Sottsass

Baroda Stud were responsible for two of the three six-figure lots on day one of the Goffs February Sale, including the €115,000 top lot, a colt by Sottsass (Ire), who was purchased by Tally-Ho Stud. Of the 2017 lots offered, 128 were sold, which represented a clearance rate of 59% and an aggregate spend of €2,056,250. The average for day one of first sale for 2023 at Goffs was €16,064 with Cox explaining that the nice horses had no trouble in finding new homes. He said, "A few people said...

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...

Off the back of a star-studded season, No Nay Never will stand for €175,000 in 2023, which represents a €50,000 rise, while his dual Group 1-winning son Blackbeard (Ire) will join him on the Coolmore roster next year at a price of €25,000. No Nay Never has had an exceptional year. Older filly Alcohol Free (Ire) landed the G1 July Cup at Newmarket, but it has been his Coolmore-owned and Aidan O'Brien-trained juveniles that have set tongues wagging this term. Like his father, Blackbeard landed the G1 Prix Morny in...

It has become a familiar occasion to open the Arqana August catalogue and find an offering from the remarkably consistent broodmare Starlet's Sister (Ire), whose progeny have shone for years here for the perennial leading consignor, Ecurie des Monceaux. Most recently, the Dubawi (Ire) filly Pure Dignity (GB) brought €2,500,000 from Oliver St. Lawrence in 2020, and Parliament (GB), a colt by Fastnet Rock (Aus), sold for €700,000 in 2019. Pure Dignity just won her first start for Roger Varian. But the 2022 offering might be the most exciting yet:...

   One of racing's biggest supporters, Peter Brant's colours can be spotted not only in his home country of America, but in Britain, Ireland and France.     The renowned owner-breeder, who spent over 20 years away from racing before returning with a bang in 2016, has quickly re-established his operation and in 2020 he reached the pinnacle when Sottsass carried his familiar double green silks to victory in the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe.    With a full-brother to Sottsass catalogued for the August Yearling Sale at Arqana, Brant makes...

Jean-Claude Rouget is not prone to hyperbole so, when the decorated French handler compared the unexposed Al Hakeem (GB) (Siyouni {Fr}) to his only G1 Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe winner Sottsass (Fr) (Siyouni {Fr}) earlier this week, some people did a double take. Not Benoit Jeffroy, who manages Haras de Bouquetot on behalf of the Al Shaqab operation. Jeffroy has long been aware of the standing in which the multiple Classic-winning trainer has held Al Hakeem and, when the colt won the Listed Prix de Suresnes at Chantilly on...

Zarkava (Ire) (Zamindar), the Aga Khan's unbeaten 2008 G1 Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe winner and the dam of last year's champion French first-season sire Zarak (Fr), will be covered by another Aga Khan superstar, Siyouni (Fr), in 2022. Zarkava has already produced the listed-winning filly Zaykava (Fr) from a mating with Siyouni, and she has a yearling colt by the French champion sire. Zarkava's listed-winning and Group 1-placed daughter Zarkamiya (Fr) (Frankel {GB}) is currently in foal to Siyouni. Siyouni stands for a second consecutive season for €140,000 at...

One wildcard and 27 supplementary entries have been added to Arqana's February Mixed Sale on Feb. 15 and 16. La Motteraye Consignment will offer a broodmare dispersal from Haras d'Auquainville that will include Alexandrina (Ger) (Monsun {Ger}) (lot 446), the dam of the G2 Prix de Pomone and G3 Prix Cleopatre second Mango Tango (Fr) (Siyouni {Fr}) in foal to Siyouni's Classic and G1 Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe-winning son Sottsass (Fr). Also among the draft is Alexandrina's 7-year-old winning daughter Fierte d'Amour (Fr) (Siyouni {Fr}) (lot 448) in foal...

We continue our Value Sires Series with a look at stallions with their first foals arriving in 2022, and what looks a very intriguing bunch. Not only do we have Pinatubo (Ire) (Shamardal), the outstanding 2-year-old who was rated higher than Frankel as a juvenile, but also Ghaiyyath (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}), Dubawi's best son yet to retire to stud; the Classic-winning Sottsass (Fr) (Siyouni {Fr}), who trained on to add the G1 Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe at four; and the three-time Group 1 and Classic winner Persian King (Ire),...

Nearly 200 Thoroughbreds competed in The Jockey Club Thoroughbred Incentive Program (T.I.P.) Championships held earlier this month in Aiken, South Carolina. There were classes covering seven disciplines and there were 26 divisions spanning hunters, jumpers, dressage, combined tests, Western dressage, English pleasure and Western pleasure. That meant a lot of variety among the competitors, all of them with a unique story. There was a 27-year-old horse and a 2-year-old horse. There were horses that didn't accomplish much of anything during their racing careers and then there was one, Two Notch...

Just as the illustrious Pivotal (GB) was retiring from stud duties at the age of 28, Siyouni (Fr), who can certainly now be regarded as his most significant sire son, was reaching the peak of his powers with his first French championship. He finished last season by adding a Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe winner to his burgeoning CV, and this year Siyouni is currently responsible for the joint-top-rated horse in the world in the dual French Classic and Eclipse S. winner St Mark's Basilica (Fr). At the age of...

Godolphin's Ghaiyyath (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}) was officially named Longines World's Best Racehorse on Tuesday having been assessed to have posted the top two performances of 2020. His high mark of 130 was gained in the G1 Juddmonte International S. at York, which was also named Longines World's Best Horserace for the first time. The former Charlie Appleby trainee also recorded a mark of 127 in the G1 Hurworth Bloodstock Coronation Cup which, in a pandemic-disrupted season, was moved from Epsom to Newmarket. Bred by the Weld family's Springbank Way Stud...