The catalogue for the five-day Arqana October Yearling Sale, featuring 781 lots, is now online. Past graduates of the sale, held from Oct. 17-21 this year, brought home a quartet of group/graded victories this last weekend, with Jadoomi (Fr) (Holy Roman Emperor {Ire}) and Iresine (Fr) (Manduro {Ger}) winning at the Group 2 level in Ireland and France, respectively. Stateside, Bran (Fr) (Muhaarar {GB}) claimed the GII Turf Sprint S. and Avenue De France (Fr) (Cityscape {GB}) landed the GII John C. Mabee S. Beginning at 11 a.m. on Monday, Oct. 17, lots 1-225 will go under the hammer, while on Tuesday, Oct. 18, Part I will conclude with lots 226-333 starting at 2 p.m. Part II of the catalogue will also begin at 2 p.m. on Oct. 19 (lots 334-498) and Oct. 20 (lots 499-628), and the fifth, and final day of the sale, Part III, will start at 11 a.m. for lots 629-781.
Some of the highlights of the catalogue include the following siblings to Group/Grade 1 winners: lot 42 is a Mehmas (Ire) half-brother to Tiger Tanaka (Ire) (Clodovil {Ire}) from Haras d'Etreham; Taiba (Gun Runner)'s Waldgeist (GB) half-brother is lot 51 from Haras de l'Hotellerie; and Classic winner Dream And Do (Ire) (Siyouni {Fr})'s full-brother (lot 157) is part of the Haras du Logis Saint Germain draft.
All the colts and fillies presented at the October Yearling Sale will be eligible for the Arqana Series at Deauville and ParisLongchamp in 2023.
Torquator Tasso, Danedream, Novellist, Star Appeal, Protectionist, Manduro, Shirocco, Lando, Almandin. All winners of some of the world's best races and with one thing in common: they were made in Germany.
The strength and depth of German breeding will not have escaped the attention of those who pay close attention to the subject, and in fact, such is the regard in which German families are held that the country, with a diminishing pool of mares which is now well below 1,000, could be deemed to be at risk losing the goose that lays the golden eggs.
Hopefully, however, a younger wave of German breeders will be encouraged to continue this brand of excellence for which their forebears have become renowned, and ample encouragement for that can be drawn from the support which has been afforded the BBAG's main yearling sale in recent years.
A little less than a fortnight ago, the most recent edition was topped by a Gestut Fahrhof-bred son of Kingman (GB), bought by American agent Jason Litt for LNJ Foxwoods, the racing name of the Roth family who employ a transatlantic approach to their racing and breeding interests. Also among the list of buyers that day was Stella Thayer, president and owner of Tampa Bay Downs racecourse in Florida, who has enjoyed some notable success as an owner and breeder in France.
“I'd lived in France as a student, so I always thought in the back of my mind that I'd come back and spend some time,” says Thayer during her visit to Baden-Baden, having spent some of the summer in Chantilly and Deauville. “And then I thought, well, having racehorses would be quite special, since Chantilly is, to me, the most extraordinary garden for horses and people to exist. And so I bought horses.”
With the help of German-born, French-based and multilingual bloodstock agent Tina Rau, Thayer set about assembling a small but select string in training with Nicolas Clement in Chantilly, and the project was rewarded with almost instantaneous success.
“It was extraordinary really, because Tina found me my first Grade I winner,” says the 81-year-old. “It was kind of late in life, but better late than never.”
The filly in question, Wonderment (Ire) (Camelot {GB}), won the 2018 G1 Criterium de Saint-Cloud, and though she was bought in France, she owns a decidedly German pedigree. Her dam Wiwilia (GB) (Konigstiger {Ger}) is a half-sister to the dual German Group 3 winner Wake Forest (Ger) (Sir Percy {GB}), who later won the GI Man o' War S. for Chad Brown, and they hail from the same black-type-laden family as Waldgeist (GB) (Galileo {Ire}).
Thayer continues, “So when you have that kind of success, it tends to whet your appetite. It's certainly been a very wonderful friendship with Tina and Nicolas, and a great experience to be involved with that. To have a 2-year-old win over a mile and a quarter was pretty amazing. She came from dead last, so it was quite exciting.”
