By Emma Berry
For the third time in the last four years a daughter of James Wigan's and George Strawbridge's 10-year-old mare High Heeled (Ire) (High Chaparral {Ire}) has topped the Tattersalls December Foal Sale, with this year's offering, a strong daughter of Dansili (GB), selling for 600,000gns to the partnership of Mayfair Speculators, MV Magnier and Peter and Ross Doyle.
Wigan and Strawbridge teamed up to buy the Group 3 winner and Group 1-placed High Heeled as a 3-year-old for 600,000gns back in 2009 and she has done nothing but repay them for their faith in her. Her Dubawi (Ire) filly of 2013 was bought for 450,000gns by John Ferguson and is now the listed winner Pabouche (Ire). Her Lawman (Fr) filly of the following year was bought by Shadwell and was the second-top lot of the sale at 425,000gns, while last year's foal, also by Dubawi, was bought by Ferguson for 800,000gns.
“She's a great mover with a lovely pedigree, an absolute princess,” said Peter Doyle as he signed the ticket for lot 985. “Nothing is set in stone regarding her future but it's likely she will race for the partnership.” High Heeled is a daughter of the GII San Clemente H. winner Uncharted Haven (GB) (Turtle Island {Ire}) from a family which has served her breeder Ballylinch Stud well. High Heeled's half-sister Faraday Light (Ire) (Rainbow Quest) is the dam of G1 Irish 1000 Guineas winner Just The Judge (Ire)–herself a previous Tattersalls sales-topper when fetching 4.5 million gns at the December Mares' Sale of 2014.
Her sale put Wigan's West Blagdon Stud in third place on the leading vendors' table, with six weanlings sold for 944,000gns behind the significantly larger drafts of the Castlebridge Consignment and Norelands Stud. Doyle later went to 340,000gns for the same partners on lot 1035, Norelands Stud's Invincible Spirit (Ire) colt out of the Group 3 winner Cabaret (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}).
A frenetic session achieved an impressive clearance rate of 84%, with 185 of the 219 foals offered selling for an average price of 90,630gns. The average figure was down by 6% on 2015, when six more horses were sold, and the aggregate also dropped, by 9%, to 16,768,000gns. Along with the clearance rate, the median figure was an improver, rising by 5% to 65,000gns.
McCalmont Wins Dubawi Battle…
Jamie McCalmont went into battle with John Ferguson for lot 965, one of two Dubawi foals offered in the session (after withdrawals), and the agent came out on top as Ferguson yielded at 500,000gns. McCalmont was bidding on behalf of Jon Kelly, who also bred the Airlie Stud-consigned colt, a son of the unraced Galileo (Ire) mare Snowgal (Ire), bought by Kelly for $460,000 at Keeneland in 2013. Snowgal is a half-sister to G1 Moyglare Stud S. winner Preseli (Ire) (Caerleon) and a granddaughter of the top-class racemare and producer White Star Line (Northern Dancer).
Despite being in the unusual position of missing out on a Dubawi colt, Ferguson opted not to join the bidding for the colt by the Darley star out of dual Classic winner Finsceal Beo (Ire) (Mr. Greeley), who was ultimately led out of the ring unsold at 1.45 millions gns. The Godolphin Chief Excecutive remained active throughout the session, however, signing for 12 weanlings for more than 2 million gns. These included Kenilworth House Stud's January-born Shamardal colt (lot 1020) out of dual Group 1 winner La Collina (Ire) (Strategic Prince {GB}) whose Dubawi filly foal of 2015 was also bought by Ferguson at 625,000gns. He had to stretch to 375,000gns for the Shamardal, and that was the same price paid for lot 967, a colt by Sea the Stars and offered by Yellowford Farm on behalf of breeder and TV presenter Brian Gleeson.
The brother to Godolphin's recent maiden winner Big Challenge (Ire) and half-brother to G3 Oh So Sharp S. winner Raymi Coya (Van Nistelrooy) is the final foal of their dam Something Mon (Maria's Mon), who died while foaling him.
“She was a great mare and there's plenty going on in the family,” said Gleeson. “Big Challenge was very impressive winning his maiden for Saeed [Bin Suroor] and Godolphin and they have come back again. We owe the foster mare a big thank you. I loved Sea the Stars as a racehorse and the cross just works.”
Brothers Strike Again for Kinane…
Mick Kinane rode both Galileo (Ire) and Sea the Stars (Ire) to victory in the G1 Derby and the half-brothers continue to reward him long after their retirement. On Friday afternoon, Kinane, consigning through his daughter Aisling and son-in-law Mark Gittins' Castlefarm Stud, sold foals by each stallion for 300,000gns and 220,000gns respectively. Lot 957 is a Galileo filly out of Group 3 winner Lady Springbank (Ire) (Choisir {Aus}), bred in partnership by the trio, and she was another strong pinhook by Philipp Stauffenberg for 300,000gns.
“She was a bit dear but we'll see how that turns out,” said Stauffenberg. “I know the family quite well.”
That good German family includes Lady Springbank's grandam Santina (Ger) (Alkalde {Ger}), a Group 3 winner who bred 11 winners from her 12 runners including the listed-winning duo of Sound Of Silence (Ger) (Dom Racine {Fr}) and Stiletta (Ger) (Primo Dominie {GB}).
