By Emma Berry
KILL, Ireland—It was always likely to be a head-to-head contest between two extremely well-related Galileo (Ire) fillies to take top billing at Goffs and the first to take to the stage, the sister to Coolmore's treble Group 1 winner Alice Springs (Ire), duly holds that honour—for now—as the dust settles on a buoyant first day of trade at the Orby Sale.
A bid of €2 million from Phoenix Thoroughbreds' principal Amer Abdulaziz was what it took to ensure that the chestnut daughter of Aleagueoftheirown (Ire) (Danehill Dancer {Ire}) (lot 165) would one day be part of the team's broodmare band, which is currently under construction. First, though, the racecourse beckons and Abdulaziz, at the Orby Sale for the first time, had to outbid MV Magnier and Laurent Benoit to ensure that the filly will race in the silks which have been carried to Group 1 glory this season by Advertise (GB) (Showcasing {GB}).
He said, “The mare has already produced a Group 1 winner and this is the kind of filly we need to be buying. As well as being so well bred she was very athletic, a good walker, and we liked her right from the start. We'll get her home and let her be a horse again before deciding on who will train her.”
Bred by Lynch-Bages and Longfield Stud and consigned through Glenvale Stud, the filly's dam has been mated consistently with Coolmore's champion sire and, along with Alice Springs, four more of her offspring have earned black-type, including current 3-year-old Hence (Ire), who has been highly tried this season with 15 starts and was recently third in the G3 Snow Fairy Fillies' S.
The top lot was one of five yearlings added to the Phoenix Thoroughbreds roster on Tuesday for a total of €2,790,000. The quintet included a full-brother to G3 Hackwood S. winner and young stallion Heeraat (Ire) (Dark Angel {Ire}) (lot 125), a bold €340,000 foal pinhook by the High Valley Equine syndicate who sold for €360,000 through Anna Sundstrom's Coulonces Sales on his second visit to the Goffs ring.
Sell, Sleep, Repeat
“Now we need to do it all again tomorrow,” said Henry Beeby as he delivered the day's statistics to the press room at the end of an extremely lively opening session, but he could be forgiven if he drove home with a hint of a contented smile on his face.
The Goffs Managing Director had noted the increased range of international buyers in position on Monday along with his company's decision to focus on quality and keep a tight hold on numbers at the Orby Sale. Both factors contributed to an impressive set of first-day figures.
Most important was the clearance rate of 88% for 167 yearlings sold of the 190 offered. This led to a 14% increase in aggregate to €24,085,000, with the average improving by 33% to €144,222 and the median by 27% to €85,000. Backing up the day's millionairess were 77 yearlings who sold for six-figure sums.
King For A Day
The profile of Juddmonte's Kingman (GB) among this year's first-season sires has risen swiftly in recent weeks and his son out of Mountarmstrong Stud's Alexander Queen (Ire) (King's Best) did not go unnoticed as he followed the session's top lot into the ring as lot 166 to become the most expensive colt of the day at €850,000.
David Redvers bought the half-brother to listed winner Alkasser (Ire) (Shamardal) on behalf of Qatar Racing, part-owner of Kingman's recent winner Sparkle Roll (Fr), the half-sister to last year's Derby winner Wings Of Eagles (Fr) (Pour Moi {Ire}).
“The sire has made a good start and we have a very nice filly by him as well as a couple of others that we like,” Redvers said. “We are delighted as in our opinion this was the nicest colt in the sale.”
The colt's dam, a juvenile winner herself, is a half-sister to Dandy Man (Ire) (Mozart {Ire}) and to G2 Queen Mary S. winner Anthem Alexander (Ire) (Starspangledbanner {Aus}), all of whom were bred at Mountarmstrong by Noel O'Callaghan.
Earlier in the session, Redvers also signed for lot 35, Croom House Stud's filly by Iffraaj (GB) out of the G3 Prix Miesque runner-up Pussycat Lips (Ire) (Holy Roman Emperor {Ire}), a half-sister to the dual winner and Group 3-placed Special Purpose (Ire) (Scat Daddy), at €110,000.
