By Emma Berry
Book 2 of the October Yearling Sale, which begins its three-day run this Monday, marks a welcome return to the consigning ranks of Daylesford Stud.
Daylesford is a name synonymous with quality and it is not just the organic farmshop and luxury goods brand to which that label can be applied. The stud's owner, Lady Bamford, has long been a breeder of top-tier horses, her maroon colours having been carried to glory by two homebred Oaks winners since 2009 – Sariska (GB) (Pivotal {GB}) and Soul Sister (GB) (Frankel {GB}). Not since 2014 has her Daylesford Stud consigned under its own banner at Tattersalls but it is back this year, with four colts being consigned to Book 2, followed by a colt and two fillies in Book 3.
Stud manager Chris Lock has been looking forward to the return. He says, “The staff are excited and very pleased to be going to the sales. We've consigned previously with Castlebridge, but the team is very keen to get up to Tattersalls and show their horses, take them through the ring and see the job through.”
Lock continues, “We are going back to that traditional owner-breeder profile of mostly selling the colts, racing the fillies. To a certain extent, we've got to keep the numbers to a sensible level.
“We feel we've got a good draft to take to market and hopefully show the world what Daylesford is producing.”
Through Watership Down Stud, Lady Bamford sold a Frankel colt out of the Listed winner Queen Of Love (GB) (Kingman {GB}) to John Ferguson during Book 1. Daylesford will itself be presenting the sole Dubawi yearling in Book 2 (lot 1205), a colt out of another of the operation's Classic winners, the G1 Prix de Diane victrix Star Of Seville (GB) (Duke Of Marmalade {Ire}). His 97-rated full-brother Lord Of Love (GB) has won twice for Lady Bamford this season.
“We felt that sending just one to Book 1 didn't make much of a splash, so we consigned [the Frankel colt] through Watership Down this year and then we'll go ourselves with the Book 2 horses under our banner,” Lock explains.
“We wanted to stand out, going our first year, and we have colts by good stallions that have all got deep pedigrees. They are all attractive horses with good walks and hopefully they tick the boxes.”
An easy-moving Dubawi colt with a Classic winner for a mother is certainly a good way to stand out.
“He's a nice horse,” Lock says. “And he could have been a Book 1 horse, but again we kind of thought it would bring a lot of attention to the draft with him as the jewel in our crown. He's very strong, and a very good walker.”
The draft also includes a colt by Wootton Bassett (GB), who, during Book 1, was responsible for the most expensive yearling colt ever to sell in Europe. Daylesford's son of Wootton Bassett (lot 1216) is out of the Group 3-winning Frankel mare Suphala (Fr), herself a granddaughter of the G1 Coronation Stakes winner Sophisticat from the family of the champion racemare and producer Serena's Song.
The sire power continues with lot 976, a colt by New Bay (GB) from the great Anna Paola (Ger) dynasty which includes the 1,000 Guineas winner Billesdon Brook (GB) and the colt's granddam, G3 Prix d'Aumale winner and Oaks d'Italia runner-up Middle Club (GB).
“The Wootton Bassett is a lovely lad; he goes very well. And the New Bay… I mean it would be hard for me pick out one. I like them all,” says Lock, with the utmost loyalty to the youngsters he has overseen through their formative years on the rolling Gloucestershire pastures of Daylesford, where the yearlings have completed a solid prep of in-hand walking.
“It's a beautiful setting,” Lock agrees. “They were born here so they're nice and relaxed walking around the farm. It's very calm. They drop their heads and sort of bowl along and head up the hills. There may be red faces on some of the staff by the end of the exercise though!”
Completing the Book 2 quartet is a the sole colt by an unproven sire and he will be the first to sell, as lot 728. By St Mark's Basilica (Fr), he is a half-brother to the Listed winner Mutaraffa (Ire) (Acclamation {GB}) and is one of four youngsters bred at Daylesford by the first-season Coolmore stallion.
Lock says of St Mark's Basilica, “He's such a good-looking horse. Everybody you speak to that's got one loves them, and we'd be the same. We're very happy with all four. Great temperaments, good walking horses and we'll use him again next year. We loved him. He was such a good racehorse, great pace. We went all in on him.”
The St Mark's Basilica yearlings were certainly given a good reception during Book 1, where 12 sold for an average price 296,667gns, and he had already provided the sale-topper for the Arqana August Sale in the €1.7 million half-brother to Chicquita (Ire) and Magic Wand (Ire).
Lock says of Lady Bamford's mission as a breeder, “The Classics will always be the aim. Lady Bamford's been very lucky to breed two Oaks winners and a Prix de Diane winner as well. It's quite addictive and a fantastic thrill, and they have been great days out for the whole team. Lady Bamford has everybody there – vets, farriers, all the staff and their wives and husbands.
“It's what we aspire to. We did buy a few speedier yearlings and speedier mares just to try to open up different distances at different times of the year. Ultimately, though, the best interest of the horse come first. Lady Bamford is a horsewoman and cares about them deeply. So that will always be the main priority here.”
He adds, “All of our decisions are made with the horse coming first, even now that we're selling a few that we'd be happy to race. So our matings won't change. We'll still be breeding the horses that we'd like to run ourselves.”
Daylesford's latest Classic winner, Soul Sister, returned to the farm earlier this year and is now in foal for the first time to Sea The Stars (Ire).
“It was very exciting to welcome her back,” Lock says as he admires the four-year-old mare in her spacious paddock. “And we can't wait until next April.”
Colt or filly, whichever Soul Sister ends up producing next spring, her first foal will be exemplary of those Classic aspirations which have served Daylesford Stud well over the years.
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