Australians get in on the action at the Tattersalls December Mare Sale
Johnny McKeever, Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott have enjoyed enormous success sourcing stock in Europe to race on in Australia, including with Military Mission (Mastercraftsman), who added a fourth stakes race to his CV when he landed Saturday’s Zipping Classic (Gr 2, 2400m) at Caulfield.
Yesterday at the Tattersalls December Mare Sale, the trio put their faith in Mastercraftsman (Danehill Dancer) once again when they secured one of his daughters, Alalcance, for 240,000gns (approx. AU$485,300).
The filly was bred and raced by Kirsten Rausing and she was offered as part of her Lanwades Stud draft yesterday, having been trained by Irish-based trainer Jessica Harrington. The filly was offered for sale, having broken her maiden at the fourth time of asking over a mile and a quarter at the Curragh on October 31, having finished runner-up on two occasions previously.
McKeever told ANZ Bloodstock that progeny of the late Coolmore Stud sire have proved they improve with age and he sees no reason why Alalcance should buck this trend.
“Military Mission, like all Mastercraftmans, he has got better and better with age. I know Kirsten’s families, so I think Alalcance will also get better with age,” said McKeever.
“She is a lovely scopey filly and we thought quite highly of her form, even though it was only a maiden in the wet. But I thought the combination of that family, her looks and Mastercraftsman, we are buying something for the future.
“I would love to see her with black type and I think she will get it.”
Catalogued as Lot 1678, the three-year-old is out of stakes-placed Galileo (Sadler’ Wells) mare Albamara, who is a daughter of multiple German Group 1 scorer Albanova (Alzao).
Albanova herself produced a further eight winners, including Group 3 winner Algometer (Archipenko) and Listed-scoring duo Alignak (Sea The Moon) and Alwilda (Hernando), with the latter, in turn, producing multiple Group 1 winner Alpinista (Frankel).
McKeever and Waterhouse bought Military Mission at the 2021 Goffs London Sale for £170,000 and the agent said he was delighted to see him add further black type to his already impressive record last weekend.
“It was great to see Military Mission win the Zipping Classic on Saturday, a race that was sponsored by Whispering Angel, which I thought was very appropriate, having been one of their biggest customers over the years,” the colourful agent joked.
Price and Kent Jnr get on the board
Le Mans (Kodiac) will also continue her career in Australia after Dermot Farrington and Mick Price, who trains in partnership with Michael Kent Jnr, combined to buy the dual winner for 250,000gns (approx. AU$505,500) at the Tattersalls December Mare Sale yesterday.
A winner of two of her four starts for Richard Hannon, the filly was originally purchased by owners Westerberg for 470,000gns at Book 1 of the Tattersalls October Yearling Sale from the draft of her breeders, Tally-Ho, and she was offered for sale yesterday by Mimi Wadham and Violet Hesketh’s WH Bloodstock draft.
Farrington said she was a very attractive filly and also said he was also impressed with her form, which includes a victory over a mile at Newmarket and another over a mile and quarter at Salisbury on September 7.
“She is a very good looking filly, I could not believe it when I saw her,” said Farrington. “She has a good level of form, will be syndicated by Mick Price and will race on for him. She has speed, a good turn of foot, acts on fast ground and could get a bit further in Australia. She has a good pedigree, too.”
When asked how the filly was found, he explained: “They provide me with a list based on form, and then I go around and take a look at the physicals. Mick was on the phone when she went through the ring.”
Out of the winning Diamond Green (Green Desert) mare Diaminda, Le Mans is a half-sister to Lusail (Mehmas), winner of the Gimcrack Stakes (Gr, 2, 6f)) and the July Stakes (Gr 2, 6f), who was also placed in the St James’s Palace Stakes (Gr 1, 1m) and the Prix Jean Prat (Gr 1, 1400m).
Dam Diaminda herself is a half-sister to Group 1 winner Fayr Jag (Fayruz), winner of the Golden Jubilee Stakes (Gr 1, 6f).
