal and the figures achieved were driven by an international buying bench with a huge contingent of overseas buyers from UAE, Scandinavia, Germany, Spain, and Italy taking on lively bidders from the UK and Ireland.

“The logistics that go into staging a Breeze Up Sale are huge and we would not be able to do it without the support of Fairyhouse Racecourse and Irish Thoroughbred Marketing. Charles O'Neill and the team at Irish Thoroughbred Marketing have worked so hard to attract overseas buyers and the team at Fairyhouse Racecourse provided us with a safe surface and excellent facilities. It was great to hear vendors being so complimentary about the new stretch of ground that had never been used for this sale before.

“We have no doubt this year's graduates will go on to be top-class performers across the globe and we look forward to following their journeys. We now turn our attention to compiling our catalogue for the September Yearling Sale and attracting a strong bench of purchasers back in the Autumn.”

The post Youth To Fore At Tatts Ireland As O’Donovan Leads Way With 270k Zelzal appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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So impressed is Hannon by Godolphin's freshman sire, whose first runner–Action Point (Ire)–was a winner, he has predicted that he will struggle to get near the progeny of Blue Point at the sales in the coming years. 

Alongside the leading bloodstock agents Peter and Ross Doyle, Hannon has amassed a team of over 100 two-year-olds to go to war with this season, of which he has revealed to TDN Europe the ones who have been showing up best at home. 

He said, “I have five or six Blue Points that all go very well and a Dandy Man (Ire) colt who I really like that will be out soon. There's also a lovely Soldier's Call (GB) colt, owned by Sheikh Abdullah Almalek Alsabah, who cost £60,000 at Donny [the Premier Yearling Sale]. 

“I have a £200,000 Dark Angel (Ire) colt belonging to Al Shaqab who was also picked up at Donny, a New Bay (GB) filly belonging to Amo Racing who is pretty sweet and a lovely Kodiac (GB) colt called Odin Legacy (Ire) who cost  €575,000 at the Goffs Orby Sale. He's a smashing horse.”

Hannon added, “I have a nice Havana Gold (GB) colt called Notta Nother. Havana Gold is an excellent stallion, as good as any of them, and he is a real trainers' stallion. He's going to be a big loss. Of the younger stallions coming through, I really like the Soldier's Call colt that I have and I liked Soldier's Call as a racehorse as well. 

“I love the Blue Points. They are all pretty similar-looking and you can see the Shamardal coming out in them but they all go nicely. I don't think I will be able to afford many of these Blue Points next year–he could have a big year which will make them very expensive next year.”

Mehmas (Ire) and Night Of Thunder (Ire), who Hannon trained to record major honours with, have sky-rocketed in value since they retired to stud, with the handler revealing that even he now struggles to get near their offspring at the sales. 

But negotiating the sales has been made a great deal easier for the Hannon team through their long-standing relationship with Peter and Ross Doyle, according to the trainer, whose approach to the yearling sales is unrivalled given most of the stock is bought on spec. 

Richard Hannon and Ross Doyle | Tattersalls

Hannon said, “Peter and Ross Doyle are top-class. Ross and I are great mates and have worked together for 25 years now–like our fathers did before us. It's been a great relationship and a very natural one. Ross fits exactly what we want and is a great asset to our business as I hope we are to his. We've been together a long time and not many of those trainer-agent relationships last as long.”

He added, “There's a lot of competition out there now. We can't afford to buy the pedigrees so we have to look for the individuals. The old 20 grand is now 60 grand. We need those horses in the cheaper bracket as that's what owners want with two-year-olds. It's also very exciting owning two-year-olds and they will always sell. We sold all of our yearlings last year. I thought it would be a lot harder to get it done but thankfully we did.”

Hannon is well-represented in terms of numbers in all of the early-entry sales races. The team have targeted and been successful in those races in recent years, with Gubbass (Ire) (Mehmas {Ire}) and Shouldvebeenaring (GB) (Havana Grey {GB}) being prime examples, and he described the plotting and dreaming that is involved in relatively cheap yearling purchases at this point of the season as one of the most exciting aspects to racehorse ownership. 

“This is the best time of year. Owners want to come and see their horses and everyone is full of hope ahead of another new season. The horses can change very quickly at this time of year and can transform into racehorses from little babies overnight. A bit of sun on their back and when they hit a bit of grass, you can see a massive change in their attitude, their appearance and their work.”

