BBAG Yearling Sale

BADEN-BADEN, Germany--After a day of a few false starts and high-priced vendor buy-backs, BBAG's major yearling sale presented its headline act late in the afternoon when Gestüt Haus Ittlingen's Frankel (GB) half-brother to the G3 Hamburger Meile victrix Calyxa (GB) (Pivotal {GB}) sold for €350,000 to Godolphin. From a smaller catalogue this year,195 horses went through the ring and though some of potential star acts were returned to their breeders, the day's clearance rate was greatly improved on recent years at 79.5%, with 155 yearlings sold. That upturn from 66.5%...

BADEN-BADEN, Germany--There was a dramatic start to the day on the eve of Germany's premier yearling sale at BBAG when a number of agents, vets and consignors were evacuated as the Radisson Blu Badischer Hof Hotel caught fire in the early hours of Thursday morning. Solenn Gouesnard of Haras d'Ombreville was taken to hospital temporarily with smoke inhalation but everyone else escaped unscathed, though many were left without clothes and passports. "We spent all night on the street in pyjamas," said Matt Coleman, who had arrived with a group which...

Baden-Baden's 'Grosse Woche', which includes some top-class racing action alongside music festivals and Germany's major yearling sale at BBAG, begins on Sunday, with the G3 Preis der Sparkassen-Finanzgruppe as the highlight of an 11-race card. After a 10-month break, and with the racecourse at Iffezheim under new management, the 'Super Sunday' fixture ushers in four meetings--down from six in previous years--throughout the week, culminating in the G1 Grosser Preis von Baden the following Sunday. Among those set to line up in this Sunday's Group 3 contest over 2,000 metres is...

BADEN-BADEN, Germany—The world in 2020 is vastly different to the one we knew 12 months ago but a familiar theme was revisited with one moment of déjà vu in the ring at BBAG on Friday as a daughter of Sea The Stars (Ire) out of a Monsun (Ger) mare sold for a sale record-equalling €820,000. In 2019, it was Matt Coleman who signed for the top lot on behalf of Godolphin, this time around the day's prize offering, a full-sister to 11-length Deutsches Derby winner Sea The Moon (Ger), will...

BADEN-BADEN, Germany—A new record was set at last year's BBAG Yearling Sale when a Sea The Stars filly bred by Gregor and Julia Baum at Gestut Brummerhof sold for €820,000 to Godolphin. On the sales ground on Thursday, another filly by the Aga Khan Studs stallion was receiving plenty of attention at the Gestut Gorlsdorf draft, which was no surprise considering lot 61 is a full-sister to wide-margin Deutsches Derby winner Sea The Moon (Ger), who is now one of the most popular young stallions in Europe. Already named Sea...