Frankel Colt Turns To Gold At Tattersalls

Lot 288, the 3.1-million gns session-topping Frankel colt | Tattersalls

NEWMARKET, UK—A Frankel (GB) half-brother to Derby and Arc hero Golden Horn (GB) (Cape Cross {Ire}) provided the star turn during the second session of Tattersalls October Book 1 when selling for 3.1 million gns. The colt (lot 288) will race for the man who now stands his illustrious sibling at Dalham Hall Stud, with Sheikh Mohammed once again coming out on top after a ringside tussle with MV Magnier. The colt becomes the second-highest priced yearling colt in the world thus far in 2019, bettered only by Tuesday's session-topping 3.6-million gns Dubawi (Ire) colt. While day one was all about Dubawi on the sire front, the spoils were better spread around during the second session, with Frankel, Kingman (GB), Siyouni (Fr) and Galileo (Ire) each responsible for a millionaire.

Set against an exceptionally strong second session at Book 1 last year, Wednesday's trade could not reach that previous high bar. But the average was still 242,106gns (-23%) and the median 150,000gns (-21%), figures which would be the envy of most other sales companies. The most significant adjustment came in the clearance rate, which in 2018 reached 91% but this time dropped to 84% following the sale of 132 yearlings for a total of 31,958,000gns (-22%).

Lot 288's dam Fleche d'Or (GB) (Dubai Destination) has provided many high days for her breeder Anthony Oppenheimer, especially through Golden Horn, who also won the G1 Eclipse S. and G1 Irish Champion S. in a brilliant 3-year-old season before being sold to Darley. But the mare herself had been considered surplus to requirements at Hascombe & Valiant Studs when her future star was just a foal and she was sold at the December Sale for 62,000gns to a three-strong partnership which includes Harry McCalmont whose Norelands Stud consigned the colt.

While Oppenheimer looked on from the stairs, it proved to be a red-letter day for McCalmont and Norelands, who had already breached the seven-figure barrier when selling a Siyouni colt during the morning for 1.3 million gns to Coolmore on behalf of his longstanding client Bob Scarborough.

He said, “I normally don't have a problem talking but we've never sold anything quite like this before. The previous highest price for us came only a few hours ago. We knew they were a couple of lovely colts coming here but you put them into the ring and ask people to value them. We knew some serious people were interested in him but in the cold light of day it can be a lonely place. Thankfully today we weren't lonely.”

McCalmont added that Fleche d'Or has a weanling full-sister to the colt back at Norelands, who will be retained by the partnership, and she is now in foal to Sea The Stars (Ire).

Anthony Stroud, who has signed for 14 yearlings on Godolphin's behalf in the last two days, including Tuesday's session-topping 3.6-million gns Dubawi (Ire) colt, said of the colt, “He has an outstanding pedigree and what can you say? He's a very good individual. We stand Golden Horn and he's looking a promising stallion. This one is by a wonderful horse in Frankel. He seemed to meet the right credentials, so we're very happy.”

Favour Fortunes

Nicholas and Cherry Jones keep seven mares at their 60-acre Coln Valley Stud which enjoyed its biggest sale result by a wide margin with the sale of lot 326, a Kingman (GB) colt from a family which includes a decent selection of recent top-flight winners, including Legatissimo (Ire) and Farhh (GB).

At 2.3-million gns, the son of Grace And Favour (GB) (Montjeu {Ire}), herself a sister to five-time Group 1 winner Fame And Glory (GB), joined the Godolphin fray as his breeders left the ring to be congratulated by a huddle of well-wishers.

“This was the only colt we had to sell this year,” said Nicholas Jones, who enjoyed success in his own colours last season with a member of this family when Give And Take (GB) (Cityscape {GB}), out of another sister to Fame And Glory, won the G3 Tattersalls Musidora S.

He continued, “We had a fantastic result last year when we sold a Showcasing (GB) colt for 600,000gns but this is another level and you can never imagine a horse is going to make this much.

“My stud groom of 16 years, Ian Emes, foaled him and has done everything with him. I really am very lucky to have Ian.”

Jones revealed that Give And Take is now in foal for the first time to Kingman while Grace And Favour has a Pivotal (GB) filly foal and is in foal to Sea The Moon (Ger).

“This is a Lord Howard de Walden family,” he added. “And Gillian Howard de Walden told me when I bought the grandam Gryada (GB) that I had to name them all starting with G. We keep the fillies and we have Good And Proper (GB), a Dansili (GB) filly, to go into training.”

