DEAUVILLE, France — The sales at Arqana this year have largely retained their momentum, but the company was not immune to the retraction that has been present across the market for mares and foals this winter. With the clearance rate being lowered to 71% from the 78% of 2022, the turnover fell by 20% to €36,467,000, and the average was down by 7% to €227,919. 

Four millionaire fillies and mares featured in the opening session, compared to seven last year, but the one sector that did improve, and one which is usually the most important, was the median, which was up to €120,000 from €115,000.

There was plenty of time to admire the statuesque Group 1 winner Place Du Carrousel (Ire) (Lope De Vega {Ire}) as she topped the sale at €4,025,000. A prolonged spell of bidding which involved Northern Farm and Coolmore saw the eventual successful bid placed online, with the buyer believed to be Zhang Yuesheng's Yulong operation.

In the latest example of the tedium which is facilitated by the online bidding process, the four-year-old filly was held in the ring for 14 minutes as the hidden buyer increased their offer in increments of 25,000gns – a practice which is not usually accepted for those bidding ringside when the price is already into the realm of millions. 

After a round of ping-pong between a bidder in the restaurant and the Northern Farm team in the seats in the ring, the bid went online at €3.5 million, with underbidder Coolmore making a play outside up to €4 million. 

Bred by Ballylinch Stud in partnership with Alexis and Fan Adamian, Place du Carrousel, whose wins include the G1 Prix de l'Opera and G2 Prix Foy, was trained by Andre Fabre for Al Shaqab Racing, who bought her as a yearling for €260,000, with Ballylinch retaining a share. 

John O'Connor of Ballylinch Stud said, “It was a racing partnership and we thought she had done enough on the track and that it was time for her to move on to the next phase of her career. We were happy to put her in the ring. Everybody from the partnership has done well. [Lope De Vega's] fillies are in very high demand at the moment. It's not a surprise, because so many of his fillies are very good, and now his daughters are making an impressive start as a broodmare sire. He's one of those stallions who has succeeded all over the world with two-year-olds, sprinters, middle-distance horses and Classic milers. 

Spain to England via France

Newsells Park Stud has been recruiting some select mares and foals in recent weeks, and Sibila Spain (Ire) (Frankel {GB}) became the latest addition to the broodmare band on Saturday when Jill Lamb went to €2 million to buy the Group 2 winner from Leopoldo Fernandez Pujals.

The five-year-old sister to G3 Vintage Crop S. winner Master Of Reality (Ire) from a family strewn with black type was bought in the same ring for €240,000 as an August yearling. In the now-familiar colours of Yeguada Centurion, she became the first group winner for her young trainer Christopher Head in the Prix du Muguet.

The mare was consigned by Haras de la Hotellerie on behalf of her owner and Newsells Park's Graham Smith-Bernal couldn't hide his delight in acquiring her. 

He said, “She is a lovely mare – she's beautiful. Of course, she won a Group 2 and was very tough and competitive. She was fourth in two Group 1s and we loved her. She's in foal to Dubawi and the Frankel-Dubawi cross is very good. We thought we might have had to go a bit further but we were getting close to our final bid. We're absolutely delighted.”

Through Lamb, Newsells Park also signed for G2 runner-up Sparkling Beauty (Fr) (Oasis Dream {GB}) from Haras des Capucines for €450,000 [in partnership with Bertrand Lemetayer] and Dubawi (Ire) mare Galibawa (GB) in foal to St Mark's Basilica (Fr) for €360,000.

Smith-Bernal added, “That's our third purchase.The first two were bought with partners and we're very happy with those. One was bought in foal to St Mark's Basilica and we got a very nice Oasis Dream mare, but that was the big one we wanted.”

Channel Heads to Japan at €1.2 Million

Channel (Ire), the Classic-winning daughter of Nathaniel (Ire) from a family whose luminaries include the Group 1 winners Magical Romance (GB), Alexandrova (Ire), Chicquita (Ire) and Magic Wand (Ire), may have commanded a seven-figure sum but, at €1.2 million she could end up looking to have been well bought by Katsumi Yoshida's Northern Farm.

