“SHE'S a princess,” was the comment of Peter Doyle as he signed for the Dansili daughter of the St Simon Stakes winner High Heeled at 600,000gns, the top priced foal at this year's Tattersalls December Foal Sale.
She was purchased from West Blagdon Stud for Mayfair Speculators and M.V. Magnier. This is the immediate family of Just The Judge. West Blagdon also sold a Dansili half-sister to Bye Bye Birdie for 230,000gns to Tim Gredley.
The Dubawi colt foal out of Finsceal Beo was expected to top the session but he was bought back in by vendor Michael Ryan for 1,450,000gns.
The session ended with 185 lots sold for a total of 16.7 million guineas. The average price on the day was 90,638gns and the median was 65,000gns.
Late in the day Magnier, Mayfair and the Doyles spent 340,000gns on an Invincible Spirit colt from Norelands Stud. He is out of the Group 3 winner Cabaret (by Galileo). The mare's Dansili filly foal was bought by Rabbah for 200,000gns last year. Cabaret is in-foal to Kodiac.
A highlight in mid-afternoon was the appearance of the first Dubawi of the week, Airlie Stud’s son of the unraced Galileo mare Snowgal. The dam is a half-sister to the Group 1 Moyglare Stud Stakes winner Preseli and Jamie McCalmont had the final say as the hammer fell at 500,000gns and the colt is for Jon Kelly.
Peter Stanley of New England Stud sold his Frankel filly out of Household Name for 350,000gns to Japan's JS Company. The filly was bred by Countess De La Warr and is from the wonderful Juddmonte family of Reefscape, Bahamian, Wemyss Bight, Beat Hollow and Oasis Dream.
Standley said: "She is a real queen and has been since the day she was born. She is a great walking filly, and has taken everything here in her stride.
"She is coming back to the farm and will ship to Japan at some point next year and will race there.
"This was such a lovely filly that we said the mare has to go back to Frankel - so that will hopefully be the plan next year- she is in-foal to Dansili."
BRIAN GLEESON
Yellowford Farm’s Sea The Stars colt out of Something Mon, bred by Brian Gleeson’s Brucetown Farms, fell to the decisive 375,000gns bid of John Ferguson. The colt’s two-year-old full-brother Big Challenge recently made a winning debut in the Godolphin blue colours and he had also been a foal purchase from the same vendor’s for 230,000gns.
Mark Gittins’ Castlefarm Stud consigned one of the most attractive lots in the shape of the only foal by Galileo to be offered during the week. The March-foaled daughter of the dual Group 3 winning Choisir mare Lady Springbank was the pick of Philip Stauffenberg and he was forced to 300,000gns to secure her. Afterwards he said “she was a bit dear – but then she is a Galileo filly! She has been bought for resale, but all options are open.”
The Galileo was followed immediately by another Castlefarm lot, this one being the Michael Kinane-bred Sea The Stars three-parts brother to the Group 2 winner Mikhail Glinka, a son of Galileo. John Ferguson won the battle for him and the docket was signed at 220,000gns.
Amy Marnane continues a fine family tradition and sold a Frankel colt to John Ferguson for 280,000gns. The colt was bred by Zalim Bifov and is the first foal from the stakes-winning Dutch Art mare More Than Sotka.
Progeny by Sea The Stars were all the rage and Hascombe & Valiant Stud’s half-sister by the great champion to Grade 1 Canadian International Stakes winner Cannock Chase and Group 2 winner Pisco Sour was sold as a foal share. Anthony Oppenheimer decided to buy the foal and through Tom Goff of Blandford Bloodstock he paid 220,000gns to gain outright ownership.
successful family
Irish breeders Flor and Mary Ryan sold a colt by Sea The Stars through Keith Harte for 230,000gns and Timmy Hyde’s Camas Park Stud acquired him. The second foal of his Marju dam Coolree Marj, he comes from a most successful family originally developed by the Aga Khan. Almanzor is the latest star from the line.
Knocktoran Stud sold a number of high-priced lots, headed by their son of Lope De Vega, out of the Group 3 wining juvenile Dolled Up, a daughter of another Ballylinch sire in Whipper. Yeomanstown Stud’s winning bid of 230,000gns was enough to see off all the opposition. The first foals by Kingman have been eagerly awaited and another in the Knocktoran draft was a son of the champion and out of a full-sister to the champion filly Immortal Verse. Mick Flanagan had the winning bid at 180,000gns. This was also the price obtained by Norelands Stud for their Kingman filly out of Lovely Blossom, bought by Philip Stauffenberg.
