Newsells Has a Date With Destiny at Tatts
Newsells Has a Date With Destiny at Tatts…
By Emma Berry
For slightly less than 24 hours last October, Newsells Park Stud held the record for the most expensive yearling sold at public auction in Europe when its Galileo (Ire) colt out of Shastye (Ire) (Danehill) sold for 3.6 million guineas to MV Magnier.
That record would be smashed the next evening when Lodge Park Stud’s Galileo filly, now named Al Naamah (Ire), sold for 5 million guineas, but Newsells Park’s general manger Julian Dollar reflected, “It was a nice thing to achieve, even if we only held the record for a split second.”
The sale of one high-priced yearling may fleetingly grab the headlines, but in the bloodstock industry, as in life, reputations are earned through consistency of service, and with drafts from Andreas Jacobs’ Newsells Park Stud at any of Europe’s major yearling sales, that consistency is in the quality of horse on offer. The Royston-based operation led all consignors during Book 1 last year, selling 16 yearlings for a total of 7,215,000gns and average price of 450,938gns, and it will bring 19 to the market for this year’s three-day elite auction.
Among those catalogued are a few rare jewels, and none more so than the first foal of George Washington (Ire)’s only foal, Date With Destiny (Ire), who sells on the second day of Book 1 as lot 261.
“I try not to think of her as anything different, other than the fact that she’s by Galileo, who is the best stallion out there,” said Dollar. “Obviously there’s been plenty of interest because it’s Date With Destiny but we bought her because she’s from a family which has been really good to Newsells Park Stud.”
Date With Destiny’s half-sister Flawly (GB) (Old Vic {GB}) is the dam of three Newsells Park Stud-bred stakes winners–Best Name (GB) (King’s Best), February Sun (GB) (Monsun {Ger}) and Heirloom (GB) (Dansili {GB})–all six-figure yearlings before their successful antics on the track.
Dollar added, “Flawly has been terrific for us and we’re lucky that Date With Destiny’s yearling is a lovely filly–she’s beautiful to look at and she has a good brain on her. She’s pretty encouraging as a first foal.”
While she would make a potentially first-rate foundation mare for aspiring owner/breeders, two members of the draft who have obvious appeal as future stallion prospects are lots 101 and 326, sons, respectively, of two late and lamented stallions in Monsun (Ger) and Montjeu (Ire), whose final crop of yearlings are offered this year.
“We’re selling the Monsun colt for [sister stud] Gestut Fahrhof and obviously we hope he’ll be popular in Book 1–he’s a lovely horse from a good family,” said Dollar of lot 101, the only Monsun yearling in the catalogue and a son of Tu Eres Mi Amore (Ire) (Sadler’s Wells), a full-sister to Sequoyah (Ire), whose young son Henrythenavigator has made a promising start at stud.
On the final day of Book 1, the Montjeu colt out of Honorlina (Fr) (Linamix {Fr}) will go under the hammer representing a former Lagardere family that includes Classic hero Vahorimix (Fr), GI Bredeers’ Cup Mile winner Val Royal (Fr) and G1 Irish St Leger winner and G1 Melbourne Cup entrant Voleuse De Coeurs (Ire).
“He’s out of a sister to a French Guineas winner and there are only a few of these left,” said Dollar. “There’s the rarity value, of course, but he’s also a proper horse.”
G1 Moyglare Stud S. winner Mail The Desert (Ire) (Desert Prince {Ire}) enjoyed a timely pedigree update when her juvenile son Desert Force (GB), by Newsells Park’s freshman stallion Equiano (Fr), made all to win a Newbury maiden in impressive fashion last week, and her Pivotal colt is scheduled to sell as lot 385 on the Thursday of Book 1. A full-brother to multiple winners Al Muthanaa (GB) and Mail Princess (GB), he is described by Dollar as “an unbelievable looking horse, big and imposing with an incredibly athletic walk”.
He is not the only yearling in the draft to boast a Group 1-winning dam, as Newsells Park will also offer a colt by Cacique (GB) out of the G1 Prix de l’Opera winner Kinnaird (Ire) (Dr Devious {Ire}) (lot 354), as well as a Giant’s Causeway filly out of the GI Beverly D. S. and GI Flower Bowl Invitational winner Dynaforce (Dynaformer) (lot 272). For the former, two extremely exciting juveniles have added a sprinkling of extra spice to the family over the last two seasons, with Kinnaird’s son Berkshire (GB) (Mount Nelson {GB}) having landed the 2013 Chesham S. at Royal Ascot, while his winning half-sister Keenes Royal (GB) (Red Ransom) is the dam of the unbeaten dual Group 2 winner and early 2000 Guineas favorite Ivawood (Ire) (Zebedee {GB}).
“Kinnaird was just starting off in 2006 when I joined the stud and she didn’t seem to get any credit for her win in the Prix de l’Opera,” recalled Dollar. “It was the same for her offspring–we took Keenes Royale to the sales and nobody liked her. But then [Kinnaird’s group-winning half-brother] Mickdaam came along and was a decent horse and Berkshire won brilliantly at Royal Ascot. The pedigree has really come alive with Ivawood this year.”
Unusually, Newsells Park will also be offering a non-homebred yearling when it consigns lot 446, a full-sister to crack sprinter Deacon Blues (GB) (Compton Place {GB}) on behalf of breeders Ken and Elizabeth Grundy and Peter and Jan Hopper.
A 2-year-old Equiano half-brother to the pair, named The Tin Man (GB), is in training with Deacon Blues’ handler James Fanshawe and holds an entry for the Tattersalls Millions 2YO Trophy Oct. 4, while the yearling filly looks to be another potentially speedy member of the family with “strong hindquarters, a real sprinter type”.
Though Dollar is not holding his breath in anticipation of breaking more October Sale records this year, he and his team go there full of confidence in a solid draft of horses. He said, “Looking at the results from Keeneland September, the market remains strong and I expect Tattersalls to be every bit as strong as it was last year, if not more so.”