She is after all only seven, and she has fillies by Sea The Stars (Ire) and Wootton Bassett (GB) on the ground, as well as a colt by Kingman (GB), and she was offered through La Motteraye Consignment back in foal to Wootton Bassett. 

Indeed, the Prix de Diane winner was described by Emmanuel de Seroux, who signed for Channel on behalf of Northern Farm, as good value.

He said, “There is a large choice of stallions for her. She was one of two or three Group 1 winners we were trying to buy today and she was the best value of them all. We are very happy with her price compared to some of the others. We didn't have to pay as much for the same quality. She was one of the top choices.”

Completing the participation of all three Yoshida brothers in the higher echelons of Arqana's Breeding Stock Sale, French-based Japanese trainer Satoshi Kobayashi signed for the Group 3 winner Minaun (Ire) (Zoffany {Ire}) on behalf of Teruya Yoshida's Shadai Farm at €500,000, as well as Lightning Lady (Ire), by Kingman (GB) out of a half-sister to Lope De Vega (Ire), who was bought for €600,000 by Haruya Yoshida of Oiwake Farm.

Ammerland's Leading Lights

Outbid by Ammerland when the latter bought Sea The Sky (Ger) (Sea The Stars {Ire}) for a sale-topping €850,000 at the BBAG Yearling Sale three years ago, Sheikh Mohammed's Godolphin operation is now the owner of the Listed winner. Anthony Stroud was determined to secure the full-sister to Sea The Moon (Ger), going to €1.25 million in pursuit while standing in the gangway alongside the team from Shadai, who ended up as underbidders.

Stroud said of Lot 171, “She's a very nice filly. We nearly bought her as a yearling and were very keen on her. [She's by] Sea The Stars, we can breed her to Frankel or Dubawi. Good racehorse, it's a wonderful family and I think she will be a good addition to our broodmare band.”

The Ammerland draft provided plenty of Saturday's highlights in the Arqana sale ring. Bidding online, American breeder Bobby Flay had the final say for Lady Frankel (GB) (Frankel {GB}), the half-sister to Lope De Vega (Ire), who was sold in foal to New Bay (GB) for €900,000. 

Lady Frankel (Lot 172) was herself a Group 3 winner and, along with Lope De Vega, her other siblings include Group 3 winner Bal De La Rose (GB) and Listed winner Lord Of The Land (Ire).

Following the string of high-priced lots from the Ammerland dispersal, Lady Frankel's daughter, the aforementioned Lightning Lady (Ire), an unraced three-year-old by Kingman (GB), is heading to Japan after being bought by Haruya Yoshida for €600,000.

Wildfeder (GB) (Galileo {Ire}), the winning full-sister to Arc winner Waldgeist (GB), was offered as Lot 209 in foal to Siyouni (Fr) and elicited a final bid of €450,000 from Nicolas de Watrigant.

In total, the 12 horses sold from the Gestut Ammerland dispersal brought €4,002,000.

Goldikova's Granddaughter to Sumbe 

Sumbe took the enterprising step of bringing its entire stallion roster to nearby Clairefontaine racecourse so that breeders in town for the sale could view them more easily, and one of that quintet will be the covering sire next year for the operation's latest purchase, Mirakova (GB) (Lope De Vega {Ire}). Bought from the Wertheimer draft for €850,000, the four-year-old filly had suffered an accident which meant she retired unraced, but she has strength in depth when it comes to pedigree. Her granddam Goldikova (Ire) needs no introduction, and dam Terrakova (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) was herself pretty decent when winning the G3 Prix Cleopatre and finishing third in the G1 Prix de Diane. 

After signing for the filly, Sumbe manager Tony Fry said, “We'll take her home and have a think but I'd say it's likely she'll go to either Mishriff or Belbek.”

He added, “These families don't come around very often so, when they do, you have to be strong. She's a lovely mare that comes from a stud that needs no introduction and produces very good horses. We're very happy.”

