Tag: Sergei Prokofiev

Value Sires Part V: Everything to Prove

For this final part of the series, we are looking at stallions who have retired to stud since 2021 and will thus have either first foals or yearlings at the sales this year or are about to cover their first book of mares.

There is plenty to digest from three years' intake and of course prices can often drop after a stallion's first year at stud, so there could be some value to be found for breeders willing to roll the dice on a stallion about to embark on his third season. He will have first runners before the resultant offspring of this year's matings make it to a sale. As always, results on the track are everything, and we are very much in unproven territory here. 

As with the earlier parts of this series, the sires have been divided into fee brackets and though there is of course some discrepancy between the euro and the pound, we are treating them as equals here.

Stallions standing at £/€25,000 and above

At £80,000, Baaeed (GB) is the most expensive young sire to retire to stud within this timeframe and it would not have been a surprise if he had commenced covering at a six-figure fee. Instead he is starting at almost exactly the same level as his sire Sea The Stars (Ire) and the problem for Shadwell won't be filling his book, rather deciding which breeders they have to let down. 

Some will baulk at Baaeed's absence of two-year-old form but, at 135, he is the highest-rated son of a brilliant stallion with a wonderful pedigree behind him, as well as a race record that includes victory in six coveted Group 1 races in Britain and France. He'll be given a great chance in his new career and in a few years £80,000 may look very reasonable at this upper level of the stallion market.

Baaeed got the better of Palace Pier (GB) in the 2021 Champion S., but until then the latter had compiled a similar race record, albeit his included maiden and novice wins at two. This top-class miler had his fee trimmed to £50,000 from £55,000 for this year, after a who's who of international breeders lined up to use him in 2022, when he covered 154 mares, including the dams of Cracksman (GB) and Farhh (GB).

On a swelteringly hot June day in Chantilly, Sottsass (Fr) became the first Group 1-winning colt for his Siyouni (Fr) when landing the Prix du Jockey Club of 2019. One could sense the joy Peter Brant derived that day from winning a French Classic, and that was multiplied the following year when Sottsass claimed the Arc, too. He is of course a son of the Monceaux super mare Starlet's Sister (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) and has been clipped to €25,000 from his €30,000 opening fee. His owner backed him strongly with his own mares and his first yearlings will take to the ring from August. A year behind him and bred on the same Siyouni-Galileo cross is the former champion juvenile St Mark's Basilica (Fr) who sailed through his 3-year-old seasons with a French Classic double followed up by victories in the Eclipse and Irish Champion S. A heftier price tag of €65,000 greeted his arrival at Coolmore, and his first foals will be arriving this spring, while his half-brother Magna Grecia (Ire) (Invincible Spirit {Ire}) will be represented by his first runners. A big year for the family.

One name that we can expect to make a big splash at the yearling sales this year is the 2020 Horse of the Year Ghaiyyath (Ire). The first foals of the son of Dubawi (Ire) and Classic heroine Nightime (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) returned a six-figure average just above 100,000gns, with a 375,000gns top lot. He is competitively priced at €25,000 and he has covered some smart mares, including G1 Fillies' Mile winner Lyric Of Light (GB) (Street Cry {Ire}), G2 Rockfel S. winner and 1,000 Guineas runner-up Lucida (Ire) (Shamardal), and dual Group 3 winner Tickled Pink (Ire) (Invincible Spirit {Ire}), who is also the dam of G1 Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf winner Victoria Road (Ire) (Saxon Warrior {Jpn}).

Pinatubo (Ire) carried all before him in his unbeaten juvenile season, ending 2019 as the champion in Europe. It is easy to imagine that his offspring could show similar precocity, thus making it a decent bet that his first yearlings will sell well this year. For these reasons, along with strong support from breeders, he has remained at €35,000 since his retirement to stud. His sire Shamardal had started out at €40,000 and dropped in years four and five to half that amount. We all know what happened after that: his fee climbed steadily, along with his reputation for excellence. 

