Group 2 winner Spanish Whisper to be sold on Gavelhouse Plus
High-class mare Spanish Whisper (Lope De Vega) has been retired from racing and will be offered for unreserved sale via Gavelhouse Plus.
The triple Group 2 winner and Group 1-placed mare is an outcross to Danehill (Danzig) as a daughter of internationally acclaimed sire Lope De Vega (Shamardal) and Cutting Remark (Encosta De Lago), a sister to multiple Group 1 performer Glowlamp.
Bred by New Zealanders Darren Brady and Daniel and Elias Nakhle, Spanish Whisper initially raced from the Byerley Park stable of Peter and Dawn Williams.
Precocious enough to win on debut as a December two-year-old, Spanish Whisper went on to win the Matamata Breeders’ Stakes (Gr 2, 1200m) two starts later before rounding off her juvenile season when Group 1-placed behind Sword Of Osman (Savabeel) and Avantage (Fastnet Rock) in the Diamond Stakes (Gr 1, 1200m) at Ellerslie.
The well-bred chestnut would subsequently transfer to the stable of David and Ben Hayes and Tom Dabernig, with her breeders retaining equity in the proven galloper following her sale to Darren Thomas’ Seymour Bloodstock.
“One of my best pals, Andrew Seabrook, gave Darren Thomas and the Lindsay Park crew a huge endorsement and without that we probably wouldn’t have sold the filly so we sent her to horse heaven in Euroa and we have had a terrific experience,” Daniel Nakhle said.
“She only ever raced in stakes races in Australia and in Darren Thomas’ lucky Seymour Bloodstock colours we won a couple of Flemington Group 2 races over 1400 metres and gave Written Tycoon’s subsequent multiple Group 1-winning sprint star Pippie three kilograms and a real race in the Cockram Stakes.
“Seabrook’s sound advice made entrusting his team to market our mare to the world via Gavelhouse Plus an easy decision.”
Brady and Nakhle retain Spanish Whisper’s dam Cutting Remark, who foaled a Savabeel (Zabeel) filly last week and will return to the Champion Sire this season, while they also celebrated victory on Sunday at Ellerslie with her lightly-raced half-brother Colossal (Foxwedge) breaking his maiden.
Group 1-winning contemporaries that Spanish Whisper defeated in her Australian victories include Invincibella (I Am Invincible), Aloisia (Azamour), Amphitrite (Sebring) and Aristia (Lonhro), while she was only beaten three lengths by Everest contender Classique Legend (Not A Single Doubt) over 1200 metres.
“She has a wonderful international pedigree, being a close relation to the champion Rock Of Gibraltar, and her performances have resulted in us fielding offers for her from all points of the globe,” Thomas said.
“She is Danehill-free so ideal for the Southern Hemisphere but interestingly many of the enquiries have come from up North, I didn’t realise she’s one of seven Group 1 or Group 2-winning daughters of Lope De Vega.
“We’ve loved racing Spanish Whisper with our new Kiwi mates but now it’s time to get to the breeding barn so we thought we would dissolve our racing partnership and let the market decide what she’s worth and who to mate her to.
“She has arrived in the Hunter Valley and will be ready for cover next week, we wish the new purchasers well.”
The successful association of prominent Kiwi racing identity Daniel Nakhle and Lindsay Park Racing continues this weekend, with Nakhle sure to be glued to his TV screen watching his homebred Karaka graduate Crosshaven (Smart Missile) run in the Caulfield Guineas (Gr 1, 1600m) today.
“He’s drawn a bit wide but is in great form and we’re hopeful he will acquit himself well,” Nakhle said of the last-start Caulfield Guineas Prelude (Gr 3, 1400m) winner.
Bidding on five-year-old Spanish Whisper will commence from 3pm NZ time (1pm AEDT) on Monday, October 12 and run through until 7pm NZ time (5pm AEDT) on Thursday, October 15.
Buyers must pre-register to gain bidding approval on Gavelhouse Plus.