New Bay

Lope De Vega (Ire) will stand at €125,000 in 2022, that figure being unchanged from his 2021 fee at Ballylinch Stud, where he has stood throughout his 11 covering seasons in the Northern Hemisphere. His popularity transcends Europe, however, and the 14-year-old son of Shamardal is now the sire of 13 Group/Grade 1 winners in America, Australia, Britain, Ireland, France, and Dubai. "This year Lope de Vega confirmed that he is one of the world's elite sires, with an exceptional 48 black-type horses in 2021 alone," said Ballylinch Stud managing...

By Chris McGrath NEWMARKET, UK--Well, maybe these guys just don't have radios or newspapers. Maybe they haven't heard about the challenges at least affecting the domestic environment: chronic deficiencies in prizemoney, new volatility in the economic landscape. Or perhaps the international investors who might be relatively immune to such concerns have forced even the local market to new highs by putting such a squeeze into Books 1 and 2. Who knows? Just conceivably, this show of faith in our industry could yet prove the foundation for a sustainable bull run....

The conclusion of the two-day Goffs Sportsman's Sale on Friday marked the end of a strong four days of trade at Goffs's Kildare Paddocks, with both the Orby and Sportsman's Sales rebounding from difficult 2020 renewals--when forced to move to Doncaster--and posting significant gains. A shade over €3-million was added to the coffers on Friday when 150 of the 162 yearlings offered sold, bringing the two-day aggregate to €6,967,300. The cumulative average jumped 41% to €20,674, while the cumulative median rose 45% to €16,000. Last year at Doncaster, 67.7% of...

Saffron Beach (Ire) (New Bay {GB}), the winner of last term's G3 Oh So Sharp S. and runner up in the G1 1000 Guineas in May, will take a class drop and target the G3 Atalanta S. at Sandown on Aug. 21. After showing so much promise earlier in the season, Saffron Beach has since put in a pair of below-par efforts in the G1 Cazoo Oaks and G1 Falmouth S. "The stiff mile [of the Atalanta] should be right up her alleyway and it should help get her confidence...

Saffron Beach (Ire) (New Bay {GB}), second in both the G1 1000 Guineas and the G3 Nelly Gwyn S. this season, will head next to the G1 Irish 1000 Guineas on May 23, according to trainer Jane Chapple-Hyam. "She has been left in the Oaks in case anything happened in Ireland or Government rules changed, because living in Covid times things like that can happen," Chapple-Hyam said. "The owners are all on the same page and are keen to send her to Ireland, where Adam [Kirby] will ride her. Her...

It took until the final lot of the Goffs February Sale for the six-figure mark to be reached and it was a round €100,000 for the top lot of the two days, Rubira (Aus), a young southern hemisphere-bred daughter of Lope De Vega (Ire) in foal for the first time to New Bay (GB). The 6-year-old mare was formerly trained in by Murray Baker and Andrew Forsman in New Zealand where she won the listed Diamond Lodge Gt North Champagne S. She was bought from the Baroda Stud draft by...

The latest installment of our values sires series brings us to the second-crop sires of 2021. While there was a runaway leader, this group gave us plenty to unpack. A handful of rising star sires were crowned, and a few remain on the bubble with plenty to entice us with this year as their first crops prepare for their crucial 3-year-old campaigns. The race for champion first-season sire honours was not much of a competition at all last year, with Mehmas (Ire) jumping out of the gate with a pair...

With few natural barriers to blasts of icy wind, Newmarket's flatlands can make the winter feel extra arduous, particularly in a year which begins with the third British lockdown in the midst of a pandemic which refuses to abate. More than ever, we all need something to look forward to, and for Jane Chapple-Hyam, hope is embodied in the form of a robust chestnut filly. The trainer is blessed with an irrepressible spirit which has surely seen her through some tougher times and, in early January, despite the absence of...

On the back of the eagerly anticipated stallion fee announcements in Europe, Gary King spoke with a number of leading industry figures about value. Today we have the astute Ed Player of Whatton Manor Stud. GK: Who have you identified as a first-year stallion at an appealing opening fee? EP: There are some seriously exciting new stallions for next year with Pinatubo (Ire) (Shamardal), Mohaather (GB) (Showcasing {GB}) and Sottsass (Fr) (Siyouni {Fr}) top of the list. However, I think the value lies with Without Parole (GB) (Frankel {GB}), a...

NEWMARKET, UK--So here we are, at the furlong pole, and somehow still hard on the bridle. With just Book 4 to go, the Tattersalls October Yearling Sale continues to confound the gloom generated this year as the bloodstock industry--along with the wider economy--reeled under the nightmarish burden of a pandemic. On Friday, even the weaker second session of Book 3 sailed serenely clear of the riptide. Turnover of 2,274,500gns soared past the equivalent day last year, up a giddy 27% from 1,796,400gns. That yielded an average of 10,245gns, up from...

Dubawi (Ire) being a good stallion is not exactly a newsflash. The increasingly interesting element of his success, however, is his growing number of sons and grandsons making a mark at stud. Dubawi's own season has been headlined by the Group 1 winners Ghaiyyath (Ire), Lord North (Ire) and Space Blues (Ire), while G2 Superlative S. winner Master Of The Seas (Ire) looks to be one of the more exciting juveniles seen out in Europe so far. In this year's freshman sires' championship, Ballylinch Stud's son of Dubawi, New Bay...

Ballylinch Stud resident New Bay (GB) (Dubawi {Ire}) became the latest freshman sire to strike when the appropriately named Charlie Fellowes trainee First Prophet (Ire) overcame greenness in Friday evening's It's Not Rocket Science With MansionBet EBF Novice S. at Newbury. 6th-Newbury, £6,400, Nov, 6-12, 2yo, 7fT, 1:27.03, gd. FIRST PROPHET (IRE) (c, 2, New Bay {GB}--Lus Na Greine {Ire}, by Pour Moi {Ire}) was swiftly into stride and raced up front in a prominent third through halfway in this debut. An ominous presence to his rivals throughout, the well-backed...