Persian King (Ire) was an early star and a first Classic winner for his sire Kingman (GB). A Group 3-winning juvenile, beating Magna Grecia (Ire) in the Autumn S. at Newmarket, he took the Poule d'Essai des Poulains and then added a further two Group 1 wins to his credit at four in the Prix d'Isaphan and Prix du Moulin. A first try at a mile and a half on his swansong saw him finish third behind Sottsass in the Arc. He entered stud at a sold €30,000 and has been trimmed slightly in this, his third year, to €25,000.

Last season's champion juvenile Blackbeard (Ire) will remain a brilliant 2-year-old in our memories as he has been retired to stud off his dual Group 1 strikes in the Prix Morny and Middle Park S. From his eight starts, he won six, as early as the beginning of April and including the G3 Marble Hill and G2 Prix Robert Papin. 

At a time when many breeders will struggle to get near his sire No Nay Never, Blackbeard looks an appealing alternative at €25,000 and it's unlikely that he will lack support. 

Stallions standing at £/€15,000 to £/€24,999

Godolphin had an embarrassment of Shamardal riches in 2019 with Pinatubo stealing the show but Earthlight (Ire) more than holding his own when, just like Blackbeard three years later, he won the G1 Prix Morny and G1 Middle Park. Earthlight's foals sold well last year and, now trimmed from an opening fee of €20,000 to €15,000, he could well be good value at this level. Victor Ludorum (GB), who completed Godolphin's hat-track of homebred Group 1-winning sons of Shamardal that year, stayed in training through his 4-year-old season after winning the Prix Jean-Luc Lagardere and Poule d'Essai des Poulains in his first two years in training. His final win was in the G3 Prix Messidor, and he too is at €15,000 at Haras du Logis.

Hello Youmzain (Fr) has Shamardal on his dam's side and is a rare son of Kodiac (GB) in France. He's a durable one, too. In three seasons to race, he was a Group 2-winning juvenile before landing the G1 Sprint Cup at three and the G1 Diamond Jubilee at four. Starting out at €25,000, he's now at €22,500 in his third season.

At the same stage in their stud careers are two Group 1-winning milers: Kameko and Mohaather (GB). The former, by Kitten's Joy and a top-level winner at two and three, has had a £10,000 reduction from his opening fee and is now at £15,000, while Mohaather, a sleek son of Showcasing (GB), has also been at that fee for two years, having started at £20,000.

Like the aforementioned Victor Ludorum, Lucky Vega (Ire) also represents the Shamardal line, has his first foals arriving, and is also pitched in at €15,000. He has received significant backing by his owner Yulong Investments, and is one of a number of young sons of Lope De Vega (Ire) at stud. It is doubtless hoped by his connections that he will pick up the baton for this line which is increasingly flourishing in Europe.

Similar comments can be applied to Space Blues (Ire) and the Dubawi sire-line. The hardy little chestnut really hit his stride as an older horse after being Group 1-placed and a listed winner at three. His top-level wins came in the Prix Maurice de Gheest (beating Hello Youmzain) at four, before he signed off at five with an international G1 double in the Prix de la Foret and Breeders' Cup Mile. He has been competitively priced at €16,000 this season.

The G1 July Cup winner Starman (GB) was one of the busiest Flat stallions of 2022, with David Ward's statuesque homebred given a rousing reception at Tally-Ho Stud when covering 254 mares at a fee of €17,000. That has been trimmed his season to €15,000.

Entering stud this season in this bracket are the Group 1 winners State Of Rest (Ire) at €25,000, and Mishriff (Ire) and Torquator Tasso (Ger) at €20,000. Perfect Power (Ire) begins at a fee of £15,000 in Newmarket, while in Ireland Bayside Boy (Ire), Minzaal (Ire) and Naval Crown (Ire) are all starting off at €15,000.

Stallions standing at £/€7,500 to £/€14,999

In France, where Wootton Bassett (GB) is almost certainly missed, his fast son Wooded (Fr) was added to the ranks at Haras de Bouquetot in 2021 after winning the G1 Prix de l'Abbaye. Starting off at €15,000, his first yearlings are on the horizon and his fee has been snipped to €12,000.

Wooded went head-to-head in Normandy with Golden Horde (Ire), another Group 1-winning sprinter who joined the Sumbe team and will also have his first yearlings for sale this year. His opening mark of €10,000 has been reduced to €8,000.

