Ferguson Scores Street Cry Colt, War Front Filly
Ferguson Scores a Street Cry…
Sheikh Mohammed’s bloodstock advisor John Ferguson has been busy scooping up blue-blooded colts by Darley sires all week, and when an opportunity arose to snap up a son of Street Cry (Ire) out of a multiple group-winning mare, Ferguson swooped, seeing off representatives of Al Shaqab Racing to add him to the collection for a cool 1 million guineas.
Darley was dealt a cruel blow when Street Cry died as the result of an undiagnosed neurological condition
at it’s Kelvinside Farm in Australia last month, and thus this bay (lot 398) from his third to last Northern Hemisphere crop. He is the first foal out of Meeznah (Dynaformer), who crossed the wire second to Snow Fairy (Ire) (Intikhab) in the 2010 G1 Investec Oaks prior to being disqualified due to a positive drug test. Meeznah went on to win the G3 Lillie Langtry S. and G2 Park Hill S. in the colors of Dubai businessmen Saif Ali and Saeed Al Thayer, and Ferguson noted that association had caused his team to follow Meeznah closely.
“Because they’re friends, we followed her so closely, and they bred her to Street Cry and they’ve bred the most unbelievable specimen,” he noted. “He has everything about him that she had. She had the most amazing temperament, and being by Dynaformer, it’s just to have a mare with such a good temperament. Just seeing this horse walk around here reminded you so much of her, but also he has so much of Street Cry. We’re just delighted to get him.”
Charlie and Tracy Vigors’ Hillwood Stud offered the colt, and enjoyed its biggest consigning success as a result.
“That’s our best result by some way,” said Charlie Vigors, who has offered five yearlings during Book 1 and has another 22 catalogued for Book 2 and nine for Book 3.
“He’s just been a wonderfully straightforward horse to deal with right the way through. The bidding turned into a battle between Darley and Al Shaqab Racing– there’s always the possibility that could happen but you never really know. It’s very exciting to sell him so well and it’s a tribute to Tracy and the great team at home for all the work they’ve done.”
Ferguson signed for six of the 10 Book 1 Dubawi yearlings, and he showed no sign of backing down midway through the day yesterday, adding a chestnut colt out of Model Queen (Kingmambo) for 750,000gns. Consigned by Highclere Stud, the March foal is a half to G1 Betfred Sprint Cup winner Regal Parade (GB) (Pivotal {GB}), G3 Acomb S. winner Entifaadha (GB) (Dansili {GB}) and two other stakes-placed winners.
Ferguson ended Book 1 as the leading buyer by a wide margin, with 38 bought for 17,465,000.
Ferguson Goes to War…
Claiborne’s War Front has proven popular at sales internationally this year, with his 2014 sales average running at almost $540,000, and thus his lone representative in the Tattersalls October Yearling sale was likely to be sought after. That certainly proved to be the case, with John Ferguson outlasting Alex Solis and Jason Litt for the daughter of GI Personal Ensign S. winner Icon Project (Empire Maker) at 950,000gns.
Bred by Andrew Rosen and consigned by Watership Down Stud, lot 331 is the second foal out of Icon Project. The mare was expatriated to England after producing a Speightstown colt in 2012, with this being her first British-bred progeny. Watership Down’s Simon Marsh noted Icon Project produced a Frankel foal this year, and is back in foal to Dubawi (Ire).
War Front has long proven his worth as a sire of top-class colts in Europe, in particular Declaration of War and War Command, but another notch was added to his belt when the British-based Peace and War shipped to Keeneland to take the GI Darley Alcibiades S. last weekend.
Marsh remarked of the sale, “We’re delighted. She’s a really nice filly, and she had the rare distinction of being out of a Group 1 who is out of a Group 1 winner, and she was the only one in the catalogue like that, so she was always going to be very well sought after by breeders. War Front is doing fantastically well, and it was extremely timely that the filly won at Keeneland the other day. We’re absolutely delighted with the sale.”
Ferguson said she had “the best page in the book.” “At the end of the day, when you’re buying fillies like that, you know you’ve got them for more than a racing career, you have them for a breeding career as well,” Sheikh Mohammed’s bloodstock advisor added. “When you buy colts, fine, you can hit the jackpot, but the chances are you’re only going to hit the jackpot every now and again, whereas with fillies like that, you know you’re going to breed from her, and that should be part of the equation. There are so few fillies like her. Everything about her was right.”