Ten Sovereigns | Horse Racing Free Tips

Ten Sovereigns Filly Fetches Record €300,000 At Sportsman’s Sale

More records were broken at the Goffs Sportsman's Sale on Thursday as David Ryan went to €300,000, the highest price ever paid for a yearling at this sale, to secure a Ten Sovereigns (Ire) filly (lot 713) on behalf of Rabbah Bloodstock from Abbeville Stud.

Trade sky-rocketed at the Orby Sale on Tuesday and Wednesday and the opening session of the two-day Sportsman's Sale at Goffs was much the same.

Of the 245 yearlings offered, 217 found new homes, representing a clearance rate of 89%. However, what was most impressive was the amount traded, with the €6,094,500 that exchanged hands through the ring representing a 54% increase on last year's turnover.

The average and the median were also up. The average was €28,085, a 32% increase on last year, while the median was up 50% to €24,000.

Haunting Melody (Ire) (Danetime {Ire}), sold here in 2007 for €240,000, was the most expensive horse sold at the Sportsman's Sale prior to Thursday.

Despite having to pay a record price for the Ten Sovereigns filly, Ryan, manager at Kilfrush Stud, revealed the sum was pretty much where he expected to go.

He said, “She's for Rabbah Bloodstock and will come back to the farm in Kilfrush before we decide who trains.”

Ryan added, “She really should have been in the Orby as she was a standout on the day. Especially the way the fillies were selling in the Orby.

“I know that Ten Sovereigns is a first-season sire and is unproven but it has worked before with No Nay Never. She was always going to make good money.”

Foley Lights The Touch Paper

The Sportsman's picked up pretty much where the Orby left off when Joe Foley went to €62,000 to bag the first horse through the ring, the Newlands House Stud-drafted Bungle Inthejungle (GB) brother (lot 521) to black-type performer Funny Money Honey (Ire), on behalf of The Bronte Collection.

Foley, who has been one of the biggest players on the European yearling sale circuit so far this season and spent over €1 million on eight horses at the Orby, also revealed the colt would be trained by Karl Burke.

Foley said, “He has been bought for the Bronte Collection. I bought the Lowther S. winner Living In The Past (Ire) (Bungle Inthejungle {GB}) off Paddy Burns and I'm delighted to be able to go back to him. I liked the cross and he looks fast. He'll be trained by Karl Burke, who also trained Living In The Past.”

The proud Carlow man went on to snap up a Le Brivido (Fr) filly (lot 633) from Churchtown House Stud for €42,000 later in the afternoon.

Gladwell Still Going Strong

Those hoping to make hay while the Americans were away suffered something of a blow when Torie Gladwell, who picked up two yearlings at the Orby, remained for the long haul and added a colt by Invincible Army (Ire) (lot 535) and a filly by Ten Sovereigns (lot 653) for €70,000 apiece.

All of Gladwell's additions, signed for under the banner of Top Line Sales, will return to Ocala Florida, where she is based, with the long-term plan being to prepare them for a breeze-up sale.

She said, “We bought two in the Orby and two today and all will come back to America to breeze. We came to Europe to get a sportier, earlier type of horse. The Invincible Army colt is nice and, with the filly, we thought that she would mix well with the American bloodlines in time.”

Top Line Sales secured a Calyx filly (lot 8) for €85,000 and a Cable Bay filly (lot 339) for €100,000 in the Orby Sale and Gladwell's business in the Sportsman's took her total spend to €325,000.

Condon Comes Up Trumps For Territories Filly

In G1 Prix de l'Abbaye-bound Teresa Mendoza (Ire), Ken Condon has one of the best progeny of Territories (Ire) in his stable, and the Curragh-based trainer added another filly (lot 702) by the Dalham Hall-based stallion to his string for €80,000.

Consigned by Hollyhill Stud, the Territories filly ranked highly on Condon's list, and the trainer's confidence was boosted by the fact one of the most respected judges in racing was the underbidder.

He said, “Territories is a sire we're obviously very familiar with and Teresa Mendoza will run in France this weekend. She came well-recommended and is from a good nursery but she recommended herself.”

Condon added, “She's a very nice type. She has a bit of substance to her and has a lovely attitude. You'd take great heart from the fact that such a good judge like Kevin Prendergast was the underbidder.”

Dubai Calling?

Progeny of Catholic Boy in Europe are just about as rare as hen's teeth and lot 556, a colt by the dual American Grade I winner who stands for $20,000 at Claiborne Farm, was knocked down for €65,000 to top breeze-up consignors Mick and Sarah Murphy of Longways Stables.

Gerry Hogan signed for the colt, who was consigned by Arglo House Stud, and he boasted one of the more interesting pedigrees on day one at the Sportsman's.