Circus Maximus (Ire) has tended to sail a little under the radar, but it should not be forgotten that he is a treble Group 1-winning miler by Galileo (Ire) out of a classy mare in the Group 2 winner Duntle (Ire) (Danehill Dancer {Ire}). His fee has been halved from his first year to €10,000 in his third year, and he has some potentially smart offspring to represent him, including Proxima Centauri (Ire), a filly out of his breeder's four-time Group 1 winner Alpha Centauri (Ire) (Mastercraftsman {Ire}) and a colt out of the smart racemare Banimpire (Ire) (Holy Roman Emperor {Ire})

Another well-bred son of Galileo, Japan (GB), joined the German stallion division at Gestut Etzean in 2022 and has remained at €11,000 for his first two seasons. The National Stud's Lope Y Fernandez (Ire) is another with first foals arriving and his fee has also been maintained at £8,500, while the G1 Middle Park S. winner Supremacy (Ire), one of a number of young sons of Mehmas (Ire) to retire to stud in the last two years, has been trimmed from €12,500 to €10,000 at Yeomanstown Stud. A year behind him is another Mehmas horse, Persian Force (Ire), who starts out at Tally-Ho Stud, where he was conceived, at €10,000.

The Chehboub family's Haras de Beaumont sets out its stall as one of the newest stallion operations in France by standing their own Prix Jean-Luc Lagardere and Champion S. winner Sealiway (Fr) at an opening fee of €12,000.

If you set a stallion's fee against the number of miles covered in their careers then Stradivarius (Ire) would certainly represent value as he raced over almost 65 miles during his 35 races, 20 of which he won, including 18 group races. In fact, any way you look at it, you get plenty of bang for your buck (£10,000, to be precise) when booking a mare to the charismatic stayer, for his noted soundness is exemplified by his elastic movement which has turned many heads since he joined the stallion yard at the National Stud. Throw in the Stradivarius breeder bonus offered by his owner Bjorn Nielsen, which rewards the breeders of his first ten 2-year-old winners with £25,000 each, and first-crop group winners with £100,000 for Group 2 or 3 races and £250,000 for a Group 1 victory, then he is certainly worthy of serious consideration.

Stallions standing at less than £/€7,500

Farhh (GB) may have covered only limited books since retiring to stud in 2014 but he now has four sons at stud. Two of those, Far Above (Ire) and King Of Change (GB), stand alongside each other at Starfield Stud and have their first yearlings on offer later this year. Yes, it's a chancey time to use any third-year stallion, but at €5,000 and €6,000 respectively, they look well-priced, and the Group 1-winning miler King Of Change in particular came in for some compliments from shrewd operators when his first foals were in the sales rings last November.

We may have trouble saying his name, but Sergei Prokofiev did not go unnoticed when his first foals hit the sales last year either, and the son of Scat Daddy is another ensuring that the Whitsbury Manor Stud stallion barn remains plenty busy over the coming months. At £6,000 he is competitively priced, and the same can be said for River Boyne (Ire), Tara Stud's Grade 1-winning son of Dandy Man (Ire), who has remained at €5,000, the same fee set this year for Shaman (Ire), the Wertheimer-bred son of Shamardal who is at Yeomanstown Stud.

One of the most interesting horses in this fee bracket is Sands Of Mali (Fr), winner of the Gimcrack at two, followed by the G1 QIPCO British Champions Sprint at three among his four group victories. He's by a stallion that has some people scratching their heads, the dual Group 3 winner Panis, himself a son of the influential Miswaki. At €5,000, Sands Of Mali is an easy horse to breed to, but not just because of his largely outcross pedigree: he was also talented and is good-looking to boot. He has recently been joined at Ballyhane Stud by Space Traveller (GB), a son of Bated Breath (GB) who raced until he was six, having won the G2 Clipper Logistics Boomerang S. and G3 Jersey S. at three. His final start came last season when denied by a head to finish second in the GI Frank E Kilroe Mile at Santa Anita, and he starts his new career at a fee of €6,500.