On other two-year-olds who are showing up well, he added, “I've got a nice Profitable (Ire) colt for Sheikh Abdullah Almalek Alsabah who cost £68,000 at the Premier Yearling Sale, a lovely Kodiac filly for Middleham Park Racing, a very nice Phoenix Of Spain (Ire) called Local Hero who only cost 37,000gns at the Tattersalls Somerville Sale. He belongs to Michael Pescod and is a fantastically-nice mover.

“We've a couple of nice two-year-olds by Advertise (GB). There's a filly there out of Raggety Ann (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) by him and she's a real nice type but might just need some time. 

“Mehmas is another fantastic stallion. We have five or six of them this year and we always try and buy a few. Night Of Thunder is another but they have become very hard to buy now as well.”

While Hannon has over 100 two-year-olds to work with, he revealed that he will be on the lookout for talent at the breeze-up sales, including at the Craven Sale next week, which is where Mehmas (Ire) was sourced for just 170,000gns by the Doyles back in 2016.

“If we see something that we think is good value, Ross will buy it, but I really don't have much interest in the ones who do the fastest times at the breeze-ups,” Hannon explained. “I really don't believe in that. The fastest horses are never the best horses–it's all about how long they can do it for. 

“Doing it over two furlongs is a false economy. All you want to see is a nice-moving horse who looks like it's not a squeezed lemon. It needs to have a bit of scope and a good attitude as well. But when it comes to the breeze-ups, we buy off the same sort of people every year. They are people we know and we know the horses that they produce have not been gunned at home.”

It's not all about the two-year-olds for team Hannon this season as Trillium(GB) (No Nay Never), who beat The Platinum Queen (Ire) (Cotai Glory {GB}) in the G2 Flying Childers at Doncaster last season, headlines a strong team of three-year-olds for the year ahead. 

Hannon said, “I have a very nice unraced three-year-old filly called Maman Joon (Ire) (Sea The Stars {Ire}). She could be a lovely mile-and-a-half filly. There's another lovely three-year-old filly called Mammas Girl (IGB) (Havana Grey {GB}) for Amo. 

“I've got Trillium as well and she's in great nick. She wants to go a little too fast sometimes but we'll probably start her off in the Sandy Lane or the Merriebelle. That's a Commonwealth Cup trial at Ascot so we'll take things from there with her.”

The post Richard Hannon: ‘I Love The Blue Points – He Could Have A Big Year’ 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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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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Figures on the up

The team at Goffs UK could hardly have wished for a better start to the Premier Yearling Sale. The day one figures were off the charts. Of the 218 lots offered on Tuesday, 199 were sold, representing a clearance rate of 91%. 

The aggregate was up 28% to £8,954,500, the average rose 15% to £44,997 and the median climbed 27% to £38,000.

There were noticeably less people around the sales complex at Doncaster on day two. While the figures failed to match what took place on Tuesday, there were some impressive numbers recorded on Wednesday, with an 87% clearance rate on a day where the aggregate climbed 11% to £7,003,000. 

The average on Wednesday went up 0.5% while the median fell by 4% to £32,000. That came despite the fact that there was some late drama in the ring with three of the last seven lots making six figures. 

All told, the sale went well. Of the 406 yearlings catalogued, 363 were sold, translating to a clearance rate of 89%. The aggregate was up 20% to £15,987,500 while the average was up 8% and the median rose by 9%.

Big Results From Small Numbers For Fitzgerald

Alice Fitzgerald knows what she is doing. It was at the Premier Yearling Sale in 2021 when Fitzgerald sold her homebred Basil Martini (Ire) (Starspangledbanner {Aus}} out of 10,000gns purchase Under Offer (Bated Breath (GB) to MV Magnier for £160,000.

Fast forward 12 months and Fitzgerald, who never brings more than one or two to the sales, bagged another big pay-day by selling her Kodiac (GB) colt out of Night Queen (Ire) (Rip Van Winkle {Ire}) to Manor House Farm for £160,000. 

What's even more impressive about Fitzgerald? This isn't even her day job. 

John and Jess Dance Stock Up

Given John and Jess Dance bought six-time Group 1 winner Laurens (Fr) (Siyouni {Fr}) at this sale in 2016, it's only natural that the owners would have an affinity towards Doncaster, which was evident in the results. 

