By Emma Berry and Brian Sheerin
NEWMARKET, UK–It wasn't too hard to imagine that a Kingman (GB) half-sister to this season's leading juvenile Chaldean (GB) (Frankel {GB}) would steal the show at Tattersalls, and with shades of two years ago it was Juddmonte that swooped for the weanling from Whitsbury Manor Stud's increasingly influential broodmare Suelita (GB) (Dutch Art {GB}) at an even million gns.
This time though Juddmonte's general manager Simon Mockridge was forced to stake almost double the amount it took to buy Chaldean, and that is largely thanks to the colt's exploits this season, with his four victories including the G1 Dewhurst, G2 Champagne and G3 Acomb S.
But Suelita is far from just a one-trick pony: her five black-type offspring and six winners from six runners include the G2 Mill Reef S. winner and young sire Alkumait (GB), by Whitsbury Manor's Juddmonte-bred stallion Showcasing {GB}), and his full-sister Get Ahead (GB), who has been retained by the Harper family.
It was Chris Harper who bought the four-time winner Suelita at Tattersalls nine years ago for 21,500gns, having been involved in the family in the past through Chaldean's third dam Horatia (Ire) and a half-sister to her fourth dam named Ahead (GB). The breeder, whose son Ed is now at the helm of Whitsbury Manor, wiped away tears as Suelita's latest offspring left the ring with a seven-figure price tag.
He said, “This is Gerald Leigh's old pedigree and years ago Gerald and I shared Horatia and Heady. This mare came up for sale and I went and had a look and thought she was a lovely mare, all quality. If I can buy for under 30,000 I do and she has been such a star. She's in foal to Showcasing and I hope she has a filly for obvious reasons, because she has to go back to Frankel now and if she has a filly then we won't be able to afford to keep her.”
Harper added of the million-guinea transaction, “This is a fabulous moment, it has never happened before, and we are all so thrilled.”
Whitsbury Manor is currently riding the crest of a wave as the breeder of one of the most exciting juveniles of the season and with a stallion roster that includes the proven Showcasing, leading first-season sire Havana Grey (GB), and Sergei Prokofiev, whose first foals have been well received this week.
Harper continued, “I bought my first stallion in 1974, he was called Philip Of Spain (GB), and I know that the majority of stallions fail. So we've battled on and we've always been lucky enough to have one that has carried the others–whether it was old Compton Place, or Cadeaux Genereux–and they have kept the show on the road. Now we are in the really amazing position of having two really popular horses and one that is going so well.
“It has been a year never to forget.”
Simon Mockridge and the Juddmonte team have played a significant part in that memorable year, and they now have a legitimate Classic contender on their hands for 2023, a situation made even more pleasing for them by the fact that Suelita's star colt is a son of Frankel.
Mockridge said of the latest member of the family to join the Juddmonte fold, “You know that it is going to be expensive buying a filly like her, especially when you have a new Group 1 winner on the page and Chaldean is very exciting. We're delighted to be able to buy him from Whitsbury and the Harpers do a great job. I'm very pleased for Ed Harper and his team.
“The [Abdullah] family wants to reinvest in families. This is a very strong page and, with Chaldean, who knows what's going to happen next year. She could be a very valuable filly going forward.”
He added, “Chaldean was a slightly smaller horse. She's bigger. She's got a great, big backside on her and she looks faster–if you can say that. She's an exciting filly. Kingman has had such a good season–two Group 1 winners, 14 individual group winners, and he is going from strength to strength.”
As with so many bloodstock auctions this year, the December Foal Sale also appears to be going from strength to strength. Last year 19 weanlings made 200,000gns or more; this time around it was 24. That pushed the session aggregate to 20,045,000gns, more than 3 million gns clear of the 2021 tally, with the average arising by 19% to 110,495gns and the median by 13% to 68,000gns. With 182 foals sold from 226 offered, the clearance rate was 81%.
Heatherwold's Last Hurrah
The purchase of the sale's top lot was by no means Juddmonte's lone strike as Mockridge signed for the four of the six most expensive weanlings of the session for a total of 2,425,000gns. The quartet included a Frankel filly bred by Eminent Kind Ltd and the final offering from Mike Caddy's Heatherwold Stud. The February-born weanling, who was sold for 500,000gns, is the second foal of the dual listed winner and Grade I runner-up Awesometank (GB) (Intense Focus).
“It is bittersweet really, as she is the final youngster to be sold from Heatherwold Stud under Mick Caddy's ownership,” said Heatherwold's bloodstock advisor Jeremy Brummitt. “He is ceasing operations and has gone out with a bang.
“I bought the granddam Janey Muddles; I remember seeing her win first time out at the Curragh, I think she was Lawman's first winner as a 2-year-old, she passed the whole field and was on the slowest of the ground.”