Study Of Man's Sister to Fahrhof

One leading breeding operation made a significant investment in one of the jewels of another when The Planets (Ire), a Sea The Stars (Ire) half-sister to Classic winner and young sire Study Of Man (Ire), was bought by Gestut Fahrhof at €700,000.

Continuing the restructuring of the Niarchos operation, Baroda Stud offered three fillies on the family's behalf, with The Planets (Lot 121), a granddaughter of the great Miesque, being an obvious draw. Bidding opened for the three-year-old winner at €200,000 and it was Fahrhof's Stefan Ullrich who came out on top.

He said, “We want to establish this family in Germany. She's very closely related to Miesque and everybody knows this family. We are looking to make our broodmare band more international and this is part of our plan in buying a filly like this. She's a winner and sound with no vices.”

He added, “We had a very good partnership with the Niarchos family when we stood Maxios at the stud and we know their breeding well.”

David Cox of Baroda Stud, who also consigned some of the Niarchos mares at the Goffs November Sale, said, “We've been working with the Niarchos family for over eight years now. They kept mares in Baroda Stud before we were there so they know the farm well. Maria and her family, including Electra and all the team — Alan [Cooper] and Aurelien [Voileau] — they're great people to work with. With pedigrees like this, they're just highly sought after. There were a good number of people who wanted that filly and, fair play, she sold very well. We're delighted.”

He added, “It has been a credit to my team, they've done a great job with the Niarchos draft. I have really good staff and they handle everything really well for the amount of horses we had. Tattersalls and Arqana came quickly off the back of Goffs, so we have a well-oiled machine. The likes of Pauric [Gahan] and Noel [McDonnell] at home, they keep the show on the road while I am away.”

Without Words Provides Boost for Longways 

There were emotional scenes in the early parts of the Saturday session at Arqana when Without Words (Mendelssohn), who Mick Murphy and Sarah O'Connell of Longways Stables failed to sell at the breeze-up here in May, was knocked down to Justin Casse on behalf of Joseph O'Brien for €450,000. 

Without Words carried O'Connell's colours to victory on her second start for trainer Francois Rohaut at Toulouse. There was a kaleidoscope of significance to the win and subsequent sale with Murphy revealing afterwards that his wife had recently been diagnosed with cancer and is due to undergo chemotherapy next week. 

He said, “We've had a good year but there have been ups and downs. Sarah is sick at the moment. She was diagnosed with cancer and starts her chemotherapy on Tuesday. She will be okay but she has a tough few months ahead of her.”

It has been another successful year for Longways Stables on the track, highlighted by the Listed-winning and Group 2-placed graduate Flora Of Bermuda (Ire) (Dark Angel {Ire}), and Saturday's result in the ring clearly meant a great deal.

Murphy continued, “We breezed her here in May. We liked her a lot and felt we weren't getting what we deserved so we bought her back at €175,000. 

“I bought her in America for $85,000 and thought that she was always going to be worth that because of her pedigree alone. We liked her, took a chance to race her, and Francous did a great job with her. He thinks she is a stakes filly. Sarah didn't want to sell her.”

Without Words is a half-sister Combatant (Scat Daddy), a Grade I winner for John Sadler, and Long Lashes (Rock Hard Ten), a Group 3 winner for Saeed Bin Suroor. She was consigned by La Motteraye on behalf of O'Connell and Murphy.

Hawthorne Recruits Two Well-Bred Fillies For Australia

Dean Hawthorne spent just shy of €1.5 million on two fillies — Mise En Scene (GB) (Siyouni {Fr}) and French Bob (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) — to go to Australia.

Striking first at €675,000 for French Bob, the well-bred daughter of Galileo (Ire) out of Classic winner Beauty Parlour (GB) (Deep Impact {Jpn}), Hawthorne went on to snap up Mise En Scene for €800,000. He was accompanied by Grant and Tom Pritchard-Gordon of Badgers Bloodstock.

On Mise En Scene, a Group 3-winning daughter of Siyouni, Hawthorne said, “Mise En Scene is a really good filly who will suit Australia. Obviously she won a Group race at Goodwood, which is a good track, and Siyouni is getting a hell of a presence in Australia through Amelia's Jewel (Aus) and Amelia's Dream (Aus). It's blood we can do a lot with in Australia. Happy to get her and we had to pay for her but she was probably one of our main targets in the entire sale.”