With Wonderment now ensconced at Claiborne Farm, where she has a War Front filly and is back in foal to the stallion, Thayer currently has the homebred Group 3 and Listed winner Control Tower (Fr) (Youmzain {Ire}) in training with Clement, among others. The winner of the Prix Belle de Nuit over 1m6f last October and subsequently fourth behind Alpinista (GB) in the G1 Grosser Preis von Bayern, Control Tower is out of the Monsun (Ger) mare La Tour Rouge (GB), another of Rau's shrewd purchases for Thayer, from Darley back in 2013 for just 5,000gns.
“I've really been interested in trying to secure that good, strong-bred stock,” Thayer says. “It seems to be appreciated in the European process. I just hope enough of the German breeders keep their own lines as well, because I think it's very important for horses everywhere, that you have that sturdiness.
“I'm interested in the fact that the stamina lines and the hardiness is still here, especially in German bloodlines, and I think we shouldn't forget about that. I'm certainly no expert in breeding, but from a personal perspective I think that we could all, at least in the US, try to move a percentage of our races more towards the middle or long-distance again, which they once were, but they've become speed-dominated. And not to take away from speed, I mean, it's exciting, and you don't want to race a slow horse, but I just think from a balance perspective, and for the horse, its safety and development, as well as from a spectator's or bettor's perspective, it's good to have that variety.”
Germany's celebrated late stallion Monsun has been of great appeal to Thayer as a broodmare sire influence, and with Arc winner Waldgeist (GB), Breeders' Cup winner Yibir (GB), and this season's star 3-year-old colt Vadeni (Fr) just some of the recent big names out of mares by Monsun, who could argue with this approach? The devotion to Monsun's line continued in the purchase of Wildwood (Fr), by his son Maxios (GB) and a winner at Chantilly earlier this year. Maxios pops up again as the broodmare sire of the latest BBAG yearling recruit, a daughter of Holy Roman Emperor (Ire), also selected by Rau.
As the offspring of Wonderment mature in the paddocks at Claiborne, their blend of dirt and turf bloodlines should afford them the potential to race on either side of the Atlantic: the perfect situation for a Francophile breeder with an American racecourse among her portfolio, as well as horses in training in her native country with Arnaud Delacour.
Tampa Bay Downs has been owned by Thayer in partnership with her brother Howell Ferguson since 1986. A lawyer by profession, her love of horses, and later racing, was kindled from a young age.
“I rode as a child, and as minors we weren't allowed to go to racetracks in Florida at the time,” she recalls. “A friend of my father owned a local racetrack and so at the age of nine or ten, we would go and get on the top of a car, and watch the races. Later my husband and I lived on a breeding farm in New Jersey when we were first married. I think that planted the seed of gravitating my equestrian interest into racing.”
Of her involvement with Tampa Bay Downs, she adds, “Just perchance, we had been investors, and then through a number of transactions, my brother and I ended up owning it from 1986 forward, so I was dedicating a big portion of my business life and my personal life to hearing about that track.”
Much has changed in racing in the intervening years, not least the intense focus on welfare issues surrounding the worldwide thoroughbred population. And in a move that should suit Thayer's avowed love of European bloodlines, the American turf racing programme has expanded notably.
“I think there are always the challenges,” she says of running a racecourse. “But the fortunate thing for us is that we're small, and we have a very dedicated staff that really loves racing. Because we're in Florida, we have the weather, and we put in a wonderful turf course, and we care for that.
“I think that people who love racing really do appreciate turf racing when they see it. And the handicapping, I mean, just from a business perspective, the racetracks do about 30% more on a similar number, so if you have 10 horses in a similar race, you'll bet about 30% more on the turf race. And I do notice that there are more people trying to buy turf horses.”
Thayer continues, “Most tracks have a turf course, it's just a matter of having a balanced programme. And since we race frequently, it makes it more difficult, whereas in Europe, they move around from course to course.
“So that's the challenge of expanding; we have a kind of limitation from nature. You can't tear over [the turf] too many times. We're very careful about that; we pride ourselves in trying to maintain the course, and not overuse it, so that's it's a safe surface, as safe as one can make it for horses. I've always felt the first dollars should be spent on making your track surfaces as good as you can.”
