O’Brien and Brummitt take tally to four at Tattersalls
Danny O’Brien and his European agent Jeremy Brummitt purchased three yearlings on the second day of the Tattersalls October Book 2 Yearling Sale yesterday, adding to the single yearling they secured at Book 1 during last week.
Among the three purchases was a Free Eagle (High Chaparral) colt for 150,000 guineas (approx. AU$291,000), who is a half-brother to Listed winner Flaming Princess (Hot Streak).
Free Eagle, a Group 1 winner of the Prince Of Wales’s Stakes (Gr 1, 1m 2f) at Royal Ascot, has sired three stakes winners from his first three crops of racing age, including Group 3 winner Dancing King and Hong Kong winner Beauty Smile, while in Australia he has sired the stakes- placed filly Biarchi and has eight winners from 33 to race.
The stallion stands at the Irish National Stud for a fee of €8,000 (approx. AU$12,555).
Catalogued as Lot 874, the colt is out of the Marju (Last Tycoon) mare Qatar Princess and was consigned by Philip Stauffenberg who purchased him as a weanling for €80,000 from the Goffs November Foals Sale.
Earlier in the day, Brummitt signed for Lot 779, a Ribchester (Iffraaj) colt out of Peintre Celebre (Nureyev) mare Mypreciousblue, from the family of Australian Oaks (Gr 1, 2400m) winner Unforgotten (Fastnet Rock) for 100,000 guineas (approx. AU$194,000).
Ribchester has delivered his first northern hemisphere two-year-olds this year, firing in 13 winners including Prix de Conde (Gr 3, 1800m) fourth Garachico and four-time winner Flaming Rib.
The Haunui Farm shuttler will see his first southern hemisphere two-year-olds take to the track this season, having sold for up to $230,000 as yearlings.
O’Brien will also be bringing a filly back to Australia, after securing a daughter of Nathaniel (Galileo) for 75,000 guineas (approx. AU$145,500).
Nathaniel added the progressive Spirit Ridge to his tally of two stakes winners in Australia this last year, the gelding winning twice at Group 3 level for Darby Racing, while last year’s Geelong Cup (Gr 3, 2400m) winner Steel Prince is also by the stallion.
Catalogued as Lot 846, she is the second foal out of the unraced Pointer (Bated Breath), a daughter of the Group 2-winning and Group 1 runner-up Daring Miss (Sadler’s Wells), with the filly from the family of multiple Group 1 winner Flintshire (Dansili).
The three yearlings added to their purchase of a Frankel (Galileo) colt in last week’s Book 1 sale.
Monday’s opening day of Book 2 saw Brad Spicer make his second purchase of the Tattersalls October yearling sale, while Mick Price and Michael Kent Jnr were again active.
Alex Elliott signed on behalf of Australian syndicator Spicer for Lot 703, an Almanzor (Wootton Bassett) colt out of Loredana (Azamour), for 160,000 guineas (approx. AU$310,500), adding to his purchase of a Camelot (Montjeu) colt in Book 1 for 135,000 guineas.
The Almanzor colt is from a prolific Aga Khan-bred family that includes Australian performer Lunayir (Sinndar) and champion sire Linamix (Mendez).
Price and Kent, with agent Dermot Farrington, claimed Lot 569, a filly by Teofilo (Galileo) out of the Group 1-placed Grand Lodge (Chief’s Crown) mare Fraloga for 75,000 guineas (approx. AU$145,500).
Also on Monday, Annabel Neasham will be the beneficiary of a purchase by prominent owner Noel Wilson, who slammed prize-money in the UK in revealing a colt by Lope De Vega (Shamardal) will be headed to the Warwick Farm-based trainer.
Wilson, who owns a share in Cox Plate (Gr 1, 2040m) favourite Zaaki (Leroidesanimaux), went to 250,000 guineas (approx. AU$484,280) for the colt, who is out of the Listed-winning Kambura (Literato), a half-sister to three stakes winners.
“He’s going to Australia to be trained by Annabel Neasham, if she’ll have him!” said Wilson. “He’s very classy and vetted superbly, and for me he was the standout of the sale.”
Wilson’s purchase joins a diverse portfolio of horses spread across France and Australia, and he explained that the paucity of prize-money on offer in Britain meant that investing in the domestic racing product was not a financially viable proposition.
“I’ve got horses in France, they’re generally under Justwow Limited, which is my company, they’re with Eoghan O’Neill and Francis Graffard, and I’ve got bits and bobs with Christophe Ferland,” he said.
“I’ve got some 20 per cent shares in horses in Australia to help me get my head around racing there. I live in Kent but I’d never have horses in Britain for the obvious reason; it’s just a joke here, whereas I’ve had horses in Australia come tenth and pick up £1,500. I’m not really rich enough to support British racing.”
Monday’s opening session saw 212 lots sell for a clearance rate of 86 per cent and turnover of 18,935,500 guineas (approx. AU$36.75 million), a 24 per cent uptick on the corresponding session in 2020.
The increases were even more pronounced among the average and median figures, with the former up 27 per cent to 89,318 guineas (approx. AU$173,350) and the latter up fully 35 per cent to 70,000 guineas (approx. AU$135,850) as the top ten lots, led by a 375,000 guineas (approx. AU$727,800) Night Of Thunder (Dubawi) colt, went the way of nine different individual buyers.