Given his page, one would wonder if the colt, out of maiden mare by Muhaarar (GB) and from the family of multiple black-type performers in America, could rock up at the Goffs Dubai Breeze-Up Sale next March. Watch this space.

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The Major Talking Points From The Premier Yearling Sale At Doncaster

The first major yearling sale of the autumn in Britain or Ireland, the Goffs UK Premier Yearling Sale provided entertainment from the beginning to the end, but most importantly, boasted impressive figures. Brian Sheerin was in attendance and discusses the major talking points from the sale.

Figures on the up

The team at Goffs UK could hardly have wished for a better start to the Premier Yearling Sale. The day one figures were off the charts. Of the 218 lots offered on Tuesday, 199 were sold, representing a clearance rate of 91%.

The aggregate was up 28% to £8,954,500, the average rose 15% to £44,997 and the median climbed 27% to £38,000.

There were noticeably less people around the sales complex at Doncaster on day two. While the figures failed to match what took place on Tuesday, there were some impressive numbers recorded on Wednesday, with an 87% clearance rate on a day where the aggregate climbed 11% to £7,003,000.

The average on Wednesday went up 0.5% while the median fell by 4% to £32,000. That came despite the fact that there was some late drama in the ring with three of the last seven lots making six figures.

All told, the sale went well. Of the 406 yearlings catalogued, 363 were sold, translating to a clearance rate of 89%. The aggregate was up 20% to £15,987,500 while the average was up 8% and the median rose by 9%.

Big Results From Small Numbers For Fitzgerald

Alice Fitzgerald knows what she is doing. It was at the Premier Yearling Sale in 2021 when Fitzgerald sold her homebred Basil Martini (Ire) (Starspangledbanner {Aus}} out of 10,000gns purchase Under Offer (Bated Breath (GB) to MV Magnier for £160,000.

Fast forward 12 months and Fitzgerald, who never brings more than one or two to the sales, bagged another big pay-day by selling her Kodiac (GB) colt out of Night Queen (Ire) (Rip Van Winkle {Ire}) to Manor House Farm for £160,000.

What's even more impressive about Fitzgerald? This isn't even her day job.

John and Jess Dance Stock Up

Given John and Jess Dance bought six-time Group 1 winner Laurens (Fr) (Siyouni {Fr}) at this sale in 2016, it's only natural that the owners would have an affinity towards Doncaster, which was evident in the results.

Under Manor House Stables, they signed for nine different yearlings at a total of £837,000, which was only bettered by the £1,162,000 that Peter and Ross Doyle spent across the two days on a whopping 17 different horses.

However, of the top 10 spenders at the Premier Yearling Sale, nobody boasted a better average than John and Jess Dance.

The couple spent an average of £93,000 on their nine lots, illustrating that they are seeking quality over quantity more so than ever before.

High Praise From Doyle

Ross Doyle is renowned for being one of the best judges in the game. Along with his father Peter, he has sourced Mehmas, Barney Roy, Limato, Japan, Fairyland, Magna Grecia, Olympic Glory and much more.

Therefore, when he praised Goffs for attracting the best bunch of yearlings that he has seen for some time, it reflected well on the quality of the sale.

Doyle signed for two of the top lots in the sale, a colt by New Bay (GB) [211] for £200,000 on day one, and a lovely Dark Angel (Ire) colt [251] the following day for the same figure.

Grangemore signed for the Dark Angel colt at last year's Tattersalls December Foal Sales for 40,000gns and the sale to the Doyles, who didn't reveal where the horse would be trained, secured a tidy pinhooking profit. The New Bay colt will be trained by Richard Hannon.

Two Top-Notch Pinhooks

There were a number of good pinhooks over the course of the sale but two stood out. The first was that of lot 21, a gorgeous Ten Sovereigns (Ire) filly that Jamie Railton bought for €26,000 off Ballybin Stud at the November Foal Sales at Goffs last year before selling to Richard Hughes for a cool £110,000 on Tuesday.

The second was an even greater piece of inspiration as Violet Hesketh and Mimi Wadham, who run WH Bloodstock, and transformed lot 171 from a €38,000 purchase back in February to a £120,000 yearling just six months later.

A colt by Kuroshio (Aus), lot 171 was tipped to do well after a number of shrewd judges got him vetted and, in the end, he was knocked down to Mark McStay and it's understood the colt will be sent to Fozzy Stack to be trained.

Kuroshio Holding His Own

Kuroshio has been around the world and back but this year represented the classy Australian's first crop of runners since he took up residency at Starfield Stud in 2020. After a slow start to the season, Dontspoilasale (Ire) has come along and won for the stallion in Ireland, and looks potentially progressive, while Jessica Harrington's Panic Alarm (Ire) should be winning races for the stallion when he gets softer ground conditions.