Shadwell Estate went shopping for the Dark Angel colt out of a Tamayuz half-sister to the stakes winner Dream Eater from the Knocktoran consignment and he cost Sheikh Hamdan 160,000gns. The same vendor’s Teofilo son of the group-placed Kyllachy mare Califante sold for 140,000gns to Ennistown Stud.
BLANDFORD ACTIVE
Blandford Bloodstock has been very active all week and their purchases on Friday include the beautifully bred Invincible Spirit colt out of the Group 1 Prix Saint-Alary mare Fidelite, already the dam of a stakes winner by the Irish National Stud stallion. The gavel came down at 190,000gns for him. They also purchased the Dark Angel half-brother to the German Group 1 winner Temida from the Veitch’s Ringfort Stud for 160,000gns. A recent victory for the two-year-old half-brother Contrapposto brought the dam’s tally to five winners.
The dual Derby winner Australia is another sire with his first foals for sale and Stringston Farm sold a half-brother to the Irish Derby runner-up Golden Sword for 165,000gns to Rathbarry Stud, their first purchase of the week. Fran Woods said “we’ve been an under bidder, but it has been hot trade.”
The dual Group 1 winning sprinter Slade Power also has his first foals on the ground and Norelands Stud consigned one of the best this week in the shape of a grandson of Jersey Stakes winner Satin Flower, the dam of the Middle Park Stakes winner Lujain. Glenvale Stud’s Ciaran Conroy was the buyer at 150,000gns.
There was no shortage of Dark Angel progeny realising six-figure sums. Brook Stud received 140,000gns from Dromoland Stud for a colt out of a half-sister to two group winners, while the best price of a select band of three foals from Sheila Grassick’s Newtown Stud was a colt by the Yeomanstown stallion, the first foal of a half-sister to the Group 2 winner Shimraan. The colt was bred by Sheila Grassick and Yvonne Jacques.
The Newtown draft also included a daughter of Kodiac out of a half-sister to the dam of Gutaifan and she sold to RBS for 105,000gns. Later in the day Deer Forest Stud sold a son of Kodiac to Peter and Ross Doyle Bloodstock for 140,000gns. The colt’s winner producing dam is an own-sister to Soviet Song, winner of five Group 1 races. This is the family also of Ribbons.
SIX FIGURES
The Doyles also signed for the Kingman half-sister to the ultra-smart sprinter Pearl Secret, from the family of Palacegate Episode, Palacegate Jack, Another Episode and Dutch Art, and this Whitsbury Manor Stud consigned lot cost 135,000gns.
Oasis Dream had a couple of six-figure lots, with the best of them being Genesis Green Stud’s half-sister to the Irish-based stallion Cappella Sansevero. He cost Tom Malone 130,000gns, while Langton Stud’s granddaughter of the multiple Group 3 winner Shemima sold to Green Lantern Stables for 110,000gns.
Joe Foley paid 125,000gns for the first foal of the multi-talented Missunited and the colt is a son of the champion and leading sire Sea The Stars. The Hutch’s Whispering Grass Stud sold the son of the 12-time winning mare. There are few better families in the stud book than that developed by Kirsten Rausing and containing the likes of Albanova, Alborada and Aussie Rules. Through her St Simon Stud she sold a Sea The Stars colt from the same line to Tally-Ho Stud for 110,000gns.
St Simon Stud did even better with a son of Dutch Art out of the stakes-placed Bite Of The Cherry and Abbey Farm paid 130,000gns for him. The grandam is the Moyglare Stud Stakes winner Bianca Nera.
Round Hill Stud’s Dark Angel half-brother to Jacqueline Quest was bought by JC Bloodstock for 125,000gns. The same stud’s Kodiac filly out of Ventura Mist is the first produce of her juvenile stakes-winning dam and Richard Knight acquired her for 120,000gns. This was the same price achieved by the sale of a Toronado colt out of an unraced Rail Link half-sister to the Grade 1 winner Redwood, and Amanda Skiffington made the winning bid.
Two lots both sold for 115,000gns and both were purchased by Irish farms. Camas Park Stud take home a Dark Angel half-brother to the group winning two-year-old Luminous Eyes from the Ballylinch draft, while Rathasker Stud paid the same amount for an Iffraaj colt out of the stakes-placed Strictly Silca.
Stringston Farm’s great sale included a Zoffany colt who cost Cormac McCormack 110,000gns and that price was matched by John Ferguson’s purchase of a New Approach half-brother to the Grade 2 winner Spice Route from Usk Valley Stud.
Two lots that went to the sale from Ireland return there in the shape of Norelands Stud’s Lope De Vega colt who sold to Glenvale Stud for 105,000gns, and Knockainey Stud’s War Command filly, the first lot of the day to make six figures, selling to Camas Park for 100,000gns.