Anthony Stroud ensured that the day's top three lots would wear the Godolphin blue when outlasting MV Magnier and later Phoenix Thoroughbreds to secure Christopher Hanbury's Galileo (Ire) colt out of Jacqueline Quest (Ire) (Rock of Gibraltar {Ire}) (lot 357) for 1.1-million gns late in the session. It is a family Sheikh Mohammed is very familiar with, as he campaigns Jacqueline Quest's 3-year-old Line of Duty (Ire), a full-brother to this colt and the winner of last year's GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf. Jacqueline Quest, who was herself a €60,000 yearling and crossed the line first in the G1 1000 Guineas but was placed second for interference, has also produced the listed-placed Hibiscus (Ire) to Galileo.

The Galileo colt was born and raised at Trillium Hall Stud in Ireland and entrusted to New England Stud to sell. That farm's principal Peter Stanley commented, “We're very happy, and naturally the mare has been great for Trillium Hall Stud. They've grown some very good horses on the farm and this is yet another great one out of Jacqueline Quest, and we're very happy-whenever you make over 1-million, you're absolutely delighted. It was a lot more than the mare cost and she's been a little goldmine, but better still than being a goldmine she's delivered the goods; she's delivering top-class horses and we very much hope that this one is lucky for Sheikh Mohammed.”

The Galileo colt was the second seven-figure sale yearling for Jacqueline Quest; another full-brother, later named World War (Ire), was a 1.2-million gns purchase by China Horse Club in 2015. Line of Duty was a 400,000gns yearling, while Hibiscus cost 625,000gns.

Godolphin, with Sheikh Mohammed present each of the first two days, is leading buyer thus far with a total spend of 14.58-million gns-more than double the 6.065-million gns thus far laid out by the second-top purchaser, Sheikh Mohammed's brother Sheikh Hamdan. Godolphin's day two purchases also included lot 315, breeder Castlefarm Stud's Dubawi (Ire) half-brother to exciting first-season sire Shalaa (Ire) who cost 700,000gns, as well as lot 268, Oneliner Stables's Sea The Stars (Ire) half-brother to two stakes performers from a good Aga Khan family. That colt represented an excellent pinhook, having been bought for 330,000gns in this ring last December.

Siyouni Reaches New Heights

A half-brother to the QIPCO 2000 Guineas winner Magna Grecia (Ire) (Invincible Spirit {Ire}) and bred on the same cross as another of this season's European Classic winners, Sottsass (Fr) (Siyouni {Fr}), made an early splash during the second Book 1 session when selling to Coolmore for 1.3 million gns.

Lot 208, consigned by Harry McCalmont's Norelands Stud, is a son of the G3 Silver Flash S. winner Cabaret (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}), whose Classic-winning son was sold in the same ring as a foal for 340,000gns.

“He was bred by Bob Scarborough and we hoped he'd make the seven-figure mark but it's fantastic to get up there. It's emotional,” said McCalmont. “We've had the mare for some years and we sold Magna Grecia here as a foal. Both horses had very good temperaments. This colt was very well behaved the whole way through and he is an exceptionally athletic mover. This is a huge credit to my team.”

MV Magnier, who outbid David Redvers for the colt who is now the highest-priced yearling for his upwardly mobile sire, said, “It's great for Bob Scarborough, he bred a lovely horse. He's by Siyouni, he's by a very good sire and obviously out of a Galileo mare, like Sottsass, and he seems to be going from strength to strength in that department. And of course he's a brother to Magna Grecia, who was a very good 2-year-old and a Guineas winner. Hopefully Aidan is going to run him next weekend in the [G1 Queen Elizabeth II S.]. He's going very well at the moment and he's a very special horse, so let's hope this fellow is as good.”

Siyouni had already been represented by the first lot through the ring on Wednesday (lot 185), a 180,000gns pinhook by Philipp Stauffenberg who had benefitted from a Group 1 update to a page already heavily laced with black type. In July, his half-brother Danceteria (Fr) won the G1 Grosser Dallmayr-Preis in Munich and on Saturday he will become the first Australian runner for his trainer David Menuisier when he lines up in the G1 Ladbrokes S. at Caulfield.

The colt's dam, Group 3 winner Bal De La Rose (Ire) (Cadeaux Genereux {Ire}) had already produced listed winner Blossomtime (GB), who is by Shamardal, a stallion who has worked well with this particular family as the mare is a half-sister to his dual Classic-winning son and fellow leading sire Lope De Vega (Ire).

Richard Brown of Blandford Bloodstock signed for the colt at 450,000gns on behalf of Saeed Suhail.

