By Sue Finley
At €65,000, St Mark's Basilica (Fr) was the most expensive horse to retire to stud in 2022, with a racetrack performance and pedigree that justified the fee. After all, he was the world-champion three-year-old, European champion two-year-old and Cartier Horse of the Year, with a race record that included five straight Group 1 wins, from the Dewhurst at two straight through to the Irish Champion Stakes the following autumn. By Siyouni (Fr) out of the Galileo (Ire) Group-winning mare Cabaret (Ire), he is a half-brother to the Classic winner Magna Grecia (Ire).
As expected, St Mark's Basilica's first yearlings were in demand at Arqana August, the first major yearling sale on the European calendar, with nine selling for an average of €406,666, establishing him as the runaway leader among first-crop yearling sires. And there's still lots to come; there are 20 more catalogued in Book 1 at Goffs Orby, and another 16 in Book 1 at Tattersalls.
It's also of interest to note that St Mark's Basilica's full-sister appears in Book 1 of the Tattersalls October Yearling Sale, offered as lot 107 by Norelands Stud, where the mare is boarded by Australian breeder Bob Scarborough.
In the wake of his performance at Arqana, St Mark's Basilica appears to be well on his way to living up to the pre-sales reviews for his yearlings.
Ecurie des Monceaux's Henri Bozo, who topped the sale with a €1.7 million St. Mark's Basilica filly, brought three fillies by the sire to the sale, averaging €850,000 per.
“St Mark's Basilica was a very impressive performer,” said Bozo. “He was exceptional. He showed early, early quality, early speed. He won the (G1) Dewhurst, the (G1) French Guineas and the (G1) French Derby, which is a stallion-making race, and the (G1) Eclipse. He was a top-class two-year-old, and the best three-year-old in Europe. So he was an obvious horse that we were going to use and we sent him four mares the first year.”
One of those mares was Prudenzia, the dam of G1 Irish Oaks winner Chicquita (Montjeu) and G1 Mackinnon Stakes winner Magic Wand (Galileo {Ire}).
“The St Mark's Basilica–Prudenzia yearling has been outstanding since she was born here. She was a very easy mover with a lot of quality, a very good mind, and a lot of power in front. She was a queen, really. We all agreed that we were very happy to show strong support to St Mark's Basilica. Coolmore had been great supporters of Prudenzia's progeny over the years. So it was a pleasure to support him with a top-class mare.”
Michel Zerolo compared St Mark's Basilica's offspring to those of Nureyev prior to the sale, and came away with one, a filly from Haras d'Ellon for €200,000.
“In general, they have good balance, athleticism, a very expressive head with a wide forehead and good eye,” said Zerolo. “The sort of horse that I like. From the looks of them, they look to be precocious. Maybe not Royal Ascot precocious, but definitely two-year-olds and I would expect them to be milers.” Of the filly he purchased, he said, “She was a very good mover. Not overly big, but very athletic. It's a family that I have had good luck with. So the whole thing attracted me.”
Other buyers of his yearlings included Japanese trainer Yoshito Yahagi; Al Shaqab, which spent €775,000 on two fillies; Mandore International; and Hubert Guy.
“The St Mark's Basilicas were overall really nice yearlings,” said Guy, who bought lot 114 for €90,000, and who lost out on lot 160 when he went to €225,000 and was purchased by Al Shaqab. “The colt I bought looked exactly like a good Siyouni. He walked extremely well, and he has a lot of growth ahead of him, so I thought he would have brought much more in the October sale, and when he balances out, he's going to be a lovely horse. There are a lot of similarities between his yearlings and the Siyounis. They are very straightforward in the look, in their eyes. Very good movers, like Siyounis. Athletic, and neither too big nor too small.”
David O'Loughlin, Coolmore's Director of Sales said he saw his maternal grandsire in him. “There is a lot of Galileo in them,” he said. “He has the most magnificent head, which is always a trait of the Galileos. When he's walking, he has that Galileo walk, that lovely, graceful, extended action and Galileo gives so much quality to his produce. And like Galileo, he was a tough horse. But Galileo got beaten in the Irish Champion stakes. And so St. Mark's Basilica went one step further.”
With three dozen more getting ready to go through the ring in the next two weeks, can the sire keep up the momentum? O'Loughlin said he's hopeful.
“Look, I'm very I'm very excited about St Mark's Basilica,” he said. “I hate that expression `ticks all the boxes,' but he reminds me of horses like Sadler's Wells and Galileo. You know those proper horses with a lot of class, who were tough and could win a lot of good ones, with the physical and the pedigree to match. And they're pretty unique. They only come along every few years. So fingers crossed he can get the business done for us.”
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