Lexington Calling for European Breeders 

In some respects, it feels culpably parochial to sieve the forthcoming breeding stock sales in Kentucky for mares of blatant interest to European prospectors. After a generation of insularity, you would hope that a few more people in the Old World may now be renewing their respect for “dirt” blood now that an American Triple Crown winner has come up with a European champion juvenile in only his second crop. But even those who remain benighted in their mistrust of speed-carrying American lines have much to consider in the catalogues consecutively offered by Fasig-Tipton on November 7, and by Keeneland in Book 1 of its bumper sale the following day.

Not that the goods will come cheap. Arguably the domestic market is further advanced in the process of transatlantic reconnection, with American investors increasingly active in both the yearling and breeding stock sales in Europe. Both catalogues, then, are strewn with mares eligible to attract bids from either side of the water.

Nothing will make the Europeans feel more at home than the arrival of SAUTERNE (Fr) (Kingman {GB}) into the Fasig-Tipton ring as Hip 178. This feels like a remarkable coup at the expense of auction houses closer to her home. Actually Sauterne has twice failed to find a buyer in European auctions, retained by breeder Jean-Pierre-Joseph Dubois at €130,000 as an Arqana August yearling and then again at £1.2 million at the eve-of-Ascot Goffs Sale in London. Already Classic-placed by that stage, she has since beaten the colts in the G1 Prix du Moulin—with runner-up Big Rock (Fr) (Rock Of Gibraltar {Ire}) last weekend boosting the form with his Group 1 romp in the Ascot mud. Her stats could be further burnished before she graces the Fasig-Tipton ring, as she holds a pre-entry into the GI FanDuel Breeders' Cup Mile on Saturday, Nov. 4.

Her sire has plenty of traction with American investors, but presumably it's the international nature of her overall pedigree that has brought her over to this marketplace. Her dam, as an unraced daughter of Aragorn (Ire), may remind us of the left-field provenance of so many top-class producers, but simultaneously introduces a cosmopolitan dynasty through her half-sister Stacelita (Fr) (Monsun {Ger}), herself a six-time elite scorer either side of the Atlantic and meanwhile dam in Japan not only of dual Group 1 winner Soul Stirring (Jpn) (Frankel {GB}) but also of the mare who has now given us Stars On Earth (Jpn) (Duramente {Jpn}) to win the G1 Japanese Oaks.

Nobody could strictly describe Breeders' Cup winner PIZZA BIANCA (Fastnet Rock {Aus}) as an unprecedented opportunity, in that she was actually offered for sale this time last year, before being retained by her breeder Bobby Flay at $3.45 million. In returning to Fasig-Tipton as Hip 168, however, she brings the bonus of a covering by champion sire Into Mischief. That promises a lucrative opportunity to “hedge” the investment in such a young mare, whose success in the GI Juvenile Fillies' Turf at Del Mar two years ago is underpinned by a resonant international pedigree. For she combines the two game-changing Northern Dancer lines, with a sire by Danehill and her dam White Hot (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) being an unraced three-parts sister to G1 Derby winner Pour Moi (Ire) (Montjeu {Ire}).

WHITE HOT (Ire) herself comes under the hammer at Keeneland the next day, as Hip 170. She's still only 10, and is similarly carrying an Into Mischief foal. Remember that besides her kinship to Pour Moi, she's also a sibling to Classic-placed Gagnoa (Ire) (Sadler's Wells), dam of two Group-winning sprinters.

Flay also presents COVER SONG (Fastnet Rock (Aus}) at Keeneland (221), having retained her across town five years ago at $3.9 million. Herself a graded stakes scorer, she's out of Classic winner Misty For Me (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) who has also produced two stars by War Front in triple Group 1 sprinter U S Navy Flag and Classic-placed Roly Poly. Cover Song is another in foal to Into Mischief, and their weanling colt follows her into the ring as Hip 222.

There are a couple of neon European updates about STARS AT NIGHT (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}). Most obviously, her son Poker Face (Fastnet Rock {Aus}) has extended his winning spree in the G2 Prix Daniel Wildenstein since her inclusion in the Keeneland catalogue as Hip 473. But Stars At Night is also a sibling to the dam of Darnation (Ire) (Too Darn Hot {GB}), winner of the G2 May Hill S. in September. Besides these fresh distinctions, she is also a half-sister to G1 1,000 Guineas winner Blue Bunting (Dynaformer). Like many of the most attractive mares coming under the hammer in Lexington, Stars At Night is in foal to Justify. 

While she is only 10, those seeking slightly fresher blood have the option of Poker Face's full sister STAR DEVINE (Ire) (Fastnet Rock {Aus}), who has rubbed shoulders with some pretty smart animals at graded stakes level and is offered as Hip 188 at Fasig-Tipton. She still has the option of persevering on the racetrack.

