Camilleri's Kingman Colt Leads The Way

NEWMARKET, UK—On a day when Kingman (GB) was given the ultimate boost by being announced as the first suitor of Enable (GB), one of his sons played a leading role in the first session of Tattersalls October Book 2, following on from some notable returns during last week's Book 1.

Godolphin has already had its share of success with the progeny of Kingman, notably through Group 1-winning colts Persian King (Ire) and Palace Pier (GB), and Anthony Stroud added another by the sire to Sheikh Mohammed's string for next year when outbidding Joseph O'Brien at 400,000gns for lot 576.

The son of the 8-year-old Rip Van Winkle (Ire) mare Allez Y (Ire) was bred by Australian John Camilleri, best known in the racing world as the breeder of superstar Winx (Aus), and was offered on his behalf by Harry McCalmont's Norelands Stud.

“He is a well-balanced horse, he moves well and we have had a lot of luck with Kingman,” said Stroud. “He is from Norelands, who do such a good job, and he will go to France to be trained by Andre Fabre.”

McCalmont added that Allez Y has been covered by Lope De Vega (Ire) to southern hemisphere time and will soon be joining Camilleri's broodmare band in Australia.

“I am delighted I have sold a good horse for him, very happy,” said McCalmont.

Allez Y is a daughter of the champion race filly L'Ancresse (Ire) (Darshaan {GB}) and a half-sister to the Lloyd Williams-owned Master Of Reality (Ire), one of four Joseph O'Brien-trained horses to have arrived in Australia recently to contest the Melbourne Cup in November.

The trade in Book 1, though reduced, was highly encouraging in the current circumstances and the same can certainly be said for the first of three Book 2 sessions. The clearance rate rose three points to 85% as 216 of the 255 yearlings offered found a buyer. The average dipped by 10% to 70,539gns and the median by 5% to 52,000gns. The day's aggregate of 15,236,500gns was down by just 5%. 

D-Day For Churchill Filly
The first book of dual Classic winner Churchill (Ire) included a mare of rare appeal. Date With Destiny (Ire), the sole offspring of the ill-fated George Washington (Ire), earned some small black type herself when third in the Lingfield Oaks Trial and her subsequent mating with Galileo (Ire) produced the G3 Royal Whip S winner Beautiful Morning (GB). 

Newsells Park Stud sent the 12-year-old mare back to Coolmore to visit Galileo's son Churchill and were rewarded with 350,000gns for the resultant yearling (lot 718). The filly was signed for by Anthony Stroud.

Date With Destiny raced in the colours of Julie Wood and was bought as a 3-year-old for 185,000gns by Newsells Park Stud, who also owned her half-sister Flawly (GB) (Old Vic {GB}).

“We'd had some luck with the family before,” said stud manager Julian Dollar. “Flawly was one of the first mares we bought and she produced [Group 3 winer and Classic-placed] Best Name (GB). We were very fond of the family so when the opportunity came to buy a bit more of it, we came in with her.”

He added, “The Churchill was an interesting mating going back to something familiar but to put in a bit more speed and precocity. The mare was herself quite precocious.”

Churchill has 21 yearlings catalogued in Book 2 and the seven offered on Monday were all sold for an average of 80,571gns.

Model Start For Delevigne
Model Queen ((Kingmambo) has already heaped reflected glory on Highclere Stud, notably through her July Cup-winning son Regal Parade (GB) (Pivotal {GB}), and the baton passed to another of her offspring on Monday at Tattersalls. The 5-year-old mare Delevigne (GB) (Redoute's Choice {Aus}) may have retired to the paddocks unraced but her first foal became one of the most expensive fillies of the day when bought by Alastair Donald for 350,000gns.

The Dark Angel (Ire) filly will join the King Power racing team, which enjoyed a stellar Saturday on the Rowley Mile with a hat-trick of Group wins on Future Champions Day.

Donald said of lot 722, “I loved her. She was my favourite filly in the sale. We stretched bit to get her, everyone was on her. She walks for fun and it is a lovely family to be involved with.”

David Redvers had eyes for another daughter of Dark Angel and jumped in when the bidding reached 360,000gns for lot 767, the sister to German listed winner Dark Liberty (Ire). The agent was pushed to 390,000gns to secure her for Qatar Racing.

“She's one for the long term, for our breeding plan. She looked all speed, a little cracker,” he said of the Yeomanstown Stud-bred filly whose half-sister Queen Of Love (Ire) (Kingman {GB}) won the listed Prix Coronation at Saint-Cloud after the publication of the catalogue. 

Mehmas Success Story Continues
The popularity of Tally-Ho Stud's young stallion Mehmas (Ire) has grown with each winner he has notched this season, and he now leads the first-crop sires of Europe with 35 individual winners to his credit, including the G1 Middle Park S. hero Supremacy (Ire).

Another milestone was passed on Monday when lot 600, a half-brother to the stakes-placed Ziarah (Ire) (Iffraaj {GB}), became his most expensive yearling at 320,000gns.

