'The Bank Manager Will Be Happy': Ghaiyyath Colt Leaves Stewart Tickled Pink 

By Brian Sheerin and Emma Berry

NEWMARKET, UK–Irish owner-breeder Trevor Stewart was once again basking in the glow of his golden goose Cassandra Go (Ire) (Indian Ridge {Ire}) as the great mare's grandson by Ghaiyyath (Ire) led the way at 1.05 million gns on the opening day of Book 1 at the Tattersalls October Yearling Sale.

It was Godolphin, the leading buyer on the day, who landed the colt from the first crop of Ghaiyyath, consigned by Ballyhimikin Stud, to provide Stewart with yet another memorable result with the family that has served him so well.

Or perhaps it is the other way around? Stewart famously purchased his foundation mare in 1997 for just 200,000gns. There has been steady flow of top-notchers to emerge from the family ever since–from Halfway To Heaven (Ire) (Pivotal {GB}) to Tickled Pink (Ire) (Invincible Spirit {Ire}), the dam of Tuesday's sale-topper, who has already produced a Breeders' Cup winner in Victoria Road (Ire) (Saxon Warrior {Jpn})–and there is no sign of this well running dry any time soon.

“Money goes to money,” is how Anthony Stroud, buying on behalf of Godolphin, cheekily summed up the transaction. With a beaming smile, Stewart admitted that nobody would be happier with Tuesday's business than his bank manager.

“I'm so lucky-that's the fourth horse out of the family to make a million,” he said of lot 151 shortly after the sale. “I didn't obviously expect it but he is a gorgeous horse. It's wonderful that he's going to Godolphin. The family seems to go on. He's by a first-season sire so I felt there might be some limitations but we couldn't be more thrilled.”

Asked why he sent Tickled Pink to Ghaiyyath, Stewart responded, “Her first few foals were a little bit on the neat side and I thought we needed to get more height and length into her individuals.

“That was really why she went to Ghaiyyath. Obviously he was a great racehorse; it can be risky going to a first-season sire but time will tell.

“It's a wonderful feeling and I hate to say it, but, after number four, I'm getting used to it! At least the bank manager will be happy again for another while.”

Tuesday's success came in a week where it was announced that Ozzie Kheir had bought last year's GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf hero Victoria Road, who is now bound for the A$5-million G1 Cox Plate. Stewart has reason to believe there can be more golden days with the family and revealed that he is holding out hope that Tickled Pink can produce a filly for him to retain in the near future.

He said, “Hopefully there is plenty more to come. She has an outstanding colt foal full-brother to Victoria Road. He's actually like a twin – his markings are the same. She's in foal again to Saxon Warrior, hopefully with a filly.”

Ghaiyyath, the top-rated horse in the world in 2020, had three yearlings sold on Tuesday for an average of 532,333gns.

💪🏻 first seven figure lot for first season sire Ghaiyyath!

Lot 151 at #tattsoctober Book 1 is a colt by the @DarleyEurope sire who is a half-brother to G1 winner Victoria Road. He was consigned by Ballyhimikin Stud and has been bought by Godolphin for 1,050,000gns, pic.twitter.com/W5Ju8hEEIe

— TDN (@theTDN) October 3, 2023

Shastye's Fitting Finale

A colt who could only ever have been one of the highlights of the Tattersalls October Yearling Sale duly brought the hammer down at a round million guineas, drawing to a close the extraordinary association of Newsells Park Stud's great mare Shastye (Ire) (Danehill) with Book 1.

On May 1 last year, after two years without producing a foal, Shastye foaled a colt by Dubawi (Ire). Tragedy swiftly followed joy for stud owner Graham Smith-Bernal and his team at Newsells Park when the 21-year-old mare haemorrhaged just 24 hours later and could not be saved.

A sale-ring darling for so many years at Tattersalls, Shastye has now been represented by six seven-figure yearlings at Book 1, including the Group 1-winning brothers by Galileo (Ire), Japan (GB) and Mogul (GB), while the Group 3 winner Sir Isaac Newton (GB) was the most expensive of them all at 3.6 million gns.

With the mare's final foal being the first that she has produced by champion sire Dubawi (Ire), it was perhaps no surprise that the buyer was Godolphin, with Anthony Stroud signing for the colt in the company of Sheikh Mohammed, who has been present at Park Paddocks over the last two days.