One that has shown elite caliber on both sides of the water is FEV ROVER (Ire) (Guitafan {Ire}), offered at Fasig as Hip 230. Hers has already been quite an odyssey. Once a £20,000 Doncaster yearling, she made 695,000gns at Tattersalls a couple of years ago as a Group-winning juvenile who had gone on to be Classic-placed. But she continued in training for her new owners in North America, and very productively, too: her recent GI E.P. Taylor S. success being her second elite score, besides a couple of others at Grade II level, and now heads to the GI Filly & Mare Turf at the Breeders' Cup. 

DALIKA (Ger) (Pastorius {Ger}) looks a very wholesome proposition as Hip 223 at Keeneland for anyone enlightened enough to seek some of the German hardware that has been so fertile over recent years. Stakes-placed in Europe, she has become a millionaire in the United States in combining class with teak across four seasons, crowning her resume in the GI Beverley D. Oh yes, and her maiden cover is by Flightline.

Another triumphant migrant is ANISETTE (GB) (Awtaad {Ire}), once a 26,000gns yearling at Tattersalls who broke her maiden in Britain before adapting brilliantly to California, winning an allowance, the GII San Clemente S. and the GI Del Mar Oaks. Hip 179 at Keeneland still doesn't have many miles on the clock, so could very feasibly resume on the track; her next career, meanwhile, is helped by the fact that she's out of a half-sister to GI Nassau S. winner Sultanina (GB) (New Approach {Ire}).

SHANTISARA (Ire) (Coulsty {Ire}), Hip 181 at Fasig-Tipton, has also come an awfully long way, in every sense, since making just 10,000gns as a Tattersalls Guineas breezer. Having started out in France, she joined Chad Brown and won the GI Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup at Keeneland by five lengths. Also a Grade II winner this year, at five, Shantisara put her sire on the map and might appear obliged to do the same for her immediate family. But her page definitely repays closer inspection: misfortune restricted the output of both her first two dams, and the third is a Group-placed sibling to several Aga Khan black-type performers and/or producers—including the mother of Derby winner High Chaparral (Ire)—out of G1 Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe third Kozana (GB) (Kris {GB}).

Shantisara was followed home in her Grade I by TECHNICAL ANALYSIS (Ire) (Kingman {GB}), who was found as a Tattersalls Book 1 yearling by Klaravich Stables and has racked up four graded stakes for Brown. Her second dam is half-sister to a Melbourne Cup winner, an Irish Derby runner-up and a Group 1-placed juvenile. Technical Analysis, offered as Hip 145 at Keeneland, won another stakes at Saratoga this summer and is another race-or-breed option.

Her original purchaser Federico Barberini was also the man who found WED (Fr) (Profitable {Ire}) for €32,000, as an Arqana October yearling, and she proceeded to win the G2 Prix du Calvados over the road the following summer. Wed hasn't paid off in the U.S. but they can't take her second dam away—and she's a full sister to Street Cry (Ire). You can find her at Keeneland as Hip 164.

Another rags-to-riches tale concerns MANHATTAN JUNGLE (Ire) (Bungle Inthejungle {GB}), a €20,000 Goffs Sportsman's graduate who proved a smart juvenile for Amy Murphy—won her first three, included a Listed race, before going down by a length in the G3 Prix de Cabourg—before confirming her stakes calibre in California. With her sire, and first two dams by Acclamation (GB) and Indian Ridge (Ire), Hip 51 at Keeneland—offered as a racing or broodmare prospect—will presumably find more traction in the latter role back over the water.

Originally a €10,000 RNA at Fairyhouse, QUATTROELLE (Ire) (Mehmas {Ire}) started her career with a close third in a Leopardstown 2-year-old maiden and was promptly exported to California. She has thrived with maturity, and as a 5-year-old this year won at Grade II and III level over a mile before going down by just a length in the GI Gamely S. on her final start. Offered as Hip 170 at Fasig, she's out of a Stormy River half-sister to the stakes-winning dam of Dramatised (Ire) (Showcasing {GB}), winner of the G2 Queen Mary S. for Karl Burke last year before being narrowly foiled in the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint.

ROCKY SKY (Ire) (Rock Of Gibraltar {Ire}) follows soon after as Hip 175. A Listed winner in her native Ireland, she was recruited by Peter Brant for whom she won a graded stakes on grass at Aqueduct last year. Her family has old school lustre, with a second dam by Shirley Heights out of G1 Prix de Diane winner Lypharita (Fr) (Lightning {Fr}).

Hip 187 is another Brant import in SPEAK OF THE DEVIL (Fr) (Wootton Bassett {GB}). Beaten only a nose in a French Classic, she cost €1.95 million at Arqana's December Sale two years ago and for her new connections won the GII Churchill Distaff Turf Mile. She's a half-sister to hardy triple Group winner Morando (Fr) (Kendargent {Fr}).

PAPILIO (Ire) (Starspangledbanner {Aus}) arrives at Keeneland (87) as a stakes-placed juvenile in Ireland last year who has progressed well for her new connections this year, notably with her GII Appalachian S. success and a Grade I podium in the Belmont Oaks Invitational. She's out of a High Chaparral half-sister to G1 Hong Kong Cup runner-up Balius (Ire) (Mujahid). 

