Sherrin’s Frankel appeal sees breeder strike at Tattersalls
Queensland-based breeder Michael Sherrin’s love for Britain’s unparalleled champion racehorse and sire Frankel (Galileo) has seen the Sheralee Estate supremo travel halfway around the globe to source mares with which to breed to the Juddmonte stallion.
Motor car racing businessman Sherrin, 72, and agent Jim Clarke first scoured the Keeneland November Breeding Stock Sale catalogue last month to purchase Grade 3 winner Chardy Party (Dark Angel) for US$325,000 and late on Monday evening the pair parted with 300,000gns (approx. AU$561,790) to land Group 3 placegetter Romantic Rival (Shamardal) at Tattersalls’ December Mares Sale, with both mares set for a date with the unbeaten Frankel to southern hemisphere time later this year.
Sherrin, who has ramped up his breeding interests over the last seven years and is the owner of this year’s Kingsford-Smith Cup (Gr 1, 1300m) winner Apache Chase (Better Than Ready), visited Frankel at his Banstead Manor House residence in the hours before securing two-time winner Romantic Rival, an experience which only reaffirmed the breeder’s desire to send mares to the stallion, who is set to stand the 2023 breeding season at for £275,000 (approx. AU$490,686), following a £75,000 increase.
“Fantastic [to secure Romantic Rival], we bought one from the US as well, Chardy Party, to go to Frankel, so we’ve got two to look forward to,” Sherrin told ANZ Bloodstock News.
“It’s exciting times and I’m very happy with the broodmare band that I have, why wouldn’t you be?
“It’s my first time [to Tattersalls] and It’s been good, albeit a bit cold today. It’s been a great experience. Having mares covered by Frankel was the whole idea of coming here. We went to see him [on Monday] and he’s an unbelievable stallion.”
Catalogued as Lot 1645, Romantic Rival, a four-year-old daughter of Shamardal (Giant’s Causeway), is rated 100 by the British handicapper and was last sighted finishing third, beaten four and a half lengths, behind Soft Whisper (Dubawi) and Queen Animatu (Muhaarar) in a seven-furlong Listed contest at Ascot, with the latter running out a ready Listed winner on her next start.
“Shamardal is an outstanding broodmare sire. He’s done equally as well in Australia as he has up here,” Clarke said.
“We narrowed down the initial list of horses that we had on pedigree, with sire lines that we know work, and we were trying to get as much pedigree and as good a racecourse performance as we could.
“She was really the one we zeroed in on and she’ll be a very good addition to the broodmare band in Australia.”
Bred by Godolphin, Romantic Rival was previously sold to owners Romantic Rival Partners for €110,000 (approx. AU$169,400) at last year’s Arqana December Foals & Mares Sale, with Stephen Hillen Bloodstock acting as agent.
During yesterday’s session, Clarke and Sherrin were also taken to 300,000gns to land the Listed placed winner Show Of Stars (Showcasing).
Catalogued as Lot 1805, the daughter of Whitsbury Manor Stud stallion and former New Zealand shuttler Showcasing (Oasis Dream) was last seen finishing down the field in the Vincent O’Brien Ruby Stakes (Listed, 1m) for trainer Paddy Twomey.
“She’ll go straight back to Australia. Her form and distance profile means there’s lots of different options for her next year,” Clarke said.
“There’s The Five Diamonds over 1800 metres in the spring, there’s stakes races for mares from a mile to 2000 metres, so there’s a lot of different programmes for her. And the fact that she’s already got black type on her CV means that her value is underwritten to a certain extent.”
Officially rated 97 by the BHA, the three-year-old filly was a 100,000gns (approx. AU$187,210) buy for her trainer at Book 1 of the 2020 Tattersalls October Yearling Sale out of Hugo Lascelles’ Lofts Hall Stud draft.
The second foal out of the Raven’s Pass (Elusive Quality) mare Gloryette, herself closely related to Group 3 winner Elusive Pimpernel (Elusive Quality) and a half-sister to Group 3 winner Palavicini (Giant’s Causeway), Show Of Stars is a half-sister to winner Eagle One (Gleneagles).
“There’s a lot of upside to the family,” Clarke said. “I was just speaking to Hugo Lascelles who bred the filly, and Jeremy Brummitt bought the Wootton Bassett (yearling filly) out of the mare and I believe it’s gone to Danny O’Brien, so the mother’s been very well mated.
“She’s a gorgeous physical and when she goes to stud we’ve got plenty of options as to which stallion we can send her to.”
Hawthorne back at Tattersalls to land duo
Dean Hawthorne was another Australian to secure lots on back-to-back days at this year’s December Mares Sale, stretching to 125,000gns (approx. AU$233,810) on both occasions to take home mares by Frankel and Dark Angel (Acclamation) for Jonathan Munz’s GSA Bloodstock operation. Both mares were purchased in conjunction with Badgers Bloodstock.