Meanwhile, having bought Guinevere’s Spirit (Camelot) for 30,000gns (approx. AU$60,000) during Monday’s session, Australian Bloodstock and Ronald Rauscher returned to Tattersalls ring again yesterday, securing recent Listed winner Understated (Nathaniel) for 210,000gns (approx. AU$404,400).
The Ralph Beckett-trained three-year-old was last seen shocking her rivals in the Prix Solitude (Listed, 2000m) at odds of 32-1. She was raced by the syndicate in partnership and offered for sale yesterday by Jamie Railton.
Kia Ora make a splash on the first day
Over the past few years, Ananda Krishnan’s Kia Ora has been investing in quality northern hemisphere stock to diversify their boutique broodmare operation and they made their intentions clear at the Tattersalls December Mare Sale on Monday, as they secured Listed-winning filly Wonderful Times (Golden Horn) for 460,000gns (approx. AU$919,900) from the Sceptre Session.
Offered by Barton Sales, the four-year-old has won two of her 11 starts for trainer Mario Baratti, with her most high–profile win coming in the Prix Etalon Lavello (Listed, 2000m) on May 18.
Shane Wright, bloodstock and breeding manager for Kia Ora, said that, while there was a temptation to race her on, the mare would be going straight back to Australia.
“She will be coming straight home, it is tempting with her form [to race], she would be very competitive down our way in anything over mile or 2000 metres plus, but she has black type already. We will see how she travels down and we may give her time in the breeding barn next season, that decision will be made,” said Wright.
“We have done some work in the US as well, but the Tatts catalogue and especially the Sceptre Session with so many quality mares in there – you have to come here if you want to be competitive internationally. We found some lovely mares and, hopefully, we can pick out one or two tomorrow as well.”
Wonderful Times is out Group 3 scorer Wonderfully (Galileo), herself a daughter of stakes winner Massarra (Danehill), who has proved herself a top broodmare, producing 12 winners headed by Italian Group 1 scorer Nayarra (Cape Cross), Group 2 winner Gustav Klimt (Galileo) and stakes-winning trio Friendly (Galileo), Blissful (Galileo) and Cuff (Galileo). Further back this is the same family as Group 1–winner turned successful sire Invincible Spirit (Green Desert).
Kia Ora is home to three stallions, headlined by Golden Slipper Stakes (Gr 1, 1200m) winner Farnan (Not A Single Doubt) and he stands alongside Captivant (Capitalist) and Prague (Redoute’s Choice). Wright kept his cards close to his chest about which stallion would be elected for Wonderful Times’s first mating.
“We had quite a lot on our list and we were making our way through, but she has such a deep page and she offers something that does not come our way too often. She has black type by her name, but she has a page of champions, it is so full. When you come to a place like this you really come for the big families like this,” said Wright.
“We [Kia Ora] have got quite a big racing syndicate now and we stand some good stallions – in our first year of stallions we got a Golden Slipper winner, which is the pinnacle and what you want. It is very exciting times and it is great to be able to come over here to buy beautiful mares to send home to our stallions.”
Ridgmont snap up Many Tears
Jim Clarke has been a familiar face at the December mare sale and on Monday he etched his name on the buyers’ sheet once again when he teamed up with Ridgmont Farm to purchase Many Tears – a Listed winning daughter of Showcasing (Oasis Dream) – for 300,000gns (approx. AU$600,000).
Offered by the Castlebridge Consignment, the three-year-old possessed one of the day’s more eyecatching updates having not only doubled her winning tally since the catalogue was released, but then trebling it when landing the Cooley Fillies Stakes (Listed, 1m) at Dundalk last month for trainer Ger Lyons.
However, despite already being a black–type winner, the mare will be given the opportunity to add further to her CV and is set to continue her career with Newmarket-based trainer James Ferguson, before a likely date with Frankel (Galileo) or Kingman (Invincible Spirit) on southern hemisphere time, next year.
“The whole Ridgmont team and Mitch Cunningham have been pounding the pavements and braving the weather and looking at fillies off the track. She was our number one pick – she is a gorgeous mare, now a stakes winner, a three-year-old with racing upside and a pedigree we can’t access in Australia,” Clarke told ANZ Bloodstock News.