With a summer European tour now under her belt, the indefatigable owner-breeder, whose various roles in American racing include being a vice president of the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame, as well as a previous stint as president of the Thoroughbred Racing Associations of North America (TRA), has her sights set on returning before too long.
“I hope to maybe come back for Arc weekend,” says Thayer, who has Control Tower entered for the G1 Prix de Royallieu. “I think the international quality of racing is a wonderful attribute to those who love the sport. I'd like to go to almost every racetrack, but I never made that. I've been to quite a few, but I've missed a lot of them. It's a really shared passion, and I think you're immediately drawn positively to people who care about it in the same way.”
Observations on the European Racing Scene turns the spotlight on the best European races of the day, highlighting well-pedigreed horses early in their careers, horses of note returning to action and young runners that achieved notable results in the sales ring. Wednesday's Observations features a son of Dubawi (Ire) and the G2 Rockfel S. heroine Lucida (Ire) (Shamardal).
14.45 Great Yarmouth, Mdn, £14,000, 2yo, 7f 3yT
John and Thady Gosden trainee OBELIX (GB) (Sea The Stars {Ire}), who will sport KHK Racing's G1 St Leger-winning colours, bumped into a good one when second on debut at Newmarket last month and faces a field of potential in a contest won in 2017 by subsequent G1 Coral-Eclipse third Regal Reality (GB) (Intello {Ger}) and in 2018 by subsequent G1 Criterium International hero Royal Meeting (Ire) (Invincible Spirit {Ire}). The €300,000 Arqana Breeze-Up acquisition is out of a half-sister to six stakes performers, most notably the Group 1-winning trio Awelmarduk (Ire) (Almutawakel {GB}), Jakkalberry (Ire) (Storming Home {GB}) and Crackerjack King (Ire) (Shamardal). Rivals include Ballylinch Stud's homebred debutant Lord Of Biscay (Ire) (Lope De Vega {Ire}), a half-brother to dual G2 Huxley S. victor Forest Ranger (Ire) (Lawman {Fr}), hailing from the St Leger-winning stable of Roger Varian. Sir Michael Stoute sends two up the A11, namely Nader King (Ire) (Camelot {GB}), who is a 340,000gns Tattersalls October Book 1 full-brother to G3 Concorde S. winner Current Option (Ire), with Ryan Moore donning the G1 Derby-winning silks of Saeed Suhail; and Qatar Racing's fellow newcomer Survival (GB) (Roaring Lion), who is out of a multiple-winning half-sister to G1 Irish Derby and GI Secretariat S. hero Treasure Beach (GB) (Galileo {Ire}).
15.00 Sandown, Nov, £13,000, 2yo, 7fT
Godolphin's homebred STRIKING STAR (GB) (Dubawi {Ire}) is the second foal out of G2 Rockfel S. victrix Lucida (Ire) (Shamardal), who hit the board four times at the highest level, and makes his debut for Charlie Appleby in a heat won in 2019 by subsequent five-time Group 1 hero Palace Pier (GB) (Kingman {GB}). He is met by 11, including Juddmonte's fellow newcomer Leadenhall (GB) (Kingman {GB}), who is a Ralph Beckett-trained son of G1 Pretty Polly S. heroine and G1 Prix de l'Opera second Promising Lead (GB) (Danehill).
Where to begin? The past week has been so wrought with emotion that by the time Sunday arrived with its 15 group races in England, Ireland and France only the dourest of stayers made it through to Doncaster's Mallard Handicap.
This is a racing publication, of course, but before we reflect on the action on the racecourse, it would be remiss not to mention the heartbreaking human loss which was so intrinsically entwined with the sport.
Grief engulfed two nations. Wednesday brought the indelibly sad image of Henry de Bromhead as one of the pallbearers carrying his son Jack's wicker casket from the Butlerstown's Church of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary surrounded by mourners of all ages. In solidarity with their friend who lost his life at the age of 13 in a pony racing accident, many of the youngsters appeared at the service in their riding gear.