Also at €5,000 at Castlefield Stud in Ireland is Alkumait (GB). We can be certain that his half-brother Chaldean (GB) (Frankel {GB}) will end up at stud eventually, but in the meantime this Group 2 winner has stolen a march and joins an increasing throng of sons of the popular Showcasing (GB) now at stud.

No Nay Never is another stallion with increasing representation among the stallion ranks and his young sons include Arizona (Ire), who is at Castleyhde Stud and the Molecomb S. winner Armor (GB), a recruit last year to Haras de Bouquetot. Both stand at €5,000, while Armor has been joined at Bouquetot by the G1 National S. winner Thunder Moon (Ire), who stands for €6,000.

A'Ali (Ire), a son of the late Society Rock who notched up four Group 2 wins during his career with Simon Crisford, joined the throng at Newsells Park Stud last season and his fee has been reduced from an opening mark of £7,500 to £5,000 this year, making him another to be a potentially value option for breeders. 

Tally-Ho Stud is represented as the breeder of a growing number of stallions at stud, including A'Ali and also Overbury Stud's new recruit Caturra (Ire). The Flying Childers winner is the first son of Mehmas to stand in the UK, and he has joined another Tally-Ho-bred, Ardad (Ire), at the Gloucestershire farm, where he will start off at £6,500.

The latest son of Wootton Basssett to retire to stud in France is last season's Poule d'Essai des Poulains runner-up Texas (Fr), who now stands at Haras de Hoguenet for €3,800.

Big Shuffle's son Areion (Ger) made a pronounced mark on the German breeding scene over many years, and died last year at the age of 27. He has been succeeded in that country by the Group 1 winner Alson (Ger), who retired to Gestut Fahrhof last year and stands at €6,000, while Rubaiyat (Fr), a five-time group winner in Germany and Italy, is his latest son to take up stallion duties, and he is at Gestut Ohlerweiherhof, where he commands a fee of €4,500.

Value podium:
Instead of selecting a gold, silver and bronze medallist, as is the norm for this feature, I am opting instead for three stallions across the distance range whom I believe represent value at this early stage of their careers. There are no prizes for guessing that Stradivarius is one, and he is joined by the miler Mohaather and the sprinter Sands Of Mali.

The post Value Sires Part V: Everything to Prove appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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Freshman Sires All The Rage At Tattersalls

NEWMARKET, UK–With a hundred extra foals catalogued for this year's December Foal Sale, a lengthy opening session conducted in bursts of driving rain then bright sunshine kicked off the four days of trade in a largely positive manner. Both the average and median were up, as was turnover, albeit from a larger number offered and sold this year. Only the clearance rate, at 70%, was down, from 84% last year. The median of 13,000gns represented a 30% rise, while the average was up by 8% at 16,552gns. With 18 more yearlings marked as sold this year, the aggregate was 3,128,300gns.

There's always plenty of interest in the offspring of the first-season sires and leading the charge for the newcomers on Wednesday was Shadwell's smart G1 Sussex S. winner Mohaather (GB), one of a rising number of young sons of Showcasing (GB) at stud who was responsible for the co-top lot (486) who sold for 80,000gns.

Joe Foley has long been a fan of Showcasing, having bought Soldier's Call (GB) as a yearling for Clipper Logistics and now standing him at Ballyhane Stud, while Clipper's Steve Parkin bred his daughter, this year's G2 Queen Mary S. winner Dramatised (GB). Foley had to see off some stiff opposition for the Brook Stud-consigned son of multiple winner Lady Freyja (GB) (Mayson {GB}) who was bred by Jon A. Thompson.

Rifling through the rolodex of bloodstock sales cliches, Foley said with a wide grin, “He looked a real weapon. He comes from a good hotel, was a really good physical and he ticked all the right boxes for us. All the right people were on him; Luke Barry was the underbidder and he's some judge.”

The Ballyhane maestro added, “He was a real Showcasing; he reminded us of Showcasing and of Soldier's Call. The mother was a good race filly, she was rated 90 and was useful, and we bought a Ribchester (Ire) from the same family in Book 3. I actually underbid Mohaather as a yearling so we were really keen to buy one as he was a high-class racehorse. His acceleration in the Sussex was a joy to behold. He looks like a racehorse and we will try to make him a racehorse.”