Under Manor House Stables, they signed for nine different yearlings at a total of £837,000, which was only bettered by the £1,162,000 that Peter and Ross Doyle spent across the two days on a whopping 17 different horses. 

However, of the top 10 spenders at the Premier Yearling Sale, nobody boasted a better average than John and Jess Dance. 

The couple spent an average of £93,000 on their nine lots, illustrating that they are seeking quality over quantity more so than ever before. 

High Praise From Doyle

Ross Doyle is renowned for being one of the best judges in the game. Along with his father Peter, he has sourced Mehmas, Barney Roy, Limato, Japan, Fairyland, Magna Grecia, Olympic Glory and much more. 

Therefore, when he praised Goffs for attracting the best bunch of yearlings that he has seen for some time, it reflected well on the quality of the sale.

Doyle signed for two of the top lots in the sale, a colt by New Bay (GB) [211] for £200,000 on day one, and a lovely Dark Angel (Ire) colt [251] the following day for the same figure. 

Grangemore signed for the Dark Angel colt at last year's Tattersalls December Foal Sales for 40,000gns and the sale to the Doyles, who didn't reveal where the horse would be trained, secured a tidy pinhooking profit. The New Bay colt will be trained by Richard Hannon. 

Two Top-Notch Pinhooks

There were a number of good pinhooks over the course of the sale but two stood out. The first was that of lot 21, a gorgeous Ten Sovereigns (Ire) filly that Jamie Railton bought for €26,000 off Ballybin Stud at the November Foal Sales at Goffs last year before selling to Richard Hughes for a cool £110,000 on Tuesday.

The second was an even greater piece of inspiration as Violet Hesketh and Mimi Wadham, who run WH Bloodstock, and transformed lot 171 from a €38,000 purchase back in February to a £120,000 yearling just six months later. 

A colt by Kuroshio (Aus), lot 171 was tipped to do well after a number of shrewd judges got him vetted and, in the end, he was knocked down to Mark McStay and it's understood the colt will be sent to Fozzy Stack to be trained. 

Kuroshio Holding His Own

Kuroshio has been around the world and back but this year represented the classy Australian's first crop of runners since he took up residency at Starfield Stud in 2020. After a slow start to the season, Dontspoilasale (Ire) has come along and won for the stallion in Ireland, and looks potentially progressive, while Jessica Harrington's Panic Alarm (Ire) should be winning races for the stallion when he gets softer ground conditions. 

All told, anyone who has backed Kuroshio will be a lot happier now than ever before as last week's figures were respectable. Away from the headline-maker, lot 171, the Baroda Stud-drafted filly [lot 258] also secured a solid sale for the stallion, and changed hands to join John and Jess Dance for £48,000. All four yearlings by the stallion were sold. 

Force Behind Highclere Stallion

Some will argue that Land Force (Ire) is riding the crest of a No Nay Never wave, and that may have been an entirely plausible summation of the situation had his yearlings not been so impressive in the flesh. 

Top judges Clive Cox-who went to £85,000 to secure lot 71-and Oliver St Lawrence bought progeny by the stallion. Some of the best in the breeze-up business, Katie Walsh, Longways Stables and Con Marnane, also rowed in behind Land Force this week. 

Jake Warren even tipped the Highclere-based stallion for first-season sire honours and, while there is a lot of water to pass under that particular bridge, the early signs are promising for anyone with a Land Force in their stable. 

Of the 17 offered this week, 14 were sold at an aggregate of £510,000, which averaged out at £36,429.

Noteworthy Buyers

A number of top agents, trainers and breeze-up buyers relayed how footfall had increased at the sale and, as a result, it was going to be even harder to smoke out a bargain. 

Well, buyers also had to contend with major competition from afar as Wesley Ward also got in on the action, signing for lot 200, a Lynn Lodge-consigned £82,000 daughter of US Navy Flag. 

Ward is clearly a fan of the stallion and why wouldn't he be? The Patrick Grogan-bred Love Reigns (Ire), whose only defeat in three starts for the American-based trainer, came when she finished fourth in the G2 Queen Mary S. at Royal Ascot. Time will tell if Ward has bagged himself another Royal Ascot filly. 

