Coolmore and White Birch strike for Frankel colt
At the time of going to press, a colt by Frankel (Galileo) was leading the way at Book 1 of the Tattersalls October Yearling Sale yesterday after Coolmore’s M V Magnier and White Birch Farm saw off stiff competition to secure the colt for an eye-watering 2,000,000gns (approx. AU$4,025,700).
Offered by Anthony Oppenheimer’s Hascombe and Valiant Stud, the colt is out of the winning mare Bizzarria (Lemon Drop Kid), who is herself a half-sister to three-time Group 1 winner Star Catcher (Sea The Stars), while she also counts Canadian Grade 1 scorer Cannock Chase and French Group 2 scorer Pisco Sour among her full-siblings.
“He is a lovely horse and from a very successful stud in Hascombe, which has bred very good horses in the past and are very good breeders,” said Magnier. “This is a well-bred horse, Frankel is flying and everyone [from the Coolmore team] liked him – and he goes to Ballydoyle.”
Oppenheimer, who was sitting in the ring to see his colt sell, said: “So far we have done quite well, and sold four, and we have another five or six to sell [over the whole of the October Sale]. There were no regrets at all when he was going around the ring.
“I did not think we’d get as much as that, I know he is a very nice horse – refuelling the stud’s finances and it can’t do any harm!”
So far, five yearlings by Frankel have sold for a total of 3,875,000gns (approx. AU$7,799,750) at Book 1 of the auction.
Godolphin strike for Battaash half-brother
After making a big splash on Tuesday, Godolphin’s spending spree continued apace and the highlight of their transactions during yesterday’s second session was a well-related colt by their own first-season sire sensation Blue Point (Shamardal), who they snapped up for 1,500,000gns (approx. AU$2,990,500).
Unsurprisingly, there was plenty of competition for the youngster, who is out of Anna Law (Lawman), the dam of Shadwell’s Group 1 speedster Battaash (Dark Angel), who was crowned the European champion older sprinter of 2018, 2019 and 2020, while she also produced Group 3 winner The Antarctic (Dark Angel), who was also placed at the top-level.
Bred and sold by Ballyphilip Stud, the colt was given the highest accolade by the farm’s Paul McCartan, reporting that he thought the colt is the best individual that he and his wife Marie has bred.
“I have not said it to many people, but I think he is the nicest horse I have ever had anything to do with, I really think that,” he affirmed. “I had always put Battaash number one, but when this colt got here and did everything right and everything came together… I think he is an absolute belter. I am delighted that Godolphin bought him and that Charlie Appleby will train him.
“He is the image of his father and his grandfather, Charlie loved him and could see that, too.”
With Blue Point’s rapid start to stud, already being the sire of four stakes winners headed by last Saturday’s Prix Jean-Luc Lagardere (Gr 1, 1400m) winner Rosallion, the stars had very much aligned for the colt to make a splash in the sales ring.
“It was probably an act of lunacy to take such a risk with a mare who is so important to us – I probably should have sent her to a proven horse rather than a first-crop horse,” McCartan said.
“But I was there the day Blue Point beat Battaash in the King’s Stand. I thought Battaash looked great that day but I saw Blue Point come into the parade ring and I had one look at him and one look at Charlie Appleby and I said, ‘We are not going to be winning today!'”
Anthony Stroud, who was, as usual, handling the bidding for Godolphin, said: “He was one that we wanted. Paul McCartan has had Tiggy Wiggy, Profitable, Harry Angel and so many more, it is a great nursery and they do a fantastic job. He is the horse that we thought would enhance Godolphin. I hope that we are standing here in two years’ time and agreeing that this is one of the best that Paul has bred.”
Sumbe snares Lope De Vega colt for 1,100,000gns
A Ballylinch Stud-bred and consigned colt by their resident stallion Lope De Vega (Shamardal) out of the Listed winner Bella Estrella (High Chaparral) proved popular yesterday when he was bought by the Normandy-based stallion farm Sumbe for 1,100,000gns (approx. AU$2,214,123)
Bella Estrella is a daughter of the Grade 2 winner Uncharted Haven (Turtle Island), making her a sister to Group 3 winner High Heeled and granddam of the Irish 1,000 Guineas (Gr 1, 1m) winner Just The Judge (Lawman).
Sumbe’s owner Nurlan Bizakov and general manager Tony Fry were bidding from the right stairwell and are hoping to have purchased a future stallion prospect for the farm.
“He is a lovely horse, a lovely model, he is by a lovely sire, he is out of a lovely mare and, if he is good enough, he is a potential stallion,” said Fry. “That is what we are hoping for. No one needs a pat on the back now, that can come in two years’ time – if it all works out. We have no plans as yet for this horse, whether he goes to France or elsewhere.”
Explaining the decision to try and purchase a stallion as a yearling and before he has raced, Fry added: “It is not easy to buy one [once they are proven] and they are owned by people not keen to sell. And ideally you like to be involved from day one – to have bred yourself, raced them and then stand them.”
