Waldgeist

Ballylinch Stud has released the fees for its five stallions, with its flagship sire Lope De Vega (Ire) receiving an increase in price to €175,000, up from €125,000, though he is set to cover a smaller number of mares in 2025. "Lope de Vega continues to prove himself as a global sire sensation," said Ballylinch Stud's managing director John O'Connor. "He has again proven his effectiveness at the very highest level with the most Group 1 winners, European Classic winners, and black-type horses of any stallion worldwide this season. His...

Lope De Vega (Ire), whose new top-level winners in 2023 include Program Trading (GB) and Arapaho (Fr), has had his fee held at €125,000 for the fourth year. Four of the Ballylinch Stud stallions will stand in 2024 at the same price as they were advertised this year, while the fee for Waldgeist (GB) has been reduced. Ballylinch Stud's managing director John O'Connor said, "The Ballylinch stallion roster had another flagship year in 2023, with our proven sires Lope de Vega, New Bay and Make Believe being responsible for some...

DEAUVILLE, France--The Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe trophy, a pared-down replica of Paris's mighty monument, was in residence at the Arqana restaurant, where diners were treated to a complimentary glass of champagne courtesy of the owners of Ace Impact (Fr), Serge Stempniak and Kamel Chehboub. Some of us had work to do, however, and a solid opening day of Arqana's October Yearling Sale had more than a little fizz about it here and there.  Frankel (GB) may rule at Tattersalls, but in Deauville we are in the court of France's...

DEAUVILLE, France--Close to €38 million had already been spent on juveniles at the four breeze-up sales in Europe to have preceded Arqana, and that figure has now risen to around €59 million following a bullish day of trading in Deauville. Featuring the season's only seven-figure breezer and with a much larger catalogue than usual, it was no surprise to see turnover increase, though a near-50% upturn was perhaps even better than anticipated, with the 140 sold bringing in a total of €21,110,500 to ring the new record bell. Other indicators...

DEAUVILLE, France--So many of this season's Classic trials in France have been run in testing conditions but the forecast rain stayed away from Deauville on Thursday morning, allowing the breeze session for the Arqana sale to be conducted amid a pleasant mix of sun and breeze on ground that looked forgiving and fair.  Certainly the various consignors appeared to have a pretty relaxed air about them as their horses galloped on the back stretch of the racecourse in front of a decent-sized crowd gathered on the makeshift grandstand. "The ground...

As we move into the third tier of our examination of stallions by yearling profitability, the name at the top of the list for those standing between the equivalent of £10,000 and £19,999 perhaps provides an example of how rarity drives demand. On paper, the Dalham Hall Stud-based Farhh (GB) has an awful lot going for him. A son of Pivotal (GB) out of a dual Group 1 winner over a mile and a half, he was lightly raced, with just one winning appearance in each of his two- and...

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...

American bloodstock agent Liz Crow, best known for sourcing GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf winners Aunt Pearl (Ire) (Lope De Vega {Ire}) for 280,000gns and British Idiom (Flashback) for $40,000, Jack Christopher (Munnings) for $135,000 and the mighty Monomoy Girl (Tapizar) for $100,000, says that her first trip to Arqana October was a success after picking up four well-bred fillies this week. Crow bought Aunt Pearl at Book 1 at Tattersalls in 2019 for 280,000gns but, in anticipation of a buoyant trade at Park Paddocks this year, opted to sidestep...

DEAUVILLE, France--It's beginning to feel as if it's John O'Connor's world and we're just living in it. After selling 27 yearlings for almost 6.5 million gns at Tattersalls last week, Ballylinch Stud, which he manages, was then represented by a Group 1 double at Ascot's Champions Day when first Bayside Boy (Ire) won the Queen Elizabeth II S., followed by the triumph of Bay Bridge (GB) in the Champion S. Both are sons of Ballylinch resident New Bay (GB), and Bayside Boy was bred and is co-owned by Ballylinch, while...

DEAUVILLE, France--The broodmare shopping spree of Leopoldo Fernandez Pujals several years ago has already resulted in his first homebred Group 1 winner, Blue Rose Cen (Ire) (Churchill {Ire}), a daughter of the Jeremy mare Queen Blossom (Ire) who heads next to the Breeders' Cup at Keeneland.  It was next door to that track that Fernandez Pujals, who operates as Yeguada Centurion, bought Needmore Flattery (Flatter) from Lane's End Farm in 2019. That same year she had foaled a Gun Runner colt, who was later named Taiba and went on to...

This is the week where the first serious claims are staked for future bragging rights in the stallion ranks and the season's hopes and waffle that goes with first-season sires are cast aside as the market provides some shape and substance.  There seems to be a strong whiff of No Nay Never in the air after the devastatingly-good performance of Little Big Bear in Saturday's G1 Phoenix S. at the Curragh. This, of course, is great news for Coolmore as Ten Sovereigns (Ire), one of No Nay Never's best sons,...

They have reached dizzy heights as breeders and now Gillian and Vimal Khosla are concentrating on achieving big-race success as owners with Fennela (Ire) (Sea The Stars {Ire}), a daughter of their outstanding broodmare Green Room (Theatrical {Ire}), in Saturday's G1 Juddmonte Irish Oaks. The Khoslas know a thing or two about breeding top-notchers. Green Room is the dam of three Group 1 or Classic winners and the owner-breeders behind the 20-year-old blue hen are hoping there is still more to come.  Lord Shanakill (Speightstown) was the first horse to...