Consignor Dwayne Woods said, “He was bought by superlative judges, and he is a horse who will go forward and make up into a proper yearling.”

 

The dependable Juddmonte sire Bated Breath (GB) has been a friend to plenty of breeders and that includes Yvonne Jacques of Carisbrooke Stud, who sold her smart filly (lot 346) out of the treble winner Naqaawa (Ire) (Shamardal) to share the top of the table at 80,000gns. Tom Goff, acting on behalf of Surrey-based Rupert Gregson-Williams of Wardley Bloodstock, signed the ticket.

“She is a beautiful filly from a very good farm and with a lovely back pedigree,” said Goff of the relation to dual Group 3 winner Alflaila (GB) (Dark Angel {Ire}). “She has loads of class and quality, a good body and good movement. She could race or could come back here next year, we will see how she progresses through the year.

 

In addition to Mohaather, the plethora of first-season sires with their debut crop on display at Tattersalls includes the Whitsbury Manor Stud resident Sergei Prokofiev, who has a huge representation of 67 weanlings in the catalogue and made his presence felt during the first of four foal sessions at Park Paddocks. Charles Shanahan and Glenvale Stud's Flash Conroy signed for two by the son of Scat Daddy, lot 470 at 72,000gns and lot 291 at 40,000gns.

The former, consigned and co-bred by Selwood Bloodstock, is out of the Dutch Art (GB) mare Music Lesson (GB) from a family which includes dual Group 2 winner and French-based sire Triple Threat (Fr) and  multiple Group 1 winner Canford Cliffs (Ire).

Shanahan said, “The sire seems to be getting gorgeous-looking horses from what we have seen. He was obviously in training at Ballydoyle and it was thought that he had an awful lot of potential. We are thrilled to get one that looks like he does–he is a great mover with loads of scope, loads of strength, everything you look for in a foal that you want to sell on as a yearling. He was definitely the one we wanted to buy today.”

He added, “I was so impressed with his stock. Flash collected one earlier today so we are very keen on the sire and let's hope for everyone he can kick on over the next two years. This colt goes back to Ireland and Glenvale.”

Lot 291, offered by his breeders WHR John and Partners, is out of the multiple-winning Strategic Prince (Ire) mare Livella Fella (Ire), who has been mated exclusively with Whitsbury Manor Stud stallions and is the dam of Mai Alward (GB), one of the many first-crop winners for Havana Grey (GB) this season.

Sergei Prokofiev's 20 weanlings sold during the opening session sold for an average of 19,400gns from his initial fee of £6,000.

Kildangan Stud-based Earthlight (Ire), whose stock sold well at Goffs last week, is another freshman to have a weanling feature prominently on Wednesday in lot 446. Bred by Alex and Olivia Frost's Ladyswood Stud and consigned on their behalf by Barton Stud, the April-born colt is a son of the Group 3-placed Some Spirit (Ire) (Invincible Spirit {Ire}) from a family that stretches back to the influential matriarch Park Appeal (Ire) and includes the stallions Cape Cross (Ire), Iffraaj (GB) and Diktat (GB). He was bought by Yeomanstown Stud for 65,000gns.

Barton Stud manager Tom Blain said, “He's a cracking colt, bred at Ladyswood, which is a lovely farm and they are great people, we love selling for them.

“The colt came here and performed well and we got a good price, I hope Yeomanstown does well with him. He is just really nice type, and I like the stock that I have seen by Earthlight.”

Continuing the freshman theme, Newsells Park Stud resident Without Parole (GB) was represented by a colt from the draft of Natton House Thoroughbreds (lot 274), who took an early lead during the morning when sold at 46,000gns. The March-born weanling is also a first for his young dam, the dual winner Image Of The Moon (GB) (Mukhadram {GB}) and was bought by Julie Wood under her Woodstock banner.

Wood's famous colours have been represented by plenty of successful runners from the Hannon stable over the years, including Zebedee (GB) and Olympic Glory (Ire), and this season she tasted victory with Rich (GB), who is by another son of Frankel (GB) in Cracksman (GB).