He continued, “I never forgot her and when the owner came around to sell her, she was carrying her second foal which was an in-house covering to Intense Focus. I bought her here for 115,000gns in 2014. That foal became an absolutely lovely yearling, was named Awesometank–we bought her back at the sales and raced her.
“She took us to Canada and Chicago and was second in the [GI] Beverley D [S.], and now she is breeding. She lives in a field with her dam and they are two of the happiest mares I have ever seen, and they both raise happy and contented foals.”
Kingman Filly:
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Congratulations to @WhitsburyManor who sold this filly by Kingman to @JuddmonteFarms, who own her half-brother & G1 winner Chaldean, at #TattsDecember. pic.twitter.com/rYplEQQVoE
— TDN (@theTDN) November 25, 2022
Langton Stud's Day In The Sun
In a cloudless blue sky above Park Paddocks a daredevil pilot in a small plane was flying a loop-the-loop over Somerville Paddock R at Tattersalls as members of the media and fellow breeders flocked to congratulate Giles Wates. With two members of his Langton Stud draft (lots 928 and 929) having just exited the ring for a cumulative price of 685,000gns, it's likely that Wates felt like looping the loop himself, for this was by far the biggest sale result for his Dorset farm since he decided to sell his stock solely as foals 10 years ago.
“I am just about getting my breath. It has been great but it has been quite stressful too,” said Wates after being paid a huge compliment by one of the best breeding operations in the business when Simon Mockridge of Juddmonte Farms went to 500,000gns for the Lope De Vega (Ire) filly out of the G3 Oh So Sharp S. winner Poet's Vanity (GB) (Poet's Voice {GB}).
He continued, “It has been a few years getting here, but we have got there now, we are on our way and the team has done a great job.”
A half-sister to fellow stakes winners and proven black-type producers Lesson In Humility (Ire) (Mujadil) and Boastful (Ire) (Clodovil {Ire}), Poet's Vanity was bought by the Wates family with Richard Brown from Book 1 of the October Yearling Sale for 200,000gns and proved to be worth every penny, with a group win to her name as a juvenile followed by a placed finish in the G3 Nell Gwyn S. and two further victories.
“She's a lovely mare, a gentle giant,” Wates added. “She is in foal to Wootton Bassett (GB) and will probably then be rested as she will have a late foal. This filly's older brother by Kingman has been retained and has gone to Andrew Balding.”
Juddmonte looked to have the filly bought at 450,000gns until Philipp Stauffenberg made one last bid at 480,000gns, which was quickly countered.
“We knew she was very, very popular, everyone liked her,” said Mockridge. “She is a great athlete, a great walker, and has been well produced by Langton. We thought we'd have to be strong on her, but for us she is an outcross pedigree for the longer term. She is a beautiful filly, hopefully she can be a race filly now and then come back home.”
Following the Lope De Vega filly was a daughter of Night Of Thunder (Ire) out of Shemya (Fr) (Dansili {GB}) (lot 929) and from the family of G1 Champion S. winner Bay Bridge (GB). Michael Fitzpatrick, signing as JC Bloodstock, was the eventual buyer at 185,000gns and for him it was a case of returning to a successful source, as he pinhooked the filly's half-brother by Kingman (GB), later known as the Group 3 winner Cormorant (GB), for 135,000gns as a foal before selling him on in Book 1 for 1,050,000gns.
The Juddmonte team returned to the ring a little later to buy out Anita Wigan, with whom they co-bred a Kingman (GB) half-sister to G2 Premio Lydia Tesio winner Angel Power (GB) (Lope De Vega {Ire}), at 425,000gns. Lot 973 was consigned by Selwood Bloodstock and is out of the Aussie Rules mare Burning Rules (Ire), a half-sister to Group 3 winner Blue De Vega (Ire) from the Gestut Ammerland family of German Group 1 winners Borgia (Ger) and Boreal (Ger). Burning Rules will be among the first book of mares to visit Baaeed (GB) next spring.
LDV Filly:
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Langton Stud's filly foal by Lope de Vega out of G3 winner Poet's Vanity sold to @JuddmonteFarms at #TattsDecember Foal Sale. pic.twitter.com/QurggtaK0q
— TDN (@theTDN) November 25, 2022
Taking The Long View With Frankel
In the upper echelon of the foal market the air can get a little thin for pinhookers but a variety of owner/breeders were out in force on Friday, looking to bolster their own broodmare bands with new blood.
Along with Juddmonte, the successful operations of Moyglare Stud, Shadwell, Sumbe, and Gestut Fahrhof were among those investing at the top end of a strong foal market and each of those named went home with a Frankel weanling.
