TIME Is Precious won in Italy at the weekend.

A 70,000gns yearling purchase by Jamie Lloyd for Marco Botti, the now two-year-old son of Rip Van Winkle was also doing a huge favour to his breeder Des Vere Hunt as this week. The Castlebridge Consignment has his yearling full-brother for sale as Lot 1253 in Newmarket.

The colt for sale is the fourth foal out of the winning Nayef mare Sabancaya. The first was never named and the second, a filly by Mastercraftsman, was placed at two.

Now that she is off the mark with a winner there is bound to be plenty of interest in her latest sale offering.

Sabancaya was trained by Wiliam Haggas but failed to win. She was then sold and Pam Sly purchased her and placed her to win twice.

Retired to the paddocks, she was covered by Archipenko and sold to Des Vere Hunt for 28,000gns in 2010 through Lanwades Stud.

Sabancaya was bred by Mary Slack, a member of the Oppenheimer family and a leading breeder in South Africa. Indeed, Sabancaya is a half-sister to Noordhoek Flyer, a South African-bred son of Pivotal who won the Group 1 Cape Guineas at Kenilworth and was runner-up in the Cape Derby.

He was trained by Dean Kannemeyer to become the leading sprinter/miler of his generation before injury interrupted his career. Back in May Kannemeyer appropriately saddled Noordhoek Flyer’s first winner.

Noordhoek Flyer and Sabancaya are two of the six winners produced by the Kris mare Serra Negra. The mare had seven foals at stud but all of her runners won.

Serra Negra is a half-sister to Royal Intrigue, a winner of four races in Ireland and Hong Kong. Here he was trained by Dermot Weld for Dr Ronan Lambe before being sold on.

Their dam Congress was a full-sister to the English and French Group 1 winner Cherokee Rose and she is the grandam of Group 1 winners Kirkless and Mastery and the third dam of the Eclipse Stakes winner Mukhadram.

By a strange coincidence the Rip Van Winkle yearling selling on Wednesday will be following the full-brother to Tuttipaesi into the ring! It’s a small world in bloodstock.