The colt, who is out of the unraced Ashtown Girl (Ire), an Exceed And Excel (Aus) half-sister to classy sprinter Hot Streak (Ire) (Iffraaj {GB}), was signed for by  Tom Goff, who was standing between John Gosden and Kia Joorabchian of Amo Racing.

“I think we can say that Mehmas has been something of a revelation,” said Goff. “Some people wrote him off as cheap speed but he has defied that. My brief was to buy a colt who would make a sharp 2-year-old and this is a lovely colt out of an Exceed And Excel mare. He will go to John Gosden.”

 The colt, bred by the Noonan family, was “the busiest of the sale” according to John Noonan of Cregg Stud, who consigned him.

He added, “I bred his dam and didn't sell her as a yearling but she has been very good to us since then. She is now in foal to Ribchester (Ire).”

A Mehmas colt was also on the list of Charlie Gordon-Watson, who bought lot 731 on behalf of Al Shaqab Racing at 160,000gns. The Tally-Ho Stud-bred colt is out of Diaminda (Ire) (Diamond Green {Fr}), a half-sister to G1 Golden Jubilee S winner Fayr Jag (Ire) (Fayruz {GB}).

Al Shaqab has focused much of its buying on the French market of late but picked up two yearlings in Newmarket on Monday, the other being lot 655, Barton Stud's Teofilo (Ire) colt out of the Italian listed winner Cape Magic (Ire) (Cape Cross {Ire}), for 200,000gns.

Derby Dreams For Strawberry Fields
Gary Robinson of Strawberry Fields Stud brought just one yearling to Book 2 and the strapping son of Nathaniel (Ire) (lot 724) made the top ten on Tuesday when selling for 280,000gns to Richard Brown of Blandford Bloodstock. 

It has been quite a reversal of fortune for the Green Desert mare Desert Berry (GB), whose first four offspring are all by the late Archipenko. One of those was bought back by Robinson for 1,000gns at the December Foal Sale of 2016 but ever since his year-older brother Archie McKellar (GB) advertised the family's prowess by becoming a Group 3 winner in Hong Kong under the name of Flying Thunder, the mare's subsequent yearlings have not been overlooked. The Hong Kong Jockey Club bought Archie McKellar's full-brother for 425,000gns at Book 2 last year, but the Nathaniel colt looks set to remain in Europe.

“He is an exceptional mover,” said Brown, who did not divulge the horse's new owner. “He is going to need some time but he looks a real Classic type.”

Robinson, who raced the colt's half-sister, six-time winner Rose Berry (GB) (Archipenko), said with a smile, “I bought the mare from Chris Dwyer and she's been good to us. He looks a real Classic colt, I expect to see him win the Derby.”

Back at Strawberry Fields Stud in Fulbourn, just outside Newmarket, Desert Berry also has an Al Kazeem (GB) filly foal and is in foal to Study Of Man (Ire).

Loughtown Filly In Fashion
A mid-May foaling date proved no barrier to the popularity of Loughtown Stud's daughter of Invincible Spirit (Ire) (lot 700) out of the stakes-placed Cristal Fashion (Ire) (Jeremy), who was bought by Ross Doyle at 220,000gns and will go into training with Richard Hannon.

“The mare has a top back pedigree,” said Loughtown's Paddy Burns, who bought Cristal Fashion, a grand-daughter of the G3 May Hill S. winner Solar Crystal (Ire) (Alzao), for €25,000 at the Goffs November Sale. 

He added, “The whole team at home have done a top job and I'd just like to thank my head man Tom Brinkley, my wife Helena and everyone. She has gone to a great stable and wish them all the best with her. She has been a cracker all the way through.”

Doyle said. “I told Richard Hannon that I thought she was the best filly I had seen for the three days, and he agreed and decided we had to have her.”

He added, “She is from a great nursery and is out of a black-type mare. The last time we bought an Invincible Spirit yearling out of a black-type mare was [G2 Flying Childers winner] Zebedee (GB).”

Holy Pinhook
Bloodstock agents Johnny and Susie McKeever have been absent from the European sales circuit this year as Susie continues medical treatment in Australia, and the couple received a great pick-me-up with a foal pinhook purchased last year in partnership with James Hanly of Ballyhimikin Stud. 

The Holy Roman Emperor (Ire) relation to Anna Salai (Dubawi {Ire}) and National Defense (GB) (Invincible Spirit {Ire}), sold near the end of the session as lot 783, had been purchased from breeder Stuart McPhee as a foal last November for €30,000 and sold on Monday for 235,000gns to SackvilleDonald. 

McPhee bought the colt's dam, the unraced Pivotal (GB) mare Fire Heroine, for 6,000gns from Darley in 2015.

“The McKeevers and I picked him out together. Johnny and Susie are in Australia and they were watching on. They are thrilled,” Hanly said.