Player's Pleased With Tasleet's Sister
An outlay of €220,000 for a foal is not for the fainthearted when the aim is to resell at a profit less than a year later. Mick Flanagan's purchase of a Whitsbury Manor Stud-bred filly by one of the most in-demand stallions around in Showcasing (GB), whose full-brother is a multiple group-winning sprinter, may have looked bold but the agent, with his partners David Cox and David Myerscough, was rewarded when Mark Player went to €850,000 to buy the Baroda & Colbinstown Studs-consigned sister to Shadwell's Tasleet (GB) (lot 203).
Kerri Radcliffe, David Redvers and Laurent Benoit were among those in pursuit of the filly who also has another top sprinter, Battaash (Ire) (Dark Angel {Ire}), under her second dam, but Player, acting on behalf of an unnamed “international client” prevailed. He said, “We know that Showcasing works well in both hemispheres and this filly's full-brother is a terrific horse who will be retiring to Nunnery Stud next year. She looks like she could be quite an early type and there's such a good programme for sprinters here now. She's a horse who will be a lovely addition to a broodmare band in time.”
No Flash In The Pan
Kingman wasn't the only freshman sire to get his name on the day's leader board. No Nay Never, who currently leads the first season sires' table and notched his first Group 1 winner at the weekend following the victory of Ten Sovereigns in the Juddmonte Middle Park S., provided an early session topper when another filly from the Glenvale Stud draft (lot 100) experienced a massive increase from her foal price to sell for €700,000 to MV Magnier.
Flash Conroy selected the second foal of the 3-year-old winner Starlet (Ire) (Sea The Stars {Ire}) for €52,000 at the November Sale from breeder Springbank Way Stud. Her deeper family is one well known to Coolmore as the filly's third dam Kasora (Ire) (Darshaan {GB}) has provided them not only with dual Derby winner High Chaparral (Ire) (Sadler's Wells) but also his brother, the G2 Dante S. winner Black Bear Island (Ire). Furthermore, Kasora's unraced daughter Mora Bai (Ire) (Indian Ridge {GB}) is responsible for this season's G3 Hampton Court S. winner Hunting Horn (Ire) (Camelot {GB}).
“She was a great mover with a lot of quality and Flash Conroy had a very high opinion of her,” said Magnier of his purchase. “Ten Sovereigns should be a pretty special horse next year and No Nay Never is flying, thank God.”
Glenvale Stud is currently the leading Orby consignor with 11 yearlings sold for €3,968,000.
Stars Out For Mount Coote
Nine years after Sea The Stars (Ire) won the Prix de I'Arc de Triomphe, he has an excellent chance of being represented as the winning sire on Sunday via his dual Oaks-winning daughter Sea Of Class (Ire), but prior to that, another of his daughters played a leading role at Goffs on Tuesday when selling to Godolphin for €750,000.
Sold as lot 140 for breeder Ling Tsui, who owns Sea Of Class, the filly is the second foal of juvenile winner Valais Girl (GB) (Holy Roman Emperor {Ire}), herself a great granddaughter of Alidiva (GB) (Chief Singer {GB}) whose three Group 1 winners include Valais Girl's grandam Sleepytime (Ire) (Royal Academy).
“She was just one of those horses who was naturally athletic. I don't think I've ever shown a yearling more times at a sale and she put on the same show at 5 p.m. as she did at 8 a.m,” said consignor Luke Lillingston, whose Mount Coote Stud enjoyed a banner day at Goffs with four yearlings sold for an average price of €301,750. “The filly was raised at Gilltown Stud and the mare was bought by John Clarke for Mrs. Tsui. We've had other members of the Alligatrix family at Mount Coote over the years—Sleepytime and her dam Alidiva—so it was nice to be involved with this filly. I hope she goes on to be very lucky for Sheikh Mohammed.”
Another good return for Mount Coote Stud came five lots later when the Frankel (GB) colt out of listed winner Vital Statistics (GB) (Indian Ridge {GB}) brought €400,000 to a bid from Stephen Hillen. Lot 145, whose 4-year-old brother Golden Hooves (GB) has won twice this year in France for Nicolas Clement, will be trained by Kevin Ryan.
Godolphin's High Five
In addition to the Sea The Stars filly, Sheikh Mohammed's Godolphin team signed for another four yearlings during the session and was second only to Phoenix Thoroughbreds on the buyers' sheet for total outlay.