Ballyphilip Bonanza

Paul and Marie McCartan of Ballyphilip Stud could hardly have started Book 1 in more ebullient fashion when their first lot through the ring on Monday, the full-sister to Group 1-winning sprinter Battaash (Ire) (Dark Angel {Ire}), fetched 800,000gns. The good run continued on Wednesday with lot 198, a Lope De Vega (Ire) colt out of the listed-placed Bikini Babe (Ire) (Montjeu {Ire}), making the Godolphin list of purchases at 750,000gns. Anthony Stroud faced opposition from underbidder Shane McGrath of Aquis Farm for the colt bred by Brendan and Anne Marie Hayes of Knocktoran Stud. The couple enjoyed a Classic victory two years ago with homebred Precieuse (Ire) (Tamayuz {GB}), who features in the yearling's pedigree under his grandam Zeiting (Ire) (Zieten), whose 10 winners include five stakes performers.

“I bought him privately from Brendan Hayes and we've loved him every day we've had him on the farm,” said Paul McCartan of Ballyphilip Stud, whose most successful graduates include Tiggy Wiggy (Ire) (Kodiac {GB}), Harry Angel (Ire) (Dark Angel {Ire}) and his half-brother Pierre Lapin (Ire) (Cappella Sansevero {GB}). “He's out of a great mare from a great family and he has huge presence, he's just a really athletic horse. We've had a hell of a start—it makes it a lot easier.”

The McCartans later enjoyed another good result with a Knocktoran Stud-bred colt (lot 320), a son of Muhaarar (GB) out of a winning sister to the brilliant Immortal Verse (Ire) (Pivotal {GB}) from the Kilfrush Stud family of Mill Princess (GB) (Mill Reef). Alex Elliott bought the half-brother to the stakes-placed duo of Roseman (Ire) (Kingman {GB}) and Game Zone (Ire) (Hurricane Run {Ire}) for 260,000gns.

Dark Angel Double For Ballyhimikin

The breeding venture of James Hanly, Trevor Stewart and Anthony Stroud enjoyed a pair of good results with the progeny of Dark Angel (Ire) through the first two days of Book 1. On day one, their colt out of Stellar Path (Fr) (Astronomer Royal) (lot 52) fetched 400,000gns from Peter and Ross Doyle, and on Wednesday their filly out of Future Generation (Ire) (Hurricane Run {Ire}) (lot 302) outdid him when bringing a final winning bid of 700,000gns from Charlie Gordon-Watson.

Both were consigned by Hanly's Ballyhimikin Stud, and the family of lot 302 is one that Stewart has already reaped plenty of success from; he bought the G2 King's Stand S. and G2 Temple S. winner and Group 1-placed Cassandra Go (Ire) (Indian Ridge {Ire}) for 200,000gns in 1997 and she went on to produce the likes of Theann (GB) (Rock of Gibraltar {Ire}), subsequently the dam of multiple Grade I winner Photo Call (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}); and Classic winner Halfway To Heaven (Ire) (Pivotal {GB}), the dam of recent G1 Irish Champion S. winner Magical (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) and G1 Fillies' Mile, G1 Lockinge S. and G1 Prix de l'Opera victress Rhododendron (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}).

“She was an absolutely lovely filly, and we had hoped she might make 500,000gns, so we're delighted with that,” said Stewart of lot 302. “We had two Dark Angels to sell and they both sold very well.”

After signing for the Dark Angel filly, Gordon-Watson revealed he too was familiar with the family, having sold Future Generation privately to the U.S. after she had won Leopardstown's G3 Desmond S. at three. Racing in the U.S. for George Bolton and Peter Leidel-now best known for campaigning Lady Aurelia (Scat Daddy) with Stonestreet-Future Generation won a listed stake at Belmont Park and was fourth in the GI Matriarch S., after which she produced the G2 Prix Chaudenay and G2 Prix Niel winner Brundtland (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}) as her first foal. Gordon-Watson said the Dark Angel filly was bought for an undisclosed owner/breeder and would stay in Britain.

American Participation Continues

Chad Brown and Mike Ryan, working primarily on behalf of Peter Brant's White Birch Farm and Seth Klarman's Klaravich Stables, started strong on Tuesday and that momentum continued during Book 1's second session. Ryan signed for 10 yearlings in total on Wednesday, including a 475,000gns Dubawi (Ire) filly (lot 289) from Hazelwood Bloodstock on behalf of Brant, and a 450,000gns filly by the same sire (lot 319) from Haras de Saint Pair. Brown signed for a colt and a filly (193 and 276) apiece by one of the sires of the day, Siyouni, in the name of White Birch Farm, while Alan Quartucci's Northshore Bloodstock also stepped in for Brant when signing for a colt by Fast Company (Ire) for 200,000gns (lot 223).

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