All told, anyone who has backed Kuroshio will be a lot happier now than ever before as last week's figures were respectable. Away from the headline-maker, lot 171, the Baroda Stud-drafted filly [lot 258] also secured a solid sale for the stallion, and changed hands to join John and Jess Dance for £48,000. All four yearlings by the stallion were sold.

Force Behind Highclere Stallion

Some will argue that Land Force (Ire) is riding the crest of a No Nay Never wave, and that may have been an entirely plausible summation of the situation had his yearlings not been so impressive in the flesh.

Top judges Clive Cox-who went to £85,000 to secure lot 71-and Oliver St Lawrence bought progeny by the stallion. Some of the best in the breeze-up business, Katie Walsh, Longways Stables and Con Marnane, also rowed in behind Land Force this week.

Jake Warren even tipped the Highclere-based stallion for first-season sire honours and, while there is a lot of water to pass under that particular bridge, the early signs are promising for anyone with a Land Force in their stable.

Of the 17 offered this week, 14 were sold at an aggregate of £510,000, which averaged out at £36,429.

Noteworthy Buyers

A number of top agents, trainers and breeze-up buyers relayed how footfall had increased at the sale and, as a result, it was going to be even harder to smoke out a bargain.

Well, buyers also had to contend with major competition from afar as Wesley Ward also got in on the action, signing for lot 200, a Lynn Lodge-consigned £82,000 daughter of US Navy Flag.

Ward is clearly a fan of the stallion and why wouldn't he be? The Patrick Grogan-bred Love Reigns (Ire), whose only defeat in three starts for the American-based trainer, came when she finished fourth in the G2 Queen Mary S. at Royal Ascot. Time will tell if Ward has bagged himself another Royal Ascot filly.

It should be said that, for all that Eddie O'Leary has a host of international clients, he still made time for his neighbour at Goffs. At one point in the afternoon on Wednesday, Nick Nugent on the rostrum announced, 'from one corner of Mullingar to the other,' when Roger O'Callaghan of Tall-Ho purchased a Mehmas colt [lot 349] for £45,000 off his fellow Westmeath native.

O'Leary's Lynn Lodge Stud ended proceedings with 11 yearlings sold for £677,000 at an average of £61,545, making the operation the fifth most successful across the two days.

Tally-Ho Dominate

It was an excellent sale for Tally-Ho. Not only was the stud responsible for the top lot, the Blandford Bloodstock-bought Night Of Thunder (Ire) filly [lot 278] out of five-time winner and listed-placed Thiswaycadeaux (Thewayyouare), but they also ended proceedings as the leading consignors with 24 yearlings making £1,544,000 in total.

That was needed, according to Roger O'Callaghan, who revealed that there were 60 more yearlings standing in the field at home in Westmeath, with 40 needing to be broken in and prepared for the breeze-ups.

Away from the excellent results posted by their own stock, Tally-Ho will have been delighted by how all the progeny of their resident stallions were received with yearlings by Kodiac, Cotai Glory, Kessaar, Galileo Gold, Mehmas and young sire Inns Of Court doing well.

Night Of Thunder Stars

But the star of the show, without question, was Darley's Night Of Thunder. Along with Tally-Ho's sales-topping filly, the Mountarmstrong Stud-drafted Night Of Thunder [170] colt out of Pious Alexander, which ended day one on top at £230,000, ensured it was a memorable sale for the sire.

Mark McStay landed the day one leader, after which, the leading agent labelled Night Of Thunder, the sire of last week's spellbinding G1 Nunthorpe S. winner Highfield Princess (Fr), as a solid source of top-class talent.

Classy Siblings On Show

Some pedigrees leapt off the page. The Galileo Gold half-brother [280] to Nunthorpe runner-up The Platinum Queen (Ire) (Cotai Glory {GB}) made £170,000 to join Richard Spencer, the Ulysses (Ire) half-brother [213] to Coventry S. winner Bradsell (GB) (Tasleet {GB}) was knocked down to Dance Thoroughbreds for £150,000 and Whitsbury Manor's Havana Grey (GB) half-sister to Sandy Lane S. scorer El Caballo (GB) (Havana Gold {Ire}) was all the rage at £230,000 with Jack Warren of Highclere doing the buying.

Havana Grey Shines

Of the 22 horses offered by Havana Grey, all bar one were sold for a total of £1,089,000, averaging at £51,857. Whitsbury's Ed Harper revealed that his performance is exceeding the wildest dreams but, with nine individual black-type horses in his first crop, perhaps buyers were cottoning on to the fact that they have been witnessing something special.