In Brief

• La Motteraye Consignment was the leading vendor on the day with 12 sold for €4,367,000.
• Buying on behalf of the China Horse Club, Matt Holdsworth landed the regally-bred Plumage (Fr) (Dubawi {Ire}), a daughter of Plumania (Fr) (Anabaa {Fr}) and from a deep Wertheimer family. Holdsworth revealed that Plumage–who was sold in foal to Intello (Fr)–would likely be mated with Siyouni next year (Fr).
• Lot 127, a Kingman (GB) filly foal out of a half-sister to Derby winner Wings Of Eagles (Fr) (Pour Moi {Ire}), was sold by her breeder Haras de Montaigu to Frederic Sauque for €400,000.
• A filly foal by Too Darn Hot (GB) and her dual Listed-winning and Classic-placed dam Reine d'Amour (Ger) (Soldier Hollow {GB}) went through the ring in consecutive lots, bought by Anthony Stroud for €170,000 and €200,000. Lot 103 Too Darn Hot (GB) filly from Haras des Capucines for €170,000. 
• The common theme of the breeding stock and foal sales in Europe this year has been the wave of support behind Pinatubo foals and mares in foal to the Darley stallion. Big things are clearly expected from Pinatubo when his first runners hit the track next year and it was interesting that Shadwell rowed in behind the stallion when buying a colt from La Motteraye for €300,000. 
• Eddie Rosen and Alex Solis, representing American-based owner Mike Repole of Repole Stable, signed for four horses on the day for a total of €780,000. The quartet included two mares in foal to Too Darn Hot (GB) and one to St Mark's Basilica (Fr), and the two-year-old Siyouni (Fr) filly High Handed (Ire), who is a half-sister to Group 1 winner and producer Lillie Langtry (Ire) (Danehill Dancer {Ire}).

Buy of the Day

Lot 37: WATCHOUT (Fr), Golden Horn (GB) – Watchful (Ire) (Galileo {Ire})
Buyer: Billy Jackson-Stops, €35,000
Vendor: Fabrice Chappet

As a half-sister to the G1 Prix Rothschild and G1 Coronation S. winner Watch Me (Fr) (Olympic Glory {Ire}), this three-year-old filly already has plenty in her favour. Watchout raced just once for her owner/breeder Antoinette Tamagni but was far from disgraced in that outing. Another half-sibling, Watch Him (Fr) (Elvstroem {Aus}), has won at Listed level, and Watch Me has her first foal, the Siyouni (Fr) filly Why Not Again (Fr), to run for her next year. 

Watchout's third dam Sharaya (Youth) won the G1 Prix Vermeille for the Aga Khan, with the further family including the Classic winners Shawanda (Ire) (Sinndar {Ire}) and Encke (Kingmambo).

Cape Cross (Ire) is already proving his worth as a broodmare sire and there's every reason to expect his son Golden Horn to be similarly effective in this sphere. In this case, seeing mares by Galileo and Darshaan (GB) on Watchout's bottom line gives extra encouragement.

Best of luck to Watchout's new owner Paul McDonnell, the manager of Triermore Stud, who will be breeding from her in Ireland.

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It has been quite the year for Head, 35, who notched his first group win in the G2 Prix du Muguet with TDN Rising Star Sibila Spain (Ire) (Frankel {GB), a first Group 1 in last weekend's Prix Marcel Boussac, and is now aiming at his first major overseas trip. In the midst of all this it was announced that he would take up the reins at the stable of Freddy Head, who will retire at the end of this season following an illustrious career, first as a jockey and later as a trainer.

“When my father made the announcement of his retirement, I wasn't expecting it because he hadn't talked about it,” said the French trainer on a visit to Tattersalls last week. “I learnt of it in the news like everybody else. This is how we are.”

