Demand High At Restructured July Sale

NEWMARKET, UK—Broodmares led the way through the first session of the mixed Tattersalls July Sale, an auction which is usually broken into morning and evening sessions to allow for the excellent racing on offer down the road at the July Course. This year, however, the reduced crowd drawn to Park Paddocks dodged showers and caught the racing action on screens around the sales grounds while the only show in town with a controlled audience continued apace within the ring.

Direct comparisons to the regular July Sale are worthless. The traditional five sessions across three days have become two day-long sessions, and another mixed sale will take place at Tattersalls on Aug. 25 and 26 for the first time. The stand-out figure from Thursday's returns was the 96% clearance rate: only eight of the 194 horses offered did not find a buyer. From the 186 sold, turnover of 4,172,000gns was recorded at an average of 22,430gns and a median price of 13,250gns.

Ballyhane Stud's Prince Of Lir (Ire) has been in the news of late courtesy of his first-crop Group 2-winning son The Lir Jet (Ire) but it was his sister's turn in the spotlight on Thursday when she became the first six-figure lot of the sale. Kalagia (Ire) (Kodiac {GB}) won three races when in training with Mark Johnston and fetched 55,000gns when offered at the December Sale last year. Now five and carrying her first foal by Highclere Stud's Land Force (Ire) she was sold by that same farm for 130,000gns to National Stud manager Tim Lane.

“I've bought her on behalf of a British breeder who is also a client of ours,” Lane said of lot 232. “She has a good commercial pedigree and Prince Of Lir has made a good start.”

Kalagia has another stakes performer as a half-sibling in Nitro Boost (Ire), a listed-winning daughter of Dandy Man (Ire) and the family's speedy credentials are augmented by the G3 Champagne Sprint S. winner Resplendent Glory (Ire) (Namid {GB}), a half-brother to Kalagia's dam Esuvia (Ire) (Whipper).

Drafts from major breeding operations Juddmonte, Shadwell, Cheveley Park Stud and Godolphin were among the first-day offerings and the first mare in the ring from Godolphin equalled the 130,000gns paid for Kalagia.

Tony Nerses, representing Blue Diamond Stud, was the buyer this time around of New Jazz, a 4-year-old daughter of Scat Daddy sold in foal to young Darley sire Harry Angel (Ire). Originally bought for $550,000 at Keeneland's September Yearling Sale, New Jazz, who landed a mile maiden for John Gosden, is out of the listed winner Seanchai (English Channel). Next year she is already pencilled in to visit Blue Diamond's Irish National Stud-based stallion Decorated Knight (GB).

“We always wanted a Scat Daddy and we saw her as a yearling but she was beyond our pocket then,” said Nerses of lot 251. “She is a lovely individual and we are glad to get her now. We hope to cover with our own stallion, she should suit him.”

Also in foal to Harry Angel was Gentlewoman, a 4-year-old daughter of Shamardal out of Satin Kiss (Seeking The Gold), a sister to G1 Middle Park S. winner Lujain. Trainer Roger Varian signed the ticket for the young mare (lot 393) at 125,000gns on behalf of an unnamed international breeder who had been unable to travel to the sale.

Bringing Them Home
Both David and Diane Nagle of Barronstown Stud and Fiona and Mick Denniff of Denniff Farms stepped in to be reunited with fillies bred and previously sold by them as yearlings.

For Nagle, his purchase of Monya (Ire) (Dark Angel {Ire}) from Shadwell at 100,000gns was a small outlay compared to the 4-year-old's Book 1 yearling price of 425,000gns. Since that time she has been in training with Charlie Hills and has placed twice in three starts. The grey filly (lot 321) is a half-sister to two classy performers who have helped to keep the Barronstown name in lights in recent years: last year's G2 Juddmonte Royal Lodge S. winner Royal Dornoch (Ire) (Gleneagles {Ire}) and the super tough German 1000 Guineas heroine Hawksmoor (Ire) (Azamour {Ire}), whose six victories include five Group/Graded wins in Europe and America.