Soldier's Answers The Call

This game is all about looking towards the future and the early signs are that Joe Foley has another real one at Ballyhane Stud in Soldier's Call (GB).

The man knows how to launch a stallion and must have taken great credit about how Soldier's Call cleared £563,000 from 13 yearlings sold at an average of £43,308.

What's more, Foley was prepared to put his money where his mouth is, and bought the top lot [212] by the sire for £105,000 off Tinnakill House Stud for Steve Parkin.

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Seven Days: Who Bears Wins

'Industry heavyweights' seems to have been the buzz phrase of the last few weeks, and we have a few of those in our long-running 12-to-follow competition organised by my husband every Flat and National Hunt season. Those competing this summer include several leading Irish stud masters, bloodstock agents, trainers, breeders, sales company executives, and the head of the Tote. And they are all currently trailing in the wake of an 11-year-old boy who was shrewd enough to include Little Big Bear in his list.

What a selection that was. Mind you, Alex Barry is no ordinary 11-year-old boy. He devours pedigrees for breakfast and will surely one day shove his dad Luke aside to take the helm at Manister House Stud. They start 'em young in Ireland, and that's one of the reasons the Irish have the edge in just about every facet of the bloodstock industry.

The bears came out of the woods on Saturday with Little Big Bear landing the Curragh's G1 Keeneland Phoenix S., and the admirably hardy Go Bears Go (Ire) (Kodi Bear {Ire}), who had been a close third in that same race last year, posting his third group win in the G3 Rathasker Stud Phoenix Sprint S.

Little Big Bear became the fourth Group/Grade 1 winner for his sire No Nay Never, whose name has popped up at pretty much every major meeting this season, with his star performer Alcohol Free (Ire) having added the July Cup to her tally of top-level wins, Blackbeard (Ire) notching group wins in Ireland and France, Trillium (GB) landing the Molecomb S., and Little Big Bear having first hinted at his prowess in the Windsor Castle S. at Royal Ascot.

No Nay Never's sire Scat Daddy is a son of Aidan O'Brien's outstanding juvenile Johannesburg, the winner of Group/Grade 1 races in Ireland, France, Britain and America in his debut season. That run started with the Phoenix S., which was taken by his great-grandson in such impressive fashion at the Curragh on Saturday. The G1 Prix Morny was next on the list for Johannesburg 21 years ago, but it appears that Little Big Bear will not yet take a trip to the land where his dam Adventure Seeker (Fr) (Bering {GB}) was bred by the Wildenstein family, and indeed where his third dam, the champion All Along (Fr) (Targowice), won the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe in 1983. Aidan O'Brien told the Nick Luck Daily podcast on Monday that the star juvenile will likely stay at home to contest the G1 National S. next.

Daddy's Legacy

Scat Daddy was only 11 when he died in 2015 but his reputation had grown enough by that stage for him to have left a number of sons at stud, with at least 15 currently scattered between Europe and America. His former home of Ashford Stud contains three of those sons: Caravaggio, the sire of the dual Group 1 winner Tenebrism, Triple Crown winner Justify, and GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf winner Mendelssohn. Those last two named both have first-crop runners this year, with Justify currently in second in the American freshman table. His leading performer to date is the G2 Airlie Stud S. winner Statuette, a three-parts-sister to Tenebrism, their dam being the celebrated Group 1-winning miler Immortal Verse (Ire) (Pivotal {GB}).

At Coolmore in Ireland, another freshman sire of 2022, Sioux Nation, stands alongside No Nay Never, and he has had a pretty stonking week with two Group 3 winners to his credit – Sydneyarms Chelsea (Ire) at Deauville and the tail-swishing Lakota Sioux (Ire) at Newmarket. All of this activity means that No Nay Never has taken over from Havana Grey (GB) as Europe's leading sire of 2-year-olds, with Sioux Nation now in third place in that particular table.

It is also worth noting that Yeomanstown Stud's grey son of Scat Daddy, El Kabeir, provided arguably the most eye-catching maiden winner of the last week in the Karl Burke-trained Bright Diamond (Ire), who sparkled on debut when beating some smartly-bred types by nine lengths at Newmarket.

Meanwhile there are now four young sons of No Nay Never at stud. The first yearlings of Coolmore's Ten Sovereigns will come under the hammer this weekend at Arqana, where the first yearling by Highclere Stud's Land Force (Ire) is also consigned. The G2 Coventry S. winner Arizona (Ire) will have his first foals for sale later this year, while in France Al Shaqab's Molecomb winner Armor (GB) covered his first book of mares this spring at Haras de Bouquetot.

