Newsells, Dubawi Back On Top

Newsells Park Stud ruled supreme over Book 1 and was back in the spotlight Tuesday with a new record-breaking price for a Book 2 yearling of 725,000gns.

The horse in question was a colt by Dubawi (Ire) (lot 875) and the main players in the chase for the son of Group 3 winner Goathemala (Ger) (Black Sam Bellamy {Ire}) will come as little surprise, with John Ferguson’s final bid on behalf of Sheikh Mohammed Al Maktoum proving a step too far for Roger Varian, who has been selecting yearlings at Tattersalls for Dubawi’s breeder, Sheikh Mohammed Obaid, a cousin of the Dubaian ruler. The colt was offered on behalf of his breeder Gestüt Fahrhof, which, like Newsells Park, is owned by the Jacobs family. Hailing from an established German family replete with black-type and including Classic winners Fame And Glory (GB) and Legatissimo (Ire), he has long been on the radar of the Darley team, as Ferguson explained.

“He’s a beautiful horse from a top breeder and he’s done really well since the summer. Dick [O’Gorman] saw him in Germany in the spring and he’s shown wonderful progression since then,” he said.

Newsells Park Stud’s general manager Julian Dollar concurred with this assessment, adding, “When I saw him on Saturday as he arrived from Germany I thought, ‘My God, he should have been here last week’. He’s a proper horse by a fantastic stallion with a great pedigree. Fahrhof is such a good nursery and they are delighted as this is a record price for them–it’s great reward for all their hard work. Back in April or May we thought he needed a little bit more time which is why he’s in Book 2, but he’s done nothing but thrive since then.”

Surpassing the previous Book 2 record price by 200,000gns helped to push the second-day average to 67,579gns–a rise of 10%. The median increased by 2% to 50,000gns while turnover was up by 15% to 15,340,500gns, albeit for 11 more yearlings sold than in the same session last year. The only sector to suffer a decline was the clearance rate, which fell by 6% to 82% of the 277 lots offered.

Cumulatively, the sale is on track with the first two days last year. A total of 458 yearlings have sold this week for 29,926,000gns, compared to 443 sold for 28,825,000gns this time last year. The average is up a fractional 0.4% to 65,341gns.

Kodi’s Kid Sister Tops Fillies…

The merits of the late Jack Joel’s Absurdity dynasty were highlighted only yesterday in these pages in John Berry’s overview of G1 Schweppes Thousand Guineas winner Stay With Me (Aus) (Street Cry {Ire}) (click here). That it is a family that continues to produce top-class runners in both hemispheres is demonstrated by the fact that two of its members, Kodi Bear (Ire) (Kodiac {Ire}) and Esoterique (Ire) (Danehill Dancer {Ire}), are intended starters in Saturday’s G1 Queen Elizabeth II S. and the GI Breeders’ Cup Mile, respectively, and a Zebedee (Ire) half-sister to Kodi Bear (lot 894) became the highest-priced filly during the second session of Book 2 when knocked down at 280,000gns to Charlie Gordon-Watson.

The agent was standing with Newmarket trainer Michael Bell, who will take charge of the filly at his Fitzroy Stables, formerly home to the classy distaffers Sariska (GB) (Pivotal {GB}), Red Evie (Ire) (Intikhab) and Margot Did (GB) (Exceed And Excel {Aus}). But it was another Group 1-winning filly that first united agent and trainer, as Bell recalled, “Charlie bought [G1 Cheveley Park S. winner] Pass The Peace (GB) for my father so we go back a long way.”

As a 2-year-old, Pass The Peace was trained by Bell’s former boss Paul Cole, and she became a flagbearer for Bell in 1989, his first year with a training licence, by adding the G3 Fred Darling S. and a runner-up finish in the G1 Poule d’Essai des Pouliches to her Cheveley Park win.

Bell added of his stable’s new recruit, “Kodi Bear is a very good horse and it’s really exciting to have a high-class filly coming to us.”

The daughter of Zebedee out of the unraced Mujtahid mare Hawattef (Ire) was offered by Paul and Marie McCartan’s Ballyphilip Stud, which also bought G2 Celebration Mile winner Kodi Bear as a foal for €20,000 and resold him as a yearling to trainer Clive Cox for 62,000gns.

Norris Exhibits Art of Pinhooking…

Following a successful touch last week when transforming an Oasis Dream (GB) colt from a 160,000gns foal into a 750,000gns yearling, Liam and Jenny Norris of Clairemont Stud struck again with a colt by Dutch Art (GB) out of the Elusive Quality mare Miss Quality from the family of GI Breeders’ Cup Sprint winner Desert Stormer (Storm Cat) (lot 1089). Selected as a foal by Liam Norris and William Huntingdon for 140,000gns, the half-brother to French juvenile winner Thuit (Ire) (Duke Of Marmalade {Ire}) doubled in value when Tony Nerses outbid the Hong Kong Jockey Club’s Mark Richards at 280,000gns.

“He was just beautifully put together,” said Nerses. “I’m very happy to be taking him home to Blue Diamond Stud while we decide on a trainer. It was the individual who really appealed to me–he looks the real deal.”