There have been a number of sons, and the occasional daughter joining forces with their father since partnership training licences were introduced in Britain in 2020. However, in France, joint licences have been permitted for much longer, though this was never a route taken by Freddy and Christopher Head, with the latter having started training initially with a handful of rented boxes at Pascal Bary's Chantilly yard in 2019.

Christopher explains, “He always kept his distance with me in the beginning of my training career because he didn't want me to be in his shadow. I hope that it shows in the various things that I have done so far that it wasn't him, and that that can give owners confidence.

“It needed to be done as I wanted to try to make my own stamp on the stable. Now I am buying my father's stable. I've been training three years and now everything is settled and we are jumping onto the next step and having our own yard.”

The portents could not be better as the younger Head steps into this enhanced role having starred on Arc weekend with a smart young filly he will now take to Keeneland in pursuit of the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf. The daughter of Churchill has been highly tried this season, racing six times from early May for four wins, including the G3 Prix d'Aumale en route to the Marcel Boussac.

“It was really the pinnacle of a programme that I had with various fillies,” says Head as he reflects on a breakthrough Group 1 victory, not just for himself but for Blue Rose Cen's Spanish owner-breeder Leopoldo Fernandez Pujals, who notably made significant investment in broodmares at the sales in America and Europe several years ago.

“To prepare for the race [last] Sunday, we needed for her to kick at the start of the season and race every month,” he continues. “And from the start she really was very sound and very brilliant–a fast learner, and that's why things have been so easy for her. She really has always been so straightforward, leading the string sometimes. It really is an honour for me to train her.”

Despite a busy domestic programme this spring and summer for Blue Rose Cen, Head is adamant that she should take her chance at Keeneland.

He says, “That's the idea. We've been taking inspiration from what they do in Great Britain and Ireland. It's an experiment to see if we are capable of having 2-year-olds at this level, of this quality. What does Aidan O'Brien do? He runs his 2-year-olds.

“Of course I have been looking at all the Breeders' Cup replays from Keeneland to see what we need to do to win. I will prepare her for distance and speed, and of course to go left-handed. Everything will be done to ensure that we get her there in top condition.”

Head, whose younger sister Victoria is also now training, following a long family tradition that stretches back to their great-grandfather Willie Head and includes grandfather Alec, and aunt Criquette, knows that he is fortunate to have been selected by Fernandez Pujals to train some of his first wave of homebreds. The Coolmore-bred Sibila Spain, a full-sister to the smart stayer Master Of Reality (Ire) and from a family laden with black type, was recruited as a yearling at Arqana and also races in his colours.

“He sent me horses that I couldn't even imagine I would get to train,” says Head. “There is a huge gap between my beginning and when I had the chance to train horses for him and I really thank him again for his confidence in my stable. When you're a young trainer to have the confidence of a great owner like him is everything. 

“He was already involved with Spanish [sport] horses but it's only been three years that he has been breeding thoroughbreds and he is brilliant enough to have learned every pedigree and he can go right back into the past with them. It's incredible to have him and to be part of his project. It's a huge project that I believe will have success. He bought a lot of nice mares and it's good for new owners to see that it is still possible to have success like this.”

He adds of the recently retired Sibila Spain, “She was the first horse I had for him, and she was my first group winner, so she is very special. Hopefully I might have the chance to train her offspring in the future.”

While the future looks bright for Head, his one regret is that his legendary grandfather Alec, who won the Arc as both a trainer and breeder, the latter with the dual victrix Treve (Fr), did not live long enough to see his first Group 1 success. The master of Haras du Quesnay died in June at the age of 97.

“It has been a beautiful year but it has also been a hard one too,” he notes. “I wish my grandfather could have been there to see it. Even though he was family, he was also a legend to us, so it was a hard time to think that I would no longer be able to discuss horses with him, because now I think that I am mature enough to do that. But I just hope somehow he saw it and enjoyed it.”