Clearly we will be seeing plenty more runners representing the Scat Daddy line in the coming seasons. The most interesting question to be answered in the relatively short term will be whether the classy female family of the Camas Park Stud and Summerhill-bred Little Big Bear will combine with this generally fast and precocious line well enough to help him show a similar level of form at a mile and fulfil his obvious Classic pretensions.

The Queen of Highfield

There is encouragement to be gained for breeders large and small by the admirable progression of John Fairley's homebred Highfield Princess (Fr) (Night Of Thunder {Ire}), who took some notable scalps when winning the G1 Prix Maurice de Gheest on Sunday. Born only a few miles up the road from Deauville, she is really a child of Yorkshire, where she is trained by John Quinn in the yard he rents from Fairley, Highfield Stables, from which she takes her name.

And she is indeed worthy of that regal soubriquet now, though that was not necessarily apparent from the early days of her career. Unraced at two, her three unplaced maiden/novice runs saw Highfield Princess earn an opening handicap mark of 57 as a 3-year-old, though it must be said that third appearance of her life came in a Redcar novice in which she was fourth, beaten ten lengths by subsequent Group 1 winner Dreamloper (Ire) (Lope De Vega {Ire}). In good old workmanlike fashion Highfield Princess climbed the ratings to end that opening season on a mark of 83 as a four-time winner.

Last season's delights included a victory at Royal Ascot then a first stakes success in Chelmsford City's Listed Queen Charlotte Fillies' S., and a runner-up finish to Space Blues (Ire) in the G2 City Of York S. That upwardly mobile progression has continued to the very top this season, and she has rewarded her breeder's decision to keep her in training at five by landing the valuable All-Weather Fillies' and Mares' Championship, followed by the G2 Duke of York S. and now her victory over a field which included three previous Group 1 winners.

John Fairley, who breeds under the name of Trainers House Enterprises, bought the former Godolphin mare Pure Illusion (Ire) (Danehill) when carrying Highfield Princess, a first-crop daughter of Night Of Thunder. His first piece of luck was being able to buy her for 18,000gns, and extra bonuses soon came his way when the next season the mare's 2-year-old colt by Lonhro (Aus), named Cardsharp (GB), won the Woodcote S. and G2 July S. Two years later Night Of Thunder announced himself on the scene by becoming champion first-season sire. Though Highfield Princess was not among his 25 first-crop juvenile winners, she will now become his top-rated runner among three Group 1 winners for the son of Dubawi in Ireland, France and Australia. She could yet extend that geographical range to America, with Quinn keen to take his stable star to the Breeders' Cup meeting at Keeneland.

Sadly for Fairley, Pure Illusion died after producing just one more foal after Highfield Princess, and that 2-year-old colt by Aclaim (Ire) is now in training alongside her and has been named Highland Viking (GB).

Brilliant Buick, Marvellous Moore

It has been a good season so far for those racing fans who prefer their jockeys to be boringly brilliant.

William Buick, who arguably should be the current champion jockey, is in the form of his life and is pushing full steam ahead in his quest to gain that accolade this year, currently racking up the winners at a rate of 25%. Buick returned from his Saratoga Derby and Oaks double over the weekend for Charlie Appleby to take up three rides at Wolverhampton on Monday. Now that's dedication.

Ryan Moore has already been champion jockey on three occasions, and his flitting between Britain and Ireland to fulfil his Ballydoyle obligations means that his tally of winners is more or less equally divided between the two nations, but it is a list certainly not short on quality. Four of his five winners of the last week have been in stakes company, led by Little Big Bear and including a treble at Deauville last Tuesday for three different trainers.

There's something almost perversely pleasurable about a Ryan Moore post-race interview in that you almost don't want to watch because it's so very clear how much he's hating it, but you have to stick with it to the end just in case he cracks a faint smile, which is all the more special for its rarity value. While Moore sensibly refuses to play the court jester for the media, he is however absolutely superb in his debriefings with owners and trainers. Those charged with promoting the sport may argue that that's not enough, but it is, first and foremost, his job.

The amusing postscript to Little Big Bear's triumph was found in these words from Aidan O'Brien: “Ryan was very complimentary about him and there's not too many horses Ryan is complimentary of.”

Spin? Possibly. But then this was the man who dismounted from his first victory in the Oaks on Snow Fairy and said, “Well it's not the Derby, is it?” The likelihood is that Moore, along with the rest of us, thinks that Little Big Bear is very exciting indeed.

And to this observer, having two jockeys of the class demonstrated by Buick and Moore, both on and off their horses, is all the excitement one needs. Let's leave the drama and angst to others.

All Roads Lead to Deauville

The strange world within a world that is the bloodstock sales scene cranks into top gear this weekend with the start of the European yearling season in France.