The Galileo filly was followed into the ring by the Sea the Stars colt (lot 958) out of Lady Karr (GB) (Mark Of Esteem {Ire}), a sister of Derby winner Sir Percy (GB) whose offspring include G2 Dubai City Of Gold S. and G3 Queen's Vase winner Mikhail Glinka (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}). The late April foal was another on the list of Ferguson, whose interest in Sea the Stars boosted his average for the sale so far to 181,300gns for 10 sold.
Aisling Kinane and Mark Gittins also bred one of the star graduates of the December Foal Show, the dual Group 1-winning juvenile Shalaa (Ire) (Invincible Spirit {Ire}), whom they sold three years ago for 100,000gns to Liam Norris and William Huntingdon and who retires to Al Shaqab's Haras de Bouquetot as the most expensive new stallion in Europe for 2017 at €27,500.
Stars Aligned for Major Buyers…
Anthony Oppenheimer is also a fan of Sea the Stars and bought out his breeding partner Ling Tsui when going to 240,000gns for lot 914, a half-sister to GI Canadian International winner Cannock Chase (Lemon Drop Kid) and G2 Prix Eugene Adam winner Pisco Sour (Lemon Drop Kid) offered by his Hascombe & Valiant Studs.
“I was acting for Mr. Oppenheimer and he was keen to have the filly at a price. She is a gorgeous, gorgeous filly, an absolute queen,” said Tom Goff of Blandford Bloodstock after conducting the bidding. “She is a sister to two Royal Ascot [G3] Tercentenary S. winners–and that is a big race–while Cannock Chase was also a Grade I winner.”
Just 10 lots later the Gilltown Stud resident was back in the spotlight again when lot 924, a colt offered by Keith Harte for breeders Flor and Mary Ryan, was bought for 230,000gns by Timmy Hyde of Camas Park Stud.
“We bought his grandam a while back and his dam [Coolree Marj {Ire}] was the only filly we had out of her,” said Flor Ryan. “She was injured so we didn't race her, but we retained her for breeding. We chose Sea the Stars as the pedigree has worked well–My Titania (Ire) (Sea the Stars {Ire}) is under the second dam. It's an active pedigree and a deep family.”
The couple, who own six mares in Co Kildare, also sold the colt's full-brother at Tattersalls October Book 1 for 190,000gns. Coolree Marj is now in-foal to Lawman (Fr).
Another Frankel for Japan…
Frankel's promising start to his stud career includes a Group 3-winning daughter in Japan, Mi Suerte (Jpn), a factor which may have persuaded the Japanese operation JS Company to go to 350,000gns for lot 1000 from the New England Stud draft.
Hanako Varian conducted the bidding on their behalf for the member of Juddmonte's good stallion family of Martaline (GB) (Linamix {Fr}), Beat Hollow (GB) (Sadler's Wells), Oasis Dream (GB) (Green Desert) and Kingman (GB) (Invincible Spirit {Ire}). The colt was bred by Countess De La Warr from Household Name (GB), a Zamindar half-sister to the aforementioned Martaline and G1 Prix du Cadran winner Reefscape (GB) (Linamix {Fr}).
“She is a real queen and has been since the day she was born,” said New England Stud's Peter Stanley. “She is coming back to the farm and will ship to Japan at some point next year to race there. This was such a lovely filly that we said the mare has to go back to Frankel, which will hopefully be the plan next year.”
Household Name, whose first foal, a filly by Oasis Dream (GB), sold for 95,000gns to Yeomanstown Stud at this sale last year, is currently in foal to Dansili (GB).
John Ferguson also added a son of Frankel to his shopping list, bidding 280,000gns for lot 977, Zalim Bifov's colt out of French listed winner More Than Sotka (Fr) (Dutch Art {GB}) who was consigned for sale by Amy Marnane. The 6-year-old mare was originally bought as a yearling for €110,000 by Marnane's father Con and won twice as a juvenile for trainer Mathieu Palussiere. This is her first foal and she was covered this year by Kodiac (Ire).
New Names on the Leading Sires List…
Freshman sires Australia (GB) and Kingman (GB) both sneaked into the top 10 sires by average, with Australia's leading light so far being lot 1004, a filly bred by Philip and Carolyn Cort and sold for 300,000gns to Tom Goff. The filly is the second foal of the winning Dansili (GB) mare Caserta (GB) from the further family of Flintshire (GB) (Dansili {GB}) and was offered by the Castlebridge Consignment.
Another popular Australia weanling was lot 911, the Pocock family's half-brother to G3 Chester Vase winner Golden Sword (GB) (High Chaparral {Ire}), who was consigned through their Stringston Farm and bought by Rathbarry Stud for 165,000gns.
“Australia was a brilliant racehorse and this is a lovely foal,” said Rathbarry's Franny Woods. “I saw him earlier in the year and liked him. We'll bring him back to Book 1 and hopefully he'll be lucky for us. I don't think the pedigree has to do much more. Foals by Group 1 sires with good pedigrees are well worth having.”
A colt and a filly by Juddmonte's Kingman each reached 180,000gns, the filly, a half-sister to G2 Lowther S. winner Silk Blossom (Ire) (Barathea {Ire}) (lot 988), being bought by Philipp Stauffenberg and the colt, out of a sister to dual Group 1 winner Immortal Verse (Ire) (Pivotal {GB}) (lot 959), by Mick Flanagan.
Australia's five weanlings sold averaged 127,600gns while Kingman had the same number sell for an average of 126,000gns.
The final session of the December Foal Sale starts this morning at 9:30 a.m. local time. For the complete results, go to www.tattersalls.com.
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