By Emma Berry
NEWMARKET, UK — Mehmas (Ire) has done little wrong since exploding onto the scene as the leading first-season sire of 2020 and, unlike some who have achieved that accolade, he has sustained that momentum through subsequent seasons. Only a few weeks ago, his daughter Naughty Eyes (Ire), who has been supplemented for next week's December Mares Sale as wildcard lot 1486D, became her sire's 62nd two-year-old winner of the season, enabling Mehmas to break the record set by his own stud-mate Kodiac (GB).
It has been another stellar year for the Tally-Ho Stud resident, with three juvenile Group/Grade 1 winners, and the foal buyers have clearly been scrutinising his latest crop on the ground.
Footballer Ryan Kent is the new owner of the day's top lot, the Mehmas filly from Michael O'Leary's Plantation Stud, who bought her dam, the Listed Rose Bowl Stakes winner Natalie's Joy (GB) (Lope De Vega {Ire}) for 300,000gns at the December Mares Sale in 2021.
This, her second foal, has gone some way towards recouping that outlay after selling to Kent for 200,000gns through Daniel Creighton of Salcey Forest Stud.
Standing with Kent's partner Kirsty Spence, Creighton said, “Mehmas is flying this year, she is out of a Lope De Vega mare, a similar cross to Persian Force and to Gubbass.”
He added, “Ryan loves pedigrees and he is quite involved when he can, looking at pictures and videos of stock. I always tell vendors that they should [provide these]. It is important.”
Lot 668 was the first of two six-figure Mehmas weanlings sold from Plantation Stud within minutes as two lots later the colt out of the winning Frankel (GB) mare Like (Ire) was knocked down at 130,000gns to David O'Callaghan of Yeomanstown Stud.
Plantation also offered the sole weanling in the sale from the first crop of Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint winner Golden Pal. Catalogued as lot 669, the the first foal of dual winner Lady Clementine (GB) (Churchill {Ire}) was picked up for 90,000gns by Mick Fitzpatrick of JC Bloodstock.
On a bitterly cold day, the trade did at least warm up considerably. From a tardy start with a clearance rate of only 60% on Tuesday, 82% of the Wednesday foals changed hands, with figures up in every sector from this same day last year. The average price rose by 7% to 44,098gns and the median by 10% to 34,000gns. The turnover of 8,996,000gns, from 204 foals sold, was up 8% from 12 months ago.
Kellsgrange to the Fore With Freshman Sires
Mehmas's son Minzaal (Ire) also played his part in a good day's trade, as did his fellow freshman Perfect Power (Ire), the treble Group 1-winning star of the first crop of Ardad (Ire). Both names appeared in the draft of Dermot Dwan's Kellsgrange Stud, which enjoyed some decent results on Wednesday.
All six of the consignor's foals offered found a buyer at an average price of 78,500gns, led by lot 625, a colt by Minzaal who was bought by Tally-Ho Stud for 165,000gns. Out of the winning Oasis Dream (GB) mare Freedom March (GB), he is a half-brother to two winners rated 95 and 100, and is from the family of 1,000 Guineas winner Speciosa (Ire) (Danehill Dancer {Ire}).
Dwan also sold a son of Perfect Power, bred by Haddenham Stud Farm from the unraced Totally Lost (Ire) (Rip Van Winkle {Ire}), for 65,000gns.
He said, “The Minzaal is a smashing foal, he did about his 130th show yesterday and just floated along and did it all very easily. You still have to get it over the line, but when you have the right individuals they do it themselves.”
He added of Derrinstown Stud's Minzaal, “He suited her pedigree well, he was a fast horse and it is quite a fast family. [Freedom March] throws a great foal every year – and they can run.”
Minzaal currently has top order among the new crop of sires, with 16 of his first weanlings sold for an average of 50,438gns, while Darley's Perfect Power has had 10 sold at an average price of 48,100gns.
