BBA Ireland outgun Coolmore for Alcohol Free
Four-time Group 1-winning mare Alcohol Free (No Nay Never) stole the headlines at the Tattersalls December Mares Sale yesterday when selling for 5.4 million guineas (approx. AU$9,658,170) the second-most expensive thoroughbred ever sold at auction in Europe.
The winning bid was landed by BBA’s Michael Donohue, sitting next to Mr Yuesheng Zhang, with Alcohol Free potentially being sent to Australia to race before ending her on-track career and being covered by Frankel.
Donohue said: “She is for partnership to race in Australia, she vetted extremely well and clean for a filly with some miles on the clock. My vet was super happy with her. She is for partnership who have horses in training and breed as well. There is a lot of money to win in Australia – I think 87 races for this year worth a million plus so we hope to recoup a lot of what we paid for her and add a bit more, too.”
The four-year-old daughter of Coolmore stallion No Nay Never (Scat Daddy) won the Cheveley Park Stakes (Gr 1, 6f) as a juvenile before winning the Coronation Stakes (Gr 1, 1m) and the Sussex Stakes (Gr 1, 1m), in which she beat the colts and geldings, as a three-year-old.
Returning as a four-year-old, Alcohol Free successfully dropped back to six furlongs to take out the July Cup Stakes (Gr 1, 6f), in which she beat the Anthony and Sam Freedman-trained Artorius (Flying Artie), who finished third.
Australia’s Michael Sherrin through in the opening bid of 1,000,000gns, sparking a flurry of activity to 3,000,000gns where Yulong made their first play and engaged in an engrossing duel with Coolmore’s MV Magnier, before BBA Ireland’s Michael Donohoe, sat next to Mr Yuesheng Zhang in the upper levels of the sale ring, delivered the telling blow.
As the fireworks sparked in yesterday’s star-studded session, the Jane Chapple-Hyam-trained dual Group 1-winning mare Saffron Beach (New Bay) sold to Najd Stud for 3.6 million guineas (approx. AU$6.77 million).
The four-year-old won both the Sun Chariot Stakes (Gr 1, 1m) and Prix Rothschild (Gr 1, 1600m) in a glittering 13-start career for Chappple-Hyam, the Sangster family and James Wigan and Najd Stud owner HRH Prince Faisal confirmed the mare will remain with the Newmarket-based handler to continue her racing career.
“I am thrilled and very excited,” expat Australian Chapple-Hyam said. “It is a big honour, we have got a good winter to look forward to. I think going around the ring she was waiting for the saddle, she was giving a few bops with her backend! She is in good order, she is tough, I believe she will get the nine furlongs in Saudi (Cup), never know about the surface but we will give it a go.”