Tattersalls December Mares Sale | Horse Racing Free Tips

Desert Berry A Rare Jewel in the Sceptre Sessions

An extremely rare opportunity will be presented during the Sceptre Sessions of the Tattersalls December Mares Sale when Desert Berry (GB) (Green Desert), the dam of this year's G1 Derby winner Desert Crown (GB), is offered for sale back in foal to Nathaniel (Ire), the sire of the Classic hero.

When Desert Crown passed the line in front at Epsom, he fulfilled a lifetime dream for breeder Gary Robinson of Newmarket's Strawberry Fields Stud, who will offer the 13-year-old Desert Berry as lot 1891 on Tuesday evening of the sale.

“She's a beautiful mare, she's the right age and she's carrying a full-sibling to the Derby winner,” he says. “So this is it: the best chance anybody's ever going to get to buy another Derby winner.”

Desert Berry first came into Robinson's possession as a foal, but he also owns her dam, the Juddmonte-bred Foreign Language (Distant View), as well as Rose Berry (GB) (Archipenko), a six-time winner and half-sister to Desert Crown who is also now in foal to Nathaniel. With younger members of the family also in his possession, including Desert Berry's 2-year-old daughter by Al Kazeem (GB) and yearling colt by Study Of Man (Ire), Strawberry Fields is well stocked with this Classic family.

“She's from a Juddmonte family originally,” says Robinson of Desert Berry, whose relations include the Group 1 winners Proviso (GB) and Byword (GB).

“I bought her as a foal at Tattersalls many years ago with the first four base mares that we had, and she is the last of those base mares.”

Desert Berry certainly has established a strong foundation for Robinson. All five of her foals to have raced are multiple winners. Successive matings with the late Lanwades resident Archipenko produced not just Rose Berry but also the Hong Kong Group 3 winner Flying Thunder (GB), who raced in Britain as Archie McKellar, winning for Ralph Beckett before moving to Frankie Lor.

“Unfortunately Archipenko is gone, but she is a nice mare and Nathaniel was perfect for her,” says Robinson. “She's bred a Derby winner now and that's put us on the map. And we've got all the family to go further with.

“I've got the yearling half-brother here and a daughter by Al Kazeem who is in pre-training as well.”

Robinson describes Desert Berry as an “alpha mare” and he adds, “She's an individual, she's different but she is kind. And she's got a beautiful action.”

He says of his decision to offer her for sale, “Sometimes you have to let things go. At the end of the day, this is a business, so we have to make money to go on again. We're building more new stables…and then we've also created a racing yard, so we've got that as a back-up as well. It's been a big investment and sometimes we have to sell things. This is a great opportunity now to reinvest the money into the stud, but we have the family and I'm quite sure they're going to be successful for a while.”

While Desert Crown will always be first and foremost remembered as a Derby winner, Robinson says that it was the colt's easy victory in the G2 Dante S. for his owner Saeed Suhail and trainer Sir Michael Stoute that lingers most in his mind.

“For me, the Dante was the race where I saw a wonderful walking horse and athlete, and that really that made it for me more than anything, just to have produced a wonderful horse,” he says.

Indeed, Desert Crown's physical attributes were clearly obvious from an early age, as he sold for 280,000gns to Richard Brown of Blandford Bloodstock when offered as a yearling at Book 2 of the Tattersalls October sale in 2020. And there could well be more high days to come for the colt, who has recently returned to training at Stoute's Freemason Lodge in Newmarket.

Robinson says, “Desert Crown is doing really well now, so he'll be ready and they're really excited about him for next year. They're going to go places with him. It's good, it shows that the horses the mare produces are progressive.”

The post Desert Berry A Rare Jewel in the Sceptre Sessions appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

Saffron Beach To Tattersalls But Door Remains Open for $4m HK Mile

There must have been times when those connected to Saffron Beach (Ire) (New Bay {GB}) in her early years were shaking their heads in frustration.

Four times she was entered for a sale as a young horse. She made the first of those engagements, no problem, when she was sold by Ballylinch Stud at the Tattersalls December Foal Sale on behalf of her breeder China Horse Club. Liam Norris, a man with a noted eye for foals, signed for her at 55,000gns, bought for a partnership headed by Ben Sangster, with the intention of bringing the New Bay filly back to the yearling sales the following October.

Thereafter, she was scratched from October Book 2, then the December Yearling Sale and, during the following topsy-turvy first year of Covid, she was also withdrawn from the July Sale, in which she would have appeared as an unraced two-year-old. By that stage, however, the minor foot issue which had meant Sangster and Saffron Beach's co-owner James Wigan had to forget the yearling sales, had come good, and Jane Chapple-Hyam had paid a visit to Manton to see the filly and to decide if she would like to train her. Fortunately she did like her. Very much so, in fact, and with a raft of group wins now to her credit, it's easy to imagine that Saffron Beach has shot to the top of the charts of Chapple-Hyam's all-time favourite horses.

