Baaeed in Good Order For Royal Ascot

Following his imperious display in the G1 Lockinge S. on Saturday, Shadwell's Baaeed (GB) (Sea The Stars {Ire}) has emerged fresh and well from that effort, trainer William Haggas announced. Now seven-for-seven, the three-time Group 1 winner is now set for the G1 Queen Anne S. at Royal Ascot in June.

“He seems fine, he's very fresh,” said Haggas. “He was certainly a bit fresh this morning so everything is great.

“You always have a race, there's no such thing as an easy Group 1, but he looked to win quite nicely, so it's onwards and upwards. I just hope we can keep him fit and well, that's the most important thing now.

“I hadn't actually thought about the Queen Anne being the first race of the meeting, but it might help with getting it out of the way early [to calm the nerves]–mind, it will be a long week if that doesn't go right.”

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Record Price at Doncaster as Spring Store Sale Ends

The Goffs UK Spring Store Sale at Doncaster came to a close on Tuesday, and figures were the second highest achieved in the sale's history. Of the five lots that made six-figure sums over the two-day stand, three of them went through the ring during the second session, led by a gelded son of Gris de Gris (Ire) as lot 301. Henriette Knight paid £155,000 for the bay from the Brown Island Stables draft, who is from the same family as the listed hurdler Queen des Places (Fr) (Sabrehill), who has also placed twice at Grade 1 level, as did his half-sibling Allblak des Places (Fr) (Full of Gold {Fr}), who was second in the G1 Spring Juvenile Hurdle.

Lot 184, a son of Getaway (Ger) and representing Oak Tree Farm, was a £140,000 acquisition for Gordon Bloodstock. His unraced dam is a half-sister to multiple Grade 1 winner Binocular (Fr) (Enrique {GB}).

A filly by Kapgarde (Fr) (lot 272) hammered at £110,000 from Jerry McGrath. Hailing from the Goldford Stud consignment, she is out of the listed-placed hurdler Brise Vendeenne (Fr) (Dom Alco {Fr}), herself a half-sister to outstanding multiple Grade 1 winner Vroum Vroum Mag (Fr) (Voix du Nord {Fr}).

At the close of sale, 120 sold (83%) from 144 offered on Tuesday for a gross of £3,751,000. The average was £31,258 (-2%) and the median was £23,000 (-8%). Taking the sale as a whole, the gross was £7,159,500 for 226 of 272 offered (83%). The average was £31,679 (-1%) and the median was £25,000 (-4%).

Goffs UK Managing Director Tim Kent said, “We have added another successful chapter to the Spring Store Sale's 60-year history and it seems fitting that it was this year that we set a new record top price for a British store with yesterday's £200,000 top price.

“Last year we ambitiously expanded this sale to two top-class days, set new records across the board, and on the back of that, we doubled the prize fund of our bumper to £100,000, making it the richest bumper in the world. We have invested a lot into the sale, it holds an important place on the calendar being Britain's only elite store sale, so to see it maintain the ground it gained last year, whilst setting more new records, is very gratifying and we can look back over the last 12-months and be very pleased with what it has achieved.”

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Walsh Has High Hopes for Invincible Spirit Colt at Tattersalls

Of the seven horses Katie Walsh offers under the Greenhills Farm banner at the Tattersalls Ireland Goresbridge Breeze-Up Sale on Thursday, none jump off the page quite like lot 42, an Invincible Spirit (Ire) half-brother to dual Group 1 winner Banimpire (Ire) (Holy Roman Emperor {Ire}), who the leading consignor has high hopes for.

Goresbridge has been a good sale for Walsh, who sold GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf runner-up East (GB) (Frankel {GB}) at Ireland's only breeze-up sale when it was last held at Gowran Park in 2018, and she is upbeat about the prospects of continuing that trend at Fairyhouse this week.

The Invincible Spirit colt may be the ace in the pack, but Walsh says she has “something for everyone” at Tattersalls and expects trade to be strong after another profitable sale for her operation at Arqana last week.

She said, “Miss O'Kelly of Kilcarn Stud owns the Invincible Spirit and I'm delighted to be selling one for her. She is a great supporter of Irish racing and, as she doesn't keep her colts, she decided to breeze him when he missed the yearling sales. Hopefully he will do a nice breeze on Wednesday and will sell well for them on Thursday.