It should be said that, for all that Eddie O'Leary has a host of international clients, he still made time for his neighbour at Goffs. At one point in the afternoon on Wednesday, Nick Nugent on the rostrum announced, 'from one corner of Mullingar to the other,' when Roger O'Callaghan of Tall-Ho purchased a Mehmas colt [lot 349] for £45,000 off his fellow Westmeath native. 

O'Leary's Lynn Lodge Stud ended proceedings with 11 yearlings sold for £677,000 at an average of £61,545, making the operation the fifth most successful across the two days. 

Tally-Ho Dominate

It was an excellent sale for Tally-Ho. Not only was the stud responsible for the top lot, the Blandford Bloodstock-bought Night Of Thunder (Ire) filly [lot 278] out of five-time winner and listed-placed Thiswaycadeaux (Thewayyouare), but they also ended proceedings as the leading consignors with 24 yearlings making £1,544,000 in total.

That was needed, according to Roger O'Callaghan, who revealed that there were 60 more yearlings standing in the field at home in Westmeath, with 40 needing to be broken in and prepared for the breeze-ups.

Away from the excellent results posted by their own stock, Tally-Ho will have been delighted by how all the progeny of their resident stallions were received with yearlings by Kodiac, Cotai Glory, Kessaar, Galileo Gold, Mehmas and young sire Inns Of Court doing well. 

Night Of Thunder Stars

But the star of the show, without question, was Darley's Night Of Thunder. Along with Tally-Ho's sales-topping filly, the Mountarmstrong Stud-drafted Night Of Thunder [170] colt out of Pious Alexander, which ended day one on top at £230,000, ensured it was a memorable sale for the sire.

Mark McStay landed the day one leader, after which, the leading agent labelled Night Of Thunder, the sire of last week's spellbinding G1 Nunthorpe S. winner Highfield Princess (Fr), as a solid source of top-class talent. 

Classy Siblings On Show

Some pedigrees leapt off the page. The Galileo Gold half-brother [280] to Nunthorpe runner-up The Platinum Queen (Ire) (Cotai Glory {GB}) made £170,000 to join Richard Spencer, the Ulysses (Ire)  half-brother [213] to Coventry S. winner Bradsell (GB) (Tasleet {GB}) was knocked down to Dance Thoroughbreds for £150,000 and Whitsbury Manor's Havana Grey (GB) half-sister to Sandy Lane S. scorer El Caballo (GB) (Havana Gold {Ire}) was all the rage at £230,000 with Jack Warren of Highclere doing the buying. 

Havana Grey Shines

Of the 22 horses offered by Havana Grey, all bar one were sold for a total of £1,089,000, averaging at £51,857. Whitsbury's Ed Harper revealed that his performance is exceeding the wildest dreams but, with nine individual black-type horses in his first crop, perhaps buyers were cottoning on to the fact that they have been witnessing something special.

Soldier's Answers The Call

This game is all about looking towards the future and the early signs are that Joe Foley has another real one at Ballyhane Stud in Soldier's Call (GB). 

The man knows how to launch a stallion and must have taken great credit about how Soldier's Call cleared £563,000 from 13 yearlings sold at an average of £43,308. 

What's more, Foley was prepared to put his money where his mouth is, and bought the top lot [212] by the sire for £105,000 off Tinnakill House Stud for Steve Parkin. 

The post The Major Talking Points From The Premier Yearling Sale At Doncaster appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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All sectors of the bloodstock market, on both sides of the ocean, soaked up the Covid crisis with astounding resilience. But the Craven Sale understandably subsided from the boom that had peaked in 2017 and 2018 with averages exceeding 140,000gns, clocking an average over the past two years of 95,000gns and 86,000gns, respectively.

But the opening exchanges here represented a huge rally. Albeit the clearance rate slipped a little, the average for the first session roared up 22% from 99,769gns to 121,365gns; with the median also advancing nicely from 80,00gns to 86,000gns. Turnover was only marginally down (3%) despite withdrawals leading to a diminished offering: 52 of 67 sold, compared with 65 of 76 last year.

Obviously a breeze-up catalogue tends to be very uneven, depending where the fastest breezers may be lurking, and that volatility can be exaggerated in a relatively boutique offering. So we'll see how things stack up after Wednesday's second session, but the first impressions were certainly heartening.