It will, then, be a bittersweet moment for all involved at Abington Place when their stable star returns to Tattersalls for the December Mares' Sale, even though as a full-fledged dual Group 1 winner she reflects much credit on the yard. And there could yet be the opportunity for one last hurrah.

“She's being sold as a horse in training and hopefully the lucky purchaser might enjoy having a trip to Hong Kong,” says Chapple-Hyam. “She's in the $4 million Hong Kong Mile and we've accepted the invitation, so it would be a lovely swansong.”

It would indeed, but then right from the off, the filly from the first crop of New Bay has fuelled the dreams of her trainer and ownership team of Lucy Sangster, Ollie Sangster and James Wigan. Making her debut at Newmarket on September 26, 2020, the powerful chestnut strode away from her 14 rivals in her maiden race to finish more than four lengths clear of her nearest pursuer. Such an eye-catching start made her fully entitled to step straight into pattern company, which she did just a fortnight later, back at her home track, in the G3 Oh So Sharp S.

“She's just gone from strength to strength,” says Chapple-Hyam. “But in a funny kind of way, her first two runs showed a lot when she won a maiden, and then two weeks later she backed up for the Oh So Sharp. And when Adam Kirby got off her, we knew there and then because he said she felt like a special filly.”

Kirby, a jockey not prone to hyperbole, was spot on. Put away for the winter, Saffron Beach returned to run second in her 1,000 Guineas trial, the G3 Nell Gwyn S., and was then runner-up in the Classic itself, finishing just a length behind the winner Mother Earth (Ire).

Failing to properly see out the mile and a half when contesting the Oaks at Epsom, Saffron Beach had unleashed her true potential by the end of her three-year-old season, winning the G3 Atalanta S. en route to landing her first Group 1 in the Sun Chariot back at her beloved Rowley Mile.

“She did really well in the Nell Gwyn,” her trainer recalls. “We used that as a stepping stone and she was probably only 85% fit, then we waited another two weeks to run in the Guineas. So that was a highlight and then since then she's picked up Group 1s, whether it be at Newmarket or over in Deauville, and she's just proved a tough, consistent filly.”

Returned to training at four, Saffron Beach's warm-up fourth place in the G1 Dubai Turf at Meydan proved the perfect springboard for another lucrative summer campaign in Europe. At Royal Ascot she waltzed away with the G2 Duke of Cambridge S. before beating dual Group 1 winner Tenebrism (Ire) in the G1 Prix Rothschild in Deauville. She also had her fellow Sceptre Sessions entrant Pearls Galore (Fr) behind her that day, but the tables were turned when all three classy fillies met again on Irish Champions Weekend, with Pearls Galore landing the G1 Matron S. ahead of Saffron Beach in second, and Tenebrism third, with the Irish 1,000 Guineas winner Homeless Songs (Ire) claiming fourth.

Saffron Beach, who hails from the family of the young sire Cotai Glory (GB), was the first Group 1 winner for her upwardly mobile sire, and she has been joined in that category this year by Bay Bridge (GB) and Bayside Boy (Ire), who notched a notable Group 1 double for the Ballylinch Stud resident on British Champions Day.

Chapple-Hyam says of the statuesque trailblazer, “She's feisty, but she's a nice, feisty mare. She's she's got a kind side to her. It's going to be hard when she goes because she's in box one, and so for a couple of years, [we've been] seeing her every morning. But hopefully she'll have a nice career at stud and go to some top stallions.”

She adds, “It will be up to the new purchasers if they would like her to run in Hong Kong in their colours and we will do some quick paperwork, but we're all set at this end.

“Everyone's very thrilled with what she's done throughout the last couple of years so I'm sure they'll all miss cheering her on. But we were lucky enough to keep her on as a four-year-old so, especially the last month, we've just been enjoying seeing her every day.”

The post Saffron Beach To Tattersalls But Door Remains Open for $4m HK Mile appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

Group 1 Winner Princess Zoe Added To Tattersalls December

Princess Zoe (Ger) (Jukebox Jury {Ire}), a winner of the 2020 G1 Prix du Cadran, has been added to the Tattersalls December Mares Sale as lot 1924A. Bred by Gestut Hony-Hof, she will go through the Park Paddocks ring during one of the Sceptre Sessions on Nov. 29.

Trained by Tony Mullins, the daughter of Palace Princess (Ger) (Tiger Hill {Ire}) was second in the G1 Gold Cup last year, as well as the G3 Ballycullen Irish St. Leger Trial. The grey added the G3 Sagaro S. this term in the colours of Patrick Kehoe and Philomena Crampton. A half-sister to multiple group winner and G1 Deutsches Derby second Palace Prince (Ger) (Areion {Ger}), her record stands at eight wins from 34 starts and another 11 placings for earnings of $566,117. Her winning dam is a half-sister to the Big Shuffle quartet of Pepperstorm (Ger), a dual group winner; Peppershot (Ger), successful in the G3 Preis des Winterfavoriten; Peppercorn (Ger), a five-time group winner; and Pepperjuice (Ger), second at listed level in her native land.

