DBS Vintage Renewal Draws To a Close

Even when a yearling is a good-looking individual, significant pedigree updates make a world of difference to a sales price, and everything fell into place for a Pantile Stud-bred daughter of Paco Boy (Ire) (lot 286), who topped a vibrant edition of the DBS Premier Sale at a record-equaling 280,000gns.

Her full-brother Galileo Gold (GB) won the G2 Vintage S. at Glorious Goodwood for Al Shaqab Racing in July, and she will eventually race in the Classic-winning colors of Saleh Al Homaizi and Imad Al Sagar, whose homebred Ajaya (GB) (Invincible Spirit {Ire}) won Saturday’s G2 Gimcrack S.

“For us as breeders we need such fillies, first to race, then to retire as broodmares to Blue Diamond Stud. She has quality and strength and she looks like she will be a lovely mare in time,” explained Saleh Al Homaizi.

“It has been great to see the results from the stud, with Ajaya and Raucous (GB) first and third in the Gimcrack, and Special Season (GB) winning so well on debut. You could say it has been a special season.”

A total of 31 yearlings sold for £100,000 or more though the two days of the Premier Sale, compared to 21 in 2014 when the top price was £230,000. This year’s top price equals that set in 2011 by Gale Force Ten (GB) (Oasis Dream {GB}), who went on to win the G3 Jersey S. at Royal Ascot and has just completed his first covering season at the Irish National Stud.

Heightened competition at the top end–most notably from a variety of Arab owners, who accounted for all bar one of the 15 most expensive horses sold–saw increases in every sector in what Managing Director Henry Beeby described as “a superb renewal” of DBS’s flagship yearling auction.

Turnover of £17,776,000 was accrued from 416 horses sold across the two days (three fewer than last year) and was up by 14%, while the average of £42,731 represented an improvement of 15% and the £30,000 median was up 11%. Another solid clearance rate of 87% was achieved, just one point short of last year.

The lively second session added £9,475,000 (+23%) to the coffers. The day two average was £46,675 (+27%), and the median was £31,000 (+17%) for the 204 horses sold on Wednesday.

Beeby commented, “this has not happened by accident. We can do nothing without the yearlings and I want to thank every vendor for putting their faith in the DBS team and working with us to produce a catalogue that was as good as ever.”

He continued, “Of course the other part of the equation is the buyers and we have so enjoyed seeing DBS graduates excel again on the track this year. That has driven major players to Doncaster this week and we have seen some monumental bidding battles.”

Galicuix a Gem for Pantile Stud…

When the Galileo (Ire) mare Galicuix (GB) went through the ring at Tattersalls in December 2013, Colin Murfitt was pinching himself for being able to pick her up for just 8,000gns. Then just a 5-year-old, she was carrying to Paco Boy (Ire) and already had a colt foal by the same stallion on the ground.

“We brought the mare home and kept looking at her thinking that there must be something wrong with her as we couldn’t believe we were able to buy her so cheaply,” said Bo Hicks-Little, the manager of Pantile Stud in Soham for Murfitt, who runs his own construction company.

As it transpires, early indications are that Galicuix was very much a diamond in the rough. Her first foal, Galileo Gold, is now a Group 2 winner, while her second foal is this year’s DBS Premier Sale-topper. To add further luster to a rapidly improving page, Galicuix’s half-brother Goldream (GB) (Oasis Dream {GB}) has won this season’s G1 King’s Stand S. and G3 Palace House S.

With his background in building it was a natural step for owner-breeder Murfitt to create his own stud on fenland to the north of Newmarket. Pantile Stud was developed from scratch with the help of Hicks-Little 11 years ago and on the racecourse its most famous graduate to date is the Listed Chesham S. winner Richard Pankhurst (GB) (Raven’s Pass), who was bred by John Gosden’s wife, Rachel Hood, a client of the stud.

As Gosden said at the time of the colt’s Royal Ascot success, “It’s beyond exciting to have a horse that Rachel bred at Pantile Stud in the Fens. It’s unusual to breed a horse in the Fens but they can grow a good horse there–they grow a lot of good vegetables, so why not a horse?”

This view will now be shared by those who saw the well-grown Paco Boy filly, who was offered for sale through Robin Sharp and Malcolm Bryson’s Houghton Bloodstock. Hicks-Little recalled, “She was the sweetest foal and has always been very straightforward. As she was in the parade ring I was flicking through my phone looking at selfies I have taken with her. She’s an absolute dream of a filly–she was a super foal and she just blossomed. This is the biggest sales result we’ve had at Pantile Stud. Robin and Malcolm have done a terrific job with her.”

