By Emma Berry
NEWMARKET, UK–If Daban (Ire) (Acclamation {GB}) can strike in Sunday's QIPCO 1,000 Guineas she will add extra lustre to an aptly-named sale which has already provided an Ascot Gold Cup winner in Trip To Paris (Ire) (Champs Elysees {GB}) and G2 Prix Kergorlay winner Neary Caught (Ire) (New Approach {Ire}) who was third on his seasonal resumption in yesterday's G3 Sagaro S.
While the G3 Nell Gwyn S. winner Daban, at 260,000gns, was the most expensive filly of last year's sale when offered through Katie McGivern's Derryconnor Stud on behalf of her breeders Peter and Antoinette Kavanagh, Trip To Paris and Nearly Caught were picked up for 20,000gns and 25,000gns respectively, giving hope to those approaching today's sale with a smaller budget.
As has become tradition, the Tattersalls Guineas Sale begins with a selection of horses in training–72 after withdrawals–with the last through the ring in that particular session being Steve Rogers (Ire) (lot 91), a Montjeu (Ire) half-brother to G1 Al Quoz Sprint winner The Right Man (GB) (Lope De Vega {Ire}). The six-time winner has an official rating of 100 and is offered by Roger Varian's Carlburg Stables.
The unraced 2-year-olds–of which 188 remain from 214 catalogued–were put to the test on a sunny but breezy morning yesterday on Newmarket's Rowley Mile alongside the strip on which the first two British Classics will be run this Saturday and Sunday.
A decent number of people turned out to watch the breeze show, perhaps some of them still with money to spend having been unlucky at a fiercely competitive Craven Breeze-up Sale a fortnight ago.
“The Craven was a very good sale–it was fantastic for all involved,” said Tattersalls' marketing director Jimmy George at Thursday's breeze. “When the returns from a sale rise by such a significant amount it certainly takes everyone by surprise. We work very hard in Britain, Ireland and throughout the world to promote every sale that takes place and we had a good response to the catalogue but it would be wrong to pretend that we expected the extraordinary strength of that sale. That, however, gives hope that it will perhaps roll on to the Guineas sale.”
He continued, “It's a sale which continues to produce high-class horses and Daban being second-favourite for the Guineas on Sunday is just about the best advertisement we could hope for. But equally it isn't just about precocity and speed. Trip To Paris came from this sale a few years back. There's something for every budget and requirement.”
An emerging theme of recent breeze-ups in Europe has been the rekindling in interest in the offspring of American sires and the Guineas catalogue contains 13 breezers by US-based stallions, including lot 105, a first-crop son of Shanghai Bobby. Offered by Bansha House Stables, he is the first foal of minor stakes winner Julia's Star (El Prado).
Scat Daddy topped that strong Craven Sale with a colt bought relatively inexpensively at $67,000 at Keeneland who went on to make 675,000gns. With that in mind, there will certainly be plenty of interest surrounding the sale of lot 212, a Scat Daddy filly from the family of multiple Group 1 winner Russian Rhythm (Kingmambo) who was bought for $32,000 by Chad Schumer and Johnny Collins, the team responsible for Group 3-winning breezer Syphax (Arch).
Like Scat Daddy, Leroidesanimaux (BRZ) is sadly no longer with us but the chance to buy one of his well-related sons is presented in lot 141, Grove Stud's half-brother to G2 Duke Of York S. winner Glass Office (GB) (Verglas {Ire}). The colt was bred by Kirsten Rausing's Lanwades Stud, where the sire of Animal Kingdom stood for his final three seasons.
The dependable Rathbarry Stud stallion Acclamation (GB) supplied last year's star Daban and he is one of the better represented horses in the catalogue with six listed. Among them is lot 223, Church Farm & Horse Park Stud's colt out of the well-bred French juvenile winner Zibeling (Ire) (Cape Cross {Ire}) who is a half-sister to the multiple Group-winning sprinter Beauty Is Truth (Ire) (Pivotal {GB}) and from the further family of Last Tycoon (GB) (Try My Best).
Society Rock (Ire), Red Jazz and Swiss Spirit (GB) have all made pleasing starts to their stallions careers with two winners apiece from their first crops at this early stage, and all three have multiple entrants in the Guineas Sale. Among other European freshmen are Maxios (GB), whose sole representative (lot 241) is Knockanglass Stables' colt out of a juvenile-winning grand-daughter of Dietrich Von Boetticher's champion filly Borgia (Ger), a rare female winner of the G1 Deutsches Derby. Maxios's former fellow German resident who is now at stud in France, the crack 2-year-old Dabirsim (Fr), has already posted a winner from his first crop and has a colt and a filly in the sale (lots 229 and 235).
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