Lot 37, a Siyouni (Fr) colt from the high-achieving Meon Valley Stud family of Reprocolor, was the first purchase of the day, with Sheikh Mohammed standing alongside Anthony Stroud as he signed for the colt at €350,000. The third foal of the unraced Queen Arbella (GB) (Medicean {GB}), a half-sister to dual Group 3 winner Poet (GB) (Pivotal {GB}) had been bought at Arqana last December for €72,000 by Stroud Coleman Bloodstock on behalf of Tally-Ho Stud, which consigned the half-brother to Garden Oasis (GB) (Oasis Dream {GB}), a winner this year for Robert Ng and Sir Michael Stoute.
Godolphin Japan's Harry Sweeney also figured among the first-day purchasers, going to €240,000 for lot 16, Lodge Park Stud's Lope De Vega (Ire) filly out of the Italian Group 3 winner Palanca (GB) (Inchinor {GB}).
Off To A Flyer
Early signs that the session would be strong came as the sale started on a positive note when American-based agent Shawn Dugan stepped in to buy the second horse through the ring, a Frankel (GB) half-sister to crack sprinter Kingsgate Native (Ire) (Mujadil) for €500,000. Bred by Coolmore, lot 2 was consigned by Baroda & Colbinstown Studs.
The Frankel filly was followed by the first yearling by the freshman Free Eagle (Ire) to sell at the Orby and he was given a big vote of confidence by Sheikh Hamdan's Shadwell team, which went to €400,000 for the half-brother to G3 Concorde S. winner Yellow Rosebud (Ire) (Jeremy), who was bred and consigned by the Irish National Stud, where his young sire stands.
The colt (lot 3), who hails from the further family of Shadwell's Group 3 winner Heeraat (Ire) (Dark Angel {Ire}), is a son of the unraced Nebraas (GB) (Green Desert), whose seven runners are all winners, including listed victrix Seeharn (Ire) (Pivotal {GB}).
“It's great that he's going to Shadwell and to have had Ross Doyle as the underbidder,” said the Irish National Stud Manager Cathal Beale. “Ger Lyons also bought a Free Eagle yearling early today so that's really positive from our perspective.”
He added, “Nebraas has been a remarkable mare for the stud, a real top producer, and she has a Siyouni colt at foot and is in foal to another of our young stallions, Decorated Knight.”
Muhaarar Colt For Shadwell
Beach Bunny (Ire) (High Chaparral {Ire}), a 25,000gns yearling purchase, did her owner Lady O'Reilly proud in her racing days, winning a listed race and being touched off by a short-head in the G1 Pretty Polly S. by Dar Re Mi (GB) (Singspiel {Ire}), and she has continued her success story at stud. Two of her offspring—Naadirr (Ire) (Oasis Dream {GB}) and Beach Belle (GB) (Invincible Spirit {Ire})—are now listed winners and the mare's latest yearling (lot 198), a first-crop son of Muhaarar (GB), brought Skymarc Farm a bid of €500,000 from Shadwell's Stephen Collins.
Latrobe's Brother To Hong Kong
A Zoffany (Ire) half-brother to G1 Irish Derby winner Latrobe (Ire) (Camelot {GB}) will eventually race in Hong Kong after being bought by agent Suzanne Roberts for €325,000. Lot 42 was bred by Sweetmans Bloodstock and sold by Joe Hernon's Castletown Stud.
“He's been bought for Ben Wong and will go to Hong Kong after starting off here,” said Roberts. “The same owner has this colt's half-brother Entangling, who I bought here a few years ago and he will be returning from Hong Kong to be trained by Davis Elsworth in the UK.”
She added, “The mare tends to throw to the sire, which in my experience is usually a sign that they're good. She's a young Shamardal mare who has done nothing wrong so far.”
In addition to his Classic-winning half-sibling, the colt is also a half-brother to the G3 Gladness S. winner Diamond Fields (Ire), who, like the aforementioned dual winner Entangling (Ire), is by Fastnet Rock (Aus).
The second and final part of the Orby Sale begins at the earlier time of 10 a.m. on Wednesday.
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