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Khalidiya, who has since beaten the subsequent Listed Prix Melisande scorer Jannah Flower (Ire) (Olympic Glory {Ire}) in a 10-furlong maiden also at ParisLongchamp May 20, bids to provide The Aga Khan with an eighth win in this Classic and has fared well with the draw in six. Trainer Alain de Royer Dupre said, “We've had no problems with her preparation. The filly seems to be in really good shape. We have tried to bring her on in condition with her racing and she is not far off her peak. She has benefited from a similar campaign to [the 1999 winner Daryaba], but they aren't entirely similar fillies. Daryaba was fairly laid-back, whereas Khalidiya is more on her toes and, therefore, far more reactive.”

De Royer Dupre is a master with these types and looks for a seventh renewal, but is wary of testing ground. “To prepare for these big races, I find it easier to handle horses which have previously contested races in which they haven't had to force their talent,” he explained. “Before she saw the racecourse, I really thought she was something special. She was one of my best fillies. Soft ground would be a big disadvantage, as her physique isn't compatible when it comes to acting on muddy tracks. Ground which is too fast could also prove problematic, so good ground would be ideal. She is by Oasis Dream and his progeny aren't reputed to be soft-ground performers. Khalidiya takes after her mother [the 2015 G3 Prix de Royaumont winner Kataniya (Ire) (Raven's Pass)], even if she has more speed than her.”

Fabre's other runner is Godolphin, Ecurie des Monceaux and Ecurie Skymarc Farm's Philomene (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}), who bids to go one better than her half-sister Chicquita (Ire) (Montjeu {Ire}) who was runner-up to the outstanding Treve (Fr) (Motivator {GB}) in the 2013 renewal. Successful in the G3 Prix Penelope over this trip at Saint-Cloud Apr. 6, she was sixth and beaten under three lengths in the G1 Poule d'Essai des Pouliches at ParisLongchamp May 16 and Godolphin's Lisa-Jane Graffard said, “Philomene comes into this race well and Andre Fabre feels that she has progressed since the Pouliches. The going is a slight question mark, as we would prefer good ground but she is ready to perform well and do her best.”

With Gerard Augustin-Normand's May 24 G1 Prix Saint-Alary winner Incarville (Fr) (Wootton Bassett {GB}) drawn widest of all in 18, she will have to be extra special to defy that and there is a train of thought that suggests that Yeguada Centurion SL's 'TDN Rising Star' Sibila Spain (Ire) (Frankel {GB}) was unlucky not to win that contest. Hampered en route to finishing strongly in fourth, the Christopher Head trainee is also wide in stall 15 and early tactics will be fascinating to witness where she is concerned.

Between Incarville and Sibila Spain in the Saint-Alary was the runner-up Cirona (GB) (Maxios {GB}) and third Es La Vida (Ger) (Soldier Hollow {GB}) and both have leading claims again. Cirona, who was previously successful in the G3 Prix de la Grotte over a mile at ParisLongchamp Apr. 18, represents Ecurie Waldeck and trainer Christophe Ferland is confident. “All lights are flashing green. She is indifferent to the state of the ground. The forecast rainy spell will hold no terrors for her,” he said.

Es La Vida is one of two arrows fired by Francis-Henri Graffard alongside Gemini Stud's Sweet Lady (Fr) (Lope de Vega {Ire}), who was fourth behind Coeursamba (Fr) (The Wow Signal {Ire}) in the Pouliches. “Sweet Lady has had a fair amount of time between races since the Poule d'Essai, which has done her good,” he said. “I will be very happy to try her over a longer trip on Sunday. I think she will relish this, given her style of racing. Regarding the going, I just want it to be safe ground and not too firm, but if the thunderstorms and the rain materialize, it won't bother me, on the contrary. The owner of Es La Vida wishes to tackle the Diane. The filly is fine, so I agreed but with one proviso: it will have to rain. I believe that she's better over 1600 metres, but she is in good shape.”

The rest of Chantilly's card is intriguing, with the G3 Prix Paul de Moussac Longines over a mile featuring Roland Perron, Gerard Augustin-Normand and Haras des Evees' deeply promising Breizh Eagle (Fr) (Bow Creek {Ire}) who was third in the G1 Poule d'Essai des Poulains at ParisLongchamp May 16. Next up is the six-furlong G3 Prix du Bois Longines for 2-year-olds, with Peter Savill's unbeaten June 6 Listed Prix la Fleche winner Dizzy Bizu (Ire) (Caravaggio) setting the standard. She encounters a Wesley  Ward runner in Stonestreet Stables' Apr. 23 Keeneland maiden special weight winner Napa Spirit (Ire) (Invincible Spirit {Ire}).