Beloved (Frankel), catalogued as Lot 1762, has failed to win in eight starts for Newmarket-based handler Ed Walker and owner David Ward, managing a duo of placed efforts. The 67-rated four-year-old is sold in foal to Ward’s July Cup Stakes (Gr 1, 6f) winner Starman (Dutch Art).
“We’re just testing the waters with these Frankel mares and we’ll see what they’re going to leave,” Hawthorne said. “But because he’s been successful in Australia we should see some commercial appeal with his broodmares.”
Bred by the Love & Bubbles Partnership, Beloved was originally a 350,000gns (approx. AU$656,170) buy for Sackville Donald at Book 1 of the 2019 Tattersalls October Yearling Sale.
Blessed with a rich pedigree, she is the 11th foal out of the Group 3-winning Loup Sauvage (Riverman) mare Love And Bubbles, making her a half-sister to eight winners including the Tokyo Yushun (Japanese Derby) (Gr 1, 2400m) winner Deep Brillante (Deep Impact), Group-placed winner Hubble Bubble (Deep Impact) and to winners Deep In Love (Deep Impact) and Love Conquers (Deep Impact).
Hawthorne and Badgers Bloodstock were also active on Monday when going to 125,000gns for the Coolmore-owned mare Darkest (Dark Angel), who is in foal to former shuttler Starspangledbanner (Choisir).
Buoyed by the success of Munz’s sensational The Everest (1200m) winner Giga Kick (Scissor Kick), who is out of the Royal Applause (Waajib) mare Rekindled Applause, Hawthorne was happy to further tap into the bloodline.
Catalogued as Lot 1507, the daughter of Dark Angel (Acclamation) is a maiden winner from 13 starts and has also placed in a further three of those outings, earning her an official rating of 89.
“We’ve been looking at Dark Angel because we’ve always been a fan of the Acclamation blood, through Royal Applause. We’ve always known that it works with Danehill at home,” Hawthorne said.
“Giga Kick is out of a Royal Applause-line mare, so there’s something in that.
“They’ll [both purchases] foal down in the north and then the foals will be weaned and then they’ll head down to the southern hemisphere.”
Bred by Yeomanstown Stud, Darkest was first purchased by MV Magnier for 325,000gns at Book 1 of the 2018 Tattersalls October Yearling Sale before being resold to BBA Ireland for €155,000 (approx. AU$238,670) at last year’s Goffs November Breeding Stock Sale.
Out of the Listed-placed winning Most Welcome (Be My Guest) mare Kelsey Rose, the five-year-old is a sister to Group 2 winner Sovereign Debt and to winner Sorelle Delle Rose, while also being a half-sister to five winners including Group 3 scorer Puff (Camacho) and useful winner Lyndon B (Charm Spirit).
Hawthorne is an experienced traveller to the Tattersalls December Mares Sale, and has previously taken home four buys between the 2017 and 2018 sales, including the unraced Fastnet Rock (Danehill) mare Unbelievable, an 800,000gns buy who currently has an unraced colt and filly by Yarraman Park resident I Am Invincible (Invincible Spirit).
“We’re hopefully looking to get some more, but it’s been a tough market,” Hawthorne said. “We expected it, but I haven’t been here for two years with Covid, having previously come up every year.
“So I needed to come and assess the market and look at the new stock, to keep an eye on things.”
Neasham targeting more success with European import
Yesterday’s second session saw both Annabel Neasham and Twin Hills Stud take home their maiden purchases at this year’s sale, with the former going to 80,000gns (approx. AU$149,610) in conjunction with Blandford Bloodstock to secure the John and Thady Gosden-trained Kings Joy (Kingman).
Catalogued as Lot 1706, the Anthony Oppenheimer-owned three-year-old filly has an official rating of 85 following a win and three placings from eight career outings for the Newmarket-based father-and-son training duo.
Last sighted finishing third, beaten six lengths, in a Class 4 handicap at Newbury last month, the daughter of Juddmonte Farms stallion Kingman (Invincible Spirit) is the third foal out of Golden Laughter (Bernardini) and is a half-sister to winner Sense Of Humour (Dark Angel).
“She’s a gorgeous Kingman filly, lightly raced, winner of one race. She’s shown a good level of form the whole way through,” Blandford Bloodstock’s Stuart Boman said.
“She’s run recently, which I like. She was fourth in a race at Newmarket. The winner was Group 3 placed, the second horse was a Listed winner and the third horse won a Grade 3 in America by five lengths. So there’s good collateral form there and she’s a cheap filly.