“I thought I'd get in on the Frankel line again and his first-season sire son Without Parole,” she said. “This is a nice foal, he looks quite compact at the moment, has a touch of class and is a good walker.”

Without Parole was the sire of five youngsters to go through the ring on Wednesday for an average price of 26,000gns.

Kameko and Arizona (Ire) were also among the top lots of the day with a colt each sold at 45,000gns. The Kameko colt (lot 398) was offered by his home stud of Tweenhills and was pinhooked by Eddie O'Leary of Lynn Lodge Stud.

Meanwhile the Arizona colt from the family of Bushranger (Ire) was bought from Derek and Gay Veitch's Ringfort Stud by brothers Paul and Jim McCartan.

Roger Marley, better known as a breeze-up pinhooker, signed up an Iffraaj (GB) colt (lot 336) with a good recent update for 55,000gns from the draft of Baroda Stud. The weanling's juvenile half-brother Tyndrum Gold (GB) (Muharrar {GB}) won on debut on Nov. 2 for Roger Varian and Opulence Thoroughbreds.

Bred by the Reed family's Copgrove Hall Stud, the colt is out of a winning full-sister to the prolific sprinter La Cucaracha (GB) (Piccolo {GB}), winner of the G1 Nunthorpe S. among her seven victories.

Park Paddocks returns to action tomorrow with another 10 a.m. start.

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Who’s Hot Ahead Of The Tattersalls December Foal Sale?

The insatiable demand for foals was evident in the figures recorded at Goffs last week with turnover rising 16% to €29,561,000 and the average climbing 16% to €40,110.

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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Prokofiev In Right Key For Huge Tatts Debut

Ed Harper will never forget the time he first encountered Sergei Prokofiev in the flesh. The Whitsbury Manor Stud director was at the Rowley Mile for the G3 Cornwallis S., anticipating a big run from Heartwarming (GB) (Showcasing {GB}), a farm-bred filly leased to the Hot To Trot syndicate with Clive Cox.

“We fancied her heavily,” Harper recalls. “She'd been doing some very smart work, we knew we hadn't quite seen the best of her, today was the day. But then I saw Sergei Prokofiev in the pre-parade ring and thought, 'Crumbs, we could be in a bit of trouble here.'”

After all, the son of Scat Daddy had cost the Coolmore partners $1.1 million at the Keeneland September Sale the previous year, a graduate of David Anderson's exemplary nursery in Ontario. Though out of a Tapit half-sister to a graded stakes-winning juvenile, his overall pedigree was solid rather than sensational–an adjective that instead applied, unequivocally, to his physique.

In the event, Heartwarming found herself hopelessly stuck in traffic. But while Harper was vexed at the time, four years on he can look back at the winner's flamboyant performance as a platform for what has proved the most successful stallion launch in Whitsbury's history.

“Heartwarming got absolutely locked up,” Harper recalls. “I don't think Frankie [Dettori] even raised his whip, he was in a pocket the whole way. But meanwhile Sergei Prokofiev was just sidling out the back as if it were a half-pace spin, took a right-hand turn and overtook them all in three strides. It wasn't just the way he quickened up. He'd almost been tripping over heels, in fact I think he did at one point. It was just flabbergasting. If any of our clients ever asks me, 'Why this horse?' I just say go and watch the Cornwallis, and it answers the question.”

Enough of them did so for Sergei Prokofiev to cover 154 mares in 2021, making him not only the most popular new stallion ever launched by Whitsbury but also the busiest rookie of the intake. Partly that reflected a competitive opening fee of £6,500 (meanwhile trimmed to £6,000), but breeders obviously liked what they saw this spring with as many as 150 mares also crowding into the horse's second book.

As a result, the Foal Sale at Tattersalls this week is a pivotal moment in Sergei Prokofiev's new career. His footprint in the auction is quite staggering, with no fewer than 67 of his debut crop (before withdrawals) equating to nearly 6% of the catalogue.

The horse made a positive sales debut at Goffs last week, six foals all finding a new home at an average €34,167. But Tattersalls obviously promises to be a much headier experience for Harper and his team, not least with six Sergei Prokofiev colts and a filly among their own draft (two others scratched).