Moyglare Stud has raced a homebred Classic-winning daughter of Frankel this season in the G1 Irish 1000 Guineas winner Homeless Songs, and Fiona Craig signed for a filly by him from the draft of Luke and Tabitha Lillingston's Mount Coote Stud at 550,000gns.
The filly in question (lot 1063) is out of Sunny Again (GB) (Shirocco {Ger}), who has already proved her worth as the dam of Group 3 winner Elisa Again (GB) (Champs Elysees {GB}) and St Leger runner-up Berkshire Rocco (Fr) (Sir Percy {GB}).
“She's not a big, long-striding thing, but I know what Homeless Songs looks like, and I wasn't trying to buy an Oaks winner, I was trying to buy something fast,” said Craig. “Speed is so hard to find and she looked fast to me. The pedigree is great, and Mount Coote is great–they've raised loads of good horses.”
Tabitha Lillingston added, “We've been so lucky with that mare; she does it every time and now she has some really exciting horses to run for her. When Fiona saw her she said she was really like Homeless Songs.
“We bought the mare for 15 grand and she has really rewarded us. Sometimes you just get lucky.”
Tina Rau has been active throughout the foal sale on behalf of Andreas Jacobs's Gestut Fahrhof and together they signed for a Frankel filly from the Whitsbury Manor Stud draft out of the listed-placed Heartwarming (GB) (Showcasing {GB}), a half-sister to the G2 Queen Mary S. winner Heartache (GB) (Kyllachy {GB}).
“She's been bought to race,” Rau commented after bidding 320,000gns. “We liked the pedigree. There's a lot of quality coming up in the next three or four years, there's lots of potential for it to grow. We love the mating, Frankel over Showcasing, and she's a handy version of Frankel which we like.”
Gestut Fahrhof has recruited five new weanlings from the sale for 836,000gns, including a Sea The Stars (Ire) half-sister to Group 2 winners Lemista (Ire) (Raven's Pass) and Sakheer (Ire) (Zoffany {Ire}) from Yellowford Farm for 280,000gns.
Sumbe Joins Frankel Fray
With Mishriff (Ire) having joined the stallion ranks in France at Sumbe, there has been added significance to the purchasing of well-bred fillies and lot 1056, a New England Stud-consigned daughter of Frankel, fit the bill at 425,000gns.
A daughter of the dual stakes winner Mrs Gallagher (GB) (Oasis Dream {GB}), the filly is from a family the Sumbe team is familiar with and she will be put into training, according to stud manager Tony Fry.
He said, “We were underbidders on the Starspangledbanner (Aus) [half-brother] as a yearling. She'll go back to Hesmonds Stud now. We have a plethora of stallions so, when she finishes her racing career, she can visit them.”
He added, “We bought yearlings for Clive Cox and Roger Varian and all of our French-breds will stay in France.”
G1 Prix du Jockey Club winner Mishriff's fee has been set at €20,000 in his debut season at Haras de Montfort et Preaux and he will stand alongside Golden Horde (Ire), De Treville (GB) and Recorder (GB).
Asked how Mishriff has been received, Fry said, “Super. We haven't started showing him yet but the bookings have started to come in already. When people see him they will be very impressed by him.”
Sons On The Rise
Ghaiyyath (Ire) is one of the first-season sires being much talked about at the sales and he was the only one of his intake to nudge into the top 10 courtesy of his smartly-bred daughter from Norelands Stud (lot 1074) who was bought by Shadwell for 375,000gns.
The filly is a half-sister to the Aga Khan's recent juvenile maiden winner Tarawa (Ire) (Shamardal), who is highly regarded by her trainer Dermot Weld, as well as the Group 3 winners Tanaza (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}) and Taniyar (Ire) (Shamardal). Their dam Tanoura (Ire) (Dalakhani {Ire}) was purchased by David Nagle of Barronstown Stud for €200,000 last year.
Shadwell's Angus Gold has signed for six weanlings this week, including a Frankel half-brother to the German champion 2-year-old Wonderful Moon (Ger) (Sea the Moon {Ger}) at 370,000gns. The colt was bred by Sea The Moon's breeder Gestut Gorlsdorf and consigned from Marwell Park.
Ghaiyyath was not the only son of Dubawi to post some decent results at the most prestigious of the four foal sessions this week. The Fagan family's Deerpark Stud sold lot 969, a colt by New Bay (GB), to Shadwell for 210,000gns. The half-brother to three winners is a grandson of 1000 Guineas Trial winner Zavaleta (Ire) (Kahyasi {Ire}) whose descendants include Group 1 winner Intense Focus and Skitter Scatter, while further back the family also includes Irish Derby winner Soldier Of Fortune (Ire).