Julian Dollar, manager of Newsells Park Stud, said of the colt [Lot 96], “He's an extraordinary foal out of an older mare. He's got so much strength. I didn't think Graham [Smith-Bernal] could ever bear to part with him because when [Shastye] died when the foal was 24 hours old, he was there and he bottle-fed the foal over that first night, so he had a big emotional attachment for Graham.”

Dollar also paid tribute to Shastye, herself a stakes-placed half-sister to the Arc winner Sagamix (Fr) who was bought for Newsells Park Stud by John Warren in 2005 for 625,000gns.

“She's been a mare in a million,” he said. “She's done so much for Newsells Park Stud. She's done so much for Andreas Jacobs before and now for Graham, which is great. And she's kept me in a job for 15 years. It was a great day when Klaus Jacobs and John Warren bought her as a mare and we've been able to enjoy her ever since. This is fitting, a sort of footnote, if you like, that she has a million-guinea yearling as her last foal. And it's nice for Graham to have that with a foal that was born after he bought the stud.”

Anthony Stroud added, “He's by Dubawi, who we all have huge regard for, and is out of an incredible mare who has produced so many great horses. We all looked at him, and the boss looked at him, and we felt we had to go for him. We owned [half-sister] Secret Gesture and it's an incredible family, really. We're lucky to have him. He is a very good-looking, good-walking and correct horse. Very athletic. He fitted our criteria.”

Much is expected of the select fare on offer during the three days of Book 1, which last year posted an average price just shy of 300,000gns. It is fair to say that trade began in steady rather than spectacular fashion during the first half of the opening session, though the average ended up with a 7% improvement on the equivalent day's trade in 2022 at 247,081gns, while the median of 205,000gns was up by 28% in comparison to last year's opening session. With 15 fewer horses changing hands (124), the aggregate was down by 4% at 30,638,000gns. The clearance rate dropped to 81%, though this was boosted through the day as some private transactions were agreed.

Julian Dollar has presided over Book 1-leading drafts from Newsells Park Stud at the last five editions of the sale. He said, “I don't think there's anything extra on the table. You've got to have a nice horse and make sure there's lots of interest. Overall, they are making a little bit below where I thought they were going to be, so it's sticky enough, but it's always a little tricky the first day and then people get their confidence and it picks up.”

🤩 the last foal of wonder mare Shastye sells for 1million gns at the #tattsoctober Book 1!

This colt is by Dubawi and is a half-brother to G1 winners Japan & Mogul. He has been bought by Godolphin and was consigned by @newsellspark. pic.twitter.com/I6caDzHHLs

— TDN (@theTDN) October 3, 2023

Oakgrove's Frankel Delight

The Godolphin team was also responsible for another notable sale when going to 900,000gns to secure a Frankel (GB) colt from John Deer's Oakgrove Stud.

Deer, whose colours were carried with great distinction by Al Kazeem (GB), who now stands at his farm near Chepstow, was recording his greatest result in the ring with Lot 28.

A brother to five winners, the Frankel colt is out of Medicean (GB) mare Poplin (GB), who was purchased for 320,000gns by Deer at the December Mares Sale at Tattersalls almost 10 years ago. A stakes-placed great-grand-daughter of the Fittocks Stud foundation mare Souk (Ire), Poplin hails from a family which includes the Group 1 winners Magic Wand (Ire) and Chicquita (Ire), and which has been equally successful across the Channel at Ecurie des Monceaux through the Platonic (GB) branch of the dynasty.

David Hilton, manager at Oakgrove Stud, said, “I needed five minutes to be honest. He was a very special colt and the most rewarding part was the amount of support we received from the purchasers [Godolphin] and the underbidders [Juddmonte]. He is a stunning individual; a medium-sized colt with a big step. [He has] just bags and bags of quality and a fantastic head. Hopefully he will be a very good racehorse and won't look out of place in the breeding sheds in the future.”

He added, “It's a fantastic Fittocks and Ecurie Monceaux family and it just keeps getting better. We've had Poplin for a number of years and bred a three-parts-sister to this colt. She was a very good race filly but sadly she suffered a bad injury in France which stopped her from being a proper Group 1 horse. He is probably the best out of the mare, which is easy to say now, but we're just delighted. Poplin is still going strong. She's had a Palace Pier filly foal and is in foal to Lope De Vega. We might try and ask the Juddmonte team what we can do with Frankel next year!”