“I've been counting down the days, really,” Harper admits. “We know we've some lovely Sergei Prokofievs to sell, and our clients have been telling me likewise. Obviously the odd person has been slightly surprised to see how many he has in there. While he covered a good book in his first season, it was still less than a lot of other stallions cover, and it's really just a symptom of the way our good, regular clients include a very high proportion who sell as foals. Your typical small British breeder, for lots of different reasons, is probably leaning more towards being a foal vendor. And, at that level of nomination, a lot of our clients are among them.”

In fairness, his fee takes a lot of the pressure off those commercial breeders who appreciate the farm's candid orientation towards speed–with stellar results, once again, in the case of leading freshman Havana Grey (GB).

“Goffs went very well for Sergei,” Harper says. “They all sold, which is great, and at a very good average. The thing about his kind of fee is that you're not sweating over it for two years. I always feel that customers who make 30 or 40 grand off a six grand cover are a lot more relaxed than those that have to get massive numbers back.”

Next week is actually the consummation of something close to an obsession for Harper, tracing to long before that memorable exhibition in the Cornwallis. And, for that, he feels indebted to staff he can trust to maintain the smooth functioning of the farm.

“I think a big part of why we've been able to grow is that we have such a fantastic team here, who allow me to watch an awful lot of racing,” he explains. “It almost sounds like I'm shirking my duties, but I've learnt that it's actually the other way round. My job is to know what's happening on the racecourse. A lot of people in our industry only tend to watch races in which they have an interest. But while we're lucky enough to have four stallions with a lot of runners, I do try to watch every single 2-year-old race right through to October, November. That makes me sound like the saddest person on the planet, which I might well be. But it does mean I'm watching every race live, getting information real time, and that way I think it sinks in much deeper. And Sergei Prokofiev was one that hit me between the eyes with his first couple of runs.”

Ballydoyle gave him his debut in early April, when odds-on for a maiden at Dundalk only to be shaded in a photo by Skitter Scatter, likewise by Scat Daddy but with a run under her belt.

“I bet they were very disappointed he got beaten but he wasn't given a hard time and that filly went on to win the [G1] Moyglare Stud S.,” Harper notes. “She was a precocious little rocket, absolutely pin-ready that day. Sergei's a big strapping horse so, with what I know about him now, it's amazing to think that he was debuting as early as that. He went on to win his next race by eight lengths and never looked back. To get that size and stature and pedigree, combined with the fact that he was putting in those serious performances in April, you really don't see that too often. That's why he hit my radar so early.”

With hindsight, Harper is relieved that Sergei Prokofiev couldn't follow up his first stakes win in a strong edition of the G2 Coventry S., settling for third behind Calyx (GB) (Kingman {GB}) and Advertise (GB) (Showcasing {GB}): it would have been hard to land the horse, had he won that day. As it was, Sergei Prokofiev only cemented his talent by almost overcoming an awkward draw and a tricky passage from the rear. Similarly, even the rather fitful glimpses of his peak capacity, either side of the Cornwallis, only heightened Harper's interest.

“Because he's all speed, he needed races to fall his way,” he reasons of the 'TDN Rising Star'. “If they went off like scalded cats, he could just trot out the back. If they didn't, he'd pull hard because he wanted to go faster. But all his foals are going to know is that daddy liked to go fast. They're not going to read the form and see that they didn't go quick or whatever. In a perverse sort of way, that only underlined what I wanted to see, which is all speed.”

But there's another important dimension to this horse that needs highlighting. A personal conviction is that an ongoing schism between the American and European gene pools is preventing the kind of cyclical, mutual regeneration historically so critical to the breed's modern development. While Harper would not deny that it is dirt speed–rather than the associated ability to carry it–that primarily interests his farm, he does value the genetic variegation offered to British breeders by a son of Scat Daddy out of a Tapit mare.

“We're going down a black hole, genetically, with the stallion lines,” he says. “Everybody knows that. But it is so difficult to get out of that, when you're trying to buy a commercial stallion prospect. And that's why he was such a good opportunity.”

In those terms, it's a win-win situation. Quite apart from the different brand of speed embodied by Sergei Prokofiev, he's eligible to tap into growing American investment at the European yearling sales while providing a virtually guaranteed outcross for domestic breeders.