Nurlan Bizakov's Sumbe operation also bought a long-term racing prospect when going to 200,000gns for lot 924, a filly by Night Of Thunder (Ire) out of a sister to the G1 Irish 2000 Guineas winner Romanised (Ire) (Holy Roman Emperor {Ire}) from Prospect Stables. The filly was bred in partnership by Romanised's owner Robert Ng and his breeders the Aherne family. The filly's granddam Romantic Venture (Ire) (Indian Ridge {GB}) is a half-sister to the treble Group 1 winner Designs On Rome (Ire) as well as GII Arlington Derby winner Simple Exchange (Ire).
Sea The Stars Filly Heads Southcourt Dispersal
To sell or not to sell will be the decision for James Hanly of Ballyhimikin Stud to make after purchasing a jewel from the partial dispersal of the late Sir Evelyn de Rothschild's Southcourt Stud. Offered as lot 1002 from Peter Stanley's New England Stud, the daughter of Sea the Stars (Ire) and the listed winner Waila (GB) (Notnowcato {GB}), from the family of former Horse of the Year Crystal Ocean (GB), was knocked down at 400,000gns, with Johnny McKeever conducting the bidding on behalf of Hanly.
“James will probably put her back through Book 1, but she also has the potential to be a foundation broodmare,” McKeever said. “It is so hard to get into these families and it is a once-in-lifetime opportunity, sadly, with the passing of Sir Evelyn de Rothschild there is a chance to get into families that would never be available.”
The filly's full-sister Infinite Cosmos (Ire) was beaten just a short-head on her debut for Sir Michael Stoute last month, and she features in next week's Mare Sale at Tattersalls, along with her mother, the 12-year-old Waila, who is in foal to Pinatubo (Ire).
McKeever added of Infinite Cosmos, “It will be interesting to see which trainer gets hold of her, but I believe Sir Michael thinks she is very good. That was an added incentive to buy this foal.”
Peter Stanley, who sold four foals from Southcourt Stud and will consign some of the farm's broodmares next week, said, “It is incredibly sad when it comes to the end of an era and Evelyn was the most charming man. I would much rather be talking to him than selling his horse for a lot of money. It is a great credit to him that he had four foals on the ground and they all sold as well as they did.
“He created a couple of fantastic families, and we should not forget that his sister, [the late] Renee Robeson, was really the power behind the scene, she was the one who created these families with Evelyn. He gave her the firepower to do it, but he was always prepared to back her judgement.”
He added of the next week's sale, “There are some lovely mares there; it is sad to be letting go of horses like that. It is a legacy and I think what is wonderful is that Evelyn has left behind something to be very proud of, and for the family to be very proud of.”
A Sea The Moon half-brother to the promising Crystal Caprice (GB) (Frankel {GB}), who is another to feature in next week's sale, was bought from the draft for 210,000gns by Bitzen Bloodstock.
O'Leary's 'Big Bite' For 280,000gns Colt
Eddie O'Leary has been one of the more active buyers at Tattersalls this week, and he has signed for 12 foals at a total spend of 995,000gns, headed by a 280,000gns No Nay Never colt from Awbeg Stud.
That was by far the most expensive of his purchases but, if he was feeling any pressure with his new acquisition, he scarcely made it be known after out-bidding Yeomanstown Stud.
“That's a big bite,” O'Leary joked, before adding, “I hope it doesn't come to bite me back!”
The No Nay Never colt (lot 965) is out of a winning Aqlaam (GB) mare Southern Belle (Ire) who has produced two winners, including Janoobi (Ire) (Night Of Thunder {Ire}), who started his career with Mark Johnston before winning and reaching a mark of 93 for Ger Lyons.
Heaping praise on his new addition, O'Leary added, “They all say this, but that's actually my pick of the whole sale. He's a brilliant horse by a brilliant sire and hopefully he goes places.”
Brown Named FBA Agent of the Year
Richard Brown was named as FBA Bloodstock Agent of the Year for the second year in a row at Tattersalls on Friday.
The Blandford Bloodstock agent, who bought this year's Derby winner Desert Crown (GB) (Nathaniel {Ire}) for owner Saeed Suhail, was also responsible for buying the G1 Commonwealth Cup winner Perfect Power (Ire) (Ardad {Ire}) and G1 Caulfield Cup winner Durston (GB) (Sea The Moon {Ger}) as well as G2 Lowther S victrix Swingalong (GB) (Showcasing {GB}) and G3 JRA Cup winner Desert Icon (Fr) (Sea The Stars {Ire}).
Geoffrey Howson, honorary president of the FBA, said, “When Richard Brown of Blandford Bloodstock received his FBA Bloodstock Agent prize last year, he told me that he was determined to win it again in 2022. I replied that the only way he could receive the award two years' running was to have bought the winner of the Derby.
“Immediately after his Book 2 yearling purchase, Desert Crown, won the Derby, he texted me, 'Told you I wanted another bottle of Krug!'”
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