The post Group 1 Winner Princess Zoe Added To Tattersalls December appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

Cheers To Alcohol Free As Tattersalls Beckons

It's a rare Jeff Smith colour-bearer that has not been bred at his successful Hampshire nursery of Littleton Stud, but shopping around for new blood can pay dividends for breeders, and in the case of Alcohol Free (Ire), there have been handsome dividends indeed.

Four years ago, the weanling daughter of No Nay Never caught the eye of Littleton Stud manager David Bowe at the Goffs November Sale, where she was bought from her breeder Churchtown Stud for €40,000. By the time the four-time Group 1 winner exits from her second turn in the sales ring, this time at the Tattersalls December Sale, it is easy to predict that she will have made many times that figure.

While other yearlings were meeting their own sales engagements, the young Alcohol Free had only to appear in the Littleton Stud yearling parade, where one of Smith's trainers was quick to put his hand up in hope of training her. Recalling the day he first set eyes on his subsequent stable star, Andrew Balding says, “You don't know quite what you're going to get [sent], but you get an opportunity to have a whisper in David Bowe's ear and say, look, I really like the No Nay Never filly. And thankfully I did and she ended up coming our way. She was actually one of the later ones of Jeff's yearlings, but as soon as she came in, it took about two pieces of work and she was ready to run.”

By August, Alcohol Free was off to Balding's local course, Newbury, to make her debut.

He continues, “She was hugely impressive, having shown some good ability at home. But we'd only really scratched the surface with her homework.”

Stepping straight into group company, Alcohol Free ran a close second to Happy Romance (Ire) in the G3 Dick Poole Fillies' S. on her next start, before delivering what her trainer describes as “a perfect end to her two-year-old career” by winning the G1 Cheveley Park S.

That transpired to be just the first of Alcohol Free's four Group 1 victories, with a further two coming her way as a three-year-old, in the Coronation S. and later in a particularly strong renewal of the Sussex S. at Goodwood, where she beat 2,000 Guineas winner Poetic Flare (Ire) and G1 Falmouth S. victrix Snow Lantern (GB).

Many owners might well have taken the view that a treble Group 1 winner at two and three was more than enough for a filly to have shown her merits to be a coveted addition to any broodmare band but, sportingly, Smith decided to roll the dice and keep Alcohol Free in training at four. It was an inspired decision, because not only did she win again at the top level, but in so doing, she displayed great versatility and a killer turn of foot when dropping back from a mile to win the July Cup. In behind her were Godolphin's Naval Crown (GB) and Creative Force (Ire), and Australian raider Artorius (Aus), who had filled the first three places in the G1 Platinum Jubilee S. a month earlier, giving the form a rock-solid feel.

“I think for Alcohol Free to have won Group 1s at two, three and four is unusual, but to have won four majorly significant ones, and not just obviously the Cheveley Park and the Coronation Stakes for fillies only, but then add to that a Sussex Stakes and a July Cup–I mean, that's a rare group of races,” says Balding. “And I don't think there's another horse who has achieved the four of those. It's an extraordinary achievement.”

Looking ahead to the next stage of her career, he adds, “I think what makes Alcohol Free a particularly attractive broodmare proposition is the fact that she's obviously been incredibly sound throughout her training career. Her race record shows that. She's just the most beautifully athletic horse, with that deep girth and wonderful shoulder to her, and a great walker. And she's she's got real presence, so with all those things combined, I think you couldn't wish for a more exciting prospect as a as a broodmare.”

He continues, “She's the daughter of probably one of the most exciting young sires in in the world, whose progeny statistics just get better and better each year, as well as being out of a Hard Spun mare. She's a half-sister to a very good group-class horse in France, and it's a good family going back. All of those things make it a very attractive page to look at in the catalogue.”

There will no doubt be plenty of potential buyers who agree with Balding's sentiment when going through the catalogue, and her appearance in the ring as lot 1904 during the Sceptre Sessions of the Tattersalls December Mares' Sale, provides one last opportunity for Alcohol Free to shine for Balding, as she is consigned by his Park House Stables on behalf of Littleton Stud.

“It's been just a pleasure to have anything to do with her,” he says. “And she's just a brilliant workhorse. I mean, seeing her work in the morning was demoralising for whoever had to work with her. But it is always so rewarding to watch really good horses work well, and she very rarely put in a bad piece of work. She was always showing her natural ability in her work and doing it so easily. So we'll miss that, and we'll have a job to replace her.”

The post Cheers To Alcohol Free As Tattersalls Beckons appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post