Despite being responsible for buying dual Oaks winner Dancing Rain (Ire) (Danehill Dancer {Ire}) as a yearling for €200,000 and then reselling her in foal to Frankel (GB) for 4 million gns in 2013, it is the art of foal pinhooking that really appeals to Norris, who commented, “I buy a small number of horses at all different types of sale but I particularly enjoy buying at foal sales. For me, it’s all about the foal’s physical attributes. Of course you have to take pedigree into consideration but I’m very strict in my selection process and try to pick an individual that I know Jenny and I can work with and help to develop into an athletic yearling. That’s what makes results like this and last week’s Oasis Dream colt really pleasing. I hope they are both very successful for their new owners.”

The Norrises have had plenty to advertise their skills in this regard this season, having sold dual Group 1-winning juvenile Shalaa (Ire) (Invincible Spirit {Ire}) to Al Shaqab Racing at last year’s Book 1 sale at Tattersalls.

A Touch Of Glamour For Nicoll…

A Dark Angel (Ire) half-sister to G3 Sapphire S. winner Glamorous Spirit (Ire) (Invincible Spirit {Ire}) caught the attention of BBA Ireland’s Adrian Nicoll, who bought lot 869 on behalf of a client of David Wachman.

“The sire’s doing so well and she’s out of a proven mare. She’s just a lovely filly,” said Nicoll of the Yeomanstown Stud homebred, who fetched 260,000gns.

The filly’s dam, Glamorous Air (Ire) (Air Express {Ire}), was a prolific winner in Italy and has produced three winners, including this filly’s full-brother, Glamorous Angel (Ire), whose name was changed to Ho In One following his export to Hong Kong.

MV Magnier usually does his own bidding, but he commissioned Amanda Skiffington to act for him in his quest for lot 918, Hascombe & Valiant Stud’s Rock Of Gibraltar (Ire) colt out of a winning granddaughter of Inchmurrin (GB). The duo purchased the first foal for 250,000gns, and he has plenty of talented relations, including G1 EP Taylor S. winner Miss Keller (Ire) (Montjeu {Ire}) and Saturday’s G2 QIPCO British Champions Long Distance Cup favorite Agent Murphy (GB) (Cape Cross {Ire}).

Dark Horse No More…

Since the start of the European sales season, John Ferguson has signed for eight yearlings by Dark Angel (Ire), in whom Darley now owns a share. On Tuesday that support extended to Athaasel House Stud’s half-brother to Italian champion Priore Philip (Ity) (Dane Friendly {GB}), the winner last year of the G1 Premio Roma and G1 Premio Vittorio di Capua for Stefano Botti.

The March-born colt (lot 984) was an €87,000 purchase by Paddy Twomey when offered at last year’s Goffs November Sale by the Irish National Stud, and sold to Ferguson for 220,000gns.

Ferguson is far from the only fan of the Morristown Lattin Stud stallion, who is the sire of six group winners in 2015, headed by the G1 Nunthorpe S. winner Mecca’s Angel (Ire). So far in Book 2, 26 Dark Angel yearlings have been sold for an average of 92,192gns, having been conceived for his 2013 fee of €12,500.

Among them was Ballyhimikin Stud’s colt out of the listed-placed Forest Camp mare Leceile (lot 994), who was the selection of Gill Richardson at 180,000gns. He was bought at Goffs last November for €50,000.

Another decent foal-to-yearling return was recorded by Clodagh McStay’s Oaklawn Stud, which consigned a Holy Roman Emperor colt (lot 834) who was purchased in the same ring for 85,000gns by Cathy Grassick last December and this time was knocked down at 200,000gns to Charlie Gordon-Watson.

A number of Hong Kong purchasers have come to Europe in search of Holy Roman Emperor colts on the strength of the performances of his exported sons such as G1 Citibank Hong Kong Gold Cup winner Designs On Rome (Ire) and regular scorer Charles The Great (Ire). Gordon-Watson confirmed that Hong Kong would also be the eventual destination for the Oaklawn colt, who is the first foal of the listed-winning Oasis Dream (GB) mare Flambeau (GB), and is likely to be trained by John Size.

He commented, “He is a lovely horse from a good farm and is for a Hong Kong-based client, who bought for the first time here at the breeze-ups. The sire is popular in Hong Kong and this horse had plenty of scope and vetted very well.”

Solo Rio A Nice Return For Marnane…

Only one yearling by Haras du Logis freshman Rio De La Plata (Rahy) featured in Book 2 and (lot 885), a son of Gutter Press (Ire) (Raise A Grand {Ire})–a half-sister to the crack sprinters Tax Free (Ire) and Inxile (Ire)–sold for 105,000gns to Bill Gredley of Stetchworth Park Stud through the Trickledown draft. Con Marnane bought Gutter Press from the December Sale of 2010 for 9,000gns, and he was also responsible for buying Rio De La Plata as a yearling at Keeneland for $75,000, before selling him at the Craven Breeze-up Sale for 170,000gns to John Ferguson.

Retired to stud in 2013 as a three-time Group 1 winner, Rio De La Plata was an obvious choice of stallion for the pinhooker and breeder, who has profited nicely from the sire’s initial fee of €7,000.

“I’ve bought a few yearlings by Rio De La Plata and the thing I really love about them is their temperament,” said Marnane. “But then he was like that himself. He was always such an easy horse to deal with and year after year he came out and did it on the track.” He added, “I also had Tax Free as a breezer–he won 18 races and Rio won about £1 million in prize-money so you could say it’s been a lucky family for me on both sides.”

The final session of Book 2 commences today at 10 a.m. local time.