Spicer snaps up son of Sea The Moon
Late on in the day on Tuesday, the first day of Book 1, Brad Spicer, a familiar face at the Newmarket-based auction, made his presence felt when he teamed up with Alex Elliott for a colt by Lanwades Stud-based sire Sea The Moon (Sea The Stars), paying Newsells Park 260,000gns (approx. AU$523,300) for the youngster.
The colt is out of Teppal (Camacho), whose three career wins are headed by her triumph in the 2018 Poule d’Essai des Pouliches (Gr 1, 1600m).
Sea The Moon has enjoyed good success in Australia, with the stallion producing ten winners from 14 starters in the country and they are headed by Durston, winner of last season’s Caulfield Cup (Gr 1, 2400m) and Group 3 scorer Favorite Moon.
“We have seen Sea The Moon work down in Australia and that is pretty important. This colt is out of a Group 1-winning mare and Alex [Elliott] loved the horse and I loved the horse, so rather than go against each other we teamed up,” said Spicer.
In a slight change of tack, the colt will remain in the UK, before making his way to Australia after his three-year-old season and Spicer was already dreaming big in terms of goals for the youngster.
“We are going to race the horse with Alex’s clients, Valmont partners, which is really exciting. The horse is going to stay up here with Ralph Beckett and hopefully go back to Australia after his three-year-old year,” said Spicer.
“Normally, we get them straight back to Australia, but we thought we would try something different and hopefully get a run at Ascot over the carnival and our clients can come back here and watch the horse, then hopefully go back to Australia for the Melbourne Cup.”
Elliott and Spicer have become a familiar duo on the buyers’ sheet at the auction. Most notably, they paid 150,000gns for a youngster by Sir Percy (Mark Of Esteem) out of Book 2 at the auction in 2020. That colt, now named Sir Atlas, has won three of his four starts for trainer Lindsey Smith.
“We have been buying two colts out of this sale for the past five years and had a bit of success with a nice Sir Percy colt called Sir Atlas that Alex sourced for us throughout Covid, and he looks a bit of a star for us,” Spicer said.
“The horses at this sale provide stamina and we can’t get that in Australia, hence why we have to travel here to find the right horses and it is just a proven recipe in Australia.”
Spicer said his work was not done this week and he was hoping to get his hands on two more yearlings to send to Smith.
Big result for Ghaiyyath
The headline act from day one at the sale was a stunning grey colt from the debut crop of Darley shuttler Ghaiyyath (Dubawi) who brought a bid of 1,050,000gns (approx. AU$2,113,481).
The blue-blooded youngster had a pedigree virtually precision engineered to capture the attention of racing’s superpowers, being by the Darley sire and a half-brother to Coolmore’s Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf (Gr 1, 8f) winner Victoria Road (Saxon Warrior).
The son of Saxon Warrior (Deep Impact) was recently purchased by Ozzie Kheir and will run for his current trainer, Aidan O’Brien, in the Cox Plate (Gr 1, 2040m) on October 28, after which he will remain in Australia and join the Ciaron Maher and David Eustace stable.
Coolmore and Godolphin duly engaged in a seven-figure bidding bout, but, with Sheikh Mohammed at the centre of the huddle, the Godolphin buying team was in no mood to be denied.
The Ballyhimikin Stud-consigned colt is from one of the hottest families in the stud book, being out of Tickled Pink (Invincible Spirit), a dual Group 3-winning daughter of the increasingly influential Cassandra Go (Indian Ridge). Breeder Trevor Stewart bought Cassandra Go for 200,000gns at the 1997 Houghton Sale, and the mare has since founded a flourishing dynasty.
Cassandra Go is the dam of ten winners, most notably Coolmore’s three-time Group 1 heroine Halfway To Heaven (Pivotal). In turn, Halfway To Heaven bred the mighty Magical (Galileo), whose record features seven top-flight triumphs, and Rhododendron (Galileo), successful in three elite-level contests.
The family continues to develop at a rate of knots as Rhododendron’s first foal is none other than Auguste Rodin (Deep Impact), winner of this year’s English Derby (Gr 1, 1m 4f), Irish Derby (Gr 1, 1m 4f) and Irish Champion Stakes (Gr 1, 1m 2f).
Reflecting on the sale of the seven-figure Ghaiyyath colt, Stewart said: “He’s by a first-season sire so I felt he might have some limitations, but I couldn’t be more thrilled.
“The first few progeny of Tickled Pink were a little on the neat side, so I thought we needed to get a bit more height and length into her foals, so that’s why she went to Ghaiyyath, who was a great racehorse. It was risky going to a first-season sire, but she produced this cracking colt.”
Ghaiyyath, whose first crop of yearlings will hit the sale rings in Australia later this year, covered 103 mares in his first season and 97 last year. The stallion is standing at Darley’s Northwood Park at a fee of $27,500 (inc GST).