By Emma Berry
“He's been a sensational stallion.” That's John Ferguson's view of Dubawi (Ire) (Dubai Millenium) and though the Darley chief can hardly be considered an impartial observer, it's hard to disagree with him, particularly after three daughters of Dubawi filled the trifecta at Tattersalls' December Foal Sale. The trio – sold for 800,000gns, 720,000gns and 655,000gns respectively – became the third, fourth and fifth most expensive filly foals ever sold at Tattersalls after two of Urban Sea's daughters, My Tyhoon (Ire) and All Too Beautiful (Ire), who fetched 1.8 million gns and 1.1 million gns in 2002 and 2001. Last year's top foal price of 450,000gns was thrust aside by four foals this time around, with a colt by Shamardal also passing that mark at 550,000gns. The clearance rate may have contracted slightly at 78% – down from 81% on the same day last year – but the average figure leapt by 13% to 96,455gns, while turnover was also up, by 10%, at 18,423,000gns for 191 foals sold. On the slide, however, was the median, which was down by 5% at 62,000gns.
The day's leading lady was James Wigan's Dubawi filly out of the G3 St Simon S. winner High Heeled (Ire) (High Chaparral {Ire}) (lot 1225) and, just as at Goffs' November Sale last week, two familiar adversaries locked horns in a bidding battle to claim the elegant bay filly, with John Ferguson once again putting paid to a determined attempt by Ibrahim Araci. The duo had plenty of other challengers, with Grant Pritchard-Gordon, Anthony Stroud, Libby Harris and Julian Dollar all engaged in the earlier skirmishes. Wigan, who consigns through his own Dorset-based West Blagdon Stud, said, “It was a fantastic sale. I thought she was a beautiful filly and lots of good people agreed with me. The Darley team had seen her at home and she just kept improving through the year.” The West Blagdon foal draft is much admired each year at Tattersalls, and Wigan explained his decision to sell his stock as weanlings rather than yearlings, saying, “It works for us to sell as foals. We're just a small family business and it means we have fewer animals on the place. We keep the odd filly to race so we can keep a line.” One of those “odd fillies” is the extremely smart Dank (GB) (Dansili {GB}), who carried her breeder's colours to glory in the GI Beverly D S. and GI Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Turf. High Heeled is now in foal to Dank's sire Dansili, while another member of Dank's family, acolt out of her half-sister Slink (GB) (Selkirk) and also by Dansili (lot 1229), brought further joy to the West Blagdon team when selling for 230,000gns to Rob Speers. The agent and racing manager was acting on behalf of the previously vanquished Ibrahim Araci, who had also missed out on the second top lot of the day, the Dubawi filly out of Hit The Sky (Ire) (Cozzene), who eventually went the way of Michael Jooste, bidding in the company of Peter and Ross Doyle for his father Markus's Mayfair Speculators.
With the syndicate having also been active at the Tattersalls October Yearling Sale, it was the second visit to Newmarket this year for the South African Jooste, who said of his prized purchase, lot 1162 “She's a lovely walker and her pedigree is unquestionable so we'll see how it turns out. Derek Brugman, our racing manager, will decide where the foal goes from here.”
Hit The Sky has been an incredible success story for her eponymous breeding partnership which includes Brendan Hayes, whose Knocktoran Stud consigned the filly. Her full-sister, the 3-year-old Propel (Ire), topped the Arqana August Sale of 2013 at €1.5 million and her other siblings include G2 Prix Daniel Wildenstein winner Royal Bench (Ire) (Whipper) and the Group 3-winning duo Memphis Tennessee (Ire) (Hurricane Run {Ire}) and Mayhem (Ire) (Whipper). “The mare's been very good to us – not just in the sales ring, she's produced plenty of good runners,” said a delighted Hayes. “She's the fifth mare we've had of the line so it goes way back. We really liked the filly – she did everything right and showed herself really well.” He added, “Mayhem (Ire) (Whipper) won the Prix Allez France this year and has just come back to the stud, and Hit The Sky is now in foal to Invincible Spirit (Ire).”