Loughnane Tops Session For 525,000gns Kodiac Colt

Some of the most extraordinary chapters in the extraordinary story of Kodiac (GB) have been written at the breeze-ups, and there was another one here when David Loughnane signed a 525,000gns docket to make lot 29 the sire's most valuable 2-year-old yet.

The February colt was presented by the farm that has supervised the rise and rise of Kodiac, Tally-Ho Stud—and that operation's trademark acuity is condensed by the fact that they acquired his dam No Lippy (Ire) (Oasis Dream {GB}) for just 20,000gns at the 2018 December Sale here. This was a full-sister to stakes winner Polybius (GB), and the winner of three of her first four juvenile starts; while her mother Freedonia (GB) (Selkirk) won the G2 Prix de Pomone before being Grade I-placed on turf in the U.S. And now No Lippy's first foal into the sales ring has hit the ball out of the park.

“I loved everything about him,” Loughnane said after seeing off underbidder Oliver St Lawrence. “He looks an out-and-out Royal Ascot horse. His dam was a very good 2-year-old for Mark Johnston, and he's a lovely, very well-balanced horse that did an exceptional breeze, the second-fastest of the lot. Fingers crossed he can back it up on the track, but the sire has obviously done it year in, year out, and he comes from a very good farm.”

Loughnane said he was acting on behalf of a new syndicate, and signed jointly in the name of OMNI Horse. “I knew he wasn't going to be cheap, but thankfully I have some owners who are willing to back me,” he said.

He has given them ample grounds for doing so, after his best season yet in 2021—not least thanks to Go Bears Go (Ire), who won the G2 Railway S. after his 150,000gns acquisition at this sale. That colt is by Kodi Bear (Ire), himself penning a new chapter for Kodiac as a sire of sires.

525,000gns for lot 29 at the #TattsCraven @BrzUps Sale. This colt by Kodiac, @HoStud, was consigned by Tally-Ho Stud and is from the family G1 winner Albigna. He was bought by @DaveLoughnane_ /OMNI Horse. pic.twitter.com/WhjHvjacaL

— TDN (@theTDN) April 12, 2022

Mehmas Follows In Studmate Kodiac's Slipstream

Tally-Ho received another handsome dividend—and some corresponding compliments—when Ross Doyle gave 300,000gns for lot 65, a February filly by their latest phenomenon Mehmas (Ire). It was at this same sale in 2016, of course, that the agent and his father Peter bought the son of Acclamation (GB) from Horse Park Farm for 170,000gns.

“This filly comes from one of the very best farms in the game,” the agent said. “And of course we're all huge fans of the sire. He's been very good to a lot of people already, ourselves included, and obviously Richard Hannon is a massive fan too. He has done magnificently well at Tally-Ho.”

The dam Soft Power (Ire) (Balmont) has already hit the bull's eye for the farm, another of whose young sires, Galileo Gold (GB), covered her in his debut season—and promptly came up with G1 Phoenix S. winner Ebro River (Ire). Soft Power is a half-sister to the dam of star sprinter Slade Power (Ire) (Dutch Art {GB}).

Doyle expects that his unnamed client will ultimately seek residual value from that page, but hopes that she will enhance it first. “She looks like she would do what it says on the tin: hopefully, she's a real 2-year-old,” he said. “There's a lot of speed on the page. If she can run like the way she looked [on Monday], you'd hope there might be some black type along the way.”

But Doyle had kept some powder dry for the very last lot into the ring, the wildcard 81A. This was a filly by Zoustar (Aus) picked up by Midland Equine, Ltd. at Arqana last August for €75,000. Having meanwhile lodged with Robson Aguiar, here she elevated her value giddily to 400,000gns.

“She's outstanding,” enthused Doyle, this time operating for a new client. “I haven't seen a filly like that for a long time. She's an unbelievable individual: she has a lovely big ear, an honest head, everything is in the right place and she takes everything very easy. She breezed well, and comes highly recommended from a very good home.”

For his part, Aguiar had earlier done a productive sale with another filly by a young stallion, converting the Tasleet filly (lot 54) he bought for 75,000gns at the Tattersalls Somerville Sale into a 200,00gns purchase for Kerri Radcliffe/OMNI Horse.

