Spicer snares son of Sea The Stars
Spicer Thoroughbreds’ Brad Spicer made his second buy of the week at Book 1 of the Tattersalls October Yearling Sale yesterday when he purchased a colt by Sea The Stars (Cape Cross) for 180,000gns (approx. AU$361,760).
The Gilltown-based sire advertised his credentials in Australia last Saturday when his son Just Fine landed the Metropolitan Handicap (Gr 1, 2400m) at Randwick, before Sea Silk Road brought up an across-hemisphere double for the stallion on the day when she landed the Prix de Royallieu (Gr 1, 2800m) at Longchamp.
Overall in Australia, Sea The Stars has been represented by 27 winners from 42 starters and they are headlined by 12 stakes winners.
Spicer said that he had been pleased with the way the colt had dealt with the sales process, believing that his ‘good brain’ would stand him in good stead going forward.
“They have such good brains,” he told ANZ Bloodstock News. “I watched before he went into the ring and he didn’t turn a hair and the Sea The Moons are exactly the same, which gives confidence when buying a yearling. He will ship out on November 10 and then he will clear quarantine on about November 25. He will then go straight to the breakers.
“He has plenty of strength about him, but he still has a lot of growing to go, but you would expect that from a Sea The Stars.”
Offered by Blue Diamond Stud Farm, the colt is out of unraced Galileo (Sadler’s Wells) mare Floret, making her not only a sister to Listed winner Cedar Mountain, but also a half-sister to multiple Group 1 winner Moonlight Cloud (Invincible Spirit).
Understandably, Spicer is a fan of horses out of daughters of Galileo, with his Group 1-winning mare Snapdancer also out of a daughter of Coolmore’s late perennial champion sire.
“He is the perfect example of the type of horse we are trying to buy and you can’t get access to Sea The Stars in Australia,” Spicer continued.
“We have had a lot of luck with runners out of Galileo mares, namely with Group 1 winner Snapdancer.”
The colt will head into training with Lindsey Smith.
On the strength of the market, Spicer said: “It is a bit like back home at the Easter Sale where the top-end is really strong, but there is plenty of value at the bottom end.”
The son of the Sea The Stars was the second purchase of the week for Spicer, having teamed up with Alex Elliott on the first day for a colt by Sea The Stars’ Lanwades Stud-based son, Sea The Moon (Sea The Stars), paying Newsells Park 260,000gns (approx. AU$523,300) for the youngster.
Sumbe returns for 850,000gns full-sister to Charyn
At the time of going to press, a colt by Dark Angel (Acclamation) was leading the way in the final session of Book 1 of the October Yearling Sale after Sumbe purchased the Grangemore Stud youngster for 850,000gns (approx. AU$1,708,310).
The colt is out of the multiple stakes-placed mare Futoon (Kodiac), making him a brother to Group 2 winner Wings Of War and last year’s Criterium de Maisons-Laffitte (Gr 2, 1200m) scorer Charyn, who finished a close third behind Paddington (Siyouni) in this season’s Sussex Stakes (Gr 1, 1m) and St James’s Palace Stakes (Gr 1, 1m), as well as a fourth to Aidan O’Brien’s stellar colt in the Irish 2,000 Guineas (Gr 1, 1m).
Charyn is raced by Nurlan Bizakov of Sumbe, with the Normandy-based outfit having outlaid 250,000gns for him out of Book 2 in 2021 and given his success it was no surprise to see him win the day for the brother early on during yesterday’s action.
Guy O’Callaghan has understandably continued to bring Futoon back to Dark Angel, who stands at his family’s Yeomanstown Stud, and he was delighted with the result.
“I’m absolutely thrilled with that, and thrilled with the farm that has got her,” said O’Callaghan. “She has been spectacular at home. We had to come here a day early because of the storm last week, she’s been here nine days now and hasn’t put a foot wrong.”
O’Callaghan added that the elevated figure was justified based on what he’d seen of the February-born individual.
“She’s very similar to them, she’s probably the best,” he said. “They’ve all done great but there’s just something about her.
“My brother David and I had been following the mare as a four-year-old with Kevin Ryan, so we were very keen to get her at the sales [bought for 100,000gns at the December Mare Sale in 2017]. She’s from a really fast family and she’s been very good to us ever since.”
Price and Kent snap up colt by Dark Angel
Mick Price and Michael Kent Jnr made their first purchase of the week late on Wednesday night when they parted with 150,000gns (approx. AU$301,510) for a colt by Dark Angel.
Offered by Highclere Stud, the youngster is out of the unraced mare Divisimo (Dansili), herself a sister to Group 1 winner Emulous, Group 3 scorer First Sitting and Listed winner Daring Diva.
From a relatively small pool of runners, Dark Angel has made a name for himself in Australia, having sired ten winners from 15 starters, five of them stakes scorers, headed by Group 1 winner Top Rank, whose victory in the Epsom Handicap (Gr 1, 1600m) earned himself a place on the Raheen Stud roster.
Wootton Bassett colt makes 1,250,000gns
Having teamed up to buy the Blue Point (Shamardal) half-brother to multiple Group 1-winning sprinter Battaash (Dark Angel) on Wednesday, Coolmore’s MV Magnier and White Birch Farm were active again later on in the session when they bought a colt by Coolmore’s Wootton Bassett (Iffraaj) for 1,250,000gns (approx. AU$2,512,590).
The colt is out of the winning Pivotal (Polar Falcon) mare Entreat, making him a half-brother to 2020 Commonwealth Cup (Gr 1, 6f) winner Golden Horde (Lethal Force) and Listed-winning pair Exhort (Dutch Art) and Line Of Departure (Mehmas).
He was bred by James Cloney of CN Farm Ltd, who purchased Entreat for just 14,000gns at the Tattersalls July Sale 2016 from Cheveley Park Stud.
Cloney was at Tattersalls to see the February-born colt go through the ring, consigned by his family’s County Kilkenny-based Clara Stud, which is run by his father-in-law Micheal Nolan.
“The horse really sold himself, he is a lovely horse,” said Cloney. “It is a once in a lifetime to have such a beautiful horse, he is the right shape, the right size, has the right walk and the right pedigree.”
Of Entreat, Cloney said: “Entreat is a special mare and just really produces top quality stock. We all have the same dream, thank god it has come through!
“Entreat has a beautiful Dark Angel filly foal, but she is barren at the moment. We also have a daughter at home called Dutch Treaty.”
Wootton Bassett is standing at Coolmore Australia for a fee of $93,500 (inc GST).