Jack's grandfather Andrew Moffat and parents Henry and Heather gave us all a lesson in how to grieve with the utmost dignity while paying a magnificent tribute to the boy whose loss has touched people who never even met him, such was the eloquence of their respective eulogies. And during Irish Champions Weekend, Jack de Bromhead was remembered in the red armbands borne by the jockeys in his memory.
In Britain the armbands were a more sombre black. The death of the Queen is in many ways easier to bear than the loss of a teenager with so much sparkle and promise. A 96-year-old woman dying peacefully in the comfort of the Scottish home she adored is what could be described as a 'good death', but Her Majesty's passing isof course far more symbolic than that. Its repercussions will be felt way beyond her funeral next Monday when Britain's period of national mourning ends.
The absence of the sport's most celebrated insider will be felt keenly in racing circles. There are enough members of the royal family with a strong love of horses for us to be able to hope that the Royal Studs will endure, but none of the Queen's descendants appear to share quite the level of absorption and devotion she had for breeding and racing. Change will surely come.
Another two redoubtable members of the racing and breeding community also left us in the last week. On Tuesday evening came the shock news of James Delahooke's sudden death on the Yorkshire moors, while on Saturday the passing was reported of Evie Stockwell, whose contribution to the breeding industry has been enormously significant on both the equine and human front. At the age of 97 she had survived her twin sister Lady Mimi Manton by one month. As Eddie O'Leary observed in Nancy Sexton's tribute to Mrs Stockwell, “The world has lost two Queens this week.”
May it come as some comfort to the de Bromhead, Delahooke, Magnier, and O'Callaghan families that the thoughts of their friends and colleagues in the racing world are with them during this sad time.
The Versatile Dubawi Line
So to the horses. A one-two in the St Leger with Eldar Eldarov (GB) and New London (Ire) gave Dubawi (Ire) his 53rd Group 1 win worldwide, and if you are looking for a pattern for his offspring, the answer is that there isn't one, other than a shared willingness to win.
From top Hong Kong sprinter Lucky Nine (Ire), who was one of his earliest stars, through champion 2-year-olds, Classic milers, smart middle-distance horses, and a Horse of the Year in Ghaiyyath (Ire), Dubawi pretty much has all the bases covered, including a slew of sons at stud. As well as in Britain's final Classic of the season, the line was also represented at Ireland's Champions Weekend when John Fairley's admirable Highfield Princess (Fr), by Dubawi's Guineas-winning son Night Of Thunder (Ire), sped her way to a third consecutive Group 1 win in three different countries, this time dropping back to the minimum trip to claim the Flying Five.
Dubawi's latest Classic winner in the delayed St Leger came on the back of his daughter Mimikyu's win in the G2 Park Hill S. on the same afternoon that the White Birch Farm homebred juvenile Kubrick (Ire) won the G3 Prix des Chenes at Longchamp. On European earnings, Dubawi has edged ahead of Frankel (GB) in the leading sires' table and in fact he is way out in front when it comes to black-type winners for the year, his tally of 38 (12% of his runners) putting him ahead of Frankel by 14. The two mighty stallions, who live only about a mile from each other as the crow flies, are level pegging on seven Group 1 winners apiece this year in Europe.
The Lanwades Success Story Continues
In her role as Deputy Lieutenant of Suffolk, Kirsten Rausing was acting as master of ceremonies on Sunday while Newmarket's mayor Philippa Winter read the proclamation of the accession of King Charles III as Britain's new monarch. This meant that Rausing was not on Town Moor to witness a notable first for her as the breeder of a British Classic winner in Eldar Eldarov.
She was however present for her first British Group 1 winner in her own colours when Alpinista (GB) (Frankel {GB}) won the Yorkshire Oaks to bring her Group 1 haul to five. Eldar Eldarov and Alpinista are out of the half-sisters Alwilda (GB) (Hernando {Fr}) and All At Sea (GB) (Sea The Stars {Ire}) from the Lanwades Alruccaba (GB) family which just keeps giving.
From a different family entirely springs the expat Zaaki (GB) (Leroidesanimaux {Brz}), another redoubtable Lanwades-bred who is thriving in Australia and now has 13 victories to his name, including the G2 Tramway S. on September 3. He is bound for the G1 Cox Plate on October 22 via the G1 Underwood later this month.
