A SON of Kingman, the second produce of the Group 1 Henkel Preis der Diana (German Oaks) runner-up Sarandia, herself a daughter of another Banstead Manor sire in Dansili, emerged as the top lot at the BBAG Yearling Sale last week. He sold for €450,000.

Jason Litt and Michael Donohoe, representing Solis/Litt and BBA Ireland respectively, went head-to-head for the colt who is the second produce of his triple stakes-winning dam. Sarandia is one of three stakes winners out of the winning Dashing Blade mare Salontasche, the best of the others being the Group 3 Bavarian Classic winner Saphir.

The sale-topping colt shares the same third dam, the classic-placed Salonrolle, with this year’s German Derby winner Sammarco. It was a first visit to the sale for the US-based agent Litt, though his purchase is thought likely to remain in Europe. The colt will sport the racing silks of the Roth family’s LNJ Foxwoods.

Gestüt Fährhof also supplied the second highest-priced yearling, a well-related son of Night Of Thunder, the first produce of the listed German Oaks trial winner Realeza. That daughter of Maxios is a half-sister to the English listed winner Rumh, and she, in turn, is the dam of Wild Illusion and Yibir. The former won three Group 1 races, the Prix Marcel Boussac and Prix de l’Opera in France and the Nassau Stakes in England, while Yibir landed the Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Turf.

Wild Illusion and Yibir were successful in the colours of Sheikh Mohammed’s Godolphin, and his representative Anthony Stroud made a play for the Night of Thunder colt, but it was trainer Andreas Suborics who had the final say at €325,000.

Best fillies

A pair of fillies both sold for €250,000, the best price for their sex at the one-day sale. First to reach that figure was Haras de l’Hotellerie’s Sea The Stars half-sister to three stakes horses, notably the listed winner Ismene and last year’s Group 1 German Derby third, Imo. They are all out of a stakes-winning daughter of Monsun.

The filly was sold to Ronald Rauscher to run for the owner and breeder of the multiple Group 1 winner Novellist, Christophe Berglar. A trainer has yet to be chosen, but the filly will remain in Germany.

Rauscher also sold a filly for €250,000. This was a daughter of Frankel, the third offspring of the French-winning Acclamation mare Vagabonde. She, in turn, is a half-sister to two Group 3 winners, one of which, the Prix d’Arenberg winner Kalahara, is a daughter of Frankel. The yearling’s third dam Occupandiste won the Group 1 Prix de la Foret and Prix Maurice de Gheest.

At stud Occupandiste bred the Grade 1 winner Mondialiste and is grandam of the Group 1 Prix du Jockey Club-French Derby winner Intello. It was no surprise that such an international pedigree would have wide appeal, and the purchaser, BBA Ireland’s Michael Donohoe, was acting for Mr Zhang of Yulong Investments.

Another Frankel

The second Frankel in the sale, Gestüt Fährhof’s son of the Big Shuffle mare Praia, sold for €210,000 to owner Eckhard Sauren. The colt is a half-brother to seven winners, the best of which has been Potemkin. This son of New Approach won 16 times, spread between Germany, Italy and France, and while he won at Group 3 level in his native country, his best wins were in the Group 1 Premio Roma and the Group 2 Prix Dollar.

The €210,000 sale tag also applies to Gestüt Auenquelle’s Sea The Stars colt out of the Group 3 winner Virginia Sun. The dam is a daughter of the recently retired Doyen, and both of her winners to date by Soldier Hollow have been more than useful. Virginia Storm has been placed at up to Group 2 level, but his own-sister Virginia Joy is a Grade 2 winner in the USA for Peter Brant, and she was placed in the Group 1 German Oaks too. Grizzetti Galoppo signed for the colt.

Ballylinch Stud

Stauffenberg Bloodstock consigned the only lot in the sale by Le Havre, a half-sister to a Group 3 winning son of Sea The Stars. The filly’s grandam was the brilliant racemare and multiple Group 1 winner, Salve Regina, an own-sister to a pair of Group 1 German Derby winners in Schiaparelli and Samum. She heads to Ballylinch Stud for a partnership that involves Ecurie des Charmes after her purchase for €205,000.

There were a number of other Irish purchasers present, and among those signing for lots were JD Moore, Powerstown Stud, Grove Stud, Glending Stables, Brown Island Stud and Ard Erin Stud.