Whitsbury Manor Havana Good Time
Havana Grey and Whitsbury Manor Stud. It has been a winning combination for six years and thus it proved again, with four of the day's 16 six-figure lots all emanating from the stud's draft and by its flagship sire.
Lot 444, a colt out of the listed-placed Fairy Dust (Ire) (Gregorian {Ire}), joined the Yeomanstown Stud team of pinhooks which, by the end of day two, numbered 11 new foals.
“The sire speaks for himself but we sold a couple of good ones by him in the autumn, and this colt is one of our top picks of today,” said Yeomanstown's Robert O'Callaghan. “He is out of a good fast mare, by a good fast stallion and will come back next year.”
Lot 620, the own sister to listed winner Holguin (GB), was picked up for 170,000gns by Alex Elliott after he saw off underbidder Mimi Wadham for the daughter of dual winner Roxie Lot (GB) (Exceed And Excel {Aus}).
“She has been bought for Amo Racing, and we are obviously looking for fillies,” Elliott said. “I think all operations need to look at horses at all levels. I think she makes sense, what would she have cost as a yearling next year? Kia, as has everyone, has had a lot of luck with Havana Grey, he is a very good sire.”
Another of the few non-pinhooks of the day (lot 661) went to trainer Paddy Twomey, who bought the Havana Grey filly out of the Italian champion two-year-old Telepatic Glances (Ire) (Pride Of Dubai {Aus}) for 130,000gns.
“The way my model works, I attend every sale I am happy to buy them in training, as foals, as yearlings or in utero,” he explained. “I don't mind when we get them as long as we get the good ones. When you get the chance to buy a nice filly like this, out of a good two-year-old, you have to act, and as a trainer I might not get the chance to buy her if she went to a pinhooker.”
He added, “When you see a sire doing what he has you pay attention. In the end I am trying to get the best ones I can.”
Newsells Park On The Mark
Signing as RC Bloodstock, Roderic Kavanagh went to 175,000gns for lot 588, a Starspangledbanner (Aus) filly out of Zoella (Invincible Spirit {Ire}), who has already produced three winners from her three runners, including the listed-placed Back See Das (GB) (Lope De Vega {Ire}).
“The mare's a proven producer so there might be a bit more to happen in the family with two good siblings to race on,” Kavanagh said. “One has gone to Dubai and the other's just got black type.
“Hopefully she'll come back here next October. Book 1 will be the plan. We're aiming for the top end of the October Sale trade. It was very strong this year and hopefully we can catch it next year too.”
The filly was sold by Newsells Park Stud, whose draft included a Nathaniel (Ire) filly sold to Mick Fitzpatrick for 80,000gns. It has been a good week for Nathaniel to date. The sire of Irish Oaks winner You Got To Me (GB) has had four foals sold so far for an average of 62,000gns. Two of those were bought by Fitzpatrick and another by Tally-Ho Stud.
Another noted pinhooker who selected a filly by a proven middle-distance sire was Paul McCartan, who gave 140,000gns for lot 604 from the draft of Drumlin and Yellowford.
The filly is out of the treble winner Rainbow Rising (Fr), a Henrythenavigator half-sister to Queen's Vase winner and St Leger runner-up Mahler (GB) (Galileo {Ire}) from the family of Footstepsinthesand.
McCartan said, “When we started out we concentrated on those speedy pages and precocious ones, but there is demand for the middle-distance sort, particularly with a filly.”
Northern Lights
Richard Auld's Northern Bloodstock brought three foals to Tattersalls and all three sold for an average of 91,667gns to lead the consignors' table after the first two days. The trio included a Blue Point (Ire) colt out of the unraced Jeeds Legacy (Ire) (Raven's Pass) who made his way onto the Yeomanstown Stud list of purchases at 175,000gns.
Thursday at Tattersalls is an inspection day ahead of two more foal sessions on Friday and Saturday.
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