AUTHAAL won the Irish St Leger 30 years ago and in so doing made racing headlines, and not for the first time. A member of the only crop sired by the ill-fated Shergar, the classic winning colt set a then foal and yearling record price when sold for 325,000gns and 3.1 million guineas, both times at Goffs.

Bred by Robert Sangster’s Swettenham Stud and partners in Kentucky, the only progeny of the brilliant Shergar sold as a foal in 1977. Authaal came up from Tommy Stack’s Thomastown Castle Stud and was bought by the BBA’s Joss Collins on behalf of a group of Americans. Collins outbid Philip Myerscough and Bobby Barry for the colt whose dam Galletto sold moments earlier, in foal to Alydar, for 500,000gns. The price for Authaal as a foal set a new European high.

The following year, in the same ring, Authaal’s value soared almost ten-fold when Timmy Hyde’s Camas Park Stud reoffered him and he fell to Tote Cherry-Downes’ winning bid. His price was by some margin the best ever in Europe for a yearling and in the more than three decades since has only been bettered seven times. In an enthralling bidding battle, Galletto’s trainer Vincent O’Brien locked horns with Cherry-Downes who was acting for Sheikh Mohammed. David Nagle was wielding the gavel for this momentous sale.

Trained by Vincent’s son David O’Brien and ridden by Christy Roche, Authaal’s five-length victory in the Irish St Leger was the first Group 1 success for a Sheikh Mohammed-owned colt in Ireland, England or France. What a roll of honour that victory started for the ruler of Dubai. Ironically, the colt was carrying the second colours of the Sheikh on the day, his first choice being the John Dunlop-trained I Want To Be.

Authaal did not race at two and as a three-year-old he won four of his five starts. The highlight, by some way, was his St Leger victory. After two undistinguished runs at four he was sent to Australia to join the stables of Colin Hayes and there he won three races, including a pair of Group 1s in 1988. The first of these was the Queen Elizabeth Stakes at Randwick in April and then he added the Underwood Stakes at Caulfield on September 22nd of that year.

Impressive on the latter occasion, he won by three lengths and three lengths from Fair Sir and Shantaroun. Brent Thompson was in the saddle that day and Authaal also finished third in the Group 1 Caulfield Cup among a number of placed efforts.

immortalised

While immortalised in both the sales ring as a dual European record setter and on the racecourse with a trio of Group 1 victories, Authaal’s final career as a stallion was far from glorious.

He was sent to Japan where according to the records I have obtained he sired 10 crops which numbered just over 200 individuals in total. Less than half of them made it to the races and he sired a total of just 25 winners on the flat.

The best of his winners, in that he was his only stakes winner, was the colt Ibuki Rajo Mon and his four wins as a three-year-old featured the Chunichi Sports Sho Yonsai Stakes. Another colt, Bamboo Fellini, was runner-up in the Mainichi Broadcast Kyoto Yonsaitokubetsu and he was the only other stakes earner. His chief earner, who amassed the equivalent of more than US$1 million, was Just A hero who won six of his 36 career starts.

His few daughters at stud did not enhance his legacy and none of them managed to breed a stakes-winner or stakes-placed performer.

Authaal was the best winner out of Galletto and Vincent O’Brien sent her to York where she gained her biggest success in the mile and a half Galtres Stakes. She was placed at three in a few listed races in Ireland. At stud she produced five winners and the best of the rest was Aras An Uachtarain, a son of Habitat who landed the Coolmore Godswalk Stakes at the Phoenix Park at three and was placed many times in stakes races in Ireland and the USA.

Galletto was a daughter of Nijinsky and one of just four foals produced by the Irish Guinness Oaks winner Gaia, herself by Charlottesville. Gaia was also trained at Ballydoyle and she was ridden to her classic victory by Liam Ward. She was bred at the Ballymagarvey Stud, by Dr Andree whose family owned the famous Gestut Romerhof in Germany.