“She is quite lightly raced and she will go to Frankel in the second half of next year, but she will stay in training for now with James Ferguson and hopefully she can add to her stakes record.
“She was our favourite physical in the sale and we mainly focused on fillies off the track, with the main motivation was trying to source mares to go to Frankel and or Kingman on southern hemisphere time.
“We looked at a lot of mares and ended up with a very short, short-list and she was our number one seed and we are very happy to get her.”
Juddmonte’s Frankel took all before him in his unbeaten 14-start career on the track, which was headed by eight wins at the highest level, and he is proving just as dominant in the second chapter of his remarkable career as stallion, having produced 133 individual stakes winners worldwide, headed by 33 individual top-flight winners.
Frankel’s record in Australia makes for impressive reading. He has sired 61 winners from 86 starters, and they are led by 17 stakes winners, including three top-flight scorers.
Clarke said it is rare to find a stallion that can be a world leader on both hemispheres, but Frankel is proving his worth in most corners of the world.
“She will be a long term mare for Ridgmont and we will breed her up properly and give her every chance. Statistically, Frankel is as good a stallion in both hemispheres and that is very rare.
“He’s an amazing stallion and to be able to get these mare covered on southern hemisphere time is huge for us in Australia,” said Clarke.
“The opportunity to acquire bloodlines in this part of the world to get some diversity. To be going home with the one we all loved is very pleasing.”
Given his unbelievable record Down Under, Australian buyers flock to get their hands on progeny by the sire at sales rings across the country and Ridgmont is one of the lucky few who will be offering a yearling by the sire at next month’s Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale.
The colt is out of unraced mare Edith Pilaf (Le Havre), a half-sister to Australian Group 2 winner Home Of The Brave (Starspangledbanner), and he is one of six yearlings by Frankel catalogued at the Queensland auction, which gets underway on January 9. The colt is catalogued as Lot 612.
“We have another mare, that we bought privately, in foal to Frankel and her first foal is going to the Magic Millions next month. We are very happy with that horse and that mare, so we aim to replicate that and do it again,” said Clarke.
Hawthorne hoping lightning can strike twice
Prominent bloodstock agent Dean Hawthorne hit a home run when he purchased Amerindia (Dubawi) – the dam of three-time Group 1 winner Militarize (Dundeel) – on behalf of Jonathan Munz at the Tattersalls December Mare Sale in 2017. The agent will now be hoping he can repeat the trick with Youngest – another daughter of Dubawi (Dubai Millennium) – after he teamed up with Badgers Bloodstock to secure the Godolphin-offered mare for 160,000gns (approx. AU$320,000) on Monday.
Dubawi’s talents as a broodmare sire have come to fore in Australia over the last 12 months, with not only Militarize, but also Caulfield Cup (Gr 1, 2400m) and Melbourne Cup (Gr 1, 3200m) winner Without A Fight (Teofilo), who is out of Khor Sheed (Dubawi) – a 26,000gns purchase at this sale in 2019.
Bred and raced by Sheikh Mohammed Obaid Al Maktoum, Youngest won once for Roger Varian, and Hawthorne told ANZ Bloodstock News that plans are fluid for the mare. However, sending the mare to be covered by Frankel on southern hemisphere time is an option they would weigh up, especially given the success of the stallion when mated with daughters of Darley’s lynchpin stallion. The cross has produced 30 winners from 38 runners and they are headed by nine stakes winners, including four Group 1 winners.
“We will consider sending her to Frankel on southern hemisphere time, which is a cross that works. With a Melbourne and Caulfield Cup double and Militarize and when you are selling yearlings out of Dubawi mares in Australia in a couple of years time there is that commercial appeal, because his mares have proven they can do it down there,” said Hawthorne.
“Dubawi and Galileo are the best sires in the world, no matter where you make them they are going to do a job for you. If we do take her back home she is free of Danehill and also free of Sadler’s Wells and they are our two dominant strains at the moment, so we can put this mare to Super Seth or Dundeel himself, or we can hit the Danehill-line horses – so there are plenty of options.
