Philipp Stauffenberg

NEWMARKET, England--Fifteen-year-old Ruairi Kilmartin was left speechless after his Dark Angel (Ire) filly--a mere €7,000 buy at the Goffs November Foal Sale--had provided him with a fairytale result when selling to Paul Corrigan for 70,000gns on the opening day of the Tattersalls Somerville Yearling Sale. "No, never," an incredulous Kilmartin replied when asked whether he'd dared to dream of lot 159 making that sort of money. "I thought she'd make 20 or 30 grand, but that's exceeded my expectations. We were flat out there yesterday evening with 40 or 50...

Finally there's a feeling that Bradsell (GB) (Tasleet {GB}) is starting to get the recognition he deserves following his scintillating success in the G1 Nunthorpe Stakes at York's Ebor Festival. Already a two-time winner at Royal Ascot before that career high on the Knavesmire, he's quietly put together the sort of record which ought to earn him a queue of mares at his stable door by the time his racing days are over. And if for whatever reason it doesn't work out for Bradsell as a stallion, then he'll surely...

Fantastic Moon (Ger) has emulated his sire Sea The Moon (Ger) not just by winning the G1 Deutsches Derby but now also in being crowned German Horse of Year for 2023. The colt, owned by Liberty Racing, won the oldest public vote in the history of German sport, which took place on his fourth birthday, March 21. "We are very proud of this title. Fantastic Moon absolutely deserves it," said Lars-Wilhelm Baumgarten, the co-founder of the colt's ownership syndicate Liberty Racing. "His magnificent victory in the 2023 German Derby and his...

The Tattersalls Somerville Sale has meant that a return to Newmarket could be delayed no longer but this column sprang, or perhaps staggered, into life on the final day of Baden-Baden's Grosse Woche. The scribbling started reasonably early on Sunday morning from a desk in the press room that boasts one of the best views in the racing world, looking out across the turf to the wooded mountains of the Black Forest. It was also the desk that was once occupied by British-born but German-based racing correspondent David Connolly-Smith, who...

   As entertaining as he is brave, Philipp Stauffenberg has dominated the top bracket of the pinhooking table despite buying only a select number of foals each year.    Stauffenberg was once again in the spotlight in October when five of his yearlings took Tattersalls by storm when selling for a combined figure of 2,345,000gns at a memorable Book 1 sale.     Back at Tattersalls, where he was searching for his next Book 1 star at the December Foal Sales, the never-boring and cigarillo-smoking Stauffenberg spoke with TDN Europe's Brian...

NEWMARKET, UK--"If we don't believe in our stallions, who will?" So said breeder and consignor Ed Harper after topping the second day of foal trade at Tattersalls, though in the case of lot 793, the sire in question, this season's leading freshman Havana Grey (GB), has already garnered the support of plenty of breeders and buyers. But to justify the day's top price tag of 250,000gns at this stage of his young life, the colt had to have plenty more going for him, and his half-brother Dragon Symbol (GB) (Cable...

The insatiable demand for foals was evident in the figures recorded at Goffs last week with turnover rising 16% to €29,561,000 and the average climbing 16% to €40,110. At the top end of the market, Kingman (GB) dominated with three foals by the Juddmonte-based stallion selling for a combined €1,540,000 and one of Europe's leading pinhookers Philipp Stauffenberg signing for the €550,000 top lot by the sire.  Tally-Ho Stud may be best known for being sellers but they pipped Stauffenberg for the biggest spenders title by signing for 19 foals...

Philipp Stauffenberg broke new ground at the November Foal Sale at Goffs on Wednesday by signing for a Kingman (GB) half-brother to Skitter Scatter (Scat Daddy) for a sales-topping €550,000 on a day where the Juddmonte-based stallion shined brightest. The Airlie Stud-consigned colt is not just a half-brother to that 2018 champion 2-year-old filly in Ireland but also the promising Charlie Appleby-trained Victory Dance (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}) and the €550,000 it took to buy him represented a new record for Stauffenberg. The fact that lot 727 boasted a stallion's pedigree...

Another son of Kingman (GB) surpassed the €500,000 barrier when Philipp Stauffenberg of Stauffenberg Bloodstock bought lot 727, which was consigned by Airlie Stud. Knocked down for €550,000, the March foal is a half-brother to G1 Moyglare Stud S. heroine Skitter Scatter (Scat Daddy), listed winner and multiple group-placed Victory Dance (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}) and the GIII Jimmy Durante S. runner-up Data Dependent (More Than Ready). Under the second dam is the G1 Dewhurst S. hero Intense Focus (Giant's Causeway).   ⭐️ ⭐️ Lot 727, the Kingman @JuddmonteFarms half-brother to...

Helped in no small part by the success of Victoria Road (Ire) at the Breeders' Cup and Auguste Rodin's (Ire) (Deep Impact {Jpn}) emergence as a leading Classic contender from the same sire line, the progeny of Saxon Warrior (Jpn) played a starring role on day one of the November Foal Sale at Goffs. Not only did Saxon Warrior top the session when Ballyhimikin Stud signed for a colt [lot 231] drafted by Kildallan Farm for €88,000, but he was also responsible for three of the top four foals on...

By Emma Berry and Brian Sheerin NEWMARKET, UK--And breathe. Book 1 is over, galloping out the door after a three-day bonanza of record returns, the highest-grossing single day of horse trade in Europe, and the world's most expensive yearling of 2022. What this all means for next week and Books 2, 3 and 4 of the October Yearling Sale is anyone's guess, but a safe bet would be that all those potential buyers so frustrated at playing bridesmaid during Book 1 still have rolls of grubby fifty-pound notes burning holes...

Balancing Classic intentions with commercial reality is not always easy. In Germany, the majority of breeders would veer towards the former, and it is certainly an ethos that Philipp and Marion Stauffenberg attempt to maintain while being all too aware of the demands of many modern-day purchasers of Thoroughbreds. The Stauffenbergs each had a good grounding in sport horses and racehorses before developing their own broodmare band at Schlossgut Itlingen in Ascheberg in 1999. The boutique operation has also had notable success pinhooking foals, and the business includes consigning yearlings...