Valmont Reinvest After Lucrative Sale of You Got To Me

NEWMARKET, UK — The Wednesday of the December Mares Sale may have become a quieter session than was once the case but there are still plenty of enticing broodmare prospects, not least from the Godolphin draft. It provided five of the day's top ten lots, including the session-topper Bridestones (Ire), a listed-placed filly by Teofilo (Ire) out of the G1 Fillies' Mile winner White Moonstone (Dynaformer).

The four-year-old was selected by agent Alex Elliott, who assisted the Amo Racing team in the purchase of the overall sale-topper, the 4.8 million gns You Got To Me (GB) (Nathaniel {Ire}), and it was the former part-owner of the Irish Oaks winner, Anthony Ramsden's Valmont, in the chair to buy Bridestones. Elliott, was aided in the bidding by Ramsden's nephew Charlie Spencer, the son of former champion jockey Jamie.

“She will go back to Whatton Manor [Stud] to be looked after by the Players,” Elliott said. “Teofilo is a very good broodmare sire and he works very well with Lope De Vega, one of Anthony's favourite stallions.”

Elliott also signed for Instinction (GB) (Brazen Beau {Aus}), a five-year-old half-sister to the G3 Prix Eclipse winner Eddie's Boy (GB) (Havana Grey {GB}), sold from Houghton Bloodstock at 120,000gns. The dual juvenile winner was in foal for the second time to Havana Grey's stud-mate Sergei Prokofiev and is from the strong black-type family of Swiss Lake (Indian Ridge).

“She made a lot sense – it's that old Lordship Stud family, a very fast family,” he said Elliott. “She is perfect for Havana Grey and, if we can take a good-looking Sergei out of her, that will go a good way to paying us back for today. She is for myself and a few others.”

In keeping with the earlier days of the sale, figures were up year-on-year during this third and penultimate session – notably an improvement in the clearance rate from 79% to 86%. That brought about an uplift in aggregate to 4,618,000gns (+25%), while the average was up by 29% at 24,962gns and the median improved to 16,000gns (+14%).

With one smaller session still to come on Thursday morning, the December Mares Sale is already in record territory. Turnover from the first three days stands at 82,742,000gns, surpassing the bumper year of 2022.

Sands Of Mali Still a Friend to Cool Silk Team

Ellaria Sand (GB) (Sands Of Mali {Fr}), winner of the Listed Radley Stakes for Ollie Sangster and owner-breeder The Cool Silk Partnership, was the standout in-training purchase of the day. The two-year-old was bought for 200,000gns by Sam Haggas and will remain with Sangster's team of horses at Manton.

She is one of two stakes winners from the first crop of Ballyhane-based Sands Of Mali, along with the Royal Ascot winner Ain't Nobody (Ire). The stallion also raced for Cool Silk and is now the sire of G2 Lowther Stakes runner-up Time For Sandals (Ire) among 19 winners.

Matt Coleman, advisor to the Cool Silk Partnership, said, “When Sands Of Mali was going to stud, I bought her dam Ellaria to join a band of broodmares to support the stallion. Ellaria Sand was born and reared at Culworth Grounds and went into training and, fair dues to Peter, Karin and Chris Swann of Cool Silk, they back their own homebreds and put them all in training. It is great to see them get such a great price for her.”

He added, “It is a big feather in the cap of the Cool Silk team for a homebred to have won a listed race, and then to sell her for 200,000gns. They raced the stallion and bred this filly so it is a great achievement, hopefully she will go on – Cool Silk has still got the mare and has a full-sister to race.”

That's Easy For You To Say

'Barry Lynch for Ballylinch' was the tongue-twisting buying partnership of the day, with the agent stepping in to sign for the G3 Pinnacle Stakes winner Miss Marjurie (Ire) (Marju {Ire}) for the powerhouse Irish stud at 140,000gns. 

Now 14 and in foal to Darley freshman Triple Time (Ire), the mare, offered by Baroda Stud, is from the family of Group 1 winners Soviet Song (Ire), Marsha (Ire) and Ribbons (GB).

Her two-year-old Smoken (GB) (Too Darn Hot {GB}), who was unnamed when the catalogue was published, provided a major update for her page when winning the Listed Montrose Stakes at Newmarket in early November. 

Lynch said, “Marju mares are very hard to come by, she is in foal to an interesting stallion, and she is a horse who can be mated very easily. It is quite exciting, we are delighted and she is for Ballylinch Stud. Could be one for Look De Vega.”

Buy of the Day

John Bourke of Hyde Park Stud, breeder of 1,000 Guineas winner Cachet (Ire) and Irish 2,000 Guineas runner-up and Jersey Stakes winner Haatem (Ire), picked up what could in time look to be a bargain in lot 1896, Frolova (GB). The unraced mare was bought for 10,000gns from Cheveley Park Stud and is by their emerging broodmare sire Dutch Art (GB).

Admittedly, she has not has a straightforward run at stud just yet as she has been barren in two of her five seasons and is yet to produce a winner. There are grounds for hope, however, as she has a yearling filly Korbut (GB), by Study Of Man (Ire), to race for her and was offered in foal to Ulysses (Ire). 

Frolova is a half-sister to the G1 Prix Jean Prat winner Good Guess (GB), who now stands alongside his sire Zodiac (GB) at Tally-Ho Stud and her second dam is the great Russian Rhythm.