Parr On The Trail Of The Champion

Speaking to TDN on the eve of the sale, Norman Williamson of Oak Tree Farm had not disguised his enthusiasm for the War Front colt he brought here as lot 39—and that counted for plenty, in the man who sold subsequent champion juvenile Native Trail (GB) (Oasis Dream {GB}) here this time last year.

There was corresponding demand for a colt that had slipped through the cracks of Book 1 at Keeneland last year, but it was agent Ted Durcan who gave Satish Seemar no way back at 425,000gns.

But while Native Trail joined the Godolphin powerhouse, this was a striking roll of the dice for an ambitious name at the other end of the town's training spectrum. Joseph Parr is only embarking on his third season, but here he could be grateful for some extremely purposeful backing from patron Oliver Harris.

“He's a smashing-looking horse from a marvellous stable,” said Durcan. “He's fairly self-explanatory, really. He did a smashing breeze and he's just a beautiful stamp of a horse. He's obvious and you have to pay for them.”

Durcan expects that the horse will be one for seven furlongs and Williamson concurs that he has the build to keep progressing.

War Front is the sire of another of Williamson's star graduates in GI Preakness winner War Of Will. The consignor stressed his gratitude to Mark McStay, who completed a $170,000 private sale through his Avenue Bloodstock agency after this horse went through the ring unsold at that price.

“I have to give Mark a mention,” Williamson said. “He knew I'd had luck with War Of Will, and he said, 'Listen there's a War Front colt out here that's not been sold.' Tim Hyde [Jr.] went out to the farm and took videos and all the rest, but really without Mark we wouldn't have got him.”

Williamson was emphatic when asked whether this colt evoked War Of Will. “Yes,” he said firmly. “He's very similar: action, attitude, he's always fresh and happy with life, which is interesting. If he's as good, then we'll be more than happy. For a War Front, size and build-wise, he's big and strong with a lot of scope. Let's hope he's a racehorse, but he really is beautiful and his breeze was beautiful too.”

War Front's books have been managed with care and his dam earned her access as a graded stakes-placed daughter of Giant's Causeway, out of G1 Oaks d'Italia winner Meridiana (Ger) (Lomitas {GB}).

 Yet Another Admirer For Tally-Ho

The system really is working well, so the “send-more-money” bit should take care of itself. Richard Brown wasn't quite sure which of Blandford Bloodstock's clients would step up to the plate for a Night Of Thunder colt consigned by Tally-Ho Stud as lot 9—but he is confident that it will be a privilege well worth 225,000gns.

That's partly because of the way this colt, a €77,000 Goffs November foal, captivated the agent's attention with both his build and his breeze. But it's also because Blandford and Tally-Ho have clicked so often in the past.

True, some of their deepest gold strikes have been at Doncaster—most notably Dream Ahead (Diktat {GB}), a £36,000 bargain back in 2010; Ardad (Ire) (Kodiac {GB}), who also proved great value even as a £170,000 co-sale topper at the same auction in 2016; and now, with a turn of the wheel, a son of that horse in Perfect Power (Ire), bought for £110,000 last year before adding two Group 1 wins to his Royal Ascot success. And Brown also has high hopes for another of Richard Fahey's charges, Umm Kulthum (Ire) (Kodiac {GB}), confined to a light second season but expected to take high rank as a mature sprinter.

“We have a long and happy history with Tally-Ho,” Brown said. “We've gone back to them for many years now and it's been a source of so many good horses. This colt did a fabulous breeze, I loved all of it. I'm a huge fan of the sire and I'd say he has set sail to reach another level again. I don't have a client as such for him, but I am sure there'll be plenty who will want to train a colt like this!”

The sales pitch should feature his damsire Ghostzapper as a promising addition to a line of classy broodmare sires, plus a half-sister to multiple Grade I winner Magical Fantasy (Diesis {GB}) as second dam.

Seemar Bookends The Session With Dubai Exports

It didn't take long to ignite the session, with Satish Seemar forced to 210,000gns to export only the second lot into the ring—a €45,000 Orby pinhook by Johnny Collins of Brown Island Stables.

It was Collins who led the breeze-up sector's fightback in the chaos of 2020, topping this sale when it was eventually staged (in late June) with a 575,000gns Night Of Thunder colt (who, incidentally, broke his maiden for Chris Waller in Australia just a couple of weeks ago).