Firsts and Seconds For Many
Eldar Eldarov's St Leger win was also of significance for more of his connections. Notably, he became the second breeze-up graduate from Norman Williamson's Oak Tree Farm to win a Classic this season following the Irish 2,000 Guineas success of Native Trail (GB) (Oasis Dream {GB}), last year's champion 2-year-old. Williamson was also the breeze-up pinhooker behind the 2019 Preakness S. winner War Of Will, who now stands alongside his sire War Front at Claiborne Farm.
For Roger Varian, it was a second victory in Britain's oldest Classic following Kingston Hill (GB) in 2014, and his faith in his young stable jockey David Egan was repaid handsomely as the 23-year-old notched his first Classic victory in the same season he lost his retainer with Prince AA Faisal, for whom he won the 2021 Saudi Cup as well as two Group 1s aboard Mishriff (Ire).
Eldar Eldarov had been bought at the relocated Arqana Breeze-up Sale for £480,000 by Oliver St Lawrence for Bahrain's KHK Racing, thus also giving that relatively new owner in British racing a significant first Classic success.
Kyprios Continues to Climb
The opening up of the Irish St Leger to older horses almost 40 years ago means that there have been a number of repeat winners, most notably the Dermot Weld-trained Vinnie Roe (Ire), who owned the race between 2001 and 2005. With Vincent O'Brien, Weld jointly holds the record for the most number of winners of the Irish St Leger, with the last two of his nine being provided by the admirable Moyglare Stud-bred filly Search For A Song (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}). Now six, she has run in the race in all four of her seasons in training, and added a third place to her fine record this year when finishing almost eight lengths behind her full-brother Kyprios (Ire), who is now the pre-eminent stayer in training following his unbeaten season which includes lifting the Gold Cup and Goodwood Cup.
The Weld stable enjoyed a successful Irish Champions Weekend, however, when unleashing the Aga Khan's Tahiyra (Ire) (Siyouni {Fr}), a half-sister to the brilliant Tarnawa (Ire) (Shamardal), to win the G1 Moyglare Stud S. on just her second racecourse appearance. A day earlier her 3-year-old stablemate Duke De Sessa (Ire) (Lope De Vega {Ire}) won the G3 Paddy Power S., leading home a one-two for Maurice Regan's Newtown Anner Stud, which also owned and bred runner-up Thunder Kiss (Ire) (Night Of Thunder {Ire}).
Kyprios, who runs in the Moyglare colours but is co-owned by the Coolmore partners, sealed a fruitful weekend for Aidan O'Brien and Ryan Moore as Luxembourg (Ire) (Camelot {GB}) confirmed his juvenile promise by winning the G1 Irish Champion S. on only his second start since resuming from an injury earlier in the season.
Auguste Rodin (Ire), bred on theDeep Impact (Jpn)/Galileo (Ire) cross that has already yielded Classic winners Saxon Warrior (Jpn) and Snowfall (Jpn) for O'Brien, continued the tremendous run of the Ballydoyle juveniles this year with his success in the G2 Champion Juvenile S. in his first run in Pattern class. He could now be headed to England next month for either the Dewhurst or Vertem Futurity. It requires no leap of imagination to see Auguste Rodin make up into a serious Classic contender for next season as the colt is the first foal of the treble Group 1 winner Rhododendron (Ire), a sister to Magical (Ire) and daughter of the equally brilliant Halfway To Heaven (Ire) (Pivotal {GB}).
Hint of Things to Come
Al Riffa (Fr) took quite a step up from maiden company to winning the G1 Goffs Vincent O'Brien National S. on Sunday for Joseph O'Brien, and the result will certainly have been welcomed by the Coolmore camp. Though the colt from the penultimate French crop of Wootton Bassett (GB) is not owned by the Coolmore team but by Jassim Bin Ali Al Attiyah, he, like Auguste Rodin, is out of a Galileo mare and represents a cross that we are likely to see more frequently in runners following the stallion's move to Coolmore Stud two seasons ago.