“Any time anybody likes the idea of using him, they can,” Harper says. “But the other thing is that very often, when you're putting size and stature into a mare, in Europe you're actually slowing that horse down, pedigree-wise. Whereas this sire-line is working so well, I think, partly because it can put size into that Danzig/Northern Dancer, little, European speed horse, but also maintain the speed. That's particularly useful for our broodmare band, which is full of Green Desert. So we can keep breeding the speed but also put back a bit of size.

“Even two-turn horses in America need speed, they have to get out on the front. And, at the end of the day, gate speed is about fast-twitch muscles. What's amazing with Scat Daddy is that he seems to gel with so many different types of pedigree. When bred to fast mares, Scat Daddy stallions get fast horses; with medium-distance mares, they still get fast horses; but longer-distance mares tend to work just as well. I've been really impressed that Scat Daddy horses get lots of different distances, and also go on lots of different ground.”

While Scat Daddy managed to overcome that transatlantic barrier, achieving widespread recognition in Europe, breeders here don't really have corresponding access to his sons. Caravaggio soon emigrated; Mendelssohn stands alongside his sire's premier performer, Justify, in Kentucky; El Kabeir has departed Ireland for Italy; and No Nay Never's fee has gone way beyond the reach of most. That leaves Sioux Nation, making a promising start in Ireland, plus several young sons of No Nay Never offering a more diluted strain.

So Harper is to be congratulated for spotting a pretty unique opportunity for British breeders. In fairness, he has tried a similar exercise before–again with the son of a stallion that managed to transcend the transatlantic divide primarily through Ballydoyle's enterprising patrons.

“If there is such a thing as a cheap proven horse, Due Diligence is it,” Harper remarks of War Front's son. “His price (£5,000) is governed by the fact that he's had very few runners the last couple of years, simply because he covered very few mares in years two, three and four. But he was champion first first-season sire in Britain by stakes winners–he had three in that first crop, two of them group winners–plus 25 individual winners. Well, if there'd been a first-season sire with those numbers this year, he wouldn't be that far behind Havana Grey and everybody would be talking about him.

“I know we have short memories in this industry, and 2019 seems a long time ago. But if we didn't think he had the right stuff, he wouldn't still be with us. The foals he bred after that first crop are 2-year-olds next year, and they sold very well as yearlings. He actually had his highest average yet. We have a lot of faith in him, we're sending him plenty of mares and I'm really looking forward to next year on the track with him.”

So perhaps Due Diligence could yet slipstream the terrific momentum uniting his studmates: the farm flagship Showcasing (GB) is an established phenomenon, while now there is a real buzz about the two younger guns.

Commercial breeders know how the system works. Fast new stallions will always corral big books, and anyone seeking a Sergei Prokofiev next week will plainly not be short of choice. (His remarkable fertility has contributed: Harper reckons that the farm's busiest ever rookie also had the quietest May of any new stallion, having got most of his mares in foal first time.) The bottom line is that he was priced to give the horse every chance–and he's entitled to capitalise, when you consider the flair of his best performances, his refreshing genes and that knockout physique.

“He's 16.1 and has bone you couldn't ask for,” Harper enthuses. “When he stepped off the lorry and first went into the stable, our stallion manager picked up his leg, just to pick his feet out and have a look at him. And he turned to me with a big smile and said, 'Holy crap, that takes some picking up!' Just the weight of his leg was different gear to the other stallions we have.

“But that just means he offers a different type of physique. I don't want to stand four stallions all offering exactly the same make and shape. At the end of the day, we're a shopkeeper of speed. As long as we're providing that, we want it to come in different shapes and sizes to give people options. He'd be a good 75 kilos heavier than our other stallions. But when you see him on the move, he has a massive, relaxed stride, so he has the athleticism with it–and very soon people are going to see his foals walk as well.

“Watching him in the Cornwallis, I did think that if ever there were a chance to do so, I just had to get involved with this horse–without ever thinking it could actually come off. To cover 150 mares in his second season, we've never been able to touch that. The sky's the limit with this guy.”

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