“We haven’t decided what we do with her yet. With that great Frankel / Dubawi cross, we might get her covered by Frankel and then send her Down Under. I will speak to the boss and make a decision. Frankel, given the cross and his southern hemisphere fee, he is the obvious one.”
Hawthorne paid 150,000gns for Amerindia, who was also offered as part of the Godolphin draft and the agent said the sale is wrongly regarded as a source for producing stayers, but that Militarize proves that it is by no means one-dimensional.
“By leaving a horse like Militarize, it proves they don’t always take forever,” he said. “Everyone used to look at European blood and think ‘you have to wait forever for it’ but that’s not true if you buy the right lines.
“She has to let down a bit and she will be a nice mare in 12 to 18 months, but Frankel puts that robustness into them too. But we could send her straight home and pick a stallion over there. You have to shop and shop here and do your research, but we are happy to have found her.”
Youngest is out of Canadian Grade 1 winner Sheika Reika (Shamardal), herself a half-sister to Cheveley Park Stakes (Gr 1, 6f) winner Lumiere (Shamardal).
Snowden and Johnson enter the fray
The familiar buying partnership of Will Johnson and Peter and Paul Snowden made their first purchase of the week on Monday when they bought three-time winner Coco Jamboo (Massaat) for 160,000gns (approx. AU$320,000), who was offered as part of trainer Marco Botti’s Prestige Place draft.
Johnson and the Snowdens have reaped the rewards of sourcing stock in the northern hemisphere to race on in Australia, most recently with Unspoken (Territories), who they bought for 170,000gns at the 2022 edition of the Tattersalls Autumn Horses In Training Sale. The gelding has more than rewarded them for that transaction, stringing together four consecutive victories this season, which culminated with his triumph in the $2 million Five Diamonds (1800m) at Rosehill on November 11.
Meanwhile, among others, Old Flame (Invincible Spirit), a 250,000gns purchase out of the same Tattersalls Sale a year earlier, has won three times since arriving on Australian shores, including the Linlithgow Stakes (Gr 2, 1400m) at Flemington in October 2022.
In the past, the sale has been used by trainers to source stock to race on in Australia, with this strategy successfully employed by David Redvers and Rosemont, who purchased Promise Of Success (Dansili) for 27,000gns at the 2020 edition.
She then added four wins to her record, including victories in the Emancipation Stakes (Gr 2, 1500m), and last year’s $1 million The Invitation (1400m), before being re-sold to Yulong at the 2023 Magic Millions Gold Coast National Broodmare Sale for $1.35 million.
Johnson told ANZ Bloodstock News he is confident Coco Jamboo, who was last seen running fourth in the Fleur De Lys Fillies’ Stakes (Listed, 1m) at Lingfield on November 7, has the profile to be competitive in Australia.
“I thought she has been very progressive,” said Johnson. “It has been difficult to buy colts and geldings this year and if you look at fillies like Promises Of Success, it has been done with fillies and mares racing on in Australia.
“This filly came highly recommended by Marco Botti. She has had a very consistent year and she ran a good race behind Nigiri at York and last time out in a stakes race, she acquitted herself well. She looks like she will really respond to Australian training. She has a very straightforward profile, not dissimilar to Unspoken, although she might get over a bit more ground.
“When you have excellent races like The Invitation which is worth $2 million, this filly gets into Australia with a nice rating and that second preparation she could really blossom in a race like that.”
Out of the placed Oasis Dream (Green Desert) mare Beat Tauri, Coco Jamboo hails from the famous Niarchos family and shares a page with the likes of Group 1-winning duo Bago (Nashwan) and Maxios (Monsun).
“I love Oasis Dream as a broodmare sire and this is a nice Niarchos family, so if she does get a bit of black type in Australia she is definitely worth something as a broodmare further down the line,” said Johnson.
Callisto Star (Fastnet Rock), who was presented by Ballybin Stud, fetched the day’s highest price of the day after Badgers Bloodstock went to 675,000gns (approx. AU$1,362,400) to secure the mare.