Readers of The Times may have been disheartened by last week's 'Litany of gloom' leader forewarning of another major recession for Britain, but that is unlikely to upset the bull run of the yearling sales. Not yet anyway, and not while there is such a clamour for European-bred turf horses with a touch of middle-distance class from our colleagues in America, Australia and beyond.

Pre-pandemic, Arqana's August Sale hit a new high just shy of €43 million in 2019, and it wasn't far off that last year when the sale returned to its normal slot after a disrupted calendar in 2020, and almost €40 million was traded for 244 yearlings. The catalogue is slightly smaller this year, but it is fair to expect some pretty red hot trade as temperatures soar again in Europe.

Hottest among the trainers in France is the unstoppable Jean-Claude Rouget, who reached a new milestone this weekend when saddling his 7,000th winner, thereby extending his European record as the winningmost trainer.

On the day of his victory with Vadeni (Fr) (Siyouni {Fr}) in the Eclipse at Sandown, Rouget spoke of the slow beginning to his 43-year training career, when he was training “some jumpers and some bad Flat horses”.

Rouget's recent former assistant Tim Donworth has made a quicker start to his own training career, which began last September. The Chantilly-based Irishman now has 13 winners to his name, and recorded his first stakes win on Saturday with Ocean Vision (Ire) (U S Navy Flag) in the Listed Prix de la Vallee d'Auge, in which he also trained the third home, Kokachin (Ire) (Kodiac {GB}).

La Vie Est Belle

Although there was only one non-German-trained runner in Sunday's G1 Preis der Diana, there was still a strong international feel to the result, with the French-bred Toskana Belle becoming the first Group 1 winner for her Normandy-based sire Shamalgan (Fr), a son of Footstepsinthesand (GB). Furthermore, the filly is now owned by Australian Bloodstock, and she was ridden by Kerrin McEvoy, who was making a flying visit to Europe to ride in the Shergar Cup at Ascot on Saturday and stayed on an extra day to land his second European Classic victory following the St Leger win of Rule Of Law (Kingmambo) in 2004.

Luke Murrell and Jamie Lovett of Australian Bloodstock have long had ties to Germany, where their racing and breeding interests are managed by Ronald Rauscher and include the Gestut Rottgen-based stallion Protectionist (Ger). Like Toskana Belle, the Melbourne Cup-winning son of Monsun (Ger) was trained by Andreas Wohler, who collected his seventh German Oaks victory while, remarkably, the Australian Bloodstock syndicate has now won the race three times.

Toskana Belle, who only started her racing career this April, was initially under the care of Marian Falk Weissmeier, for whom she finished third in the G3 Diana Trial in June before joining the Wohler stable. She was bred by Simon Springer of Ecurie Normandie Pur Sang, who also owns her sire and the Prix Morny winner Dabirsim (Fr). Unusually, Springer bought Shamalgan, now 15, at the Arqana December Sale five years ago for €135,000, and both stallions stand at Haras de Grandcamp.

Springer's own colours were carried to success in France just minutes after Toskana Belle's Classic success when his homebred son of Dabirsim, Celestin (Fr), won the Grand Handicap de Deauville.

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From Ten Sovereigns To Waldgeist – The First Season Sires To Note At Arqana

This is the week where the first serious claims are staked for future bragging rights in the stallion ranks and the season's hopes and waffle that goes with first-season sires are cast aside as the market provides some shape and substance.

There seems to be a strong whiff of No Nay Never in the air after the devastatingly-good performance of Little Big Bear in Saturday's G1 Phoenix S. at the Curragh.

This, of course, is great news for Coolmore as Ten Sovereigns (Ire), one of No Nay Never's best sons, will be represented by a five-strong draft at the August Yearling Sale at Arqana.

Hopes are high in the Coolmore camp that Ten Sovereigns, who won Group 1 races at two and three, can lay down a marker in Deauville.

Mark Byrne of Coolmore said, “Ten Sovereigns has been an extremely busy horse since he retired to stud. He has roughly 140 yearlings in his first crop and we all know how brilliantly-fast he was given he won the Middle Park at two and then came back to win the July Cup as a 3-year-old.

“We are being reminded of how fast these No Nay Nevers are on an almost weekly basis and we saw one of the best juvenile performances of the past decade from Little Big Bear on Saturday in the G1 Phoenix S.

“It's fitting that No Nay Never won the G1 Prix Morny in Deauville so we are going back to the scene of the crime with the first crop of Ten Sovereigns. As well as that, Little Big Bear and G3 Albany S. winner Meditate (Ire) (No Nay Never) are graduates of this sale so it's a hugely significant place for us to be launching Ten Sovereigns.”