The Galileo mares in Wootton Bassett's first Irish crop include Snowfall's dam Best In The World (Ire), Arc winner Found (Ire), and G1 Cheveley Park S. winner Clemmie (Ire), who is also a sister to Churchill (Ire), while those currently in foal to him include Group 1 winners Minding (Ire), Hydrangea (Ire), Marvellous (Ire) and Happily (Ire).
Al Riffa, who was bred by a partnership led by Haras d'Etreham, is Wootton Bassett's sixth Group 1 winner, that group being split evenly between colts and fillies. His pedigree certainly gives plenty of hope for him to thrive with age and a bit of a step up in distance. His unraced dam Love On My Mind is a sister to the dual Sagaro S. winner and Gold Cup runner-up Mizzou (Ire), while their dam Moments Of Joy (GB) was a Listed winner over 1m6f and is herself a daughter of the G1 Prix Vermeille and G1 Yorkshire Oaks winner My Emma (GB) (Marju {Ire}).
Al Riffa was sold as a foal at Arqana to Stroud Coleman Bloodstock for €31,000 the same day that his dam went through the ring for just €11,000, bought by Arqana representative Zied Romdhane. The 10-year-old mare now has a yearling filly by Land Force (Ire) and was subsequently covered by St Leger winner Galileo Chrome (Ire).
Kingsclere in the Spotlight
Andrew Balding's association with Juddmonte has started in some style thanks to the smart juvenile Chaldean (GB) (Frankel {GB}), who added the G2 Champagne S. to his victory in York's G3 Acomb S.
A successful Doncaster St Leger meeting for the Kingsclere team also included group wins for two stalwart owners of Park House Stables. First, Bounce The Blues (Ire) (Excelebration {Ire}) won the G3 JRA Sceptre Fillies' S for the irrepressible Barbara Keller, one of the most enthusiastic owners in the business who also raced the Grade 1 winner Blond Me (Ire) (Tamayuz {GB}). Similar comments apply to Mick and Janice Mariscotti, who certainly know how to celebrate a big winner and struck on Sunday with the G2 Doncaster Cup winner Coltrane (Ire) (Mastercraftsman {Ire}). With victories in the Ascot S. at Royal Ascot and in the Listed Esher Cup, the progressive stayer, who missed almost the whole of his 4-year-old season has certainly given the Mariscottis plenty of cause for cheer this year. Patience rewarded.
The spotlight will soon be thrown on the Balding stable which features in a new series to be released later this month on Amazon Prime. 'Horsepower' runs in four parts from September 23 and, according to the press release announcing its launch, it “captures a momentous period in the lives and careers of its two main protagonists, racehorse trainer Andrew Balding and jockey Oisin Murphy”.
The documentary series was being filmed when Murphy was banned for 14 months for Covid regulation and alcohol breaches. The trailer for Horsepower can be viewed below.
Stallions on a Roll
Shadwell's Muhaarar (GB) was represented by Group/Grade 2 winners on each side of the Atlantic last week. On Thursday, Polly Pott (GB) made sure Harry Dunlop's training career will go out with a bang by landing her fourth consecutive win on her first outing in stakes company when winning the G2 May Hill S. at Doncaster.
Over at Kentucky Downs, Bran (Fr) won the GII Fanduel Turf Sprint S. Not only was the John Sadler trainee bred in France by Lordship Stud but she was ridden to victory by French Classic-winning jockey Vincent Cheminaud, who is now based in America.
Ballylinch Stud's Lope De Vega was another stallion to exhibit his versatility on Sunday when represented at Longchamp by G1 Prix Vermeille winner Sweet Lady (Fr) over 1m4f and also by the 5f winner Berneuil (Ire), who landed the G3 Prix du Petit Couvert. Both horses are out of mares by Dansili (GB), which is a cross that has also worked well to produce Grade I winner Capla Temptress (Ire), Group 2 winner Cadillac (Ire), and the dual Group 1 runner-up and Group 3 winner Lope Y Fernandez (Ire).
Lope De Vega has been on a roll of late, with his daughter Dreamloper (Ire) winning the previous weekend's G1 Prix du Moulin to add to her G1 Prix d'Ispahan success, and the aforementioned Duke De Sessa winning a Group 3 on Saturday at Leopardstown.
