Grade III stakes winner Cover Song (Fastnet Rock {Aus}–Misty for Me {Ire}, by Galileo {Ire}) will become the first mare in foal to Dubawi (Ire) to ever sell at the Fasig-Tipton November sale when she is offered Nov. 4. Cover Song will also be the first to sell of a dispersal of owner Bobby Flay's European-based bloodstock, the remainder of which will be offered at the Tattersalls December Breeding Stock Sales. Cover Song will be consigned to Fasig-Tipton November by Elite Sales, while Baroda & Colbinstown will handle a consignment at Tattersalls.
“She has basically become too valuable for me to keep,” said Flay of his decision to sell the mare he purchased for $1,600,000 at the 2016 November Sale. “That's really the bottom line. You don't think you're going to get six Grade I upgrades in a year when you buy something, but it happened, and this is probably one of the best families to be offered in decades.”
“The opportunity to offer a mare at public auction with the quality and depth of pedigree like Cover Song is extremely rare,” said Fasig-Tipton president Boyd Browning. “Since she was purchased by Bobby Flay at our November Sale in 2016, both of her siblings to race—Roly Poly and U S Navy Flag—have won multiple Grade I races, and U S Navy Flag is a champion. Her own dam, the champion and multiple Group 1 winner Misty For Me (Ire), has produced two additional foals by War Front and is back in foal to War Front. Equally exciting, this is the first mare ever offered in foal to Dubawi at the Fasig-Tipton November Sale. Cover Song is truly a once-in-a-lifetime offering and we are honored to sell her.”
In Europe, Flay's dispersal includes three mares in foal to Frankel (GB), Dark Angel (Ire) and Invincible Spirit (Ire); two racing or broodmare prospects, and three foals. They will be offered at the 2018 Tattersalls December Breeding Stock Sale.
“Racing and breeding thoroughbreds in Europe has been a rewarding and fruitful experience for me over the last decade,” said Flay. “The people who own the farms, run the sales companies and train the horses have been nothing but great partners in my quest to run a successful business. I have decided, however, to disperse my European stock at upcoming sales and they will be offered without a reserve. To be clear, I am not leaving the business as a whole. In fact, I will continue to add more robust pedigrees to my American team now and in the future. This decision is strictly based on geography and where I spend most of my time. I look forward to seeing these special horses find new homes and at the same time I look forward to a more focused domestic business.”
Of Flay's involvement at the December Sale, Jimmy George, marketing director at Tattersalls, added, “Bobby Flay has always placed an emphasis on outstanding quality over quantity and his eight lots selling without reserve at the Tattersalls December Sale are a tribute to his vision. We are proud and honoured to be offering this elite team of foals and breeding stock on his behalf and confident that the Tattersalls December Sale is the appropriate stage on which to offer stock with such genuine global appeal.”
Flay was asked, given his schedule, if racing and breeding on two continents might have been an overly ambitious plan. “It was something I was interested in because I felt like it was good way to hedge the marketplace in terms of the dollar versus the euro,” he said. “There are ups and downs on both sides. If you're in both, it's a good way to hedge your bets. From a business standpoint, that's how I looked at it. From a personal standpoint, it was a way to enjoy racing in a place I don't live, in Europe, but the bottom line is I don't like being an absentee owner, either in my restaurant business, or my Thoroughbred business.”
Flay stressed that his retreat from Europe would mean a more concentrated American operation.
“This means more focus on my American interests,” said Flay. “More focus, more resources. It's always driven by breeding, whether it's a yearling filly or a mare that I buy with a great pedigree. I try only to play at the top of the market.”
“We are honored to have the opportunity to present the most elite young pedigree to come to public auction in quite some time,” said Elite Sales President Bradley Weisbord. “As a 5-year-old, she represents the best combination of age, ability, family and covering sire ever presented. She is in foal on her first cover to international super sire Dubawi, who is out of the reach of many breeders. Her dam, Misty for Me, was a champion, and both of her siblings are recent multiple Group 1 winners. It's extremely rare for a young mare like this to come to public auction, and she will appeal to every major breeding operation around the world.”
Said David Cox of Baroda & Colbinstown, “We are looking forward to selling an exciting draft for Bobby Flay as part of the dispersal of his European breeding stock at the Tattersalls December Breeding Stock Sales. There are some exceptional mares. Among the top-class pedigrees are Auld Alliance (Ire), a Montjeu (Ire) mare from one of the great Ballymacoll families and she is in foal again to the great Frankel. The three foals are all by hugely popular sires, including Dark Angel (Ire) (American Spirit), Frankel (Auld Alliance) and Invincible Spirit (Ire) (Albisola).”
The SP Auld Alliance is a half-sister to 2001 G1 2000 Guineas hero Golan (Ire) (Spectrum {Ire}), who also won the G1 Queen Elizabeth Diamond S. and Tartan Bearer (Ire) (Spectrum {Ire}), who was a MGSW in Europe and ran second in the 2008 G1 Epsom Derby and third later that year in the G1 Dubai Duty Free Irish Derby. English highweight North Light (Ire) (Danehill), who did succeed in the Blue Riband at Epsom in 2004, is under the French Group 3 winning third dam Edinburgh (GB) (Charlottown {GB}). American Spirit (Rock of Gibraltar {Ire}) is a half-sister to the European champion and three-time Group 1 winner Authorized (Ire) (Montjeu {Ire}), while Albisola struck at the Group 3 level in France. The latter is a half-sister to G1 Criterium International second and GSW Johnny Barnes (Ire) (Acclamation {GB}), as well as the dam of American and French top-level winner Ectot (GB) (Hurricane Run {Ire}).
The Fasig-Tipton November Sale takes place Sunday, Nov. 4. The Tattersalls December Breeding Stock Sale runs from Wednesday, Nov. 28 through Thursday, Dec. 6.
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