“The Saxon Warrior (Jpn) (lot 151) filly is pretty smart as well and I have a Brazen Beau (Aus) (lot 73) colt who I think is pretty sweet, so I am looking forward to the sale. There's a nice mix of horses there and I have something for everyone. From a smaller-priced horse right up to the Invincible Spirit with a really good pedigree, and everything in between, we have a nice team.”

Walsh added, “It's been a good year for us without having anything off the charts. We had a good sale at Arqana last week. Dad [Ted Walsh] bought an Almanzor colt as a yearling for €12,000 and he made €65,000 last week. That was a good result.

“We'd an Acclamation (GB) filly with a good pedigree, who Peter Nolan bought for me as I was just after having a baby at the time, and she cost 38,000gns as a yearling and we turned her into €120,000. That was super.

“I also bought a Showcasing colt for 50,000gns and he only made €55,000. I thought going to Arqana that he was the best one I had but that's the way the sale went, and hopefully he can be lucky for his new connections.”

Matching the right horses for what buyers want in each sale is hugely important and Walsh revealed that the Invincible Spirit colt was entered for Goresbridge on the basis that it would give him a maximum opportunity to shine.

Speaking about her approach to the breeze-up sales, Walsh explained, “You set out at the start of the season to try and buy the best physical with the best pedigree for the right money. Sometimes you get lucky and it just happens for you but more often than not you have to dig a bit deeper to make it happen.

“Every horse that I bring to a breeze-up sale, they are there to be sold and the main objective is to come home with empty head collars, win, lose or draw. My business model is to get them sold and to start with a clean slate when the yearling sales start.

“What determines what sale I go to, I suppose it's driven by physical and by pedigree, and sometimes it's better to be a big fish in a smaller pond. When it comes to Goresbridge, it's always been a good sale for me down through the years, and I am lucky enough to be bringing the nice Invincible Spirit colt this year with a big pedigree. He looks like he might be a big fish in a small pond along with the Saxon Warrior filly. I'm lucky to have two big pedigrees there and they are nice physicals as well.”

Reflecting on preparing East, who was knocked down to Stephen Hillen for €315,000 at this sale in 2018, Asymmetric (Ire) (Showcasing {GB}) and Caspar Netscher (GB) (Dutch Art {GB}), who have flown the flag for Walsh with great distinction in this sphere, she added, “East was sold on behalf of a client but it was fantastic to get her. She was a very good filly, extremely fast and forward, and by a fantastic sire. I was lucky to get the phone call to prepare a Frankel filly for Goresbridge. I was absolutely over the moon. It was a lovely thing to do and lovely to be associated with a really good filly like that.

“I prepared Asymmetric  last year and he was a very good colt who went on to win a Group 2 but the one who got me going was Caspar Netscher.”

Walsh's seven-strong team will be among the 217 horses to breeze at Fairyhouse at 10 a.m. on Wednesday. The sale kicks off at 10:30 a.m. on Thursday.

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Cazoo Derby Features Desert Crown Among 21 Remaining

Saeed Suhail's Desert Crown (GB) (Nathaniel {Ire}) anchors the 21 colts remaining at this entry stage for the G1 Cazoo Derby on June 4. The Sir Michael Stoute-trained colt is a perfect two-for-two after winning the G2 Dante S. at York on May 12. He is joined by the Godolphin duo of Listed Blue Riband Trial winner Nahanni (GB) (Frankel {GB}) and the stakes-placed Walk of Stars (GB) (Dubawi {Ire}), both trained by Charlie Appleby. Aidan O'Brien and the Coolmore partners have a quintet of colts still entered-Changingoftheguard (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}), who won the G3 Boodles Chester Vase S., G3 Amethyst S. runner-up Ivy League (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}), Listed Dee S. winner Star of India (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}), G3 Derby Trial S. scorer Stone Age (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}), and Listed SBK Derby Trial S. victor United Nations (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}).

One horse no longer taking part in the Epsom Downs Classic is Cash (Ire) (Shamardal), who finished second in the Listed bet365 Classic Trial at Sandown on Apr. 22.

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