Fiona Denniff went to 70,000gns to take home the 4-year-old winner Maximum Effect (GB), who again represents a family which had been very kind to the breeder of late. Sold as lot 367, the daughter of Iffraaj (GB) is a half-sister to the G3 Molecomb S. winner and G1 Commonwealth Cup runner-up Kachy (GB) (Kyllachy {GB}) and to the 94-rated 3-year-old Gifted Ruler (GB) (Muhaarar {Ire}). She had been sold as a yearling for 120,000gns to Lady Bamford and finished in the first three in seven of her eight starts through her time in training with John Gosden.

Denniff, bidding outside in the rain with agent Mark McStay, said after securing the filly, “I've made a habit of selling my fillies and somebody else racing them, then I buy them back. I came down this morning in my lorry hoping to get her. She looks remarkably like her dam and I have her at home with a Harry Angel foal. I must admit this is way more than I was expecting to pay.”

Maximum Effect is a daughter of Dubai Bounty (GB) (Dubai Destination) and is from a family which also includes the fellow Denniff-bred Group 2-winning miler Beat The Bank (GB) (Paco Boy {Ire}).

“Dubai Bounty has a yearling colt by Showcasing. We will retain him, and Tom Dascombe thinks a lot of Gifted Ruler, too,” Denniff added.

Vega's Baby
Vega's Angel (GB) (Lope De Vega {Ire}) has had a busy start to 2020. The Cheveley Park Stud-owned 3-year-old made her racecourse debut on Jan. 20, broke her maiden at Lingfield on Feb. 21 and a month later was covered by the stud's young stallion Ulysses (Ire). Offered in the Cheveley Park Stud draft as lot 382, she was bought by James Kelly of Linacre Stud in partnership with Normandy-based Haras du Mont Dit Mont in Normandy.

“She's from a family I have been trying to get into for 20 years,” said Kelly of the daughter of the prolific racemare Lily's Angel (Ire) (Dark Angel {Ire}), whose ten victories included the G3 Chartwell Fillies' S. “We sell foals, so that will be the plan, and we will put a good cover on her and have some fun with her hopefully.”

Her family has been particularly successful for George Strawbridge for a number of years. The owner-breeder bought Vega's Angel's third dam Bellarida (Fr) (Bellypha {GB}) from the Wertheimer family back in 1997 and from her bred the Group 3 winner In Clover (GB) (Inchinor {GB}), who is in turn the dam of three Group 1 winners in We Are (Ire) (Dansili {GB}), With You (GB) (Dansili {GB}) and Call The Wind (GB) (Frankel {GB}).

Angel Delights
Highclere Stud was involved as vendor of the co-top lot of the day but it will also gain a new recruit to its paddocks in lot 366, Indigo Angel (Ire) (Dark Angel {Ire}), who was offered on behalf of Rifa Mustang by the Castlebridge Consignment.

The sister to the young stallion and G2 July S. winner Alhebayeb (Ire) was sold in foal to the Tweenhills shuttler Zoustar (Aus) and brought the hammer down at 70,000gns.

“We are big fans of Dark Angel,” said Highclere's Jake Warren. “She is in foal to Zoustar, a leading stallion in Australia, and we have liked the foals we have seen by him. She is also a full-sister to a top-class juvenile in Alhebayeb. She will come back to Highclere Stud for a partnership.”

Online Action
Continuing the facility brought in for the breeze-up sales, purchasers who have been prevented from visiting the sale in person under the current travel restrictions have been able to get involved online through the internet bidding platform. Forty-two individuals placed online bids on approximately 50 lots throughout Thursday's session.

Among the five horses sold that way on Thursday was lot 406, Arabian Girl (Ire), a daughter of Shamardal and the G3 Ballyogan S. winner Majestic Queen (Ire) (Kheleyf), who fetched 75,000gns to final bid from a buyer listed under the name 'Against All Odds'. The 3-year-old's dam was purchased by Godolphin through the Goffs London Sale of 2015 for £825,000. Arabian Girl, who is unraced, was the mare's first foal.

The final session of the July Sale takes place from 10am on Friday.