“Annabel [Neasham] has a knack of improving these European horses and she should suit the system. There’s plenty of races for her.”
Golden Laughter is a half-sister to English 2,000 Guineas (Gr 1, 1m) winner Footstepsinthesand (Giant’s Causeway) and Phoenix Stakes (Gr 1, 6f) winner Pedro The Great (Henrythenavigator). She is out of the Group 3-winning mare Glatisant (Rainbow Quest), the dam of Group 1 winners Power (Oasis Dream) and Curvy (Galileo), a pedigree that jumped off the page for Boman.
“There’s just not many fillies bought for Australia, but I think there’s a real angle in buying fillies,” Boman added. “That, to my mind, means the Australians are missing the boat.
“It’s all very well buying these geldings, but I think there’s a real opportunity for Australians to be buying race fillies and people don’t really seem to want to do it.
“I understand the stakes program [in Australia] is a mile and below but there are still horses that would be suitable to buy here and it would be great to bring in some new bloodlines and serious families.”
Just four lots later and Olly Tait’s Cootamundra-based Twin Hills Stud threw their hat into the ring as they went to 78,000gns (approx. AU$146,370) to purchase Nafaayes (Exceed And Excel) (Lot 1710).
By Darley stallion Exceed And Excel (Danehill), the seven-year-old mare was a two-time winner at Group 2 level when trained in South Africa by Matthew De Kock.
Sold in-foal to Godolphin’s four-time Group 1 winner Blue Point (Shamardal), she is the third foal out of the Grade 3-winning Dehere (Deputy Minister) mare Decelerator, herself a half-sister to Graded stakes-placed winner Cool Blue Red Hot (Harlan’s Holiday) out of a half-sister to Grade 1 winner Fabulously Fast (Deputy Minister).
Brendan and Jo Linsdey, who purchased two lots on day one, made their presence known in yesterday’s Sceptre Session during the second session of the December Mares Sale as their Cambridge Stud purchased the breeding prospect Allemande (Sea The Moon) for 95,000gns (approx. AU$178,350) in conjunction with John Foote Bloodstock.
Catalogued as Lot 1859, the daughter of Lanwades Stud, who consigned the three-year-old filly, resident stallion Sea The Moon (Sea The Stars) has finished placed in three of her four career outings for trainer Ralph Beckett and owner Kirsten Rausing.
From a blue-blooded family, Allemande is the seventh foal out of the Galileo mare Almiranta, herself a half-sister to Group 3 winner Alla Speranza (Sir Percy).
She is a half-sister to Group 2 winner Alyssa (Sir Percy), Group 3 winner Alea Iacta (Invincible Spirit) and to Listed winners Albaflora (Muhaarar) and Aloe Vera (Invincible Spirit).
Aussies close out first day strongly
Australian interests were to continue later into the session on Monday as Murray Thoroughbreds teamed up with Craig Rounsefell’s Boomer Bloodstock to land Silent Monarch (No Nay Never) (Lot 1649) for 170,000gns (approx. AU$317,990).
Unbeaten in both of her starts to date, the three-year-old filly is by Coolmore’s No Nay Never (Scat Daddy) and is the sixth foal out of Causeway Queen (Giant’s Causeway), an unraced half-sister to Group 3 winner Astrology (Galileo), who was also placed in Camelot’s (Montjeu) Epsom Derby (Gr 1, 1m 4f).
Silent Monarch is a half-sister to Listed-placed winner Surbett (Rock Of Gibraltar) and winners Keyser Soze (Arcano) and Crown Power (Camelot).
Peter Murray, who has mares based at Three Bridges Thoroughbreds in Victoria, bred last year’s Inglis Nursery (RL, 1000m) winner El Padrino (Street Boss), who sold to Ciaron Maher Bloodstock for $210,000 at last year’s Inglis Melbourne Premier Yearling Sale.
Closing out Monday’s acquisitions was Sea Speedwell (Sea The Stars), catalogued as Lot 1672, as Sackville Donald purchased the four-year-old mare acting on behalf of Silverdale Farm.
Steve Grant’s operation went to 80,000gns (approx. AU$149,610) to seal the deal on the daughter of Sea The Stars, twice a winner from six starts and last seen running out an easy four and three-quarter lengths victor of a Class 4 handicap at Yarmouth, earning her an official rating of 91.
Originally a 400,000gns (approx. AU$748,070) buy for Mandore International Agency at Book 1 of the 2019 Tattersalls October Yearling Sale, she is the eighth foal out of the winning Cadeaux Genereux (Young Generation) mare Flower Market and is a half-sister to five winners including Spillway (Rail Link), winner of the 2015 Australian Cup (Gr 1, 2000m).