In the G3 Prix Bertrand du Breuil Longines over a mile, Sabine Goldberg's unbeaten Jin Jin (Ire) (Canford Cliffs {Ire}) bids to defy a penalty for her exploits in the G2 Badener Meile at Dusseldorf May 30. Awaiting her is another with a formidable record in The Aga Khan's Sagamiyra (Fr) (Sea the Moon {Ger}), who comes into this mile contest off a win in the seven-furlong Listed Prix Maurice Zilber at ParisLongchamp May 16. Mikel Delzangles saddles the homebred, who is connected to this week's G2 Norfolk S. winner Perfect Power (Ire) (Ardad {Ire}), and later on the card also puts forward Zak Bloodstock's May 24 G2 Prix Hocquart winner Bubble Gift (Fr) (Nathaniel {Ire}) in the G3 Prix du Lys Longines. This mile-and-a-half contest is a trial for the July 14 G1 Grand Prix de Paris, so Andre Fabre's representatives demand close attention. Fitri Hay, Michael Tabor and Susan Magnier's Tides of War (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) captured the Coupe des 3 Ans at Lyon-Parilly May 9 and as a full-brother to Deauville (Ire) and The Corsican (Ire) can continue to go places.  

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Head is the son of hugely successful jockey and trainer Freddy Head, while other members of the historic racing family include Freddy's sister Criquette and father Alec.

Sibila Spain was bred by Coolmore and races for Yeguada Centurion. She suffered her first career defeat when fourth, beaten a length, in the G1 Prix Saint-Alary on May 24, and looks to give her sire another Classic winner on the season following the Derby exploits of Adayar (GB) (Frankel {GB}).

“Sibila Spain will be supplemented for the Diane [a week on Sunday], that's for sure,” said Head. “I think she will have a leading chance. The filly is really good. The only question mark against her would be the [possible] good to firm ground.

Sibila Spain was a nine-length maiden winner at Saint-Cloud on Mar. 25 over heavy going and followed up with a conditions win at Lyon Parilly prior to the Saint-Alary.

“Her race at Lyon-Parilly was the only time that she had raced on anything nearing good ground, and we might not have seen the best of her,” Head added. “I can't think of any reason why she wouldn't handle this type of ground, however.”

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In the line-up for the 2021 running of the Saint-Alary next Monday is likely to be a filly trained by one of the next generation of the Head family, Christopher, a son of Freddy, who has taken the bold decision to supplement the unbeaten Sibila Spain (Ire) (Frankel {GB}) for her first outing in Pattern company, straight to the very top level.

Head is now in his second full season with a training licence and has his Chantilly team based in the stable still owned by John Hammond alongside the town's famous Les Aigles turf gallops. That his team of around 14 horses enters the training grounds daily via the Porte Montjeu is an indication of at least one of the champions that has trodden that path before them, and it is not lost on Head.

He says, “Suave Dancer and a lot of very good horses that John trained have been in the same places and I hope it rubs off on this filly, too.”

Sibila Spain is one of two horses in his stable owned by Leopoldo Fernandez Pujals of Yeguada Centurion. The Spanish businessman's equine interests began in the sport horse world with native Andalusians, but in recent years he has made quite a splash as an investor in Thoroughbred racing, notably spending more than $3 million on mares at Keeneland's November Sale in 2019, as well as making significant purchases in Europe. One of those was the Coolmore-bred Frankel filly out of the listed winner L'Ancresse (Ire) (Darshaan {GB}), now known as Sibila Spain. She is a full-sister to Group 3 winner Master Of Reality (Ire) and half to listed winner Chamonix (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}), and her immediate family already includes a Saint-Alary winner–her dam's full-sister Cerulean Sky (Ire)–while the mare's half-sister Moonstone (Ire) (Dalakhani {Ire}) won the Irish Oaks. 