Byrne added, “The whole sire line is on fire and we're lucky to have so much of that blood around us, both here and in America and Australia. Take Justify for an example. He's got off to an incredible start and is responsible for two TDN Rising Stars already with Statuette and Justique.

“Sioux Nation may not be as high profile as Justify but he just keeps producing the goods and let's not forget there are Caravaggios set to be unleashed in America and his son Maljoom (Ire) was possibly one of the most unlucky horses at Royal Ascot when he got no luck in running in the St James's Palace. I think we're starting to see the influence of that Scat Daddy line which is why we're hugely excited about the future for Ten Sovereigns.”

With Al Shaqab, Ballylinch Stud, China Horse Club, Lady Bamford, Croom House, Juddmonte, the Coolmore partners and the Hyde and Shanahan families having supported Ten Sovereigns, the team has every reason to be optimistic ahead of the yearling sales.

Byrne revealed, “There's so much excitement involved this week-and a few nerves as well. A lot of effort has been put in by a lot of people, from breeders to everyone here at Coolmore and from Aidan O'Brien and his staff at Ballydoyle for making these horses into stallions in the first place.

“It's the culmination of a lot of hard work and you just hope that they are received well. No matter how much we like them at home, it will all be decided by the market. Thankfully, the three stallions we're launching have been extremely popular.”

Ten Sovereigns may be the ace in the first-season sire pack at Coolmore but in 2000 Guineas winner Magna Grecia (Ire) and the blisteringly-fast Coventry S. scorer Calyx, they offer something for everyone.

Both stallions hail from the Invincible Spirit sire line while Magna Grecia's page received a noteworthy boost after he retired to stud thanks to the exploits of his half-brother St Mark's Basilica (Fr).

“It's not often that a stallion receives a pedigree update by being a half-brother to a European Champion 2-year-old and a World Champion 3-year-old,” Byrne joked.

“It's a beautiful-looking family. We all know St Mark's Basilica was a 1.3 million gns yearling but Magna Grecia cost 340,000 gns as a foal which, at the time, made him the most expensive foal by Invincible Spirit. He's the only Invincible Spirit to win a Classic and he has everything going for him, being out of a Galileo mare.”

He added, “His first crop has been well-received and Jamie McCalmont bought a colt foal by him at Newmarket last December for 210,000gns. Looking at the sales entries, I see that there is a yearling colt out of Maria Lee (Ire) (Rock Of Gibraltar {Ire}) entered in Book 1 of the Tattersalls October Yearling Sale by Clare Castle Stud. That will be exciting to see.

“He has over 130 yearlings to run for him which is a healthy number. A lot of people would have liked to use St Mark's Basilica this year but maybe they had to go in at a different level so Magna Grecia has been quite popular. He represents value and we're looking forward to seeing how the two fillies [lot 81 and 131] are received by him at Arqana. Like Ten Sovereigns, he's been supported by some of the best breeders around as Al Shaqab, Lodge Park Stud, Highclere Stud, Juddmonte, the Coolmore partners and the Niarchos family all supported him massively.”

Calyx may have only graced the track on four occasions but he left a lasting impression. He will be represented by three yearlings at Arqana this week.

Byrne said, “Like Ten Sovereigns and Magna Grecia, Calyx has been well-supported and has a similar number of yearlings to run for him in his first crop. The three of them have 130-140 yearlings this year. Calyx is a slightly different type to Magna Grecia. He's by Kingman and, I will never forget on the morning of the G1 Prix Jacques Le Marois, bumping into John Gosden on the street in Deauville. The one thing he kept repeating was the acceleration that Kingman possesed. We saw that explosive turn of foot that afternoon as he won the race at his ease but we are also seeing it in his stock and Calyx is a perfect example. He had brilliance and hopefully he can emulate what his father is doing as a stallion.

“Again, when you look down through the breeders who supported Calyx, you have the likes of Adam Bowden, breeder of Onesto (Fr) (Frankel {GB}), Al Shaqab, Monceaux, Juddmonte, China Horse Club, Manister House, Oceanic, Moyglare Stud, Noel O'Callaghan and of course the Coolmore partners have been great supporters.”

It is going to take something special to stand out at Arqana this week given the strength and depth of the catalogue with siblings to Treve (Fr), Wings Of Eagles (Fr), Native Trail (GB), Sealiway (Fr) and Sottsass up for grabs.

Nobody knows this better than John O'Connor, managing director at Ballylinch Stud, who feels he has something buyers will appreciate. The first progeny of the brilliant Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe winner Waldgeist (GB), one of the classiest sons of Galileo (Ire), who is now standing at Ballylinch, will go under the hammer this week and O'Connor is cautiously optimistic about how they will be received.