Completing the Dubawi trio and also going to the Darley team was Kenilworth House Stud's first foal of the G1 Keeneland Phoenix S. winner La Collina (Ire) (Strategic Prince {GB}) (lot 1172). This time Ferguson had to contend with David Redvers, who, standing with Sheikh Fahad Al Thani, was the eventual under-bidder when the hammer fell at 625,000gns. “The sire needs no elaboration and the mare was a top race filly. The foal looked a lot like Dubawi and is very athletic,” said Ferguson.
Praising the efforts of breeders Joerg and Diana Vasicek, whose Kenilworth House operation is run by Gerry Ross, he added, “Breeders who can breed horses who look like that deserve to be paid for them.” The Darley team has thus far signed for 20 foals at Tattersalls for a total of 4.2 million gns, with Shadwell next on the buyers' sheet, taking home ten foals for 1.69 million gns. Ensuring that his stud-mate didn't completely hog the headlines, Shamardal provided the top colt of the sale in Airlie Stud's lot 1152, a son of Daneleta (Ire) (Danehill), a half-brother to the G1 Dewhurst S. winner and Ballylinch Stud sire Intense Focus (Giant's Causeway). At, 550,000gns, he was the second highest price for a colt at the sale since Padua's Pride, by Caerleon out of Doff The Derby, sold for 2.5 million gns in 1997. Peter Doyle was the successful bidder for the colt, this time outgunning John Ferguson, on behalf of an “established client”. He said, “I thought he was one of the best of the sale and I've been looking forward to him coming through all day.” Airlie Stud enjoyed a frenetic ten minutes at Park Paddocks with their only three foals at the sale each selling for six-figure sums and returning an average of 278,333gns to leave the Rogers family farm at the head of the vendors' table by average.
Anthony Rogers commented, “We're really pleased with that – it's nice to have two good judges trying to get him. We bought the mare as a 4-year-old in France and she's been really good to us. The cross does work – Daneleta's daughter Hairpin (Ire) also had a winner by Shamardal recently in France with Andre Fabre.” That winner was the juvenile Coif (Ire), who struck on her debut for Godolphin at Chantilly on 13 Nov.
Shadwell's Angus Gold went to 400,000gns to see off the Tsui family's representative John Clarke for lot 1246, a Sea The Stars (Ire) colt out of Fresnay (GB) (Rainbow Quest) who was bred by Franca Vittadini and consigned for her by old friends Luca and Sara Cumani of Fittocks Stud. The colt's half-brother Freetown (Speightstown) won last year's listed Premio Alberto Giubilo in Rome, while Fresnay's half-siblings include the stakes winners Dormello (Ire) (Dansili {GB}), Ransom Hope (GB) (Red Ransom) and Field Of Dream (GB) (Oasis Dream {GB}). “He deserved every penny he made as he's a beautiful horse with a wonderful attitude too,” said Sara Cumani. “Many thanks to Franca for sending him to us. He was a foal share and her partners had a good stab at him.” Clarke also had to settle for the under-bidder role on another Sea The Stars foal share, this time when coming off second best to Golden Horn's breeder Anthony Oppenheimer, who went to 380,000gns through Hugo Lascelles to ensure that the Hascombe & Valiant representative out of Footstepsinthesand's sister Palitana (Giant's Causeway) (lot 1115) returned to his Newmarket Stud. “Basically, Anthony Oppenheimer has bought out his partners, the Tsuis, and retained the filly for Hascombe,” explained Lascelles. “He is thrilled that she is coming back to the stud – she has a good strong page and the farm has had a wonderful year.”
While Dubawi naturally topped the sire standings by average price, Sea The Stars was ahead on aggregate, with his 25 weanlings sold through the week accruing 3,136,000gns to date.
Among the young guard, treble Classic winner Camelot (Ire) is the flying freshman and his first youngsters have caught the eye, with his top three foals of the day bringing 170,000gns, 160,000gns and 150,000gns respectively. Just one first-crop representative of Adena Springs's Point Of Entry (Dynaformer) made his way to Newmarket and that was lot 1185, Norelands Stud's good-walking son of listed winner Desert Sky (Ire) (Green Desert), who was sold for 82,000gns to Charlie Gordon-Watson.
The foal sale concludes today with the final session starting at 9.30am followed by a blank day before the December Mares' Sale kicks off on Monday morning.
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