This lucrative debut at the breeze-ups was obviously a feather in the cap of rookie Saxon Warrior (Jpn), who is off the mark in France already and was here represented by a February colt out of a winning Sea The Stars (Ire) mare.

“With his low [catalogue] number, we were happy to find one at the beginning of the sale,” said Seemar. “One of our regular clients in Dubai has a liking for the Japanese breeding so it was perfect match. As an individual, this horse was very impressive, and he passed the vet the way we like. But I knew with [the] action he was getting we would have to pay a premium—which we did.”

The trainer believes that a young horse will adapt to whatever surface is suggested, and that we should resist assumptions. Dirt will certainly be offered to the horse, then, but to Seemar the key is that young horses of sufficient quality are introduced to the maturing local programme.

“We've been working hard at getting breeze-up horses for the last six years or so,” he said. “If you don't bring in new blood then the programme will never improve. He will ship in a couple of weeks, acclimatise and should be for November or December.”

Having pounced early, Seemar bookended the session by giving 230,00gns for one of the final lots into the ring: a Medaglia d'Oro colt presented as lot 75 by Powerstown Stud.

Collins, meanwhile, pulled off another fine pinhook with an Oasis Dream (GB) colt he had bought at Baden-Baden for €58,000. Here, presented as lot 47, he made 310,000gns from Godolphin.

The previous time he went prospecting for yearlings in Germany, he came back with future G1 Preis Von Europa winner Khan (Ger) (Santiago {Ger})—albeit he sold him at Arqana at a loss.

“I bought three horses, including Khan,” Collins recalled. “It's going to be hard to beat that—though Khan didn't make me any money! This was a beautiful yearling with a great walk, I was surprised that I got him to be honest. He has been a lovely horse all the way through, and shown us a lot of speed. If you go through his pedigree, he's probably bred to get a mile-plus, but I'll let Charlie Appleby be the judge of that!”

Certainly his new owners won't want to end up on the same slide as Khan—who was actually last seen winning over hurdles at Ludlow in January!

The sale resumes at 5.30pm on Wednesday.

The post Kodiac Colt Leads The Way At Tattersalls appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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He says, “We have a system where we see every single horse at the foal sales and the yearling sales amongst our team, so we get a very good overview on what stallions are throwing, and types and temperaments. Obviously we buy for other people but when we're buying for Richard Hannon, we're often buying horses on spec, so our budget is limited to a point.

“So we are able to take a bit of a gamble on a physical by a stallion that we like the look of, where other agents might be tied down a bit to instructions, or an owner wanting a specific established stallion. And we've been lucky over the years with first-season sires—and don't get me wrong, it's a big gamble—but Mehmas's sire Acclamation (GB) is a good example. From the first crop of Acclamation I think we bought seven yearlings. Thinking back, at the time, they weren't expensive horses—[dual listed winner and Group 3-placed] Cake (Ire) was £13,000, and that's the way we roll, we have to take a punt on certain horses every year.

“We bought close to 100 yearlings last year and that includes four by Ribchester (Ire), four by Profitable (Ire), three or four by Ardad (Ire), a couple by Aclaim (Ire), and a couple by Churchill (Ire). As far as physicals go, all those horses were stamping their stock in their own way, and in the way you'd like them to. They are all getting a consistent type of horses that we liked.

“I see there are an awful lot of Ardads in the breeze-ups, which is interesting. The breeze-up men must have liked the look of them. As a racehorse, he was hard-knocking all year long at a very good level, and he's a good-looking horse with a good pedigree, by one of the outstanding sires in Europe in many years. It would also be no surprise if Aclaim did well—he's by Acclamation with a very good pedigree, from Montjeu's family. He got a very nice type and I really liked the way the Aclaims improved with time, even from the foal sales to yearlings. I think that's a great sign in young stock. They were grand types as foals but they really came back as very good yearlings.

“It's the first time in a good couple of years that we have really seen five or six horses that potentially have a solid chance on the types they are getting or on how they're bred. That makes it an extremely competitive first-season sire list. If I was to tip one, I think Ribchester has a good chance on the types he got, and I know the feedback coming from Hannon's and other places that have them is that they've got lovely temperaments and they carry themselves well. They seem to be showing all the right signs. Churchill is probably going to be a slower burner but we liked his stock as well.”

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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