She will shortly be followed into the same ring as Hip 91, PEROTAN (Ire) (Churchill {Ire}), a sister to G2 Dante S. winner The Foxes (Ire) and half-sister to other accomplished performers in Europe in Matterhorn (Ire) (Raven's Pass) and Bangkok (Ire) (Australia {GB}), not to mention the dam of Ribchester (Ire). This is another pedigree that would really sing back where it started, while the Justify foal she is carrying can work anywhere.

She is followed almost immediately (Hip 93) by one with a very similar profile: for PRETTIEST (Ire) is another potential genetic goldmine from Ballydoyle with a maiden cover by Justify. The 4-year-old represents one of the benefits to the breed of a rapprochement between Coolmore and Godolphin, as a daughter of Dubawi (GB) out of triple Group 1 winner Alice Springs (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}). A single Group placing does not reflect the promise shown by Prettiest early in her career.

Stick around for the next into the ring, too, as PRETTY IN PLUM (Justify) is another to offer the privilege of a conduit into Coolmore royalty as Hip 94: the 3-year-old remains unraced (though offered as a racing or broodmare prospect) but is a valuable commodity anyway as a daughter of the flying juvenile and fertile producer Damson (Ire) (Entrepreneur {GB}).

But the same principles arguably apply still more formidably to Hip 95—in a freakish streak for European attention, given the alphabetical distribution of lots—as the unraced PRETTY MILANOVA (American Pharoah) is out of none other than Maryinsky (Ire) (Sadler's Wells), daughter of Blush With Pride (Blushing Groom {Fr}) and herself dam of Group 1 winners September (Ire) (Deep Impact {Jpn}) and Thewayyouare (Kingmambo). With a maiden cover by Uncle Mo, this young lady needs only to be physically presentable to be potentially worth a flight on her own.

The hot City Of Troy combination of Justify plus Galileo requires attention a few lots later (Hip 113) for the unraced SEASON TICKET (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) who, as a half-sister to champion Tepin (Bernstein), has also qualified for the harem of Ashford's young gun. A cover by Not This Time, meanwhile, is the bonus for THE ALGARVE (Ire) (American Pharoah), who introduces another aristocratic Coolmore family to proceedings at Keeneland as Hip 146. She's out of the Classic winner Imagine (Ire) (Sadler's Wells), who has contributed pretty lavishly to an outstanding European dynasty.

Along the same lines we have ABSOLUTELY (Ire) (Uncle Mo), who didn't work out on the track but provides access to the premier European family in the book through her dam, G1 Irish Oaks winner Bracelet (Ire) (Montjeu {Ire})—whose own dam Cherry Hinton (GB) (Green Desert), Group-placed in a light career, of course stands out a half-sister to Galileo (Ire) and Sea The Stars (Ire). Priceless stuff, then, as Hip 173 at Keeneland.

Mike Ryan bought HIGHER TRUTH (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) as a Tattersalls yearling and this year she converted serial graded stakes placings into a GII Sheepshead Bay S. score. Hip 241 at Fasig is out of a Group-winning half-sister to the Classic-placed Group 1 winner Wannabe Grand (Ire) (Danehill). The latter also surfaces as half-sister to the second dam of VIAREGGIO (Ire) (Caravaggio), who won a Group 3 in Ireland and reaches Keeneland as Hip 161.

A couple of shock winners at Royal Ascot this year draw the eye to the Fasig catalogue. The G2 Norfolk S. stunner Valiant Force (Malibu Moon) sends his unraced dam VIGUI'S HEART (Quality Road) into the ring as Hip 198, in foal to Vekoma. Remember that Quality Road is by Elusive Quality out of a Strawberry Road (Aus) mare! No need to seek far for turf strains in MOQADAMA (Ire), however, as Hip 158: her sire is Dark Angel (Ire) and her dam is by Footstepsinthesand (Ire) out of a half-sister to Bold Edge (GB). Though only a maiden winner herself, Moqadama this summer achieved new stature as a full-sister to the blowout G1 Golden Jubillee S. winner Khaadem (Ire) (as well as to a Norfolk runner-up).

Another entitled to redress a limited race record with her genes is MOVING MOON (Ire), who had a light career either side of the water but arrives at Keeneland (75) as a daughter of Galileo (Ire) out of a Group-placed sister to Rock Of Gibraltar. She has not yet had the chance to get going as a broodmare, but hope springs eternal with an Olympiad foal aboard.

There are countless other opportunities for Europeans of adequate imagination. MISSONI (Flintshire {GB}), for instance, was a frustrating type that never quite converted her promise into a maiden win, but her dam is a half-sister to Scat Daddy himself and has produced a GII Mother Goose S. runner-up. Who can say what might be achieved by the War Front foal she carries to Keeneland as Hip 64?

At the start of the Justify era, however, all these mares with turf resonance should only be the tip of the iceberg. Who knows? In years to come, that kind of short cut will perhaps seem little more than laziness.