Houghton Bloodstock enjoyed a good day at Doncaster on Wednesday, their draft including a colt by Poet’s Voice (GB) (lot 321) out of three-time U.S. winner Hunter’s Fortune (Charismatic) who sold to John Ferguson for £140,000.

Darley Digs Deep for Dark Angel…

John Ferguson was not at Doncaster for the opening day of the sale, but he made his presence felt on Wednesday when buying five yearlings for just shy of £1 million. His two most expensive purchases of the day were both sons of Dark Angel (Ire) out of Exceed And Excel (Aus) mares, with the highest-priced colt of the sale being the full-brother to G2 Superlative S. winner Birchwood (Ire), who was consigned as lot 372 by his breeder, Guy O’Callaghan of Grangemore Stud.

Birchwood was bought by David Armstrong as a yearling for 77,000gns last October, and Godolphin swooped to buy him in training after he’d won his first two starts for Richard Fahey. Ferguson ensured that, should lightning strike twice, his brother will start his racing career in the royal blue silks when parting with £270,000 and seeing off challenges for the colt from Ross Doyle and Amanda Skiffington.

“One has to start taking Dark Angel very seriously– he’s a stallion who is doing very well. He’s come through the ranks and he’s rapidly made it to the top table,” said Ferguson, who also bought Yeomanstown Stud’s Dark Angel colt (lot 297) out of juvenile winner Golden Rosie (Ire) (Exceed And Excel {Aus}) for £240,000.

For Guy O’Callaghan, the sale of Birchwood’s brother sealed a successful two days in Doncaster after he sold a pinhooked Dark Angel filly for £180,000 on Tuesday and another daughter of the same stallion (lot 347) for a client for £125,000. He said, “I bred the colt from a mare I claimed for £10,000. Birchwood was her first foal and then there was this one. She has another Dark Angel colt at foot and is in foal to Slade Power (Ire).”

The dam of the top colt, Layla Jamil (Ire) (Exceed And Excel {Aus}), won twice over seven furlongs for Mick Channon and made her final racecourse appearance when finishing eighth in the claimer in which she caught O’Callaghan’s attention.

“She puts plenty of strength into her offspring,” he continued. “I felt coming here I had a good bunch of horses but it’s wonderful when it all comes together and it happens. It means everything to me to have a result like this when I’m doing it under my own banner now.”

“If you bring a good-looking horse here it will sell,” he added. “All the big buyers are here–Shadwell, Darley, the Al Thanis.”

Powerplay From Leading Buyers…

The leaderboard was indeed dominated by big-name buyers, including David Redvers acting for Qatar Racing, who bought a colt by Pivotal (GB) (lot 378) from Croom House Stud for £250,000.

A first foal, he is out of the winning Holy Roman Emperor (Ire) mare Loreto (Ire), whose half-siblings Drumfire (Ire) (Danehill Dancer {Ire}) and Cabaret (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) are both group winners. The family has already worked well with Pivotal, who is the sire of another of Loreto’s siblings, Ho Choi (GB), winner of the Listed Queen’s Silver Cup in Hong Kong and runner-up in the G2 Gimcrack S. when trained in Scotland by Linda Perratt.

Shadwell added another 10 yearlings to the ten bought of the first day for a total outlay of £2,204,000. Those purchases included the top-priced yearling in the sale by Born To Sea (Ire) (Invincible Spirit {Ire}), the freshman half-brother to Galileo (Ire) and Sea The Stars (Ire). Consigned as lot 281 by Rathbarry Stud–who bought him as a foal for 65,000gns–the colt out of the King’s Best mare Frances Stuart rocketed to £230,000.

“He was very athletic, and although the sire is unproven, he’s by Invincible Spirit and out of Urban Sea, so you have to give him a chance,” said Gold.

“John Gosden saw the horse and loved him. At this particular sale I’ve been looking at horses this week with the trainers and trying to buy horses they like.”

Born To Sea, who started his stud career standing for €10,000 at Rathasker Stud, moved to the Aga Khan’s Gilltown Stud to stand alongside Sea The Stars this season. His yearling average for five sold at the DBS Premier Sale was £89,400.

Gold also signed for lot 393, the Grove Stud-consigned son of Dutch Art (GB), at £205,000gns. The half-brother to listed winner Master Of War (GB) (Compton Place {GB}) had cost Brendan Holland 150,000gns at Tattersalls in December, making him the most expensive pinhook of the sale.

The final day of yearling action this month at Doncaster takes place Thursday with the DBS Silver Sale, which starts at 10 a.m. local time.