Talking Points

• Godolphin signed for 11 yearlings on day one for a total of 6,665,000gns, which accounted for 22% of the session's aggregate.

• Mike Ryan, agent for Klaravich Stables, purchasing in tandem with trainer Chad Brown, signed for eight yearlings totalling 1,790,000gns at an average of 223,750gns.The team has enjoyed notable success buying at Tattersalls in the past, with Grade I winners Program Trading (GB) (Lope De Vega {Ire}), Technical Analysis (Ire) (Kingman {GB}) and McKulick (GB) (Frankel {GB}) among their previous selections.

• Shastye has had nine yearlings feature in Book 1 over the years, and the eight who were sold brought a total of 15.2 million gns. Her daughter Secret Gesture (GB) was bought back as a yearling and, after winning the Lingfield Oaks Trial in Newsells Park's colours, was bought privately by Qatar Racing, for whom she was second in the Oaks and won the G2 Middleton S. She was later sold for $3.5 million at the Keeneland November Sale.

• With nine yearlings sold on the day at an average price of 441,111gns, Newsells Park Stud is once again at the top of the Book 1 vendors' leader-board.

• After a slightly hesitant start there were nine withdrawals from the opening session on the day of the sale, including two Dubawi fillies and the full-brother to Sea The Moon (Ger).

Freshman Watch

By Georgia Cox

Shamardal was undoubtedly top class on the track and has proved to be a highly influential sire. His legacy has grown globally through his notable progeny, such as Lope De Vega (Ire), Pakistan Star (Ger), Able Friend (Aus), Tarnawa (Ire) and Castle Lady (Ire).

If this season is anything to go by then Shamadal's name will be prominent for many years to come in the Darley operation alone, with Blue Point (Ire) leading the first-season sires' table and two more of Shamardal's sons, Pinatubo (Ire), and Earthlight (Ire), set to have their first runners next year. A third, Victor Ludorum (GB), had his first foals this year.

The middle of the three is making a good impression as the grilling of first-season sires is well under way, and the dual Group 1-winning juvenile Earthlight can be singled out as one who continues to impress. Lot 81, a colt out of Scarlett Rose {GB} {Royal Applause {GB}}, adds another chapter to his story as he was acquired from the Goffs November foal sale for €120,000 and resold on Tuesday by Hillwood Stud for 260,000gns. This robust chestnut colt was one of a number of purchases on the day who will race in the Godolphin blue.

Charlie Vigors of Hillwood Stud said of lot 81, “A client of ours, Austin Whelan, selected him himself and asked if we'd take him home, raise, and consign him for him. He has been a straightforward colt the whole way through his prep and looks like a good advertisement for the sire.

“We have another one for Book 2 and I have to say they seem to have developed well from foals to yearlings. They look like speedy, precocious types that align with the sire's traits. As a son of Shamardal, he ticks all the boxes: strength, a great mind, and great action. We were delighted with the price. The word around is that they are being well received.”

The colt is a three-part-brother to the aforementioned treble Royal Ascot winner Blue Point, who has bounced clear in this year's first-season sires' table with 39 individual winners to his name so far, including four Group winners.

Buy Of The Day

Lot 61: Camelot (GB) – Rock Orchid (Ire) (Fastnet Rock {Aus})
Buyer: Johnston Racing, 65,000gns
Consignor: Camas Park Stud
Breeder: Ben Sangster

Think Ben Sangster and Camelot and the treble Group 1 winner Luxembourg (Ire) springs to mind. That colt is indeed bred on very similar lines to this filly, who hails from a family which has already heaped Classic success on Sangster as a breeder in the form of the Oaks winner Dancing Rain (Ire) (Danehill Dancer {Ire}), a three-parts sister to the dam, Rock Orchid. The mare has already produced the G2 Curragh Cup-placed Amusement (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}), and this filly has plenty going for her on paper, with the further family including Derby winner Dr Devious (Ire), St Leger winner Continuous (Jpn) and Irish Oaks victrix Even So (Ire), who is also by Camelot.

Charlie and Mark Johnston are on record as staunch followers of pedigree and performance and, though this filly's first three dams were all unraced, they have combined to supply an abundance of classy winners between them. Hopefully there's more to come.