It is a pedigree which entitles both owner and trainer to dream big, and that is exactly what they are doing, though it is no pipe dream. Sibila Spain made her racecourse debut in the Prix Monade at Saint-Cloud on Mar. 25 in a race replete with bluebloods. At the winning post she was nine lengths clear of the runner-up. Three weeks later, the ground at Lyon Parilly was good to soft, rather than the heavy turf she encountered in Paris, but she finished out in front again over the 2,200 metres. In the process she did nothing to alter the impression that she is a filly just waiting to have her name stamped in bold black type.

Head casts his mind back to his own early impressions of the filly who arrived in his stable on Feb. 2. He says, “She changed a lot through the first month and then I had the chance to work her with some of the good horses of my father and she was going a lot better than them. She showed enough for me to feel that she could start out in a good race. Most of the later-developing fillies that are going for the Diane start in that maiden. So we were already expecting her to run well, but we were against big trainers, big owners. Although I thought she would be able to win I didn't think it would be by that far. That was the real surprise, the number of lengths she was from the others.”

He continues, “We needed those few races to know her better and I have the feeling that she is coming to the Saint-Alary in the perfect shape and with the perfect timing. Since the race in Lyon I feel she has really improved and that's why I think it is the right thing to do. She probably is better in the soft ground, and that should be perfect for the Saint-Alary on Monday as it's soft now and we are expecting more rain through the week.”

Head, a fifth-generation Chantilly horseman from a family with English roots, is not the only trainer in France with a horse for Yeguada Centurion. The Spanish-born but French-based Mauricio Delcher Sanchez trains Reina Madre (Ire) (Kingman{GB}), the winner of the G3 Prix Imprudence in April who subsequently finished down the field in Sunday's G1 Poule d'Essai des Pouliches. Head is naturally delighted to welcome a major owner to his fledgling stable, and Sibila Spain has been joined by the owner's homebred 2-year-old Ready To Win (Ire) (More Than Ready), who was in utero when her dam Miss Melbourne (Fr) (Kentucky Dynamite) was bought by Fernandez Pujals for 300,000gns at the Tattersalls December Sale.

The trainer's introduction to the owner came through his cousin several years ago. Head says, “I met him at a lunch in Deauville and he had started the project of buying some black-type mares and breeding his own Thoroughbreds in France. He is doing everything he can to make it succeed and has invested a lot of money. He's really a brilliant man and it's a pleasure to deal with him. Unfortunately he can't come to France for the Saint-Alary as it is still difficult to travel, but he is very excited about the filly.”

Fernandez Pujals is not the only one entitled to be excited. A filly with stakes potential is enough to put a spring in the step of any small trainer, particularly one who is a relatively new licence-holder.

Head laughs as she says, “Of course I am not taking any risks right now to say that she is the best horse I have trained in my life.” But as he speaks the excitement which must be growing in his stable is almost palpable.

He adds, “I am very, very happy with her. I know we are coming from a Class 1 at Lyon and we haven't competed against the group horses, but it's not just the results from her races, she is showing me good things in the mornings and so I expect her to be able to win the Saint-Alary. Her behaviour and temperament has been very good going into the races and that's why we are looking at this race, and the Prix de Diane if she's right after the Saint-Alary.”

The trainer nevertheless describes himself as cautious as the number of horses in his stable rises “slowly but surely”. 

“I'm having so much fun. It is my passion but I want to make sure I am working with the right people who I can trust,” he says.

All being well, Sibila Spain will be added to the Prix Saint-Alary line-up at the supplementary stage this Thursday and, come race day, will renew her acquaintance with Aurelien Lemaitre, who has ridden her in her two wins.

“We won't change the jockey,” Head says. “I've been raised by a jockey and he always told me that it's not their fault when a race goes wrong. Most of the time it is the fault of the trainer rather than the jockey. Aurelien is a very good jockey and we grew up together as I was working at my father's place when he was apprenticed there, so it is really good now to be running in a group race together.”

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