O'Connor said, “He has undoubtedly been given a good chance by the syndicate. They have supported him from the start. He has covered six Group 1 winners, the dams of 30 Group 1 horses, 58 stakes performers and 144 producers of stakes performers. He's been given a very good chance and, from what we have seen so far, the market has responded pretty well to him.

I think you are going to see some really nice yearlings by him, not only at Arqana, but at the rest of the yearling sales. We're consigning one ourselves at Arqana. It's a colt out of a mare called New Revenue (Ire) (Dark Angel {Ire}) [lot 63] and I think he's a very good colt. When people see him, they will be taken by him as he's really powerful and is precocious-looking.”

He added, “One of the things that is very significant for Waldgeist is that he's actually a Group 1-winning 2-year-old. Most people will remember him for winning an Arc, a vintage Arc at that, but he also won the Criterium de Saint-Cloud as a 2-year-old.

“I actually think he'll surprise some people by how precocious his stock will be. He could get some very nice 2-year-olds because he had precocity, class and soundness as a racehorse–he had the full package.”

Not only does O'Connor have his own Ballylinch resident Waldgeist to promote ahead of the sales, but he could also provide some early entertainment at Arqana with another first-season sire, as his Too Darn Hot (GB) filly out of Janicellaine (Ire) (Beat Hollow {GB}) is reported to be quite the looker.

Forming part of a seven-strong draft for the stud, the Too Darn Hot filly will be the third horse through the ring at Arqana, and is predicted to fly the flag nicely for the Darley-owned sire by O'Connor.

“It's a family we have been closely associated with down through the years–it's originally the Ingabelle family. This is a really nice filly, she's a really good example of a nice Too Darn Hot. You can see his influence in her–she's a big filly with a lot of quality and power to her. I think she'll be a good advert for the sire.”

Speaking about his draft in general, he added, “It's very strong. We're bringing a balanced bunch to Arqana and I'd encourage everyone to look at them all. There's two there by first-season sires but the rest are by proven stallions, including our own top stallion, Lope De Vega (Ire), of which there are three.

“Whenever we have a nice young stallion like Waldgeist, whose stock we like the look of, it obviously increases your expectation about what they might do. We like the physicals of his horses and they seem to have a really good temperament, which he does himself. They are also nice and sound and he should be a great influence for soundness.

“We've been lucky with our sires in recent times and there's no doubt that New Bay (GB) is emerging as a top-level stallion now.

“Waldgeist shares a few things with Lope De Vega in that they were bred, either wholly or in partnership with Gestut Ammerland, who are outstanding breeders, and both were trained by Andre Fabre. Waldgeist has been supported by Gestut Ammerland quite strongly, just like Lope De Vega was, so if lightning can strike twice it would be wonderful.”

Too Darn Hot, the unbeaten Champion 2-year-old who won the Dewhurst and the Prix Jean Prat as well as the Sussex S. at three, will be represented by five yearlings this week. Sue Finley took a closer look at the international appeal of the son of Dubawi (Ire) in Sunday's TDN.

That is three fewer than fellow Darley-owned Blue Point (Ire), the awesome sprinter who boasts the rare achievement of winning the G1 King's Stand S. and the G1 Diamond Jubilee S. at Royal Ascot in 2019.

Featuring among the draft is the Gestut Ammerland-consigned filly [lot 290] out of triple-Grade 1-winning Golden Lilac (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}).

Advertise (GB) is another speedster whose first yearlings will go through the ring at Arqana. A three-time Group 1 winner, who stands for £25,000 at the National Stud, will be represented by a filly [lot 308] and a colt [lot 118] apiece.

There will also be appearances made by the progeny of City Light (Fr), Yoshida (Jpn) and Land Force (Ire), all of whom will be represented by just one horse respectively.

City Light, who stands at Haras d'Etreham, scored twice at Group 3 level as well as finishing second in the G1 Prix de la Foret on his final start as a 5-year-old. His sole representative is a colt [lot 54] out of black-type performer Moisson Precoce (GB) (Lawman {Fr}).

Yoshida, a son of Heart's Cry (Jpn) who stands at WinStar Farm in Kentucky, won twice at Grade I company in America, and will be represented by lot 150, a colt out of an unraced Gio Ponti mare [Spinworthy] from the family of Planchart.

Like City Light and Yoshida, it will be impossible to judge the prospects Land Force has at stud by just one yearling, but the G2 Richmond S. winner, who now stands at Highclere Stud, will be represented by lot 11, a colt out of a sister to Group 3 winner Kenhope (Fr) (Kendargent {Fr}).

The post From Ten Sovereigns To Waldgeist – The First Season Sires To Note At Arqana appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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